The old tradition of the show-biz professional being "born in a trunk" came as near as it possibly could to being true in the case of Erica Gimpel. Born on June 25, 1964, she comes from a family background of the theater, and spent much of her early childhood touring with her mother in Australia, Portugal, and the States. Erica was one of the "Fame" (1982) TV series cast members who was a pupil at the real School of the Arts when she was cast in the role of Coco. She loves drama, dance, music, and the sea, and in her free time is a keen roller skater.