Vanessa (butterfly) poem "Cadenus and Vanessa," which is the source of the woman's name Vanessa. In the poem Vanessa is called a "nymph" eleven times, and the genus is closely related to the previously-named genus Nymphalis. Though the name has been suggested to be a variant of "Phanessa", from the name of an Ancient Greek deity, this is unlikely. The name of the deity is actually not "Phanessa" but Phanes. Johan Christian Fabricius, the entomologist who named this genus, normally used the original forms of the names of classical divinities when he created new scientific names. North American species in the genus
Vanessa Angel Vanessa Angel Vanessa Madeline Angel (born 10 November 1966) is an English-American actress and former model. She played the role of Lisa on the television series "Weird Science". She is also known for her role as Claudia in the film "Kingpin". Angel, who has said this is her birth name and not a stage name, was born in London, the daughter of Elizabeth and Peter Angel, a stockbroker. She was discovered by a model-management agent in a London cafe as a teenager. At 16, she was signed by Ford Models and moved to New York City. During her modelling stint,