Sometimes it’s entirely suspect when a celebrity starts seeing a new romantic interest, and that person suddenly ends up getting profiled during a “what to know” segment in People. As CB noted, this was the case last summer when Ryan Reynolds started dating German model Agnes Fischer, who was conveniently the subject of such a piece when Ryan was ready to rub his new relationship in Scarlett Johansson’s Sean Penn-dating face. Interestingly enough, Scarlett’s own new hot piece, Nate Naylor, just received his own glowing set of praise from People as well.

Now there’s a brand new relative stranger who has gained such a publicity coup in the form of a People profile, and she just happens to be Russell Brand’s mystery brunette (the one in the busted outfit with price tags stuck to the bottoms of her shoes) who did the “walk of shame” outside his home about a week ago. Exactly who is responsible for making this profile happen? Well, it could’ve been Russell’s publicist aiming to stick it to Katy, but that seems unlikely. Or perhaps the Daily Mail’s new scoop, which provided the woman’s name (Oriela Medellin) and a few glamour-styled shots, inspired People to take it upon themselves and write a profile?

Then again, by the looks of this girl — Kaiser, CB, and myself all agree that she resembles Khloe Kardashian with a dash of Brooke Mueller — she may very well have had her own publicist contact People. CB also thinks that Oriela could have pinpointed Russell’s yoga class and attended it with the express purpose of hooking up with him, which is entirely believable as well. Regardless of the source, here’s the lowdown on Russell’s “yoga pal” and possible ongoing one-night stand, Oriela Medellin:

They share a interest in meditation, yoga, vegan food, and — it seems — each other.

In the wake of finalizing his divorce from Katy Perry, Russell Brand, 36, has been spending some quality time with artist and model Oriela Medellin.

Since the two started taking classes together at a yoga studio in Hollywood, Medellin, 25, has been spotted out with the Get Him to the Greek star, including on the night of Feb. 18 at Bar Marmont.

Here are five things worth knowing about the lady keeping Brand’s company:

1. She’s a Yoga Flirt
On Feb. 10, Medellin Tweeted this to Brand: “@rustyrockets nice to see you at yoga…! glad to know that u r in the spirit journey and that translates into your work bravo!” Two days later, she was spotted leaving his place in L.A.

2. She’s a World Traveler
A self-described “modern-day gypsy” who claims fluency in four languages, Medellin was born in Mexico City, and studied art, fashion, film and acting in Milan, Paris, New York, and Los Angeles, according to her website.

3. She’s Multitalented
Medellin wears many hats, including photographer, stylist, designer, actress, and first and foremost, painter. She sells her illustrations and paintings for anywhere between $7 and $7,000.

4. She Was Born Into Fashion
Medellin’s mother is the Puerto Rico-born designer Wanda Amieiro, for whom she frequently models. The fashion school graduate has also interned at Bebe and BCBG Max Azria.

5. She Digs Vegan Fare
Medellin has expressed her fondness for Cafe Gratitude, a vegan restaurant in Los Angeles that is a favorite among health-conscious celebs. (Brand has been a vegetarian since he was 14 and was named PETA’s sexiest male vegetarian celebrity last year.)

Brand’s rep could not be reached for comment on his relationship with Medellin; Medellin had no comment.

[From People]

So is Russell really “dating” this chick in an official “relationship”? I doubt it. If anything, he probably finds her attractive in a bendy yoga way (Holy Moly has some photos of her performing various asanas) and enjoys shagging her on either a one-time or repeated basis. Oriela too likely finds Russell to be quite fetching, but I suspect that she’s got some other motives … such as boosting her own profile. After all, she is an aspiring actress and a dreadfully awful one at that. Check out this video of her acting reel for the evidence:

As mentioned by People, Oriella also paints, and portfolio is rather NSFW. Such perversions likely qualify her as an excellent shagging partner for Russell, but I doubt he’s looking for anything serious with this chick or anyone else at this point.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and the Mail