When Jaime Esalante, the real-life teacher who inspired the movie Stand and Deliver (1988), developed cancer, Vanessa Marquez helped raise money for his treatment. She was later one of the pallbearers at his funeral.
On December 7, 1989 Vanessa Marquez took part in a rally and then a march to protest the exposure of farm workers to pesticides used on grapes alongside Cesar Chavez, Martin Sheen, and other activists.
She recently appeared on the new reality series on A&E
called Intervention. She was featured with a severe shopping addiction
accompanied by depression, OCD, and other psychological problems. The
show was hoping to help her overcome her problems. (March 2005)
Playwright José Rivera named the character of Vanessa Marquez in his 2000 play Sonnets for an Old Century after her, who had appeared in his 1997 play The Street of the Sun.