Bow Celeb

Lauren Lee Smith

2008-06-24T19:46:00.000-07:00

Lauren Lee Smith (born June 19, 1980) is a Canadian actress.

Smith was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The stepdaughter of a documentary filmmaker, Lauren traveled around the world with her family. When she was 14, her family moved to Los Angeles, California. There, she began a modeling career. At the age of 19, she was cast in a featured role in the remake of Get Carter.

Smith has also appeared in such works as Christy: Return to Cutter Gap, Christy: A Change of Seasons and Christy: A New Beginning and starred in the show Mutant X, where she played the character of Emma deLauro. She has also guest-starred in episodes of Dead Zone, The Twilight Zone, and Blade: The Series, among others. Smith was also a recurring character in the Showtime drama series The L Word, playing Sous-chef Lara Perkins. In 2005, Smith filmed the movie Lie with Me, where she played the character of Leila.

As of fall 2006 she has a recurring part on the Canadian drama Intelligence. In early 2007, she starred in the CBC mini-series Dragon Boys.

In 2008, Lauren starred in the film Pathology from the creators of Crank. The film also stars Milo Ventimiglia from the TV show Heroes. Most recently, she has been hired as a series regular on the CBS show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. She will join Grissom's team as Riley Adams, "a smart, flirtatious, and witty non-conformist who entered law enforcement to rebel against her judgmental psychiatrist father."

Aurélie Claudel

2008-05-04T06:15:00.001-07:00

Aurélie Claudel (born August 7, 1980 in Saint-Mars-d'Outillé, France) is a French model. She is one of three children and has two brothers. She comes from a relatively prominent family (her father was a distinguished notary). She is a descendant of the famous French sculptress Camille Claudel.

She was approached in the Jardin des Plantes in Paris by Dawn Wolfe at the age of 13. Her father thoroughly disapproved of her quitting school and pursuing a career in modeling but she did it nonetheless.

Claudel appeared as "The Pregnant Model" in an editorial for the April 2006 edition of US Vogue, called "The Shape Issue".

Cheri Oteri

2008-05-01T08:53:00.000-07:00

Cheri Oteri (born Cheryl Ann O'Teari on September 19, 1962) is an American actress and comedian known for her work on NBC's Saturday Night Live.

Oteri was born in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania. She grew up in Upper Darby (also the hometown of Tina Fey, another SNL alum). She went to Archbishop Prendergast High School (on the same campus as Monsignor Bonner High School).

After moving to Los Angeles at age 25, she worked at A&M Records for four years and eventually joined the famed comedy troupe The Groundlings. It was there that she was noticed by SNL and was hired in 1995 as part of a nearly all-new cast brought in to save the show after its disastrous 1994 season.

Oteri would eventually form a third of the so-called "SNL female power trio" that also included Molly Shannon and Ana Gasteyer and which was responsible, along with Will Ferrell, Darrell Hammond and others, for bringing SNL out of its slump. On SNL, she was known for playing perky, upbeat, and hyper characters, including cheerleader-wannabe Arianna (one half of The Spartan Cheerleaders), grouchy Queens resident Rita DelVecchio, prescription pill-addicted Collette Reardon who befriends Justin Brown at the Hard Rock Hotel, butch cable access television host "Mickey The Dyke" (appearing alongside Mark McKinney's Chicken Lady of Kids In The Hall fame), the absurdly hyper child bus passenger "Althea McMahonaman," overly perky "Morning Latte" talk show host Cass Van Rye (re-teaming her with "Spartan Cheerleaders" partner Will Ferrell), and Nadeen, a testy employee who constantly orders everyone to "Simmer down now!" Her dead-on impressions of Barbara Walters, Mariah Carey, Robin Byrd and Judge Judy also bolstered her fame.

Oteri left SNL in 2000. She has notably appeared in several Hollywood movies including Scary Movie, Inspector Gadget, Liar Liar, Dumb and Dumberer: When Harry Met Lloyd, Shrek the Third and Southland Tales. She starred in two TV pilots that did not make it to air, Loomis and With You in Spirit. Her non-SNL television credits include guest spots on Just Shoot Me!, Curb Your Enthusiasm and Strangers with Candy. She has also been working with Lost creator J.J. Abrams on a sitcom idea.

Kim Cattrall

2008-04-22T07:07:00.000-07:00

Kim Victoria Cattrall (born August 21, 1956, in Widnes, England) is an English-born Canadian Golden Globe-winning and Emmy-nominated actress. She is well-known for her role as Samantha Jones in the HBO comedy/romance series Sex and the City, and for her leading roles in the 1980s films Police Academy and Mannequin.

Cattrall began her career after graduating high school in 1972 when she left Canada for New York City. There, she attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and upon her graduation signed a five-year movie deal with director Otto Preminger,and made her film debut in Preminger's Rosebud in 1975. A year later, Universal Studios bought out that contract and Cattrall became one of the last participants of the Universal Contract Player System. During her time with Universal, she guest starred in numerous television programmes of varying style and genre. In 1979 she played the role of Dr Gabrielle White in The Incredible Hulk and would go down in TV Hulk Lore as one of the few characters who knew David Banner was alive and was the creature. Her work in television paid off, and she quickly made the transition to cinema. She starred opposite Jack Lemmon in his Oscar-nominated movie Tribute in 1980. The following year, she starred in the critically acclaimed Ticket to Heaven.

In 1982, Cattrall played Miss Honeywell in Porky's, followed two years later by a role in the original Police Academy. In 1985, she starred in three movies: Turk 182, City Limits and Hold-Up. In 1987, her lead role in Mannequin proved a huge success with audiences. One of her most well-known film roles is that of the traitor Lieutenant Valeris in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

Aside from her film work, Cattrall is also a stage and theater actress, with performances in Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge and Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters to her credit. In 1997, she was cast in Sex and the City, Darren Star's series that was broadcast on HBO. As Samantha Jones, Cattrall gained international recognition. She capitalised on her success by appearing in steamy television commercials promoting the Pepsi product Pepsi One. She also signed a publishing deal to write a book about sex with her third husband, Mark Levinson. In addition, she can be heard reading the poetry of Rupert Brooke on the CD Red Rose Music SACD Sampler Volume One.

Her film work continued during Sex and the City when she starred as Caroline in Britney Spears' first film venture, Crossroads. '"Sex and the City ended as a weekly series in spring 2004 with an audience of 10.6m viewers. Cattrall will star in the Sex and the City film, which is due for release on May 30, 2008.

In 2005, she appeared in the Disney picture Ice Princess, in which she played the character of Tina Harwood, the ice skating coach of the film's lead character. Unfortunately, Ice Princess was not a financial success. She also portrayed Claire, a paralyzed woman who wants to die, in the West End drama revival of Whose Life Is It Anyway?. In early 2006, it was rumored that Cattrall would soon join the cast of Desperate Housewives, playing Edie's (Nicollette Sheridan) wild sister. In October 2006 she appeared in a West End production of David Mamet's The Cryptogram at the Donmar Warehouse in London. Since late 2005, she has appeared in a number of British television commercials for Tetley Tea. In July 2006, a commercial for Nissan cars, which featured Kim in her Samantha character from Sex and the City, was withdrawn from New Zealand television, apparently because of complaints about the innuendo. In 2006 she starred alongside Brendan Gleeson in John Boorman's 2006 film The Tiger's Tail, a black comedy that focuses on the impact of the Celtic Tiger economy on Irish people. On November 11 on ITV, she starred alongside David Haig, Daniel Radcliffe, and Carey Mulligan in My Boy Jack, the story of author Rudyard Kipling's search for his son lost in World War I.

Pamela Anderson

2008-04-21T08:07:00.000-07:00

Pamela Denise Anderson (born July 1, 1967) is a Canadian-born actress, sex symbol, glamour model, producer, TV personality, and author. She holds both American and Canadian citizenship. For a time, she was known as Pamela Anderson Lee after marrying the drummer for Mötley Crüe, Tommy Lee.

After graduating from Highland Secondary School in 1985, Anderson moved to Vancouver and worked as a fitness instructor. During the summer of 1989, Pamela went with her friends to a BC Lions game at BC Place; at some point during the game she was shown on the stadium screen wearing a Labatt's t-shirt, causing the crowd to cheer for the 21-year-old Anderson. She was taken down to the field to get an ovation from the crowd. Labatt's immediately offered Anderson a modeling contract and she accepted. In late 1989, Pamela decided to model for Playboy magazine: she appeared on the October 1989 cover (credited as Pamela Anderson Ilicic) and decided to move to Los Angeles to continue her modeling career. She was the February 1990 playmate and has appeared in Playboy several times in the 1990s and the following decade.

Acting and modeling

After her move to Los Angeles, Anderson bleached her brunette hair blonde and underwent breast augmentation. In 1991, she landed a minor role on the hit television sitcom, Home Improvement (1991-1999). Having gained viewer attention, she landed the role of C. J. Parker (1992-1997) on Baywatch, and left Home Improvement after its second season. Anderson was still modeling for Outdoor Life and appearing on the cover of the magazine each year. Her role as C.J. Parker gave her more popularity and gained her attention from international viewers. She returned to Baywatch for the 2003 reunion movie, Baywatch: Hawaiian Wedding. She also made appearances on The Nanny as Fran's rival, Heather Biblow.

In 1996, she appeared in a feature film, Barb Wire, as a character known as Barbara Rose Kopetski, which was mistakenly thought by some to have been her real name. The movie, a thinly-veiled futuristic remake of Casablanca, failed to achieve commercial success. During the filming of Barb Wire, Anderson suffered a miscarriage. In April 1997, she guest-hosted Saturday Night Live. During the beginning of the show, Anderson said, "You know, if you're nervous on stage, you actually should be naked!" She then began a striptease. Her breasts, however, were covered by a small flesh-colored bra and she also wore a crotch patch that was also flesh colored (though they were still blurred out for the sake of the joke). The segment became fodder for late-night comedians for the following weeks. She also appeared on one of two covers for the September issue of Playboy; the other cover pictured Jenny McCarthy.

In September 1998, Anderson starred in her produced series V.I.P. It was very poorly received and a critical bomb. However, with many people tuning in just to see her, the show lasted four seasons before being canceled in 2002. Anderson stated that she needed to dedicate her time to raising her children, but many believed that she was retiring.

In March 2001, Christine Evelyn Roth was arrested while sleeping in a guest room of Anderson's home. She was only charged with the misdemeanor of trespassing and not the more serious crime of stalking. Roth pleaded guilty to the charge of trespassing and was deported home to France. In 2004, Anderson returned to the spotlight. In May, she appeared naked on the cover of Playboy magazine. It was the first time she had appeared naked on any magazine cover. Later, she posed naked for Stuff and GQ magazines. Many noticed that her breast size was larger than her pictorials from 2003.

Anderson became a naturalized citizen of the United States on May 12, 2004, while retaining her Canadian citizenship. She has lived in Southern California since 1989. Anderson has often spoken revealingly about her private life. On a visit to the David Letterman show in 2004, she said she had not been dating for some time, and when Letterman asked her how she was coping, she responded, "There's not a square corner left anywhere in my house!" Letterman left that comment unanswered while the audience hooted.

In 2004, Pamela Anderson released the book Star, co-written by Eric Shaw Quinn, in which she describes a young teenager doing different things in order to reach fame. After this, she began touring the United States, signing autographs for fans at Wal-Mart stores nationwide. Her second book, the sequel Star Struck, released in 2005, is a thinly veiled look at her life with Tommy Lee and the travails of celebrity life.

In January 2005, Anderson confessed that she had new bigger breast implants, claiming not to feel like herself without them.

In April 2005, Anderson starred in a new FOX sitcom Stacked as Skyler Dayton, a party girl (with implants), who goes to work at a bookstore. It was canceled on May 18, 2006, after two seasons, although some episodes had not been aired on the network. On August 14, 2005, Comedy Central created the Roast of Pamela Anderson to honor the sex symbol for the past decade. During her final speech at the Roast, Pamela referred to her breasts as "Pancho and Lefty".

In December 2005, NBC cut off a video of Anderson pole dancing topless on Elton John's "The Red Piano." NBC said that the footage was inappropriate for primetime. The video was shown on huge screens during the event, while John was playing a song. Anderson was topless, but stars were painted on her breasts.

In March 2006, it was announced that Anderson would receive a star on Canada's Walk of Fame thanks to her many years as a model and actress. She is only the second model to receive a star. In April 2006, Anderson hosted Canada's Juno Awards, becoming the first non-singer and model to do so.

Anderson was repeatedly referenced in the 2006 comedy film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan as the title character seeks to kidnap and marry her. Anderson appears in person at the end of the film confronted by Borat in a staged botched abduction.[6] She has subsequently began filming a comedy, Blonde and Blonder.

She performed on February 13-14 2008 a Valentine's Day striptease act at the Crazy Horse cabaret in Paris.

Amanda Seyfried

2008-04-20T06:34:00.000-07:00

Amanda Michelle Seyfried (born December 3, 1985) is an American actress and former child model. She is known for her roles in the feature films Mean Girls and Alpha Dog, and in the television shows Veronica Mars and Big Love.

Seyfried started her career as a model at age 11. From there she went on to acting in the daytime drama The Guiding Light. In 2000, she originated the role of Lucy Montgomery on As the World Turns. From 2002 to 2003, she played the role of Joni Stafford on ABC's All My Children.

In 2004, Seyfried achieved a breakthrough when she was cast as the most dimwitted of the "Plastics", Karen Smith, in the popular teen film Mean Girls. In Mean Girls, she initially auditioned for the role of Regina. She became the original casting choices for both the roles of Regina George and Cady Heron.[citation needed] She was then cast as Regina's sidekick, Karen Smith. (The other roles later went to Rachel McAdams and Lindsay Lohan respectively.) In 2005, she played the lead character in one of the nine parts in the movie Nine Lives.

Continuing her television career, Seyfried was cast in UPN's Veronica Mars as the title character's murdered best friend Lilly Kane. In her role as Lilly, she appeared on the show through a series of flashbacks, dreams and visions, which portrayed her as a wild, stylish, and bubbly teenage daughter of a business executive. Lilly is sometimes compared to the character of Laura Palmer of Twin Peaks, who also was deceased and appeared through various flashbacks as the plot unfolded. While appearing often during Mars' first season, she also appeared briefly in season 2's premiere and finalé. Seyfried originally auditioned for the title role on Veronica Mars, but lost the place to Kristen Bell and ended up winning the role of Lilly Kane.

Seyfried has had primetime cameo appearances and minor guest roles on House, Justice, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and as Rebecca on Wildfire. Seyfried is also a main character, Sarah Henrickson, in the series Big Love.

She played supporting roles in the 2007 films Alpha Dog and Solstice. Amanda will play the role of Sophie alongside Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan in the film version of the musical Mamma Mia!, due for release in 2008.

Seyfried has recently joined the cast of the dark horror film Jennifer's Body, Diablo Cody's follow-up to Juno. Seyfried will play the title character's best friend in the film. Filming is slated to begin in March.

Shakira

2008-04-19T20:26:00.000-07:00

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll (born February 2, 1977), known simply as Shakira, is a Colombian contralto singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, dancer and philanthropist who has been a major figure in the pop music scene of Latin America since the mid-1990s. She speaks fluent English, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, some Arabic, French and Italian. In 2001, she broke through into the English-speaking world with the release of Laundry Service, which sold over fifteen million copies worldwide. Shakira is the highest-selling Colombian artist of all time, having sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, according to BMI. She has also won numerous awards worldwide, including two Grammy Awards, seven Latin Grammy Awards, fifteen Billboard Music Awards, three MTV Video Music Awards and a People's Choice Award. She is also the only artist from South America to reach the number-one spot on the Billboard Hot 100, the Australian ARIA chart, the United World Chart and the UK Singles Chart.

According to the United World Chart, Shakira is as of 2007 the 6th most successful artist so far from the 2000s. She is also the only artist to have two songs in the top ten of the most successful singles since 1999.

Emmy Rossum

2008-04-19T02:32:00.000-07:00

Emmanuelle Grey "Emmy" Rossum (born September 12, 1986) is a Golden Globe-nominated American actress and a singer-songwriter. She is probably most well known for her leading roles in the films The Day After Tomorrow, Poseidon and The Phantom of the Opera.

The year 1997 saw Rossum's television debut with a guest appearance on Law & Order as Alison Martin. A recurring role as the original Abigail Williams, in the long-running daytime soap As the World Turns, and a guest role as Caroline Beels in Snoops was soon to follow (1999), as were several other minor roles in two movies and mini-series. Rossum was nominated for a Young Artist Award nomination in 1999 for Best Performance in a TV Movie for her work in the made-for-tv movie Genius, followed by roles such as the young Audrey Hepburn in the ABC TV movie The Audrey Hepburn Story (2000).

Rossum made her big screen debut in 2000's Songcatcher as an Appalachian orphan, Deladis Slocumb. Debuting at the Sundance Film Festival, it won the Special Jury Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance. For her role, Rossum received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Debut Performance and also had the opportunity to sing a duet with Dolly Parton on the Songcatcher soundtrack.

In Nola (2003), Rossum played the title character, an aspiring songwriter; in her first major studio film, Clint Eastwood's Mystic River, Rossum stars as Katie Markum, the ill-fated daughter of small-business owner Jimmy Markum, played by Sean Penn. As Katie, Rossum is said to have "projected an aura of innocence that made her character's tragic death memorable and heartbreaking".

Following Mystic River, Rossum made a breakthrough role as Laura Chapman in the Roland Emmerich eco-disaster film The Day After Tomorrow, which was released in 2004. After returning to New York, Rossum was the last to audition, in full costume and make-up for the coveted role of Christine Daaé in the screen adaptation of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber's world-famous and longest running musical The Phantom of the Opera. Following an international search for talent, and having nearly missed the audition on account of a family engagement, Rossum was asked to audition in person for Lloyd Webber at his home in New York. Webber felt she proved her ability to play the young opera singer who becomes the object of the phantom's obsessive love opposite Broadway singer Patrick Wilson as Raoul and actor Gerard Butler as The Phantom. For her role as Christine Daaé, Rossum received a Golden Globe nomination and many other awards.

In 2006, Rossum appeared in Wolfgang Petersen's high-budget remake of the disaster film Poseidon. In this film, she plays Jennifer Ramsey, the teenage daughter of Kurt Russell's character[10]. She also appeared as Juliet in a 2006 Williamstown Theatre Festival Production of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

In an interview with USA Today, Rossum revealed that she has already signed on to do four films, which are a comedy, character drama and two indies in 2008. It was announced on December 15, 2007 that Rossum had joined the cast of the upcoming Dragonball live-action film, playing the role of Bulma.

Mila Kunis

2008-04-18T09:42:00.000-07:00

Milena Markovna Kunis (born August 14, 1983) is an American actress. She is known for playing Jackie Burkhart on That '70s Show and providing the voice of Meg Griffin on the popular animated series Family Guy.

Kunis became well known after being cast in the television series That '70s Show in 1998. During the auditions, all people auditioning for the roles in the show were required to be at least 18 years of age, so Kunis told the casting staff at the audition that she was going to be 18 "on her birthday" not specifying which birthday she was referring too. After receiving the part, she was kept on the role despite having misled the directors as she had been considered the best fit for the character and was thought to have been creative in her way of gaining the audition despite her age. She was 14 at the time of the audition and had turned 15 by the time the show began filming; when the executive producer said, "you said you were going to be 18", she responded with "i will be 18...". Kunis has stated many times that she is nothing like Jackie, her character on the show. Instead, she says that she is more of the cute girl-next-door type with a dash of tomboy. Before the program, Kunis had appeared in the 1997 film Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves as a minor character (the daughter's friend), and in the Angelina Jolie film Gia, as Gia's younger self. Despite this docile description, she has shown a different attitude by her sultry appearance on the cover of the men's magazine Stuff in December of 2005.

Kunis has also had roles in the Aerosmith music video "Jaded", The Strokes music video "The End Has No End", as well as several movies, such as Piranha (1995), Santa with Muscles (1996), Krippendorf's Tribe (1998), Gia (1998), Get Over It (2001), American Psycho II: All American Girl (2002), and Tony n' Tina's Wedding (2004). She starred with Jon Heder in the 2007 film Moving McAllister.

Kunis is the voice of Meg Griffin in the animated TV show Family Guy for which she has received a 2007 Annie Award-nomination, and of several characters on the Adult Swim show Robot Chicken. She has acted as the voice of Tanya Winters in the video game Saints Row. She guest starred on Grounded for Life as Brad's ex-girlfriend from space camp.

She will be in the upcoming movies Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Max Payne. Forgetting Sarah Marshall is from the makers of such films as The 40 Year Old Virgin and Knocked Up, among others, the film will also star Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Russell Brand and Jonah Hill. Max Payne will also star Mark Wahlberg and Ludacris.

Kate Hudson

2008-04-17T07:51:00.000-07:00

Kate Garry Hudson (born April 19, 1979) is an American film actress. She came to prominence in 2001 after receiving an Oscar nomination for her role in the drama Almost Famous, and has since established herself as a Hollywood lead actress, starring in several films, including How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, The Skeleton Key, and You, Me, and Dupree.

Hudson's breakthrough role was as Penny Lane in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous (2000), for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress and won the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. She had previously appeared in the lesser-known films Gossip, a teenage drama, and 200 Cigarettes, a New Year's-set comedy with a large cast of actors. Regarding her early career and success, Hudson has noted that she is a "hard worker", and did not want to be associated with her well-known parents, wishing to avoid the perception that she "rode on somebody's coattails".

Hudson turned down the part of Mary Jane Watson in the 2002 film version of Spider-Man, and instead starred in remake of the historical romance The Four Feathers, a film which was not well received by critics or audiences. Her next film, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, a romantic comedy, became a big success at the box office, grossing over $100 million after its February 2003 release. Hudson subsequently appeared in several romantic comedies, including Alex and Emma and Raising Helen; the films met with varying degrees of success.

Hudson headlined a thriller called The Skeleton Key in 2005. The film, which had a production budget of $43 million, enjoyed box office success, grossing over $91.9 million worldwide ($47.9 million in the US alone). Her later film, a comedy titled You, Me and Dupree and co-starring Owen Wilson and Matt Dillon, grossed $21.5 million on its opening weekend of 14 July 2006, within industry expectations.

In 2007 Hudson directed the short film Cutlass, one of Glamour magazine's "Reel Moments" based on readers' personal essays. Cutlass co-stars Kurt Russell, Dakota Fanning, Virginia Madsen, Chevy Chase and Kristen Stewart.

In 2008, her latest film, Fool's Gold, was released on February 8th. This romantic comedy is her second film to co-star Matthew McConaughey.

Hudson is the image model for Kamiseta, a Filipino line of young women's clothing and apparel.

Amy Adams

2008-04-16T08:45:00.000-07:00

Amy Lou Adams (born August 20, 1974) is an American actress. She is best known for playing characters with cheerful and sunny dispositions such as her Academy Award-nominated role as Ashley Johnsten in Junebug and a Golden Globe Award-nominated role as Giselle in Enchanted.

Brittany Daniel

2008-04-15T04:50:00.000-07:00

Brittany Ann Daniel (born March 17, 1976 in Gainesville, Florida) is an actress, well known for her role as Jessica Wakefield in the television series Sweet Valley High, who she co-starred with her twin sister, Cynthia Daniel.

Both twin sisters began modeling at age eleven in print ads. They have appeared in magazines such as Seventeen and YM.

In 1992, when she was sixteen, Brittany won a role on Swan's Crossing. She moved to New York. After high school, the twins landed roles in Sweet Valley High and a Doublemint gum campaign. Although Cynthia Daniel took a break from acting, Brittany continued to act in both television and films. Most noticeably, she played Brandy in the 2001 movie Joe Dirt, Eve Whitman in season 3 of Dawson's Creek, and teamed up with the Wayans Brothers for their films White Chicks and Little Man. In 2002, Daniel played one of the leading characters in That '80s Show, the short-lived spin-off of That '70s Show. She played Sophia, the wealthy, shallow, bisexual ex-girlfriend of Corey, the main character.

In 2006, Daniel took a bold step in her career with the movie Rampage: The Hillside Strangler Murders, in which she appears nude.

Currently she is starring in The CW Television Network's half hour comedy The Game.

Carla Bruni

2008-03-31T05:14:00.000-07:00

Carla Bruni Tedeschi, known as Carla Bruni (born 23 December 1967) is an Italian songwriter, singer and model, and the wife of French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Bruni signed with City Models at age 19 and her career began. Paul Marciano, president and creative director of Guess? Inc., came across her picture among a stack of composite cards of aspiring models and chose her to model with Estelle Lefébure in ad campaigns for Guess? jeans. Bruni subsequently worked for a number of designers and fashion houses, such as Christian Dior, Paco Rabanne, Sonia Rykiel, Christian Lacroix, Karl Lagerfeld, John Galliano, Yves Saint-Laurent, Chanel, Versace, and others. By the 1990s, Bruni was among the 20 highest-paid fashion models, earning $7.5 million a year. While modeling, Bruni dated Eric Clapton, Mick Jagger and Donald Trump.

Vanessa Marcil

2008-03-31T04:40:00.000-07:00

Vanessa Marcil (born October 15, 1968) is an American actress known for her roles in the long-running soap opera General Hospital, Gina on Beverly Hills 90210 and the television series Las Vegas.

Marcil acted in a number of theatre productions before landing the role of Brenda Barrett on the soap opera General Hospital in 1992. She garnered three Daytime Emmy Award nominations (1997, 1998 and 2003) for her portrayal, winning in 2003 as Outstanding Supporting Actress. In February 1998, she was named Outstanding Lead Actress at the Soap Opera Digest Awards.

After six years on General Hospital, she left the show in 1998 (returning briefly in '02) to star in the made-for-television movie To Love, Honor and Deceive, and had a recurring guest role on the police drama High Incident produced by Steven Spielberg. Marcil joined the cast of Beverly Hills 90210 in November 1998 as Gina and remained with the show for one-and-a-half seasons. Marcil made her feature film debut in the 1996 film The Rock, in which she starred opposite Nicolas Cage, Sean Connery and Ed Harris. In 1999, she starred in two independent films: Nice Guys Sleep Alone with Sean O'Bryan and This Space Between Us with Jeremy Sisto.

In 2001, Marcil was awarded the Sojourn Service Award and has supported Sojourn Services for Battered Women and their children by hosting charity events and making appearances on Wheel of Fortune, playing for funds for the organization. Through her fundraising efforts, she hopes to increase awareness of domestic violence and inspire battered woman to take control of their lives.

Marcil currently stars in the NBC television series Las Vegas as Samantha Jane "Sam" Marquez. She has been featured in several Men's magazines, including Stuff, FHM, and Maxim. She was named #19 on Maxim's Hot 100 of 2005 list and was featured on the cover of the issue that included the list, as well as #92 in the 2006 FHM Hot 100 list.

Judy Greer

2008-03-21T09:07:00.001-07:00

Judy Evans Greer (born Judith Laura Evans on July 20, 1975) is an American actress. She is probably best known for her supporting roles in 13 Going on 30 and 27 Dresses as well as starring the 2008 sitcom Miss/Guided.

Greer was born in Livonia, Michigan. Before getting into acting, she trained for almost ten years in Russian ballet. Greer attended Winston Churchill High School in Livonia and is an alumna of the Creative and Performing Arts Program. She graduated in 1997 from the theatre program at DePaul University.

Greer is perhaps best known for her recurring role on the FOX television series, Arrested Development, playing George Bluth, Sr.'s (Jeffrey Tambor) former secretary Kitty Sanchez.

Greer is starring in the 2008 ABC sitcom, Miss/Guided. She plays Becky Freely, a former high school geek, who returns to her alma mater as an attractive and confident guidance counselor.

Gina Philips

2008-03-21T08:39:00.000-07:00

Gina Philips (b. Gina Consolo on May 10, 1970 in Miami Beach, Florida) is an American actress.

Philips is known for her recurring roles on David E. Kelley's Ally McBeal and Boston Public. Her film credits include Jeepers Creepers, Dead and Breakfast and The Sick House.

In addition, Philips has made guest appearances on Star Trek: DS9, Sliders, ER, CSI, Medium and Monk.

Tori Spelling

2008-03-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

Victoria Davey "Tori" Spelling (born May 16, 1973) is an American actress. She is known for being Aaron Spelling's daughter and for her role as Donna Martin in the 1990s teen soap opera Beverly Hills, 90210.

Guest roles (mostly in her father's shows) such as The Love Boat, T.J. Hooker, Hotel, Fantasy Island, Vega$, and Saved by the Bell before landing a regular part in Beverly Hills 90210, a series co-produced by her father, Darren Star and Spelling Television.

Since 90210 went off the air, Spelling has worked primarily on independent films including Trick and The House of Yes. She also has appeared in small roles in big budget films, including Scream 2 and Scary Movie 2, and in TV shows, including Smallville.

More recently, Spelling has been the star of two reality-based shows. In 2006, she starred in the VH1 celebreality sitcom So NoTORIous, which parodied her public image. In January 2007, she and her second husband, the actor Dean McDermott, leased a bed & breakfast in Fallbrook, California (a rural community about 100 miles (160 km) from Los Angeles, 50 miles (80 km) from San Diego and just south of Temecula wine country). This became the basis of a new reality show, Tori & Dean: Inn Love, which premiered on the Oxygen network on March 20, 2007.

The Village News of Fallbrook, California, has reported that Spelling did not actually purchase the inn.

Aside from her acting career, Spelling designs and markets her own line of fashion jewelery on HSN.

Rachel Weisz

2008-02-09T23:55:00.001-08:00

Rachel Weisz (born March 7, 1971) is an Academy Award-winning English actress. She became well-known after her roles in the Hollywood films The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, and has since continued appearing in major film roles.

Weisz (pronounced "Vice") was born in London, England and grew up in Hampstead. Her mother, Edith Ruth, is a Vienna-born Austrian psychotherapist and aspiring actress. Her father, George Weisz, is a Hungarian-born inventor whose family fled to England to escape Nazi persecution. Weisz's father is Jewish and her mother has been referred to as either Catholic, Jewish, or having Jewish ancestry. Weisz was raised in a cerebral Jewish household and refers to herself as Jewish. Weisz has a sister, Minnie Weisz, who is an artist.

Weisz was educated at North London Collegiate School. She was then sent to Benenden School and eventually settled when she was about 13 in St Paul's Girls' School. She then entered Trinity Hall, Cambridge, where she graduated with a 2:1 in English. During her university years she appeared in various student productions, co-founding a student drama group called Cambridge Talking Tongues, which went on to win a Guardian Student Drama Award at the Edinburgh Festival for an improvised piece called Slight Possession.

Her breakthrough role was that of Gilda in Welsh director Sean Mathias's 1995 West End revival of Noel Coward's 1933 play Design for Living at the Gielgud Theatre. Having already worked for television, with parts in major UK series such as Inspector Morse (1993), Weisz started her cinema career in 1995 with Chain Reaction and then appeared in Bernardo Bertolucci's Stealing Beauty. She followed this work with more English films including My Summer with Des, Swept from the Sea, The Land Girls, and Michael Winterbottom's I Want You. Although she received favourable critical recognition for her work to this point, her breakout into wide audience recognition came from a popular serio-comic horror movie The Mummy, in which she played the lead female role. Since then she has starred in a number of films including The Mummy Returns (2001), which grossed higher than the original, as well as Enemy at the Gates (2001), About a Boy (2002), Runaway Jury (2003) and Constantine (2005). Her stage work includes the role of Catherine in a London production of Tennessee Williams' Suddenly Last Summer and Evelyn in Neil LaBute's The Shape of Things at the Almeida Theatre (also film).

In 2005, Weisz starred in The Constant Gardener, a film adaptation of a John le Carré thriller of the same title set in the slums of Kibera and Loiyangalani, Kenya. For this role, Weisz won the 2006 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, the 2006 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and the 2006 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role. She was seven months pregnant whe she won the award. In her home country, she was recognized as a leading role for the film according to the nomination from the BAFTA awards and winnings from the London Critics Circle Film Awards and British Independent Film Awards.

In 2006 Weisz was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

In 2006, she starred in The Fountain and also provided the voice for Saphira in Eragon. Her upcoming films include the Wong Kar-wai-directed drama My Blueberry Nights (in which she plays an "anti-Southern Belle") and director Rian Johnson's The Brothers Bloom, in which she plays a wealthy American woman targeted by two con man brothers (Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo).

On 7 July 2007 Weisz presented at the American leg of Live Earth.

Claudia Schiffer

2008-02-09T23:38:00.000-08:00

Claudia Schiffer (born August 25, 1970) is a German supermodel and actress, who reached the height of her popularity during the 1990s. Schiffer is one of the world's most successful supermodels, appearing on over 500 magazine covers and is thought to be one of the wealthiest German women of her time, with Forbes estimating Schiffer to be worth £38 million in 2002.

After she was spotted as a potential model in a Düsseldorf disco at the age of just seventeen, she completed her education by her mother's wishes and then began to work as a model. She flew out to Paris for a trial photo shoot and soon after she appeared in the cover of French ELLE after being well received in Paris. After several other magazine appearances she quickly achieved supermodel status when she was selected by Karl Lagerfeld to become the new face of Chanel. Schiffer continued to become a world-famous supermodel, becoming instantly recognizable with her blue eyes, blond hair and tall figure.

In the early 1990s she starred in highly publicised Guess? jeans adverts in North America which created essential publicity for Schiffer. Paul Marciano said in E! Forbes Top 15 Supermodel Beauties Who Made Bank, "Guess name became really much more known around the world because of Claudia". Soon after appearing in the campaigns, her name was launched worldwide, appearing on five magazine covers in the United States and seven covers around Europe. Her modelling career continued to grow and she was contracted to model for Revlon. She also became deeply involved in modelling for several catalogues and modelled on high profile catwalk shows. Schiffer has done catwalk modelling for Versace, Jil Sander, Dolce & Gabbana, Ralph Lauren and Valentino. Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, the New York Times and People all saw Schiffer as the first model to make their covers. She has also appeared many times on covers of Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Cosmopolitan and Time.

Schiffer has also been the face of Mango, a chain of Spanish clothes stores and Accessorize, where she had her ears pierced especially for her Autumn/Winter 2006 Accessorize advertising campaign in 2006. Schiffer still holds a contract with L'Oreal and Ebel watches, and her billboard picture for Kenar has also hung over millions of tourists at Time Square. Since 1990, she has created a swimsuit calendar each year which she stars in and designs herself.

Her career continued to develop when she secured contracts with Pepsi appearing in advertisements promoting the brand, and has also danced with a cartoon version of Mickey Mouse in advertisements promoting Fanta for an estimated $2 million. In a 1998 Citroën advertisement, she earned a reputed £3 million. She appeared nude in the advert, but as she was posed behind the car, only her feet and from her shoulders up were visible. Ironically she did not know how to drive at the time. Karl Lagerfeld recently filmed her for a Dom Perignon campaign, some ten years after her first appearances in Chanel adverts.

Christine Taylor

2008-02-05T19:13:00.000-08:00

Christine Joan Taylor (born July 30, 1971) is an American actress.

Taylor began her acting career in 1989 at the age of 18 on the Nickelodeon Network children's television series Hey Dude where she played the lifeguard Melody Hanson. She continued in that role through 1991 while making various guest appearances on other programs. In 1996, Taylor was awarded the lead role in the television series Party Girl, based on the 1995 film of the same name. The title character is a self-destructive rave party organizer who indulges in drugs and all-night partying.

Following Party Girl, Taylor's career advanced rapidly, highlighted by guest television appearances on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm, NBC's Friends and Seinfeld. She also played Drew Barrymore's cousin, Holly Sullivan in the 1998 comedy The Wedding Singer and made several successful comedic guest appearances on Ellen. In 1995, in what was to be perhaps her break-through role, Taylor was cast as Marcia Brady in The Brady Bunch Movie and A Very Brady Sequel the following year in which she displayed a dead-on impersonation of original actress Maureen McCormick. Taylor's physical resemblance to Maureen McCormick helped her with the role of Marcia Brady in The Brady Bunch Movie.

On February 9, 2006, Taylor guest-starred on NBC's My Name Is Earl. The episode titled "The Professor" featured her as a sexy and beautiful college professor. Earl becomes infatuated with her after attempting to return a laptop that he stole from her. In July 2006, Ben Stiller announced he would be directing a comedy starring Taylor in the lead role. The show will be featured on CBS and will use a single camera format. Stiller will make several cameos as husband to his wife's character.

2008-02-05T18:55:00.000-08:00

Technorati Profile

Michelle Williams

2008-02-05T18:41:00.000-08:00

Michelle Ingrid Williams (born September 9, 1980) is an Academy Award-nominated American actress. Williams broke into stardom on the teen series Dawson's Creek and later graduated to full-length features, such as Brokeback Mountain, for which she earned an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Williams' career began in television, appearing in programs such as the 90's version of Lassie, Baywatch and Home Improvement. Williams' first film role was in the motion picture Species. Soon after, she won additional roles, including the Jessica Lange-Michelle Pfeiffer film A Thousand Acres and the 1998 movie Halloween: H20. Williams' star profile rose considerably when in 1998 she was cast as one of the lead characters on the WB show Dawson's Creek. She would play Jen Lindley for all six seasons of the successful show.

During and after Dawson's Creek's run, Williams made strong turns in several notable indie films. Her first starring role was as Arlene in the film Dick, a satire of the Watergate scandal, opposite Kirsten Dunst. She starred opposite Christina Ricci in Prozac Nation, and also appeared in the HBO film If These Walls Could Talk 2, and several acclaimed indie pictures such as The United States of Leland, Me Without You and Imaginary Heroes with Sigourney Weaver. For her performance in The Station Agent, Williams along with the rest of the cast received a Screen Actors Guild award nomination for Best Acting Ensemble. In 2005 critics and audiences took note of Williams' performance in Ang Lee's Brokeback Mountain. For her performance, she won a Critic's Choice Award and received Golden Globe, BAFTA and Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress.

Since then, Williams has been cast in several highly anticipated films. Later in 2006, she appeared in the drama The Hawk is Dying, with Paul Giamatti, and in 2007 had roles in The Hottest State, opposite Ethan Hawke, and the Bob Dylan biopic I'm Not There by director Todd Haynes, which also features Cate Blanchett, Julianne Moore, and Heath Ledger.

Liv Tyler

2008-02-04T20:18:00.000-08:00

Liv Tyler (born Liv Rundgren, on July 1, 1977, at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City, New York[1]) is an American actress and model. She is best known for her roles of Grace Stamper in Armageddon and Arwen in The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

Starting a career as a model at the age of fifteen, Liv appeared on the covers of magazines and starred in commercials for makeup. However, after becoming bored with modeling less than a year after starting to model, she quickly moved into acting. She first became known to TV audiences when she starred alongside Alicia Silverstone in the music video for the Aerosmith song, Crazy, in 1993. The decision to cast her was based on the video's creators having seen her in a Pantene commercial, with absolutely no knowledge that her father was in the band.

Later, she was cast almost simultaneously for Silent Fall and Heavy; the filming of Heavy was delayed until she became available. By the age of 20, she had already starred in several successful movies, including Stealing Beauty, That Thing You Do! and Inventing the Abbotts.

Her appearance in Armageddon, which was released on her 21st birthday, brought her to the attention of a wide public. The film incidentally included the song, "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing", by her father's band. However, she has proven herself a capable actress starring in such films as Onegin, based on the 19th century Russian novel by Alexander Pushkin), in which she portrayed the character of Tatyana Larina. She also appeared in two movies directed by Robert Altman, Cookie's Fortune and Dr. T & the Women.

Her most successful role came in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, in which she played Arwen Undómiel. In 2007 she was chosen to star alongside Edward Norton in the upcoming The Incredible Hulk.

Tyler was chosen by People magazine as one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1997. She was also voted the 6th Sexiest Female Movie Star in the Australian Empire Magazine in September 2002, and #2 in TheAge.com's "Top 100: Natural Beauties of all time" in 2004.

In 2003 she became the spokesperson for Givenchy Perfume and Cosmetics.

Jenna Elfman

2008-02-02T07:12:00.000-08:00

Jenna Elfman (born September 30, 1971, in Los Angeles, California, U.S.) is a Golden Globe-winning American television and film actress.

She began as a professional dancer, then made a switch to acting in the early 1990s. Elfman did extensive commercial work before landing her first series jobs, making guest appearances in the 1995–1996 season on the ABC series Roseanne, NYPD Blue, The Monroes, and Murder One, and the CBS sitcom Almost Perfect. A role as a drug counselor in the NBC made-for-TV movie Her Last Chance came in 1996 as well, before she landed a regular role as the boy-crazy Shannon, one of three young working class waitresses in the Molly Ringwald sitcom vehicle Townies. Although short-lived, Townies proved a big break for Elfman, who impressed ABC executives with her scene-stealing turn and signed her own sitcom deal before the last Townies episode aired.

This deal led to Elfman's best known role on the popular sitcom Dharma & Greg, which ran on ABC from 1997 to 2002; she won a Golden Globe Award for this role, and was nominated twice for an Emmy Award. In 1999, she co-hosted the Emmy Awards presentation with David Hyde Pierce.

In 2004, Elfman produced and starred in a feature film called Touched. In November 2005, CBS announced that Elfman vehicle, Courting Alex would be a midseason replacement, premiering in January 2006. It was announced in May that the show did not get picked up, and was thus cancelled. However, CBS immediately inked a new development deal with Elfman to create a comedy vehicle for her, as reported in The Hollywood Reporter on June 2, 2006.

Jenna has also been seen as a guest star on Two and a Half Men in two episodes.

Elfman also starred in the movies Krippendorf's Tribe, EDtv, Looney Tunes: Back in Action, and Keeping the Faith.

In her dancing career, she made an appearance in UK synth-pop group Depeche Mode's promotional video for their 1990 song "Halo".

Kim Raver

2008-02-02T07:05:00.000-08:00

Kimberly Jayne Raver (born March 15, 1969) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Kim Zambrano on the TV show Third Watch and Audrey Raines on 24.

At the beginning of her adult career, Raver acted in commercials for Visa and Jeep. Her big break came with her Broadway debut in the play "Holiday" in which she co-starred with Laura Linney and Tony Goldwyn. She also appeared in the feature film City Hall with Al Pacino. She also co-starred with John Spencer (of NBC's The West Wing) and David Schwimmer in "The Glimmer Brothers", a production of the Williamstown Theatre Festival, written by Warren Leight. After her time on Third Watch, she was cast as Audrey Raines in the popular television series 24, and was a series regular for two seasons.

During the Fall 2006 television season, Raver starred in the ABC television series The Nine. Although the show received outstanding pre-season ratings, it did not take off, and was therefore canceled. She reprised her role in 24's season 6 as Audrey Raines. Although Audrey Raines was presumed to have been killed, it was later revealed that she is still alive and was being held captive by the Chinese. The character was in a comatose state at the end of the season. It has not been confirmed whether Raver will reprise the role or not for the seventh season. Raver will star in the new television series Lipstick Jungle set to premiere on NBC in 2008.

Justin Chambers

2008-02-02T06:59:00.000-08:00

Justin W. Chambers (born July 11, 1970) is an American actor and former Calvin Klein male fashion model. As of 2005, he is starring in the ABC drama series Grey's Anatomy as Dr. Alex Karev.

Chambers was discovered by a modeling scout on the Paris Metro and went on to represent Calvin Klein in a fragrance campaign. He worked throughout Europe, Japan, and the United States for CK, Armani, and Dolce & Gabbana1. After deciding on an acting career, he moved to New York, where he studied at H.B. Studios for four years. That landed him a few television roles, including Another World and New York Undercover. More recently, he starred in several movies, notably The Wedding Planner (2001, alongside Jennifer Lopez), The Musketeer (2001) Southern Belles (2005), The Zodiac (2005), and the HBO original movie Hysterical Blindness (2002). Chambers was cast as one of the leads in the CBS crime drama Cold Case but left after appearing in only three episodes. Now he plays resident Alex Karev on the hit ABC medical show Grey's Anatomy.

His first major acting role came in the music video "Ants Marching" by Dave Matthews Band in 1994.

Marisol Nichols

2008-02-02T06:40:00.000-08:00

Marisol Nichols

Marisol Nichols (born November 2, 1973) is an American actress known for her role in the sixth season of 24 as Special Agent Nadia Yassir. She is also known for her portrayal of Audrey Griswold in Vegas Vacation and for being the spokesperson for Bally Total Fitness.

Nichols was born to Hungarian and Mexican American parents and raised in Chicago, Illinois. She is the oldest of the three and has two younger brothers. At 12, she started using drugs and alcohol, but has been sober since she was 17.

Nichols, a Scientologist, is an active advocate of Criminon and the Citizens Commission on Human Rights. She became a member of Church of Scientology when she was introduced to it by her chiropractor. She currently resides in Los Angeles, California.

Nichols is also a casual NFL football fan, saying that her favorite team is her hometown Chicago Bears, indicated in a questions segment on her website.

Kristy Swanson

2008-02-01T22:56:00.000-08:00

Kristy Swanson

Kristen Noel "Kristy" Swanson (born December 19, 1969 in Mission Viejo, California, U.S.) is an American actress best known as the original Buffy Summers in Joss Whedon's 1992 film Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

Kristy Swanson started in TV advertising roles, and went on to make several one-off appearances in TV series such as Cagney and Lacey and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. In 1986, she appeared in Ferris Bueller's Day Off as a character who announces a convoluted excuse for Ferris' absence in class. Her first starring role was in 1986 in Wes Craven's Deadly Friend, and the next year she played Cathy in the adapatation of V. C. Andrews' best-seller Flowers in the Attic.

By 1990, Kristy Swanson had made many television appearances, including multiple appearances in Knots Landing (1987-1988), and a shortlived Burt Reynolds vehicle called B.L. Stryker (1989). In the 1998-1999 season of Early Edition, Swanson played Erica Paget, a love interest of the main character, Gary Hobson. In 1999 Swanson played Vanessa, the girlfriend of Adam Sandler in the movie Big Daddy (film).

Swanson posed nude for Playboy magazine in November 2002.

Swanson appeared in and won the 2006 FOX television program Skating with Celebrities, partnered with Lloyd Eisler.

On May 8, 2007, Swanson appeared in the NBC Law and Order: Criminal Intent episode "Bombshell". She portrayed a thinly veiled fictionalization of Anna Nicole Smith (called Lorelai Mailer) - a former nude model turned reality TV star battling for the fortune of her deceased 92 year old husband whose teenage son dies shortly after the birth of her daughter.

In 2007, she became a spokesperson of the Medifast diet

Reiko Aylesworth

2008-02-01T22:50:00.000-08:00

Reiko Aylesworth

Reiko Aylesworth (born December 9, 1972 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American film and television actress, probably best known for her work on the television series 24. She is of Dutch, Welsh, and Japanese ancestry. Aylesworth living in Springfield, Illinois, from 1987 to 1988 before moving to Seattle, Washington. She went on to attend the University of Washington and spent several years studying neuroscience before deciding on a full time career in acting.

Beginning her career on the soap opera One Life to Live, Aylesworth also had minor roles in Random Hearts, and You've Got Mail. After guest starring roles in Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Now and Again, The West Wing, and Ed, Aylesworth was part of the 2001 series All Souls, which was cancelled during its first season. In 2002, Aylesworth joined the cast of another series, The American Embassy, which also failed to gain an audience.

In 2001, Aylesworth had auditioned for the part of Nina Myers on FOX Network's 24 but lost to Sarah Clarke. In 2002, she auditioned once again, this time for the role of Kate Warner, but lost to Sarah Wynter. The producers, however, asked her to join the cast as recurring character Michelle Dessler, a CTU agent.

Her character quickly developed a relationship with fellow agent Tony Almeida (Carlos Bernard), and became a firm fan favorite. By the third season, Aylesworth had become a main cast member married to Bernard's character. By the end of that season, the writers decided to have major cast changes, including the departure of her character. However, fan forums lit up with people asking for her to stay. In the twelfth episode of the fourth season, Aylesworth returned, now as a high-ranking bureaucrat in the organization, and remained until the end of the season. However, her character was killed in the first episode of season 5.

Aylesworth also had a much-publicized guest starring role on CSI which was initially rumored to be a regular role. However, after fired cast members Jorja Fox and George Eads were rehired, and with the offer to return to 24, Aylesworth's role lasted only one episode.

Since her departure from 24, Aylesworth has guest starred on the short-lived series Conviction, appeared on stage in The Fearless and Expats, filmed a supporting role in Kevin Costner’s Mr. Brooks, and has starred in the independent thriller The Killing Floor. Aylesworth was also originally cast as Dr. Adrienne Holland in the series 3 lbs. However, 3 lbs was not picked up at the time. When CBS finally decided to pick up the series for a late fall 2006 start, the leading roles were all recast. It is not known if Aylesworth simply declined to star in the new series due to commitments elsewhere or if she was not offered the role again.

On 25 September 2006, it was announced that Aylesworth was chosen for one of the two lead roles in Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem. She was cast as Kelly O'Brien, a pilot and soldier. In January 2007, Aylesworth had a guest role in two episodes of the new ABC comedy, The Knights of Prosperity in which she played the head of Mick Jagger’s security company.

In September 2007, it was reported that Aylesworth would appear in five episodes of the upcoming season of ER, playing hospital chaplain Julia Dupree. Her storyline was to have originally lasted for 5 episodes and found Julia attracting the lustful attention of Dr. Gates (John Stamos). The role was extended for two additional episodes, but was brought to quick a conclusion in the season’s final episode due to the WGA strike.

Currently, Aylesworth has two independent films due out in 2008, Buzzkill and The Understudy . Independent productions such as these, along with The Killing Floor and No Deposit, No Return, remain one of Aylesworth’s preferred types of film.

Natalie Portman

2008-02-01T22:36:00.000-08:00

Natalie Portman

Natalie Portman ( born June 9, 1981) is a Golden Globe-winning, Academy Award-nominated Israeli-American actress. Portman began her career in the early 1990s, turning down the oppurtunity to become a child model in favor of acting. Her first role came in the 1994 independent film Leon: The Professional, however her breakout role did not come until she was cast Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel trilogy.

In 2005, Portman recieved an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her critically acclaimed performance in the art house drama Closer. She divides her roles between mainstream films such as V for Vendetta and art house films such as Garden State.

Portman appeared on Saturday Night Live on March 4, 2006, hosting the show with musical guest Fall Out Boy and special guest star Dennis Haysbert. In a now-famous SNL Digital Short, she portrays herself as an angry gangsta rapper (with Andy Samberg as her Flava Flav-esque partner in Viking garb) during a faux-interview with Chris Parnell, saying she cheated at Harvard University while high on pot and cocaine. In another sketch, she portrays a student named Rebecca Hershlag (her actual surname) attending a Bar Mitzvah, and in an installment of the recurring sketch The Needlers (also known as Sally and Dan, The Couple That Should Be Divorced), plays a fertility specialist (her father's profession).

V for Vendetta opened in early 2006. Portman portrayed Evey Hammond, a young woman who is saved from the secret police by the main character, V. Portman worked with a voice coach for the role, learning to speak with an English accent, and had her head shaved.[29] Maxim magazine named Portman #33 on its annual Hot 100 list, citing her V for Vendetta hairstyle as a huge accomplishment proving "you don't need hair to be hot."

Portman has commented on V for Vendetta's political relevance, and mentioned that her character, who joins an underground anti-government group, is "often bad and does things that you don't like" and that "Being from Israel was a reason I wanted to do this because terrorism and violence are such a daily part of my conversations since I was little." She said the film "doesn't make clear good or bad statements. It respects the audience enough to take away their own opinion". Both Goya's Ghosts and Free Zone received limited releases in 2006. Portman starred in the children's film Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, which began filming in April 2006 and was released in November 2007; she has said that she was "excited to do a kids' movie." In late 2006, Portman filmed The Other Boleyn Girl, a historical drama in which she plays Anne Boleyn; Eric Bana and Scarlett Johansson will co-star in the film. She was also named one of the hottest women of film and TV by Blender Magazine.

Filmed and screened in 2006 was Wong Kar-wai's road movie My Blueberry Nights. Portman won acclaim for her role as gambler Leslie:
“ It's not until Portman shows up that you'll find the sort of sizzle and sympathy Wong cooks up with ease in his best films.

Natalie Portman — Best Actress? Yup. For once she's not playing a waif or a child princess but a mature, full-bodied woman, probably a decade older than Portman is . She looks great, in a blond rinse and come-hither outfits, but she's not coasting on her looks; they are only accoutrements to Leslie's natural salesmanship. She uses her appeal to simultaneously flirt with and taunt the gambler across the table....But the memory we'll cherish is that of Portman's vibrancy, grittiness and ache, all performed with a virtuosa's easy assurance. She, not Jones, is the savory dish of movie magic in a mostly bland Blueberry Nights
”

Portman had a small role in the 18th season of The Simpsons as the voice of Bart Simpson's love interest, Darcy, from a neighboring town. She also appears in Paul McCartney's music video "Dance Tonight" from his 2007 album "Memory Almost Full" directed by Michel Gondry.

Portman also has a cameo in the Wes Anderson film The Darjeeling Limited opposite Jason Schwartzman, and will star opposite Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal in the drama film Brothers, a remake of the 2004 Danish film of the same name.

Aishwarya Rai

2008-02-01T22:21:00.000-08:00

Aishwarya Rai

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan or Aishwarya Bachchan, born on November 1, 1973 is an internationally known Indian actress. Before starting her career as an actress, she worked as a model, and gained fame after winning the Miss World contest in 1994.

Often touted as the most beautiful woman in the world, Rai made her movie debut in Mani Ratnam's Tamil film, Iruvar (1997). She had her first critical and commercial success in the Hindi movie, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), which was directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. She successfully performed again in Bhansali's Devdas (2002). Since then, she has acted in nearly forty movies in Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, and English, including the international movies, Bride & Prejudice (2003) and The Last Legion (2007) in English.

Rai made her acting debut in Mani Ratnam's Tamil film, Iruvar (1997) with Mohanlal, and was introduced to Bollywood in the film, Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya opposite Bobby Deol, which also released that year; the film didn't do well at the box office. However, her third project, S. Shankar's Tamil film, Jeans (1998) was a critical and commercial success, earning her the Filmfare Best Actress Award South.

She went on to appear in many Bollywood films; a few successful films of her career include Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), which earned the actress her first Filmfare Best Actress Award and Taal (1999), which gave her another nomination for Best Actress at the Filmfare; her performances in both the films were lauded. In 2000, she played a supporting role in the hit films Mohabbatein and Josh. Later that year, she starred in the Tamil film Kandukondain Kandukondain, which won her positive reviews.

In 2002, Rai appeared with superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit in Sanjay Leela Bansali's lavishly produced Devdas. The film attracted overseas attention as well, receiving a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival. It was during this time that she garnered the attention of the West as an Indian actress and went on to appear in a few Hollywood projects. Devdas went on to become the highest grossing film of the year both in India and overseas, earning the actress her second Filmfare Best Actress Award.

As her name gained popularity overseas, she was chosen by Time magazine in 2004 as one of the World's "100 Most Influential People", and appeared on the cover of Time magazine, Asia Edition (TIMEasia) in 2003. She was the subject of a 60 Minutes profile on January 2. A month later she appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman. She also featured on Oprah's "Women Across the Globe" segment. In 2003, she acted in the critically acclaimed and commercial success Bengali film, Chokher Bali, an adaptation of one of Rabindranath Tagore's novels by the same name.

Rai has been a regular at the Cannes Film Festival since 2002, and was a member of the Jury at Cannes in the year 2003. In October 2004, a wax figure of Rai became on display in London's Madame Tussaud's wax museum. The same month, her first foreign film, Bride and Prejudice released. The film was an Indian version of Jane Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice. Her next overseas venture was The Mistress of Spices. She then appeared at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, as part of a performance showcasing Indian art, on behalf of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, to be held in New Delhi. In between her overseas acting stints, she appeared in the Indian film Bunty Aur Babli in a hugely popular seven minute dance sequence for the song "Kajra Re".

In 2005, Rai signed a three-year contract with L'Oréal, as a spokesmodel for the cosmetics company.

At the end of the year 2006, she had two releases: Umrao Jaan and Dhoom 2. The former did poorly in India but her role in the latter, which was a sequel to the 2004 hit movie Dhoom brought her great attention. While it was a hit commercially, it also sparked a controversy for a scene containing a kiss between her and Hrithik Roshan, which made audiences uncomfortable; a court case is currently pending in India.

2007 saw the release of Mani Ratnam's Guru which premiered in Toronto. The film, based on the life of Indian businessman Dhirubhai Ambani, was critically acclaimed and did well at the box office. Her most recent film, Provoked, based on the book "Circle of Light" where she portrays a real life character, was released on April 6, 2007 in India and the UK. At the end of April 2007, her first American film, The Last Legion released in Russia and the Netherlands and later opened in North American theaters in August 2007 disappointingly.

Mary Lynn Rajskub

2008-02-01T22:16:00.000-08:00

Mary Lynn Rajskub

Mary Lynn Rajskub (sometimes credited as Marylynn Rajskub) (pronounced /ˈraɪskʌb/ "RICE-cub") (born June 22, 1971) is an American actress, artist, and comedienne of Czech and Irish descent.

Born and raised in Trenton, Michigan, Rajskub later moved to Los Angeles where she became one of the original cast members of Mr. Show, and also had roles on The Larry Sanders Show, Veronica's Closet, the US version of The Sketch Show, News Radio, and 24.

In her time on Mr. Show, she was the real-life girlfriend of David Cross, leaving the show after the second season when they broke up.

She has since appeared in more dramatic roles, most notably her role as CTU tech analyst Chloe O'Brian on 24, which she joined in 2003 at the start of the show's third season. Her character was a hit with viewers and critics and was one of the few cast members to return in the show's fourth season. After being a regular guest star for two seasons, Rajskub became a main cast member in the show's fifth season. She is now lead female, with top billing second only to Kiefer Sutherland. Rajskub and Sutherland appeared briefly as their 24 characters in a 2007 episode of the FOX TV animated series The Simpsons.

She also appeared in Kelsey Grammer's The Sketch Show on Fox Television, King of Queens as a character named "Priscilla", a waitress at a pirate-themed kiddie restaurant in an episode of Newsradio ("The Secret of Management"), and in numerous films including Mysterious Skin, Legally Blonde 2, Sweet Home Alabama, Dude, Where's My Car?, Man on the Moon, Punch-Drunk Love, The Anniversary Party, Firewall, Little Miss Sunshine, Weezer's music video for their song The Good Life, as well as portraying a blind girl in the film Road Trip.

She is also a skilled guitar player, and was part of a comic duo (with Karen Kilgariff) called Girls Guitar Club. In 2006, she made a cameo appearance in an episode of Gilmore Girls where she played a troubadour looking for her big break. (Rajskub had previously appeared on Gilmore Girls as the female lead in A Film by Kirk, a short film made by the character Kirk Gleason).

Rajskub has volunteered as an actress with the Young Storytellers Program. She has an educational backgound as a painter, having attended the San Francisco Art Institute.

She has been nominated twice for a Screen Actors Guild Award; once in 2005, and again in 2007 for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series.

Elisha Cuthbert

2008-02-01T21:53:00.000-08:00

Elisha Cuthbert

Elisha Ann Cuthbert (born November 30, 1982) is a Canadian actress. Cuthbert is known as the former co-host of the Canadian children's television series Popular Mechanics for Kids, and for her role as Kim Bauer in the American action-thriller television series 24. She had her first lead role in the 2004 feature film The Girl Next Door.

When she was seven, Cuthbert started modeling for various lines of children's clothing and also became a foot model. She made her first televised appearance as an extra in the horror-themed series for children Are You Afraid of the Dark?; she later became a series regular. Cuthbert also co-hosted Popular Mechanics for Kids, which was filmed in Montreal. Her reporting captured the attention of then-First Lady Hillary Clinton, who invited her to visit the White House.

Cuthbert landed her first role in a feature film in the family drama Dancing on the Moon (1997). She appeared in several other Canadian family-themed movies and an airplane thriller, Airspeed. Cuthbert starred in the Canadian television movie Lucky Girl in 2001 and was awarded a Gemini Award for her performance.

Soon after her move to Los Angeles, Cuthbert was cast in the role of Kim Bauer, daughter of CTU agent Jack Bauer in the television series 24. She appeared in the show's first three seasons, but not in its fourth; she guest-starred in only two episodes in the fifth season. She also reprised her role as Kim Bauer in 24: The Game. She has also said that she would like to play her role as Kim in the upcoming movie, 24: The Movie.

Cuthbert auditioned for the role of Mary Jane Watson in the Spider-Man film, but the role went to Kirsten Dunst. She began her Hollywood film career with small roles in Old School and Love Actually in 2003.

Cuthbert's next film, The Girl Next Door, cast her in her first lead role as an ex-porn star, Danielle, alongside Emile Hirsch. Cuthbert had initial reservations about taking the part, but was persuaded by director Luke Greenfield into accepting. She researched the role, speaking to actual adult actresses from Wicked Pictures and Vivid Entertainment. Upon its release the film received comparisons to Risky Business – although Cuthbert claims her character was not directly based on Rebecca De Mornay's character – and was noted for Cuthbert's sex appeal. Critics were divided; some praised the film for its boldness, while others, notably Roger Ebert, decried it as gimmicky and exploitative. Ebert wrote that he saw Cuthbert's character Danielle as "quite the most unpleasant character I have seen in some time."

In her next big-screen outing, Cuthbert starred with Paris Hilton and Chad Michael Murray in the 2005 remake of the classic horror film House of Wax. Cuthbert, along with the rest of her castmates, was made up to look haggard. In one scene, her character was to attempt to open her mouth while her lips were sealed with glue. For the sake of realism, Cuthbert opted for real superglue over prosthetics. Despite her efforts, House of Wax was largely panned, with critics citing a range of flaws. It was called "notable for having some of the most moronic protagonists ever to populate a horror film," though out of those characters reviews tended to think Cuthbert "fares the best". Others noted Cuthbert as an "exception" playing her role "earnestly" and "fine".

Cuthbert's next film project was the indie film The Quiet, which she not only co-starred in but also co-produced and helped finance. She played Nina, a temperamental 17-year-old cheerleader who suffers from sexual abuse. Cuthbert looked to her younger cousin for inspiration as to how to play a teenager. The Quiet, distributed by Sony Pictures Classics, premiered at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival and received a limited release in Los Angeles and New York City on August 25, 2006, before expanding regionally on September 1.

Cuthbert had also screen tested for the role of Lois Lane in Superman Returns, but she lost the part to Kate Bosworth. She had also been turned down for the lead in Fantastic Four.

Cuthbert appeared in the music video for Weezer's "Perfect Situation" in early 2006, where she played the group's fictional original singer who threw a tantrum that led to Rivers Cuomo, the unlikely roadie, becoming the frontman of the band.[16] Cuthbert also had a small role in Paris Hilton's music video for the song "Nothing In This World".

Cuthbert appeared in two films in 2007: The first, Captivity, was a thriller centered around a fashion model taunted by a psychopath who has imprisoned her in a cellar – of which she was nominated by Razzies as worst actress.

Cuthbert also has several other films in different stages of production. In He Was a Quiet Man, her character, Vanessa, is a quadriplegic. She is also slated to voice Cleo, "the feline daughter of a wealthy kitty litter baron", in Cat Tale, an animated film set in a civilized world of cats and dogs.

Cuthbert is scheduled to appear in the family comedy The Six Wives of Henry LeFay with actor Tim Allen.

Megan Fox

2008-02-01T17:17:00.000-08:00

Megan Fox

Megan Denise Fox, nee Foxx (born May 16, 1986) is an American actress and model, perhaps best known for her roles on the television series Hope & Faith and in the 2007 film Transformers.

By age 13, Fox's talent for dance created new opportunities for her in the modeling world. In 1999, she won several awards at the American Modeling and Talent Convention in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Currently standing at 5' 4", she is too short for the runway.

Fox made her film debut in the 2001 film Holiday in the Sun as the spoiled heiress Brianna Wallace and rival of Alex Stewart (Ashley Olsen). She then landed guest appearances on Ocean Ave., What I Like About You, Two and a Half Men and The Help from 2003 to 2004. In 2004, Fox starred in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen alongside Lindsay Lohan. She was subsequently cast in her first recurring role in a television series on Hope & Faith, in which she portrayed Sydney Shanowski from 2004 until 2006.

Fox's big break arrived when she was given the role of female lead Mikaela Banes in the highly-anticipated 2007 live-action film Transformers, based on the famous toy and cartoon saga. She played the love interest of Shia LaBeouf's character Sam Witwicky. In June 2007, Fox was cast in How to Lose Friends & Alienate People, also starring Jeff Bridges and Kirsten Dunst. Coincidentally, the character Fox will portray is that of a young Hollywood starlet getting her first taste of fame.

Fox has appeared in a five page spread for the November 2005 issue of the popular men's magazine FHM. She also posed for the March 2007 issue of FHM, the June 2007 issue of GQ, the July 2007 issue of Maxim, and the September 2007 issue of Arena.

Fox is represented by The Gersh Agency.

Fox has been rumored to star as Cassie, in the comic book film adaptation Hack/Slash. In July 2007, Fox said that she was "really interested" in portraying Cassie in the film adaptation.

Lena Headey

2008-02-01T16:48:00.000-08:00

Lena Headey

Lena Headey (born on 3 October 1973 in Bermuda) is an English actress.

Her father, an English police officer, was sent to train police in Bermuda where Headey was born. The family returned to Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, when she was eight years old.

Headey has appeared in Possession, Gossip, Onegin, The Remains of the Day, and numerous other films. She appeared in two films with Piper Perabo: The Cave, where they played the only female characters in the film, and Imagine Me & You, where they portrayed love interests. She also played Queen Gorgo in the 2007 film 300.

Most recently, Lena was chosen to play Sarah Connor in the TV series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.

Headey dated actor Jason Flemyng for nine years. She and Flemying met during the filming of The Jungle Book. She married Pete Paul on May 19, 2007 and is very close friends with actress Piper Perabo, her co-star in The Cave and Imagine Me & You. She is currently residing at California, USA.

Ashley Tisdale

2008-02-01T08:19:00.000-08:00

Ashley Tisdale

Ashley Michelle Tisdale (born July 2, 1985) is an American actress and singer. After appearing in several television roles during the late 1990s and early 2000s, she became known to young audiences for playing Maddie Fitzpatrick on the Disney Channel Original Series The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and Sharpay Evans in the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical. Tisdale has also pursued a music career and released her debut album Headstrong on February 6, 2007. She also participated in High School Musical: The Concert and reprised her role as Sharpay Evans in High School Musical 2.

During the late 1990s, Tisdale had guest appearances in several television series, which included Smart Guy, 7th Heaven, Grounded for Life, Boston Public, Strong Medicine, Charmed, and Beverly Hills, 90210. She had a minor role in the 2001 film, Donnie Darko and a guest appearance on The Amanda Show. She had recurring roles on the sitcoms The Hughleys, and Still Standing. In 2002, she starred in a notable TV commercial for Fruit Gushers, in which her head transformed into an oversized orange. She also starred in a T-Mobile commercial with Catherine Zeta-Jones and was in a Toys "R" Us commercial with Abigail Breslin.

In 2005, Tisdale was cast in the role of Maddie Fitzpatrick on The Suite Life of Zack & Cody after auditioning for the roles of Maddie Fitzpatrick and London Tipton. As the series became popular, Tisdale became a featured performer on the Disney Channel and performed a voice role in Whisper of the Heart. She was also cast in Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical, which became a major success for the channel after its premiere on January 20, 2006. Tisdale also auditioned for the role of Erin Ulmer in Final Destination 3 but lost out to Canadian actress Alexz Johnson.

Tisdale was cast as Sharpay Evans in Disney Channel Original Movies, High School Musical. Tisdale had originally auditioned for the role of Gabriella Montez, but was eventually cast as Sharpay Evans, because it was felt that her alto voice suited a darker character. She reprised her role as Sharpay Evans in High School Musical 2 which premiered on August 17, 2007. She appeared in the Disney Channel Games 2006 as captain of the Green Team. Tisdale is also appearing in the second rendition of the Disney Channel Games this year. More recently, Tisdale signed a deal with Staples, Inc. to appear in the promotional campaign for the company's "Geared 4 School" sweepstakes in the fall. Tisdale will also have a supporting role in the Disney Channel cartoon Phineas and Ferb and Starlight Starbright Children's Foundation's Tuttles Family Game.

Tisdale appeared in the second episode of Season 8 of MTV's Punk'd in which, she visits a children's hospital and sings "Kiss the Girl" to a little boy in a coma. Midway through the song, the boy wakes up. As she was singing, the lyrics were censored out, as MTV did not own the rights to the song. She also appeared in an episode where she helped Ashton Kutcher to punk her good friend and High School Musical co-star Zac Efron.

Tisdale told JustJared.com during an interview at the 2007 MTV Movie Awards that she will be filming a movie in August. On July 18, 2007, MTV News confirmed in an article interview with Ashley Tisdale, that the movie is titled Picture this. This father-daughter movie features Tisdale as Mandy, an unpopular girl working at Petco. She's going to work with Robbie Amell. Ashley states she will probably return to her natural brunette hair color for this movie. On January 10, 2008, The Hollywood Reporter reported that she will star in 20th Century Fox's new adventure comedy, They Came From Upstairs along with Robert Hoffman and Carter Jenkins.

Tisdale's role in High School Musical required her to perform several songs, which included songs such as "What I've Been Looking For", "Bop to the Top", and "We're All in This Together". All three managed to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. Additionally, Tisdale made music history by being the first female artist ever to debut with two songs simultaneously on the Billboard Hot 100 with "What I've Been Looking For" and "Bop to the Top". She has also recorded cover versions of "Some Day My Prince Will Come" and "Kiss The Girl" (including a music video) for Disney. In addition to these, she recorded a version of "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" with other members of the Disney Channel Circle of Stars.

Tisdale's first solo album, Headstrong, was released on February 6, 2007 and was distributed by Warner Bros. Records. The album debuted at number five on the Billboard 200 album charts, selling 64,000 copies. Though her first single was "He Said She Said", written by J. R. Rotem and Evan "Kidd" Bogart, it was released later, with "Be Good To Me" being released as her first single. In January 2007, Tisdale was declared the 2nd Hottest Woman of Pop/R&B by Blender Magazine, which stated, "Tisdale has a gift. Not an angelic voice or a dazzling personality, but an even rarer commodity: millions of "pre-sold" tweens eager to buy her debut album!". In March 2007, Tisdale told Blender that she was drug and alcohol-free, and went on to add, "my mom really instilled confidence in me, so I'm not somebody who'd be under peer pressure". Recently, a Brazilian newspaper claimed that Ashley's new album Headstrong sold 23,000 copies in Brazil, while the worldwide sales for Headstrong have been over 709,500. Tisdale also recorded a cover version of "Last Christmas" (released by British pop duo Wham! in 1984) On December 15, 2007, Tisdale performed in 'Z-100's Jingle Ball' alongside Timbaland and Good Charlotte.

Jessica Biel

2008-02-01T08:04:00.000-08:00

Jessica Biel

Jessica Claire Biel (born March 3, 1982) is an American actress and former fashion model, perhaps best known for appearing in several Hollywood films such as Summer Catch, the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, and The Illusionist, as well as for her television role as Mary Camden in the long-running family-drama series 7th Heaven.

Biel was born in Ely, Minnesota, the daughter of Kimberly "Kim" (née Conroe) and Jonathan Edward Biel, an entrepreneur.[1] Biel, who has a younger brother, Justin, grew up in Boulder, Colorado, where her family had moved when she was very young. She is of Choctaw, German, French, and English descent.
Biel initially trained to become a vocalist with the hope of performing in musical theater and appeared in several musicals at an early age including The Sound of Music, Annie, Beauty and the Beast and Anything Goes. It was not until Biel attended the International Modeling and Talent Association Convention in Los Angeles in 1994 when her career started to take off as a fashion model.

Biel's first big break came when at 14 years old she landed the role of Mary Camden on the WB TV Series 7th Heaven. The family drama from Aaron Spelling and Brenda Hampton became the most popular series on the fledgling network. Jessica's film career also began at age 15 when she played alongside Peter Fonda in his Golden Globe winning performance in Ulee's Gold (1997). Aside from acting, Jessica became a spokesmodel for L'Oréal cosmetics in 2002.

In 2000, Biel posed topless in a layout of Gear magazine, although she did not actually appear frontally nude. It was nonetheless controversial because she was only 17 at the time of the shoot. Her frustration and fear about being typecast was one of the reasons that led to her decision. She blamed her saintly image on 7th Heaven for limiting her film career, including losing a lead role in American Beauty, which eventually went to Thora Birch. Jessica also hoped that by posing she would get out of her 7th Heaven contract, which she accomplished. She later said she regretted posing for the magazine and regards it as a learning experience. Jessica returned to 7th Heaven full time for the 2001—2002 season and then focused her attention on her movie career and has made minimal TV appearances since then. In 2002, she also had a role in the film The Rules of Attraction based on a novel by Bret Easton Ellis.

After her departure from 7th Heaven, she accepted the role of Erin Hardesty in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2003). The movie was met with moderate critical attention, but was successful commercially making over 80 million dollars stateside with its 9 million dollar budget. She has also had starring roles in Blade: Trinity (2004) and Stealth (2005), the latter of which was a box-office flop, losing $99 million USD. Biel was also rumored to be up for the part of Elizabeth in The Fog (a part originated by scream queen Jamie Lee Curtis). Later reports stated Biel did not want to do any more horror films. The part eventually went to Maggie Grace of Lost. Turning down the role proved to be a wise move: the remake was a box office flop, which had been predicted by various critics, as the film was not screened for the press prior to its release. After a nearly three year absence, Jessica surprised her fans by making one final appearance in the series finale of 7th Heaven in May 2006. The series was later renewed, at last minute, for an 11th and, as it turned out, final season. Biel did not make any future appearances in the show.

After several indifferent feature films, her film career finally blossomed when she played a turn-of-the-century duchess in The Illusionist (2006), which received good reviews and generated a profit at the box office.In 2006, she also starred Home of the Brave, about soldiers returning from Iraq, premiered in Los Angeles on December 5, 2006. She next co-starred opposite Adam Sandler and Kevin James in the comedy I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, which went to number one at the box office, making 34 million dollars in its opening weekend, followed by Next, which also starred Nicholas Cage and Julianne Moore. She is slated to appear in at least two more films in 2008: A Woman of No Importance, based on the play by Oscar Wilde about a woman's past which comes back to haunt her when the man who left her with a child becomes the potential employer of their illegitimate son. Taking over Lindsay Lohan's part, it is set to begin filming in the fall of 2007. She'll also appear in Powder Blue, opposite Forest Whitaker, about four desperate individuals who intersect in Los Angeles on Christmas Eve. She was supposedly offered the role of Wonder Woman in the upcoming Justice League film, but (according to one report) she turned the role down. She signed up United Artists's upcoming movie Die a Little.

Amanda Bynes

2008-01-31T08:33:00.000-08:00

Amanda Laura Bynes (born April 3, 1986) is an American actress and former show host on Nickelodeon. After appearing in several successful television series on Nickelodeon in the mid to late 1990s and early 2000s, Bynes moved into a pursuing a film career, starring in several films aimed at teenage audiences, including She's the Man (2006) and Hairspray (2007).

Amanda Bynes has been described by The Boston Globe as having an "Everygirl" appeal, embodying "both everything her teen fans dream of being and everything they know they really are, and they love her for it." In 2006, she was named one of Teen People's "25 Hottest Stars Under 25", and in 2007, was on the Forbes list as the 5th highest paid celebrity under 21 earning $2.5 million.

Bynes was trained as an actress by Arsenio Hall and Richard Pryor at a comedy camp, and began professionally acting at the age of seven, appearing in a television advertisement for Buncha Crunch candies. During her childhood, she also appeared on stage in versions of Annie, The Secret Garden, The Music Man and The Sound of Music. After taking acting classes, Bynes became a regular cast member of Nickelodeon's Figure It Out and All That (both in 1996). Bynes remained a regular cast member on All That until its presumed cancellation in 2000, though she appeared in the sketches since shooting and preparing as the star of her own hit sketch show The Amanda Show, also on Nickelodeon. The Amanda Show features a combination of comical skits and sketches, including Amanda Bynes playing Judge Trudy, a judge based on Judge Judy that always rules in kids' favor, and Penelope Taynt, an Amanda-obsessed fan.

Bynes made her film debut in 2002's modest box office success, Big Fat Liar, where she played opposite Frankie Muniz. Her first solo leading role was in 2003's What a Girl Wants, with co-star Oliver James. Subsequently, Bynes starred in The WB Television Network's sitcom What I Like About You and had voice parts in 2003's Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure and 2005's CGI animated comedy, Robots. She also co-starred in an episode of The Nightmare Room as Danielle Warner, and in Arliss as Crystal Dupree. Bynes appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair's July 2003 edition with nine of Hollywood's most popular female young stars, including Lindsay Lohan, Hilary Duff, Alexis Bledel, Raven-Symoné, Evan Rachel Wood, the Olsen Twins, and Mandy Moore. Although she is often compared with them, Bynes has said that "It's like being the hot girl at the high school party. I was never that girl. I grew up with terrible acne and feeling insecure. I was tall and skinny. I didn't feel pretty at all, and guys didn't even like me. That's why I got into comedy." Bynes has also said that her relatability to teenage audiences may stem from the fact that she is "more similar to them than some... socialite or whatever".

In 2006, Bynes starred in She's the Man, a comedy based on William Shakespeare's Twelfth Night; in the film, Bynes disguises herself as her brother in order to join the boys' soccer team due to the fall of the girls' team. Producers had originally wanted to cast singer Jesse McCartney as Bynes' brother, noting a physical resemblance between McCartney and Bynes disguised as a boy, but McCartney was unavailable. Around the time of the film's release, Bynes commented that she would like to start appearing in more mature roles, and believes that she is still developing her acting skills and maturing as an actress, saying that she is "getting better" with each role. Bynes appeared in another romantic comedy, Lovewrecked, which was shot before She's the Man but released after it, showing in cinemas outside of the United States in 2005 and 2006 and debuting in the U.S. on the ABC Family network on January 21, 2007. She also portrays Penny Pingleton in Hairspray, a film adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name. The movie, which was her first musical role, began filming in Toronto in September 2006 and was released on July 20th, 2007. Bynes has stated that she enjoyed appearing in a "fun, quirky part in a big ensemble movie". Bynes next starred in another comedy, Sydney White, released on September 21, 2007. The film is based on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, with Bynes playing a freshman in the college Greek system, co-starring alongside Sara Paxton and Matt Long. In May 2007, she was named one of People Magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People, as well as Number 79 on FHM's 100 Sexiest Women for 2007.

Jennifer Aniston

2008-01-31T08:17:00.000-08:00

Jennifer Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an Emmy- and Golden Globe Award-winning American film and television actress, best known for her role as Rachel Green in the popular television sitcom Friends. Apart from Friends, she has starred in several successful Hollywood films, including Bruce Almighty, Office Space, Along Came Polly, Derailed and The Break-Up.

Aniston moved to Hollywood and was cast in her first television role in 1990, starring as a regular on the short-lived series Molloy and in the TV movie Camp Cucamonga. She also co-starred in Ferris Bueller, a television adaptation of the 1986 hit movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, the same year; the series, however, was quickly canceled. Aniston then appeared in two more failed television comedy shows, The Edge and Muddling Through, and guest-starred on Quantum Leap, Herman's Head, Burke's Law, on South Park in episode Rainforest Schmainforest. After the string of cancelled shows, along with her appearance in the critically derided 1993 horror film, Leprechaun, Aniston considered giving up acting.

Aniston's plans changed, however, after auditioning for Friends, a sitcom that was set to debut on NBC's 1994-1995 fall line-up. The producers of the show originally wanted Aniston to audition for the role of Monica Geller, but she persuaded them that she was better suited for the role of Rachel Green. She was cast in the role and played the character from 1994 until the show ended in 2004.

The program was hugely successful and Aniston, along with her co-stars, gained wide renown among television viewers. Her hairstyle at the time, which became known as the "Rachel", was widely copied. Aniston received a salary of one million dollars per episode for the last two seasons of Friends, as well as five Emmy nominations, including a win for "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series". According to the Guinness World Book of Records (2005), Aniston (along with her female costars) became the highest paid TV actress of all time with her $1 million-per-episode paycheck for the tenth season of Friends.

In 1994, Microsoft invited Aniston, along with comedian Matthew Perry, to shoot a 30-minute promotional advertisement for their new operating system, Windows 95.

In addition to her career as a TV actress, Aniston has enjoyed a reasonably successful film career. Her biggest box office success to date was her appearance in 2003's Bruce Almighty, in which she played the girlfriend of title character (Jim Carrey); the film grossed $243M at the United States box office and almost twice that worldwide. Aniston's 2004 film, Along Came Polly (opposite Ben Stiller), also did well at the box office after opening at the #1 spot.

She gained considerable critical acclaim for her performances in The Object of My Affection (1998), a comedy drama about a girl who falls for a gay man, and in the low-budget 2002 film, The Good Girl, directed by Miguel Arteta, playing an unglamorous cashier in a small town. The latter film opened in relatively few theaters - under 700 in total - taking $14M in the U.S. box office.

In late 2005, Aniston headlined two major studio films, Derailed and Rumor Has It, both of which performed fairly at the box office, grossing over $36 million each despite little support from critics.

In 2006, Aniston appeared in the low-budget drama, Friends with Money, which was first shown at the Cannes Film Festival, received a limited release, and grossed over $13 million. Aniston's next film, The Break-Up, which was released on June 2, grossed approximately $39.17 million during its opening weekend, despite lukewarm reviews.[4] It has currently grossed over $118 million at the U.S. box office and over $203 million worldwide.

In addition to acting, Aniston has also directed a hospital emergency room-set short film named Room 10, starring Robin Wright Penn and Kris Kristofferson; Aniston has noted that she was inspired to direct by actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who directed a short film in 2006.

Forbes listed Aniston as the 10th richest woman in the entertainment industry for the year 2007. She is behind such powerhouses as Oprah Winfrey, J. K. Rowling, Madonna, Celine Dion and Jennifer Lopez and is ahead of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and the Olsen twins. Aniston's net worth is approximately $110 million.[5] Aniston was also included in the annual Star Salary Top 10 of trade magazine The Hollywood Reporter for 2006.[6] According to Forbes in October 2007, Aniston was the top-selling celebrity face of the entertainment industry.

jamie lynn spears

2008-01-31T08:03:00.000-08:00

Jamie Lynn Marie Spears (born April 4, 1991) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for starring in the Nickelodeon television series Zoey 101 and as the sister of Britney Spears. Jamie Lynn, the youngest of the family, also has a brother, Bryan.

Jamie Lynn Spears appeared in 2001's Total Britney Live and in a Pepsi commercial in 2002. In the same year, she appeared briefly in the movie Crossroads, as the younger version of the main character, Lucy, who was played by her older sister.

For two seasons, Spears was a cast member on the Nickelodeon comedy-variety show: All That. Because it was a variety show she had to play many different characters, including her original character Thelma Stump, an 84-year-old bodyguard who Spears portrayed in her audition for the program. She also did many On-Air Dares (a Nickelodeon version of Fear Factor) skits where she and other All That cast members had to do many "disgusting acts." She eventually left All That to star in Zoey 101.

Spears garnered her first starring role as Zoey Brooks in the Emmy-nominated Nickelodeon television show, Zoey 101. When the show debuted in January 2005, it drew a larger number of viewers aged 9-14 than any premiere on the network in the precedent eight years. Spears stars as one of the first girls to pass admissions for a formerly all-boy boarding school, called Pacific Coast Academy. Zoey 101 was nominated for a 2005 Emmy for Outstanding Children's Program. In 2006, Spears won a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards blimp for Favorite TV actress. Spears also sings the theme song for the show, which was co-written by Emily Bob and her older sister Britney, entitled "Follow Me." While there have been reports that Zoey 101 has been canceled, because of Jamie's pregnancy, a spokesperson for Nickelodeon has told MTV News that there is no truth to those rumors and the show remains on their schedule.

Miley Cyrus

2008-01-31T07:51:00.000-08:00

Miley Ray Cyrus (born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American actress, singer and songwriter. She is perhaps best known for starring as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel Original Series, Hannah Montana.

Cyrus became an overnight sensation after she was cast in Hannah Montana. Following the success of the show, in October 2006, a soundtrack CD was released in which she sang eight songs from the show. In December 2007, she was ranked #17 in the list of Forbes Top twenty earners under 25 with an annual earning of US$3.5 million. As of December 2007, she is working on a movie spin-off from Hannah Montana, titled Hannah Montana: The Movie which is due to be released late 2008 or early 2009.

Cyrus became interested in acting at age nine when the family briefly lived in Toronto, Canada. Her first acting role was as a guest star on her father's television series Doc, in which she played a girl named Kylie. In 2003, she played "Young Ruthie" in Tim Burton's Big Fish and was credited as Destiny Cyrus. She was also featured in Rhonda Vincent's music video for "If Heartaches Have Wings", and appeared on Colgate Country Showdown with her father, who was hosting the program.

Cyrus was eleven years old when she originally auditioned for Disney for the lead as well as the "best friend" roles; Disney Channel executives then judged her to be "too small", however Miley was persistent in her desire to be part of the show, so Disney called her back for further auditions when she turned 12. According to Disney Channel Executive Vice President Gary Marsh, Cyrus was chosen for Hannah Montana because of her energetic and lively performance and was seen as a person who "loves every minute of life", with the "everyday relatability of Hilary Duff and the stage presence of Shania Twain". She spent several years to get rid of her Southern accent, but in the end Disney wanted her to revive it. Later in an unusual twist, Cyrus had to audition her own father, Billy Ray Cyrus, to see if he would fit the role as Hannah's dad. Cyrus currently stars in Hannah Montana as the lead character Miley Stewart, whose alter ego is the pop music sensation Hannah Montana. Cyrus also performs in character as Hannah Montana for albums and concerts.

In 2004, Cyrus became a spokesperson for Daisy Rock Guitars, when she was presented with her first Daisy Rock guitar— the Stardust Series Acoustic Electric Pink Sparkle. It was given to her by her parents from her father's Country Music Television fan meet-and-greet when she was twelve years old.

On June 22, 2006, a performance of a Hannah Montana concert (featuring Cyrus as Hannah Montana) at Disney's Typhoon Lagoon in Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida was recorded for the Disney Channel. Cyrus spent the rest of 2006 opening for The Cheetah Girls on 20 dates of their 39-city tour. Cyrus also appeared in the Disney Channel Hannah Montana promotion, "Hannah Montana's Backstage Secrets", in which she portrays Hannah Montana in a fictional interview set in the show's canon.

Walt Disney Records released the Hannah Montana soundtrack on October 24, 2006. The soundtrack included eight of the songs that Cyrus performed as Hannah Montana. Cyrus also signed a four-album major record deal with Hollywood Records for her own albums. On December 25, 2006, Cyrus performed as Hannah Montana at the Walt Disney Christmas Parade, singing her version of the holiday classic "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree".

On June 26, 2007, exactly eight months after the release of the first soundtrack, Cyrus released a double album, Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus. The first disc served as the second Hannah Montana soundtrack, while the second disc was Cyrus' debut album as herself. She co-wrote, eight of the ten songs and was credited as "Destiny Hope Cyrus". Cyrus had a brief cameo in High School Musical 2 credited as "Girl at Pool", where she danced in front of the pool wearing a yellow baby doll top before the end credits.

While attending the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix premiere, Cyrus stated that they are working on ideas for a Hannah Montana movie. The feature-length film is to be produced by Cyrus's both on and off-screen dad, Billy Ray Cyrus.

Disney released a Hannah Montana clothing collection in late summer. Cyrus helped to design some of the pieces from the collection. "It's not a costume. A tween girl isn't doing dress-up, they want to look like they could be Hannah Montana's friend. This is a fashion line."

Cyrus is performing both as herself and in character as Hannah Montana on a North American Best of Both Worlds Tour that started on October 18, 2007 in St. Louis, Missouri; the tour was extended, due to high demand, until January 31, 2008, with 69 total dates, 14 more than previously planned. The Jonas Brothers are the opening act for most of the tour. Tour tickets for each date have been selling out in record time after they have gone on sale, disappointing large numbers of fans.

In 2007, Cyrus guest-starred as Yatta on Disney Channel's The Emperor's New School. In December 2007, she was ranked at #17 in the Forbes Top 20 Earners Under 25, with an annual earning of US$3.5 million.

Sean Young

2008-01-31T07:40:00.000-08:00

Sean Young (born on November 20, 1959) is an American actress.

Mary Sean Young was born in Louisville, Kentucky to Donald Young and Lee Guthrie. She graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, MI and the School of American Ballet in New York. Before becoming an actress, Young worked as a model and dancer.

In 1990, Young married Robert Lujan, with whom she has two children.The couple divorced in 2002.

On January 26, 2008, Young was removed from the Directors Guild of America awards ceremony in Los Angeles after heckling director Julian Schnabel during his acceptance speech. The following day she entered a drug rehabilitation program for alcohol abuse treatment.

Young began her film career in 1980 in the film Jane Austen in Manhattan, followed by a small role in the 1981 film Stripes, and a substantial part in the futuristic classic Blade Runner (1982). She had a small role in the film Wall Street as the wife of Michael Douglas' character. Her role was originally intended to be larger, but was significantly reduced due to clashes with Oliver Stone.

One of her biggest roles was in No Way Out, playing opposite Kevin Costner. Other notable credits include Dune, Fatal Instinct, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend.[9]In 1988, Young appeared in The Boost with James Woods. Wood later sued her for harassing both him and his then-fiancée, alleging that Young left a disfigured doll on his doorstep in addition to other disruptive behavior. Young denied the allegations and claimed that Woods filed the lawsuit out of spite. Young stated, "It was a crush being turned down, that's all.... So sue me! And he did." The suit was settled out of court in 1989.

In 1989, she was cast as Vicki Vale in Tim Burton's Batman. During rehearsals, she broke her arm after falling off a horse and was replaced by Kim Basinger. In an unsuccessful attempt to win the role as Catwoman (which ultimately went to Michelle Pfeiffer) in the sequel Batman Returns, Young made a homemade Catwoman costume and attempted to confront director Tim Burton and actor Michael Keaton during production.

Young was fired from the 1990 movie Dick Tracy. Cast as Tess Trueheart, she was officially fired for not appearing maternal in the role. Young later claimed she was fired because she rebuffed Warren Beatty's advances (a claim Beatty denies).

During much of 1990s she resided in Sedona, Arizona, and her career cooled.

Since 2000, Young has been busy with a variety of independent films and guest appearances on television including roles in Poor White Trash, Sugar & Spice, Boston Public, Reno 911!. In 2005, she spent four months in Russia filming the miniseries Esenin, in which she played dancer Isadora Duncan.

In late 2007, Young finished work on two films, The Man Who Came Back and Darkness Visible. She is currently in talks to appear in the film Harvest Moon.

Jennifer Lopez

2008-01-30T08:14:00.000-08:00

Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), popularly nicknamed J.Lo, is an American actress, singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer, fashion designer, and television producer. She is the richest person of Latin American descent in Hollywood according to Forbes, and the most influential Hispanic entertainer in America according to People en Español's list of "100 Most Influential Hispanics".

Starting in 1999, Lopez released seven albums, including two #1 albums on the Billboard 200 charts and four Billboard Hot 100 #1 singles. She won the 2003 American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist and the 2007 American Music Award for Favorite Latin Artist. She has appeared in numerous films, and has won ALMA Awards for outstanding actress for her work in Selena, Out of Sight, and Angel Eyes. She parlayed her media fame into a fashion line and various perfumes with her celebrity endorsement.

Media attention has also focused on her personal life. She has had high-profile relationships with Ojani Noa, Cris Judd, Sean Combs, Ben Affleck, and most recently, Marc Anthony, with whom she is expecting her first child.

Lopez appeared on the short-lived television programs South Central, Second Chances, and Hotel Malibu, and the made-for-television film Nurses on the Line: The Crash of Flight 7. Lopez broke into the big screen in the 1995 drama My Family and then appeared opposite Wesley Snipes in the action film Money Train. Lopez has played roles in Francis Ford Coppola's 1996 comedy Jack starring Robin Williams, and the 1997 thriller Blood and Wine with Jack Nicholson. Lopez played the lead role in the 1997 film Selena for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for "Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy" in 1998. She became the first Latin actress to get paid $1 million or more for a film role. Some of her other critically-acclaimed films include Out of Sight, The Cell, An Unfinished Life, and Shall We Dance?. Two independent films produced by Lopez were well-received at film festivals: El Cantante at the Toronto International Film Festival, and Bordertown at the Brussels film festival. Other modestly successful films include The Wedding Planner, Maid in Manhattan, Monster-in-Law, and Enough. Gigli, however, would be a critical and commercial disappointment. In August 2007, Lopez collaborated on the feature film, El Cantante, with her husband singer-actor Marc Anthony. The film is in English, with a creative use of subtitles for songs with Spanish lyrics.

In April 2004, Lopez guest starred in the sixth season finale of Will & Grace, playing herself. This was the highest-rated episode of the series since Elton John's appearance in 2002, and Lopez appeared again in the seventh season's opening episode. In May 2006, MTV gave the greenlight on her executively-produced reality show, DanceLife. The show followed the lives of six aspiring dancers as their struggle to make it in the competitive world of professional dance. Lopez, who took an active role in selecting the show's participants, made cameo appearances over the course of the season and the show's eight-episode run which began on January 15, 2007.

Lopez made an appearance as a mentor on American Idol on April 10, 2007.

She is the executive producer of a miniseries in Univisión. The Miniseries will be named after her CD "Como Ama Una Mujer". It will premiere on October 30, 2007 at 10:00 on Univisión. Christian Borrero will be acting in it along with Adriana Cruz.

hilary duff

2008-01-30T07:55:00.000-08:00

Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress, pop singer, songwriter and an entrepreneur. After gaining fame for playing the title role in the television show Lizzie McGuire, Duff went on to have a film career; her most commercially successful movies include Cheaper by the Dozen (2003), The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003), and A Cinderella Story (2004). She earned $15 million in 2005 and $12 million in 2006 and 2007.

Duff has expanded her repertoire into pop music, with three RIAA certified-platinum albums and over thirteen million albums sold worldwide. Her first studio album, Metamorphosis (2003) was certified triple platinum and she followed it up with two more platinum albums, Hilary Duff (2004) and Most Wanted (2005). Duff's latest studio album, Dignity, was released in April 2007 and was certified Gold in August 2007.

She has also launched a clothing line, Stuff by Hilary Duff, and an exclusive perfume with Elizabeth Arden. Duff and her mother were listed as producers for the movie Material Girls, As of December 2007, her upcoming films include the action thriller War, Inc., animated comedy Foodfight! and independent films Greta and Safety Glass.

Duff's first role in a theatrical motion picture was in Human Nature (2002), an independent film shot before Lizzie McGuire and first shown at the Cannes and Sundance film festivals. Written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Michel Gondry, the film follows a female naturalist, played by Patricia Arquette. Duff played the younger version of Arquette's character.

Her first major role in a feature film was in the family action film Agent Cody Banks with Frankie Muniz in 2003. The film received positive reviews and was successful enough to spawn a sequel, in which Duff did not participate. Afterwards, Duff reprised her role as Lizzie McGuire for The Lizzie McGuire Movie, which exceeded box office expectations earning, $42.6 million at the US box office and $55 million worldwide. It received mixed reviews with certain critics calling it, "an unabashed promotion of Duff’s image, just as Crossroads was for Spears", while other reviews were generally positive and encouraging.

Later that year, Duff played one of the twelve children of Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt in the family film Cheaper by the Dozen, which remains her highest grossing film to date. She reprised her role in the sequel to the film called Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005), which failed to be as successful as the original film and was panned by critics.

In 2004, Duff starred in the romantic comedy A Cinderella Story. Though the reviews were mostly negative, the film went on to become a moderate box office hit, and critics were impressed by Duff's performance. A Cinderella Story earned $66,068,046 worldwide and was a commercial success. Later that year, she starred in the film Raise Your Voice, her first role in a drama film. Some critics praised Duff for appearing in a more mature and serious role than her previous films, but the film itself was heavily panned, with the Las Vegas Weekly writing: "Effortlessly combining Duff's bad acting and bad singing with bad writing and bad direction, Raise Your Voice is an insulting waste of time that begs to be silenced". Several reviews were particularly harsh towards Duff's vocals, with critics pointing out what appeared to be her digitally enhanced voice and indifferent towards her acting performance. The film received a lukewarm response at the box office, and is Duff's least successful film commercially, with total theater receipts of just $13,573,284. The same year, Duff received her first Razzie nomination for worst actress for her roles in Raise Your Voice and Cinderella Story.

In 2005, Duff starred in The Perfect Man in which she played the eldest daughter of a divorced woman (Heather Locklear). The film received mostly harsh reviews and did not live up to box office expectations, grossing $19,770,475 globally. That year, Duff was again nominated for a Razzie Award, for both The Perfect Man and Cheaper by the Dozen 2. The 2006 satirical comedy Material Girls, in which she co-starred with her sister Haylie, was also not well received by critics, grossing only $16,847,695 worldwide. The film, directed by Martha Coolidge and co-produced by Madonna's independent film production company Maverick Entertainment, starred the Duffs as wealthy siblings who must fight to reclaim their fortune following a scandal. Hilary received nominations for another two Razzie awards for her role in the film.

In early 2007, the Duff sisters lent their voices to the computer animated comedy Foodfight!, which is to be distributed by Lions Gate Films due out in April 2008. The film's director, Larry Kasanoff, said that he is "absolutely thrilled to have the Duff sisters as part of the cast". Duff also stars opposite John Cusack in War, Inc., due for release in July 2008. On September 7, 2007, Duff confirmed on Much On Demand, that she would be filming two independent films Greta, and Safety Glass.

Jessica Alba

2008-01-29T07:23:00.000-08:00

Jessica Marie Alba (born April 28, 1981) is an American actress whose TV and film credits include Dark Angel, Honey, Sin City, Fantastic Four, Into the Blue, Idle Hands and 2007's Good Luck Chuck. Alba rose to prominence following the television series Dark Angel, then expanding her résumé to film, predominantly within the confines of action and comedy. Alba appears frequently on the "Hot 100" section of Maxim, and was voted AskMen.com's No. 1 on their list of "99 Most Desirable Women" in 2006, as well as "Sexiest Woman in the World" in FHM in 2007.

Alba had expressed interest in acting since the age of five. She took her first acting class at age twelve, and an acting agent signed her nine months later.

Her first appearance on film was a small role in the 1994 feature Camp Nowhere as Gail. She was originally hired for two weeks but her role turned into a two-month job when the actress in one of the prominent roles dropped out.

Alba appeared in two national TV commercials for Nintendo and J.C. Penney as a child. She was later featured in several independent films. She branched out into TV in 1994 with a recurring role as the vain Jessica in three episodes of the Nickelodeon comedy series The Secret World of Alex Mack. She then performed the role of Maya in the first two seasons of the TV series Flipper. Under the tutelage of her lifeguard mother, Alba learned to swim before she could walk, and she was a PADI-certified scuba diver, skills which were put to use on the show, which was filmed in Australia.

In 1998, she appeared as Melissa Hauer in a first-season episode of the Steven Bochco crime-drama Brooklyn South, as Leanne in two episodes of Beverly Hills 90210 and as Layla in an episode of The Love Boat: The Next Wave. In 1999, she appeared in the Randy Quaid comedy feature P.U.N.K.S.. After graduating from high school, Alba studied acting with William H. Macy and his wife, Felicity Huffman, at the Atlantic Theater Company, which was developed by Macy and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and film director, David Mamet.

Alba rose to greater prominence in Hollywood in 1999 after appearing as a member of a snobby high school clique in the Drew Barrymore romantic comedy Never Been Kissed, and as the female lead in the 1999 comedy-horror film Idle Hands, opposite Devon Sawa.

Her big break came when writer/director James Cameron picked Alba from a pool of 1,200 candidates for the role of the genetically-engineered super-soldier, Max Guevara, on the FOX sci-fi TV series Dark Angel. Co-created by Cameron, the series starred Alba, and ran for two seasons until 2002, earning her critical acclaim as well as a Golden-Globe nomination.

During preparation for Dark Angel, in which Alba trained for three hours every day, the actress began to starve herself and became obsessed with exercise, going on to say, "A lot of girls have eating disorders and I did too. I got obsessed with it." Alba recalls coming to a realization that she had a problem when she dropped to just 100 lbs and cites her natural introduction to puberty and her development of womanly curves as two things that caused her "concern" regarding her aesthetics. Alba, who also suffered from obsessive compulsive disorder and panic attacks, says she has been cooking for herself since the age of twelve, in fear she will end up as fat as her family members.

Alba's most notable film roles have included an aspiring dancer-choreographer in Honey, exotic dancer Nancy Callahan in Sin City and as the classic Marvel Comics character Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman in the Fantastic Four. Jessica went on to host the 2006 MTV Movie Awards and performed sketches spoofing the movies King Kong, Mission Impossible 3, and The Da Vinci Code. Alba's pending projects include The Eye (a remake of the Hong Kong original) and Sisters, alongside Eliska Amor and Paz Vega.

Sylvester Stallone

2008-01-29T07:10:00.000-08:00

Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone (born July 6, 1946) is an Academy Award-nominated American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. One of the biggest boxoffice draws in the world from the '70s to the early '90s, Stallone is an international icon of machismo and Hollywood action heroism. He is responsible for creating two characters who have become a part of the American cultural lexicon: Rocky Balboa, the no-name boxer who overcame all odds to become a champion, and John Rambo, the courageous soldier who specialized in violent rescues and revenge.

Stallone has established himself as both a dramatic actor and one of greatest action stars of all time. During the 1980s, he enjoyed phenomenal popularity and was the biggest movie star in the world with the Rocky and Rambo franchises. Stallone's culturally influential films changed pop culture history and he has largely enjoyed a career on the Hollywood A list for over 30 years.

He is considered by many (including the mayor of Philadelphia) as the one who made the city of Philadelphia an international tourist attraction with the Rocky Steps. His incredible popularity there has led to a statue of his Rocky character being placed permanently near the Philadelphia Museum of Art as a cultural landmark. On August 2007, a statue of Rocky was also erected in the Serbian village of Zitiste. His film Rocky has also been inducted into the National Film Registry as well as having its film props placed in the Smithsonian Museum.

Stallone did not gain world-wide fame until his starring role in the smash hit Rocky (1976). The film was awarded the 1976 Academy Award for Best Picture. On March 24, 1975, Stallone saw the Ali-Chuck Wepner fight which inspired the foundation idea of Rocky. That night Stallone went home, and in three days he had written the script for Rocky. After that, he tried to sell the script with the intention of playing the lead role. Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler in particular liked the script (which was suggested by Stallone after a casting), and planned on courting a star like Burt Reynolds or James Caan for the lead role. The final result was an unequalled success; Rocky was nominated for ten Academy Awards in all, including Best Actor for Stallone himself.

The sequel Rocky II which Stallone had also written and directed was released in 1979 and also became a major success, grossing US$200 million worldwide.

Apart from the Rocky films, Stallone did many other films in the late 1970s and early 1980s which were critically acclaimed but were not successful at the box office. He received critical praise for films such as F.I.S.T. (1978), a social, epic styled drama in which he plays a warehouse worker who becomes involved in the labor union leadership and Paradise Alley (1978), a family drama in which he plays one of three brothers who is a con artist and who helps his other brother who is involved in wrestling.

In the early 1980s he starred alongside British veteran Michael Caine in Victory (1981), a sports drama in which he plays a prisoner of war involved in a Nazi propaganda football (soccer) tournament. Stallone then made the action thriller film Nighthawks (1981), in which he plays a New York city cop who plays a cat and mouse game with a foreign terrorist, played by Rutger Hauer.

Stallone had another major franchise success as Vietnam veteran John Rambo in the action adventure film First Blood (1982). The first installment of Rambo was both a critical and box office success. The critics praised Stallone's performance, saying he made Rambo seem human as opposed to the way he is portrayed in the book of the same name First Blood and in the other films. Two Rambo sequels Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) and Rambo III (1988) followed. Although box office hits, they met with much less critical praise than the original. He also continued his box office success with the Rocky franchise and wrote, directed and starred in two more sequels to the series: Rocky III (1982) and Rocky IV (1985). It was during this time period that Stallone's cultivated a strong overseas following. He also attempted roles in different genres when he wrote and starred in the comedy film Rhinestone (1984) where he played a wannabe country music singer and the drama film Over the Top (1987) where he played a truck driver who enters an arm wrestling competition to impress his estranged son. But these films did not do well at the box office and were poorly received by critics. The action films Cobra (1986) and Tango and Cash (1989) did solid business domestically but overseas they did blockbuster business grossing over 100 million dollars foreign and over 160 million worldwide. The Rocky and Rambo franchises at the end of the decade were billion dollar franchises internationally.

After a few years hiatus from films, Stallone made a comeback to in 2006 with the sixth and final installment of his successful Rocky series; Rocky Balboa, which was both a critical and commercial hit. After the critical and box office failure of the previous and presumed last installment Rocky V, Stallone had decided to end the series with a sixth installment which would be a more appropriate climax to the series. The total domestic box office gross came to a close with US$70.2 million (an impressive US$155.3 million worldwide), almost three times its production budget. His performance in Rocky Balboa has been praised and garnered mostly positive reviews.

Stallone's newest release is the fourth installment of his other successful movie franchise Rambo with the sequel being titled simply Rambo. The film is experiencing very positive buzz due to a favorable reception of its rough cut trailer for Cannes.

Vanessa Anne Hudgens

2008-01-29T06:59:00.000-08:00

Vanessa Anne Hudgens (born December 14, 1988), also known simply as Vanessa Hudgens, is an American actress and singer. She made her screen debut in 2003 and appeared in the Hollywood films Thirteen and Thunderbirds, before reaching fame in the 2006 hit Disney Channel film High School Musical. Hudgens also began a music career and released her debut album, entitled V, in 2006. In 2007, Hudgens became the spokesperson for Neutrogena.

Hudgens began performing at an early age, appearing in musicals starting at age eight, by taking over a friend who couldn't go to the audition, and moved to Los Angeles after winning an audition for a commercial. She scored roles on shows such as Quintuplets, Cover Me, and Still Standing, then made her feature debut in Thirteen as Noel and appeared in the 2004 film Thunderbirds as Tintin. In both her first two films Hudgens appeared alongside Brady Corbet.

Her television appearances include guest roles on Quintuplets, Still Standing, The Brothers Garcia and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, as Corrie, a classmate of Maddie and London. Hudgens also appeared on Drake & Josh, playing Drake's girlfriend, Rebecca.

Hudgens' largest role among teenage audiences has been starring in the Disney Channel movie High School Musical, which premiered in January 2006; BBC News said that the film's success turned Hudgens into a "household name" in North America. Hudgens and Efron had won "Best Chemistry" award at the Teen Choice Awards for their roles.

As a result of the film's popularity, Hudgens was offered a contract by Old Navy to appear in multiple commercials for the company. Hudgens had previously appeared in a swimwear commercial for the company in 2005. She also appeared in a Blockbuster commercial for no late fees, as the teenage daughter. Also, Hudgens is set to be the new face of Neutrogena in 2007, appearing in both film and print ads. Hudgens is also an endorser of the Ecko line. Hudgens participated in the Disney Channel Games 2006, which was filmed in April 2006 and aired two months later.

Hudgens finished filming High School Musical 2 on April 13, 2007, in St. George and Salt Lake City, Utah. In both films, Hudgens stars as shy, intelligent Gabriella Montez. The film premiered on the Disney Channel on August 17, 2007. The first High School Musical spawned a hit soundtrack, a worldwide concert tour, a show at Walt Disney World, and even a book series that helped Hudgens land in Forbes magazine's list of top-earning stars under 21." In the list, the 18-year-old Hudgens was No. 7 with estimated earnings of $2 million.

On January 11, 2008, The Hollywood Reporter announced that that Hudgens will star in the comedy, Will. Hudgens will play 15-year old Sam. The story is about an outcast, Sam, and a popular girl who develop mutual bond through their love of music. The duo gather up their friends to form a rock group to compete in the school's battle of the bands. Shooting is stated to start in February in Austin, Texas. Hudgens will still be in the third installment of High School Musical, even while filming Will.

Hudgens' debut album, entitled V, was released in early September 2006. She is signed with Hollywood Records, a Disney-owned record label. A music video for her first single, "Come Back To Me", debuted after the world premiere of The Cheetah Girls 2 in late August. The official music video for her second single, "Say OK", was first shown following the premiere of Disney's Jump In! "Let Go" and "Let's Dance" have both been used in commercials for ABC, "Let Go" for a Desperate Housewives commercial, and "Let's Dance" for Dancing With The Stars. "Say OK" has also been used in commercials for ABC Family's Lincoln Heights.

In August 2007 at the 2007 Teen Choice Awards, Hudgens was named the Choice Breakout Singer - Female, beating out other noteworthy nominees including American Idol contestant Katharine McPhee, Amy Winehouse, Corrine Bailey Rae and Lily Allen.

Hudgens has been seen stepping into the recording studio for work on her upcoming album which is expected to have a late May/early June release date. So far, two title tracks have been revealed - “Whisper” which is described as a sexy new style for Vanessa, and “It Feels Right”. Also, a song titled “I Will” which has been written by Hilary Duff has also been confirmed.

The album is being currently planned for a summer release. A representative for the singer confirmed the news to E!:

"She is wrapping up in the recording studio right now". After finishing the work in the studio she'll be heading to Austin,Texas to film there the teen comedy movie "Will", then in April, the shoot for the new HSM movie will begin, and a couple of months later she'll start the new album promotion.

Zac Efron

2008-01-29T06:43:00.000-08:00

Zachary David Alexander Efron (born October 18, 1987) is an American actor and singer. He began acting in the early 2000s, and became known to young audiences after his roles in the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical, the WB series Summerland, and the film version of the Broadway musical Hairspray. Speaking to Newsweek in June 2006, director Adam Shankman described Efron as "arguably the biggest teen star in America right now." In 2007, right before the release of High School Musical 2, Rolling Stone declared him the "poster boy for tweenyboppers" and featured him in their late August issue.

On April 7, 2007, Efron appeared in an episode of Punk'd. Efron also starred in the music video for Vanessa Hudgens's single "Say OK", where he played her love interest. The video aired on March 16, 2007 on Disney Channel. That year, he was named one of People magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People in 2007. A picture and short profile of him was in the section "Coming of Age". In it, he related how he was always the shortest kid in school (he is now 5'8") and was teased for the "huge gap" in his teeth.

In 2006, Efron was cast as Link Larkin in a film version of Hairspray released on July 20, 2007. Efron performed all of his own vocals in the role, which was filmed in Toronto, Ontario, from September 5 to December 2, 2006. He cut and dyed his hair dark brown and gained about 15 pounds for the role. Both Efron's performance and the film have received positive reviews.

Efron presented the 2007 Teen Choice Award for "Favorite Movie" alongside Queen Latifah.

Efron's upcoming roles include Seventeen, a high school-set drama/comedy produced by Adam Shankman and based on a pitch by Jason Filardi; the plot involves an adult who is transformed into a 17-year old (to be played by Efron). Efron is also scheduled to star in Paramount's musical remake of the film Footloose; he has said that he would like to add his "own little bit of flair" to the role originated by Kevin Bacon.

For his portrayal of Link Larkin in Hairspray, Efron (along with his co-star Nikki Blonsky) won the "One to Watch" award of the Young Hollywood Awards.

Efron appeared on the cover of the August 2007 edition of Rolling Stone. The article about him revealed that he hopes to someday play an action hero.

Efron has finalized negotiations with the producers of Seventeen, a film slated to commence shooting in December 2007.

Before the release of High School Musical 2, Efron topped IMDBPro's Star Meter at #1, indicating that he was the most searched celebrity. Additionally, Lycos reported searches for Efron surged by 81%. Amid the frenzy surrounding Zac Efron, the release of High School Musical 2 set a new record, becoming the most watched basic cable program in U.S. history, with 17.2 million viewers.

Efron co-hosted the 2007 Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards with The Veronicas on October 10 in Sydney.

Angelina Jolie

2008-01-29T06:30:00.000-08:00

Angelina Jolie (born Angelina Jolie Voight on June 4, 1975) is an American film actor and a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency. She is often cited by popular media as one of the world's most beautiful women and her off-screen life is widely reported. She has received three Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and an Academy Award.

Though she made her screen debut as a child alongside her father Jon Voight in the 1982 film Lookin' to Get Out, Jolie's acting career began in earnest a decade later with the low budget production Cyborg 2 (1993). Her first leading role in a major film was in Hackers (1995). She starred in the critically acclaimed biographical films George Wallace (1997) and Gia (1998), and won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the drama Girl, Interrupted (1999). Jolie achieved international fame as a result of her portrayal of videogame heroine Lara Croft in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), and since then has established herself as one of the best-known and highest-paid actresses in Hollywood. She had her biggest commercial success with the action-comedy Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005).

Divorced from actors Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Bob Thornton, Jolie currently lives with actor Brad Pitt, in a relationship that has attracted worldwide media attention. Jolie and Pitt have three adopted children, Maddox, Pax, and Zahara, as well as a biological daughter, Shiloh. Jolie has promoted humanitarian causes throughout the world, and is noted for her work with refugees through UNHCR.

Lindsay Lohan

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Lindsay Dee Lohan (born July 2, 1986) is an American actress and pop music singer. Lohan started in show business as a child fashion model for magazine advertisement and television commercials. At age 10, she began her acting career in a soap opera; at 11, she made her motion picture debut by playing identical twins in Disney's 1998 remake of The Parent Trap.

Lohan rose to stardom with her leading roles in the films Freaky Friday, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, Mean Girls and Herbie: Fully Loaded. Her subsequent roles include appearances in A Prairie Home Companion and Bobby. In 2004, Lohan launched a second career in pop music yielding the albums Speak (2004) and A Little More Personal (Raw) (2005).

In recent years, Lohan's personal life has been the subject of media scrutiny.

Awards and nominations
* Won The 2005 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actress.
* Won The 2005 Austalian Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie Star.
* Won The MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance in Mean Girls.
* Won The 2005 MTV Movie Award for Best On Screen Team including- Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, Amanda Seyfried in Mean Girls.
* Nominated The 2005 MTV Video Music Awards for Best Pop Video.
* Won The 2006 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for Favorite Movie Actress in Herbie: Fully Loaded.
* Nominated for The 2006 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstading Performance in a Motion Picture in Bobby.
* Won The 2006 Hollywood Film Festival Award for Best Ensembled Cast in Bobby.
* Won The 2006 Hollywood Film Festival Award for Break Through Actress in Bobby.
* Nominated The 2007 Razzie Award for Worst Actress for Just My Luck.

Heath Ledger

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Heathcliff Andrew Ledger (April 4, 1979 — January 22, 2008) was an Academy Award-nominated Australian actor. After appearing in television roles during the 1990s, Ledger developed a Hollywood career. He starred in both critical and financial successes, including 10 Things I Hate About You, The Patriot, Monster's Ball, A Knight's Tale, and Brokeback Mountain, and completed the role of the Joker in the forthcoming movie The Dark Knight shortly before his death.

David Beckham

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David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE (born 2 May 1975) is an English professional football (soccer) midfielder who currently plays for and captains Major League Soccer's Los Angeles Galaxy. He is also currently a member of the England national team.

He has twice been runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year, and as recently as 2004 was the world's highest-paid footballer. He was Google's most searched of all sports topics in both 2003 and 2004. Such global recognition has made him an elite advertising brand and a top fashion icon. Beckham was captain of England from 15 November 2000 to 2 July 2006. He made 58 appearances as captain, and ended his tenure in that role after the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals. He continued to make contributions for the England national team in 2007 competitions.

Beckham's career began when he signed a professional contract with Manchester United, making his first-team debut in 1992 aged 17. During his time there, United won the Premiership title six times, the FA Cup twice, and the UEFA Champions League in 1999. He left Manchester United to sign for Real Madrid in 2003, where he remained for four seasons. In his final season, Real clinched the La Liga title (Beckham's only major trophy with the club) in the final game of the season. In January 2007, it was announced that Beckham would leave Real Madrid and sign a five-year contract with the Los Angeles Galaxy. He played his final match with Real on 17 June, after which the team was awarded the 2006–07 La Liga championship.

Beckham's new contract with the Galaxy, effective 1 July 2007, gave him the highest salary of any MLS player in history. He debuted for the team on 21 July in a friendly versus Chelsea FC at the Home Depot Center, and on 15 August, he had his first start with the team, scoring his first goal and first assist in the 2007 SuperLiga semi-final. His first league start then came on 18 August, where he recorded two more assists against the New York Red Bulls in front of a record crowd at Giants Stadium.

Victoria Beckham

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Victoria Caroline Beckham (née Adams; born 17 April 1974) is an English pop singer, songwriter, dancer, turned fashion designer, author, businesswoman, and occasional actress.

During her rise to fame with 1990s pop group the Spice Girls, she was dubbed Posh Spice, a moniker first coined by the British tabloid press. Since the Spice Girls followed separate careers, Beckham has dabbled with pop music, scoring four UK Top 10 singles as a solo artist. Her first single to be released, "Out of Your Mind", reached number two in the UK Singles Chart and is her highest chart entry to date. During her solo music career she has been signed to Virgin Records and Telstar Records.

Beckham has found more success as an internationally recognised and photographed style icon. She has had a significant career in fashion, designing a line of jeans for Rock & Republic and later designing her own denim brand, dvb Style. Beckham has brought out her own range of sunglasses and fragrance, entitled Intimately Beckham which has been released in the UK and America. In association with the Japanese store, Samantha Thavasa, she has produced a range of handbags and jewellery. In addition, she has released two bestselling books, one her autobiography, the other a fashion guide.

In her television ventures, Beckham has had five official documentaries and reality shows made about her, some of which include Being Victoria Beckham and The Real Beckhams. Her last documentary to date was Victoria Beckham: Coming to America which documented her move to the United States with her family in 2007, but it was poorly received by American critics. She since made a cameo appearance in an episode of American TV series, Ugly Betty.

Universally referred to as "Posh", she is married to English football player David Beckham with whom she has three sons. The couple's joint wealth is estimated at £112 million.

Spice Girls

Beckham (known then as Victoria Adams) joined the all-girl group Spice Girls, first called "Touch," in 1994, with Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton, Melanie Brown and Melanie Chisholm. She had previously answered an advertisement in The Stage in March 1993 which required girls who were "street smart, extrovert, ambitious and able to sing and dance".

The group's first single, "Wannabe," went to number one in the UK and the United States, and would be followed by eight other successful number one singles from their albums, Spice, Spiceworld and Forever. Each member of the group received a nickname from the media; Victoria Beckham became "Posh Spice". The group was one of the most successful pop acts of the 1990s, selling over fifty-five million records worldwide. After the release of their third album, Forever (UK#2), which was much less successful than their previous two albums, the Spice Girls stopped recording, leading Beckham to try to build a solo career.

In 2007, the Spice Girls reformed and announced plans to embark upon a comeback tour, from which they were said to have made £10 million each. Beckham had previously stated that she and her former Spice colleagues were enjoying their solo careers in various fields. She said "We're all still doing our own thing." Their "Greatest Hits" album was released in early November, and the tour began on 2 December 2007. Beckham has stated "I wanted my children to see that Mummy was a pop star. It was the last opportunity for them to stand in a crowd full of people screaming for the Spice Girls." When Beckham had her hair coloured brown for the reunion tour, she stated that her sons immediately reacted by saying "Oh my goodness, it's Posh Spice. She's back." During one Spice Girls performance at London's The O2 Arena, her three sons accompanied her on stage during "Mama", along with the other Spice Girls' children. She is the only member of the group not to sing a solo song on the tour, instead doing a makeshift catwalk and pose in the style of a fashion show, whereas the others each perform a number from their solo careers. Critic, Polly Hudson wrote "This time around Posh gets the biggest cheer when she sings her solo lines. She knows it too - and it seems to give her more and more confidence as the show goes on."

Filmmaker, Bob Smeaton, has also directed an official documentary on the reunion. It is entitled Spice Girls: Giving You Everything and was first aired on Fox8 in Australia. It later aired in the United Kingdom on 31 December 2007 on BBC One.

As well as the sell-out tour, the Spice Girls were contracted to appear in Tesco advertisements, for which they were paid £1 million each.

Solo music artist

On 14 August 2000, Victoria released her first solo single, "Out Of Your Mind" in collaboration with Dane Bowers and Truesteppers. The week of release coincided with the release of "Groovejet (If This Ain't Love)" by Spiller ft. Sophie Ellis-Bextor, resulting in a chart battle dubbed 'Posh vs. Posher' by the tabloids. Following a huge publicity campaign, "Out Of Your Mind" was outsold by Ellis-Bextor, and debuted at number two in the UK Singles Chart. Before the single's release, on 8 July 2000 she made her public solo debut at London's Hyde Park at a concert to raise money for the Prince's Trust charity. She sang "Out of Your Mind" to a 100,000-strong audience.

Beckham then signed recording contract with her group label Virgin Records. Her next single as a solo artist, "Not Such An Innocent Girl", was released on 17 September 2001. Again, she faced competition in another hugely hyped chart battle, this time with Kylie Minogue's single "Can't Get You Out Of My Head". Despite a huge promotional campaign, Beckham was outsold eight to one, and the single debuted at number 6. Beckham's debut album, eponymously entitled Victoria Beckham, was released on 1 October 2001, and reached number 10 in the UK album chart. The album cost a reputed £5 million to produce and it sold a modest 50,000 copies.

The second and final single to be released from the album was "A Mind of Its Own" on 11 February 2002. The single reached number 6 in the UK and sold 56,500 copies. Rumours soon started spreading that Beckham was soon to be dropped by her label for not charting in the top 3. These were strongly refuted at the time. Beckham commented "You know what newspapers are like, they just like to put all the negative stuff in, but as far as I'm concerned and the record company is concerned it is all great."

A third single, "I Wish", was promoted but never materialized. The single version was a remix featuring Robbie Craig, and was performed on TV on Friday Night's All Wright. Following the announcement of Beckham's second pregnancy, the single was shelved. Beckham was then departed from the label Virgin Records. A statement was issued, which read "No-one has been dropped. The Virgin deal has come to a natural end and both parties have decided not to continue."

Telstar Records signed Beckham in 2002 in a deal made with Simon Fuller's 19 Management. The contract was worth £1.5 million. Beckham spent much of 2002 recording a pop-influenced album, but she allegedly chose not to release it after being disappointed with the results. Instead of pop, Beckham wanted to record tracks with a more RnB and hip hop influence, creating a more urban sound. She began working with urban producer Damon Dash. During this time, it was reported that Dash slighted Beckham, stating "If we can make Victoria hot, we can make anybody hot." When he was first asked why he was working with Beckham he stated "Because I see how much she gets photographed over here." A Dash-produced track "It's That Simple" featuring M.O.P. was created, and received a premiere on radio stations in July 2003. This generated mixed reviews, and further criticism, with the feeling being that Beckham was far from convincing as an urban act.

Beckham's first single with Telstar Records, "Let Your Head Go / This Groove", was released in the UK on 29 December 2003, following heavy promotion and many TV appearances across the Christmas period. The single charted at number 3 in the UK. This double A-side remains Beckham's last single release to date. She is currently the only Spice Girl never to have had a British solo number one, though she is also the only Spice Girl to have all her single/album releases go Top 10. Outside of the UK, Damon Dash had plans for Beckham in the United States, including a potential release of "Let Your Head Go / This Groove" under the name of "Posh Spice Victoria Beckham". The release was proposed for sometime between March to May 2004, but never occurred.

With the UK media describing her solo music career a failure, and combined with a rumoured fall-out between Dash and Fuller, her hip hop album, Come Together, was not released. Amidst the collapse of Telstar Records, remaining plans for Beckham's music career were cancelled. Beckham has said that she has no plans to return to music.

Books

Beckham's autobiography, entitled Learning to Fly, was released on 13 September 2001. The title was taken from a line in a song from the musical Fame, which Beckham enjoyed as a child. The verse that inspired the title goes "I'm gonna live forever, I'm gonna learn how to fly". The book documents her childhood, time during the Spice Girls, her marriage and family life, as well as her career at the time. Learning to Fly became the third best-selling non-fiction title of 2001 and the total UK sales stand at more than 500,000 copies. When the book was first released, it went to number 1 in the book charts after four weeks of release, sending Robbie Williams' book to second. A high-profile appearance on Parkinson, watched by 9 million people, helped to promote the book. Before the publishing of the book, Hello!, The Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday joined to buy the rights to preview and serialise the book before its release. The figure paid was thought to be near £1 million.

Beckham was quoted by a Spanish journalist in 2005 as saying "I've never read a book in my life". She later claimed this was a mistranslation from the original Spanish in which the interview was printed, saying she actually stated that she never had time to finish reading a book because she was always too busy looking after her children.

Beckham's second book, a fashion advice guide, entitled That Extra Half an Inch: Hair, Heels and Everything In Between, was published on 27 October 2006. That Extra Half an Inch: Hair, Heels and Everything In Between includes tips from Beckham on fashion, style and beauty and also contains photography by Mario Testino, Annie Leibovitz and Steven Meisel. The book became another bestseller and has sold 400,000 copies in Britain alone since it was published in hardcover. The rights have since been sold to the United States, the Netherlands, Japan, Portugal, Lithuania, Russia, and most recently China.

Television

Beckham has shot five official reality documentaries. The first, dated 11 January 2000, was called Victoria's Secrets, a programme only shown in the UK on Channel4 which involved Beckham being followed by cameras while also discussing and interviewing other British celebrities, such as Sir Elton John. The second of the reality shows, which aired on ITV1 on 4 March 2002, was called Being Victoria Beckham and showed Beckham discussing her career as a solo artist, with the release of her first album, also showing her at various photo shoots and recording sessions. The documentary attracted a strong audience of 8.83 million, coming top in its timeslot. One critic described her as "so clearly level-headed, happy with her not inconsiderable lot and seemingly unfazed by the madly intrusive nature of her monumentally ridiculous fame". The third, The Real Beckhams which aired on 24 December 2003 on ITV1, focused on the Beckhams' move to Madrid from London after David Beckham was signed to Real Madrid. It also featured Victoria Beckham re-launching her solo career and showed her mocking the tabloid stories she reads in the paper every day. The special received an audience of 6.10 million viewers and was later released on DVD on 2 February 2004.

The fourth was entitled Full Length & Fabulous: The Beckhams' 2006 World Cup Party, which followed Victoria and David Beckham organising and making preparations to host a 2006 World Cup Party at a marquee in the grounds of their mansion in Hertfordshire, which aimed to raise money for their charity. Two tickets to attend the ball were auctioned online for charity, and sold for £103,000. The documentary aired on 28 May 2006 and showed the event itself, where the menu was designed especially by friend and chef Gordon Ramsay and the charity auction was hosted by Graham Norton. Ramsay catered for 600 guests, with the aid of 40 chefs and 100 waiting staff. The ITV documentary attracted an average of 7.56 million viewers.

To document Victoria Beckham's preparations for her family's move to the United States, she signed a deal with NBC for six episodes of a half-hour unscripted reality TV series. Despite the originally planned six episodes, the show was cut to a one hour special only as there "just wasn't enough (material) for a series." The show, called Victoria Beckham: Coming to America, aired on 16 July 2007 in the US and Canada. It was heavily scrutinised by the American media and critics, with The New York Post describing it as "an orgy of self-indulgence" and also describing Beckham as "vapid and condescending". However, it was the third-most-watched programme in its time-slot and received viewing figures of 4.9 million in the US, beaten by a repeat of Wife Swap and two sitcoms. The programme aired in Britain on 17 July 2007 on ITV with 3.84 million viewers tuning in. The programme was produced by Simon Fuller who managed her and the Spice Girls on their come-back tour.

In July 2007, it was announced that Beckham was shortly to begin filming a cameo appearance playing herself in an episode of the second season of ABC's TV series Ugly Betty. The episode, "A Nice Day for a Posh Wedding", aired on 9 November 2007 in the United States and on 23 November in the United Kingdom. Beckham's first line was "It's major", said when bursting through a curtain at a dress fitting for a wedding, in which she was the bridesmaid. Beckham has said she only agreed to the part because of her interest in fashion, and not for the acting opportunity. Despite her forays into television, Beckham has denied plans to embark upon an LA movie career.

Fashion

Beckham has become better recognised as an international style icon, rather than a music artist. In 2000, Beckham made a guest appearance on the catwalk for Maria Grachvogel, making this her debut at London Fashion Week as a model. Beckham also acted as British ambassador for Dolce and Gabbana and was briefly the face of Rocawear in 2003.

In 2004, Beckham designed a limited-edition fashion line for Rock & Republic called VB Rocks, consisting mainly of jeans for the high end of the market, retailing at approximately $300 in the U.S. She had previously "hit it off instantly" with Rock & Republic designer, Michael Ball, in Los Angeles. He commented "She not only understands fashion and trends but has been a trend-setter and fashion icon for years."

On 16 January 2006, Beckham walked the runway for Roberto Cavalli at Milan Fashion Week and was for a period exclusively dressed by him for red-carpet and social events. For the March 2006 issue of Harper's Bazaar, Beckham acted as fashion editor when she styled her close friend, Katie Holmes, for a fashion shoot. In July 2006, Beckham released a line of sunglasses, called dvb Eyewear. She has admitted to a personal love of sunglasses, saying "I'm quite obsessed with sunglasses. I collect vintage Guccis and Carreras — they can make virtually any outfit look cool." After Beckham's departure from Rock & Republic, in September 2006, she furthered her fashion ventures when she launched her own denim label of which she acts as creative director. The new line of Beckham's jeans collection is called dvb Style. In the same month, Intimately Beckham, a his-and-her fragrance line, was launched at a lavish press conference in Venice. Beckham then launched her new official website, dvbstyle.com, which promotes her fashion work. She also produced a range of handbags and jewellery in association with the Japanese store, Samantha Thavasa.

On 5 June 2007, she won two British Glamour Magazine Awards, one for "Woman of the Year" and another for "Entrepreneur of the Year," which celebrated her fashion achievements. On 14 June 2007 Beckham launched her dvb Denim collection in New York at the high-end Saks Fifth Avenue, along with unveiling her eye-wear range in the United States for the first time. In the same month Beckham made her first appearance at London's annual Graduate Fashion Week as a judge alongside Glenda Bailey, the editor-in-chief of Harper’s Bazaar, and Alber Elbaz, to choose a winner to receive the River Island Gold Award, worth £20,000. In August 2007, Intimately Beckham perfume hit American stores for the first time. Victoria Beckham has stated "We are not just saying, 'We are celebrities, put our name on it.' I love to be involved with the whole process." The Intimately Beckham line has been predicted to sell over $100 million worth of sales internationally, doubling this estimate in 2008. In September 2007, Beckham released Intimately Beckham Night a new range of his-and-her fragrances, and her debut cosmetics line V-Sculpt was unveiled and launched in Tokyo.

It has been announced that Beckham will be the new face of Marc Jacobs for Spring 2008 in a campaign shot by Juergen Teller, and that she has styled Jack Nicholson for a forthcoming shoot in Parade magazine.

Beckham has voiced her anti-fur beliefs and promotes an animal friendly wardrobe filled with faux/synthetic furs. Beckham's stand against the fur industry has generated admiration from animal rights organizations, including PETA. Of PETA anti-fur campaigns, Beckham stated that she is "supportive of its high-profile anti-fur campaigns," and pledged "never to work with fur in any of [her] own fashion collections".