AKA Amanda Lee Rogers

Born: 31-Jan-1973
Birthplace: Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Lesbian
Occupation: Actor
Nationality: Australia
Executive summary: Nelle Porter on Ally
Husband: Mel Metcalfe (film industry, div.)
Girlfriend: Francesca Gregorini (musician, step-daughter of Ringo Starr, b. 1968, dated 2001-04)
Girlfriend: Ellen DeGeneres (dated and cohabited 2004- )
Born in Melbourne, Victoria, de Rossi was raised in Grovedale, a suburb of Geelong. As a child she modeled for print and TV commercials. She took the name Portia de Rossi at a young age:
“ When I was 15, I changed it legally. In retrospect, I think it was largely due to my struggle about being gay. Everything just didn’t fit, and I was trying to find things I could identify myself with, and it started with my name. I picked Portia because I was a Shakespeare fan (Portia is the character in The Merchant of Venice). De Rossi because I was Australian and I thought that an exotic Italian name would somehow suit me more than Amanda Rogers. When you live in Australia, Europe is so far away and so fascinating, so stylish and cultured and sophisticated.”
An extremely gifted student, she left the lecture theaters of the University of Melbourne Law school to pursue an acting career. She supports Locks of Love, a group that makes wigs for children with medical hair loss.
De Rossi, who was married for two years to documentary filmmaker Mel Metcalfe (to get a green card), is now openly gay. From 2000 to 2004, de Rossi dated singer Francesca Gregorini, daughter of actress Barbara Bach and stepchild of Ringo Starr. Portia dodged media questions about her sexual orientation and the relationship during this period. Portia was rarely pictured with Gregorini in public.
In a September 2005 magazine interview with The Advocate, de Rossi said that most of her family and Ally McBeal cast mates learned she was gay because of tabloid pictures of de Rossi and Gregorini in 2001. The couple broke up in late 2004 as de Rossi began dating comedian Ellen DeGeneres. In 2005, de Rossi officially came out and opened up about being gay in interviews with Details and The Advocate.
Portia de Rossi was named number 64 in Stuff's 100 Sexiest Women, 31 in Femme Fatales' Sexiest Women of 2003 list, 24 in Maxim's 100 Sexiest Women List in 2004, and in late 2006, the magazine Blender listed her as one of the hottest women of film and TV.
Portia de Rossi is also a recovering anorexic whose low weight was 82lbs for her five foot seven height. Photos from her in this time are often seen on pro-ana websites.
Career
Her first significant role was playing a young and impressionable model in the Australian 1994 film Sirens. Soon afterwards she moved to Los Angeles and had guest roles on TV shows before landing a role in the film Scream 2.
She attracted international attention when she joined the main cast of the Ally McBeal TV series in 1998 playing lawyer Nelle Porter. She remained with the show until its end in 2002.
In 2001, she starred in Who is Cletis Tout? with Christian Slater. From 2003 to 2006, de Rossi starred as Lindsay Bluth Fünke on Fox Television's critically acclaimed, Emmy-winning series Arrested Development.
Portia was strongly considered to play Christina Ricci's role in the film Black Snake Moan co-starring Samuel L. Jackson.
In Nip/Tuck's 5th season, which is to start in October 2007, de Rossi will join the L.A. scene as an acupuncturist.
She also portrayed John F. Kennedy, Jr.'s wife, Carolyn Bessette-Kennedy, in a made for TV movie. (TBS)

AKA Julie Michelle McCullough

Born: 30-Jan-1965
Birthplace: Honolulu, HI
Gender: Female
Religion: Roman Catholic
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Playboy centerfold, actress
Boyfriend: Scott Baio (actor, ex)
Husband: David Sutcliffe (actor, m. 10-Nov-2001, div. 2003)
Julie Michelle McCullough is an American model, actress and stand-up comedienne. She was Playboy magazine's Playmate of the Month for February 1986, and played "Julie Costello" on Growing Pains until she was fired for having posed in Playboy.
Early life
McCullough, who is of Irish descent, was named after a 1950s song called “Oh Julie”. In addition to Honolulu, she grew up in several states, though she considers herself Southern, having attended high school in Poplar Bluff, Missouri and Allen, Texas.
The Growing Pains scandal
McCullough found work in a number of television and film projects, including Max Headroom, The Golden Girls, Superboy and the 1988 horror movie remake The Blob, before landing the role of nanny "Julie Costello" on Growing Pains in 1989.
McCullough appeared in eight episodes until she was fired in 1990, which stemmed from series star Kirk Cameron's conversion to evangelical Christianity, a conversion that, according to The E! True Hollywood Story episode focusing on the show, served to alienate him from his fellow cast members, as he did not invite any of them to his wedding. He called for McCullough's termination because of his objections to her having posed nude in Playboy, and accused the show's producers of promoting pornography. A decade later, Cameron apologized to his TV family, attributing his prior behavior to his lack of maturity , but did not reconcile with McCullough, who remains critical of him, stating that she lost a lot from the public criticism she endured from the controversy. Although McCullough herself is Catholic, she has criticized the evangelical television programming Cameron has produced, which she has viewed on one occasion, saying on her MySpace page:
“ He thinks if I read science books that I'm going to hell. [I would] rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the saints ... the sinners are much more fun. And a lot more interesting than some book-burner who is still having growing pains. I am at peace with God. Kirk thinks people like me are going to Hell, if I do then at least I'll go well informed and well read.”
Current work
McCullough in 2007Having enjoyed doing comedy on stage her entire life, McCullough now works as a stand-up comedienne, and has performed at the Hollywood Improv, the Palms Hotel and Casino, and the Laugh Factory.
McCullough has appeared on the E! reality show The Girls Next Door. She appeared in "Under the Covers", the ninth episode of the first season, which aired in October 2005, and "May the Horse Be With You", the second episode of the third season, which aired in March 2007.
Personal life
McCullough married Canadian actor David Sutcliffe on November 10, 2001; they divorced in December 2003.
McCullough is a member of the social networking site MySpace, and according to Dave Itzkoff, writing in an article in the June 2006 Playboy magazine, "Playboy's unofficial ambassador to the MySpace nation."
McCullough has been a vegetarian and animal rights advocate for “twenty years”, according to her MySpace bio. McCullough is pro-choice on the issue of abortion, having discussed the matter on her MySpace blog.
She has been the topic of questions on the game show Jeopardy! four times.
She is close friends with Kendra Wilkinson of The Girls Next Door.

AKA Heather Joan Graham

Born: 29-Jan-1970
Birthplace: Milwaukee, WI
Gender: Female
Religion: Other
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Rollergirl in Boogie Nights
Father: James Graham (FBI agent)
Mother: Joan Bransfield Graham (juvenile author, Splish Splash)
Sister: Aimee Graham (actress)
Boyfriend: Kyle MacLachlan (actor, dated 1990-92)
Boyfriend: James Woods (dated 1992-93)
Boyfriend: Adam Ant (dated 1994)
Boyfriend: Jon Favreau (dated 1995)
Boyfriend: Elias Koteas (dated 1997)
Boyfriend: Stephen Hopkins (director, dated 1998)
Boyfriend: Edward Burns (cohabited 1998-99, broken engagement)
Boyfriend: Heath Ledger (dated 2000-01)
Boyfriend: Benicio Del Toro (dated 2001)
Boyfriend: Elijah Blue Allman (son of Cher and Gregg Allman, dated 2001-02)
Boyfriend: Matthew Perry (dated 2003)
Boyfriend: Chris Weitz (director, About A Boy, dated 2003-04)
Boyfriend: Josh Lucas (dated 2004-05)
Early life
Graham was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the daughter of Joan, a teacher and noted author of children's books, and James Graham, a retired FBI agent. Graham has a younger sister, Aimee, who is also an actress and writer. The family, who are of Irish descent, followed a strict traditional Catholic upbringing; Graham has since estranged herself from the Catholic Church. Graham has practiced Hinduism and associated transcendental meditation since 1991. Graham graduated from the Agoura High School in California in 1988. In 1986, Heather appeared on a special "Teen Week" episode of the NBC-TV game show Scrabble.
After high school, Graham enrolled in extension classes of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and she also met the actor James Woods. They became romantically involved at about the time she was cast in the movie Diggstown, which starred Woods. Two years later, Graham stopped taking classes at UCLA to pursue acting full time, over her parents' objections. She then moved to Hollywood, where she worked different jobs while continuing to establish herself as an actress.
Initially, Graham's parents were supportive of her budding acting career. However, her parents were concerned that she should not appear in any movie featuring sex or nudity. She appeared fully nude in several scenes in her breakout role in Boogie Nights and is currently estranged from her parents, who continue to be devout Catholics.
Film and television career
As a supporting actress, Graham was cast in a number of parts that brought her attention, including Nadine in 1989 film Drugstore Cowboy. In 1991, she appeared in the TV series Twin Peaks as Annie Blackburn, Dale Cooper's second-season love interest. However, her breakthrough role was that of 1970s porn starlet Roller Girl in 1997's Boogie Nights, for which she received several award nominations. Her first starring role was in 1999 as Felicity Shagwell in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. She also appeared in the music video for Lenny Kravitz's cover of "American Woman" by The Guess Who. More recently, she starred as Mary Kelly in the 2001 film From Hell, based on the story of Jack the Ripper.
Although Graham has been featured in mainstream films, she has also been cast in a number of independent films. Some of those films, like 2002's The Guru, have brought her critical praise. She also starred opposite Joseph Fiennes in the less successful Killing Me Softly. In 2001, Graham was named by People as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World".
Graham also played herself on one episode of the TV series Sex and the City. She was given special guest-star status on several episodes of NBC-TV's Scrubs during its fourth season (2004–2005), and also appeared in a small role as a teacher in an episode of Fox's Arrested Development. In 2005, Graham became the spokeswoman and TV model for the Garnier brand of hair care products. Graham's print ad for Skyy vodka, which was photographed in 2003 (titled "#3, Entourage") is still appearing in national magazines today as well.
Graham's most recent project was starring in the ABC-TV comedy series Emily's Reasons Why Not, in 2006. However, ABC-TV announced that the show was canceled after its first airing on January 9, 2006. Because they print their covers weeks in advance, and they did not expect the quick cancellation, Life did a cover story on Graham two weeks later in their January 27, 2006 issue, and they referred to her as "TV’s sexiest star". Billboard ads also remained in place promoting the show weeks after the cancellation.
Graham voiced the character of Antonia Bayle in the online role playing game EverQuest 2.
Personal
Graham has been in relationships with musician Adam Ant and actors Heath Ledger and Edward Burns (1998-2000).
More
Heather Graham is a gorgeous blonde actress who first caught attention as the naked skating Rollergirl in Boogie Nights, and in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me as Felicity Shagwell, replacing Elizabeth Hurley opposite Mike Myers.
Her father was an FBI agent, and because of his work the family moved frequently while Graham was growing up. At 13, she filmed commercials for Ivory and Mountain Dew, and at 14 her first film appearance was a bit part in Mrs. Soffel with Mel Gibson and Diane Keaton. She was a drug addict in Drug Store Cowboy, a sexy nun on Twin Peaks, and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito's mother in Twins. She could have had Winona Ryder's part in Heathers, but her strict parents disapproved of the story line. After her extended nudity in Boogie Nights, her parents cut off all contact with their daughter.
"It would be nice if I did have a good relationship with my family", she says, "and yes, part of me longs to have a mum and dad who love and accept me for who I am. But if they never do, it's OK. I've learned to take care of myself."
Graham says she stays in shape by pole dancing.

AKA Barbara Klein

Born: 28-Jan-1950
Birthplace: Sacramento, CA
Gender: Female
Religion: Jewish
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Model, Musician, Actor
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Hee-Haw regular from 1971-76
Boyfriend: Hugh Hefner (cohabited 1969-76)
Husband: George Gradow (m. 14-Oct-1979)
Son: Alexander Benton Gradow (b. 23-Aug-1986)
Benton was born Barbara Klein to a Jewish American family in New York City, New York. In 1952, her family moved to Sacramento, California when her father, a military doctor, was assigned new duties there. Benton attended Rio Americano High School in Sacramento before heading for Los Angeles at age 16, where she began modeling for the Flaire Agency in Beverly Hills to supplement her allowance.
Career
She met Hugh Hefner in 1968, when she was booked as "atmosphere" for his television show Playboy After Dark which filmed A-list entertainers performing in Hugh Hefner's mansion surrounded by Playboy Playmates. Benton said she pretended to be Hefner's girlfriend for a couple of episodes and soon found herself living the role full time. She was on her way to becoming a multifaceted icon of 1970s glamour.
Shortly after meeting Hefner, at his suggestion, she changed her name to the more showbiz-friendly Barbi Benton. "When he asked me out," Barbi recalls, "I was 18 and he was 42. I said I'd never gone out with anyone older than 24, and he said, 'That's all right. Neither have I.' We hit it off right away, and it lasted for eight years!"
Benton was Hefner's girlfriend and lived with him from 1969-1976. She also became a recording star, a Las Vegas headliner and a movie actress, with credits including Deathstalker, The Naughty Cheerleader and Hospital Massacre. Although none of the films were particular box office successes, they enjoy a cult status among fans of B-movies.
While being one of the best known women whose fame derives from appearing in Playboy magazine, contrary to popular belief, Barbi Benton has never been featured as a Playmate of the Month centerfold in the magazine. She also never worked as a Playboy Bunny.
Besides the Hefner connection, Benton is best known for her years as a regular on the country music series Hee Haw as a scantily clad country cutie trading gags and appearing in comic skits with other regulars. She left the program after four seasons to concentrate on a more Hollywood-oriented career. She also starred in the short-lived ABC-TV comedy series Sugar Time! about an aspiring female rock group in 1977. That show's greatest claim to fame may have been its inspiring one television critic to call it "jiggle TV", a term that was then frequently used to describe the many television series of the era starring attractive, sexy young women.
Benton was also a recording artist with some success. Her 1975 record, "Brass Buckles", was a top five hit on Billboard's country singles chart. Benton has recorded eight albums, the last of which she personally produced in 1979. She also composed the songs, sang them and played piano. One of her better known songs was "Ain't That Just the Way" in 1976, which was also a major hit for Lutricia McNeal in 1996, and was recorded by the Dutch singer Patricia Paay under the title Poor Jeremy in 1977.
Benton now works as an interior decorator.
Family
She left Hefner when she eventually realized that he was not interested in starting a new family. Benton married George Gradow, a successful real estate developer on October 14, 1979. The couple has two children, Alexander Benton Gradow (born August 23, 1986) and a daughter, Arianna (born 1988). Benton mostly concentrates on building and designing homes now. They split their time between their homes in Aspen, Colorado and Oahu. On April 28, 2006, Gradow was sentenced to 15 months in prison after pleading guilty to tax fraud and fudging financial documents in a bid to mislead the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Gradow admitted that he tried to conceal his company's 1999 tax underpayment by destroying original documents and by changing interest rates and due dates on promissory notes and real estate lease documents as well as changing lease terms. Gradow was also told to pay $128,185 in restitution and a $5,000 fine to the IRS.

Born: 27-Jan-1979
Birthplace: London, England
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Occupation: Actor
Nationality: England
Executive summary: Die Another Day
Father: Julian Pike (opera singer)
Mother: Caroline (violinist)
Pike is the only child of Caroline and Julian Pike, both musical performers. She attended Badminton School in Bristol before studying English Literature at Wadham College, Oxford. While there, she became friends with Chelsea Clinton, and studied under both Bernard O'Donoghue, the Whitbread prize-winning poet, and Robert J.C. Young, the eminent post-colonial theorist. An able student, she achieved a First Class in her first year examinations (known as Moderations) and, after taking a year off to pursue her career, returned to complete her degree in 2001, gaining an Second Upper.
She garnered stage experience in student productions, including David Hare's Skylight, Arthur Miller's All My Sons, and several plays by Shakespeare. While appearing in a production of Romeo and Juliet at the National Youth Theatre, she was noticed by an agent who helped her embark upon a professional career.
She is a skilled cellist and speaks fluent German and French. She currently lives in the West End and is engaged to director Joe Wright, following a relationship with Pride and Prejudice co-star Simon Woods, whom she met at university. Pike and Wright will marry sometime in 2008.
Career
Pike's British television roles appearances include A Rather English Marriage (1998), Wives and Daughters (1999), and Love in a Cold Climate (2001), a mini-series based on the Nancy Mitford novels The Pursuit of Love and Love in a Cold Climate. She appeared as Sarah Beaumont in an episode of the series Foyle's War.
Pike became known to a wider audience in Die Another Day as a rogue MI-6 agent originally assigned to aid James Bond. During the film's release she appeared in the special show Bond Girls Are Forever and, shortly thereafter, the BAFTA tribute to the James Bond series.
Pike played Elizabeth Malet in The Libertine (2005) co-starring Johnny Depp, which won her the Best Supporting Actress award at the British Independent Film Awards. In the same year, she portrayed Rose in The Promised Land, a film about Israel, starred as scientist Samantha Grimm in the cinematic adaptation of the computer game Doom, and appeared as Jane, the elder sister of Elizabeth (played by Keira Knightley), in Pride & Prejudice.
She has a role in the upcoming film adaptation of Anne Michaels' novel Fugitive Pieces, scheduled for release in 2007, and is recording voicework for a lead role in the forthcoming film Jackboots on Whitehall.
Pike can currently be seen in the movie Fracture, opposite Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling. The film was her first experience of shooting a movie in Los Angeles.
Recent stage credits include Hitchcock Blonde by Terry Johnson (in a role requiring her to appear nude on stage) and Tennessee Williams' Summer and Smoke, both in London's West End, and Gaslight at London's Old Vic Theatre. Pike has said that she would be happy to do at least one play every year.

Christian Brando, the troubled son of late actor Marlon Brando, has died in a Los Angeles hospital, according to published statements by Brando family representatives. He was 49 years old.
Brando died early Saturday morning, according to a statement by David Seeley, an attorney representing Marlon Brando's estate.
"This is a sad and difficult time for the family," Seeley said in the statement, published by The Associated Press.
TMZ.com recently reported that Brando had been admitted into Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center Jan. 11 with an undisclosed illness and was in the facility's intensive care unit. The New York Post reported today that Brando was suffering from pneumonia.
The People magazine Web site today quoted his ex-wife, Deborah, as saying that he was in a coma and on a ventilator when he died.
"His body was totally compromised," she told the magazine. "He'd lived so hard. ... This is just so sad."
The roller coaster that was Christian Brando's life began even before he was born, as his famous parents -- his mother was tempestuous actress Anna Kashfi -- married just around the time of his birth, then parted acrimoniously less than two years later. That set off a lengthy custody battle that was resolved in Brando's favor when the boy was 13 years old.
Christian, the oldest of Brando's 11 biological and adopted children, grew up in both Los Angeles and Tahiti, where his father owned an island and later sired several half-siblings for Christian. Among them was a beautiful but unstable half-sister, Cheyenne, with whom Christian was close.
In 1990, when she was 20 years old, Cheyenne confided to him that her boyfriend, Dag Drollet -- father of her unborn child -- had been physically abusive to her (though that was never substantiated). Soon afterward, Brando shot Drollet dead in his father's mansion on lofty Mulholland Drive, sparking a media frenzy.
Cheyenne was immediately whisked away to a hospital in Tahiti, and was not made available to testify at legal hearings before Christian's murder trial. He ended up pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to 10 years in prison; he served six years and was released in 1996.
Cheyenne commited suicide in 1995. Her son, Tuki, is being raised in Tahiti by her mother, Tarita.
Once released from prison, his notariety faded, Brando seemed to live a quieter life -- though not for long. When Robert Blake's wife, Bonnie Lee Bakely, was murdered in Los Angeles in May, 2001, Blake pointed the finger at Brando, saying that he was dating Bonnie Lee at the same time, had made threats against her and was the father of a child she gave birth to in June 2000 (she had named the baby girl Christian Shannon Brando, though the child was renamed Rose Blake after a paternity test proved that Blake was the biological father).
Brando was never formally charged in the crime and was cleared because he was away from Los Angeles when it occured. But Blake claimed that it was commited by a friend of Christian Brando's trying to curry favor with the actor's son. Blake was acquitted in the criminal trial but was found liable in a civil trial the following year.
If that wasn't enough time in the tabloids, Christian made more headlines in January 2005 when his new wife, Deborah Presley, accused him of spousal abuse. He later pleaded guilty and was sentenced to five years probation, as well as required drug and alcohol counseling. The couple divorced six months later.
In between his bouts with the law, Brando tried to launch an acting career, appearing in small roles in several films including, incongruously, the Barbra Streisand film "Yentl." But he was never able to move beyond the shadow of Marlon Brando, who died in July 2004.

Born: 26-Jan-1953
Birthplace: Lake Charles, LA
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Musician
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
Father: Miller Williams (literature professor)
Husband: Greg Sowders (div.)
Williams was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, the daughter of poet and literature professor Miller Williams and an amateur pianist. Her father worked as a visiting professor in Mexico and Chile as well as different parts of the American South, before settling at the University of Arkansas. His daughter started writing when she was 6 years old and showed an affinity for music at an early age, and was playing guitar at 12. Williams first live performance was in Mexico City at 17, as part a duo with her friend, a banjo player named Clark Jones.
Career
Early years
By her early 20s, Williams was playing publicly in Austin, Texas and Houston, Texas, concentrating on a folk-rock-country blend. She moved to Jackson, Mississippi, in 1978 to record her first album, for Smithsonian/Folkways Records. Titled Ramblin', it was a collection of country and blues covers. She followed it up in 1980 with Happy Woman Blues, which consisted of her own material. Neither album received much attention.
In the 1980s Williams moved to Los Angeles, California (before finally settling in Nashville, Tennessee, where, performing both backed by a rock band and in acoustic settings, she developed a following and a critical reputation. Nevertheless, it was not until 1988 that Rough Trade Records released the self-titled Lucinda Williams. The single "Changed the Locks", about a broken relationship, received radio play around the country and gained fans among music insiders, including Tom Petty, who would later cover the song.
Its follow-up, Sweet Old World (Chameleon, 1992), was a melancholy album dealing with themes of suicide and death. Williams' biggest success during the early 1990s was as a songwriter. Mary Chapin Carpenter recorded a cover of "Passionate Kisses" (from Lucinda Williams) in 1992, and the song became a smash country hit for which Williams received the Grammy Award for Best Country Song in 1994. She duetted with Steve Earle on the song "You're Still Standin' There" from his album I Feel Alright in 1996.
Williams had garnered considerable critical acclaim, but her commercial success was moderate. Emmylou Harris said of Williams, "She is an example of the best of what country at least says it is. But, for some reason, she's completely out of the loop. And I feel strongly that that's country music's loss." Harris recorded the title track from Williams' Sweet Old World for her career-redefining 1995 album, Wrecking Ball.
Williams also gained a reputation as a perfectionist and slow worker when it came to recording; six years would pass before her next album release, though she appeared as a guest on other artists' albums and contributed to several tribute compilations during this period.
Car Wheels on a Gravel Road
The long-awaited release, 1998's Car Wheels on a Gravel Road was Williams' breakthrough to the mainstream and received a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary Folk Album. Containing the single "Still I Long for Your Kiss" from the Robert Redford film The Horse Whisperer, the album received wide critical notice and soon went gold. The single "Can't Let Go" also enjoyed considerable cross-over radio play. Williams toured with Bob Dylan and on her own in support of the album.
In 1999, Williams appeared on Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons, duetting with David Crosby on the title track of the tribute album.
Williams followed up the success of Car Wheels with Essence (2001). This release featured a less produced, more stripped-down approach both musically and lyrically, and moved Williams further from the country music establishment while winning fans in the alternative music world. She won the 2002 Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Performance for the single "Get Right With God", an atypically uptempo gospel-rock tune from the otherwise rather low-key release. The title track includes a contribution on Hammond organ by alternative country musician Ryan Adams.
Her seventh album, World Without Tears, was released in 2003. A musically adventurous though lyrically downbeat album, this release found Williams experimenting with talking blues stylings and electric blues.
Recent work
In 2006, Lucinda recorded a version of the John Hartford classic "Gentle On My Mind", which played over the closing credits of the Will Ferrell film Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
Williams was a guest vocalist on the song "Factory Girls" from Irish punk-folk band Flogging Molly's 2004 album, "Within a Mile of Home", and appeared on Elvis Costello's The Delivery Man. She sings with folk legend Ramblin' Jack Elliott on the track "Careless Darling" from his 2006 release "I Stand Alone".
In 2006, Williams announced her engagement to music executive Tom Overby. Although she first told reporters the marriage would take place in 2006, she still described Overby as her fiancé during her spring 2007 tour.
In 2007, Williams released West, for which she wrote more than 27 songs. The album was released on February 13, 2007 and contains 13 tracks and has a similar sound to World Without Tears. It addresses her mothers' death and a tumultuous relationship break-up. Vanity Fair praised it, saying "Lucinda Williams has made the record of a lifetime – part Hank Williams, part Bob Dylan, part Keith Richards circa Exile on Main St. ..."
Jesse Malin's 2007 album Glitter in the Gutter contains the track "Lucinda", an ode to Williams.

AKA Christine Helen Lakin

Born: 25-Jan-1979
Birthplace: Dallas, TX
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Occupation: Actor
Christine Helen Lakin is an American actress. She is known for her role as Alicia "Al" Lambert on the 1990s ABC situation comedy Step by Step.
Lakin was born in Dallas, Texas to Karen (née Niedwick) and James Daley Lakin, and raised in Atlanta, GA. She graduated from The Lovett School in 1997. She got her start in commercials, before landing her first major role as Young Rose in the American Civil War drama The Rose and the Jackal. That movie aired in 1990, one year before she was cast as Al Lambert, the tomboyish daughter, on Step by Step. After Step by Step was cancelled in 1998 (due to low ratings), she continued to appear in made-for-TV movies, and has several new films either in production or post-production. She is a 2003 graduate of UCLA, where she earned a degree in communications. Lakin appeared in the Showtime movie Reefer Madness and the movie Who's your daddy?.
Lately, she has been appearing as one of the regular cast members of MTV's Wild 'N Out, an improv comedy show similar in structure to Whose Line Is It, Anyway?. She also appeared in commercial called "But He Has Bud Light" that aired during Super Bowl XLI, in which her male companion wants to pick up a hitchhiker who has Bud Light beer in one hand and an axe in the other.
Lakin will star alongside Paris Hilton in the movie The Hottie and the Nottie, which began filming in January 2007 and is scheduled for a 2008 release. She is dating director Andy Fickman.

AKA Mischa Anne Barton

Born: 24-Jan-1986
Birthplace: London, England
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor
Nationality: England
Executive summary: Marissa Cooper on The O.C.
Father: Paul Barton
Mother: Nuala Quinn
Sister: Zoe
Sister: Hania Barton (b. 18-Feb-1988)
Boyfriend: Brandon Davis (oil heir and general "bad boy", together 2004-05)
Boyfriend: Cisco Adler (musician, dated 2005-07)
Barton was born in Hammersmith, London, England, to an Irish mother, Nuala (Quinn), a photographer, and English father, Paul Marsden Barton, a stockbroker. Barton moved to New York City at the age of four and was naturalized as a citizen of the United States in Los Angeles on February 3, 2006. She still retains her status as a citizen of the United Kingdom. She has strong ties back in England as she has an older sister, Zoe Barton, a London barrister. Her younger sister, Hania Barton, is currently a student at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles. Barton graduated from the Professional Children's School in Manhattan in 2004, and attended classes at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in the fall of 2006.
Career
Barton began acting at the age of nine, co-starring the Off Broadway premiere of Slavs! written during by Tony Kushner. She appeared in several other Off Broadway productions, taking a lead role in James Lapine's Twelve Dreams at Lincoln Center. She made her film debut in Lawn Dogs, which won awards at film festivals around the world. Since then she has appeared in several films, such as The Sixth Sense, Notting Hill, and Lost and Delirious. Barton was also seen in many various television commercials and print advertising campaigns. Long time friend and mentor Ivan Bart of IMG Models New York has represented her throughout her career.
Barton first appeared on television in 1996, as young Lily Montgomery in All My Children. Two years later she starred in the film Pups a modern re-make of Bonnie and Clyde. She guest-starred in eight episodes of the television series Once and Again as Jessie Sammler's (Evan Rachel Wood's) girlfriend, Katie Singer. Other television appearances include an episode of the FOX series Fastlane, James Blunt's music video "Goodbye My Lover" , and Enrique Iglesias' music video Addicted. In August 2003, FOX premiered the television series The O.C., which became an instant overnight success. It put Barton on the map as Marissa Cooper until her departure from the show in the third-season finale in May of 2006. The O.C. dropped in ratings dramatically during its third and fourth seasons, and was cancelled in early 2007.
Recently, Barton was cast in an upcoming international film produced by the Russian band t.A.T.u., called You and I (previously known as "Finding t.A.T.u.") She will then work on the films The Sophomore and Malice in Sunderland.
Endorsements
Barton has modeled for companies such as Calvin Klein, bebe stores, Aéropostale, Monsoon Accessorize, Dooney & Bourke, JC (Jeans and Clothes), Morgan de Toi, Jaspal, and Neutrogena skincare products. She has more recently become the spokesperson for Keds Sneakers, substantially increasing sales. In Australia, she appears in commercials for teen magazine Famous and was the guest of honor at retail giant David Jones Tahitian Summer Collection launch. In 2007, Mischa also became a spokesperson for the SAFE (Skin Awareness for Everyone) campaign and also lent her name to the TRAID campaign (Textile Recycling for Aid and International Development) in association with Visa Swap. During this time Mischa also endorsed Italian clothing brand Iceberg.She will continue modelling for brands.

AKA Allison Lee Hannigan

Born: 24-Mar-1974
Birthplace: Washington, DC
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Willow on Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Father: All Hannigan (truck driver)
Mother: Emilie Hannigan (real estate agent)
Boyfriend: Ginger Fish (drummer for Marilyn Manson, b. 28-Sep-1966, dated 1990s)
Husband: Alexis Denisof (actor, b. 25-Feb-1966, dated 1999-, m. 11-Oct-2003)
Alyson Hannigan made her first movie when she was three months of age. Her parents had a photography studio, and because Alyson was always well-behaved in front of the cameras, they "volunteered" her for an educational film titled Active Parenting. Her parents divorced when Hannigan was two. As a kid, Hannigan did commercials for McDonald's, Oreo cookies, Delta Airlines, and Six Flags amusement parks. She was 10 when she first appeared in a real movie, as an extra in Brad Dourif's Impure Thoughts. Her first speaking role was three years later, in My Stepmother Is an Alien. She also played the flute in the American Pie movies.
Hannigan played the shy, nerdy, and eventually lesbian witch Willow Rosenberg for seven years on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. After Buffy, Hannigan married her one-time Buffy co-star Alexis Denisof (who played the nerdy watcher Wesley). She starred in the Meg Ryan role in a London stage production of When Harry Met Sally, opposite Luke Perry, and now stars in the sitcom How I Met Your Mother, with Neil Patrick Harris.

Birth name Doutzen Kroes
Date of birth January 23, 1985
Place of birth Eastermar , Friesland, Netherlands
Height 5 ft 10 in
Hair color blonde
Eye color blue
Measurements 35-24-35
Doutzen Kroes is a Dutch supermodel.
She was born in the town of Oostermeer, in Friesland, The Netherlands. After graduating highschool (HAVO) she send some snapshots to model agency Paparazzi in Amsterdam. Currently she is signed by DNA Models. Kroes has made the covers of Time, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Numero. She also appears regularly in the Victoria's Secret catalog and was featured in their fashion show in 2005 and 2006. Kroes has also been in campaigns by Gucci, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Escada, Dolce & Gabbana, Valentino, Versace and Neiman Marcus.
In 2005, she was selected as Model of The Year on Vogue.com by readers. Kroes was named spokesmodel for the Calvin Klein "Eternity" fragrance campaign in August 2005 and, in April 2006, she signed a three-year contract with L'Oréal Paris.
In the May 2007 issue of American Vogue she was featured on the cover with fellow models: Hilary Rhoda, Caroline Trentini, Raquel Zimmermann, Sasha Pivovarova, Agyness Deyn, Coco Rocha, Jessica Stam, Chanel Iman, and Lily Donaldson as the new crop of supermodels.
In July 2007, earning at an estimated total of $1.5 million in the past 12 months, Forbes named her fourteenth in the list of the World's 15 Top-Earning Supermodels.

AKA Tiffany Amber Thiessen

Born: 23-Jan-1974
Birthplace: Orange County, CA
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Kelly Kapowski, Saved by the Bell
Father: Frank Thiessen
Mother: Robyn Ernest
Boyfriend: Mark-Paul Gosselaar (ex-, dated during filming of Saved by the Bell)
Boyfriend: Brian Austin Green (dated 1992-5)
Boyfriend: Pauly Shore (dated 1990s)
Boyfriend: Jason Priestley (dated summer 1997)
Boyfriend: Richard Ruccolo (broken engagement)
Boyfriend: David Strickland (actor, d. 1999 suicide)
Husband: Brady Smith (actor, m. 9-Jul-2005)
Tiffani Thiessen (born January 23, 1974 in Long Beach, California) is an American television and film actress, best known for her role as Kelly Kapowski in Saved by the Bell and as Valerie Malone in Beverly Hills, 90210. After many years of going by her full name Tiffani-Amber Thiessen, she is now credited as simply Tiffani Thiessen.
Biography
Early Life
She was born in Long Beach, California; her father, Frank, was a park designer and her mother, Robyn, was a homemaker. She is of German, Greek, Turkish and Welsh descent. She told InStyle: "I'm a mutt. I have so much of everything in me, and half of it I don't even know. German on one side, Greek, Turkish and Welsh on the other. My mom is very olive-skinned; I get my blue eyes from my dad.". She credits her brother, Todd, as one of her most important sources of inspirations, and mother and grandmother as her role models. Her uncle, Roger Ernest, who attended college with Steven Spielberg and co-wrote one of his student films called Slipstream, and who appeared in Close Encounters of the Third Kind and The Sugarland Express playing a cop in both films, was the person who had first suggested that his niece enter show business.
As a child, she competed in many beauty pageants, and she won the Miss Junior America pageant in 1987.
Career
Her first big break in show business was her role on the television program Saved By The Bell, as nice girl Kelly Kapowski, a role she continued playing in the short lived Saved by the Bell: The College Years. This was very different from her next major role, as a duplicitous vixen, Valerie Malone, on Beverly Hills, 90210.
She later guest-starred in the sitcom Two Guys and a Girl and the short-lived action show Fastlane, as well as guest-starring on Just Shoot Me!. Her transition to film has not gone well so far, as most of her movies, including Love Stinks, have been critically panned. In 2002, she appeared in the film Hollywood Ending directed by Woody Allen.
In 2005, she released a short (21 minute) film she had directed called Just Pray. It placed at several film festivals and was the first major effort from her new production company, Tit 4 Tat Productions.
In January 2007 Thiessen joined the cast of ABC's relationship drama What About Brian, playing the boss of Brian, and a potential love interest for Adam. However, in May 2007 ABC officially canceled the series.
Personal Life
During her Saved By The Bell and Beverly Hills, 90210 career she dated actor Brian Austin Green for about 7 years. They used to live together.
In March of 1999, her then-boyfriend, actor David Strickland, committed suicide. From October 2001 to April 2003, she was engaged to actor Richard Ruccolo, whom she had met during the Two Guys and a Girl run. On July 9, 2005, she married actor Brady Smith in Montecito, California.
Thiessen is a part of the Make-a-Wish Foundation. In February 2006, she accepted an invitation to serve on the National Advisory Council for the organization.

Born: 22-Jan-1965
Birthplace: New York City
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor, Model
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: A Walk on the Moon
Father: Burt Lane (acting coach, d. 2002)
Mother: Colleen Farrington (Playboy's Miss October 1957).
Boyfriend: Jon Bon Jovi (dated 1980s)
Boyfriend: Timothy Hutton (actor, dated 1980s)
Boyfriend: Christopher Atkins (actor, dated 1980s)
Husband: Christopher Lambert (actor, dated 1984-88, m. Oct-1988, div. Mar-1994, one daughter)
Daughter: Eleonora Lambert (b. 1993)
Boyfriend: Danny Cannon (director, b. 1968, dated 1994-95)
Husband: Josh Brolin (actor, m. Aug-2004)
Diane Lane's father was an acting coach who despised "the Method", and her mother was a nightclub singer and Playboy centerfold. As she grew up in New York, John Cassavetes and Gena Rowlands were frequent houseguests, but Lane's parents separated when she was still young, and during the ensuing years of custody dispute she was kidnapped and largely raised by her mother. She made her stage debut at the age of six. She toured Europe in stage productions before puberty, without either of her parents, tended to instead by her castmates. She was just weeks past her 13th birthday when she made her Broadway debut in The Cherry Orchard with Meryl Streep and Raul Julia.
Lane starred in her first film at 14, A Little Romance with Laurence Olivier and Broderick Crawford. The film landed her on the cover of Time, and co-star Olivier described her as "the next Grace Kelly". She later starred in the delightful Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains with Laura Dern and Christine Lahti. Lane's mother pilfered upwards of half a million dollars from her teenage earnings. Still, she earned enough in her early stardom that Lane became a millionaire on her 18th birthday.
She starred in a series of films for Francis Ford Coppola, including Rumble Fish and The Outsiders, both with Matt Dillon, and the large-scale flop The Cotton Club with Richard Gere. She turned down Splash, which instead made a star of Daryl Hannah, and Lane's own star faded with a few further flops, until TV's Lonesome Dove with Robert Duvall briefly reignited her career. She had a small role as Paulette Goddard in Chaplin with Robert Downey, Jr.
More recently, she scored a moderate hit in 2002 as the cheating wife in Unfaithful with Gere again, and she appeared as Superman George Reeves's lover in Hollywoodland. She has also had a successful late career as a mature leading lady in several romances, including A Walk on the Moon with Viggo Mortensen, Under the Tuscan Sun with Sandra Oh, and Must Love Dogs with John Cusack.
Lane was married to low-budget action star Christopher Lambert, and has custody of their daughter Eleanor. She married Josh Brolin in the summer of 2004, and he was arrested for spousal abuse four months later. She later claimed it was all a "misunderstanding".

AKA Beverley Anne Mitchell

Born: 22-Jan-1981
Birthplace: Arcadia, CA
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Occupation: Actor
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Lucy Camden on 7th Heaven
Father: David Mitchell (racing promoter)
Mother: Sharon (office manager)
Beverley Ann Mitchell is an American actress and country music singer. She is perhaps best known for her role as Reverend Lucy Camden-Kinkirk on the television series 7th Heaven.
Biography
Career
Mitchell's debut role was in the TV movie Big Brother Jake (1990). Her first important film role came with The Crow: City of Angels (1996). Shortly after this, she appeared on the WB network as one of the new faces on 7th Heaven (1996), and has starred on the popular show throughout its eleven-season run. More recently, she debuted a country music album titled Beverley Mitchell, which included the single "Angel". The single premiered on the November 5, 2006, episode of 7th Heaven (Episode #227: Broken Hearts and Promises). The album was released on January 23, 2007. Mitchell co-wrote seven of the fourteen songs, two of which she sang in two different episodes of 7th Heaven.
Mitchell has said that she is concerned that network television has been drifting away from family dramas, and more specifically dramas that can be enjoyed by entire families. "I think the greatest thing about 7th Heaven is we allow religion to be a part of the show, but it's not what makes the show", she says. "We don't force religious issues on anybody. You can watch our show and be an Atheist. You can be a Buddhist, Agnostic. You can be anything and watch the show and you can still get something from it". On filming 7th Heaven's second series finale: "It was definitely sad! We love doing it for you (the fans). But if it is (truly) the end, my deepest gratitude to the amazing people I have shared the past 11 years with, and thank you to the fans for giving me the best job in the world!"
Mitchell performed at Lilith Unfair, a benefit for Breast Cancer Awareness, on Thursday, July 19, 2007 at The Mint in Los Angeles.
Personal life
Mitchell was born in Arcadia, California to Sharon (née Weisz), an office manager, and David Mitchell, an auto racing promoter. Her parents separated in 1996.
Mitchell has two things in common with her 7th Heaven co-star Catherine Hicks: each is an only child; and both are former high school cheerleaders. Mitchell's cheerleading talent was incorporated into an episode during 7th Heaven's first season.
On 7th Heaven, Beverley's character, Lucy, is younger than Jessica Biel's character, Mary. In reality, Mitchell is older than Biel by 14 months.
Mitchell and co-star Stephen Collins are the only cast members to be in every episode of 7th Heaven. She has also been the only cast member on 7th Heaven to have gotten married on the show and remained a regular.
According to E! Online, Mitchell is said to have extremely ticklish feet. She has said that "it is so hard to get pedicures, because it tickles me so much".
Beverley graduated from high school in 1999 and while working on the small screen, is currently studying film at Loyola Marymount University. She also actively participates in the RADD Kids and KMart Kids Race Against Drugs charities, amongst others. She has been in a relationship with Michael Cameron since 2000 and they became engaged in 2005 on New Year's Eve.

AKA Emma Lee Bunton

Born: 21-Jan-1976
Birthplace: Barnet, Hertfordshire, England
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Musician
Nationality: England
Executive summary: Baby Spice
Father: Trevor (milkman)
Mother: Pauline (karate instructor)
Brother: Paul J. (younger)
Boyfriend: Lee Brennan (1997)
Boyfriend: Jade Jones (one son)
Son: Beau (b. 10-Aug-2007 with Jones)
Bunton was born in Finchley and grew up in Woodside Park, London. Her parents, Pauline, a karate instructor, and Trevor, a milkman, split up when she was eleven; and she stayed with her mother. She has a younger brother, Paul James.Bunton started off at St.theresas primary school in finchley central.Then Bunton went to the Sylvia Young Theatre School in Marylebone; in 1993 she appeared in the ITV1 police series The Bill and also auditioned (although unsuccessfully) for the role of Bianca (played by Patsy Palmer) in the BBC soap EastEnders.
Music career
Spice Girls (1994-2000)
Main article: Spice Girls
She joined the Spice Girls (then still called Touch) in 1994 after the original fifth Touch member, Michelle Stephenson left the group. The group became one of the most successful musical acts of the 1990s, selling 35 million albums with studio releases Spice in 1996, Spiceworld in 1997, and Forever in 2000. She was known as Baby Spice because she often wore baby doll dresses and her blonde hair in pigtails. Their debut single "Wannabe" became the first of a string of number ones in the United Kingdom (nine in total) and reached the top position in thirty seven countries around the globe. In 1999 she presented her own music show Emma on VH1. The Spice Girls stopped recording in 2000; many rumours circulated about a reunion for the group's tenth anniversary but nothing materialised until June 2007 when they reformed for a Spice Girls reunion tour and Greatest Hits CD.
Solo career (2001-2007)
Her debut solo album entitled A Girl Like Me spawned the UK number-one hit "What Took You So Long?" as well as the top five hits "What I Am" (a cover of a 1988 song earlier recorded by Edie Brickell & New Bohemians) and "Take My Breath Away" (which has nothing to do with Berlin's 1986 hit), and the top twenty hit "We're Not Gonna Sleep Tonight". The album sold approximately 125,000 copies in the UK. Due to the disappointing sales of the project, Bunton parted with Virgin in 2002.
Bunton then signed a contract with Spice Girls' manager Simon Fuller's 19 Management and a complex licensing deal with Polydor Records, which included TV work and releasing music. In the spring of 2003, she returned as Emma (losing the Bunton), with the top five hit "Free Me" and later that year released "Maybe", which also went top ten. In the spring of 2004, the single "I'll Be There" and the album Free Me were released. The album contained '60s-style pop gems and outsold her first album. Free Me was released in the United States on 25 January 2005, but it didn't manage to chart on the U.S. Billboard 200 despite her appearances on major U.S. talk shows such as The View, Live with Regis and Kelly, and The Tony Danza Show to promote the album. She also made a number of promotional appearances for album signings in the U.S., including the gay bar XL Lounge, in New York City. Her first single released in the U.S. was a dance remix of the album's title track, which reached the top five of both the Hot Dance Club Play and the Hot Dance Airplay. "Maybe" also followed the success of "Free Me" on the U.S. dance chart.
In November 2006, Bunton released the official charity single for the BBC Children in Need appeal, recording a cover of Petula Clark's '60s classic "Downtown". It peaked at number three on the UK Singles Chart and was followed by her third studio album, Life in Mono, released on 4 December. The album entered the UK Albums Chart at number sixty-five, selling approximately 13,000 copies in its first week. To date, it has sold more than 45,000 copies in the UK. The second single from it was "All I Need to Know", released on 12 February 2007, intended for the Valentine's Day market. Bunton shot the video around Old Street in East London, in the week before Christmas 2006. Entering the UK Singles Chart at number sixty, "All I Need to Know" became Bunton's lowest-charting single of her solo career.
Spice Girls Reunion (2007-Present)
Main article: Spice Girls Reunion
On June 28, 2007, it was announced that Bunton would be reuniting with the Spice Girls for a world tour and Greatest Hits collection release.
Television and film
In October 2006, Bunton appeared as one of the celebrity contestants in the autumn 2006 series of the popular BBC programme Strictly Come Dancing and was partnered with professional dancer Darren Bennett. Despite being the bookies' favourite, she was placed third overall, and was the final female contestant to be eliminated.
She has also appeared in other roles in recent years, most notably in the fifth and final season of Absolutely Fabulous playing herself in two episodes. She has also guest-presented the television programmes SM:TV Live, T4 and hosted her own show Emma for VH1. In August 2006, former Spice Girls' manager Simon Fuller announced that he was planning a television sitcom based around Bunton.
In 2005, Bunton filmed guest roles in two Bollywood films: Pyaar Mein Twist and Chocolate.
Emma had won the lead female role of The Pink Panther 2 and was supposed to be filming in Autumn 2007 for release in 2008. Bunton was tapped to replace Beyoncé Knowles as the female lead in The Pink Panther 2. Unfortunately, Bunton was forced to drop out because of her pregnancy and her tour commitments.
Bunton has recently been seen in a high-profile television commercial for the supermarket chain Tesco. She also had a cameo role on the Australian soap opera Neighbours as herself on the episode titled "What's a Spice Girl Like You...?", aired on March 19, 2007 in Australia, and on May 25, 2007 in the UK. Bunton returned to US screens with a nationwide commercial for Prego in May 2007.
Personal life
She has been linked with such stars as actor Nigel Harman, pop singer Justin Timberlake, and 911 lead singer Lee Brennan.
Her boyfriend of eight years is former Damage and current CherryBlackStone lead singer Jade Jones. In October 2006, there were rumours that the couple were engaged, with plans to marry in March 2007. This rumour was denied several days later.
After being diagnosed with endometriosis, a condition which can reduce fertility, Bunton and Jones announced in January 2007 that they were expecting their first child together due sometime in the summer. It was rumoured that Prince William was to be one of the baby's godparents. However, Bunton appeared as a guest on the February 11 episode of Loose Women, where she denied that this was the case, stating that, yes, she and William were friends, and "exchanged Christmas cards", but that he would not be one of the baby's godparents.
Bunton's spokeswoman confirmed that at 11:12 A.M. on August 10, 2007, Bunton gave birth to a 7lb 15oz baby boy named Beau Lee Jones (according to their official website, "Baby had a baby!").

AKA Nathan Birnbaum

Born: 20-Jan-1896
Birthplace: New York City
Died: 9-Mar-1996
Location of death: Beverly Hills, CA
Cause of death: unspecified
Remains: Buried, Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, CA
Gender: Male
Religion: Jewish
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Oh, God!
Wife: Hannah Siegal (div.)
Wife: Gracie Allen (m. 7-Jan-1926, d. 27-Aug-1964)
Son: Ronnie Burns (adopted, b. 9-Jul-1935, d. 14-Nov-2007 cancer)
Daughter: Sandra (adopted 1934)
George Burns (born Nathan Birnbaum January 20, 1896–March 9, 1996) was an Academy Award-winning Jewish-American comedian and actor.
His career spanned vaudeville, film, radio, and television, with and without his equally legendary wife, Gracie Allen. His arched eyebrow and cigar smoke punctuation became familiar trademarks for over three quarters of a century. Enjoying a remarkable career resurrection that began at age 79, and ended shortly before his death at age 100, George Burns was as well known in the last two decades of his life as at any other time during his career.
Nathan Birnbaum was the ninth of twelve children born to Louis and Dorothy (Bluth) Birnbaum in New York City. His father was a substitute cantor at the local synagogue but did not work very often. During the flu epidemic of 1903, Louis had his chance to earn some real money but contracted the flu and died. Nattie (as he was known to his family) started working in 1903 after his father's death, shining shoes, running errands,and selling newspapers. When he landed a job as a syrup maker in a local candy shop at age seven, Nattie Birnbaum was discovered, as he recalled many years later:
“ We were all about the same age, six and seven, and when we were bored making syrup, we used to practice singing harmony in the basement. One day our letter carrier came down to the basement. His name was Lou Farley. Feingold was his real name, but he changed it to Farley. He wanted the whole world to sing harmony. He came down to the basement once to deliver a letter and heard the four of us kids singing harmony. He liked our style, so we sang a couple more songs for him. Then we looked up at the head of the stairs and saw three or four people listening to us and smiling. In fact, they threw down a couple of pennies. So I said to the kids I was working with, 'no more chocolate syrup. It's show business from now on.
We called ourselves the Peewee Quartet. We started out singing on ferryboats, in saloons, in brothels and on street corners. We'd put our hats down for donations. Sometimes the customers threw something in the hats. Sometimes they took something out of the hats. Sometimes they took the hats.”
Burns quit school in the fourth grade to go into show business full-time. Like many performers of his generation, he tried practically anything he could to entertain, including trick roller skating, teaching dance, singing, and adagio dancing in small-time vaudeville. During these years, he began smoking cigars—which became comic props—and adopted the stage name by which he would be known for the rest of his life. He claimed in a few interviews that the idea of the name originated from fact that two star major league players (George H. Burns and George J. Burns) were playing major league baseball (unrelated) at the time. Both men achieved over 2000 major league hits and hold some major league records.
He normally partnered with a girl, sometimes in an adagio dance routine, sometimes comic patter. Though he had an apparent flair for comedy, he never quite clicked with any of his partners, until he met a young Irish Catholic lady in 1923. "And all of a sudden," he said famously (and repeatedly—never failing to get a laugh from it, either), in later years, "the audience realised I had a talent. They were right. I did have a talent—and I was married to her for 38 years."
Enter Gracie
Main article: Gracie Allen
Grace Ethel Cecile Rosalie Allen was born into a show business family; after being educated at Star of the Sea Convent School in girlhood, she teamed in vaudeville with her sister, Bessie, in 1909.
She met George Burns and the two immediately launched a new partnership, with Gracie asking serious questions and George delivering the punchlines. Burns knew something was wrong when the audience ignored his jokes but snickered at Gracie's questions. Burns cannily flipped the act around: after a Hoboken, New Jersey performance in which they tested the new style for the first time, Burns's hunch proved right. Gracie was the better 'laugh-getter', especially with the "illogical logic" that informed her responses to Burns's prompting comments or questions.
Allen's half of the act was known generally as a "Dumb Dora" act, named after a very early film of the same name that featured a scatterbrained female protagonist, but her "illogical logic" style was several cuts above the Dumb Dora stereotype, as was Burns's understated straight man. The twosome worked the new style tirelessly on the road, building a following, as well as a reputation for being a reliable "disappointment act"; someone who could fill in for a sick performer on short notice. Burns and Allen were so consistently dependable that vaudeville bookers elevated them to the more secure "standard act" status, and finally to the vaudevillian's dream: the Palace in New York.
George and Gracie fell in love along the way, and married in Cleveland, Ohio on January 7, 1926, somewhat daring for those times, considering Burns's Jewish and Allen's Irish Catholic upbringing. (For her part, Allen also endeared herself to her in-laws by adopting his mother's favorite phrase, used whenever the older woman needed to bring her son back down to earth: "Nattie, you're such a schmuck," using a diminutive of his given name. When Burns's mother died, Allen comforted her grief-stricken husband with the same phrase.)
Burns eventually admitted that even their marriage suffered at least one stressful enough period that he did the unthinkable: after the stress climaxed in an argument over a pricey silver table centerpiece Gracie coveted, he had a very brief affair with a Las Vegas showgirl. To the day he died, he considered it the biggest regret of his life.
Stricken by guilt, George phoned Jack Benny and told him about the indiscretion. George's housemaid told him that Gracie had overheard the conversation. George quietly bought the expensive centerpiece and nothing more was said. Years later, it got back to George that Gracie told one of her friends about the episode: "You know, I really wish George would cheat on me again. I could use a new centerpiece."
Stage to screen
Getting a start in motion pictures with a series of comic short films, their feature credits in the mid- to late-1930s included The Big Broadcast of 1932; International House in 1933; Six of a Kind in 1934; The Big Broadcast of 1936; The Big Broadcast of 1937; A Damsel in Distress in 1937 and College Swing in 1938, in which Bob Hope made one of his early film appearances.
Burns and Allen were indirectly responsible for the Bob Hope and Bing Crosby "Road" pictures. In 1938, William LeBaron, producer and managing director at Paramount, had a script prepared by Don Hartman and Frank Butler. It was to star Burns and Allen with a young crooner named Bing Crosby. The story did not seem to fit George and Gracie, so LeBaron ordered Hartman and Butler to rewrite their script to fit two male co-stars: Bob Hope and Bing Crosby. The script was titled Road to Singapore and it made motion picture history.
Radio stars
Burns and Allen first made it to radio as the comedy relief for bandleader Guy Lombardo, which did not always sit well with Lombardo's home audience. In his later memoir, The Third Time Around, Burns revealed a college fraternity's protest letter, complaining that they resented their weekly dance parties with their girl friends to "Thirty Minutes of the Sweetest Music This Side of Heaven" had to be broken into by the droll vaudeville team.
In time, though, Burns and Allen found their own show and radio audience, first airing on February 15, 1932 and concentrating on their classic stage routines plus sketch comedy in which the Burns and Allen style was woven into different little scenes, not unlike the short films they made in Hollywood. They were also good for a clever publicity stunt, none more so than the hunt for Gracie's missing brother; a hunt that included Gracie turning up on other radio shows searching for him as well.
The couple was portrayed at first as younger singles, with Allen the object of both Burns's and other cast members affections. Most notable bandleaders Ray Noble (known for his phrase, "Gracie this is the first time we've ever been alone") and Artie Shaw played "love" interests to Gracie. While singer Tony Martin, played an unwilling love interest of Gracie in which Gracie "sexually harassed" him, by threatening to fire him if the romantic interest wasn't returned. In time, however, slipping ratings and the difficulty of being portrayed as singles in light of the audience's close familiarity with their real-life marriage, the show adapted in 1940 to present them as the married couple they actually were. For a time, Burns and Allen had a rather distinguished and popular musical director: swing era titan Artie Shaw, who also appeared as a character in some of the show's sketches. A somewhat different Gracie also marked this era as the Gracie character could often found to be mean to George.
George) Your mother cut my face out of the picture.
Gracie) Oh George you're being sensitive.
George) I am not! Look at my face! What happened to it?
Gracie) I don't know; it looks like you fell on it.

Or

Census Taker) What do you make?
Gracie) I make cookies and aprons and knit sweaters.
Census Taker) No, I mean what do you earn?
Gracie) George's salary.
As this format grew stale over the years Burns and his fellow writers redeveloped the show as a situation comedy, focusing on the couple's married life and life among various friends, including Elvia Allman as "Tootsie Sagwell," a man-hungry spinster in love with Bill Goodwin, and neighbours, until the characters of Harry and Blanche Morton entered the picture to stay. Like The Jack Benny Program, the new George Burns & Gracie Allen Show portrayed George and Gracie as entertainers with their own weekly radio show. Goodwin remained, his character as "girl-crazy" as ever, and the music was now handled by Meredith Willson (later to be better known for composing the play The Music Man). Willson also played himself on the show as a naive, friendly, girl-shy fellow. The new format's success made it one of the few classic radio comedies to completely re-invent itself and regain major fame.
Supporting players
The supporting cast during this phase included Mel Blanc as the melancholy, ironically named "Happy Postman"; Bea Benaderet and Hal March (later more famous as the host of The $64,000 Question) as neighbors Blanche and Harry Morton; and the various members of Gracie's ladies' club, the Beverly Hills Uplift Society. One running gag during this period, stretching into the television era, was Burns's questionable singing voice, as Gracie lovingly referred to her husband as "Sugar Throat." The show received and maintained a top ten rating for the rest of its radio life.
New network
They also took the show to CBS in 1948, after having spent their entire radio career to date on NBC. Their good friend Jack Benny reached a negotiating impasse with NBC over the corporation he set up to package his show, the better to put more of his earnings on a capital-gains basis and avoid the punishing 80 percent taxes slapped on very high earners in the World War II era. When CBS czar William S. Paley convinced Benny to move to CBS (Paley, among other things, impressed Benny with his attitude that the performers make the network, not the other way around as NBC chief David Sarnoff reputedly believed), Benny in turn convinced several NBC stars to join him, including Burns and Allen. And thus did CBS reap the benefits when Burns and Allen moved to television in 1950.
Inside and outside the box
On television, The George Burns & Gracie Allen Show put faces to the radio characters audiences had come to love. A number of significant changes were seen in the show:
A parade of actors portrayed Harry Morton: Hal March, The Life Of Riley alumnus John Brown, veteran movie and television character actor Fred Clark, and future Mister Ed co-star Larry Keating.
Burns often broke the fourth wall, and chatted with the home audience, telling understated jokes and commenting wryly about what show characters were doing or undoing. At times he would actually turn on a television and watch what the other characters were saying when he wasn't there.
When Bill Goodwin left after the earliest episodes, Burns hired veteran radio announcer Harry Von Zell to succeed him. Von Zell was cast as the good-natured, easily-confused Burns and Allen announcer and buddy. He also became one of the show's running gags, when his involvement in yet another one of Gracie's harebrained ideas would get him fired at least once a week by George.
The first shows were simply a copy of the radio format, complete with lengthy and integrated commercials for sponsor Carnation Evaporated Milk by Goodwin. However, what worked well on radio appeared forced and plodding on television. The show was changed into the now-standard situation comedy format, with the commercials distinct from the plot.
Midway through the show's run, the Burns's two adopted children, Sandra and Ronald, began to feature on the show, Sandy as an occasional drama school classmate of Ronnie, and Ronnie himself as George and Gracie's son who held his parents' comedy style in befuddled contempt and unsuitable to the "serious" drama student. Ironically, then, in one episode Ronnie and Sandy---in a plot centered around their school's staging a vaudeville-style show to raise money---performed a remarkable impersonation of their famous parents' stage and radio comedy routines.
Burns and Allen also took a cue from Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz's Desilu Productions and formed a company of their own, McCadden Corporation (named after the street on which Burns's brother lived), headquartered on the General Service Studio lot in the heart of Hollywood, and set up to film television shows and commercials. Besides their own hit show, the couple's company produced such television series as The Bob Cummings Show (subsequently syndicated and rerun as Love That Bob); The People's Choice, starring Jackie Cooper; Mona McClusky, starring Juliet Prowse; and Mister Ed, starring Alan Young and a talented "talking" horse.
The George Burns Show
The George Burns & Gracie Allen Show (home of the legendary skit where George says, "Say goodnight, Gracie" and Gracie replies, "Goodnight, Gracie!" - a legend disputed) ran on CBS through 1958, when George at last consented to Gracie's retirement. The onset of heart trouble had caused her to become exhausted from full-time work and she had been anxious to stop for a few years, but couldn't say no to George.
Burns attempted to continue the show without her, but without Allen to provide the classic Gracie-isms on cue, the show expired after a year.
Wendy and Me
Burns subsequently created a situation comedy he co-starred in with Connie Stevens, Wendy and Me, in which he served primarily as the narrator, and secondarily as the advisor to Stevens's Gracie-like character. The show's premise involved the middle-aged Burns watching his gorgeous young upstairs neighbor's activities on his television set, apparently via hidden cameras, then breaking the fourth wall and commenting on them directly to viewers. The series did not last long, as Burns withdrew because of Gracie's health.
Gracie's Death
After fighting a long battle with heart disease, Gracie suffered a fatal heart attack in her home on August 27, 1964. Her exact age remains a mystery to this day. Gracie was interred in a crypt at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California. In his second book, They Still Love Me in Altoona, George wrote that he found it impossible to sleep after Gracie's death until he decided to sleep in the bed she used during her illness. He also visited her grave at least once a month, professing to talk to her about whatever he was doing at the time — including, he said, trying to decide whether he really should accept the Sunshine Boys role Jack Benny had had to abandon because of his own failing health. When George died thirty-two years later, he was interred next to Gracie and had the crypt's marker changed to 'Gracie Allen and George Burns — Together Again'
The Sunshine Boy
After Gracie's death George immersed himself in work. McCadden Productions co-produced the television series No Time for Sergeants, based on the hit Broadway play. At the same time, he toured the U.S. playing nightclub and theater engagements with such diverse partners as Carol Channing, Dorothy Provine, Jane Russell, Connie Haines, and Berle Davis. He also performed a series of solo concerts, playing university campuses, New York's Philharmonic Hall and winding up a successful season at Carnegie Hall, where he wowed a capacity audience with his show-stopping songs, dances, and jokes.
Then, in 1974, Jack Benny signed to play one of the lead roles in the film version of Neil Simon's The Sunshine Boys (Red Skelton was originally the other). Benny's health had begun to fail, however, and he advised his manager Irving Fein to let longtime friend Burns fill in for him on a series of nightclub dates to which Benny had committed around the U.S.
Burns, who enjoyed working, accepted the job. As he recalled years later:
"The happiest people I know are the ones that are still working. The saddest are the ones who are retired. Very few performers retire on their own. It's usually because no one wants them. Six years ago Sinatra announced his retirement. He's still working."
But Benny was not even able to work on The Sunshine Boys, as he'd been diagnosed at last with pancreatic cancer, of which he died soon thereafter (December 26, 1974). Burns, heartbroken, said that the only time he ever wept in his life other than Gracie's death was when Benny died. He was chosen to give one of the eulogies at the funeral and said, "Jack was someone special to all of you but he was so special to me…I cannot imagine my life without Jack Benny and I will miss him so very much." Burns then broke down and had to be helped to his seat. People who knew George said that he never could really come to terms with his beloved friend's death.
Burns replaced Benny in the film as well as the club tour, a move that turned out to be the one of the biggest breaks of his career: his performance as faded vaudevillian Al Lewis earned him an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, and secured his career resurgence for good. At age 80, Burns was the oldest Oscar winner in the history of the Academy Awards, a record that would remain until Jessica Tandy won an Oscar for Driving Miss Daisy in 1989.
The Droll Deity
In 1977, Burns made another hit film, Oh, God!, playing the omnipotent title role opposite singer John Denver as an earnest but befuddled supermarket manager, whom God picks at random to revive His message. The image of Burns in a sailor's cap and light springtime jacket as the droll Almighty ("Oh, every now and then I work a little miracle just to keep my hand in. My last miracle was the 1969 Mets. Before that, I think you'd have to go back to the Red Sea—aaahh, that was a beauty") influenced his subsequent comedic work, as well that of other comedians. At a celebrity roast in his honor, former actor and future U.S. president Ronald Reagan adapted a Burns crack: "When George was growing up, the Top Ten were the Ten Commandments."
Oh, God! inspired two sequels Oh, God! Book Two (in which the Almighty engages a precocious schoolgirl (Louanne Sirota) to spread the word) and Oh, God! You Devil — in which Burns played a dual role as God and the Devil, with the soul of a would-be songwriter (Ted Wass) at stake.
Burns (as God): Oh, you're impossible!
Burns (as the Devil, to the audience): No, believe me . . .I'm possible!
Later Films
Burns also starred in Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, the ill-advised film based on the Beatles' album of the same name.
Burns continued to work well into his nineties, writing a number of books and appearing in television and films. One of his last films was 18 Again!, based on a half-novelty, country music based hit single he enjoyed, "I Wish I Was 18 Again". ("Why shouldn't I be a country singer?" he deadpanned. "I'm older than most countries.") In this film, he played a self-made millionaire industrialist who switched bodies with his awkward, artistic, eighteen-year-old grandson (played by Charlie Schlatter). Classically, Burns delivered one of his typical droll observations, when he realizes that he and his grandson have switched bodies: "Oh, David, did you get the short end of this deal!"
His last feature film role was the cameo role of Milt Lackey, a 100 year old stand-up comedian, in the comedy mystery Radioland Murders.
Author
Burns was also a bestselling author and wrote a total of 10 books. They include:
I Love Her, That's Why (1955)
Living It Up or They Still Love Me in Altoona (1976)
The Third Time Around (1980)
How to Live to be 100 or More (1983)
Dr. Burns' Prescription for Happiness (1984)
Dear George (1986)
Gracie, A Love Story (1988)
All My Best Friends (1989)
Wisdom of the 90s (1991)
100 Years 100 Stories (1996)
Final Years
George Burns was such a well-respected individual that when he turned 90 in 1986, the city of Los Angeles renamed the northern end of Hamel Road 'George Burns Road' City regulations prohibited naming a city street after a living person, but an exception for Burns was made. In celebration of Burns' 99th birthday in 1995, Los Angeles renamed the eastern end of Alden Drive 'Gracie Allen Drive'. Burns was present at the unveiling ceremony where he quipped, "It's good to be here at the corner of Burns & Allen. At my age, it's good to be anywhere!" 'George Burns Road' and 'Gracie Allen Drive' cross each other just a few blocks west of the Beverly Center mall.
Burns's stage persona in his final phase of professional life was that of an amorous senior citizen ("I'd love to date women my own age — but there are no women my own age") became a running gag for the rest of his career. In 1988, he received the Kennedy Center Honors and had booked himself to play the London Palladium and Caesar's Palace for his 100th birthday.
Death
In July 1994, Burns fell in his bathtub and had undergone surgery to remove water on his brain. This was the beginning of the end for Burns, as his health began to decline considerably. All performances celebrating his one hundredth birthday were soon cancelled. In December 1995, Burns was well enough to attend a Christmas party hosted by Frank Sinatra where he reportedly caught the flu, which weakened him even more. On January 20, 1996, George celebrated his one hundredth birthday, but was no longer mobile enough to perform and instead spent the evening at home.
On March 9, 1996, just forty-nine days after his milestone birthday, Burns died in his Beverly Hills home. His funeral was held three days later at the Wee Kirk o' the Heather church in Forest Lawn Cemetery, Glendale.
As much as he looked forward to reaching age 100, Burns also stated that he looked forward to death, saying that the day he died he would be with Gracie again in heaven. Upon being interred next to Gracie, the crypt's marker was changed to, 'George Burns & Gracie Allen--Together Again'
Legacy
Burns and Allen were the subjects of Rupert Holmes' play Say Goodnight, Gracie.
In the movie Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, the two humpback whales are named George and Gracie after Burns and Allen. Their routine was also referenced by Commander Data in a second season episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, "The Outrageous Okona".
During Burns's lifetime, a Far Side cartoon by Gary Larson depicted a futuristic city with flying cars, space helmets, and a billboard that said "Performing tonight: George Burns"
Hooters restaurants have a sign that prior to George's death read "We even card George Burns" and following his death were changed to read "We even carded George Burns".
Burns was one of the residents of Hell in the South Park episode, "Hell on Earth 2006." He was also shown briefly as a 'demon', during the sequence when Kenny is falling down to hell, in the South Park Movie: Bigger, Longer and Uncut.
The Hip Hop artist Dr. Dre mentions George Burns' name in the song Guilty Conscience, he raps about an old store clerk and claims "she looks older than George Burns". The song features on Eminem's album The Slim Shady LP

AKA Andrea Donna de Matteo

Born: 19-Jan-1972
Birthplace: Queens, NY
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Bisexual
Occupation: Actor
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Adriana on The Sopranos
Father: (furniture manufacturer)
Mother: Donna (teacher)
Boyfriend: Michael Sportes (ex-
Used to own a used clothing store in Manhattan, Filth Mart. Drea played Christopher Moltisanti's girlfriend in The Sopranos (Michael Imperioli), who was forced by circumstances to assist the FBI. She won an Best Supporting Actress Emmy in 2004 for her portrayal. Presently she plays Joey Tribbiani's sister in Joey, a Friends spinoff.
De Matteo, an Italian American, was born in Queens, New York to Donna, a playwright and playwriting teacher, and Albert De Matteo, a furniture manufacturer. She grew up in a Catholic family. After graduating from the prestigious Loyola School, she studied at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, originally hoping to become a director, not an actress.
Career
De Matteo's role in The Sopranos was one of her earliest, helping to launch her career. She has also appeared in several films including Swordfish, Deuces Wild, The Perfect You and the 2005 remake of John Carpenter's 1976 action film Assault on Precinct 13. She also portrayed Joey Tribbiani's sister Gina in the Friends spin-off Joey.
In 2004, de Matteo won an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress (Drama) for her role as the ill-fated Adriana on The Sopranos. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe that same year for the same role. She was ranked #42 and #56 on the Maxim Hot 100 Women of 2001 and 2002, respectively.
Personal life
De Matteo has made comments indicating she might be bisexual. In 2005, she told an interviewer from UK newspaper Britain Sport Daily "I love men and they're who I go out with but every now and then . . . well, I can't say I've never been with a woman". But despite this she told Howard Stern that she considers herself heterosexual.
She lives in New York City, where she also formerly owned the now-closed Filth Mart, an East Village clothing store, with best friend and ex-boyfriend Michael Sportes. She is currently dating Shooter Jennings, son of country music legend Waylon Jennings. They are expecting their first child together, a girl, in December 2007.
She speaks fluent Italian and Spanish, which she learned as a child from her nanny.

Born: 18-Jan-1952
Birthplace: NJ
Gender: Female
Religion: Roman Catholic
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Bisexual
Occupation: Pornstar
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Starship Intercourse
Films include Starship Intercourse, Barbara Broadcast, Sexcapades.
Husband: Jason Dean (divorced)
Boyfriend: Tim Connelly
Slept with: Nina Hartley
Slept with: Ron Jeremy
Sharon Mitchell (born January 18, 1956) is the Director of the Adult Industry Medical Health Care Foundation, which she set up in 1998. She used to be an erotic actress, and, with Sharon Kane, is considered to be one of the two most prolific adult movie actresses, with a career spanning over two decades.
Adult film career
Before becoming a porn star, she was an Off-Broadway actress and dancer who toured with the Martha Graham company.
During her career in hardcore pornography, she appeared in over 2,000 movies and directed 38. She made many appearances as a bondage model in underground magazines and, in the 1990s, made the transition from sex films to bondage and S&M videos, nearly always playing the role of a tough dominatrix.
During her heyday in the 1970s and 1980s, she was distinguished by her lean, wiry physique and androgynous appearance — angular facial features with mascara and rouge and short teased hair, which was sometimes worn in a butch mullet style — as well as her vigorous cunnilingus technique. She is a member of the AVN Awards Hall of Fame, Legends of Erotica and XRCO Hall of Fame.
As an erotic performer, Miss Mitchell was a soft butch lesbian. She also performed sex scenes with men (often as part of a bisexual threesome with another female performer), but this was usually in her early career. She contracted herpes, chlamydia and trichomoniasis during her career.
Later she became addicted to heroin, a habit which she successfully overcame, and she has been drug free since the early-1990s. She contracted hepatitis from needle use. She subsequently refers to her 16-year addiction to heroin as her "blackout years".
On March 30, 1996, she was attacked and raped by an admirer who almost killed her. After that incident, she left the sex industry. Mitchell claims to have received a Ph.D. degree in human sexuality from an unaccredited institution known as the Institute for the Advanced Study of Human Sexuality in San Francisco. At one time, the Institute claimed to be accredited by the California Bureau for Private Postsecondary and Vocational Education, which was not a recognized accreditor.

AKA Susanna Lee Hoffs

Born: 17-Jan-1959
Birthplace: Newport Beach, CA
Gender: Female
Religion: Jewish
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Musician, Actor
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Lead singer of The Bangles
Father: Joshua Hoffs
Mother: Tamar Simon Hoffs (b. 1934) (film writer/director)
Brother: John Hoffs (musician)
Brother: Jesse Hoffs (musican)
Husband: Jay Roach (m. 17-Apr-1993) (film director)
Son: Jackson Roach (b. 9-Feb-1995)
Son: Sam Rayfield Roach (b. 10-Nov-1998)
Slept with: Prince
The main voice for one of the most popular girl groups of the 1980s, Susanna Hoffs emerged from a family with its foot already in the door of the entertainment industry -- her mother being film writer and director Tamar Simon Hoffs. Both Susanna and her brothers were given an early start in their musical training courtesy of an uncle who had worked as a musician for performers such as Joni Mitchell and Linda Ronstadt. At the age of eight she began playing the guitar, but interests in dance and acting competed for her attention up until her years at University, when she chose to make music her focus and formed the band The Psychiatrists with her two siblings.
As the 70s came to a close, Hoffs decided it was time to move on and start a band of her own. An ad in the LA free paper The Recycler led her to sisters Vicki Peterson and Debbi Peterson, and, after a meeting that indicated a great deal of musical compatibility, the three decided to consolidate their talents. In their original trio configuration Vicki handled the bass duties, with Debbi on drums, Susanna on guitar and all contributing vocals; eventually bassist Annette Zalinskas was brought on board and Vicki moved to lead guitar. The group moved through a succession of names before arriving at the one under which they would earn their fame: starting with Colours (appropriate to their love of 60s psychedelic pop) they later changed over to The Supersonic Bangs, which was soon shortened to just The Bangs. Using this name, they established a reputation for themselves on the LA club circuit, as well as releasing the self-produced 7" single Getting Out Of Hand on their own Downkiddie imprint. Before long the interest of IRS Records founder Miles Copeland was aroused, and a deal with the subsidiary Faulty Products was arranged.
Now calling themselves The Bangles (due to the pre-existence of another band called The Bangs), the quartet managed only a five-song EP (released in 1982) before Faulty kicked the metaphorical can, leaving them stranded on the verge of a popular breakthrough. At this time Zalinskas defected to Blood On The Saddle, to be replaced by former lead singer for The Runways Michael Steele. A new home (and a more commercial sound) was found with corporate bigshots Columbia, and once again Hoffs and her bandmates set off down the yellow brick road with the debut full-length All Over the Place (1984). By the following year's A Different Light (and with some assistance from Prince) The Bangles were at the top of the charts and one of the most popular bands of their time. In the midst of this golden era, Susanna took a starring role in Tamar Simon Hoffs' comedy The Allnighter (1987) -- in fact, the third time she had worked in one of her mother's films (although previously only in support roles). The venture was not particularly well-received, but the music side of Hoff's career remained unaffected, her band's cover of Simon and Garfunkel's Hazy Shade Of Winter making a more successful appearance in the feature Less Than Zero that same year and giving them another run on the charts. The personal popularity of the singer also resulted in her own signature series guitar model, manufactured by the Rickenbacker company (her name would later be used again on an acoustic model issued by Taylor).
By the time of their third album Everything (1989), the four Bangles were feeling the strain of their celebrity. Although the new album was as well received as the previous two (reaching the #1 slot yet again), by the end of the year Hoffs and Steele had made the decision to move on. Much of the conflict was due to the disproportionate attention paid to Hoffs, and the singer accordingly had the most visible career after the band's demise. Her first solo effort When You're a Boy was subsequently released by Columbia in 1991; while by no means a flop, the album did not do nearly as well as had been anticipated. When label pressure to simply regurgitate the style of her past "hits" became unbearable during sessions for a second release, Hoffs asked to be released from her contract and then took several years away from the industry to marry Jay Roach (a director that would later helm the Austin Powers series of films) and start a family. A new deal was arranged with London Records in 1995, resulting in the '96 release Susannah Hoffs -- but, again, the album fell short of expected commercial returns.
Enlisitng the help of The Go-Go's guitarist Charlotte Caffey, Hoffs began work on her third solo album in 1998. It was at this time she came back in contact with Debbi Peterson, and the two decided to renew their songwriting collaboration; inevitably Vicki Peterson was brought in to contribute as well. Before long the full Bangles line-up had been reunited to record the track Get the Girl for the Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me soundtrack in 1999, and the group resumed activity with a club tour and, eventually, a fourth full-length release, Doll Revolution (2003).

AKA Katherine Moss

Born: 16-Jan-1974
Birthplace: Addiscombe, Croydon, Surrey, England
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Model
Nationality: England
Executive summary: Supermodel known for toothpick figure
Boyfriend: Johnny Depp (dated 1994-98)
Boyfriend: Jefferson Hack (publisher of Dazed & Confused, dated 2004, 1 child)
Daughter: Lila Grace Moss (b. 29-Sep-2002)
Boyfriend: Daniel Craig (actor, dated four months in 2004)
Boyfriend: Pete Doherty (musician, The Libertines, dated 2005)
Katherine Ann Moss (born 16 January 1974) is an iconic English supermodel and has designed a clothing range for Topshop. She is known for her waifish figure and many advertising campaigns and is also notorious for her high-profile relationships and party lifestyle. She has appeared on over 300 magazine covers.
Early life
Moss was born in Addiscombe, Croydon, South London, England to Linda Rosina (Shepherd), a boutique manager, and Peter Edward Moss, an airline clerk. Kate has a younger brother named Nick and a half sister and brother. Moss' parents divorced when she was 13. She attended Ridgeway Primary School, then Riddlesdown High School. She was not noted for her academic success, although she did excel at sports. According to Vermorel's book Addicted to Love: Kate Moss, she received one C (in Science) and Ds, Es, and Us in all others at GCSE level.
Career
She was discovered at the age of 14 by Sarah Doukas (the founder of Storm Model Management) in 1988, at JFK Airport in New York City, after a vacation in the Bahamas. Moss's career began when Corinne Day shot black and white photographs of her for British magazine The Face when she was 15, in a photo shoot titled "The Third Summer of Love". Moss then went on to become the anti-supermodel of the 1990s in contrast to the supermodels at the time, such as Cindy Crawford, Lisa Snowdon, Claudia Schiffer, and Naomi Campbell, who were known for their curvaceous and tall figures through out the 90's.
Moss was voted 8th in Celebrity Sleuths 25 Sexiest Women of 2004, 8th in Maxims 50 Sexiest Women of 1999 and 22nd in FHM 100 Sexiest Women of 1995. Mens magazine Arena named her as their Sexiest Woman in their 150th issue. In March 2007, Moss won the Sexiest Woman NME Award. She made her first appearance in the British women's Sunday Times Rich List in 2007, where she was estimated to be worth £45 million. She ranked as the 99th richest woman in Britain.
In July 2007, earning an estimated total of $9 million in the past 12 months, Forbes magazine named her second on the list of the World's 15 top-earning supermodels.
Style
She ushered in the waif look in 1993 (which prompted much speculation over her weight) with a highly publicised campaign for Calvin Klein, including posing nude in ads for its perfume brand, Obsession. Her depiction in photographs also drew criticism from United States President Bill Clinton who spoke out against the growing heroin chic trend. Moss charmed the fashion industry despite being unusually short for a runway model, and has worked for many elite fashion lines. Now in her 30s, Moss is still working and has become a supermodel in her own right. In 2005, she came #2 on The Biggest Comeback Stars List – she lost to pop singer Mariah Carey.
In addition to being known for her modeling work, Kate Moss is also an international fashion icon. She has garnered many awards for her style including the Council of Fashion Designers of America's fashion influence award and a place on the Vanity Fair's international best-dressed list. She appeared on the cover of Vanity Fair's September 2006 style issue. In the year of 2005~ 2006, her style was influenced by Rock and Roll. Due to her reputation, she is credited for setting numerous trends. In recent years she has popularised denim cutoff shorts, Ugg boots, ballet flats, Marc Jacobs ankle boots, Vivienne Westwood Pirate Boots, skinny jeans, the waistcoat, Alexander McQueen's skull scarf, Louis Vuitton's Sprouse Leopard Cashmere Scarf (which sold out in Europe), wide-legged jeans, Lanvin boots, YSL's Muse bag and the Balenciaga handbag, as well as recently bringing high-waisted styles and waist-cinching belts back into popularity.
Campaigns
Moss has had campaigns with major Italian, French, American, and British designers including Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Louis Vuitton, Versace, Roberto Cavalli, Chanel, Missoni, Longchamp, David Yurman, Dior, Yves Saint-Laurent, Burberry, Rimmel, and Bvlgari, including a campaign for the successful Brazilian label ELLUS during summer 2000. She has been featured in fashion spreads in most major fashion magazines including UK, US, and French Vogue magazines (as well as other international versions of Vogue), Another Man, Vanity Fair, the Face, and W. Moss has appeared on the cover of British Vogue alone 24 times (in addition to dozens of other international Vogue covers) and has been featured on the cover of 17 issues of W, including one issue with nine different covers featuring the model. W even names Moss its muse (September 2003 issue). She has worked with the most well-known photographers in the fashion industry today, such as Mario Testino, Mario Sorrenti, Steven Klein, Juergen Teller, and Peter Lindbergh. She won the prestigious Vogue/CFDA award from the Fashion Designers of America in July 2005 as Fashion Inspiration. The haute couture dress she wore to the award ceremony was from the Christian Dior fall 2005 haute couture designed by John Galliano.
April 2005 saw the launch of the Rimmel London mascara TV ad featuring a leather-clad Kate Moss riding a motorbike through London to the sound of Rock music.
As of April 2006, camera company Nikon have also signed her to be the face of their new Coolpix S6 digital camera; the photoshoot features Moss posing in a state of undress, with nothing but the camera.
Twelve months after her cocaine scandal Moss made a comeback by bagging 18 top modeling contracts for the Autumn/Winter 2006 season which include: Rimmel, Agent Provocateur, Virgin Mobile, Belstaff, Beymen, Dior, Louis Vuitton, Roberto Cavalli, Longchamp, Stella McCartney, Bulgari, Chanel, Nikon, David Yurman, Versace, Mia Shvili, Calvin Klein Jeans and Burberry. Moss has also agreed to make her first foray into the design world by designing a collection, in collaboration with Katy England, for Topshop, Moss launched a fragrance and body lotion range bearing her name in association with Coty in 2007.
According to Forbes.com Moss is earning more money than before her cocaine scandal. Her 2004-2005 earnings were $5 million[ and her 2005-2006 earnings were $8 million. She is currently the second highest paid model in the world behind Gisele Bündchen.
In November 2006, Moss won the Model of the Year prize at the British Fashion Awards, the top accolade in British fashion, but the award has divided opinion and stirred fresh controversy.
On September 27, 2007, The Sun published a story entitled, "Kate Moss dumped by seven brands", describing her "cocaine honeymoon" as fading away. The story continues by stating that last autumn 2006 she had eighteen contracts in comparison to 2007's eleven. And this time last year, fashion bible Vogue had six campaigns using Moss including Dior, Louis Vuitton and Burberry. November 2007's issue has none. The story concludes by saying that an industry source has said "She is still very big but the honeymoon period has ended."
Despite these press reports, Moss was later announced as the face of Donna Karan, Yves Saint-Laurent and Roberto Cavalli for Spring 2008.
Fashion designer
On May 1, 2007 a collection of clothes, designed by Moss exclusively for the Topshop chain, were launched across the UK in the chain's 225 stores. A Kate Moss "countdown to launch" board filled a window of the company's flagship Oxford Street store and on April 30, Moss launched the clothing line at Topshop in Oxford Street, where she briefly appeared in the shop window modelling a red dress from the clothing collection just before the shop was opened, causing a media frenzy. Topshop has reportedly paid Moss £3 million for her work. The collection of fifty designs includes clothes, bags, shoes and belts where prices range from £12 for a vest top to £150 for a cropped leather jacket. Clothes in the collection include skinny jeans, one-shoulder mini dresses and t-shirts with the letter K woven in to the design. However shoppers are limited to five items each to prevent the clothes appearing on eBay and are only allowed to try on eight garments in the shop. Despite these efforts, the day after the launch saw hundreds of items up for sale on eBay. Although bulk buying is restricted the collection is not a limited edition and the range will remain in stores for an indefinite period.
The collection received mixed reviews from the fashion press. British fashion critics lauded the range, however the New York Post hailed it "Duplikate", based on the strong similarities between Moss's own wardrobe. The range was mildly criticized by fashion advisors Trinny Woodall and Susannah Constantine who argued that the clothing was modelled for only the slimmest of women, and that they were not suitable for an average woman's figure. They stated "No one has a figure like hers so her clothes only really look good on her — not real women." The TopShop range was later released in America at the New York chain store Barneys where 26 designs from the range were on sale for higher prices.
Moss underwear collection for Topshop went on sale on October 25, 2007.
Other endeavors
Moss has appeared in music videos such as "Kowalski" by Primal Scream, "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" by the White Stripes, "Something About the Way You Look Tonight" by Elton John, "Sex with Strangers" by Marianne Faithfull and "Delia's Gone" and "God's Gonna Cut You Down" by Johnny Cash.
She also provided vocals for songs by Primal Scream (the 2003 version of "Some Velvet Morning") and Babyshambles. Her vocals are featured on the Babyshambles' song "La Belle et la Bête", singing the lines "Is she more beautiful than me?". Prior to breaking up with Doherty, Moss co-wrote four songs from Babyshambles' second album Shotter's Nation - "You Talk", "French Dog Blues", "Baddie's Boogie", and "Deft Left Hand".
Moss has also DJ'd on more than one occasion at the Death Disco club with her friends Alan McGee and BP Fallon.
Moss is also known for her close friendships with many rock and roll icons and musicians such as Elton John, Mick Jones, Anita Pallenberg, Marianne Faithfull and Bobby Gillespie.
In 1999, Moss played a non-musical role in the British television comedy Blackadder: Back & Forth, appearing both as Maid Marian and as a fictional queen of England.
Charity work
Moss has been a supporter of the Breakthrough Breast Cancer charity, and in the 1990s featured in one of their target t-shirt campaigns. She also supported War Child. Moss also designed a charm in a necklace for Wallis in 2007 in aid of Cancer Research UK and said "I am happy to give my support to help fund crucial research, as so many lives are affected by this terrible disease".
She has also helped to launch the SamandRuby charity in March 2006. The charity was started to provide funding for the education and shelter of Thai children. The SamandRuby organisation is named after a friend of Moss's Samantha Archer Fayet and her 6 month old daughter Ruby Rose who were killed by the Tsunami while visiting Thailand. Moss also supports the Elton John AIDS Foundation, the Hoping Foundation, the Lucie Blackman Trust, Make Poverty History, Comic Relief and Homes of Hope which her close friend Sadie Frost also supports.
Personal life
After previously having long-term relationships such as those with Mario Sorrenti and Johnny Depp, Moss had a daughter, Lila Grace, born on 29 September 2002, with Dazed & Confused editor Jefferson Hack. She is also godmother to the two sons of The Clash member Paul Simonon and to the daughter of Sadie Frost and Jude Law.
Kate Moss has long been linked romantically with former Libertines member Pete Doherty. On April 11, 2007 Pete Doherty announced Moss as his fiancée during one of his concerts in London, at which Moss also performed. Doherty planned to marry Moss during the summer 2007. However, in July 2007 Moss and Doherty broke up. A report claims that Doherty cheated on Kate Moss with a girl he met in a nightclub. Doherty was seen leaving London's Crystal nightclub with a South African brunette named only as Lindy. A removal van arrived to take away Doherty's possessions out of Moss's home after they had a series of rows and arguments. Doherty is reported to have said "It's like living with a fucking stalker Moss had also changed the locks to the gates allowing access into her house. She was due to model on the catwalk for John Galliano with Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell, Lily Cole and Gisele Bundchen but was too distraught with her break-up to participate.
Moss currently lives with her daughter Lila-Grace in St John's Wood, London. Tabloids and gossip magazines frequently report on her status, suggesting that since Doherty, Moss is dating Jamie Hince
Controversies
The British tabloids and paparazzi often target Moss.
One of the first controversies about Kate Moss was surrounding her weight, to which she replied "It was just the time. It was a swing from more buxom girls like Cindy Crawford and people were shocked to see what they called a 'waif'. What can you say? How many times can you say 'I'm not anorexic'?"
"Cocaine scandal"
British tabloids and the paparazzi, particularly the Daily Mirror, have long claimed that Moss habitually used cocaine. In interviews Moss dismissed these claims as ridiculous, and the Sunday Mirror was sued successfully by Moss for claiming that she had slipped into a coma after taking large amounts of cocaine in Spain in the 1990s.
On 15 September 2005, London's Daily Mirror ran front page and inside photos that seemed to show Moss snorting several lines of cocaine at a Babyshambles recording session. It was also reported that Moss snorted five lines in 40 minutes. It has been alleged by Babyshambles' singer Pete Doherty that James Mullord, his former manager, sold the photos to the newspaper for more than £150,000. Within a short time of publication, Moss lost major modeling contracts with several international companies.
On 20 September 2005, the Swedish fashion retailer H&M, which intended to feature her in a campaign of their autumn clothes range designed by Moss's good friend Stella McCartney, announced instead that it was dropping Moss after the drug allegations. The contract was reportedly worth £4 million a year. A day later, Chanel announced that it would not be renewing its contract with Moss, which was set to expire in that October, although the company said that its decision had nothing to do with the drug scandal. Burberry also decided to drop Moss's campaign with them. Moss quickly issued an apology though she stopped short of admitting drug use. "I take full responsibility for my actions. I also accept that there are various personal issues that I need to address and have started taking the difficult, yet necessary, steps to resolve them," she said. "I want to apologize to all of the people I have let down because of my behaviour which has reflected badly on my family, friends, co-workers, business associates and others."
Moss continued to appear in major ad campaigns during this period for Dior. She was on the cover of the November 2005 W and also appeared inside in a multi-page fashion shoot. She was also defended by friends and supporters, including models Naomi Campbell and Helena Christensen, French actress Catherine Deneuve, her ex-boyfriend Johnny Depp, and designer Alexander McQueen. McQueen's defense was especially notable, and during his walk-out after a fashion show he wore a t-shirt saying "We love you Kate." Artist Stella Vine also supported her, and paintings of Moss by Vine in this incident were exhibited and reproduced in the press. Pop singer Robbie Williams said of Moss's relationship with Doherty, "I can understand why Kate finds it difficult to leave Pete; he has a certain charisma surrounding him."
Also in November 2005, Moss ended her relationship with Doherty soon after he checked himself out of Meadows Clinic in Arizona, failing to complete a programme for drug rehabilitation. Moss herself underwent successful treatment there in October and had urged Doherty to seek the same treatment himself. Doherty claims that their separation involved other issues, telling the The Sun newspaper that Moss left him because, “I can’t buy her diamonds and my dick is too small.”
On 5 January 2006, the Metropolitan Police asked Moss to return from the US to Britain to answer questions about the September 2005 cocaine scandal. The following day, the Daily Mirror reported that Moss would return to Britain and face arrest for allegations of cocaine usage. She was interviewed by police in London on 31 January 2006, with her solicitor present, but reportedly made no admissions, and she was not arrested (photographs of alleged drug-taking are not admissible evidence in British courts). On 16 June 2006, British police finally dropped the charges for lack of evidence. Ultimately Moss was cleared of all charges and resumed her modeling career. Criticism of Moss has, however, continued; and her career revival has been viewed as a sign of moral and cultural decline by conservatives such as Peter Hitchens.

AKA Carla Scott Carter

Born: 15-Jan-1972
Birthplace: Taipei, Taiwan
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: Asian
Sexual orientation: Bisexual
Occupation: Pornstar
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Hawaiian Blast
Adopted as an infant by an Arkansas family.
Husband: Steven Scott (pornstar aka "Mark Davis", 1997, div. 1999)
Slept with: Jenna Jameson
Tai was born in Taipei, Taiwan and was later adopted by an American family in Arkansas when she was five months old. As a result, she has dual nationality. She attended the University of Arkansas.
Tai married adult film actor, Mark Davis, in 1997. The couple divorced in 1999.
In 2000, she left the industry, announcing that she was expecting her first child. She had a son, born sometime late-2000 to early-2001. She returned to pornography in December 2001; her last film was Jenna Loves Kobe with Jenna Jameson. Since then, Tai has disappeared from the industry and is presumed to have left it behind permanently.
Along with Asia Carrera, she is one of the most well-known Asian female porn stars.
Adult film career
She broke into the porn industry in 1996, under the names Blake Young and Brooke Young before adopting the name Kobe Tai. She is signed to Vivid Entertainment as an exclusive performer, and was the first Asian Vivid contract girl. Some of Tai's notable early works are "Executions on Butt Row" (with Sean Michaels), and "Vivid Raw #2" with Alex Sanders, her first Vivid production. She is particularly popular for her interracial, anal and lesbian scenes.
During her years as a porn star, Kobe Tai was well-known for putting a great amount of enthusiasm and energy into her scenes, which is very notable in some of her earlier work.
Mainstream
In addition to her roles in adult films, Tai appeared in the mainstream movie Very Bad Things as a stripper who was accidentally killed at a bachelor party.
Tai also appeared in the skateboarding video 'The End'. The video was produced by Tony Hawk's skateboarding company, Birdhouse, and also featured several other porn stars in the same segment Tai was in.
Also, she has made appearances on The Man Show and The Helmetcam Show. Tai also did background vocals for Marilyn Manson's song, "I Don't Like the Drugs, But the Drugs Like Me", on the album Mechanical Animals.

AKA Emily Anita Watson

Born: 14-Jan-1967
Birthplace: Islington, London, England
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor
Nationality: England
Executive summary: Angela's Ashes
Father: (architect)
Mother: (English professor)
Husband: Jack Waters (m. 1995, one daughter)
Daughter: Juliet (b. 2005)
Personal life
Watson was born in Islington, London, England, the daughter of an architect father and an English professor mother. She was raised in the Anglican religion. Watson trained at Drama Studio London. She married Jack Waters, whom she had met at the Royal Shakespeare Company, in 1995; their daughter, Juliet, was born in autumn 2005.
Film debut
Watson was virtually unknown until director Lars von Trier chose her to star in his controversial Breaking the Waves after the first choice, Helena Bonham Carter, dropped out over the uncompromisingly bleak eroticism and the graphic nudity demanded for the role. Her performance as Bess McNeill, a simple yet devout woman who slips into prostitution because she believes it will heal her paralysed husband, was her first in front of a camera, and became the most critically acclaimed of 1996. She won the Los Angeles, London and New York Critics Circle Awards, the US National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress, and ultimately an Oscar nomination.
Subsequent career
She came to public notice again in another controversial role, as cellist Jacqueline du Pre in Hilary and Jackie, for which she learned to play the cello herself, and received another Oscar nomination. Despite this, many of du Pre's friends and fans decried the film's portrayal of her as inaccurate and unfair. She also played a leading role in Cradle Will Rock, a story of a theatre show in the 1930s, directed by Tim Robbins. Though she won the title role of Frank McCourt's mother in the adaptation of his much-loved memoir, Angela's Ashes, the film underperformed. Later, she appeared as a member of Robert Altman's ensemble piece Gosford Park.
In 2002 she starred as Reba McClane in the adaptation of Thomas Harris's The Silence of the Lambs prequel, Red Dragon, as the romantic interest of Adam Sandler in Paul Thomas Anderson's curious and quirky Punch-Drunk Love, and in the sci-fi action thriller Equilibrium alongside Christian Bale.
The following year she took time off from the cinema to play two roles in Sam Mendes's dovetailed stage productions of Uncle Vanya and Twelfth Night, first at Mendes's Donmar Warehouse in London and later at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Her performance was widely acclaimed on both sides of the Atlantic and garnered her an Olivier Award nomination.
In 2004 she received a Golden Globe nomination for her role as Peter Sellers's first wife, Anne Howe, in the HBO movie, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.
2005 saw her starring in four films: Wah-Wah, Richard E. Grant's autobiographical directorial debut, for which she attended the UK premiere at the Edinburgh Festival; Separate Lies, directed by Gosford Park writer Julian Fellowes; Tim Burton's animated film Corpse Bride, alongside Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter, and Nick Cave's Australian-set western, The Proposition. In 2006 she took a supporting role in Miss Potter, a biopic of children's author Beatrix Potter from Babe director Chris Noonan, with Ewan McGregor and Renée Zellweger, and also in an adaptation of Thea Beckman's children's novel Crusade in Jeans. In 2007, she appeared in The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, an adaptation of the Dick King-Smith children's novel about the origin of the Loch Ness Monster. Next, she will star with Julia Roberts and Carrie-Ann Moss in Fireflies in the Garden, and appear in Fellini Black and White, as the wife of film director Frederico Fellini. The film depicts a trip made by the director to receive an award and also stars Antonio Banderas, Liv Tyler, Lawrence Fishburne and Peter Dinklage.
Scriptwriting
In 2007, Mood Indigo, a script written by Watson and her husband, was optioned by Capitol Films. The film is a love story set during World War II and concerns a young woman who falls in love with a pilot.
Charity
Watson is a committed supporter of the British children's charity, the NSPCC. In 2004 she was inducted into the society's hall of fame for spearheading the successful campaign to appoint a Children's Commissioner for England. Receiving her award in the crowded House of Commons, she spoke out against the possibility that the Children's Commissioner become a figurehead with little real power.
Missed roles
Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet wrote the character Amélie for Watson to play (Amélie was originally named Emily) but she eventually turned the role down due to difficulties speaking French and a desire not to be away from home. The role went on to make an international star of Audrey Tautou. She was also the first choice to play Elizabeth I in Shekhar Kapur's film Elizabeth, the role that ultimately made a star of Cate Blanchett.

Born: 13-Jan-1961
Birthplace: New York City
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Comic, Actor
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Elaine on Seinfeld
Father: Gerard Louis-Dreyfus (billionaire)
Mother: Phyllis Louis-Dreyfus ("special needs" tutor)
Sister: Phoebe Louis-Dreyfus (social worker)
Husband: Brad Hall (actor, dated 1981-87, m. 1987, two sons)
Son: Henry Hall (b. 1992)
Son: Charles Hall (b. 1997)
Louis-Dreyfus was a junior at Northwestern, active in the school's drama department and performing with Second City, when she auditioned for Saturday Night Live. She was with the show from 1982-85, and had two quickly-cancelled sitcoms before Seinfeld (The Art of Being Nick and Day by Day) and one after (Watching Ellie). "Elaine" was added to Seinfeld for the second episode, when executives thought the show needed to offset its three male characters. Her character was not in the original pilot.
Unlike Elaine, who dated dozens of men during Seinfeld's run, Louis-Dreyfus' first and only serious boyfriend was comedian and writer Brad Hall. They met at Northwestern, and both worked on Saturday Night Live, where Hall anchored "Weekend Update." They have been married since 1987, and in real life she goes by the name Julia Hall.
Her grandfather, Pierre Louis-Dreyfus, was a war hero of the French Resistance in World War II. She is also "very, very distantly" related to actor Richard Dreyfuss and falsely convicted French military officer Alfred Dreyfus. Her father, Gerard Louis-Dreyfus, runs Louis-Dreyfus Group, a multi-billion dollar diversified commodities, energy, shipping, real estate, manufacturing, and communications conglomerate. Her great-great-grandfather, Leopold Louis-Dreyfus, founded the firm in 1851, and experts estimate she will inherit more than half-a-billion dollars upon her father's death.

AKA Melanie Jayne Chisholm

Born: 12-Jan-1974
Birthplace: Widnes, Merseyside, England
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Musician
Nationality: England
Executive summary: Sporty Spice
Father: Alan Chisholm
Mother: Joan
Boyfriend: Robbie Williams (1997)
Boyfriend: Anthony Kiedis (1998)
Boyfriend: Thomas Starr (2001-)
Melanie Jayne Chisholm (born 12 January 1974 in Whiston, Merseyside) is an English singer, songwriter and television personality most famous as one of the five members of English girl group the Spice Girls, where she is known as "Sporty Spice". She is also known as Melanie C or Mel C. As a solo artist she has released four albums and was nominated for a BRIT and ECHO awards. Chisholm holds the record for female who has co-written the most UK number-one singles (equal with Madonna). Chisholm is also third after Lennon and McCartney for most UK number-one singles for a British co-writer.
Early years
Prior to becoming a member of the Spice Girls, Chisholm had been studying at the Doreen Bird College of Performing Arts in Sidcup, Kent. She was a student on the Diploma course at the college, studying dance, singing, drama and musical theatre. It was while Chisholm was still at college that the advert appeared in the The Stage, that Chris & Brob Herbert were looking to form a new girl group, which would later become the Spice Girls. Chisholm left the college having nearly completed her 3 year course and holds teaching qualifications in Tap and Modern Theatre Dance with the ISTD.
Music career
1996–2000: Sporty Spice
Main article: Spice Girls
In 1996 Chisholm, along with Melanie Brown, Geri Halliwell, Emma Bunton, and Victoria Beckham (at that time Victoria Adams), shot to fame as a member of the Spice Girls with the release of "Wannabe". The debut album, Spice, shot to number one all over the globe, including the U.S.. Because of the fact she was often to be found in a tracksuit with her hair in a ponytail and sporting a rather "tomboyish" attitude, Chisholm received the nickname "Sporty Spice" from Top of the Pops Magazine (each member of the group was given a humorous nickname in a small piece titled "Spice Rack"). The Spice Girls dominated the late 1990s, selling over thirty-five million albums in just two years. They went on to become one of the best-selling girl groups of all time, selling more than fifty-five million records worldwide. They had nine UK number-one singles and two number-one albums. After a third album release, Forever (UK number-two), the members went their separate ways, and Chisholm developed a solo career.
1999–2003: Virgin Records
Chisholm took her first steps in establishing a solo career in late 1998 by singing with Canadian rocker Bryan Adams on the song "When You're Gone". She followed the duet with the album Northern Star in 1999. A track from this album ("Ga Ga") was included on the Big Daddy soundtrack before her own album's release. Singles "Goin' Down" and "Northern Star" were met with promising success, but the third single "Never Be the Same Again", featuring TLC member Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, became her first UK number-one single as a solo artist, also a Top Five hit in Germany. Capitalising on her new found success, Chisholm released a fourth single from Northern Star, a dance remix of "I Turn to You", and earned herself a second UK number-one single. "I Turn to You" reached #2 in Germany and eventually climbed to the top of the Billboard dance chart in the United States. Northern Star was re-released with the single versions of "Never Be the Same Again" and "I Turn to You", and eventually peaked at number four on the United Kingdom album chart and number six in Germany.
"If That Were Me" was chosen as the fifth and final single from Northern Star and proceeds were donated to a charity for the homeless; it peaked at number eighteen in the UK. Northern Star is certified three times platinum in the United Kingdom for shipping 900,000 copies, platinum in Germany for selling over 500,000 copies, and gold in Australia for selling over 35,000 copies. Chisholm then went on her Northern Star World Tour, performing in countries such as Canada, Germany, Spain, USA, Bahrain, Israel, Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom.
Chisholm released her second studio album, Reason, in March 2003. The album included production from a series of collaborators including Gregg Alexander (New Radicals, Ronan Keating), Marius De Vries (Madonna), Dr Robert of The Blow Monkeys, David Arnold (Björk) and Matt Rowe, writer of the Spice Girls' "Wannabe". The lead single from Reason was "Here It Comes Again", which peaked at number seven in the UK, with the album entering the UK album chart a week later at number five.
Other singles from the album were "On the Horizon" (UK number fourteen, written with Gregg Alexander), "Let's Love" in Japan (where the song accompanied a Toyota commercial), "Yeh Yeh Yeh" in mainland Europe and, finally, a UK double A-side of "Melt"/"Yeh Yeh Yeh", which achieved a disappointing UK chart position of number twenty-seven. After a series of disappointments and the relative failure of "Melt"/"Yeh Yeh Yeh", Chisholm parted ways with her label, Virgin Records. Reason has been certified gold in the United Kingdom.
2004–present: Red Girl Records
Chisholm spent much of 2004 working on new material and setting up her own record company, Red Girl Records. Without major label backing, her activities are decided on and funded by herself, alongside her business partner and manager, Nancy Phillips. In April 2005 Chisholm released her third album, Beautiful Intentions. The Adam Argyle-penned "Next Best Superstar" was chosen as the lead single and was released simultaneously in the UK, Europe, and Australia. The single peaked at number ten in the UK and reached the top of the Germany radio airplay chart for several weeks. A second single, "Better Alone", was released but later restricted to purchase from the iTunes Store (for digital download) and from her official online shop. The third single from her third album was "First Day of My Life", a previously unheard Chisholm recording written by Guy Chambers and Enrique Iglesias. "First Day of My Life" topped the charts in several European countries, including Spain, Germany, Sweden, Austria, Switzerland and Portugal. The single became one of the biggest hits of 2005 in parts of Europe, but it was never released in the UK. Beautiful Intentions has been certified gold in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and platinum in Portugal, where it spent nine weeks at number one.
In early 2007 Chisholm released her fourth album, This Time. It features writing collaborations with Adam Argyle, Peter-John Vettese, Guy Chambers and Cathy Dennis (amongst others). The first single release from the project was the international single "The Moment You Believe", primarily released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, where it was a top twenty hit. The single peaked at number one in Spain for two weeks, at number two in Portugal and was a Top 20 hit in Sweden. In Britain, Chisholm released the track "I Want Candy", which peaked at number twenty-four and featured on the soundtrack to the film of the same name. The single peaked at number nine in Italy and Denmark. The second international single from the album This Time was "Carolyna", which was released in June in the UK and across Europe; although it underperformed in the UK (peaking at number forty-nine due to lack of media support), it became a top five radio hit in Germany and Switzerland and a top twenty hit in Italy. On 12 October 2007 in Germany, Switzerland and Austria, and on 22 October in UK Mel C released album titled track "This Time" as the final single from the fourth LP (Melanie re-recorded this track for a new single version), which features a B-side track called "We Love to Entertain You" which is used for this years Pro7 Starforce campaign in Germany.
At the moment Melanie is reunited with the Spice Girls for a Greatest Hits album release and The Return of the Spice Girls tour and then will continue her solo career.

AKA Kirstie Louise Alley

Born: 12-Jan-1951
Birthplace: Wichita, KS
Gender: Female
Religion: Scientology
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Rebecca from Cheers
Father: Robert Deal Alley (lumber dealer)
Mother: Lillian Mickie (d. 1981 automobile accident)
Sister: Colette Ellyce Alley (biology teacher)
Brother: Craig Robert Alley (lumber dealer)
Husband: Bob Alley (m. 1974, div. 1977)
Husband: Parker Stevenson (actor, dated 1981-83, m. 22-Dec-1983, div. 1996)
Son: William True Stevenson (adopted, b. 5-Oct-1992)
Daughter: Lillie Price Stevenson (adopted, b. 1994)
Boyfriend: James Wilder (actor, together 1997-99, broken engagement)
Kirsten Louise Alley is an American Emmy Award winning actress best known for her role in the TV show Cheers, where she played Rebecca Howe from 1987-1993, winning an Emmy as the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for 1991. A year later, she won a Golden Globe for her performance in Cheers as well. She won an Emmy in 1994 for her role in the TV-drama David's Mother. Other critically acclaimed roles Alley is known for include: playing Diane Barrows in It Takes Two and a single mother in Look Who's Talking, Look Who's Talking Too, and Look Who's Talking Now (all co-starring John Travolta). Alley has won two People's Choice Awards in the years 1991 and 1998.
Biography
Early life
Alley was born in Wichita, Kansas, where she was raised, to Robert Deal Alley, who owned a lumber company, and Lillian Mickie Heaton, a homemaker; she has two siblings, Colette and Craig. Her mother died in a car accident caused by a drunk driver in 1981. Alley attended Wichita Southeast High School and became a cheerleader. She attended college at Kansas State University and the University of Kansas, but dropped out in her sophomore year to pursue acting. She was first seen as a contestant on the game shows Match Game in 1979 and Password Plus in 1980. On both shows she stated her occupation as an interior designer.
Career
Alley won a supporting role in the 1982 movie Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, playing Vulcan officer Lieutenant Saavik. Alley turned down the role of Saavik in Star Trek III: The Search for Spock because the producers would not meet her salary demands and because she didn't want to be typecast as a science fiction actress. Therefore, Robin Curtis assumed the role. Alley also co-starred in a short-lived secret agent television series, Masquerade, and in the acclaimed miniseries North and South. In 1984 Alley starred in the low budget theatrical film Blind Date. Although the movie was a critical and commercial failure at the time, it has become a minor cult classic due primarily to the only on-screen nude scene of Alley's career. She rose to prominence in her 1987–1993 role as the neurotic corporate executive Rebecca Howe on the long-running hit TV sitcom Cheers. While Cheers was the launching pad for the successful spin-off Frasier, Alley was the only regular actor from Cheers not to appear on Frasier. She later starred in the movie Look Who's Talking (1989) with fellow Scientologist John Travolta, which earned more than $100 million at the box office. This film was followed by two sequels — 1990s Look Who's Talking Too and 1993's Look Who's Talking Now. In 1992, she played a TV news reporter in Prince's video for "My Name Is Prince." Her second NBC sitcom, the critically panned Veronica's Closet, ran for three seasons in the late 1990s. Alley reportedly received $2 million in up-front fees for her work on that series and $150,000 per episode.
Alley has been honored with two Emmy Awards during her career. Her first two nominations for her work on Cheers did not earn her the award, but her third, in 1991, garnered her the statuette for that series. In her speech, she thanked then-husband Parker Stevenson "for giving me the big one for the last eight years". Talk show hosts, as well as the creators of Cheers, poked fun at the quip for weeks afterward. Alley won her second Emmy for her portrayal of the title role in the made-for-TV movie drama David's Mother (1994). In 1997, Alley's career took a different turn when she appeared in Woody Allen's movie Deconstructing Harry. In this movie, Alley, who was then primarily known as a comedic actress, displayed a strong talent for being a serious dramatic actress by playing a psychiatrist who is married to Woody Allen's character. She is angered upon learning that he has had an affair with one of her patients.
For her contribution to the motion picture industry, Kirstie Alley has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7000 Hollywood Blvd.
In 2005, after her weight increased to over 200 lbs., she headlined a sitcom for Showtime called Fat Actress. The show details the daily life of an overweight actress trying to make it in Hollywood. Alley has become an advocate against obesity and was/is a spokeswoman for the Jenny Craig weight-loss program; TV ads document her weight loss, which has reached 75 lbs., according to Alley on a November 6, 2006, appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. She appeared clad in a semi-bikini outfit, with a fabric midriff and several yards of translucent chiffon to hide her back-view. The next day on The View, Rosie O'Donnell pulled up a woman from their audience who was approximately the same body size as Kirstie; the woman admitted to weighing much more than Kirstie. The implication was clear that Rosie thought Kirstie was a liar. It was announced in early February 2007 that Alley will play the lead in a new Fox network sitcom entitled The Minister of Divine, based upon the British show The Vicar of Dibley, which starred Dawn French and was first broadcast on the BBC in 1994. However, the show was not picked up for the Fall lineup.
Personal life
Alley was married to actor Parker Stevenson (Richard Stevenson Parker, Jr.) from December 22, 1983, until 1997. During their marriage, the couple adopted two children — William True (born October 5, 1992) and Lillie Price (born June 15, 1994). Alley also experienced a miscarriage as well as a stillbirth. According to media reports at the time of the couple's divorce, Stevenson walked away from the marriage with a healthy $6,000,000 (USD) settlement, after asking for $75,000 per month in alimony from Alley. At the time of their split, Alley and Stevenson were joint owners of a mansion in Encino, California, complete with exotic animals, plus vacation homes in Islesboro, Maine, and in Kansas. She also has a ranch in the Applegate Valley of Jackson County, Oregon. The couple owned two yachts and several high-performance cars. Today, they share joint custody of their children.
“ I don't believe in walking on eggshells around children. I don't want them to have a static, middle-class life. I want them to experience a real life, not some pretentious existence ”
Alley was raised Methodist but is now a Scientologist, like her good friends John Travolta and Kelly Preston. She is dedicated to and a strong activist for V-Day, a global movement to stop violence against women.
Alley admits to having had a cocaine addiction from 1976 until 1979, when she joined Scientology. She has served as the national spokesperson for Narconon (a controversial Scientology-affiliated drug treatment program). She has continued her Scientology training and, as of 1999, had attained the level of OT VI (Operating Thetan level 6). In May 2000, she purchased the former home of fellow Scientologist Lisa Marie Presley, a 5,200-sq-ft. waterfront mansion in Clearwater, Florida, for $1.5 million. Clearwater is the spiritual headquarters of the Church of Scientology.
In October 2005, the Church of Scientology again announced that Alley had completed another course, the PTS/SP course.
More
In high school Alley was a cheerleader. She was a cokehead for two years after dropping out of college, and says it took her a month to drive from Kansas to California, because she had to find sources and buy drugs all along the way. She played a Vulcan in her first film, Star Trek II. Kirstie Alley's first series was Masquerade in 1983, with Greg Evigan and Rod Taylor, wherein Alley kept a watchful eye on novice spies.
In 1987, she replaced Shelley Long on Cheers until the bar was closed in 1993. From 1997-2000 she was in the lingerie business on Veronica's Closet with Kathy Najimy. After that show was cancelled, Alley ballooned up, becoming the butt of innumerable fat jokes. Unlike others, though, Alley laughed along, even starring as herself in the aptly named reality/sitcom Fat Actress.
In 2006, after a year on the Jenny Craig diet, she showed off her no-longer-fat body in a bikini on Oprah. Alley is the only surviving cast member from Cheers who never visited Kelsey Grammer on his spin-off Frasier.

Born: 11-Jan-1972
Birthplace: New York City
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Touch Me
Father: Charles Peet (lawyer)
Mother: Penny (social worker)
Boyfriend: Brian Van Holt (actor)
Husband: David Friedman (screenwriter, p/k/a David Benioff, m. 30-Sep-2006)
Daughter: Frances Pen Friedman (b. 20-Feb-2007 with Friedman)
Peet was born in New York City to Charles Peet, a lawyer, and Penny Levy, a social worker; the two are now divorced. Her father is a Quaker and her mother is Jewish. Peet attended Friends Seminary, then studied history at and graduated from Columbia University, where she auditioned for acting teacher Uta Hagen and decided to become an actress after taking Hagen's class. During her four-year period of study with Hagen, Peet appeared in the off-Broadway revival of Clifford Odets's Awake and Sing.
Career
Peet's first screen performance was a television commercial for Skittles. Her early roles included a guest starring role on the television series Law & Order. She made her film debut in Animal Room (1995). Peet maintained a steady acting career in relatively obscure indie movies.
Her first major role was as "Jack" in the 1999 WB network series Jack & Jill (which aired for two seasons). She also appeared in the eighth-season finale of Seinfeld ("The Summer of George") as a waitress whom Jerry Seinfeld meets. Her character is notable for seemingly dating two men at once: Jerry and her apparent roommate ("dude"), Lyle. Peet's first role in a widely-released feature film came in 2000, with The Whole Nine Yards, elevating her status from supporting actress to lead. That same year, she was voted one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World by People magazine. Peet was also in the movie Saving Silverman with Jack Black and Steve Zahn. She also starred in Something's Gotta Give in 2003. Peet played Diane Keaton's daughter, and, at one point, Jack Nicholson's lover.
In 2005, Peet appeared in the play This Is How It Goes, filling in for Marisa Tomei at the last minute after six days of rehearsal. In the same year, she also co-starred in the films Syriana with onscreen husband Matt Damon, and A Lot Like Love, with Ashton Kutcher. In February 2006, she was performing in Neil Simon's Broadway production of Barefoot in the Park. Peet was a member of the cast of the television series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which premiered on NBC on September 18, 2006. She stars with Matthew Perry, with whom she worked in The Whole Nine Yards and The Whole Ten Yards, and Sarah Paulson, with whom she co-starred in Jack & Jill. In the show; Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip, Peet's character Jordan McDeere is the newly-appointed president of the National Broadcasting System (NBS). In 2006, she also starred along with Dermot Mulroney in a Lifetime movie, Griffin and Phoenix, in which she played a terminally-ill woman living life to the fullest. Her most recent role was in 2007's The Ex, a comedy co-starring Zach Braff in which Peet plays an attorney who stays home to raise a new baby. She will next co-star with Hilary Duff, Amanda Seyfried and Amber Tamblyn in Safety Glass, a film set around the Space Shuttle Challenger launch; filming will begin this fall.
Personal life
Peet married screenwriter David Benioff (whom she met on a blind date) on September 30, 2006 and gave birth to a daughter, Frances Pen, on February 20, 2007. The two live in Manhattan and Los Angeles.

AKA Janet Marie Jones

Born: 10-Jan-1961
Birthplace: Bridgeton, MO
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Wife of Wayne Gretzky
Mother: Jean
Boyfriend: Vitas Gerulaitis (tennis player, broken engagement)
Boyfriend: Bruce Willis (actor, ex-)
Boyfriend: Nels Van Patten (son of Dick Van Patten, ex-)
Husband: Wayne Gretzky (hockey legend, m. 17-Jul-1988, two daughters, three sons)
Daughter: Paulina (b. 19-Dec-1988)
Son: Ty (b. 9-Jul-1990)
Son: Trevor (b. 14-Sep-1992)
Son: Tristan (b. 2-Aug-2000)
Daughter: Emma (b. 28-Mar-2003)
Jones was born in Bridgeton, Missouri. She performed as a dancer in Annie (1982), Staying Alive (1983), and Snow White Live (1980), and had a bit part in The Beastmaster (1982). Her big break came in The Flamingo Kid (1984), which was followed by the film version of A Chorus Line (1985). Later in 1986, she appeared in American Anthem, co-staring gymnast Mitch Gaylord. In 1987, she appeared in a semi-nude pictorial in that March's Playboy.
Four months before her wedding, Police Academy 5: Assignment Miami Beach (1988) was released. Other credits include A League of Their Own (1992), and hosting an infomercial for Jackie Chan's Cable Flex. She served as the "master instructor" for a workout video produced by The Firm. She and daughter Paulina were featured in the movie Alpha Dog.
Personal life
She was engaged to tennis star Vitas Gerulaitis for three years, before he broke the engagement. He later died of carbon monoxide poisoning in 1994. She also dated actors Bruce Willis and Nels Van Patten, son of Dick Van Patten.
Jones met Gretzky when he was a judge on Merv Griffin's show Dance Fever in 1984. They ran into each other at a Los Angeles Lakers game in 1987; Gretzky told Howard Stern's 22 October 1996 audience they consummated their relationship that night. Stern commented, "That's why they call you 'The Great One'." On 17 July 1988 they were wed at a lavish ceremony at St. Joseph's Basilica in Edmonton broadcast live across Canada. Jones was four months pregnant with their daughter Paulina. Janet and Wayne have four other children: Ty, Trevor, Tristan, and Emma. Her mother has been their nanny since 1988.
The marriage has come under scrutiny at times. After Jones was knocked unconscious by a pane of Plexiglas during a 22 October 1997 New York Rangers-Chicago Blackhawks game, Gretzky continued to play while she was taken to the hospital. He later defended his actions by saying the officials who were tending to Janet told him there was nothing he could do. On the 15 January 1998 Rosie O'Donnell Show, he made a crack about the incident. He has also refused to publicly defend her during the on-going gambling investigation (see below).
Illegal gambling controversy
On February 7, 2006, Jones and a half-dozen NHL players were among those implicated in a New Jersey-based sports gambling ring allegedly financed by Phoenix Coyotes assistant coach Rick Tocchet. Coyotes' general manager and Gretzky's former agent, Michael Barnett, admitted to police placing a bet on Super Bowl XL with Tocchet.
Gretzky told reporters that Jones "would sit down at some point and answer questions that everybody has for her and be her own person", "The reality is, I'm not involved, I wasn't involved and I'm not going to be involved." Jones released a statement through the team: "At no time did I ever place a wager on my husband's behalf." Further reporting by the Newark Star-Ledger revealed on February 9, 2006, that New Jersey State Police wiretaps have Gretzky speaking about the ring. Police sources told the Star-Ledger that there is no evidence Gretzky made any bets. "I didn't bet. Didn't happen. It's not going to happen, hasn't happened; it's not something that I've done." Lawyers for the couple later announced that neither Gretzky nor Jones would face criminal charges.
On March 15, 2006, the New Jersey attorney general's office announced it will subpoena Jones to testify about the alleged ring as soon as a grand jury convenes. On May 8, Tocchet and Jones filed notices in New Jersey that they intend to sue the state for defamation, claiming each have lost business opportunities in the wake of the state's investigation which have sullied their reputations.

AKA Aahoo Jahansouzshahi

Born: 10-Jan-1980
Birthplace: Euless, TX
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Occupation: Actor
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Cheerleader turned actress
Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader, 1999-2000. Resident of Los Angeles since 2000.
Father: Abbas (Muslim)
Mother: (Christian, divorced in 1993)
Aahoo Jahansouz Shahi, also known as Sarah Shahi (born January 10, 1980, in Euless, Texas, U.S.), is a Iranian-American actress, model and former NFL Cheerleader of Iranian and Spanish descent, and a descendent of 19th century Persian Shah Fat�Œh Ali Shah Qajar. Shahi was named #90 on the Maxim magazine "Hot 100 of 2005" list; she moved up to #66 in 2006.
Early Life and Career
Sarah Shahi was born in Grapevine, Texas, to Abbas and Mahmonir Jahansouzshahi. She attended Trinity High School and Dallas' Southern Methodist University, majoring in English and Opera. Shahi started her career as a beauty queen during her teen years. She won the Miss Fort Worth USA pageant in 1997. After studying opera, she joined the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders 1999-2000 squad. She appeared on the cover of their 2000 calendar. She claims to be of spanish decent on her maternal side.
Acting career
While working as an extra on the set of Dr. T and the Women, she met director Robert Altman, who encouraged her to move to Hollywood. Sarah then moved to Los Angeles. Once in L.A., she got various recurrent roles in several famous series, such as Alias, where she played Jenny, and Dawson's Creek, where she was Sadia Shaw. Shahi was also the first ghost in Supernatural, the CW paranormal drama series.
She is best known for her role as the Mexican-American DJ Carmen de la Pica Morales in the Showtime drama television series The L Word, which she joined in its second season. Her character was written out before the start of the fourth season.
She also appeared in HBO's The Sopranos, in the Season 6b episode "Kennedy and Heidi," as Sonya Aragon, a stripper and college student who spends a weekend with Tony after a death in his family.
Sarah speaks English, Farsi, and some Spanish, and has a Brown belt in Karate.
Sarah's currently starring as one of the leads alongside Damian Lewis in the new hit show Life (US TV series) which started airing in the U.S. in late September.

Birth name Alba Giselle Blondet
Born January 9, 1966
New York, New York, U.S.
Occupation actress, model and host
Spouse(s) Luis Iglesias (1982-1984)
Luis Abreu (1986-1987)
Harold Trucco (1989-1997)
Giselle Blondet, born in the United States to Victor Manuel Blondet and Alba Gomez. Is a Puerto Rican actress with French ancestry on her Father's side.
Blondet became famous at around the age of 14, when she began to appear on Puerto Rico's telenovelas. As a soap opera actress, she was on many of Puerto Rico's soaps of the late 1970s, and the early 1980s.
In 1982 she married Luis Iglesias, a jewler in San Juan, Puerto Rico. They had one daughter, Andrea. They were divorced in 1984. In 1986, she married the famous Bolivian actor Luis Abreu, with whom she had no children. She divorced Abreu in 1987. Around then magazines such as Vea, Teve Guía, etc, started talking of a supposed rivalry between her and Millie Avilés, another young Puerto Rican actress who resembled Blondet physically.
Blondet spent the rest of the '80s participating in different tv shows, soap operas and mini-series, as well as in some theatre plays. In 1987, her romance with actor Raúl Rosado was well publicized.
In 1989, she married producer Harold Trucco, and they had daughter, Gabriela and son, Harold Emmanuel. But this relationship also ran into trouble and they divorced in 1997. During the month of June 1997, her career took off internationally when she was given the opportunity to co-host Univisión's international show Despierta América alongside Rafael José (who was replaced by Venezuelan TV personality, Raul Gonzalez in 2002), Fernando Arau, Ana Maria Canseco, Jackie Guerrido, and Neida Sandoval. After divorcing Trucco, she has remained single, and she says she wants to dedicate her free time to her children, Andrea, Gabriela and Harold Emmanuel.
In 2004, Blondet released her autobiography "Con los Pies en la Tierra". The following year, she left Despierta América to host a new television show about real-life tragedies entitled Historias para Contar but was cancelled before it aired. In 2006, she starred in a Spanish Christmas movie alongside Jose Feliciano and Raul De Molina titled "Feliz Navidad." Blondet's movie was set to be released later that year but failed to be shown in theater's. Blondet's career may have had setbacks since she left Despierta America but she is once again hosting a reality show in Univision, called Nuestra Belleza Latina (Our Latin Beauty) (2007). This is a show with a hint of American Idol/America's Next Top Model/Miss Universe to it, and so far, it's a hit.

AKA Amber Nicole Benson

Born: 8-Jan-1977
Birthplace: Birmingham, AL
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Tara Maclay on Buffy
Boyfriend: Adam Busch (actor, Warren Meers on Buffy)
Benson was born in Birmingham, Alabama. She had a mixed Christian and Jewish upbringing.
Career
Feature and animation films
While still working on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Benson wrote, directed, produced, edited, and acted in a digital video feature called Chance (2002) which also featured James Marsters. After her time on Buffy, Benson began production on a series of animation film for the BBC with co-creator Christopher Golden and animation studio Cosgrove Hall. Ghosts of Albion: Legacy (2003) and its sequels are available on the BBC Cult website (http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/ghosts/legacy/). In 2006, Benson released her second independent feature film Lovers, Liars and Lunatics through her own production company, Benson Entertainment. The film was shot on film and was partly financed by the sale of limited edition "Triangle" Tara action figures.
Writing career: novels and comics
Benson also writes novels and comic books mostly in collaboration with Christopher Golden. In 2003, Benson worked with Golden, Terry Moore, and Eric Powell of Dark Horse Comics to create the Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow and Tara comic book titled “WannaBlessedBe”. During the same year, she worked with Christopher Golden and AJ (Ajit Jothikaumar) of Dark Horse Comics to create the Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Willow and Tara comic books titled Wilderness #1 and Wilderness #2. In 2005, Benson collaborated with artist Jamie McKelvie on a short story within the Image Comics collection Four Letter Worlds. In 2006, Benson collaborated with artist Ben Templesmith on Demon Father John’s Pinwheel Blues published by IDW as a four-part split-book, Shadowplay (with work by Ashley Wood and Christina Z). Benson and Golden have also collaborated on two supernatural thrillers: Ghosts of Albion: Accursed and Ghosts of Albion: Witchery. These books follow the fortunes of Tamara and William Swift, who first appeared in the BBC computer animated web movie Ghosts of Albion: Legacy. In December 2006, Benson and Golden released yet another collaboration, the short novel The Seven Whistlers which is distributed through Subterranean Press in a limited number of signed copies. In September of 2007, Benson signed a three-book deal with Ginjer Buchanan of Penguin Books. The first book is tentatively titled Death's Daughter.
Career: miscellaneous
In 2003, she collaborated with director James Kerwin to produce her play, Albert Hall, in Hollywood.
Benson sang in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical episode "Once More, With Feeling". She provided vocals for the songs "I've Got a Theory / Bunnies / If We're Together", "Under Your Spell" (her solo), "Walk Through the Fire", "Standing/Under Your Spell (Reprise)" and "Where Do We Go From Here?" She also sang "Toucha Toucha Touch Me" (aka "Creature of the Night") at VH-1's celebrity karaoke tribute to The Rocky Horror Picture Show.
Personal life
On the 2000-11-02 episode of the radio show Loveline, Amber (at age 23) revealed that she did not have a driver's license, that her mother drove her to the studio, and stated that she was at the time still a virgin. As of 2007, Benson resides in Los Angeles, California.

AKA Elvis Aaron Presley

Born: 8-Jan-1935
Birthplace: Tupelo, MS
Died: 16-Aug-1977
Location of death: Graceland, Memphis, TN
Cause of death: Heart Failure
Remains: Buried, Graceland, Memphis, TN
Gender: Male
Religion: Protestant
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Singer, Actor
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Rock and roll icon
Military service: US Army (1958-60)
Father: Vernon Elvis Presley
Mother: Gladys Love Smith Presley
Brother: Jesse Garon Presley (Elvis's twin, either stillborn or died shortly after birth)
Girlfriend: Yvonne Craig (dated 1963)
Wife: Priscilla Ann Beaulieu Presley (actress, m. 1967, div. 1972)
Daughter: Lisa Marie Presley (musician, b. 1968)
Slept with: Ann-Margret (actor/singer)
Slept with: Nancy Sinatra (singer)
Girlfriend: Linda Thompson (actress, together 1972-76)
Girlfriend: Tura Satana (actress, according to her)
Girlfriend: Cybill Shepherd (model/actor, together briefly)
Girlfriend: Kathy Westmoreland (singer)
Girlfriend: Ginger Alden (from 1976-77)
Girlfriend: Natalie Wood (briefly, per Last Train to Memphis)
A pill-popping mama's boy hillbilly from Tupelo, Elvis Aron Presley was the first musical megastar of the rock and roll era, as well as being the most dramatic example of a celebrity tranformed into a cult deity by a premature death. Quite a bit could be learned about the nature of celebrity worship from the Cult of Elvis phenomenon that has emerged -- even more so than from the hysteria surrounding The Beatles -- but it generally tends to be regarded as no more than a freakish anomaly rather than an extreme form of what is actually a common human impulse; in fact, the fanaticism of Elvis' fans has now become as deeply rooted in Western (and other) popular culture as Presley and his music -- take a look at films such as True Romance (1993) or even Bubba Ho-Tep (2002) for two very different representations of this phenomenon. People have always displayed a need to create a larger-than life figure with which to associate themselves -- the shift to entertainment figures from political figures has been gradually taking place since the invention of the motion picture -- and Elvis has now become the patron saint of this tendency, sometimes even expressed as "fill-in-the-blank" is my Elvis, such as cartoonist Matt Groening's comment in a 1992 interview that "Frank Zappa is my Elvis."
Elvis Presley was brought into the world in 1935 by truck driver Vernon Presley and his seamstress wife Gladys Smith. His twin brother Jesse Garon Presley arrived at the same time but was stillborn, leaving Elvis to grow up as an only child. Raised in poverty, Elvis developed his singing talents at the famiy's Pentecostal church, and by the age of ten managed to win second prize at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show with a version of the song Old Shep (a performance broadcast by local station WELO); this accomplishment motivated his parents to buy him an acoustic guitar, after which the young Elvis spent as much of his free time as possible teaching himself to play. In 1948 his family moved him to Memphis, and it was here that Elvis fell under the influence of black R&B performers such as B. B. King by way of the thriving music scene centered around the city's Beale Street clubs.
In Memphis, Presley's musical abilities continued to gain recognition, and in his next talent show the shy teen earned first place through the enthusiasm of his classmates. Blue-collar work at a machinist's shop was taken immediately after graduation in 1953, but Elvis' ambitions to become a professional musician were not abandoned: that same year he paid $4 to record himself singing My Happiness and That's When Your Heartaches Begin at Sam Phillip's Memphis Recording Service, but he was disappointed by the results. After a short-lived job with the Precision Tool Company, Elvis spent a period in his father's vocation, driving a truck for Crown Electric while also attending night classes to become an electrician. A second attempt at recording (A Casual Love Affair and I'll Never Stand In Your Way) was made at the start of 1954, but this time with Phillips himself in attendance; intrigued by the young singer's performance, the Sun Records owner invited him back to create further recordings later in the year.
Despite Phillip's dissatisfaction with his first session with Presley, he remained convinced that the singer's version of black R&B had considerable potential. A backing band featuring guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black was assembled, and after a few months of rehearsal the tracks I Love You Because, Blue Moon Of Kentucky and That's All Right were recorded in July of 1954. The last of these three tracks (backed by Blue Moon Of Kentucky was then released by the Sun label as Presley's first single, causing an immediate stir in the local music scene: listener response to the song's airplay was enthusiastic, as was the audience response to the trio's subsequent club performances. Moore took on the role of manager for the group, and appearances at various Southern radio stations (and one at the Grand Ole Opry in September) continued to build on the initial success brought about by the single.
Later in the year, Elvis began to make regular appearances on the popular live radio program Louisiana Hayride, which continued throughout 1955. After releasing his second single Good Rockin' Tonight b/w I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine, he made his first televised performance on the local television version of Hayride in March of '55; by this time Moore had passed on management duties to disc jockey Bob Neal, who soon afterwards would be responsible for involving the dubious character Colonel Tom Parker in Presley's career. Public response continued to grow with each new release, the single Baby, Let's Play House b/w I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone climbing to #10 on the country charts in July of '55, followed by Presley's first #1 Mystery Train b/w I Forgot To Remember To Forget in September. This success increased the interest of Parker, who quickly pushed both Neal and Phillips out of the picture by arranging a lucrative contract for the singer with the RCA label.
With the re-release of his Sun singles on RCA, Presley's popularity quickly expanded from being a Southern to a nation-wide phenomenon. A series of performances on the national TV program Stage Show led to high-profile appearances on variety shows such as The Milton Berle Show, The Steve Allen Show and The Ed Sullivan Show throughout 1956 -- instigating a level of hype that would frequently result in riots at the singer's public appearances, and carried the first RCA-recorded single Heartbreak Hotel b/w I Was the One to the top of the mainstream pop charts. Parker took full advantage of the situation by arranging a seven-year contract for his client with Paramount Pictures, moving the focus of the next stage of Elvis' career from records to films. The first of these films, the Civil War drama Love Me Tender (1956) was met with enormous box-office success and even reasonably positive critical reviews.
Having been established as an international celebrity and the center of a multi-million dollar merchandsing business, in 1957 Presley purchased Graceland Mansion as a home for himself and his family, where he would reside for the remainder of his life. His film career proceeded at full steam throughout '57 and '58, the feature Loving You (1957) once again providing him with the dual box office/record album success of Love Me Tender -- an acheivement again repeated by his next two films Jailhouse Rock (1957) and Kid Creole (1958). Live performances also continued to be received with hysterical enthusiasm by crowds of teenagers throughout the U.S. (and, on a few occasions, in Canada). A widely-publicized interruption to this new lifestyle arrived in March of 1958, however, when Elvis reported to Fort Hood to begin basic training for the U.S. Army, having received his draft notice in December of the previous year.
During the next two years the Army remained the focus of Presley's life, the singer only managing one recording session (scheduled after the completion of his training) before his discharge in 1960. The majority of his service was spent at Wiesbaden Air Force Base in Germany, and it was here that he met Priscilla Ann Beaulieu -- only 14 at the time, but whom he would eventually marry in 1967. The hype surrounding Presley was scrupulously maintained by Parker througout his client's absence, and recording, television and film work was immediately resumed upon his re-entry into civilian life: the album Elvis is Back!, a television special called Frank Sinatra's Welcome Home, Elvis and the motion picture GI Blues were all completed and released before the end of 1960.
For the first few years of the 1960s, Presley's popularity remained unrivalled in his home country -- although response to the endless succession of the singer's films (his 21st (!) being released by the middle of 1965) went through unavoidable fluctuations. The arrival of the so-called British Invasion in the mid-60s (and partcularly the impact of The Beatles) ultimately deflected the public taste in a different direction (despite the ironic fact many of these bands, Beatles included, would cite Presley as a major influence on their own creative output), and the social changes accompanying this shift in popular music also put the conservative-minded Presley out of step with the young people that used to stampede to his live performances. By 1966 attendance to his films began to decline, and his albums and singles ceased to enter the top 10; by his 28th film Live a Little, Love a Little (1968) his career was in an undeniable slump, the soundtrack album climbing only as high as #82 on the charts.
In an attempt to breathe some life into his stagnating career (and to restore his own enthusiasm for performing), in mid-1968 Presley staged a television special simply called Elvis, broadcast by NBC on December 3rd. This was his first performance in front of a live audience since a pair of concerts at Ellis Auditorium in Memphis in February of 1961, and featured a cross-section of his hit songs and musical styles, as well as reuniting him with Scotty Moore and D. J. Fontana from his original band. The program did briefly restore some of Elvis' previous glory, receiving both high ratings and strong critical notices. Presley then followed up with what would prove to be his last #1 single, Suspicious Minds, in the latter half of 1969 -- although the fortunes of his excessive film output (his 31st feature, Change of Habit, limping it's way in and out of theaters in Novemeber of '69) continued to decline.
Upon the arrival of the 1970s, the focus of Presley's activities moved away from film projects and returned to live performances. Most of these shows took place at resort-oriented venues such the Las Vegas Hilton and the Sahara Hotel in Tahoe, with the singer staging extended engagements at the Hilton every year between 1970 and 1976. The single Burning Love placed Elvis at #2 on the mainstream charts in 1972, and during the first half of the 70s several other of his singles would top the charts in Germany and the UK, as well as the country charts in the States. By 1973, however, physical problems ranging between his addiction to prescription drugs, pneumonia, hepatitis and various complications brought about by his weight gain began to interfere with his performance schedule, and in 1975 he would be forced to spend periods in the hospital on two different occasions. His unhealthy lifestyle inevitably caught up with him, and while taking a break after several months of touring, Presley was found dead of heart failure in his Graceland home on August 16, 1977 at the age of 42.

AKA Haley Keeling

Born: 7-Jan-1988
Birthplace: Fort Myers, FL
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Occupation: Actor
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Music and Lyrics
Haley Bennett (born January 7, 1988) is an American singer and actress.
Bennett was born and raised in Naples, Florida. Bennett began high school at Stow-Munroe Falls High School in Stow, Ohio and later studied music and acting while attending Barron Collier High School. She and her mother moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue her career in the summer of 2005 during her senior year.
Bennett's debut film role was as the pop music singer Cora Corman in the 2007 romantic comedy Music and Lyrics, alongside Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. Bennett sang several songs for the Music and Lyrics soundtrack, including "Buddha's delight" and "Way Back Into Love". Fragments of "Entering Bootytown" and "Slam" are heard during concert scenes in the movie. "Invincible" can only be heard during the end credits, and is only a minute and a half long.
She has signed a three-picture deal with Warner Brothers Pictures and has finished filming her second movie College. Bennett is soon to star in a film called She Lived, playing a child who stayed sane after her mother tried to murder her.
She appeared in the February 2007 issue of GQ in the GQ/Features section.
In 2007, she signed with 550 Music/NuSound Records (part of the Epic Records family of labels), and began working on her first album with the aid of singer/songwriter Shaley Scott.

Born January 6, 1970
Location La Jolla, California, U.S.
Nationality American
Other names Gabby
Occupation Volleyball player, Fashion model
Height 6 ft 3 in
Weight 160 lb
Spouse Laird Hamilton
Children Reece Viola Hamilton (b. 2003)
Brody Jo Hamilton (b. 2008)
Early life and background
Reece was born in La Jolla, California, and spent her early years living in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Her father, from Trinidad, died when she was five years old; Reece's trademark piece of jewelry (copied on a tattoo inside her right ankle) is a stylized sterling silver cross that was worn by her father. In high school, Reece excelled at basketball and played volleyball on the side. Many colleges started recruiting her due to her abilities in sports. She accepted a volleyball scholarship from Florida State University (FSU) where she majored in communications and led the league in kills four times and blocks once. In 1989, she took off to model in New York. She returned for six weeks that summer to take classes, then flew to New York for more modeling.
Volleyball career
Since graduation, Reece has played on professional volleyball tours. FSU inducted Reece into the Florida State University Athletics Hall of Fame in 1997. Reece set two still standing school volleyball records in solo blocks (240) and total blocks (747).
In 1997, competing with the best global beach volleyball players ever assembled, Reece's 4-person team took first place at the first-ever Beach Volleyball World Championships staged at the UCLA Tennis Center. A Florida State star turned pro, 1997 was Reece's fifth season as a team captain in the 4-person Women's Beach Volleyball League (WBVL), and her fourth captaining Team Nike, which shared League Co-Championship.
For four consecutive years, Reece was the WBVL kills leader from 1993-1996. She was named the Offensive Player of the Year in 1994-95, and the League blocks leader in 1993. She also competed domestically in the 1999-2000 Olympic Challenge Series, the 1999-2000 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour, and other competitions.
Modeling career
Reece began her modeling career while attending FSU. In 1989 she was named by ELLE magazine as one of the five most beautiful Women in the World.
Reece has appeared on the covers of several magazines including Shape, Women's Sports & Fitness, Outside, ELLE, and Life, Travel & Leisure Golf, Women's Sports & Fitness, Vogue, People and many other. She also appeared on the cover of Playboy, with an accompanying nude pictorial, in January 2001. Ironically, when appearing as herself the year before on the HBO series Arliss, she angrily chastised her agent for bringing her an offer to pose nude for Playboy.
Other work
Reece co-wrote a book with Karen Karbo about her life as a pro athlete entitled "Big Girl in the Middle," published by Crown (1997). She also wrote a column for Conde Nast's magazine Women's Sports & Fitness, and has been a contributing editor at ELLE magazine.
Reece can be seen featured on TV every year as a host on ESPN and NBC's "Gravity Games," where she participated in the daredevil sports of road-lugging, white water kayaking, drag racing, surfing, sky diving, and more on "MTV Sports" (1993-95), and "The Extremists with Gabrielle Reece" (1995-96). She was also a commentator at the 1998 Goodwill Games.
Reece recently reunited with Nike as a spokesperson and she is a new expert and writer for Yahoo-Health. Reece is also a producer of a health & fitness product; "The Primal System" with fitness expert Paul Chek and can be seen hosting a show for Fit Tv/Discovery, ‘Insider Training' where she profiles professional athletes about their training & conditioning regimens.
In film, Reece played the supporting role of a physical trainer in the film Gattaca (1997) and a pro beach volleyball player in 'Cloud Nine' with Bert Reynolds (2004). She has also guest starred on the television shows 'North Shore' (2004) and '8 Simple Rules' on ABC (2005), and has appeared as a guest on Extreme Makeover Home Edition.
In 2007, Reece, along with her husband Laird Hamilton, appeared in the ABC reality television series Fast Cars and Superstars: The Gillette Young Guns Celebrity Race, featuring a dozen celebrities in a stock car racing competition. In the first round of competition, Reece matched up against former NFL coach Bill Cowher and actor William Shatner.
Personal life
In November 1997, Reece married Hawaiian big-wave surfer Laird Hamilton. They have one child together, daughter Reece Viola Hamilton, who was born in October 2003. In June 2007 Reece announced on the Today show that she was expecting another child, due on January 2, 2008. Their son, Brody Jo Hamilton, was born on January 1, 2008 in Hawaii. He weighed 8 lb (4 kg).

Born: 5-Jan-1978
Birthplace: Sioux Falls, SD
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: American Wedding
Boyfriend: Ashton Kutcher (actor, dated 1998-2001)
Boyfriend: Josh Groban (musician, dated since 2003)
January Jones, born 5 January 1978 in Brookings South Dakota USA, is a former model and actress best known for her role as 'Cadence Flaherty' in the 2003 movie American Wedding (aka American Pie: The Wedding outside the US) which was the third movie in the American Pie comedy film series.
She has also had supporting roles in Anger Management (2003) and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (also known as Dirty Dancing 2). She had a small role in Love Actually as Jeannie 'the American Angel'. In 2005 she appeared in the film The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada directed by and starring Tommy Lee Jones. In 2006 in We Are Marshall she played the role of Carol Dawson, wife of William 'Red' Dawson, a former coach of the Marshall football program who was on the staff of the 1970 team as well as assistant coach to Jack Lengyel for the 1971 season. In 2007 she was cast in the critically acclaimed AMC original television drama series 'Mad Men' as young suburban housewife and mother Betty Draper.
She was ranked #82 on the Maxim Hot 100 Women of 2002.
Prior to her acting Jones worked as an Abercrombie & Fitch model.
She Dated Singer Josh Groban for three years before they broke up in June of 2006.

AKA Julia Karin Ormond

Born: 4-Jan-1965
Birthplace: Epsom, Surrey, England
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor
Nationality: England
Executive summary: Sabrina
Husband: Rory Edwards (m. Apr-1989, div. 1994)
Husband: Jon Rubin (m. 1999, one daughter)
Daughter: (b. 2004)
Ormond was born in Epsom, Surrey, England, to Josephine, a laboratory technician, and John Ormond, a successful computer software designer who became a millionaire by age thirty. Ormond's father left his wife and children when Julia was still young. She attended Guildford High School and Cranleigh School (a private school), and then studied acting in London, England at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, from which she graduated in 1988.
Career
Ormond's stage credits include "The Rehearsal", "Wuthering Heights", "The Crucible", Christopher Hampton's "Faith, Hope and Charity", for which she won the London Drama Critics' Award for Best Newcomer, and David Hare's "My Zinc Bed", for which she earned a Laurence Olivier Award nomination. Her film credits include Jerry Zucker's "First Knight", "Captives", with Tim Roth, "Legends of the Fall", with Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins and Aidan Quinn, Sydney Pollack's "Sabrina", "Resistance" and "Smilla's Sense of Snow." Her TV credits include HBO's "Stalin", the drama series "Traffik", "Varian's War" and "Animal Farm." She also has an independent production company, Indican Productions, based in New York City, and she executive produced the Cinemax Reel Life documentary "Calling the Ghosts: A Story of Rape, War and Women", which won a CableACE Award and a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award, and was an official selection of the Toronto and Berlin Film Festivals.
In the mid and late 2000s, Ormond has started to work in various projects, albeit in more supporting roles, starting in 2006, where she had a small role in Inland Empire and in 2007 in the Lindsay Lohan vehicle, I Know Who Killed Me. She will be featured in four projects slated to release in 2008. She will be working with other actors such as Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Benicio del Toro in Guerrilla, Abigail Breslin in Kit Kittredge: An American Girl Mystery and Bill Pullman in Surveillance, and working with acclaimed directors such as David Fincher and Steven Soderbergh in two of the abovementioned projects.
She has been quoted as explaining, "My sense is that Hollywood is something in the past - I've escaped it".
Personal life
Ormond married Rory Edwards, an actor she had met while performing in a production of Wuthering Heights. The marriage ended in 1994. She was romantically linked to actor Gabriel Byrne during the filming of Smilla’s Sense of Snow in 1996. In 1999 she married political activist Jon Rubin. The couple's first child, a daughter Sophie, was born in the autumn of 2004.
Ormond has been an activist engaged with fighting human trafficking since the mid-1990s, and has recently partnered with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. She is also an advocate for Transatlantic Partners Against Aids, which attempts to raise awareness about Aids in Russia and Ukraine, and is founding co-chairman of FilmAid International.
On December 2, 2005, Ormond was appointed as a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador by Executive Director Antonio Maria Costa. During her service, Miss Ormond has made a focus on anti-human trafficking initiatives, raising awareness about this modern form of slavery and promoting efforts to combat it. In her capacity as ambassador, Ormond has appeared as council to the United States House of Representatives, Committee on International Relations, Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations>, and has traveled across nations of the world, participating as ambassador.

AKA Danica Mae McKellar

Born: 3-Jan-1975
Birthplace: La Jolla, CA
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Occupation: Actor
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Winnie Cooper on The Wonder Years
Sister: Crystal McKellar (b. 16-Aug-1976)
Born in La Jolla, California, McKellar moved with her family to Los Angeles when she was eight. McKellar and sister Crystal McKellar have maintained a friendly competition to see who gets more acting jobs. Indeed, when the actress who would play Winnie had to be chosen, the last two actresses under consideration for the role were the McKellar sisters.The Wonder Years
McKellar had a leading role in The Wonder Years, an Emmy Award winning American television dramedy created by Carol Black and Neal Marlens that ran for six seasons on ABC, from 1988 to 1993. The pilot aired on January 31st, 1988 after ABC's coverage of Super Bowl XXII.
McKellar played Gwendolyn "Winnie" Cooper, Fred Savage's main love interest on the show. In an episode entitled "The Accident" and in the final episode, it is stated that every important event in Kevin's life, somehow involved Winnie. She lives on the same block as Kevin. Their first kiss and her older brother's death while serving as a soldier in the Vietnam War, play an important part of the pilot episode. In one episode her parents decide to get separated out of their grief over the death of their son. According to the epilogue in the final episode, Winnie studies art history in Paris. Kevin and Winnie write one letter to each other every week for eight years until her return. Despite their life-long romance, they never marry.
Adult acting roles
McKellar has admitted the transition from "child actor to adult actor was a little bumpy." Since leaving the Wonder Years, McKellar has had several guest roles in television series (including one with former co-star Fred Savage on Working), and has written and directed two short films. She briefly returned to regular television with a recurring role in the 2002–03 season of The West Wing portraying Elsie Snuffin the sister and assistant of deputy White House Communications Director Will Bailey.
In June 2006 Lifetime Television announced that McKellar will star in a Lifetime movie and web-based series titled Inspector Mom about a mother who solves mysteries. In an interview in the November 17, 2006 issue of TV Guide, McKellar said that two TV movies and ten webisodes of Inspector Mom were being produced.
On the August 1, 2007 Don and Mike Show, a radio program out of Washington D.C. on WJFK-FM, McKellar announced plans that the producers of How I Met Your Mother were planning to bring her back for a recurring role.
College and mathematics advocacy
McKellar studied at UCLA, majoring in mathematics. She graduated summa cum laude in 1998. As an undergraduate, she coauthored a scientific paper with Professor Lincoln Chayes and fellow student Brandy Winn. The paper proves a theorem in mathematical physics that could be called the "Chayes-McKellar-Winn Theorem," although this appellation is not in widespread use. This paper makes her one of the very few people, with a finite Erdõs-Bacon number (Natalie Portman being another notable example). Referring to the mathematical abilities of his coauthor students, Chayes was quoted in the New York Times as saying, "I thought that the two were really, really first-rate." McKellar also provides free online math tutoring for her fans at her official internet website. While a student at UCLA, she was a sister in the Alpha Delta Pi sorority.
McKellar is the author of the book Math Doesn't Suck: How to Survive Middle-School Math Without Losing Your Mind or Breaking a Nail (ISBN 1594630399), which encouraging girls in middle school to enjoy and succeed at mathematics.. The book has been favorably reviewed by Tara C. Smith, the founder of Iowa Citizens for Science and a professor of epidemiology at the University of Iowa. In an interview with Smith, McKellar said that she wrote the book "to show girls that math is accessible and relevant, and even a little glamorous" and to counteract "damaging social messages telling young girls that math and science aren't for them"
McKellar was named Person of the Week on ABC World News with Charles Gibson for the week ending 10-Aug-2007. The news segment highlighted her book Math Doesn't Suck and her efforts to help girls develop an interest in mathematics, especially during the middle school years.

AKA Catherine Ann Bosworth

Born: 2-Jan-1983
Birthplace: Los Angeles, CA
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Wonderland
Boyfriend: Matt Czuchry (actor, dated 2000-02)
Boyfriend: Orlando Bloom (actor, dated 2004-06, ex-
Kate Bosworth is an American actress. After appearing in 1998's The Horse Whisperer, Bosworth became well known with a leading role in 2002's Blue Crush, and has since appeared in several notable films, including Superman Returns, where she played Lois Lane.
Early life
Bosworth was born Catherine Ann Bosworth in Los Angeles, California, the only child of Hal Bosworth, an executive for Talbots, and Patricia (Potter), a homemaker. She was born with sectoral heterochromia, resulting in a hazel section at the bottom of her right blue eye, while the left is completely blue. After leaving San Francisco at the age of six, Bosworth's family frequently moved around the country because of her father's job, and she grew up mainly on the East Coast, spending the rest of her youth in Darien, Connecticut and Cohasset, Massachusetts. She has noted that because of her family's frequent relocations, she always felt like the "new girl in school", and describes herself as "shy" and unpopular during her high school years, saying that she has "this pain in [her] heart from what it was like to walk in with your lunch tray and not have anywhere to sit."
While attending Cohasset High School (from which she graduated in 2001), Bosworth learned to speak Spanish and was a member of the National Honor Society; she also played varsity soccer and lacrosse. Bosworth has always been interested in a professional career as a competitive horse racer and, by the age of fourteen, she was a champion equestrian.
Career
Bosworth's first film role came after an open casting call in New York for the supporting part of Judith in the 1998 film, The Horse Whisperer. The film's producers needed someone who was already an experienced horse rider, leading to Bosworth's successful audition for the role. She subsequently had a small part in the 2000 film Remember the Titans. In 2001, Bosworth moved to Los Angeles in hopes of obtaining easier access to auditions and better film parts. Her first leading role was in 2002's surfing movie Blue Crush, which she prepared for by working out with two separate trainers six hours a day for months in order to add fifteen pounds of muscle to her frame. The film received positive reviews and grossed $40 million at the United States box office, allowing Bosworth wider exposure to a mainstream audience.
After Blue Crush, Bosworth took on roles in the indie films The Rules of Attraction and a darker turn in Wonderland opposite Val Kilmer, where she played the teenage girlfriend of legendary porn star John Holmes. Between 2002 and 2005, Bosworth appeared in a number of widely released films. She starred as actress Sandra Dee in Beyond the Sea and played the lead role in Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, opposite Topher Grace. Bosworth also portrayed Chali, a Hare Krishna, in a film adaptation of Myla Goldberg's acclaimed novel Bee Season, about a dysfunctional Jewish family. She has appeared in several Revlon ads and ranked as #60 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005" list. For two years running, she has placed on the Maxim Hot 100 List – #38 in 2005 and #8 in 2006.
After going through many screen tests and competing with other actresses for the role, she was cast as reporter Lois Lane in the highly anticipated adaptation to the Superman comics, Superman Returns. She starred along with her Beyond the Sea co-star Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor, as well as newcomer Brandon Routh as Superman. She was in plans to star in a film called Seasons of Dust directed by former co-star Tim Blake Nelson with her then-boyfriend Orlando Bloom, but the movie was dropped after their relationship ended.
Bosworth will star in the psychological drama called The Girl in the Park with Sigourney Weaver, Alessandro Nivola and Keri Russell. She plays Louise, a trouble young girl taken under Weaver's character's wing. This movie is written and directed by Pulitzer Prize winner David Auburn in his directorial debut. Filming began in November 2006 and was completed December 21, 2006. The film will have its premiere at the 2007 Toronto International Film Festival, and is expected to hit theaters towards the end of 2007 to possibly an early 2008 release.
Bosworth also filmed 21 in early 2007 in Boston, Massachusetts and Las Vegas, Nevada. This is the film adaptation of the book Bringing Down the House, and reunites her with co-star Kevin Spacey and director Robert Luketic. Next, Bosworth is attached to star in After.Life, a supernatural thriller by writer/director Agnieszka Wojtowicz-Vosloo set to begin shooting in late 2007. She has also recently bought the film rights to Catherine Hanrahan's novel Lost Girls and Love Hotels, about a young woman looking to escape in Tokyo's seedy nightlife.
Personal life
Bosworth was accepted to Princeton University in late 2000, but continues to defer her attendance. She is also a member of the Appalachia Service Project.
Bosworth previously dated actor Matt Czuchry, whom she met on the set of their short-lived television series, Young Americans. Their relationship lasted from 2000 to 2002. Then, in late 2002, she began dating actor Orlando Bloom. The two met outside a coffee shop and were introduced to each other by a friend, before meeting again at the premiere of The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Bosworth and Bloom separated in 2005 but shortly after resumed their relationship. On September 5, 2006, Entertainment Tonight reported that her on-again, off-again relationship with Bloom had ended after almost four years though it is unclear when the split took place. Bosworth has been dating British model James Rousseau since September 2006.
In mid-to-late 2006, Bosworth made headlines with her extremely thin appearance. She was a part of a trend of young Hollywood actresses who have debuted new, alarmingly thin bodies. In early 2007, after Bosworth turned up at a charity event and was then snapped vacationing in Hawaii the media took note of her return to a healthyweight.
Bosworth has two cats, Louise and Dusty, and a dog named Lila, whom she adopted while on a 2004 vacation in Morocco. She has noted that although equestrianism is her hobby, she has been unable to practice it, because of the potential risk of injury involved affecting her film career.

AKA Dorothy D Pfeiffer

Born: 1-Jan-1964
Birthplace: Midway City, CA
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: The Sky Is Falling
Sister: Michelle Pfeiffer (actress)
Boyfriend: George Clooney (dated early 1980's)
Husband: Santiago Gomez (div.)
Husband: Greg Fein (m. 13-Oct-1996, one son)
Son: (b. 2002)
Boyfriend: Ronnie Marquette (d. 1995, suicide in front of Pfeiffer)
Dedee Pfeiffer is an American film and television actress. She is the sister of actresses Michelle Pfeiffer and Lori Pfeiffer.
Born in Midway City, Orange County, California, Dedee has starred in many films and on TV, her best-known TV roles are on the television series playing on Cybill Shepherd's series Cybill as her daughter, "Rachel Blanders", from 1995–1997. She also starred in the TV series For Your Love from 1998 to 2002.
She starred with Susanna Hoffs in the 1987 film The Allnighter.
She has made guest appearances on the TV shows Simon & Simon, Ellen (TV series), Seinfeld, Friends, Dream On, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and The Dead Zone among others.
Pfeiffer posed nude for Playboy in the magazine's February 2002 edition.
Personal life
Dedee Pfeiffer was previously married to Gregory Fein, but that marriage ended in divorce; she has since remarried, to Santiago Gomez, with whom she has one child.
Her paternal grandfather, William, was of German ancestry, while her maternal grandfather, Jacob Bernhard Taverna, was of German-Swiss descent, and her maternal grandmother, Delma Lillian Hill, was of Swedish descent.

Born: 1981
Birthplace: Adelaide, Australia
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: Multiracial
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Model
Nationality: Australia
Executive summary: Australian model arrested for ecstasy
Michelle Leslie (born 1981), who also works under the name Michelle Lee, is an Australian model. Leslie is best known for her 2005 arrest, conviction and three-month imprisonment (time served) for possessing two ecstasy tablets in Bali, Indonesia. Prior to this she was a model for Antz Pantz and Crystelle lingerie.
Career
Leslie was born in Adelaide, South Australia to Violeta from the Philippines and Albert Leslie. She was educated at Sacred Heart College in Adelaide. She appeared on the TV program Search for a Supermodel in 2000, and was first runner-up in the 2000 Miss World Australia pageant held in Darwin. Due to her part-Filipino background Leslie is in reasonable demand as a model in Asia. She was living and working in Singapore as a full-time model before her arrest in Indonesia.
Arrest and trial
On 21 August 2005 two pills were found by police in Ms Leslie's handbag during her visit to an open-air dance party at GWK park, which is situated on a hill just out of Jimbaran Bay on the road to Uluwatu on the Indonesian island of Bali. Police suspected the pills to be illegal substances and arrested Ms Leslie. Subsequent tests by Indonesian police found the pills to be Ecstasy. Ms Leslie's charge sheet stated that she had purchased the drugs in Bali. She faced a maximum of fifteen years in jail. Ms Leslie tested positive to ecstasy following a urinalysis. Her arrest was the third arrest of an Australian in Bali on drugs charges in twelve months following the October 2004 Schapelle Corby (cannabis) and May 2005 Bali Nine (heroin) cases.
According to Indonesian police, Ms Leslie claimed that the pills were given to her by a friend, "Mia", who was unable to be located. Mia was later revealed to be Ms Nameera Azmaan, who was also a model based in Singapore and working out of the Chic Modelling Agency. Ms Azmaan denied having given the ecstasy to Ms Leslie. At the time of arrest, Ms Leslie was in the company of Ms. Azman and, allegedly, one of the sons of the then Coordinating Minister for the Economy Aburizal Bakrie and two unidentified men from Jakarta.
There has been much police action in Bali in 2005 targeting drug users. Nightclubs along Jalan Legian such as Paddys have received lightning raids with many police, sniffer dogs and police-operated video cameras recording the raids. In July 2005 such raids were commonplace and numerous arrests of foreigners and locals were made.
Ecstasy has long been readily available in Kuta, Legian and Seminyak. The area around the Double 6 nightclub in Seminyak is a hotspot for dealers selling fake and real 'disco biscuits' to drunken revellers and then informing the police, who target foreigners and extort bribes.
Like raves at Thailand's island beaches and in Ibiza, Bali entrepreneurs were starting to provide full moon dances where young people dance to 'rave' music for hours while clutching water bottles. GWK was such a venue on that peak tourist season evening when Ms Leslie was arrested.
The Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, commenting on the recent apparent rise in arrests of Australians on drugs charges in South East Asia, described any Australian with drugs in Asia as "stupid", declaring they should not expect the Australian government to save them. He also said,
"We have told Australians — young Australians — again and again, don't take drugs out of this country, don't take them into Asian countries because you can't expect any mercy. Now we'll keep pushing that message but people have to understand that if they defy that, and they get caught with drugs, they can't expect the Government to bail them out."
According to Indonesian police, Leslie claimed to have an addiction to Ecstasy. In a signed statement given to the police she is alleged to have said: "I'm addicted to it. I can't enjoy parties if I don't have ecstasy." In the meantime her representative, Sean Mulcahy said,
"While we do respect the position of the police and the statement attributed to them by the media, any comment said to be made by Ms Leslie must be considered in their full and detailed context.
At this stage the defence team is not prepared to provide the detailed version from our client until the appropriate stage in the proceedings."
Ms Leslie's response to this leak was to sack her high-profile Indonesian defence lawyer M. H. Rifan and replace him with Dr K. R. T. Basuki Prawirodipuro.
Leslie declared herself a Muslim on 29 August and asked the media to respect her privacy.
On 14 October 2005 the Sydney Morning Herald reported that Leslie could possibly be released within weeks as a report from a Sydney doctor had been provided to prosecutors stating that she was addicted to prescription medication. Under Indonesian law this would allow her to be tried as a "user" and benefit from a reduced sentence. The maximum sentence for a user is three months imprisonment, whereas the maximum penalty for possession is 15 years.
Leslie's trial began on 28 October 2005 in the Denpasar District Court and concluded on 18 November 2005 with her being found guilty of using a prohibited substance.
Sentencing and release
She was sentenced to three months in jail but, due to the three months already spent in custody, was freed from Kerobokan prison at about 1PM on 19 November. Indonesian immigration officials announced the she would be deported from the country due to her guilty conviction. Leslie's lawyers said that they would lodge an appeal against that.
She flew out of Bali to Singapore where she spent time with friends and family before returning to Sydney, Australia on the morning of 22 November. In Singapore she said, "I'm so exhausted, I'm really excited to be going home and I'm just really relieved to be out of Indonesia. And I'm really thankful to all the people that have supported me and sent me emails and letters and phone calls during my time in Bali."
A family friend, Norah Cullen, announced that she would be getting engaged to boyfriend Scott Sutton, a millionaire car dealership heir.
Leslie sparked criticism upon her release by wearing tight-fitting clothes without the traditional Muslim hijab she had frequently worn leading up to her trial. President of the Australian Federation of Islamic Councils Ameer Ami said,
"It looks as though ... she used Islam as a stunt to get a judgment in her favour. There's an Islamic code of dressing which says women must be modest. You can't go cat-walking with a semi-naked body. Michelle Leslie cannot do what she was doing before as a model for lingerie and underwear. That's not allowed in Islam."
Further controversy surrounds reports that she intends to sell her story to the commercial media, with Federal Justice Minister Chris Ellison warning that any person profiting from a crime risks losing such proceeds under federal laws.
Around the time of her release and return to Australia and since, Leslie has become the subject of public denigration from the Australian media. An article in the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age, reported that some of her lawyers distributed bribes to secure her freedom; allegedly to a lab in an unsuccessful attempt to change test results, and allegedly to the Bali Police Chief, who turned the offer down. Channel Seven News displayed Leslie's home on television and named the suburb it was in. However, Fairfax columnist Miranda Devine has written articles sympathetic to Leslie, criticising the media for their attacks on her, and wrote that Leslie's actions, if they took place, were justifiable under the circumstances, and that others would have done the same thing. Devine also suggested that Leslie's "pariah status" was delivered by Schapelle Corby "fans" who wished that "their heroine" had been released instead.
On 17 April 2006, documents from her police file were made available to the public. These documents revealed that Leslie had declared herself a Christian in a signed statement on August 20, 2005. On August 24 2005, Leslie had amended the statement, now describing herself as a Muslim.
In an interview for 60 Minutes, she admitted that she had not converted to Islam and was not a practicing Muslim, although she also commented that she agreed with many Islamic beliefs. She said the reason she started wearing the hijab while incarcerated was because she was treated less rudely by the guards, the press and the public while wearing it.
In the 60 Minutes interview (for which she was not paid), Michelle claimed that the "Ecstasy" had been planted on her by police who had a racket of arresting rich foreigners and extorting money from them in exchange for dropping the charges; she said she was targeted because they believed that an internationally-known model must also be rich. At first she was outraged and refused to give in to the extortion. She described watching, horrified, as the police "doctored" her clean urine with drugs, right in front of her.
Michelle asserted that, eventually, her parents and her boyfriend ended up paying thousands of dollars which "bought" her more humane treatment and small "perks" while in prison. She said that the only way she was able to secure her release was by agreeing to admit that she was guilty and signing a confession, and that she finally did so because she could not take being imprisoned any longer.