Sophie Monk

Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron (IPA: ʃɑ:rˈliːz θəˈrɒn; born August 7, 1975[1]), is an Academy Award-winning South African-American actress, film producer and former fashion model. She is best known for her portrayal of serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the film Monster, for which she won an academy award for Best Actress.

Biography

Early life

Theron was born in Benoni, South Africa, the daughter and only child of Charles and Gerda Theron, and is of German and French descent. Theron's first language is Afrikaans. She is also fluent in English and speaks some Xhosa. "Theron" is an Occitan surname (originally spelled Théron) pronounced in Afrikaans as "Tronn", although she has said that she prefers the pronunciation "Thrown".[2] The pronunciation commonly used in the United States involves two syllables, with stress on the first. Theron grew up on her parents' farm near Johannesburg (Benoni). She attended Putfontein Primary School (Laerskool Putfontein). At the age of 13, Theron was sent to boarding school and began her studies at the National School Of The Arts in Johannesburg. At 15, Theron witnessed the death of her father, an abusive alcoholic; Gerda shot him in self-defense when he attacked her. The police pressed no charges against her.[3]

Acting career

At the age of 16, Theron traveled to Milan, Italy, on a one-year modeling contract, after winning a local competition. She went to New York with Pauline's Model Management. She decided to remain after her contract ended, attending the Joffrey Ballet School, where she trained as a ballet dancer. A knee injury closed this career path when Theron was 19.[4][5]

Unable to dance, Theron flew to Los Angeles on a one-way ticket her mother bought her.[4] During her early months there, she went to a bank to cash a check her mother had sent her to help with the rent. When the teller refused to cash it, Theron immediately started into a shouting match with her. Afterwards, a talent agent in line behind her handed her his business card and subsequently introduced her to some casting agents and also an acting school.[6][7] She later fired him as her manager after he kept sending her scripts for films similar to Showgirls and Species, which would have traded solely on her appearance.[8]

After eight months in the city, she was cast in her first film part, a non-speaking role in the direct-to-video film Children of the Corn III (1995). Larger roles in widely released Hollywood films followed, and her career skyrocketed in the late 1990s with box office successes like The Devil's Advocate (1997), Mighty Joe Young (1998), and The Cider House Rules (1999).

After appearing in a few notable films, Theron starred as the serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster (2003). Film critic Roger Ebert called it "one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema".[9] For this role, Theron won the Academy Award for Best Actress at the 76th Academy Awards in February 2004,[10] as well as the SAG Award and the Golden Globe Award.[11] She is the first South African to win an Oscar for Best Actress.[12] The Oscar win pushed her to The Hollywood Reporter's 2006 list of highest-paid actresses in Hollywood; earning $10,000,000 for both her subsequent films, North Country and Æon Flux, she ranked seventh, behind Halle Berry, Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Renée Zellweger, Reese Witherspoon, and Nicole Kidman.[13]

Theron in 2005

On September 30, 2005, Theron received her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[12] In the same year, she starred in the financially unsuccessful science fiction thriller Æon Flux,[14]. Additionally, Theron received Best Actress Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for her lead performance in the drama North Country.[10][11] Ms. magazine also honored her for this performance with a feature article in its Fall 2005 issue.

In 2005, Theron portrayed Rita, Michael Bluth's (Jason Bateman) love interest, on the third season of FOX's critically-acclaimed television series Arrested Development.[15] She also received Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for her role of Britt Ekland in the 2004 HBO movie The Life and Death of Peter Sellers.[16]

In 2008, Theron was named the Hasty Pudding Theatricals Woman of the Year, preceded by others such as Katharine Hepburn, Lucille Ball and Julia Roberts.[17]

Charlize Theron

Cameron diaz

Cameron diaz

Cameron Michelle Díaz (born August 30, 1972) is a Golden Globe-, BAFTA- and SAG-Award nominated U.S. actress and former model. In 2008, Forbes estimates Diaz to have earned $50 million last year, after reportly receiving this salary for What Happens in Vegas making her the highest paid actress in Hollywood.

Biography

Early life

Diaz was born in San Diego, California, the daughter of Billie (née Early), an import-export agent, and Emilio Diaz (1950-2008), who worked for UNOCAL a California oil company as a Field Gauger and in the pipeline department for twenty plus years until he retired in 1998.[5][6] Her father was a second-generation Cuban American and her mother is of English, German and Cherokee Native American ancestry.[7][8][9][10] She has one older sister, Chimene Diaz, (born June 5, 1970, San Diego). She attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School at the same time as rapper Snoop Dogg.

Career

At 16 she began her career as a fashion model. Diaz signed with top modeling agency Elite Model Management. After graduating from high school, she went to work in Japan and met video director Carlo de la Torre. On her return to the U.S., she moved in with him. For the next few years, her modeling took her around the world, working for contracts with major companies. She modelled for designers such as Calvin Klein and Levi's. She was featured on the cover of the July 1990 issue of Seventeen magazine.

At 21, Diaz auditioned for The Mask, even though she had no previous acting experience.[11] After obtaining the lead female role, she immediately started acting lessons. Over the next three years, she won roles in low-budget, independent films, such as The Last Supper, Feeling Minnesota, and She's the One. She then regained mainstream success with her roles in My Best Friend's Wedding and There's Something About Mary, a film for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe for in the category of Best Actress - Musical or Comedy. She won critical acclaim for her performance in Being John Malkovich, which earned her Best Supporting Actress nominations at the Golden Globes, the BAFTA Awards and the SAG Awards.

During the 1999-2000 period, Diaz starred in many films, such as Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her, A Life Less Ordinary, Any Given Sunday, and the hit adaptation of Charlie's Angels. In 2001, she won nominations for Best Supporting Actress at the Golden Globes, the SAG Awards and the AFI Awards for Vanilla Sky, and also voiced Princess Fiona in Shrek, for which she earned $10 million. In 2003, Diaz received another Golden Globe nomination for Martin Scorsese's epic Gangs of New York, and became the third actress (after Wedding costar Julia Roberts and Reese Witherspoon) to earn $20 million for a role, receiving the sum for Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. After Full Throttle, Diaz only appeared in three films, Shrek 2, In Her Shoes and The Holiday . During 2004 and early 2005, Diaz explored some of the planet's environmentally unique locations while discovering ways to help preserve them for the 10-episode MTV series Trippin' which featured numerous celebrities and friends of Diaz, such as Jessica Alba, Drew Barrymore, Mark Hoppus, Eva Mendes and Justin Timberlake.

Diaz returned to the screen for Shrek the Third in 2007, where she co-stars with former boyfriend Justin Timberlake. She was set to team up again with The Mask co-star Jim Carrey in the film Fun with Dick and Jane, but dropped out to star in In Her Shoes. She will also appear in Shrek 4 and in the romantic comedy What Happens in Vegas, opposite Ashton Kutcher. She is also set to star in The Box, a horror thriller in 2008 co-starring James Marsden.[12]

On July 7, 2007, Diaz participated at Live Earth in New York by introducing Bon Jovi and The Police. In 2007, People ranked her as the Best Dressed Female Celebrity.

Awards and nominations

1999: Golden Globe for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for There's Something About Mary
2000: Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture for Being John Malkovich
2000: SAG Award for Best Supporting Actress for Being John Malkovich
2000: BAFTA Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for Being John Malkovich
2002: Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture for Vanilla Sky
2002: SAG Award for Best Supporting Actress for Vanilla Sky
2003: Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture for Gangs of New York
2006: Imagen Foundation Award for Best Actress for In Her Shoes (nomination)
2008: Kid's Choice Awards- Nominated for Best Voice From An Animated Movie for Shrek the Third
2008: Kid's Choice Awards- Wannabe Award

Brittany Murphy

Brittany Murphy

Brittany Anne Murphy (born Brittany Bertolotti on November 10, 1977) is an American actress and recording artist. She has starred in Hollywood films such as Just Married; Clueless; Girl, Interrupted; 8 Mile; Sin City; The Dead Girl; Uptown Girls; Happy Feet and Riding in Cars with Boys.

Biography

Early life

Murphy was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the daughter of Sharon Murphy, who is of Irish and Eastern European descent, and Angelo Bertolotti, an Italian American.[2][3][4][5] Murphy's parents divorced shortly after her birth, and she was raised in Edison, New Jersey,[6] and Burbank, California, by her single, working-class mother; she has had little contact with her father since the divorce. Murphy was raised a Baptist and attended a Lutheran school, but is now a non-denominational practicing Christian.[7][8]

When she was nine years old, Murphy landed a singing role in a musical version of Les Misérables, and had signed on with a manager by the time she turned thirteen. Her mother, Sharon was diagnosed with breast cancer when Brittany was 15. She survived after having a double mastectomy.[9]

Acting

Murphy landed her first job in Hollywood when she was fourteen, starring as Brenda Drexell in the television series Drexell's Class. She then went on to play Molly Morgan in the short lived The Torkelsons spinoff Almost Home. In the Frasier episode "Give Him The Chair", she played a school child in a play of "10 Little Indians" who cannot remember her lines. She also had a small role in Season 3 of Boy Meets World as Topanga's best friend Trini. She was also the lead singer of the band Blessed With Soul in the early 1990s, and was at one time signed on to play late singer Janis Joplin in a biography, but the film was not made because of legal disputes over music rights. Murphy has since starred in many successful films, including Clueless (1995), Girl, Interrupted (1999), Don't Say a Word (2001), 8 Mile (2002) and Uptown Girls (2003) as well as many lesser known films, such as Spun (2003). She has also appeared on several television series including Sister, Sister and as the voice of Luanne Platter (as well as the younger version of Joseph Gribble) on the long-running animated series King of the Hill.

In 2001, Murphy cameoed in the music video for Wheatus' single "A Little Respect"[10]

She most recently appeared in the films Little Black Book (2004), which was considered a critical and commercial failure, and the critically acclaimed Sin City (2005). Also in 2005, she appeared in the promo video for Tears for Fears' comeback single Closest Thing To Heaven, and in August 2005, Brittany co-presented UK music show CD:UK alongside Holly Willoughby.

Murphy is also filming five other films. She will star in The Ramen Girl. The Other Side, and The White Hotel. She is reprising her role as Shellie in Sin City 2.

Music

In the Spring of 2006, Paul Oakenfold along with Brittany Murphy released the single "Faster Kill Pussycat", with the album A Lively Mind which was released on June 6 in the United States. The song has become a club hit, and hit number one on Billboard magazine's Hot Dance Club Play chart. It also hit number seven in the UK singles chart in June 2006. She dabbled in music again with the release of her movie Happy Feet, in which she covered Queen's classic "Somebody to Love" and Earth, Wind & Fire's "Boogie Wonderland".

Brittany is currently working on her debut album, which is inspired by synth-pop sound. The album will be released in 2008. She is working with various producers and DJs including with Paul Oakenfold, Chris Cox, Max Martin and Timbaland.The album will be released in 2009.

Filmography

1995 Clueless Tai Fraiser Victim of the Night Julia Newland
1996 Freeway Rhonda
1997 Drive Deliverance Bodine Bongwater Mary
1998 Phoenix Veronica David and Lisa Lisa Brandt The Prophecy II Izzy Falling Sky Emily Nicholson

1999 Girl, Interrupted Daisy Randone Drop Dead Gorgeous Lisa Swensen
The Devil's Arithmetic Rivka

2000 Cherry Falls Jody Marken
Common Ground Dorothy Nelson
Trixie Ruby Pearli

2001 Sidewalks of New York Ashley
Don't Say a Word Elisabeth Burrows
Riding in Cars with Boys Fay Forrester
Summer Catch Dede Mulligan

2002 8 Mile Alex Latourno
2003 Uptown Girls Molly Gunn Spun Nikki Just Married Sarah McNerney
2004 Little Black Book Stacy Holt
2005 Sin City Shellie
2006 Love and Other Disasters Emily 'Jacks' Jackson Happy Feet Gloria (voice)
The Groomsmen Sue The Dead Girl Krista Kutcher

2007 The Ramen Girl Abby
2008 Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs Colleen (voice-over)
2009 The White Hotel Sin City 2 Shellie

Beyonce Knowles

Beyonce Knowles

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles (born September 4, 1981),[2] commonly known as Beyoncé (pronounced /biːˈɑn.seɪ/), is an American R&B singer-songwriter, record producer, and Academy award nominated actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools, and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child. Knowles rose to fame in the late 1990s as the lead singer of the R&B girl group Destiny's Child, the best-selling girl group of all time.

In June 2003, after a series of commercial successes with the group, Beyoncé released her debut solo album, Dangerously In Love. The album became one of the most successful albums of that year, spawning the number-one singles "Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy", and earned Knowles five Grammy Awards in a single night in 2004. The formal disbandment of Destiny's Child in 2005 facilitated her continued success as a solo artist. She released her second album, B'Day in 2006, which spawned the UK number-one singles "Déjà Vu" and "Beautiful Liar", as well as the worldwide hit, "Irreplaceable". Knowles has sold over twenty million solo albums solo and 100 million with Destiny's Child worldwide.[3]

The success of her solo albums has established her as one of the most marketable artists in the industry. She has also added acting and endorsement deals to her repertoire. In 2006, she starred alongside Steve Martin and Kevin Kline in the comedy The Pink Panther, and that same year, scored the main role in the film adaptation of the 1981 Broadway musical Dreamgirls, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination. Knowles launched her family's fashion line House of Deréon in 2004, and among her many lucrative commercial deals are Pepsi, Tommy Hilfiger, and L'Oréal. Knowles has been with boyfriend Jay-Z since 2002, though they have been discreet about their relationship. After much speculation, they married on April 4, 2008.

Recording and film career

Destiny's Child's era
Main article: Destiny's Child

The appearance of Williams (in white) and Franklin (in red) in the music video of "Say My Name" led to the departure of Luckett and Roberson.[13]

Taken from a passage in the Book of Isaiah, the group changed its name to Destiny's Child in 1993.[13] Together, they performed in local events and, after four years on the road, the group was signed to Columbia Records in late 1997. That same year, Destiny's Child recorded their major label debut song, "Killing Time", for the soundtrack to the 1997 film, Men in Black.[13][15]

The following year, the group released its self-titled debut album,[14] scoring their first major hit "No, No, No". That album established the group as a viable act in the music industry, amassing moderate sales and won the group three Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards for "Best R&B/Soul Single" for "No, No, No", "Best R&B/Soul Album of the Year" and "Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist".[13] However, the group rose to bona fide stardom after releasing their multi-platinum sophomore album The Writing's on the Wall in 1999. The record features some of the group’s most widely-known songs such as "Bills, Bills, Bills", the group's first number-one single, Jumpin' Jumpin'", and "Say My Name", which became their most-successful song at the time, and would remain one of their signature songs. "Say My Name" won the Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and the Best R&B Song at the 2001 Grammy Awards.[13] The Writing's on the Wall sold more than seven million copies,[14] essentially becoming their breakthrough album.[17][18]

Knowles performing Destiny's Child hit "Independent Women Part I", the best-charting single from the group

Along with their commercial successes, the group became entangled in much-publicized turmoil involving the filing of a lawsuit by Luckett and Roberson for breach of contract. The issue was heightened after Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin appeared on the video of "Say My Name", implying that Luckett and Roberson had already been replaced.[13] Eventually, Luckett and Roberson left the group. Franklin would eventually fade from the group after five months,[14] as evidenced by her absences during promotional appearances and concerts. She attributed her departure to negative vibes in the group resulting from the strife.[13]

After settling on their final lineup, the trio recorded "Independent Women Part I", which appeared on the soundtrack to the 2000 film, Charlie's Angels. It became their best-charting single, topping the official U.S. singles chart for eleven consecutive weeks.[17][13] The success cemented the new lineup and skyrocketed them to fame.[8] Later that year, Luckett and Roberson withdrew their case against their now-former band mates, while maintaining the suit against Mathew, which ended in both sides agreeing to stop public disparaging.[13] Destiny's Child's third album, Survivor, channels the turmoil they underwent, spawning its eponymous lead single, which was a response to the experience.[19] The themes of "Survivor", however, caused Luckett and Roberson to refile their lawsuit, believing that the songs were aimed at them.[13] However, the proceedings were eventually settled in June 2002.[18] Meanwhile, the album was released in May 2001, debuting at number one on U.S. Billboard 200 with 663,000 units sold.[20] To date, Survivor has sold over ten million copies worldwide, over forty percent of which were sold in the U.S. alone.[21] The album spawned other number-one hits—"Bootylicious" and the title track, "Survivor", the latter of which earned the group a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. After releasing their holiday album, 8 Days of Christmas, the group announced their temporary break-up to pursue solo projects.[13]

Bar Refaeli

Biography

Early life

Refaeli was born in 1985 in Hod HaSharon, Israel, where her parents, Tsipi and Rafi own a horse ranch.[3] She began a modeling career at the age of eight months, appearing in commercials.[4] She had to wear braces in her early years, postponing her modeling. At the age of fifteen, Refaeli returned to modeling where she was represented by Irene Marie Models.

Career

Refaeli began her modeling career before the age of one.[5] By the age of fifteen she was featured in campaigns for the fashion brands Castro and Pilpel, also starring in a commercial for Milki. Refaeli won the title "Model of The Year" in a beauty contest in 2000 and 2001. She was also chosen to be the home model of Renuar fashion network and appeared in their summer 2002 and winter 2003 catalogues.

Refaeli appeared in the French ELLE magazine, as well as becoming the first Israeli model to be featured in Sports Illustrated.[6] The same picture was later published on the cover of Maxim. She appeared on the cover of the March 2006 issue of GQ Italy among many others. She appeared in the 2007 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue for which she posed with Aerosmith.[7]

She has been the spokesperson for fashion brand Luisa Cerano. She has modeled for Subaru, Accessorize, Brazilian clothing line, Besni, and Italian jewelry line Marco Bicego.[8] She is signed to Storm Model Management in London, and 1/One Management in New York City. Refaeli will be the co-host of a Bravo special program Tommy Hilfiger Presents Ironic Iconic America which will premiere in early October.[9] The program is based on book Ironic Iconic America written by George Lois.

In 2008, Refaeli has become the face of clothing line Hurley, and the new Diddy cologne I am King.

Acting career

Bar Refaeli has co-starred in Israeli TV series Pick Up in 2005.

In 2009, Rafaeli will star in an English language film Session directed by Israeli Haim Bouzaglo. The film is a psychological thriller that tells the story of a manipulative psychiatrist, Josh Tellman, who becomes obsessed with a new young patient, Eden.[10]

Personal life

Previously linked to Baywatch actor David Charvet and Uri El-Natan, Rafaeli began a relationship with American actor Leonardo DiCaprio in November 2005 after meeting him at a Las Vegas party thrown for members of U2.[14] In the course of the their trip to Israel in March 2007, the couple met with Israeli president Shimon Peres and visited Refaeli's hometown Hod HaSharon.[15]

She had evaded military service, mandatory for citizens over 18, by marrying a family acquaintance and divorced him soonafter.[16] Refaeli stated in an interview with Yedioth Ahronoth, "I really wanted to serve in the IDF, but I don't regret not enlisting, because it paid off big-time," further adding, "Why is it good to die for our country? What, isn't it better to live in New York?"[17] Refaeli has since said the interview didn't accurately reflect her statements and threatened to file a lawsuit for libel.[18] The Israeli Forum for the Promotion of Equal Share in the Burden threatened to boycott the fashion chain Fox if they hired Refaeli, but the two sides reached a compromise in which the model would visit injured IDF soldiers on visits to Israel and encourage enlistment in the army.

Avril Lavigne