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celebrities - Britney Spears

Britney Spears

Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an iconic American pop singer, songwriter and dancer. Her career encompasses chart-topping records, high-profile advertising, and forays into acting and reality television. She remains very popular throughout the world despite some controversy surrounding the perceived sexual nature of her music and image.

Biography

Childhood and discovery

Born to Jamie Spears, a building contractor, and Lynne Bridges, a grade school teacher, in McComb, Mississippi, USA and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears performed in local dance revues and church choirs as a young girl, and was auditioning for the Disney Channel's New Mickey Mouse Club by the age of eight years old. Although she was too young to join the series at that time, a producer on the show introduced her to a New York agent; she subsequently spent three summers at the Professional Performing Arts School Center and also appeared in a number of off-Broadway productions, including 1991's pop hit Ruthless!along with actress Natalie Portman. In 1992 she landed a spot on Star Search and though she won the first round, she was beaten by another contestant in the second.

Spears then returned to the Disney Channel for a spot on the New Mickey Mouse Club and was accepted. She was featured for two years between the ages of eleven and thirteen during the 1993 and 1994 seasons. Her castmates on the show included Justin Timberlake and Joshua Chasez (who later became members of the pop group *NSYNC), Keri Russell (star of the TV show Felicity), fellow pop singer Christina Aguilera, and actor Ryan Gosling.

Before long, Spears had recorded a demo tape, which eventually landed in the hands of a Jive Records executive. She was quickly signed to their label and began touring American venues for a series of concerts sponsored by U.S. teen magazines before joining *NSYNC and becoming their opening act. It was at this time that Spears became romantically involved with Timberlake.

 

1998-2001: Early commercial success





...Baby One More Time is Spears' most commercially successful album both in the U.S. and internationally.By late 1998, Spears' debut single "...Baby One More Time" was beginning to impact radio stations and MTV. Led by a music video that featured the 5'4" brown-eyed bottle blonde dressed as a racy schoolgirl, among other belly-baring outfits that would soon become her trademark, the song became an international success, earning Platinum sales and going to number one in the U.S., as well as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, among many other countries.

Her debut album of the same name, ...Baby One More Time, topped the LP charts in Canada and the U.S. for six non-consecutive weeks. Within a year of the record's release, the album had become the best-selling LP by a teenager in history, spawned two U.S. top ten hits (in "...Baby" and "(You Drive Me) Crazy") and shipped over ten million copies in the U.S. alone; it would go on to ship another four million copies on top of this.

In April of 1999, she was featured on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine. The sexually suggestive Lolita-themed photo spread began a whirlwind of rumors that the still-seventeen-year-old had gotten breast implants. These claims were denied by Spears' camp, and seemed to have little impact on the young starlet's rising popularity.

That summer, she kicked off her first headlining tour, titled the ...Baby One More Time Tour. By late 1999, Britney Spears had become one of the year's biggest stars, a claim backed-up in the amount of award nominations she received that season. In December, she took home four Billboard Music Awards, including Female Artist of the Year, and the next month won for Favorite Pop/Rock New Artist at the American Music Awards.

At the Grammys held in February 2000, Spears received two nominations, including one for Best New Artist. She performed her signature song "...Baby One More Time" and her then-current single, the top twenty hit "From the Bottom of My Broken Heart" at the show, but went home empty-handed, losing the aforementioned award to fellow ex-mouseketeer Christina Aguilera.

After the short-lived Crazy 2K Tour and just two months after her debut began to die down in steam, Spears was ready to release the lead single off her sophomore effort. "Oops!... I Did It Again" broke a record for most radio station adds in a single day and quickly became a U.S. top ten hit and number one single in other countries, including the U.K. and Australia.

Oops!... I Did It Again became a massive commercial success upon its 2000 release.Released in May 2000, Oops!... I Did It Again also debuted at number one in the U.S. and Canada, and was a similarly huge hit like her debut. It sold over 1.3 million units during its first week in the U.S., making it the fastest-selling album by a female artist in history. Within a year of release, it had shipped over nine million copies in the U.S. alone (and would go on to ship another million on top of that).

That summer was another busy one for Spears, as she kicked off her first world tour (titled the Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour) and also became an author after co-writing the novel Britney Spears' Heart-to-Heart with her mother Lynne. At the annual MTV Video Music Awards, she gave a lip-synched performance of "Oops!... I Did It Again" and The Rolling Stones' classic hit, "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction." During her performance, she ripped off a black suit to reveal a provocative nude-colored and crystal-adorned stage costume that caused quite a bit of controversy, seeing as the singer was only eighteen at the time.

Through the year, the top thirty "Lucky" and top twenty "Stronger" kept Britney on the charts. In late 2000, she won two Billboard Music Awards (one of which honored her for breaking the record for one week album sales by a female artist). Then, in early 2001, she hosted the American Music Awards, performed "Stronger" at the ceremony and was also nominated twice. At the Grammys, one of her two nominations was for Oops!... I Did It Again in the category of Best Pop Vocal Album. Again, however, she did not win.

 

2001-2004: Artistic development

In early 2001, she struck a $7-8 million USD promotional deal with the soft drink giant Pepsi; her first commercial for them premiered during the 2001 Academy Awards. She then released the follow-up novel to Britney Spears' Heart-to-Heart, with this one being entitled A Mother's Gift.

Britney was viewed as a developmental milestone in Spears' music.In September 2001, Britney again performed at the MTV Video Music Awards. This time around, she was dressed in one of her usual revealing outfits, drenched in 'sweat' and on a jungle stage environment. She lip-synched her new single "I'm a Slave 4 U" and danced around the stage with an albino snake. Along with another blitz of media attention, she was also criticized by the PETA organization for her use of animals (both the snake and four cheetahs) as a part of her performance.

In November 2001, she released her third album, Britney. It debuted at number one on both the U.S. and Canadian charts, selling over 745,000 units during its first week in the U.S. This made her the only female artist in SoundScan history to have her first three albums debut at number one. Over four million copies of the record have been sold in the U.S. alone , and while this is by no means low, these figures can not compare to the sales of her first two albums. Britney also failed to spawn any U.S. top ten hits; in fact, the only successful single released from the album was "I'm a Slave 4 U," which became a top thirty hit. This album is also notable for being the first of which Spears really began to take some creative control; she co-wrote five of the album's tracks. At the same time the album was released, Spears set off on her next world tour: the Dream Within a Dream Tour.

In 2002, Spears starred in a movie, Crossroads, which reached number two in its first week at the box-office charts, but quickly dropped from sight. Songs from the album Britney appeared in the film. Spears' performance was very badly received by critics, and she netted herself a Razzie Award for Worst Actress, tied with Madonna. One of the tracks from Britney, "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman," also won the Worst Original Song award, and in 2005 Spears was again 'honored' by the Golden Raspberry judges when she was proclaimed Worst Supporting Actress for her cameo role in the documentary Fahrenheit 9/11, which showed her response to a CNN interview question by Tucker Carlson, regarding her political views during the then-impending 2003 invasion of Iraq.

On another sour note, Spears' five-year relationship with Justin Timberlake ended at this time. The break-up became a very publicized event on the news and in the tabloids, with Britney rumored to have been unfaithful.

In June 2002, Spears branched out as a restaurateur with the opening of a New York City eatery, NYLA; but the venture was not a success, and the restaurant closed in 2003. A couple of months later, she took a break from the spotlight, and in 2003 many music industry critics speculated her career was in decline. That same year, Spears was nominated for two Grammys yet again, including Best Pop Vocal Album for Britney.

It would not be until August 2003 that Britney truly resurfaced on the music scene. That month, she appeared in perhaps her most controversial performance to date with her idol Madonna, pop contemporary Christina Aguilera and rapper Missy Elliott. Spears and Aguilera performed Madonna's classic hit "Like a Virgin," danced suggestively and then each locked lips with the pop icon. In particuliar, the kiss between Madonna and Britney launched a huge media coverage that would last for months.

In the Zone is generally perceived as Spears' most overtly sexual album to-date.In November 2003, In the Zone was released. Jettisoning the Max Martin-produced synth-pop of her earlier releases, the album took in lesser-known producers such as RedZone, as well as such big names as Moby and R. Kelly. Spears co-wrote eight of the album's thirteen songs and also helped with producing for the first time. Zone rose straight to the top of the U.S. charts in its debut week, making Spears the only female in music history to have her first four albums debut at number one. The record has sold close to three million copies in the U.S. and spawned the international number one and U.S. top ten hit "Toxic." The single struck gold not only commercially, but also critically as it helped Spears win her first Grammy in the category of Best Dance Recording.

On January 3, 2004, Spears married her childhood friend Jason Allen Alexander at The Little White Wedding Chapel on the Las Vegas Strip in Las Vegas, Nevada. An annulment was promptly arranged and was granted on January 5, ending their fifty-five hour marriage.

In March, Spears embarked on her fourth world tour, The Onyx Hotel Tour, which grossed over $34 million USD and was seen by over 600,000 fans in North America and Europe. In June, she cancelled the remaining dates of her tour after reportedly injuring her knee during the filming of the video for her single "Outrageous." That same month, Spears, 22, announced her engagement to dancer Kevin Federline, 26. Federline was formerly in a relationship with actress Shar Jackson, with whom he has two children.

On the night of September 18, 2004, Spears married Federline before twenty-seven guests in a private, non-denominational ceremony at a residence in Studio City, California. Spears wore a strapless, white silk gown by Monique Lhuillier and Federline wore a black tux by Jeff Fox at Scott Hill. The wedding party famously donned sweatsuits after the ceremony and ventured out to an L.A. nightclub for an afterparty of drinking, dancing and full-on partying until after 2 a.m. The legitimacy of the marriage was initially questioned, but on November 18, 2004 a representative of the Los Angeles County registrar's office confirmed Spears and Federline had successfully filed their marriage license with the county within ten days of their ceremony and were therefore legally married.

2004 - present: "Career hiatus"





"Curious" perfume promotion, at the Toronto Eaton Centre.During the latter half of 2004, Spears announced she would be taking another career break in order to start a family. Though she stopped making many public appearances, the 'Britney Spears industry' seemed to continue running itself.

In September 2004, she released her first fragrance, "Curious" (a floral scent with vanilla and musk), for which she earned a reported $12 million USD. The fragrance had the biggest debut in sales in history from Elizabeth Arden, breaking the record for first-week gross for a perfume; after one year of sales, the product has netted more than $100 million USD. In addition, the perfume ended up as the number one fragrance of 2004 in department stores, and in 2005, "Curious" was honored by the Fragrance Foundation, naming it Best Women's Fragrance. Following the success of "Curious," Spears released her next Elizabeth Arden fragrance, "Fantasy" (a fruity scent with flowers and cupcake), in September 2005.

Greatest Hits: My Prerogative.On November 9, 2004, Spears released her first hits collection: Greatest Hits: My Prerogative. The album debuted at number four on the U.S. charts (becoming Spears' first album to not debut at number one domestically), selling over 255,000 copies in its first week of release; since hitting shelves, the set has sold over a million copies in the States. The collection includes all of her biggest hits, such as "...Baby One More Time," "Oops!... I Did It Again," and "Toxic," as well as two new songs and a cover of Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative," which was featured as the lead single. A second single entitled "Do Somethin'" was released in early 2005.

On May 17, 2005 Spears' reality show with husband Kevin Federline, entitled Britney and Kevin: Chaotic, premiered on UPN. In total, the series included five episodes that debuted weekly every Tuesday at 9PM ET/PT up until the hour-long finale on June 14, 2005. Both Spears and Federline were credited as executive producers. The series was panned by most critics, and ratings were not as high as expected.

On September 14, 2005, the 6lb. 11oz. baby boy Sean Preston Federline was born in the Santa Monica UCLA Medical Center in Santa Monica, California by an elective caesarean section. On November 22, Britney released a remix album entitled B in the Mix, The Remixes.

 

Controversy

Spears' success has rested on a mixed fanbase. Some parents of young daughters have ambivalent or even negative feelings towards Britney Spears. To many critics, the singer has combined a very raunchy public image with a major marketing "play" for the hearts, minds and pockets of prepubescent girls, often as young as seven or eight. The sexualization of such girls is arguably a trend that is visible elsewhere in popular culture, for example in the film and fashion industries.

This has raised the question of how fast girls or young teens should move from childhood towards an early emotional adolescence. Some parents may worry that Britney Spears provides an unsuitable role model for their daughters' lives and career plans.

In October 2003, Maryland First Lady Kendel Ehrlich, the wife of Governor Robert Ehrlich, was criticized for saying she would like to "shoot Britney Spears" in an address to a domestic violence conference. After her comments made national headlines, she was compelled to apologize.

The sexualized public image of Britney Spears once again became a topic of debate as a result of her 2003 semi-nude photo spread for the men's magazine, Esquire. Prompted by this, Playboy reportedly offered the star over a million USD to pose nude for their magazine. Spears has publicly declined the offer.

One of the more common criticisms linked with Spears is that of lip-synching; she is often seen doing such at her concert tours and award show performances. Most critics and musicians (at least in public) express a negative view on this way of performing, arguing that live entertainment should literally be what it suggests, singing included. Some argue that Britney, like other performers, can't practically sing while being engaged in complicated and demanding dance moves. Also, some see it as little different than lip-synching in music videos, which is standard. Also, defenders will distinguish between lip-synching to one's own pre-recorded music (which is widely conceded) and lip-synching to music sung entirely by others (which is denied and disputed).

The 2004 Onyx Hotel Tour brought new criticism. While Spears and her on-stage dancers performed her songs "Touch of My Hand" and "Breathe on Me," they were seemingly nude and were performing explicit routines simulating gay sex, orgies and masturbation. Given that some underage fans were in the audience, there was some outrage at the lack of subtlety of the performances, and there were reports of adult chaperones angrily storming out with children they brought to the concert.

While young girls seldom address this debate in the same terms as their parents, many are divided on whether they consider Britney Spears appealing, especially in the light of more recent developments in her career. For her part, Spears has responded to their concerns by stating she is "not their babysitter. It's the parents' responsibility. If you don't like it, turn the T.V. off. The only person I want to be a role model is to my sister, Jamie Lynn." (From ABC's Primetime interview with Diane Sawyer).

The criticisms leveled against Spears are similar to those Madonna received at the start of her career. Indeed, Madonna's early fans belonged to a similar demographic to Spears' current fanbase. Spears' show-stealing kiss with Madonna at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards received much media attention, as have her recent marriages. Her provocative image and, ironically, seemingly down-to-earth personality have both equally contributed to her success. Many have compared Spears to a young Madonna.

In common with a number of other popular female figures in show business, Britney Spears' private life has attracted considerable media attention. Indeed, some people feel she has courted it by cultivating, in her early years at least, a chaste, God-fearing and "wholesome" image somewhat at odds, not only with the traditional pressures, temptations and opportunities of "pop 'n' roll", but with the increasingly sexualized content of her own songs. Regardless of where the responsibility for the gossip industry surrounding the pop star lies, Spears' public response has been to repeatedly express regret and resentment at the intrusive media coverage.

Career achievements

According to the VH1 special "The Fabulous Life Of... Britney & Kevin" and TIME, Spears has sold over seventy-six million records worldwide.

Having thirty-one million RIAA-certified albums in the U.S., Spears ranks as the eighth best-selling female artist in American Music history.

Only female artist in SoundScan history to have her first three albums debut at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. She then broke her own record when her fourth album debuted at number one.

In the U.S., Spears, Madonna, Céline Dion, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Shania Twain and the Dixie Chicks are the only female artists with multiple diamond (shipped over ten million copies) albums (Spears has two: ...Baby One More Time and Oops!... I Did It Again).


Artist with the most retired videos on TRL U.S. with a total of fifteen.

Broke the record for youngest artist (at age seventeen) to have his or her first single ("...Baby One More Time") reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

Broke the record for youngest artist (at age seventeen) to have his or her first single ("...Baby One More Time") and first album (...Baby One More Time) simultaneously reach number one on the Billboard charts.

...Baby One More Time is the best-selling album by a teenager in history.

"...Baby One More Time" is the twenty-fourth best-selling single of all time in the U.K.


Holds the record for biggest first-week album sales by a female artist in history (1.3 million copies) for Oops!... I Did It Again.

Broke the record in the U.K. for biggest first-week sales for a greatest hits compilation by a female artist (115,341 copies) with Greatest Hits: My Prerogative.

Has grossed over $145 million USD from tour ticket sales.

Broke the record for first-week gross for a fragrance with "Curious." "Curious" also went on to become the biggest-selling fragrance of 2004. To-date, "Curious" has grossed over $100 million USD worldwide.

Has grossed over $30 million USD in merchandise from her tours.

Trivia

Britney's younger sister, Jamie Lynn Spears, is currently starting a career as an entertainer in the Nickelodeon shows All That and Zoey 101; Britney herself wrote the theme song "Follow Me" for Zoey 101, though it is sung by Jamie Lynn. Zoey 101 drew record numbers with the premiere of the show which gave the kids channel 1.6 million viewers age 9-14 — its biggest viewership in that demographic for a premiere in eight years. Her older brother, Bryan Spears, is one of her co-managers. Britney's parents, Jamie and Lynne, have divorced.

One of Spears' best friends, Jenny, was in the unsuccessful girl-group Innosense. Spears was also a member of the group, but she left and debuted as a solo artist before the band released their first record. One of Britney's closest friends is Felicia Culotta, her assistant.

Is an accomplished gymnast (she did a backflip for the "...Baby One More Time" video and several for the New Mickey Mouse Club).

In 2001, her supposed death in a car crash was announced on the radio by two Texas DJs as a joke; the radio station was subsequently sued.

Spears publicly declared that she was a virgin early in her career and would like to remain one until marriage, but after her split from Justin Timberlake he revealed that this was no longer true. Spears has been quoted as saying, "I thought he was the one".





In 2002, Forbes named Spears the most powerful celebrity in the world.

For the movie Chicago, producer Harvey Weinstein wanted Spears for the role that eventually went to Lucy Liu. Britney was also offered a role in Scary Movie but was forced to turn it down, due to concert scheduling. She was considered for the part of Allie Hamilton in The Notebook, but was beat out by Rachel McAdams.

Is a good friend of Sarah Michelle Gellar and was asked to appear in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode I Was Made to Love You. She could not appear due to scheduling conflicts and the role eventually went to Shonda Farr who also did a voice in the Britney's Dance Beat video game.

Topped FHM magazine's 2004 U.S. and world polls for sexiest woman.

In May 2004 Spears had a Hebrew tattoo (מהש) inked into the nape of her neck. She was under the impression that it meant "new era", while a more scholarly reading would be "protection". A source said, "She's taken Kabbalah pretty seriously and this was a big deal for her." This echoes a similar incident in 2003 when Spears was informed by her friend, actress Taryn Manning, that her hip tattoo (the Japanese Kanji character 奇) read "strange" rather than "mysterious" (see Wiktionary).

Her numerous other tattoos include pink dies on her forearm and kevin has tattood blue dice.She also has a butterfly tattoo.

In September 2004, Forbes estimated Spears' net worth at $275 million USD.


Cites Marilyn Monroe as one of her idols.


Has hosted Saturday Night Live twice and been a musical guest three times. Spears also had a notable guest appearance with former cast member, Will Ferrell, in 2003.

Filmography

1990s Ruthless! Off-Broadway




1993/1994 The New Mickey Mouse Club Herself


1999 Longshot Flight Attendant Cameo


2002 Crossroads Lucy Wagner


2002 Austin Powers in Goldmember Herself Cameo


2007 In the Pink Drew Heart Pre-production

Miscellaneous

Books

2000 Britney Spears' Heart-to-Heart


2001 A Mother's Gift


2002 Stages


2003 Britney Spears' Crossroads Diary

DVDs

1999 Time Out with Britney Spears 3x Platinum


2001 Britney Spears - Live and More! 4 3x Platinum


2001 Britney - The Videos 1 (Debut/2 weeks) 2x Platinum


2002 Live from Las Vegas 1 (Debut/6 weeks) 2x Platinum


2004 In the Zone 1 (Debut/1 week) Platinum




2004 Greatest Hits: My Prerogative 1 (Debut/3 weeks) 2x Platinum

Select merchandise

In 1999, Play Along Toys released the Britney Spears Doll. It became one of the biggest-selling dolls of all time.


Britney's Dance Beat is a dance game featuring five of her songs, for the PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance.

Tours

1998 Hair Zone Mall Tour




1998 Opened for *NSYNC


1999 ...Baby One More Time Tour


2000 Crazy 2K Tour


2000 Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour


2001/2002 Dream Within a Dream Tour


2004 The Onyx Hotel Tour

celebrities - Bridgette Wilson

Bridgette Wilson

Bridgette Leann Wilson (born September 25, 1973), better known plainly as Bridgette Wilson, is an American actress. She was born in Gold Beach, Oregon. She was crowned Miss Teen USA in 1990 in Biloxi, Mississippi, and was the second contender from Oregon to win the crown. She went on to become an actress after her reign as Miss Teen USA, and appeared in Last Action Hero, Billy Madison, Mortal Kombat (playing Sonya Blade), I Know What You Did Last Summer and The Wedding Planner, among others. She married tennis champion Pete Sampras in 2000, and is the mother of Christian Charles Sampras, who was born in 2002. Her second son, Ryan Nikolaos Sampras, was born in 2005.

Wilson's sister, Tracy Wilson, is also an actress.

She is also sometimes credited as Bridgette Wilson Sampras, Bridgette L. Wilson, Bridget Wilson, Bridgitte Wilson, and Bridgette Wilson-Sampras

 

Filmography

Shopgirl (2005)


Extreme Ops (2002) - Chloe




Buying the Cow (2002) - Sarah


Just Visiting (2001) - Amber


The Wedding Planner (2001) - Francine Donolly


"The $treet" (2000) TV Series - Bridget Deshiel


Beautiful (2000) - Lorna Larkin, Miss Texas


House on Haunted Hill (1999) - Melissa Margaret Marr




Love Stinks (1999) - Chelsea Turner


The Suburbans (1999) - Lara


Starstruck (1998) - Sandra


Host (1998) (TV) - Julit Spring


I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997) - Elsa Shivers


The Real Blonde (1997) - Sahara




The Stepsister (1997) (TV) - Melinda Harrison


Nevada (1997) - June


Marina (1997)


Unhook the Stars (1996) - Jeannie Hawks


Final Vendetta (1996) - Jennifer Clark


Nixon (1995) - Sandy




Mortal Kombat (1995) - Sonya Blade


Billy Madison (1995) - Veronica Vaughn


Higher Learning (1995) - Nicole


Last Action Hero (1993) - Whitney/Meredith


"Santa Barbara" (1984) TV Series - Lisa Fenimore Castillo #2 (1992-1993)


"Saved by the Bell" (1989) TV Series - Ginger (1992)

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celebrities - Ali Landry

Ali Landry

Ali Landry (born July 21, 1973) is an actress best known as a spokesperson for Doritos, for whom she appeared in celebrated commercials aired during the 1998 and 1999 Super Bowls. A trained gymnast, she still required hours of takes to get the seconds of footage doing acrobatic stunts for the commercials. She got national fame after winning the 1996 Miss USA pageant, as the contestant from Louisiana. In later years she has hosted the pageant.

Ali Landry grew up in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana and is of Cajun descent.

She has participated in the show Fear Factor, and was runner up. An avid athlete, she also participated in the Boston Marathon.

Starting in 2003 she played in the UPN sitcom Eve.

She married longtime boyfriend Mario Lopez in 2004, and two weeks after marriage, filed for divorce because she claims that he cheated on her during his bachelor party.

Engaged to director Alejandro Monteverde on Memorial Day, 2005.

Facts & Stats


Full Name: Ali Landry


Height: 5' 8"




Measurements: 36C-24-34


Hair: Brown


Eyes: Brown


Miss Louisiana Teen USA (1990)


Miss Teen USA Semi-finalist (1990)


Miss Louisiana USA (1996)




Miss USA (1996)


Miss Universe Top 6 Finalist (1996)


Named by "People" magazine as one of 50 most beautiful people in the world (1998)


She is from the southwestern region of Louisiana, also referred to as "Acadiana," the heart of Cajun country

Quotes


"Sex outdoors is great. I'm not an exhibitionist, but I love the possibility that people might be able to see."

"I didn't know what my goal was, but I knew I had to get out and do something exciting."

"I don't date guys that I just meet randomly. I don't feel comfortable meeting strangers."

Filmography


Eve (2003) (TV series)


Who's Your Daddy? (2003) (V)




Will You Marry Me? (2003) (TV)


Spy TV (2001) (TV series) (2002)


Outta Time (2002)


Repli-Kate (2002)


Soulkeeper (2001)


Farmclub.com (2001) (TV series)




Beautiful (2000)


America's Greatest Pets (1998) (TV series)


Sunset Beach (1997) (TV series)

celebrities - Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie (who was born Angelina Jolie Voight on June 4, 1975 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actress and humanitarian. She is renowned for her award winning acting talent and known for her exotic looks, full lips, wild child image, numerous tattoos and her humanitarian work with refugees. She has received three Golden Globes as well as an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Lisa Rowe in the movie Girl, Interrupted.

In July 2005, Jolie became the third actress to join the coveted "$20 Million Club" of actresses commanding fees of $20 million per movie. She joined Cameron Diaz and Julia Roberts when she signed to do Mr. & Mrs. Smith for that amount. Jolie became a citizen of Cambodia by decree of its King Norodom Sihamoni on August 11, 2005; the citizenship was awarded to her in honor of her environmental work in the country, but has no effect on her U.S. citizenship.

Biography


Jolie is the daughter of divorced actors Jon Voight and American born Marcheline Bertrand. She is the niece of Chip Taylor and the goddaughter of Jacqueline Bisset and Maximilian Schell. In an article in Vogue (2004) she stated that her mother is from Chicago. At the Premiere Magazine "Women in Hollywood" Awards she said her mom was born in a bowling alley. She has stated that because of her name people often assume that her mother is French. Jolie's grandparents were French Canadian. Her mother also studied with Lee Strasberg himself. She is of Czech, French-Canadian, English, and Iroquois descent. As a child she dreamed of becoming a funeral director. She attended the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute from the age of 11, later attending Beverly Hills High School. Though she enrolled at the film school at New York University after finishing Gia, she did not complete her studies.

On March 28, 1996 she married British actor Jonny Lee Miller, with whom she had co-starred in the movie Hackers. Jolie attended her wedding in black leather trousers and a white shirt, which had her husband's name painted in her blood on the back. Jolie and Miller divorced on February 3, 1999. Jolie then married American actor Billy Bob Thornton on May 5, 2000, and together they adopted a son from Cambodia, Maddox Chivan Thornton Jolie, who was born on August 5, 2001. Jolie and Thornton divorced on May 27, 2003, and Jolie now has custody of Maddox.

Jolie has been long estranged from her father, though a reconciliation was attempted by his appearing with her in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. In the October 2004 issue of Premiere Magazine, Jolie indicated that she was no longer interested in pursuing a relationship with her father, but that she did not hate him but that she realized that "...we only have so much energy in this life." Soon after, he claimed that she has "serious emotional problems" on Access Hollywood, and she legally dropped Voight as her last name, taking Angelina Jolie as her legal name.

In 2003, Jolie published a collection of journals made during missions for the UNHCR. Her proceeds from the book went to the UNHCR.Jolie has been a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees since 2001, and frequently travels to remote countries to draw attention to the plight of people in Third World nations. In 2003, she published Notes from My Travels, a collection of journal entries chronicling her early work with the U.N.. In a January 2005 interview with Reuters, Jolie criticized fellow actors for not being committed enough in helping others, and stated that she gives one-third of her income to charitable organizations.

Jolie was also one of the first celebrities to accept an invitation to be one of the bearers of the Olympic Torch during the 2004 Olympic Games, though she was ultimately unable to participate due to filming commitments.

In the fall of 2004, it was reported that Jolie has started proceedings to adopt another child, this time from Russia. However, no adoption ever took place. On March 8th, Jolie took part in a Washington Press club luncheon. [1] It was there that she announced the founding of the National Center for Refugee and Immigrant Children in Washington, D.C. It's an organization that provides free legal aid to children who prior to this had no legal representation. Jolie donated $500,000 to the center which will help keep it afloat for the first two years of its operation. At that same conference she stated that she never intended to adopt a Russian orphan boy. Jolie expressed a deep sadness at the media's exploitation of the child. Jolie stated that she was on business through the United Nations and not looking for a child to adopt. She also mentioned that her son wanted an "African brother" because of his love of Africa and the work he knows she does in that region.

Around the same time, Lauryn Galindo, the Hawaii-based adoption facilitator whose services Jolie had used to adopt Maddox, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to visa fraud and money laundering charges. She had been falsifying records of children to be adopted in visa applications to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and several of the children she placed had not been abandoned at all but were enticed away or bought from their birth families. There is no evidence that Maddox was among them, although the investigation is continuing. Maddox Jolie, as he is legally named, was naturalized as a United States citizen some time ago, and there is no indication that that will be rescinded.

Besides her acting and humanitarian endeavors, Jolie also worked as a professional model in London, New York and Los Angeles and appeared in numerous music videos including those of Meat Loaf, Lenny Kravitz, and The Rolling Stones.

For several years prior to mid 2005, Jolie did not have a hit movie. Several of her movies, such as Alexander, Sky Captain, and Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life were major box office disappointments although Jolie usually received good notices. She did provide the voice of Lola in the successful animated film, Shark Tale. Nonetheless she remains one of Hollywood's most "in-demand" actresses.

In early 2005, Jolie found herself at the center of a well-publicized Hollywood scandal when she was accused of being the "other woman" in the marital break-up of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. The allegation was that she and Pitt had started an affair during filming of the spy comedy Mr. & Mrs. Smith, something she denies. In several interviews she has denied starting an affair with Pitt. In an interview with Marie Claire magazine recently she stated that she could never have a relationship with a married man because she has seen what relationships like that did to her mother. Her father has acknowledged that he cheated on Jolie's mom when they were married. Jolie stated she "could not, could not look herself in the mirror" if she had an affair with a married man.

Thanks to a mixture of generally good reviews and advance publicity due to all the rumors, Mr. & Mrs. Smith opened in the No. 1 position at the box office after it was released in early June 2005, providing Jolie with her first box-office success in several years. In March 2005, Jolie was named the third sexiest woman in the world by FHM magazine, from fifteen million votes worldwide.

Angelina on the cover of Men StyleSince taking on her goodwill ambassador duties, Jolie has on numerous occasions made public statements that she wants to quit acting and concentrate on her UN work (for example, see Ireland On-Line in June 2005 [2]). However, she has also stated that her work provides the income necessary for her to continue travelling the world on behalf of the UN.

Jolie continues to balance the demands of being a movie star with that of being a humanitarian, despite an apparently grueling schedule. On June 7, 2005, the Associated Press wire service reported on Jolie giving a presentation in Islamabad, Pakistan. That very same day, she attended the premiere of Mr. & Mrs. Smith in Los Angeles. She now lives full-time in Buckinghamshire, England, and owns property in Cambodia,which she had to have demined. Angelina Jolie spent the new year of 2005 by going abroad to film a documentary called "A Moment in the World." She called on several actors and actresses to film in various locations around the world at the same time for three minutes. This was done in order to capture random moments that are happening across the world at the same time. Some confusion has arisen between this project and the independent endeavor A Moment on Earth, in which 60 filmmakers around the world captured two separate moments on August 5th and 6th, 2004. No release dates for either project are known at this time.

In late June 2005, the New York Post reported a claim that Jolie is pregnant, a report republished on June 30 by Britain's Sky TV, Sun Media Corporation in Canada, and the Asian Hindustan Times, among others. Her publicists presently deny this report. On July 5, 2005, People magazine reported that Jolie was in the final stages of adopting a baby girl, who was orphaned by AIDS, from Ethiopia, through the agency Wide Horizons for Children. Jolie has named her daughter Zahara Marley Jolie. A woman in London has been claiming she is Zahara's birth mother since August of 2005. There has been no legal development regarding this claim. Ms. Jolie has contacted a lawyer in London to look into the matter. Earlier in the summer another woman came foward claiming to be the grandmother of Zahara. That claim too proved to be false. On September 28th 2005 while making an appearance to discuse American's financial involvment with fighting AIDS globally on CNN's "The Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer Jolie stated that her daughter is a "AIDS orphan." By that she means her birth mother died from the disease but her daughter does not have the disease. The birth father of Zahara is not known. Her statement made it clear that the birth mother is indeed dead. In late October of 2005 a Ethiopian judge ruled that there is no evidence to suggest that Ms. Jolie would have to file for re-adoption of her daughter Zahara Marley Jolie. The judge ruled that the woman claiming to be her mother is not the birth mother.

In September of 2005 Angelina Jolie was named the new spokesperson for the clothing line St. John Knits starting in the Spring/Fall 0f 2006. The deal with the clothing company includes the startup of a charity headed by Ms. Jolie. The charity will focus on children's issues and causes. It has been reported but not comfired that Angelina Jolie will also sit on the board of directors and have stock in the company. The deal is also believed to be the biggest celebrity clothing endorsement with the actress receiving 10-15 million dollars. Other celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow receive something in the neighborhood of 5 million dollars to promote luxury clothing and accessories. On October 24 Angelina Jolie attended the First Annual Benefit Gala for the Worldwide Orpahns Foundation. While there she pleadged to partner with WWO to treat children in Ethiopia who have been orphaned by AIDS and are HIV positive. "AIDS is chronic and manageable, and does NOT have to kill any longer," said Ms. Jolie. Ms. Jolie announced her plan to support WWO's Pediatric HIV/AIDS Clinic in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and pledged an initial grant. The gala helped the organization raise $800,000. Dr. Jane Aronson, the organization's founder, and Ms. Jolie first met through the adoption of her daughter Zahara and Jolie credits the doctor with helping save her daughter's life.

The American magazine US Weekly, in reporting Jolie's second adoption, indicated erroneously that Jolie and Pitt had adopted the girl together. When the magazine realized its error, the presses were stopped and an apology issued to Jolie and Pitt; printing of the issue resumed with the correction made, though a number of copies with the error were still released to the public. Reportedly, however, Pitt was present when Jolie signed the adoption papers. The agency later said Brad Pitt was not present when Angelina Jolie picked up her daughter. [3]

In August 2005, Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni awarded Jolie a Cambodian citizenship for her conservation work in the country.

Speculation over the nature of Jolie and Pitt's relationship continued throughout the summer of 2005. On August 22, the Calgary Herald ran a front-page story with a photo of Jolie taken during a surprise visit she made to Calgary, Alberta a couple of days earlier, accompanied by Zahara. Brad Pitt was at that time filming a movie in Calgary, as was her father, Jon Voight. It was later reported that Jolie and Pitt visited the Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology in Drumheller, Alberta together, and CNN and the Calgary Sun reported on September 22, 2005 that they visited West Edmonton Mall together.[4] On September 30, the Calgary Sun reported that Pitt and Jolie had rented a house together in the city of Spruce Grove, Alberta, west of Edmonton where Pitt was filming more scenes for his movie; the same issue printed a photograph of the two actors (dubbed "Brangelina") leaving an Edmonton grocery store.

Tattoos





Angelina Jolie showing off her largest tattoo, a large tiger on her backJolie's inventory of tattoos has become the subject of much media attention, and she infrequently adds or even changes existing tattoos. She has said that all the tattoos she possesses have a special meaning. Her tattoos include:

the letter H (for her brother James Haven) on the inside of her left wrist.


"A prayer for the wild at heart, kept in cages" (Tennessee Williams) on her left forearm.


a large prayer for her son Maddox on her left shoulder which covers up the Chinese/Japanese "death" tattoo.


two pointy black tribals on the lower parts of her back.


Quod me nutrit me destruit (Latin for "What nourishes me destroys me") several inches below her navel.




a tilted Latin cross on the lower left of her abdomen.


a large Asian tiger on her back.


a dragon under the tiger.


XIII (number 13 in Roman numerals) on her left forearm.


Arabic for "strength of will." (العزيمة) on her right forearm.




"know your rights" just under her neck between her shoulders.

Lasered/Covered:

the dragon on her left arm (she has been lasering it for some months now but we can still see some of it).


"Billy Bob", the name of her former husband Billy Bob Thornton, on her left arm.


a Chinese/Japanese character for courage now covered by the Tennessee Williams quote.


a Chinese/Japanese character for death (死) now covered by a prayer for Maddox.




a tattoo both Billy Bob Thornton and Angelina had a copy of. It was on her right forearm, now covered by the "strength of will" tattoo.


a dragon she got in Amsterdam while drunk, now covered by the latin cross.


a window on her lower back. On Inside the Actors Studio, she explained that she covered this tattoo, because, while she used to spend all of her time staring through windows wishing to be outside, she now lives there all of the time.


Jolie has gone on record as saying that a positive effect resulting from the large number of tattoos on her body is that, while she is not opposed to film nudity, filmmakers have been forced to become more creative when plotting any nude or love scenes involving her. Make-up has been used to cover up the tattoos in productions such as the Tomb Raider movies, Alexander, and Mr. & Mrs. Smith.

Other trivia


She has said that she is bisexual and once claimed to have been in love with fashion model Jenny Shimizu, her co-star in the film Foxfire.


She is left-handed.


Jolie once described herself as "most likely to sleep with a female fan".


She speaks French.




The name Angelina actually means "Pretty Little Angel Eyes". Jolie in French means "pretty" or "lovely."


She drives a black Ford truck.


She knows how to Tango.


She has a pilot's license.




She collects knives and has interest in mortuary science.


She was born at 9:09 a.m. in Los Angeles.


She used to own a pet rat snake--therefore, she had no problem shooting the snake scene in Alexander.


She claims to have a fondness for Liverpool Football Club, having revealed that her baby son, Maddox, "only wants to play for Liverpool" after he was admitted to Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool for treatment.


She has continually denied rumors of an incestuous relationship with her brother, James Haven. During her acceptance speech for winning the Best Actress in a Supporting Role award for Girl Interrupted during the 2000 Academy Awards, Jolie stated "I'm so in love with my brother" which, combined with her affectionate behavior towards her brother that night, sparked the rumors. On Inside the Actor's Studio she stated that she never had an incestuous relationship with her brother, stating that "the world is a lot sicker than I thought," in reference to the conclusion everyone jumped to. Also in an interview with People Magazine she and her brother stated that being children of divorce they relied on each other and because of that they hold on to each other, as a means of emotional support. Jolie has starred in five student movies, all of which were directed by her brother.




In October 2005, The Sun tabloid in Britain, as well as several American entertainment news programs, reported that Jolie is in the running to appear with her Lara Croft: Tomb Raider co-star Daniel Craig in the next James Bond film, Casino Royale.

Filmography





Esquire, November 2004Lookin' to Get Out (1982)


Cyborg 2 (1993)


Angela & Viril (1993) (short subject)




Alice & Viril (1993) (short subject)


Without Evidence (1995)


Hackers (1995)


Mojave Moon (1996)


Love Is All There Is (1996)




Foxfire (1996)


Playing God (1997)


Gia (1998)


Hell's Kitchen (1998)


Playing by Heart (1998)


Pushing Tin (1998)




The Bone Collector (1999)


Girl, Interrupted (1999)


Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000)


Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001)


Original Sin (2001)


Life or Something Like It (2002)




Trading Women (2003) (documentary) (narrator)


Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life (2003)


Beyond Borders (2003)


Taking Lives (2004)


Shark Tale (2004) (voice)


Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)




The Fever (2004)


Alexander (2004)


Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005)


The Good Shepherd (2006)


Beowulf (2007) (voice)

celebrities - Anna Kournikova

Anna Kournikova

Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova (Russian: Анна Сергеевна Курникова, Ánna Sergéyevna Kúrnikova; born June 7, 1981) is a tennis player. She is one of the best known tennis players, especially among those who do not follow the game. Anna was born in Moscow, Russia to Alla and Sergei Kournikov; her family later emigrated to the United States, and she currently resides in Miami, Florida.

Tennis career

Anna dazzled the world at age 13 and 14 in international junior tennis, winning several tournaments including the 1995 Italian Open. Anna Kournikova was 14 years old when she ended 1995 as Junior European Champion U(nder)18 and Junior World Champion U18.

Kournikova debuted in professional tennis at age 14 in the Fed Cup for Russia, the youngest player ever to participate and win. At age 15, she reached the fourth round of the 1996 U.S. Open, only to be stopped by then-top ranked player Steffi Graf.

Anna was a member of the Russian delegation to the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta, Georgia. As a 16-year old, she reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon. Kournikova's first of two Grand Slam doubles titles came in 1999 at the Australian Open in the Women's Doubles event with partner Martina Hingis, with whom she played frequently.

Kournikova proved a successful doubles player on the senior circuit, winning sixteen doubles titles, including two Australian Opens and being a finalist in mixed doubles at the US Open and Wimbledon, and reaching #1 in doubles in the Women's Tennis Association tour rankings. Her career doubles record was 200-71. However, while she was ranked as high as #8 as a singles player at one point, she only reached a WTA singles final four times in 130 tournaments, never won one, and spent the bulk of her career ranked out of the top thirty. She had a record of 209-129 as a singles player.

Although, her final years marred by injuries, Kournikova has not played on the WTA tour since 2003, she still plays exhibition matches for charitable causes. In late 2004 she participated in three events organized by Elton John and by fellow tennis stars and good friends Serena Williams and Andy Roddick. She played for Tsunami relief January 2005 with John McEnroe, Andy Roddick and Chris Evert.

Anna was also a member of Newport Beachbreakers in the World Team Tennis (WTT) competition in July and November 2005, playing doubles only. In November 2005 she teamed up with Martina Hingis, reviving the "Spice girls of tennis", playing against Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur in the WTT finals for charity. In her 'Elle' column July 2005 Kournikova stated that if she were 100% fit she would like to come back and compete again.

Media publicity







Anna Kournikova on the cover of Maxim magazine in 2004.Much of Anna's fame -- more, many have argued, than she ever gained in her tennis career --has come from publicity surrounding her personal life as well as numerous modelling shoots. A number of her relationships with other celebrities, including romantic involvement with pop star Enrique Iglesias (in whose video, Escape, she appeared) and with hockey star Sergei Fedorov, have featured prominently in the tabloid press. Photographs of her scantily-clad form have appeared in various men's magazines, including a much-publicized Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and other popular publications such as FHM and Maxim. Kournikova was named one of People's 50 Most Beautiful People in 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2003. She has also been voted "hottest athlete" on espn.com and "sexiest woman in the world" by FHM readers. By contrast, ESPN -- citing the degree of hype as compared to actual accomplishments as a singles player -- ranked Anna 18th in its "25 Biggest Sports Flops of the Past 25 Years".

Kournikova had a small role (as a motel manager) in the 2000 film Me, Myself and Irene, starring Jim Carrey.

Books

Anna Kournikova by Susan Holden (2001)




Anna Kournikova (Women Who Win) by Connie Berman

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