Non-profit logo
Non-profit type	501(c)(3)
Founded date	March 1980
Founder	Ingrid Newkirk and Alex Pacheco
Location	Norfolk, Virginia
Focus	Animal rights
Revenue	$34 million in 2009
Num members	2,000,000
Num employees	300
Non-profit slogan	"Animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, or use for entertainment."
Homepage	www.peta.org

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) is an American animal rights organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, and led by Ingrid Newkirk, its international president. A non-profit corporation with 300 employees and two million members and supporters, it says it is the largest animal rights group in the world. Its slogan is "animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on, or use for entertainment."

Founded in March 1980 by Newkirk and animal rights activist Alex Pacheco, the organization first caught the public's attention in the summer of 1981 during what became known as the Silver Spring monkeys case, a widely publicized dispute about experiments conducted on 17 macaque monkeys inside the Institute of Behavioral Research in Silver Spring, Maryland. The case lasted ten years, involved the only police raid on an animal laboratory in the United States, triggered an amendment in 1985 to that country's Animal Welfare Act, and established PETA as an internationally known organization. Since then, in its campaigns and undercover investigations, it has focused on four core issues—opposition to factory farming, fur farming, animal testing, and animals in entertainment—though it also campaigns against fishing, the killing of animals regarded as pests, the keeping of chained backyard dogs, cock fighting, dog fighting, and bullfighting.

The group has been the focus of criticism from inside and outside the animal rights movement. Newkirk and Pacheco are seen as the leading exporters of animal rights to the more traditional animal protection groups in the United States, but sections of the movement nevertheless say PETA is not radical enough—law professor Gary Francione calls them the new welfarists, arguing that their work with industries to achieve reform makes them an animal welfare, not an animal rights, group. Newkirk told Salon in 2001 that PETA works toward the ideal, but tries in the meantime to provide carrot-and-stick incentives. There has also been criticism from feminists within the movement about the use of scantily clad women in PETA's anti-fur campaigns, and criticism in general that the group's media stunts trivialize animal rights. Newkirk's view is that PETA has a duty to be "press sluts".

Outside the movement, the confrontational nature of PETA's campaigns has caused concern, as has the number of animals it euthanizes. It was further criticized in 2005 by United States Senator Jim Inhofe for having given grants several years earlier to Animal Liberation Front (ALF) and Earth Liberation Front (ELF) activists. PETA responded that it has no involvement in ALF or ELF actions and does not support violence, though Newkirk has elsewhere made clear that she does support the removal of animals from laboratories and other facilities, including as a result of illegal direct action.

History

Ingrid Newkirk

with Ingrid Newkirk, 2008]] Newkirk was born in England in 1949 and raised in Hertfordshire, and later New Delhi, India, where her father—a navigational engineer—was stationed. Newkirk, now an atheist, was educated in a convent, the only British girl there. She moved to the United States as a teenager, first studying to become a stockbroker, but after taking some abandoned kittens to a shelter in 1969, and appalled by the conditions she found there, she choose a career in animal protection instead. She became an animal protection officer for Montgomery County, then the District of Columbia's first woman poundmaster. By 1976 she was head of the animal-disease-control division of D.C.'s Commission on Public Health, and in 1980 was among those named as Washingtonian of the Year. She told Michael Specter of The New Yorker that working for the shelters left her shocked at the way the animals were treated:

I went to the front office all the time, and I would say, "John is kicking the dogs and putting them into freezers." Or I would say, "They are stepping on the animals, crushing them like grapes, and they don't care." In the end, I would go to work early, before anyone got there, and I would just kill the animals myself. Because I couldn't stand to let them go through that. I must have killed a thousand of them, sometimes dozens every day. Some of those people would take pleasure in making them suffer. Driving home every night, I would cry just thinking about it. And I just felt, to my bones, this cannot be right.

In 1980, she divorced Steve Newkirk, whom she had married when she was 19, and the same year met Alex Pacheco, a political major at George Washington University. Pacheco had studied for the priesthood, then worked as a crew member of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society's first ship. He introduced Newkirk to Peter Singer's influential book, Animal Liberation (1975), and in March 1980 she persuaded him to join her in forming People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, at that point just five people in a basement, as Newkirk described it. They were mostly students and members of the local vegetarian society, but the group included a friend of Pacheco's from the UK, Kim Stallwood, a British activist who went on to become the national organizer of the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection . Pacheco was reluctant at first. "It just didn't sound great to me," he told The Los Angeles Times in 1992." I had been active in Europe ... and I thought there were just too many formalities. I thought we should just do things ourselves. But she made a convincing case that Washington needed a vehicle for animals because the current organizations were too conservative."

Silver Spring monkeys

. Don't let anyone tell you different."]] The group first came to public attention in 1981 during the Silver Spring monkeys case, a dispute about experiments conducted by researcher Edward Taub on 17 macaque monkeys inside the Institute of Behavioral Research in Silver Spring, Maryland. The case led to the first police raid in the United States on an animal laboratory, triggered an amendment in 1985 to the United States Animal Welfare Act, and became the first animal-testing case to be appealed to the United States Supreme Court,

Pacheco had taken a job in May 1981 inside a primate research laboratory at the Institute, intending to gain firsthand experience of working inside an animal laboratory. Taub had been cutting sensory ganglia that supplied nerves to the monkeys' fingers, hands, arms, and legs—a process called "deafferentation"—so that the monkeys could not feel them; some of the monkeys had had their entire spinal columns deafferented. He then used restraint, electric shock, and withholding of food and water to force the monkeys to use the deafferented parts of their bodies. The research led in part to the discovery of neuroplasticity and a new therapy for stroke victims called constraint-induced movement therapy.

Pacheco visited the laboratory at night, taking photographs that showed the monkeys living in what the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research's ILAR Journal called filthy conditions. He passed his evidence to the police, who raided the lab and arrested Taub. Taub was convicted of six counts of animal cruelty, the first such conviction in the United States of an animal researcher, overturned on appeal. Norm Phelps writes that the case followed the highly publicized campaign of Henry Spira in 1976 against experiments on cats being performed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and Spira's subsequent campaign in April 1980 against the Draize test. These and the Silver Springs monkey case jointly put animal rights on the agenda in the United States.

The ten-year battle for custody of the monkeys—described by The Washington Post as a vicious mud fight, during which both sides accused the other of lies and distortion— transformed PETA into a national, then international, movement. By February 1991, it claimed over 350,000 members, a paid staff of over 100, and an annual budget of over $7 million.

Philosophy and activism

Profile

, Dan Matthews (above) is one of PETA's key players. One oft-cited quote of Newkirk's is: "When it comes to feelings like hunger, pain, and thirst, a rat is a pig is a dog is a boy."

PETA lobbies governments to impose fines where animal-welfare legislation has been violated, promotes a vegan diet, tries to reform the practices in factory farms and slaughterhouses, goes undercover into animal research laboratories, farms, and circuses, initiates media campaigns against particular companies or practices, helps to find sanctuaries for former circus and zoo animals, and initiates lawsuits against companies.

The group has two million members and supporters, it received donations of over $32 million for the year ending July 31, 2009, and its website was receiving four million hits a month as of November 2008. Over 80 percent of its operating budget was spent on its programs in 2008-2009, 15 percent on fundraising, and four percent on management and general operations. Thirty-two percent of its staff earned under $30,000, 24 percent over $40,000, and Newkirk just under $37,000.

Pacheco left the group in 1999, and since then the two key staff members next to Newkirk have been Bruce Friedrich, director of vegan outreach—a devout Catholic who spent years working in soup kitchens, and who gives 20 percent of his income to the church—and Dan Mathews, the group's senior vice-president.

Many of the campaigns have focused on large corporations. Fast food companies such as KFC, Wendy's, and Burger King have been targeted. In the animal-testing industry, PETA's consumer boycotts have focused on Avon, Benetton, Bristol-Myers-Squibb, Chesebrough-Pond's, Dow Chemical, General Motors, and others. Their modus operandi includes buying shares in target companies such as McDonald's and Kraft Foods in order to exert influence. The campaigns have delivered results for PETA. McDonald's and Wendy's introduced vegetarian options after PETA targeted them; Petco stopped selling some exotic pets; and Polo Ralph Lauren said it would no longer use fur. Avon, Estee Lauder, Benetton, and Tonka Toy Co. all stopped testing products on animals, the Pentagon stopped shooting pigs and goats in wounds tests, and a slaughterhouse in Texas was closed down. The New Yorker writes that PETA activists have crawled through the streets of Paris wearing leg-hold traps and thrown around money soaked in fake blood at the International Fur Fair. "The thing is, we make them gawk," she told Satya magazine, "maybe like a traffic accident that you have to look at."

Some campaigns have been particularly controversial. Newkirk was criticized in 2003 for sending a letter to PLO leader Yasser Arafat asking him to keep animals out of the conflict, after a donkey was blown up during an attack in Jerusalem. The group's 2003 "Holocaust on your Plate" exhibition—eight panels juxtaposing images of Holocaust victims with animal carcasses and animals being transported to slaughter—was criticized by the Anti-Defamation League. In July 2010, the German Federal Constitutional Court ruled that PETA's campaign was not protected by free speech laws, and banned it within Germany as an offense against human dignity. In 2005, the NAACP complained about the "Are Animals the New Slaves?" exhibit, which showed images of African-American slaves, Native Americans, child laborers, and women, alongside chained elephants and slaughtered cows.

PETA's "It's still going on" campaign features newspaper ads comparing widely-publicized murder-cannibalization cases to the deaths of animals in slaughterhouses. The campaign has attracted significant media attention, controversy and generated angry responses from the victims' family members. Ads were released in 1991 describing the deaths of the victims of serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer, in 2002 describing the deaths of the victims of serial killer Robert William Pickton, and in 2008 describing the murder of Tim McLean. In several cases, newspapers have refused to run the ads.

The group has also been criticized for aiming its message at young people. "Your Mommy Kills Animals" features a cartoon of a woman attacking a rabbit with a knife. To reduce milk consumption, it created the "Got Beer?" campaign, a parody of the dairy industry's series of Got Milk? ads, which featured celebrities with milk "mustaches" on their upper lips. When the mayor of New York, Rudolf Giuliani, was diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2000, PETA ran a photograph of him with a white mustache and the words "Got prostate cancer?" to illustrate their claim that dairy products contribute to cancer, an ad that caused an outcry in the United States. After PETA placed ads in school newspapers linking milk to acne, obesity, heart disease, cancer, and strokes, Mothers Against Drunk Driving and college officials complained it encouraged underage drinking; the British Advertising Standards Authority asked that the ads be discontinued after complaints from interest groups such as The National Farmers' Unions.

Other campaigns are less confrontational and more humorous. In 2008, it launched the "Save the Sea Kittens" campaign to change the name of fish to "sea kittens" to give them a positive image, and it regularly asks towns to adopt a new name. It campaigned in 1996 for a new name for Fishkill, New York, and in April 2003 offered free veggie burgers to Hamburg, New York, if it would call itself Veggieburg. PETA has also produced various flash games showcasing their campaigns, including parodies of Cooking Mama, Super Mario Bros., and Super Meat Boy.

Undercover investigations

PETA sends its staff undercover into research laboratories, factory farms, and circuses to document the treatment of animals, requiring them to spend many months as employees of the facility, making copies of documents and wearing hidden cameras. By 2007, it had conducted 75 such investigations. It has also produced videos based on material collected during ALF raids. Some investigations have led to lawsuits or government action against the companies or universities. PETA itself faced legal action in April 2007 after the owners of a chinchilla ranch in Michigan complained about an undercover inquiry there, but the judge ruled in PETA's favor that undercover investigations can be legitimate.

Notable cases include the 26-minute film PETA produced in 1984, Unnecessary Fuss, based on 60 hours of researchers' footage obtained by the ALF during a raid on the University of Pennsylvania's head injury clinic. The footage showed researchers laughing at baboons as they inflicted brain damage on them with a hydraulic device intended to simulate whiplash. Laboratory animal veterinarian Larry Carbone writes that the researchers openly discussed how one baboon was awake before the head injury, despite protocols being in place for anaesthesia. The ensuing publicity led to the suspension of funds from the university, the firing of its chief veterinarian, the closure of the lab, and a period of probation for the university.

In 1990, two PETA activists posed as employees of Carolina Biological, where they took pictures and video inside the company, alleging that cats were being mistreated. Following the release of PETA's tapes, the USDA conducted their own inspection and subsequently charged the company with seven violations of the Animal Welfare Act. Four years later, an administrative judge ruled that Carolina Biological had not committed any violations.

In 1990, Bobby Berosini, a Las Vegas entertainer, lost his wildlife license, as well as (on appeal) a later lawsuit against PETA, after the group broadcast an undercover film of him slapping and punching orangutans in 1989. In 1997, a PETA investigation inside Huntingdon Life Sciences (HLS), a contract animal-testing company, produced film of staff in the UK beating dogs, and what appeared to be abuse of monkeys in the company's New Jersey facility. After the video footage aired on British television in 1999, a group of activists set up Stop Huntingdon Animal Cruelty to close HLS down, a campaign that continues.

In 1999, a North Carolina grand jury handed down indictments against pig-farm workers on Belcross Farm in Camden County, the first indictments for animal cruelty on a factory farm in the United States, after a three-month PETA investigation produced film of the workers beating the animals. In 2004, PETA published the results of an eight-month undercover investigation in a West Virginia Pilgrim's Pride slaughterhouse that supplies chickens to KFC. The New York Times reported the investigation as showing workers stomping on live chickens, throwing dozens against a wall, tearing the head off a chicken to write graffiti, strangling one with a latex glove, and squeezing birds until they exploded. Yum Brands, owner of KFC, called the video appalling, and threatened to stop purchasing from Pilgrim's Pride if no changes were made; Pilgrim's Pride fired 11 employees, and introduced an anti-cruelty pledge for workers to sign.

In 2004 and 2005, PETA shot footage inside Covance, an animal-testing company in the United States and Europe, that appeared to show monkeys being mistreated in the company's facility in Vienna, Virginia. According to The Washington Post, PETA said an employee of the group filmed primates there being choked, hit, and denied medical attention when badly injured. After PETA sent the video and a 253-page complaint to the United States Department of Agriculture, Covance was fined $8,720 for 16 citations, three of which involved lab monkeys; the other citations involved administrative issues and equipment. The company said none of the issues were pervasive or endemic, and that they had taken corrective action. In 2005 Covance initiated a lawsuit charging PETA with fraud, violation of employee contract, and conspiracy to harm the company's business, but did not proceed with it.

Positions

On direct action and the ALF

Newkirk is outspoken in her support of direct action, writing that no movement for social change has ever succeeded without what she calls the militarism component: "Thinkers may prepare revolutions," she wrote of the ALF in 2004, "but bandits must carry them out."

In 2004 The Observer described what it called a network of relationships between apparently unconnected animal rights groups on both sides of the Atlantic, writing that, with assets of $6.5 million, and with the PETA Foundation holding further assets of $15 million, PETA funds a number of activists and groups—some with links to militant groups, including the ALF, which the FBI has named as a domestic terrorist threat. American writer Don Liddick writes that PETA gave $1,500 to the Earth Liberation Front in 2001—Newkirk said the donation was a mistake, and that the money had been intended for public education about destruction of habitat, but Liddick writes that it went to the legal defense of Craig Rosebraugh, an ELF spokesman. That same year, according to The Observer, PETA gave a $5,000 grant to American animal rights activist Josh Harper, an advocate of arson. are alleged to have substantial links.

Newkirk is a strong supporter of direct action that removes animals from laboratories and other facilities—she told The Los Angeles Times in 1992 that when she hears of anyone walking into a lab and walking out with animals, her heart sings.

On neutering, backyard dogs, working animals, and pets

PETA runs several programs though its Community Animal Project that helps cats and dogs in poorer areas of Virginia, near its headquarters. In 2008 they neutered 7,485 cats, dogs, and rabbits in that area, including pit bulls and feral cats, at a discounted rate or free of charge. They help neglected dogs and cats who are ill and injured, and pursue cruelty cases. Each year they set up hundreds of dog houses with straw bedding for dogs chained outside all winter. They urge population control through neutering and adoption from shelters, and campaign against organizations such as the American Kennel Club that promote the breeding of purebred strains.

PETA argues that it would have been better for animals had the institution of breeding them as "pets" never emerged, that the desire to own and receive love from animals is selfish, and that their breeding, sale, and purchase can cause immeasurable suffering. They write that millions of dogs spend their lives chained outside in all weather conditions or locked up in chain-link pens and wire cages in puppy mills, and that even in good homes animals are often not well cared for. They would like to see the population of dogs and cats reduced through spaying and neutering, and for people never to purchase animals from pet shops or breeders, but to adopt them from shelters instead. PETA supports hearing dog programs where animals are taken from shelters and placed in appropriate homes, but does not endorse seeing-eye-dog programs because, according to one of their Vice Presidents, "the dogs are bred as if there are no equally intelligent dogs literally dying for homes in shelters."

On euthanasia

PETA opposes the no kill movement. The group takes in feral cat colonies with diseases such as feline AIDS and leukemia, stray dogs, litters of parvo-infected puppies, and backyard dogs, and says that it would be unrealistic to follow a no-kill policy in such instances. They offer free euthanasia services to counties that kill unwanted animals via gassing or shooting—they recommend the use of an intravenous injection of sodium pentobarbital if administered by a trained professional, and for severely ill or dying pets when euthanasia at a veterinarian is unaffordable. They recommend euthanasia for certain breeds, such as pit bull terriers, and in certain situations for animals in shelters: for example, for those living for long periods in cramped cages.

Two PETA employees were acquitted in 2007 of animal cruelty after at least 80 euthanized animals were left in dumpsters in a shopping center in Ashoskie over the course of a month in 2005; the two employees were seen leaving behind 18 dead animals, and 13 more were found inside their van. The animals had been euthanized after being removed from shelters in Northampton and Bertie counties. The group said it began euthanizing animals in some rural North Carolina shelters after it found the shelters killing animals in ways PETA considered inhumane.

On wildlife conservation personalities

, place animals under stress. In 2006 when Steve Irwin died, PETA's vice-president Dan Mathews said Irwin had made a career out of antagonizing frightened wild animals. Australian Member of Parliament Bruce Scott said PETA should apologize to Irwin's family and the rest of Australia.

On animal testing

PETA opposes animal testing—whether toxicity testing, basic or applied research, or for education and training—on both moral and practical grounds. Newkirk told Vogue magazine in 1989 that even if it resulted in a cure for AIDS, PETA would oppose it. The group also believes that it is wasteful, unreliable, and irrelevant to human health, because artificially induced diseases in animals are not identical to human diseases. They say that animal experiments are frequently redundant and lack accountability, oversight, and regulation. They promote alternatives, including embryonic stem cell research and in vitro cell research. PETA employees have themselves volunteered for human testing of vaccines; Scott Van Valkenburg, the group's Director of Major Gifts, said in 1999 that he had volunteered for human testing of HIV vaccines.

Position within the animal rights movement

posing for PETA. The series of ads triggered criticism from feminist animal rights advocates.]] Robert Garner of the University of Leicester writes that Newkirk and Pacheco are the leading exporters of animal rights to the more moderate groups in the United States—both members of an animal rights elite that he argues has shaken up the animal rights movement, setting up new groups and radicalizing old ones.

There is criticism of PETA from both the conservative and radical ends of the movement. Michael Specter writes that it provides for groups such as the Humane Society of the United States the same dynamic that Malcolm X provided for Martin Luther King, or Andrea Dworkin for Gloria Steinem—someone radical to alienate the mainstream and make moderate voices more appealing.

The ads featuring barely clad or naked women have appalled feminist animal rights advocates. When Ronald Reagan's daughter Patti Davis posed naked for Playboy, donating half her $100,000 fee to PETA, the group issued a press release saying Davis "turns the other cheek in an eye-opening spread," then announced she had been photographed naked with Hugh Hefner's dog for an anti-fur ad. In 1995, PETA formed a partnership with Playboy to promote human organ donation, with the caption "Some People Need You Inside Them" on a photograph of Hefner's wife. The long-standing campaign, "I'd rather go naked than wear fur," in which celebrities and supermodels strip for the camera, generated particular concern.

Newkirk has replied to the criticism that no one is being exploited, the women taking part are volunteers, and if sexual attraction advances the cause of animals, she is unapologetic.

Like Francione, PETA describes itself as abolitionist.

Francione has also criticized PETA for having caused grassroots animal rights group to close, groups that he argues were essential for the survival of the animal rights movement, which rejects the centrality of corporate animal charities. Francione writes that PETA initially set up independent chapters around the United States, but closed them in favor of a top-down, centralized organization, which not only consolidated decision-making power, but centralized donations too. Now, local animal rights donations go to PETA, rather than to a local group.

See also

Kentucky Fried Cruelty

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals v. Doughney

PETA Asia-Pacific

Your Mommy Kills Animals (film)

References

Further reading

PETA homepage, accessed July 2, 2010.

McCartney, Stella. "Fur farm investigation", PETAtv.com, accessed July 2, 2010.

Morrison, A.R. Personal Reflections on the “Animal-Rights” Phenomenon, The Physiologist, Volume 44, Number 1, February 2001, accessed July 17, 2010.

Pence, Gregory. Classic Cases in Medical Ethics: Accounts of Cases That Have Shaped Medical Ethics. McGraw-Hill, 2007.

PETA. Meet Your Meat, a film about the egg and meat industries, narrated by Alec Baldwin, accessed July 2, 2010.

The Huffington Post. The Sexiest PETA Ads Of All Time! a slideshow, accessed July 2, 2010.

Workman, Dave P. Peta Files: The Dark Side of the Animal Rights Movement, Merril Press, 2003.

Category:Organizations established in 1980 Category:Animal rights movement Category:Organizations based in Virginia

Name	Tom Cruise
Caption	Cruise on MTV Live in December 2008
Birth name
Birth date	July 03, 1962
Birth place	Syracuse, New York, U.S.
Occupation	ActorProducerWriterDirector
Years active	1981–present
Spouse	Mimi Rogers (1987–1990)Nicole Kidman (1990–2001)Katie Holmes (2006–present)
Website	TomCruise.com

Thomas Cruise Mapother IV (; born July 3, 1962), better known by his screen name of Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and won three Golden Globe Awards. His first leading role was the 1983 film Risky Business, which has been described as "A Generation X classic, and a career-maker" for the actor. After playing the role of a heroic naval pilot in the popular and financially successful 1986 film Top Gun, Cruise continued in this vein, playing a secret agent in a series of action films in the 1990s and 2000s. In addition to these heroic roles, he has starred in a variety of other successful films such as Days of Thunder (1990), Jerry Maguire (1996), Magnolia (1999), Vanilla Sky (2001), Minority Report (2002), The Last Samurai (2003), Collateral (2004) and War of the Worlds (2005).

In 2005, the Hollywood journalist, Edward Jay Epstein argued that Cruise is one of the few producers (the others being George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Jerry Bruckheimer) who are able to guarantee the success of a billion-dollar movie franchise.

Early life

Cruise was born in Syracuse, New York, the son of Mary Lee (née Pfeiffer), a special education teacher, and Thomas Cruise Mapother III, an electrical engineer. Cruise's surname originates from his great-grandfather, Thomas Cruise O'Mara, who was adopted by a Welsh immigrant and renamed "Thomas Cruise Mapother". Cruise is of German, Irish, and English ancestry. His oldest sister, Lee Anne, was born in his parents' native Louisville, Kentucky, while his older sister Marian was born in Syracuse, as were Tom and his younger sister, Cass.

Cruise attended Robert Hopkins Public School for grades three, four, and five. The Mapother family then moved to the suburb of Beacon Hill, in Ottawa, Ontario, so Cruise's father could take a position as a defence consultant with the Canadian Armed Forces. There, Cruise completed grade six at Henry Munro Middle School, part of the Carleton Board of Education, where he was active in athletics, playing floor hockey almost every night, showing himself to be a ruthless player, and eventually chipping his front tooth. In the game British bulldogs, he then lost his newly capped tooth and hurt his knee. Henry Munro was also where Cruise became involved in drama, under the tutelage of George Steinburg. The first play he participated in was called IT, in which Cruise won the co-lead with Michael de Waal, one playing "Evil", the other playing "Good." The play met much acclaim, and toured with five other classmates to various schools around the Ottawa area, even being filmed at the local Ottawa TV station.

When Cruise was twelve, his mother left his father, taking Cruise and his sister Lee Anne with her.

In all, Cruise attended eight elementary schools and three high schools. He briefly attended a Franciscan seminary in Cincinnati (on a church scholarship) and aspired to become a Catholic priest. In his senior year, he played football for the varsity team as a linebacker, but he was cut from the squad after getting caught drinking beer before a game.

Cruise said that he was bullied in school, and by his father who he said was "a merchant of chaos", and that he learned early on that his father was – and, by extension, some people were – not to be trusted: "I knew from being around my father that not everyone means me well."

2000s

In 2000, Cruise returned as Ethan Hunt in the second installment of the Mission Impossible films, releasing . The film was directed by Hong Kong director John Woo and branded with his Gun fu Style, and it continued the series' blockbuster success at the box office, taking in almost $547M in worldwide figures, like its predecessor, being the third highest grossing film of the year. Cruise received an MTV Movie Award as Best Male Performance for this film. His next five films were major critical and commercial successes. The following year Cruise starred in the romantic thriller Vanilla Sky (2001) with Cameron Diaz and Penelope Cruz. In 2002, Cruise starred in the dystopian science fiction thriller, Minority Report which was directed by Steven Spielberg and based on the science fiction short story by Philip K. Dick.

In 2003, he starred in the Edward Zwick's historical drama The Last Samurai, for which he received a Golden Globe nomination as best actor. In 2006, he reprised his role as Ethan Hunt in the third installment of the Mission Impossible film series, . The film was more positively received by critics than its predecessor, and grossed nearly $400 million at the box office. Cruise's 2007 film Lions for Lambs was a rare commercial disappointment. In 2008, Cruise appeared in the hit comedy Tropic Thunder with Ben Stiller and Jack Black. This performance earned Cruise a Golden Globe nomination. Cruise's latest starring role is in the historical thriller Valkyrie, released on December 25, 2008 to box office success. As of 2009, Cruise's films have grossed over $6.5 billion worldwide.

In March 2010, Cruise completed filming the action-comedy Knight and Day, in which he re-teamed with former costar Cameron Diaz; the film was released on June 23, 2010. On February 9, 2010, Cruise confirmed that he will star in the fourth film, slated for release in December 2011.

Producing

Cruise partnered with his former talent agent Paula Wagner to form Cruise/Wagner Productions in 1993, and the company has since co-produced several of Cruise's films, the first being in 1996 which was also Cruise's first project as a producer.

Cruise is noted as having negotiated some of the most lucrative movie deals in Hollywood, and was described in 2005 by Hollywood economist Edward Jay Epstein as "one of the most powerful – and richest – forces in Hollywood." Epstein argues that Cruise is one of the few producers (the others being George Lucas, Steven Spielberg and Jerry Bruckheimer) who are regarded as able to guarantee the success of a billion-dollar movie franchise. Epstein also contends that the public obsession with Cruise's tabloid controversies obscures full appreciation of Cruise's exceptional commercial prowess.

Cruise/Wagner Productions, Cruise's film production company, is said to be developing a screenplay based on Erik Larson's New York Times bestseller, The Devil in the White City about a real life serial killer, H. H. Holmes, at Chicago's World's Columbian Exposition. Kathryn Bigelow is attached to the project to produce and helm. Meanwhile, Leonardo DiCaprio's production company, Appian Way, is also developing a film about Holmes and the World's Fair, in which DiCaprio will star.

Breakup with Paramount

On August 22, 2006, Paramount Pictures announced it was ending its 14-year relationship with Cruise. In the Wall Street Journal, chairman of Viacom (Paramount's parent company) Sumner Redstone cited the economic damage to Cruise's value as an actor and producer from his controversial public behavior and views. Cruise/Wagner Productions responded that Paramount's announcement was a face-saving move after the production company had successfully sought alternative financing from private equity firms. Industry analysts such as Edward Jay Epstein commented that the real reason for the split was most likely Paramount's discontent over Cruise/Wagner's exceptionally large share of DVD sales from the Mission: Impossible franchise.

Management of United Artists

In November 2006, Cruise and Paula Wagner announced that they had taken over United Artists film studio. opening to unimpressive box office revenue and critical reception. In August 2008, Wagner stepped down from her position at United Artists; she retains her stake in UA, which combined with Cruise's share amounts to 30 percent of the studio.

Relationships and personal life

in May 2009]] Cruise married Mimi Rogers on May 9, 1987; they divorced on February 4, 1990. He met his second wife, Nicole Kidman, on the set of their film Days of Thunder. The couple married on December 24, 1990. He and Kidman adopted two children, Isabella Jane (born December 1992) and Connor Antony (born January 1995).

Cruise was next romantically linked with Penélope Cruz, the lead actress in his film Vanilla Sky a relationship that ended in 2004. In April 2005, Cruise began dating actress Katie Holmes. On April 27 that year, Cruise and Holmes, dubbed "TomKat" by the media, made their first public appearance together in Rome. A month later, Cruise declared his love for Holmes on the Oprah Winfrey show, famously jumping up and down on Oprah's couch during the show. On October 6, 2005, Cruise and Holmes announced they were expecting a child, and their daughter, Suri, was born in April 2006. On November 18, 2006, Holmes and Cruise were married at the 15th-century Odescalchi Castle in Bracciano, Italy, in a Scientology ceremony attended by many Hollywood stars. The actors' publicist said the couple had "officialized" their marriage in Los Angeles the day before the Italian ceremony. David Miscavige served as Cruise's best man.

Popularity

In 1990, 1991 and 1997, People magazine rated him among the 50 most beautiful people in the world. In 1995, Empire magazine ranked him among the 100 sexiest stars in film history. Two years later, it ranked him among the top 5 movie stars of all time. In 2002 and 2003, he was rated by Premiere among the top 20 in its annual Power 100 list. as Cruise came in at number 13 on the magazine's 2006 Power List, being the highest ranked actor. The same year, Forbes magazine ranked him as the world's most powerful celebrity.

In August 2006, "a USA Today/Gallup poll in which half of those surveyed registered an 'unfavorable' opinion of the actor" was cited as a reason in addition to "unacceptable behavior" for Paramount's non-renewal of their production contract with Cruise. In addition, Marketing Evaluations reports that Cruise's Q score (which is a measure of the popularity of celebrities), had fallen 40 percent. It was also revealed that Cruise is the celebrity people would least like as their best friend. October 10, 2006 was declared "Tom Cruise Day" in Japan; the Japan Memorial Day Association said that he was awarded with a special day because he has made more trips to Japan than any other Hollywood star.

Controversy

Scientology

Cruise is an outspoken advocate for the Church of Scientology; according to Andrew Morton's (2008), Cruise is the church's "second in command in all but name." He became involved with Scientology in 1990 through his first wife, Mimi Rogers. He has said that Scientology, specifically the L. Ron Hubbard Study Tech, helped him overcome dyslexia. In addition to promoting various programs that introduce people to Scientology, Cruise has campaigned for Scientology to be recognized as a religion in Europe. He lobbied politicians in France and Germany, where the legal systems regard Scientology as a cult and business, respectively. In 2005 the Paris city council revealed that Cruise had lobbied officials Nicolas Sarkozy and Jean-Claude Gaudin, described him as a spokesman and militant for Scientology, and barred any further dealings with him. Cruise co-founded and raised donations for Downtown Medical to offer New York 9/11 rescue workers detoxification therapy based on the works of L. Ron Hubbard. This drew criticism from the medical profession, as well as firefighters. For these activities and others, David Miscavige awarded Cruise Scientology's Freedom Medal of Valor in late 2004.

A controversy erupted in 2005 after he openly criticized actress Brooke Shields for using the drug Paxil (paroxetine), an anti-depressant to which Shields attributes her recovery from postpartum depression after the birth of her first daughter in 2003. Cruise asserted that there is no such thing as a chemical imbalance, and that psychiatry is a form of pseudoscience. Shields replied that she would not take advice from anyone who believed in space aliens. This led to a heated argument with Matt Lauer on NBC's The Today Show on June 24, 2005. Medical authorities view Cruise's comments as furthering the social stigma of mental illness. Shields herself called Cruise's comments "a disservice to mothers everywhere." In late August 2006, Cruise apologized in person to Shields for his comments. Scientology is well-known for its opposition to mainstream psychiatry.

On January 15, 2008, a video produced by the Church of Scientology featuring an interview with Cruise was posted on YouTube, showing Cruise discussing what being a Scientologist means to him. The Church of Scientology said the video had been "pirated and edited," and was taken from a three-hour video produced for members of Scientology. YouTube removed the Cruise video from their site under threat of litigation.

In May 2010, a former high-ranking member of the Church of Scientology, Mark Rathbun, said that Scientology leader David Miscavige had ordered that Cruise's Auditing sessions be secretly videotaped. Rathbun had himself been responsible for performing auditing counseling with Cruise.

Cruise's more open attitude to Scientology has been attributed to the departure of his publicist of 14 years, Pat Kingsley, in March 2004. He replaced her with his sister, fellow Scientologist Lee Anne DeVette, who served in that role until November 2005. He then replaced her with Paul Bloch from the publicity firm Rogers and Cowan. Such restructuring is seen as a move to curtail publicity of his views on Scientology, as well as the hard-sell of his relationship with Katie Holmes backfiring with the public.

Oprah Winfrey Show incident

.]] Cruise has made several expressions of his feelings for Holmes to the media, most notably the "couch incident" which took place on the popular The Oprah Winfrey Show of May 23, 2005. Cruise "jumped around the set, hopped onto a couch, fell to one knee and repeatedly professed his love for his new girlfriend." The phrase "jumping the couch", fashioned after "jumping the shark", is used to describe someone "going off the deep end" in public in a manner extreme enough to tarnish his or her reputation. It enjoyed a short-lived popularity, being chosen by the editors of the Historical Dictionary of American Slang as the "slang term of the year" in 2005 and by the nonprofit group Global Language Monitor as one of its top phrases for the year.

The "couch incident" was voted #1 of 2005's "Most Surprising Television Moments" on a countdown on E! and was the subject of numerous parodies, including the epilogue of Scary Movie 4, an episode of South Park, a short on Sesame Street, and an episode of Family Guy. Entertainment Weekly put it on its end-of-the-decade, "best-of" list, saying, "Lesson learned: Tell, don't show."

In early May 2008, Cruise reappeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to celebrate 25 years in the film business. The feature was a two hour special, the first hour was Oprah spending the day with Cruise at his house in Telluride, Colorado on May 2.

Litigation

During his marriage to Nicole Kidman, the couple endured public speculation about their sex life and rumors that Cruise was gay. In 1998, he successfully sued The Daily Express, a British tabloid, which alleged that his marriage to Kidman was a sham designed to cover up his homosexuality. In May 2001 he filed a lawsuit against gay porn actor Chad Slater. Slater had allegedly told the celebrity magazine Actustar that he had had an affair with Cruise. Both Slater and Cruise denied this, and in August 2001 Slater was ordered to pay US$10 million to Cruise in damages after Slater declared he could not afford to defend himself against the suit and would therefore default. Cruise also sued Michael Davis, publisher of Bold Magazine, who alleged but never confirmed that he had video that would prove Cruise was gay. The suit was dropped in exchange for a public statement by Davis that the video was not of Cruise, and that Cruise was heterosexual.

After The Beast's publication of their 50 Most Loathsome People of 2004, which included Cruise, Cruise's lawyer Bertram Fields threatened to sue. Seeing the opportunity for nationwide exposure, The Beast actively encouraged the lawsuit. No lawsuit was ever filed and Cruise was included more prominently in the 2005 list. In 2006, Cruise sued cybersquatter Jeff Burgar to obtain control of the TomCruise.com domain name. When owned by Burgar, the domain redirected to information about Cruise on Celebrity1000.com. The decision to turn TomCruise.com over to Cruise was handed down by the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) on July 5, 2006.

Filmography

See also

Tom Cruise (disambiguation)

Brat Pack (actors)

List of people from Louisville, Kentucky

List of Scientologists

Supercouple

(1998)

(2006)

Trapped in the Closet (South Park)

200 (South Park)

References

External links

Tom Cruise on Facebook

Transcript of the Matt Lauer interview

Rolling Stone Interview: "The Passion of the Cruise"; 08/11/04

Tom Cruise at Rotten Tomatoes

Category:1962 births Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:Actors from New York Category:American actors of English descent Category:American actors of German descent Category:American actors of Irish descent Category:American expatriates in Canada Category:American film actors Category:American film producers Category:American Scientologists Category:Best Drama Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Converts from Roman Catholicism Category:Living people Category:Mission: Impossible Category:People from Syracuse, New York

Name	Mike Rowe
Birth date	March 18, 1962
Birth place	Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Occupation	Television hostNarrator
Website	http://www.mikeroweWORKS.com}}

Michael Gregory "Mike" Rowe () (born March 18, 1962 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American media personality best known as the host of the Discovery Channel series Dirty Jobs. He can also be heard as narrator on a variety of series and has appeared in recurring commercials for Ford Motor Company.

Personal life

Rowe has said in commercials for Dirty Jobs that the show is a tribute to his father and grandfather. Rowe became an Eagle Scout on January 2, 1979 in Troop 16 in Baltimore. During his service project for Eagle Scout at the Maryland School for the Blind, he read aloud to students, and he cites this as one of the reasons he became interested in narrating and writing. On being an Eagle Scout he said "The Eagle Award is not really meant for people who need to be dragged across the finish line. It's meant for a select few..."' An early stutterer, Rowe was able to overcome the handicap while in school. After graduation from high school, he attended Essex Community College, and briefly sang with the Chorus of the Chesapeake, which at the time was directed by King. He later graduated from Towson University with a degree in Communication Studies.

Rowe sang professionally with the Baltimore Opera. He says about this job:

I joined the opera to get my union card and meet girls. I was a saloon singer, so I went down to the Baltimore Opera and learned an aria and auditioned. I figured I'd do one show and quit. But the girls were everywhere and the truth is, the music was really decent.

Rowe claims that QVC fired him three times.

Rowe has hosted Your New Home for WJZ in Baltimore, Worst Case Scenarios for TBS, On-Air TV for American Airlines, The Most for The History Channel, No Relation for FX, New York Expeditions for PBS, Channel 999 instructional guide for the now defunct PrimeStar satellite television service, and the CD-ROM music trivia game Radio Active (as "Bobby Arpeggio") for now-defunct software publisher Sanctuary Woods.

From 2001 to 2005 Rowe hosted Evening Magazine on KPIX-TV in San Francisco. During this time, he appeared in a news segment called "Somebody's Gotta Do It", profiling a number of unpleasant professions; this concept later grew into Dirty Jobs. Rowe's first work with Discovery included a trip to the Valley of the Golden Mummies to host Egypt Week Live!, where he explored ancient tombs live on air with Dr. Zahi Hawass, an Egyptian archaeologist.

As narrator

In addition to hosting programs, Rowe has an extensive background as a narrator. His work with Discovery Channel includes narrating American Chopper, American Hot Rod, Deadliest Catch, Wild Pacific, and Ghost Lab, as well as other Discovery specials and series. Rowe has hosted the Discovery Channel's annual "Shark Week" in 2006 and 2008, along with hosting the special You Spoof Discovery, an amateur parody video special which poked fun at some of the popular series on the Discovery Channel's lineup.

On Dirty Jobs, Rowe frequently mocks his seeming omnipresence on Discovery Channel; when a segment on firefighting and salvage was unable to be completed in a single day, he assured his firefighter host that he would "send over the MythBusters ... maybe the American Chopper boys ... [to finish the job]".

.]]

Rowe was originally tapped to be the on-air host of the Discovery Channel's Deadliest Catch, a show about crab fishing in the Bering Sea, and shot footage aboard several crab boats in addition to narrating the series. When Dirty Jobs was picked up by Discovery, he was told to choose which show he wanted to appear in on-screen. Rowe claims he was told by Discovery that the shows would air back-to-back on the same night: "We can't have you telling us stories about six dead fishermen on camera and making a fart joke with your arm in a cow's ass". Rowe chose to host Dirty Jobs role and narrate Deadliest Catch; the footage of him on the boats was not used in the series, although he did appear on a season finale of Deadliest Catch, interviewing the boat captains. Rowe hosted a related show about life on the Bering Sea, a 2007 miniseries, After the Catch.

Other narration work by Rowe includes Mystery Diagnosis, Drydock: A Cruise Ship Reborn, Southern Steel, Powertool Drag Racing, Scavengers Rock (Animal Planet), and the opening of Ghost Hunters, a Syfy series from the producers of American Chopper. Additionally, Rowe has done voiceover work for the reality television show The Ultimate Fighter and the NASCAR pre-race show on ESPN.

On December 21, 2009, Rowe became the announcer on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer.

Additional appearances

On October 7, 2007 Rowe appeared on Fox's American Dad! as the voice of a meter maid.

Rowe appeared on an episode of Sesame Street (Season 39) in a segment called "Dirtiest Jobs With Mike Rowe", which aired on October 13, 2008. Rowe visits Sesame Street to find the dirtiest job, which happens to belong to Oscar. Rowe must do all the things Oscar does. His tasks include finding and counting stinky cheese, sorting trash, and giving his pet pig, Spot, a mud bath. To Oscar's chagrin, Rowe does not want to stop, as he is having too much fun.

Rowe was the keynote speaker at the 82nd Annual National FFA Convention in Indianapolis in October 2009.

Rowe is also known for voiceover work. He can be heard on the Staten Island Ferry as he voiced the pre-recorded safety announcements.

Mike Rowe spoke to over 70,000 scouts, leaders, and visitors at the 2010 National Scout Jamboree in Fort AP Hill, Virginia. Rowe, an Eagle Scout, spoke to the crowd about the importance of being physically and mentally clean, but emphasized the need for all scouts to get dirty.

As pitchman

In 1998, Rowe was the television spokesperson for Epic Pharmacy, a Baltimore-area association of independent pharmacies.

In 1999, Rowe was the radio spokesperson for Al Edwards Oatmeal, a short lived product sold exclusively in the Tidewater region of Virginia.

Beginning in March 2007, he was featured in several Ford Motor Company F-Series truck commercials, presented in a style similar to Dirty Jobs, including one for Ford Sync. In the summer of 2009, he appeared in advertisements for Ford and Lincoln-Mercury vehicles that used the tagline: "Why Ford. Why Now."

In 2008, Rowe became the spokesperson for W. W. Grainger, a Chicago-based Fortune 500 industrial supply company.

In 2010, Rowe appeared in television spots for Motorola iDEN combined radios/mobile phones, explaining that the phones were used "by real people, for real work" as they were used for Dirty Jobs-type applications.

In 2010, Rowe became the official spokesperson for Lee Premium Select Jeans.

On July 26, 2010, Rowe became the spokesperson for Caterpillar. Rowe will work with dealers and customers "to get a real world perspective on their jobs". These interactions will be featured at Cat dealers as well as on the Caterpillar website.

Trade activism

On Labor Day 2008, Rowe launched a website, MikeRoweWorks.com, which is focused on the decline in the blue collar trades and the crumbling state of the infrastructure. A trade resource center has been launched and provides information, resources, and forums for people interested in learning about, or pursuing a career in, the trades.

Mike Rowe has contributed video content to The Alabama Construction Recruitment Institute's trade-worker recruiting campaign GoBuildAlabama.com, culminating in an Iron Bowl-themed commercial broadcast on local CBS affiliates during Thanksgiving weekend 2010.

References

External links

Mike Rowe's official website

Mike Rowe #4 on Maxim.com's 2007 list of Top Dudeliest Dudes

Mike Rowe presenting at the 2008 EG conference

Category:1962 births Category:Living people Category:Ford Motor Company Category:American television personalities Category:American voice actors Category:People from Baltimore, Maryland Category:People from San Francisco, California Category:Towson University alumni Category:Eagle Scouts Category:San Francisco, California television personalities

Name	Michael Vick
Width	160px
Caption	Vick during a post-game interview in September 2009
Currentteam	Philadelphia Eagles
Currentnumber	7
Currentpositionplain	Quarterback
Birthdate	June 26, 1980
Birthplace	Newport News, Virginia
Heightft	6
Heightin	0
Weight	215
College	Virginia Tech
Draftyear	2001
Draftround	1
Draftpick	1
Debutyear	2001
Debutteam	Atlanta Falcons
Pastteams
Status	Unrestricted free agent
Highlights
Statweek	17
Statseason	2010
Statlabel1	TD-INT
Statvalue1	93–58
Statlabel2	Passing yards
Statvalue2	14,609
Statlabel3	QB Rating
Statvalue3	80.2
Statlabel4	Rushing yards
Statvalue4	4,640
Statlabel5	Rushing touchdowns
Statvalue5	32
Nfl	VIC311467

Michael Dwayne Vick (born June 26, 1980) is an American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League. He played for the Atlanta Falcons for six seasons before serving time in prison for his involvement in an illegal dog fighting ring.

Vick played college football at Virginia Tech, where as a freshman he placed third in the Heisman Trophy balloting. He left after his sophomore year to enter the NFL and was drafted first overall by the Atlanta Falcons in the 2001 NFL Draft. He became the first African-American quarterback to be selected first overall in an NFL Draft. In six seasons with the Falcons, he gained wide popularity for his performance on the field, and led the Falcons to the playoffs twice. Vick ranks second among quarterbacks in career rushing yards.

In April 2007, Vick was implicated in an illegal interstate dog fighting ring that had operated over five years. In August 2007, he pleaded guilty to federal felony charges and served 21 months in prison, followed by two months in home confinement. With the loss of his NFL salary and product endorsement deals, combined with previous financial mismanagement, Vick filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in July 2008. Falcons owner Arthur Blank did not want Vick on the Falcons, and after attempts to trade him failed, Vick was released. He signed with the Philadelphia Eagles and was reinstated in Week 3 of the 2009 season.

Childhood

Vick is the second of four children born in Newport News, Virginia to Brenda Vick and Michael Boddie, then unmarried teenagers. His mother worked two jobs, obtained some public financial assistance, and had help from her parents, while his father worked long hours in the shipyards as a sandblaster and spray-painter. They were married when Michael was about five years old, but the children elected to continue to use their "Vick" surname. The family lived in the Ridley Circle Homes, a public housing project in a financially depressed and crime-ridden neighborhood located in the East End section of the port city. A 2007 newspaper article published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch noted "not much changed" by observations of local people almost ten years after Michael Vick left. One resident said that there was drug dealing, drive-by shootings and other killings in the neighborhood, then suggested that sports were a way out and a dream for many.

In a 2001 interview, Vick told the Newport News Daily Press that when he was 10 or 11, "I would go fishing even if the fish weren't biting, just to get away from the violence and stress of daily life in the projects." As a 10-year-old throwing three touchdown passes in a Boys Club league, his apparent football talents led coaches and his parents to keep special watch.

College career

In his first collegiate game as a redshirt freshman against James Madison in 1999, Vick scored three rushing touchdowns in just over one quarter of play. His last touchdown was a spectacular flip in which he landed awkwardly on his ankle, forcing him to miss the remainder of the game in addition to the following game. During the season, Vick led a last-minute game-winning drive against in the annual Black Diamond Trophy game. He led the Hokies to an 11–0 season and to the Bowl Championship Series national title game in the Nokia Sugar Bowl against Florida State. Although Virginia Tech lost 46–29, Vick was able to bring the team back from a 21 point deficit to take a brief lead. During the season, Vick appeared on the cover of an ESPN The Magazine issue. Vick led the NCAA in passing efficiency that year, setting a record for a freshman (180.4), which was good enough for the third-highest all-time mark. Vick was awarded an ESPY Award as the nation's top college player and won the first-ever Archie Griffin Award as college football's most valuable player. He was invited to the 1999 Heisman Trophy presentation and finished third in the voting behind Ron Dayne and Joe Hamilton. Vick's third place finish matched the highest finish ever by a freshman up to that point, first set by Herschel Walker in 1980. Vick's 2000 season had highlights, such as his career rushing high of 210 yards against the Boston College in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Against West Virginia University in the Black Diamond Trophy game, Vick accounted for 288 total yards of offense and two touchdowns in a 48–20 win. The following week, Vick led the Hokies from a 14–0 deficit against at the Carrier Dome, where the Hokies had not won since 1986. Vick put the game away with a 55-yard run with 1:34 left.

The following game against Pittsburgh, Vick was injured and had to miss the rest of the game as well as the entire game against , and was unable to start against the , the Hokies' lone loss of the season. Vick's final game at Virginia Tech came against the in the Toyota Gator Bowl, where he was named MVP of the game.

Vick left Virginia Tech after his redshirt sophomore season. Aware that the rest of his family was still living in their 3 bedroom apartment in the Ridley Circle Homes, Vick stated that he was going to buy his mother "a home and a car." ESPN later reported that Vick used some of his NFL and endorsement earnings to buy his mother a brand-new house in an upscale section of Suffolk, Virginia.

Statistics

{|class="wikitable" |- !| ! colspan="6" style="background:#e7e3e7;"| Passing ! colspan="3" style="background:#e7e3e7;"| Rushing |- !|YEAR !|CMP !|ATT !|CMP% !|YDS !|TD !|INT !|ATT !|YDS !|TD |- |1999||90||153||58.8||1840||12||5||110||580||8 |- |2000||97||179||54.2||1439||9||7||113||636||9 |}

Professional career

Atlanta Falcons

NFL Draft

Vick was selected first in the 2001 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. The San Diego Chargers had the number one selection but traded the rights to the first overall choice to the Atlanta Falcons a day before the draft, for which they received the Falcons' first round pick (5th overall) and third round pick in 2001. Vick was drafted in the 30th round of the 2000 MLB Draft by the Colorado Rockies, despite not playing baseball at Virginia Tech.

Vick and teammate RB Warrick Dunn (1,140) became the first quarterback/running back duo to each surpass 1,000 rushing yards in a single season.

Early NFL career

Vick made his NFL debut at San Francisco on September 9, 2001 and saw limited action. He completed his first NFL pass to WR Tony Martin in the second quarter vs. Carolina on September 23 and first NFL touchdown on a two-yard rushing score in the fourth quarter to help the Falcons to a 24–16 victory. Vick made his first start at Dallas on November 11 and threw his first touchdown pass to TE Alge Crumpler in a 20–13 victory. In his two starts of the eight games played that season, Vick completed 50 of 113 passes for 785 yards with two touchdowns and three interceptions, accounting for 234 of the team's 255 yards at the team's season finale at St. Louis on January 6, 2002. He rushed 29 times for 289 yards (9.9 avg.) and one touchdown. In 2002, Vick was named to the Pro Bowl after starting 15 games, missing a game to the New York Giants on October 13 with a sprained shoulder. He completed 231 of 421 passes for 2,936 yards (both career-highs) and 16 touchdowns with 113 carries for 777 yards and eight touchdowns. Vick established numerous single-game career highs, including passes completed with 24 and pass attempts with 46 at Pittsburgh on November 10, as well as passing yards with 337 vs. Detroit on December 22. He completed 74 yards for a touchdown to WR Trevor Gaylor vs. New Orleans on November 17. Vick registered an NFL record for most rushing yards by a quarterback in a single a game with 173 at Minnesota on December 1. Vick tied for third in team history for the lowest interception percentage in a season at 1.90 and continued a streak of consecutive passes without an interception that began at St. Louis on January 6, 2002 in the season finale of the 2001 season and extended to the first quarter vs. Baltimore on November 3, 2002. His streak covered 25 straight quarters and 177 passes without an interception. On January 1, 2003, Vick led the Atlanta Falcons to an upset victory over the heavily favored Green Bay 27–7 in the NFC playoffs, ending the Packers' undefeated playoff record at Lambeau Field. The Falcons would later lose 20–6 to the Donovan McNabb-led Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC divisional playoff game.

2003–2006 seasons

During a preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens on August 16, Vick suffered a fractured right fibula and missed the first 11 games of the regular season. In Week 13, Vick made his season debut in relief of QB Doug Johnson in the third quarter at Houston on November 30, completing 8 of 11 passes for 60 yards and recording 16 rushing yards on three carries. He posted his first start of the season vs. Carolina on December 7 and amassed the third-highest rushing total by a quarterback in NFL history with 141 yards on 14 carries and one score to lead the Falcons to a 21–14 victory. He completed 16 of 33 passes for 179 yards and accounted for 320 of the team's 380 offensive yards. Vick closed out the season with a 21–14 victory vs. Jacksonville on December 28, where he completed 12 of 22 passes for 180 yards with two touchdowns and one interception.

In 2004, Vick was named to his second Pro Bowl after starting 15 games, completing 181 of 321 passes for 2,313 yards with 14 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He rushed 120 times for 902 yards and three scores. His 902 rushing yards ranked third all-time by NFL QBs. His 7.5 yards per carry rank first among all NFL players.

Endorsements

During his career with the Falcons, Vick became a spokesperson for many companies; his endorsement contracts included Nike, EA Sports, Coca-Cola, Powerade, Kraft, Rawlings, Hasbro and AirTran.

Before the animal cruelty case surfaced in 2007, Vick's corporate status had deteriorated. Among the negative incidents was his middle finger gesture to Atlanta football fans in 2006.

Suspension

In August 2007, hours after Vick pleaded guilty to federal charges in the Bad Newz Kennels dog fighting investigation, the NFL suspended him indefinitely without pay. In a letter to Vick, Commissioner Roger Goodell said that Vick had admitted to conduct that was "not only illegal, but also cruel and reprehensible." While Vick is technically a first-time offender under the NFL's Personal Conduct Policy, Goodell handed down a harsher suspension because Vick admitted that he provided most of the money for the gambling side of the operation. Goodell left open the possibility of reinstating Vick depending on how he cooperated with federal and state authorities.

Goodell had barred Vick from reporting to training camp while the league conducted its own investigation into the matter. At his July 26 arraignment, the terms of his bail barred him from leaving Virginia before the trial.

On August 27, Falcons owner Arthur Blank said in a press conference that the Falcons would seek to recover a portion of Vick's signing bonus. He said the team had no immediate plans to cut ties with Vick, citing salary-cap issues. It initially appeared that Goodell had cleared the way for the Falcons to release Vick, since he ruled that Vick's involvement in gambling activity breached his contract. On August 29, the Falcons sent a letter to Vick demanding that he reimburse them for $20 million of the $37 million bonus. The case was sent to arbitration, and on October 10, an arbitrator ruled that Vick had to reimburse the Falcons for $19.97 million. The arbitrator agreed with the Falcons' contentions that Vick knew he was engaging in illegal activity when he signed his new contract in 2004, and that he had used the bonus money to pay for the operation.

Future in football and conditional reinstatement

The prospects of Vick returning to play professional football were the subject of conjecture. After his suspension, the most serious obstacles were the length of imprisonment and possible impact of probationary restrictions afterward. Vick's federal prison sentence was set to expire July 20, 2009, although he completed his sentence under house arrest at his home in Hampton, Virginia. The Virginia charges he faced were resolved and dropped in late 2008 with a suspended sentence.

During incarceration, Vick's financial condition rapidly deteriorated due to virtually having no income and substantial ongoing expenses for attorneys, maintaining at least six luxury homes in Virginia, Georgia, and Florida, and providing living expenses and about ten vehicles for friends and relatives. With debts millions of dollars in excess of assets, and facing judgments and collection efforts by some of the creditors, his attorneys filed for federal bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11 on his behalf in July 2008. His agent, Joel Segal, testified that he hoped to secure Vick a well-paying contract to play football with another NFL team after his suspension is lifted and after the Falcons release him.

Vick wanted to start the bankruptcy plan May 1, 2009 but could only demonstrate a commitment for a construction job paying approximately $20,000 per year arranged by the rector of Virginia Tech, an old friend and long-time supporter. His plan, even after divesting many assets, would have required at least $200,000 annually to maintain two of the homes in Virginia, three expensive vehicles, and continue to provide a comfortable living for his mother, brother, a former girlfriend and their son, and his fiancee and their two children. The plan was rejected by Judge Frank Santoro on April 3, who said the numbers simply did not work. He agreed to allow Vick time to plan a much more modest plan. Santoro was scheduled to meet with attorneys on April 28 for an update session.

Philadelphia Eagles

2009

After his release from prison, Vick was mentored by former Colts coach Tony Dungy. On August 13, 2009, Vick signed a one-year contract with the Philadelphia Eagles. He earned $1.6 million, of which no amount was guaranteed. The contract contained a team option for the 2010 season worth $5 million. Vick was able to participate in all team practices and meetings as well as the Eagles' last two preseason games. He was eligible to play in the third week of the regular season. Donovan McNabb told reporters he gave coach Andy Reid the idea to sign Vick. He was placed on the exempt/commissioner's permission list on September 5, 2009. On September 15, Vick was activated to the 53-man roster. He played sparingly as McNabb's backup. In week 13, against the Falcons, Vick threw a touchdown and ran for a touchdown, his first scores since December 2006. In December 2009, Vick became the Ed Block Courage Award recipient for the Eagles, an award voted by teammates. The award honors players who "exemplify commitment to the principles of sportsmanship and courage." Vick said of the award, "It means a great deal to me. I was voted unanimously by my teammates. They know what I've been through. I've been through a lot. It's been great to come back and have an opportunity to play and be with a great group of guys. I'm just ecstatic about that and I enjoy every day." On January 9, 2010, in the Eagles' NFC Wildcard game against the Dallas Cowboys, Vick threw the longest touchdown pass of his career, connecting in the second quarter with rookie Jeremy Maclin for a 76-yard score.

2010

On January 11, 2010, Reid named Donovan McNabb the Eagles' 2010 starter, but after McNabb was traded to the Washington Redskins, Kevin Kolb was named the starter with Vick again second string. Vick said, "I know I can still play at a high level." When asked if he wanted the Eagles to pick up the second year of his contract, he replied, "I hope so...I feel like I'm probably better than I ever was in my career, as far as the mental aspect of the game." On March 9, 2010, the Eagles exercised his option for 2010 and Vick received a $1.5 million roster bonus. On September 21, 2010, Reid named Vick the Eagles' starting quarterback. In his second game as a starter versus the Jacksonville Jaguars, Vick led the Eagles to a 28–3 win, throwing for 291 yards and three touchdowns as well as rushing for a touchdown. He was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Month for the month of September. Vick suffered a rib cartilage injury in a week 4 game against the Redskins, and was replaced by Kolb. Vick had gone 5-for-7 for 49 yards with three carries for 17 yards prior to the injury.

On November 15, in a week 10 Monday Night Football matchup against the Washington Redskins, Vick passed for 333 yards and four touchdowns, while he rushed for 80 yards and another two touchdowns. Vick threw an 88-yard touchdown pass to DeSean Jackson on the first play from scrimmage in the game, and went on to lead the Eagles to a 59–28 victory. Vick was named the NFC Offensive Player of the Week following his performance, and the Pro Football Hall of Fame asked for his game jersey to display after Vick became the first player to pass for three touchdowns and rush for two touchdowns in the first half of a game. On December 19, in a week 15 matchup against the New York Giants, Vick led a fourth quarter rally to erase a 21-point deficit and scored three touchdowns to tie the game with under two minutes left. DeSean Jackson returned a punt return for a touchdown to win the game for the Eagles as time expired. Within days, Vick's mother, Brenda Vick Boddie, told the Newport News Daily Press "There was no dogfighting (at our home). There were no cages." In early 2004, two men were arrested in Virginia for distributing marijuana. The truck they were driving was registered to Vick. Falcons coach Dan Reeves recalled that he lectured Vick at that time on the importance of reputation, on choosing the right friends, and on staying out of trouble for the good of his team. On October 10, 2004, Vick and other members of his party, including employee Quanis Phillips, were at Atlanta's Hartsfield International Airport on their way to board an AirTran flight. While they were passing through a security checkpoint, a security camera caught Phillips and Todd Harris picking up an expensive-appearing watch which belonged to Alvin Spencer, a security screener. After watching the theft on a video tape, Spencer filed a police report. He claimed that Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, known as the Falcons' "fixer", interfered with the investigation. Elliot further alleged that Vick had visited clinics under the alias "Ron Mexico" to get treatments and thus knew of his condition. On April 24, 2006, Vick's attorney, Lawrence Woodward, revealed that the lawsuit had been settled out of court under undisclosed terms. Many fans bought custom jerseys from NFL.com with Vick's number 7 and the name "MEXICO" on the back. The NFL has since banned customizing jerseys with the name Mexico. November 26, 2006 – After a loss to the New Orleans Saints in the Georgia Dome, in apparent reaction to fans booing, Vick made an obscene gesture at fans, holding up two middle fingers. He was fined $10,000 by the NFL and agreed to donate another $10,000 to charity. January 17, 2007 – Vick surrendered a water bottle which had a hidden compartment to security personnel at Miami International Airport. "The compartment was hidden by the bottle's label so that it appeared to be a full bottle of water when held upright," police said. Test results indicated there were no illegal substances in the water bottle and Vick was cleared of any wrongdoing. Vick announced that the water bottle was a jewelry stash box, and that the substance in question had been jewelry. On April 24, 2007, Vick was scheduled to lobby on Capitol Hill, hoping to persuade lawmakers to increase funding for after-school programs. Vick missed a connecting flight in Atlanta on Monday to Reagan National Airport in Arlington, Virginia. He later failed to show up for another seat booked for him later that evening. On Tuesday morning, he did not attend his scheduled appearance at the congressional breakfast where he was to be honored for his foundation's work with after-school projects in Georgia and Virginia. Vick's mother Brenda accepted the award from the Afterschool Alliance.

Dog fighting investigations

A search warrant executed on April 25, 2007 as part of a drug investigation of Vick's cousin Davon Boddie led to discovery of evidence of unlawful dog fighting activities at a property owned by Vick in rural Surry County in southeastern Virginia, with extensive dogfighting facilities. They were expected to each receive federal prison sentences between 12 months and five years.

On August 24, Vick filed plea documents with the federal court. He pleaded guilty to "Conspiracy to Travel in Interstate Commerce in Aid of Unlawful Activities and to Sponsor a Dog in an Animal Fighting Venture". He admitted to providing most of the financing for the operation and to participating directly in several dog fights in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and South Carolina. He admitted to sharing in the proceeds from these dog fights. He further admitted that he knew his colleagues killed several dogs who did not perform well. He admitted to being involved in the destruction of 6–8 dogs, by hanging or drowning. The "victimization and killing of pit bulls" was considered as aggravating circumstances that led prosecutors to exceed the federal sentencing guidelines for the charge. He denied placing any side bets on the dogfights.

On August 27, U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson accepted Vick's guilty plea.

Failed drug test

While free on bail, Vick tested positive for marijuana in a random drug test. This was a violation of the conditions of his release while awaiting sentencing in federal court for his felony conviction. Vick's positive urine sample was submitted September 13, 2007, according to a document by a federal probation officer that was filed in U.S. District Court on September 26. As a result, Hudson ordered Vick confined to his Hampton, Virginia home between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. with electronic monitoring until his court hearing date in December. He was ordered to submit to random drug testing.

Incarceration begins

In November, Vick turned himself in early to begin getting time-served credit against his likely federal prison sentence. He was held at Northern Neck Regional Jail in Warsaw, Virginia awaiting sentencing on the federal convictions on December 10, 2007.

Sentencing & prison

On December 10, Vick appeared in U.S. District Court in Richmond for sentencing. Judge Hudson said he was "convinced that it was not a momentary lack of judgment" on Vick's part, and that Vick was a "full partner" in the dog fighting ring, and he was sentenced to serve 23 months in federal prison. Hudson noted that, despite Vick's claims that he accepted responsibility for his actions, his failure to cooperate fully with federal officials, coupled with a failed drug test and a failed polygraph, showed that Vick had not accepted full responsibility for "promoting, funding and facilitating this cruel and inhumane sporting activity". Vick was assigned to United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth, a federal prison facility in Leavenworth, Kansas to serve his sentence.

Funds to care for dogs

At the request of federal authorities before sentencing, Vick agreed to deposit nearly $1 million in an escrow account with attorneys for use to reimburse costs of caring for the confiscated dogs, most of which were being offered for adoption on a selective basis under supervision of a court-appointed specialist. Experts said some of the animals will require individual care for the rest of their lives. During his bankruptcy trial, the U.S. Department of Labor complained that these funds were paid at least partially with unlawfully withdrawn monies which Vick held in trust for himself and eight other employees of MV7, a celebrity marketing company he owns.

State criminal prosecution

Separate Virginia charges against all four men were placed following indictments by the Surry County grand jury when it met on September 25, 2007. The principal evidence considered was the sworn statements of the defendants during their plea agreement process before the federal court, although the indictments are for different charges. Vick was charged with two class 6 felonies, which carry a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment for each charge.

Citing the high costs and transportation logistics of proceeding while he was still in federal prisons out of state, the prosecutor, Gerald Poindexter, decided to postpone Vick's trial in Surry County Circuit Court until after his release from federal custody. Vick's attorneys sought to resolve the state charges sooner. On October 14, 2008, Woodward filed a motion to enter a plea via two-way electronic video with the Surry County Courts. Vick planned to plead guilty to state charges in an effort to get early release from federal prison and enter a halfway house. The request for a trial without Vick physically present was denied. Poindexter agreed to hold the state trial while Vick was still in federal custody if he bore the costs of his transportation to Virginia and related expenses.

State trial and sentencing

In late November 2008, Vick was transported to Virginia to face state charges. On November 25, he appeared before the Surry County Circuit Court at a session held in neighboring Sussex County because the Surry court building was undergoing renovation. He submitted a guilty plea to a single Virginia felony charge for dog fighting, receiving a 3 year prison sentence, imposition of which was suspended upon condition of good behavior, and a $2500 fine. In return for the plea agreement, the other charge was dropped. Michael Dwayne Vick, Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) ID# 33765-183, was released on July 20, 2009.

Steroid allegations

On January 23, 2010, the Dallas Morning News reported that steroid trafficker David Jacobs told the paper he supplied steroids to Vick while Vick played for the Falcons. When questioned by federal agents and prosecutors, Vick denied the allegations.

Financial troubles

At the end of 2006, Sports Illustrated magazine estimated Vick's annual income between his NFL salary and endorsements at $25.4 million, ranking him just below NASCAR's Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in a listing of highest earning athletes. There were problems in Vick's affairs with poor financial management, bad investments, and lawsuits. A $45 million dollar lawsuit was pending in a dispute with his original sports agents. Several lucrative endorsement deals apparently soured.

After the dog fighting indictments were announced in July 2007, financial claims against Vick escalated. While in prison, Vick's income was reduced to wages of less than a dollar a day. With affairs severely affected by lost income, legal expenses, litigation, and mismanagement by a series of friends and financial advisers, he was unable to meet scheduled payments and other obligations. Within several months, Vick had been named in numerous lawsuits by banks and creditors for defaulting on loans, some relating to business investments.

The dog fighting property near Smithfield, Virginia had been liquidated earlier, and in November 2007, Vick attempted to sell another of his homes.

As he served his sentence in the federal penitentiary in Leavenworth, Kansas, friends and family continued to occupy some of the other homes in the South Beach section of Miami Beach, Florida and multiple locations in Virginia. In June 2008, when his brother Marcus was arrested and jailed in Norfolk after a police chase, he listed his residence as a $1.39 million home owned by Vick in an exclusive riverfront community in Suffolk, Virginia. Construction of a new riverfront home took place on land Vick owned in another exclusive section of Suffolk. His attorneys later estimated that he was spending $30,000 a month to support 7 friends and relatives, including his mother and brother, 3 children, and their mothers.

Listing of major financial obligations

Although dozens of creditors were listed in the initial bankruptcy filing, several stood out as major.

Joel Enterprises

Joel Enterprises of Richmond was listed by Vick as one of his larger creditors. Sports agents Andrew Joel and Dave Lowman claimed Vick signed a contract with their firm in 2001, 9 days before he announced he was leaving Virginia Tech early and declaring himself eligible for the NFL Draft. With his mother as a witness, Vick signed a five-year marketing agreement that anticipated a wide range of endorsement activities using Vick's name, likeness, voice and reputation. Joel's cut would be 25% of all deals, excluding Vick's NFL contract, according to the agreement. Subsequently, Vick attempted to end the relationship with Joel Enterprises suddenly a few weeks later, and entered into another relationship with other agents.

In 2005, Joel Enterprises sued Vick in Richmond Circuit Court for $45 million in compensatory and punitive damages for "breach of contract" . After the Virginia Supreme Court denied a Vick motion and ruled that the civil trial could proceed in December 2006,

Atlanta Falcons

The Falcons sought to recover a portion of Vick's $37 million 2004 signing bonus. A reduced amount of $20 million was awarded to the Falcons in binding legal arbitration, which Vick disputed. The amount was reduced by an agreement between the parties that Vick will pay the Falcons between $6.5 and $7.5 million, the variance depending upon the outcome of a pending court case which is similar yet unrelated. The bankruptcy court was advised of this Vick-Falcons settlement agreement on April 3, 2009.

Royal Bank of Canada

On September 20, 2007, the Royal Bank of Canada filed a civil lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Newport News against Vick for more than $2.3 million for a loan which was to be for real estate purposes. The suit claimed Vick failed to meet a September 10 deadline to repay. On May 7, 2008, the court granted a motion for summary judgment against Vick for default and breach of a promissory note and ordered him to pay more than US$2.5 million.

1st Source Bank

On September 26, 2007, 1st Source Bank, based in South Bend, Indiana, claimed in a federal lawsuit that it had suffered damages of at least $2 million as Vick and Divine Seven LLC of Atlanta had refused to pay for at least 130 vehicles acquired to be used as rental cars. The Specialty Financing Group of 1st Source provides financing for rental car fleets.

1st Source was able to repossess most of the cars, which will limit Vick's financial liability in the lawsuit. Vick's bankruptcy filing listed $400,000 as the amount of his potential liability; the filing did not indicate that the amount due 1st Source was either secured by any assets or in dispute.

Wachovia Bank

On October 2, 2007, Wachovia Bank filed suit in U.S. District Court in Atlanta seeking about $940,000 from Vick and Gerald Frank Jenkins, a business partner, and their Atlantic Wine & Package LLC. The bank claimed the two defaulted on a May 2006 loan of $1.3 million to set up a wine shop and restaurant and had not made scheduled payments. Jenkins, a retired surgeon who has owned Atlantic Wine since 2004, brought Vick in as an investor.

In May 2008, that summary judgment in favor of Wachovia against Vick was granted by the U.S. District Court in Atlanta. The amount of $1,117,908.85 represented the initial principal balance outstanding ($937,907.61), interest accrued, outstanding fees, overdrawn accounts, and attorney fees. The order provided that further interest could be accrued.

U.S. Department of Labor

On March 25, 2009, the United States Department of Labor filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Newport News, alleging that Vick and others violated federal employee benefits law taking funds in the amount of $1.35 million in withdrawals from the retirement plan sponsored by MV7, one of his companies.

The money held was in trust under pension laws to fund retirement plans for 9 current or former employees of MV7. The Labor Department simultaneously filed an adversary complaint in federal bankruptcy court to prevent Vick from discharging his alleged debt to the MV7 pension plan. The complaint alleged that some of the funds were used to pay restitution ordered in his dogfighting conspiracy case.

Early proceedings

In August 2008, Vick's finances were in such disarray that a bankruptcy judge had been asked to appoint a trustee to oversee them. U.S. Trustee W. Clarkson McDow Jr. noted in court documents filed in Virginia that, by his own admission, Vick "has limited ability to arrange his finances and limited ability to participate in the bankruptcy case on an in-person basis." McDow wrote in his motion to appoint a Chapter 11 trustee "It appears that Mr. Vick has routinely relied upon others to make financial decisions for him, giving them discretionary control over large sums of money". McDow named Mary Wong and David A. Talbot as individuals who had obtained broad written authority to act as his attorney-in-fact over all of his financial affairs. On the same day, an ESPN news story described Wong and Talbot as "two financial advisers who have been charged with major frauds."

Mary Wong

In fall 2007, upon a recommendation from Falcons teammate Demorrio Williams, Vick hired Wong, a business manager in Omaha, Nebraska. Wong helped cash in some of Vick's investments to provide the restitution funds required by the federal court in his criminal case to care for the dogs. According to a document filed by one of Vick's attorneys, she used a power of attorney from Vick to "wrongfully remove" at least another $900,000 from his various accounts. Court papers also say Wong "caused certain business entities owned by [Vick] to be transferred to her." Vick learned later that Wong had been permanently barred from working with any firm that traded on the New York Stock Exchange as the result of taking more than $150,000 from two elderly widows she met while working at Wells Fargo Investments.

David A. Talbot

Vick next turned to Talbot, a medical school graduate from Hackensack, New Jersey who claimed expertise in financial management. Vick later told the court that he met Talbot in April 2008 through his brother, Marcus, who he said is a good friend of Talbot's son. Talbot was to be paid $15,000 per month and took possession of one of Vick's cars, an $85,000 Mercedes-Benz. Upon closer examination, it was discovered that his professional résumé contained numerous false statements. Talbot has been accused of defrauding church members in New Jersey. New Jersey's Attorney General instituted legal action against Talbot for securities fraud in a scheme to "defraud" several investors of more than $500,000 by offering them "asset enhancement contracts" that were to be used to build a new church.

On August 29, a hearing was held in Newport News Bankruptcy Court. Vick participated by speaker phone from Leavenworth. He told the court his representatives were talking to the NFL on his behalf about a return to football, but that he did not know what his earning potential is. Talbot's attorney told the court that Talbot gave the Mercedes-Benz back to Marcus, who drove it from Florida to Virginia.

Ongoing expenses: support of friends and relatives

Attorney Paul K. Campsen explained to the court that Vick "has supported his mother, brother, fiancée and his two children" over the years.

Vick's mother Brenda was a school bus driver in Newport News. She had been earning $100,000 per year as an employee of MV7, Vick's celebrity marketing company, which also employed one of his sisters. Marcus, who lives with Brenda, lost his college scholarship when he was expelled from the football program at Virginia Tech following a series of incidents. An undrafted free agent in the 2006 NFL Draft, he was signed by the Miami Dolphins and played in one game. The Dolphins did not renew his single year contract. At the time of the hearing, he was free on bail facing multiple charges from the police chase incident in June 2008 in Norfolk. On October 20, Marcus was convicted and given a suspended twelve month jail sentence.

According to Vick's attorneys, money Vick gave his fiancée, mother, two children and other family members in recent years might have to be returned to pay creditors. If they bought property with money that Vick gave them, they could be ordered to sell that property and turn over the proceeds to the court.

Initial Reorganization Plan

After being granted an extension in July, on November 12, 2008, Vick's attorneys filed a document entitled "Disclosure Statement With Respect to Debtor's First Amended Plan of Reorganization." Under the bankruptcy plan discussed with the Bankruptcy Court earlier at an October 4 hearing, Vick's plans include selling three of his six homes. He would keep the two homes in Suffolk, the one occupied by his mother on West Creek Court, and his fiancée, Kijafa Frink, and their two children, who were living with him in the house in Hampton prior to his incarceration, would live in the new $2 million house being built on Wentworth Court in Suffolk. His previous girlfriend, Tameka Taylor, and his son by her, who have lived in the James City County house, would live with her relatives.

For monthly expenses, Vick listed support payments of approximately $30,000 a month. Items include $14,531 a month to his mother (which includes $4,700 in mortgage payments and a monthly electric power bill of $663), $12,363 a month to his fiancée and two daughters, and $3,500 a month to Taylor. Creditors have challenged Vick's spending, particularly since his suspension from the NFL.

Income prospects

Vick's attorneys told the judge on November 13 that Vick "has every reason to believe that upon his release, he will be reinstated into the NFL, resume his career and be able to earn a substantial living." had permission from Vick to disburse the money to Vick's family, but so far not all of the $3 million of Vick's money he apparently handled in the two years before Vick filed for bankruptcy protection in July 2008 has been accounted for.

The farm in Surry County for which Vick paid 50% was titled exclusively in Reamon's name, although Vick maintains he owned a 50% interest. Reamon was in possession or control of several small yachts, also paid for partially or entirely by Vick, one of which was being offered for sale.

The status of Vick's approximately 60% interest in Seven Charms, LLC, a horse farm in Conyers, Georgia in partnership with Arthur Washington, was undetermined. In September 2008, the farm, in which Vick had invested $200,000, was sold at absolute auction for unpaid real estate taxes at far below market value. Washington apparently failed to notify Vick of the pending auction and kept the proceeds. Documents revealed that both the actions of the county and Washington are being challenged by Vick's attorneys due to his federal bankruptcy protection. The Georgia house was put on auction in February, 2009. The minimum bid was $3.2 million, but there were no bids. Another effort in March failed to produce bids. Vick would have also retained valuable personal property, including a 2007 Land Rover, a Lincoln Navigator and a 2007 Infiniti truck.

The plan provided for Vick to keep all of his first $750,000 in income. A portion of his income in excess of $750,000 annually would be used by the court to discharge his debts on a sliding scale. He would then pay 20% of any additional income up to $2.5 million, 25% of income between $2.5 million and $10 million and 33% of income over $10 million. Joel Enterprises filed a complaint on March 26 alleging Vick transferred property and cash to relatives and friends in the year before he filed for bankruptcy to defraud his creditors.

The Internal Revenue Service reported to the bankruptcy judge that Vick owes more than $1.2 million in back taxes as of October 2008. The IRS said that figure may increase as he had not yet filed his 2007 return. The U.S. Marshals Service and Western Tidewater Regional Jail in Suffolk handled custody of him while in Virginia.

At the early part of the hearing, Santoro learned that settlement agreements had been negotiated by Vick's attorneys which would allow the U.S. Department of Labor and the Virginia Department of Taxation to withdraw their objections to the reorganization plan. The majority of Vick's creditors, representing about 80% of listed liabilities, agreed to this plan. At that point, the judge became aware that Joel Enterprises remained as the only creditor to continue to object to the plan.

Vick testified that he intends to live a better life after prison. He spoke about his crime, saying that it was "heinous" and he felt "true remorse". Under questioning by Joel's attorney, Vick admitted that he knowingly withdrew an additional $150,000 from the pension fund last year, even after being advised that it was improper, explaining that he was "desperate" to pay some bills.

Regarding his projected income, the court heard testimony about Vick's plans to pay creditors, which included working 40 hours a week in a $10 an hour construction job promised by a major contractor and longtime acquaintance, until he was reinstated to the NFL, and signed by a team. Agent Joel Segal testified to a pending $600,000 documentary deal to tell the story of Vick's life and his plan to negotiate to place Vick with an NFL team as soon as issues by the League and the Falcons are satisfied.

Initial Reorganization Plan rejected

Near the end of the hearing on April 3, Santoro rejected the plan as unsound, saying that it was too strongly predicated on both Vick's hopes of a return to the NFL and the very substantial projected income which it may bring, neither of which was assured. He said information presented about the $600,000 documentary deal was too incomplete.

Santoro calculated that under his plan, Vick would need about $1 million by May 1 to confirm the bankruptcy plan, and will only have about 21% of that available by then. Vick earlier testified that he felt obligated to provide for his friends and family because of "where he had come from." Santoro told Vick that while that might be commendable, "You cannot be everything to everybody. If you do, you're going to be nothing to anybody."

Revised Reorganization Plan in progress

On April 28, attorneys met with Santoro for a scheduled update meeting and advised him that they are making substantial progress on a revised plan to submit to the court. They reported having settled all disputes with his creditors, including Joel.

There were no indications of any new developments regarding Vick's prospects for playing in the NFL. Specific information about possible additional divesture one or both of the luxury homes and vehicles Vick had hoped to keep as the judge had recommended on April 3 was also not available. Santoro set a June 9 hearing date for the attorneys to return with a revised plan.

Awards, records, and accomplishments

College awards

1999 Big East Conference Rookie of the Year

1999 Big East Conference Offensive Player of the Year

1999 Archie Griffin Award

2000 Best College Football Player ESPY Award

2001 Toyota Gator Bowl MVP

College records and accomplishments

Set an NCAA record for a freshman and established single-season school records for highest yards passing per completion (20.4), per attempt (12.1), highest completion percentage (59.2) and most yards per play (9.3).

Became the first player in Division I history to win a league's Player of the Year Award in the same season he won Rookie of the Year.

NFL records and milestones

On November 15, 2010, Vick became the first player in NFL history with 300 passing yards, 50 rushing yards, four passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in a game. Vick also became the first player in NFL history to have three passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns in the first half of a game.

In 2006, Vick became the only quarterback in NFL history to rush for over 1,000 yards during the regular season.

In 2006, Vick set the NFL record for most yards per carry in a season with 8.4.

Vick (1,039 yards) and Dunn (1,140) became the first QB/RB tandem in NFL history to each go over the 1,000-yard rushing mark in the same season. They became the fourth set of teammates in league history to each have 1,000 or more yards.

Made his third Pro Bowl in 2005 as he passed for 2,412 yards and 16 touchdowns in addition to leading all NFL quarterbacks with 597 rushing yards and six scores.

Named to the second Pro Bowl of his career after leading the Falcons to their third division title in team history and breaking numerous NFL and team records in 2004.

Set an NFL postseason record for a quarterback with 119 rushing yards in the 2004 NFC Divisional playoff win against the Rams.

Became the first quarterback to throw for more than 250 yards and rush for over 100 yards in the same game in Denver (October 31, 2004).

Charitable foundations

Michael Vick has been a principal in two charitable foundations, the Michael Vick Foundation and The Vick Foundation.

In June 2006, Vick, along with his brother Marcus and mother Brenda, established The Vick Foundation, a nonprofit organization to support at-risk youth and the after school programs that serve them in the Metro Atlanta and Hampton Roads areas. The announcement of the new organization came just before the start of the foundation's first fundraiser, the Michael Vick Golf Classic. The inaugural event was held at the prestigious Kingsmill Golf Course in James City County near Williamsburg, Virginia in partnership with The Virginia Tech Alumni Association Tidewater Chapter, and netted more than $80,000 for charity. According to its 2006 federal tax return, the Michael Vick Foundation provided 100 backpacks to poor children in Newport News and paid for an after-school program in 2006. During the same period the foundation spent 12% of its budget – $20,590 of $171,823 – on charitable programs and paid its fundraiser, Susan Bass Roberts, a former spokeswoman for Vick, $97,000. That foundation ceased operations in 2006. One of Vick's financial advisors withdrew $50,000, most of the remaining funds, from its checking account in 2008.

After the Virginia Tech massacre on April 16, 2007, Vick and the United Way donated $10,000 to assist families affected. The Vick Foundation collected donations from communities in Atlanta and Virginia that will be placed in the United In Caring Fund for Victims of the Virginia Tech Tragedy and the special fund at the United Way of Montgomery, Radford and Floyd counties, which serves the Virginia Tech area. The Vick Foundation said the money would be used to provide help with funeral expenses, transportation for family members and other support services.

In June 2007, the "Michael Vick Football Camp," to be held at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, was canceled for the summer 2007 session. He canceled participation in another football camp to be held at the College of William and Mary and was replaced by Washington Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell.

On June 22, 2007, a charity golf tournament featuring Vick, intended in part to raise scholarships in memory of Virginia Tech's shooting victims, was rescheduled for September.

Documentary series

In the spring of 2010, cable network BET aired a 10-episode documentary series called The Michael Vick Project. It chronicled Vick as he was coming to terms with his dogfighting past.

References

External links

Philadelphia Eagles bio

Vick Indicted on Va. Dogfighting Charges on Time.com (a division of Time Magazine)

The Smoking Gun - United States v. Michael Vick, Criminal No. 3:07CR274 (E.D. Va., August 24, 2007) Summary of the facts and plea agreement

Michael Vick CNN

}}

Category:21st-century American criminals Category:People from Newport News, Virginia Category:Players of American football from Virginia Category:American football quarterbacks Category:National Conference Pro Bowl players Category:National Football League first overall draft picks Category:Virginia Tech Hokies football players Category:Atlanta Falcons players Category:Animal cruelty incidents Category:Philadelphia Eagles players Category:Ed Block Courage Award recipients Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:African American players of American football

Name	Ice Cube
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	O'Shea Jackson
Alias
Born	June 15, 1969 From the 2000s onwards, Jackson focused on acting, and his musical output has slowed down considerably.
- style	"background:#b0c4de; text-align:center;"
- style	"background:#b0c4de; text-align:center;"
- style	"background:#b0c4de; text-align:center;"
Name	Ice Cube
Date of birth	1969-06-15

Category:1969 births Category:Living people Category:Ice Cube Category:1990s rappers Category:2000s rappers Category:2010s rappers Category:Actors from California Category:African American Muslims Category:African American converts to Islam Category:African-American film producers Category:African American film actors Category:African American rappers Category:African American singers Category:American film actors Category:American music video directors Category:American Muslims Category:American screenwriters Category:Capitol Records artists Category:Converts to Islam from Christianity Category:N.W.A members Category:Priority Records artists Category:Rappers from Los Angeles, California Category:Ruthless Records artists

Caption	Silverstone in 2006
Birth date	October 04, 1976
Birth place	San Francisco, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1992–present
Spouse
Website	http://www.thekindlife.com/

Alicia Silverstone (; born October 4, 1976) is an American actress, author, and former fashion model. She first came to widespread attention in music videos for Aerosmith, and is best known for her roles in Hollywood films such as Clueless (1995) and her portrayal of Batgirl in Batman & Robin (1997).

Early life

Silverstone was born in San Francisco, California, the daughter of Deirdre "Didi" (née Radford), a Scottish-born former Pan Am flight attendant, and Monty Silverstone, an English-born real-estate investor and part-time actor. Silverstone was raised in a "traditional Jewish household"; her father, a native of east London, is Jewish, and her mother converted to Conservative Judaism before marriage. Silverstone is the youngest of three children and also has a half-sister, London-based rock singer Kezi Silverstone, and a half-brother, David Silverstone, both from her father's previous marriage. Silverstone attended Crocker Middle School and then San Mateo High School, but did not complete her high school studies. When she was six years old, she began modeling and was subsequently cast in television commercials, the first being for Domino's Pizza. She acquired some early modeling and advertising work and was eventually cast as "dream girl" Jessica on the episode "Road Test" of The Wonder Years.

Career

Silverstone has won several awards for her film performances, including MTV Movie Awards, National Board of Review, Young Artist Awards, and an American Comedy Award. She has been nominated for an Emmy award and a Golden Globe Award. During her career, she turned down several key roles in films, including Dede Truitt in The Opposite of Sex and a role in Scream 3. She was also considered for roles in Scream 2, Bewitched, Little Women and Heartbreakers. She turned down the role of Valerie Malone on Beverly Hills, 90210 in 1994; Tiffani Thiessen was cast instead.

1990s

Silverstone won a leading part in the 1993 film The Crush, playing a teenaged girl who sets out to ruin an older man after he spurns her affections; she won two awards at the 1994 MTV Movie Awards for the role—Best Breakthrough Performance and Best Villain. Silverstone became legally emancipated at the age of 15 in order to work the hours required for the shooting schedule of the film. Also in 1993, Silverstone auditioned for the lead role of Angela Chase in the ABC TV series My So-Called Life, but Claire Danes was chosen for the role instead. Alicia made some television movies in her early career including Torch Song, Cool and the Crazy and Scattered Dreams.

After seeing her in The Crush, Marty Callner decided Silverstone would be perfect for a role in a music video he was directing for the band Aerosmith, called "Cryin'"; she was subsequently cast in two more videos, "Amazing" and "Crazy". These were hugely successful for both the band and Silverstone, making her a household name (and also gaining her the nickname, "the Aerosmith chick"). They also got her noticed by filmmaker Amy Heckerling, who, after seeing them, decided to cast her in Clueless.

Clueless became a sleeper hit and critical darling during the summer of 1995. Silverstone's performance was well received, and she was branded the spokeswoman for an emerging young generation. As a result, she signed a deal with Columbia-TriStar worth $10 million. As part of the package, she got a three-year first-look deal for her own production company, First Kiss Productions. Silverstone also won "Best Female Performance" and "Most Desirable Female" at the 1996 MTV Movie Awards for her performance in the film. In the same year, Silverstone starred in the erotic thriller The Babysitter, film adaptation of the novel by Dean Koontz, Hideaway and the French drama about Americans New World.

Silverstone's next role was as Batgirl in Batman & Robin, and while it was not a critical success, the film grossed $238,207,122 worldwide. Silverstone's turn as Batgirl was not well received, and won her a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress. However she also won a Blimp Award at the Kid's Choice Awards for the role. She suffered further bad press for allegedly striking a pedestrian with her vehicle in a crosswalk. In addition to Batman & Robin, Silverstone also starred alongside Benicio del Toro and Christopher Walken in 1997's dark comedy Excess Baggage, which was the first movie to be released by her production company, First Kiss Productions.

Silverstone ended the 1990s with the Saturn Award-nominated romance/comedy film Blast from the Past which also stars Brendan Fraser, Christopher Walken and Sissy Spacek. In 40 Hottest Hotties of the 90's she was ranked #5. Topsocialite.com listed her as the 3rd Sexiest woman of the 90s.

2000s

In 2000, Silverstone appeared in Kenneth Branagh's film adaptation of the Shakespeare play Love's Labour's Lost, in which she was required to sing and dance. In 2001, Silverstone provided the voice of Sharon Spitz, the lead character in the Canadian animated television Braceface. During this time she also made the films Global Heresy and Scorched. In 2002, she made her Broadway debut alongside Kathleen Turner and Jason Biggs in The Graduate. After removing herself from the public eye for a few years, she resurfaced in the short-lived 2003 NBC television show Miss Match, which was canceled after 11 episodes. Silverstone later acknowledged that she hates the trappings of fame, saying, "Fame is not anything I wish on anyone. You start acting because you love it. Then success arrives, and suddenly you're on show".

After the cancellation of Miss Match in 2003, Silverstone did a pilot with Fox called Queen B, in which she played a former high school prom queen named Beatrice (Bea) who has discovered that the real world is nothing like high school. It was not picked up for production. In 2005, she co-starred with Queen Latifah in Beauty Shop, a spinoff of the BarberShop films, as one of the stylists in the beauty shop. In the same year, she played a reporter alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar and Freddie Prinze Jr. in , which did well financially, and appeared in the direct-to-video film Silence Becomes You.

In 2006, Silverstone starred in an ABC pilot called Pink Collar, in which her character worked in a law firm. Like Queen B, this pilot was not picked up for syndication. That year she also starred alongside Ewan McGregor, Mickey Rourke and Sophie Okonedo in the film Stormbreaker, and appeared in the Hallmark Hall of Fame made-for-TV movie Candles on Bay Street, based on the book by Cathie Pelletier. Silverstone continued her theatre work, next appearing in David Mamet's Boston Marriage and Speed-the-Plow. In 2008, she filmed another ABC pilot alongside Megan Mullally called Bad Mother's Handbook and made a cameo appearance in the comedy film Tropic Thunder.

In early 2009, Silverstone starred in the world premiere of Donald Margulies's Time Stands Still at the Geffen Playhouse LA. The play focuses on a longtime couple and journalistic team who return to New York from an extended stint in the war-torn Middle East. In a review, Silverstone was described as "a formidable stage presence who creates sparks whenever she performs".

Silverstone filmed a small segment in Elektra Luxx, a sequel to Women In Trouble. Director Sebastian Gutierrez cut her segment but will possibly use it for a third installment, tentatively titled Women In Ecstasy. She also starred in the music video for Rob Thomas's 2009 single "Her Diamonds".

2010s

She reprised her role in Time Stands Still alongside Laura Linney in the New York production of the play on Broadway, which premiered on January 28, 2010, directed by Daniel Sullivan, who described Silverstone as "a breath of fresh air." The play received good reviews with the New York Times praising Silverstone, saying she "brings warmth, actorly intelligence and delicate humour."

Silverstone will next appear in the teen romance Homework, which will premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival and also as the adoptive mother of a 12-year old African American girl who enters a local butter sculpture competition in a small Iowa town, alongside Jennifer Garner, Hugh Jackman, Olivia Wilde and Ashley Greene in Butter. The movie is said to be inspired by Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama's battle to secure the Democratic nomination for president.

She is also set to appear alongside Sigourney Weaver and Krysten Ritter in director Amy Heckerling's vampire film, Vamps, playing one of two vampires who fall in love and face a choice that could jeopardise their immortality. She was offered the role after Heckerling came to see her in Time Stands Still.

Personal life

Silverstone married her longtime boyfriend, rock musician and basketball coach Christopher Jarecki (lead singer of group S.T.U.N.), in a beachfront ceremony at Lake Tahoe, on June 11, 2005. After meeting outside a movie theater in 1997, the couple dated for eight years prior to their marriage. They got engaged about a year before their marriage and Jarecki presented Silverstone with an engagement ring that had belonged to his grandmother. She intends to have children in the future.

Silverstone and Jarecki live in an eco-friendly Los Angeles house complete with solar panels and an organic vegetable garden.author of The Hip Chick’s Guide to Macrobiotics)and launched its associated website The Kind Life. The Kind Diet has topped the New York Times best sellers list.

On January 14, 2011, it was announced that Silverstone and Jarecki were expecting their first child.

Political convictions

.]] Silverstone is noted for being an animal rights and environmental activist. She became a vegan in 1998 after attending an animal rights meeting. "I realized that I was the problem," she told InStyle Home, in spring 2007. "I was an animal lover who was eating animals." In 2004, Silverstone was voted, "Sexiest Female Vegetarian," by PETA. In 2007, Silverstone appeared nude in a print advertisement and 30-second commercial for PETA championing vegetarianism; the TV spot was subsequently pulled from the Houston, Texas, market by Comcast Cable. Silverstone has set up a sanctuary for rescued pets in Los Angeles.

Federal campaign contribution records also reveal that Silverstone contributed US$500 to Dennis Kucinich's 2004 presidential campaign. She also supported Barack Obama's presidential candidacy.

On May 23, 2007, Silverstone was a guest on ABC's The View. Moments before she entered, hosts Rosie O'Donnell and Elisabeth Hasselbeck had a heated argument regarding the Iraq war. The video segment shows Silverstone entering and walking past Hasselbeck to greet the other hosts. Though the interview continued normally and featured easy conversation between Silverstone and Hasselbeck, Access Hollywood deemed the act a deliberate snub. Hasselbeck later revealed, on an episode of The View which aired September 19, 2007, that Silverstone called and apologized for the incident. Hasselbeck said that Silverstone never meant to be rude, but was simply nervous when she walked on the stage and believed that incident was wrongly perceived by the media.

In 2009, she appeared in "The Gaythering Storm," a Funny or Die spoof internet video parodying anti-same-sex marriage commercial "The Gathering Storm." She also appeared in "My Mother's Red Hat" with Alanis Morissette parodying indie movies.

Filmography and credits

{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Film |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1993 | | Adrian Forrester | MTV Movie Award for Breakthrough Performance |- | rowspan="4" | 1995 | Le Nouveau monde | Trudy Wadd | |- | Hideaway | Regina Harrison | |- | Clueless | Cher Horowitz | |- | | Jennifer | |- | 1996 | True Crime | Mary Giordano | direct-to-video |- | rowspan="2" | 1997 | Batman & Robin | Batgirl/Barbara Wilson | |- | Excess Baggage | Emily Hope | also uncredited producer |- | 1998 | Junket Whore | Herself | documentary |- | 1999 | Blast from the Past | Eve Rustikoff | |- | 2000 | Love's Labour's Lost | The Princess of France | |- | 2002 | Global Heresy | Natalie "Nat" Bevin | a.k.a Rock My World |- | 2003 | Scorched | Sheila Rio | |- | 2004 | | | |- | rowspan="2" | 2005 | Beauty Shop | Lynn | |- | Silence Becomes You | Violet | direct-to-video |- | 2006 | Stormbreaker | Jack Starbright | |- | 2008 | Tropic Thunder | Herself | |- | rowspan="3" | 2011 | Homework | Ms. Herman | |- | Butter | Jill Emmet | |- | Vamps | Goody | |}

{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Television |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1992 | | Jessica Thomas | Episode: "Road Test" |- | rowspan="2" | 1993 | Torch Song | Delphine | TV movie |- | Scattered Dreams | Phyllis Messenger | TV movie |- | 1994 | Cool and the Crazy | Roslyn | TV movie |- | 1998 | Wildlife Vet | Herself | TV documentary |- | 2001–2005 | Braceface | Sharon Spitz (voice) | TV cartoon seriesalso executive producerEmmy nomination |- | 2003 | Miss Match | Kate Fox | TV seriesGolden Globe nomination |- | 2005 | Queen B | Beatrice 'Bea' | TV pilotco-executive producer |- | rowspan="2" | 2006 | Pink Collar | Hayden | TV pilot |- | Candles on Bay Street | Dee Dee Michaud | TV movie |- | 2007 | | Georgia | TV series (unreleased) |- | 2008 | Bad Mother's Handbook | Karen | TV series (post-production) |}

{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Music videos |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Artist |- | rowspan="2" | 1993 | "Cryin'" | Girl | Aerosmith |- | "Amazing" | Girl | Aerosmith |- | 1994 | "Crazy" | Girl #1 | Aerosmith |- | 2009 | "Her Diamonds" | Frozen Girl | |}

{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Theatre |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! Director ! Writer |- | 1993 | Carol's Eve | Debbie | | |- | 2002 | | Elaine Robinson | | |- | 2006 | Boston Marriage | Catherine | | |- | 2007 | Speed-the-Plow | Karen | | |- | 2009–2010 | Time Stands Still | Mandy | | |}

Awards and nominations

{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Awards and nominations |- ! Year ! Award ! Category ! Title of work ! Result |- | 1994 | MTV Movie Awards | Best Villain | The Crush | Won |- | 1994 | MTV Movie Awards | Best Breakthrough Performance | The Crush | Won |- | 1994 | MTV Movie Awards | Most Desirable Female | The Crush | Nominated |- | 1994 | Young Artist Awards | Best Young Leading Actress, Drama | The Crush | Nominated |- | 1996 | American Comedy Awards | Funniest Actress in a Motion Picture | Clueless | Won |- | 1996 | Blockbuster Entertainment Award | Best Female Newcomer | Clueless | Won |- | 1996 | Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Movie Actress | Clueless | Nominated |- | 1996 | MTV Movie Awards | Best Female Performance | Clueless | Won |- | 1996 | MTV Movie Awards | Most Desirable Female | Clueless | Won |- | 1996 | MTV Movie Awards | Best Comedic Performance | Clueless | Nominated |- | 1996 | National Board of Review | Best Breakthrough Performer | Clueless | Won |- | 1996 | Young Artist Awards | Best Young Leading Actress, Feature Film | Clueless | Nominated |- | 1998 | Blockbuster Entertainment Award | Favorite Supporting Actress, Sci-Fi | Batman & Robin | Nominated |- | 1998 | Golden Raspberry Awards | Worst Supporting Actress | Batman & Robin | Won |- | 1998 | Kids' Choice Awards | Favorite Movie Actress | Batman & Robin | Won |- | 2002 | Daytime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program | Braceface | Nominated |- | 2004 | Genesis Awards | Children's TV Series | Braceface | Nominated |- | 2004 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series, Musical or Comedy | Miss Match | Nominated |- | 2004 | Satellite Awards | Best Actress, Musical or Comedy Series | Miss Match | Nominated |}

She was awarded a Heart Of Green Award in 2009, which "recognises individuals, organizations or companies who have helped green go mainstream." In 2010, she was awarded a Voice Of Compassion Award by the Physician's Committee For Responsible Medicine for "shining a spotlight on the powerful health benefits of a vegan diet."

Listing

Silverstone has appeared on the covers of Cosmopolitan, Entertainment Weekly, FHM, Rolling Stone, and other magazines. She appeared in FHM's Denmark, Australia, Netherlands, German, Dutch, South African, Danish, Russian and Romanian editions's 100 Sexiest Women lists several times. She was ranked #5 in Australia's 100 Sexiest Women list in 1998. She has been ranked #3 in FHM-US's Cover Girls.

FHM

70 in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women In The World (1996)

11 in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women In The World (1997)

16 in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women In The World (1998)

26 in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women In The World (1999)

22 in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women In The World (2000)

20 in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women In The World (2001)

43 in FHM-USA's 100 Sexiest Women In The World (2001)

28 in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women In The World (2002)

17 in FHM's All Time 100 Sexiest Women Hall of Fame (2009)

Cosmopolitan

6 in Cosmopolitan's Fun, Fearless Females of the Year (2003)

4 in Cosmopolitan's Fun, Fearless Females of the Year (2004)

Other

31 in Celebrity Skin's 50 Sexiest Starlets of All Time (May 1996)

94 in Heat Magazine's Top 100 Beautiful Women (2004)

12 in VH1's 100 Greatest Teen Stars (February 2006)

PETA chose her as "Sexiest Female Vegetarian" (2004)

In 40 Hottest Hotties of the 90's she was ranked #5.

Topsocialite.com listed her as the 3rd Sexiest woman of the 90s.

References

External links

The Kind Life Silverstone's website.

Alicia Silverstone at PETA (including the ad)

Alicia Silverstone Video at TV-Click

Category:1976 births Category:Actors from California Category:Aerosmith Category:American child actors Category:American film actors Category:American Jews Category:American female models Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:American vegans Category:American voice actors Category:Shakespearean actors Category:American actors of English descent Category:American actors of Scottish descent Category:American people of British-Jewish descent Category:Jewish actors Category:Living people Category:People from San Francisco, California Category:People from the San Francisco Bay Area