{{Infobox Music genre | bgcolor=#87CEEB | color=black | name=Teen pop | stylistic_origins=Swing music (1940s)Bubblegum pop (1960s)Dance-pop (1980s) | cultural_origins=1940s, United States

In 1996, LeAnn Rimes stepped into the Country music world and quickly became a success with her album Blue. After the achievements of Blue, Rimes crossed over into pop music and by 1997 her song How Do I Live was a teen pop hit. The song went No.2 on the Billboard Hot 100. It spent a world record of 69 weeks on the Hot 100, making Rimes the most successful country crossover pop artist to date. Rimes also achieved crossover success with both Can't Fight the Moonlight and I Need You.

Also in 1996, the girl group Spice Girls released their single "Wannabe", which made them major pop stars in the UK, as well as in the US the following year. In their wake, other teen pop groups came to prominence, including Hanson, the Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC and All Saints.

1990s teen pop artists entered hiatuses and semi-retirements (*NSYNC, Destiny's Child) or changed their musical style (Backstreet Boys, Hanson).. As the 2010s approaches, the success of successful teenage singers Justin Bieber, Charice, Cody Simpson, Anna Margaret, Greyson Chance, Jasmine Sagginario and 2009 American Idol fourth place finisher Allison Iraheta on Radio Disney established a new style of teen-oriented pop music.

See also

Preteen

Bobby soxer

Teen drama - (List of teen dramas)

Teen film - (List of teen films)

Teen magazine - (List of teen magazines)

Teen sitcom - (List of Teen sitcoms)

Teenybopper

Youth culture

References

External links

[ Teen pop] at Allmusic

Category:1940s in music Category:1950s in music Category:1960s in music Category:1970s in music Category:1980s in music Category:1990s in music Category:2000s in music Category:Pop music genres

Name	Miley Cyrus
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Destiny Hope Cyrus
Born	November 23, 1992
Origin	Nashville, Tennessee,United States pop rock, teen pop, country pop, electropop, dance pop
Occupation	Actress, author, entrepreneur, fashion designer, singer, songwriter, musician, dancer
Years active	2001–present
Label	Hollywood, Fascination (UK), Avex (Japan)
Associated acts	Jonas Brothers, Billy Ray Cyrus
Url

Miley Ray Cyrus (born Destiny Hope Cyrus; November 23, 1992) is an American actress and pop singer. She achieved wide fame for her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana on the Disney Channel sitcom Hannah Montana. Cyrus recorded music for the soundtracks, Hannah Montana (2006) and Hannah Montana 2/Meet Miley Cyrus (2007), released by Walt Disney Records. With the success of the Hannah Montana franchise she established herself as a teen idol. In 2007, Cyrus signed to Hollywood Records to pursue a solo career. She went on the Best of Both Worlds Tour the same year, in which she performed as both herself and in character as Hannah Montana. The tour was eventually turned into a high-grossing concert film entitled (2008). In July 2008, Cyrus released her first solo album, Breakout (2008), which was commercially successful.

She began her foray into film by providing the voice of "Penny" in the animated film Bolt (2008). Cyrus earned a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for her performance of Bolts theme song, "I Thought I Lost You". She also reprised her role as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana in (2009). The introduced her to new audiences within country and adult contemporary markets.

She began to cultivate an adult image in 2009 with the release of The Time of Our Lives (2009), an extended play which presented a more mainstream pop sound, and by filming The Last Song (2010), a coming-of-age drama film. The former included Cyrus's best-selling single, "Party in the U.S.A." (2009). A studio album titled Can't Be Tamed was released in 2010 and presents a new dance-pop sound. The music video and lyrics of the album's lead single, "Can't Be Tamed", portrays a more sexualized image for the entertainer. Cyrus ranked number thirteen on Forbes 2010 Celebrity 100.

Early life

Cyrus was born on November 23, 1992 in Nashville, Tennessee to Leticia "Tish" (née Finley) and country singer Billy Ray Cyrus. Her parents named her Destiny Hope because they believed that she would accomplish great things with her life. They gave her the nickname "Smiley", which was later shortened to "Miley", because she smiled so often as a baby. Cyrus suffers from a mild heart condition causing tachycardia which, though not dangerous, is often bothersome.

Against the wishes of her father's record company, Cyrus's parents secretly married a month after Cyrus's birth on December 28, 1992. She has a half-brother, Christopher Cody, Billy Ray's son from a brief relationship, born the same year as Miley; he grew up with his mother in South Carolina. Tish and Billy Ray had two more children, Braison and Noah. Cyrus's godmother is entertainer Dolly Parton. Cyrus was very close to her paternal grandfather, Democratic politician Ronald Ray Cyrus. Cyrus has paid her grandfather several tributes since his death in 2006, including eventually changing her middle name to "Ray". According to Cyrus's father, "A lot of people say Miley changed her name to Miley Ray because of Billy Ray, but that's not true. She did that in honor of my dad, because the two of them just loved each other to pieces." and attended Heritage Elementary School. She was raised Christian and was baptized in a Southern Baptist church prior to moving to Hollywood in 2005. She attended church regularly while growing up and wore a purity ring. Cyrus would not seriously consider acting until she was eight. Several of Cyrus's siblings also eventually entered the entertainment business: Trace became a vocalist and guitarist for the electronic pop band Metro Station, Noah became an actress, and Brandi became a guitarist.

Career

2001–05: Early work

In 2001, when Cyrus was eight, she and her family moved to Toronto, Canada while her father filmed the television series Doc. Cyrus said watching her father film the show inspired her to pursue acting. After Billy Ray took her to see a 2001 Mirvish production of Mamma Mia! at the Royal Alexandra Theatre, Cyrus grabbed his arm and told him, "This is what I want to do, daddy. I want to be an actress." She began taking singing and acting classes at the Armstrong Acting Studio in Toronto. In her first role, Cyrus played a girl named Kylie on Doc. After sending in a new tape and flying to Hollywood for further auditions, However, her persistence and ability to sing in addition to act led the show's producers to invite her back for further auditions. Cyrus eventually received the lead, renamed "Miley Stewart" after herself, at the age of twelve.

As Cyrus's career took off, Tish Cyrus made several critical decisions regarding her daughter's representation. She signed Cyrus with Mitchell Gossett, director of the youth division at Cunningham Escott Slevin Doherty. Gossett, who specializes in creating child stars, had arranged for Cyrus's auditions for Hannah Montana and is credited with "discovering" her. For Cyrus's music career, Tish followed the advice of Dolly Parton, Cyrus's godmother and a singer herself, and signed Cyrus with Jason Morey of Morey Management Group. "Dolly said the Moreys are people you can trust around your daughter," Tish Cyrus recalls, "and she said they have good morals, which is not always the case in this business." Tish also recruited Billy Ray's business manager to manage her daughter's finances. Tish herself continues to co-manage or produce many of Cyrus's career decisions. and studied with a private tutor on the set of her television show.

2006–07: Hannah Montana and Meet Miley Cyrus

.]] Hannah Montana became an instant hit and propelled Cyrus to teen idol status, according to The Daily Telegraph. The series premiered on March 26, 2006 to the largest audience ever for a Disney Channel show and soon became one of the highest-rated series on basic cable, elevating Cyrus's wealth and fame along with it. Time magazine reports that Cyrus's "phenom[enal]" success is due partially to her talent and partially to "Disney learning to use its vast, multimedia holdings" and market Cyrus and Hannah Montana appropriately. Cyrus eventually became the first artist to have deals in television, film, consumer products, and music within The Walt Disney Company. "The Best of Both Worlds" is credited to "Hannah Montana", the pop star Cyrus portrays on the series by the same name. As with other songs credited to Montana, Cyrus typically dressed as the character when performing the song live. Cyrus's first release under her own name was a cover of James Baskett's "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah", released on April 4, 2006 on the fourth edition of DisneyMania. Dressed as Hannah Montana, Cyrus opened for The Cheetah Girls on twenty dates of their The Party's Just Begun Tour, beginning on September 15, 2006. On October 24 of same year, Walt Disney Records released the first Hannah Montana soundtrack. Of the nine tracks on the soundtrack performed by Cyrus, eight were credited to "Hannah Montana" and one, a duet with her father titled "I Learned from You", was credited to Cyrus as herself. The album peaked at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart.

The second season of Hannah Montana premiered on April 23, 2007, and ran until October 12, 2008. Cyrus signed a four-album deal with Disney-owned Hollywood Records and, on June 26, 2007, released a double-disc album. The first disc was the soundtrack to the second season of Hannah Montana, while the second, titled Meet Miley Cyrus, was Cyrus's debut album credited to her own name. The double-disc album peaked at number one on the Billboard 200 and was later certified three times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Meet Miley Cyrus generated "See You Again", Cyrus's first single to be released under her own name and her first top ten hit on the Billboard Hot 100. In Fall 2007, Cyrus launched her first tour, the Best of Both Worlds Tour, to promote Meet Miley Cyrus and the Hannah Montana soundtracks. With the Jonas Brothers, Aly & AJ, and Everlife as her opening acts, Cyrus toured from October 17, 2007 to January 31, 2008 with stops in the U.S. and Canada. Tickets sold out in minutes and were scalped for up to $2,500 and an average of $214, well above their $26–$65 face value. A Ticketmaster official commented, "Hell hath no fury like the parent of a child throwing a tantrum. People who have been in this business for a long time are watching what's happening, and they say there hasn't been a demand of this level or intensity since The Beatles or Elvis."

2008–09: Breakout, transitions and film career launch

After the end of the Best of Both Worlds Tour in January 2008, Walt Disney Pictures released , a 3D concert film of the tour, on February 1, 2008 for what was expected to be a one-week run. The film earned $29 million at the box-office and an average of $42,000 per theater, twice the expected total, convincing Disney executives to extend the release for an indefinite run. "We don't want to turn away kids from the theaters who couldn't get into the concerts," said Chuck Viane, Disney's chief of distribution. The was released by Walt Disney Records/Hollywood Records on March 11, 2008 and peaked at number three on the Billboard 200.

On July 22, 2008, Cyrus released her second studio album under her own name, entitled Breakout. Cyrus said Breakout was inspired by "what's been going on in my life in the past year." Cyrus co-wrote eight out of twelve songs on the album. The album debuted at #1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart and its lead single, "7 Things", peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot 100. She hosted the 2008 CMT Music Awards with her father in April and the 2008 Teen Choice Awards by herself in August. Cyrus provided the voice of Penny in the 2008 computer-animated film Bolt, which was released on November 21, 2008 to critical acclaim. Cyrus also co-wrote and recorded the song "I Thought I Lost You" as a duet with John Travolta for the film, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. In September 2009, she participated in the charity single "Just Stand Up!" in support of the anti-cancer campaign Stand Up to Cancer and in the City of Hope Benefit Concert in support of cancer research and training programs. She also became involved in Disney's Friends for Change, an environmentalist group, for which she recorded the charity single "Send It On" along with several other Disney Channel stars.

Cyrus had already begun transitioning to a more grown-up image in late 2008, when her representatives negotiated a deal for novelist Nicholas Sparks to write the screenplay and novel basis for a film that would serve as a star vehicle for Cyrus by introducing her to audiences older than the young fans she had gained through Hannah Montana. Sparks and co-writer Jeff Van Wie developed The Last Song. In March 2009, Cyrus published Miles To Go, a memoir co-written by Hilary Liftin chronicling her life through age sixteen. Cyrus starred as Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana in , released April 10, 2009. Both the film and its soundtrack, which contained twelve songs performed by Cyrus, achieved commercial success. The soundtrack's lead single, "The Climb", became a Top 40 hit in twelve countries and introduced Cyrus to listeners outside her typical teen pop audience. Cyrus had considered ending Hannah Montana after its third season, which finished production on June 5, 2009, but Disney retained and exercised its option for a fourth season.

Production on The Last Song lasted from June 15, 2009 to August 18, 2009. In between, Cyrus launched the third Hannah Montana soundtrack, recorded the extended play The Time of Our Lives, and released the EP's lead single, "Party in the U.S.A." Cyrus said The Time of Our Lives "is a transitioning album. [...] really to introduce people to what I want my next record to sound like and with time I will be able to do that a little more." "Party in the U.S.A." debuted at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 for her best-ever ranking on the chart. The Time of Our Lives was released in conjunction with a clothing line co-designed by Cyrus and Max Azria for Walmart.

From September 14, 2009 to December 29, 2010, Cyrus toured on her Wonder World Tour to promote Breakout and The Time of Our Lives. On December 7, 2009, Cyrus performed for Queen Elizabeth II and numerous other members of the British Royal Family at the Royal Variety Performance in Blackpool, North West England.

2010–present: Can't Be Tamed and focus on film career

Production on the fourth and final season of Hannah Montana began on January 18, 2010. In the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, Cyrus appeared on the charity singles "" and "Everybody Hurts". Her third studio album, Can't Be Tamed, was released on June 21, 2010. The album's first single is the title track, "Can't Be Tamed". The single was released for sale on May 18, 2010 and entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number eight. Cyrus's costumes and dances while promoting Can't Be Tamed were also considerably more provocative than previous performances, arousing media criticism. After releasing the album, Cyrus intends to take a break from the music industry in order to focus on her film career. She commented, "I've not taken, like, acting lessons or anything, but it doesn't mean I don't need to because I'm sure I do [...] I'm probably going to go book an acting coach." Cyrus has also decided to opt out of college for the same reason, saying "I'm a firm believer that you can go back at any age you want, because my Grandma went back to college at 62 [...] For right now, I really want to focus on my career. I've worked hard to get to where I am now, and I want to enjoy it while it lasts."

Cyrus starred in The Last Song, which was released on March 31, 2010, and received generally poor reviews, as did Cyrus's performance. Nonetheless, the film was commercially successful, grossing more than $88 million at the worldwide box office. According to box-office analyst Exhibitor Relations, the film marked "a successful transition to adult roles for Miley Cyrus."

The fourth and final season of Hannah Montana began airing on Disney Channel on July 11, 2010 and is scheduled to end in 2011.

As of December 2010, Cyrus is set to star in two more films, and So Undercover. In LOL, a remake of a 2008 French teen comedy, Cyrus plays "a daughter who is involved with all the wrong kids, doing drugs, failing school, but [...whose] mother has her on this perfect pedestal" and says "[She] just fell in love with the story." Miley's character loses her virginity, smokes cannabis, gets wasted and kisses two girlfriends on the lips. She will also star in So Undercover, an action comedy film. Cyrus will play the part of "a tough, street-smart private eye hired by the FBI to go undercover in a college sorority." She will learn street fighting for the role. Parade magazine reported she was the richest teenage celebrity and that her franchise would be worth approximately $1 billion by the end of the year. With Cyrus's increased success came increased media attention. In a May 2008 interview with The Los Angeles Times, Francois Navarre, the proprietor of the X17 photo agency, said Cyrus's market value had picked up considerably after the Vanity Fair photo controversy: "She's started to sell more. [...] It used to be $300, and now it's $2,000 for a picture." Estimates for a picture of the then-15 year old's first kiss ranged from $30,000 to $150,000.

Cyrus celebrated her 16th birthday at Disneyland with a charity fundraiser for Youth Service America, a youth volunteer service organization.

At the end of 2009, Billboard magazine ranked Cyrus the fourth best-selling female artist and the fifth best-selling singer overall. Forbes ranked her #29 on the Celebrity 100 and reported she had earned a total of $25 million.

On October 8, 2009, Cyrus deleted her account on the social networking site Twitter, citing a desire for more privacy. She also told Parade magazine, "I deleted my Twitter account because I said on there that I believed in gay marriage because everyone should have the right to love each other, and I got such hate mail about my being a bad person." Cyrus was very popular on the site: her account was watched by approximately 2 million Twitter users in addition to the general public at the time of deletion.

On October 26, 2010, less than a month before Cyrus's eighteenth birthday, her father Billy Ray Cyrus filed for divorce from her mother in Tennessee, citing irreconcilable differences. In a statement made to People the next day announcing the split, the couple said, "As you can imagine, this is a very difficult time for our family... We are trying to work through some personal matters. We appreciate your thoughts and prayers."

Controversies

In December 2007, a brief controversy emerged when photos Cyrus had posted on her private MySpace account, depicting her and a female friend sharing a piece of licorice, were spread across the internet. "For me, I was like, That's two girls—it's not a big deal. But they got spread around. Like someone copied and pasted and said, Omigod, look at this, and blah blah blah," said Cyrus.

In April 2008, several provocative images of Cyrus in her underwear and swimsuit were leaked onto the web by a teenager who hacked Cyrus's Gmail account. Cyrus described the images as "silly, inappropriate shots" and stated, "I am going to make mistakes and I am not perfect. I never intended for any of this to happen and I am truly sorry if I have disappointed anyone." On April 25, 2008, the televised entertainment program Entertainment Tonight reported that Cyrus, then 15, had posed topless for a photoshoot taken by photographer Annie Leibovitz for Vanity Fair. On April 29, 2008, The New York Times clarified that though the pictures left an impression that she was bare-breasted, Cyrus was wrapped in a bedsheet and was actually not topless. Some parents expressed outrage at the nature of the photograph, which a Disney spokesperson described as "a situation [that] was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines." Gary Marsh, president of entertainment for Disney Channel Worldwide, was quoted by Portfolio magazine to have said, “For Miley Cyrus to be a 'good girl' is now a business decision for her. Parents have invested in her a godliness. If she violates that trust, she won't get it back."

In May 2008, Gossett, Cyrus's longtime acting agent, left Cunningham Escott Slevin Doherty for United Talent Agency, partially with the hope of "giving Cyrus the major-agency backing that would support a widening career", according to The Hollywood Reporter. About a year later in June 2009, Cyrus left both Gossett and UTA, which had recently negotiated her deals for The Last Song and the fourth season of Hannah Montana, and joined the Creative Artists Agency, which had already represented her for music. Nikki Finke, who broke the news, reported, "Is this fair to UTA? Of course not. But I hear the decision was made by Miley's mother Trish Cyrus".

Cyrus's performance of "Party in the U.S.A." at the 2009 Teen Choice Awards incited a media uproar, with some viewers criticizing Cyrus's provocative outfit and inclusion of a brief pole dance as inappropriate for her age, then sixteen, and for her young fans. Conversely, Newsday reported that her sexualization "has been coming for some time." Cyrus was also criticized that year for dating Gaston, five years her senior, and for a photo displaying Cyrus and friends making "slant-eyed" expressions, which the Organization of Chinese Americans claimed was offensive to the Asian community. Cyrus apologized for the photo on her website, defending her actions and saying, "In NO way was I making fun of any ethnicity! I was simply making a goofy face."

Later in 2010, TMZ released a video of Cyrus, then 16, giving Adam Shankman, producer of The Last Song, a lap dance at the film's wrap party. Cyrus's father defended her actions, saying Miley was just "having fun" and that "it's what people her age do". Later that year in December, TMZ released a video of Cyrus, which took place five days after her 18th birthday at her Los Angeles home, in which she is seen smoking from a bong. She claimed she was smoking the psychoactive plant salvia divinorum, although this has not been confirmed by anybody but Cyrus herself. Salvia is legal in the state of California, and Cyrus was of legal age at the time the video was shot. Cyrus's father expressed his sadness regarding the matter on Twitter, saying, "Sorry guys. I had no idea. Just saw this stuff for the first time myself. Im so sad. There is much beyond my control right now".

Relationships

Cyrus told Seventeen magazine that she and Nick Jonas had dated for two years and "were in love", but were "fighting a lot" by the end. In February 2008, Cyrus and her friend opened a YouTube account and began posting videos of what they called The Miley and Mandy Show. The show, described as a "YouTube hit," is said to be filmed for fun by Cyrus and Jiroux and to be entirely their work, with Cyrus and Jiroux editing the footage together.

In June 2009, Cyrus ended her nine month relationship with model Justin Gaston shortly before flying to Georgia to film The Last Song. While filming later that month, Cyrus began dating her co-star in The Last Song, Australian actor Liam Hemsworth. She later called him her "first serious boyfriend". In August 2010, it was confirmed that her relationship with Hemsworth had ended. Cyrus and Hemsworth were seen together a month later, and were reportedly back together. It was announced in early November that the couple had split again.

Filmography

{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Films ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 2003 | Big Fish | Young Ruthie | |- | 2007 | High School Musical 2 | Girl at pool | Disney Channel Original Movie |- | 2008 | | Herself | 3D Concert film |- | 2008 | Bolt | Penny (voice) | |- | 2009 | | Miley Stewart / Hannah Montana | |- | 2010 | | Veronica "Ronnie" Miller | |- | 2010 | Sex and the City 2 | Herself | Cameo |- | 2011 | | Lola | Remake of French film |- | 2011 | Justin Bieber: Never Say Never | Herself | Cameo |- | 2011 | So Undercover | Molly | Filming |}

{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Television ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 2001–2003 | Doc | Kylie | Recurring role |- | 2006– 2011 | Hannah Montana | Miley Stewart / Hannah Montana | Lead role |- | 2006 | The Suite Life of Zack & Cody | Miley Stewart / Hannah Montana | "That's So Suite Life of Hannah Montana" (Season 2, Episode 20) |- | 2007 | | Celebrity Star (voice) | "Frog Prince" (Season 2, Episode 5) |- | 2007–2008 | | Yata (voice) | Recurring role |- | 2009 | | Miley Stewart / Hannah Montana | "Double-Crossed" (Season 1, Episode 21) |}

Discography

Albums

Meet Miley Cyrus (2007)

Breakout (2008)

Can't Be Tamed (2010)

EP's

The Time Of Our Lives (2009)

Live Albums

Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert (2008)

iTunes live from London (2009)

Hannah Montana Albums

Hannah Montana (2006)

Hannah Montana 2 (2007)

(2009)

Hannah Montana 3 (2009)

Hannah Montana Forever (2010)

Tours

Best of Both Worlds Tour (2007–08)

Wonder World Tour (2009)

Awards and nominations

List of awards and nominations received by Miley Cyrus

References

Further reading

External links

}} |- |- |- |- |- |- Category:1992 births Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Actors from Tennessee Category:American child actors Category:American child singers Category:American Christians Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American pop singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Bubblegum pop Category:Fascination Records artists Category:Hollywood Records artists Category:Living people Category:Miley Cyrus

Category:Musicians from Tennessee Category:People from Franklin, Tennessee Category:People from Nashville, Tennessee Category:Southern Baptists

Name	Justin Bieber
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Justin Drew Bieber
Born	March 01, 1994
Origin	Stratford, Ontario, Canada
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, piano, percussion,
Genre	Pop, R&B; ( , born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian pop-R&B; singer. Bieber was discovered in 2008 by Scooter Braun, who happened to come across Bieber's videos on YouTube and later became his manager. Braun arranged for him to meet with Usher in Atlanta, Georgia, and Bieber was soon signed to Raymond Braun Media Group (RBMG), a joint venture between Braun and Usher, and then to a recording contract with Island Records offered by L.A. Reid. His first full studio release, My World 2.0, was released on March 23, 2010 and has since received similar success; it debuted at number one and within the top ten of several countries and was certified platinum in the United States. It was preceded by the worldwide top-ten single, "Baby," in January 2010.
Name	Bieber, Justin
Short description	Canadian singer
Date of birth	March 1, 1994
Place of birth	Stratford, Ontario, Canada

Category:1994 births Category:Living people Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Canadian child singers Category:Canadian dance musicians Category:Canadian expatriate musicians in the United States Category:Canadian Internet personalities Category:Canadian male singers Category:Canadian pop singers Category:Canadian rhythm and blues singers Category:Hip hop singers Category:Island Records artists Category:Musicians from Atlanta, Georgia Category:Musicians from Ontario Category:People from Stratford, Ontario Category:Canadian people of German descent

Name	Zac Efron
Caption	Efron at the 2007 Australia Kids Choice Awards
Birthname	Zachary David Alexander Efron
Birthdate	October 18, 1987
Birthplace	San Luis Obispo, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Yearsactive	2002–present

Zachary David Alexander "Zac" Efron (born October 18, 1987) is an American actor, singer, and dancer. He began acting professionally in the early 2000s, and became known to young audiences after his roles in the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical, the WB series Summerland, and the 2007 film version of the Broadway musical Hairspray. In 2007, before the release of High School Musical 2, Rolling Stone declared him the "poster boy for tweenyboppers" and featured him in their late August 2007 issue. He is of Jewish ancestry and is an agnostic, having never been religious. His surname, "Efron", means "lark" in Hebrew.

Efron has said that he would "flip out" if he got a "B" and not an "A" in school, and has also described himself as having been a class clown. Efron's father encouraged him to begin acting when Efron was 11 years old. worked in a theater called The Great American Melodrama and Vaudeville, Efron was later signed to the Creative Artists Agency.

Education

Efron graduated from Arroyo Grande High School in 2006, and was then accepted into the University of Southern California, but has deferred his enrollment to work on film projects. Efron also attended Pacific Conservatory of the Performing Arts, a community college located in Santa Maria, California, which provided him with the opportunity to perform as a "young player" during the years of 2000 and 2001.

Career

Early work

In 2002, Efron began to appear in guest roles on several television series, including Firefly, ER, and The Guardian. He portrayed Cameron Bale on the now-cancelled WB series Summerland. Originally introduced as a recurring character, Efron became a regular cast member on the show in the second season in 2004, starring opposite the likes of Kay Panabaker, Lori Loughlin and Jesse McCartney. Since appearing in Summerland, he has also had guest roles on the shows , NCIS, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and The Replacements. In 2003, Efron starred in the Lifetime original television movie Miracle Run. He played Steven Morgan, one of two autistic twins. For his performance, he was nominated for a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Movie, Mini-series or Special — Supporting Young Actor. In 2005, he played a main character in Hope Partlow's music video for her song "Sick Inside." Also in 2005, he played horse-loving Patrick McCardle in The Derby Stallion, where his character wants to beat the town bully at the steeple chase race.

Breakthrough

premiere of Me and Orson Welles, September 2008]]

In 2006, Efron starred in the Disney Channel original movie High School Musical as Troy Bolton, the popular student and captain of the basketball team. The film, which he initially made with "low expectations", In August 2006, Efron won a Teen Choice Award in the Breakout Star and the TV — Choice Chemistry categories, shared with Vanessa Hudgens. The film's cast, along with Efron, toured Sydney, Australia, London, England, and other locations to promote the film.

Shortly after High School Musical aired, Efron debuted with two simultaneous charted songs on Billboard Hot 100 on February 4, 2006, with "Get'cha Head in the Game" and "Breaking Free", a duet with Vanessa Hudgens from the film. On the following week's chart, Efron had five simultaneous song credits from High School Musical: "Get'cha Head in the Game", "Start of Something New", "What I've Been Looking For: Reprise", "We're All in This Together" and "Breaking Free." "We're All in This Together" was credited to the whole High School Musical cast. "Breaking Free", at the time, made the fastest climb in the history of the Billboard charts, from #86 to #4 between the two weeks; the record was beaten by Beyoncé and Shakira's "Beautiful Liar". Efron also appeared in the 2006 Disney Channel Games as captain of the Red Team.

Efron's singing talents were disputed when it was revealed that Drew Seeley's voice was blended with his on the soundtrack of High School Musical. An August 23, 2007 interview in Rolling Stone magazine revealed that he had been cast in High School Musical after the songs were written, and the songs (written for a tenor) were somewhat out of his baritone vocal range.

2007 - present

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

In 2006, Efron was cast as Link Larkin in a film version of Hairspray released on July 20, 2007. Efron performed all of his own vocals in the role, which was filmed in Toronto, Ontario, from September 5 to December 2, 2006. He cut and dyed his hair dark brown and gained about 15 pounds for the role. Efron's performance and the film received positive reviews. The film set a new record, becoming the most watched basic cable program in U.S. history, with 17.2 million viewers. Efron also appeared on the cover of the August 2007 edition of Rolling Stone. The article about him revealed that he hoped to someday play an action hero. Efron presented the 2007 Teen Choice Award for "Favorite Movie" along with Queen Latifah, and later that year, he co-hosted the Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards with The Veronicas on October 10 in Sydney.

Efron reprised his role in , which was theatrically released on October 24, 2008. His next role was in 17 Again, a high school-set comedy-drama produced by Adam Shankman and based on a pitch by Jason Filardi; the plot involved an adult who is transformed into a 17-year old (played by Efron). 17 Again was released in 2009.

In early 2008, Efron was cast in the lead role in the film Me and Orson Welles. Based on Robert Kaplow's novel of the same name, the story, set in 1937 New York, tells of a teenager hired to star in Orson Welles' production of Julius Caesar, where he becomes attracted to a career-driven production assistant. The film was shot in the Isle of Man, London and New York, during February — April 2008. It was introduced to North America via the Toronto Film Festival on September 5, 6, and 11, 2008 and was released in 2009. Efron was also scheduled to star in Paramount's musical remake of the film Footloose, and has said that he would like to add his "own little bit of flair" to the role originated by Kevin Bacon. Efron was quoted as saying that while it was a promising gig, he left the project because he "was looking for a new challenge, and this was another musical."

On April 8, 2009, Efron's participation in a comedic short video entitled "Zac Efron's Pool Party" for the website Funny Or Die was released for public viewing. On April 11, 2009, Efron hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live. In early June 2009 it was confirmed that Efron would be making a guest appearance during the sixth season of HBO's comedy series Entourage.

Efron starred in a series of advertisements along with Kristen Bell and Sean Combs promoting the 2010 MTV Movie Awards and the host, Aziz Ansari. In 2009, Efron signed on to play title character in the movie Charlie St. Cloud. The film was released on July 30, 2010.

In 2009, Efron was revealed to be connected to the live action rendition of the Japanese anime Full Metal Panic, simply entitled Panic. He is also slated to star in the title role of the live-action adaptation of the Jonny Quest cartoons. Additional projects include Einstein Theory and an adaptation of Fire, by Image Comics.

Personal life

Efron owns an apartment in Los Angeles, California. On January 15, 2008, Efron was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles for an emergency appendectomy. Efron was also on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list in 2008, as number 92 with an estimated earning of $5.8 million from June 2007 to June 2008. As of April 5, 2009, his personal wealth equaled about $10 million. People magazine said in 2007 that Efron and Vanessa Hudgens began dating in 2005 during the filming of High School Musical, although Us magazine said, after the two broke up in December 2010, that the two "met in 2005 while making the first High School Musical flick, and became a romantic item about two years later."

Filmography

{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Films ! Year ! Film ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 2003 | Melinda's World | Stuart Wasser | |- | 2003 | | Pete Laemke | |- | 2004 | Miracle Run | Steven Morgan | Nominated—Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special by a Supporting Actor |- | 2004 | Triple Play | Harry Fuller | |- | 2005 | | Patrick McCardle | |- | 2006 | If You Lived Here, You'd be Home Now | Cody | |- | 2006 | High School Musical | Troy Bolton | Disney Channel Original MovieTeen Choice Award for Choice Chemistry (shared with Vanessa Hudgens)Nominated—Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries or Special by a Lead Actor |- | 2007 | Hairspray | Link Larkin | Hollywood Film Award for Ensemble of the Year (shared with Hairspray cast)MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance - MaleYoung Hollywood Award for One to WatchNominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best SongNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |- | 2007 | High School Musical 2 | Troy Bolton | Disney Channel Original Movie |- | 2008 | | Troy Bolton | MTV Movie Award for Best Performance - MaleTeen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor - Music/DanceNominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (shared with Vanessa Hudgens) |- | 2009 | 17 Again | Mike O'Donnell (teen) | Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor - ComedyTeen Choice Award for Choice Rockstar MomentNominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Performance - Male |- | 2009 | Me and Orson Welles | Richard Samuels | |- | 2010 | Charlie St. Cloud | Charlie St. Cloud | |}

{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Television ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 2002 | Firefly | Young Simon Tam | Episode "Safe" |- | 2003 | | Luke Tomello | Episode "Without Consent" |- | 2003 | ER | Bobby Neville | Episode "Dear Abby" |- | 2005 | Summerland | Cameron Bale | 16 episodes |- | 2005 | | Seth Dawson | Episode "" |- | 2005 | | Davey Hunkerhoff | Episode "Davey Hunkerhoff / Ratted Out" |- | 2006 | Heist | Pizza Delivery Guy | Episode "Pilot" |- | 2006 | | Trevor | Episode "Odd Couples" |- | 2006 | NCIS | Danny | Episode "Deception" |- | 2008 | Robot Chicken | Billy Joel | Episode "Tell My Mom" |- | 2009 | Robot Chicken | Harry Potter | Episode "I Love Her" |- | 2009 | Saturday Night Live | Himself | 2 episodes |- | 2009 | Entourage | Himself | Episode "Security Briefs" |}

Other awards

2006 - Teen Choice Award: Choice Breakout Star

2007 - Teen Choice Award: Best Male Actor

2007 - Teen Choice Award: Choice Male Hottie

2011 - Favorite Movie Star Under 25

Discography

Soundtracks

Hairspray (2007)

High School Musical 2 (2007)

(2008)

Charted songs

References

External links

Zac Efron at TV Guide

Category:1987 births Category:American agnostics Category:American child actors Category:American child singers Category:American film actors Category:American Jews Category:American television actors Category:Actors from California Category:Jewish actors Category:Jewish agnostics Category:Jewish American musicians Category:Jewish singers Category:Living people Category:People from San Luis Obispo, California Category:Arroyo Grande, California

Name	''' The Script
Background	group_or_band
Origin	Dublin, Ireland
Genre	Soft Rock Pop Rock
Years active	1996–2001 (as Mytown) 2001–present (as The Script)
Label	Sony Music
Url
Current members	Danny O'Donoghue Mark Sheehan Glen Power

The Script are a soft rock band from Dublin, Ireland. Based in London after signing to Sony Label Group imprint Phonogenic, the band released their self-entitled debut album in August 2008. Their music has been featured in video games and the popular programmes 90210, Ghost Whisperer, The Hills, Waterloo Road, Eastenders and The Vampire Diaries.

Biography

Danny O'Donoghue and Mark Sheehan met in a club in The Liberties area of Dublin, near the Guinness brewery, gravitating to each other through a shared liking of music, and in particular a love of American black music. "At that time, MTV only came on in Dublin after midnight, it was the fuzzy channel, and for my generation black culture was just a wave through us all," explains Sheehan. "It wasn't about gangs and guns; it was fashion and fun, singing and dancing."

Mark and Danny were formerly part of a band that had formed in 1996 called MyTown, including Chris Costello, lead singer. They achieved moderate success in Ireland and the UK but were overshadowed by the thriving boyband circuit. There were four members: Danny O'Donoghue, Mark Sheehan, Paul Walker, and Terry Daly.

Striking up a songwriting and production partnership, O'Donoghue and Sheehan's talent was recognized early, and, to their astonishment, they found themselves invited to Canada to collaborate with some of their production heroes, including such legends of modern R&B; as Dallas Austin, Montell Jordan and Teddy Riley. They were based in the US for many years, but moved back to Dublin where they recruited Glen Power for their new band. He had been playing sessions from the age of fifteen, using the money to work on a solo project in his home. But that went on hold when his collaboration with Mark and Danny produced three songs in one week. "I had never had a chance with any other band to express myself with such freedom." The band signed to Phonogenic in 2005, and released an EP on Last.FM. The band's influences include a diverse group of artists that include U2, The Police, The Neptunes, Timbaland, and Van Morrison, all of which contribute to their distinct sound. O'Donoghue also made a reference to Amy Winehouse and Stevie Wonder while discussing his personal voice while singing. He stated that the instrument he attempts to imitate is a violin, based on the string arrangements of Stevie Wonder, while Amy Winehouse is similar to a saxophone.

In the beginning years of the band, Mark Sheehan's mother fell terminally ill, causing a lot of stress on the band and members, but it also had a positive effect on O'Donoghue's writing. With such strong emotional tension, the songwriter found new lyrics every day. O'Donoghue said that "That was the time when it finally came home to me how important music was to me, cos in my darkest moments that's what got me through." After Sheehan's mother's passing, ten months after her diagnosis, O'Donoghue's father died four months later of a heart attack. Even with such trying moments in their early years, the band was able to rise out of it, albeit with somewhat bleak lyrics in several songs, as commented by Danny when referencing "We Cry": "There is not a lot of hope in the song, cause not everybody's life is full of hope. There's not always roses at the end."

The Script (2008-2010)

The Script performed "We Cry" for the first time on BalconyTV in Dublin on 13 September 2007. The band claimed that BalconyTV was the "first TV they ever did" when they won Best Band at the DanishTV Music Video Awards 2009 in the Pepper Club Dublin on 20 June 2008. At the awards the band said the award was their "first ever". The Script released their debut single "We Cry" on 14 April 2008. "We Cry" received "Single of the Day" on RTÉ 2FM, Today FM and by Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 1, where many radio presenters heavily supported the band. The single peaked at number 15 on the UK Singles Chart, giving the band their first top 20 single. The track also performed well on the Irish Singles Chart, peaking at number 9 and giving the band their first top ten single in their home country. The single reached number 2 in Ireland, Denmark, and the UK. The band released their debut album, The Script, on 11 August 2008. Following the success of "The Man Who Can't Be Moved", the album entered the UK Album Chart at number one with sales of 20,240 copies where it stayed for eleven weeks. The album spent three weeks in the top ten and was the eighteenth best selling album in the UK of 2008. The album also entered the Irish Album Chart at number one, holding the top spot for five weeks. It had, as of January 2009, spent 2 wks. in the top 10. The Irish office of Sony BMG music presented the group with their first multi-platinum disc for over 600,000 sales of their debut album, ‘The Script’.

The band's third single, "Breakeven", was released in Ireland on 21 November 2008 and in the UK on 29th Dec 2008. The single was an instant success on the Irish Singles Chart. After entering the chart at number forty, it spent one week before entering the top ten at number ten giving the Script their third top ten single in Russia. The single has, to date, spent 4 weeks on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 21. The band's fourth single "Talk You Down" was released in March 2009.

On November 9 The Script received an award at the World Music Awards for 'Best Selling Irish Act' of 2008 and on 19 February 2010, they won 'Best Live Performance' at the Meteor Ireland Music Awards. The band has confirmed that they plan to write a track for Leona Lewis's second album. In December 2008, the band were confirmed to be supporting Take That at their concert at Croke Park on 13 June 2009. The band played at the Cheerio's Childline concert on the opening night of Dublin's 02. They played among big stars Enrique Iglesias, Anastacia, The Pet Shop Boys and many more.

On April 7 2009 the band was confirmed to be supporting U2 on their third concert at Croke Park, which took place on 27 July 2009. On 29 April 2009, the band announced that their next single would be Before The Worst, to be released on 15 June 2009. On July 17 and 18, 2009, The Script opened for Paul McCartney at the historic first concerts at New York's Citi Field and for U2 at Dublin's Croke Park.

The band's bonus track and B-side "Live Like We're Dying" was re-recorded by American Idol 2009 winner Kris Allen as the first single off his self-titled album. Allen's version of "Live Like We're Dying" was digitally released for download on 21 September 2009.

On December 2 2009 the band's single "The Man Who Can't Be Moved" was featured as a remix on the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show during the Enchanted Forest segment.

On April 16 2010, their first U.S. single "Breakeven" was certified Platinum by the RIAA (the Recording Industry Association of America), selling over one million copies in the U.S and has since peaked at #12 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in the spring of 2010. The band performed a headline tour in the United States that kicked off in San Diego on October 11, 2010 at the House of Blues and ended on November 7, 2010 at the House of Blues in Boston, Massachusetts. On 21 May 2010, they appeared live on NBC's Today Show as part of the show's outdoor Toyota Concert Series.

Science & Faith (2010-Present)

The Script announced a new album and single on their website on Monday, 19 July 2010. The first single from upcoming album Science & Faith has been confirmed to be a song named "For the First Time". "For the First Time" was released in the UK in September 2010 and the album Science & Faith was released in the UK on 13 September 2010.

In the United States, "For the First Time" was released on iTunes on 8 November 2010, with "Science & Faith" set to be released on 18 January, 2011. The song was first released in the United States on AOL Music on 29 September 2010.

"For the First Time" has entered the UK charts at #5 and moved up to #4 the following week and entered the Irish charts at #1. The music video features Bono's daughter Eve Hewson. Science & Faith entered the Irish Album Chart and the UK album chart at #1.

On Friday, 24 September at 9:00am tickets for The Script's three nights at The O2 Dublin, two nights at The Odyssey, Belfast & two at The INEC, Killarney went on sale and sold out in less than 40 minutes, with over 60,000 tickets sold.

On 1 October at 9:00am tickets for The Script arena tour in March 2011 went on sale. The tickets for all 12 arenas around the UK sold out in 5 days. They also announced that they would play a "Homecoming" concert at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. This is part of the Science & Faith Tour and will be their biggest headline show to date.

The Script also took part in Children in Need 2010.

The Script will be participating in the VH1 Best Cruise Ever and sailing to Cozumel April 28th-May 2nd, 2011.

The Script took part in BRMB's live 2010 with acts such as The Saturdays, Mark Ronson and Mcfly

Discography

;Studio albums

References

External links

The Script at MySpace

The Script at Billboard.com

The Script on BalconyTV – Music With Nothing

BBC Talking Shop: The Script by Neil Smith, 17 April 2008 at ITV

BBC Music Club: The Script

The Script CD review in MTVMexico.com

Talk You Down Review at Daily Music Book

Category:Irish rock music groups Category:2000s music groups Category:2010s music groups Category:Music from Dublin Category:Musical groups established in 1995

Name	Sean Kingston
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Kisean Anderson
Born	February 03, 1990Miami, Florida, United States
Years active	2007-present
Label	Beluga Heights, Epic, E1 Music
Occupation	Singer, rapper
Genres	Pop, hip hop, R&B;, Reggae fusion

Sean Kingston (born Kisean Anderson on February 3, 1990) is an American singer and rapper. He pursued a music career and debuted in 2007 with Sean Kingston.

Early life

Kingston was born on February 3, 1990 in Miami, Florida and attended Ocho Rios High School in Ocho Rios, Saint Ann, Jamaica. His grandfather was the noted Jamaican reggae producer Lawrence Lindo, who worked under the stage name Jack Ruby.

Music career

2007-2008: Sean Kingston

Anderson moved back to Miami to pursue a music career. Beluga is a label notable for its focus on discovering and developing artists. In an interview with HitQuarters label head and producer J.R. Rotem described this process with regards to Kingston:

"Sean Kingston was a rapper when we found him and it was a development process to get him more melodic. At Beluga we essentially refine the talent so that it's more of a marketable product." The single, based on the bass line and lyrical "association" of the 1961 hit "Stand By Me" by Ben E. King, reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and topped the UK Singles Chart along with many other international charts. Similarly, the song "Me Love" samples the main hook out Led Zeppelin's "D'yer Mak'er", from their 1973 album Houses of the Holy. The song also debuted at number one in Australia, where it knocked off Fergie's "Big Girls Don't Cry", which had been at number one for nine weeks. The song stayed on the Canadian Hot 100 number one spot for over six weeks before getting knocked down to third place by the Plain White T's. "Beautiful Girls" remained at number one in Canada longer than any other song in 2007. In 2007, Kingston was the opening act for Gwen Stefani's The Sweet Escape Tour and for select dates on Beyoncé's The Beyoncé Experience Tour.

2009–2010: Tomorrow

The album Tomorrow was released on September 22, 2009. Big-name producers involved in the album included former Fugee Wyclef Jean; RedOne (of recent Lady GaGa fame); plus Sean's original mentor, J.R. Rotem. So far, the singles "Fire Burning", and "Face Drop" have been released. Additionally, five promotional digital singles were released leading up to the album.

Kingston co-wrote Jason Derülo's "Whatcha Say". He also found the R&B;-reggae singer Iyaz on MySpace and signed him to his record label.

He also recorded the track "Miss Everything" for the UK girl-group Sugababes studio album Sweet 7 which was released March 15, 2010 in the UK.

Kingston and DJ Khaled are being featured on Bow Wow's New Single "For My Hood" From the upcoming movie, The Lottery Ticket

2010–present: Dumb Love and other projects

According to Sean Kingston, he is already working on his next album. The lead single was confirmed to be "Dumb Love" featuring Lil Wayne by Kingston himself, but Lil Wayne is serving a prison sentence and a music video has not been filmed. It is still possibly a future single to be released with a music video shot after Lil Wayne is released from prison. The song is also featured in a episode of The Suite Life on Deck which Kingston guest starred on. The album will also feature T-Pain, Nicki Minaj, Kanye West, Wyclef Jean, Akon and Dr. Dre. The first single from the album is "Eenie Meenie" featuring Justin Bieber, released on March 23, 2010, which is also included on Bieber's My World 2.0 album. This collaboration with the young star has been the source of much disapproval from the rap community. The second single from the album "Letting Go (Dutty Love)", which features a verse from Nicki Minaj. It was released on iTunes August 3, while the third is "Dumb Love" and was released on iTunes September 8, the song does not features Lil Wayne. Sean Kingston's new song "She Moves" samples Irena Cara's "What a Feeling" from the film Flashdance''. A fourth single "Party All Night (Sleep All Day)" was released on December 21, 2010. The song leaked online in December of 2010. The music video has already been shot. The video was released on December 23, 2010. Sean said this would be the song of the new year.

Kingston represented the continent of America to sing the Official Theme Song of the Singapore 2010 Youth Olympic Games, Everyone. He collaborated with four other international artists representing their continent, South African Jody Williams representing Africa, Singaporean Tabitha Nauser (Asia), British Steve Appleton (Europe), and Australian Jessica Mauboy representing (Oceania) However, Kingston was unable to attend, the Singapore Youth Olympics 2010 opening ceremony, due to passport mix ups

He also released a single called "Letting Go (Dutty Love)" with Young Money's Nicki Minaj. Plus, near the end of July 2010, he was invited and featured on Cash Money Records/former So So Def member Bow Wow on his single "For My Hood". He performed it with him along with DJ Khaled on BET's television program 106 & Park the day after release.

Sean Kingston will release a mixtape with pop star Justin Bieber, called Our World. It will feature about 12-14 songs and includes their versions of songs like Pretty Boy Swag and Billionaire. The mixtape is finished and Sean showed his fans a preview on ustream on August, 19, 2010.

Television appearances

For his 18th birthday, Sean appeared on the US TV show My Super Sweet 16. The show was memorable for Sean's elaborate entrance to his party, which involved Sean arriving at his party on a private yacht, wearing his own personalized white suit.

Sean appeared on the Nick Jr. Original Series Yo Gabba Gabba.

He was also featured as a guest star on the 2009 remake of The Electric Company.

He made appearances on the MTV reality show The Hills and MTV's Cribs.

In 2010 he appeared in an episode of the Disney Channel series The Suite Life on Deck as himself and performed his latest single "Dumb Love"

In 2010 he appeared in Katy Brand vs. series on ITV2 in the United Kingdom.

Discography

Sean Kingston (2007)

Tomorrow (2009)

TBA (2011)

Mixtapes

Our World (2010)

King Of Kings (2011)

Awards/nominations

*2008, Outstanding New Artist (nominated)

MOBO Awards

*2007: Best Reggae Acts

Teen Choice Awards

*2007: Choice R&B; Track "Beautiful Girls"

*2007: Choice Summer Track "Beautiful Girls" (nominated)

*2009: Choice Summer Song "Fire Burning" (nominated)

References

External links

Official UK website

Category:1990 births Category:Living people Category:American male singers Category:American pop singers Category:American reggae musicians Category:American people of Jamaican descent Category:People from Kingston, Jamaica Category:Rappers from Miami, Florida Category:Hip hop singers Category:Reggae fusion artists

Caption	Bullock at the premiere for The Proposal in June 2009
Birth name	Sandra Annette Bullock
Birth date	July 26, 1964
Birth place	Arlington, Virginia, U.S.
Years active	1985–present
Spouse	Jesse G. James(2005–2010) (divorced)
Occupation	Actress, producer

Sandra Annette Bullock (; born July 26, 1964) is an American actress who rose to fame in the 1990s, after roles in successful films such as Speed and While You Were Sleeping. She has since established her career with films such as Miss Congeniality and Crash, which received critical acclaim. In 2007, she was ranked as the 14th richest female celebrity with an estimated fortune of $85 million. In 2009, Bullock starred in the most financially successful films of her career, The Proposal and The Blind Side. Bullock was awarded a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, and the Academy Award for Best Actress, for her role as Leigh Anne Tuohy in The Blind Side.

Early life

Sandra Annette Bullock was born in Arlington, Virginia, the daughter of Helga D. Meyer (1942–2000), a German opera singer and voice teacher, and John W. Bullock (born 1925), a voice coach and executive from Alabama. Bullock's maternal grandfather was a rocket scientist from Nuremberg, Germany. Bullock lived in Fürth until age twelve, where she sang in the opera's children's choir at the Staatstheater Nürnberg. She frequently traveled with her mother on her opera tours, and lived in Germany and other parts of Europe for much of her childhood. She is fluent in German. Bullock studied ballet and vocal arts as a child, taking small parts in her mother's opera productions. Bullock has a sister, Gesine Bullock-Prado (born 1970).

Bullock attended Washington-Lee High School, where she was a cheerleader and participated in high school theater productions. She graduated in 1982 and enrolled in East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. She left East Carolina during her senior year in the spring of 1986, only three credits short of graduating, to pursue an acting career. She moved to Manhattan to pursue auditions and supported herself with a variety of jobs including bartender, cocktail waitress and coat checker.

Bullock later completed her coursework at East Carolina University.

Acting

2002]]

While in New York, Bullock took acting classes with Sanford Meisner. She appeared in several student films, and later landed a role in an Off-Broadway play No Time Flat. Director Alan J. Levi was impressed by Bullock's performance and offered her a part in the TV movie Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman (1989). Afterward, she was cast in a series of small roles in several independent films as well as in the lead role of the short-lived NBC television version of the film Working Girl (1990). She later appeared in several films, such as Love Potion No. 9 (1992), The Thing Called Love (1993) and Fire on the Amazon. A prominent supporting role in the science-fiction/action movie Demolition Man (1993) led to her breakthrough performance in Speed the following year. She became a movie star in the late 1990s, carrying a string of successes, including While You Were Sleeping, and Miss Congeniality in 2000. Bullock to received $11 million for , which she agreed to star in for financial backing for her own project, Hope Floats, , and has revealed she regrets making the sequel. She later received $17.5 million for .

Bullock was selected as one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1996 and 1999, and was also ranked #58 in Empire magazine's Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time list. She was presented with the 2002 Raúl Juliá Award for Excellence for her efforts, as the executive producer of the sitcom George Lopez, in helping expand career openings for Hispanic talent in the media and entertainment industry. She also made several appearances on the show as Accident Amy, an accident-prone employee at the factory Lopez's character manages. In 2002, she starred opposite Hugh Grant in the global hit Two Weeks Notice and in the film Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.

In 2004, Bullock had a supporting role in the film Crash. She received positive reviews for her performance, with some critics suggesting that it was the best performance of her career. Bullock later appeared in The Lake House, a romantic drama also starring her Speed co-star, Keanu Reeves; it was released on June 16, 2006. Because their film characters are separated throughout the film (due to the plot revolving around time travel), Bullock and Reeves were only on set together for two weeks during filming. The same year, Bullock appeared in Infamous, playing author Harper Lee. Bullock also starred in Premonition with Julian McMahon, which was released in March 2007. 2009 proved to be especially good for Bullock, giving the actress two record highs in her career, as earlier in the year she released The Proposal, with co-star Ryan Reynolds, a huge hit that took in more than $314 million at the box office worldwide, making it her most successful picture to date.

In November 2009, Bullock starred in The Blind Side, which opened at #2 behind New Moon with $34.2 million, making it her highest opening weekend ever. The Blind Side is unique in that it had a 17.6% increase at the box office its second weekend, and it took the top spot of the box office in its third weekend. The movie cost $29 million to make according to the Box Office Mojo. It has grossed over $250 million to date, making it her highest grossing film and the first movie in history to pass the $200 million mark with only one top-billed female star. She won the award for Best Actress at the Golden Globes, Academy Awards, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance in The Blind Side. Bullock had initially turned down the role three times due to a discomfort with portraying a devout Christian. Winning the "Oscar" also gave her another unique distinction — since she won two "Razzies" the day before, for her performance in All About Steve, she is the only performer ever to have been named both "Best" and "Worst" for the same year. Sandra was asked to return her 2009 "Worst Actress of the Year" Razzie award, however this wasn't because of a change of heart for Bullock's performance that earned her award in the first place. In reality, when Sandra personally accepted her Razzie and left she accidentally took the original one-of-a-kind prototype Razzie, as opposed to the cheap trinket normally handed out to celebrities.

Recognition

.]]

As of 2009, Bullock's films have grossed over $3.1 billion worldwide. According to The Numbers, her total domestic gross stands at $1.7 billion, placing her among the Top 100 Stars at the Box Office.

Critics, while praising her screen persona, have been less receptive to her films. As of the 2009 release of The Proposal, Mark Kermode said she's made only three "good" films in her career—Speed, While You Were Sleeping, and Crash, and says "she's funny, she's gorgeous, it's impossible not to love her and yet she makes rotten film after rotten film after rotten film." As of 18 December 2009, Bullock has appeared on three Entertainment Weekly covers.

Entrepreneurship

Bullock runs her own production company, Fortis Films. Her sister, Gesine Bullock-Prado, was president of the company, but has since quit the business and moved to Montpelier, Vermont, where she opened a pastry shop and published a book. Her father, John Bullock, is the company's CEO. Bullock was an executive producer of The George Lopez Show, which garnered a lucrative syndication deal that banked her some $10 million (co-produced with Robert Borden). Bullock tried to produce a film based on F.X. Toole's short story, Million-Dollar Baby, but could not interest the studios in a female boxing drama. The story was eventually adapted and directed by Clint Eastwood as the Oscar-winning film, Million Dollar Baby (2004). Bullock's production company, Fortis Films, also produced All About Steve, which was released in September 2009.

Since November 2006, Bullock has owned an Austin, Texas restaurant, Bess Bistro. She later opened another business in downtown Austin called Walton's Fancy and Staple, a bakery and floral shop that also offers services such as event planning.

Personal life

Relationships

Bullock was once engaged to actor Tate Donovan, whom she met while filming Love Potion No. 9; their relationship lasted four years. She previously dated football player Troy Aikman, Austin musician Bob Schneider (for two years), and actors Matthew McConaughey and Ryan Gosling.

Bullock married motorcycle builder and Monster Garage host Jesse James on July 16, 2005. They first met when Bullock arranged for her ten-year-old godson to meet James as a Christmas present.

In November 2009, Bullock and James entered into a custody battle with James' second ex-wife, former pornographic actress Janine Lindemulder, with whom James had a child. Bullock and James subsequently won full legal custody of James' five-year-old daughter.

In March 2010, a scandal arose when several women claimed to have had affairs with James during his marriage to Bullock. Bullock cancelled European promotional appearances for The Blind Side citing "unforeseen personal reasons". On March 18, 2010, James responded to the rumors of infidelity by issuing a public apology to Bullock. He stated, "The vast majority of the allegations reported are untrue and unfounded" and "Beyond that, I will not dignify these private matters with any further public comment." James declared that "There is only one person to blame for this whole situation, and that is me", and asked that his wife and children one day "find it in their hearts to forgive me" for their current "pain and embarrassment". However on April 28, 2010, it was reported that Bullock had filed for divorce on April 23 in Austin. Their divorce was finalized on June 28, 2010, with "conflict of personalities" cited as the reason.

Bullock announced on April 28, 2010 that she had proceeded with plans to adopt a baby boy born in New Orleans. Bullock and James had begun an initial adoption process four years earlier. The child began living with them in January 2010, but they chose to keep the news private until after the Oscars in March 2010. However, given the couple's separation and then divorce, Bullock continued the adoption of the baby, named Louis Bardo Bullock, as a single parent.

On April 18, 2008, while Bullock was in Massachusetts shooting the film The Proposal, she and her husband were in an SUV that was hit head-on (driver's side offset) at moderate speed by a drunken driver. Vehicle damage was not major and there were no injuries.

Legal matters

In October 2004, Bullock won a multimillion-dollar judgment against Benny Daneshjou, the builder of her Lake Austin, Texas home; the jury ruled the house was uninhabitable. It has since been torn down and rebuilt.

On April 22, 2007, Marcia Diana Valentine was found lying outside James's and Bullock's Southern California home in Orange County. When James confronted the woman, she ran to her 2004 silver Mercedes, got behind the wheel, and tried to run over James. The woman is said to be an obsessed fan of Sandra Bullock. The woman was charged with one felony count each of aggravated assault and stalking, while Bullock obtained a restraining order to bar Valentine from "contacting or coming near her home, family or work for three years." Valentine pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated assault and stalking. Valentine was subsequently convicted of stalking and was sentenced to three years of probation.

Charity work

Bullock has been a public supporter of the American Red Cross, twice donating $1 million, first to its Liberty Disaster Relief Fund and four years later in response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunamis. In 2010, she donated $1 million to relief efforts in Haiti following the Haiti earthquake.

Along with other stars, Bullock did a PSA urging people to sign a petition for clean-up efforts of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Filmography

{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Feature films |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1987 | Hangmen | Lisa Edwards | |- | rowspan="4" | 1989 | Religion, Inc. (aka "A Fool and His Money") | Debby | |- | Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman | Kate Mason | |- | Who Shot Patakango? | Devlin Moran | |- | | Stacy | |- | 1990 | Lucky/Chances | Maria Santangelo | |- | rowspan="3" | 1992 | Who Do I Gotta Kill? (aka "Me and the Mob") | Lori | |- | When the Party's Over | Amanda | |- | Love Potion No. 9 | Diane Farrow | |- | rowspan="5" | 1993 | | Diane Shaver | |- | | Linda Lue Linden | |- | Demolition Man | Lt. Lenina Huxley | |- | Fire on the Amazon | Alyssa Rothman | |- | Wrestling Ernest Hemingway | Elaine | |- | 1994 | Speed | Annie Porter | |- | rowspan="2" | 1995 | While You Were Sleeping | Lucy Moderatz | Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |- | | Angela Bennett/Ruth Marx | |- | rowspan="3" | 1996 | Two If by Sea | Roz | |- | | Ellen Roark | |- | In Love and War | Agnes Von Kurowsky | |- | rowspan="2" | 1997 | | Annie Porter | |- | Making Sandwiches | actor/writer/director/producer | Debut—Sundance Film Festival |- | rowspan="3" | 1998 | Hope Floats | Roberta "Birdee" Pruitt | |- | Practical Magic | Sally Owens | |- | (animated film) | Miriam | (Voice) |- | 1999 | Forces of Nature | Sarah Lewis | |- | rowspan="3" | 2000 | Gun Shy | Judy Tipp | |- | 28 Days | Gwen Cummings | |- | Miss Congeniality | Gracie Hart | Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |- | rowspan="3" | 2002 | Murder by Numbers | Cassie Mayweather/Jessica Marie Hudson | |- | Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood | Siddalee Walker | |- | Two Weeks Notice | Lucy Kelson | |- | 2004 | Crash | Jean Cabot | |- | rowspan="2" | 2005 | Loverboy | Mrs. Harker | |- | | Gracie Hart | |- | rowspan="2" | 2006 | | Kate Forster | |- | Infamous | Nelle Harper Lee | |- | 2007 | Premonition | Linda Hanson | |- | rowspan="3" | 2009 | | Margaret Tate | Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |- | All About Steve | Mary Horowitz | Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress |- | | Leigh Anne Tuohy | Academy Award for Best Actress Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress (tied with Meryl Streep) Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role |}

References

External links

Sandra Bullock at Yahoo! Movies

Category:1964 births Category:Living people Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:Actors from Virginia Category:American actors of German descent Category:American film actors Category:American film producers Category:American television actors Category:American television producers Category:Best Actress Academy Award winners Category:East Carolina University alumni

Category:Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre alumni Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from Austin, Texas

Category:Waldorf school alumni

Category:People from Arlington, Virginia Category:People from Fürth

Name	Mariah Carey
Background	solo_singer
Birth date	March 27, 1970
Birth place	Huntington, New York, United States
Genre	R&B;, pop
Years active	1988–present
Associated acts	Boyz II Men, Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross, Jay-Z, Jermaine Dupri
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, model, record producer, actress, film producer
Spouse
Label	Columbia, Virgin, Island
Url

Mariah Carey (born March 27, 1970) is an American pop/R&B; singer-songwriter, record producer and actress. She made her recording debut, in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, and became the first recording artist to have her first five singles top the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. Following her marriage to Mottola, in 1993, a series of hit records established her position as Columbia Records' highest-selling act.

Following her separation from Mottola, in 1997, she introduced elements of hip hop into her album work, to much initial success, but her popularity was in decline when she left Columbia, in 2001. She signed a record $80 million dollar deal with Virgin Records, only to be dropped from the label and bought out of her contract in the following year. This radical turn of events was due to the highly publicized physical and emotional breakdown, as well as the poor reception that was given to Glitter, her film and soundtrack project. In 2002, Carey signed with Island Records, and, after a relatively unsuccessful period, she returned to the top of pop music, in 2005, with her album, The Emancipation of Mimi.

In a career spanning over two decades, Carey has sold more than 200 million albums, singles and videos worldwide,according to Island Def Jam, which makes her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Carey was cited as the world’s best-selling recording artist of the 1990s at the 1998 World Music Awards and was also named the best-selling female artist of the millennium by the same award-giving body in 2000. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), she is the third-best-selling female artist, with shipments of 63 million albums. In 2008, Carey earned her eighteenth number one single on the Hot 100, the most for any solo artist. Aside from her commercial accomplishments, she has earned five Grammy Awards and is known for her five-octave vocal range, power, melismatic style and use of the whistle register.

Life and career

1970–87: Childhood and youth

Mariah Carey was born in Huntington, Long Island, New York. She is the third and youngest child of Patricia (née Hickey), a former opera singer and vocal coach, and Alfred Roy Carey, an aeronautical engineer. Her mother is Irish American and her father is of Afro-Venezuelan and African American descent; her paternal grandfather, Roberto Nuñez, changed his surname to Carey to better assimilate upon moving to the United States from Venezuela. Carey has two sibilings, Morgan and Alison Carey. Carey was named after the song "They Call the Wind Mariah". Carey's parents divorced when she was three years old. While she lived in Huntington, racist neighbors allegedly poisoned the family dog and set fire to her family's car.

Carey graduated from Harborfields High School, in Greenlawn, New York. She was frequently absent, because of her work as a demo singer for local recording studios; her classmates consequently gave her the nickname "Mirage". Her work in the Long Island music scene provided opportunities to work with musicians, such as Gavin Christopher and Ben Margulies, with whom she co-wrote material for her demo tape. After she moved to New York City, she worked part-time jobs to pay the rent and she completed 500 hours of beauty school. Eventually, she became a backup singer for Puerto Rican freestyle singer Brenda K. Starr.

1988–92: Early career

In 1988, Carey met Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola at a party, where Starr gave Carey's demo tape to him. Mottola played the tape when he left the party and was impressed. He returned to find Carey but she had left. Nevertheless, Mottola tracked her down and signed her to a recording contract. This Cinderella-like story became part of the standard publicity that surrounded Carey's entrance into the industry.

Carey co-wrote the tracks on her 1990 debut album Mariah Carey and she has co-written most of her material since. During the recording, she expressed dissatisfaction with the contributions of producers such as Ric Wake and Rhett Lawrence, whom the executives at Columbia had enlisted to help to make the album more commercially viable. Critics were generally enthusiastic (See Critical reception section of the album article). Backed by a substantial promotional budget, the album reached number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, where it remained for several weeks. It yielded four number-one singles and made Carey a star in the United States but it was less successful in other countries. Critics rated the album highly, which assisted Carey's Grammy wins for Best New Artist, and—for her debut single, "Vision of Love"—Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. Mariah Carey was also the best selling album of 1991 in the United States.

Carey conceived Emotions, her second album, as an homage to Motown soul music (see Motown Sound), and she worked with Walter Afanasieff and Clivillés & Cole (from the dance group C+C Music Factory) on the record. It was released soon after her debut album — in late 1991 — but was neither as critically or commercially successful (See Promotion and reception section of the album article). The title track "Emotions" made Carey into the only recording act whose first five singles have reached number one on the U.S. Hot 100 chart, although the album's follow-up singles failed to match this feat. Carey had lobbied to produce her own songs and, beginning with Emotions, she has co-produced most of her material. "I didn't want [Emotions] to be somebody else's vision of me," she said. "There's more of me on this album."

Although Carey performed live occasionally, stage fright prevented her from embarking on a major tour. Her first widely seen appearance was featured on the television show MTV Unplugged in 1992, and she remarked that she felt that her performance that night proved her vocal abilities were not, as some had previously speculated, simulated with studio equipment. Alongside acoustic versions of some of her earlier songs, Carey premiered a cover of The Jackson 5's "I'll Be There", with her back-up singer Trey Lorenz. The duet was released as a single, reached number one in the U.S. and led to a record deal for Lorenz, Because of high ratings for the Unplugged television special, the concert's set list was released on the EP MTV Unplugged, which Entertainment Weekly called "the strongest, most genuinely musical record she has ever made [...] Did this live performance help her to take her first steps toward growing up?."

1993–96: First marriage, and international success

Carey and Tommy Mottola became romantically involved during the making of her debut album and were married in June, 1993. Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds consulted on the album Music Box, which was released later that year and became Carey's most successful worldwide. The album maintained a presence on the Billboard 200 for a staggering 128 weeks. It yielded her first UK Singles Chart number-one, a cover of Badfinger's "Without You", and the U.S. number-ones "Dreamlover" and "Hero". Billboard magazine proclaimed it "heart-piercing [...] easily the most elemental of Carey's releases, her vocal eurythmics in natural sync with the songs", but TIME magazine's Christopher John Farley lamented Carey's attempt at a mellower work, "[Music Box] seems perfunctory and almost passionless [...] Carey could be a pop-soul great; instead, she has once again settled for Salieri-like mediocrity." AllMusic adds, "Carey sounds detached on several selections. She scored a couple of huge hits, "Hero" and "Dreamlover", where she did inject some personality and intensity into the leads. Most other times, Carey blended into the background and allowed the tracks guide her, instead of pushing and exploding through them. It was wise for Carey to display other elements of her approach but, sometimes, excessive spirit is preferable to an absence of passion", and Rolling Stone expressed mixed sentiments and said, "Some of the songs appear to be strongly influenced by other hits. "Hero," with its message of self-sufficiency, aims for the inspirational grandeur of "Greatest Love of All", while "Just to Hold You Once Again" and "All I've Ever Wanted" chase the tail of "I Will Always Love You." In fact, Music Box is so precisely calculated to be a blockbuster that its impact is ultimately a little unnerving." In response to such comments, Carey said, "As soon as you have a big success, a lot of people don't like that. There's nothing that I can do about it. All I can do is to make music that I believe in." Most critics slighted the opening of her subsequent U.S. Music Box Tour. Farley balanced his critique with some positive observations: "The gospel flavored 'Anytime You Need A Friend' demonstrates Carey's vocal power, although too fleetingly. And the title cut is one of Carey's loveliest songs to date..." and, in subsequent years, emerged as one of her most perennially popular songs on U.S. radio. Critical reception of Merry Christmas was mixed, with Allmusic calling it an "otherwise vanilla set [...] pretensions to high opera on 'O Holy Night' and a horrid danceclub take on 'Joy to the World'." It became one of the most successful Christmas albums of all time.

In 1995, Columbia released Carey's fourth studio album, Daydream, which combined the pop sensibilities of Music Box with downbeat R&B; and hip hop influences. A remix of "Fantasy", its first single, featured rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard. Carey said that Columbia reacted negatively to her intentions for the album: "Everybody was like 'What, are you crazy?'. They're very nervous about breaking the formula." The New Yorker noted that "It became standard for R&B; stars, like Missy Eliott and Beyoncé, to combine melodies with rapped verses." John Norris of MTV News has stated that the remix was "responsible for, I would argue, an entire wave of music that we've seen since and that is the R&B-hip-hop; collaboration. You could argue that the 'Fantasy' remix was the single most important recording that she's ever made." Norris echoed the sentiments of TLC's Lisa Lopes, who told MTV that it's because of Mariah that we have "R&B.;" Daydream became her biggest-selling album in the U.S. and its singles achieved similar success — "Fantasy" became the second single to debut at number one in the U.S. and topped the Canadian Singles Chart for twelve weeks; "One Sweet Day" (a duet with Boyz II Men) spent a record-holding sixteen weeks at number one in the U.S.; and "Always Be My Baby" (co-produced by Jermaine Dupri) was the most successful record on U.S. radio in 1996, according to Billboard magazine. The album also generated career-best reviews for Carey, and publications such as The New York Times named it as one of 1995's best albums; the Times wrote that its "best cuts bring R&B; candy-making to a new peak of textural refinement [...] Carey's songwriting has taken a leap forward and become more relaxed, sexier and less reliant on thudding clichés." and AllMusic adds, "Daydream is her best record to date, and features a consistently strong selection of songs and a remarkably impassioned performance by Carey. A few of the songs are second-rate — particularly the cover of Journey's "Open Arms" — but Daydream demonstrates that Carey continues to perfect her craft and that she has earned her status as an R&B; diva." The short but profitable Daydream World Tour augmented sales of the album. The music industry took note of Carey's success — she won two awards at the American Music Awards for her solo efforts: Favorite Pop/Rock Female Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B; Female Artist. Daydream and its tracks were respectively nominated for six categories in the 38th Grammy Awards. Carey, along with Boyz II Men, opened the event with a performance of "One Sweet Day," which was mightily applauded. In contrast, throughout the night, she was not called to the stage to receive even one Grammy. The cameras started to focus on Carey, revealing the fact that it was becoming harder for her to retain a smile. Her disappointment was becoming obvious.

1997–2000: New image, Butterfly and Rainbow

Carey and Mottola officially separated in 1997. Although the public image of the marriage was a happy one, she said that, in reality, she had felt trapped by her relationship with Mottola, whom she often described as controlling. They officially announced their separation in 1997 and their divorce became final in the following year. Soon after the separation, Carey hired an independent publicist and a new attorney and manager. She continued to write and produce for other artists during this period and contributedto the debut albums of Allure and 7 Mile through her short-lived imprint Crave Records.

" video in 1998.]] Carey's next album, Butterfly (1997), yielded the number-one single "Honey", the lyrics and music video which presented a more overtly sexual image of her than had been previously seen. She stated that Butterfly marked the point when she attained full creative control over her music. However, she added, "I don't think that it's that much of a departure from what I've done in the past [...] It's not like I went psycho and thought I would be a rapper. Personally, this album is about doing whatever the hell I wanted to do." Reviews were generally positive: Rolling Stone wrote, "Carey couldn't have wished for a better start than "Honey," [...] it's an undeniably catchy pop record that revamps her sound and image. It's not as if Carey has totally dispensed with her old saccharine, Houston-style balladry [...] but the predominant mood of Butterfly is one of coolly erotic reverie. [... Except "Outside" the album sounds] very 1997. [...] Carey has spread her wings and she's ready to fly", LAUNCHcast said Butterfly "pushes the envelope", a move that its critic thought "may prove disconcerting to more conservative fans" but praised as "a welcome change." The Los Angeles Times wrote, "[Butterfly] is easily the most personal, confessional-sounding record she's ever done [...] Carey-bashing just might become a thing of the past." and AllMusic adds "Carey's vocals are sultrier and more controlled than ever, and that helps "Butterfly," "Break Down," "Babydoll," and the Prince cover, "The Beautiful Ones," rank among her best; also, the ballads do have a stronger urban feel than before. Even though Butterfly doesn't have as many strong singles as Daydream, it's one of her best records and illustrates that Carey continues to improve and refine her music, which makes her a rarity among her '90s peers." The album was a commercial success—although not to the degree of her previous three albums—and "My All" (her thirteenth Hot 100 number-one) gave her the record for the most U.S. number-ones by a female artist.

Toward the turn of the millennium, Carey developed the film project Glitter and wrote songs for the films Men in Black (1997) and How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000). During the production of Butterfly, Carey became romantically involved with New York Yankees baseball star Derek Jeter. Their relationship ended in 1998, with both parties citing media interference as the main reason for the split. The same year, Columbia released the album #1's, a collection of Carey's U.S. number-one singles alongside new material, which, she said, was a way to reward her fans. The song "When You Believe", a duet with Whitney Houston, was recorded for the soundtrack of The Prince of Egypt (1998) and won an Academy Award. #1's sold above expectations but a review in NME labeled Carey "a purveyor of saccharine bilge like 'Hero', whose message seems wholesome enough: that if you vacate your mind of all intelligent thought, flutter your eyelashes and wish hard, sweet babies and honey will follow." Also that year, she appeared on the first televised VH1 Divas benefit concert program, although her alleged prima donna behavior had already led many to consider her a diva.

Rainbow, Carey's sixth studio album, was released in 1999 and comprised more R&B;/hip hop–oriented songs, with many of them co-created with Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. "Heartbreaker" and "Thank God I Found You" (the former featuring Jay-Z, the latter featuring Joe and boy band 98 Degrees) reached number one in the U.S. VIBE magazine expressed similar sentiments, writing, "She pulls out all stops [...] Rainbow will garner even more adoration", but AllMusic states, "It's a bit ballad-heavy, which makes Rainbow seem a little samey. Yet, that's not the only reason why the record has a weird sense of déjà vu, since this follows the same formula as its two predecessors, distinguished primarily by her newfound fondness for flashing flesh. That repetition isn't necessarily a problem, because she does formula very well and manages to appeal to both housewives as well as b-boys. Rainbow proves that she can still pull off that difficult balancing act but it's hard not to be a little disappointed that she'd didn't shake the music up a little bit more — after all, it would have been a more effective album if the heartbreak, sorrow and joy that bubbles underneath the music were brought to the surface." and it became Carey's lowest-selling album up to that point,

2001–04: Glitter, Charmbracelet and personal struggles

After she received Billboard's Artist of the Decade Award and the World Music Award for Best-Selling Female Artist of the Millennium, and her relationship with the Latin icon Luis Miguel ended. In an interview the following year, she said, "I was with people who didn't really know me and I had no personal assistant. I'd do interviews all day long and get two hours of sleep a night, if that." During an appearance on MTV's Total Request Live, to which she showed up unannounced and to the apparent bewilderment of host Carson Daly, Carey handed out popsicles to the audience and began what was later described as a "striptease". By the month's end, she had checked into a hospital and her publicist announced that Carey would take a break from public appearances.

Critics panned Glitter, Carey's much delayed semi-autobiographical film and it was a box office failure. The accompanying soundtrack album, Glitter, was inspired by the music of the 1980s and featured collaborations with Rick James and Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis; it generated Carey's worst showing on the U.S. chart. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch dismissed it as "an absolute mess that'll go down as an annoying blemish on a career that, while not always critically heralded, was at least nearly consistently successful", while Blender magazine opined, "After years of trading her signature flourishes for a radio-ready purr, Carey's left with almost no presence at all." The lead single, "Loverboy" (which features Cameo), reached number two on the Hot 100, due to the release of the physical single, Later that year, she signed a contract with Island Records, valued at more than $22.5 million, and launched the record label MonarC. To add further to Carey's emotional burdens, her father, with whom she had little contact since childhood, died of cancer that year.

Carey, Mira Sorvino and Melora Walters co-starred as waitresses at a mobster-operated restaurant in the independent film WiseGirls (2002), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival but went straight to cable in the U.S. Critics commended Carey for her efforts — The Hollywood Reporter predicted, "Those scathing notices for Glitter will be a forgotten memory for the singer once people warm up to Raychel", and Roger Friedman, referring to her as "a Thelma Ritter for the new millennium", said, "Her line delivery is sharp and she manages to get the right laughs". WiseGirls producer Anthony Esposito cast Carey in The Sweet Science (2006), a film about an unknown female boxer recruited by a boxing manager, but it never entered production.

In 2002, she performed the American national anthem in front of an audience at the Super Bowl XXXVI at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. Following a well-received supporting role in the 2002 film WiseGirls, Carey released the album Charmbracelet, which, she said, marked "a new lease on life" for her. and Rolling Stone commented, "Carey needs bold songs that help her use the power and range for which she is famous. Charmbracelet is like a stream of watercolors that bleed into a puddle of brown." Allmusic expressed similar sentiments and said, "There are no good songs on this record, outside of Def Leppard's power ballad classic "Bringin on the Heartbreak," which isn't even covered all that well. What is a greater problem is that Mariah's voice is shot, sounding in tatters throughout the record. Whenever she sings, there's a raspy whistle behind her thin voice and she strains to make notes throughout the record. She cannot coo or softly croon nor can she perform her trademark gravity-defying vocal runs. Her voice is damaged and there's not a moment where it sounds strong or inviting. That, alone, would be disturbing but, because the songs are formless and the production bland — another reason why the hip-hop announces itself, even though it's nowhere near as pronounced as it has been since Butterfly — her tired voice becomes the only thing to concentrate on and it's a sad, ugly thing, which makes an album - that would merely have been her worst - into something tragic." The album's only charting single in America, "Through the Rain", was a failure on pop radio, which had become less open to maturing "diva" stylists, such as Celine Dion, or Carey, herself, in favor of younger singers such as Christina Aguilera, who had vocal styles very similar to Carey's. She was featured on rapper Jadakiss's 2004 single "U Make Me Wanna", which reached the top ten on Billboard's R&B;/Hip-Hop chart.

Carey was one of several musicians who appeared in the independently produced Damon Dash films Death of a Dynasty (2003) and State Property 2 (2005).

2005–07: Return to prominence with The Emancipation of Mimi

, in Florida August 7, 2006.]] Carey's tenth studio album, The Emancipation of Mimi (2005), contained contributions from producers such as The Neptunes, Kanye West and Carey's longtime collaborator, Jermaine Dupri. Carey said it was "very much like a party record [...] the process of putting on makeup and getting ready to go out [...] I wanted to make a record that was reflective of that." The Emancipation of Mimi became 2005's best-selling album in the U.S. The Guardian reviewer defined it as "cool, focused and urban [... some of] the first Mariah Carey tunes in years which I wouldn't have to be paid to listen to again"., but New York Daily News states, "Carey has brought back that trademark dog-whistle that she exploited in the callow part of her career with a vengeance and used it on 11 of the CD's 14 tracks. For Carey, vocalizing is all about the performance, not the emotions that inspired it. Singing, to her, represents a physical challenge, not an emotional unburdening. If no one can question the scope of Carey's voice, it's too bad that she has again used it to say nothing." The album earned a Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B; Album and the single "We Belong Together" won Best Female R&B; Vocal Performance and Best R&B; Song. "We Belong Together" held the Hot 100's number-one position for fourteen weeks, her longest run at the top as a solo lead artist. Subsequently, the single "Shake It Off" reached number two for a week, which made Carey the first female lead vocalist to have simultaneously held the Hot 100's top two positions. (While it topped the charts in 2002, Ashanti was the "featured" singer on the number two single.) 2005 proved to be a good year for Carey, as "We Belong Together" reached number one on Billboard's year end chart for Hot 100 singles, and The Emancipation of Mimi is classed as the best selling album of 2005 by Nielsen SoundScan.

In mid-2006, Carey began The Adventures of Mimi Tour, which was the most successful of her career, although some dates had to be canceled. She appeared on the cover of the March, 2007, edition of Playboy magazine in a non-nude photo session. Around this time, she made a legal threat against porn star Mary Carey, believing their names were too similar.

In 2006, Carey joined the cast of the indie film Tennessee (2008), taking the role of an aspiring singer who flees her controlling husband and joins two brothers on a journey to find their long-lost father. The movie received mixed reviews, but most of them raved about Carey's performance and praised it as "understated and very effective."

2007–09: E=MC², second marriage, and Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel

By spring 2007, she had begun to work on her eleventh studio album, E=MC². Asked about the album title's meaning, Carey said "Einstein's theory? Physics? Me? Hello! ...Of course I'm poking fun." She characterized the project as "Emancipation of Mimi to the second power", and said that she was "freer" on this album than any other. Like her previous one, this album mainly concentrates on pop and R&B; but borrows hip hop, gospel and even reggae ("Cruise Control") elements. Although E=MC² was well received by most critics, some of them criticized it for being "a clone of The Emancipation of Mimi". Bleu Magazine's critic said that the "facsimiles aren't terrible, they're just boring and forgettable at this point." Two weeks before the album's release, on April 2, 2008, "Touch My Body", her first single from the album, became Carey's eighteenth number-one single on the Hot 100, pushing her past Elvis Presley into second place for the most number-one singles among all artists in the rock era, according to Billboard magazine's revised methodology. Carey is now second only to The Beatles, who have twenty number-one singles. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 with 463,000 copies sold, making it the biggest opening week sales of her career.

Carey's singles have collectively topped the charts for seventy-nine weeks, which places her just behind Presley, who topped the charts for a combined eighty weeks. In 2008, Billboard magazine ranked her at number six on the "Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists", making Carey the second most successful female artist (behind Madonna) in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Carey has also had notable success on international charts, though not to the same degree as in the United States. Thus far, she has had two number-one singles in Britain, two in Australia, and six in Canada. Her highest-charting single in Japan peaked at number two. Carey and actor/comedian/rapper Nick Cannon met while they shot Carey's music video for her second single "Bye Bye" on a private island of the coast of Antigua. On April 30, 2008, Carey married Cannon at her private estate on Windermere Island in The Bahamas. In October 2008, Carey was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame. Carey had a cameo appearance in Adam Sandler's 2008 film You Don't Mess with the Zohan, playing herself.

Carey performed "Hero" at the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball after Barack Obama was sworn in as America's first African-American president on January 20, 2009. On July 7, 2009, Carey – alongside Trey Lorenz – performed her version of the Jackson 5 hit "I'll Be There" at the memorial service for Michael Jackson in the Los Angeles Staples Center. Carey was featured on "My Love", the second single from singer-songwriter The-Dream's album Love vs. Money. In 2009, she appeared as a social worker in Precious, the movie adaptation of the 1996 novel Push by Sapphire. The film has garnered mostly positive reviews from critics, as has Carey's performance. Variety described her acting as "pitch-perfect". So far Precious has won awards at both the Sundance Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival, receiving top awards there. In January 2010, Carey won the Breakthrough Actress Performance award for her role in Precious at the Palm Springs International Film Festival.

Carey's twelfth studio album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel was released on September 25, 2009. The album received generally favorable reviews from music critics. John Bush of Allmusic called it "her most interesting album in a decade", while Jon Caramanica from The New York Times criticized Carey's vocal performances, decrying her overuse of her softer vocal registers at the expense of her more powerful lower and mid registers. Commercially, the album debuted at number three on the Billboard 200 and became the lowest-selling studio album of her career. The album's lead single, "Obsessed", became her 40th entry on the Billboard Hot 100 and her highest debut on the chart since "My All" in 1998. The song debuted at number eleven and peaked at number seven on the chart and became Carey's 27th US top-ten hit, tying her with Elton John and Janet Jackson as the fifth most top-ten hits. Within hours after the song's release, various outlets speculated that its target was rapper Eminem, in response to his song "Bagpipes from Baghdad," in which he taunted Carey's husband, Nick Cannon by telling him to back off and that Carey is his. According to MTV, Carey alludes to drug problems in "Obsessed," which Eminem opened up about on his sixth studio album, Relapse. The album's follow-up singles failed to achieve commercial success. The second single, a cover of Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is", peaked at number 60 and the third single, "H.A.T.E.U.", failed to crack the Billboard Hot 100. On December 31, 2009, Carey embarked her seventh concert tour, Angels Advocate Tour, which visited the United States and Canada. Later it was announced that Carey would release two remix albums of Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel; titled Angels Advocate (an R&B; remix album featuring a collection of newly remixed duets with some of Carey's favorite artists) and MC vs JS (a dance album entirely remixed by the Jump Smokers). In January 2010, "Up Out My Face" featuring Nicki Minaj and "Angels Cry" featuring Ne-Yo were released as the lead singles from Angels Advocate. Both albums were slated for a March 2010 release, but were eventually cancelled.

2010–present: Merry Christmas II You and pregnancy

on December 3, 2010]] Following the cancellation of the remix albums, it was announced that Carey will go back to the studio to start work on her second Christmas album and her 13th studio album. Fashion photographer David LaChapelle told The Times on April 24, 2010, that he shot the album's artwork. Long time collaborators for the project include Jermaine Dupri and Bryan-Michael Cox. Dupri stated that a single will be released by the end of 2010. Johntá Austin and Randy Jackson are also contributing to the project.

In May 2010, Carey, citing medical reasons, dropped out of her planned appearance in For Colored Girls, the film adaptation of the play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf.

During a press conference in Seoul, South Korea, in August 2010, Island Def Jam executive Matt Voss announced that the Christmas album would be out in November 2 and will include six new songs and a remix of her all time classic hit "All I Want for Christmas Is You". The album will be titled Merry Christmas II You, a follow-up to her 1994 multiplatinum album Merry Christmas. An accompanying DVD was released alongside the CD. Carey has produced and recorded tracks with the Broadway producer Marc Shaiman for the album. The album debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200 with sales of 56,000 copies, surpassing the opening week sales of Carey's previous holiday album Merry Christmas of 45,000 copies 16 years prior, and making Merry Christmas II You Carey's 16th top 10 album. The album also debuted at #1 on the R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums chart, making it only the second Christmas album to top this chart, and also hit number #1 on the Holiday Albums Chart.

After much media spectulation, on October 28, 2010, Carey confirmed that she and Cannon are expecting a baby, and that it is due in the spring of 2011. Carey stated that she struggled to keep the news a secret. She also revealed that they have yet to find out the gender of the baby and that she conceived naturally. She added that she had been pregnant shortly after her wedding with Nick Cannon, but that she miscarried. Carey and Cannon decided to keep the matter private. Following allegations that Mariah accidentally revealed that the couple were expecting twins during an radio interview by referring to the child as 'they', Nick stated that Carey is due one child, not twins. However, Nick refused to say how many babies his wife was expecting to E! News, but admitted that by saying 'they', Mariah 'wasn't wrong'. On December 16, 2010, Nick Cannon announced that he and Mariah were in fact going to have twins.

On December 12, 2010, Carey was the featured performer on the annual television special Christmas in Washington, airing live on pay-per-view in select cities worldwide. The U.S. network television premiere was December 17 via the TNT network.

Artistry

Carey has said that from childhood she has been influenced by R&B; and soul musicians such as Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughan, Gladys Knight and Aretha Franklin. Her music contains strong influences of gospel music, she attends an Episcopal church and her favorite gospel singers include The Clark Sisters, Shirley Caesar and Edwin Hawkins. She has expressed appreciation for rappers such as The Sugarhill Gang, Eric B. & Rakim, the Wu-Tang Clan, The Notorious B.I.G. and Mobb Deep, In She Bop II: The Definitive History of Women in Rock, Pop and Soul (2002), writer Lucy O'Brien attributed the comeback of Barbra Streisand's "old-fashioned showgirl" to Carey and Dion, and described them and Houston as "groomed, airbrushed and overblown to perfection". Carey's musical transition and use of more revealing clothing during the late 1990s were, in part, initiated to distance herself from this image, and she subsequently said that most of her early work was "schmaltzy MOR". Despite the fact that Carey is often credited with co-writing her material, she has also been accused of plagiarism on several occasions. Many of these cases were eventually settled out of court.

Voice

Mariah Carey possesses a five-octave vocal range, and was ranked first in a 2003 MTV and Blender magazine countdown of the 22 Greatest Voices in Music, as voted by fans and readers in an online poll. Carey said of the poll, "What it really means is voice of the MTV generation. Of course, it's an enormous compliment, but I don't feel that way about myself." She also placed second in Cove magazine's list of "The 100 Outstanding Pop Vocalists". Regarding her voice, Carey states,

"I have nodules on my vocal cords. My mother says I've had them since I was a kid. That's why I have the high register and the belting register and I can still be husky. The only thing that really affects my voice is sleep. Sometimes if I'm exhausted, I can't hit the really high notes." "My doctors showed me my vocal cords and why I can hit those high notes. It's a certain part of the cord that not many people use—the very top. My natural voice is low. I have a raspy voice. I'm really more of an alto. But my airy voice can be high if I'm rested. [...] When I was little, I'd talk in this really high whisper, and my mom would be like, "You're being ridiculous." I thought if I can talk like that I can sing like that. So I started [she goes higher and higher and higher] just messing around with it. I'd practice and practice, and she'd be like, "You're gonna hurt yourself." I'd tell her, It doesn’t hurt/ If I were to try and belt two octaves lower than that, that would be a strain."

She also explains that it was Minnie Riperton who influenced her to use the whistle register. The medium is "pleasurable and possesses an ample vibrato." Sasha Frere-Jones of The New Yorker adds her timbre possesses various colors, saying, "Carey's sound changes with nearly every line, mutating from a steely tone to a vibrating growl and then to a humid, breathy coo." Her wide vocal range allows Carey to take melodies from alto bottom notes to coloratura soprano upper register,

Voice experts praise Carey's vocal technique, like Stephen Holden who said, "[s]he can deliver very accurate staccatos as well as tricky melismas, and she possesses a beautiful and solid trill in upper register". Rolling Stone expressed similar sentiments, saying, "Carey has a remarkable vocal gift, but to date, unfortunately, her singing has been far more impressive than expressive", "She wails notes that don't need emphasizing, then whispers what would ordinarily be climactic phrases, and the outcome doesn't make emotional or musical sense." New York Daily News continues in the same direction, saying, "For Carey, vocalizing is all about the performance, not the emotions that inspired it. Singing, to her, represents a physical challenge, not an emotional unburdening. If no one can question the scope of Carey's voice it's too bad she has again used it to say nothing."

Carey's output makes use of electronic instruments such as drum machines, keyboards and synthesizers. Many of her songs contain piano music, and she was given piano lessons when she was six years old. Carey said that she cannot read sheet music and prefers to collaborate with a pianist when composing her material, but feels that it is easier to experiment with faster and less conventional melodies and chord progressions using this technique. Some of her arrangements have been inspired by the work of musicians such as Stevie Wonder, a soul pianist to whom Carey once referred as "the genius of the [twentieth] century",

Carey began commissioning remixes of her material early in her career and helped to spearhead the practice of recording entirely new vocals for remixes. Disc jockey David Morales has collaborated with Carey several times, starting with "Dreamlover" (1993), which popularized the tradition of remixing R&B; songs into house records, and which Slant magazine named one of the greatest dance songs of all time. From "Fantasy" (1995) onward, Carey enlisted both hip hop and house producers to re-imagine her album compositions. Entertainment Weekly included two remixes of "Fantasy" on a list of Carey's greatest recordings compiled in 2005: a National Dance Music Award-winning remix produced by Morales, and a Sean Combs production featuring rapper Ol' Dirty Bastard. The latter has been credited with popularizing the R&B;/hip hop collaboration trend that has continued into the 2000s through artists such as Ashanti and Beyoncé. Combs said that Carey "knows the importance of mixes, so you feel like you're with an artist who appreciates your work—an artist who wants to come up with something with you". According to Rolling Stone, "Her mastery of melisma, the fluttering strings of notes that decorate songs like "Vision of Love," inspired the entire American Idol vocal school, for better or worse, and virtually every other female R&B; singer since the Nineties." Beyoncé Knowles credits Carey's singing and her song "Vision of Love," as influencing her to begin practicing vocal "runs" as a child, as well as helping her pursue a career as a musician. Carey is also credited for introducing R&B; and hip-hop into mainstream pop culture, and for popularizing rap as a featuring act through her post-1995 songs. Philip Brasor, editor of "The Japan Times," expressed how Carey's vocal and melismatic style even influenced Asian singers. He wrote regarding Japanese superstar Utada Hikaru, "Utada sang what she heard, from the diaphragm and with her own take on the kind of melisma that became de rigueur in American pop after the ascendance of Mariah Carey."

" video in 1998.]] In a career spanning over 20 years, Carey has sold over 200 million albums, singles, and videos worldwide, making her one of the biggest-selling artists in music history. Carey is ranked as the best-selling female artist of the Nielsen SoundScan era, with over 52 million copies sold. Possessing a five-octave vocal range, Carey was ranked first in MTV and Blender magazine's 2003 countdown of the 22 Greatest Voices in Music, and was placed second in Cove magazine's list of "The 100 Outstanding Pop Vocalists". Aside from her voice, she has become known for her songwriting. Yahoo Music editor, Jason Ankeny wrote, "She earned frequent comparison to rivals Whitney Houston and Celine Dion, but did them both one better by composing all of her own material." According to Billboard magazine, she was the most successful artist of the 1990s in the United States. At the 2000 World Music Awards, Carey was given a Legend Award for being the "best-selling female pop artist of the millennium," as well as the "Best-selling artist of the 90s" in the United States, after releasing a series of albums of multi-platinum status in Asia and Europe, such as Music Box and Number 1's. She is also a recipient of the Chopard Diamond Award in 2003, recognizing sales of over 100 million albums worldwide. In Japan, Carey has the top four highest-selling albums of all time by a non-Asian artist.

Carey has spent a record 79 weeks at the number-one position on Billboard Hot 100, becoming the artist with the most weeks at number-one in U.S. chart history. On that same chart, she has accumulated 18 number-one singles, making her the solo artist with the most number-one singles in the chart's history. It also produced the successful single, "All I Want for Christmas Is You", which became the only holiday song and ringtone to reach multi-platinum status in the U.S. In Japan, Number 1's has sold over 3,250,000 copies and is the best-selling album of all time in Japan by a non-Asian artist. Her hit single "One Sweet Day", which featured Boyz II Men, spent sixteen consecutive weeks at the top of Billboards Hot 100 chart in 1996, setting the record for the most weeks atop the Hot 100 chart in history. In 2008, Billboard magazine listed "We Belong Together" ninth on The Billboard: All-Time Hot 100 Top Songs and the most successful song of the first decade of the 21st century. In 2009, Carey's song Obsessed became her 12th Platinum single, the most by any female artist. Also in 2009, Carey's cover of Foreigner's classic, "I Want to Know What Love Is" became the longest-running number-one song in Brazilian singles chart history, spending 27 consecutive weeks at number-one. Additionally, Carey has had three songs debut at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100: "Fantasy", "One Sweet Day" and "Honey", making her the artist with the most number-one debuts in the chart's 52 year history. Also, she is the first female artist to debut at number 1 in the U.S. with "Fantasy". In 2010, Careys 13th and second christmas album,Merry Christmas II You debuted at #1 on the R&B;/Hip-Hop Albums chart, making it only the second Christmas album to top this chart.

Philanthropy and other activities

Carey is a philanthropist who has donated time and money to organizations such as the Fresh Air Fund. She became associated with the Fund in the early 1990s, and is the co-founder of a camp located in Fishkill, New York, that enables inner-city youth to embrace the arts and introduces them to career opportunities. The camp was called Camp Mariah "for her generous support and dedication to Fresh Air children", and she received a Congressional Horizon Award for her youth-related charity work. She is well-known nationally for her work with the Make-a-Wish Foundation in granting the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses, and in November 2006 she was awarded the Foundation's Wish Idol for her "extraordinary generosity and her many wish granting achievements". Carey has volunteered for the New York City Police Athletic League and contributed to the obstetrics department of New York Presbyterian Hospital Cornell Medical Center. A percentage of the sales of MTV Unplugged was donated to various other charities. In 2008, Carey was named Hunger Ambassador of the World Hunger Relief Movement. She is giving a free download of her song, "Love Story", to customers who donate to the organization at participating restaurants. In February 2010, the song, "100%", which was originally written and recorded for the film, , was used as one of the theme songs for the 2010 Winter Olympics, with all money proceeds going to Team USA.

One of Carey's most high-profile benefit concert appearances was on VH1's 1998 Divas Live special, during which she performed alongside other female singers in support of the Save the Music Foundation. The concert was a ratings success, and Carey participated in the Divas 2000 special. In 2007, the Save the Music Foundation honored Carey at their tenth gala event for her support towards the foundation since its inception. She appeared at the nationally televised fundraiser in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, and in December 2001, she performed before peacekeeping troops in Kosovo. Carey hosted the CBS television special At Home for the Holidays, which documented real-life stories of adopted children and foster families, and she has worked with the New York City Administration for Children's Services. In 2005, Carey performed for Live 8 in London and at the Hurricane Katrina relief telethon "Shelter from the Storm". In August 2008, Carey and other singers recorded the charity single, "Just Stand Up" produced by Babyface and L. A. Reid, to support "Stand Up to Cancer". On September 5, the singers performed it live on TV.

Declining offers to appear in commercials in the United States during her early career, Carey was not involved in brand marketing initiatives until 2006, when she participated in endorsements for Intel Centrino personal computers and launched a jewelry and accessories line for teenagers, Glamorized, in American Claire's and Icing stores. During this period, as part of a partnership with Pepsi and Motorola, Carey recorded and promoted a series of exclusive ringtones, including "Time of Your Life". She signed a licensing deal with the cosmetics company Elizabeth Arden, and in 2007, she released her own fragrance, "M". According to Forbes, Carey was the sixth richest woman in entertainment , with an estimated net worth of US $225 million. Carey directed or co-directed several of the music videos for her singles during the 1990s. Slant magazine named the video for "The Roof (Back in Time)", which Carey co-directed with Diane Martel, one of the twenty greatest music videos of all time. In 2008, Carey made Time's annual list of 100 most Influential people. In January 2010, Carey announced via Twitter that she is launching a new rosé champagne brand called Angel Champagne.Supporting Actress of the Year at the Capri Hollywood International Film FestivalNominated — Black Reel Award for Best Supporting Actress & Best Ensemble. Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion PictureNominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture. |}

{| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 2002 | Ally McBeal | Candy Cushnip | "" (Season 5, episode 8) |- | 2003 | The Proud Family | Herself | Voice role |}

Discography

1990: Mariah Carey

1991: Emotions

1993: Music Box

1994: Merry Christmas

1995: Daydream

1997: Butterfly

1999: Rainbow

2001: Glitter

2002: Charmbracelet

2005: The Emancipation of Mimi

2008: E=MC²

2009: Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel

2010: Merry Christmas II You

See also

List of best-selling music artists

List of best selling music artists in U.S.

List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (U.S.)

List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. dance chart

List of awards received by Mariah Carey

List of Mariah Carey tours

Notes

References

External links

Official website

[ Mariah Carey] at Allmusic

Mariah Carey at Billboard.com

Mariah Carey at LAUNCHcast

}}

Category:1970 births Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Living people Category:Actors from New York Category:African American actors Category:African American female singers Category:African American female singer-songwriters Category:African American musicians Category:African American songwriters Category:American rhythm and blues singer-songwriters Category:American film actors Category:American female singers Category:American music video directors Category:American pop singers Category:American record producers Category:Hip hop singers Category:American dance musicians Category:American sopranos Category:English-language singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:American musicians of Irish descent Category:Island Records artists Category:Musicians from New York Category:People from Long Island Category:Spanish-language singers Category:American people of Venezuelan descent Category:World Music Awards winners Category:American philanthropists

Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), better known by her stage name Katy Perry, is an American pop musician. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents; Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her freshman year of high school, she began to pursue a career in music. As Katy Hudson, she released a self-titled gospel album in 2001, which due to the closing of her record label, was deemed unsuccessful. She later recorded an album with production team The Matrix and completed the majority of a solo album from 2004–5; neither of which were released.

After signing with Capitol Music Group in 2007, her fourth record label in seven years, she adopted the stage name Katy Perry and released her first Internet single "Ur So Gay" that November, which garnered public attention; but failed to chart. She rose to fame with the release of her second single "I Kissed a Girl" in 2008, which went on to top international charts. Perry's first mainstream studio album One of the Boys followed later that year and subsequently, became the thirty-third best selling album worldwide of 2008. It was accredited platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America, while "I Kissed a Girl" and her second single "Hot n Cold" both received multi-platinum certifications. Her sophomore studio album Teenage Dream was released in August 2010 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The album included hit singles "California Gurls", "Teenage Dream" and "Firework", all of which topped the charts on the Billboard Hot 100 and worldwide.

Perry was credited as a guest judge on the seventh series of the British television show The X Factor; has released a fragrance called "Purr"; and will appear in the upcoming 2011-film The Smurfs. Perry had a long relationship with Travie McCoy; she married Russell Brand on October 23, 2010.

Biography

1984–2006: Early life and career beginnings

Perry was born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson in Santa Barbara, California on October 25, 1984 to Mary (née Perry), an evangelist who grew up in Southern California and had "a tempestuous first marriage in Zimbabwe", She has an older sister and younger brother. Perry's maternal aunt and uncle were screenwriter Eleanor Perry and director Frank Perry, through whom she is also related to Charles M. Schwab, the founder of the Bethlehem Steel Corporation.

Perry was incorporated into her parents' ministry She grew up listening to gospel music, was not allowed to listen to what her mother called "secular music", and attended Christian schools and camps. She took her GED after her freshman year at Dos Pueblos High School and decided to leave school in the pursuit of a career in music. Her sister practiced with cassette tapes, while Perry took the tapes herself when her sister was not around. She rehearsed the songs and performed them in front of her parents, who suggested she take vocal coaching. She grabbed the opportunity and began taking lessons at the age of nine and continued until she was sixteen. She later enrolled in at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, and studied Italian opera for a short period of time. In Nashville, Perry started recording demos and was taught by country music veterans on how to craft songs and play guitar. Performing as Katy Hudson, she released the self-titled Gospel-rock album in 2001. The album was due for release in 2005,

Perry signed to Columbia Records in 2004. However, the label was not amenable with her vision, not putting her in the "driver's seat". She made a cameo appearance in Carbon Leaf's video, "Learn to Fly".

2007–09: One of the Boys and MTV Unplugged

Before being dropped by Columbia, its then publicity executive Angelica Cob-Baehler recommended Perry to Capitol A&R; Chris Anokute while at the 2006 Grammy Awards. Keen to hear more, Anokute was sent a DVD, featuring a video of "Simple", and a three-song demo. It was after hearing the demo of "Waking Up in Vegas" that Anokute became convinced of Perry's star talent. He showed the demo to his boss Jason Flom, then head of Capitol Music Group, telling him, "I've found the next Avril Lavigne meets Alanis Morissette." Flom proved to be less enthusiastic, however; he wasn't convinced the demos were good enough and was wary about an artist that had already been dropped by two major labels. Anokute refused to give up and eventually his persistence together with that of new Virgin employee, Cob-Baehler, paid off. Perry was signed to Capitol Music in early 2007.

She went on the next step of promoting the album, undertaking a two-month tour of radio stations. The album's official lead single, "I Kissed a Girl", was released on May 6, 2008. Perry's A&R;, Chris Anokute, told HitQuarters how, despite being himself convinced it was a "career record", the song and its controversial theme met with strong resistance at the label, "People said, 'This is never going to get played on the radio. How do we sell this? How’s this going to be played in the bible belt?'" On June 12, 2008, Perry appeared as herself on the daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless,

One of the Boys was released on June 17, 2008 to mixed critical reviews. The album has reached number nine on the Billboard 200, and has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Perry released her second single, "Hot n Cold", which became her second top three single in dozens of countries around the world, including the United States where it reached number three on the Billboard Hot 100, Perry was nominated in five categories at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, including Best New Artist and Best Female Video, but lost to Britney Spears. She won Best New Act at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards, which she co-hosted, and Best International Female Artist at the 2009 BRIT Awards. On February 9, 2009, both "I Kissed a Girl" and "Hot n Cold" were certified three-time platinum by Recording Industry Association of America for individual digital sales of over three million.

The Matrix's self-titled debut album, which features Perry, was later released via the team's label, Let's Hear It, during Perry's solo tour. When the release date was scheduled, "I Kissed a Girl" had been charting well. Matrix member Lauren Christy spoke to Perry about the decision, but she wanted to hold the release until the fourth single of One of the Boys had been dispatched. Despite their communication, The Matrix was released on January 27, 2009, via iTunes Store. In December 2008, Perry apologized to British singer Lily Allen for remarks in which she called herself a "skinnier version" of her, saying she meant it as a joke. Allen retaliated and told a British radio station that she "happen[ed] to know for a fact that she [Perry] was an American version" of her because their record company needed "to find something controversial and 'kooky'" like her.

On May 16, 2009, Perry performed at the opening ceremony of the annual Life Ball in Vienna, Austria. In June 2009, lawyers acting for Katy Perry opposed the recent trademark of Australian fashion designer Katie Perry who uses her own name to market loungewear. Some media outlets reported this as a lawsuit, which Katy Perry has denied on her blog. Katie Perry the designer reports on her blog that at a hearing with IP Australia on July 10, 2009, the singer's lawyers withdrew their opposition to the trademark. During the summer of 2009 Perry filmed a cameo appearance for Get Him to the Greek; her scene, in which she kisses her future fiancé Russell Brand was cut, and does not appear in the final film. Discussing the issue with MTV, Perry hypothesized there may have been some fear that seeing the two make out would have taken viewers out of the experience. In 2009, Perry was featured on two singles: a remix of Colorado-based band 3OH!3's song "Starstrukk" in August (the idea for the collaboration came after Perry's tour that featured 3OH!3 as the supporting act). The song was released over iTunes on September 8, 2009; and "If We Ever Meet Again", the fourth single off Timbaland's album Shock Value II in December. In October 2009, MTV Unplugged revealed that Perry was one of the artists to perform for them, and that she would be releasing a live album of the performance, including two new tracks, "Brick by Brick" and Fountains of Wayne cover "Hackensack". The album was released on November 17, and includes both a CD and a DVD.

2010–present: Teenage Dream

Perry appeared as a guest judge alongside Simon Cowell, Cheryl Cole and Louis Walsh during the Dublin audition stage of the seventh series of the British television show The X Factor on June 28, 2010 (later televised on August 28). She was one of the many celebrities chosen to fulfil the role of judge whilst Dannii Minogue was on maternity leave. She later returned to the show on October 17 to perform "Firework". Perry's second mainstream studio album was titled Teenage Dream and was released in August 2010. The first single from the album was titled "California Gurls". The single peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and was the fastest rising single from a Capitol Records artist since Bobbie Gentry's "Ode to Billie Joe" in 1967. The cover art for Teenage Dream is a painting by Will Cotton in which depicts Perry lying naked on clouds of cotton candy; resembling the shots of Perry in the video for "California Gurls". The booklet of the physical edition of the album, in keeping with the theme of cotton candy, has a cotton candy scent. The album's second single "Teenage Dream" was released in July 2010. "Firework" is the album's third single.

Katy Perry appeared at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010. She was nominated for two awards and presented the award of "Best Male Video" with Nicki Minaj to Eminem. On September 14, she returned to her old high school, Dos Pueblos High School, where she performed a short set for the school's students. Perry performed "Hot n Cold" with Elmo from Sesame Street, which was originally to appear on the forty-first-season premiere of the educational children's program on September 27, 2010. However, four days before the scheduled airing, Sesame Workshop announced, "In light of the feedback we've received on the Katy Perry music video ... we have decided we will not air the segment on the television broadcast of Sesame Street, which is aimed at preschoolers. Katy Perry fans will still be able to view the video on YouTube." The main reason was that parents complained about what appeared to be a great amount of cleavage shown by her dress. Perry shot the video for Firework in Budapest in September 2010. An open casting call drew an unprecedented 38,000 applicants. She proceeded to perform at a concert in Budapest on October 1, her first concert in Central and Eastern EuropePerry has announced her own fragrance to be released in autumn of this year, named "Purr". It will come in a cat-shaped bottle, and will be available through Nordstrom stores.

Musical style and themes

Perry has a contralto vocal range. Among Perry's musical influences are Alanis Morissette, pop rockers Cyndi Lauper, Pat Benatar, Joan Jett, Shirley Manson, and Freddie Mercury, Perry expects to record more pop songs for her next album.

Perry is artistically involved in her projects, especially in the writing process. Since she could play guitar, she would start writing songs at home and present it to her producers. Perry is mostly inspired by specific moments of her life. She said it is easy for her to write songs about heartbreak. The songs have been respectively labeled as being homophobic and promoting homosexuality, as well as "lez ploitational".

Public image

Perry is known for her unconventional style of dress. Her fashion has caught the attention of designers, who were giving her nearly as much attention as fans of her music. The picture was defended as only an effort to give Perry a "sexy, harder edge". She has appeared in FHM Magazine's 100 Sexiest Women poll twice, ranking at #23 in 2009 and #37 in 2010.

Personal life

Perry dated Gym Class Heroes frontman Travie McCoy, whom she met in a recording studio in New York, on and off for several years. After more than a year of friendship and casual dating, they became serious with their relationship right before they embarked on the 2008 Warped Tour. Perry and McCoy broke up in December 2008. The two began dating again in early 2009 and broke up again a few months later. Perry first met British comedian Russell Brand in the summer of 2008 when Perry filmed a cameo for Brand's film Get Him to the Greek. Perry and Brand began dating after meeting again in September 2009 at the MTV Video Music Awards, where Brand, as host, remarked, "Katy Perry didn't win an award and she's staying at the same hotel as me, so she's gonna need a shoulder to cry on. So in a way, I'm the real winner tonight." The couple became engaged in December 2009 when Brand proposed to Perry while vacationing in India. In a July 2010 YouTube interview, Perry said Brand would be a "perfect" father. Perry has stated that she plans to take dual British citizenship when she marries Brand. "One of the first things I'll do is apply for dual citizenship. I'm not too sure if I have to take a test as I've not had time to look into it. But England is like my second home". Perry and Brand married on October 23, 2010 near the Ranthambhore tiger sanctuary in Rajasthan, India, the same location where Brand had proposed. They were married in a traditional Hindu ceremony.

Discography

Katy Hudson (2001)

One of the Boys (2008)

Teenage Dream (2010)

Tours

Hello Katy Tour (2009)

California Dreams Tour (2011)

Filmography

Television

{| class="wikitable sortable" !Year !Title !Role !class="unsortable"|Notes |- |2008 | |Herself |Episode 8914 |- |2008 |Wildfire |Herself |"" (Season 4, episode 8) |- |2010 | American Idol |Guest judge |"Season 9, episode 5" |- |2010 |The X Factor |Guest judge |"Series 7, episode 2" |- |2010 |Sesame Street | Herself | Online special (deleted from televised episode) |- |2010 | The Simpsons | Herself | 1 episode, "The Fight Before Christmas" |- |2011 | How I Met Your Mother | Zoey's cousin | 1 episode, "Oh Honey" |}

Films

{| class="wikitable sortable" !Year !Title !Role ! class="unsortable"|Notes |- |2011 | |Smurfette |Voice |- |2011 | |TBA |Cameo |- |}

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official website

Category:1984 births Category:Living people Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:21st-century actors Category:Actors from California Category:American bloggers Category:American Christians Category:American contraltos Category:American dance musicians Category:American female guitarists Category:American female pop singers Category:American film actors Category:American musicians of German descent Category:American people of Portuguese descent Category:American pop rock singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American voice actors Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Capitol Records artists Category:English-language singers Category:Female rock singers Category:Musicians from California Category:People from Santa Barbara, California Category:The X Factor judges

Name	Justin Timberlake
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Justin Randall Timberlake
Birth date	January 31, 1981
Birth place	Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals, keyboards, guitar, beatboxing
Origin	Shelby Forest, Tennessee, U.S.
Genre	Pop, dance, R&B;
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, dancer, actor, businessman
Years active	1993–present
Label	Jive
Associated acts	'N Sync, The Y's,Timbaland,T.I
Url

Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) and Southern Hospitality.

Early life

Timberlake was born in Memphis, Tennessee, the son of Lynn Harless (née Bomar) and Randall Timberlake. Timberlake is of English descent, and has also claimed unconfirmed American Indian ancestry. His paternal grandfather, Charles L. Timberlake, was a Baptist minister, and Timberlake was raised Baptist, though now considers himself more "spiritual than religious".

Timberlake's parents divorced in 1985, and both have remarried. His mother, who now runs an entertainment company called Just-in Time Entertainment, remarried to Paul Harless, a banker, when her son was five. His father, a choir director at a Baptist church, has two children, Jonathan (born c. 1993) and Steven Robert (born August 14, 1998), from his second marriage to Lisa Perry. Timberlake's half-sister, Laura Katherine, died shortly after birth on May 14, 1997, and is mentioned in his acknowledgments in the album *NSYNC as "My Angel in Heaven." Timberlake grew up in Shelby Forest, a middle class crime-free suburb between Memphis and Millington. His first attempts at a singing career were country music songs on Star Search as "Justin Randall."

In 1993, Timberlake joined the cast of The Mickey Mouse Club. His castmates included future girlfriend and pop superstar Britney Spears, future tourmate Christina Aguilera, and future bandmate JC Chasez. The show ended in 1994, but late in 1995 Timberlake recruited Chasez to be in an all-male singing group organized by boy band manager Lou Pearlman that eventually became 'N Sync.

Music career

1995–2002: 'N Sync

Timberlake and JC Chasez were the two lead singers of the popular 1990s boy band 'N Sync. The group formed in 1995, started its career 1996 in Europe, and hit it big in the United States in 1998 with the U.S. release of its debut album *NSYNC, which sold 11 million copies. The album included a number of hit singles, including "Tearin' Up My Heart". For the next two years, encouraged by similar developments with the Backstreet Boys, 'N Sync engaged in a lengthy legal battle with manager Lou Pearlman. Eventually the band signed with Jive Records. In March 2000, 'N Sync released a long-awaited album, No Strings Attached, which became the fastest-selling album of all time with 2.4 million copies sold in its first week and produced a #1 single, "It's Gonna Be Me". The release was followed by the band's third album, Celebrity, which was the second-fastest selling album of all time. In 2002, after the completion of a Celebrity Tour and the release of "Girlfriend", the third single from Celebrity, the group decided to take time off, at which point Timberlake began work on his first solo album and the group went into a hiatus. In its lifetime, 'N Sync was internationally famous and performed at the Academy Awards, the Olympics, and the Super Bowl, as well as selling more than 50 million copies worldwide, becoming the third-best selling boy band in history.

In late 1999, Timberlake made his acting debut in the Disney Channel movie Model Behavior. He played Jason Sharpe, a model who falls in love with a waitress after mistaking her for another model. It was released on March 12, 2000.

As a member of 'N Sync, Timberlake developed into a major celebrity in his own right in addition to achieving respect as a musician, since he was the writer or co-writer of all three singles from Celebrity. The rise of his own stardom and the general decline in the popularity of boy bands led to the dissolution of 'N Sync. Band member Lance Bass has stated that he believes the group is finished, and is openly critical of Timberlake's actions in his memoir Out of Sync. On the other hand, Chris Kirkpatrick remarked in August 2008 that the five remain friends, and he believed a reunion was possible: he repeated that opinion in October 2009. In September 2008, Bass also made conciliatory comments.

2002–04: Justified and Super Bowl

In August 2002, after months of recording Justified, his debut solo album, Timberlake performed at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards. He premiered his first single, "Like I Love You", a sparse dance track produced by The Neptunes. The song reached #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album sold fewer copies than previous 'N Sync efforts. It debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 album chart, selling 439,000 copies in its first week of release. It eventually went on to sell more than three million copies in the U.S. and more than seven million copies worldwide. The album also received critical acclaim, thanks to its heavy R&B; influence provided by hip-hop producers The Neptunes and Timbaland. It spun off hits throughout late 2002 and 2003, including the top ten singles "Cry Me a River" and "Rock Your Body". Timberlake supported the album by co-headlining the Justified/Stripped Tour with Christina Aguilera in the summer of 2003. At the end of the year, Timberlake recorded a song entitled "I'm Lovin' It". It was used by McDonald's as the theme to its "I'm Lovin' It" campaign. The deal with McDonald's earned Timberlake an estimated $6 million. A tour entitled Justified and Lovin' It Live was included with the deal as well. Timberlake was featured on Nelly's song, "Work It", which was remixed and included on Nelly's 2003 remix album.

In February 2004, during the halftime show of the Super Bowl XXXVIII broadcast on the CBS television network, Timberlake performed with Janet Jackson before a television audience of more than 140 million viewers. At the end of the performance, as the song drew to a close, Timberlake tore off a part of Jackson's black leather costume in a "costume reveal" meant to accompany a portion of the song lyrics. According to CBS, "both Jackson and Timberlake had confirmed they planned it 'independently and clandestinely' without informing anyone." Part of the costume detached, and Jackson's breast was briefly exposed. Timberlake apologized for the incident, stating he was "sorry that anyone was offended by the wardrobe malfunction during the halftime performance of the Super Bowl...." The phrase "wardrobe malfunction" has since been used by the media to refer to the incident and has entered pop culture. As a result of the controversy, Timberlake and Jackson were threatened with exclusion from the 2004 Grammy Awards unless they agreed to apologize on screen at the event. Timberlake attended and issued a scripted apology when accepting the first of two Grammy Awards he received that night (Best Pop Vocal Album for Justified and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for "Cry Me a River"). He had also been nominated for Album of the Year for Justified, Record of the Year for "Cry Me a River", and Best Rap/Sung Collaboration for "Where Is the Love?" with The Black Eyed Peas. In 2004 American Idol judge Simon Cowell described Timberlake in People Magazine as "just some white kid who's tried to act black over the last several years".

2004–06: Collaborations and acting

After the Super Bowl controversy, Timberlake put his recording career on hold to act in several films, having starred in a few feature films earlier in his music career. He also appeared in the films Alpha Dog, Black Snake Moan, Richard Kelly's Southland Tales, and voiced Prince Artie Pendragon in the animated film Shrek the Third, released on May 18, 2007. He also appeared as a young Elton John, in the video for John's song "This Train Don't Stop There Anymore". Timberlake was considered to play the role of Roger Davis in the film version of the rock musical Rent, but director Chris Columbus had insisted that only the original Broadway members could convey the true meaning of Rent.

He continued to record with other artists. After "Where Is the Love?", he again collaborated with the Black Eyed Peas on the 2005 track "My Style" from their album Monkey Business. When recording the 2005 single "Signs" with Snoop Dogg, Timberlake discovered a throat condition. Nodules were subsequently removed from his throat in an operation that took place on May 5, 2005. He was advised not to sing or speak loudly for at least a few months. In the summer of 2005, Timberlake started his own record company, JayTee Records.

Timberlake made a cameo in the video for Nelly Furtado and Timbaland's single "Promiscuous", released on May 3, 2006.

2006–07: FutureSex/LoveSounds

, Minnesota (2007)]] Timberlake released his second solo album, FutureSex/LoveSounds, on September 12, 2006. It is the biggest album for pre-orders on iTunes, and beat Coldplay's record for the biggest one-week sales of a digital album. The album was produced by Timbaland and Danja (who produced a bulk of the album), will.i.am, Rick Rubin and Timberlake himself, and features guest vocals by Snoop Dogg, Three 6 Mafia, T.I. and will.i.am. A studio representative described it as being "all about sexiness" and aiming for "an adult feel". "My Love", the album's second single, also produced by Timbaland and featuring rapper T.I., reached number one on the Hot 100, as did third single "What Goes Around.../...Comes Around Interlude". The song is reported to have been inspired by the break-up of his childhood friend and business partner, Trace Ayala, with actress Elisha Cuthbert. In October 2006, Timberlake said that he would focus on his music career rather than his film roles, specifying that leaving the music industry would be a "dumb thing to do at this point".

In February 2008, Timberlake was awarded two Grammy Awards. At the 50th Grammy Awards Ceremony, Timberlake won the Male Pop Performance Award for "What Goes Around...Comes Around", and the Dance Recording Award for "LoveStoned/I Think She Knows".

2007–10: Collaborations and acting

In April 2007, Timberlake was seen entering a London studio with Madonna, thus confirming rumors that he was collaborating with her. A song "4 Minutes", was first played by Timbaland at Philadelphia's Jingle Ball on December 17, 2007. When released on March 17, 2008, "4 Minutes" was revealed to be a duet between Timberlake and Madonna, with backing vocals by Timbaland. It was lead single from Madonna's eleventh studio album Hard Candy, which featured four other song-writing collaborations with Timberlake. The single was an international hit, topping the charts in over 21 countries worldwide. Timberlake also appears in the music video, which was directed by Jonas & François. On March 30, 2008, Timberlake performed the song at Madonna's Hard Candy Promo Show at Roseland Ballroom in New York City. On November 6, 2008, Timberlake performed the song with Madonna on the Los Angeles stop of her Sticky & Sweet Tour.

Around June 2007 Timberlake co-wrote, produced and provided vocals for the songs "Nite Runner" and "Falling Down" for Duran Duran's album Red Carpet Massacre, released on November 13, 2007. "Falling Down" had been released as a single in the UK on the previous day. .]] Also in 2007, Timberlake made an appearance on 50 Cent's third album, Curtis. Timberlake, along with Timbaland, is featured on a track called "Ayo Technology", which was the album's fourth single. Also, another possible collaboration was to occur with Lil Wayne for his album Tha Carter III with Nelly Furtado and Timbaland.

With the wrapping up of the FutureSex/LoveSounds tour of Australasia and the Middle East in November 2007, Timberlake resumed his film career. Projects underway early in 2008 were starring roles in Mike Myers' comedy The Love Guru (released June 20, 2008) and Mike Meredith's drama The Open Road (released August 28, 2009). In March 2008 it was announced that he was be an executive producer in an American adaptation of the hit Peruvian comedy My Problem with Women for NBC.

On November 20, 2008, TV Guide reported that Timberlake’s next single, "Follow My Lead", which also featured vocals by Timberlake’s protégée, former YouTube star Esmee Denters, would be available for exclusive download through MySpace. All proceeds would go to Shriners Hospitals for Children, a charity dedicated to improving pediatric care for sick children.

In 2008 a collaboration between Timberlake and T.I., "Dead and Gone" featured on T.I.'s sixth studio album, Paper Trail, and was released as its fourth single late in 2009. In November 2008, it was confirmed that Timberlake would make a guest appearance and produce some tracks on R&B;/pop singer Ciara's upcoming album Fantasy Ride due out May 5, 2009. Timberlake featured on Ciara's second single "Love Sex Magic", the video being shot on February 20, 2009. The single became a worldwide hit, reaching the top ten in numerous countries and peaking at number one in several countries including Taiwan, India, and Turkey. The single was nominated for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals at the 52nd Grammy Awards.

Timberlake and his production team The Y's, along with Mike Elizondo, produced and co-wrote the song "Don't Let Me Down" for Leona Lewis's second studio album, Echo, released (in the US) on November 17, 2009.

Timberlake also co-wrote and performed on "Carry Out", the third single from Timbaland's album Shock Value II, released on December 1, 2009.

Timberlake appeared at the 2010 MTV VMAs on September 12, 2010.

Other work

Near the end of 2002, Timberlake was the first celebrity to appear on Punk'd, a "candid camera" type show created by Ashton Kutcher to trick celebrities. Timberlake, who cried during the episode, later admitted to being under the influence of marijuana when he was pranked. Three episodes later, he set up Kelly Osbourne to be "punk'd", thus making him the first celebrity to appear on the show more than once. Timberlake later spoofed Ashton Kutcher and Punk'd in a 2003 episode of NBC's Saturday Night Live.

Timberlake has hosted many music events, including the European MTV Music Awards in 2006. On December 16, 2006, Timberlake hosted Saturday Night Live, doing double duty as both host and musical guest for the second time. During this appearance, he and Andy Samberg performed an R&B; song for a skit entitled "Dick in a Box", which some radio stations have aired as an unofficial single from Timberlake and has become one of the most viewed videos on YouTube. On May 9, 2009, he appeared in another SNL Digital Short opposite Samberg, Susan Sarandon and Patricia Clarkson entitled "Motherlover", a quasi-sequel to "Dick in a Box".

Timberlake appeared on Jimmy Fallon's debut as host of Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on March 2, 2009.

In 2004, ABC hired Timberlake to write a song for its NBA coverage.

Timberlake is the executive producer on the MTV reality series The Phone, which premiered on April 21, 2009. According to People Magazine, the series "thrusts contestants into a heart-stopping action adventure worthy of a summer blockbuster. In six hour-long episodes, a mysterious stranger on the phone invites four strangers into the dangerous game. If they accept, they're paired into two teams and dared to perform physical and mental challenges reminiscent of Matt Damon's The Bourne Identity or Shia LaBeouf's Eagle Eye."

Other ventures

Business

Timberlake has co-owned or provided celebrity endorsement for three restaurants in the United States: "Chi" opened in West Hollywood, California in 2003, and "Destino" and "Southern Hospitalty" in New York opened in 2006 and 2007, respectively. He also has his own brand of tequila called 901; the name comes in part from the area code of his hometown of Memphis.

In 2005, Timberlake launched the William Rast clothing line with childhood friend Juan ("Trace") Ayala. The 2007 line contained cord jackets, cashmere sweaters, jeans and polo shirts. The pair reports inspiration from fellow Memphis native Elvis Presley: "Elvis is the perfect mixture of Justin and I," Ayala says. "You can go back and see pictures of him in cowboy boots and a cowboy hat and a nice button-down shirt, but then again you can see him in a tux and a collared shirt with rhinestones on it and slacks. We like to think 'If he was alive today, what would he be wearing?'" Target has announced that a William Rast collection, including denim, outerwear and sportswear for men and women, would launch in December and be available for a month.

Timberlake provides celebrity endorsement for many commercial products, this aspect of his business being managed by IMG Sports & Entertainment since April 2008. Major endorsements in 2009 included Sony electronic products, Givenchy's men's fragrance "Play", Audi's "A1", and Callaway Golf Company products.

An avid amateur golfer, in 2007 Timberlake purchased the run-down Big Creek Golf Course in his home town of Millington, Tennessee, which he redeveloped as the eco-friendly Mirimichi Golf Course at a cost of some $US16 million. It was reopened on 25 July 2009 but closed again on 15 January 2010 for further improvements expected to take six months.

Charitable causes

Timberlake has been active in several charitable pursuits, initially through 'N Sync's "Challenge for the Children" aimed at a range of charities, and since 2001 through his "Justin Timberlake Foundation," which initially funded music education programs in schools, but now has a much broader agenda. In October 2005, the Grammy Association presented Timberlake with an award for his humanitarian efforts in Tennessee, alongside writer/director Craig Brewer, also a Memphis native.

In November 2007 he donated $A100,000 from takings from his Australian tour to Wildlife Warriors founded by the late Steve Irwin. On March 23, 2008, he donated $100,000 to the Memphis Rock 'n' Soul Museum and another $100,000 to the Memphis Music Foundation.

On November 12, 2007, the PGA Tour announced that Timberlake, an avid golfer who plays to a 6 handicap, would become the host of the tour's Las Vegas tournament starting in 2008. With Timberlake's agreement to host the tournament, its name was changed to the Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. He played in the celebrity pro-am on the day before the competitive tournament and hosted a charity concert during the week of the tournament. The activity was a success, and was repeated in 2009. A review of the value of celebrities to fundraising concluded that Timberlake's contribution to Shriners Hospitals for Children was the single most valuable celebrity endorsement in the US during 2009, and worth over $US9 million.

Personal life

Early in 1999, Timberlake began what eventually became a high-profile celebrity relationship with fellow pop singer Britney Spears, with whom he had worked on the New Mickey Mouse Club. This ended abruptly in March 2002, amidst tabloid press speculation on Spears' infidelity with choreographer Wade Robson, a mutual friend of Spears and Timberlake. Lynn Harless says as a mother she too was devastated regarding the break-up, but to this day speaks warmly of Spears, "Britney grew up on my living room floor. I still love her to death. They (Justin and Britney) were together 10 or 11 years and had, from day one, instant chemistry between them. She's a sweet girl. I just hate what she's going through now." The breakup influenced the lyrics and theme of Timberlake's hit "Cry Me A River", one of the most popular singles from Justified.

Post-Spears, Timberlake has generally refused to discuss his personal life with the media, as a result of which his relationships have been the subject of much speculation in the tabloid and celebrity press. He was involved with singer-actress Stacy Ferguson prior to 2001. He was romantically linked with actress-dancer Jenna Dewan (in mid-2002) and actress-singer Alyssa Milano (between September and October 2002). On the December 16, 2006 episode of Saturday Night Live, Diaz introduced Timberlake as the night's musical guest, and the couple officially split shortly afterwards. After the tabloid press alleged an affair between Timberlake and Scarlett Johansson, with whom he had shot the video for his single "What Goes Around.../...Comes Around Interlude", Diaz and Timberlake issued a joint statement on January 11, 2007:

}}

Later in January 2007 Timberlake was linked to Jessica Biel when pictures surfaced of the two snowboarding in Park City, Utah during the Sundance Film Festival. On May 12, 2007 romantic pictures of Timberlake and Biel on multiple dates were published. In the August 9–15, 2008 edition of Heat magazine, when Timberlake was asked to describe his perfect woman, he replied "About 5ft.7in.-5ft.8in., nice butt, Midwestern American, kind-of-German last name, green eyes, big pouty lips, fair skin, ahhh....sinewy bod..." However, during an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on June 11, 2008 when Jay Leno questioned him about anything related to rumors of engagement and pregnancy, Timberlake jokingly responded that he "is engaging in a conversation with Leno" and "everybody in general can get pregnant."

Timberlake was given Sexiest Man titles by Teen People and Cosmopolitan magazines. On February 17, 2009, Timberlake was named the "Most Stylish Man in America" by GQ magazine.

Timberlake is also a fan of English Football Club Manchester United.

Discography

Studio albums

2002: Justified

2006: FutureSex/LoveSounds

Extended plays

2003: Justin & Christina

DVDs

2003: Justified: The Videos

2003: Live from London

2007: Futuresex/Loveshow – Live from Madison Square Garden

Tours

2003: Justified/Stripped Tour

2003/2004: Justified and Lovin' It Live

2007: FutureSex/LoveShow

Filmography

{| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Film ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 2000 | Longshot | Valet | |- | 2000 | Model Behavior | Jason Sharpe | TV film |- | 2001 | On the Line | Make-up artist | Uncredited cameo |- | 2005 | Edison | Josh Pollack | |- | 2006 | Alpha Dog | Frankie Ballenbacher | |- | 2006 | Black Snake Moan | Ronnie | |- | 2007 | Shrek the Third | Artie Pendragon | Voice role |- | 2007 | Southland Tales | Pvt Pilot Abilene | |- | 2008 | The Love Guru | Jacques "Le Coq" Grande | |- | 2009 | The Open Road | Carlton Garrett | |- | 2010 | Shrek Forever After | Artie Pendragon | Voice role, deleted scene |- | 2010 | The Social Network | Sean Parker | Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best CastNominated–Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best CastNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture |- | 2010 | Yogi Bear | Boo-Boo Bear | Voice role |- | 2011 | Bad Teacher | Scott | Post-production |- | 2011 | Now | Will Salas | Filming |- | 2011 | Friends with Benefits | Dylan | Post-production |} {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ Television ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1993–1995 | The Mickey Mouse Club | Himself | |- | 1999 | Touched by an Angel | Street performer | "" |- | 2005–present | Saturday Night Live | Himself/Several roles | Four episodes |}

See also

List of awards and nominations received by Justin Timberlake

References

External links

Category:1981 births Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Actors from Tennessee Category:American child actors Category:American child singers Category:American businesspeople Category:American Christians Category:American dance musicians Category:American dancers Category:American film actors Category:American male singers Category:American pop singers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American voice actors Category:Baptists from the United States Category:Beatboxers Category:Blue-eyed soul singers Category:Hip hop singers Category:BRIT Award winners Category:American people of British descent Category:Emmy Award winners Category:English-language singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:Jive Records artists Category:Mouseketeers Category:Musicians from Tennessee Category:'N Sync members

Category:People from Memphis, Tennessee Category:Sony BMG artists

Category:World Music Awards winners Category:Blue-eyed soul musicians

Name	George Washington
Nationality	American
Order	1st President of the United States
Term start	April 30, 1789
Term end	March 4, 1797
Vicepresident	John Adams
Predecessor	Office created
Successor	John Adams
Order2	1st Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army
Term start2	June 15, 1775
Term end2	December 23, 1783
Appointer2	Continental Congress
Successor2	Henry Knox
Term start3	July 13, 1798
Term end3	December 14, 1799
President3	John Adams
Predecessor3	James Wilkinson
Successor3	Alexander Hamilton
Birth date	February 22, 1732
Birth place	Westmoreland County, Colony of Virginia
Death date	December 14, 1799
Death place	Mount Vernon, Virginia
Restingplace	Washington family vault,Mount Vernon
Nationality	AmericanBritish subject (prior to 1776)
Party	None
Spouse	Martha Dandridge Custis Washington
Children	none
Religion	Church of EnglandEpiscopal
Occupation	Farmer (planter) soldier (officer)
Signature	George Washington signature.svg
Signature alt	Cursive signature in ink
Allegiance
Branch	Virginia provincial militiaContinental ArmyUnited States Army
Serviceyears	militia: 1752–1758Continental Army: 1775–1783U. S. Army: 1798–1799
Rank	Lieutenant General General of the Armies of the United States (posthumously in 1976)
Commands	Colony of Virginia's provincial regimentContinental ArmyUnited States Army
Battles	French and Indian War
Awards	Congressional Gold Medal, Thanks of Congress

George Washington (February 22, 1732 – December 14, 1799) was the dominant military and political leader of the new United States of America from 1775 to 1797, leading the American victory over Britain in the American Revolutionary War as commander in chief of the Continental Army, 1775–1783, and presiding over the writing of the Constitution in 1787. As the unanimous choice to serve as the first President of the United States (1789–1797), he developed the forms and rituals of government that have been used ever since, such as using a cabinet system and delivering an inaugural address. The president built a strong, well-financed national government that avoided war, suppressed rebellion and won acceptance among Americans of all types. Acclaimed ever since as the "Father of his country", Washington, along with Abraham Lincoln, has become a central icon of republican values, self sacrifice in the name of the nation, American nationalism and the ideal union of civic and military leadership.

In Colonial Virginia Washington was born into the provincial gentry in a wealthy, well connected family that owned tobacco plantations using slave labor. Washington was home schooled by his father and older brother but both died young and Washington became attached to the powerful Fairfax clan. They promoted his career as surveyor and soldier. Strong, brave, eager for combat and a natural leader, young Washington quickly became a senior officer of the colonial forces, 1754–58, during the first stages of the French and Indian War. Indeed his rash actions helped precipitate the war. Washington's experience, his military bearing, his leadership of the Patriot cause in Virginia, and his political base in the largest colony made him the obvious choice of the Second Continental Congress in 1775 as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army to fight the British in the American Revolution. He forced the British out of Boston in 1776, but was defeated and nearly captured later that year when he lost New York City. After crossing the Delaware River in the dead of winter he defeated the enemy in two battles, retook New Jersey, and restored momentum to the Patriot cause. Because of his strategy, Revolutionary forces captured two major British armies at Saratoga in 1777 and Yorktown in 1781. Negotiating with Congress, governors, and French allies, he held together a tenuous army and a fragile nation amid the threats of disintegration and invasion. Historians give the commander in chief high marks for his selection and supervision of his generals, his encouragement of morale, his coordination with the state governors and state militia units, his relations with Congress, and his attention to supplies, logistics, and training. In battle, however, Washington was repeatedly outmaneuvered by British generals with larger armies. Washington is given full credit for the strategies that forced the British evacuation of Boston in 1776 and the surrender at Yorktown in 1781. After victory was finalized in 1783, Washington resigned rather than seize power, and returned to his plantation at Mount Vernon, provong his opposition to dictatorship and his commitment to republican government.

Washington presided over the Constitutional Convention that drafted the United States Constitution in 1787 because of his dissatisfaction with the weaknesses of Articles of Confederation that had time and again impeded the war effort. Washington became the first President of the United States in 1789. He attempted to bring rival factions together in order to create a more unified nation. He supported Alexander Hamilton's programs to pay off all the state and national debts, implement an effective tax system, and create a national bank, despite opposition from Thomas Jefferson. Washington proclaimed the U.S. neutral in the wars raging in Europe after 1793. He avoided war with Britain and guaranteed a decade of peace and profitable trade by securing the Jay Treaty in 1795, despite intense opposition from the Jeffersonians. Although never officially joining the Federalist Party, he supported its programs. Washington's "Farewell Address" was an influential primer on republican virtue and a stern warning against partisanship, sectionalism, and involvement in foreign wars.

Washington had a vision of a great and powerful nation that would be built on republican lines using federal power. He sought to use the national government to improve the infrastructure, open the western lands, create a national university, promote commerce, found a capital city (later named Washington, D.C.), reduce regional tensions and promote a spirit of nationalism. "The name of AMERICAN," he said, must override any local attachments." At his death Washington was hailed as "first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of his countrymen". The Federalists made him the symbol of their party, but for many years the Jeffersonians continued to distrust his influence and delayed building the Washington Monument. As the leader of the first successful revolution against a colonial empire in world history, Washington became an international icon for liberation and nationalism. His symbolism especially resonated in France and Latin America. Historical scholars consistently rank him as one of the two or three greatest presidents.

Early life (1732–1753)

George Washington, the first child of Augustine Washington (1694–1743) and his second wife, Mary Ball Washington (1708–1789), was born on their Pope's Creek Estate near present-day Colonial Beach in Westmoreland County, Virginia. According to the Julian calendar (which was in effect at the time), Washington was born on February 11, 1731 (O.S.); according to the Gregorian calendar, which was adopted in Britain and its colonies in 1752, he was born on February 22, 1732. Washington's ancestors were from Sulgrave, England; his great-grandfather, John Washington, immigrated to Virginia in 1657. George's father Augustine was a slave-owning tobacco planter who later tried his hand in iron-mining ventures. In George's youth, the Washingtons were moderately prosperous members of the Virginia gentry, of "middling rank" rather than one of the leading families.

Washington was the first-born child from his father's marriage to Mary Ball Washington. Six of his siblings reached maturity including two older half-brothers, Lawrence and Augustine, from his father's first marriage to Jane Butler Washington and four full-siblings, Samuel, Elizabeth(Betty), John Augustine and Charles. Three siblings died before becoming adults: his full-sister Mildred died when she was about one, and two half-siblings Butler and Jane died in their teens. George's father died when George was 11 years old, after which George's half-brother Lawrence became a surrogate father and role model. William Fairfax, Lawrence's father-in-law and cousin of Virginia's largest landowner, Thomas, Lord Fairfax, was also a formative influence. Washington spent much of his boyhood at Ferry Farm in Stafford County near Fredericksburg. Lawrence Washington inherited another family property from his father, a plantation on the Potomac River which he later named Mount Vernon. George inherited Ferry Farm upon his father's death, and eventually acquired Mount Vernon after Lawrence's death.

The death of his father prevented Washington from crossing the Atlantic to receive an education at England's Appleby School, as his older brothers had done. He attended school in Fredericksburg until age 15. Talk of securing an appointment in the Royal Navy was dropped when his mother learned how hard that would be on him. Late in life, Washington was somewhat self-conscious that he was less educated than those of his contemporaries who had attended college. Thanks to Lawrence's connection to the powerful Fairfax family, at age 17 George was appointed official surveyor for Culpeper County in 1749, a well-paid position which enabled him to purchase land in the Shenandoah Valley, the first of his many land acquisitions in western Virginia. Thanks also to Lawrence's involvement in the Ohio Company, a land investment company funded by Virginia investors, and Lawrence's position as commander of the Virginia militia, George came to the notice of the new lieutenant governor of Virginia, Robert Dinwiddie. Washington was hard to miss: at about six feet two inches (188 cm; estimates of his height vary), he towered over most of his contemporaries.

In 1751, Washington traveled to Barbados with Lawrence, who was suffering from tuberculosis, with the hope that the climate would be beneficial to Lawrence's health. Washington contracted smallpox during the trip, which left his face slightly scarred, but immunized him against future exposures to the dreaded disease. Lawrence's health did not improve: he returned to Mount Vernon, where he died in 1752. Lawrence's position as Adjutant General (militia leader) of Virginia was divided into four offices after his death. Washington was appointed by Governor Dinwiddie as one of the four district adjutants in February 1753, with the rank of major in the Virginia militia. Washington also joined the Freemasons in Fredericksburg at this time.

French and Indian War (Seven Years War) (1754–1758)

In 1753 the French began expanding their military control into the "Ohio Country", a territory also claimed by the British colonies of Virginia and Pennsylvania. These competing claims led to a world war 1756–63 (called the French and Indian War in the colonies and the Seven Years' War in Europe) and Washington was at the center of its beginning. The Ohio Company was one vehicle through which British investors planned to expand into the territory, opening new settlements and building trading posts for the Indian trade. Governor Dinwiddie received orders from the British government to warn the French of British claims, and sent Major Washington in late 1753 to deliver a letter informing the French of those claims and asking them to leave. Washington also met with Tanacharison (also called "Half-King") and other Iroquois leaders allied to Virginia at Logstown to secure their support in case of conflict with the French; Washington and Half-King became friends and allies. Washington delivered the letter to the local French commander, who politely refused to leave.

Governor Dinwiddie sent Washington back to the Ohio Country to protect an Ohio Company group building a fort at present-day Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Before he reached the area, a French force drove out the company's crew and began construction of Fort Duquesne. With Mingo allies led by Tanacharison, Washington and some of his militia unit ambushed a French scouting party of some 30 men, led by Joseph Coulon de Jumonville; Jumonville was killed. The French responded by attacking and capturing Washington at Fort Necessity in July 1754. He was allowed to return with his troops to Virginia. The episode demonstrated Washington's bravery, initiative, inexperience and impetuosity. These events had international consequences; the French accused Washington of assassinating Jumonville, who they claimed was on a diplomatic mission similar to Washington's 1753 mission. Both France and Britain responded by sending troops to North America in 1755, although war was not formally declared until 1756.

Braddock disaster 1755

In 1755, Washington was the senior American aide to British General Edward Braddock on the ill-fated Monongahela expedition. This was the largest British expedition to the colonies, and was intended to expel the French from the Ohio Country. The French and their Indian allies ambushed Braddock, who was mortally wounded in the Battle of the Monongahela. After suffering devastating casualties the British retreated in disarray but Washington rode back and forth across the battlefield, rallying the remnants of the British and Virginian forces to an organized retreat.

Commander of Virginia Regiment

of Washington as colonel of the Virginia Regiment, is the earliest known portrait]] Governor Dinwiddie rewarded Washington in 1755 with a commission as "Colonel of the Virginia Regiment and Commander in Chief of all forces now raised in the defense of His Majesty's Colony" and gave him the task of defending Virginia's frontier. The Virginia Regiment was the first full-time American military unit in the colonies (as opposed to part-time militias and the British regular units). Washington was ordered to "act defensively or offensively" as he thought best. In command of a thousand soldiers, Washington was a disciplinarian who emphasized training. He led his men in brutal campaigns against the Indians in the west; in 10 months units of his regiment fought 20 battles, and lost a third of its men. Washington's strenuous efforts meant that Virginia's frontier population suffered less than that of other colonies; Ellis concludes "it was his only unqualified success" in the war.

In 1758, Washington participated in the Forbes expedition to capture Fort Duquesne. He was embarrassed by a friendly fire episode in which his unit and another British unit thought the other was the French enemy and opened fire, with 14 dead and 26 wounded in the mishap. In the end there was no real fighting for the French abandoned the fort and the British scored a major strategic victory, gaining control of the Ohio Valley. Mission accomplished, Washington retired from his Virginia Regiment commission in December, 1758, and did not return to military life until the outbreak of the revolution in 1775.

Lessons learned

Although Washington never gained the commission in the British army he yearned for, in these years the young man gained valuable military, political, and leadership skills. He closely observed British military tactics, gaining a keen insight into their strengths and weaknesses that proved invaluable during the Revolution. He demonstrated his toughness and courage in the most difficult situations, including disasters and retreats. He developed a command presence—given his size, strength, stamina, and bravery in battle, he appeared to soldiers to be a natural leader and they followed him without question. Washington learned to organize, train, drill, and discipline his companies and regiments. From his observations, readings and conversations with professional officers, he learned the basics of battlefield tactics, as well as a good understanding of problems of organization and logistics. He gained an understanding of overall strategy, especially in locating strategic geographical points. His frustrations in dealing with government officials led him to stress the advantage of a strong national government, and a vigorous executive agency that could get results; his dealings gave him the diplomatic skills necessary to negotiate with officials at the local and colonial levels. He developed a very negative idea of the value of militia, who seemed too unreliable, too undisciplined, and too short-term compared to regulars. On the other hand, his experience was limited to command of at most 1000 men, and came only in remote frontier conditions that were far removed from the urban situations he faced during the Revolution at Boston, New York, Trenton and Philadelphia.

Between the wars: Mount Vernon (1759–1774)

of Martha Washington, based on a 1757 portrait by Wollaston]]

On January 6, 1759, Washington married the wealthy widow Martha Dandridge Custis. Surviving letters suggest that he may have been in love at the time with Sally Fairfax, the wife of a friend. Nevertheless, George and Martha made a compatible marriage, because Martha was intelligent, gracious, and experienced in managing a slave plantation. Together the two raised her two children from her previous marriage, John Parke Custis and Martha Parke Custis, affectionately called "Jackie" and "Patsy" by the family. Later the Washingtons raised two of Mrs. Washington's grandchildren, Eleanor Parke Custis and George Washington Parke Custis. George and Martha never had any children together — his earlier bout with smallpox in 1751 may have made him sterile. Washington, himself, an extraordinary athlete, proudly may not have been able to admit to his own sterility while privately he grieved over not having his own children. The newly wed couple moved to Mount Vernon, near Alexandria, where he took up the life of a planter and political figure.

Washington's marriage to Martha greatly increased his property holdings and social standing, and made him one of Virginia's wealthiest men. He acquired one-third of the 18,000 acre (73 km²) Custis estate upon his marriage, worth approximately $100,000, and managed the remainder on behalf of Martha's children, for whom he sincerely cared. He frequently bought additional land in his own name and was granted land in what is now West Virginia as a bounty for his service in the French and Indian War. By 1775, Washington had doubled the size of Mount Vernon to , and had increased the slave population there to more than 100 persons. As a respected military hero and large landowner, he held local office and was elected to the Virginia provincial legislature, the House of Burgesses, beginning in 1758.

after his marriage]]

Washington lived an aristocratic lifestyle—fox hunting was a favorite leisure activity. He also enjoyed going to dances and parties, in addition to the theater, races, and cock fights. Washington also was known to play cards, backgammon, and billiards. Like most Virginia planters, he imported luxuries and other goods from England and paid for them by exporting his tobacco crop. Extravagant spending and the unpredictability of the tobacco market meant that many Virginia planters of Washington's day were losing money. (Thomas Jefferson, for example, would die deeply in debt.)

Washington began to pull himself out of debt by diversifying his business interests and paying more attention to his affairs. By 1766, he had switched Mount Vernon's primary cash crop from tobacco to wheat, a crop that could be sold in America, and diversified operations to include flour milling, fishing, horse breeding, spinning, and weaving. Patsy Custis's death in 1773 from epilepsy enabled Washington to pay off his British creditors, since half of her inheritance passed to him.

A successful planter, he was a leader in the social elite in Virginia. From 1768 to 1775, he invited some 2000 guests to his Mount Vernon estate, mostly those he considered "people of rank." As for people not of high social status, his advice was to "treat them civilly" but "keep them at a proper distance, for they will grow upon familiarity, in proportion as you sink in authority.". In 1769 he became more politically active, presenting the Virginia Assembly with legislation to ban the importation of goods from Great Britain.

American Revolution (1775–1787)

Although he expressed opposition to the 1765 Stamp Act, the first direct tax on the colonies, he did not take a leading role in the growing colonial resistance until protests of the Townshend Acts (enacted in 1767) became widespread. In May 1769, Washington introduced a proposal, drafted by his friend George Mason, calling for Virginia to boycott English goods until the Acts were repealed. Parliament repealed the Townshend Acts in 1770, and, for Washington at least, the crisis had passed. However, Washington regarded the passage of the Intolerable Acts in 1774 as "an Invasion of our Rights and Privileges". In July 1774, he chaired the meeting at which the "Fairfax Resolves" were adopted, which called for, among other things, the convening of a Continental Congress. In August, Washington attended the First Virginia Convention, where he was selected as a delegate to the First Continental Congress.

Commander in chief

After the Battles of Lexington and Concord near Boston in April 1775, the colonies went to war. Washington appeared at the Second Continental Congress in a military uniform, signaling that he was prepared for war. Washington had the prestige, military experience, charisma and military bearing of a military leader and was known as a strong patriot. Virginia, the largest colony, deserved recognition, and New England—where the fighting began—realized it needed Southern support. Washington did not explicitly seek the office of commander and said that he was not equal to it, but there was no serious competition. Congress created the Continental Army on June 14, 1775. Nominated by John Adams of Massachusetts, Washington was then appointed Major General and Commander-in-chief.

Washington had three roles during the war. In 1775-77, and again in 1781 he led his men against the main British forces. He lost many of his battles—save the last one—but always survived to fight another day. He plotted the overall strategy of the war, in cooperation with Congress.

Second, he was charged with organizing and training the army. He recruited regulars and assigned General von Steuben, a German professional, to train them. He was not in charge of supplies, which were always short, but kept pressuring Congress and the states to provide essentials. Washington had the major voice in selecting generals for command, and in planning their basic strategy. His achievements were mixed, as some of his favorites (like John Sullivan) never mastered the art of command. Eventually he found men who got the job done, like General Nathaniel Greene, and his chief-of-staff Alexander Hamilton. The American officers never equaled their opponents in tactics and maneuver, and consequently they lost most of the pitched battles. The great successes, at Saratoga and Yorktown, came from trapping the British far from base with much larger numbers of troops.

Third, and most important, Washington was the embodiment of armed resistance to the Crown—the representative man of the Revolution. His enormous stature and political skills kept Congress, the army, the French, the militias, and the states all pointed toward a common goal. By voluntarily stepping down and disbanding his army when the war was won, he permanently established the principle of civilian supremacy in military affairs. And yet his constant reiteration of the point that well-disciplined professional soldiers counted for twice as much as erratic amateurs helped overcome the ideological distrust of a standing army.

Victory at Boston

Washington assumed command of the Continental Army in the field at Cambridge, Massachusetts in July 1775, during the ongoing siege of Boston. Realizing his army's desperate shortage of gunpowder, Washington asked for new sources. American troops raided British arsenals, including some in the Caribbean, and some manufacturing was attempted. They obtained a barely adequate supply (about 2.5 million pounds) by the end of 1776, mostly from France. Washington reorganized the army during the long standoff, and forced the British to withdraw by putting artillery on Dorchester Heights overlooking the city. The British evacuated Boston in March 1776 and Washington moved his army to New York City.

Although highly disparaging toward most of the Patriots, British newspapers routinely praised Washington's personal character and qualities as a military commander. These articles were bold, as Washington was enemy general who commanded an army in a cause that many Britons believed would ruin the empire.

Defeat at New York City and Fabian tactics

In August 1776, British General William Howe launched a massive naval and land campaign designed to seize New York. The Continental Army under Washington engaged the enemy for the first time as an army of the newly independent United States at the Battle of Long Island, the largest battle of the entire war. The Americans were badly outnumbered, many men deserted, and Washington was badly beaten. Historian David McCullough has portrayed the army's subsequent night time retreat across the East River, without the loss of a single life or material, as one of Washington's greatest military feats. Washington retreated north from the city to avoid encirclement, enabling Howe to take the offensive and capture Fort Washington on November 16 with high Continental casualties. Washington then retreated across New Jersey; the future of the Continental Army was in doubt due to expiring enlistments and the string of losses. On the night of December 25, 1776, Washington staged a comeback with a surprise attack on a Hessian outpost in western New Jersey. He led his army across the Delaware River to capture nearly 1,000 Hessians in Trenton, New Jersey. Washington followed up his victory at Trenton with another over British regulars at Princeton in early January. The British retreated back to New York City and its environs, which they held until the peace treaty of 1783. Washington's victories wrecked the British carrot-and-stick strategy of showing overwhelming force then offering generous terms. The Americans would not negotiate for anything short of independence. These victories alone were not enough to ensure ultimate Patriot victory, however, since many soldiers did not reenlist or deserted during the harsh winter. Washington and Congress reorganized the army with increased rewards for staying and punishment for desertion, which raised troop numbers effectively for subsequent battles.

Historians debate whether or not Washington preferred a Fabian strategy to harass the British, with quick shark attacks followed by a retreat so the larger British army could not catch him, or whether he preferred to fight major battles. While his southern commander Greene in 1780-81 did use Fabian tactics, Washington, only did so in fall 1776 to spring 1777, after losing New York City and seeing much of his army melt away. Trenton and Princeton were Fabian examples. By summer 1777, however, Washington had rebuilt his strength and his confidence and stopped using raids and went for large-scale confrontations, as at Brandywine, Germantown, Monmouth and Yorktown.

1777 campaigns

In the late summer of 1777 the British under John Burgoyne sent a major invasion army south from Quebec, with the intention of splitting off rebellious New England. General Howe in New York took his army south to Philadelphia instead of going up the Hudson River to join with Burgoyne near Albany. It was a major strategic mistake for the British, and Washington rushed to Philadelphia to engage Howe, while closely following the action in upstate New York. In pitched battles that were too complex for his relatively inexperienced men, Washington was defeated. At the Battle of Brandywine on September 11, 1777, Howe outmaneuvered Washington, and marched into the American capital at Philadelphia unopposed on September 26. Washington's army unsuccessfully attacked the British garrison at Germantown in early October. Meanwhile, Burgoyne, out of reach from help from Howe, was trapped and forced to surrender his entire army at Saratoga, New York. It was a major turning point militarily and diplomatically. France responded to Burgoyne's defeat by entering the war, openly allying with America and turning the Revolutionary War into a major worldwide war. Washington's loss of Philadelphia prompted some members of Congress to discuss removing Washington from command. This attempt failed after Washington's supporters rallied behind him.

Valley Forge

Washington's army went into winter quarters at Valley Forge north of Philadelphia in December 1777. Over the next six months, 2,500 men of the 10,000-strong force died from disease and exposure. The next spring, however, the army emerged from Valley Forge in good order, thanks in part to a full-scale training program supervised by Baron von Steuben, a veteran of the Prussian general staff. The British evacuated Philadelphia to New York in 1778, shadowed by Washington. Washington attacked them at Monmouth, fighting to an effective draw in one of the war's largest battles. Afterwards, the British continued to head towards New York, and Washington moved his army outside of New York.

Victory over Indians and British

In the summer of 1779 at Washington's direction, General John Sullivan carried out a scorched earth campaign that destroyed at least 40 Iroquois villages throughout present-day central and upstate New York; the Indians were British allies who had been raiding American settlements on the frontier. In July 1780, Washington received 5,000 veteran French troops given by French General Comte Donatien de Rochambeau to aid in the war effort. The Continental Army having been funded $20,000 in French gold, Washington delivered the final blow to the British in 1781, after a French naval victory allowed American and French forces to trap a British army in Virginia. The surrender at Yorktown on October 17, 1781, marked the end of major fighting in continental North America.

of Washington resigning his commission as commander-in-chief]]

Demobilization

Washington could not know that after Yorktown the British would not reopen hostilities. They still had 26,000 troops occupying New York City, Charleston and Savannah, together with a powerful fleet. The French army and navy departed, so the Americans were on their own in 1782-83. The treasury was empty, and the unpaid soldiers were growing restive, almost to the point of mutiny or possible coup d'état. Washington dispelled unrest among officers by squelching the Newburgh Conspiracy in March 1783, and Congress came up with the promise of a five years bonus.

By the Treaty of Paris (signed that September), Great Britain recognized the independence of the United States. Washington disbanded his army and, on November 2, gave an eloquent farewell address to his soldiers.

On November 25, the British evacuated New York City, and Washington and the governor took possession. At Fraunces Tavern on December 4, Washington formally bade his officers farewell and on December 23, 1783, he resigned his commission as commander-in-chief. Historian Gordon Wood concludes that the greatest act in his life was his resignation as commander of the armies—an act that stunned aristocratic Europe. King George III called Washington the "the greatest character of the age" because of this.

1787: Constitutional Convention

Washington's retirement to Mount Vernon was short-lived. He made an exploratory trip to the western frontier in 1784, After the Convention, his support convinced many to vote for ratification; the new Constitution was ratified by all thirteen states.

Presidency (1789–1797)

The Electoral College elected Washington unanimously as the first president in 1789, and again in the 1792 election; he remains the only president to have received 100 percent of the electoral votes. John Adams, who received the next highest vote total, was elected Vice President. At his inauguration, Washington took the oath of office as the first President of the United States of America on April 30, 1789, at Federal Hall in New York City.

The 1st United States Congress voted to pay Washington a salary of $25,000 a year—a large sum in 1789. Washington, already wealthy, declined the salary, since he valued his image as a selfless public servant. At the urging of Congress, however, he ultimately accepted the payment, to avoid setting a precedent whereby the presidency would be perceived as limited only to independently wealthy individuals who could serve without any salary. The president, aware that everything he did set a precedent, attended carefully to the pomp and ceremony of office, making sure that the titles and trappings were suitably republican and never emulated European royal courts. To that end, he preferred the title "Mr. President" to the more majestic names suggested.

Washington proved an able administrator. An excellent delegator and judge of talent and character, he talked regularly with department heads and listened to their advice before making a final decision. In handling routine tasks, he was "systematic, orderly, energetic, solicitous of the opinion of others but decisive, intent upon general goals and the consistency of particular actions with them."

Washington reluctantly served a second term as president. He refused to run for a third, establishing the customary policy of a maximum of two terms for a president.

Domestic issues

Washington was not a member of any political party and hoped that they would not be formed, fearing conflict that would undermine republicanism. His closest advisors formed two factions, setting the framework for the future First Party System. Secretary of Treasury Alexander Hamilton had bold plans to establish the national credit and build a financially powerful nation, and formed the basis of the Federalist Party. Secretary of State Thomas Jefferson, founder of the Jeffersonian Republicans, strenuously opposed Hamilton's agenda, but Washington typically favored Hamilton over Jefferson, and it was Hamilton's agenda that went into effect.

The Residence Act of 1790, which Washington signed, authorized the President to select the specific location of the permanent seat of the government, which would be located along the Potomac River. The Act authorized the President to appoint three commissioners to survey and acquire property for this seat. Washington personally oversaw this effort throughout his term in office. In 1791, the commissioners named the permanent seat of government "The City of Washington in the Territory of Columbia" to honor Washington. In 1800, the Territory of Columbia became the District of Columbia when the federal government moved to the site according to the provisions of the Residence Act.

In 1791, Congress imposed an excise on distilled spirits, which led to protests in frontier districts, especially Pennsylvania. By 1794, after Washington ordered the protesters to appear in U.S. district court, the protests turned into full-scale defiance of federal authority known as the Whiskey Rebellion. The federal army was too small to be used, so Washington invoked the Militia Act of 1792 to summon the militias of Pennsylvania, Virginia, and several other states. The governors sent the troops and Washington took command, marching into the rebellious districts. The rebels dispersed and there was no fighting, as Washington's forceful action proved the new government could protect itself. These events marked the first time under the new constitution that the federal government used strong military force to exert authority over the states and citizens.

Foreign affairs

In 1791, shortly after the Haitian Revolution broke out, Washington's administration, at French request, agreed to send money, arms, and provisions to the French colony of Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti) to assist distressed colonists. This aid formed part of the US repayment of Revolutionary War loans, and eventually amounted to about $400,000.

In spring 1793 a major war broke out between conservative Britain and its allies and revolutionary France, launching an era of large-scale warfare that engulfed Europe until 1815. Washington, with cabinet approval, proclaimed American neutrality. The revolutionary government of France sent diplomat Edmond-Charles Genêt, called "Citizen Genêt," to America. Genêt was welcomed with great enthusiasm and propagandized the case for France in the French war against Britain, and for this purpose promoted a network of new Democratic Societies in major cities. He issued French letters of marque and reprisal to French ships manned by American sailors so they could capture British merchant ships. Washington demanded the French government recall Genêt, and denounced the societies.

Hamilton and Washington designed the Jay Treaty to normalize trade relations with Britain, remove them from western forts, and resolve financial debts left over from the Revolution. John Jay negotiated and signed the treaty on November 19, 1794. The Jeffersonians supported France and strongly attacked the treaty. Washington's strong support mobilized public opinion and proved decisive in securing ratification in the Senate by the necessary two-thirds majority. The British agreed to depart from their forts around the Great Lakes, subsequently the U.S.-Canadian boundary had to be re-adjusted, numerous pre-Revolutionary debts were liquidated, and the British opened their West Indies colonies to American trade. Most importantly, the treaty delayed war with Britain and instead brought a decade of prosperous trade with Britain. The treaty angered the French and became a central issue in many political debates.

Farewell Address

Washington's Farewell Address (issued as a public letter in 1796) was one of the most influential statements of republicanism. Drafted primarily by Washington himself, with help from Hamilton, it gives advice on the necessity and importance of national union, the value of the Constitution and the rule of law, the evils of political parties, and the proper virtues of a republican people. He called morality "a necessary spring of popular government". He said, "Whatever may be conceded to the influence of refined education on minds of peculiar structure, reason and experience both forbid us to expect that national morality can prevail in exclusion of religious principle."

Washington's public political address warned against foreign influence in domestic affairs and American meddling in European affairs. He warned against bitter partisanship in domestic politics and called for men to move beyond partisanship and serve the common good. He warned against "permanent alliances with any portion of the foreign world", saying the United States must concentrate primarily on American interests. He counseled friendship and commerce with all nations, but warned against involvement in European wars and entering into long-term "entangling" alliances. The address quickly set American values regarding foreign affairs.

Retirement (1797–1799)

After retiring from the presidency in March 1797, Washington returned to Mount Vernon with a profound sense of relief. He devoted much time to farming and other business interests, including his distillery which produced its first batch of spirits in February 1797. As Chernow (2010) explains, his farm operations were at best marginally profitable. The lands out west yielded little income because they were under attack by Indians and the squatters living there refused to pay him rents. However most Americans assumed he was truly rich because of the well-known "glorified façade of wealth and grandeur" at Mount Vernon. Historians estimate his estate was worth about $1 million in 1799 dollars, equivalent to about $18 million in 2009 purchasing power.

On July 4, 1798, Washington was commissioned by President John Adams to be lieutenant general and Commander-in-chief of the armies raised or to be raised for service in a prospective war with France. He served as the senior officer of the United States Army between July 13, 1798, and December 14, 1799. He participated in the planning for a Provisional Army to meet any emergency that might arise, but did not take the field. His second in command, Hamilton, led the army.

Death

On Thursday December 12, 1799, Washington spent several hours inspecting his farms on horseback, in snow, hail and freezing rain - later that evening eating his supper without changing from his wet clothes. Friday morning, he awoke with a severe sore throat (either quinsy or acute epiglottitis) and became increasingly hoarse as the day progressed. Sometime around 3 am that Saturday morning, he awoke his wife and said he felt ill. The illness progressed until Washington's death at home around 10pm on Saturday December 14, 1799, aged 67. His last words were "'Tis well."

Throughout the world, men and women were saddened by Washington's death. Napoleon ordered ten days of mourning throughout France; in the United States, thousands wore mourning clothes for months. To protect their privacy, Martha Washington burned the correspondence between her husband and herself following his death. Only three letters between the couple have survived.

, Virginia]]

On December 18, 1799, a funeral was held at Mount Vernon, where his body was interred.

Congress passed a joint resolution to construct a marble monument in the United States Capitol for his body, supported by Martha. In December 1800, the United States House passed an appropriations bill for $200,000 to build the mausoleum, which was to be a pyramid that had a base square. Southern opposition to the plan defeated the measure because they felt it was best to have his body remain at Mount Vernon.

In 1831, for the centennial of his birth, a new tomb was constructed to receive his remains. That year, an attempt was made to steal the body of Washington, but proved to be unsuccessful. Despite this, a joint Congressional committee in early 1832 debated the removal of Washington's body from Mount Vernon to a crypt in the Capitol, built by Charles Bullfinch in the 1820s. Yet again, Southern opposition proved very intense, antagonized by an ever-growing rift between North and South. Congressman Wiley Thompson of Georgia expressed the fear of Southerners when he said: This ended any talk of the movement of his remains, and he was moved to the new tomb that was constructed there on October 7, 1837, presented by John Struthers of Philadelphia. After the ceremony, the inner vault's door was closed and the key was thrown into the Potomac.

Legacy

Representative Henry "Light-Horse Harry" Lee, a Revolutionary War comrade and father of the Civil War general Robert E. Lee, famously eulogized Washington:

1751 profile of Washington is used on this 1908 postage stamp,]] Lee's words set the standard by which Washington's overwhelming reputation was impressed upon the American memory. Washington set many precedents for the national government and the presidency in particular, and was called the "Father of His Country" as early as 1778. Washington's Birthday (celebrated on Presidents' Day), is a federal holiday in the United States.

During the United States Bicentennial year, George Washington was posthumously appointed to the grade of General of the Armies of the United States by the congressional joint resolution passed on January 19, 1976, with an effective appointment date of July 4, 1976.

U.S. postage issues

George Washington appears on contemporary US currency, including the one-dollar bill and the US quarter. On US postage stamps however, Washington appears numerous times and in many different denominations. He appears on one of the first postage stamps issued by the U.S. Post Office in 1847, along with Benjamin Franklin. Further political squabbling, along with the North-South division on the Civil War, blocked the completion of the Washington Monument until the late 19th century. By that time, Washington had the image of a national hero who could be celebrated by both North and South, and memorials to him were no longer controversial. Predating the obelisk on the National Mall by several decades, the first public memorial to Washington was built by the citizens of Boonsboro, Maryland, in 1827.

Today, Washington's face and image are often used as national symbols of the United States. He appears on contemporary currency, including the one-dollar bill and the quarter coin, and on U.S. postage stamps. Along with appearing on the first postage stamps issued by the U.S. Post Office in 1847,

) in Washington Circle, Washington, D.C.]]

Many things have been named in honor of Washington. Washington's name became that of the nation's capital, Washington, D.C., one of two national capitals across the globe to be named after an American president (the other is Monrovia, Liberia). The state of Washington is the only state to be named after a United States President. George Washington University and Washington University in St. Louis were named for him, as was Washington and Lee University (once Washington Academy), which was renamed due to Washington's large endowment in 1796. Countless American cities and towns feature a Washington Street among their thoroughfares.

The Confederate Seal prominently featured George Washington on horseback, in the same position as a statue of him in Richmond, Virginia.

London hosts a standing statue of Washington, one of 22 bronze identical replicas. Based on Jean Antoine Houdon's original marble statue in the Rotunda of the State Capitol in Richmond, Virginia, the duplicate was given to the British in 1921 by the Commonwealth of Virginia. It stands in front of the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square.

Papers of George Washington

The serious collection and publication began with the pioneer work of Jared Sparks in the 1830s, Life and Writings of George Washington (12 vols., 1834–1837). The Writings of George Washington from the Original Manuscript Sources, 1745-1799 (1931–44) is a thirty-seven volume set edited by John C. Fitzpatrick. It contains over 17,000 letters and documents and is online.

The definitive letterpress edition was begun by the University of Virginia in 1968, and today comprises 52 published volumes, with more to come. It contains everything written by Washington, or signed by him, together with most of his incoming letters. The collection is online.

Personal life

Along with Martha's biological family noted above, George Washington had a close relationship with his nephew and heir Bushrod Washington, son of George's younger brother John Augustine Washington. After his uncle's death, Bushrod became an Associate Justice on the US Supreme Court. George's relationship with his mother, Mary Ball Washington, however, was apparently somewhat difficult and strained.

As a young man, Washington had red hair. A popular myth is that he wore a wig, as was the fashion among some at the time. Washington did not wear a wig; instead, he powdered his hair, as represented in several portraits, including the well known unfinished Gilbert Stuart depiction.

Washington suffered from problems with his teeth throughout his life. He lost his first adult tooth when he was twenty-two and had only one left by the time he became President. John Adams claims he lost them because he used them to crack Brazil nuts but modern historians suggest the mercury oxide, which he was given to treat illnesses such as smallpox and malaria, probably contributed to the loss. He had several sets of false teeth made, four of them by a dentist named John Greenwood. The hippo ivory was used for the plate, into which real human teeth and bits of horses' and donkeys' teeth were inserted. Dental problems left Washington in constant pain, for which he took laudanum. This distress may be apparent in many of the portraits painted while he was still in office, including the one still used on the $1 bill.

Slavery

On the death of his father in 1743, the 11-year-old inherited 10 slaves. At the time of his marriage to Martha Custis in 1759, he personally owned at least 36 (and the widow's third of her first husband's estate brought at least 85 "dower slaves" to Mount Vernon). Using his wife's great wealth he bought land, tripling the size of the plantation, and additional slaves to farm it. By 1774, he paid taxes on 135 slaves (this does not include the "dowers"). The last record of a slave purchase by him was in 1772, although he later received some slaves in repayment of debts. Washington also used white indentured servants.

One historian claims that Washington desired the material benefits from owning slaves and wanted to give his wife's family a wealthy inheritance. Before the American Revolution, Washington expressed no moral reservations about slavery, but in 1786, Washington wrote to Robert Morris, saying, "There is not a man living who wishes more sincerely than I do, to see a plan adopted for the abolition of slavery." In 1778, he wrote to his manager at Mount Vernon that he wished "to get quit of negroes". Maintaining a large, and increasingly elderly, slave population at Mount Vernon was not economically profitable. Washington could not legally sell the "dower slaves," however, and because these slaves had long intermarried with his own slaves, he could not sell his slaves without breaking up families.

As president, Washington brought seven slaves to New York City in 1789 to work in the first presidential household. Following the transfer of the national capital to Philadelphia in 1790, he brought nine slaves to work in the President's House. At the time of his death, there were 317 slaves at Mount Vernon– 123 owned by Washington, 154 "dower slaves," and 40 rented from a neighbor. Dorothy Twohig argues that Washington did not speak out publicly against slavery, because he did not wish to create a split in the new republic, with an issue that was sensitive and divisive.

Religion

Washington was a member of the Anglican Church, which had 'established status' in Virginia (meaning tax money was used to pay its minister). He was a member of and served on the vestry (governing board) for Christ Church in Alexandria, Virginia and for Pohick Church near his Mount Vernon home until the war began; however the parish was the unit of local government and the vestry dealt mostly with civic affairs such as roads and poor relief.

According to historian Paul F. Boller Jr., Washington practically speaking was a Deist who had a profound belief and faith in "Divine Providence" or a higher "Divine Will" derived from a "Supreme Being" who controlled human events and as in Calvinism the course of history followed an orderly pattern rather than mere chance. In 1789, Washington claimed that the "Author of the Universe" actively interposed in favor of the American Revolution. However, according to Boller, Washington never made attempts to personalize his own religious views or express any appeal to the aesthetic side of biblical passages. Boller states that Washington's "allusions to religion are almost totally lacking in depths of feeling." In philosophical terms, he admired and adopted the Stoic philosophy of the ancient Romans, which emphasized virtue and humanitarianism and was highly compatible with Deism.

In a letter to George Mason in 1785, Washington wrote that he was not among those alarmed by a bill "making people pay towards the support of that [religion] which they profess," but felt that it was "impolitic" to pass such a measure, and wished it had never been proposed, believing that it would disturb public tranquility.

Washington frequently accompanied his wife to church services; however, there is no record of his ever taking communion, and he would regularly leave services before communion—with the other non-communicants (as was the custom of the day), until, after being admonished by a rector, he ceased attending at all on communion Sundays. As president he made a point of being seen attending services at numerous churches, including Presbyterian, Quaker and Catholic, to show his general support for religion. Washington was known for his generosity. Highly gregarious, he attended many charity events and donated money to colleges, schools and to the poor. As Philadelphia's leading citizen, President Washington took the lead in providing charity to widows and orphans hit by the yellow fever epidemic that devastated the capital city in 1793.

Freemasonry

In 1752 Washington was initiated into Freemasonry. At his inauguration in 1789, the Grand Master of the Grand Lodge of New York administered his oath of office. On September 18, 1793, he laid the cornerstone of the U.S. Capitol wearing full Masonic Grand Master regalia. Washington had a high regard for the Masonic Order and often praised it, but he seldom attended lodge meetings. He was attracted by the movement's dedication to Enlightenment principles of rationality, reason and fraternalism; the American lodges did not share the anti-clerical perspective that made the European lodges so controversial

See also

1932 Washington Bicentennial

George Washington bibliography

List of federal judges appointed by George Washington

Military career of George Washington

Town Destroyer, a nickname given to Washington by the Iroquois

Old Style and New Style dates

Washington Monument State Park

Notes

References

;Sources used For a bibliography see George Washington bibliography

Buchanan, John. The Road to Valley Forge: How Washington Built the Army That Won the Revolution (2004). 368 pp.

Burns, James MacGregor and Dunn, Susan. George Washington. Times, 2004. 185 pp. explore leadership style

Chernow, Ron. Washington: A Life (2010), 904pp; full-scale biography

Cunliffe, Marcus. George Washington: Man and Monument (1958), explores both the biography and the myth

Elkins, Stanley M. and Eric McKitrick. The Age of Federalism. (1994) the leading scholarly history of the 1790s.

Ellis, Joseph J. . (2004) ISBN 1-4000-4031-0. Acclaimed interpretation of Washington's career.

Ferling, John E. The First of Men: A Life of George Washington (1989). Biography from a leading scholar.

Fischer, David Hackett. Washington's Crossing. (2004), prize-winning military history focused on 1776–1777.

Flexner, James Thomas. Washington: The Indispensable Man. (1974). ISBN 0-316-28616-8 (1994 reissue). Single-volume condensation of Flexner's popular four-volume biography.

Freeman, Douglas S. George Washington: A Biography. 7 volumes (1948–1957). New York: Scribner. . The standard scholarly biography, winner of the Pulitzer Prize. Freeman, Douglas S. and Harwell, Richard. Washington (1968). New York: Scribner. . Abridgement of Freeman's multivolume biography.

Grizzard, Frank E., Jr. George Washington: A Biographical Companion. ABC-CLIO, 2002. 436 pp.  Comprehensive encyclopedia; Grizzard was Senior Associate Editor of The Papers of George Washington

Grizzard, Frank E., Jr. The Ways of Providence: Religion and George Washington. Buena Vista and Charlottesville, VA: Mariner Publishing. 2005. ISBN 0-9768238-1-0.

Grizzard, Frank E., Jr. George! A Guide to All Things Washington. Buena Vista and Charlottesville, VA: Mariner Publishing. 2005. ISBN 0-9768238-0-2.

Higginbotham, Don, ed. George Washington Reconsidered. University Press of Virginia, (2001). 336 pp of essays by scholars

Higginbotham, Don. George Washington: Uniting a Nation. Rowman & Littlefield, (2002). 175 pp.

Hirschfeld, Fritz. George Washington and Slavery: A Documentary Portrayal. University of Missouri Press, 1997.

Hofstra, Warren R., ed. George Washington and the Virginia Backcountry. Madison House, 1998. Essays on Washington's formative years.

LaBan, Craig. Hercules: Master of cuisine, slave of Washington. Philly.Com(Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News). February 21, 2010.Hercules: Master of cuisine, slave of Washington

Laban, Craig. A birthday shock from Hercules. Philly.Com(The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia Daily News). February 22, 2010. A birthday shock from Washington's chef

Lengel, Edward G. General George Washington: A Military Life. New York: Random House, 2005. ISBN 1-4000-6081-8.

Lodge, Henry Cabot. George Washington, 2 vols. (1889), old fashioned biography vol 1 at Gutenberg; vol 2 at Gutenberg

McDonald, Forrest. The Presidency of George Washington. 1988. Intellectual history showing Washington as exemplar of republicanism.

Smith, Richard Norton Patriarch: George Washington and the New American Nation (1997) Focuses on last 10 years of Washington's life. excerpt and text search

Spalding, Matthew. "George Washington's Farewell Address", The Wilson Quarterly v20#4 (Autumn 1996) pp: 65+.

Vadakan, Vibul V., M.D. "A Physician Looks At The Death of Washington", The Early America Review Vol VI, #1(Winter/Spring 2005) A Physician Looks At The Death of Washington

Wallenborn, White McKenzie, M.D. George Washington's Terminal Illness:A Modern Medical Analysis of the Last illness and Death of George Washington.Washington's Terminal Illness

Wiencek, Henry. An Imperfect God: George Washington, His Slaves, and the Creation of America. (2003).

External links

George Washington Resources from the University of Virginia

George Washington's Mount Vernon Estate & Gardens

* Discover the Real George Washington a traveling exhibit

George Washington from the Miller Center of Public Affairs, University of Virginia

Washington's Commission as Commander in Chief from the Library of Congress

George Washington Birthplace National Monument from the National Park Service

Painting of John Gano Baptizing George Washington

A biography at the Mount Vernon museum website

A biography at the Biography Channel website

George Washington, A Biography by John Richard Alden

George Washington, a biography by President Woodrow Wilson

{| class="navbox collapsible collapsed" style="width:100%; margin:auto;" |- ! style="background:#ccf;"| Titles and Succession |- | |}

Category:Articles with inconsistent citation formats Category:1732 births Category:1799 deaths Category:18th-century American Episcopalians Category:18th-century presidents of the United States Category:American farmers Category:American foreign policy writers Category:American people of English descent Category:American planters Category:Chancellors of the College of William & Mary Category:Congressional Gold Medal recipients Category:Continental Army generals Category:Continental Army officers from Virginia Category:Continental Congressmen from Virginia Category:Deaths from pneumonia Category:Deaths from asphyxiation Category:House of Burgesses members Category:Members of the Society of the Cincinnati Category:People from Westmoreland County, Virginia Category:People of Virginia in the American Revolution Category:People of Virginia in the French and Indian War Category:Presidents of the United States Category:Recipients of a posthumous promotion Category:Signers of the United States Constitution Category:United States presidential candidates, 1789 Category:United States presidential candidates, 1792 Category:United States presidential candidates, 1796 Category:Virginia colonial people Category:Washington family Category:British America army officers Category:Washington and Lee University people

Name	Ellen DeGeneres
Caption	Ellen DeGeneres (2009)
Birth name	Ellen DeGeneres
Birth date	January 26, 1958
Birth place	Metairie, Louisiana, U.S.
Active	1981 – present
Medium	Stand-up comedy, television, film
Nationality	American
Spouse	Portia de Rossi (2008–present)

}}

Ellen DeGeneres (; born January 26, 1958) is an American stand-up comedienne, television host and actress. She hosts the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and was also a judge on American Idol for one year, having joined the show in its ninth season.

DeGeneres has hosted both the Academy Awards and the Primetime Emmys. As a film actress, she starred in Mr. Wrong, appeared in EDtv and The Love Letter, and provided the voice of Dory in the Disney-Pixar animated film Finding Nemo, for which she was awarded a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress, the first and only time a voice performance won a Saturn Award.

She also starred in two television sitcoms, Ellen from 1994 to 1998 and The Ellen Show from 2001 to 2002. During the fourth season of Ellen in 1997, Degeneres came out publicly as a lesbian in an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Shortly afterwards, her character Ellen Morgan also came out to a therapist played by Winfrey, and the series went on to explore various LGBT issues including the coming out process.

She has won twelve Emmys and numerous other awards for her work and charitable efforts.

Early life and education

DeGeneres was raised in Metairie, Louisiana, the daughter of Betty Jane DeGeneres (née Pfeffer), a speech therapist, and Elliott DeGeneres, an insurance agent. She has one brother, Vance DeGeneres, who is a producer and musician. She is of French, English, German and Irish descent. DeGeneres was raised as a Christian Scientist until the age of thirteen. In 1973 DeGeneres' parents filed for separation and were divorced the following year. Shortly after, Betty Jane remarried Roy Gruessendorf, who worked as a salesman. Betty Jane and Ellen moved with Gruessendorf from the New Orleans area to Atlanta, Texas. Vance stayed with their birth father.

DeGeneres graduated from Atlanta High School in May 1976, after completing her first years of high school at Grace King High School in Metairie, Louisiana. She moved back to New Orleans to attend the University of New Orleans, where she majored in communication studies. After one semester, she left school to do clerical work in a law firm with her cousin Laura Gillen. She also held a job selling clothes at the chain store the Merry-Go-Round at the Lakeside Shopping Center. Other working experiences included being a waitress at TGI Friday's and another restaurant, a house painter, a hostess, and a bartender. She relates much of her childhood and career experiences in her comedic work.

Career

Stand-up comedy

DeGeneres started performing stand-up comedy at small clubs and coffee houses. By 1981 she was the emcee at Clyde's Comedy Club in New Orleans. Degeneres cites Woody Allen and Steve Martin as her main influences at this time. In the early 1980s she began to tour nationally, being named Showtime's Funniest Person in America in 1982. In 1986 she appeared for the first time on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, who likened her to Bob Newhart.

Ellen reached its height of popularity in February 1997, when DeGeneres made her homosexuality public on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Subsequently her character on the sitcom came out of the closet in April to her therapist, played by Oprah Winfrey, revealing that she was gay. The coming out episode, titled "The Puppy Episode", was one of the highest-rated episodes of the show. Later episodes of the series did not match its popularity, and after declining ratings, the show was canceled. DeGeneres returned to the stand-up comedy circuit, and later re-established herself as a successful talk show host.

Ellen's Energy Adventure

DeGeneres starred in a series of films for a show named Ellen's Energy Adventure, which is part of the Universe of Energy attraction and pavilion at Walt Disney World's Epcot. The film also featured Bill Nye, Alex Trebek, Michael Richards and Jamie Lee Curtis. The show revolved around DeGeneres falling asleep and finding herself in an energy-themed version of Jeopardy!, playing against an old rival, portrayed by Curtis, and Albert Einstein. The next film had DeGeneres hosting an educational look at energy, co-hosted with Nye. The ride first opened on September 15, 1996, as Ellen's Energy Crisis but was quickly renamed to the more positive-sounding Ellen's Energy Adventure.

The Ellen Show

DeGeneres returned to series television in 2001 with a new CBS sitcom, The Ellen Show.

2001 Emmy Awards

DeGeneres received wide exposure on November 4, 2001 when she hosted the televised broadcast of the Emmy Awards. Presented after two cancellations due to network concerns that a lavish ceremony following the September 11, 2001 attacks would appear insensitive, the show required a more somber tone that would also allow viewers to temporarily forget the tragedy. DeGeneres received several standing ovations for her performance that evening which included the line: "What would bug the Taliban more than seeing a gay woman in a suit surrounded by Jews?"

In August 2005, DeGeneres hosted the 2005 Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony held on September 18, 2005. This was three weeks after Hurricane Katrina, making it the second time she hosted the Emmys following a national tragedy. She also hosted the Grammy Awards in 1996 and in 1997.

Voice acting

DeGeneres lent her voice to the role of Dory, a fish with short-term memory loss, in the summer 2003 hit animated Disney/Pixar film Finding Nemo. The film's director, Andrew Stanton, claimed that he chose Ellen because she "changed the subject five times before one sentence had finished" on her show. For her performance as Dory, DeGeneres won the Saturn Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for "Best Supporting Actress"; "Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie" from the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards; and the Annie Award from the International Animated Film Association for "Outstanding Voice Acting". She was also nominated for a Chicago Film Critics Association Award in the "Best Supporting Actress" category. She also provided the voice of the dog in the prologue of the Eddie Murphy feature film Dr. Dolittle. Her win of the Saturn Award marked the first and only time the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films has given the acting award for a voice performance.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

DeGeneres launched a daytime television talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show in September 2003. Amid a crop of several celebrity-hosted talk shows surfacing at the beginning of that season, such as those of Sharon Osbourne and Rita Rudner, her show has consistently risen in the Nielsen ratings and received widespread critical praise. It was nominated for 11 Daytime Emmy Awards in its first season, winning four, including Best Talk Show. The show has won 25 Emmy Awards in its first three seasons on the air. DeGeneres is known for her dancing and singing with the audience at the beginning of the show and during commercial breaks. She often gives away free prizes and trips to her studio audience with the help of her sponsors.

DeGeneres celebrated her thirty-year class reunion by flying her graduating class to California to be guests on her show in February 2006. She presented Atlanta High School with a surprise gift of a new electronic LED marquee sign.

In May 2006, DeGeneres made a surprise appearance at the Tulane University commencement in New Orleans. Following George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton to the podium, she came out in a bathrobe and furry slippers. "They told me everyone would be wearing robes," she said. Ellen then went on to make another commencement speech at Tulane in 2009.

The show broadcast for a week from Universal Studios Orlando in March 2007. Skits included DeGeneres going on the Hulk Roller Coaster Ride and the Jaws Boat Ride.

In May 2007 DeGeneres was placed on bed rest due to a torn ligament in her back. She continued hosting her show from a hospital bed, tended to by a nurse, explaining "the show must go on, as they say." Guests sat in hospital beds as well.

On May 1, 2009, DeGeneres celebrated her 1000th episode, featuring celebrity guests such as Oprah, Justin Timberlake, and Paris Hilton, among others.

79th Academy Awards

On September 7, 2006, DeGeneres was selected to host the 79th Academy Awards ceremony, which took place on February 25, 2007. This makes her the first openly gay or lesbian person to have hosted the event. During the Awards show DeGeneres said, "What a wonderful night, such diversity in the room, in a year when there's been so many negative things said about people's race, religion and sexual orientation. And I want to put this out there: if there weren't blacks, Jews and gays, there would be no Oscars, or anyone named Oscar, when you think about that." Reviews of her hosting gig were positive, with one saying, "DeGeneres rocked, as she never forgot that she wasn't just there to entertain the Oscar nominees but also to tickle the audience at home." Regis Philbin said in an interview that "the only complaint was there's not enough Ellen."

DeGeneres was nominated for an Emmy Award as host of the Academy Awards broadcast.

2007 Writers Guild strike

DeGeneres, like many actors who are also writers, is a member of both the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA). Thus, although DeGeneres verbally supported the 2007 WGA strike she did not support it when she crossed the picket line the day after the strike began. Her representatives said she was competing with other first-run syndicated shows during the competitive November sweeps period, and that she could not break her contracts or risk her show losing its time slot. As a show of solidarity with the strikers, DeGeneres omitted her monologue during the strike, typically written by WGA writers. The WGA condemned her while the AFTRA defended her.

Commercial spokeswoman

In November 2004, DeGeneres appeared, dancing, in an ad campaign for American Express. Her most recent American Express commercial, a two-minute black-and-white spot where she works with animals, debuted in November 2006 and was created by Ogilvy and Mather. In 2007, the commercial won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Commercial.

DeGeneres began working with Cover Girl Cosmetics in September 2008, for which she has been criticized, as her animal-friendly values clash with Procter and Gamble's (the maker of Cover Girl Cosmetics) animal testing. Her face is the focus of new Cover Girl advertisements starting in January 2009. The beauty campaign will be DeGeneres' first.

American Idol

On September 9, 2009, it was confirmed that DeGeneres would replace Paula Abdul as a judge of the ninth season of American Idol. Her role started after the contestant auditions, at the beginning of "Hollywood Week". DeGeneres also reportedly signed a contract to be a judge on the show for at least five seasons. She made her American Idol debut on February 9, 2010.

On July 29, 2010, DeGeneres and Fox executives announced that the comedienne would be departing from the series after one season. In a statement, DeGeneres said that the series "didn't feel like the right fit for me".

Eleveneleven

On May 26, 2010, Ellen announced on her show that she was starting her own record label entitled "eleveneleven". She mentioned that she had been looking for videos of performances on YouTube to start her label. Her first act to be signed is Greyson Chance, a 12-year-old who gained fame after his cover of Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" went viral. Ellen explained her choice of name, claiming that she often sees the number when looking at her clocks, that she found Greyson on the 11th, and that the singer's soccer jersey has the number 11.

Some months later, on September 16, 2010, Ellen announced her label's second signed artist, 16-year old Tom Andrews, from the United Kingdom.

Also as of 2010, pop singer Jessica Simpson has joined the label.

Personal life

DeGeneres was in a relationship (1997–2000) with former Another World actress Anne Heche, who went on to marry cameraman Coley Laffoon. From 2001 to 2004, DeGeneres and actress/director/photographer Alexandra Hedison were in a relationship. They appeared on the cover of The Advocate after their separation had already been announced to the media.

Since 2004, DeGeneres has had a relationship with former Ally McBeal and Arrested Development star Portia de Rossi. After the overturn of the same-sex marriage ban in California, DeGeneres announced on a May 2008 show that she and de Rossi were engaged, and gave de Rossi a three-carat pink diamond ring. The passage of Proposition 8 cast doubt on the legal status of their marriage but a subsequent Supreme Court judgment validated it because it occurred before November 4, 2008.

DeGeneres and de Rossi live in Beverly Hills, with three dogs and four cats, and both are vegan.

On August 6, 2010, de Rossi filed a petition to legally change her name to Portia Lee James DeGeneres The petition was granted on September 23, 2010.

In her book, Love, Ellen, DeGeneres' mother, Betty DeGeneres, describes being initially shocked when her daughter came out as a lesbian, but has become one of her strongest supporters, an active member of Parents & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign's Coming Out Project.

In 2007, Forbes estimated DeGeneres' net worth at US$65 million.

Filmography

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;" |- align="center" ! style="background: #B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background: #B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background: #B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background: #B0C4DE;" | Notes |- | 1990 | Arduous Moon | Herself | Short film |- | 1991 | Wisecracks | Herself | Documentary |- | 1993 |Coneheads | Coach | |- | 1994 | Trevor | Herself | Short film |- | rowspan=2|1996 | Ellen's Energy Adventure | Herself | Short film |- |Mr. Wrong | Martha Alston | |- | rowspan=2|1998 |Goodbye Lover | Sgt. Rita Pompano | |- |Dr. Dolittle | Prologue Dog | Voice |- | rowspan=2|1999 | EDtv | Cynthia | |- | The Love Letter | Janet Hall | |- | rowspan=2|2003 | Pauly Shore Is Dead | Herself | |- | Finding Nemo | Dory | VoiceAnnie Award for Outstanding Voice Acting in an Animated Feature ProductionKids' Choice Award for Favorite Voice from an Animated MovieSaturn Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance |- | 2004 | My Short Film | Herself | Short film |}

Television

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;" |- align="center" ! style="background: #B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background: #B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background: #B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background: #B0C4DE;" | Notes |- | 1988 | Women of the Night | Herself | Comedy Special |- | 1989 | Open House | Margo Van Mete | Episode: "The Bad Seed" Episode: "Let's Get Physicals" |- | 1992 | Laurie Hill | Nancy MacIntyre | Episode: "Pilot" Episode: "The Heart Thing" Episode: "Walter and Beverly" |- | 1994–1998 | Ellen | Ellen Morgan | 109 episodes |- | 1995 | Roseanne | Dr. Whitman | Episode: "The Blaming of the Shrew" |- | 1998 | Mad About You | Nancy Bloom | Episode: "" |- | 2000 | If These Walls Could Talk 2 | Kal | Segment: "2000" |- | 2001 | On the Edge | Operator | Segment: "Reaching Normal" |- | 2001–2002 | The Ellen Show | Ellen Richmond | 18 episodes |- | rowspan=2|2003 | | Herself | Comedy special |- | MADtv | Herself | Episode: "9.3" |- | 2003–present | The Ellen DeGeneres Show | Herself | TV show |- | rowspan=2|2004 | E! True Hollywood Story | Herself | |- | Six Feet Under | Herself | Episode: "" |- | 2005 | Joey | Herself | Episode: "Joey and the Sex Tape" |- | rowspan=4|2007 | Ellen's Really Big Show | Herself | |- | Sesame Street | Herself | Episode: "The Tutu Spell" (uncredited) |- | Forbes 20 Richest Women in Entertainment | Herself | |- | The Bachelorette | Herself | |- | 2007–2008 | American Idol | Herself | Episode: "Idol Gives Back 2007" "Idol Gives Back 2008" |- | 2008 | Ellen's Even Bigger Really Big Show | Herself | Comedy special |- | rowspan=2|2009 | Ellen's Bigger, Longer & Wider Show | Herself | Comedy special |- | So You Think You Can Dance | Guest Judge | "Week 7 (July 22, 2009)" |- | 2010 | American Idol | Judge | Season 9. |- | 2010 | The Simpsons | Herself | Episode: "Judge Me Tender" |}

Discography

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;" |- align="center" ! style="background: #B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background: #B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background: #B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background: #B0C4DE;" | Notes |- |1996 | | Stand-up comedy | Live CD |- |}

Awards

;Daytime Emmy Awards

Outstanding Talk Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show – 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007

Outstanding Talk Show Host, The Ellen DeGeneres Show – 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

Outstanding Special Class Writing, The Ellen DeGeneres Show – 2005, 2006, 2007

;Emmy Awards

Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series, Ellen: "The Puppy Episode" – 1997

;People's Choice Awards

Favorite Funny Female Star – 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

Favorite Talk Show Host – 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

Favorite Yes I Chose This Star – 2008

;Kids' Choice Awards

Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie – 2004

; Tulane University President's Medal 2009

Bibliography

References

External links

The Ellen DeGeneres Show's official website

Ellen DeGeneres blog

Ellen DeGeneres community Forum

DeGeneres talks about coming out experience, an April 1999 article about her appearance at the University of Michigan

DeGeneres on the JohnJay and Rich radio show helping a mother in need to win a car

Category:1958 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from Louisiana Category:American film actors Category:American actors of English descent Category:American actors of French descent Category:American actors of German descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American philanthropists Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American Christian Scientists Category:American television actors Category:American television talk show hosts Category:American vegans Category:Daytime Emmy Award winners Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Lesbian actors Category:LGBT comedians Category:LGBT people from the United States Category:LGBT television personalities Category:LGBT Christians Category:People from New Orleans, Louisiana Category:Saturn Award winners Category:University of New Orleans alumni Category:Women comedians Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:Reality television judges Category:American activists Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors

Caption	White at the Time 100 gala in 2010
Birth name	Betty Marion White
Birth date	January 17, 1922
Birth place	Oak Park, Illinois, U.S.
Other names	Betty White Ludden
Occupation	Actress, comedienne, writer
Years active	1939–present
Spouse	Dyck Barker (1945)Lane Allen (1947–1949) Allen Ludden (1963–1981; his death)

Betty Marion White (born January 17, 1922) is an American actress, comedian, author, and former game-show host. She is best known to modern audiences for her television roles as Sue Ann Nivens on The Mary Tyler Moore Show and Rose Nylund on The Golden Girls. , she is currently starring as Elka Ostrovsky in the TV Land sitcom Hot in Cleveland. She has also released several books over the span of her career. In August 2010, she entered a deal with G.P. Putnam Sons to produce two more books, the first of which is scheduled for release in 2011.

White has won seven Emmy awards and received 20 Emmy nominations Her mother was of Greek, English, and Welsh descent, and her father was of Danish and English ancestry. White's family moved to Los Angeles, California during the Great Depression. She attended Horace Mann School in Beverly Hills, California, and Beverly Hills High School.

Career

1939–1979

White began her television career three months after high school graduation, when she and a classmate sang songs from The Merry Widow on an experimental Los Angeles channel. White found work modeling, and her first professional acting job was at the Bliss Hayden Little Theatre. White's career was disrupted immediately, as World War II broke out, causing her to join the American Women's Voluntary Services. In the 1940s, she worked in radio appearing on shows such as Blondie, The Great Gildersleeve and This Is Your FBI. She then got her own radio show, called The Betty White Show. In 1949 she began appearing with Al Jarvis on his daily, live variety show Hollywood on Television on KLAC in Los Angeles. Life With Elizabeth was nationally syndicated by the mid-1950s, allowing White to become one of the few women in television with full creative control in front of and behind the camera at the time.

In 1973, White made a guest appearance in season four of The Mary Tyler Moore Show as The Happy Homemaker.

After The Golden Girls The characters of Ann and Pamela Douglas (Alley Mills) disappeared after their March 27, 2007, appearance and were not mentioned again until October 19, 2007, when Ann appeared briefly. White would go on to appear in three more episodes following that, one on December 10, 2007; August 28, 2008; and October 28, 2008. She returned to the show on November 18, 2009 and in the November 19, 2009 episode her character revealed that she was dying of advanced pancreatic cancer. To date she has made 22 appearances as Ann Douglas. In the November 23, 2009 episode Ann passes away due to complications from her illness, with both of her daughters next to her on the beach at Paradise Cove.

In the broadcast of the 2007 TV Land Awards, White starred in a parody of Ugly Betty, aptly titled Ugly Betty White, in which she played America Ferrera's title character, with Charo playing White's sister Hilda, and Erik Estrada playing her father Ignacio. Her performance earned her a part on Ugly Betty as herself, the victim of Wilhelmina Slater's temper as they vie for a cab in the episode "Bananas for Betty", which aired December 6, 2007.

White had a recurring role in ABC's Boston Legal from 2005 to 2008 as the calculating, blackmailing gossip-monger Catherine Piper, a role she originally portrayed as a guest star on The Practice in 2004. The May 8 SNL episode garnered the show's highest ratings since November 1, 2008, when Ben Affleck hosted. In her opening monologue, White thanked Facebook and joked that she "didn’t know what Facebook was, and now that I do know what it is, I have to say, it sounds like a huge waste of time." The appearance earned her a 2010 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress In A Comedy Series, her seventh Emmy win overall.

In June 2010, White appeared as Elka Ostrovsky the house caretaker on TV Land’s original sitcom Hot in Cleveland.

In July 2010, it was announced that she posed for her own calendar for the year 2011; the calendar also features photos from her career and her pictured with various animals. She also debuted her own clothing line on July 22, 2010, which features shirts with her face on them. All proceeds will also go to various animal charities she supports.

She guest-starred in the second-season premiere of NBC's Community as an anthropology professor. In 2010 she also guest starred in The Middle & 30 Rock. She also will have a role in Operation Secret Santa, the sequel to Prep & Landing and the second installment in Disney's "Lanny and Wayne" franchise.

Charity

White is a pet enthusiast and animal health advocate who works with a number of animal organizations, including the Los Angeles Zoo Commission, the Morris Animal Foundation, and Actors & Others for Animals. Her interest in animal rights and welfare began in the early 1970s while she was both producing and hosting the syndicated series, The Pet Set, which spotlighted celebrities and their pets. He proposed to White at least twice before she accepted. The couple appeared together in an episode of The Odd Couple featuring Felix's and Oscar's appearance on Password. Ludden appeared as a guest panelist on Match Game, with White sitting in the audience. (She was prompted to rip apart one of Ludden's wrong answers on camera during an episode of Match Game '74). The two appeared together on the Match Game panel in 1975.

Ludden died from stomach cancer on June 9, 1981, in Los Angeles. They had no children together. White has not remarried since Ludden's death.

When asked about her real-life heroes White told Vanity Fair, "Charles Darwin."

Awards, honors and nominations

White has won seven Emmy Awards, three American Comedy Awards (including a Lifetime Achievement Award in 1990), and two Viewers For Quality Television Awards. She was inducted into the Television Hall of Fame in 1995 and has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6747 Hollywood Boulevard alongside the star of her late husband Allen Ludden. at 6747 Hollywood Blvd.]] White was the recipient of the Pacific Pioneer Broadcasters Golden Ike Award and the Genii Award from the American Women in Radio and Television in 1976. In 2009, White and her now deceased Golden Girls cast mates Beatrice Arthur, Rue McClanahan and Estelle Getty were awarded honorary Disney Legend awards. Betty will also be inducted into the California Hall of Fame in December 2010. In 2010 she was chosen as the Associated Press's Entertainer of the Year.

On November 9, 2010, the USDA Forest Service along with Smokey Bear made actress Betty White an honorary forest ranger, fulfilling her lifelong dream. White said in previous interviews that she wanted to be a forest ranger as a little girl but that women were not allowed to do that then. Today’s United States Forest Service is 38 percent female, including rangers, scientists and leaders at every level.

In December 2010, White received a SAG Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series for her role as Elka Ostrovsky in Hot In Cleveland and the show itself also received a nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.

People's Choice Awards

2011 - Favorite TV Guest Star - Community

2011 - Favorite Web Celeb

Golden Globe Award

1986 – Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series Musical or comedy – The Golden Girls

1987 – Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series Musical or Comedy – The Golden Girls

1988 – Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series Musical or Comedy – The Golden Girls

1989 – Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series Musical or Comedy – The Golden Girls

SAG Awards

2010 – Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award

Emmy Award

1951 – Best Actress (KLAC)

1977 – Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series – The Mary Tyler Moore Show

1984 – Outstanding Game Show Host – Just Men!

1987 – Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series – The Golden Girls

1988 – Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series – The Golden Girls

1989 – Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series – The Golden Girls

1992 – Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series – The Golden Girls

1997 – Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series – Suddenly Susan

2003 – Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series – Yes, Dear

2004 – Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series – The Practice

2009 – Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series – My Name Is Earl

MTV Movie Awards

2010 – Best Comedic Performance – The Proposal (nominated)

2010 – Best WTF Moment – The Proposal (nominated)

New Now Next Award nominations

2010 – Cause You're Hot

Filmography

Books by White

1983: Betty White's Pet-Love: How Pets Take Care of Us

1987: Betty White In Person

1991: The Leading Lady: Dinah's Story

1995: Here We Go Again: My Life In Television

2011: If You Ask Me (And of Course You Won't)

References

Further reading

Tucker, David C. The Women Who Made Television Funny: Ten Stars of 1950s Sitcoms. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2007.

External links

Betty White News & Info blog

Betty White News on Twitter

Betty White is Hot in Cleveland

The Early Betty White 1947-1971

Archive of American Television Interview with Betty White June 4, 1997

Betty White on The Museum of Broadcast Communications

Betty White to Star on Hot in Clevlande

Video of TV Academy's Salute to Betty White

Category:1922 births Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:Actors from California Category:Actors from Illinois Category:Animal rights advocates Category:American film actors Category:American game show hosts Category:American people of Danish descent Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of Greek descent Category:American people of Welsh descent Category:American soap opera actors Category:American television actors Category:American vegans Category:American voice actors Category:Animal charities Category:Animal welfare organizations Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Game show hosts Category:Living people Category:People from Los Angeles, California Category:People from Oak Park, Illinois Category:Women comedians