Show name	Punk’d
Caption	Title card (2003-2005)
Format	Comedy reality, candid camera
Runtime	30 minutes
Creator	Ashton KutcherJason Goldberg
Executive producer	Jason GoldbergAshton KutcherDavid R. FranzkeBilly RaineyLois Clark Curren Rod Aissa
Starring	Ashton Kutcher
Theme music composer	Elizabeth MillerBrian Friedman (Theme)Ricky Friedman (Theme)
Country	United States
Network	MTV
First aired
Last aired
Status	Returning
Num seasons	8
Num episodes	64

Punk'd is an American hidden camera practical joke television series that first aired on MTV in 2003 and was produced and hosted by Ashton Kutcher. It bore a resemblance to both the classic hidden camera show Candid Camera, and to TV's Bloopers & Practical Jokes, which also featured pranks on celebrities. Being "punk'd" referred to being the victim of such a prank.

The series finale aired on MTV on May 29, 2007. The series culminated in early June with the Punk'd Awards. Reruns began airing on TV Guide Channel in 2009 and PMC (with Persian dubbing) on November 20, 2010.

In October 2010, Punk'd was reportedly being revived with Justin Bieber as the new host. Kutcher will still remain as executive producer.

Formats

Kutcher will also sometimes use real-life current events as elements in his pranks, as when he pranked tennis player Andy Roddick, who was scheduled to appear on The Tonight Show, by convincing him that his automobile was trapped by the Los Angeles mudslides. Kutcher sometimes sets his pranks where his targets work, such as on the sets of movies, TV shows, and music videos. As one example, Kutcher pranked The Rock, who was filming Be Cool, by convincing him that his trailer was destroyed. As another example, Kutcher pranked Kanye West by convincing him that he could not shoot his music video for "Jesus Walks" on Sundays without a permit. Kutcher has also done holiday-themed pranks, as when he punked Beyoncé Knowles into thinking she knocked over a Christmas Tree, or when he pranked Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz into thinking he derailed a train at a Christmas festival. After the joke progresses to a point, usually with the celebrity having become angry or frustrated at the outrageousness of the situation, Kutcher or one of the actors will announce to the surprised victim that they just had a practical joke played on them, usually with use of the catch phrase, "You just got punk'd!", or by revealing a large sign or banner to that effect. Each half-hour episode usually features three pranks.

A frequent segment during the first two seasons was a Punk'd cast member pretending to interview celebrities at red carpet events, only to mock them instead. This segment closely copies what originated on The Howard Stern Show in the 1980s, when Stern and his writers began sending interns (most notably Stuttering John Melendez) to ask celebrities embarrassing questions on the red carpet. During the first season the show had then fifteen-year-old Ryan Pinkston (though on the show they claim he was only eight) do the interviewing, where he would pretend to be a reporter from a kid's show who would then hurl insults at the celebrities. During Season 2, the producers then chose a foreign interviewer accompanied by her interpreter who would then ask insane questions to the guests.

Failed Punks

While the pranks most of the time are successful, some pranks actually have failed.

In December 2003, Kutcher attempted to "punk" then-WWE wrestler Bill Goldberg by having a truck run over an exact replica of his prized motorcycle, but the stunt went wrong when the truck clearly missed the bike. When the bike spontaneously exploded without any visible reason, Goldberg realized what was going on, and asked, "Who do I get to kill first?" as Kutcher revealed himself, knowing the joke had failed. It aired on the Season 2 finale.

Kutcher has claimed that he himself is "unpunkable." In the first season, his crew attempted to punk him using Britney Spears, but Kutcher discovered the plot and convinced Spears to help him turn the tables on his own crew.

Controversy and conflict

On The Late Show with David Letterman, Kutcher mentioned punking David Spade in one of the show's first episodes. However, Spade refused to sign the release papers. The same prank was then used on Seth Green for the same episode. Alias star Michael Vartan reportedly refused to sign the release after being pranked by Kutcher, preventing the prank from airing. However, Vartan denies ever being pranked, and claims that the story was completely false. American Pie star Shannon Elizabeth filed for divorce from her husband Joe Reitman, a year after her appearance on the show. She was reportedly furious over his involvement in the prank, which involved leading Elizabeth to believe that they had been filmed on a celebrity porn tape. Pamela Anderson also denies ever being fooled by the attempted prank on her, which involved convincing her that a porn movie was being shot in her back garden, explaining that she realized it was a prank when she confronted a nude model on the premises. During his interview of Kutcher for Interview, actor Brad Pitt advised Kutcher not to prank his Ocean's Eleven co-star George Clooney, a notorious expert prankster himself. Pitt told Kutcher, "Don't do it. Don't ever go near it. Clooney will kill you and everything you love. I know it's tempting, but don't do it." Talk show host Ellen DeGeneres has stated that she does not wish to be Punk'd, and is so paranoid that she often assumes she is being Punk'd whenever any suspicious or out of the ordinary mishap occurs, as when, for example, a valet gives her the wrong car when leaving a restaurant, which Kutcher's crew members did to Simon Cowell during the Season 5 Premiere. Scrubs star Zach Braff was involved in a prank with teenagers vandalizing his car. Braff was so furious that he almost proceeded to, in his own words, "pummel" a twelve-year old.

Celebrities who have been Punk'd

List of celebrities who have been Punk'd by episode

List of celebrities who have been Punk'd by name

International versions

An Icelandic version of the show, Tekinn, hosted by Auðunn Blöndal, premiered on Sirkus TV in fall 2006.

A Norwegian version, Lurt av Karlsen hosted by Jan Fredrik Karlsen, premiered on TV2 4. march 2010.

A Hong Kong version, Whatever Things!, was hosted by Edison Chen, in which he pranked famous Asian artists like Vanness Wu.

A Dutch version, Gotcha was hosted by Georgina Verbaan for the first season and Tatum Dagelet for the second.

An Arab version called الكاميرا الخفية (The hidden Camera).

An Indian Version called MTV Bakra was innitiated by Cyrus Barocha airing from 2007.

A Philippine version called Victim hosted by Carlos Agassi on ABS-CBN aired in 2003.

References

See also

The Jamie Kennedy Experiment – a similar television show

External links

Category:2000s American television series Category:2003 American television series debuts Category:2007 American television series endings Category:American reality television series Category:English-language television series Category:Hidden camera television series Category:MTV television series Category:Practical jokes Category:Television series by CBS Paramount Television

Playername	Wayne Rooney
Caption	Rooney playing for Manchester United
Fullname	Wayne Mark Rooney
Dateofbirth	October 24, 1985
Cityofbirth	Croxteth, Liverpool
Countryofbirth	England
Height
Position	Forward
Currentclub	Manchester United
Clubnumber	10
Youthyears1	1996–2002 |youthclubs1 = Everton
Years1	2002–2004 |clubs1 = Everton |caps1 = 67 |goals1 = 15
Years2	2004– |clubs2 = Manchester United |caps2 = 200 |goals2 = 93
Nationalyears1	2002 |nationalteam1 = England U19 |nationalcaps1 = 1 |nationalgoals1 = 0
Nationalyears2	2003– |nationalteam2 = England |nationalcaps2 = 67 |nationalgoals2 = 26
Pcupdate	15:06, 1 January 2011 (UTC)
Ntupdate	21:39, 7 September 2010 (UTC)

Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team.

Aged 10, Rooney joined the youth team of Everton, for whom he made his professional debut in 2002. He spent two seasons at the Merseyside club, before moving to Manchester United for £25.6 million in the 2004 summer transfer window. Since then, United have won the Premier League three times, the 2007–08 UEFA Champions League and two League Cups with Rooney in the team. He has also been awarded the PFA Players' Player of the Year and the FWA Footballer of the Year in 2009–10.

Rooney made his senior international debut in 2003 and, at UEFA Euro 2004, he briefly became the competition's youngest goalscorer. He is frequently selected for the England squad and also featured at the 2006 FIFA World Cup and the 2010 FIFA World Cup. As of September 2010, he has won 67 international caps and scored 26 goals. He is of Irish descent and was brought up Catholic in Croxteth with younger brothers Graeme and John; all three attended De La Salle School. He grew up supporting his local club Everton; his childhood hero was Duncan Ferguson.

Club career

Everton

Rooney began playing for Liverpool Schoolboys and at the age of 10 was signed on schoolboy terms by Everton. After scoring in an FA Youth Cup match, he revealed a T-shirt under his jersey that read, "Once a Blue, always a Blue." Since he was under 17 at the time and therefore ineligible for a professional contract, he was playing for £80 a week and living with his family on one of the country's most deprived council estates.

On 19 October 2002, five days before his 17th birthday, Rooney scored a match-winning goal against reigning league champions Arsenal; in addition to ending Arsenal's 30-match unbeaten run, it made Rooney the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history, a record that has since been surpassed twice; first by James Milner and then by James Vaughan. He was named BBC Sports' 2002 Young Personality of the Year.

At the end of the 2003–04 season, citing Everton's inability to challenge for European competition (they had finished seventh the previous season and only just missed out on a UEFA Cup place, but in 2003–04, finishing in 17th place, had narrowly avoided relegation), Rooney requested a transfer that Everton refused to oblige unless the transfer fee was in excess of £50 million. A three-year, £12,000-a-week contract offer from the club was snubbed by Rooney's agent in August 2004, leaving Manchester United and Newcastle United to compete for his signature. The Times reported that Newcastle were close to signing Rooney for £18.5 million, as confirmed by Rooney's agent, but Manchester United ultimately won the bidding war and Rooney signed at the end of the month after a £25.6 million deal with Everton was reached. It was the highest fee paid for a player aged under 20; Rooney was still only 18 years old when he left Everton.

Manchester United

Debut season

Rooney made his United debut on 28 September 2004 in a 6–2 Champions League group stage win over Fenerbahçe, scoring a hat-trick and laying on an assist. However, his first season at Old Trafford ended without winning a trophy as United could only manage a third place finish in the league (having been champions or runners-up on all but two previous occasions since 1992) and failed to progress to the last eight of the UEFA Champions League. United had more success in the cup competitions, but were edged out of the League Cup in the semi finals by a Chelsea side who also won the Premier League title that season, and a goalless draw with Arsenal in the FA Cup final was followed by a penalty shoot-out defeat. However, Rooney was United's top league scorer that season with 11 goals, and was credited with the PFA Young Player of the Year award.

2005–07

In September 2005, Rooney was sent off in a UEFA Champions League clash with Villarreal of Spain (which ended in a goalless draw) for sarcastically clapping the referee who had booked him for an unintentional foul on an opponent. His first trophy with United came in the 2006 League Cup, and he was also named man of the match after scoring twice in United's 4–0 win over Wigan Athletic in the final. In the Premier League, however, an erratic start to the season left title glory looking unlikely for United and their title hopes were ended in late April when they lost 3–0 at home to champions Chelsea and had to settle for second place. Rooney's goalscoring further improved in the 2005–06 season, as he managed 16 goals in 36 Premier League games.

Rooney was sent off in an Amsterdam Tournament match against Porto on 4 August 2006 after hitting Porto defender Pepe with an elbow. He was punished with a three-match ban by the FA, following their receipt of a 23-page report from referee Ruud Bossen that explained his decision. Rooney wrote a letter of protest to the FA, citing the lack of punishment handed down to other players who were sent off in friendlies. He also threatened to withdraw the FA's permission to use his image rights if they did not revoke the ban, but the FA had no power to make such a decision.

During the first half of the 2006–07 season, Rooney ended a ten-game scoreless streak with a hat-trick against Bolton Wanderers, and he signed a two-year contract extension the next month that tied him to United until 2012. By the end of April, a combination of two goals in an 8–3 aggregate quarter-final win over Roma and two more in a 3–2 semi-final first leg victory over Milan brought Rooney's total goal amount to 23 in all competitions and tied him with teammate Cristiano Ronaldo for the team goalscoring lead. By the end of that season, he had scored 14 league goals.

Rooney collected his first Premier League title winner's medal at the end of the 2006–07 season, but has yet to pick up an FA Cup winner's medal; he had to settle for a runners-up medal in the 2007 FA Cup Final.

2007–09

On 12 August 2007, Rooney fractured his left metatarsal in United's opening-day goalless draw against Reading; he had suffered the same injury to his right foot in 2004. After being sidelined for six weeks, he returned for United's 1–0 Champions League group stage win over Roma on 2 October, scoring the match's only goal. However, barely a month into his return, Rooney injured his ankle during a training session on 9 November, and missed an additional two weeks. His first match back was against Fulham on 3 December, in which he played 70 minutes. Rooney missed a total of ten games and finished the 2007–08 season with 18 goals (12 of them in the league), as United clinched both the Premier League and the Champions League, in which they defeated league rivals Chelsea in the competition's first-ever all-English final.

On 4 October 2008 in an away win over Blackburn Rovers, Rooney became the youngest player in league history to make 200 appearances. On 14 January after scoring what turned out to be the only goal 54 seconds into the 1–0 win over Wigan Athletic, Rooney limped off with a hamstring ailment in the eighth minute. His replacement, Carlos Tévez, was injured himself shortly after entering the game, but stayed on. Rooney was out for three weeks, missing one match apiece in the League Cup and FA Cup, along with four Premier League matches. On 25 April 2009, Rooney scored his final league goals of the season against Tottenham. United scored 5 goals in an emphatic second half display to come from 2–0 down winning the game 5–2. Rooney grabbed two goals, set up two and provided the assist that led to the penalty for United's first goal. Rooney ended the season with 20 goals in all competitions, behind Ronaldo as leading United scorer for the season. Once again, he managed 12 goals in the league.

2009–10

Rooney's start to the new campaign got off to great scoring ways, grabbing a goal in the 90th minute of the 2009 Community Shield, though United lost the game to Chelsea on penalties. He then scored the only goal of the opening game of the 2009–10 season against Birmingham City, taking his overall United tally to 99. He failed to score in the next game, a historic 1–0 defeat to the hands of newly-promoted Burnley at Turf Moor. On 22 August, he became the 20th Manchester United player to have scored at least 100 goals for the club, when he found the net twice in a 5–0 away win at Wigan Athletic.

On 29 August, United played Arsenal at Old Trafford. Rooney scored the equaliser from the penalty spot after Andrei Arshavin had put the Gunners ahead. The game finished 2–1 to Manchester United after Abou Diaby scored an own goal. Five days later Rooney commented on his penalty against Arsenal: "Everyone who watches me play knows I am an honest player, I play the game as honestly as I can. If the referee gives a penalty there is nothing you can do." On 28 November 2009, Rooney scored his first hat-trick for three years in a 4–1 away victory against Portsmouth, with two of them being penalties. On 27 December 2009, he was awarded Man of the Match against Hull City. He was involved in all the goals scored in the game, hitting the opener and then giving away the ball for Hull's equalizing penalty. He then forced Andy Dawson into conceding an own goal and then set up Dimitar Berbatov for United's third goal which gave them a 3–1 victory. On 30 December 2009, three days on from their victory over Hull, he grabbed another goal in United's 5–0 thrashing of Wigan in their final game of the decade. On 23 January 2010, Rooney scored all four goals in Manchester United's 4–0 win over Hull City; three of the goals came in the last 10 minutes of the match. This was the first time in his career that he bagged four in one match. On 27 January 2010, he continued his great scoring run by heading the winner in the second minute of stoppage time against derby rivals Manchester City. This gave United a 4–3 aggregate win, taking them into the final, it was his first League Cup goal since netting two in the 2006 final. On 31 January 2010, Rooney scored his 100th Premier League goal in a 3–1 win over Arsenal for the first time in the league at the Emirates, notably his first Premier League goal also came against Arsenal. On 16 February 2010, Rooney hit his first European goals of the season, scoring two headers in the 3–2 away win against Milan in Manchester United's first ever win against them at the San Siro. On 28 February 2010, he scored another header against Aston Villa (his fifth consecutive headed goal in a row) which resulted in Manchester United winning the League Cup final 2–1. In the second leg of United's European tie against Milan, Rooney scored a brace in a resounding 4–0 home victory, taking his tally of goals this season to 30. He then added two more to his tally five days later at Old Trafford, in a 3–0 league win over Fulham.

On 30 March 2010, during United's Champions League quarter-final first leg defeat against Bayern Munich (at Munich's Allianz Arena), Rooney crumpled when he twisted his ankle in the last minute. There were fears that he had received serious ligament damage or even a broken ankle, but it was announced that the injury was only slight ligament damage, and that he would be out for 2 to 3 weeks, The team list for second leg of the Champions League Quarter-final yielded a massive surprise when Rooney was given a starting place in the United lineup. Despite a 3–0 lead by the 41st minute, Munich snatched a goal back and United were later forced down to 10 men after Rafael da Silva was sent-off. Munich won the match after netting a second away-goal

2010–11

On 19 October 2010, manager Alex Ferguson stated at a press conference that Rooney had told United that he would not sign a new contract and "wishes to leave the club". This came after a period of dispute as to the extent of Rooney's ankle injury, where Rooney had refuted Ferguson's claim that the injury was the reason Rooney had been dropped to the bench. The next day, Rooney and his representatives released a statement regarding his decision to leave the club. He cited the club's apparent lack of ambition to win trophies by not signing the world's best players as his reason for wanting to leave the club. Despite this, after talks with Ferguson and the club owners, Rooney signed a new five-year deal on 22 October, keeping him at Manchester United until 2015.

Rooney made his return to the first team as a substitute against Wigan Athletic on 20 November before returning to the starting line-up on 24 November in the Champions League against Rangers. He scored the winning goal from the penalty spot, giving United a 1–0 victory. Rooney finally scored his first outfield goal of the season on 1 January 2011, opening the scoring as United defeated West Bromwich Albion 2–1 at The Hawthorns.

International career

Rooney became the youngest player to play for England when he earned his first cap in a friendly against Australia on 12 February 2003 at seventeen, the same age in which he also became the youngest player to score an England goal. Arsenal youngster Theo Walcott broke Rooney's appearance record by 36 days in June 2006.

His first tournament action was at Euro 2004, in which he became the youngest scorer in competition history on 17 June 2004, when he scored twice against Switzerland; however, this record was topped by Swiss midfielder Johan Vonlanthen four days later. Rooney suffered an injury in the quarterfinal match against Portugal and England were eliminated on penalties.

Following a foot injury in an April 2006 Premier League match, Rooney faced a race to fitness for the 2006 World Cup. England attempted to hasten his recovery with the use of an oxygen tent, which allowed Rooney to enter a group match against Trinidad and Tobago and start the next match against Sweden. However, he never got back into game shape and went scoreless as England bowed out in the quarterfinals, again on penalty kicks.

Rooney was red-carded in the 62nd minute of the quarterfinal for stamping on Portugal defender Ricardo Carvalho as both attempted to gain possession of the ball, an incident that occurred right in front of referee Horacio Elizondo. Rooney's United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo openly protested his actions, and was in turn shoved by Rooney. Elizondo sent Rooney off, after which Ronaldo was seen winking at the Portugal bench. Rooney denied intentionally targeting Carvalho in a statement on 3 July, adding, "I bear no ill feeling to Cristiano but I'm disappointed that he chose to get involved. I suppose I do, though, have to remember that on that particular occasion we were not teammates." Elizondo confirmed the next day that Rooney was dismissed solely for the infraction on Carvalho. Rooney was fined CHF5,000 for the incident.

During the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, after England drew with Algeria, the England players were booed off the pitch by supporters. Rooney made a comment as he left the pitch to television cameras saying, "Nice to see your home fans boo you, that's loyal supporters". He has since apologised for the comment, made during a lacklustre tournament for England who were eliminated in the second round.

International goals

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="font-size:85%" |- ! # !! Date !! Venue !! Opponent !! Score !! Result !! Competition |- | 1 || 6 September 2003 || Skopje, Republic of Macedonia || || 2–1 || Win || UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying |- | 2 || 10 September 2003 || Manchester, England || || 2–0 || Win || UEFA Euro 2004 qualifying |- | 3 || 16 November 2003 || Manchester, England || || 3–2 || Loss || Friendly |- | 4 || rowspan="2"|5 June 2004 || rowspan="2"|Manchester, England || rowspan="2"| || rowspan="2"|6–1 || rowspan="2"|Win || rowspan="2"| Friendly |- | 5 |- | 6 || rowspan="2"|17 June 2004 || rowspan="2"|Coimbra, Portugal || rowspan="2"| || rowspan="2"|3–0 || rowspan="2"|Win || rowspan="2"|UEFA Euro 2004 |- | 7 |- | 8 || rowspan="2"|21 June 2004 || rowspan="2"|Lisbon, Portugal || rowspan="2"| || rowspan="2"|4–2 || rowspan="2"|Win || rowspan="2"|UEFA Euro 2004 |- | 9 |- | 10 || 17 August 2005 || Copenhagen, Denmark || || 4–1 || Loss || Friendly |- | 11 || 12 November 2005 || Geneva, Switzerland || || 3–2 || Win || Friendly |- | 12 || 15 November 2006 || Amsterdam, Netherlands || || 1–1 || Draw || Friendly |- | 13 || 13 October 2007 || London, England || || 3–0 || Win || UEFA Euro 2008 Qual. |- | 14 || 17 October 2007 || Moscow, Russia || || 2–1 || Loss || UEFA Euro 2008 qualifying |- | 15 || 10 September 2008 || Zagreb, Croatia || || 4–1 || Win || 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying |- | 16 || rowspan="2"|12 October 2008 || rowspan="2"|London, England || rowspan="2"| || rowspan="2"|5–1 || rowspan="2"|Win || rowspan="2"|2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying |- | 17 |- | 18 || rowspan="2"|15 October 2008 || rowspan="2"|Minsk, Belarus || rowspan="2"| || rowspan="2"|3–1 || rowspan="2"|Win || rowspan="2"|2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying |- | 19 |- | 20 || rowspan="2"|28 March 2009 || rowspan="2"|London, England || rowspan="2"| || rowspan="2"|4–0 || rowspan="2"|Win || rowspan="2"|Friendly |- | 21 |- | 22 || 6 June 2009 || Almaty, Kazakhstan || || 4–0 || Win || 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying |- | 23 || rowspan="2"|10 June 2009 || rowspan="2"|London, England || rowspan="2"| || rowspan="2"|6–0 || rowspan="2"|Win || rowspan="2"|2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying |- | 24 |- | 25 || 9 September 2009 || London, England || || 5–1 || Win || 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying |- | 26 || 7 September 2010 || Basel, Switzerland || || 3–1 || Win || UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying |}

Career statistics

Statistics accurate as of match played 1 January 2011

|- |2003||9||3 |- |2004||11||6 |- |2005||8||2 |- |2006||8||1 |- |2007||4||2 |- |2008||8||5 |- |2009||9||6 |- |2010||10||1 |- !Total||67||26 |}

Honours

Club

;Manchester United

Premier League (3): 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09

League Cup (2): 2005–06, 2009–10

FA Community Shield (2): 2007, 2010

UEFA Champions League (1): 2007–08

FIFA Club World Cup (1): 2008

Individual

BBC Young Sports Personality of the Year (1): 2002

Bravo Award (1): 2003

UEFA Euro 2004 Team of the Tournament

Goal of the Season (2): 2004-05, 2006–07

Goal of the Month (5): October 2003, January 2005, April 2005, January 2007, March 2007

FIFPro World Young Player of the Year (1): 2004–05

Sir Matt Busby Player of the Year (2): 2005–06, 2009–10

FWA Footballer of the Year (1): 2009–10

PFA Players' Player of the Year (1): 2009–10

PFA Young Player of the Year (2): 2004–05, 2005–06

PFA Fans' Player of the Year (2): 2005–06, 2009–10

PFA Premier League Team of the Year (2): 2005–06, 2009–10

FA Premier League Player of the Month (5): February 2005, December 2005, March 2006, October 2007, January 2010

Barclays Player of the Season (1): 2009–10

FIFA Club World Cup Golden Ball (1): 2008

England Player of the Year (2): 2008, 2009

Personal life

Family

Rooney met his wife, Coleen Rooney (née McLoughlin), while both were in their final year of secondary school. They married on 12 June 2008 after six years of dating, during which Rooney admitted to soliciting prostitution in Liverpool in 2004. '"I was young and stupid. It was at a time when I was very young and immature and before I had settled down with Coleen." He has a tattoo of the words "Just Enough Education to Perform", the title of an album by his favorite band, the Stereophonics; Coleen arranged for the group to play at their wedding reception. The wedding ran into some controversy with the Catholic Church. The couple held a religious ceremony at La Cervara, a converted monastery near Genoa, despite being warned by the local bishop's office against the plan. The bishop's office told the Rooneys that La Cervara is deconsecrated and not suitable for a wedding. It suggested a different church, five miles away. Nevertheless, the couple ignored the advice and Father Edward Quinn, their local priest from Croxteth, presided over a ceremony in which rings were exchanged.

In April 2006, he was awarded £100,000 in libel damages from tabloids The Sun and News of the World, who had claimed that he had assaulted Coleen in a nightclub. Rooney donated the money to charity.

The Rooneys reside in a £4.25 million mansion in the village of Prestbury, Cheshire, which was built by a company owned by Dawn Ward, the wife of former Sheffield United striker Ashley Ward. He also owns property in Port Charlotte, Florida. While Rooney was house hunting in Cheshire after signing with Manchester United, he spotted a pub sign that read "Admiral Rodney", which he misread as "Admiral Rooney." He nonetheless considered it a positive omen for his future home. Rooney owns a French mastiff dog, which was reportedly bought for £1,250.

Rooney's wife Coleen announced on 7 April 2009 that the couple were expecting their first baby, due in October 2009. Coleen gave birth to their son, Kai Wayne Rooney, on 2 November 2009.

Rooney's younger brother, John Rooney, is also a professional footballer, who has played with Macclesfield Town, and recently signed a contract to play in Major League Soccer in the United States. John was selected by the New York Red Bulls in the second round of the 2011 MLS SuperDraft.

Commercial interests

Rooney has endorsement deals with Nike, Nokia, Ford, Asda, and Coca-Cola. He has appeared on five straight UK-version covers of Electronic Arts' FIFA series from FIFA 06 (2005) to FIFA 11 (2010).

On 9 March 2006, Rooney signed the largest sports book deal in publishing history with HarperCollins, who granted him a £5 million advance plus royalties for a minimum of five books to be published over a twelve-year period. The first, My Story So Far, an autobiography ghostwritten by Hunter Davies, was published after the World Cup. The second publication, The Official Wayne Rooney Annual, was aimed at the teenage market and edited by football journalist Chris Hunt.

In July 2006, Rooney's lawyers went to the United Nations' World Intellectual Property Organisation to gain ownership of the Internet domain names waynerooney.com and waynerooney.co.uk, both of which Welsh actor Huw Marshall registered in 2002. Three months later, the WIPO awarded Rooney the rights to waynerooney.com.

Paul Stretford controversy

In July 2002, while Rooney was with Everton, agent Paul Stretford encouraged Rooney and his parents to enter the player into an eight-year contract with Proactive Sports Management. However, Rooney was already with another representation firm at the time, while Stretford's transaction went unreported to the FA, and he was thus charged with improper conduct. Stretford alleged in his October 2004 trial that he had secretly recorded boxing promoter John Hyland (an associate of Rooney's first agent) and two other men threatening and attempting to blackmail him for an undisclosed percentage of Rooney's earnings.

Stretford's case collapsed due to evidence that conflicted with his insistence that he had not signed Rooney, and on 9 July 2008, he was found guilty of "making of false and/or misleading witness statements to police, and giving false and/or misleading testimony."

David Moyes

On 1 September 2006, Everton manager David Moyes sued Rooney for libel after the tabloid newspaper The Daily Mail published excerpts from Rooney's 2006 autobiography that accused the manager of leaking Rooney's reasons for leaving the club to the press. The case was settled out of court for £500,000 on 3 June 2008, and Rooney apologized to Moyes for "false claims" he had made in the book regarding the matter.

Allegations of infidelity

Rooney reportedly had sex with a prostitute, Jennifer Thompson. It is understood his lawyers tried to fight the allegations when they first surfaced in early August 2010. He was unable to prevent the publication of the fresh allegations because he had previously spoken of his shame at paying for sex, it is understood. Details of Rooney’s alleged infidelities came to light on 5 September 2010 after the Manchester United forward decided not to pursue a super-injunction to suppress the allegations. They included claims that he had intercourse with the prostitute while his wife Coleen was pregnant. Alex Ferguson has suggested Rooney's form for Manchester United had suffered as he is struggling to cope with the intense media scrutiny surrounding his private life due to these allegations.

References

External links

Official site

Wayne Rooney profile at ManUtd.com

European Champions Cup/UEFA Champions League Winning Squads

Category:1985 births Category:Living people Category:English footballers Category:England international footballers Category:Premier League players Category:Everton F.C. players Category:Manchester United F.C. players Category:Association football forwards Category:UEFA Euro 2004 players Category:2006 FIFA World Cup players Category:2010 FIFA World Cup players Category:Sportspeople from Liverpool Category:English people of Irish descent

Playername	Rio Ferdinand
Caption	Ferdinand playing for Manchester United
Fullname	Rio Gavin Ferdinand
Height
Dateofbirth	November 07, 1978
Cityofbirth	Peckham, London
Countryofbirth	England
Currentclub	Manchester United
Clubnumber	5
Position	Centre back
Youthyears1	|youthclubs1 = Eltham Town
Youthyears2	1988–1990 |youthclubs2 = Millwall
Youthyears3	1990–1993 |youthclubs3 = Queens Park Rangers
Youthyears4	1993–1996 |youthclubs4 = West Ham United
Years1	1996–2000 |clubs1 = West Ham United |caps1 = 127 |goals1 = 2
Years2	1996 |clubs2 = → Bournemouth (loan) |caps2 = 10 |goals2 = 0
Years3	2000–2002 |clubs3 = Leeds United |caps3 = 54 |goals3 = 2
Years4	2002– |clubs4 = Manchester United |caps4 = 233 |goals4 = 6
Nationalyears1	1996–1997 |nationalteam1 = England U18 |nationalcaps1 = 7 |nationalgoals1 = 0
Nationalyears2	1997–2000 |nationalteam2 = England U21 |nationalcaps2 = 5 |nationalgoals2 = 0
Nationalyears3	1997– |nationalteam3 = England |nationalcaps3 = 80 |nationalgoals3 = 3
Pcupdate	22:08, 28 December 2010 (UTC)
Ntupdate	12:17, 18 November 2010 (UTC)

Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born 7 November 1978) is an English footballer. He plays at centre back for Manchester United in the Premier League and in 2010, became captain of the England national football team. He has amassed 80 caps for England in total, and has been a member of three FIFA World Cup squads.

Known for his composure on the ball, Ferdinand began his football career playing for various youth teams, finally settling at West Ham United where he progressed through the youth ranks and made his professional Premier League debut in 1996. He became a fan favourite, winning the 'Hammer of the Year award' the following season. He earned his first senior international cap in a match against Cameroon in 1997, setting a record as the youngest defender to play for England at the time. His achievements and footballing potential attracted Leeds United and he transferred to the club for a record-breaking fee of £18 million. He spent two seasons at the club, becoming the team captain in 2001.

He joined Manchester United in July 2002 for around £30 million, breaking the transfer fee record once more. He won the Premier League, his first major club honour, in a successful first season at the club. He missed a drugs test and was banned from competition for eight months, causing him to miss half a Premier League season and the Euro 2004 international competition. Upon his return, he established himself in the Manchester United first team and received plaudits for his performances, featuring in the PFA Team of the Year three times in four years. More club success followed with another Premier League win in the 2006–07 season and a Premier League and UEFA Champions League double the following year.

Ferdinand has two sons, Lorenz and Tate, with his wife Rebecca Ellison. He was born into a footballing family: brother Anton Ferdinand is also a centre back and former England international Les Ferdinand is his cousin. Off the pitch he is involved with film, music and television including the short-lived prank series Rio's World Cup Wind-Ups.

Early life

Formative years and education

Rio Gavin Ferdinand, born on 7 November 1978 in Peckham, London, is the son of Janice Lavender, and Julian Ferdinand, a Saint Lucian. Ferdinand grew up on the Friary estate in Peckham and was part of a large family. Both his parents worked to support their family, his mother as a child carer while his father was a tailor. His parents never married and they separated when he was 14 years old. However, his father remained close, moving to a nearby estate, and he was keen to stay involved in his children's lives, taking them to football training and the local parks.

Ferdinand had a good upbringing and was a happy child but he also had to learn to live without luxuries in poverty-stricken Peckham, a district of London where almost half the population is either poor or borderline poor. Violent crime was a common occurrence in the area he lived. However, his parents drilled him with respectful instincts and he largely avoided the darker sides of the neighbourhood. At school, he focused on maths and revelled in the opportunity to perform before an audience, during a school production of Bugsy Malone. He also impressed his classmates with skill on the playground, constantly playing football, dreaming of turning professional and seeing new places. Things overwhelming at club level for Ferdinand; at 16 he joined the England youth team squad to compete in their age group's UEFA European Football Championship, gaining his first experience of international competition. In the 1997–98 season, Ferdinand won the Hammer of the Year award at the young age of 19.

Leeds United

Ferdinand joined FA Premier League football club Leeds United in November 2000 for £18 million, then a British transfer record as well as becoming the world's most expensive defender. Despite an uncomfortable start to his career at Elland Road, beginning with a 3–0 defeat at Leicester CIty on his debut, Ferdinand settled well and became an integral part of the Leeds team that reached the semi-final stage of the UEFA Champions League, scoring with a header in the quarter-final against Spain's Deportivo La Coruña. Other highlights during his spell in Yorkshire included goals against Liverpool at Anfield and a scoring return to Upton Park.

The following season, in August 2001, he became the club captain after replacing Lucas Radebe and turned in an impressive second campaign, despite United's failure to break into the top four and secure qualification for the competition they had figured in so prominently during the previous season. During the 2002 FIFA World Cup, rumours began circulating that the club were in dire financial trouble and that new manager Terry Venables would be forced to part with his star defender for a substantial amount of cash. Later that summer after Ferdinand's impressive World Cup for England, Leeds accepted a bid of £29.1 million due to their perilous financial position.

Manchester United

On 22 July 2002, Ferdinand joined fellow Premier League side Manchester United on a five-year deal to become the most expensive British footballer in history, the world's most expensive defender again (a title he had lost in 2001 to Lilian Thuram). The fee included a basic element in the high £20 millions, and some conditional elements, which allowed Leeds to tell their fans that they were selling him for over £30 million. Leeds United later took a single payment in place of all the contingent elements when they were desperate for cash during their financial crisis. The final book value of Ferdinand's contract in Manchester United's accounts was £33 million. This included agents' fees, with Leeds receiving just under £30 million. Ferdinand suffered from a lack of form at the start of his Manchester United career, particularly illustrated by his performance against Real Madrid in the Champions League and in a 1–0 defeat by his former club Leeds United at Elland Road.

In 2003, he failed to attend a drug test, claiming he had forgotten because he was preoccupied with moving houses and instead went shopping. The FA Disciplinary Committee chaired by Barry Bright imposed an eight month ban from January 2004 at club and international level and a £50,000 fine, meaning he would miss the rest of the league season and some of the next along with all of Euro 2004. Manchester United appealed against the verdict and sought to draw parallels to the case of Manchester City player Christian Negouai, who was fined £2,000 for missing a test. However, FIFA president Sepp Blatter stated that such comparisons are inappropriate due to differences between the two cases. Negouai had been stuck in traffic and was willing to take the test, while Ferdinand was charged with "failure or refusal" to attend the test. Both the FA and FIFA sought to have the ban increased to 12 months (half the possible maximum). In the end, the original verdict was upheld.

Ferdinand went on to win the Premier League title with Manchester United in his first season. He has also collected a winner's medal in the 2006 League Cup, with runners-up medals in the 2003 League Cup and the 2005 FA Cup.

On 14 December 2005, in a game against Wigan Athletic, Ferdinand scored his first goal for United, en route to a 4–0 victory. This was his first goal after more than three years at Old Trafford. He followed this up with a powerfully headed goal against West Bromwich Albion. He then scored a last minute winner against Liverpool at Old Trafford, possibly his most important Manchester United goal to date. In the corresponding fixture in the following season on 22 October 2006, Rio scored again in a 2–0 victory.

Following impressive and consistent performances in the league, Rio Ferdinand was named in the 2006–07 PFA Premiership Team of the Season alongside seven of his Manchester United team-mates.

Ferdinand started the 2007–08 season well, he was part of a United defence that managed to keep six clean sheets in a row in the Premier League, before conceding an early goal to Aston Villa at Villa Park on 20 October 2007. It was also during this game where Ferdinand scored his first goal of the season, which was United's third goal of that game, with a left foot strike which took a very strong deflection off one of Villa's defenders. Just three days later, Ferdinand scored his first European goal for United by opening the scoring against Dynamo Kyiv, with a superb header. United dominated the game and won 4–2.

in a match against Juventus]] On 12 January 2008 Ferdinand bagged a rare Premier League goal in a 6–0 hammering of Newcastle United at Old Trafford.

In their FA Cup quarter-final match against Portsmouth on 8 March 2008 when Manchester United dominated, Ferdinand made a rare appearance as a goalkeeper, after Edwin van der Sar left the pitch with a groin injury and the replacement keeper, Tomasz Kuszczak, was sent off after conceding a penalty. Despite diving the right way, he was unable to save Sulley Muntari's spot kick, and Manchester United were eliminated from the FA Cup.

On 6 April 2008, against Middlesbrough, Ferdinand limped out of the match due to a foot injury. He was rated doubtful whether he would face A.S. Roma in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final second leg on 9 April 2008. He would play the full 90 minutes, though he received three stitches at half-time.

After United's 2–1 loss to Chelsea in the Premier League in April 2008 Ferdinand, angry at the defeat, swore at Chelsea stewards and tried to kick a wall in the tunnel, but instead kicked a female steward, Tracy Wray. Ferdinand claimed to have merely brushed her with his foot. Ferdinand said he apologised and sent the steward some flowers. However Wray disagreed and in The Sun she showed the large bruise on her leg caused by Ferdinand 'brushing her with his foot'. Her husband also claimed that Ferdinand did not apologise or send flowers.

It was announced on 16 April 2008 that, along with Michael Carrick and Wes Brown, Ferdinand had agreed to sign a new five-year contract, worth around £130,000 a week, which would keep him with United until 2013. The contract was finally signed on 15 May 2008.

On 21 May 2008, Ferdinand captained Manchester United to a Champions League Final victory versus Chelsea. He accepted the trophy together with Ryan Giggs, as Giggs was the on field captain for most of the matches during that season during Gary Neville's absence due to injury.

In an interview with BBC Radio 5 Live he criticised FIFA's approach to tackling racism in football, stating that not enough was being done to punish those guilty of homophobic or racist abuse at matches. Regarding taunts aimed at Emile Heskey in England's 4–1 victory against Croatia in Zagreb, Ferdinand remarked:

"Croatia were fined a few thousand quid. What's that going to do? That is not going to stop people shouting racist or homophobic abuse...If things like this keep happening you have to take points off them. Then the punters will realise the team is going to be punished."

Ferdinand had an injury plagued 2009–10 season, a number of back and knee injuries kept him on the sidelines for months. He returned to action on 28 January 2010, but was banned for four games after being found guilty of violent conduct for elbowing an opponent in a game against Hull City

Due to a knee injury he suffered in the summer of 2010, which ruled him out of the World Cup for England, he missed all of pre-season, the Community Shield and the first four games of the 2010–11 Premier League season. He returned to first-team football in the opening game of the Champions League group stage against Rangers on 14 September. He captained the side and played the full 90 minutes in a goalless draw.

International career

At the age of 19 years and 8 days, Ferdinand earned his first full England cap as a substitute in a friendly against Cameroon on 15 November 1997, making him the youngest defender to play for England at the time (a record broken in 2006 by Micah Richards.) Ferdinand would have made an even earlier debut in September had he not been charged with drink-driving in the build up to England's 1998 World Cup Qualifier against Moldova. Ferdinand was named in the squad for this game and was a likely starter, however the public mourning for Princess Diana – whose chauffeur had been suspected of drink-driving – left Glenn Hoddle with little choice but to drop the talented teenager from the squad. After an impressive 1997/98 season he was selected for the 1998 FIFA World Cup squad as a back-up defender. However, he was not selected in Kevin Keegan's 22 man squad for the 2000 European Championships

After his £18m move to Leeds United, Ferdinand was handed a start by caretaker manager Peter Taylor in a friendly match against Italy and quickly established himself as a first choice player under Sven-Göran Eriksson. He was selected as one of England's two first choice centre backs at the 2002 and 2006 World Cups, wearing the number 5 shirt. John Terry (who he would later partner for many years in central defence) replaced Ferdinand in the England side throughout his eight month ban until his return on 9 October 2004 in their World Cup qualifier against Wales. Ferdinand has played ten World Cup matches for England, he was substituted before Henrik Larsson scored for Sweden in the 2006 World Cup).

The Duran Duran song "Rio" has been used in football chants both for and against Ferdinand; in fact, in 2002, fan Simon Le Bon (Duran Duran's lead singer) promised to re-record one of the football chants if the team won. However, the team failed to win and the promise never had the chance to come to fruition.

Ferdinand has scored three goals for England, the first in the Second round of the 2002 World Cup match against Denmark (although some sources credit this goal as a Thomas Sørensen own goal). The second was a near post strike that beat the Russian goalkeeper Vyacheslav Malafeev in England's Euro 2008 qualifier against Russia on 12 September 2007 at Wembley Stadium. The third on 11 October 2008 in a 2010 FIFA World Cup qualifying match at home to Kazakhstan. England won 5–1.

On 25 March 2008 it was announced that Rio would wear the captain's armband for Fabio Capello's second game in charge of the national team, ahead of John Terry, Steven Gerrard or David Beckham, who some believed would be named captain to mark his 100th cap for his country. An FA statement suggested that the decision to name Ferdinand as captain was part of Capello's plans of rotating the captaincy before naming an official captain for September's World Cup qualifiers.

On 19 August, however, Ferdinand lost out to Terry in retaining the captain's armband but named vice captain by Fabio Capello.

On 11 October 2008 Rio scored the opening goal in England's 5–1 win over Kazakhstan, a back post header in the 52nd minute. He was also named as captain for this game.

A blunder in the match between England and Ukraine in Dnipro on 10 October 2009 which led to the sending off of Robert Green led some to question his inclusion in the squad. A lack of match practice for his club and a series of errors such as he suffered in his early days as a footballer have led to criticism of his inclusion from several corners.

On 5 February 2010, Ferdinand replaced John Terry as captain of England.

As of June 2010, he has 78 England caps to his name, placing him level with Ashley Cole and one short of (now retired) John Barnes among the most capped black players to have appeared for the England team. Although Ferdinand has been named in the last four England World Cup squads (albeit without playing in 1998), he has never been to a European Championship due to a ban for missing a drugs test and due to England's failure to qualify for Euro 2008. Although back and groin injury problems forced him to miss much of the 2009–10 domestic season, Ferdinand was selected to captain England at the 2010 World Cup. However, he suffered a knee ligament injury during the team's first training session in South Africa on 4 June and was subsequently ruled out of the tournament.

International goals

:Scores and results list England's goal tally first.

Career statistics

Statistics accurate as of match played 28 December 2010

|- |1997||1||0 |- |1998||4||0 |- |1999||3||0 |- |2000||2||0 |- |2001||9||0 |- |2002||9||1 |- |2003||5||0 |- |2004||3||0 |- |2005||8||0 |- |2006||12||0 |- |2007||8||1 |- |2008||8||1 |- |2009||4||0 |- |2010||2||0 |- !Total||78||3 |}

Honours

Club

;Manchester United

Premier League (4): 2002–03, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09

Football League Cup (2): 2005–06, 2008–09

FA Community Shield (3): 2003, 2007, 2008

UEFA Champions League (1): 2007–08

FIFA Club World Cup (1): 2008

Individual

PFA Premier League Team of the Year: 2001–02 (Leeds), 2004–05, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09 (Manchester United)

Premier League Player of the Month (1): October 2001

FIFPro World XI: 2007–08

Outside of football

Personal life

Ferdinand grew up in the Friary council estate, Peckham. In 2006 in Manchester, Ferdinand's girlfriend Rebecca Ellison gave birth to their son Lorenz. Whilst Ferdinand was on holiday with friends and family in Las Vegas in July 2007, he proposed to Ellison and she accepted. The couple had their second child, a boy named Tate, in August 2008. The names of their children stem from the name of one of the couple's favourite actors, Larenz Tate.

Ferdinand detailed his upbringing and outlook in a 2007 book, Rio: My Story. Ferdinand is one of a small group of sportsmen to receive over £1 million as an advance for an autobiography. Ferdinand's experiences growing up in Peckham inspired him to set up the Rio Ferdinand Live the Dream Foundation in December 2009, with the aim to nurture and develop young people from deprived communities seeking careers in sports and entertainment. The foundation has received support from the UK Government and industry.

Rio is also a keen user of Twitter and often refers to himself as Twitter king. He is renowned on twitter for his banter with Robbie Savage.

Television, film and music

In 2005, Ferdinand, along with an old school friend, created the record label White Chalk Music. To date, there are two artists signed to the label; Melody Johnston and Nia Jai, the latter is due to release an album on 6 October 2010 and features Ferdinand rapping.

In June 2006, on the day of the England national team's opening World Cup group match against Paraguay, Ferdinand made his debut appearance as a television presenter. Hosting Rio's World Cup Wind-Ups, the England defender found himself in a Jeremy Beadle-style role, playing tricks on his fellow England World Cup squad members including Wayne Rooney, David Beckham and Gary Neville. A follow-up series went into production, entitled 'Rio's All-Star Wind-Ups'. However, it was cancelled following a number of filming problems.

He made his first foray into the world of cinema in late 2008, financing and becoming an executive producer of Alex de Rakoff's film Dead Man Running. The film features Danny Dyer and 50 Cent in a gangster-themed plot. Ferdinand will share production credits with England team-mate Ashley Cole.

Ferdinand is presently filming a documentary about Peckham, aiming to persuade youngsters away from a life of crime.

On 15 January 2009, it was announced that he would be publishing his own digital magazine called Rio in February 2009, working in conjunction with digital publishing company Made Up Media Ltd. In conjunction with this, Ferdinand was guest editor of the February 2009 edition of the Observer Sport Monthly, providing interviews with people ranging from Gordon Brown to Usain Bolt.

Controversy

In September 1997, Ferdinand was convicted of drink-driving and given a one-year driving ban. He had been breathalysed after driving on the morning after a night out, and was found to be one point over the limit. This conviction caused England manager Glenn Hoddle to drop Ferdinand from the squad to face Moldova in a World Cup qualification match on 10 September, meaning he lost out on the chance at 18 years and 10 months of age of becoming the youngest England international since Duncan Edwards.

In 2000, Ferdinand briefly appeared in a sexually explicit video filmed at the Ayia Napa resort in Cyprus along with fellow English footballers Kieron Dyer and Frank Lampard. Channel 4 aired a brief clip as part of their 2004 documentary "Sex, Footballers and Videotape", claiming it was used to "remind the viewer that this is based on real life".

In May 2005, Ferdinand was criticised by the magistrate as he received his fourth ban from driving and a fine of £1,500, after being caught by traffic police "travelling at an average of over a distance of nearly two miles" on the M6 motorway. On setting the penalty, the magistrate said Ferdinand "should be a positive role model for young people in society and this does not give out the right message". It followed two previous bans for speeding, in 2002 and 2003.

During a radio interview on The Chris Moyles Show in October 2006, Ferdinand attracted two listener complaints and criticism from gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell when he called Moyles a faggot, followed by "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I'm not homophobic", after Moyles had jokingly suggested he was homosexual. BBC Radio 1 later dismissed the exchange as banter, while Tatchell said "since [he] very promptly apologised, I am happy to accept his regret and leave it at that".

See also

List of sportspeople sanctioned for doping offences

References

External links

Official site

Rio Ferdinand Live the Dream Foundation official site

Profile at ManUtd.com

Profile at StretfordEnd.co.uk

Profile at TheFA.com

Category:1978 births Category:Living people Category:Association football central defenders Category:English footballers Category:English sportspeople in doping cases Category:A.F.C. Bournemouth players Category:West Ham United F.C. players Category:Leeds United A.F.C. players Category:Manchester United F.C. players Category:Premier League players Category:The Football League players Category:English people of West Indian descent Category:England under-21 international footballers Category:England international footballers Category:1998 FIFA World Cup players Category:2002 FIFA World Cup players Category:2006 FIFA World Cup players Category:People from Peckham Category:Doping cases in association football Category:English people of Saint Lucian descent Category:English people of Irish descent Category:Black British sportspeople Category:People convicted of alcohol-related driving offenses

Name	Kristin Cavallari
Caption	Cavallari at the post-Emmy party, September 20, 2008
Birthname	Kristin Elizabeth Cavallari
Birth date	January 05, 1987
Birth place	Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Occupation	Actress: reality star
Years active	2004–present
Website	Official site

Kristin Elizabeth Cavallari (born January 5, 1987) is an American television personality, celebutante, socialite, and actress. She is best known for her starring roles on the former MTV programs and its spin-off, The Hills.

Early life

Cavallari was born in Denver, Colorado, the second of three children of Judith Spies (née Eifrig) and Dennis Cavallari. When her mother divorced her father, her older brother Mike and sister Peighton moved with their father to Laguna Beach, California, while she moved with her mother to the village of Barrington, Illinois, a suburb an hour northwest of Chicago. After difficulties adjusting to a new life with a stepfather and stepbrother, Kristin moved to California to live with her father and brother and sister instead. Kristin was enrolled at Santa Margarita Catholic High School for her freshman year. After she attended a Driver's Education course through Laguna Beach High School, her father enrolled her in LBHS.

Career

Reality TV

Cavallari was in her junior year of high school when the first season of began production. At the time, she was involved in an on-and-off relationship with senior Stephen Colletti. Cavallari's romance with Colletti caused a rivalry with another cast member, Lauren Conrad. The love triangle became one of the series' central plotline. She appeared in the mid-season finale that aired on May 31, 2009 and appeared as a regular in the remainder of the fifth season. She inked a deal with MTV to appear as a series regular throughout two more seasons of the series following the fifth. The sixth and final season aired summer 2010.

Acting

After her stint on Laguna Beach, Cavallari headed to Los Angeles and briefly enrolled at University of Southern California. She signed on the UPN reality television series Get This Party Started which premiered February 7, 2006. The series was canceled after airing two episodes due to extremely low ratings. She guest starred in another UPN series Veronica Mars in one episode. She has appeared in numerous television roles such as , Cane and Adventures in Hollyhood.

In 2006, she signed on as Crystal in the horror film Fingerprints. Filming took place throughout April and May 2006 in two Oklahoma towns. The film premiered at Screamfest on October 16, 2006. The film won Best Feature at the 2006 New York City Horror Film Festival. The film was released in 2007 to mixed to positive reviews.

In 2008, she had a supporting role in Spring Breakdown alongside Amy Poehler as Summer. The film was released straight-to-DVD on June 2, 2009 and received mixed reviews. She also starred in the independent film Green Flash alongside Torrey DeVitto.

In 2009, she starred in the independent American high school comedy film Wild Cherry as Trish, which also starred Rumer Willis. She also starred in the straight-to-DVD film as Kaitlyn. The film was released July 14, 2009 to mixed to negative reviews.

Philanthropy

Cavallari has been involved in the "Until There's a Cure" public service advertising campaign to raise awareness and funds for AIDS and HIV research and vaccine development. In 2006, Cavallari appeared in ads for PETA, and has also appeared as a celebrity spokesperson for "We Are Ellis Island", a campaign for the restoration of historic buildings on Ellis Island. In February 2009, she posed for the NOH8 Campaign in support of gay marriage.

Personal life

Cavallari is currently dating Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler.

Filmography

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! colspan=4 style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film |- align="center" ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Year ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Film ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Role ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Notes |- | 2007 || Fingerprints || Crystal |- | rowspan=2|2008 || Spring Breakdown || Summer |- | Green Flash || Lana || Direct-to-DVD release |- | rowspan=2|2009 || Wild Cherry || Trish Van Doren || |- | || Kaitlin Hays || Direct-to-DVD release |- |- align="center" ! colspan=4 style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Television |- align="center" ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Year ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Title ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Role ! style="background: #CCCCCC;" | Notes |- | rowspan=1|2004–2006 || || Herself || Seasons 1-2 |- | rowspan=2|2006 || Get This Party Started || Host || 2 episodes |- | Veronica Mars || Kylie Marker || 1 episode |- | rowspan=3|2007 || Cheerleader Camp || Julie || Television movie |- | Cane || Casey || 1 episode |- | Adventures in Hollyhood || Herself || 1 episode |- | 2008 || || Isabelle Vaughn || 1 episode |- | 2009–2010 || The Hills || Herself || Seasons 5-6 |- |}

References

External links

Category:1987 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from California Category:Actors from Denver, Colorado Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:American television personalities Category:MTV television characters Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Orange County, California

Name	Kevin Michael Harvick
Birthdate	December 08, 1975
Birthplace	Bakersfield, California
Awards	1995 NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series Rookie of the Year

Kevin Michael Harvick (born December 8, 1975) is an American stock car auto racing race car driver and car owner currently competing in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Richard Childress Racing, driving the #29 Budweiser Chevrolet Impala. Harvick also drives his own #33 Chevrolet Impala part-time in the Nationwide Series, and his own #2 Chevrolet Silverado part-time in the Camping World Truck Series.

Early life

Harvick began go-kart racing after his parents Mike and JoNell bought him a go-kart as a kindergarten graduation gift in 1980. For the next 10 years, Harvick became a highly successful driver on the go-kart circuit. He earned seven national championships and two Grand National championships. In 1992, he started racing late models part-time in the NASCAR Featherlite Southwest Series and he competed there while still in high school. Harvick's father built him his first car to compete in the lower NASCAR Series by using the money he earned to run his own garage, Harvick Motorsports. When Harvick couldn't race, such as in the winter, he competed on his high school wrestling team at North High School in Bakersfield, California. He won a section title in his weight class his senior year. He then graduated and became a full-time driver and earned the honor of Rookie of the Year in 1995.

NASCAR career

Early career

Harvick made his Camping World Truck Series (was Craftsman Truck Series) debut in 1995 at Mesa Marin Raceway, in his hometown of Bakersfield, where he started and finished 27th in his family-owned #72. He drove four races in the #72 the next season, his best finish was 11th at Mesa Marin. In 1997, he signed to drive the #75 for Spears Motorsports mid-season, posting two eight-place finishes. He ran a full schedule the next season, posting 3 top-fives and finishing 17th in points. Harvick also moved up to the NASCAR Grand National Division, AutoZone West Series in 1997, and in 1998 Harvick won five races on his way to the Winston West Series championship while driving for spears He received his real first national exposure during the winter of 1997/1998 on ESPN2's coverage of the NASCAR Winter Heat Series at Tucson Raceway Park. In 1999, he drove the #98 Porter Cable Ford for Liberty Racing, finishing 12th in points with six top-fives.

2000-2002

On October 23, 1999, Harvick made his first NASCAR Busch Series (now Nationwide Series) start in the Kmart 200 at the Rockingham Speedway in the #2 Invica Chevrolet. He would start 24th and finish 42nd due to engine failure. The race would be his only start in 1999. In 2000, Harvick would sign with Richard Childress Racing to drive the #2 AC Delco Chevrolet for his first full Busch Series season. Despite failing to qualify the second race of the season at Rockingham, Harvick would go on to win the NASCAR Busch Series Rookie of the Year with 3 wins, 8 top-five finishes and 16 top-tens as well as garnering a third place points finish.

For 2001, Childress planned to run Harvick in the #2 Chevy in the Busch Series full-time again, while developing him into the Winston Cup Series (now Sprint Cup Series) with up to seven races in the #30 AOL Chevy. He planned to race Harvick for a full schedule in 2002. Chidress' plans changed when Dale Earnhardt was killed during the 2001 Daytona 500 and tapped Harvick to be Earnhardt's replacement. For Harvick's first two races the car ran an inverted color scheme, the number changed from 3 to 29, and the pit crew wore generic uniforms. On some of the cars, a small round "3" decal was placed between the 2 and the 9 making it look like "2.9." In the third race of the season, the car was painted white and red, while Harvick wore a white-and-red uniform. His pit crew continued to wear the traditional GM Goodwrench Service Plus uniforms.

On March 11, 2001 at the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500, only three weeks after Earnhardt's death, Harvick won his first career Winston Cup victory in just his third start by narrowly edging Jeff Gordon at Atlanta Motor Speedway. He won the race by only six one-thousandths of a second (.006), proving to be one of the closest finishes in NASCAR history since the introduction of electronic scoring in 1993. After the win, Harvick performed a tire-smoking burnout on the front stretch with three fingers held aloft outside the driver's window. He recorded his second Cup win of his career at Chicagoland Speedway in Joliet, Illinois. At the end of the season, he finished with 2 victories, 6 top-fives, and 16 top-tens. Harvick was awarded with the NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award, and secured a ninth-place finish in the 2001 points standings. He also won the Busch Series championship, becoming the first driver to win the Busch Series championship while also driving full-time in the Winston Cup Series with a top-ten finish. Harvick would end the season winning 6 pole positions, and driving in 70 races: 35 Cup Series, The Winston, 33 Busch races, and 1 NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series (at Richmond International Raceway) for Rick Carelli.

In 2002, Kevin Harvick would spend the season concentrating on running the Cup Series and would only start four races in the Busch Series. He would only have 1 top-ten in those four starts. Harvick began the 2002 season with a fine for a post race incident with Greg Biffle at Bristol Motor Speedway. Later, he was suspended for rough driving following a Truck race at Martinsville, Virginia. Harvick scored his first career Winston Cup pole position; this coming at the Daytona International Speedway. Later in the season, he scored his third Winston Cup Victory, finishing first at the Chicagoland Speedway. He finished 21st in the 2002 points standings with 1 win, 5 top-fives, and 8 top-tens. Harvick became the 2002 IROC Champion in his first season in the Series, winning at the California Speedway. In Trucks, Harvick began fielding his own #6 truck, driving himself in five races and winning at Phoenix.

2003-2006

In the 2003 season, Harvick teamed with now former crew chief Todd Berrier in the Cup Series, whom he had won the Busch championship with in 2001. Together, they won the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis in August. Harvick and his team jumped from 21st in the final 2002 points standings, to fifth in the 2003 standings, coming within 252 points of first place Matt Kenseth. In the Busch Series, Harvick was teamed with Johnny Sauter, driving the #21 Hershey's-sponsored PayDay car. The two would combine for 3 wins, 16 top-fives and 24 top-tens, with Harvick posting all 3 wins. They would give Childress the NASCAR Busch Series owner's championship that season, with the driver's championship going to Brian Vickers. It would be the first time that the championship would be split between two teams. Harvick drove in 19 of the 34 races, and Sauter drove in the other 15. Harvick also scored 8 pole positions and finished 16th in the driver's standings.

While winless in the 2004 season, Harvick placed third in the most popular driver voting. He had fourteen top-ten finishes and finished fourteenth in points. In 2004, Harvick was again paired with another driver in the Busch Series, rookie Clint Bowyer. They combined for 1 win, 13 top-fives and 20 top-tens in the #21 Hershey's-sponsored car, with Reese's Peanut Butter Cups being promoted. Harvick drove the #29 ESGR/Coast Guard Busch car in the final race of the season at Homestead-Miami Speedway in the Ford 300, which he would claim his second win of the season. He finished 20th in the driver's standings. The #21 car finished fourth in the owner's standings.

In the 2005 season, Harvick's only Cup win came at the Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway, despite starting towards the rear of the field. He won without the assistance of Crew Chief Todd Berrier, who was serving a four-week suspension for a rules violation. The following year, he continued driving the #29 car for Childress in the Sprint Cup Series. With General Motors' financial situation, GM Goodwrench cut back sponsorship, and was joined as primary sponsor for one-third (1/3) of the schedule by Hershey's, with various brands (primarily Reese's) on the car. In the Busch Series, Harvick was paired with Brandon Miller. Harvick and Miller combined for 3 wins, 15 top-fives and 19 top-tens to give the #21 its second fourth-place finish in the owner's standings. Harvick would also drive the #29 Reese's Chocolate Lovers Cup car to Victory Lane in the first "sweep" of his career on Monday, April 4, 2005 in the Rain-Delayed Food City 250 at Bristol Motor Speedway to go along with the Food City 500 win the day before, to give him a record fourth Busch Series win at the track (tying with Morgan Shepherd). Harvick finished 18th in the driver's standings.

In 2006, Harvick decided to run both of NASCAR's top two series full-time. He won his first Busch Series race of the 2006 season. He followed the win with a weekend sweep of the Busch Series and Sprint Cup races at Phoenix International Raceway. Later in the season, Harvick won the Sprint Cup race at Watkins Glen International.

On September 9, 2006, Harvick, only needing to finish 40th or better to clinch a spot in the chase, did better by slipping by Kyle Busch in turn four going into the final lap and holding onto the lead to win the Chevy Rock & Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway. This was his third win of the season, and his second "sweep" of the season, having won the Emerson Radio 250 the night before. This allowed Harvick, along with teammate, Jeff Burton, their First berth, and First for Richard Childress Racing, in the Chase for the Sprint Cup. On September 17, 2006, Starting from the Pole, Harvick won the first race of the chase at New Hampshire International Speedway, in the Sylvania 300. He dominated the race and by winning, was able to take the lead in the point standings for the first time in his career.

Harvick would have a substandard Chase run, falling to sixth in the point standings, until finishing third in Texas and following that up with another dominating performance in the Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 12, 2006, winning the race, and moving into 3rd place in the point standings. At the season finale at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Harvick would finish fifth in the race and slip to fourth in the final standings to eventual 2006 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson. In the Busch Series, Harvick would be scheduled to run all 35 races, with three different cars (#21, #33, #29) and two different teams, Richard Childress Racing and his own team, Kevin Harvick Incorporated. Harvick had 9 wins, 23 top-fives and 32 top-tens. He clinched the 2006 NASCAR Busch Series championship on October 13, 2006 at Lowe's Motor Speedway in the Dollar General 300. It was the earliest clinch of the championship ever in the Busch Series, locking up the title with four races to go. He ended the season with a record 824-point margin in the final standings.

2007–2009

In 2007, his Cup team again split primary sponsors, with Hershey's being joined by new primary sponsor Shell Oil Company and their Pennzoil brand. On Sunday, February 18, 2007 in the season-opening Daytona 500, Harvick claimed his first NASCAR Sprint Cup Series victory in a restrictor plate race with a dramatic final lap pass over Mark Martin by .020 seconds in a green-white-checkered finish, the closest margin at the 500 since electronic scoring started in 1993. The race was on the sixth anniversary of the death of his predecessor at Richard Childress Racing, Dale Earnhardt. He would become only the fourth NASCAR driver to sweep both the Nationwide and Cup races in the opening weekend at Daytona (along with Bobby Allison (1988), Darrell Waltrip (1989), and Dale Earnhardt Jr. (2004)). Harvick also tied Benny Parsons for the fewest number of laps led by a Daytona 500 winner, who did it in 1975 (the year Harvick was born) with four laps. He started 34th (lowest ever by a winner at the track), and became the first Nationwide Series champion to win the Daytona 500 the following year. With the win, Harvick also became the sixth of seven drivers to win both the Daytona 500 and the Brickyard 400 joining Jeff Gordon, Dale Earnhardt, Dale Jarrett, Bill Elliott, Jimmie Johnson, and Jamie McMurray. Four days after Harvick won the Daytona 500 in his inaugural race with Shell-Pennzoil as a primary sponsor, Harvick's team owner, Richard Childress, was asked by NASCAR to downsize the Shell logo on his fire suit and to have Harvick wear a more prominent Pennzoil logo, in an effort to play down any perceived competition with Sunoco. Sunoco asked NASCAR to talk with Richard Childress after Harvick won both the Nationwide Series and Sprint Cup Series races wearing a prominent Shell logo on his fire suit. For the rest of the season, Harvick won the Sprint All-Star Race and finished tenth in points.

In 2007, Harvick started the season by winning the Orbitz 300 at Daytona, claiming his first win in a restrictor plate race, as well as the first win for new sponsor AutoZone in NASCAR Nationwide Series competition. He also took the Checkers at New Hampshire International Speedway, winning the Camping World 200 presented by RVs.com. He also won the inaugural NAPA Auto Parts 200 at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. Harvick would end his partial Nationwide Series season fourth in points. Harvick went winless in 2008, but he was still able to post a fourth-place in the 2008 Chase for the Sprint Cup. The fourth-place finish in the 2008 standings tied 2006 for his highest points position at the end of the season. Harvick also went the entire season without a single DNF for the second straight year. In the Nationwide Series, he ran twenty-two races for his own team with sponsorship from Camping World, Rheem, and RoadLoans. He did not win a race in this series either. His lone win came in a Truck race at Phoenix.

Harvick started the 2009 season by winning the Budweiser Shootout with a last-lap pass on Jamie McMurray, reminiscent of his win in the 2007 Daytona 500. He also launched a new social networking site, Fan Central, for his fans. A few days later Harvick damaged his primary car for the 2009 Daytona 500. The team decided to switch to the car he drove in the shootout. Harvick went on to finish second in the second shortest Daytona 500 in NASCAR history.

At the Auto Club Speedway in California, Harvick blew his engine and it forced him to not finish the race, which resulted in his first DNF in 82 starts. Harvick won the first 2009 Nationwide Series race at Bristol, his first win in his own car. In addition, he won the Camping World Truck Series race at Martinsville Speedway. During the season, Gil Martin became the new crew chief for Harvick as Childress decided to switch all team members of the #07 and #29 except the drivers and spotters, thus giving Casey Mears Harvick's crew chief Todd Berrier. In the first five races following the switch, Harvick finished with an average of 25.4, finishing 34th, 11th, 41st, 17th, and 24th respectively. A short time later, reports surfaced stating that Harvick had asked a release of his contract at the end of the 2009 season to secure a ride at Stewart Haas Racing for the 2010 season with intentions of bringing Shell-Pennzoil sponsorship with him. When asked about the request, Childress stated that Harvick and Shell-Pennzoil will stay with RCR in 2010. Harvick did not comment publicly on the subject of where he would be driving in 2010. The first race after the story broke, Kevin finished 6th at the Allstate 400 at the Brickyard at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. His best race came at the Pep Boys Auto 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, where Harvick had the best car in a long run and led for most of the race, but was denied victory after a late race caution from which later eventual race winner Kasey Kahne took advantage of when he went past Harvick on the restart; he finished 2nd.

2010

Harvick started 2010 the same way he did in 2009 by winning the Budweiser Shootout with a pass in the penultimate lap in a green-white-checkered situation seconds before an incident behind them, resulting then in a caution that automatically ended the race. Harvick placed 2nd in his Gatorade Duel by inches to Jimmie Johnson. He led the most laps in the Daytona 500, but ended up finishing 7th. He followed up his 7th at Daytona with a 2nd at Fontana, California's Auto Club Speedway again to Jimmie Johnson; after the race, Harvick told media members that the #48 team (Jimmie Johnson) "had a golden horseshoe stuck up their ass". Following the race, Harvick followed up with another 2nd place finish to Johnson at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as well as a Nationwide Series win. He won the Aaron's 499 in a crazy Lap 200 (third green-white-checker finish situation) pass of Jamie McMurray that was the 88th lead change of the race, setting a new NASCAR record. It was speculated by McMurray's team owner Felix Sabates that Harvick was below the yellow line when he made the pass, but this was denied by NASCAR at track. On July 3, Harvick captured his second win of the year by winning the Coke Zero 400 at Daytona. On August 15, Harvick captured his third win of the year by winning the Carfax 400 at Michigan. His win at Michigan locked him into the Chase for the Sprint Cup for the fourth time. He finished the regular season first place in points, but started the Chase in third after the points were adjusted. During the 10-race Chase, Harvick scored 5 top-fives and 9 top-tens. Despite scoring an average finish of 5.8 (best in the 2010 Chase and third best all-time in the Chase), Harvick finished third overall, 41 points behind 2010 Champion Jimmie Johnson. It was still the best overall finish of his career in the Sprint Cup standings.

Harvick also won his first career Pole in the Camping World Truck Series at Gateway International Raceway in his own #2 Chevrolet Silverado. This added Harvick to the short list of NASCAR drivers who have won a pole award and a race in each of NASCAR's three major series.

With the departure of Royal Dutch Shell at the end of 2010 (moves to Penske Racing) announced in the spring, the #29 team was searching for a new sponsor. In August it was announced that for 2011, the car's primary sponsor will be with Belgian brewery InBev's Budweiser brand for 20 races.

Kevin Harvick Foundation

Established in 2010 by Harvick and his wife, DeLana, the mission of the Kevin Harvick Foundation (KHF) is to support programs that enrich the lives of children throughout the United States. The foundation works to not only improve the quality of life, but to help underprivileged youth find and realize their dreams by supporting programs such as the Kevin Harvick Athletic Scholarship Fund at California State University, Bakersfield, a camper cabin at Victory Junction, Baptist Children’s Homes of NC, Boys & Girls Clubs and Kevin’s Krew.

Other racing

American Canadian Tour and ARCA REMAX series

On July 21, 2008, Harvick won $37,300 at the 35th annual Toronto-Dominion Bank 250 presented by New England Dodge Dealers in Oxford, Maine. Harvick defeated tour regulars; Glen Luce and Joey Polewarczyk Jr. The event is traditionally one of New England's major short track races. Since his 1998 West Series championship, he has competed in four races with one win. He also made two starts in the ARCA RE/MAX Series in 1999 for Childress in the #20 Invinca-Shields/Realtree Chevrolet, finishing in the top-five both times.

Personal life

Harvick lives with his wife DeLana Harvick in Kernersville, North Carolina, where they have three dogs and two cats. The Harvicks also own a vacation home in Kiawah Island, South Carolina.

Harvick has been on talk shows such as Late Show with David Letterman, Live with Regis and Kelly, Jim Rome is Burning, and The Tony Danza Show as a guest. He was also on the first season of FX's . It took an in-depth look at NASCAR drivers outside the track and the preparation it takes to be a NASCAR driver. Harvick has also been on MTV Cribs.

Nicknames

Harvick was nicknamed "Happy Harvick" ironically due to his occasional temper outbursts and in fact his pit sign is a smiley face is a play on this nickname, yet happy attitude and the "Bakersfield Basher" in his early years for his agressive driving style.

Because of his last-second passes to win many of his races and his ability to start deep in the field and finish towards the front, he was nicknamed "Mr. Where did he come from?" by NASCAR on Fox announcer Mike Joy.

Career wins

Non-point wins

Career NASCAR Sprint Cup Series statistics

As of December 1, 2010

See also

Kevin Harvick Incorporated - A racing team owned by Kevin Harvick and his wife Delana.

References

External links

Kevin Harvick's official web site

Kevin Harvick Foundation

Richard Childress Racing's official web site

Racing-Reference stats

Kevin Harvick Video on FoxSports Video Archive

Category:1975 births Category:American racecar drivers Category:NASCAR Nationwide Series champions Category:International Race of Champions drivers Category:Living people Category:NASCAR drivers Category:NASCAR owners Category:NASCAR Rookies of the Year Category:Daytona 500 winners Category:Brickyard 400 winners Category:People from Bakersfield, California

Caption	Katie Holmes at the National Memorial Day in Washington, D.C., May 24, 2009
Birthname	Kate Noelle Holmes
Birthdate	December 18, 1978
Birthplace	Toledo, Ohio, U.S.
Spouse	Tom Cruise (2006–present) 1 Child
Occupation	Actress
Yearsactive	1997–present
Occupation	Actress

Kate Noelle "Katie" Holmes (born December 18, 1978) is an American actress who first achieved fame for her role as Joey Potter on The WB television teen drama Dawson's Creek from 1998 to 2003. Her movie roles have ranged from art house films such as The Ice Storm to thrillers such as Abandon to blockbusters such as Batman Begins.

In early 2005, Holmes began a highly publicized relationship with actor Tom Cruise. In June, two months after they first met, Holmes and Cruise were engaged. Their relationship made Holmes the subject of international media attention, much of it negative, including speculation the relationship was a publicity stunt to promote the couple's films. Holmes, who was brought up as a Roman Catholic, joined the Church of Scientology shortly after the couple began dating. In April 2006, Holmes gave birth to their daughter, Suri. On November 18, 2006, she and Cruise married in Italy.

Early life

Holmes was born in Toledo, Ohio, the youngest in a family of five children (four daughters, one son) of Kathleen A. (née Stothers), a homemaker and a philanthropist, and Martin Joseph Holmes, Sr. (born 1945), an attorney specializing in divorces. She lived in the Corey Woods section of Sylvania Township, Lucas County, in a brick 1862 Italianate-style home. Her siblings are Tamera, Holly Ann, Martin Joseph, Jr., who works as a lawyer in Ohio, and Nancy Kay (Blaylock), a teacher.

Holmes, baptized a Roman Catholic, attended Christ the King Church and parochial schools in Toledo. Her high school was the all-female Notre Dame Academy, her mother's alma mater, where Katie was a 4.0 student. At St. John's Jesuit, a nearby all-male high school, she appeared in school musicals, playing a waiter in Hello, Dolly! and Lola in Damn Yankees. She scored 1310 out of 1600 on her SAT and was accepted to Columbia University (and attended for a summer session); her father wanted her to be a doctor.

At age 14 she began classes at a modeling school in Toledo run by Margaret O'Brien, who took her to IMTA, the International Modeling and Talent Association Competition held in New York City in 1996. There she found an agent after performing a monologue from To Kill a Mockingbird. An audition tape was sent to the casting director for the 1997 film The Ice Storm, directed by Ang Lee. She was cast in the role of Libbets Casey, in the film which starred Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver. Ang Lee told The Blade, "Katie was cast because she had the perfect amount of innocence and worldliness that we needed for Libbets. I was really taken by her wide open eyes. She really is a beautiful girl but there is also a lot of intelligence there and it shows."

The producers permitted her to audition on videotape. Holmes read for the part of Joey Potter, the tomboy best friend of the title character Dawson, on a videotape shot in her basement, her mother reading Dawson's lines. The Hollywood Reporter claimed the story of Holmes's audition "has become the stuff of legend" and "no one even thought that it was weird that one of the female leads would audition via Federal Express."

Holmes won the part. Paul Stupin, executive producer of the show, said his first reaction on seeing her audition tape was "That's Joey Potter!" Creator and executive producer Kevin Williamson said Holmes has a "unique combination of talent, beauty and skill that makes Hollywood come calling. But that's just the beginning. To meet her is to instantly fall under her spell." Williamson thought she had exactly the right look for Joey Potter. "She had those eyes, those eyes just stained with loneliness."

Dawson's Creek

"Joey Potter is a headstrong, vibrant, wily, sultry, and determined go-getter. And yet, in a gloriously contradictory manner, in spite of her tough-as-nails exterior demeanor, Joey's also a frail, sometimes uncertain, emotionally sensitive, in-need-of-love person", said the show's official book. Joey, named for Jo in Little Women, for years had been climbing in Dawson's bedroom window and platonically sharing his bed. Joey's mother had died from cancer when Joey was thirteen and her father, Mike (Gareth Williams), was in prison for "conspiracy to traffic in marijuana in excess of 10,000 pounds." Her harried, unmarried, and very pregnant sister, Bessie (Nina Repeta), about ten years older than Joey, was raising her while running the Ice House restaurant, where Joey worked as a waitress. GQ described Joey as "kind of an uptight fussbudget—one who's always twisted up over doing the right thing and bungling-up ways to hook up with her crush and across the creek neighbor, Dawson." When the show was picked up by The WB, Holmes moved to Wilmington, where the show filmed.

The tall brunette enchanted the press, writers of both sexes commenting how Holmes was the sort of girl one wants to bring home to meet the parents and to marry. Time called her "impossibly lovely" and Entertainment Weekly said she was "next up for idolhood." Variety, reviewing the pilot, said Holmes "is a confident young performer who delivers her lines with slyness and conviction." Holmes made such an impression in Hollywood, The New York Times Magazine claimed everyone was seeking to cast a "Katie Holmes type", who, the reporter claimed, "is a throwback to the 1950s: she is a smart girl next door (as opposed to the babe-o-rama blondes)"—the sort represented by her Dawson's Creek co-star Michelle Williams. But her "type" was no less attractive, Arena magazine declaring her "the most coquettishly sexy woman on television. Anywhere."

The show was aggressively marketed by The WB Network before its premiere in January 1998. The cast was featured in the J. Crew catalog and trailers for the program were shown in movie theatres. Before the premiere, the show's talk of sex caused a stir in the press; one of the show's producers, Procter and Gamble, withdrew after negative press in its hometown newspapers. Holmes was soon on the covers of magazines such as Seventeen, TV Guide, and Rolling Stone. Jancee Dunn, an editor at Rolling Stone said she was chosen for the cover because "every time you mention Dawson's Creek you tend to get a lot of dolphin-like shrieks from teenage girls. The fact that she is drop-dead gorgeous didn't hurt either."

Reviews were mixed. The Blade said the characters "just talk like they came from a planet ruled by Manhattan psychologists, one where small talk is punishable by death." Holmes herself needed help with the dialogue. "Sometimes before we read a script, I have to get my dictionary and call people to make sure I'm pronouncing some of the words correctly." The show brought her national attention and many fans back home; Toledo's Thanksgiving Day parade in November 1998 had record attendance when Holmes was named grand marshal.

Dawson's Creek ran from 1998 to 2003, and Holmes was the only actor to appear in all 128 episodes. "It was very difficult for me to leave Wilmington, to have my little glass bubble burst and move on. I hate change. On the other hand it was refreshing to play someone else", she said in 2004. Holmes confirmed that, as often happens on soaps, the character was a caricature of the actor: with her and then I wouldn't have to do it on my own. So much of me is in Joey and it really felt like I grew up on television.}}

"As Joey", said Life magazine, "Holmes has had seismic influences on teen life... Through it all, Joey has managed to hang on to her integrity... The show—and Katie's character in particular—has touched a nerve."

Film

In 2005, Holmes characterized her film career as being a string of "bombs." "Usually I'm not even in the top ten", she said, the highest grossing film of her career then being Phone Booth, in which she played a supporting role.

Her first leading role came in Disturbing Behavior (1998), a Scream-era Stepford Wives-goes-to-high school thriller, where she was a loner from the wrong side of the tracks. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote her character, Rachel, "dresses in black and likes to strike poses on the beds of pickup trucks and is a bad girl who is in great danger of becoming a very good one." The actress won a MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance for the role, though Holmes said the film was "just horrible."

She had an uncredited cameo with Dawson's Creek co-star Joshua Jackson in Muppets from Space (1999), which was also filmed in Wilmington.

In Kevin Williamson's Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999), which he wrote and directed, Holmes played a straight-A student whose vindictive teacher (Helen Mirren) threatens to keep her from a desperately needed scholarship.

In Wonder Boys (2000), directed by Curtis Hanson from the novel by Michael Chabon, Holmes had a small role (six and one-half minutes of screen time) but nevertheless attracted the attention of numerous film critics with her performance as Hannah Green, the talented student who lusts after Professor Grady Tripp (Michael Douglas), her creative writing instructor and landlord. Kenneth Turan of The Los Angeles Times said she was "just right as the beauty with kind of a crush on the old man."

In The Gift (2000), a Southern Gothic story directed by Sam Raimi and starring Cate Blanchett, she played the antithesis of Joey Potter: a promiscuous rich girl having affairs with everyone from a sociopathic wife-beater (Keanu Reeves) to the district attorney (Gary Cole), and is murdered by her fiancé (Greg Kinnear). Holmes did her first nude scene for the film, in a scene where her character was about to be murdered. Of the scene, she said, "I thought it was important to the scene and to the character, I just hope there aren't a lot of pauses on DVD players." In Ohio, the scene met with disapproval, Russ Lemmon writing in The Blade:

In Abandon (2002), written by Oscar winner Stephen Gaghan, Holmes was a delusional, homicidal college student named "Katie." Todd McCarthy of Variety and Roger Ebert commended her performance, but other critics and audiences savaged it. The actress played the mistress of the public relations flack played by Colin Farrell in Phone Booth (2002) and Robert Downey, Jr.'s nurse in The Singing Detective (2003). Holmes's next starring role was in Pieces of April (2003), a gritty comedy about a dysfunctional family on Thanksgiving. Variety said it was "one of her best film performances." "Each actor shines", wrote Elvis Mitchell, "even Ms. Holmes, whose beauty seems to have fogged the minds of her previous directors" in playing "a brat who is slaving to find her inner decency and barely has the equipment for such an achievement, let alone to serve a meal whose salmonella potential could claim an entire borough. Yet it is her surliness, as well as her intransigent determination to make Thanksgiving work, that keeps the laughs coming."

Holmes played the President's daughter in First Daughter, which was originally to be released in January 2004 on the same day as Chasing Liberty, another film about a president's daughter, but was ultimately released in September 2004 to dismal reviews and ticket sales. First Daughter, directed by Forest Whitaker, also starred Michael Keaton as her father and Marc Blucas as her love interest. The Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt called her character, Samantha Mackenzie, "a startling example of how a studio film can dumb down and neutralize the comic abilities of a lively young star." In the 2005 film Batman Begins, the most successful film of her career to date, she played Rachel Dawes, an attorney in the Gotham City district attorney's office and the childhood sweetheart of the title character. Variety was unenthusiastic. "Holmes is OK", was its critic's sole remark on her performance. She received a Golden Raspberry nomination for "worst supporting actress" for the film.

In 2005, she appeared in the film version of Christopher Buckley's satirical novel Thank You for Smoking about a tobacco lobbyist played by Aaron Eckhart, whom Holmes's character, a Washington reporter, seduces. Variety wrote one of the film's "sole relatively weak notes [came] from Holmes, who lacks even a hint of the wiliness of a ruthless reporter" and The New York Times said the cast was "exceptionally fine" except for Holmes, who "strain[ed] credulity" in her role.

Holmes had agreed to play in Shame on You, a biopic about the country singer Spade Cooley written and directed by Dennis Quaid, as the wife whom Cooley (played by Quaid) stomps to death. But the picture, set to shoot in New Orleans, Louisiana, was delayed by Hurricane Katrina, and Holmes dropped out because of her pregnancy.

After speculation about her reprising her role in The Dark Knight, the sequel to Batman Begins, it was finally confirmed that she would not appear. Her role was later recast with Maggie Gyllenhaal in her place. Instead, she decided to star in the comedy Mad Money, opposite Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah. In early July 2009, Katie began filming a remake of the 1970s ABC telemovie Don't Be Afraid of the Dark.

Stage

Holmes made her Broadway debut in the revival of Arthur Miller's All My Sons in September 2008. She opened to mixed reviews. Ben Brantley of The New York Times claimed "the neophyte Ms. Holmes" is a "sad casualty" of director Simon McBurney's "high concept approach" to the play. He adds that "Ms. Holmes delivers most of her lines with meaningful asperity, italicising every word". Clive Barnes of the New York Post was similarly unimpressed by Holmes - and had few compliments for her co-stars. He wrote, "Lithgow starts in a sunny, benign fashion, but eventually finds himself screeching alongside Holmes, looking tough under a glossy wig." However, The New York Daily News' Joe Dziemianowicz was won over by the actress' first stint on stage, writing, "Holmes, a TV and film vet, makes a fine Broadway debut. Her rather grand speech pattern takes getting used to, but she seems comfortable and adds a fitting glint of glamour." In 2009, Holmes appeared in the National Memorial Day Concert on the Mall in Washington, D.C. in a dialogue with Dianne Wiest celebrating the life of an American veteran seriously wounded in Iraq, José Pequeño.

Holmes in the media

Holmes hosted Saturday Night Live on February 24, 2001, participating in a send-up of Dawson's Creek where she falls madly in love with Chris Kattan's Mr. Peepers character and singing "Big Spender" from Sweet Charity. On the November 9, 2003 episode, she was Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher and the next year she was the subject of an episode of the MTV program Diary.

Holmes was annually named by both the British and American editions of FHM magazine as one of the sexiest women in the world from 1999 forward. She was named one of People's "50 Most Beautiful People" in 2003; its sibling Teen People declared her one of the "25 Hottest Stars Under 25" that year; and in 2005, People said she was one of the ten best dressed stars that year. She has appeared in advertisements for Garnier Lumia haircolor, Coach leather goods, and clothing retailer The Gap.

On November 4, 2007 Holmes ran, and successfully completed, the New York Marathon in 5:29:58.

After much speculation, in late November 2008, it was confirmed that she is the new face of the spring 2009 campaign for the high-end fashion line Miu Miu.

Personal life

Holmes bought a townhouse in Wilmington in 2002. When Dawson's Creek ended its run in 2003, she moved to Los Angeles, California, then New York City in 2005, before going back to Los Angeles when she married Tom Cruise. Holmes dated her Dawson's Creek co-star Joshua Jackson early in the show's run. After the relationship ended peacefully, she told Rolling Stone, "I fell in love, I had my first love, and it was something so incredible and indescribable that I will treasure it always. And that I feel so fortunate because he's now one of my best friends." Holmes met actor Chris Klein in 2000. A Midwesterner like Holmes—he grew up in Illinois and Nebraska—Klein and Holmes were engaged in late 2003, but in early 2005 she and Klein ended their relationship. Press accounts cited the distance imposed by their careers as a factor. In the fall of 2005, Klein said of the split, "We grew up. The fantasy was over and reality set in." Holmes told a reporter in 2005, "Chris and I care about each other and we're still friends."

In July 2009, Holmes, Nigel Lythgoe, Adam Shankman, and Carrie Ann Inaba announced the launch of a dance scholarship fund called the Dizzy Feet Foundation.

In 2009, she started a high fashion clothing line called Holmes&Yang; with long time stylist Jeanne Yang. The line is carried exclusively at Maxfield's in L.A. and Barneys New York.

Relationship with Tom Cruise

Weeks after her relationship with Chris Klein ended, Holmes began dating actor Tom Cruise. Their first public appearance together was on April 29, 2005, in Rome, at the David di Donatello Awards, the Italian equivalent of the Oscars. Her family expressed support, with her father stating, "We're very excited for Katie", and saying his daughter was "a very mature young lady with a good head on her shoulders. From all we have read and heard about [Cruise], he's a humanitarian and a real class act. From the perspective of a parent, we're very excited for both of them". Holmes's sister Tamera said, "They're both wonderful people."

On May 23, 2005, Cruise appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show, jumping on Winfrey's couch and vociferously declaring his love for Holmes. He went backstage and pulled the embarrassed actress onto the program. Cruise proposed to Holmes in the early morning of June 17, 2005, on top of Paris's Eiffel Tower; she accepted. At the press conference, attended by Holmes's mother, Cruise announced the news, declaring, "Today is a magnificent day for me. I'm engaged to a magnificent woman." The actors' publicist said the couple had "officialized" their marriage in Los Angeles the day before the Italian ceremony.

Scientology

Holmes, who was raised a Roman Catholic, Robert Haskell, who wrote W magazine's cover story on the actress, said Rodriguez "was described to me as Holmes's 'Scientology chaperone' and it was clear that she would be on hand during our interview despite my protests." This was in contrast to Holmes's earlier press, which noted approvingly she "arrives without the ubiquitous PR person in tow." Although some Hebrew linguists had never seen the word for "princess" spelled this way and its meaning, others said it was a Yiddish pronunciation of the Hebrew name "Sarah".

Until September 2006, Suri had not been seen in public, which led to tabloid stories questioning the existence of the child, contrasting Holmes and Cruise to other celebrity couples with newborns such as Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt. Typical was the US Weekly cover story "BABY MYSTERY: Best friends' visits denied, baby photos cancelled, a wedding delayed, and Katie in seclusion."

The first photographs of the child appeared in the October 2006 issue of Vanity Fair, shot by Annie Leibovitz. In the accompanying story, Holmes said "we weren't trying to hide anything" and said she was bothered by the press coverage. "I do know what is being said in the press. This is my future. This is my family and I care so much about them. The stories are not okay. It eats away at me because it's just not okay." This issue of Vanity Fair became the publication's second best selling issue of all time, selling more than 700,000 copies.

In an April 2006 interview with ABC News's Diane Sawyer, Cruise said he and Holmes were "just Scientologists" and that Suri would not be baptized Catholic.

Filmography

{| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1997 | | Libbets Casey | First professional role |- | 1998 | Disturbing Behavior | Rachel Wagner | |- | 1998–2003 | Dawson's Creek | Joey Potter | |- | 1999 | Go | Claire Montgomery | |- | 1999 | Muppets from Space | Joey Potter | Uncredited cameo with Joshua Jackson |- | 1999 | Teaching Mrs. Tingle | Leigh Ann Watson | First lead role |- | 2000 | Wonder Boys | Hannah Green | |- | 2000 | | Jessica King | |- | 2002 | Abandon | Katie Burke | |- | 2003 | Phone Booth | Pamela McFadden | |- | 2003 | | Nurse Mills | |- | 2003 | Pieces of April | April Burns | |- | 2004 | First Daughter | Samantha Mackenzie | |- | 2005 | Batman Begins | Rachel Dawes | |- | 2005 | Thank You for Smoking | Heather Holloway | |- | 2008 | Mad Money | Jackie Truman | |- | 2008 | Eli Stone | Grace | |- | 2010 | | Mary Powell | |- | 2010 | | Laura | |- | 2011 | Don't Be Afraid of the Dark | Kim | |- | 2011 | The Kennedys | Jackie Kennedy | |- | 2011 | Son of No One | | Completed |- | 2011 | Jack & Jill | | Post-production |}

References

External links

Category:1978 births Category:Actors from Toledo, Ohio Category:American film actors Category:American Scientologists Category:American television actors Category:Living people

Category:Actors from Ohio Category:People from Toledo, Ohio Category:Converts from Roman Catholicism

Name	Kanye West
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Kanye Omari West
Born	June 08, 1977Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Origin	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Genre	Hip hop
Instrument	Vocals, keyboards, sampler, percussion, synthesizer
Occupation	Producer, rapper, musician, singer
Years active	1996–present
Label	GOOD Music, Roc-A-Fella, Def Jam
Associated acts	Go Getters, Child Rebel Soldier, Jay-Z, Common, John Legend, Kid Cudi, Pusha T, Mr Hudson, Pusha T, Big Sean
Url

Kanye Omari West (; born June 8, 1977) is an American rapper, singer, and record producer. West first rose to fame as a producer for Roc-A-Fella Records, where he eventually achieved recognition for his work on Jay-Z's album The Blueprint, as well as hit singles for musical artists including Alicia Keys, Ludacris, and Janet Jackson. His style of production originally used pitched-up vocal samples from soul songs incorporated with his own drums and instruments. However, subsequent productions saw him broadening his musical palette and expressing influences encompassing '70s R&B;, baroque pop, trip hop, arena rock, folk, alternative, electronica, synth-pop, and classical music.

West released his debut album The College Dropout in 2004, his second album Late Registration in 2005, his third album Graduation in 2007, his fourth album 808s & Heartbreak in 2008, and his fifth album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy in 2010. His five albums have received numerous awards, including a cumulative twelve Grammys, All have been very commercially successful, with 808s & Heartbreak becoming his third consecutive #1 album in the U.S. upon release. West also runs his own record label GOOD Music, home to artists such as John Legend, Common and Kid Cudi. West's mascot and trademark is "Dropout Bear," a teddy bear which has appeared on the covers of three of his five albums as well as various single covers and music videos. About.com ranked Kanye West #8 on their "Top 50 Hip-Hop Producers" list. On May 16, 2008, Kanye West was crowned by MTV as the year's #1 "Hottest MC in the Game." On 17 December 2010, Kanye West was voted as the MTV Man of the Year by MTV.

Early life

Kanye West was born in Atlanta, Georgia, where he lived with his parents. When he was three years old, his parents divorced, and he and his mother moved to Chicago, Illinois. West's mother, Dr. Donda West, was a Professor of English at Clark Atlanta University, and the Chair of the English Department at Chicago State University before retiring to serve as West's manager. He was raised in a middle-class background, attending Polaris High School in suburban Oak Lawn, Illinois after living in Chicago. When asked about his grades in high school, West replied, "I got A's and B's. And I'm not even frontin'".

West attended art classes at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, and also enrolled at Chicago State University, but dropped out to focus on his music career.

Music career

Early career (1996–2003)

Kanye West's first career productions came on Chicago rapper Grav's 1996 debut album Down to Earth. West produced eight tracks on the album. While the album didn't attract much attention and would be the only album released by Grav, West would soon be producing for higher profile artists. In 1998-1999 he produced for well known artists such as Jermaine Dupri, Foxy Brown, Goodie Mob, and the group Harlem World.

West got his big break in the year 2000 however when he began to produce for artists on Roc-a-Fella Records. He produced the well received Jay-Z song "This Can't Be Life" off of the album . West would later state that to create the beat for "This Can't Be Life" he sped up the drum beat from Dr. Dre's song "Xxplosive".

After producing for Jay-Z earlier, West’s sound was featured heavily on Jay-Z's critically acclaimed album The Blueprint, released on September 11, 2001. Jay-Z admitted that Roc-A-Fella was initially reluctant to support West as a rapper, claiming that he saw him as a producer first and foremost. Multiple record companies felt he was not as marketable as rappers who portray the "street image" prominent in hip hop culture. West's faith is apparent in many of his songs, such as "Jesus Walks", which became a staple at his benefit performances, such as the Live 8 concert. These songs were featured on West's debut album, The College Dropout, which was released on Roc-A-Fella Records in February 2004, and went on to receive critical acclaim. The album also defined the style for which West would become known, including wordplay and sampling. During 2003 West also co-produced songs for British singer Javine Hylton, even appearing in the music video to Real Things playing the love interest of Javine.

West was involved in a financial dispute over Royce Da 5'9"'s song "Heartbeat", produced by West and released on Build & Destroy: The Lost Sessions. West maintains that Royce never paid for the beat, but recorded to it and released it; hearing him on the beat, the original customers decided not to buy it from West. After the disagreement, West vowed to never work with Royce again. Other Kanye West-produced hit singles during the period The College Dropout was released included "I Changed My Mind" by Keyshia Cole, "Overnight Celebrity" by Twista and "Talk About Our Love" by Brandy. Like its predecessor, the sophomore effort garnered universal acclaim from music critics. Late Registration topped countless critic polls and was revered as the best album of the year by numerous publications, including USA Today, Spin, and Time. Rolling Stone awarded the album the highest position on their end of the year record list and hailed it as a "sweepingly generous, absurdly virtuosic hip-hop classic." The record earned the number one spot on the Village Voice's Pazz & Jop critics' poll of 2005 for the second consecutive year. Late Registration was also a commercial success, selling over 860,000 copies in its first week alone and topping the Billboard 200. Grossing over 2.3 million units sold in the United States alone by year's end, Late Registration was considered by industry observers as the sole majorly successful album release of the fall of 2005, a season that was plagued by steadily declining CD sales. The sophomore album earned eight Grammy Award nominations including Album of the Year and Record of the Year for the song "Gold Digger". The album is certified triple platinum.

On August 22, 2005, the MTV special All Eyes On Kanye West aired, in which West spoke out against homophobia in hip-hop. He claimed that hip-hop has always been about "speaking your mind and about breaking down barriers, but everyone in hip-hop discriminates against gay people." He then reflected on a personal experience. He said that he had a "turning point" when he realized one of his cousins was gay. He said regarding this experience: "This is my cousin. I love him and I've been discriminating against gays." He drew comparison between African Americans' struggle for civil rights and today's gay rights movement. The following year, in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, West further expounded his experiences with and views on the relationship between the black and gay communities.

In September 2005, West announced that he would release his Pastelle Clothing line in spring 2006: "Now that I have a Grammy under my belt and Late Registration is finished, I am ready to launch my clothing line next spring." The current status of this project is unknown. In that year, West produced the hit singles "Go" by Common and "Dreams" by The Game.

Graduation (2007)

.]] In 2007, it was announced that West would be starring in a series directed by Larry Charles. He has been working on the pilot episode for the past two years with Larry Charles and Rick Rubin. He also had this to say on January 14: "I wouldn't do something as cliché as a reality show. At least give me the credit for being more creative than that. It's a situational half-hour comedy. It's fictional, and loosely based on my life. " West also collaborated with Japanese hip-hop group Teriyaki Boyz to produce the single "I Still Love H.E.R.," a reference to Common's 1994 single "I Used to Love H.E.R.". Further to this, during a radio appearance in early 2007, West, like many of his peers, recorded an impromptu freestyle to the popular song "Throw Some D's." The song that to all other rappers was about automobile rims, was used by West to comically refer to D-cup breasts. Because of the unexpected success of the song, West went on to make a video for the freestyle, in which he is seen playing his 'Old Ass Cousin'.

West was also featured in a new song called "Classic (Better Than I've Ever Been)". It was believed to be a single for, Graduation, because he is featured on the track, but Nike quickly explained that it was for the Nike Air Force 1's anniversary. It was meant only to be an exclusive track for the company.

On March 25, 2007, he and his father Ray West supported World Water Day by having a "Walk for Water" rally. After a two-year break, West has returned to being a fashion columnist in lifestyle magazine Complex. On July 7, 2007, West performed with The Police and John Mayer at the American leg of Live Earth. West hosted the August 17 edition of British comedy- variety show The Friday Night Project.

In July 2007, West changed the release date of Graduation, his third album, from September 18, 2007, to the same release date as 50 Cent's album Curtis, September 11, 2007. 50 Cent later claimed that if Graduation were to sell more records than Curtis, he would stop releasing solo albums. However, 50 Cent would later dispel his comments. The album has been certified double platinum. Guest appearances included T-Pain, Mos Def, and Lil Wayne.

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On August 26, 2007, West appeared as himself on the HBO television show Entourage which he used as a platform to premier his new single "Good Life" during the end credits. On September 9, 2007, West performed at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, losing in every category he was nominated for; he gave an angry speech immediately afterward. (see "Controversies" section)

Following the MTV stint, West was nominated in eight Grammy Award categories for the 50th annual Grammy Awards. He won four of them, including Best Rap Album for Graduation and Best Rap Solo Performance for "Stronger" from Graduation. During the four-hour televised Grammy Awards ceremony, West also performed two songs: "Stronger" (with Daft Punk) and "Hey Mama" (in honor of his recently deceased mother).

Glow in the Dark Tour, 808s & Heartbreak (2008–09)

in Chicago]]

West kicked off the Glow In The Dark Tour in Seattle at the Key Arena on April 16. The tour was originally scheduled to end in June in Cincinnati but was extended into August. Over the course of the tour West was joined by a varying group of opening acts, including Lupe Fiasco, Rihanna, N.E.R.D., DJ Craze, and Gnarls Barkley. On June 15, West was scheduled to perform a late night set at the Bonnaroo Music Festival. His performance started almost two hours late and ran for half of its alloted time, angering many fans in the audience. West later wrote an outraged entry on his blog, blaming the festival organizers as well as Pearl Jam's preceding set, which ran longer than expected.

On September 7, West debuted a new song "Love Lockdown" at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. "Love Lockdown" features no rapping and only singing using an auto-tune device. This song appears on West's fourth studio album, 808s & Heartbreak. The new album was expected to be released on December 16, but West announced on his blog on September 24, 2008, that he had finished the album and would be releasing it sometime in November, earlier than previously scheduled. In early October, West made a surprise appearance at a T.I. concert in Los Angeles, where he stated that 808s & Heartbreak was scheduled to be released on November 25, though it was actually released on the 24th, and that the second single is "Heartless". The album was another number one album for West, even though the first week numbers fell well short of Graduation with 450,145 sold.

Along with Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Leona Lewis, and others, West performed at the American Music Awards ceremony on November 23. That same night he won two AMA awards, including Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album for Graduation and Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Male Artist. West performed at the Democratic National Convention in Denver in August 2008, along with Wyclef Jean and N.E.R.D. in support of Barack Obama. On January 20, 2009, Kanye West performed at the Youth Inaugural Ball hosted by MTV for Obama's inauguration.

On February 17, 2009, West was named one of Top 10 Most Stylish Men in America by GQ. The next day, February 18, 2009, West won International Male Solo Artist at The Brit Awards 2009. West was not in attendance but accepted his award with a video speech, saying "Barack is the 'Best Interracial Male' but I'm proud to be the Best International Male in the world.

In April 2009, Kanye West recorded a song called "Hurricane" with 30 Seconds to Mars to appear on their album This Is War, but was not released due to legal issues with both record companies. The song was eventually released on the deluxe version of This Is War, titled "Hurricane 2.0".

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, Watch the Throne (2010–present)

In May 2010, West made an animated television guest appearance on Fox's animated television series The Cleveland Show (a spin-off of Family Guy) as the voice behind "Kenny West", a rival of Cleveland Brown's son. In his first episode he performed in a rap battle with Cleveland's son. The producers stated working with West was a very good experience and a reason they chose him was because they knew he was a fan of Family Guy. Kenny West re-appeared in the season 2 premiere of The Cleveland Show.

West spent the first half of 2010 in Honolulu, Hawaii, working on his new album with the working title "Good Ass Job", later named My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy, released on November 22, 2010. West has cited Maya Angelou, Gil Scott-Heron and Nina Simone as his musical inspirations for this album. Outside production is said to come from RZA, Q-Tip, Pete Rock, and DJ Premier. West also had Justin Vernon flown into his studio on Oahu after seemingly expressing interest in sampling one of Bon Iver's songs; Vernon proceeded to feature on a number of new tracks, including "Lost In The World," which features Vernon's vocal line from Woods.

On May 28, the Dwele-assisted first single from the album, entitled "Power", leaked to the Internet. On June 30, the track was officially released via iTunes. The upcoming music video was quoted as being "apocalyptic, in a very personal way" by the director Marco Brambilla.

On September 12, 2010, West performed a new song, "Runaway" featuring Pusha T, at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards. Shortly after the performance, Kanye revealed he was working on a 35 minute short film based around the song. The movie is said to be influenced by film noir and concerns a fallen phoenix whom Kanye falls in love with. The short film debuted consecutively on VH1, MTV, and BET on October 23, 2010.

Watch The Throne, an upcoming collaborative studio album by West and Jay-Z, is scheduled to be released by Def Jam Recordings in 2011. It has been under production since August 2010 as part of West's GOOD Friday initiative of releasing new songs every Friday between August 20 and Christmas 2010. West said through a recent interview with MTV that the album is "going to be very dark and sexy, like couture hip hop. He appeared at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, performing the track "Lost in the World" from My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. On January 6, 2011, Kanye announced via Twitter that the first official single from Watch the Throne would be a song called "H.A.M" produced by Lex Luger. The song was released on January 11, 2011.

Personal life

Relationships

Kanye West and designer Alexis Phifer ended their 18-month engagement in 2008. The couple had been dating on and off since 2002, with West eventually proposing in August 2006. According to a friend, the couple's relationship had been straining, significantly influenced by the sheer amount of time and attention West was dedicating to his current concert tour. "It's always sad when things like this end, and we remain friends," Phifer told People.

West was also in a high profile on/off relationship with Amber Rose from 2008 until the summer of 2010.

Mother's death

On November 10, 2007, West's mother, Donda West, died of complications from cosmetic surgery involving abdominoplasty and breast augmentation. TMZ reported that Beverly Hills physician Andre Aboolian had advised Donda West not to have surgery because of a health condition that placed her at risk for a heart attack. He had previously been under scrutiny by the medical board. Adams appeared on Larry King Live on November 20, 2007 but left before speaking. Two days later, he appeared again, with his attorney, stating he was there to "defend himself." He said that the recently released autopsy results "spoke for themselves". The final coroner's report January 10, 2008 concluded that Donda West died of "coronary artery disease and multiple post-operative factors due to or as a consequence of liposuction and mammoplasty."

The funeral and burial for Donda West was held in Oklahoma City on November 20, 2007. West held his first concert following the funeral at The O2 in London on November 22. He dedicated a performance of "Hey Mama", as well as a cover of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'", to his mother, and did so on all other dates of his Glow in the Dark tour.

At a December 2008 press conference in New Zealand, West spoke about his mother's death for the first time. "It was like losing an arm and a leg and trying to walk through that," he told reporters.

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger passed the "Donda West Law," a legislation which makes it mandatory for patients to provide medical clearance for elective cosmetic surgery.

Musical style and influences

(left)]] At the start of his career, Kanye West's production style often used pitched-up vocal samples, usually from soul songs, with his own drums and instruments. His first major release featuring his trademark vocal sampling style was "This Can't Be Life", a track from Jay-Z’s . West said he sped up the drum beat of Dr. Dre's "Xxplosive" to use as a replacement for his drums on "This Can't Be Life". and has said on numerous occasions that Wu-Tang rappers Ghostface Killah and Ol' Dirty Bastard were some of his all-time favorites, "Wu-Tang? Me and my friends talk about this all the time... We think Wu-Tang had one of the biggest impacts as far as a movement. From slang to style of dress, skits, the samples. Similar to the [production] style I use, RZA has been doing that." RZA himself has spoken quite positively of the comparisons, stating in an interview for Rolling Stone, "All good. I got super respect for Kanye. He came up to me about a year or two ago. He gave me mad praising and blessings... For people to say Wu-Tang inspire Kanye, Kanye is one of the biggest artists in the world. That goes back to what we say: 'Wu-Tang is forever.' Kanye is going to inspire people to be like him."

While his use of sampling has lessened over time, West's production continues to feature distinctive and intricate string arrangements. This characteristic arose from him listening to the English trip hop group Portishead, whose 1998 live album Roseland NYC Live, with the New York Philharmonic Orchestra inspired him to incorporate string sections into his hip hop production. Though he was unable to afford live instruments beyond violin riffs provided by Israeli violinist Miri Ben-Ari around the time of his debut album, its subsequent commercial success allowed him to hire his very own eleven-piece string orchestra. For a time, West stood as the sole current pop star to tour with a string section. Both a fan and supporter of indie culture, West uses his official website to promote obscure indie rock bands, posting up music videos and mp3s on a daily basis. This musical affinity is mutual, as West has collaborated with indie artists such as Santigold, Peter Bjorn and John and Lykke Li while his songs have gone on to be covered countless times by myriad rock bands.

Other ventures

Business ventures

In August 2008, West revealed plans to open 10 Fatburger restaurants in the Chicago area; the first was set to open in September 2008 in Orland Park. The second followed in January 2009, while a third location is yet to be revealed, although the process is being finalized. His company, KW Foods LLC, bought the rights to the chain in Chicago. Additionally, West planned to launch his fashion career, and applied for internships with major European fashion houses. He is due to release his own clothing line called Past Tell in 2009. He also collaborated with Nike to release his own shoe, Air Yeezys.

On January 22, 2009, during Paris Fashion Week, West introduced his first shoe line designed for Louis Vuitton. The line was released in summer 2009.

Philanthropy

West started the "Kanye West Foundation" in Chicago in 2003. On August 24, 2007, West hosted the inaugural benefit concert to launch the foundation's partnership with Strong American Schools. It is focused on helping Latino and African American children stay in school and to get a proper education through grade school, high school, and college. The foundation also helps children to stay in high school by finding a path through music. West has contributed over $500,000 to his foundation. The foundation has also been called the "Donda West Foundation".

Kanye West has appeared and participated in many fundraisers, benefit concerts, and has done community work for Hurricane Katrina relief, the Kanye West Foundation, the Millions More Movement, 100 Black Men of America, a Live Earth concert benefit, World Water Day rally and march, Nike runs, and a MTV special helping young Iraq War veterans who struggle through debt and PTSD a second chance after returning home.

Controversies

Media

West has had several controversies throughout his career. On September 2, 2005, during a benefit concert for Hurricane Katrina relief on NBC, A Concert for Hurricane Relief, West was a featured speaker. When West was presenting alongside actor Mike Myers, he deviated from the prepared script. Myers spoke next and continued to read the script. Once it was West's turn to speak again, he said "George Bush doesn't care about black people." At this point, telethon producer Rick Kaplan cut off the microphone and then cut away to Chris Tucker, who was unaware of the cut for a few seconds. Still, West's comment reached much of the United States. Bush stated in an interview that the comment was "one of the most disgusting moments” of his presidency.

In January 2006, West again sparked controversy when he appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone in the image of Jesus wearing a crown of thorns.

Award shows

Later in 2006, West had his first of a number of incidents involving music award events. After the 2006 Grammy nominations were released, West said he would "really have a problem" if he did not win the Album of the Year, saying, "I don't care what I do, I don't care how much I stunt — you can never take away from the amount of work I put into it. I don't want to hear all of that politically correct stuff." On November 2, 2006, when his "Touch the Sky" failed to win Best Video at the MTV Europe Music Awards, West went onto the stage as the award was being presented to Justice and Simian for "We Are Your Friends" and argued that he should have won the award instead. Hundreds of news outlets worldwide criticized the outburst. On November 7, 2006, West apologized for this outburst publicly during his performance as support act for U2 for their Vertigo concert in Brisbane. He later spoofed the incident in the season premiere of Saturday Night Live. On September 9, 2007, West suggested that his race had to do with his being overlooked for opening the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards (VMAs) in favor of Britney Spears; he claimed, "Maybe my skin’s not right." West was performing at the event; that night, he lost all 5 awards that he was nominated for, including Best Male Artist and Video of the Year. After the show, he was visibly upset that he had lost at the VMAs two years in a row, stating that he would not come back to MTV ever again. He also appeared on several radio stations saying that when he made the song "Stronger" that it was his dream to open the VMAs with it. He has also stated that Spears hasn't had a hit in a long period of time and that MTV exploited her for ratings.

On September 13, 2009, during the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards while Taylor Swift was accepting her award for Best Female Video for "You Belong with Me", West went on stage and grabbed the microphone to proclaim that Beyoncé's video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", nominated for the same award, was "one of the best videos of all time". He was subsequently removed from the remainder of the show for his actions. When Beyoncé later won the award for Best Video of the Year for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", she called Swift up on stage so that she could finish her acceptance speech. and by President Barack Obama, who called West a "jackass" in an off the record comment. In addition, West's VMA disruption sparked a large influx of Internet photo memes with blogs, forums and "tweets" with the "Let you finish" photo-jokes. He posted two apologies for the outburst on his personal blog; one on the night of the incident and the other the same day he appeared on The Jay Leno Show, on September 14, 2009, where he apologized again. After Swift appeared on The View two days after the outburst, partly to discuss the matter, West called her to apologize personally. Swift said she accepted his apology. In September 2010, West wrote a series of apologetic tweets addressed to Swift including "Beyonce didn't need that. MTV didn't need that and Taylor and her family friends and fans definitely didn't want or need that" and concluding with "I'm sorry Taylor." West also revealed he had written a song for Swift and if she didn't accept the song, he would perform it himself.

Legal issues

In December 2006, Robert "Evel" Knievel sued West for trademark infringement in West's video for "Touch the Sky." Knievel took issue with a "sexually-charged video" in which West takes on the persona of "Evel Kanyevel" and attempts flying a rocket over a canyon. The suit filed in federal court claims infringement on his trademarked name and likeness. Knievel also claims the "vulgar and offensive" images depicted in the video damage his reputation. The suit seeks damages and to stop distribution of the video. West's attorneys argued that the music video amounted to satire and therefore was covered under the First Amendment. Just days before his death in November 2007, Knievel amicably settled the suit after being paid a visit from West, saying, "I thought he was a wonderful guy and quite a gentleman."

On September 11, 2008, West and his road manager/bodyguard Don Crowley were arrested at Los Angeles International Airport and booked on charges of felony vandalism after an altercation with the paparazzi in which West and Crowley broke the photographers' cameras. West was later released from the Los Angeles Police Department's Pacific Division station in Culver City on $20,000 bail bond. On September 26, 2008 the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said it would not file felony counts against West over the incident. Instead the case file was forwarded to the city attorney's office, which charged West with one count of misdemeanor vandalism, one count of grand theft and one count of battery and his manager with three counts of each on March 18, 2009. West's and Crowley's arraignment was delayed from an original date of April 14, 2009. West was arrested again on November 14, 2008 at a hotel near Gateshead after another scuffle involving a photographer outside a nightclub in Newcastle Upon Tyne. He was later released "with no further action", according to a police spokesperson.

Discography

; Studio albums

The College Dropout (2004)

Late Registration (2005)

Graduation (2007)

808s & Heartbreak (2008)

My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy (2010)

; Live albums

''Late Orchestration (2006)

(2010)

; Collaboration albums Watch The Throne (2011) (with Jay-Z)

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Kanye West at Beatbuggy

Category:1977 births Category:1990s singers Category:2000s rappers Category:2010s rappers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:African American rappers Category:African American singers Category:American bloggers Category:American hip hop record producers Category:American music video directors Category:American pop musicians Category:American record producers Category:Songwriters from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:BRIT Award winners Category:Chicago State University alumni Category:Electro-hop musicians Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Hip hop musicians Category:Hip hop singers Category:Living people Category:Mercury Records artists Category:People from Atlanta, Georgia Category:Rappers from Chicago, Illinois Category:Roc-A-Fella Records artists Category:World Music Awards winners

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:

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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	Jesse McCartney
Alias	JMac
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Jesse Abraham Arthur McCartney
Born	April 09, 1987Ardsley, New York,United States
Genre	Pop, R&B;, pop rock, dance-pop
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, actor, voice actor
Years active	1998–present
Label	Hollywood
Associated acts	Dream Street, Blink-182, Backstreet Boys, Haylie Duff, Hilary Duff
Url	Official website

Jesse Abraham Arthur McCartney (born April 9, 1987) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and voice actor. McCartney rose to fame in the early 2000s as member of the boy band Dream Street. He branched into a solo career, having appeared in the television series Summerland and as a recurring character in the ABC Family series Greek.

Early life

McCartney was born to Ginger and Scot McCartney. He began performing in local community musicals at the age of nine, before joining the national tour of The King and I at age ten along with Phil of the Future star Ricky Ullman.

Music career

1999–2002: Musical Beginnings with Dream Street

In 1999, McCartney joined the American pop boy band Dream Street, and was a member until 2002. Jesse McCartney has described the experience as a good "stepping stone" for his solo career. The group earned a gold record with their debut CD, and broke up while touring with Aaron Carter. At fifteen, he began work on a solo career with a local band, featuring musicians Dillon Kondor (guitar), Peter Chema (bass), Katie Spencer (keyboards), Alex Russeku (drums), Karina LaGravinese (background vocals), Sharisse Francisco (background vocals), and under the management of Ginger McCartney and Sherry Goffin Kondor, who co-produced his first album, Beautiful Soul.

McCartney released his first solo EP in July 2004. The album featured two songs: "Beautiful Soul", "Why Don't You Kiss Her". In 2004, he performed a duet with Anne Hathaway, "Don't Go Breaking My Heart", which is featured on the Ella Enchanted soundtrack.

2004–06: Beautiful Soul & Right Where You Want Me

performance, June 24, 2005]]

McCartney's debut solo album, Beautiful Soul, which was two years in the making, was released on September 28, 2004 in the United States and over a year later in Europe. He categorized it as a "pop record" with twists of urban. The album featured four songs that he co-wrote. Beautiful Soul reached number 15 on the Billboard 200. The album has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, denoting over one million units of shipment to US retailers; it is his highest-certified album as of early 2009. As of mid-2006, the album had sold more than 1.5 million copies. McCartney was one of the artist with multiple awards at the 2005 Teen Choice Awards, winning Choice Crossover Artist, Choice Male Artist and Choice Breakout, Male. The following year, he won Favorite Male Singer at the Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards. Right Where You Want Me is more mature than his debut, reflecting his musical and personal growth since he recorded his debut album at age 15. McCartney recorded his own version, which was released on some editions of his Departure album.

on February 15, 2009]]

McCartney released his third album, Departure, on May 20, 2008 in the United States and Canada. Musically, it is a departure from his early works, showing mature themes. The album has reached number 14 on the Billboard 200.

McCartney re-released Departure on April 7, 2009. The re-release, Departure: Recharged, featured four new songs: "Body Language", "Oxygen", "Crash & Burn" and "In My Veins". The re-release also features a remix of "How Do You Sleep?" with rapper-actor Ludacris. The third single from the album was released from the re-release and was the remix of "How Do You Sleep?". It was much more successful than the second single, reaching #26 on the Hot 100, The fourth and final single from the album was also released from the re-release and was a new version of "Body Language" featuring T-Pain. The single peaked at #10 on the Billboard Dance/Club Songs in its 13th week and rose up. and debuted at #90 on the Billboard Hot 100. After 3 release date changes, most previous being December 28, 2010, 'Have It All' will now be released in early 2011. On December 3, McCartney said in an interview with Crash from Kiss 95.1, "I’ve been in the studio for the last three or four weeks and came up with some stuff that people are kind of excited about, so we're gonna hold off and wait till the new year and hopefully give the fans some extra material since they have to wait".

Other ventures

Acting career

McCartney appeared with The Who's Roger Daltrey in A Christmas Carol at Madison Square Garden. From 1998–2001, McCartney played Adam Chandler, Jr. in the ABC soap opera All My Children, a role for which he earned a Daytime Emmy nomination. He also later starred in the short-lived series Summerland, which aired on The WB Television Network|WB network for two seasons.

premiere of Beware the Gonzo.]] In 2005, McCartney appeared as himself in the Disney Channel show, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. In 2006, McCartney was also featured as the voice of Roxas in the Disney/Square Enix video game Kingdom Hearts II. In 2007, he starred as himself in the Disney Channel show, Hannah Montana. In 2008, McCartney resumed his voice acting role of the Kingdom Hearts II character Roxas in Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days. In 2008, McCartney was also featured as the voice of Horton Hears A Who!'s JoJo McDodd. McCartney also voiced Theodore in the 2007 film Alvin and the Chipmunks and the 2009 film , in addition to voicing Terence in the 2008 film Tinker Bell.

In 2008, McCartney co-starred along with Elisabeth Harnois in an independent teenage drama feature film, Keith, directed by Todd Kessler. It is his movie debut, and features McCartney in the title role. Keith was released on September 19, 2008.

According to Entertainment Weekly in December 2008, McCartney was negotiating to play against type in the role of the Fire Nation's Prince Zuko in M. Night Shyamalan's feature film adaptation of . In February 2009, British actor Dev Patel replaced McCartney, whose tour dates conflicted with a boot camp scheduled for the cast to train in martial arts. McCartney has expressed an interest in directing and producing films and even considered enrolling in a film school.

McCartney appeared as a recurring character in the ABC Family series Greek for several episodes playing a star football talent who joins the fraternity of the starring character Rusty. His character eventually decided to depledge the fraternity after he cited pressures between football and Greek life combined with Rusty stealing away his girlfriend Jordan at the time.

McCartney has provided the voice work for Ventus, a character in the video game . He will also be voicing Robin in the upcoming Young Justice series.

Philanthropy

In 2005, McCartney participated in "Come Together Now", a charity single to benefit the victims of the 2004 Asian Tsunami and the 2005 Hurricane Katrina.

Later in 2005, McCartney signed on as an official supporter of Little Kids Rock, a nonprofit organization that provides free musical instruments and instruction to children in underserved public schools throughout the U.S.A. He sits on LKR's Honorary Board of Directors.

He has donated proceeds of his 2005 tour for disaster relief, recorded radio spots promoting the "Kids For A Drug-Free America" campaign, is a spokesperson for the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and is involved in the charity SPACE, which was co-founded by a childhood friend of his mother's. McCartney performed at the Hope Rocks concert in 2005 to benefit City of Hope Cancer Center. He appeared in the Concert for Hope October 25, 2009 with fellow Disney stars Miley Cyrus and Demi Lovato.

Filmography

Films

{| class="wikitable sortable" ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 2001 | The Pirates of Central Park | Simon Baskin | |- | 2001 | Dream Street Live | Himself | Concert Film |- | 2002 | The Biggest Fan | Himself | |- | 2005 | Pizza | Justin | |- | 2005 | Jesse McCartney Up Close | Himself | Documentary Film |- | 2005 | | Himself | Concert Film |- | 2007 | Alvin and the Chipmunks | Theodore | Voice |- | 2008 | Horton Hears a Who! | JoJo | Voice |- | 2008 | | Lucky | Voice |- | 2008 | Keith | Keith Zetterstrom | |- | 2008 | Tinker Bell | Terence | Voice |- | 2009 | Tinker Bell and the Lost Treasure | Terence | Voice |- | 2009 | | Theodore | Voice |- | 2010 | Beware the Gonzo | Gavin Reilly | |- | 2010 | Tinker Bell and the Great Fairy Rescue | Terence | Voice |- | 2011 | The Clockwork Girl | Huxley | Voice |- | 2011 | Tinker Bell and the Mysterious Winter Woods | Terence | Voice |- | 2011 | Alvin and the Chipmunks 3D | Theodore | Voice |}

Television

{| class="wikitable sortable" ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1998–1999 | All My Children | JR Chandler | Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Daytime Series by a Young ActorYoung Artist Award for Best Performance in a Daytime Series by a Supporting Young ActorNominated — Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Child ActorNominated — Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series (2001, 2002)Nominated — Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a Soap Opera by a Young Actor |- | 2000 | Law & Order | Danny Driscoll | "Thin Ice" (Season 11, episode 8) |- | 2002 | The Strange Legacy of Cameron Cruz | Cameron Cruz | |- | 2004 | What I Like About You | Himself | "" (Season 3, 3) |- | 2004–2005 | Summerland | Bradin Westerly | Nominated — Teen Choice Award for Choice TV Actor: Drama |- | 2005 | The Suite Life of Zack & Cody | Himself | "Rock Star in the House" (Season 1, episode 17) |- | 2005 | Punk'd | Himself | 2 episodes |- | 2006 | Celebrity Duets | Himself | Musical Performer |- | 2006 | Schooled | Himself | Musical Performer |- | 2006 | All My Children | Himself | Musical Performer |- | 2007 | Hannah Montana | Himself | "When You Wish You Were the Star" (Season 2, episode 12) |- | 2008 | | Himself | "The Gilyeat Family" (Season 5, episode 16) |- | 2008 | Dance on Sunset | Himself | Musical performer |- | 2008 | Dancing with the Stars | Himself | Musical Performer |- | 2008 | | Max Matarazzo | "" (Season 10, episode 6) |- | 2008 | New Year's Rocking Eve | Himself | Musical Performer |- | 2009 | Greek | Andy | "Take Me Home, Cyprus Rhodes" (Season 2, episode 11)"From Rushing with Love" (Season 2, episode 12)"Engendered Species" (Season 2, episode 13)"Big Littles and Jumbo Shrimp" (Season 2, episode 14)"Evasive Actions" (Season 2, episode 15)"Guilty Treasures" (Season 2, episode 17) |- | 2010 | An Evening of Stars: Tribute to Lionel Ritchie | Himself | Musical Performer |- | 2010–present | ''Young Justice | Robin / Dick Grayson | Voice |}

Video Games

{| class="wikitable sortable" ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 2006 |Kingdom Hearts II | Roxas | |- | 2008 | | Frank Hardy | |- | 2009 |Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days | Roxas | |- | 2010 |Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep | Ventus / Roxas | |- | 2011 | | Data Roxas | |}

Discography

Beautiful Soul (2004)

Right Where You Want Me (2006)

Departure (2008)

Have It All (2011)

Tours

2004/2005: Beautiful Soul Tour

2005:

2006/2007: Right Where You Want Me Tour

2008: Departure Mini-Tour

2008: Jesse & Jordin LIVE Tour

2009: Headlining Tour

2009:

Awards and nominations

1998: Nomination: Grammy Award for Best Children's Album (for How Sweet It Is as part of the Sugar Beats)

2001: Nomination: Soap Opera Digest Award - Outstanding Child Actor

2001: Nomination: Daytime Emmy - Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series

2002: Won: Young Artist Award - Best performance in a Daytime TV Series - Young Actor

2002: Nomination: Daytime Emmy - Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series

2005: Won: Teen Choice Awards - Choice Male Artist

2005: Won: Teen Choice Awards - Choice Breakout Artist - Male

2005: Won: Teen Choice Awards - Choice Crossover Artist

2005: Nomination: MTV Video Music Awards - Best Pop Video for "Beautiful Soul"

2005: Won: Radio Disney Music Awards - Best Song to Put on Repeat

2005: Nomination: American Music Awards - Best New Artist

2005: Won: Radio Disney Music Awards - Best Karaoke Song

2005: Won: Radio Disney Music Awards - Best Male Singer

2006: Won: Kids Choice Awards Award - Favorite Male Singer

2006: Won: TRL Awards Italy - Best "Tear" Award

2007: Nomination: Kids Choice Awards Award Italy - Best International Artist

2007: Nomination: TRL Awards Italy - Best Male Singer

2007: Nomination: TRL Awards Italy - Best Video for "Just So You Know"

2007: Nomination: Kids Choice Awards Award - Favorite Male Singer

2007: Won: Radio Disney Music Awards - Best Male Singer

2008: Nomination: TRL Awards Italy - Man of the Year

2008: Nomination: Teen Choice Awards - Choice Male Artist

2008: Nomination: Teen Choice Awards - Choice Most Fanatic Fans

2008: Nomination: Teen Choice Awards - Choice Summer Song (Leavin')

2009: Won: Kids Choice Awards - Best Male Singer

2009: Nomination: Teen Choice Awards - Choice Love Song (How Do You Sleep?)

2009: Won: 26th Annual ASCAP Pop Music Award - Song of the Year (Songwriter for Leona Lewis' "Bleeding Love")

2010: Won: Kids Choice Awards - Best Movie (Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel)

2010: Won: Giofonni Award - Giofonni Film Festiville

References

External links

Category:1987 births Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:American child actors Category:American child singers Category:American film actors Category:Actors from New York Category:American male singers Category:American pop singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American soap opera actors Category:American television actors Category:American video game actors Category:American voice actors Category:Dream Street members Category:Hollywood Records artists Category:Living people Category:Musicians from New York Category:People from Westchester County, New York

Name	Hilary Duff
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Hilary Erhard Duff
Born	September 28, 1987Houston, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, singer, fashion model, songwriter, fashion designer, film producer, spokesperson, author
Genre	Pop, pop rock, dance
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	1997–present
Label	Buena Vista, Hollywood
Url

Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress and singer. After working in local theater plays and television commercials in her childhood, Duff gained fame for playing the title role in the Disney Channel television series Lizzie McGuire. She subsequently ventured into motion pictures and has many successful films to her credit including The Lizzie McGuire Movie, Cheaper by the Dozen, A Cinderella Story and Cheaper by the Dozen 2. She has most recently appeared in According to Greta and Stay Cool. As of December 2010, her upcoming films include, Bloodworth, The Story of Bonnie and Clyde and She Wants Me.

Duff has since expanded her repertoire into pop music with the release of three RIAA-certified platinum albums: Metamorphosis, her debut studio album, was certified triple platinum and was supplemented by a further two platinum albums, Hilary Duff and Most Wanted. In 2007, she released her third studio album, Dignity, which was certified gold later than year and spawned singles "With Love" — her highest charting US single to date — and "Stranger". Best of Hilary Duff, a compilation of her greatest hits, was released in the last quarter of 2008 producing her a third #1 on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs with the single "Reach Out". Duff has sold over thirteen million records worldwide; her contributions to the music industry have gained her commercial and critical success worldwide while Billboard ranked her the 69th Artist of the 2000s decade.

Branching into the fashion industry, Duff has also launched her own clothing lines, Stuff by Hilary Duff and Femme for DKNY Jeans, and two exclusive perfume collections with Elizabeth Arden as well as having been signed on to modelling agency IMG Models. Other business ventures include writing a young adult novel Elixir and being accredited as an executive producer for According to Greta and a producer for the films Material Girls and Beauty & the Briefcase.

Early life

Duff was born in Houston, Texas as the second of two daughters of Susan Colleen (née Cobb), a homemaker, and Robert Erhard Duff, a partner in a chain of convenience stores. She has an elder sister, Haylie Duff, who is also an actress/singer. Duff's mother encouraged Hilary to take up acting classes alongside her elder sister, which resulted in both girls winning roles in various local theatre productions. At the ages of eight and six, respectively, the Duff sisters participated in the ballet, The Nutcracker Suite with Columbus BalletMet in San Antonio.

Career

1997–99: Career beginnings

Duff's early career was marked by playing minor roles, starting off with an uncredited appearance in Hallmark Entertainment's western miniseries True Women in 1997. She also served as an uncredited extra, in writer-director Willard Carroll's ensemble dramedy Playing by Heart in 1998. Her first major role was as a star of the 1998 film Casper Meets Wendy, a direct-to-video sequel to in which she plays the young witch Wendy, who befriends the animated character Casper. The film was released to mostly unenthusiastic reviews.

In 1999, Duff appeared in a supporting role in the television film The Soul Collector, which was based on a Kathleen Kane novel. Duff won a Young Artist Award for "Best Performance in a TV Movie or Pilot (Supporting Young Actress)" for her role in the movie.

2000–03: Lizzie McGuire, rise to fame and Metamorphosis

Duff first rose to fame when she was cast as one of the children in the pilot episode of the NBC sitcom Daddio in 2000. Her co-star, Michael Chiklis, stated, "After working with her the first day, I remember saying to my wife, 'this young girl is going to be a movie star'. She was completely at ease with herself and comfortable in her own skin." with critic Richard Huff of the New York Daily News calling her "a 2002 version of Annette Funicello". Duff also starred in the Disney Channel television film Cadet Kelly (2002), which became the network's most watched program in its 19-year history. The film, written by Charlie Kaufman and directed by Michel Gondry, follows a female naturalist, played by Patricia Arquette. Duff played the younger version of Arquette's character. The same year, Duff recorded a cover version of Brooke McClymont's "I Can't Wait" for the Lizzie McGuire soundtrack, and "The Tiki Tiki Tiki Room" for the first DisneyMania compilation album. Her first album was Santa Claus Lane (2002), a collection of Christmas songs that included duets with her sister Haylie, Lil' Romeo, and Christina Milian. Accompanied by the Disney Channel-only single "Tell Me a Story (About the Night Before)", it peaked at 154 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart and was certified gold.

In 2003, Duff received her first major role in a feature film when she was cast alongside Frankie Muniz in Agent Cody Banks. The film received positive reviews and was successful enough to spawn a sequel, in which Duff did not participate. The same year, Duff reprised her role as Lizzie McGuire for The Lizzie McGuire Movie. It received mixed reviews, with certain critics calling it "an unabashed promotion of Duff’s image, just as Crossroads was for Britney Spears". Later that year, Duff played one of the 12 children of Steve Martin and Bonnie Hunt in the family film Cheaper by the Dozen, which remains her highest grossing film to date. She reprised her role in the sequel Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005), which failed to be as successful as the original film and was panned by critics.

Duff's first studio album, Metamorphosis (2003), reached number one on the U.S. and Canadian charts and had sold over 3.7 million copies by May 2005. The lead single, "So Yesterday" (co-written and produced by The Matrix), was a top ten hit in several countries; its follow-up was the theme song "Come Clean". The third single, "Little Voice", was not released in the U.S. and was a minor hit in Australia. In late 2003, Duff embarked on her first concert tour, the Metamorphosis Tour, and later the Most Wanted Tour. Most shows scheduled in the major cities were sold out.

Duff also made several guest appearances in television shows, her first as a sick child in the medical drama Chicago Hope in March 2000. In a 2003 episode of George Lopez, she had a role as a makeup salesperson; she later reappeared in the show in 2005 as Kenzie, a feminist poet friend of the character Carmen (Masiela Lusha). In the same year, she acted opposite her sister Haylie in American Dreams, while in 2005, she played a classmate and idolizer of the title character of Joan of Arcadia.

2004–06: Hilary Duff, A Cinderella Story and Most Wanted

, before her annual concert for military families.]]

Duff's second studio album was the self-titled Hilary Duff, for which she co-wrote some songs. It was released on her seventeenth birthday (in September 2004) and debuted at #2 in the U.S. and at #1 in Canada. The album sold over 1.5 million copies in the U.S. in eight months with its only US single, "Fly". and critics were impressed by Duff's performance. Later that year, she starred in the film Raise Your Voice, her first role in a drama film. While some critics praised Duff for appearing in a more mature and serious role than her previous films, the film itself was heavily panned. Several reviews were indifferent towards her acting performance and were critical of Duff's vocals, with critics pointing out what appeared to be her digitally enhanced voice. The same year, Duff received her first Razzie nomination for worst actress for her roles in Raise Your Voice and A Cinderella Story.

In 2005, Duff starred in The Perfect Man, in which she played the eldest daughter of a divorced woman (Heather Locklear). In the same year, Duff was again nominated for a Razzie Award, for The Perfect Man and Cheaper by the Dozen 2. Later that year, the Duff sisters lent their voices to the computer animated comedy Foodfight!, which was to be distributed by Lions Gate Entertainment, but has no scheduled release date. The director of the film, Larry Kasanoff, said that he was "absolutely thrilled to have the Duff sisters as part of the cast". She also starred in the 2006 satirical comedy Material Girls, in which she co-starred with her sister Haylie Duff. Duff along with her sister Haylie, received two more nominations for Razzie Awards for their role in the film.

Duff's third album, Most Wanted (2005), comprised songs from her previous two albums, remixes and three new songs which included "Wake Up" written by Joel Madden and his brother, Benji, both members of Good Charlotte. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and became her third number one debut in Canada. It sold over two hundred thousand copies within its first week of release. An Italy-only compilation, 4Ever, was released in 2006. Duff recorded a cover version of Madonna's "Material Girl" with her sister for their movie, Material Girls.

2007–08: Dignity, Best of Hilary Duff and independent film roles

During her Still Most Wanted tour, she performed in Guadalajara, Mexico, where she filmed a brief appearance on the soap opera Rebelde. She was also the guest star on The Andy Milonakis Show for its third season premiere in 2007. In April 2008, Duff was offered the lead role of Annie Mills in the CW Network's Beverly Hills, 90210 spinoff, but she turned it down because she was more interested in looking for projects outside the teen genre.

in 2007.]] Duff co-wrote the material for her third studio album Dignity, along with Kara DioGuardi, who co-produced the album with Rhett Lawrence, Tim & Bob, and Richard Vission. Duff stated that compared to her previous music, it is "more dancey" and makes use of more real instruments. She said, "I don't know exactly how to explain what we're doing, but it's fun and funky and different, something new for me. It's really cool". Duff also starred opposite John Cusack in War, Inc. which was released in theatres in Los Angeles and Manhattan, New York on May 23, 2008.

On September 7, 2007, Duff confirmed on MuchOnDemand, that she would be filming two independent films According to Greta, and What Goes Up. In June 2008, Duff joined the cast of the Polish brothers comedy Stay Cool. She co-starred alongside Winona Ryder, Mark Polish, Sean Astin, Chevy Chase, and Jon Cryer. In the film, she portrayed the character of Shasta O'Neil, described as a sexy high school senior, the film was released in 2009.

In November 2008, Duff's second greatest hits album, Best of Hilary Duff was released and the album's first single "Reach Out" which samples Depeche Mode's "Personal Jesus" was released in the previous month, the song became Duff's third #1 dance hit. She later announced to MTV that she would begin work on her new album in December 2008.

2009–present: Television appearances and Elixir

Duff appeared in an episode of Ghost Whisperer and of in April 2009. In July 2009, She attained a role in Gossip Girl as a recurring guest star. She played the character of Olivia Burke, a movie star who enrols at NYU in search of a traditional college experience. The following year, she the "Teen Choice Award" for "Best Female's Scene Stealer" in for her role as Olivia Burke.

In September 2009, Duff released a second clothing line with DKNY Jeans as Femme for DKNY in the objective of designing a clothing line for girls her own age.

Duff starred in Beauty and the Briefcase, a romantic comedy based on the book Diary of a Working Girl, by Daniella Brodsky and directed by Gil Junger. The film premiered on ABC Family on April 18, 2010. In the film, Duff plays a fashion magazine columnist who writes about her dating struggles in the city.

Simon & Schuster published Elixir, Duff's first novel, in hardcover on October 12, 2010. Elixir is the first in a series of books that Duff is committed in scribing. The book, aimed at young adults, has since been released internationally and has become a New York Times best-seller.

In November 2010, she appeared in an episode of the television comedy series, Community; playing the part of Meghan, the leader of a group of mean girls.

As of December 2010, Duff is scheduled to appear in three upcoming films: The Story of Bonnie and Clyde, an adaptation of Bonnie and Clyde; Bloodworth, an adaptation of the novel Provinces of Night by William Gay, where Duff plays Raven Halfacre, a teenage daughter of a promiscuous, alcoholic mother; and She Wants Me, directed by Rob Margolies, in which, she plays a young Hollywood actress named Kim Powers.

Other work

Entrepreneurship

Duff launched her clothing line, "Stuff by Hilary Duff", in March 2004, with clothes distributed through Target in the United States, Kmart in Australia, Zellers in Canada, and Edgars Stores in South Africa. The company, initially started as a clothing line, has expanded its business into furniture, fragrances, and jewelry, targeted at the teen and preteen crowd. In 2007, the Internet website Stardoll.com previewed Duff's clothing line to customers by allowing them to dress up a paper doll on the website (which include Hilary Duff's own doll) with the clothes.

In February 2009, Duff and DKNY Jeans announced their new design partnership and the launch of their collaborative apparel line. Duff co-designed a collection of special pieces with DKNY Jeans brand called Femme for DKNY Jeans. The clothing line will debut in fine department and specialty stores nationwide in August 2009.

Playmates Toys released a celebrity doll of her in 2004. In late 2006, Mattel released a Hilary Duff Barbie doll. As a fashion designer, she had designed clothes for Barbie dolls in the past and with the release of her doll, she joined Reese Witherspoon, Beyoncé Knowles, and Lucille Ball who have their own celebrity dolls.

Duff and her pet dog Lola made an appearance in the Electronic Arts game , which was released on October 2006. In console versions of the game, Duff's character visits public areas and allows the players to let their Sims socialize with her and Lola. Animal rights' organization, "Animal welfare league" have criticized Duff and celebrities such as Paris Hilton and Jessica Simpson for displaying their dogs as fashion accessories rather than pets.

Philanthropy

Duff is involved with various charities, is an animal rights enthusiast and a member of Kids with a Cause. She also donated $250,000 to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina. In 2005, she donated over 2.5 million meals to Hurricane Katrina victims in the south. In August 2006, Duff traveled to a New Orleans elementary school and worked with USA Harvest to distribute meals. She has also served on the Advisory Board of the "Audrey Hepburn Child Benefit Fund" and the Celebrity Council of "Kids with a Cause". On October 8, 2008, Duff starred in a public service announcement for The Think Before You Speak Campaign by Ad Council and GLSEN, to prevent youth from using anti-LGBT vocabulary, such as the phrase "That's So Gay". In July 2009, Duff was named as a Youth Ambassador to the children of the Colombian capital, Bogota. As a Youth Ambassador, she will spend five days in the country, distributing backpacks filled with food to needy children.

Duff has stated numerous times that she’s a strong animal rights supporter and has commented, when asked what she would be doing if she weren’t a celebrity, "I always wanted to be a veterinarian when I was younger, but then I figured out that animals actually die there, so that was not the job for me. Definitely something with kids or animals or something like that."

Personal life

In a June 2006 interview with Elle magazine, Duff was quoted as saying: "...(virginity) is definitely something I like about myself. It doesn't mean I haven't thought about sex, because everyone I know has had it and you want to fit in". Duff later told MuchMusic that she did not say the quotes attributed to her in the article and that the subject was "definitely not something that I would talk about..." She denied the quotes again in a 2008 interview with Maxim magazine.

Duff began dating singer Aaron Carter in 2001. They met on the set of Lizzie McGuire, during Carter's guest appearance in a Christmas episode. The relationship lasted two years. It was reported that Carter left Duff for Lindsay Lohan, but soon broke up with Lohan and resumed dating Duff. Carter later stated that he also cheated on Duff with her best friend, and that Duff "got her heart broken" and he was "sorry" for his actions.

Duff began dating Good Charlotte singer Joel Madden in 2004. Duff and Madden broke up in November 2006. The same year, Duff's parents separated after 22 years of marriage. She wrote about the pain caused by the separation in her songs "Stranger" and "Gypsy Woman".

In 2007, Duff began dating Canadian NHL player Mike Comrie. On February 19, 2010, Duff and Comrie announced their engagement. The couple married on August 14, 2010 in Santa Barbara, California.

Filmography

Films

{| class="wikitable sortable" ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 1998 | Casper Meets Wendy | Wendy | Direct-to-video film |- | 1999 | | Ellie | Television film |- | 2001 | Human Nature | Young Lila Jute | |- | 2002 | Cadet Kelly | Kelly | Disney Channel Original Movie |- | 2003 | Agent Cody Banks | Natalie Connors | |- | 2003 | | Lizzie McGuire / Isabella Parigi | |- | 2003 | Cheaper by the Dozen | Lorraine Baker | |- | 2004 | | Samantha "Sam" Montgomery | |- | 2004 | Raise Your Voice | Teresa "Terri" Fletcher | |- | 2004 | In Search of Santa | Crystal | Voice role |- | 2005 | | Holly Hamilton | |- | 2005 | Cheaper by the Dozen 2 | Lorraine Baker | |- | 2006 | Material Girls | Tanzania "Tanzie" Marchetta | Also producer |- | 2008 | War, Inc. | Yonica Babyyeah | |- | 2009 | What Goes Up | Lucy Diamond | |- | 2009 | According to Greta | Greta | Also executive producer |- | 2010 | Beauty & the Briefcase | Lane Daniels | ABC Family Original Movie |- | 2010 | Stay Cool | Shasta O'Neil | Direct-to-video film |- | 2011 | Bloodworth | Raven Halfacre | Premiered at the 2010 Santa Barbara International Film Festival |- | 2011 | She Wants Me | Kim Powers | Filming |}

Television

{| class="wikitable sortable" |- ! Year ! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |- | 2000 | Chicago Hope | Jessie Seldon | "Cold Hearts" (Season 6, episode 17) |- | 2001–2004 | Lizzie McGuire | Lizzie McGuire | Lead role |- | 2003 | American Dreams | Shangri-Las | "Change a Comin" (Season 2, episode 8) |- | 2003 | George Lopez | Stephanie | "Team Leader" (Season 2, episode 22) |- | 2004 | Frasier | Britney | "Frasier-Lite" (Season 11, episode 12) |- | 2005 | Joan of Arcadia | Dylan Samuels | "The Rise & Fall of Joan Girardi" (Season 2, episode 14) |- | 2005 | George Lopez | Kenzie | "George's Grand Slam" (Season 4, episode 19) |- | 2006 | Rebelde | Herself | (Season 3, episode 104) |- | 2007 | | Herself | "Andy Moves to L.A." (Season 3, episode 1) |- | 2007 | | Herself | Two-part documentary on MTV |- | 2009 | Ghost Whisperer | Morgan Jeffries | "Thrilled to Death" (Season 4, episode 19) |- | 2009 | | Ashlee Walker | "Selfish" (Season 10, episode 19) |- | 2009 | Gossip Girl | Olivia Burke | "Dan de Fleurette" (Season 3, episode 4) "Enough About Eve" (Season 3, episode 6) "How to Succeed in Bassness" (Season 3, episode 7) "The Grandfather: Part II" (Season 3, Episode 8) "They Shoot Humphreys, Don't They?" (Season 3, episode 9) "The Last Days of Disco Stick" (Season 3, episode 10) |- | 2010 | Community | Meghan | "Aerodynamics of Gender" (Season 2, episode 7) |}

Discography

Santa Claus Lane (2002)

Metamorphosis (2003)

Hilary Duff (2004)

Dignity (2007)

Awards and nominations

References

Further reading

External links

Official Hollywood Records Page

Category:1987 births Category:2010s singers Category:2000s singers Category:Actors from Texas Category:American child actors Category:American child singers Category:American dance musicians Category:American female pop singers Category:American film actors Category:American novelists Category:American pop rock singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American television actors Category:American television personalities Category:American voice actors Category:American women writers Category:English-language singers Category:Hollywood Records artists Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Houston, Texas Category:People from Houston, Texas

Name	Lara Flynn Boyle
Caption	At the 1990 Emmy Awards.
Birth date	March 24, 1970
Birth place	Davenport, Iowa, U.S.
Years active	1987-present
Spouse	Donald Ray Thomas (2006-present)John Patrick Dee III (1996-1998) (divorced)

Lara Flynn Boyle (born March 24, 1970) is an American film and television actress best known for her performances as Laura Palmer's best friend Donna Hayward in Twin Peaks and Assistant District Attorney Helen Gamble in The Practice. She has had a number of movie roles from the late 1980s through the present but has found the most recognition through her roles in television series.

Biography

Early life

Boyle was born in Davenport, Iowa, the daughter of Sally Boyle, a clerical worker, assistant, and manager. Although she is of mostly Roman Catholic Irish descent, Boyle also has an Italian-American great-grandfather. She is named after a character in Boris Pasternak's novel Dr. Zhivago. She was raised in Chicago, Illinois and Wisconsin. Boyle studied at and graduated from The Chicago Academy for the Arts.

Career

Boyle's first film role was a bit part in Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986), which earned her a SAG card, though her scenes were deleted from the final cut of the film. She then appeared in the mini-series Amerika (1987) and summer blockbuster Poltergeist III (1988) opposite Nancy Allen and Tom Skerritt. Although she was cast in Dead Poets Society (1989), her scenes were deleted, before landing her first major part, that of Donna Hayward in the critically acclaimed series Twin Peaks. When the series ended in 1991, creator David Lynch produced a movie, , but, largely due to her rise in fame and increased film offers, Boyle chose not to return. Moira Kelly took over the role of Donna for the film.

Some of Boyle's most notable roles during the 1990s were:

the obsessive and accident-prone Stacy in Wayne's World (1992)

the fragile, homeless teen Heather in Where The Day Takes You (1992)

fatally obsessed psychopath secretary - Kris Bolin in The Temp (1993)

the sultry and manipulative Suzanne of Red Rock West (1993)

Alex, the promiscuous beauty in the comedy Threesome (1994)

flighty, manically repressed housewife Marianne Byron in Afterglow (1997)

In 1997, Boyle auditioned for the title role in David E. Kelley's Ally McBeal. Although she lost out to Calista Flockhart, the actress impressed Kelley enough to create the role of Assistant District Attorney Helen Gamble in his other 1997 series, The Practice, specifically for her. She starred on that show until 2003, when, in a dramatic attempt to revamp the show and cut costs, she was dismissed along with most of the cast. The role of Helen earned her an Emmy nomination, as well as several Screen Actors Guild ensemble cast nominations. Boyle also made a crossover appearance in the role of Helen in an episode of Ally McBeal, and an uncredited guest appearance on the same show in its final season.

In 2002, Boyle played a lead role in the blockbuster film Men in Black II as the villainous shapeshifting alien Serleena. She also guest-starred on one of the last episodes of Ally McBeal, this time as Tally Cupp. Recently, she had a recurring role on several episodes of Huff, playing Melody Coatar, an unstable patient with borderline personality disorder and bipolar disorder.

In 2005, Boyle joined the cast of Las Vegas for a seven-episode stint as Monica Mancuso, a new hotel owner. She played Barbara Amiel in the TV true story "Shades of Black", about Amiel's controversial husband, Lord Conrad Black. Boyle also guest-starred as an ambitious reporter involved with the suspects in a possible murder in the Law & Order 2008 episode "Submission".

Personal life

Boyle has been married twice. Her first husband was John Patrick Dee III, whom she married on August 11, 1996 and divorced two years later. Her current husband is Donald Ray Thomas II, a real-estate investor, whom she married on December 18, 2006 in San Antonio, Texas.

Boyle's home in Beverly Hills was built in the 1920s as servants' quarters for Pickfair, the former home of Mary Pickford and Douglas Fairbanks.

She is dyslexic.

Filmography

Films

{|class="wikitable" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |- | 1986 || Ferris Bueller's Day Off || Scenes deleted |- | 1988 || Poltergeist III || Donna Gardner |- |rowspan="4"| 1989 || Terror on Highway 91 || Laura Taggart || TV movie |- | How I Got Into College || Jessica Kailo |- | Dead Poets Society || Ginny Danburry || Scenes deleted |- | The Preppie Murder || Jennifer Levin || TV movie |- | 1990 || The Rookie || Sarah |- |rowspan="4"|1991 || The Dark Backward || Rosarita |- | Mobsters || Mara Motes |- | Eye of the Storm || Sandra Gladstone |- | May Wine || Cammie || TV movie |- |rowspan="3"|1992 || Where the Day Takes You || Heather |- | Wayne's World || Stacy |- | Equinox || Beverly Franks |- |rowspan="2"| 1993 || The Temp|| Kris Bolin |- | Red Rock West || Suzanne Brown/Ann McCord |- |rowspan="5"| 1994 || Threesome || Alex |- | Past Tense || Tory Bass/Sabrina James || TV movie |- | Baby's Day Out || Laraine Cotwell |- | The Road to Wellville || Ida Muntz |- | Jacob || Rachel || TV movie |- | 1995 || Cafe Society || Pat Ward |- | 1996 || The Big Squeeze || Tanya Mulhill |- |rowspan="3"| 1997 || Red Meat || Ruth |- | Farmer & Chase || Hillary |- | Afterglow || Marianne Byron |- |rowspan="3"| 1998 || Since You've Been Gone || Grace Williams || TV movie |- | Happiness || Helen Jordan |- | Susan's Plan || Betty Johnson |- | 2000 || Chain of Fools || Karen |- | 2001 || Speaking of Sex || Dr. Emily Paige |- | 2002 || Men in Black II || Serleena |- |rowspan="4"| 2006 || Land of the Blind || First Lady |- | Fwiends.com || Yuppy girl || Short film |- | The House Next Door || Col Kennedy || TV movie |- | || Barbara Amiel || TV movie |- | 2007 || Have Dreams, Will Travel || Mrs. Reynolds |- |rowspan="2"| 2009 || Baby on Board || Mary |- | Life Is Hot in Cracktown || Betty McBain |- | 2010 || Cougar Hunting || Kathy |}

TV series

{|class="wikitable" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Title ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Seasons ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |- | 1987 || Amerika || Jacqueline 'Jessie' Bradford || - || |- | 1990–1991 || Twin Peaks || Donna Hayward || 1-2 || |- | 1997–2003 || The Practice || Helen Gamble || 2-7 |- | 2004–2005 || Huff || Melody Coatar || 1 || |- | 2005–2006 || Las Vegas || Monica Mancuso || 3 |}

TV appearances

{|class="wikitable" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9; |- align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Title ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Season ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Episode ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |- |1987 | Sable | 1 | Melanie Waterston | "Toy Gun" | Episode 1 |- |1991 | The Hidden Room | 1 | Nicole | "Splinters of Privacy" | Episode 2 |- |1995 | Legend | 1 | Theresa Dunleavy | "Skeletons in the Closet" | Episode 12 |- |2002 | Ally McBeal | 5 | Tally Cupp | Tom Dooley | Episode 18 |- |2008 | Law & Order | 18 | Dawn Talley | "Submission" | Episode 12 |}

References

External links

Lara Flynn Boyle Blog

Category:1970 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from Chicago, Illinois Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Actors from Iowa Category:American people of Italian descent Category:People from Davenport, Iowa Category:People from San Antonio, Texas Category:People from the Quad Cities

Caption	Shepard at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival in New York City
Birthname	Dax Randall Shepard
Birthdate	January 02, 1975
Birthplace	Milford, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Yearsactive	1998–present

Dax Randall Shepard (born January 2, 1975) is an American actor.

Background

Shepard was born in Milford, Michigan, and attended Muir Junior High and Walled Lake Central High School, before enrolling in The Groundlings school. He later received a degree in anthropology at UCLA. According to Shepard, his mother named him for the protagonist in Harold Robbins' novel The Adventurers.

Career

Shepard was an actor on Punk'd with Ashton Kutcher. In 2006, Shepard appeared opposite Dane Cook and Jessica Simpson in the comedy Employee of the Month as well as the Mike Judge film Idiocracy. During the same time, Shepard began appearing in more films and landed his first main character role in Let's Go to Prison, alongside Will Arnett. He also had a major role in Baby Mama. Shepard wrote the script for the Paramount venture Get 'Em Wet, in which he again appeared with Arnett. He was also in the 2010 movie When in Rome. He is now one of the main characters in the NBC show Parenthood, playing Crosby Braverman.

Personal life

Shepard races motorcycles at Buttonwillow Raceway, including his Ducati Hypermotard 1100S and Suzuki GSX-R1000.

He has been dating Kristen Bell since 2007. As of January 2010, he and Bell are engaged.

Shepard donates much of his time to the Hollenbeck Youth Center, an after-school program that provides opportunity to at-risk inner-city youth. He has served as their official Master of Ceremonies, along with his friend Tom Arnold, for the Inner-City Games and Hollenbeck Youth Center's Miracle on 1st Street Toy Giveaway Program in East Los Angeles.

Filmography

Hairshirt (1998) as Vomiter at Party (as Dax Sheppard)

Punk'd (TV Series) (2003) as Ashton Kutcher's minion (field agent)

Cheaper by the Dozen (2003) as Camera Crew Member

Without a Paddle (2004) as Tom Marshall

(2005) as SFX Coordinator

Zathura (2005) as older Walter

My Name is Earl (TV series) (2005)

Employee of the Month (2006) as Vince Downey

Idiocracy (2006) as Frito Pendejo

Let's Go to Prison (2006) as John Lyshitski

King of the Hill (TV series) (2006)

The Comebacks (2007) as the hometown Sheriff

Knocked Up (2007) as Himself (uncredited)

Baby Mama (2008) as Carl

Smother (2008) as Noah Cooper

Confessions of an Action Star (2008) as Bucky

Boobies in Space (2008) as Joey the Plumber in Space

Robot Chicken (2009) Blitzen / Pickles / Ironhide / Human Torch (2 episodes)

Old Dogs (2009) as Gary (uncredited)

Parenthood (TV series) (2010) as Crosby Braverman

When in Rome (2010) as Gale

The Freebie (2010) as Darren

References

External links

Category:1975 births Category:American film actors Category:American voice actors Category:The Groundlings Category:Living people Category:Actors from Michigan Category:People from Detroit, Michigan Category:University of California, Los Angeles alumni

Clint Bowyer (born May 30, 1979) is a NASCAR driver. He currently pilots the #33 General Mills/BB&T;/The Hartford Chevrolet Impala full-time in the Sprint Cup Series for Richard Childress Racing. He also drives part-time in the #33 Rheem/Menards Chevrolet Impala in the Nationwide Series for Kevin Harvick Inc. He won the 2008 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship.

Early career

Bowyer began racing at the age of five in motocross. He went on to capture over 200 wins and numerous championships over the next eight years. In 1996, he began racing street stocks at Thunderhill Speedway in Mayetta, Kansas, and won the Modified championship there in 2000. Bowyer racked up 18 wins and 32 top-five finishes on his way to capturing the 2001 Modified championships at Lakeside Speedway in Kansas City, Kansas and Heartland Park Topeka. In 2002, he began racing in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series, posting 9 poles, 12 wins and 32 top-five finishes en route to a second place finish in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series national point standings. He was also crowned the 2002 NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Midwest Champion after another Modified championship at Lakeside Speedway and a Late Model championship at the famed I-70 Speedway in Odessa, MO, his first attempt at racing on asphalt.

In 2003, Bowyer raced a full season in the NASCAR AutoZone Elite Division Midwest Series, scoring one top-ten finish in 11 starts. He also would make his first ARCA starts in 2003, and caught the eye of legendary car owner Richard Childress after leading 47 laps and finishing second in his debut at Nashville Superspeedway driving for Bobby Gerhart.

NASCAR career

2004-2007

In 2004,Clint began by finishing 8th in the ARCA Remax series race at Daytona in the #7 Advanced Chevrolet for Gerhart.In 2004 Bowyer began running the NASCAR Busch Series for Childress, sharing seat time in the #21 Reese's Chevrolet with Kevin Harvick. He drove in half of the 34 Busch Series races that year, winning one pole and seven top-tens, attaining a season-high 3rd place finish in the Federated Auto Parts 300 at Nashville Superspeedway in June. He also ran three races for Kevin Harvick Incorporated with help from Andy Petree Racing with sponsorship from Monaco Coach.Bowyer made two starts for Bill McAnally in the Camping world west series in the #20 Chevrolet.In his two starts at phoenix & Auto Club Speedway he won one pole and had a best finish of 2nd.

Bowyer's first full Busch season was in 2005, replacing Ron Hornaday in the #2 ACDelco Chevrolet. He won two poles and two races en route to a second place finish to repeat-champion Martin Truex Jr., losing by only 68 points. He also made his NEXTEL Cup debut in the Sylvania-sponsored #33 Chevy on April 23, 2005, during the Subway Fresh 500 at Phoenix International Raceway. He finished 22nd as the first car one lap down. Richard Childress Racing announced on October 15, 2005, that Bowyer would race the #07 Chevrolet full time in the NEXTEL Cup series, replacing Dave Blaney for the 2006 season.

Bowyer began his rookie Cup season with three top-fifteen finishes and had a total of eleven top-tens that season, with his best finish being a 3rd at California Speedway. He finished 68 points behind Denny Hamlin for NASCAR Rookie of the Year honors. Bowyer also continued to drive the #2 in the Busch Series full-time, winning once and finishing 3rd in points. Bowyer won his first Craftsman Truck Series Truck Series race in the #46 Jack Daniel's Chevrolet Silverado fielded by Morgan-Dollar Motorsports at Texas Motor Speedway on November 3, 2006, in his third career Truck start, making his first CTS start that year at Martinsville for Green Light Racing.

After starting the 2007 season with a last-lap crash at Daytona (crossing the finish line upside down and on fire), Bowyer won the Budweiser Pole position for the Dodge Avenger 500 at Darlington Raceway. He finished the regular season 9th in points, but was seeded 12th for the playoff, since race wins determine playoff seeding. Bowyer won his second pole at the Sylvania 300 at Loudon, and two days later went on to win his first NEXTEL Cup race in his 64th start.

For the 2007 Busch season, Bowyer ran a partial Busch Series schedule in the RCR #2 car with BB&T; and Camping World sponsorship. On April 20, 2007, he won the Busch Series Bashas' Supermarkets 200 at Phoenix International Raceway. He followed that up with another Busch Series win on May 4 in the Circuit City 250 at Richmond International Raceway. Bowyer also ran select races in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series for Kevin Harvick.

2008

In 2008, Bowyer continued to drive in the Cup and Nationwide Series full-time. Bowyer dominated the late stages of the Daytona 500 but was spun out by Juan Pablo Montoya with 17 laps remaining. On May 3, 2008, Bowyer earned his second Sprint Cup victory, winning the Crown Royal Presents the Dan Lowry 400 at Richmond International Speedway. Bowyer led only two laps, going to the front after Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Kyle Busch got together with less than four laps remaining in the race.

On August 23, 2008, Bowyer was announced as the driver of the #33 General Mills Chevrolet Impala SS for RCR. Casey Mears from Hendrick Motorsports will replace Bowyer in the 07 Jack Daniel's Chevrolet Impala SS. This move was necessitated by a sponsor's request, as General Mills did not want Mears, who had been driving in the 2008 season for a a rival cereal with Hendrick Motorsports, representing them, so Childress sponsors General Mills and Brown-Forman Corporation agreed to the swap so Bowyer, who drove for Brown-Forman, would drive for General Mills, and Mears could drive for Brown-Forman, as they had no problems with Mears representing the company.

On November 15, 2008, Clint Bowyer won the NASCAR Nationwide Series Championship at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Florida with a narrow margin of victory over Carl Edwards of 21 points. Edwards won the race with Bowyer finishing 5th.

2009

Clint Bowyer concentrated primarily on the Sprint Cup Series in 2009 and drove the #33 General Mills/BB&T;/The Hartford Chevrolet Impala to 15th place in the season standings. Bowyer trimmed his participation in the Nationwide series to 12 races but performed well, winning at Daytona (July 3) and Dover (Sept. 26th), finishing in the top 5 in 6 of the 12 races and notching 8 top 10s.

Clint started the Cup season in strong fashion, finishing 4th in the Daytona 500 and 2nd at Las Vegas in the 3rd race of the year. With a 6th in Atlanta and a 5th in Martinsville, Bowyer was 2nd in the overall standings after 6 races.

A tough stretch in races 7 through 12 dropped Bowyer down to 17th overall, 109 points behind Mark Martin in 12th place. After a much more consistent run in races 13- 23 (3rd at Pocono in the #33 Hartford Racing paint out, 8th at Sonoma, 8th at Michigan), Clint had climbed up to 14th overall, within 58 pts of 12th place. Finishing in the top 15 in 8 of 11 races helped him make up 51 points on the 12th place position.

A 21st finish the following week (race 24) at Bristol really hurt Bowyer’s chance at the Chase, dropping him 112 points behind Matt Kenseth in 12th with just 2 races prior to the chase. It was the 25th race (Pep Boys 500 at Atlanta) that sealed Clint’s fate, as a spin on lap 309 cost him 2 laps and the chance to compete in the Chase.

While Clint’s chances at the Chase were over, Bowyer finished the season like he started it, with 5 top 10s and 9 top 15s in the last 11 races. His top finish was the 6th place run at Charlotte in the Scary Fast Count Chocula paint out. Overall, Clint finished the 2009 Sprint Cup series in 15th place

2010

In 2010, Clint Bowyer returned with the same set of sponsors, driving the #33 General Mills/BB&T;/The Hartford Chevrolet Impala in the Sprint Cup Series.

True to form, Clint performed well early in 2010, finishing 4th in Daytona, 7th at Martinsville and 9th at Phoenix to stand 6th after 7 races. However, at Texas in the Samsung Mobile 500 (race 8), Bowyer got caught in a major crash on lap 317 that wiped out 8 other drivers and caused a 19-minute red flag race stoppage. The resulting 36th place finish dropped Clint to 14th position overall, only 1 point behind 12th place Joey Logano. 7th and 12th place finishes at Talladega and Richmond put Clint back into 12th place after 10 races.

The 11th race run at Darlington, promised to be special. Bowyer ran the new The Hartford Racing paint out as part of The Hartford’s 200th year anniversary celebration. As part of Fox’s coverage, the 33 was one of 4 cars with an in-car camera for the race. However, 101 laps into the race, Bowyer went to the pits and ultimately the garage, with brake issues. After a 2nd long stop to correct Bowyer finished in 32nd position, 36 laps down.

Clint ran well again in races 12 through 14, as 17th, 7th and 9th place finishes allowed Bowyer to move back up into 12th place overall. In race 13 (Coca Cola 600 at Charlotte), Bowyer led lap 217 following a caution for debris. Kurt Bush passed Clint on the following lap and went on to win the race. In races 15-17, Bowyer finished 22nd at Michigan, 31st at Sonoma and 7th at Loudon, NH. Despite the poor finish, Bowyer was very competitive at Sonoma. Clint led lap 80 (of 110) and was in 7th place with 11 laps to go. But on lap 100, Elliot Sadler gut bumped by Jeff Gordon and spun Bowyer, dropping him all the way back to 34th.

Clint had one of his strongest runs of the year in the Coke Zero 400 (at Daytona, July 3), leading 17 of the final 21 laps. Unfortunately on the final Green-White restart, Bowyer got split by Jeff Gordon, lost the lead, fell back in the pack and ultimately spun. In finishing 17th, Clint fell 49 points behind 12th place Carl Edwards.

In race 19 at Chicagoland, Bowyer ran well all night, finishing 4th and moving up into 12th place in the overall standings. Clint started 15th but moved up quickly, running in the top 10 for the first half and then in the top 5 for most of the latter half of the race, battling Jeff Gordon for the lead with less than 40 laps to go.

In the Sylvania 300 at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, Bowyer started 2nd and led the most laps before fading back into the top 5. Taking the white flag in second place, he suddenly witnessed then-leader Tony Stewart run out of fuel, giving Bowyer the third win of his Sprint Cup career and vaulting him to second in the Chase standings behind Denny Hamlin. However, this was negated during post-race inspection at NASCAR's R&D; center. Reports surfaced that Bowyer's car used at Richmond had come close to failing inspection. NASCAR announced on September 22 that they had issued fines and penalties to the #33 team after failing a secondary inspection. Most critically, crew chief Shane Wilson was suspended for the next 6 races and both Bowyer and car owner Richard Childress face $150,000 in fines and the loss of 150 championship points. The penalty drops Bowyer back to 12th in points, 185 points behind Denny Hamlin. Childress appealed the decision, which reduced the suspensions to four races and $100,000, but the 150-point deduction was upheld.

During the Pepsi Max 400 weekend at Fontana, Bowyer and fellow Childress driver Austin Dillon taped an episode of The Price Is Right that is scheduled to feature NASCAR-themed Showcases (a practice that occurs during a Fontana race; host Drew Carey was the Grand Marshal of the August 2008 race). That is scheduled to air November 15.

Bowyer barely edged teammate Kevin Harvick for the victory in the fall Talladega race. His win was marred by a huge crash which flipped AJ Allmendinger.

Clint Bowyer finished 10th in the final Chase standings, getting him a spot on stage at the season-ending Awards Banquet.

Race Team

Clint Bowyer started his own Dirt Late Model team, Clint Bowyer Racing in 2008. Well-established veteran Shannon Babb of Mowequa, IL was behind the wheel of Clint's Rocket Chassis, and had a very solid season. Babb left to form his own team at the end of 2008, due to wanting to run more of an "outlaw" type schedule, and wanting to race closer to home to be with his family. For the 2009 season, the 2005 World 100 Champion Dale McDowell (who ironically inherited the win via Babb being light at the scales) took over the seat, and the number was changed to Dale's signature #17M.

The team elected to run the Lucas Oil Late Model Dirt Series full time in 2009, choosing to run Warrior Racecars, with help from Warrior's owner, Sanford Goddard. Winning two races and finishing fourth in the points standings, it was a decent season. Since then, the 17M has become a staple of the Lucas Oil Series, continuing on the 2010 tour.

Clint Bowyer Racing also has fielded cars in Tony Stewart's Prelude to The Dream in 2008 (Clint, 2nd & Jimmie Johnson, 10th) and 2010 (Johnson won, Bowyer 2nd). Both years these were also Warrior Racecars.

Charity work

On May 6, 2008, Clint Bowyer attended and hosted the first annual Clint Bowyer Charity Golf Event in his hometown of Emporia, Kansas. It raised $160,000 for the Emporia Community foundation to "make Emporia a better place."

References

External links

Official site

NEXTEL Cup driver page at NASCAR.com

Career statistics at racing-reference.info

The Hartford Racing Team’s Clint Bowyer profile - Official site

Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:People from Emporia, Kansas Category:American racecar drivers Category:NASCAR drivers Category:NASCAR Nationwide Series champions

Name	Britney Spears
Years active	1992–present
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Britney Jean Spears
Born	December 02, 1981McComb, Mississippi,
Genre	Pop, dance-pop
Occupation	Singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, record producer, author, fashion designer, video director
Instrument	Vocals, piano
Label	Jive
Associated acts	The New Mickey Mouse Club
Url

Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album ...Baby One More Time in 1999. During her first decade within the music industry, she became a prominent figure in mainstream popular music and popular culture, followed by a much-publicized personal life. Her first two albums established her as a pop icon and broke sales records, while title tracks "...Baby One More Time" and "Oops!... I Did It Again" became international number-one hits. Spears was credited with influencing the revival of teen pop during the late 1990s.

In 2001, she released her third studio album Britney and expanded her brand, playing the starring role in the film Crossroads. She assumed creative control of her fourth studio album, In the Zone released in 2003, which yielded chart-topping singles "Me Against the Music", "Toxic" and "Everytime". After the release of two compilation albums, Spears experienced personal struggles and her career went under hiatus. Her fifth studio album, Blackout, was released in 2007 and despite receiving little promotion, it spawned hits "Gimme More" and "Piece of Me". In 2008, her erratic behaviour and hospitalizations caused her to be placed in a conservatorship. The same year, her sixth studio album Circus was released, with the global chart-topping lead single "Womanizer". After embarking on The Circus Starring Britney Spears, she released greatest hits The Singles Collection, which featured U.S. and Canadian number-one single "3".

Spears has sold over 100 million records worldwide, making her one of the best-selling music artists in the history of contemporary music. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), she is the eighth top-selling female artist in the United States, with 32 million certified albums. Spears is also recognized as the best-selling female artist of the first decade of the 21st century, as well as the fifth overall. She was ranked the 8th Artist of the 2000–10 decade by Billboard. In June 2010, Spears was ranked sixth on Forbes list of the 100 Most Powerful and Influential celebrities in the world; she is also ranked as the third most powerful musician in the world.

Biography

1981–97: Early life and career beginnings

Britney Jean Spears was born on December 2, 1981, the second child of Lynne Irene (née Bridges) and James Parnell Spears. She is of English heritage through her maternal grandmother, who was born in London, and of distant Maltese descent. Her siblings are Bryan James and Jamie Lynn. At age three, she started to attend dance lessons in her hometown of Kentwood, Louisiana, and was selected to perform a solo at the annual recital. During her childhood, she also attended gymnastics and voice lessons, and won many state-level competitions and children's talent shows. Spears made her local stage debut at age five, singing "What Child Is This?" at her kindergarten graduation. She said about her ambition as a child, "I was in my own world, [...] I found out what I'm supposed to do at an early age". In December 1992, she was finally cast in The Mickey Mouse Club, but returned to Kentwood after the show was cancelled. She enrolled at Parklane Academy in nearby McComb, Mississippi. Although she made friends with most of her classmates, she compared the school to "the opening scene in Clueless with all the cliques. [...] I was so bored. I was the point guard on the basketball team. I had my boyfriend, and I went to homecoming and Christmas formal. But I wanted more."

In June 1997, Spears was in talks with manager Lou Pearlman to join female pop group Innosense. Lynne asked family friend and entertainment lawyer Larry Rudolph for his opinion and submitted a tape of Spears singing over a Whitney Houston karaoke song along with some pictures. Rudolph decided he wanted to pitch her to record labels, therefore she needed a professional demo. He sent Spears an unused song from Toni Braxton; she rehearsed for a week and recorded her vocals in a studio with a sound engineer. Spears travelled to New York with the demo and met with executives from four labels, returning to Kentwood the same day. Three of the labels rejected her, arguing audiences wanted pop bands such as The Backstreet Boys and The Spice Girls, and "there wasn't going to be another Madonna, another Debbie Gibson, or another Tiffany." Two weeks later, executives from Jive Records returned calls to Rudolph. Senior vice president of A&R; Jeff Fenster stated about Spears's audition that "It's very rare to hear someone that age who can deliver emotional content and commercial appeal. [...] For any artist, the motivation—the 'eye of the tiger'— is extremely important. And Britney had that." After hearing the recorded material, president Clive Calder ordered a full album. Spears had originally envisioned "Sheryl Crow music, but younger more adult contemporary" but felt alright with her label's appointment of producers, since "It made more sense to go pop, because I can dance to it—it's more me." She flew to Cheiron Studios in Stockholm, Sweden, where half of the album was recorded from March to April 1998, with producers Max Martin, Denniz PoP and Rami, among others. Her debut album, ...Baby One More Time, was released on January 1999. It debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and was certified two-times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America after a month. Worldwide, the album topped the charts in fifteen countries and sold over ten million copies in a year. It became the biggest selling album ever by a teenage artist. "...Baby One More Time" later received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance. The title track also topped the singles chart for two weeks in the United Kingdom, and became the fastest-selling single ever by a female artist, shipping over 460,000 copies. It would later become the 25th most successful song of all time in British chart history. Spears is also the youngest female artist to have a million seller in the country. "(You Drive Me) Crazy" was released as the third single from the album. It became a top-ten hit worldwide and propelled ...Baby One More Time to sell 26 million copies. The April 1999 cover of Rolling Stone featured Spears laying on her bed, clad with a bra, shorts and an open top. The American Family Association (AFA) referred to the shoot as "a disturbing mix of childhood innocence and adult sexuality" and called to "God-loving Americans to boycott stores selling Britney's albums." Spears responded to the outcry commenting, "What's the big deal? I have strong morals. [...] I'd do it again. I thought the pictures were fine. And I was tired of being compared to Debbie Gibson and all of this bubblegum pop all the time." Shortly before, Spears had announced publicly she would remain a virgin until marriage. but generated some controversy due to her racy outfits. An extension of the tour, titled Crazy 2k, followed in March 2000. Spears premiered songs from her upcoming second album during the show. The album sold over 20 million copies worldwide. Rob Sheffield of Rolling Stone said that "the great thing about Oops! – under the cheese surface, Britney's demand for satisfaction is complex, fierce and downright scary, making her a true child of rock & roll tradition." The album's lead single, "Oops!... I Did It Again", peaked at the top of the charts in Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and many other European nations. The album as well as the title track received Grammy nominations for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, respectively. The same year, Spears embarked on the Oops!... I Did It Again World Tour, which grossed $40.5 million; she also released her first book, Britney Spears' Heart-to-Heart, co-written with her mother. On September 7, 2000, Spears performed at the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards. Halfway through the performance, she ripped of her black suit to reveal a sequined flesh-colored bodysuit, followed by heavy dance routine. It is noted by critics as the moment that Spears showed signs of becoming a more provocative performer. Amidst media speculation, Spears confirmed she was dating 'N Sync member Justin Timberlake. The album debuted at number one in the Billboard 200 and reached top five positions in Australia, the United Kingdom and mainland Europe and sold over 12 million copies worldwide. Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic called Britney "the record where she strives to deepen her persona, making it more adult while still recognizably Britney. [...] It does sound like the work of a star who has now found and refined her voice, resulting in her best record yet." The album was honored with two Grammy nominations—Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Overprotected"— and was listed in 2008 as one of Entertainment Weekly's "100 Best Albums from the Past 25 Years". The album's first single, "I'm a Slave 4 U", became a top-ten hit worldwide. Spears's performance of the single at the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards featured a caged tiger and a large albino python draped over her shoulders. It was harshly received by animal rights organization PETA, who claimed the animals were mistreated and scrapped plans for an anti-fur billboard that was to feature Spears. The tour grossed $43.7 million, becoming the second highest grossing tour of 2002 by a female artist, behind Cher's . Her career success was highlighted by Forbes in 2002, as Spears was ranked the world's most powerful celebrity. Spears also landed her first starring role in Crossroads, released in February 2002. Although the film was largely panned, most critics actually praised Spears's acting. Crossroads, which had a $11 million budget, went on to gross over $57 million worldwide. In July 2002, Spears announced she would take a six month break from her career; however, she went back into the studio in October to record her new album. Spears's relationship with Justin Timberlake ended after three years. In December 2002, Timberlake released the song "Cry Me a River" as the second single from his solo debut album. The music video featured a Spears look-alike and fueled the rumors that she had been unfaithful to him. As a response, Spears wrote the ballad "Everytime" with her backing vocalist and friend Annet Artani. The same year, Limp Bizkit frontman Fred Durst confirmed that he was in a relationship with Spears, only to deny it later. In a 2009 interview, he explained that "I just guess at the time it was taboo for a guy like me to be associated with a gal like her." Spears opened the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards with Christina Aguilera, performing "Like a Virgin". Halfway through they were joined by Madonna, with whom they both kissed. The incident was highly publicized. NPR listed the album as one of "The 50 Most Important Recording of the Decade", adding that "the decade's history of impeccably crafted pop is written on her body of work." In the Zone sold over 609,000 copies in the United States and debuted at the top of the charts, making Spears the first female artist in the SoundScan era to have her first four studio albums to debut at number one. In the Zone sold over 10 million copies worldwide. The album produced the hit singles: "Me Against the Music", a collaboration with Madonna; "Toxic"—which won a Grammy for Best Dance Recording; "Everytime" and "Outrageous". She began The Onyx Hotel Tour in support of In the Zone in March 2004. On June 8, 2004, Spears fell and injured her left knee during the music video shoot for "Outrageous". She was taken immediately to a local hospital, where doctors performed an MRI scan and found floating cartilage. The following day, Spears underwent arthroscopic surgery. She was forced to remain six weeks with a thigh brace, followed by eight to twelve weeks of rehabilitation, which caused The Onyx Hotel Tour to be canceled. During 2004, Spears became involved in the Kabbalah Centre through her friendship with Madonna. In July 2004, she announced her engagement to American dancer Kevin Federline, who she had met three months before. The romance received intense attention from the media, since Federline had recently broken up with actress Shar Jackson, who was still pregnant with their second child at the time. Shortly after, she released her first fragrance with Elizabeth Arden, Curious, which broke the company's first-week gross for a perfume. , her first greatest hits compilation album, was released in November 2004. Spears's cover version of Bobby Brown's "My Prerogative" was released as the lead single from the album, reaching the top of the charts in Finland, Ireland, Italy and Norway. The second single, "Do Somethin'", was a top ten hit in Australia, the United Kingdom and other countries of mainland Europe. Worldwide, Greatest Hits: My Prerogative sold over 5 million copies. In late 2004, Spears went on KIIS-FM radio in Los Angeles, CA to play a new demo titled "Mona Lisa." The demo was to be the first single from an upcoming album called the "Original Doll." However, Spears' label later cancelled the album for unknown reasons. Spears gave birth to her first child, Sean Preston Federline, on September 14, 2005.

In November 2005, she released her first remix compilation, , which consists of eleven remixes. In February 2006, pictures surfaced of Spears driving with her son Sean, on her lap instead of in a car seat. Child advocates were horrified by the photos of her holding the wheel with one hand and Sean with the other. Spears claimed that the situation happened because of a frightening encounter with paparazzi, and that it was a mistake on her part. She publicly announced she no longer studied Kabbalah in June 2006, explaining, "my baby is my religion." On November 7, 2006, Spears filed for divorce from Federline, citing irreconcilable differences. Their divorce was finalized in July 2007, when the couple reached a global settlement and agreed to share joint custody of their children. Spears's aunt Sandra Bridges Covington, with whom she had been very close, died of ovarian cancer in January. On February 16, 2007, Spears stayed in a drug rehabilitation facility in Antigua for less than a day. The following night, she shaved her head with electric clippers at a hair salon in Tarzana, California. She admitted herself to other treatment facilities during the following weeks. After completing a month-long program at Promises, she wrote on her website, "I truly hit rock bottom. Till this day I don't think that it was alcohol or depression. [...] was like a bad kid running around with ADD." Spears lost physical custody of her children to Federline on October 1, 2007. The reasons of the court ruling were not revealed to the public.

Her fifth studio album, Blackout, was released in October 2007. It debuted at the top of charts in Canada and Ireland, number two in the U.S. Billboard 200,—held off from the top spot by Eagles's Long Road out of Eden— France, Japan, Mexico and the United Kingdom and the top ten in Australia, Korea, New Zealand and many European nations. In the United States, Spears became the only female artist to have her first five studio albums debut at the two top slots of the chart. Blackout sold over 3.1 million copies worldwide. Peter Robinson of The Observer said that "Britney has delivered the best album of her career, raising the bar for modern pop music with an incendiary mix of Timbaland's Shock Value and her own back catalogue." Dennis Lim of Blender commented, "Spears’s fifth studio album is her most consistent, a seamlessly entertaining collection of bright, brash electropop." Blackout won Album of the Year at MTV Europe Music Awards 2008 and was listed as the fifth Best Pop Album of the Decade by The Times. Spears performed the lead single "Gimme More" at the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards. The performance was panned by many critics. David Willis of BBC stated her performance would "go down in the history books as being one of the worst to grace the MTV Awards". Despite the backlash, the single rocketed to worldwide success, peaking at number one in Canada and the top ten in almost every country it charted. The second single "Piece of Me" reached the top of the charts in Ireland and reached the top five in Australia, Canada, Denmark, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The third single "Break the Ice" was released the following year and had moderate success due to Spears not being able to promote it properly. In December 2007, Spears began a relationship with paparazzi Adnan Ghalib.

2008–10: Conservatorship, Circus, and The Circus Starring Britney Spears

and her 27th birthday party.]] On January 3, 2008, Spears refused to relinquish custody of her sons to Federline's representatives. She was hospitalized at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, after police that arrived at her house noted she appeared to be under the influence of an illicit substance. The following day, Spears's visitation rights were suspended at an emergency court hearing, and Federline was given sole physical and legal custody of the children. On January 31, 2008, Spears was committed to the psychiatric ward of Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and put on 5150 involuntary psychiatric hold. The court placed her under temporary conservatorship of her father James Spears and attorney Andrew Wallet, giving them complete control of her assets. The following month, she guest-starred on the How I Met Your Mother episode "Ten Sessions" as receptionist Abby. She received positive reviews for her performance, as well as bringing the series highest ratings ever. In July 2008, Spears regained some visitation rights after coming to an agreement with Federline and his counsel. On September 7, 2008, Spears opened the MTV Video Music Awards with a pre-taped comedy sketch with Jonah Hill and an introduction speech. She won Best Female Video, Best Pop Video and Video Of The Year for "Piece of Me".

A 60-minute introspective documentary, , was produced to chronicle Spears' return to the recording industry. Directed by Phil Griffin, For the Record was entirely shot in Beverly Hills, Hollywood, and New York City during the third quarter of 2008. Main shooting began on September 5, 2008, two days before Spears' appearance at the MTV Video Music Awards. For the Record was broadcast on MTV on November 30, 2008 to 3.7 million viewers.

Her sixth studio album Circus, was released in December 2008. It received positive reviews from critics; according to the music review aggregation of Metacritic, it garnered an average score of 64/100. Circus debuted at number one in Canada, Czech Republic and the United States, and inside the top in many European nations. In the United States, Spears became the youngest female artist to have five albums debut at number one, earning a place in the Guinness Book of World Records. She also became the only act in the Soundscan era to have four albums debut with 500,000 or more copies sold. and has sold 4 million copies worldwide. Its lead single, "Womanizer", became her first number one in the Billboard Hot 100 since "...Baby One More Time" and topped the charts in countries such as Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Norway and Sweden. It was also nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Dance Recording. In January 2009, Spears and her father James obtained a restraining order against her former manager Sam Lufti, ex-boyfriend Adnan Ghalib and attorney Jon Eardley—all of whom, court documents claim, had been conspiring to gain control of Spears's affairs. The restraining order forbids Lutfi and Ghalib from contacting Spears or coming within 250 yards of her, her property or family members. Spears embarked on The Circus Starring Britney Spears in March 2009. With a gross of U.S. $131.8 million, it became the fifth highest grossing tour of the year.

She released her second greatest hits album, The Singles Collection in November 2009. "3" became her third number one single in the US, and was the first song to debut at the top of the charts in three years. Later that month, she released an application for iPhone and iPod Touch titled "It's Britney!". In May 2010, Spears's representatives confirmed she was dating her agent Jason Trawick, and that they had decided to end their professional relationship to focus on their personal relationship. Spears designed a limited edition clothing line for Candie's. It was released on stores in July 2010. On September 28, 2010, she made a cameo appearance on a Spears-themed tribute episode of American TV show Glee, titled "Britney/Brittany". Spears approved of the episode, although her appearances received mixed reviews from critics. The episode drew Glee's second largest audience, as well as the show's highest ratings ever.

2010–present: Upcoming seventh album

In March 2010, it was confirmed by Jive Records that Spears had begun recording her seventh studio album. Max Martin and Dr. Luke are set to be the executive producers. Luke stated that he wanted the sound to "get harder" in different ways "and maybe a little more deep into electronic – grimier." On December 2, 2010, Spears announced via her Twitter account that the album will be released in March 2011. The lead single "Hold It Against Me" was premiered on Ryan Seacrest's radio show on January 10, 2011... It was released as a Digital Download exclusively to the iTunes store on January 11, 2011.

Musical style and performance

]] Following her debut, Spears was credited with leading the revival of teen pop in the late 1990s. The Daily Yomiuri reported that "[m]usic critics have hailed her as the most gifted teenage pop idol for many years, but Spears has set her sights a little higher-she is aiming for the level of superstardom that has been achieved by Madonna and Janet Jackson." Rolling Stone wrote: "Britney Spears carries on the classic archetype of the rock & roll teen queen, the dungaree doll, the angel baby who just has to make a scene." Rami Yacoub who co-produced Spears's debut album with lyricist Max Martin, commented, "I know from Denniz Pop and Max's previous productions, when we do songs, there's kind of a nasal thing. With N' Sync and the Backstreet Boys, we had to push for that mid-nasal voice. When Britney did that, she got this kind of raspy, sexy voice." Following the release of her debut album, Chuck Taylor of Billboard observed, "Spears has become a consummate performer, with snappy dance moves, a clearly real-albeit young-and funkdified voice ... "(You Drive Me) Crazy", her third single ... demonstrates Spears's own development, proving that the 17-year-old is finding her own vocal personality after so many months of steadfast practice." Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic referred to her music as a "blend of infectious, rap-inflected dance-pop and smooth balladry." Spears later commented, "With ...Baby One More Time, I didn't get to show my voice off. The songs were great, but they weren't very challenging".

Oops!...I Did It Again and subsequent albums saw Spears working with several contemporary R&B; producers, leading to "a combination of bubblegum, urban soul, and raga." Her third studio album, Britney derived from the teen pop niche, "[r]hythmically and melodically ... sharper, tougher than what came before. What used to be unabashedly frothy has some disco grit, underpinned by Spears' spunky self-determination that helps sell hooks that are already catchier, by and large, than those that populated her previous two albums." Guy Blackman of The Age wrote that while few would care to listen to an entire Spears album, "[t]he thing about Spears, though, is that her biggest songs, no matter how committee-created or impossibly polished, have always been convincing because of her delivery, her commitment and her presence. For her mostly teenage fans, Spears expresses perfectly the conflicting urges of adolescence, the tension between chastity and sexual experience, between hedonism and responsibility, between confidence and vulnerability."

Spears possesses the vocal range of a contralto. Her vocal ability has also been criticized, often drawing unfavorable comparison to her pop rival, Christina Aguilera Critic Allan Raible derides her overdependence in Circus on digital effects and the robotic effect it creates. "She’s never been a strong vocalist..." writes Raible, "Could she handle these songs with stripped down arrangements and no vocal effects? More importantly, would anyone want to hear her attempt such a performance? Does it matter? No. The focus is still image over substance." Her image and persona are also often contrasted to Christina Aguilera. David Browne of Entertainment Weekly observed "Christina Aguilera may flash skin and belly button, but in her music and manner, she's too eager not to offend — she's a good girl pretending to be bad. Spears, however, comes across as a bad girl acting good ... Spears' artificial-sweetener voice is much less interesting than the settings, yet that blandness is actually a relief compared with Aguilera's numbing vocal gymnastics. In contrast, Allmusic comments: "Like her peer Christina Aguilera, Britney equates maturity with transparent sexuality and the pounding sounds of nightclubs ... Where Christina comes across like a natural-born skank, Britney is the girl next door cutting loose at college, drinking and smoking and dancing and sexing just a little too recklessly, since this is the first time she can indulge herself. Sal Cinquemani of Slant Magazine notes, "The disparity between Aguilera and Spears can't be measured solely by the timbre and octave range of their voices ... [Aguilera's] popularity has never reached the fever pitch of Britney's.

Like other dance-oriented pop stars, it has been widely reported that Spears lip-syncs in concert. Author Gary Giddins wrote in his book Natural selection: Gary Giddins on comedy, film, music, and books (2006) that "among many other performers accused of moving their lips while a machine does the labor are Britney Spears, Luciano Pavarotti, Shania Twain, Beyoncé, and Madonna." Rashod D. Ollison of The Baltimore Sun observes: "Many pop stars ... feel they have no choice but to seek vocal enhancement. Since the advent of MTV and other video music channels, pop audiences have been fed elaborate videos thick with jaw-dropping effects, awesome choreography, fabulous clothes, marvelous bodies. And the same level of perfection is expected to extend beyond the video set to the concert stage. So if Britney Spears, Janet Jackson or Madonna sounds shrill and flat without a backing track, fans won't pay up to $300 for a concert ticket." Giddins adds, "it was reported Britney Spears fans prefer her to lip-sync—despite her denials of doing so (contradicted by her own director)—because they expect flawless digitalization when they pay serious money for a concert." Noting on the prevalence of lip-syncing, Los Angeles Daily News reported "in the context of a Britney Spears concert, does it really matter? Like a Vegas revue show, you don't go to hear the music, you go for the somewhat-ridiculous spectacle of it all". Similarly, Aline Mendelsohn of the Orlando Sentinel remarked: "Let's get one thing straight: A Britney Spears concert is not about the music ... you have to remember that it's about the sight, not the sound." Critic Glenn Gamboa comments her concert tours are "like her life—a massive money-making venture designed to play up her talents and distract from her shortcomings with a mix of techno-tinged sex appeal and disco-flavored flash. And, like her life, it is, more or less, a success.

Influences

Throughout her career, Spears has drawn frequent comparisons to Madonna and Janet Jackson, in terms of vocals, choreography and stage presence, citing both as influences in her work. She has also named Michael Jackson as a source of inspiration." According to Spears: "I know when I was younger, I looked up to people... like, you know, Janet Jackson and Madonna. And they were major inspirations for me. But I also had my own identity and I knew who I was, you know." In the 2002 book Madonnastyle by Carol Clerk, she is quoted saying: "I have been a huge fan of Madonna since I was a little girl. She's the person that I've really looked up to. I would really, really like to be a legend like Madonna."

Many critics have argued that Spears should not be considered in the same league of talent as Jackson or Madonna. Journalists Erika Montalvo and Jackie Sheppard of the Rocky Mountain Collegian observed "[s]ome may argue that Spears is not only a good recording artist but also an important cultural icon." Joan Anderman of the Boston Globe remarked that "[t]hirteen costume changes in 90 minutes won't bless her with Madonna's intelligence or cultural barometer. An army of cutting-edge R&B; producers won't supply her with Janet Jackson's sense of humor or sincere smile ... Britney's heroes aren't great singers. But they're real singers. Spears sounds robotic, nearly inhuman, on her records, so processed is her voice by digital pitch-shifters and synthesizers."

Reporter Ed Bumgardner commented her transition from teen pop start to adult sex symbol with her third studio album Britney "takes its cues from two other successful performers—Madonna and Janet Jackson—both of whom she brazenly rips off and both of whom, like Spears, are passable singers, at best." Critic Shane Harrison wrote: "From the minimalist thump and "Nasty" feel of "I'm a Slave 4 U" to the scattered quotes in "Boys", [Britney] feels like [Spears's] attempt at 'Control'." The biographers also report "[s]ome observers of popular culture, however, feel that the comparisons between the two artist are meaningless and fail to recognize Madonna's unique contribution: Madonna was never 'just another pop star' whereas Britney can more easily be seen as a standard manufactured pop act." She is listed by the Guinness World Records as having the "Best-selling album by a teenage solo artist" for her debut album ...Baby One More Time which sold over thirteen million copies in the United States. Melissa Ruggieri of the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported, "She's also marked for being the best-selling teenage artist. Before she turned 20 in 2001, Spears sold more than 37 million albums worldwide".

Barbara Ellen of The Observer has reported: "Spears is famously one of the 'oldest' teenagers pop has ever produced, almost middle aged in terms of focus and determination. Many 19-year-olds haven't even started working by that age, whereas Britney, a former Mouseketeer, was that most unusual and volatile of American phenomena — a child with a full-time career. While other little girls were putting posters on their walls, Britney was wanting to be the poster on the wall. Whereas other children develop at their own pace, Britney was developing at a pace set by the ferociously competitive American entertainment industry". 'Britney Spears' has been Yahoo!'s most popular search term for the last four consecutive years, seven times in total. Spears was named as Most Searched Person in the Guinness World Records book edition 2007 and 2009. Spears has also become a major influence among many new artists, including Kristinia DeBarge, Lady Gaga, Little Boots, Selena Gomez & The Scene, Pixie Lott and Miley Cyrus who has cited Spears as one of her biggest inspirations and has also referenced Spears in her hit song "Party in the U.S.A.".

Bebo Norman wrote a song about Spears, called "Britney", which was released as a single. Boy band Busted also wrote a song about Spears called "Britney", which was on their debut album. She is also mentioned in P!nk's song "Don't Let Me Get Me". Richard Cheese called Britney Spears "a remarkable recording artist" and also went on to say that she was "versatile" and what the industry calls an "artist". People magazine and MTV reported that October 1, 2008, the Bronx's John Philip Sousa Middle School, named their music studio in honor of Britney Spears. Spears herself was present during the ceremony and donated $10,000 to the school's music program.

Discography

...Baby One More Time (1999)

Oops!... I Did It Again (2000)

Britney (2001)

In the Zone (2003)

Blackout (2007)

Circus (2008)

Awards and nominations

See also

Britney Spears filmography

Britney Spears products

List of Britney Spears tours

List of Britney Spears songs

List of best-selling music artists

List of best selling music artists in the United States

List of honorific titles in popular music

Notes

References

Further reading

Dennis, Steve (2009). Britney: Inside the Dream. Harper Collins. ISBN 978-0007317516.

Peters, Beth (1999). True Brit: The Story of Singing Sensation Britney Spears. Ballantine Books. ISBN 978-0345436870.

Spears, Britney (2000). Britney Spears's Heart to Heart. Three Rivers Press. ISBN 978-0609807019.

Scott, Kieran (2001). I was a Mouseketeer!. Disney Press. ISBN 978-0786844708.

Stevens, Amanda (2001). Britney Spears: the illustrated story. Billboard Books. ISBN 978-0823078677.

Smith, Sean (2006). Britney The Unauthorized Biography of Britney Spears. Pan Macmillan. ISBN 978-0330440776.

External links

Category:1981 births Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers Category:Actors from Louisiana Category:American child singers Category:American dance musicians Category:American dancers Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American music video directors Category:American pop singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American stage actors Category:American television actors Category:Baptists from the United States Category:English-language singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Innosense members Category:Jive Records artists Category:Living people Category:Mouseketeers Category:Musicians from Louisiana Category:Parklane Academy alumni Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Kentwood, Louisiana Category:Sony BMG artists Category:World Music Awards winners Category:American people of Maltese descent

Name	Bow Wow
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Shad Gregory Moss
Born	March 09, 1987 Columbus, Ohio, United States
Genre	Hip hop
Occupation	Rapper, Actor, Singer
Instrument	Vocals
Years active	1993–present
Label	Cash Money Records, Universal Motown
Url

Shad Gregory Moss (born March 9, 1987) is an American rapper, singer and actor.

He released his debut album, Beware of Dog, at age 13, then under the stage name Lil Bow Wow, which was given to him by one of his idols, Snoop Dogg. He carried the stage name with him until his 2003 album, Unleashed, under simply Bow Wow (dropping the "Lil" from the name). Three more albums followed, Wanted in 2005, The Price of Fame in 2006 and New Jack City II in 2009. In 2007, he released the collaboration album Face Off with Omarion.

Bow Wow made his first movie appearance in All About the Benjamins, in 2002 as a cameo. In the same year, Bow Wow made his debut as the lead role in, Like Mike. He later began to undertake lead roles in movies such as, Johnson Family Vacation in 2004, and Roll Bounce, in 2005. He was also played as a supporting role in the film, in 2006. Bow Wow also appeared in an episode of the television series, Entourage.

Early life

Bow Wow was born in Columbus, Ohio, the son of Teresa Caldwell and Alfonso Moss. His family are good people and supported him through all his success in music At age three, he became interested in rap. Under the moniker "Kid Gangsta", he began rapping recreationally at age six; he was also a fan of N.W.A at that age. In 1993, he performed at a concert in Los Angeles, and was noticed by rapper Snoop Dogg, who subsequently gave him a stage name, "Bow Wow". Dr. Dre signed Bow Wow to Death Row Records.

As Lil' Bow Wow

Beware of Dog (1998-2001)

In 1998, at the age of eleven, Bow Wow met record producer Jermaine Dupri, who helped shape his career. At the age of 13, in 2000 he debuted with Beware of Dog under the stage name Lil' Bow Wow. Its debut single was "Bounce With Me", which featured girl group Xscape. The album also included "Bow Wow (That's My Name)" featuring Snoop Dogg, which topped the rap chart, In a 2009 interview, the rapper claimed that the album had sold over 3 million copies since its release.

In 2002, his second album Doggy Bag was released with singles "Take Ya Home" which peaked at #1 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Hot R&B;/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and "Thank You" with Jagged Edge), #1 on the R&B; chart. and was certified platinum.

As Bow Wow

Unleashed (2003-2004)

The first album released under his new moniker was Unleashed in 2003. Its first single was "Let's Get Down," featuring Birdman, the founder of Cash Money Records, which reached #14 on the Hot 100 and #6 on the Hot Rap Tracks charts. The second single was then released, "My Baby", featuring Jagged Edge. Unlike his previous albums, this one was not produced under the mentorship of Jermaine Dupri. "Fresh Azimiz", featured J-Kwon and Jermaine Dupri, followed and peaked at #23 on the Hot 100 and #6 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart. The album was certified platinum.

The Price of Fame & Face Off (2006-2007)

In 2006, The Price of Fame was released with the lead single "Shortie Like Mine", featuring Chris Brown, peaking at #9 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the Hot Rap Tracks. It peaked at #22 on the Hot 100 and #2 on the Rap chart. He released a mixtape title Half Man, Half Dog Vol. 1 that year. Half Man, Half Dog Vol. 2 was released as a sequel to the mixtape in February 2009. New Jack City II, his sixth album, was released in March 2009 and his first album to include a Parental Advisory: Steven Roberts of MTV News observed that this album explored the "the influence of crack cocaine in inner-city communities" and featured such guests as T.I. Three promo singles were released in late 2008: "Marco Polo" featuring Soulja Boy, "Big Girls", and "Roc The Mic". The first official single, "You Can Get It All" featuring Johnta Austin, samples TLC's "Baby-Baby-Baby" and peaked at #55 on the Hot 100 and #9 on the Hot Rap Tracks. and his next album Underrated will be released in early 2011. The first promo single being "For My Hood" featuring DJ Khaled & Sean Kingston. On November 1, 2010 Bow Wow released his first single from the album entitled "Aint Thinkin' Bout You" which featured Chris Brown. The music video was a success on 106 and Park and made the countdown in just 1 day. Two weeks later it peaked number 1 on the chart and remained number 1 for 3 days.

Film career

Bow Wow has had guest appearances on Brandy's TV sitcom, Moesha, as well as The Steve Harvey Show. He made his major acting debut in the film Like Mike which was released on July 3, 2002, in which he starred as a young orphan who gets a shot at playing in the NBA. Before Like Mike he made a cameos in All About The Benjamins, and in "". Bow Wow also co-starred with Cedric the Entertainer, Vanessa L. Williams, and Solange Knowles in Johnson Family Vacation. Since the success of Like Mike, Bow Wow has starred in several Hollywood films, including Roll Bounce, and Hurricane Season. . He has also made guest appearances on Smallville and Ugly Betty. He joined the cast for HBO's fifth season of Entourage as Charlie an up and coming comedian and Eric Murphy's newest client. He starred in a 2010 comedy film, Lottery Ticket, with Ice Cube. He Is currently working on a documentary on his life entitled Who Is Shad Moss? Bow Wow stated that the documentary goes all the way back when he was on Death Row Records he said it will be released in early 2011. Bow Wow has confirmed he will be in the film version of Madea's Big Happy Family.

Discography

Beware of Dog (2000)

Doggy Bag (2001)

Unleashed (2003)

Wanted (2005)

The Price of Fame (2006)

New Jack City II (2009)

Underrated (2011)

Filmography

{|border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 90%;" |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" !colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;"|Film |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" !Year !Title !Role !Notes |- |2001 | |Jalil |Supporting role |- |rowspan="2"|2002 |All About the Benjamins |Kelly |Cameo |- |Like Mike |Calvin Cambridge |Lead role |- |2004 |Johnson Family Vacation |Divirnius James "D.J." Johnson |Lead role |- |2005 |Roll Bounce |Xavier "X" Smith |Lead role |- |2006 | |Twinkie |Supporting role |- |2009 |Hurricane Season |Gary Davis |Supporting role |- |2010 |Lottery Ticket |Kevin Carson |Lead role |- |2011 |Who Is Shad Moss? |Himself |Biography |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" !colspan="4" style="background: LightSteelBlue;"|Television |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" !Year !Title !Role !Notes |- |2001 |Moesha |Ray |Episode That's My Mama |- |2006 |Smallville |Baern |Episode "Fallout" |- |rowspan="2"|2008 |Ugly Betty |Himself |Episode "Zero Worship" |- |Entourage |Charlie |Recurring role |}

References

Other Collaborations

Bow Wow was featured in up and coming artist Khleo Thomas's merely reputable mixtape,The World Is A Cartoon in January 2010.

External links

Bow Wow at Ustream

Bow Wow at YouTube

Category:1987 births Category:Living people Category:1990s rappers Category:2000s rappers Category:2010s rappers Category:Actors from Ohio Category:American child actors Category:Cash Money Records artists Category:Death Row Records artists Category:People from Columbus, Ohio Category:Rappers from Ohio Category:So So Def artists

Name	Bob Sapp
Birth name	Bob Sapp
Other names	The Beast
Nationality	American
Birth date	September 22, 1974
Birth place	Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States
Fighting out of	Colorado Springs, Colorado
Height
Weight	(born September 22, 1974) is an American kickboxer, mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and former professional American football player. Sapp currently has an MMA record of 11–6–1, mostly fighting in Japan. He is well-known in Japan, where he has appeared in countless commercials, television programs, and various other media, and has released a music CD, It's Sapp Time. He also appeared in an episode of the HBO program Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel. He is currently working sporadically for various MMA promotions in the U.S., Japan, and Europe.
Wins	11
Losses	6
Draws	1
Ko-wins	7
Ko-losses	2
Sub-wins	4
Sub-losses	4
Dec-wins	0
Dec-losses	0

|style="background: #f0f0f0" | Date |style="background: #f0f0f0" | Result |style="background: #f0f0f0" | Record |style="background: #f0f0f0" | Opponent |style="background: #f0f0f0" | Event |style="background: #f0f0f0" | Method |style="background: #f0f0f0" | Round |style="background: #f0f0f0" | Notes |- |- |2010-03-27 |Win |11–6–1 |align='left'| Sascha Weinpolter |K-1 ColliZion 2010 Croatia |Submission (Forearm Choke) |Round 1, 2:03 | |- |2009-10-06 |Loss |10–6–1 |align='left'| Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou |DREAM.11 Feather Weight Grand Prix 2009 Final Round |TKO (Punches) |Round 1, 1:31 |DREAM Super Hulk Grand Prix Semifinal. Replaced Gegard Mousasi. |- |2009-06-27 |Loss |10–5–1 |align='left'| Bobby Lashley |Ultimate Chaos: Lashley vs. Sapp |Submission (Strikes) |Round 1, 3:18 | |- |2009-05-26 |Loss |10–4–1 |align='left'| Ikuhisa Minowa |DREAM.9 Feather Weight Grand Prix 2009 Second Round |Submission (Kneebar) |Round 1, 1:16 |DREAM Super Hulk Grand Prix Quarterfinal |- |2008-12-31 |Win |10–3–1 | Akihito Tanaka |Dynamite!! 2008 |TKO (Punches) |Round 1, 5:22 | |- |2008-02-23 |Loss |9–3–1 | Jan Nortje | |TKO (Punches) |Round 1, 0:55 | |- |2007-12-31 |Win |9–2–1 | Bobby Ologun |K-1 Premium 2007 Dynamite!! |TKO (Punches) |Round 1, 4:10 | |- |2005-11-05 |Win |8–2–1 | Kim Jong Wang |K-1 Hero's Seoul 2005 |TKO (Strikes) |Round 1, 0:08 | |- |2005-07-06 |Win |7–2–1 | Alan Karaev |K-1 Hero's 2 |KO (Punch) |Round 1, 3:44 | |- |2005-03-26 |Win |6–2–1 | Min-Soo Kim |K-1 Hero's 1 |KO (Punch) |Round 1, 1:12 | |- |2004-12-31 | style="background: #c5d2ea"|Draw |5–2–1 | Jérôme Le Banner |K-1 PREMIUM 2004 Dynamite!! |Draw |Round 4, 3:00 | |- |2004-05-22 |Loss |5–2 | Kazuyuki Fujita |K-1 MMA ROMANEX |Submission (Strikes) |Round 1, 2:15 | |- |2004-03-14 |Win |5–1 | Dolgorsürengiin Sumiyaabazar |K-1 Beast 2004 in Niigata |TKO (Foot Injury) |Round 1, 5:00 | |- |2003-09-21 |Win |4–1 | Stefan Gamlin |K-1 Japan Grand Prix 2003 |Submission (Guillotine Choke) |Round 1, 0:52 | |- |2002-12-31 |Win |3–1 | Yoshihiro Takayama |Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2002 – K-1 vs Inoki |Submission (Armbar) |Round 1, 2:16 | |- |2002-08-28 |Loss |2–1 | Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira |Pride Shockwave |Submission (Armbar) |Round 2, 4:03 | |- |2002-06-23 |Win |2–0 | Kiyoshi Tamura |Pride 21 |TKO (Punches) |Round 1, 0:11 | |- |2002-04-28 |Win |1–0 | Yoshihisa Yamamoto |Pride 20 |TKO (Strikes) |Round 1, 2:44 |

Kickboxing record

Filmography

Conan the Barbarian (2011) as Ukafa

Blood and Bone (2009) as Hammerman

Frankenhood (2009) as Frankie

Big Stan (2009)

The Longest Yard (2005) as Switowski

Elektra (2005) as Stone

''Devilman (2005) as World Newscaster

Izo (2004)

Taiho Shichauzo (2003) as Bob Hage

Bob Sapp: Sapp Time The Movie! (2003) documentary

References

External links

Bob Sapp's Professional MMA record at Sherdog.com

Category:1974 births Category:African American film actors Category:African American players of American football Category:African American professional wrestlers Category:African-American mixed martial artists Category:American expatriates in Japan Category:American football offensive linemen Category:American kickboxers Category:American mixed martial artists Category:American professional wrestlers Category:Expatriate television personalities in Japan Category:Living people Category:Mixed martial artists from Colorado Category:Super heavyweight kickboxers Category:Super heavyweight mixed martial artists Category:Washington Huskies football players

Name	Ashton Kutcher
Caption	Kutcher at the Time 100 Gala, May 4, 2010
Birth date	February 07, 1978
Birth place	Cedar Rapids, Iowa, U.S.
Birth name	Christopher Ashton Kutcher
Occupation	Actor Comedian Model (former) Producer
Years active	1998–present
Spouse	Demi Moore (m. 2005-present)

Christopher Ashton Kutcher (; born February 7, 1978), best known as Ashton Kutcher, is an American actor, producer, former fashion model and comedian, best known for his portrayal of Michael Kelso in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show. He also created, produced and hosted Punk'd, and played lead roles in the Hollywood films Dude, Where's My Car?, Just Married, The Butterfly Effect, The Guardian, and What Happens in Vegas. He is also the producer and co-creator of the supernatural TV show Room 401 and the reality TV show Beauty and the Geek.

Early life

Kutcher was born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to Larry Kutcher, a factory worker, and Diane (née Finnegan), a Procter & Gamble employee. He is of part Irish ancestry on his mother's side. with an older sister, Tausha, and a fraternal twin, Michael, who had a heart transplant when the brothers were young children. Kutcher attended Washington High School in Cedar Rapids for his freshman year, before his family moved to Homestead, Iowa, where he attended Clear Creek Amana High School. In a 2010 interview on the David Letterman Show, Kutcher claimed to be an all-state linebacker who averaged 15 tackles per game in high school. According to a former coach, however, Kutcher played sparingly as a wide receiver on a team that won only two games in his entire high school football career. Kutcher also appeared in school plays. Kutcher admitted that during adolescence, he contemplated committing suicide. At thirteen, he attempted to jump from a Cedar Rapids hospital balcony, with his father intervening in the incident. Kutcher's home life worsened as his parents divorced when he was sixteen. During his senior year, he broke into his high school at midnight with his cousin in an attempt to steal money; he was arrested leaving the scene. Kutcher was convicted of third-degree burglary and sentenced to three years' probation and 180 hours of community service. Kutcher stated that although the experience "straightened him out", he lost his girlfriend and anticipated college scholarships, and he was ostracized at school and in his community. Kutcher stated, "I thought I knew everything but I didn't have a clue. I was partying, and I woke up many mornings not knowing what I had done the night before. I played way too hard. I am amazed I am not dead." He was a member of the Delta Chi fraternity. To earn money for his tuition, Kutcher worked as a college summer hire in the cereal department for the General Mills plant in Cedar Rapids, and sometimes donated plasma for money. During his time at UI he was approached by a scout at a bar called "The Airliner" in Iowa City and was recruited to enter the "Fresh Faces of Iowa" modeling competition. After placing first, he dropped out of college and won a trip to New York City to the International Modeling and Talent Association (IMTA) Convention. Following his stay in New York City, Kutcher returned to Cedar Rapids before relocating to Los Angeles to pursue a career in acting. he starred in several comedy films, including Dude, Where's My Car? (2000), Just Married (2003), and Guess Who (2005). He briefly appeared in the 2003 family film, Cheaper By The Dozen, playing a self-obsessed actor. His 2004 film The Butterfly Effect was an unusually dramatic role for Kutcher, playing a conflicted young man who fell in love with a girl called Kayleigh; the film received mixed to negative reviews, but was a box-office success.

In 2003, Kutcher produced and starred in his own series on MTV's Punk'd as the host. The series involved various hidden camera tricks performed on celebrities. Kutcher is also an executive producer of the reality television shows Beauty and the Geek, Adventures in Hollyhood (based around the rap group Three 6 Mafia), and The Real Wedding Crashers and the game show Opportunity Knocks. Many of his production credits, including Punk'd, come through Katalyst Films, a production company he runs with partner Jason Goldberg.

Because of scheduling conflicts with the filming of The Guardian, Ashton was forced not to renew his contract for the eighth and final season of That 70s Show, although he did appear in the first four episodes of it (credited as a special guest star) and returned for the show's series finale.

Kutcher guest hosted WWE Monday Night Raw on May 31, 2010. There was controversy over the event due to Kutcher only being seen on screen and not in person by many in attendance.

He currently advertises for Nikon cameras.

Personal life

In 2003, Kutcher began dating Demi Moore. Moore and Kutcher married on September 24, 2005, in a private ceremony conducted by a Rabbi of the Kabbalah Center; the wedding was attended by about 150 close friends and family of the couple, including Bruce Willis, Moore's ex-husband. In October 2010, Kutcher and Moore met with co-director of the Kabbalah Center Rabbi Yehuda Berg in Israel.

Kutcher has invested in an Italian restaurant, Dolce

On September 17, 2008, Kutcher was named the assistant coach for the freshman football team at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles. However, he was unable to return in 2009 because he was filming Spread.

Twitter presence

On April 16, 2009, Kutcher ("aplusk") became the first user of Twitter to have more than 1,000,000 followers, beating CNN in the "Million followers contest". Kutcher announced via Twitter that he would be donating $100,000 to a charity to fight malaria. However, there have been several reports that Twitter manipulated the contest's results by preventing users from "unfollowing" Kutcher or CNN.

Filmography

Actor

Producer

Awards

Kid's Choice Awards

* 2004 -Favorite Movie Actor for Just Married, My Boss's Daughter and Cheaper by the Dozen -Nominated

* 2005 -Favorite TV Actor for That '70s Show and Punk'd - Nominated

* 2007 -Favorite Voice in a cartoon- Nominated

* 2004 -Favorite Television Actor for That '70s Show and Punk'd - Winner

People's Choice Awards

* 2010 -Favorite Web Celeb - Winner

Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award

* 2000 -Sierra Award Best Male Newcomer for Dude, Where's My Car? - Nominated

MTV Movie Awards

* 2001 -Breakthrough Male Performance for Dude, Where's My Car? - Nominated

Teen Choice Awards

* 2010 -Choice: Movie Actor Romantic Comedy for Valentine's Day - Winner

References

External links

Category:1978 births Category:Actors from Iowa Category:American film actors Category:American male models Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American television actors Category:American television producers Category:American voice actors Category:Living people Category:Male pageant winners Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Cedar Rapids, Iowa Category:Pranksters Category:Twin people from the United States Category:University of Iowa alumni

Name	Ashley Tisdale
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Ashley Michelle Tisdale
Born	July 02, 1985West Deal, New Jersey, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals in the week of February 12, 2006, with "What I've Been Looking For" and "Bop to the Top", both songs from the first High School Musical soundtrack.
- bgcolor	"#B0C4DE" align="center"
Name	Tisdale, Ashley Michelle
Short description	American singer, actor
Date of birth	July 2, 1985
Place of birth	Monmouth County, New Jersey, United States

Category:1985 births Category:Actors from New Jersey Category:American child actors Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:American television producers Category:American Jews Category:American pop singers Category:American singer-songwriters Category:American stage actors Category:American voice actors Category:Jewish actors Category:Jewish singers Category:Living people

Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:People from Monmouth County, New Jersey Category:Warner Bros. Records artists

Playername	Ashley Cole
Fullname	Ashley Cole
Dateofbirth	December 20, 1980
Cityofbirth	Stepney, London
Countryofbirth	England
Height
Position	Left back
Currentclub	Chelsea
Clubnumber	3
Youthyears1	1997–1998
Youthclubs1	Arsenal
Years1	1998–2006
Years2	1999–2000
Years3	2006–
Clubs1	Arsenal
Clubs2	→ Crystal Palace (loan)
Clubs3	Chelsea
Caps1	156
Caps2	14
Caps3	132
Goals1	8
Goals2	1
Goals3	6
Nationalyears1	1999
Nationalyears2	2002
Nationalyears3	2001–
Nationalteam1	England U20
Nationalteam2	England U21
Nationalteam3	England
Nationalcaps1	2
Nationalcaps2	5
Nationalcaps3	85
Nationalgoals1	0
Nationalgoals2	1
Nationalgoals3	0
Pcupdate	14:26, 08 January 2011 (UTC)
Ntupdate	21:57, 07 September 2010 (UTC)

Ashley Cole (born 20 December 1980) is an English professional footballer who plays for Chelsea and the England national team. He plays as a left-back and has been named one of the best in the world.

Cole began his career with Arsenal in 1999, going on to make 228 appearances, scoring 9 goals for the club, and winning two Premier League titles, three FA Cups and a runners-up medal from the 2006 UEFA Champions League Final. In August 2006, after a protracted transfer saga, he completed the move to rival club Chelsea in exchange for £5m plus defender William Gallas. Cole is a regular in the Chelsea first-team winning a second Champions League runners-up medal in 2008, three more FA Cups and his third Premier League title in 2010. On 15 May 2010, he became the first player to win six FA Cup winner's medals.

Cole married singer Cheryl Tweedy in July 2006. They separated in February 2010; she divorced him in September 2010.

Club career

Arsenal

Cole started his career by joining his local club, Arsenal, whom he had supported as a child. On 25 February 2000, he signed his first professional contract. At the age of 18, on 30 November 1999, he made his first team debut in the Worthington Cup against Middlesbrough. His Premier League debut came on 14 May 2000 against Newcastle United. Before he fully broke into the Arsenal side, he spent part of the 1999–2000 season on loan at Crystal Palace, where he played 14 league matches and scored one goal, a long-range half-volley against Blackburn Rovers. Cole caught a lucky break after an injury to Sylvinho, Arsenal's established left-back, in the autumn of the 2000–01 season gave Cole the opportunity to establish himself in the first team. He remained first-choice in the position even after Sylvinho's recovery.

With Arsenal, he won the FA Premier League twice (in 2002 and 2004), and the FA Cup three times (in 2002, 2003 and 2005, scoring in the penalty shootout in the final of the latter). Although injured for much of the 2005–06 season, he recovered in time to play in Arsenal's UEFA Champions League Final defeat to Barcelona at the end of the season. In total he made 228 first-team appearances for Arsenal, scoring 9 goals.

Cole had a very good season in 2004–05. He was a regular at left-back for both England and Arsenal despite Gaël Clichy's claim for a place in the first team squad. Cole scored his first goal of the season in the seventh game in a tough trip to Manchester City in which he scored the opening and only goal to give Arsenal an important win. He scored his second goal in a 3–1 away win to Aston Villa, scoring Arsenal's third in only the 28th minute. Cole, however, was also involved in a transfer saga with Chelsea. He was found guilty of making contact with league rivals Chelsea over a possible move, without informing Arsenal. He was fined £100,000 by the Premier League on 2 June 2005 for a tapping-up meeting at a hotel in January 2005. Cole, his agent Jonathan Barnett, the Chelsea manager José Mourinho and chief executive Peter Kenyon were present at the meeting. An appeal in August 2005 did not reject the guilty verdict, but his fine was reduced to £75,000. Chelsea were also fined £300,000 and Mourinho was fined £200,000, reduced on appeal in August 2005 to £75,000. Barnett's licence was suspended for 18 months and he was also fined £100,000.

On 18 July 2005, Cole signed a one-year extension to his contract with Arsenal, but just a year later departed from the club in acrimonious circumstances. On 15 July 2006, Cole launched a verbal attack on Arsenal; in his autobiography, quoted in The Sun, he claimed that the Arsenal board had treated him as a "scapegoat" and that they had "fed him to the sharks" over the tapping-up affair while Arsenal, from their part, insisted that they were legally obliged to punish Cole for his illegal contact with Chelsea. Cole was deliberately left out of Arsenal's 2006–07 team photograph, fuelling press speculation that he would leave.

On 28 July 2006, Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein confirmed that Arsenal and Chelsea had been in "civil talks" about the player. Chelsea insisted they would not raise their £16million bid for Cole, but Arsenal held out for at a higher valuation of £25 million. Negotiations continued throughout August and looked to be heading for deadlock, but eventually Cole signed for Chelsea on 31 August for a fee of £5 million, with William Gallas being transferred from Chelsea to Arsenal as part of the same deal. The deal was closed after the transfer window had officially ended, and was not confirmed until an hour and a half after the deadline had passed.

Chelsea

.]] Cole was given the number three shirt at Chelsea, and made his first appearance for the club as a substitute for Wayne Bridge in their 2–1 win over Charlton Athletic on 9 September. He issued a public statement concerning his transfer saying he "forgave" Arsenal for how he felt he was treated during his time there. Some Arsenal fans waved fake £20 notes with the player's face on them when Chelsea next met Arsenal at Stamford Bridge on 12 December.

On 31 January 2007, Cole suffered a serious knee injury in the 3–0 victory over Blackburn Rovers in a Premier League game at Stamford Bridge, although after a scan it was revealed to be not as bad as first thought, with Chelsea optimistic that he would return before the end of the 2006–07 season. Cole did indeed make a return at the end of the season, playing in the last twelve minutes of the 2007 FA Cup Final at the new Wembley Stadium against Manchester United. Chelsea emerged victorious 1–0 after extra-time with a goal scored by Didier Drogba, to win the 2007 FA Cup.

Cole was reportedly one of the players upset when José Mourinho was relieved of his position as Chelsea manager. He was dropped in favour of Wayne Bridge for the 2008 League Cup final, which Chelsea lost 2–1 to Tottenham Hotspur. However, Cole scored his first Chelsea goal in Chelsea's very next game, on 1 March 2008, the fourth goal in a 4–0 away victory against West Ham United. On 19 March 2008, Cole was involved in a controversial incident in a Premier League game against Tottenham at White Hart Lane where he performed a high tackle on Tottenham's Alan Hutton. Referee Mike Riley gave Cole a yellow card, a decision which was judged as too lenient by some analysts. Cole allegedly also "turned his back on the referee" and the episode renewed debate in the media over the game's rules on dissent towards officials.

In Chelsea's final league match of the 2008–09 season against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light, Cole scored his second Chelsea goal in the Blues' 3–2 win. The following season, after starting Chelsea's first six games in the league, Cole scored his third, fourth and fifth Chelsea goals at home to Burnley, Tottenham and Sunderland respectively. On 2 September 2009, he signed a new four-year deal which will contract him to Chelsea until 2013.

On 10 February 2010, he suffered a fractured left ankle in the 2–1 defeat against Everton that kept him out of action for three months. He eventually made his return against Stoke City F.C., a game which Chelsea won 7–0. Cole scored a goal against Wigan on the last day of the Premier League in an 8-0 win.

International career

Cole has played for England at youth and senior levels. He was capped for the England U-20 team at the 1999 FIFA World Youth Championship alongside Stuart Taylor, Peter Crouch, Andrew Johnson and Matthew Etherington. However, the team finished bottom of their group, suffering three defeats without scoring any goals. He also made four appearances for England under-21s, scoring once.

Cole made his senior England début against Albania, on 28 March 2001. He played for England at the 2002 World Cup and Euro 2004, and was named as one of four England players in the all-star squad for the latter tournament. Cole was also an ever-present for England in the 2006 World Cup; in their second round match against Ecuador he made a crucial block, deflecting Carlos Tenorio's shot onto the crossbar. The match ended with England winning 1–0, but England were knocked out on penalties by Portugal in the quarter-finals. By the end of 2008, Cole had achieved 68 caps for England, all of which were starting appearances.

He made his 79th appearance for England on 12 June 2010 in the 1-1 draw against USA in the 2010 World Cup Group stage match. He beat the record of 79 caps by a black English international (John Barnes, who appeared for England from 1983 to 1995) when he played against Algeria later that month.

Career statistics

Club

{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center;" |- ! colspan=20|England |- ! rowspan=2|Season !! rowspan=2|Club !! rowspan=2|Loan !! rowspan=2|Division ! colspan=2|League ! colspan=2|FA Cup ! colspan=2|League Cup ! colspan=2|Community Shield ! colspan=2|Champions League ! colspan=2|Total !colspan="2"|Discipline |- ! Apps !! Goals !! Apps !! Goals !! Apps !! Goals !! Apps !! Goals !! Apps !! Goals !! Apps !! Goals !! !! |- | 2010/2011|| rowspan=5|Chelsea || || Premier League | 21 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 3 || 0 ! 25 !! 0 | 3 || 0 |- | 2009/2010 || || Premier League | 27 || 4 || 2 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 4 || 0 ! 35 !! 4 | 4 || 0 |- | 2008/2009 || || Premier League | 34 || 1 || 7 || 0 || 0 || 0 || - || - || 8 || 0 ! 49 !! 1 | 9 || 0 |- | 2007/2008 || || Premier League | 27 || 1 || 1 || 0 || 2 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 10 || 0 ! 41 !! 1 | 6 || 1 |- | 2006/2007 || || Premier League | 23 || 0 || 5 || 0 || 3 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 9 || 0 ! 40 !! 0 | 14 || 0 |- ! colspan=4|Chelsea Total ! 132 !! 6 !! 15 !! 0 !! 6 !! 0 !! 3 !! 0 !! 34 !! 0 !! 190 !! 6 !! 36 !! 1 |- | 2005/2006|| rowspan=6|Arsenal || || Premier League | 11 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 3 || 0 ! 15 !! 0 | 4 || 0 |- | 2004/2005 || || Premier League | 35 || 2 || 3 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 8 || 0 ! 47 !! 2 | 13 || 0 |- | 2003/2004 || || Premier League | 32 || 0 || 4 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 9 || 1 ! 47 !! 1 | 6 || 1 |- | 2002/2003 || || Premier League | 31 || 1 || 3 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 9 || 0 ! 44 !! 1 | 7 || 0 |- | 2001/2002 || || Premier League | 29 || 2 || 4 || 0 || 0 || 0 || - || - || 7 || 0 ! 40 !! 2 | 10 || 1 |- | 2000/2001 || || Premier League | 17 || 3 || 6 || 0 || 1 || 0 || - || - || 9 || 0 ! 33 !! 3 | 6 || 0 |- | 1999/2000 || rowspan=1|Crystal Palace || Loan || Division One | 14 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || - || - || - || - ! 14 !! 1 | 1 || 0 |- | 1999/2000 || rowspan=1|Arsenal || || Premier League | 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0 ! 2 !! 0 | 0 || 0 |- ! colspan=4|Arsenal Total ! 156 !! 8 !! 20 !! 0 !! 3 !! 0 !! 4 !! 0 !! 45 !! 1 !! 228 !! 9 !! 46 !! 2 |- ! colspan=4|Career Total ! 302 !! 15 !! 35 !! 0 !! 9 !! 0 !! 7 !! 0 !! 79 !! 1 !! 432 !! 16 !! 82 !! 3 |}

:(correct as of 14:20, 08 January 2011)

International

|- |2001||7||0 |- |2002||9||0 |- |2003||7||0 |- |2004||13||0 |- |2005||8||0 |- |2006||13||0 |- |2007||4||0 |- |2008||7||0 |- |2009||9||0 |- !Total||77||0 |}

Honours

Club

Arsenal

Premier League: 2001–02, 2003–04

FA Cup: 2002, 2003, 2005

Community Shield: 2002, 2004

Chelsea

Premier League: 2009–10

FA Cup: 2007, 2009, 2010

League Cup: 2007

Community Shield: 2009

International

England

FA Summer Tournament: 2004

Individual

PFA Team of the Year: 2002, 2004, 2005

UEFA Team of the Year: 2004

Chelsea Players' Player of the Year: 2008-09

Chelsea Goal of the Year: 2009-10

Personal life

Cole's father, Ron Callender, is from Barbados. He left the family after seven years of marriage and later moved to Melbourne. Ashley and his younger brother Matthew were brought up by their white mother Sue Cole, going to Bow School in Tower Hamlets. Cole is a distant cousin of American singer Mariah Carey.

He met Girls Aloud singer Cheryl Tweedy in September 2004; they married on 15 July 2006 in Wrotham Park, Hertfordshire. In January 2008, the couple almost separated after allegations were made that Cole had had affairs with three other women. He, however, disputed the allegations and the couple stayed together. It was announced on 23 February 2010 that the couple would separate following fournew allegations of adultery. Three months later, it was announced that Cheryl was filing for divorce. They officially divorced on 3 September 2010. He is now dating Kayla Collins, an American model.

In 2006, Cole sued the News of the World and The Sun newspapers for libel after they printed allegations that he was involved in a "homosexual orgy". Both papers retracted the allegations. That same year, Cole released an autobiography titled, My Defence, which sold 4,000 copies in the first six weeks of release. Cole's former teammate, Jens Lehmann, criticised Cole for writing an autobiography when he was 25.

Cole has had a couple of minor brushes with the police. On 4 March 2009 he was held after swearing in front of a police officer outside a South Kensington nightclub. He was taken to a police station and issued with an £80 fixed penalty notice before being released. On 4 January 2010, Cole was convicted of a speeding offence committed on 17 November 2009. He was recorded exceeding the speed limit by doing 104 mph in a 50 mph zone on the A3 road in Kingston upon Thames, a residential stretch. His defence at Kingston Magistrates Court, opposing the charge in his absence, argued unsuccessfully that the police speed gun was faulty. Cole also claimed that his actions were excuseable because he was trying to evade the paparazzi. On 29 January he was fined £1000 and disqualified from driving for four months.

References

External links

Chelsea profile

FA website profile

Profile on transfermarkt.co.uk

Profile at 4thegame.com

Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:Association football fullbacks Category:2002 FIFA World Cup players Category:2006 FIFA World Cup players Category:2010 FIFA World Cup players Category:Arsenal F.C. players Category:Black British sportspeople Category:British people of Barbadian descent Category:Chelsea F.C. players Category:Crystal Palace F.C. players Category:English footballers Category:England international footballers Category:England under-21 international footballers Category:People from Stepney Category:Premier League players Category:The Football League players Category:UEFA Euro 2004 players