Coordinates	5°59′0″N116°08′0″N
Group	Ukrainians(Українці/Ukrayintsi)
Poptime	39.8–57.5 milllion
Popplace	37,541,700
Region1
Pop1	2,942,961-4,379,690
Ref1
Region2
Pop2	1,209,085
Ref2
Region3
Pop3	961,113
Ref3
Region4
Pop4	500,000
Ref4
Region5
Pop5	375,000
Ref5
Region6
Pop6	333,000
Ref6
Region7
Pop7	320,070
Ref7
Region8
Pop8	300,000
Ref8
Region9
Pop9	159,000
Ref9
Region10
Pop10	104,720 - 128,100
Ref10
Region11
Pop11	126,613
Ref11
Ref11
Region12
Pop12	54,398
Ref12
Region13
Pop13	52,293
Ref13
Region14
Pop14	30,000
Ref14
Region15
Pop14	27,878
Ref14
Region15
Pop15	27,722
Ref15
Region16
Pop16	27,172
Ref16
Region17
Pop17	21,924
Ref17
Region18
Pop18	21,100
Ref18
Region20
Pop20	7,039
Ref20
Region19
Pop19	19,785
Ref19
Region21
Pop21	6,125
Ref21
Langs	Ukrainian, Russian
Rels	Razumkov center study about main church membership in Ukraine (2006.); Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Kiev Patriarchate) - 38,9%; Ukrainian Orthodox Church (Moscow Patriarchate) - 29,4%; Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church - 2,9%; Greek Catholic - 14,7%; Roman Catholic - 1,7%; Protestant - 2,4%; Other.
Related	Other Slavs, particularly other East Slavs }}

Ukrainians (, ''Ukrayintsi'', ) are an East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine, which is the sixth-largest nation in Europe. The Constitution of Ukraine applies the term 'Ukrainians' to all its citizens. According to some dictionary definitions, a descriptive name for the "inhabitants of Ukraine" is ''Ukrainian'' or ''Ukrainian people''.

The oldest recorded ethnonyms used for Ukrainians are ''Rusychi'', ''Rusyny'' and ''Rusy'' (from old term ''Rus'''). In the 10th to 12th centuries those names applied only to the Slavic inhabitants of what is today the national and ethnic territory of Ukraine. Similar designations were adopted by the proto-Russian inhabitants of the northeastern principalities of Rus'.

Before the medieval period, Ukrainians were preceded in the area by the ancient Greeks, Scythians, Sarmatians, Goths, and Norsemen. After the 14th century, Ukraine was split between several neighboring states. Until the 17th century, Ukrainians and Belarusians identified as the same people, known as Ruthenians. In the last few centuries, Ukraine was subjected to periods of Polonization and Russification, but they managed to preserve a sense of national identity and rich culture.

In the last few decades of the 19th century, Ukrainians under Russian rule were forced to emigrate to the Asian regions of the empire, as the Russians sought to colonize it. Many of their counterpart Slavs under Austro-Hungarian rule emigrated to the New World seeking work and better economic opportunities. Today, a large ethnic Ukrainian minority reside in Russia, Canada, the United States, Brazil, Kazakhstan, Italy and Argentina. According to some sources, around 20 million people outside Ukraine identify as having Ukrainian ethnicity, however the official data of the respective countries calculated together doesn't show more than 10 million. Ukraine has one of the largest diasporas in the world.

Etymology

The modern name ''Ukraintsi'' (Ukrainians) is derived from ''Ukraina'' (Ukraine), a name first documented in 1187. The term is also mentioned in the years 1189, 1213, 1280, and 1282, in various medieval chronicles (for example, Galician Ukrayina, etc.), referring to the southern territories (principalities) of Kievan Rus'.

There are several theories about the etymology of the term, Ukrainian historians often translate the term "u-kraine" as "in-land", "home-land" or "our-country". The traditional Russian theory (widely supported by Russian historians) is that the modern name of the country is derived from the term "o-kraina" in the sense of "periphery", "borderland" or "frontier region" etc.

The appellation ''Ukrainians'' initially came into common usage in Central Ukraine and did not take hold in Galicia and Bukovyna until the latter part of the 19th century, in Transcarpathia until the 1930s, and in the Preshov region until the late 1940s. Those Western Ukrainians have used the name ''Rusyny'' (Ruthenians) until national revival.

Geographic distribution

Most ethnic Ukrainians live in Ukraine where they make up over three-quarters of the population. The largest population of ethnic Ukrainians outside of Ukraine live in Russia where about 2,9 million Russian citizens consider themselves ethnic Ukrainians, while millions of others (primarily in southern Russia and Siberia) have some Ukrainian ancestry. The inhabitants of the Kuban, for example, have vacillated among three identities, Ukrainian, Russian (supported by the Soviet regime), and "Cossack".

According to some previous assumptions, there are also almost an estimated 2.1 million of people of Ukrainian origin in North America (1.2 million in Canada and 890,000 in the United States). Large numbers of Ukrainians live in Brazil (500,000), Moldova (375,000), Kazakhstan (about 333,000), Poland (estimates from 300,000 to 400,000), Argentina (300,000), Belarus (estimates from 250,000 to 300,000), Portugal (100,000), Romania (estimates from 60.000 to 90.000) and Slovakia (55,000). There are also Ukrainian diasporas in the UK, Australia, Germany, Latvia, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Ireland, Sweden and the former Yugoslavia.

Identity

The watershed in the development of modern Ukrainian national consciousness was the struggle for independence during the creation of Ukrainian People's Republic (1917–21). A concerted effort to reverse the growth of Ukrainian national consciousness was begun by the regime of Joseph Stalin in the late 1920s, and continued with minor interruptions until the most recent times. The man-made Famine-Genocide of 1932–3, the deportations of the so-called kulaks, the physical annihilation of the nationally conscious intelligentsia, and terror in general were used to destroy and subdue the Ukrainian nation. Even after Joseph Stalin's death the concept of a Russified though multiethnic Soviet people was officially promoted, according to which the non-Russian nations were relegated to second-class status. The creation of a sovereign and independent Ukraine in 1991, however, pointed to the failure of the policy of the "merging of nations" and to the enduring strength of the Ukrainian national consciousness. Today, one of the consequences of these acts is Ukrainophobia.

Biculturalism is especially present in southeastern Ukraine with a significant Russian minority. Historical colonization of Ukraine is one of the reasons for creating confusion about national identity to this day. Many citizens of Ukraine took the Ukrainian national identity in the past 20 years. According to the concept of nationality dominant in Eastern Europe the Ukrainians are people whose native language is Ukrainian (an objective criterion) whether or not they are nationally conscious, and all those who identify themselves as Ukrainian (a subjective criterion) whether or not they speak Ukrainian.

Attempts to introduce a territorial-political concept of Ukrainian nationality on the Western European model (presented by political philosopher Viacheslav Lypynsky) were unsuccessful until the 1990s. Territorial loyalty has also been manifested by the historical national minorities living in Ukraine. The accepted view in Ukraine today is that all permanent inhabitants of Ukraine are its citizens (i.e., Ukrainians) regardless of their ethnic origins or the language in which they communicate. The official declaration of Ukrainian sovereignty of 16 July 1990 stated that "citizens of the Republic of all nationalities constitute the people of Ukraine."

Origin

Genetic

Ukrainians show the characteristic R1a genes of the patrilineal descent from a single male at a very high frequency of 41.5-54.0%. Such high frequencies of R1a have been found only in Poland, Russia, Slovenia, and on the Indian subcontinent.

DNA tests of Y chromosomes from representative sample of Ukrainians were analyzed for composition and frequencies of haplogroups. In the Ukrainian gene, pool six haplogroups were revealed: E, F (including G and I), J, N3, P, and R1a1. The major haplogroup in the Ukrainian gene pool, Haplogroup R1a is thought to mark the migration patterns of the early Indo-Europeans and is associated with the distribution of the Kurgan archaeological culture. The second major haplogroup is haplogroup F, which is a combination of the lineages differing by the time of appearance. Haplogroup P found represents the genetic contribution of the population originating from the ancient autochthonous population of Europe.

Haplogroup J and Haplogroup E mark the migration patterns of the Middle-Eastern agriculturists during the Neolithic. The presence of the N3 lineage is likely explained by a contribution of the assimilated Finno-Ugric tribes. A recent study (Rebala et al. 2007) studied several Slavic populations with the aim of localizing the Proto-Slavic homeland. A significant finding of this study is that according to the authors most Slavic populations have similar Y chromosome pools, and this similarity can be traced to an origin in middle Dnieper basin of Ukraine.

Ethnic

Cucuteni-Trypillian culture is a late Neolithic archaeological culture which flourished between ca. 5500 BC and 2750 BC, from the Carpathian Mountains to the Dniester and Dnieper regions. It is assumed that this is the first significant culture that influenced the culture of the Ukrainian people, although anatomically modern humans have been present in the region since 32,000 BCE. Later numerous nomadic tribes inhabited the territory of modern Ukraine. The Pontic-Caspian steppe region in the south of Ukraine and Russia is suspected to be the homeland of the Indo-Europeans. Groups would begin breaking off from the main Indo-European pool beginning around 4,000-4,500 BC and continued for centuries, with Indo-Iranian estimated to have separated about 2,000 BC.

In the framework of the Kurgan hypothesis, "the Indo-Europeans who remained after the migrations became speakers of Balto-Slavic". Some of the other Indo-European tribes would return to the region. They included Iranic-speaking Scythians and Sarmatians, Greeks from the Black Sea colonies, Thracians from modern-day Bulgaria and Romania, Illyrians from modern day Croatia, Germanic-speaking Goths and Varangians, and the Crimean Armenians in the early second millennium AD. There were also non-Indo-European Finno-Ugrians and Turkic-speaking Bulgars, Khazars, Pechenegs and Cumans.

At the beginning of 9th century a significant number of Varangians was present in central Ukraine. They used the water ways of Eastern Europe for military raids and trade, particularily the Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks. Until 11th century these Varangians also served as key mercenary troops for a number of princes in mediaeval Kiev, as well as for some of the Byzantine emperors, while others occupied key administrative positions in Kievan Rus’ society. After a few centuries those Varangians have adopted local customs of Ukrainian ancestors and they have become slavicized. Besides the other cultural traces, today among Ukrainian names there can be notice a several of those who have Norman origins as a result of mutual influences from that period.

Modern researches confirms that Ukrainian origins are predominantly Slavic, while non-Slavic nomads who lived in the steppes of eventually colonized southern Ukraine did not have a significant influence on the formation of modern Ukrainians. Gothic historian Jordanes and 6th-century Byzantine authors named two groups that lived in the south-east of Europe: ''Sclavins'' (western Slavs) and Antes. The Antes are normally identified with proto-Ukrainians. Historians believe that the ancestors of Ukrainians were members of large ethnic community of Antes. The name ''Antes'' is of probably of Iranic (Scythian) origin and means people living on the borderland. The state of Antes existed from the end of 4th to early 7th century.

Archeological and linguistic evidence indicates that at the dawning of the Christian era the lands between the Oder River or the Vistula River and the middle Dnieper River basins were inhabited by proto-Slavic tribes. The southern Ukrainian steppes were dominated by Iranian peoples and then Turkic nomadic peoples, although some Slavic agrarian colonization occurred. From the 5th to 7th century AD on, proto-Ukrainian tribes are known to have inhabited Ukrainian territory: the Volhynians, Derevlianians, Polianians, and Siverianians and the less significant Ulychians, Tivertsians, and White Croats. These tribes are the ancestors of the Ukrainian nation. Polianians founded the city of Kiev — later capital of a powerful state known as Rus' (aka Kievan Rus'). Polianians played the key role in the formation of the Kievan Rus' state. Polianians have played a key role in formation of future Ukrainian nation.

Historical theories that Ukrainians share certain linguistic traits with the two other East Slavic nations, the Belarusians and Russians, has been interpreted variously. That the three nations shared a religion and a ruling dynasty in the time of Kievan Rus’ has been used to hypothesize the existence of an "ancient Rus'" nationality, that is, one proto-Rus’ people, that disintegrated under the impact of Mongol, Lithuanian, and Polish domination during the 13th and 14th centuries. That originally "Muscovite concept" became dogma in the USSR and has often been repeated in the West; among Ukrainian scholars it was advocated by Myron Korduba. A second theory states that a single, proto-Ukrainian people lived in the area from the Carpathian Mountains to the White Sea, and that the Russians and Belarusians later separated from it. That thesis has been supported by many Ukrainian scholars.

Subethnic groups - Among Ukrainians, there are several distinct subethnic groups, especially in western Ukraine: places like Zakarpattia and Halychyna. Among them the most known are Hutsuls, Volhynians, Boykos and Lemkos (otherwise known as Rusyns - a derivative of Ruthenians), each with peculiar area of settlement, dialect, dress, anthropological type and folk traditions. There are several theories about the origin of each of these groups. Ukrainian subethnic groups also include Polishchuks, Bodnars and Kuban Cossacks. Some of these subethnic groups were strongly influenced by the neighboring nations, but according to all relevant indicators they belong to the mainstream of Ukrainian people.

History

Ukraine had a very turbulent history, a fact explained by its geographical position. In the 9th century the Varangians from Scandinavia conquered the proto-Slavic tribes on the territory of today's Ukraine, Belarus, and western Russia and laid the groundwork for the Kievan Rus’ state. The ancestors of the Ukrainian nation such as Polianians had a important role in the development and culturalization of Kievan Rus’ state. The internecine wars between Rus' princes, which began after the death of Yaroslav the Wise, led to the political fragmentation of the state into a number of principalities. The quarreling between the princes left Kievan Rus’ vulnerable to foreign attacks, and the invasion of the Mongols in 1236. and 1240. finally destroyed the state. Another important state in the history of the Ukrainians is Kingdom of Galicia–Volhynia (1199–1349).

Third importan state for Ukrainians is Cossack Hetmanate. The Cossacks of Zaporizhia since the late 15th century controlled the lower bends of the river Dnieper, between Russia, Poland and the Tatars of Crimea, with the fortified capital, Zaporizhian Sich. Hetman Bohdan Khmelnytsky is one of the most celebrated and at the same time most controversial political figures in Ukraine's early-modern history. A brilliant military leader, his greatest achievement in the process of national revolution was the formation of the Cossack Hetmanate state of the Zaporozhian Host (1648–1782). Period of the Ruin in the late 17th century in the history of Ukraine is characterized by the disintegration of Ukrainian statehood and general decline. During the Ruin Ukraine became divided along the Dnieper River into Left-Bank Ukraine and Right-Bank Ukraine, and the two halves became hostile to each other. Ukrainian leaders during the period were largely opportunists and men of little vision who could not muster broad popular support for their policies.

At the final stages of the First World War, a powerful struggle for an independent Ukrainian state developed in the central Ukrainian territories, which, until 1917, were part of the Russian Empire. The newly established Ukrainian government, the Central Rada, headed by Mykhailo Hrushevsky, issued four universals, the Fourth of which, dated 22 January 1918, declared the independence and sovereignty of the Ukrainian National Republic (UNR) on 25 January 1918. The session of the Central Rada on 29 April 1918 ratified the Constitution of the UNR and elected Hrushevsky president.

Soviet period: From 1932–1933 millions of Ukrainians starved to death in a famine, known as the Holodomor. The Soviet regime remained silent about the Holodomor and provided no aid to the victims or the survivors. But news and information about what was going on reached the West and evoked public responses in Polish-ruled Western Ukraine and in the Ukrainian diaspora. Since the 1990s the independent Ukrainian state, particularly under President Viktor Yushchenko, the Ukrainian mass media and academic institutions, many foreign governments, most Ukrainian scholars, and many foreign scholars have viewed and written about the Holodomor as genocide and issued official declarations and publications to that effect. Modern scholarly estimates of the direct loss of human life due to the famine range between 2.6 million (3-3.5 million) and 12 million although much higher numbers are usually published in the media and cited in political debates. As of March 2008, the parliament of Ukraine and the governments of several countries have recognized the Holodomor as an act of genocide.

Historical maps of Ukraine

The Ukrainian state has occupied a number of territories since its initial foundation. Most of these territories have been located within Eastern Europe, however, as depicted in the maps in the gallery below, has also at times extended well into Eurasia and South-Eastern Europe. At times there has also been a distinct lack of a Ukrainian state, as its territories were on a number of occasions, annexed by its more powerful neighbours.

Culture

Due to Ukraine's geographical location, its culture primarily exhibits central and eastern European influences. Over the years it has been invariably influenced by movements such as those brought about during the Byzantine Empire and the Renaissance. Today, the country is somewhat culturally divided with the western regions bearing a stronger central European influence and the eastern regions showing a significant Russian influence. A strong Christian culture was predominant for many centuries, although Ukraine was also the center of conflict between the Catholic, Orthodox and Islamic world. Ukrainian culture has elements of some of the oldest cultures in the world such as Trypillian culture.

Languages

Ukrainian (украї́нська мо́ва, ''ukrayins'ka mova'', ) is a language of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the only official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a Cyrillic alphabet. The language shares some vocabulary with the languages of the neighboring Slavic nations, most notably with Belarusian, Polish, Russian and Slovak.

The Ukrainian language traces its origins to the Old East Slavic language of the medieval state of Kievan Rus'. In its earlier stages it was called Ruthenian language. Ukrainian, along with other East Slavic languages, is a lineal descendant of the colloquial language used in Kievan Rus' (10th–13th century).

While the Golden Horde placed officials in key Russian areas, practised forced resettlement, and even renamed urban centers to suit their own language, the Mongols did not attempt to annihilate Kievan society and culture. The second onslaught began with the destruction of Kiev by the Golden Horde in 1240. This khanate formed the western part of a great Mongol Empire that had been founded by Genghis Khan in the early 13th century. After the Mongol destruction of Kievan Rus in the 13th century, literary activity in Ukraine declined. A revival began in the late of the 18th century in the eastern Ukraine with overlapping literary and academic phases at a time when nostalgia for the Cossack past and resentment at the loss of autonomy still lingered on.

The language has persisted despite several periods of bans and/or discouragement throughout centuries as it has always nevertheless maintained a sufficient base among the people of Ukraine, its folklore songs, itinerant musicians, and prominent authors.

According to 2001 All-Ukrainian census, 85.2% of all people of Ukrainian ethnicity living in Ukraine named Ukrainian as their mother-tongue, and 14.8% named Russian as their mother-tongue. This census doesn't cover Ukrainians living in other countries.

Religions

Ukrainians are predominantly Orthodox Christians. In the eastern and southern areas of Ukraine the Ukrainian Orthodox Church under the jurisdiction of the Moscow Patriarchate is the most common. In central and western Ukraine there is support for the Ukrainian Orthodox Church - Kiev Patriarchate headed by Patriarch Filaret and also in the western areas of Ukraine and with smaller support throughout the country there is support for the Ukrainian Autocephalous Orthodox Church headed by Metropolitan Mefodiy. In the Western region known as Galicia the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, one of the Eastern Rite Catholic churches has a strong membership. Various Protestant churches have a growing presence among the Ukrainian population. There are also ethnic minorities that practice other religions, i.e. Crimean Tatars (Islam), and Jews and Karaim (Judaism).

Music

Ukrainian folk oral literature, poetry, and songs (such as the dumas) are among the most distinctive ethnocultural features of Ukrainians as a people. Religious music existed in Ukraine before the official adoption of Christianity, in the form of plainsong "obychnyi spiv" or "musica practica". Traditional Ukrainian music is easily recognized by its somewhat melancholy tone. It first became known outside of Ukraine during the 18th century as musicians from Ukraine would perform before the royal courts in Russia and Poland. A large number of famous musicians around the world was educated or born in Ukraine, among them are famous names like Dmitry Bortniansky, Sergei Prokofiev, Myroslav Skoryk, etc.

Dance

Ukrainian dance refers to the traditional folk dances of the peoples of Ukraine. Today, Ukrainian dance is primarily represented by what ethnographers, folklorists and dance historians refer to as "Ukrainian Folk-Stage Dances", which are stylized representations of traditional dances and their characteristic movements that have been choreographed for concert dance performances. This stylized art form has so permeated the culture of Ukraine, that very few purely traditional forms of Ukrainian dance remain today.

Ukrainian dance is often described as energetic, fast-paced, and entertaining, and along with traditional Easter eggs (''pysanky''), it is a characteristic example of Ukrainian culture recognized and appreciated throughout the world.

Symbols

The national symbols of the Ukrainians are the Flag of Ukraine and the Coat of arms of Ukraine.

The national flag of Ukraine is a blue and yellow bicolour rectangle. The colour fields are of same form and equal size. The colours of the flag represent a blue sky above yellow fields of wheat. The flag was designed for the convention of the Supreme Ruthenian Council, meeting in Lviv in October 1848. Its colours were based on the coat-of-arms of the Galicia-Volhynia Principality.

The Coat of arms of Ukraine features the same colours found on the Ukrainian flag: a blue shield with yellow trident—the symbol of ancient Slavic tribes that once lived in Ukraine, later adopted by Ruthenian and Kievan Rus rulers. Others say that the coat represents also the importance of the Holy Trinity, although coincidentally prior to Christianity the people of today's Ukraine believed in Triglav, with the similar concept of three.

See also

List of Ukrainians

List of Ukrainian rulers

Lemkos

Rusyns

Ruthenians

Ukrainians in Russia

Green Ukraine

Soviet population transfers

References

Footnotes

Sources

Online sources

"''How Rusyns Became Ukrainians''", Zerkalo Nedeli (''the Mirror Weekly''), July, 2005. Available online in Russian and in Ukrainian.

"''When Was the Ukrainian Nation Born''", Zerkalo Nedeli (''the Mirror Weekly''), April 23 – May 6, 2005. Available online in Russian and in Ukrainian.

'''We are more "Russian" then them', the History of Myths and Sensations'', Zerkalo Nedeli (''the Mirror Weekly''), January 27 – February 2, 2001. Available online in Russian and in Ukrainian.

''External Migration – the Main Cause of Ethnically non-Ukrainian Population in Modern Ukraine''. Zerkalo Nedeli (''the Mirror Weekly''), January 26 – February 1, 2002. Available online in Russian and in Ukrainian.

Halyna Lozko, ''"Ukrainian ethnology. Ethnographic division of Ukraine"'' (in Ukrainian). Available online.

External links

Ukrainian World Congress.

Ukrainians on Encyclopedia of Ukraine

Races of Europe 1942–1943 (English)

Hammond's Racial map of Europe, 1919 (English) "National Alumni" 1920, vol.7

Peoples of Europe / Die Voelker Europas 1914 (German)

Ethnographic map of Europe 1914 (English)

Linguistic Divisions of Europe in 1914 (German)

Ethnic Territory of the Ukrainian people in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries (English)

Category:Ethnic groups in Azerbaijan Category:Ethnic groups in Crimea Category:Ethnic groups in Europe Category:Ethnic groups in Kazakhstan Category:Ethnic groups in Kyrgyzstan Category:Ethnic groups in Poland Category:Ethnic groups in Russia Category:Ethnic groups in Serbia Category:Ethnic groups in Ukraine Category:Ethnic groups in Vojvodina Category:Slavic nations * Category:Ukrainian studies

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Coordinates	5°59′0″N116°08′0″N
name	Katy Perry
background	solo_singer
birth name	Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson
alias	Katy Hudson
birth date	October 25, 1984
birth place	Santa Barbara, California, U.S.
genre	Pop, rock, gospel
occupation	Singer-songwriter, actress
instrument	Vocals, guitar, piano
years active	2001–present
label	Red Hill, Island, Columbia, Capitol
website	}}

Katy Perry (born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson; October 25, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents. Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a career in music. As Katy Hudson, she released a self-titled gospel album in 2001, which was unsuccessful. She later recorded an album with production team The Matrix and completed the majority of a solo album from 2004–05, the later of which was never released. Perry is the first female artist to get five hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in one year.

After signing with Capitol Music Group in 2007, her fourth record label in seven years, she adopted the stage name Katy Perry and released her first Internet single "Ur So Gay" that November, which garnered public attention but failed to chart. She rose to fame with the release of her second single "I Kissed a Girl" in 2008, which went on to top international charts. Perry's first mainstream studio album ''One of the Boys'' followed later that year and subsequently became the 33rd-best selling album worldwide of 2008. It was accredited platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America, while "I Kissed a Girl" and her second single "Hot n Cold" both received multi-platinum certifications.

Her second studio album ''Teenage Dream'' was released in August 2010 and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. The album included the Billboard chart-toppers "California Gurls", "Teenage Dream", "Firework", and "E.T." and most recently "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)". The album produced five Hot 100 toppers, making ''Teenage Dream'' only the second album—after Michael Jackson's ''Bad''—to do so. With "E.T." at number one on the chart of May 12, 2011, Perry became the first artist in history to spend 52 consecutive weeks in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.

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

Early life and career

1984–2006: Early life and career beginnings

Perry was born Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson in Santa Barbara, California to Keith, a West Coast scenester in the 1960s, and Mary Hudson (née Perry), an evangelist who grew up in Southern California and had "a tempestuous first marriage in Zimbabwe". Perry has German, Portuguese, Irish, and English ancestry. She is the second child of two pastors. She has an older sister and younger brother. Perry's mother's aunt and uncle were screenwriter Eleanor Perry and director Frank Perry.

Perry was incorporated into her parents' ministry and sang in their church between the ages of nine and seventeen. She grew up listening to gospel music, was not allowed to listen to what her mother called "secular music", and attended Christian schools and camps. As a child, Perry learned how to dance in a recreation building in Santa Barbara. She was taught by seasoned dancers and began with swing, Lindy Hop, and jitterbug. She took her GED after her freshman year at Dos Pueblos High School and decided to leave school in the pursuit of a career in music. Perry initially started singing "because [she] was at that point in [her] childhood where [she] was copycatting [her] sister and everything she [would do]." Her sister practiced with cassette tapes, while Perry took the tapes herself when her sister was not around. She rehearsed the songs and performed them in front of her parents, who suggested she take vocal coaching. She grabbed the opportunity and began taking lessons at the age of nine and continued until she was sixteen. She later enrolled in at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, and studied Italian opera for a short period of time.

At the age of 15, Perry's singing in church attracted the attention of rock veterans from Nashville, Tennessee, who brought her there to polish her writing skills. In Nashville, Perry started recording demos and was taught by country music veterans on how to craft songs and play guitar. Perry signed to the Christian music label Red Hill, under which she recorded her first album at the age of 15. Performing as Katy Hudson, she released the self-titled Gospel-rock album in 2001. The album was unsuccessful, however, after the label ceased operations at the end of 2001. She later changed her surname to Perry, her mother's maiden name, because "Katy Hudson" was too close to film actress Kate Hudson.

At the age of 17, Perry left her home for Los Angeles, where she worked with Glen Ballard on an album for record label Island. Growing up listening to mostly gospel music, Perry had few references when she began recording songs. Asked by the producer with whom she would like to collaborate, Perry had no idea. That night, she went with her mother to a hotel. Inside, she turned on VH1 and saw producer Glen Ballard talking about Alanis Morissette; Ballard produced Morissette's ''Jagged Little Pill'', which had had a "huge influence" on Perry. She expressed interest in working with Ballard to her initial collaborator, who arranged a meeting for her with Ballard in Los Angeles. Perry presented one her songs to Ballard, and received a call back a day later. Ballard then helped Perry develop her songwriting over the next few years. The album was due for release in 2005, but ''Billboard'' reported it also went nowhere. Perry was dropped by The Island Def Jam Music Group. Some of Perry and Ballard's collaborations included "Box", "Diamonds" and "Long Shot", were posted on her official MySpace page. "Simple", one of the songs she recorded with Ballard, was released on the soundtrack to the 2005 film ''The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants''.

Perry signed to Columbia Records in 2004. However, the label was not amenable with her vision, not putting her in the "driver's seat". Instead, one of Columbia's ideas was to pair Perry with the record production team The Matrix, who was working on an album, to serve as its female vocalist. Although the album was later shelved, she caught the attention of the music press: Her burgeoning music career led to her being named "The Next Big Thing" in October 2004 by ''Blender'' magazine. With no album project ongoing, Perry began recording her own. Eighty percent completed, however, Columbia decided not to finish it and dropped her off the label. While waiting to find another label, she worked in an independent A&R; company called Taxi Music. In 2006, Perry was featured in the tail-end of the video to P.O.D.'s single "Goodbye for Now". She made a cameo appearance in Carbon Leaf's video, "Learn to Fly". She also appeared in other videos like Timbaland's "If We Ever Meet Again" and more. There were other videos she was included in too.

2007–09: ''One of the Boys'' and ''MTV Unplugged''

While in the process of being dropped by Columbia in 2006, the company's publicity executive Angelica Cob-Baehler enthusiastically recommended Perry to Virgin Records chairman Jason Flom. At the time Flom was leading a complete revival in fortunes at the label and looking to crown recent achievements by breaking a global pop act. Despite mixed reactions from fellow Virgin executives, Flom became convinced that Perry could be that breakthrough star, and at the start of 2007 extended discussions with Columbia resulted in Katy Perry signing to the newly created Capitol Music Group, a merger between Virgin and Capitol. As part of the deal, the label secured the masters to the unfinished album, recorded while at Columbia, that would go on form a significant part of her official mainstream debut album, ''One of the Boys''. The Columbia recordings were seen by Flom as being "very strong but lacking an undeniable smash or two that would work both at U.S. pop radio and internationally" and so one of the executive's first actions after completing the signing was to set up a collaboration between Perry and the writer-producer Dr. Luke. The results were the songs "I Kissed a Girl" and "Hot n Cold". Establishing her image was one of the immediate concerns of her management. A campaign was started in November 2007 with the release of the video to "Ur So Gay", aimed at introducing her to the music market. A digital EP led by "Ur So Gay" was later released to create online buzz and press story. This was a successful move that resulted in bringing Perry to the attention of Madonna, who mentioned her on KISS FM and KRQ's ''JohnJay & Rich'' morning show in Arizona. On March 10, 2008, she appeared as herself on the ABC Family television series, ''Wildfire'', on the episode "Life's Too Short".

She went on the next step of promoting the album, undertaking a two-month tour of radio stations. The album's official lead single, "I Kissed a Girl", was released on May 6, 2008. Perry's A&R;, Chris Anokute, told HitQuarters the song and its controversial theme met with strong resistance at the label, "People said, 'This is never going to get played on the radio. How do we sell this? How’s this going to be played in the bible belt?'" Anokute said that they needed the support of one of the label's radio promoters to convince people to believe in the record otherwise Perry would have likely been dropped again. Capitol's SVP of Promotions Dennis Reese saw the vision and helped push the single on national radio. The first station to pick it up and take a chance was The River in Nashville. After playing it for three days they were innundated with enthusiastic calls. With the song climbing atop the charts, Perry embarked on the annual Warped Tour music festival, which her management used to "establish her as a credible performer and make sure she wasn't seen as just a one-hit wonder." The single was a commercial success, peaking at number one for seven weeks on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It has since become a major worldwide hit, topping charts in 30 countries, including Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom. On June 12, 2008, Perry appeared as herself on the daytime soap opera ''The Young and the Restless'', posing for the cover to the June 2008 issue of the fictional magazine ''Restless Style''. Perry also performed backing vocals on the song, "Another Night in the Hills" from Gavin Rossdale's 2008 solo album ''Wanderlust''.

''One of the Boys'' was released on June 17, 2008 to mixed critical reviews. The album has reached number nine on the ''Billboard'' 200, and has been certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Perry released her second single, "Hot n Cold", which became her second top three single in dozens of countries around the world, including the United States where it reached number three on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, as well as topping the charts in Germany, Canada, and Denmark. After Perry wrapped up her appearance at the Warped Tour, she went on tours in Europe. She later launched her first headlining tour, the Hello Katy Tour, in January 2009. "I Kissed a Girl" earned Perry a nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 2009 Grammy Awards. Perry was nominated in five categories at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards, including Best New Artist and Best Female Video, but lost to Britney Spears. She won Best New Act at the 2008 MTV Europe Music Awards, which she co-hosted, and Best International Female Artist at the 2009 BRIT Awards. On February 9, 2009, both "I Kissed a Girl" and "Hot n Cold" were certified three-time platinum by Recording Industry Association of America for individual digital sales of over three million. The Guinness Book of World Records recognized Perry in its 2010 version as the "Best Start on the US Digital Chart by a Female Artist," for having her first two singles sell over two million digital copies.

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

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

2010–present: ''Teenage Dream'' and Film debut

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

Perry appeared at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010. She was nominated for two awards, including the Best Female Video and Best Pop Video for "California Gurls", and presented the award of "Best Male Video" with Nicki Minaj to Eminem. On September 14, she returned to her old high school, Dos Pueblos High School, where she performed a short set for the school's students. Perry performed "Hot n Cold" with Elmo from ''Sesame Street'', which was originally to appear on the forty-first-season premiere of the educational children's program on September 27, 2010. However, four days before the scheduled airing, Sesame Workshop announced, "In light of the feedback we've received on the Katy Perry music video ... we have decided we will not air the segment on the television broadcast of ''Sesame Street'', which is aimed at preschoolers. Katy Perry fans will still be able to view the video on YouTube." The main reason was that parents complained about what appeared to be a great amount of cleavage shown by her dress. Perry shot the video for ''Firework'' in Budapest in September 2010. An open casting call drew an unprecedented 38,000 applicants. She proceeded to perform at a concert in Budapest on October 1, her first concert in Central and Eastern Europe. Perry released a perfume named "Purr" in November. It comes in a cat-shaped bottle, and is available through Nordstrom stores. ''Teenage Dream'' led Perry to nominations four awards at the 2011 Grammy Awards: Album of the Year, Best Pop Vocal Album, Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Teenage Dream", and Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for "California Gurls". Following the Grammys, Perry released "E.T." as the fourth single from the album. The single was a remixed version featuring Kanye West. The music video for "E.T." was directed by Floria Sigismondi and features Shaun Ross as the main love interest. In June 2011, Perry released the fifth single, "Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)". A remixed version featuring American rapper Missy Elliot was released in early August. The single has topped U.S. download and radio charts. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 on August 17, 2011, making Perry the first female artist ever to have five #1 singles from one album. Katy Perry appeared at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards on August 28, 2011. She was nominated for ten awards, received the most nominations of the ceremony and was the only singer in history to have four different music videos shown on various categories, eventually winning three of those, including Video of the Year for "Firework", Best Collaboration and Best Special Effects for "E.T.".

On September 17, 2011, Perry hits the 69th consecutive weeks in the Top 10.

On September 23 she attended the opening day of the 2011 Rock in Rio festival, which was extended to October 2. During the show, produced one of the most striking scenes of the event, when he called to the scene ''Júlio César de Salvo'', a fan who was an anonymous until then. The man, who became known as "''Júlio de Sorocaba''", became an instant celebrity when he was "harassed" by the singer with a kiss, getting the opportunity to give back also one another. The fact made ​​headlines in most Brazilian television news programs, including the Fantástico and the Jornal Nacional, including therefore becoming a trend topic, not just in Twitter, but at Internet in general.

Artistry

Musical style and themes

Perry has a contralto vocal range. Perry's first album is of the gospel music genre. She related that her perspective in music was "a bit enclosed and very strict", and everything she did was church-related. Her second album, ''One of the Boys'', is described as "secular" and "rock," and reflects a departure from her religious musical roots. Her next album ''Teenage Dream'' featured more pop songs in the vein of ''Boys''. Among Perry's musical influences are Alanis Morissette, pop rockers Cyndi Lauper, Pat Benatar, Joan Jett, Shirley Manson, and Freddie Mercury, the late frontman of the British band Queen. In her tribute to Mercury on what would have been his 65th birthday, Perry stated; "Without you I wouldn't be making music or doing what I do because your lyrics inspired me as a 15 year old girl." She was especially inspired by the Queen song, "Killer Queen" to pursue a career in pop music after her first album. She also described Morissette's album, ''Jagged Little Pill'' as having influenced her music profoundly; even going on to work with Morissette's collaborator on the album, Glen Ballard because of that.

Perry is artistically involved in her projects, especially in the writing process. Since she could play guitar, she would start writing songs at home and present it to her producers. Perry is mostly inspired by specific moments of her life. She said it is easy for her to write songs about heartbreak. Most of the themes in ''One of the Boys'' deal with heartbreak, teen adventure, and "puking into toilets". Perry's mother reportedly told British tabloid ''Daily Mail'' that she dislikes her daughter's music, calling it "shameful and disgusting". Perry said her mother was misquoted and told MTV that it was false information. Her songs "Ur So Gay" and "I Kissed a Girl" have received negative reactions from both religious and gay sectors. The songs have been respectively labeled as being homophobic and promoting homosexuality, as well as "lez ploitational". MTV mentioned criticism suggesting that Perry is using "bi-curiosity" as a way to sell records. Perry responded to the controversy surrounding "Ur So Gay": "It's not a negative connotation. It's not, 'you're so gay,' like, 'you're so lame,' but the fact of the matter is that this boy should've been gay. I totally understand how it could be misconstrued or whatever ... It wasn't stereotyping anyone in particular, I was talking about ex-boyfriends."

Public image

Perry is known for her unconventional style of dress. It is often humorous, bright in color, and reminiscent of different decades, and she frequently used fruit-shaped accessories, mainly watermelon, as part of her outfits. Since the Teenage Dream era, Perry has included more glamorous and food-related outfits in her wardrobe. Having learned dancing at an early age, she fantasized about having her own style. Perry's transformation into an artist began with fashion, inspired by American film actress Dominique Swain's portrayal in 1997 film adaptation of the novel ''Lolita''. She defines her fashion style as "a bit of a concoction of different things". Johnny Wujek, Perry's stylist, described her style, upon meeting her for the first time, as "very colorful and vintage". Her fashion has caught the attention of designers. In June 2008, a publicity photo that showed Perry posing with a switchblade was criticized. The picture was defended as only an effort to give Perry a "sexy, harder edge". The criticism leveled at her was mocked by Perry who subsequently posed with a spoon instead. She has appeared in FHM Magazine's 100 Sexiest Women poll twice, ranking at No.23 in 2009 and No.37 in 2010.

She was ranked 7th in ''Rolling Stone'''s global Queen of Pop poll in July 2011.

Personal life

Perry has been generally associated with three men: Matt Thiessen, Travie McCoy, and Russell Brand. She dated Relient K frontman Matt Thiessen for a few years. Thiessen has worked on Teenage Dream. Perry dated Gym Class Heroes frontman Travie McCoy, whom she met in a recording studio in New York. They broke up in December 2008.

Perry first met British comedian Russell Brand in the summer of 2009 when Perry filmed a cameo appearance for Brand's film ''Get Him to the Greek''. Perry and Brand began dating after meeting again in September 2009 at the MTV Video Music Awards, where Brand, as host, remarked, "Katy Perry didn't win an award and she's staying at the same hotel as me, so she's gonna need a shoulder to cry on. So in a way, I'm the real winner tonight." The couple became engaged in December 2009 while vacationing in India. Perry stated that she plans to take dual British citizenship. "One of the first things I'll do is apply for dual citizenship. I'm not too sure if I have to take a test as I've not had time to look into it. But England is like my second home". Perry and Brand married on October 23, 2010 in a traditional Hindu ceremony near the Ranthambhore tiger sanctuary in Rajasthan, India, where Brand had proposed.

In an interview with ''Rolling Stone'' she said, "I am sensitive to Russell taking the Lord's name in vain and to Lady Gaga putting a rosary in her mouth. I think when you put sex and spirituality in the same bottle and shake it up, bad things happen."

Discography

''Katy Hudson'' (2001)

''One of the Boys'' (2008)

''Teenage Dream'' (2010)

Tours

Warped Tour 2008 (2008)

Hello Katy Tour (2009)

California Dreams Tour (2011)

Filmography

Television

!Year	!Title	!Role	Notes
	''''	Herself	Episode 8914
	Herself
	''American Idol''	Guest judge
	Guest judge
''Sesame Street''	Herself	Online special (deleted from televised episode due to viewer controversy)
''The Simpsons''	Herself	1 episode, "The Fight Before Christmas"
2011	''How I Met Your Mother''	Honey	1 episode, "Oh Honey"
2011	''America's Got Talent''	Guest Judge	July 27 (Season 6, Qtr Finals 3 results)

Films

!Year	!Title	!Role	class="unsortable"	Notes
	''Get Him to the Greek''	Herself	Deleted sceneUncredited
''Out in the Desert''	Herself	Post-production
	2011		Smurfette	Voice

Awards and nominations

References

External links

Official website

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

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Coordinates	5°59′0″N116°08′0″N
name	Michael Coren
influences	Thomas More, C. S. Lewis, Ronald Knox
birth name	Michael Coren
birth date	January 15, 1959
birth place	| occupation Author, journalist
nationality	United Kingdom, Canada
alma mater	University of Nottingham
religion	Christian, Roman Catholic
movement	Traditionalist conservatism
notableworks	''As I See It'', ''C.S. Lewis: The Man Who Created Narnia'', ''Why Catholics Are Right'', ''J.R.R. Tolkien: The Man Who Created the Lord of the Rings''
website	http://www.michaelcoren.com/}}

Michael Coren (born January 15, 1959) is an English-Canadian columnist, author, public speaker, radio host and television talk show host. He hosted the television talk show ''The Michael Coren Show'' on the Crossroads Television System from 1999 to 2011 when he moved to the Sun News Network to host an evening talk show, ''The Arena''. He has also been a long-time radio personality, particularly on CFRB radio.

He has written more than ten books, including biographies of G.K. Chesterton, H. G. Wells, Arthur Conan Doyle, and C. S. Lewis. His latest book, ''Why Catholics are Right'', was published in 2011.

Life and career

Coren was born in Essex, England. After obtaining a degree in politics from Nottingham University, he moved from the UK to Canada in 1987. For several years, he was a columnist for ''Frank'' and then ''The Globe and Mail'', before he began syndicated columns for the ''Financial Post'' and Sun Media in 1995. Following his departure from ''Frank'', he became a favourite target of that publication, culminating in a spoof ad contest to "deflower" Michael Coren (a nod to ''Frank'''s notorious "Deflower Caroline Mulroney" contest, and a satirical jab at Coren's conservative leanings.) Coren had also been a favorite target of ''Frank'' back in the days before he began writing for them. Coren took exception to being labelled a "literary prostitute" during a 1994 interview.

His career as a broadcaster began in the early 1990s when he co-hosted a political debate segment with Irshad Manji on TVOntario's ''Studio 2''. In 1995, he began an evening talk show on CFRB. In 1999, Coren briefly moved to Talk 640 for a short stint as its morning man. He returned to CFRB, where he hosted a show from 6:30 to 8:00 p.m. weekday nights, and regularly filled in for other hosts until November 2005. Coren was dismissed by CFRB as a result of complaints arising from comments ridiculing the weight of an apparent guest. In fact, the guest was an actor and the segment was scripted. According to CFRB's Operations Manager, Steve Kowch, "Pat Holiday, our general manager and myself went through the tape of Monday night's show and were shocked....it was totally out of bounds." Coren argues that it was a satire comparing in his mind public attitude to third world starvation with North America's obsession with slimming and self-indulgence. After moving to North America Coren gained one hundred pounds.

Despite this acrimonious termination, Coren made regular talk show appearances on CFRB in July 2006, at the start of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict, as he happened to be in Israel at the time. After receiving 60% approval from CFRB listeners in an August 2006 poll, Coren returned to the CFRB airwaves in September 2006 with a Sunday evening show. As of the 22nd of April 2007, the show expanded from its usual 1 hour 7-8pm to 7-9 pm. Coren celebrated by giving away double the prizes usually given out. In the fall of 2007 he and former Liberal Party of Canada president Stephen LeDrew launched a daily hour-long afternoon show on CFRB called ''Two Bald Guys With Strong Opinions'' in which the two argue about the issues of the day. After the departure of LeDrew, Coren was joined by Tarek Fatah after several on air auditions by potential replacement co-hosts. Coren was again let go by CFRB along with 12 other staff of the Toronto radio station on 27 August 2009.

On television, Coren hosted the ''Michael Coren Show'' on the Crossroads Television System until June 2011 when he left to join the Sun News Network where he hosts ''The Arena'' weeknights on beginning August 30, 2011. Coren also has a newspaper column published every Saturday in the Sun newspaper chain. He has been a columnist for the ''Western Standard'', ''Catholic Insight'' and ''The Women's Post'' and has contributed to ''National Post'', ''Reader's Digest'' and several other publications. A self-professed Tottenham Hotspur fan, he has appeared as a guest host on The Score's ''The Footy Show''. Coren is also a public speaker, particularly at religious gatherings.

Political controversies

In his earlier, satirical ''Aesthete'' column in ''Frank'' magazine Coren was by his own admission deliberately provocative. In response to a 1994 interview question about AIDS he responded:

:"Look, people are dying all over. When it was blacks in Africa dying of AIDS, no one gave a toss. Nobody gave a toss. Suddenly, it's middleclass men in California and everyone goes crazy about it. It's a double standard. I'm trying to provoke people into rethinking comfortable points of view."

In September 2006, Coren published an article in the ''Toronto Sun'', supporting the use of tactical nuclear strikes against Iran. This position was later retracted.

On the subject of AIDS Michael Coren wrote a column in 2006 titled "Why is AIDS so special?" in which he said "At its most simple, stop fornicating." "AIDS in the West is still overwhelmingly a threat to male homosexuals and intravenous drug users."

In an article which appeared in ''Sun Media'' in 2007, Coren said "As for Jesus not condemning homosexuality, nor did He condemn bestiality and necrophilia."

Spirituality

His articles and speeches often include stories of his own personal spiritual journey. Coren's father was Jewish as was his maternal grandfather, while his maternal grandmother came from a family of Welsh coalminers and converted to Judaism. Coren's father and uncle were cab drivers. Coren has said that his father's family left Poland a few decades before the Holocaust. He has also said that his father's family emigrated from Poland in the 1890s. He said "People have called me an anti-Semite. I thought it quite rich since my father's family was massacred in the Holocaust". Michael Coren was profiled on Credo, on Vision TV, and said that his father told him he could not attend his son's wedding in a Catholic Church without becoming "physically sick."

He converted to Roman Catholicism in his early twenties while still living in England, but that didn't last long. He said that he "converted to an institution." He eventually converted to Evangelical Christianity in the 1990s, after a conversion experience as an adult, greatly influenced by Canadian televangelist Terry Winter.

In 1991 Michael Coren said in a column for a humour magazine: "The evangelical Christians may be intolerant, small-minded, and repellent, but at least they hold a consistent set of beliefs".

In a 1993 book review he said "Can anyone imagine a detective priest? Regrettably, it is easier to conjure up the image of a priest being questioned by secular detectives over abuse charges." Also in 1993, Michael Coren had a falling out with the Catholic Church over an unflattering profile he wrote of Archbishop Aloysius Ambrozic for ''Toronto Life'' magazine. The Bishop, who made Coren a "Knight of the Holy Sepulchre" in a ceremony in October 1992, was quoted using words including "friggin" and "bitch", and said that Francisco Franco was a "conservative Roman Catholic and not a bad fellow." Coren defended himself, saying "He's an archbishop and he was vulgar...obviously what thousands of Roman Catholics expected me to do was lie. I still get hate mail about the article."

After this incident, Coren said that he didn't consider himself a Roman Catholic anymore. He said "My wife is Catholic and the children will be raised Catholic, but that's it. It's just not there for me." Daniel Richler observed that Coren loves scandal, but hates having it come his way. In one of his columns for the satirical humour magazine Frank, Michael Coren depicted Mother Teresa getting drunk in a bar.

In early 2004, he embraced Catholicism again. He cites St. Thomas More, C. S. Lewis, Ronald Knox and his godfather Lord Longford as spiritual influences, and remains connected to the ecumenical scene in Canada and beyond.

Published books

''Theatre Royal: 100 Years of Stratford East'' (1985) ISBN 0704324741

''Gilbert: The Man Who Was G.K. Chesterton'' (1990) ISBN 1557782563

''The Invisible Man: The Life and Liberties of H.G. Wells'' (1993) ISBN 0689121199

''The Life of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle'' (1993) ISBN 0747512299

''The Man Who Created Narnia: The Story of C. S. Lewis'' (1994) ISBN 1895555787

''Setting It Right'' (1996) ISBN 0773729402

''J.R.R.Tolkien: The Man who Created the Lord of the Rings'' (2001) ISBN 0752261568

''As I See It'' (2009) ISBN 0981276709

''Why Catholics Are Right'' (2011) ISBN 0771023219

References

External links

Official website

Michael Coren's blog

Coren's column in ''The Toronto Sun''

Category:1959 births Category:Alumni of the University of Nottingham Category:British expatriates in Canada Category:Canadian columnists Category:Canadian people of Jewish descent Category:Canadian pro-life activists Category:Canadian Roman Catholics Category:Canadian talk radio hosts Category:Canadian television talk show hosts Category:Converts to Christianity from Judaism Category:Converts to Roman Catholicism from Evangelicalism Category:Living people Category:People from Essex Category:Roman Catholic writers

Lubomyr Luciuk was born and raised in Kingston, Ontario. His education began at St. Joseph's School, Cathedral School and Regiopolis-Notre Dame. He earned two degrees from Queen's University, an Honours BSc (1976) and MA (1979). He completed his Ph.D. (1984) at the University of Alberta. He had postdoctoral fellowships at the University of Toronto and Queen's University, including the SSHRCC Canada Research Fellowship at the Department of Geography, Queen's University.

Since 1990 he has been a professor of Political Geography in the Department of Politics and Economics at the Royal Military College of Canada, in Kingston.

He has worked for the Royal Ontario Museum, Cataraqui Creek Conservation Authority and Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, as well as for the Multicultural History Society of Ontario and Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies.

Luciuk has received numerous awards, grants, and fellowships, and has taught for the Departments of Geography at Queen's University, the University of Toronto and the University of the Witswatersrand, in Johannesburg, South Africa as well as for the Department of History at the University of British Columbia and Department of International Relations and Political Science at Bogazici University, in Istanbul, Turkey.

He is the author or editor of over a dozen books and almost 200 opinion editorials published in Canada's leading newspapers, as well as being a frequent commentator on the CBC, National Public Radio (USA) and BBC.

Lubomyr Luciuk specializes in the political geography of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, refugee studies, and the ethnic and immigration history of Canada. The author, co-author or co-editor of over a dozen books and booklets, and nearly 200 opinion editorials in leading Canadian newspapers, Luciuk has served as a Member of the federal Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada and as director of research for the Ukrainian Canadian Civil Liberties Association. From 2007 to 2010 he served as chairman of UCCLA (www.uccla.ca) and is currently its director of research.

On 6 November 2010 Luciuk received the prestigious Shevchenko Medal from the Ukrainian Canadian Congress in recognition of his distinguished educational, research and advocacy on behalf of the Ukrainian Canadian community. The award was presented to him in Edmonton during the UCC's triennial congress, by Paul Grod, its president.

Among his many academic awards and distinctions Luciuk has received doctoral and postdoctoral fellowships from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, including the prestigious Canada Research Fellowship, a Neporany Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Canadian Institute of Ukrainian Studies and the Chair of Ukrainian Studies Foundation's John Sopinka Award for Excellence in Ukrainian Studies. He is a member of (the now disbanded) Branch 360 of The Royal Canadian Legion, the Writers' Union of Canada and a fellow of the Chair of Ukrainian Studies at the University of Toronto as well as being a former member of the executive of the Kingston and the Islands Conservative Party of Canada's riding association.

Luciuk was the leading champion of the Ukrainian Canadian community's request that the Government of Canada acknowledge what happened to Ukrainians and other Europeans during Canada's first national internment operations of 1914-1920, a campaign that took some 20 years to succeed and only recently (9 May 2008) resulted in the signing of a technical document establishing a $10 million endowment within the Ukrainian Canadian Foundation of Taras Shevchenko, the interest accruing on that principal to be used for commemorative and educational programs dealing with the wartime experience of these communities (see the announcement in the national edition of The Globe and Mail, 12 September 2009). He was appointed as a member of the Endowment Council of the Canadian First World War Internment Recognition Fund (www.internmentcanada.ca) by UCCLA. Recently he served as chairman (pro tempore) of the Department of Politics and Economics at the Royal Military College of Canada, the first Canadian of Ukrainian heritage to enjoy this distinction.

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Lubomyr Luciuk

Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:Ukrainian historians