title	Vanity Fair
image file	Vanity Fair May 2008 cover.png
company	Condé Nast
total circulation	1,227,707
circulation year	2011
language	English
category	Culture
frequency	Monthly
editor	Graydon Carter
issn	0733-8899
firstdate	1983
country	United States
website	vanityfair.com }}

''Vanity Fair'' is a magazine of pop culture, fashion, and current affairs published by Condé Nast. The present ''Vanity Fair'' has been published since 1983 and there have been editions for four European countries as well as the U.S. edition. This revived the title which had ceased publication in 1935 after a run from 1913. The current editor is Graydon Carter.

Condé Nast's ''Vanity Fair''

Condé Montrose Nast began his empire by purchasing the men's fashion magazine ''Dress'' in 1913. He renamed the magazine ''Dress and Vanity Fair'' and published four issues in 1913. It continued to thrive into the twenties. However, it became a casualty of the Great Depression and declining advertising revenues, although its circulation, at 90,000 copies, was at its peak. Condé Nast announced in December 1935 that ''Vanity Fair'' would be folded into ''Vogue'' (circulation 156,000) as of the March 1936 issue.

Modern revival

Condé Nast Publications, under the ownership of S.I. Newhouse, announced in June 1981 that it was reviving the magazine. The first issue was published in February 1983 (cover date March), edited by Richard Locke, formerly of ''The New York Times Book Review''. After three issues, Locke was replaced by Leo Lerman, veteran features editor of ''Vogue''. He was followed by editors Tina Brown (1984–1992) and E. Graydon Carter (since 1992). Regular columnists include Sebastian Junger, Michael Wolff, Christopher Hitchens, and Maureen Orth. Famous contributing photographers for the magazine include Bruce Weber, Annie Leibovitz, Mario Testino and Herb Ritts, all who have provided the magazine with a string of lavish covers and full-page portraits of current celebrities. Amongst the most famous of these was the August 1991 Leibovitz cover featuring a naked, pregnant Demi Moore, an image entitled ''More Demi Moore'' that to this day holds a spot in pop culture.

In addition to its controversial photography, the magazine also prints articles on a variety of topics. In 1996, journalist Marie Brenner wrote an exposé on the tobacco industry entitled "The Man Who Knew Too Much". The article was later adapted into a movie ''The Insider'' (1999), which starred Al Pacino and Russell Crowe. Most famously, after more than thirty years of mystery, an article in the May 2005 edition revealed the identity of Deep Throat (W. Mark Felt), one of the sources for ''The Washington Post'' articles on Watergate, which led to the 1974 resignation of U.S. President Richard Nixon. The magazine also includes candid interviews from celebrities: from Teri Hatcher admitting to being abused as a child to Jennifer Aniston's first interview after her divorce from Brad Pitt. Anderson Cooper talked about his brother's death while Martha Stewart gave an exclusive to the magazine right after her release from prison.

In August 2006, ''Vanity Fair'' sent photographer Annie Leibovitz to the Telluride, Colorado, home of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes for its October 2006 issue. The photo shoot was of the couple and their daughter, Suri Cruise, who had previously been "hidden", without pictures released to the public, causing many to start to deny her existence. This issue became the second highest selling issue for the magazine; the first was the Jennifer Aniston cover after her divorce. In December 2006, ''Vanity Fair'' featured the video portrait of Brad Pitt by director Robert Wilson on the cover of its first arts issue, marking the mainstream actor's growing commitment to fine art.

In keeping with the influence of Hollywood and pop culture on the magazine, ''Vanity Fair'' hosts a high-profile, exclusive Academy Awards after-party at the restaurant Morton's. In addition, its annual Hollywood issue usually consists of pictorials of that year's respective Academy Award nominees. Previous Hollywood issue covers have included group images of Gwyneth Paltrow, Nicole Kidman, and Catherine Deneuve together and Owen Wilson, Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, and Jack Black together.

The magazine was the subject of Toby Young's book, ''How to Lose Friends and Alienate People'', about his search for success, from 1995, in New York working for Graydon Carter's ''Vanity Fair''. The book has been made into a movie, with Jeff Bridges playing Carter.

There are currently three international editions of ''Vanity Fair'' being published, namely in the United Kingdom (started 1991), Spain and Italy, with the Italian version published weekly. The German edition was shut down in 2009.

Hollywood Issue

1990s

1st/April 1995 Hollywood Highest—The Class Of 2000—Jennifer Jason Leigh, Uma Thurman, Nicole Kidman, Patricia Arquette, Linda Fiorentino, Gwyneth Paltrow, Sarah Jessica Parker, Julianne Moore, Angela Bassett, and Sandra Bullock.

2nd/April 1996 Boys Town—Tim Roth, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matthew McConaughey, Benicio del Toro, Michael Rapaport, Stephen Dorff, Johnathon Schaech, David Arquette, Will Smith, and Skeet Ulrich.

3rd/April 1997: The Next Wave—Cameron Diaz, Kate Winslet, Claire Danes, Renée Zellweger, Minnie Driver, Alison Elliott, Jada Pinkett, Jennifer Lopez, Charlize Theron, and Fairuza Balk.

4th/April 1998: The Hot Next Wave—Joaquin Phoenix, Vince Vaughn, Natalie Portman, Djimon Hounsou, Cate Blanchett, Tobey Maguire, Claire Forlani, Gretchen Mol, Christina Ricci, Ed Furlong, and Rufus Sewell.

5th/April 1999: New Kids On The Block—Adrien Brody, Thandie Newton, Monica Potter, Reese Witherspoon, Julia Stiles, Leelee Sobieski, Giovanni Ribisi, Sarah Polley, Norman Reedus, Anna Friel, Omar Epps, Kate Hudson, Vinessa Shaw, and Barry Pepper.

2000s

6th/April 2000: Splender In Grass—Penélope Cruz, Wes Bentley, Mena Suvari, Marley Shelton, Chris Klein, Selma Blair, Paul Walker, Jordana Brewster, and Sarah Wynter.

7th/April 2001: Master Class—Nicole Kidman, Catherine Deneuve, Meryl Streep, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet, Vanessa Redgrave, Chloë Sevigny, Sophia Loren, and Penélope Cruz.

8th/April 2002: Rhapsody In Blue—Kirsten Dunst, Kate Beckinsale, Jennifer Connelly, Rachel Weisz, Brittany Murphy, Selma Blair, Rosario Dawson, Christina Applegate, and Naomi Watts.

9th/April 2003: Alpha List—Tom Hanks, Tom Cruise, Harrison Ford, Jack Nicholson, Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Jude Law, Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle, Hugh Grant, Dennis Quaid, Ewan McGregor, and Matt Damon.

10th/April 2004: Send In The Gowns—Julianne Moore, Jennifer Connelly, Gwyneth Paltrow, Naomi Watts, Salma Hayek, Jennifer Aniston, Kirsten Dunst, Diane Lane, Lucy Liu, Hilary Swank, Alison Lohman, Scarlett Johansson, and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

11th/March 2005: Not So Desperate Housewives—Uma Thurman, Cate Blanchett, Kate Winslet, Claire Danes, Scarlett Johansson, Rosario Dawson, Ziyi Zhang, Kerry Washington, Kate Bosworth, and Sienna Miller.

12th/March 2006: Ford's Foundation—Scarlett Johansson, Tom Ford, and Keira Knightley.

13th/March 2007: Men In Black—Ben Stiller, Owen Wilson, Chris Rock, and Jack Black.

14th/March 2008: Fresh Faces in Hollywood—Emily Blunt, Amy Adams, Anne Hathaway, Ellen Page, America Ferrera, Alice Braga, Zoe Saldana, Elizabeth Banks, Ginnifer Goodwin,and Jessica Biel.

15th/March 2009: President Barack Obama(cover), Something Just Clicked—Meryl Streep, John Patrick Shanley, Gus Van Sant, Sean Penn, Woody Allen, Penelope Cruz, Clint Eastwood, Sam Mendes, Kate Winslet, Danny Boyle, Dev Patel, Darren Aronofsky and Mickey Rourke.

2010s

16th/March 2010: It's Showtime—Carey Mulligan, Kristen Stewart, Abbie Cornish, Mia Wasikowska, Amanda Seyfried, Rebecca Hall, Emma Stone, Evan Rachel Wood, and Anna Kendrick.

17th/March 2011: Black Tie and Tales—Ryan Reynolds, Jake Gyllenhaal, Anne Hathaway, James Franco, Jennifer Lawrence, Anthony Mackie, Olivia Wilde, Jesse Eisenberg, Mila Kunis, Robert Duvall, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Andrew Garfield, Rashida Jones, Garrett Hedlund, Noomi Rapace.

Other issues

July 2003: Raining Teens—Amanda Bynes, Ashley Olsen, Mary-Kate Olsen, Mandy Moore, Hilary Duff, Alexis Bledel, Evan Rachel Wood, Raven Symone, and Lindsay Lohan.

Controversy

Controversial pictorials

Some of the pictorials in ''Vanity Fair'' have garnered criticism. The April 1999 issue featured an image of actor Mike Myers dressed as a Hindu deity for a photo spread by David LaChapelle: after criticism, both the photographer and the magazine apologized.

Another issue whose cover image courted controversy was the March 2006 Tom Ford's Hollywood Special Edition: the cover, shot by Annie Leibovitz, featured Keira Knightley and Scarlett Johansson, both nude, accompanied by a fully clothed Tom Ford, a last-minute replacement for Rachel McAdams, who had backed out of the shoot after refusing to appear nude. In addition, the December 2006 issue (''Vanity Fair'''s first "Art Issue") drew controversy with its photo of Brad Pitt wearing nothing but a pair of white boxers and socks. Although Pitt had signed a release for the image, which was taken in September 2005, he claims he did not expect it to emerge on the magazine cover more than a year later. ''Vanity Fair'' has said that it obtained the rights for the image, as part of a collection, and that it had issued a letter to Pitt informing him, prior to the publication.

On April 25, 2008, the televised entertainment program ''Entertainment Tonight'' reported that 15-year-old Miley Cyrus had posed topless for a photo shoot with ''Vanity Fair''. The photo, and subsequently released behind-the-scenes photos, show Cyrus without a top, her bare back exposed but her front covered with a bedsheet. The photo shoot was taken by photographer Annie Leibovitz. The full photograph was published with an accompanying story on ''The New York Times''' website on April 27, 2008. On April 29, 2008, ''The New York Times'' clarified that though the pictures left an impression that she was bare-breasted, Cyrus was wrapped in a bedsheet and was actually not topless. Some parents expressed outrage at the nature of the photograph, which a Disney spokesperson described as "a situation [that] was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old to sell magazines."

In response to the internet circulation of the photo and ensuing media attention, Miley Cyrus released a statement of apology on April 27:

"I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be 'artistic' and now, seeing the photographs and reading the story, I feel so embarrassed. I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about."

Polanski libel case

In 2005, ''Vanity Fair'' was found liable in a lawsuit brought in the UK by film director Roman Polanski, who claimed the magazine had libelled him in an article published in 2002, and written by A. E. Hotchner. The article recounted a claim by Lewis H. Lapham, editor of ''Harper's'', that Polanski had made sexual advances towards a young model as he was travelling to the funeral of his wife, Sharon Tate, in August 1969, claiming that he could make her "the next Sharon Tate". The court permitted Polanski to testify via a video link, after he expressed fears that he might be extradited were he to enter the United Kingdom. The trial started on July 18, 2005, and Polanski made English legal history as the first claimant to give evidence by video link. During the trial, which included the testimonies of Mia Farrow and others, it was proved that the alleged scene at the famous New York restaurant Elaine's could not possibly have taken place on the date given, because Polanski only dined at this restaurant three weeks later. Also, the Norwegian then-model disputed the accounts that he had claimed to be able to make her "the next Sharon Tate".

Polanski was awarded £50,000 damages by the High Court in London. The case was notable because Polanski was living in France as a fugitive from U.S. justice, and never appeared in the London court for fear he would be extradited to the U.S. Graydon Carter, editor of ''Vanity Fair'', responded, "I find it amazing that a man who lives in France can sue a magazine that is published in America in a British courtroom."

Lindsay Lohan interview

In January 2006, ''Vanity Fair'' published a cover feature and an interview with Lindsay Lohan in which she admitted using drugs "a little", although she denied ever using cocaine, describing it as a "sore subject". The article said she had recovered from "bulimic episodes", and that her 2005 hospitalization was for "a swollen liver and kidney infection". Lohan later said she was "appalled" that her words were "misused and misconstrued" for the article; the magazine however replied that "Every word [was recorded] on tape. ''Vanity Fair'' stands by the story."

References

External links

Vanity Fair homepage

Vanity Fair Mobile Blog Reader

Vanity Fair homepage (UK)

Vanity Fair homepage (Italy)

Vanity Fair homepage (Spain)

* Category:American magazines Category:Fashion magazines Category:Condé Nast Publications Category:Monthly magazines Category:Lifestyle magazines Category:Publications established in 1983

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name	Kate Winslet
birth name	Kate Elizabeth Winslet
birth date	October 05, 1975
birth place	Reading, Berkshire, England
occupation	Actress, singer
years active	1991–present
spouse
relatives	Anna Winslet, Beth Winslet (sisters) }}

Kate Elizabeth Winslet (born 5 October 1975) is an English actress and occasional singer. She has received multiple awards and nominations. She was the youngest person to accrue six Academy Award nominations, and won the Academy Award for Best Actress for ''The Reader'' (2008). She has won awards from the Screen Actors Guild, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, and the Hollywood Foreign Press Association among others, and has been nominated twice for an Emmy Award for television acting, winning once for her role as ''Mildred Pierce'' in the 2011 mini-series of the same name.

Brought up in Berkshire, Winslet studied drama from childhood, and began her career in British television in 1991. She made her film debut in ''Heavenly Creatures'' (1994), for which she received her first notable critical praise. She achieved recognition for her subsequent work in a supporting role in ''Sense and Sensibility'' (1995) and for her leading role in ''Titanic'' (1997), the highest grossing film at the time, and, as of 2011, the highest grossing film of Winslet's career.

Since 2000, Winslet's performances have continued to draw positive comments from film critics, and she has been nominated for various awards for her work in such films as ''Quills'' (2000), ''Iris'' (2001), ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' (2004), ''Finding Neverland'' (2004), ''Little Children'' (2006), ''The Reader'' (2008) and ''Revolutionary Road'' (2008). Her performance in the latter prompted ''New York'' magazine critic David Edelstein to describe her as "the best English-speaking film actress of her generation". The romantic comedy ''The Holiday'' and the animated film ''Flushed Away'' (both 2006) were among the biggest commercial successes of her career.

Winslet was awarded a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children in 2000. She has been included as a vocalist on some soundtracks of works she has performed in, and the single "What If" from the soundtrack for ''Christmas Carol: The Movie'' (2001), was a hit single in several European countries. Winslet has two children with her former husbands: a daughter with Jim Threapleton and a son with Sam Mendes.

Early life

Born in Reading, Berkshire, Winslet is the second of four children born to Sally Anne (née Bridges), a barmaid, and Roger John Winslet, a swimming pool contractor. Her parents were "jobbing actors", which led Winslet to comment that she "didn't have a privileged upbringing" and that their daily life was "very hand to mouth". Her maternal grandparents, Linda (née Plumb) and Archibald Oliver Bridges, founded and operated the Reading Repertory Theatre, and her uncle, Robert Bridges, appeared in the original West End production of ''Oliver!''. Her older sister, Anna, and younger sister, Beth, are also actresses. Her younger brother, Joss, is the only sibling who did not pursue an acting career.

Winslet began studying drama at the age of 11 at the Redroofs Theatre School, a co-educational independent school in Maidenhead, Berkshire, where she was head girl. At the age of 12, Winslet appeared in a television advertisement directed by filmmaker Tim Pope for Sugar Puffs cereal. Pope said her naturalism was "there from the start".

Career

1991–1997

Winslet's career began on television, with a co-starring role in the BBC children's science fiction serial ''Dark Season''. This role was followed by appearances in the made-for-TV movie ''Anglo-Saxon Attitudes'' in 1992, the sitcom ''Get Back'', and an episode of the medical drama ''Casualty'' in 1993.

In 1992, Winslet attended a casting call for Peter Jackson's ''Heavenly Creatures'' in London. Winslet auditioned for the part of Juliet Hulme, a teenager who assists in the murder of the mother of her best friend, Pauline Parker (played by Melanie Lynskey). She won the role over 175 other girls. The film included Winslet's singing debut, and her a cappella version of "Sono Andati", an aria from ''La Bohème'', was featured on the film's soundtrack. The film was released to favourable reviews in 1994 and won Jackson and partner Fran Walsh a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. Winslet was awarded an Empire Award and a London Film Critics' Circle Award for British Actress of the Year for her performance. ''The Washington Post'' writer Desson Thomson commented: "As Juliet, Winslet is a bright-eyed ball of fire, lighting up every scene she’s in. She's offset perfectly by Lynskey, whose quietly smoldering Pauline completes the delicate, dangerous partnership." Speaking about her experience on a film set as an absolute beginner, Winslet noted: "With ''Heavenly Creatures'', all I knew I had to do was completely become that person. In a way it was quite nice doing [the film] and not knowing a bloody thing."

The following year, Winslet auditioned for the small but pivotal role of Lucy Steele in the adaptation of Jane Austen's ''Sense and Sensibility'', featuring Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant, and Alan Rickman. She was instead cast in the second leading role of Marianne Dashwood. Director Ang Lee admitted he was initially worried about the way Winslet had attacked her role in ''Heavenly Creatures'' and thus required her to exercise t'ai chi, read Austen-era Gothic novels and poetry, and work with a piano teacher to fit the grace of the role. Budgeted at US$16.5 million ($}} million in current year dollars) the film became a financial and critical success, resulting in a worldwide box office total of US$135 million ($}} million) and various awards for Winslet, winning her both a BAFTA and a Screen Actors' Guild Award, and nominations for both an Academy Award and a Golden Globe.

In 1996, Winslet starred in both ''Jude'' and ''Hamlet''. In Michael Winterbottom's ''Jude'', based on the Victorian novel ''Jude the Obscure'' by Thomas Hardy, she played Sue Bridehead, a young woman with suffragette leanings who falls in love with her cousin, played by Christopher Eccleston. Acclaimed among critics, it was not a success at the box office, barely grossing US$2 million ($}} million) worldwide. Richard Corliss of ''Time'' magazine said "Winslet is worthy of [...] the camera's scrupulous adoration. She's perfect, a modernist ahead of her time [...] and ''Jude'' is a handsome showcase for her gifts." Winslet played Ophelia, Hamlet's drowned lover, in Kenneth Branagh's all star-cast film version of William Shakespeare's ''Hamlet''. The film garnered largely positive reviews and earned Winslet her second Empire Award.

In mid-1996, Winslet began filming James Cameron's ''Titanic'' (1997), alongside Leonardo DiCaprio. Cast as the sensitive seventeen-year-old Rose DeWitt Bukater, a fictional first-class socialite who survives the 1912 sinking of the RMS ''Titanic'', Winslet's experience was emotionally demanding. "''Titanic'' was totally different and nothing could have prepared me for it. ... We were really scared about the whole adventure. ... Jim [Cameron] is a perfectionist, a real genius at making movies. But there was all this bad press before it came out, and that was really upsetting." Against expectations, the film went on to become the highest-grossing film of all time, grossing more than US$1.843 billion ($}} billion) in box-office receipts worldwide, and transformed Winslet into a commercial movie star. Subsequently, she was nominated for most of the high-profile awards, winning a European Film Award.

1998–2003

Shot prior to the release of ''Titanic'', ''Hideous Kinky'', a low-budget hippie romance, was Winslet's sole film of 1998. Winslet had rejected offers to play the leading roles in ''Shakespeare in Love'' (1998) and ''Anna and the King'' (1999) in favour of the role of a young English mother named Julia who moves with her daughters from London to Morocco hoping to start a new life. The film garnered generally mixed reviews and received only limited distribution, resulting in a worldwide gross of US$5 million ($}} million). Despite the success of ''Titanic'', the next film Winslet opted to star in was ''Holy Smoke!'' (1999), featuring Harvey Keitel, another low-budget project—much to the chagrin of her agents, who felt "miserable" about her preference of arthouse movies. Feeling pressured, Winslet has said she "never saw ''Titanic'' as a springboard for bigger films or bigger pay cheques", knowing that "it could have been that, but would have destroyed [her]." The same year, she voiced Brigid in the computer animated film ''Faeries''.

In 2000, Winslet appeared in the period piece ''Quills'' with Geoffrey Rush and Joaquin Phoenix, a film inspired by the life and work of the Marquis de Sade. The actress served as somewhat of a "patron saint" of the film for being the first big name to back it, accepting the role of a chambermaid in the asylum and the courier of The Marquis' manuscripts to the underground publishers. Well-received by critics, the film garnered numerous accolades for Winslet, including nominations for SAG and Satellite Awards. The film was a modest arthouse success, averaging US$27,709 ($}}) per screen its debut weekend, and eventually grossing US$18 million ($}} million) internationally.

In 2001's ''Enigma'', Winslet played a young woman who finds herself falling for a brilliant young World War II code breaker, played by Dougray Scott. It was her first war film, and Winslet regarded "making ''Enigma'' a brilliant experience" as she was five months pregnant at the time of the shoot, forcing some tricky camera work from the director Michael Apted. Generally well-received, Winslet was awarded a British Independent Film Award for her performance, and A. O. Scott of ''The New York Times'' described Winslet as "more crush-worthy than ever." In the same year she appeared in Richard Eyre's critically acclaimed film ''Iris'', portraying novelist Iris Murdoch. Winslet shared her role with Judi Dench, with both actresses portraying Murdoch at different phases of her life. Subsequently, each of them was nominated for an Academy Award the following year, earning Winslet her third nomination. Also in 2001, she voiced the character Belle in the animated motion picture ''Christmas Carol: The Movie'', based on the Charles Dickens classic novel. For the film, Winslet recorded the song "What If", which was released in November 2001 as a single with proceeds donated to two of Winslet's favourite charities, the N.S.P.C.C. and the Sargeant Cancer Foundation for Children. A Europe-wide top ten hit, it reached number one in Austria, Belgium and Ireland, number six on the UK Singles Chart, and won the 2002 OGAE Song Contest.

Her next film role was in the 2003 drama ''The Life of David Gale'', in which she played an ambitious journalist who interviews a death-sentenced professor, played by Kevin Spacey, in his final weeks before execution. The film underperformed at international box offices, garnering only half of its US$ 50,000,000 budget, and generating mostly critical reviews, with Roger Ebert of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' calling it a "silly movie."

2004–2006

Following ''The Life of David Gale'', Winslet appeared with Jim Carrey in ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' (2004), a neosurrealistic indie-drama by French director Michel Gondry. In the film, she played the role of Clementine Kruczynski, a chatty, spontaneous and somewhat neurotic woman, who decides to have all memories of her ex-boyfriend erased from her mind. The role was a departure from her previous roles, with Winslet revealing in an interview with ''Variety'' that she was initially upended about her casting in the film: "This was not the type of thing I was being offered [...] I was just thrilled that there was something he had seen in me, in spite of the corsets, that he thought was going to work for Clementine.” The film was a critical and financial success. Winslet received rave reviews for her Academy Award-nominated performance, which Peter Travers of ''Rolling Stone'' described as "electrifying and bruisingly vulnerable."

Her final film in 2004 was ''Finding Neverland''. The story of the production focused on Scottish writer J. M. Barrie (Johnny Depp) and his platonic relationship with Sylvia Llewelyn Davies (Winslet), whose sons inspired him to pen the classic play ''Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up''. During promotion of the film, Winslet noted of her portrayal "It was very important for me in playing Sylvia that I was already a mother myself, because I don’t think I could have played that part if I didn’t know what it felt like to be a parent and have those responsibilities and that amount of love that you give to a child [...] and I've always got a baby somewhere, or both of them, all over my face." The film received favourable reviews and proved to be an international success, becoming Winslet's highest-grossing film since ''Titanic'' with a total of $118 million worldwide.

In 2005, Winslet appeared in an episode of BBC's comedy series ''Extras'' as a satirical version of herself. While dressed as a nun, she was portrayed giving phone sex tips to the romantically challenged character of Maggie. Her performance in the episode led to her first nomination for an Emmy Award. In ''Romance & Cigarettes'' (2005), a musical romantic comedy written and directed by John Turturro, she played the character Tula, described by Winslet as "a slut, someone who’s essentially foulmouthed and has bad manners and really doesn’t know how to dress." Hand-picked by Turturro, who was impressed with her display of dancing ability in ''Holy Smoke!'', Winslet was praised for her performance, which included her interpretation of Connie Francis's "Scapricciatiello (Do You Love Me Like You Kiss Me)". Derek Elley of ''Variety'' wrote: "Onscreen less, but blessed with the showiest role, filthiest one-liners, [and] a perfect Lancashire accent that's comical enough in the Gotham setting Winslet throws herself into the role with an infectious gusto."

After declining an invitation to appear in Woody Allen's film ''Match Point'' (2005), Winslet stated that she wanted to be able to spend more time with her children. She began 2006 with ''All the King's Men'', featuring Sean Penn and Jude Law. Winslet played the role of Anne Stanton, the childhood sweetheart of Jack Burden (Law). The film was critically and financially unsuccessful. Todd McCarthy of ''Variety'' summed it up as "overstuffed and fatally miscast [...] Absent any point of engagement to become involved in the characters, the film feels stillborn and is unlikely to stir public excitement, even in an election year."

Winslet fared far better when she joined the cast of Todd Field's ''Little Children'', playing Sarah Pierce, a bored housewife who has a torrid affair with a married neighbour, played by Patrick Wilson. Both her performance and the film received rave reviews; A. O. Scott of ''The New York Times'' wrote: "In too many recent movies intelligence is woefully undervalued, and it is this quality—even more than its considerable beauty—that distinguishes ''Little Children'' from its peers. The result is a film that is challenging, accessible and hard to stop thinking about. Ms. Winslet, as fine an actress as any working in movies today, registers every flicker of Sarah’s pride, self-doubt and desire, inspiring a mixture of recognition, pity and concern that amounts, by the end of the movie, to something like love. That Ms. Winslet is so lovable makes the deficit of love in Sarah’s life all the more painful." For her work in the film, she was honoured with a Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year from BAFTA/LA, a Los Angeles-based offshoot of the BAFTA Awards. and nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress, and at 31, became the youngest actress to ever garner five Oscar nominations.

She followed ''Little Children'' with a role in Nancy Meyers' romantic comedy ''The Holiday'', also starring Cameron Diaz, Jude Law and Jack Black. In it she played Iris, a British woman who temporarily exchanges homes with an American woman (Diaz). Released to a mixed reception by critics, the film became Winslet's biggest commercial success in nine years, grossing more than US$205 million worldwide. Also in 2006, Winslet provided her voice for several smaller projects. In the CG-animated ''Flushed Away'', she voiced Rita, a scavenging sewer rat who helps Roddy (Hugh Jackman) escape from the city of Ratropolis and return to his luxurious Kensington origins. A critical and commercial success, the film collected US$177,665,672 at international box offices.

2007–present

In 2007, Winslet reunited with Leonardo DiCaprio to film ''Revolutionary Road'' (2008), directed by her husband at the time, Sam Mendes. Winslet had suggested that both should work with her on a film adaptation of the 1961 novel of the same name by Richard Yates after reading the script by Justin Haythe. Resulting in both "a blessing and an added pressure" on-set, the reunion was her first experience working with Mendes. Portraying a couple in a failing marriage in the 1950s, DiCaprio and Winslet watched period videos promoting life in the suburbs to prepare themselves for the film, which earned them favorable reviews. In his review of the film, David Edelstein of ''New York magazine'' stated that "[t]here isn’t a banal moment in Winslet’s performance—not a gesture, not a word. Is Winslet now the best English-speaking film actress of her generation? I think so." Winslet was awarded a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her performance, her seventh nomination from the Golden Globes.

Also released in late 2008, the film competed against Winslet's other project, a film adaptation of Bernhard Schlink's 1995 novel ''The Reader'', directed by Stephen Daldry and featuring Ralph Fiennes and David Kross in supporting roles. Originally the first choice for her role, she was initially not able to take on the role due to a scheduling conflict with ''Revolutionary Road'', and Nicole Kidman replaced her. A month after filming began, however, Kidman left the film due to her pregnancy before filming of her had begun, enabling Winslet to rejoin the film. Employing a German accent, Winslet portrayed a former Nazi concentration camp guard who has an affair with a teenager (Kross) who, as an adult, witnesses her war crimes trial. She later said the role was difficult for her, as she was naturally unable "to sympathise with an SS guard." Because the film required full frontal nudity, a merkin was made for her. In an interview for ''Allure'' she related how she refused to use it: "Guys, I am going to have to draw the line at a pubic wig,..." While the film garnered mixed reviews in general, Winslet received favorable reviews for her performance. The following year, she earned her sixth Academy Award nomination and went on to win the Best Actress award, the BAFTA Award for Best Actress, a Screen Actors' Guild Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress, and a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.

In 2011, Winslet headlined in the HBO miniseries ''Mildred Pierce'', a small screen adaptation of James M. Cain's 1941 novel of the same name, directed by Todd Haynes. Co-starring Guy Pearce and Evan Rachel Wood, she portrayed a self-sacrificing mother during the Great Depression who finds herself separated from her husband and falling in love with a new man, all the while trying to earn her narcissistic daughter's love and respect. Broadcast to moderate ratings, the five-part series earned generally favourable reviews, with Salon.com calling it a "quiet, heartbreaking masterpiece". Winslet won an Emmy Award a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie for her performance.

Also in 2011, Winslet appeared in Steven Soderbergh's disaster film ''Contagion'', featuring an ensemble cast consisting of Marion Cotillard, Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow and Jude Law. The thriller follows the rapid progress of a lethal indirect contact transmission virus that kills within days. Winslet portrayed an Epidemic Intelligence Service officer who becomes infected with the disease over the course of her investigation. Winslet's other 2011 project, Roman Polanski's ''Carnage'', premiered at the 68th Venice Film Festival. An adaptation of the play ''God of Carnage'' by French playwright Yasmina Reza, the black comedy follows two sets of parents who meet up to talk after their children have been in a fight that day at school. Jodie Foster, John C. Reilly and Christoph Waltz co-star. For her performance Winslet received a second nomination by the Hollywood Foreign Press that year.

In June 2011, it was announced that Winslet has been cast alongside Josh Brolin in Jason Reitman's adaptation of Joyce Maynard's 2009 novel ''Labor Day''.

Personal life

While on the set of ''Dark Season'', Winslet met actor and writer Stephen Tredre, with whom she had a four-and-a-half-year relationship. Winslet and Tredre remained close after their separation in 1995. He died of bone cancer during the opening week of ''Titanic'', causing her to miss the film's Los Angeles premiere to attend his funeral in London. She and ''Titanic'' co-star Leonardo DiCaprio have remained close friends since the filming.

On 22 November 1998, Winslet married director Jim Threapleton, whom she met while on the set of ''Hideous Kinky'' in 1997. They have a daughter, Mia Honey Threapleton, who was born on 12 October 2000 in London. Winslet and Threapleton divorced on 13 December 2001.

Following her separation from Threapleton, Winslet began a relationship with director Sam Mendes, and she married him on 24 May 2003 on the island of Anguilla. Their son, Joe Alfie Winslet Mendes, was born on 22 December 2003 in New York City. Winslet and Mendes announced their separation in March 2010 and are divorced.

Mendes was scheduled to fly on American Airlines Flight 77, which was hijacked on 11 September 2001 and subsequently crashed into the Pentagon. In October 2001, Winslet was on a flight with her daughter, Mia, when a passenger who claimed to be a terrorist stood up and shouted, "We are all going to die". As a result of these incidents, Winslet and Mendes never flew together on the same aircraft, as they feared leaving their children parentless.

Winslet's weight fluctuations over the years have been well documented by the media. She has been outspoken about her refusal to allow Hollywood to dictate her weight. In February 2003, the British edition of ''GQ'' magazine published photographs of Winslet that had been digitally altered to make her look dramatically thinner. Winslet issued a statement that the alterations were made without her consent, saying, "I just didn't want people to think I was a hypocrite and that I'd suddenly lost 30 lbs or whatever". ''GQ'' subsequently issued an apology. She won a libel suit in 2009 against the British tabloid ''The Daily Mail'' after it printed that she had lied about her exercise regime. Winslet stated that she had requested an apology to demonstrate her commitment to the views that she has always expressed regarding women's body issues, namely that women should accept their appearance with pride.

Winslet narrated the documentary ''A Mother's Courage: Talking Back to Autism'', which was generally released on September 24, 2010, after airing on HBO in April of the same year. Her involvement in the documentary led to her founding the non-profit organisation, the Golden Hat Foundation, whose mission is to eliminate barriers for people with autism. In 2011, Winslet received the Yo Dona award for Best Humanitarian Work for her work with the Golden Hat.

Awards and nominations

Winslet won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in ''The Reader'' (2008). She won two Golden Globe Awards in the same year: Best Actress (Drama) for ''Revolutionary Road'' and Best Supporting Actress for ''The Reader''. She has won two BAFTA Awards: Best Actress for ''The Reader'', and Best Supporting Actress for ''Sense and Sensibility'' (1995). She has earned a total of six Academy Award nominations, nine Golden Globe nominations, and seven BAFTA nominations.

She has received numerous awards from other organisations, including the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress for ''Iris'' (2001) and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for ''Sense and Sensibility'' and ''The Reader''. ''Premiere'' magazine named her portrayal of Clementine Kruczynski in ''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind'' (2004) as the 81st greatest film performance of all time.

Academy Award nomination milestones

Winslet was 26 when she received her third Academy Award nomination, for ''Iris'', just missing the mark of Natalie Wood, who received her third nomination at age 25. She set the mark as the youngest actor to receive five nominations, at age 31, for ''Little Children'' (2006). She surpassed Bette Davis, who was 33 when she received her fifth nomination for her performance in ''The Little Foxes'' (1941). With her Best Actress nomination for ''The Reader'', Winslet became the youngest actor to receive six Oscar nominations. At age 33, Winslet passed the mark Davis, one year older, set with ''Now, Voyager'' (1942).

Winslet received Academy Award nominations as the younger versions of the characters played by fellow nominees Gloria Stuart, as Rose, in ''Titanic'' (1997) and Judi Dench, as Iris Murdoch, in ''Iris''. These are the only instances of the younger and older versions of a character in the same film both yielding Academy Award nominations, thus making Winslet the only actor to twice share an Oscar nomination with another for portraying the same character.

When she was not nominated for her work in ''Revolutionary Road'', Winslet became only the second actress to win a Golden Globe for Best Actress (Drama) without getting an Oscar nomination for the same performance (Shirley MacLaine was the first for ''Madame Sousatzka'' [1988], and she won the Golden Globe in a three-way tie). Academy rules allow an actor to receive no more than one nomination in a given category; as the Academy nominating process determined that Winslet's work in ''The Reader'' would be considered a lead performance—unlike the Golden Globes, which considered it a supporting performance—she could not also receive a Best Actress nomination for ''Revolutionary Road''.

Awards for other work

In 2000, Winslet won a Grammy Award for Best Spoken Word Album for Children for ''Listen To the Storyteller''. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for playing herself in a 2005 episode of ''Extras''. At the 2011 Primetime Emmy Awards, Winslet won the Best Actress in Miniseries or TV Movie award for her role as the titular character in Mildred Pierce.

Filmography

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1991	''Dark Season''	Reet
1992		Eleanor Sweet	(TV series)
1994	''Heavenly Creatures''	Juliet Hulme	Empire Award for Best British ActressLondon Film Critics Circle Award for British Actress of the YearNew Zealand Film and TV Award for Best Foreign Performer
1995	''''	Princess Sarah
1995		Marianne Dashwood	BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role[[Evening Standard British Film Awards
1996		Sue Bridehead	[[Evening Standard British Film Awards
1996
1997		Rose DeWitt Bukater	Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress – DramaEmpire Award for Best British ActressEuropean Film Awards Jameson Audience/People's Choice Award for Best British ActressGolden Camera for Best International ActressNominated—Academy Award for Best ActressNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture DramaNominated—London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actress of the YearNominated—MTV Movie Award for Best PerformanceNominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (shared with Leonardo DiCaprio)Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo (shared with Leonardo DiCaprio)Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best ActressNominated—European Film Awards – Outstanding Achievement in World CinemaNominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture DramaNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading RoleNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
1998		Julia
1999		Brigid
1999	''Holy Smoke!''	Ruth Barron
2000	''Quills''	Madeleine 'Maddy' LeClerc	Empire Award for Best ActressEvening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress (also for ''Enigma'' and ''Iris'')Nominated—Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress – DramaNominated—Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated—London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actress of the YearNominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture DramaNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
2001		Hester Wallace	Empire Award for Best British ActressEvening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress (also for ''Iris'' and ''Quills'')Nominated—British Independent Film Award for Best Actress
2001	''Christmas Carol: The Movie''	Belle	(voice)
2001		Young Iris Murdoch	Empire Award for Best British ActressEvening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress (also for ''Enigma'' and ''Quills'')European Film Awards – Jameson Audience/People's Choice Award for Best British ActressLos Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting RoleNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion PictureNominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
2003	''''	Bitsey Bloom
2004	''Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind''	Clementine Kruczynski	Empire Award for Best British ActressInternational Cinephile Society Award for Best ActressLas Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress (also for ''Finding Neverland'')London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actress of the Year (tied with Eva Birthistle for ''Ae Fond Kiss...'')Online Film Critics Society Award for Best ActressSanta Barbara International Film Festival Award for Outstanding Performance (also for ''Finding Neverland'')Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best EnsembleNominated—Academy Award for Best ActressNominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleNominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated—Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNominated—People's Choice Awards – Favorite Leading LadyNominated—People's Choice Awards – Favorite On-Screen Chemistry (shared with Jim Carrey)Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNominated—Saturn Award for Best ActressNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
2004	''Finding Neverland''	Sylvia Llewelyn Davies	Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress (also for ''Eternal Sunshine'')Santa Barbara International Film Festival Award for Outstanding Performance (also for ''Eternal Sunshine'')Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion PictureNominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleNominated—Teen Choice Awards – Choice Movie Actress – Motion Picture Drama
2005	''Romance & Cigarettes''	Tula
2006		Anne Stanton
2006		Sarah Pierce	The Britannia Award for British Artist of the YearGotham Awards – Tribute AwardPalm Springs International Film Festival – Desert Palm Achievement AwardNominated—Academy Award for Best ActressNominated—Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Best Actress in a Dramatic PerformanceNominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleNominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated—Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated—Empire Award for Best ActressNominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture DramaNominated—London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actress of the YearNominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best ActressNominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture DramaNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
2006	''Flushed Away	Rita	(voice)
2006	''''	Iris Simpkins
2006	''Deep Sea 3D''	Narrator	(voice)
2008	''''	Narrator	(voice)
2008	''''	Hanna Schmitz	Academy Award for Best ActressBAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleBroadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActressChicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActressEuropean Film Award for Best ActressGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion PictureLas Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress (also for ''Revolutionary Road'')London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress (also for ''Revolutionary Road'')Robert Award for Best ActressSan Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best ActressScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting RoleSt. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress (also for ''Revolutionary Road'')Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress (also for ''Revolutionary Road'')Nominated—Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Outstanding Achievement by a Woman in the Film Industry (also for ''Revolutionary Road'')Nominated—Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress (also for ''Revolutionary Road'')Nominated—London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actress of the Year (also for ''Revolutionary Road'')Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best PerformanceNominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
2008		April Wheeler	Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Best ActressDetroit Film Critics Society Award for Best ActressGolden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture DramaLas Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress (also for ''The Reader'')London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress (also for ''The Reader'')Palm Springs International Film Festival – Best Cast PerformanceSt. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress (also for ''The Reader'')Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress (also for ''The Reader'')Santa Barbara International Film Festival – Montevito AwardNominated—Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Outstanding Achievement by a Woman in the Film Industry (also for ''The Reader'')Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleNominated—Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated—Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actress (also for ''The Reader'')Nominated—Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleNominated—London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actress of the Year (also for ''The Reader'')Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best ActressNominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
2011		Mildred Pierce Beragon	HBO mini-seriesGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television FilmPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a MovieSatellite Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television FilmScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
2011		Dr. Erin Mears
2011		Nancy Cowan	Boston Society of Film Critics
2012	''[[Movie 43	Juliet Hulme	Post-production

References

External links

Kate Winslet at Emmys.com

Category:1975 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from Berkshire Category:People from Reading, Berkshire Category:English expatriates in the United States Category:English film actors Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:English voice actors Category:European Film Award for Best Actress winners Category:Grammy Award winners Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Best British Actress Empire Award winners Category:Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Miniseries or Television Movie Actress Golden Globe winners Category:Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Actress Academy Award winners Category:Evening Standard Award for Best Actress Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Best Supporting Actress BAFTA Award winners Category:People educated at Redroofs Theatre School

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name	Christopher Hitchens
birth name	Christopher Eric Hitchens
birth date	April 13, 1949
birth place	Portsmouth, England
death date	December 15, 2011
death place	Houston, Texas, U.S.
occupation	Writer, journalist, public speaker
alma mater	Balliol College, Oxford
nationality	English American
citizenship	British and American
religion	None
subject	Politics, religion, history, biography, literature
spouse
relatives	Peter Hitchens (brother)
influences	George Orwell, Leszek Kolakowski, Thomas Paine, Thomas Jefferson, George Eliot, Karl Marx, Leon Trotsky, Rosa Luxemburg, John Stuart Mill, Joseph Heller, Richard Dawkins, Daniel Dennett, Noam Chomsky, Gore Vidal, Edward Said, Salman Rushdie, Vladimir Nabokov, Richard Llewellyn, Aldous Huxley, PG Wodehouse, Evelyn Waugh, Richard Hofstadter, Paul Mark Scott, James Fenton, James Joyce, Albert Camus, Oscar Wilde, Conor Cruise O'Brien, Martin Amis, Kingsley Amis, Ian McEwan, Colm Tóibín, Bertrand Russell, Wilfred Owen, Israel Shahak, Isaiah Berlin, Émile Zola, W. H. Auden, Susan Sontag
influenced	Johann Hari, Martin Amis, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins
signature	CH Signature 2.jpg|200px
website	}}

Christopher Eric Hitchens, nicknamed "Hitch", (13 April 1949 – 15 December 2011) was an English American author, essayist and journalist, whose books, essays, and journalistic career spanned more than four decades. He was a columnist and literary critic for ''The Atlantic'', ''Free Inquiry'', ''The Nation'', ''Salon'', ''Slate'', ''Vanity Fair'', ''World Affairs'', and became a media fellow at the Hoover Institution in September 2008. He was a staple of talk shows and lecture circuits and in 2005 was voted the world's fifth top public intellectual in a ''Prospect''/''Foreign Policy'' poll.

Hitchens was known for his admiration of George Orwell, Thomas Paine and Thomas Jefferson and for his excoriating critiques of Mother Teresa, Bill and Hillary Clinton, Henry Kissinger and Britain's royal family, among others. His confrontational style of debate made him both a lauded and controversial figure. As a political observer, polemicist and self-defined radical, he rose to prominence as a fixture of the left-wing publications in his native Britain and in the United States. His departure from the established political left began in 1989 after what he called the "tepid reaction" of the Western left following Ayatollah Khomeini's issue of a ''fatwā'' calling for the murder of Salman Rushdie. The September 11 attacks strengthened his internationalist embrace of an interventionist foreign policy, and his vociferous criticism of what he called "fascism with an Islamic face". His numerous editorials in support of the Iraq War caused some to label him a neoconservative, although Hitchens insisted he was not "a conservative of any kind".

Identified as a champion of the "New Atheism" movement, Hitchens described himself as an antitheist and a believer in the philosophical values of the Enlightenment. Hitchens said that a person "could be an atheist and wish that belief in god were correct", but that "an antitheist, a term I'm trying to get into circulation, is someone who is relieved that there's no evidence for such an assertion." According to Hitchens, the concept of a god or a supreme being is a totalitarian belief that destroys individual freedom, and that free expression and scientific discovery should replace religion as a means of teaching ethics and defining human civilization. He wrote at length on atheism and the nature of religion in his 2007 book ''God Is Not Great''.

Though Hitchens retained his British citizenship, he became a United States citizen on the steps of the Jefferson Memorial on 13 April 2007, his 58th birthday. Asteroid 57901 Hitchens is named after him. His memoir, ''Hitch-22'', was published in June 2010. Touring for the book was cut short later in the same month so he could begin treatment for newly diagnosed esophageal cancer. On 15 December 2011, Hitchens died from pneumonia, a complication of his cancer, in the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

Life and career

Early life and education

His mother, Yvonne Jean (née Hickman), and father, Eric Ernest Hitchens (1909–1987), met in Scotland while both were serving in the Royal Navy during World War II. Yvonne was at the time a "Wren" (a member of the Women's Royal Naval Service), and Eric a "purse-lipped and silent" commander, whose ship HMS ''Jamaica'' helped sink Nazi Germany's battleship ''Scharnhorst'' in the Battle of the North Cape. His father's naval career required the family to move a number of times from base to base throughout Britain and its dependencies, including in Malta, where Christopher's brother Peter was born in Sliema in 1951.

Hitchens's mother having argued that "if there is going to be an upper class in this country, then Christopher is going to be in it,", in the late fifties and early sixties he was educated at Mount House School in Tavistock in Devon, then at the independent Leys School in Cambridge, and then at Balliol College in Oxford, where he was tutored by Steven Lukes and read philosophy, politics, and economics. Hitchens was "bowled over" in his adolescence by Richard Llewellyn's ''How Green Was My Valley'', Arthur Koestler's ''Darkness at Noon,'' Fyodor Dostoyevsky's ''Crime and Punishment'', R. H. Tawney's critique on ''Religion and the Rise of Capitalism,'' and the works of George Orwell. In 1968, he took part in the TV quiz show ''University Challenge''.

Hitchens has written of his homosexual experiences when in boarding school in his memoir, ''Hitch-22''. These experiences continued in his college years, when he allegedly had relationships with two men who eventually became a part of the Thatcher government.

In the 1960s Hitchens joined the political left, drawn by his anger over the Vietnam War, nuclear weapons, racism, and "oligarchy", including that of "the unaccountable corporation". He would express affinity with the politically charged countercultural and protest movements of the 1960s and 1970s. However, he deplored the rife recreational drug use of the time, which he describes as hedonistic.

He joined the Labour Party in 1965, but along with the majority of the Labour students' organization was expelled in 1967, because of what Hitchens called "Prime Minister Harold Wilson's contemptible support for the war in Vietnam". Under the influence of Peter Sedgwick, who translated the writings of Russian revolutionary and Soviet dissident Victor Serge, Hitchens forged an ideological interest in Trotskyist and anti-Stalinist socialism. Shortly after he joined "a small but growing post-Trotskyist Luxemburgist sect".

Journalistic career (1970–1981)

Hitchens began working as a correspondent for the magazine ''International Socialism'', published by the International Socialists, the forerunners of today's British Socialist Workers Party. This group was broadly Trotskyist, but differed from more orthodox Trotskyist groups in its refusal to defend communist states as "workers' states". Their slogan was "Neither Washington nor Moscow but International Socialism".

Hitchens left Oxford with a third class degree. His first job was with the London ''Times Higher Education Supplement'', where he served as social science editor. Hitchens admitted that he hated the position, and was later fired; he recalled, "I sometimes think if I'd been any good at that job, I might still be doing it." In the 1970s, he went on to work for the ''New Statesman'', where he became friends with the authors Martin Amis and Ian McEwan, among others. At the ''New Statesman'' he acquired a reputation as a fierce left-winger, aggressively attacking targets such as Henry Kissinger, the Vietnam War, and the Roman Catholic Church.

In November 1973, Hitchens' mother committed suicide in Athens in a suicide pact with her lover, a former clergyman named Timothy Bryan. They overdosed on sleeping pills in adjoining hotel rooms, and Bryan slashed his wrists in the bathtub. Hitchens flew alone to Athens to recover his mother's body. Hitchens said he thought his mother was pressured into suicide by fear that her husband would learn of her infidelity, as their marriage had been strained and unhappy. Both her children were then independent adults. While in Greece, Hitchens reported on the constitutional crisis of the military junta. It became his first leading article for the ''New Statesman''.

American career (1981–2011)

After moving to the United States in 1981, Hitchens wrote for ''The Nation'', where he penned vociferous critiques of Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush and American foreign policy in South and Central America. He became a contributing editor of ''Vanity Fair'' in 1992, writing ten columns a year. He left ''The Nation'' in 2002 after profoundly disagreeing with other contributors over the Iraq War. There is speculation that Hitchens was the inspiration for Tom Wolfe's character Peter Fallow in the 1987 novel ''The Bonfire of the Vanities'', but others — including Hitchens (or he indicated as such while alive) — believe it to be ''Spy Magazine''s "Ironman Nightlife Decathlete" Anthony Haden-Guest. In 1987, his father died from cancer of the esophagus.

Hitchens spent part of his early career in journalism as a foreign correspondent in Cyprus. Through his work there he met his first wife Eleni Meleagrou, a Greek Cypriot, with whom he had two children, Alexander and Sophia. His son, Alexander Meleagrou-Hitchens, born in 1984, has worked as a researcher for London think tanks the Policy Exchange and the Centre for Social Cohesion. Hitchens continued writing essay-style correspondence pieces from a variety of locales, including Chad, Uganda and the Darfur region of Sudan. His work took him to over 60 countries. In 1991 he received a Lannan Literary Award for Nonfiction.

Before Hitchens' political shift, the American author and polemicist Gore Vidal was apt to speak of Hitchens as his "Dauphin" or "heir". In 2010, Hitchens attacked Vidal in a ''Vanity Fair'' piece headlined "Vidal Loco," calling him a "crackpot" for his adoption of 9/11 conspiracy theories. Also, on the back of his book ''Hitch-22,'' among the praise from notable writers and figures, a Vidal quote endorsing Hitchens as his successor is crossed out with a red 'X' and a message saying "NO C.H." His strong advocacy of the war in Iraq had gained Hitchens a wider readership, and in September 2005 he was named one of the "Top 100 Public Intellectuals" by ''Foreign Policy'' and ''Prospect'' magazines. An online poll ranked the 100 intellectuals, but the magazines noted that the rankings of Hitchens (5), Noam Chomsky (1), and Abdolkarim Soroush (15) were partly due to supporters publicising the vote.

In 2007 Hitchens' work for ''Vanity Fair'' won him the National Magazine Award in the category "Columns and Commentary". He was a finalist once more in the same category in 2008 for some of his columns in ''Slate'' but lost out to Matt Taibbi of ''Rolling Stone''. He won the National Magazine Award for Columns about Cancer in 2011. Hitchens also served on the Advisory Board of Secular Coalition for America and offered advice to Coalition on the acceptance and inclusion of nontheism in American life.

Literature reviews

Hitchens wrote a monthly essay on books in ''The Atlantic'' and contributed occasionally to other literary journals. One of his books, ''Unacknowledged Legislation: Writers in the Public Sphere'', is a collection of such works, and ''Love, Poverty and War'' contains a section devoted to literary essays. In ''Why Orwell Matters'', he defends Orwell's writings against modern critics as relevant today and progressive for his time. In the 2008 book ''Christopher Hitchens and His Critics: Terror, Iraq, and the Left'', many literary critiques are included of essays and other books of writers, such as David Horowitz and Edward Said.

During a three-hour interview by ''Book TV'', he named authors who have had influence on his views, including Aldous Huxley, George Orwell, Evelyn Waugh, P. G. Wodehouse and Conor Cruise O'Brien.

Political views

The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' referred to Hitchens as a "gadfly with gusto". In 2009, Hitchens was listed by ''Forbes'' magazine as one of the "25 most influential liberals in the U.S. media". However, the same article noted that he would "likely be aghast to find himself on this list", since it reduces his self-styled radicalism to mere liberalism. Hitchens' political perspective can be found in his wide ranging writings which include many of the political dialogues he published.

Socialism

Hitchens became a socialist "largely [as] the outcome of a study of history, taking sides ... in the battles over industrialism and war and empire." In 2001, he told Rhys Southan of ''Reason'' magazine that he could no longer say "I am a socialist." Socialists, he claimed, had ceased to offer a positive alternative to the capitalist system. Capitalism had become the more revolutionary economic system, and he welcomed globalisation as "innovative and internationalist", but added, "I don't think that the contradictions, as we used to say, of the system, are by any means all resolved." He stated that he had a renewed interest in the freedom of the individual from the state, but that he still considered libertarianism "ahistorical" both on the world stage and in the work of creating a stable and functional society, adding that libertarians are "more worried about the over-mighty state than the unaccountable corporation" whereas "the present state of affairs ... combines the worst of bureaucracy with the worst of the insurance companies."

In 2006, in a town hall meeting in Pennsylvania debating the Jewish Tradition with Martin Amis, Hitchens commented on his political philosophy by stating, "I am no longer a socialist, but I still am a Marxist". In a June 2010 interview with ''The New York Times'', he stated that "I still think like a Marxist in many ways. I think the materialist conception of history is valid. I consider myself a very conservative Marxist". In 2009, in an article for ''The Atlantic'' entitled "The Revenge of Karl Marx", Hitchens frames the late-2000s recession in terms of Marx's economic analysis and notes how much Marx admired the capitalist system he was calling for the end of, but says that Marx ultimately failed to grasp how revolutionary capitalist innovation was. Hitchens was an admirer of Che Guevara, commenting that "[Che's] death meant a lot to me and countless like me at the time, he was a role model, albeit an impossible one for us bourgeois romantics insofar as he went and did what revolutionaries were meant to do — fought and died for his beliefs." However, in an essay written in 1997, he distanced himself somewhat from some of Che's actions.

He continued to regard both Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky as great men, and the October Revolution as a necessary event in the modernization of Russia. In 2005, Hitchens praised Lenin's creation of "secular Russia" and his discrediting of the Russian Orthodox Church, describing it as "an absolute warren of backwardness and evil and superstition".

Iraq War and the war on terror

The years after the ''fatwa'' issued against Salman Rushdie saw Hitchens looking for allies and friends. In the United States he became increasingly critical of what he called "excuse making" on the left. At the same time, he was attracted to the foreign policy ideas of some on the Republican-right that promoted pro-liberalism intervention, especially the neoconservative group that included Paul Wolfowitz. Around this time, he befriended the Iraqi dissident and businessman Ahmed Chalabi. In 2004, Hitchens stated that neoconservative support for US intervention in Iraq convinced him that he was "on the same side as the neo-conservatives" when it came to contemporary foreign policy issues. Hitchens had also been known to refer to his association with "temporary neocon allies".

Following the September 11 attacks, Hitchens and Noam Chomsky debated the nature of radical Islam and the proper response to it. In October 2001, Hitchens wrote criticisms of Chomsky in ''The Nation''. Chomsky responded and Hitchens issued a rebuttal to Chomsky to which Chomsky again responded. Approximately a year after the September 11 attacks and his exchanges with Chomsky, Hitchens left ''The Nation'', claiming that its editors, readers and contributors considered John Ashcroft a bigger threat than Osama bin Laden, and that they were making excuses on behalf of Islamist terrorism; in the following months he wrote articles increasingly at odds with his colleagues.

Christopher Hitchens argued the case for the Iraq War in a 2003 collection of essays entitled ''A Long Short War: The Postponed Liberation of Iraq'', and he has held numerous public debates on the topic with George Galloway and Scott Ritter. Though he admitted to the numerous failures of the war, and its high civilian casualties, he stood by the position that deposing Saddam Hussein was a long-overdue responsibility of the United States, after decades of poor policy, and that holding free elections in Iraq had been a success not to be scoffed at. He argued that a continued fight in Iraq against insurgents, whether they be former Saddam loyalists or Islamic extremists, was a fight worth having, and that those insurgents, not American forces, should have been the ones taking the brunt of the blame for a slow reconstruction and high civilian casualties.

Criticism of George W. Bush

Prior to September 11, 2001, and the invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan, Hitchens was highly critical of Bush's "non-interventionist" foreign policy. He also criticized Bush's support of intelligent design and capital punishment.

Although Hitchens defended Bush's post-September 11 foreign policy, he criticized the actions of U.S. troops in Abu Ghraib and Haditha, and the U.S. government's use of waterboarding, which he unhesitatingly deemed as torture after being invited by ''Vanity Fair'' to voluntarily undergo it. In January 2006, Hitchens joined with four other individuals and four organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union and Greenpeace, as plaintiffs in a lawsuit, ''ACLU v. NSA'', challenging Bush's warrantless domestic spying program; the lawsuit was filed by the ACLU.

Presidential endorsements

Hitchens would elaborate on his political views and ideological shift in a discussion with Eric Alterman on Bloggingheads.tv. In this discussion Hitchens revealed himself to be a supporter of Ralph Nader in the 2000 U.S. presidential election, who was disenchanted with the candidacy of both George W. Bush and Al Gore.

Hitchens made a brief return to ''The Nation'' just before the 2004 U.S. presidential election and wrote that he was "slightly" for Bush; shortly afterwards, ''Slate'' polled its staff on their positions on the candidates and mistakenly printed Hitchens' vote as pro-John Kerry. Hitchens shifted his opinion to "neutral", saying: "It's absurd for liberals to talk as if Kristallnacht is impending with Bush, and it's unwise and indecent for Republicans to equate Kerry with capitulation. There's no one to whom he can surrender, is there? I think that the nature of the jihadist enemy will decide things in the end".

In the 2008 presidential election, Hitchens in an article for ''Slate'' stated, "I used to call myself a single-issue voter on the essential question of defending civilization against its terrorist enemies and their totalitarian protectors, and on that 'issue' I hope I can continue to expose and oppose any ambiguity." He was critical of both main party candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain. Hitchens went on to support Obama, calling McCain "senile", and his choice of running mate Sarah Palin "absurd", calling Palin a "pathological liar" and a "national disgrace".

Blumenthal–Hitchens feud

Hitchens and Carol Blue chose to submit an affidavit to the trial managers of the Republican Party in the trial of impeachment of Bill Clinton. In the affidavit, Blue and Hitchens swore that their then-friend, Sidney Blumenthal, had described Monica Lewinsky as a stalker. This allegation contradicted Blumenthal's own sworn deposition in the trial, and it resulted in a hostile exchange of opinion in the public sphere between Hitchens and Blumenthal. Following the publication of Blumenthal's ''The Clinton Wars,'' Hitchens wrote several pieces in which he accused Blumenthal of manipulating the facts.

Israel–Palestine

Hitchens had said of himself, "I am an Anti-Zionist. I'm one of those people of Jewish descent who believes that Zionism would be a mistake even if there were no Palestinians."

A review of his autobiography ''Hitch-22'' in the ''Jewish Daily Forward'' refers to Hitchens as "a prominent anti-Zionist" and says that he views Zionism "as an injustice against the Palestinians". Others have commented on his anti-Zionism as well suggesting that his memoir was "marred by the occasional eruption of [his] anti-Zionism". The ''Jewish Daily Forward'' quoted him saying of Israel's prospects for the future, "I have never been able to banish the queasy inner suspicion that Israel just did not look, or feel, either permanent or sustainable."

In ''Slate'', Hitchens pondered the notion that, instead of curing antisemitism through the creation of a Jewish state, "Zionism has only replaced and repositioned" it, saying: "there are three groups of 6 million Jews. The first 6 million live in what the Zionist movement used to call Palestine. The second 6 million live in the United States. The third 6 million are distributed mainly among Russia, France, Britain, and Argentina. Only the first group lives daily in range of missiles that can be (and are) launched by people who hate Jews." Hitchens argued that instead of supporting Zionism, Jews should help "secularize and reform their own societies", believing that unless one is religious, "what the hell are you doing in the greater Jerusalem area in the first place?"

During a town hall function in Pennsylvania with Martin Amis, Hitchens stated that "one must not insult or degrade or humiliate people" and that he "would be opposed to this maltreatment of the Palestinians if it took place on a remote island with no geopolitical implications". Hitchens described Zionism as "an ethno-nationalist quasi-religious ideology" and stated his desire that if possible, he would "re-wind the tape [to] stop Hertzl from telling the initial demagogic lie (actually two lies) that a land without a people needs a people without a land".

He continued to say that Zionism "nonetheless has founded a sort of democratic state which isn't any worse in its practice than many others with equally dubious origins." He stated that settlement in order to achieve security for Israel is "doomed to fail in the worst possible way", and the cessation of this "appallingly racist and messianic delusion" would "confront the internal clerical and chauvinist forces which want to instate a theocracy for Jews". However, Hitchens contended that the "solution of withdrawal would not satisfy the jihadists" and wondered "What did they imagine would be the response of the followers of the Prophet [Muhammad]?" Hitchens bemoaned the transference into religious terrorism of Arab secularism as a means of democratization: "the most depressing and wretched spectacle of the past decade, for all those who care about democracy and secularism, has been the degeneration of Palestinian Arab nationalism into the theocratic and thanatocratic hell of Hamas and Islamic Jihad". He maintained that the Israel-Palestine conflict is a "trivial squabble" that has become "so dangerous to all of us" because of "the faith-based element."

Hitchens collaborated on this issue with prominent Palestinian advocate Edward Said, in 1988 publishing ''Blaming the Victims: Spurious Scholarship and the Palestinian Question''.

Domestic policy

Hitchens actively supported drug policy reform and called for the abolition of the "War on Drugs" which he described as an "authoritarian war" during a debate with William F. Buckley. He supported the legalization of cannabis for both medical and recreational purposes, citing it as a cure for glaucoma and as treatment for numerous side-effects induced by chemotherapy, including severe nausea, describing the prohibition of the drug as "sadistic". On the issue of abortion, Hitchens prioritized in affirming that he believed a fetus should be regarded as an "unborn child", but opposed the overturning of ''Roe v. Wade'' and supported the development of medical abortion techniques, and fundamentally believed in access to contraceptives and reproductive rights as "the only thing that is known to cure poverty", and in order to prevent surgical abortion altogether.

Other

Other issues Hitchens wrote on the subjects of included his support for the reunification of Ireland, abolition of the British monarchy, and his condemnation of the war crimes of Slobodan Milošević and Franjo Tuđman in Yugoslavia, and the Bosnian War.

Critiques of specific individuals

Hitchens was known for his scathing critiques of public figures. Three figures — Bill Clinton, Henry Kissinger, and Mother Teresa — were the targets of three separate full length texts, ''No One Left to Lie To: The Triangulations of William Jefferson Clinton'', ''The Trial of Henry Kissinger'', and ''The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice''. Hitchens also wrote book-length biographical essays about Thomas Jefferson (''Thomas Jefferson: Author of America''), George Orwell (''Why Orwell Matters''), and Thomas Paine (''Thomas Paine's "Rights of Man": A Biography'').

However, the majority of Hitchens's critiques took the form of short opinion pieces, some of the more notable being his critiques of: Jerry Falwell, George Galloway, Mel Gibson, Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, Michael Moore, Daniel Pipes, Ronald Reagan, Jesse Helms, and Cindy Sheehan.

Views on religion

Hitchens often spoke out against the Abrahamic religions, or what he called "the three great monotheisms" (Judaism, Christianity and Islam). He said: "The real axis of evil is Christianity, Judaism, and Islam". In his book, ''God Is Not Great'', Hitchens expanded his criticism to include all religions, including those rarely criticized by Western secularists such as Hinduism and neo-paganism. His book had mixed reactions, from praise in ''The New York Times'' for his "logical flourishes and conundrums" to accusations of "intellectual and moral shabbiness" in the ''Financial Times''. ''God Is Not Great'' was nominated for a National Book Award on 10 October 2007.

Hitchens contended that organized religion is "the main source of hatred in the world", "[v]iolent, irrational, intolerant, allied to racism, tribalism, and bigotry, invested in ignorance and hostile to free inquiry, contemptuous of women and coercive toward children", and that accordingly it "ought to have a great deal on its conscience". In ''God Is Not Great'', Hitchens contends that:

[A]bove all, we are in need of a renewed Enlightenment, which will base itself on the proposition that the proper study of mankind is man and woman [referencing Alexander Pope]. This Enlightenment will not need to depend, like its predecessors, on the heroic breakthroughs of a few gifted and exceptionally courageous people. It is within the compass of the average person. The study of literature and poetry, both for its own sake and for the eternal ethical questions with which it deals, can now easily depose the scrutiny of sacred texts that have been found to be corrupt and confected. The pursuit of unfettered scientific inquiry, and the availability of new findings to masses of people by electronic means, will revolutionize our concepts of research and development. Very importantly, the divorce between the sexual life and fear, and the sexual life and disease, and the sexual life and tyranny, can now at last be attempted, on the sole condition that we banish all religions from the discourse. And all this and more is, for the first time in our history, within the reach if not the grasp of everyone.

His book rendered him one of the major advocates of the "New Atheism" movement, and he also was made an Honorary Associate of the National Secular Society. Hitchens said he would accept an invitation from any religious leader who wished to debate with him. He also served on the advisory board of the Secular Coalition for America, a lobbying group for atheists and humanists in Washington, DC. In 2007, Hitchens began a series of written debates on the question "Is Christianity Good for the World?" with Christian theologian and pastor, Douglas Wilson, published in ''Christianity Today'' magazine. This exchange eventually became a book by the same title in 2008. During their book tour to promote the book, film producer Darren Doane sent a film crew to accompany them. Doane produced the film ''Collision'': "Is Christianity GOOD for the World?" which was released on 27 October 2009.

On 26 November 2010 Hitchens appeared in Toronto, Canada at the Munk Debates, where he debated religion with former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, a convert to Roman Catholicism. Blair argued religion is a force for good, while Hitchens was against it. Preliminary results on the Munk website said 56 per cent of the votes backed the proposition (Hitchens' position) before hearing the debate, with 22 per cent against (Blair's position), and 21 per cent undecided, with the undecided voters leaning toward Hitchens, giving him a 68 per cent to 32 per cent victory over Blair, after the debate.

In February 2006, Hitchens helped organize a pro-Denmark rally outside the Danish Embassy in Washington, DC in response to the Jyllands-Posten Muhammad cartoons controversy.

Hitchens was accused by William A. Donohue of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Liberties of being particularly anti-Catholic. Hitchens responded "when religion is attacked in this country [...] the Catholic Church comes in for a little more than its fair share". Hitchens had also been accused of anti-Catholic bigotry by others, including Brent Bozell, Tom Piatak in ''The American Conservative'', and UCLA Law Professor Stephen Bainbridge. In an interview with ''Radar'' in 2007, Hitchens said that if the Christian right's agenda were implemented in the United States "It wouldn't last very long and would, I hope, lead to civil war, which they will lose, but for which it would be a great pleasure to take part." When Joe Scarborough on 12 March 2004 asked Hitchens whether he was "consumed with hatred for conservative Catholics", Hitchens responded that he was not and that he just thinks that "all religious belief is sinister and infantile". Piatak claimed that "A straightforward description of all Hitchens's anti-Catholic outbursts would fill every page in this magazine", noting particularly Hitchens' assertion that U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Roberts should not be confirmed because of his faith.

Hitchens was raised nominally Christian, and went to Christian boarding schools but from an early age declined to participate in communal prayers. Later in life, Hitchens discovered that he was of partially Jewish ancestry. According to Hitchens, when his brother Peter took his fiancée to meet their maternal grandmother, who was then in her 90s, she said of his fiancée, "She's Jewish, isn't she?" and then announced: "Well, I've got something to tell you. So are you." Hitchens found out that his maternal grandmother, Dorothy Levin, was raised Jewish (Dorothy's father and maternal grandfather had both been born Jewish, and Dorothy's maternal grandmother – Hitchens' matrilineal great-great-grandmother – was a convert to Judaism). Hitchens' maternal grandfather converted to Judaism before marrying Dorothy Levin. Hitchens' Jewish-born ancestors were immigrants from Eastern Europe (including Poland). In an article in the ''The Guardian'' on 14 April 2002, Hitchens stated that he could be considered Jewish because Jewish descent is matrilineal. In a 2010 interview at New York Public Library, Hitchens stated that he was against circumcision, a Jewish tradition, and that he believed "if anyone wants to saw off bits of their genitalia they should do when they're grown up and have made the decision for themselves".

In February 2010, he was named to the Freedom From Religion Foundation's Honorary Board of distinguished achievers.

Personal life

Marriages and children

Hitchens married Eleni Meleagrou, a Greek Cypriot, in a Greek Orthodox church in 1981; the couple had a son, Alexander and a daughter, Sophia. In 1989 Hitchens left Meleagrou for Carol Blue, an American writer. The couple married in a New York synagogue; they had a daughter, Antonia.

Relationship with his younger brother

Hitchens' younger brother by two-and-a-half years, Peter Hitchens, is a Christian and socially conservative journalist in London, although, like his brother, he had been a Trotskyist in the 1970s. The brothers had a protracted falling-out after Peter wrote that Christopher had once joked that he "didn't care if the Red Army watered its horses at Hendon" (a suburb of London). Christopher denied having said this and broke off contact with his brother. He then referred to his brother as "an idiot" in a letter to ''Commentary'', and the dispute spilled into other publications as well. Christopher eventually expressed a willingness to reconcile and to meet his new nephew (born in 1999); shortly thereafter the brothers gave several interviews together in which they said that their personal disagreements had been resolved. They appeared together on 21 June 2007 edition of the BBC current affairs discussion show ''Question Time''. The pair engaged in a formal televised debate for the first time on 3 April 2008, at Grand Valley State University, and at the Pew Forum on 12 October 2010.

Smoking and drinking

A June 2006 profile on Hitchens by NPR stated: "Hitchens is known for his love of cigarettes and alcohol — and his prodigious literary output." However, in late 2007 he gave up smoking, undergoing an epiphany in Madison, Wisconsin. His brother Peter later wrote of his surprise at this decision. It was while writing his memoir ''Hitch-22'' that he resumed smoking cigarettes and continued until his cancer diagnosis. Hitchens admitted to drinking heavily; in 2003 he wrote that his daily intake of alcohol was enough "to kill or stun the average mule", noting that many great writers "did some of their finest work when blotto, smashed, polluted, shitfaced, squiffy, whiffled, and three sheets to the wind."

British politician George Galloway, founder of the socialist Respect Party, on his way to testify in front of a United States Senate sub-committee investigating the scandals in the U.N. Oil-for-Food programme, called Hitchens a "drink-sodden ex-Trotskyist popinjay", to which Hitchens quickly replied, "only some of which is true". Later, in a column for ''Slate'' promoting his debate with Galloway which was to take place on 14 September 2005, he elaborated on his prior response: "He says that I am an ex-Trotskyist (true), a 'popinjay' (true enough, since the word's original Webster's definition is a target for arrows and shots), and that I cannot hold a drink (here I must protest)."

Oliver Burkeman writes, "Since the parting of ways on Iraq [...] Hitchens claims to have detected a new, personalised nastiness in the attacks on him, especially over his fabled consumption of alcohol. He welcomes being attacked as a drinker 'because I always think it's a sign of victory when they move on to the ad hominem.' He drinks, he says, 'because it makes other people less boring. I have a great terror of being bored. But I can work with or without it. It takes quite a lot to get me to slur.'"

In the question and answer session following a speech Hitchens gave to the Commonwealth Club of California on 9 July 2009, one audience member asked what was Hitchens' favorite whisky. Hitchens replied that "the best blended scotch in the history of the world" is Johnnie Walker Black Label. He also playfully indicated that it was the favorite whisky of, among others, the Iraqi Ba'ath Party, the Palestinian Authority, the Libyan dictatorship, and "large branches of the Saudi Arabian Royal Family". He concluded his answer by calling it the "breakfast of champions" and exhorted the audience to "accept no substitute".

In his 2010 memoir ''Hitch-22'', Hitchens wrote: "There was a time when I could reckon to outperform all but the most hardened imbibers, but I now drink relatively carefully." He described his current drinking routine on working-days as follows: "At about half past midday, a decent slug of Mr. Walker's amber restorative, cut with Perrier water (an ideal delivery system) and no ice. At luncheon, perhaps half a bottle of red wine: not always more but never less. Then back to the desk, and ready to repeat the treatment at the evening meal. No 'after dinner drinks' — ​most especially nothing sweet and never, ever any brandy. 'Nightcaps' depend on how well the day went, but always the mixture as before. No mixing: no messing around with a gin here and a vodka there."

Reflecting on the lifestyle that supported his career as a writer he said:

I always knew there was a risk in the bohemian lifestyle ... I decided to take it because it helped my concentration, it stopped me being bored — it stopped other people being boring. It would make me want to prolong the conversation and enhance the moment. If you ask: would I do it again? I would probably say yes. But I would have quit earlier hoping to get away with the whole thing. I decided all of life is a wager and I'm going to wager on this bit ... In a strange way I don't regret it. It's just impossible for me to picture life without wine, and other things, fueling the company, keeping me reading, energising me. It worked for me. It really did.

Esophageal cancer and death

In June 2010, Hitchens postponed his book tour for ''Hitch-22'' to undergo treatment for esophageal cancer. He announced that he was undergoing treatment in a ''Vanity Fair'' piece entitled "Topic of Cancer". Hitchens said that he recognised the long-term prognosis was far from positive, and that he would be a "very lucky person to live another five years". In November 2010, Hitchens canceled a scheduled appearance in New York, where he was to debate religion writers David Hazony and Stephen Prothero on the subject of the Ten Commandments. Earlier that year, he published a piece in ''Vanity Fair'' on the subject, and was working on a book about the Ten Commandments as well.

During his illness, Hitchens was under the care of Francis Collins and was the subject of Collins' new cancer treatment which maps out the human genome and selectively targets damaged DNA.

In April 2011, Hitchens was forced to cancel an appearance at the American Atheist Convention, and instead sent a letter that stated, "Nothing would have kept me from joining you except the loss of my voice (at least my speaking voice) which in turn is due to a long argument I am currently having with the specter of death." He closed with "And don't keep the faith." The letter also dismissed the notion of a possible deathbed conversion, in which he claimed that "redemption and supernatural deliverance appears even more hollow and artificial to me than it did before." In June 2011, he spoke to a University of Waterloo audience via a home video link.

In October 2011, Hitchens made a public appearance at the Texas Freethought Convention in Houston, TX. ''Atheist Alliance of America'' was also a participant in the joint convention.

In November 2011, George Eaton wrote in the ''New Statesman'':

The tragedy of Hitchens' illness is that it came at a time when he enjoyed a larger audience than ever. Of his tight circle of friends – Amis, Fenton, McEwan, Rushdie – Hitchens was the last to gain international renown, yet he is now read more widely than any of them." Eaton revealed that Hitchens would like to be remembered as a man who fought totalitarianism in all its forms although many remember him as a "lefty who turned right", and his support of the Iraq War and not his support of the War in Bosnia on the side of the Moslems. Eaton concluded, "The great polemicist is certain to be remembered, but, as he is increasingly aware, perhaps not as he would like."

Hitchens died on December 15th, 2011 at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston.

In accordance with his wishes, his body was donated to medical research.

Reactions to death

Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair said, "Christopher Hitchens was a complete one-off, an amazing mixture of writer, journalist, polemicist, and unique character. He was fearless in the pursuit of truth and any cause in which he believed. And there was no belief he held, that he did not advocate with passion, commitment and brilliance. He was an extraordinary, compelling and colorful human being whom it was a privilege to know."

Richard Dawkins, British evolutionary biologist at the University of Oxford and a friend of Hitchens', said, "I think he was one of the greatest orators of all time. He was a polymath, a wit, immensely knowledgeable, and a valiant fighter against all tyrants including imaginary supernatural ones."

Norman Finkelstein, American political scientist and author, wrote, "When I first learned that Hitchens was diagnosed with an excruciating and terminal cancer, it caused me to doubt my atheism. The news came just as Hitchens was about to go on a book tour for his long-awaited memoir. It was as if he was setting out on his victory lap when the adulating crowds were supposed to fawn over him and — wham! — his legs were lopped off at the kneecaps. The irony could not be more perfect: the god that the vindictive but witty Mr. Hitchens made a career scoffing at turns out to be ... vindictive but witty. When I heard that Hitchens was dead, I took a deep breath. The air felt cleaner, as if after a 40-day and 40-night downpour." Finkelstein also added, "I get no satisfaction from Hitchens's passing. Although he was the last to know it, every death is a tragedy, if only for the bereft child — or, as in the case of Cindy Sheehan, bereft parent — left behind.

Sam Harris, American writer and neuroscientist, wrote, "I have been privileged to witness the gratitude that so many people feel for Hitch’s life and work — for, wherever I speak, I meet his fans. On my last book tour, those who attended my lectures could not contain their delight at the mere mention of his name — and many of them came up to get their books signed primarily to request that I pass along their best wishes to him. It was wonderful to see how much Hitch was loved and admired — and to be able to share this with him before the end. I will miss you, brother."

Francis Collins, director of the National Institutes of Health and former head of the Human Genome Project who helped treat Hitchens' illness, wrote, "I will miss Christopher. I will miss the brilliant turn of phrase, the good-natured banter, the wry sideways smile when he was about to make a remark that would make me laugh out loud. No doubt he now knows the answer to the question of whether there is more to the spirit than just atoms and molecules. I hope he was surprised by the answer. I hope to hear him tell about it someday. He will tell it really well."

British columnist and author Peter Hitchens, who had a tumultuous relationship with his older brother Christopher, wrote that he and Christopher "got on surprisingly well in the past few months, better than for about 50 years as it happens," and praised his brother as "courageous."

Irish-American political journalist Alexander Cockburn, founder of the left-wing political magazine ''CounterPunch'' wrote an obituary critical of Hitchens, criticizing his support for the Iraq War, criticisms of Mother Teresa, and criticisms of their mutual friend Edward Said and concluded, "I found the Hitchens cult of recent years entirely mystifying. He endured his final ordeal with pluck, sustained indomitably by his wife Carol."

Tributes followed from the philosopher Daniel Dennett, the physicist Lawrence Krauss, the actor Stephen Fry, the writer Ian McEwan, the philosopher A.C. Grayling; and ''Vanity Fair'', in which he was remembered as an "incomparable critic and masterful rhetorician".

Film and television appearances

As referenced from the Internet Movie Database, Hitchens Web or Charlie Rose. {|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- ! Year ! Film and/or Television |- |1984 |align="left" | ''Opinions'': "Greece to their Rome" |- |1988 |align="left" | ''Frontiers (TV series)'' |- |1993 |align="left" | ''Everything You Need to Know'' |- |1994 |align="left" | ''Tracking Down Maggie: The Unofficial Biography of Margaret Thatcher'' |- |1994 |align="left" | ''Hell's Angel'' |- |1996 |align="left" | ''Where's Elvis This Week?'' |- |1996–2010 |align="left" | ''Charlie Rose (talk show)'' (13 episodes) |- |1998 |align="left" | ''Princess Diana: The Mourning After'' |- |1999–2002 |align="left" | ''Dennis Miller Live'' (TV show) (4 episodes) |- |2002 |align="left" | ''The Trials of Henry Kissinger'' |- |2003 |align="left" | ''Hidden in Plain Sight'' |- |2003–2009 |align="left" | ''Real Time with Bill Maher'' (TV show) (6 episodes) |- |2004 |align="left" | ''Mel Gibson: God's Lethal Weapon'' |- |2004–2006 |align="left" | ''Newsnight'' (TV show) (3 episodes) |- |2004–2010 |align="left" | ''The Daily Show'' (TV show) (4 episodes) |- |2005 |align="left" | ''Penn & Teller: Bullshit!'' (TV show)(1 episode, s03e05) |- |2005 |align="left" | ''The Al Franken Show'' (TV show)(1 episode) |- |2005 |align="left" | ''Confronting Iraq: Conflict and Hope'' |- |2005 |align="left" | ''Heaven on Earth: The Rise and Fall of Socialism'' |- |2005–2008 |align="left" | ''Hardball with Chris Matthews'' (TV show)(3 episodes) |- |2006 |align="left" | ''American Zeitgeist'' |- |2006 |align="left" | ''Blog Wars'' |- |2007 |align="left" | ''Manufacturing Dissent'' |- |2007 |align="left" | ''Question Time (TV series)'' (1 episode) |- |2007 |align="left" | ''Your Mommy Kills Animals'' |- |2007 |align="left" | ''Personal Che'' |- |2007 |align="left" | ''Heckler'' |- |2007 |align="left" | ''In Pot We Trust'' |- |2008 |align="left" | ''Discussions with Richard Dawkins'': Episode 1: "The Four Horsemen" |- |2008 | style="text-align:left;"| ''Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed '' |- |2009 |align="left" | ''Holy Hell'' |- |2009 |align="left" | ''Presidency'' |- |2009 |align="left" | ''Collision: "Is Christianity GOOD for the World?"'' |- |2010 |align="left" | ''Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune'' |}

Selected publications

1984 ''Cyprus''. Quartet. Revised editions as ''Hostage to History: Cyprus from the Ottomans to Kissinger'', 1989 (Farrar, Straus & Giroux) and 1997 (Verso)

1988 ''Blaming the Victims: Spurious Scholarship and the Palestinian Question'' (contributor; co-editor with Edward Said) Verso, ISBN 0-86091-887-4 Reissued, 2001

1990 ''The Monarchy'', Chatto & Windus Ltd

1990 ''Blood, Class and Nostalgia: Anglo-American Ironies'', Farrar Straus & Giroux (T)(June 1990)

1995 ''The Missionary Position: Mother Teresa in Theory and Practice'', Verso

1997 ''The Parthenon Marbles: The Case for Reunification'', Verso

1999 ''No One Left to Lie To: The Values of the Worst Family'', Verso

2000 ''Unacknowledged Legislation: Writers in the Public Sphere'', Verso

2001 ''The Trial of Henry Kissinger''. Verso.

2001 ''Letters to a Young Contrarian'', Basic Books

2002 ''Why Orwell Matters'' also ''Orwell's Victory'', Basic Books, ISBN 0-465-03050-5

2004 ''Love, Poverty, and War: Journeys and Essays'', Thunder's Mouth, Nation Books, ISBN 1-56025-580-3

2005 ''Thomas Jefferson: Author of America'', Eminent Lives/Atlas Books/HarperCollins Publishers, ISBN 0-06-059896-4

2007 "Thomas Paine's Rights of Man: A Biography ", Atlantic Monthly Press, ISBN 0871139553

2007 ''The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Non-Believer'', [Editor] Perseus Publishing. ISBN 978-0-306-81608-6

2007 ''God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything'', Twelve/Hachette Book Group USA/Warner Books, ISBN 0-446-57980-7 / Published in the UK as ''God Is Not Great: The Case Against Religion'', Atlantic Books, ISBN 978-1-84354-586-6

2008 ''Christopher Hitchens and His Critics: Terror, Iraq and the Left'' (with Simon Cottee and Thomas Cushman), New York University Press

2008 ''Is Christianity Good for the World? — A Debate'' (co-author, with Douglas Wilson), Canon Press, ISBN 1-59128-053-2

2010 ''Hitch-22: A Memoir'', Twelve, ISBN 978-0-446-54033-9

2011 ''Arguably: Essays by Christopher Hitchens'', Twelve. UK edition as ''Arguably: Selected Prose'', Atlantic, ISBN 1-4555-0277-4 / ISBN 978-1-4555-0277-6

References

External links

Daily Hitchens, an archive of material on or by Hitchens

in 2010

Drexel Interview (One-hour video interview) with Paula Marantz Cohen, June 2010

Christopher Hitchens collected news and commentary at ''The Boston Globe''

"Journalist Christopher Hitchens fully embraces the Bush war camp" from the World Socialist Website, October 2002

"Christopher Hitchens" feature story in ''Prospect'' magazine, May 2008

"Incendiary Author Spares No Targets" feature story in ''The New Zealand Herald'', May 2008

"Such, Such are His Joys" David Brooks assessment in ''The New York Times'', 1 July 2010

Hitchens on Dying with Cancer, video interview with ''The Atlantic'', August 2010

"Christopher Hitchens: 'You have to choose your future regrets'" ''The Guardian'', 13 November 2010

"Christopher Hitchens's Jewish Problem" feature article on ''Jewish Ideas Daily,'' 13 December 2010

A debate between Hitchens and Berlinski 2010

Outspoken and outrageous: Christopher Hitchens a 60 Minutes profile aired 6 March 2011

''Booknotes'' interview with Hitchens on ''For the Sake of Argument'', 17 October 1993.

;Articles by Hitchens

Contributor page at ''Vanity Fair''

Column archive at ''The Atlantic''

Article archive at ''The Guardian''

Hitchens articles at ''Slate''

Article archive at Journalisted

Category:1949 births Category:2011 deaths Category:Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Category:Anti-Zionism Category:Anti–Vietnam War activists Category:Antitheists Category:Atheism activists Category:English people of Jewish descent Category:English people of Polish descent Category:British republicans Category:Cancer deaths in Texas Category:Deaths from esophageal cancer Category:English atheists Category:English biographers Category:English emigrants to the United States Category:English essayists Category:English expatriates in the United States Category:English humanists Category:English journalists Category:English Marxists Category:English political writers Category:Genital integrity activists Category:Materialists Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:Old Leysians Category:People from Portsmouth Category:Slate (magazine) people Category:Socialist Workers Party (UK) members Category:The Nation (U.S. magazine) people Category:University Challenge contestants

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birthname	Emily Jean Stone
birth date	November 06, 1988
birth place	Scottsdale, Arizona, U.S.
othername	Riley Stone
occupation	Actress, voice actress
yearsactive	2004–present }}

Emily Jean "Emma" Stone (born November 6, 1988) is an American actress. Stone was a cast member of the TV series ''Drive'', and made her feature film debut in the comedy ''Superbad'' (2007). She appeared in ''The House Bunny'' (2008) and ''Ghosts of Girlfriends Past'' (2009). She then starred in the horror-comedy ''Zombieland'' and the indie comedy ''Paper Man'' in 2009. In 2010, Stone voiced the character Mazie in ''Marmaduke'', and starred in the high school comedy ''Easy A'', which earned her a nomination for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy.

Early life

Stone was born in Scottsdale Arizona, the daughter of Krista (née Yeager), a homemaker, and Jeff Stone, a contractor. She has a brother who is younger by two years. Stone's paternal grandfather was of Swedish descent, and his family's surname was anglicized to "Stone" when immigrating to the U.S. through Ellis Island; her ancestors also lived in Pennsylvania Dutch Country.

She was a member of the Valley Youth Theatre while growing up, a regional theater in Phoenix, Arizona, where she appeared in her first stage production, ''The Wind in the Willows'', at the age of 11. Stone attended Sequoya Elementary School and then Cocopah Middle School for sixth grade. She was home schooled for two years, at which time she appeared in 16 productions at Valley Youth Theatre, including: ''A Winnie-the-Pooh Christmas Tail'', ''The Princess and the Pea'', ''Cinderella'', ''The Wiz'', ''Titanic'', ''Honk!'', ''The Little Mermaid'', ''Schoolhouse Rock Live!'', ''Alice in Wonderland'', and ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', and performed with the theater's improv comedy troupe.

Stone attended Xavier College Preparatory, an all-girl Catholic high school, as a freshman for one semester. She gave a PowerPoint presentation to her parents, set to the Madonna song "Hollywood," to convince them to let her move to California for an acting career. She dropped out of high school, and in January 2004, moved with her mother to a Los Angeles apartment, at the age of 15. She was then home schooled, so that she could audition during the day.

Career

2004–present

Stone launched a career in television after winning the role of Laurie Partridge on ''In Search of the New Partridge Family'' (2004), a VH1 talent competition reality show. The resulting show, ''The New Partridge Family'' (2005), only produced a pilot episode. Stone next had appearances in the television series ''Medium'', ''Malcolm in the Middle'' and ''Lucky Louie''. In 2007, she had a regular role on the Fox drama ''Drive'', playing Violet Trimble, until the series was cancelled. She also auditioned for ''Heroes'', and overheard in the casting room "On a scale of 1 to 10, you are an 11" — the casting directors were referring to Hayden Panettiere, who was cast as Claire Bennet instead. Stone called this experience "rock bottom."

Stone made her feature film debut in the 2007 teen comedy ''Superbad'', playing Jules, the love interest of lead character Seth (Jonah Hill). In 2008, she appeared in the comedy ''The Rocker'', with Rainn Wilson. Stone played Amelia, the bass guitarist in a band featuring singer Teddy Geiger. Stone learned to play bass for the role. Also that year, Stone appeared in ''The House Bunny'', starring Anna Faris, alongside Katharine McPhee, Kat Dennings, Rumer Willis, and Colin Hanks. Stone played the president of a sorority and sang on a single from the film, "I Know What Boys Like," a cover version of the 1982 song by The Waitresses.

In 2009, Stone appeared in ''Ghosts of Girlfriends Past'', a romantic comedy directed by Mark Waters, the director of ''Mean Girls'', starring Matthew McConaughey and Jennifer Garner. Stone played "The Ghost of Girlfriends Past," a takeoff of the Ghost of Christmas Past from Charles Dickens' ''A Christmas Carol''. She starred in the horror/comedy ''Zombieland'', along with Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg. The project began shooting in Atlanta in February 2009. Stone played Wichita, a survivor/con artist from Wichita, Kansas, traveling across the U.S. with her younger sister Little Rock (Abigail Breslin).

Stone starred in ''Paper Man'', alongside Jeff Daniels, Ryan Reynolds and Lisa Kudrow, directed by Kieran and Michele Mulroney. Stone plays Abby, a babysitter that Daniels' character hires after moving to Long Island. Stone began filming the independent comedy on November 11, 2008, in Montauk, New York, using well-known local locations.

Stone had a voice role in ''Marmaduke'' in 2010, a film adaptation of the long-running comic strip about a Great Dane. She voiced Marmaduke's friend, Mazie, a tomboyish Australian Shepherd. Stone landed her first leading role starring as a high school student in ''Easy A'' with Amanda Bynes, a comedy directed by Will Gluck. Her character scandalizes her teachers and more conservative religious classmates after a false rumor circulates that she is sexually promiscuous. The script contrasts the novel ''The Scarlet Letter'' and its heroine, Hester Prynne, to the life of the protagonist in the film. Stone read the script before the project was optioned for production, and kept an eye on it along with her manager until preparations were made. She was attracted to the script because it was "funny and sweet" and her character was "fantastic from the first read" who was "fleshed [..] out so much in the script". When she found out that the film went into production, she met with Gluck to express her enthusiasm about the project. A few months later, the audition process started and Stone met again with Gluck to be one of the first actresses to audition. Stone was nominated for the 2011 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy for her role. Stone appeared at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on September 12, 2010, and introduced Linkin Park. She stated in 2008 that she would eventually like to venture into film production, producing her own films, and that her dream was to appear on ''Saturday Night Live''. Stone hosted the late-night sketch comedy show on October 23, 2010. She also appeared in ''Friends With Benefits'', starring Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis, and directed by Gluck. The sex comedy began filming in July 2010, in New York and was released in July 2011.

Stone starred in ''Crazy, Stupid, Love.'', alongside Steve Carell, Julianne Moore, Ryan Gosling and Marisa Tomei. The Warner Bros. film, about a husband (Carell) with marital problems and difficulties with his children, began shooting on April 16, 2010, in Los Angeles and was released on July 29, 2011. Stone starred in ''The Help'', an adaptation of Kathryn Stockett's best-selling novel of the same name, a period piece set in Jackson, Mississippi, in the 1960s, which was released in August, 2011. She plays Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan, an aspiring writer, and employed a Southern dialect for the role.

Upcoming roles

Stone joined the voice cast of ''The Croods'', a 3D computer animated caveman comedy by DreamWorks Animation. She will voice the role of Eep, the oldest daughter of Grug (Nicolas Cage) and Ugga (Catherine Keener). Ryan Reynolds voices Gy, the love interest to Stone's character. The film is scheduled for release on March 30, 2012.

She stars in the comedic short film, "Veronica," alongside Kieran Culkin, directed by Griffin Dunne. The short is a comedy segment that is part of an anthology film called ''Movie 43'', featuring Kate Winslet, Gerard Butler, Hugh Jackman, Uma Thurman, Halle Berry, and others. The feature-film was produced by the Farrelly brothers and directed by Elizabeth Banks, Steven Brill and Steve Carr.

Stone will star as the female lead in ''The Amazing Spider-Man'', a reboot by Columbia Pictures and Marvel Entertainment of the ''Spider-Man'' film series. She plays Gwen Stacy, Peter Parker's love interest, in the Marc Webb-directed film; a release date of July 3, 2012, has been set. The film went into production in December 2010, and is scheduled to last through April 2011. Stone was considered for the lead in a reboot of ''21 Jump Street'', alongside ''Superbad'' co-star Jonah Hill. She did not take the role however, after signing on to ''Spider-Man''. Stone will again work with writer/director Will Gluck, starring in and executive producing an untitled comedy for Screen Gems.

Stone joined the cast of ''The Gangster Squad'', a film by ''Zombieland'' director Ruben Fleischer. She will again play opposite Ryan Gosling in the ensemble crime drama, which also stars Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, Anthony Mackie, Giovanni Ribisi and Michael Peña. Stone plays Jean, a femme fatale caught in a love triangle with Gosling and Penn's character, mobster Mickey Cohen.

Personal life

Stone was living on her own in Los Angeles in 2007, and moved to Greenwich Village, New York City in 2009. Stone has stated that she "was really into HTML and web design" when she was younger.

Although known as a redhead, Stone is naturally a blonde. She landed her first role as a teenager after dyeing her hair dark brown. Film producer Judd Apatow had her change from a brunette to a redhead for her role in ''Superbad''.

In April 2011, Stone ranked 10th on ''People'' magazine's annual 100 Most Beautiful list.

Filmography

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2007		Jules
2008	''''	Amelia
2008	''''	Natalie
2009	''Ghosts of Girlfriends Past''
2009	''Paper Man''	Abby
2009	''Zombieland''	Wichita (Krista)	Scream Award for Best EnsembleNominated - Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best EnsembleNominated-Scream Award for Best Horror ActressNominated-Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress: Comedy
2010		Mazie	Voice
2010	''Easy A''
2011		Kayla
2011	''Crazy, Stupid, Love.''	Hannah Weaver
2011	''''	(Skeeter)	Lead role
2012	''Movie 43''	Ellen Malloy	Post-production
2012			Post-production
2013	''''	Eep	Voice

+ Television
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2005	''''		TV movie
2005			1 episode
2006	''''		1 episode (voice) (season 1, episode 24)
2006	''Malcolm in the Middle''	Diane	1 episode (season 7, episode 16)
2006	''Lucky Louie''	Shannon	1 episode (season 1, episode 8)
2007			7 episodes (1 unaired)

Awards

! Year	! Ceremony	! Category	! Nominated work	Result
2008	Young Hollywood Awards	Exciting New Face
2009		Best Ensemble	''Zombieland''
2010	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Actress: Comedy	''Zombieland''
2010	Scream Awards	Best Horror Actress	''Zombieland''
2010	Scream Awards	Best Ensemble	''Zombieland''
2011			''Easy A''
2011
2011	The Comedy Awards	Best Comedy Actress – Film	''Easy A''
2011	The Comedy Awards	Breakthrough Performer
2011	NewNowNext Awards	Brick of Fame
2011	MTV Movie Awards		''Easy A''
2011	MTV Movie Awards		''Easy A''
2011	MTV Movie Awards	Best Line from a Movie	''Easy A''
2011	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Actress: Romantic Comedy	''Easy A''

Rankings

! Year	! Title	! Rank
2008	''Moviefone's'' 25 hottest actors under 25	No.14
2008		No.1
2009	''AskMen.com's'' Top 99 Women	No.93
2009	''FHM's'' 100 sexiest women in the world (US)	No.93
2009		No.66
2010	AskMen.com's Top 99 Women	No.39
2010	''Maxim's'' Hot List	No.49
2010	''LoveFilm.com's'' Top 20 Actresses Under 30	No.18
2011	AskMen.com's Top 99 Women	No.32
2011	NextMovie.com's 20 Funniest Women in Movies	No.6
2011	People's 100 Most Beautiful	No.10
2011	''Maxim's'' Hot List	No.42
2011	''FHM's'' 100 sexiest women in the world (UK)	No.68
2011	''FHM's'' 100 sexiest women in the world (AUS)	No.38

Discography

Katharine McPhee – "I Know What Boys Like" (2008), RCA – iTunes Store single with Emma Stone and Rumer Willis, a cover version of the 1982 single by The Waitresses

References

External links

Category:1988 births Category:Actors from Arizona Category:American child actors Category:American film actors Category:American people of Swedish descent Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Living people Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Greenwich Village, New York Category:People from Phoenix, Arizona Category:People from Scottsdale, Arizona

ar:ايما ستون da:Emma Stone de:Emma Stone es:Emma Stone fa:اما استون fr:Emma Stone hy:Էմմա Սթոուն it:Emma Stone he:אמה סטון lv:Emma Stouna hu:Emma Stone ms:Emma Stone nl:Emma Stone ja:エマ・ストーン no:Emma Stone pl:Emma Stone pt:Emma Stone ru:Стоун, Эмма simple:Emma Stone fi:Emma Stone sv:Emma Stone th:เอมมา สโตน uk:Емма Стоун

name	Robert Pattinson
birth name	Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson
birth date	May 13, 1986
birth place	London, England, UK
other names	Rob, R-Pattz, Spunk Ransom (nicknames)
occupation	Actor, model, musician, producer
yearsactive	2004–present
relatives	Lizzy Pattinson (sister)
signature	Robert Pattinson signature.svg }}

Robert Douglas Thomas Pattinson (born 13 May 1986) is an English actor, model, musician, and producer. Born and raised in London, Pattinson started out his career by playing the role of Cedric Diggory in ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire''. Later, he landed the leading role of Edward Cullen in the film adaptations of the ''Twilight'' novels by Stephenie Meyer, and came to worldwide fame. Pattinson was ranked as one of the highest paid actors in Hollywood based on 2009 earnings. In 2010, Pattinson was named one of ''TIME'' magazine's 100 Most Influential People in The World, and also in the same year ''Forbes'' ranked him as one of the most powerful celebrities in the world in the Forbes Celebrity 100.

Early life

Pattinson was born in London. His mother, Clare, worked for a modelling agency, and his father, Richard, imported vintage cars from the U.S. Pattinson has two elder sisters, singer Lizzy Pattinson, and Victoria Pattinson. Growing up in the Barnes suburb of London, he attended Tower House School until he was 12, and then The Harrodian School. He became involved in amateur theatre at the Barnes Theatre Company. He auditioned and was cast in a small role in ''Guys and Dolls''. He next auditioned for Thornton Wilder's ''Our Town'' and was cast as George Gibbs. He also played in ''Anything Goes'' and ''Macbeth''. He caught the attention of an acting agent in a production of ''Tess of the d'Urbervilles'' and began looking for professional roles.

Career

Modelling

Pattinson began modelling when he was twelve years old, but the number of jobs began to decrease only four years later. In December 2008 he blamed the lack of work as a model on his masculine appearance: "When I first started I was quite tall and looked like a girl, so I got lots of jobs, because it was during that period where the androgynous look was cool. Then, I guess, I became too much of a guy, so I never got any more jobs. I had the most unsuccessful modelling career." Pattinson appeared in the advertising campaign for Hackett's autumn 2007 collection.

Acting

Pattinson had supporting roles in the made for television film ''Ring of the Nibelungs'' in 2004 and in director Mira Nair’s ''Vanity Fair'', although his scenes in the latter were deleted and only appear on the DVD version. In May 2005, he was slated to appear in the UK premiere of ''The Woman Before'' at the Royal Court Theatre, but was fired shortly before the opening night and was replaced by Tom Riley. Later that year he played Cedric Diggory in ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire''. For this role he was named that year's ''British Star of Tomorrow'' by ''The Times''. He has more than once been touted as the next Jude Law.

Pattinson played Edward Cullen in the film ''Twilight'', based on Stephenie Meyer's best-selling novel of the same name, which was released on 21 November 2008 in North America. According to ''TV Guide'', Pattinson was initially apprehensive about auditioning for the role of Edward Cullen, fearful that he would not be able to live up to the "perfection" expected from the character. He reprised his role as Edward Cullen in the ''Twilight'' sequels ''The Twilight Saga: New Moon'' and ''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'', which was released 30 June 2010.

Pattinson had lead roles in the feature films ''Little Ashes'' (in which he plays Salvador Dalí), ''How to Be'' (a British comedy), and the short film ''The Summer House''.

In 2009, Pattinson presented at the 81st Academy Awards. On 10 November, Revolver Entertainment released the DVD ''Robsessed'', a documentary which details Pattinson's life and popularity.

In 2010, Pattinson executively produced and starred in the film ''Remember Me'', which was released on 12 March 2010. On 13 May 2010, Pattinson appeared on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' for ''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'' and also made an appearance on ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' on 18 May, which aired the following day. Pattinson attended the official worldwide red carpet premiere for ''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'' on 24 June 2010 at the Los Angeles Nokia Theatre.

In 2011, he starred in ''Water for Elephants'', a film adaptation of the Sara Gruen novel of the same name, with Christoph Waltz and Reese Witherspoon.

He will play Georges Duroy in a film adaptation of the 1885 novel ''Bel Ami'', with Uma Thurman, which will be released in 2011. He will also appear in a theatre production for producer David Pugh.

Music

Pattinson plays guitar and piano, and composes his own music. He also appears as the singer of two songs on the ''Twilight'' soundtrack: "Never Think", which he co-wrote with Sam Bradley, and "Let Me Sign", which was written by Marcus Foster and Bobby Long. The songs were included in the film after director Catherine Hardwicke added Pattinson's recordings into an early cut without his knowledge, and he agreed that "one of them specifically, it really made the scene better. It was like it was supposed to be there." The soundtrack for the film ''How to Be'' features three original songs performed by Pattinson and written by composer Joe Hastings.

Aside from recording for the soundtracks, Pattinson has said, "I've never really recorded anything – I just played in pubs and stuff", and when asked about a professional music career, he said, "Music is my back-up plan if acting fails." In 2010, Pattinson was awarded the 'Hollywood's Most Influential Top Unexpected Musicians' award.

In the media

Pattinson was named one of the "Sexiest Men Alive" in 2008 and 2009 by ''People'' magazine. In 2009, he was also named the "Sexiest Man Alive" by ''Glamour''. ''Ask Men'' named Pattinson as one of the top 49 most influential men of 2009. In 2009, ''Vanity Fair'' named Pattinson "the most handsome man in the world" along with Angelina Jolie as the most beautiful woman in the world.

He was named one of ''Vanity Fair'''s "Top Hollywood Earners of 2009" with estimated earnings of $18 million in 2009.

In December 2009, Pattinson autographed a guitar to be auctioned off for charity. He also volunteered for the ''Hope for Haiti Now: A Global Benefit for Earthquake Relief'' in January 2010.

''GQ'' and ''Glamour'' both named him the "Best Dressed Man" of 2010, with ''GQ'' stating, "Extremely elegant and inspiring, the true essence of a contemporary man." In 2010, ''People'' also listed Pattinson in their "World's Most Beautiful" issue.

In 2010, Britain's ''The Sunday Times'' "Rich List" put him on its "list of young millionaires" in the UK, worth £13 million. ''Time'' magazine named him as one of 2010's 100 Most Influential People in The World. In June 2010, Pattinson was named by Forbes magazine the No.50 most powerful celebrity in the world with earnings $17 million. Due to Pattinson's rising fame, a wax statue of him was added to the Madame Tussauds collection in London and New York City. On 14 November 2010, Pattinson received two BBC Radio 1 Teen Awards, Best Dressed and Best Actor.

In 2011, Pattinson was No. 15 on ''Vanity Fair'''s "Hollywood Top 40" with earnings of $27.5 million in 2010.

Filmography

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2004		Rawdy Crawley	Only seen on DVD release
2004		Giselher	Television film
2005		Cedric Diggory
2006	''''	Toby Jugg	Television film
2007	''''	Daniel Gale	Television film
2007		Cedric Diggory	Cameo
2008	''How to Be''	Art
2008		Edward Cullen	Hollywood Film Award for New HollywoodMTV Movie Award for Breakthrough Performance MaleMTV Movie Award for Best Kiss MTV Movie Award for Best Fight People's Choice Award for Favourite On-Screen-Team Scream Award for Best Fantasy ActorTeen Choice Award for Choice HottieTeen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor DramaTeen Choice Award for Movie Liplock Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Rumble Nominated—Empire Award for Best NewcomerNominated—People's Choice Award for Favourite Movie ActorNominated—Scream Award for Best Ensemble Cast
2009	''Little Ashes''	Salvador Dalí
2009	''''	Edward Cullen	Russia's Georges Award for Best Foreign ActorNational Movie Award for Best PerformanceMTV Movie Award for Best Male PerformanceMTV Movie Award for Global SuperstarMTV Movie Award for Best Kiss Teen Choice Award for Movie Liplock Teen Choice Award for Movie chemistry Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor FantasyNominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice HottieNominated—Empire Award for Best ActorNominated—Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards for Cutest Couple Nominated—Razzie Award for Worst Supporting ActorNominated—Razzie Award for Worst Screen Couple (with Kristen Stewart)
2010		Tyler Hawkins
2010	''''	Edward Cullen	Teen Choice Award for Choice Summer Movie Star – MaleBrazilian Kids' Choice Award for Couple of the Year Scream Award for Best Fantasy ActorPeople's Choice Award for Favourite On-Screen-Team MTV Movie Award for Best Male PerformanceMTV Movie Award for Best Kiss MTV Movie Award for Best Fight Teen Choice Award for Choice VampireNominated—Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Award for Fave Kiss Nominated—People's Choice Award for Favorite Movie ActorNominated—People's Choice Award for Favorite Movie Star Under 25Nominated—Razzie Award for Worst Actor
2011		Jacob Jankowski
2011		Edward Cullen
2012		Georges Duroy	Awaiting release
2012		Edward Cullen	Post-production
2012		Eric Packer	Post-production

References

External links

Category:1986 births Category:Actors from London Category:English child actors Category:English film actors Category:English guitarists Category:English male models Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:Living people Category:Old Harrodians Category:People educated at Tower House School Category:People from Barnes, London

ar:روبرت باتينسون az:Robert Pettinson bg:Робърт Патинсън br:Robert Pattinson ca:Robert Thomas-Pattinson cs:Robert Pattinson cy:Robert Pattinson da:Robert Pattinson de:Robert Pattinson et:Robert Pattinson el:Ρόμπερτ Πάτινσον es:Robert Pattinson eo:Robert Pattinson eu:Robert Pattinson fa:رابرت پتینسون fr:Robert Pattinson ga:Robert Pattinson gl:Robert Pattinson gu:રોબર્ટ પેટિસન ko:로버트 패틴슨 hy:Ռոբերտ Փեթինսոն hi:रॉबर्ट पैटिनसन hr:Robert Pattinson id:Robert Pattinson is:Robert Pattinson it:Robert Pattinson he:רוברט פטינסון jv:Robert Pattinson kn:ರಾಬರ್ಟ್‌ ಪ್ಯಾಟಿನ್ಸನ್ ka:რობერტ პეტინსონი kk:Роберт Томас Паттинсон lv:Roberts Patinsons li:Robert Pattinson hu:Robert Pattinson mk:Роберт Патинсон ms:Robert Pattinson nl:Robert Pattinson ja:ロバート・パティンソン no:Robert Pattinson nds:Robert Pattinson pl:Robert Pattinson pt:Robert Pattinson ro:Robert Pattinson ru:Паттинсон, Роберт simple:Robert Pattinson sk:Robert Pattinson sl:Robert Pattinson sr:Robert Patinson sh:Robert Pattinson fi:Robert Pattinson sv:Robert Pattinson tl:Robert Pattinson ta:ராபர்ட் பாட்டின்சன் te:రాబర్ట్ ప్యాటిన్సన్ th:โรเบิร์ต แพตตินสัน tr:Robert Pattinson uk:Роберт Паттінсон vi:Robert Pattinson zh-yue:羅拔柏迪臣 zh:羅伯·派汀森