Events

361 – Julian the Apostate becomes sole Emperor of the Roman Empire, he rules from Constantinople and tries to restore paganism.

969 – Byzatine Emperor Nikephoros II is assassinated by his wife Theofano and her lover, the later Emperor John I Tzimiskes.

1282 – Llywelyn the Last, the last native Prince of Wales, is killed at Cilmeri, near Builth Wells, south Wales.

1602 – A surprise attack by forces under the command of the Duke of Savoy and his brother-in-law, Philip III of Spain, is repelled by the citizens of Geneva.

1789 – The University of North Carolina is chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly.

1792 – French Revolution: King Louis XVI of France is put on trial for treason by the National Convention.

1815 – the U.S. Senate created a select committee on finance and a uniform national currency, predecessor of the United States Senate Committee on Finance.

1816 – Indiana becomes the 19th U.S. state.

1868 – Brazilians defeat Paraguayans at the Battle of Avaí during the War of the Triple Alliance.

1905 – A workers' uprising occurs in Kiev and establishes the Shuliavka Republic.

1907 – The New Zealand Parliament Buildings are almost completely destroyed by fire.

1917 – British General Edmund Allenby enters Jerusalem on foot and declares martial law.

1925 – Roman Catholic papal encyclical ''Quas Primas'' introduces the Feast of Christ the King.

1927 – Guangzhou Uprising: Communist militia and worker Red Guards launch an uprising in the Chinese city of Guangzhou, taking over most of the city and announcing the formation of a Guangzhou Soviet.

1931 – The British Parliament enacts the Statute of Westminster 1931, establishing legislative equality between the self-governing dominions of the Commonwealth of Australia, the Dominion of Canada, the Irish Free State, Dominion of Newfoundland, the Dominion of New Zealand, and the Union of South Africa.

1934 – Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, takes his last drink and enters treatment for the last time.

1936 – Abdication Crisis: Edward VIII's abdication as King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the British Dominions beyond the Seas, and Emperor of India becomes effective.

1937 – Second Italo-Abyssinian War: Italy leaves the League of Nations.

1941 – World War II: Germany and Italy declare war on the United States, following the Americans' declaration of war on Japan in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The United States, in turn, declares war on Germany and Italy.

1946 – The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) is established.

1948 – The United Nations passes General Assembly Resolution 194, which established and defined the role of the United Nations Conciliation Commission as an organization to facilitate peace in the British Mandate for Palestine.

1958 – French Upper Volta gains self-government from France, becomes the Republic of Upper Volta, and joins the French Community.

1960 – French forces crack down in a violent clash with protesters in French Algeria during a visit by French president Charles de Gaulle.

1962 – Arthur Lucas, convicted of murder, is the last person to be executed in Canada.

1964 – Che Guevara speaks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.

1968 – The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus

1972 – Apollo 17 becomes the sixth and last Apollo mission to land on the Moon.

1980 – The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, also known as CERCLA or Superfund, is enacted by the U.S. Congress.

1981 – El Mozote massacre: Armed forces in El Salvador kill an estimated 900 civilians in an anti-guerrilla campaign during the Salvadoran Civil War.

1993 – Forty-eight people are killed when a block of the Highland Towers collapses near Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

1994 – First Chechen War: Russian President Boris Yeltsin orders Russian troops into Chechnya.

1994 – A bomb explodes on Philippine Airlines Flight 434, en route from Manila to Tokyo, killing one. The captain is able to safely land the plane.

1997 – The Kyoto Protocol opens for signature.

1998 – Thai Airways Flight 261 crashes near Surat Thani Airport, killing 101. The pilot flying the Thai Airways Airbus A310-300 is thought to have suffered spatial disorientation.

2001 – The People's Republic of China joins the World Trade Organization.

2005 – The Buncefield Oil Depot catches fire in Hemel Hempstead, England.

2005 – Cronulla riots: Thousands of White Australians demonstrate against ethnic violence resulting in a riot against anyone thought to be Lebanese (and many who are not) in Cronulla Sydney. These are followed up by retaliatory ethnic attacks on Cronulla.

2006 – The International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust is opened in Tehran, Iran by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; Nations such as Israel and the United States express concern.

2007 – Two car bombs explode at the Constitutional Court building in Algiers and the United Nations office. An estimated 45 people are killed in the bombings.

2008 – Bernard Madoff is arrested and charged with securities fraud in a $50 billion Ponzi scheme.

2010 – Two explosions occur in a busy shopping district of Stockholm, Sweden, killing one and injuring two others. Officials say the incident is being treated as a terrorist attack.

Births

1465 – Ashikaga Yoshihisa, Japanese shogun (d. 1489)

1475 – Pope Leo X (d. 1521)

1566 – Manuel Cardoso, Portuguese composer (d. 1650)

1680 – Emanuele d'Astorga, Italian composer (d. 1736)

1709 – Louise Élisabeth d'Orléans, queen consort of Spain (d. 1742)

1712 – Francesco Algarotti, Italian philosopher (d. 1764)

1725 – George Mason, American statesman (d. 1792)

1761 – Gian Domenico Romagnosi, Italian physicist (d. 1835)

1781 – Sir David Brewster, Scottish physicist (d. 1868)

1801 – Christian Dietrich Grabbe, German writer (d. 1836)

1803 – Hector Berlioz, French composer (d. 1869)

1810 – Alfred de Musset, French poet (d. 1857)

1830 – Kamehameha V, Hawaiian king (d. 1872)

1838 – John Labatt, Irish-Canadian brewer (d. 1915)

1843 – Robert Koch, German bacteriologist, Nobel laureate (d. 1910)

1856 – Georgi Plekhanov, Russian revolutionary and Marxist theoretician (d. 1918)

1858 – Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, Russian theatre director (d. 1943)

1863 – Annie Jump Cannon, American astronomer (d. 1941)

1873 – Josip Plemelj, Slovenian mathematician (d. 1967)

1875 – Yehuda Leib Maimon, Bassarabian-born Israeli rabbi and government minister (d. 1962)

1880 – Frank Tarrant, Australian cricketer (d. 1951)

1882 – Subramanya Bharathy, Indian poet (d. 1921)

1882 – Max Born, German physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1970)

1882 – Fiorello La Guardia, American statesman (d. 1947)

1883 – Victor McLaglen, English-born American actor (d. 1959)

1889 – Walter Knott, American farmer (d. 1981)

1890 – Carlos Gardel, tango singer (d. 1935)

1890 – Mark Tobey, American painter (d. 1976)

1897 – Ronald Skirth, conscientious objector of the First World War (d. 1977)

1904 – Marge, American cartoonist (d. 1993)

1905 – Robert Henriques, English writer (d. 1967)

1905 – Gilbert Roland, American actor (d. 1994)

1908 – Elliott Carter, American composer

1908 – Amon Göth, commandant of Nazi concentration camp (d. 1946)

1908 – Manoel de Oliveira, Portuguese director

1909 – Ronald McKie, Australian author (d. 1991)

1909 – John Wyer, English sports car racing team manager (d. 1989)

1910 – Noel Rosa, Brazilian songwriter (d. 1937)

1911 – Val Guest, English film director (d. 2006)

1911 – Naguib Mahfouz, Egyptian writer, Nobel laureate (d. 2006)

1911 – Qian Xuesen, Chinese scientist (d. 2009)

1912 – Carlo Ponti, Italian film producer (d. 2007)

1913 – Jean Marais, French actor (d. 1998)

1916 – Dámaso Pérez Prado, Cuban-born bandleader (d. 1989)

1918 – Clinton Adams, American artist (d. 2002)

1918 – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Russian writer and Soviet dissident, Nobel laureate (d. 2008)

1919 – Marie Windsor, American actress (d. 2000)

1921 – Liz Smith, British actress

1922 – Grigoris Bithikotsis, Greek singer (d. 2005)

1922 – Dilip Kumar, Indian actor

1922 – Grace Paley, American writer (d. 2007)

1922 – Maila Nurmi, Finnish-American actress (d. 2008)

1923 – Betsy Blair, American actress (d. 2009)

1924 – Doc Blanchard, American football player (d. 2009)

1925 – Aaron Feuerstein, American businessman

1925 – Paul Greengard, American neuroscientist, Nobel laureate

1926 – Big Mama Thornton, American singer (d. 1984)

1927 – John Buscema, American comics artist (d. 2002)

1930 – Chus Lampreave, Spanish actress

1930 – Jean-Louis Trintignant, French actor

1931 – Rita Moreno, Puerto Rican actress

1931 – Ronald Dworkin, American philosopher

1931 – Pierre Pilote, Canadian ice hockey player

1931 – Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Indian guru (d. 1990)

1932 – Enrique Bermúdez, Nicaraguan Contra leader (d. 1991)

1932 – Anne Heywood, English actress

1932 – Aladár Kovácsi, Hungarian modern pentathlon Olympic champion (1952, Helsinki) (d. 2010)

1933 – Aquilino Pimentel, Jr., Filipino politician

1935 – Ron Carey, American actor (d. 2007)

1935 – Pranab Mukherjee, Indian politician

1935 – Elmer Vasko, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1998)

1936 – Taku Yamasaki, Japanese politician

1937 – Jim Harrison, American writer

1938 – Enrico Macias, Algerian-born French singer

1938 – McCoy Tyner, American jazz pianist

1938 – Reg Livermore, Australian entertainer

1939 – Tom Hayden, American politician and activist

1939 – Thomas McGuane, American writer

1940 – David Gates, American musician (Bread)

1941 – Max Baucus, American politician, senior senator of Montana

1941 – J. P. Parisé, Canadian ice hockey player

1941 – J. Frank Wilson, American singer (J. Frank Wilson and the Cavaliers) (d. 1991)

1942 – Donna Mills, American actress

1943 – John Kerry, American politician

1944 – Jon Garrison, American tenor

1944 – Teri Garr, American film actress

1944 – Lynda Day George, American actress

1944 – Brenda Lee, American singer

1946 – Rhoma Irama, Indonesian musician, King of Dangdut

1946 – Susan Kyle (aka Diana Palmer, Susan S. Kyle, Diana Blayne, Katy Currie), American writer

1948 – Stamatis Spanoudakis, Greek composer

1950 – Nino Frassica, Italian actor

1950 – Christina Onassis, American heiress (d. 1988)

1953 – Bess Armstrong, American actress

1954 – Jermaine Jackson, American singer (Jackson 5)

1954 – Guðlaugur Kristinn Óttarsson, Icelandic engineer

1954 – Santiago Creel, Mexican politician

1955 – Stu Jackson, American basketball head coach

1955 – Christian Sackewitz, German footballer

1956 – Andrew Lansley, British politician

1956 – Lani Brockman, American actress, director and playwright

1958 – Nikki Sixx, American musician (Mötley Crüe)

1958 – Isabella Hofmann, American actress

1960 – Rachel Portman, English film composer

1961 – Marco Pierre White, English chef and restaurateur

1962 – Ben Browder, American actor

1962 – Paul Haslinger, Austrian-born composer

1962 – Nele Karajlić, Bosnian singer

1963 – Jon Brion, American musician/record producer

1964 – Michel Courtemanche, French Canadian comedian

1964 – Justin Currie, Scottish singer and songwriter

1964 – John Mark Karr, American who claimed involvement in JonBenét Ramsey case

1964 – David Schools, American musician (Widespread Panic)

1964 – Cosy Sheridan, American singer

1964 – Carolyn Waldo, Canadian synchronized swimmer

1966 – Gary Dourdan, American actor

1966 – Leon Lai, Hong Kong Cantonese singer/actor

1967 – Mo'Nique, American actress/comedienne

1967 – DJ Yella, American DJ and music producer (N.W.A)

1968 – Fabrizio Ravanelli, Italian footballer

1969 – Stig Inge Bjørnebye, Norwegian footballer

1969 – Sean Grande, American sportscaster

1969 – Alessandro Melli, Italian footballer

1969 – Viswanathan Anand, Indian chess grandmaster, current World Chess Champion

1971 – Willie McGinest, American football player

1972 – Daniel Alfredsson, Swedish ice hockey player

1972 – Sami Al-Jaber, Saudi Arabian footballer

1973 – Mos Def, American rapper and actor

1974 – Rey Mysterio, Mexican professional wrestler

1974 – Lisa Ortiz, TV animation and video game voice actress.

1974 – Ben Shephard, English TV personality

1975 – Gerben de Knegt, Dutch cyclist

1975 – Tomoka Kurotani, Japanese actress

1976 – Shareef Abdur-Rahim, American basketball player

1977 – Mark Streit, Swiss ice hockey player

1979 – Rider Strong, American actor

1980 – Arya, Indian actor

1981 – Nikki Benz, Ukraine-born Canadian pornographic actress

1981 – Hamish Blake, Australian comedian

1981 – Paul Medhurst, Australian rules footballer

1981 – Javier Saviola, Argentine footballer

1981 – Zacky Vengeance, American musician (Avenged Sevenfold)

1982 – Pablo Pérez Companc, Argentine racing driver

1983 – Yoh Miyamori, Japanese musician (Orange Range)

1984 – Leighton Baines, English footballer

1985 – Aiko Kayo, Japanese idol singer

1987 – Clifton Geathers, American football player

1987 – Natalia Gordienko, Moldovan singer and dancer

1988 – Tim Southee, New Zealand cricketer

1989 – Murugan Thiruchelvam, English chess player

1996 – Hailee Steinfeld, American Actress

Deaths

384 – Pope Damasus I

969 – Nikephoros II Phokas (b. c. 912)

1121 – Al-Afdal Shahanshah, Galilean political advisor (b. 1066)

1226 – Robert de Ros, English politician (b. 1177)

1241 – Emperor Ogedei Khan of the Mongol Empire

1282 – Prince Llywelyn the Last of Wales

1282 – Michael VIII Palaiologos (b. 1225)

1532 – Pietro Accolti, Italian Catholic cardinal (b. 1455)

1582 – Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba, Spanish territorial governor (b. 1508)

1694 – Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma (b. 1630)

1737 – John Strype, English historian (b. 1643)

1747 – Edmund Curll, English bookseller (b. c. 1675)

1797 – Richard Brocklesby, English physician (b. 1722)

1840 – Emperor Kokaku of Japan (b. 1771)

1872 – King Kamehameha V of Hawaii (b. 1830)

1880 – Oliver Fisher Winchester, American businessman and politician (b. 1810)

1892 – William Milligan, Scottish theologian (b. 1821)

1909 – Innokenty Annensky, Russian poet (b. 1855)

1918 – Ivan Cankar, Slovenian writer (b. 1876)

1920 – Olive Schreiner, South African writer (b. 1855)

1938 – Christian Lous Lange, Norwegian pacifist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1869)

1941 – John Gillespie Magee, Jr., American poet and aviator (b. 1922)

1941 – Charles Émile Picard, French mathematician (b. 1856)

1945 – Charles Fabry, French physicist (b. 1867)

1950 – Leslie Comrie, New Zealand astronomer (b. 1893)

1957 – Musidora (Jeanne Roques), French actress (b. 1889)

1959 – Jim Bottomley, American baseball player (b. 1900)

1964 – Sam Cooke, American singer (b. 1931)

1964 – Percy Kilbride, American actor (b. 1888)

1968 – Richard Sagrits, Estonian painter (b. 1910)

1968 – Arthur Hays Sulzberger, publisher of the ''New York Times'' 1935-61 (b. 1891)

1971 – Maurice McDonald, American fast-food entrepreneur (b. 1902)

1975 – Lee Wiley, American jazz singer (b. 1908)

1978 – Vincent du Vigneaud, American chemist and Nobel laureate (b. 1901)

1978 – Paul O'Dea, American baseball player (b. 1920)

1979 – James J. Gibson, American perceptual psychologist (b. 1904)

1983 – Sir Neil Ritchie, British General (b. 1897)

1984 – Oskar Seidlin, German-born American scholar (b. 1911)

1987 – G. A. Kulkarni, Indian (Marathi) writer (b. 1923)

1989 – Louise Dahl-Wolfe, American photographer (b. 1895)

1991 – Robert Q. Lewis, American game show host (b. 1921)

1991 – Artur Lundkvist, Swedish author and critic (b. 1906)

1992 – Michael Robbins, English actor (b. 1930)

1993 – Elvira Popescu, Romanian-born French actress (b. 1894)

1994 – Philip Phillips, American archaeologist (b. 1900)

1995 – Arthur Mullard, English comedy actor (b. 1910)

1996 – Willie Rushton, English cartoonist and magazine publisher (b. 1937)

1997 – Eddie Chapman, British World War II spy (b. 1914)

1998 – André Lichnerowicz, Polish-French physicist (b. 1915)

1998 – Lynn Strait, American singer (Snot) (b. 1968)

2000 – Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah, Pakistani diplomat and author (b. 1915)

2000 – David Lewis, American actor (b. 1916)

2003 – Ahmadou Kourouma, Ivorian writer (b. 1927)

2004 – José Luis Cuciuffo, Argentinian footballer (b. 1962)

2004 – Arthur Lydiard, New Zealand track & field coach (b. 1917)

2004 – M.S. Subbulakshmi, Indian singer (b. 1916)

2006 – Elizabeth Bolden, American supercentenarian (b. 1890)

2007 – Christie Hennessy, Irish singer (b. 1945)

2008 – Bettie Page, American model (b. 1923)

2008 – Maddie Blaustein, American voice actress (b. 1960)

2010 – Dick Hoerner, American football player (b. 1922)

Holidays and observances

Christian Feast Day:

*Daniel the Stylite

*Pope Damasus I

*Victoricus, Fuscian, and Gentian

Human Rights and Peace Day (Kiribati)

Indiana Day (United States)

International Mountain Day (International)

National Tango Day (Buenos Aires)

One of the four Agonalia, this day in honor of Sol Indiges; also the Septimontium festival (Roman Empire)

Pampanga Day (Pampanga Province, the Philippines)

Remembrance Day of Llywelyn II (Wales)

Republic Day, the day when Upper Volta became an autonomous republic in the French Community in 1958. (Burkina Faso)

External links

BBC: On This Day

On This Day in Canada

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Category:Days of the year Category:December

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Coordinates	38°43′05″N85°39′24″N
image alt	A Caucasian ice hockey player in his mid-thirties. He stands crouched over on the ice with his stick rested horizontally on his knees. He wears a blue jersey with white and green trim and is helmetless.
played for	''Elitserien''Modo Hockey ''NHL''New York RangersVancouver CanucksPittsburgh Penguins ''IHL''Cleveland Lumberjacks
position	Left wing
shoots	Left
height ft	6
height in	0
weight lb	191
ntl team	Sweden
birth date	July 30, 1973
birth place	Örnsköldsvik, SWE
draft	16th overall
draft year	1991
draft team	Pittsburgh Penguins
career start	1990
career end	2010 }}

Markus Näslund (born July 30, 1973) is a Swedish ice hockey general manager for Modo Hockey and a retired professional winger. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Vancouver Canucks and New York Rangers, as well as in the Elitserien with Modo Hockey. Nicknamed "Nazzy" by Canucks fans and "Macke" or "Mackan" in his native Sweden, he was known for his offensive skills, particularly his wrist shot and stickhandling.

After playing junior hockey within the Modo organization, Näslund turned professional with the club's Elitserien team in 1990–91. Selected in the first round, 16th overall by the Penguins in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft, he joined the NHL in 1993–94. Näslund was traded to Vancouver in 1996, where he spent 12 years, including a team record 8 as captain. He received the Cyclone Taylor Trophy as the Canucks' most valuable player five times and the Cyrus H. McLean Trophy as the leading point-scorer for seven consecutive seasons—both club records—en route to becoming the franchise leader in goals and points. In 2008, Näslund signed with the Rangers, where he spent one season before announcing his retirement from the NHL. In 15 NHL seasons, Näslund was thrice First Team All-Star, chosen in 2002, 2003 and 2004, and a Lester B. Pearson Award recipient, winning in 2003. He was also a Hart Memorial Trophy nominee in 2003. Midway through the 2009–10 season, he returned to play for Modo before retiring a second time. In December 2010, he became the third Canucks player to have his jersey retired, joining Stan Smyl and Trevor Linden.

Internationally, Näslund has competed with the Swedish national team in two European Junior Championships, two World Junior Championships, four World Championships, two World Cups and one Winter Olympics. He holds the World Junior record for most goals scored in a single tournament, scoring 13 in 1993, while also winning back-to-back silver medals at the competition. In World Championship play, he won a silver medal in 1993 and two bronze medals in 1999 and 2002.

Early life

Näslund was born to Sture and Ulla Näslund on July 30, 1973, in Örnsköldsvik, Sweden. The city has produced numerous NHL players, including childhood friend and future Modo Hockey teammate Peter Forsberg, as well as future Canucks teammates Henrik and Daniel Sedin.

Growing up idolizing Swedish NHL and Elitserien star Håkan Loob, he played most of his organized hockey at an outdoor rink in his neighbourhood during his youth. At age 14, Näslund competed with the regional all-star team from Ångermanland, helping the squad win a national under-16 championship at TV-pucken in 1988. He received the Sven Tumba Award as the tournament's best forward.

Born within 10 days of each other, Näslund and Forsberg became well-acquainted while playing on separate youth teams. They went on to join the Ångermanland team together, before competing on the same side at the junior and senior levels for Modo Hockey and the Swedish national team. They attended high school together and had summer jobs at the age of 18 with the same electrical company that employed both Näslund's mother and Forsberg's father, Kent.

Playing career

Modo Hockey

At age 15, Näslund played a season with Örnsköldsviks SK in Sweden's third-tier men's league. Appearing in 14 games, he scored 7 goals and 13 points. The following season, in 1989–90, Näslund joined the Modo Hockey organization, playing in Sweden's highest-level junior league, the J20 SuperElit, where he and Peter Forsberg skated together on one of the most productive lines in the league. The pair helped Modo to win back-to-back junior championships. After a season of junior, in 1990–91 Näslund joined Modo's professional team in the Elitserien, Sweden's premiere league. The Modo equipment manager designated him with the jersey number 19, which Näslund thereafter opted to wear with the Swedish national teams he played on. He recorded 10 goals and 19 points in his rookie season, a record points total for a 17-year-old in the league, until Robert Nilsson scored 21 in 2002–03.

In the off-season, Näslund was drafted 16th overall in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The team's general manager, Craig Patrick, hailed Näslund and Forsberg as the draft's top two prospects behind first-overall selection Eric Lindros. He compared Näslund to the Los Angeles Kings' Swedish forward Tomas Sandström, although he did not consider him as aggressive a player, and further claimed that he was a more natural goal-scorer than Penguins forward Jaromír Jágr, who had just completed his rookie year with the club.

Näslund remained in Sweden with Modo for two more years, recording a team-leading 39 points in 1991–92. He matched that points total the following season before helping Modo to the quarterfinals of the Elitserien playoffs.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Following the 1992–93 season, his contract with Modo expired on April 30, 1993, and he had not yet come to terms with the Penguins. According to the collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between the NHL and NHL Players Association (NHLPA), he was entitled to free agency within the league, beginning on July 1. However, a conflicting agreement between the league and Swedish ice hockey officials required that he sign an NHL contract on or before June 30 in order to leave Sweden. With the deadline approaching, Näslund filed a federal lawsuit against the NHL claiming that their agreement with Swedish officials could not override his rights as a player under the CBA. The case went to a federal judge in Newark, New Jersey, who ruled in favour of Näslund on June 29. League president and lawyer Gil Stein released an affidavit stating the NHL-Swedish agreement did not apply to Näslund, as he was not under contract with any Swedish team.

Näslund became a Group 4 restricted free agent on July 1. He did not receive any offers from other teams due to an apparent promise from the Penguins organization to exercise their right to match. After two months of free agency, Näslund and the Penguins agreed to a deal on September 9, 1993, worth approximately US$1.8 million over three years, including a $750,000 signing bonus.

Näslund subsequently joined the Penguins for the 1993–94 season. Due to teammate Bryan Trottier already wearing his Modo jersey number, 19, he chose number 29 instead. He appeared in his first NHL game on October 5, 1993, against the Philadelphia Flyers. Five days later, he registered his first NHL point, an assist, during a game against the Quebec Nordiques. His first NHL goal came the following month on November 9, 1993, in a 3–3 tie against the St. Louis Blues. The goal came in the first period on the powerplay against goaltender Curtis Joseph, assisted by Doug Brown and Marty McSorley. Upon entering the NHL, Näslund struggled and was admittedly frustrated with himself. As a result, he was demoted to the Penguins' International Hockey League (IHL) affiliate, the Cleveland Lumberjacks, on several occasions. He finished his rookie campaign with four goals and seven assists in 71 games. Although the Penguins qualified for the 1994 playoffs, Näslund did not participate in post-season play, being made a healthy scratch, and watched as Washington eliminated Pittsburgh in the first round.

The following season, shortened due to the 1994–95 labour dispute, he continued to split playing time between the NHL and IHL. In 14 games with Pittsburgh, he scored two goals and four points, while recording seven points in seven games with Cleveland. He did not appear in the NHL playoffs for a second straight season, despite the Penguins qualifying. Instead, he was assigned to Cleveland for their playoff season, in which he recorded four points in four games. Frustrated by his ongoing demotions to the IHL, at one point during the season he requested to be traded from Pittsburgh.

Näslund impressed in his third training camp with the Penguins, held prior to the 1995–96 season. He was labelled in the media as "Mr. September", referring to his ability to show promise before struggling once the season began. Due to the departures of All-Star left-wingers Kevin Stevens and Luc Robitaille from the Penguins, Näslund had an opportunity for a more prominent role with the club in 1995–96. He played on the second offensive unit with winger Jaromír Jágr and centre Ron Francis during training camp before being moved up to the first line with Mario Lemieux. He showed an immediate improvement, starting the season with 36 points in 29 games. He recorded his first NHL career hat-trick on November 28, 1995, in a 7–2 win over the Ottawa Senators. However, his production slowed later in the season; he was scratched on several occasions and was demoted to the third and fourth lines by February.

Vancouver Canucks

Trade to Vancouver and captaincy

In the final year of his contract with Pittsburgh, he was the subject of trade rumours. The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'' listed the Edmonton Oilers as the most likely candidate to deal for Näslund. However, on March 20, 1996, he was dealt to the Vancouver Canucks in exchange for forward Alek Stojanov. The deal would be regarded as one of the most lopsided trades in NHL history once Näslund displayed his full offensive capabilities later in his career. Stojanov, who had been drafted eight spots ahead of Näslund in the 1991 Draft, went on to play 45 games, scoring two goals and four assists for the Penguins over the next two seasons. He became a career minor-leaguer and retired by age 29, while Naslund would eventually play 884 games with the Canucks.

Näslund made his debut with the Canucks two days following the trade against the Dallas Stars. As his desired jersey number 19 was already being worn on the team by Tim Hunter, the Canucks gave him number 22. Going pointless in his first nine games with his new club, Näslund recorded a hat-trick in the last game of the regular season, a 5–0 win over the Calgary Flames on April 13, 1996. The victory qualified the Canucks for the 1996 playoffs. He finished the regular season with a combined 22 goals and 55 points over 76 games between Pittsburgh and Vancouver. Näslund competed in his first NHL playoffs as the Canucks faced the Colorado Avalanche in the first round. He scored his first career NHL playoff goal in the final game of the series, opening the scoring against goaltender Patrick Roy on the powerplay. Colorado won 3–2 to eliminate Vancouver in six games. Näslund added two assists over the course of the series for three points total.

In the off-season, he was re-signed by the Canucks on August 8, 1996. Näslund switched his jersey number back to 19 from his time with Modo, as Hunter left the team. In his first full campaign with the Canucks, he recorded 21 goals and 41 points over 78 games. The Canucks failed to qualify for the playoffs that season; they would not return to the post-season until 2001. At the start of the 1997–98 season, Canucks head coach Mike Keenan scratched a healthy Näslund, prompting him to request a trade once again. He finished the year with 14 goals and 34 points over 76 games.

The following campaign, Näslund emerged as an offensive leader with the Canucks. Injuries to forwards Alexander Mogilny and Todd Bertuzzi, as well as the absence of Pavel Bure, resulted in Näslund earning more ice time. He scored his third NHL career hat-trick on December 5, 1998, during a 4–1 win against the Dallas Stars. At mid-season, he was named to his first NHL All-Star Game, held in January 1999. He went on to record a team-leading 36 goals and 66 points, resulting in him being awarded the Cyclone Taylor Trophy as the Canucks' most valuable player—his first of five during his tenure with Vancouver— as well as his first of two of the team's annual Most Exciting Player Awards (he received his second two years later). In the off-season, he was re-signed by the Canucks to a three-year, $7.2 million contract.

During the Canucks' 2000–01 training camp in Sweden, Näslund was named team captain on September 15, 2000. He replaced Mark Messier, who had returned as a free agent to the New York Rangers, and became the first European-born captain in Canucks' history. Näslund has cited Messier as his greatest playing influence, having played alongside him the previous three seasons. In his first year as team captain, Näslund continued to improve offensively and was named to his second NHL All-Star Game, held in February 2001. With 10 games remaining in the season, he suffered a broken leg on March 16, 2001, during a contest against the Buffalo Sabres. Chasing a loose puck in the third period, he was hit by Sabres defencemen Jay McKee and Rhett Warrener simultaneously, falling awkwardly on his right leg. Näslund was sidelined for the remainder of the season, as he required surgery to repair broken tibia and fibula bones. His 41 goals at the time of the injury were tied for third in the league, while his 75 points ranked in 11th place. As a result, he received his first of three career Viking Awards, given to the best Swedish player in the NHL. Without Näslund in the lineup, the Canucks finished the season with the eighth and final seed in the Western Conference, but were swept in the first round by the Colorado Avalanche in four games.

The Canucks' return to the playoffs marked a turning point in the team's success. After undergoing a rebuilding period in the late-90s under leading point-scorers Messier, Bure and Mogilny, Näslund formed a new core that included Bertuzzi, Brendan Morrison, Ed Jovanovski and Mattias Öhlund. They collectively formed the core of the team. He recalls "grow[ing] up together in the early 2000's" with this group of players as his "fondest memory" in the NHL.|group=notes}}

West Coast Express

Set to enter the final year of his contract, Näslund re-signed with the Canucks to a three-year extension on June 28, 2001. He spent the off-season rehabilitating his leg, which was held together with a titanium rod and screws following surgery, at his private gym in his hometown of Örnsköldsvik. He returned from his injury in 2001–02 and improved to 40 goals and 90 points, which ranked second in the league behind Jarome Iginla. The 2001–02 campaign marked the beginning of what was widely considered the most effective line combination in the league for several seasons. Näslund and Bertuzzi had already formed a duo as wingers on the Canucks' top line for more than two seasons when head coach Marc Crawford replaced centre Andrew Cassels with Brendan Morrison during a game on January 9, 2002. The trio were dubbed the "West Coast Express", named after Vancouver's commuter rail service of the same name.

The formation of Näslund's new line coincided with an eight-goal, 21-point effort over 14 games in January 2002, earning him NHL Player of the Month honours. He was later chosen to represent the World Team at the 2002 NHL All-Star Game in Los Angeles and scored the game-winning goal in an 8–5 victory over the North American team. The Canucks finished the season with the eighth seed in the Western Conference for the second straight year, resulting in a first-round playoff match-up with the Detroit Red Wings. It was Näslund's first appearance in the post-season since his initial year with the Canucks in 1996. He was limited to a goal and an assist as Vancouver was eliminated by Detroit in six games. In the off-season, Näslund received NHL First Team All-Star honours as the league's top left-winger. He also finished fifth in Hart Memorial Trophy balloting.

In 2002–03, with the West Coast Express line intact for a full season, Näslund finished with a career-high of 48 goals and 104 points, finishing second in the league in both categories. Furthermore, he led the league with 54 powerplay points and 12 game-winning goals. Näslund's linemates also produced career seasons as Bertuzzi recorded 97 points, which ranked fifth in league scoring, while Morrison tallied 71. Together, the trio accounted for 45% of the Canucks' 264 goals.

Early in the season, Näslund scored his eighth career NHL hat-trick, scoring three goals in a seven-minute span during the second period of a 5–2 win over the San Jose Sharks on October 21, 2002. On December 14, he scored a career-high four goals in a 6–3 win over the Edmonton Oilers, tying a Canucks record for most goals in a single game. Named to his third consecutive All-Star Game, held in February 2003, Näslund scored a goal in the first shootout in All-Star Game history to help the Western Conference defeat the Eastern Conference 6–5. He was joined on the All-Star squad by three other Canucks – Bertuzzi, Ed Jovanovski and head coach Marc Crawford. Crawford paired Näslund on a line with Peter Forsberg, marking the first time in nearly 10 years the two had played together. Later that month, Näslund registered another career-high game with a six-point night (one goal, five assists) in an 8–0 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers on February 24, 2003. The win extended the Canucks' franchise record unbeaten streak to 14 games. On March 27, he recorded an assist in a 5–1 win against the Phoenix Coyotes for his 100th point of the season, becoming the third Canuck to reach the plateau after Pavel Bure and Alexander Mogilny.

On the last day of the 2002–03 regular season, the Canucks lost the Northwest Division title to the Colorado Avalanche through a defeat against the Los Angeles Kings. Näslund had also began the night as the league's leading point – and goal-scorer, but was surpassed by Avalanche forwards Peter Forsberg and Milan Hejduk, respectively. After the game, Näslund apologized to the home fans at General Motors Place, saying the team "choked." Qualifying for the 2003 playoffs, Vancouver won its first-round matchup against the St. Louis Blues in seven games after trailing the series three games to one. Näslund scored a goal in the deciding game to help the Canucks advance. Against the Minnesota Wild in the next round, the Canucks were eliminated by relinquishing a three-to-one series lead of their own. Näslund finished the playoffs with a career-high 14 points in 14 games.

In the off-season, Näslund received the Lester B. Pearson Award (since renamed the Ted Lindsay Award), given to the league's best player as voted by the NHLPA. By beating out fellow award nominees Forsberg and Boston Bruins centre Joe Thornton, he became the first Swedish-born recipient of the award, as well as the first Canucks player. He was presented the trophy during a ceremony at the Hockey Hall of Fame. Näslund was also a finalist for the Hart Memorial Trophy, awarded to the league's most valuable player as voted by the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. He finished as first runner-up to Forsberg, receiving five first-place ballots out of 62 compared to Forsberg's 38. Second runner-up Martin Brodeur of the New Jersey Devils had 14 first-place ballots, but less voting points overall than Näslund. Näslund had 342 points to Brodeur's 311.|group=notes}} Despite losing the Hart, he was chosen by ''The Hockey News'' as the league's most valuable player that year. Näslund also received both the Viking Award and First Team All-Star honours for the second time.

The following season, Näslund led the Canucks in scoring for the sixth-straight year. His 84 points ranked fourth in the league, while his 35 goals was seventh. His even-strength points topped the league at 58. It marked, however, the beginning of a consistent decline in offensive production for the remainder of his NHL career. He was briefly sidelined in early-December 2003 due to a groin injury, but returned to score his second career four-goal game, scoring all the Canucks' goals in a 4–3 overtime win against the Pittsburgh Penguins, on December 9, 2003. At mid-season, he was selected as team captain for the Western Conference at the 2004 NHL All-Star Game in Minnesota.

On February 16, 2004, during a game against the Colorado Avalanche, Näslund received a body-check to the head from opposing forward Steve Moore. Outstretched to retrieve a loose puck, he was hit by Moore with his elbow and shoulder. The league's leading scorer at the time, he sustained a minor concussion, requiring 13 stitches on his forehead and nose, and was sidelined for three games. He also suffered a hyper-extended elbow when he fell to the ice, which he played with through the remainder of the regular season and playoffs. Moore's hit went unpenalized and several Canucks players vowed to exact revenge when the Canucks and Avalanche were set to play each other again on March 8. Late in the third period of that subsequent game, Todd Bertuzzi skated behind Moore around the ice, punched him in the head and pushed him to the ice. Moore suffered career-ending injuries and Bertuzzi was suspended indefinitely by the league. A close friend of Bertuzzi's, Näslund was deeply affected by the incident, as subsequent lawsuits and public scrutiny negatively impacted Bertuzzi's career. Several years later, Näslund stated, "It still bothers me what Todd has had to go through...There's no question he was standing up for me...it all went too far."

Despite the absence of Bertuzzi for the remainder of the season, Näslund led the Canucks to the Northwest Division title they had lost the previous season. Bertuzzi was replaced on the top line by Matt Cooke. The Canucks' division title placed them third in the Western Conference standings, matching them against the sixth-placed Calgary Flames in the opening round of the 2004 playoffs. In the seventh and deciding game of the series between the two teams, the Canucks faced a one-goal deficit in the final minute of regulation time. With the Canucks having pulled their goaltender for an extra attacker, Näslund stickhandled the length of the ice past two defenders, before shooting the puck on goal. Calgary goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff saved the shot before Cooke scored on the rebound with six seconds left in the game. Despite the effort, Calgary subsequently eliminated Vancouver a minute-and-a-half into the subsequent overtime period on a powerplay goal. Näslund finished the playoffs with nine points in seven games.

At the end of the campaign, he received his second consecutive and third career Viking Award and First Team All-Star mention. In the three seasons from 2001–02 to 2003–04, Näslund scored the most goals (123) and points (278) of any NHL player.

During the NHL labour conflict, he returned to play for Modo Hockey of the Elitserien in 2004–05. Näslund announced his return in mid-January in order to meet the January 31 player-transfer deadline for European clubs, joining Canucks teammates Daniel and Henrik Sedin, as well as former Modo teammate Peter Forsberg on the squad. He was originally expected to sign with Modo before the season started in September, but he returned to Vancouver after spending the summer in Sweden. Vancouver radio-station Team 1040 cited high tax premiums explaining the decision, while Näslund later reasoned that he preferred to be readily available for the NHL, just in case the league and NHLPA could come to an agreement and the season was salvaged.

He played his first game for Modo in nearly 12 years on January 20, 2005, receiving a standing ovation from the home crowd. Näslund went on to appear in 13 games, scoring 17 points. Modo finished in sixth place during the regular season before being eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by Färjestads BK.

Post-lockout

As NHL play was set to resume for the 2005–06 season, Näslund became an unrestricted free agent. On the open market for several days, he re-signed with the Canucks for three more years on August 3, 2005, at $6 million per season. Vancouver newspaper ''The Province'' reported that two other teams had offered deals that matched the contract he signed, but Näslund ultimately chose to remain with the Canucks because he felt the club had a better chance of winning the Stanley Cup. At the time, Näslund said he hoped to retire as a Canuck.

For a franchise-record seventh consecutive season, he led the Canucks in scoring, with 32 goals and 79 points. Despite new NHL rules set in place after the lockout that sought to allow skilled players such as Näslund and his linemates to thrive,|group=notes}} all three members of the Canucks' top line saw decreased offensive production in 2005–06. Furthermore, the Canucks failed to make the playoffs for the first time in four seasons, finishing at ninth place in the Western Conference, despite early-season projections to be Stanley Cup contenders. Consequently, significant changes to the Canucks' personnel were made in the off-season. Of particular significance to Näslund, longtime linemate Bertuzzi was traded to the Florida Panthers in exchange for goaltender Roberto Luongo, while Alain Vigneault replaced Marc Crawford with a more defensive-minded coaching approach. Crawford later recalled the 2005–06 season as a turning point in Näslund's role as the offensive leader on the team, noting that Henrik and Daniel Sedin had surpassed him and Bertuzzi in that respect as the campaign progressed.

Facing significant changes in the 2006–07 season, Näslund's points total continued to decrease. He began the season by scoring his 300th goal as a Canuck during the team's home-opener against the San Jose Sharks on October 14, 2006. The goal tied Canucks teammate Trevor Linden for the franchise lead in all-time goals. He soon surpassed Linden with his 301st goal against the Edmonton Oilers on October 17. Near the midway point of the season, however, Näslund went through a 17-game stretch without a goal. He completed the season with 60 points, his lowest output since 1997–98. Teammate Daniel Sedin had 84 points, marking the first time in eight seasons that Näslund did not lead the team in scoring. In the 2007 post-season, Näslund contributed five points before the team was eliminated by the Anaheim Ducks in the Conference Semifinals.

In 2007–08, Näslund set several more career marks. On November 21, 2007, Näslund tied the Canucks' franchise record of 10 hat-tricks with a three-goal game against the Minnesota Wild, a 4–2 win for Vancouver. It was his first hat-trick since December 2003 and 11th in his career overall. Several games later, on December 5, Näslund became the Canucks' franchise leading point-scorer, assisting on defenceman Mattias Öhlund's goal and passing Linden with 725 points. The following month, on January 17, 2008, Näslund played his 1,000th career game against the Detroit Red Wings, scoring a goal in a 3–2 shootout loss. Playing parts of the season on a line with Daniel and Henrik Sedin, he recorded 25 goals and 55 points.

As Naslund's free agency approached on July 1, 2008, Näslund made it clear that the style of play and the player personnel of a team would be important factors in determining which team he would sign with after his contract with the Canucks expired. He was admittedly frustrated with Vigneault's defensive coaching style. Furthermore, since Bertuzzi's departure in the summer of 2006, Vigneault placed Näslund on inconsistent line combinations, often with career minor-leaguers. While he did not rule out the possibility of returning to Vancouver, he sold his Vancouver home and described his return as questionable.

New York Rangers

Näslund signed a two-year, $8 million contract, including a $1 million signing bonus, with the New York Rangers on July 3, 2008. Upon signing, he revealed New York was his preferred destination heading into free agency. He left Vancouver as the franchise's all-time leader in goals and points with 346 and 756, respectively. His departure also ended his eight-year tenure as team captain, matching Stan Smyl's captaincy as the longest in franchise history. General manager Mike Gillis, who formerly acted as Näslund's agent, released a statement on behalf of the Canucks organization, commending him as "one of the greatest athletes to ever represent the Canucks both on and off of the ice".

As the Rangers held their training camp for the 2008–09 season overseas in Europe, they competed in a one-game challenge against Russian squad Metallurg Magnitogorsk on October 1, 2008, in Bern, Switzerland. The Rangers won the game 4–3, capturing the inaugural Victoria Cup. On October 3, Näslund was named an alternate captain for the Rangers. The next day, he scored his first goal as a Ranger during the season-opener in Prague, Czech Republic, a 2–1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning. In his only season with the Rangers, Näslund led the team in scoring with 24 goals and was fourth in points with 46. He added three points in the playoffs, as the Rangers were eliminated in the first round by the Washington Capitals.

Following the Rangers' defeat, he announced his retirement from the NHL on May 4, 2009, at the age of 35. Näslund had informed Rangers general manager Glen Sather, head coach John Tortorella, and his teammates of his intention to retire prior to the team's playoff elimination. By announcing his retirement early in the off-season, Näslund forfeited a $2 million buyout from the Rangers, which would have counted against the team's salary cap for the following season had he waited until he was formally bought out.

Return to Modo and retirement

Näslund returned to Sweden with his family in the summer of 2009. During this time, Peter Forsberg was attempting a return to the NHL for the 2009–10 season, playing with Modo and the Swedish national team for conditioning purposes. Among the NHL teams interested were the Vancouver Canucks. Näslund had previously tried recruiting Forsberg to play for the Canucks prior to the 2007–08 season, when Forsberg was an unrestricted free agent, without any luck. Weighing in on Forsberg's possible NHL return, Näslund speculated that Forsberg would remain in Sweden to continue playing for Modo. Several days later, Canucks general manager Mike Gillis confirmed Näslund's speculation, asserting that Forsberg intended on finishing the season with Modo.

The following day, on November 17, 2009, Näslund announced he was coming out of retirement to join Forsberg with Modo for the remainder of the 2009–10 Elitserien season. He explained that while he did not miss playing, both he and Forsberg desired to help their former club out of financial troubles and a last-place standing in the league, facing potential relegation. The announcement crashed the Modo web server as a result of the heavy volume of people visiting the site. As a board member of the club, Näslund said he and Forsberg would play without salary.

Näslund played in his first game back with Modo on November 28, 11 days after the announcement, registering an assist on the first goal of the game by Forsberg. Modo won the game 4–1 over Rögle BK. The following match, on December 1, he registered two assists, setting up the game-tying goal with two seconds remaining in regulation by team captain Per Svartvadet and the overtime-winner by Forsberg. He scored his first goal since his return on December 8 in a 4–1 win over HV71. On February 27, he notched a hat-trick against Färjestads BK in a 10–3 win. Playing in 29 of Modo's 55 games, Näslund scored at a point-per-game pace with 10 goals and 19 assists. Ranked last in the league prior to Näslund's return, Modo went on to earn 58 points in the remaining 36 games of the season, but finished one point out of a playoff spot. Näslund confirmed his second retirement following the campaign.

At the start of the 2010–11 NHL season, the NHL and NHLPA honoured Näslund with a tribute and ceremonial puck drop prior to a game held in Stockholm, Sweden, between the San Jose Sharks and Columbus Blue Jackets. Several months later, the Canucks retired his number 19 jersey prior to a home game against the Tampa Bay Lightning on December 11, 2010. Attending the on-ice ceremony were his wife, three children, parents and sister, as well as former Canucks teammates, coaches and executives. The night included a video tribute highlighting his hockey career, speeches from team personalities and gift presentations from the organization. In honour of Näslund and his wife's past philanthropy in the Vancouver community, the team also announced the establishment of a sports equipment centre for underprivileged children. Prior to the jersey raising, Näslund thanked those involved in his career. Reflecting on his career, he commented, "Young hockey players from northern Sweden never dream of a night like this...To go from sitting up in the press box as a healthy scratch to be standing here in front of you is quite amazing." By having his jersey retired, he became the third player in team history to receive the honour, after Stan Smyl and Trevor Linden.

International play

Sweden }}

Näslund made his first international appearance for Sweden at the 1989 Four Nations Tournament in the Soviet Union. The following year, he competed in the 1990 European Junior Championships, an under-18 tournament. He went pointless in six games, but helped Sweden to a gold medal finish. He improved the following year with a tournament-leading 14 goals. His 16 points ranked second overall to teammate Peter Forsberg. Sweden failed to defend their gold medal.

Näslund continued to play in junior tournaments over the next two years, competing in the 1992 and 1993 World Junior Championships, where Sweden won back-to-back silver medals. During his first tournament appearance in Germany, he recorded 10 points, ranking third among all players, including a tournament-leading eight goals (tied with four others). Sweden finished second in the tournament's round-robin format to the Commonwealth of Independent States with a record of five wins, one loss and one tie.

The following year, Sweden hosted the World Junior tournament in Gävle. Näslund set a competition record for most goals scored in a single year with 13, while playing on a line with Forsberg and Niklas Sundström. His 24 points were second in the tournament behind Forsberg's 31. Although Sweden and Canada finished with identical records of six wins and one loss, Canada was awarded the gold medal by virtue of their 3–2 win against Sweden during round-robin play. Näslund was named along with Forsberg to the Tournament All-Star Team.

Näslund made his senior international debut later that year at the 1993 World Championships in Munich and Dortmund, Germany, where he earned another silver medal with Sweden. He contributed a goal and an assist over eight games. Three years later, he was added to Sweden's roster for the 1996 World Championships in Vienna, Austria, after the Canucks were eliminated in the NHL playoffs. He was pointless while competing in one game, as Sweden failed to medal. Several months later, Näslund competed in the inaugural 1996 World Cup, but was again limited to one game. Sweden reached the semifinal, where they were eliminated by Canada. Competing in his third World Championships in 1999, Näslund helped Sweden to a bronze medal with a 10-point effort in 10 games.

In 2002, Näslund made his first and only appearance in the Winter Olympics at the 2002 Games in Salt Lake City. He scored his first and only two Olympic goals during a 7–1 win against Germany. After going undefeated in the round-robin and heralded as medal favourites, Sweden was defeated by Belarus 4–3 in the quarterfinal. The loss was widely considered one of the most surprising results in Olympic history, while Näslund described the defeat in a post-game interview as "devastating...for us and our country." He finished the tournament with two goals and an assist over four games, ranking fourth on the team in scoring.

Several months later, he participated in his final World Championships in 2002, a tournament Sweden hosted in the cities of Gothenburg, Karlstad and Jönköping. He was added to the roster prior to the quarterfinal, following the Canucks' first-round elimination in the NHL playoffs. Sweden was defeated by Slovakia 3–2 in the semifinal. They went on to win their consolation match against Finland 5–3 to capture the bronze medal. It was Näslund's second bronze medal in as many tournament appearances; he scored three points in three games.

Prior to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Näslund participated in his final international competition at the 2004 World Cup, where he failed to score a goal in four games played. Although he was named to Team Sweden for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Näslund chose not to play due to a groin injury. Sweden went on to win the gold medal, defeating Finland in the final.

Playing style

Näslund was known as a highly skilled offensive player with good skating and puck-handling abilities. The most prominent aspect of his game was his wrist shot, which was known to be one of the most accurate in the league and accounted for a large portion of his goals. He also earned many of his points on the powerplay. Regarding his skill level and creativity, his first Canucks head coach, Marc Crawford, heralded him as one of "a handful of players in this game who can take a play where there’s nothing...and turn it into a scoring chance".

Näslund's prime coincided with the contributing performances of his linemates Bertuzzi and Morrison. His finesse and goal-scoring abilities were complemented by Morrison's playmaking and Bertuzzi's strength and aggression as a power forward. They were known for playing a fast and entertaining style. As a result, head coach Marc Crawford implemented a highly offensive coaching strategy.

As captain of the Canucks for eight years, Näslund was a self-professed "leader by example" with his work ethic and play on the ice. He was often criticized by the media and fans in his final few seasons with the Canucks for not being sufficiently vocal or emotional as the team's captain. Former teammates in Vancouver have described him as a quiet leader that spoke when needed nonetheless. They have also commended him for his integrity, professionalism and the caring manner in which he treated everyone in the organization. In particular, fellow Swedes Daniel and Henrik Sedin have singled him out as a player that mentored them early in their NHL career. New York Rangers general manager Glen Sather reiterated the guiding influence Näslund had on young players coming into the league.

These criticisms began especially in light of his decreasing offensive production following the 2004–05 NHL lockout. The decline was often attributed in the media to him becoming more defensively responsible under new Canucks coach Alain Vigneault. Bertuzzi's absence following the 2005–06 season was also seen as a negative factor for Näslund individually. It was further proposed that the physical effects of his concussion, as a result of Steve Moore's hit against him in 2004, as well as the emotional toll of Bertuzzi's subsequent retaliation against Moore strained his playing efficiency.

Management career

Midway through the 2010–11 Elitserien season on December 17, 2010, Näslund was named the general manager of the Modo organization, overseeing all the organization's sports clubs. In his first season with the organization, the hockey club finished last in the Elitserien, six points out of a playoff spot. Facing relegation to the second-tier HockeyAllsvenskan, Modo finished second in the 2011 Kvalserien, retaining their Elitserien status for the 2011–12 season.

In the off-season, Näslund was joined by Peter Forsberg on Modo's management team. Forsberg was announced as Modo's assistant manager in April 2011.

Off the ice

Personal

Näslund and his wife Lotta have three children: Rebecca, Isabella, and Alex. During his NHL career, they spent their summers in Sweden. Like Swedes Nicklas Lidström and his childhood idol, Håkan Loob, Näslund had expressed a desire to raise his children in his homeland Sweden. He made headlines when he first publicly contemplated an early retirement from the NHL to serve those purposes during the 2002–03 season. However, he also considered Vancouver his home and cherished his time spent in the city as a member of the Canucks.

Upon being signed by the Rangers, Näslund and his family moved to Tarrytown, New York. Following his retirement from the NHL in 2009, they returned to Sweden, where Näslund began coaching his son's minor-league hockey team before he became the general manager of Modo. He participated in the construction of a new house in Örnsköldsvik that his family moved into.

Though sometimes assumed to be the brother of former NHL player Mats Näslund, the two are actually not related.

Philanthropy

In 2002, Näslund and Forsberg founded Icebreakers, an organization that raises money for sick and disabled children in their home region of Västernorrland. A team of Swedish all-stars are annually assembled to host exhibition charity games against varying challengers.

In Vancouver, Näslund ran a program called "Nazzy's Suite 19" that gave underprivileged children the opportunity to watch Canucks games from a private suite in GM Place. Game attendees were chosen through local children's charities. The program was later taken over by Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo and renamed "Lui's Crease Club" after Näslund's departure from Vancouver. Along with other Canucks players, Näslund made regular visits to Canuck Place, a children's hospice that provides specialized care for children with life-threatening illnesses; BC Children's Hospital; and was a contributor to the Canucks For Kids Fund. He also appeared in a public service announcement with BC Children's Hospital, educating provincial viewers on mental health issues.

Following his NHL retirement, he joined the anniversary tour of the NHLPA's Goals and Dreams program, a charity that donates hockey equipment to underprivileged children. Näslund began the tour in Örnsköldsvik before joining former Canucks teammates Jyrki Lumme and Pavel Bure for stops in Helsinki and Moscow, respectively.

Endorsements

At the peak of his career, Näslund signed multiple endorsement deals, most notably with Nike Bauer and Electronic Arts (EA). In 2004, EA Sports selected Näslund to appear on the cover of ''NHL 2005'', EA's yearly hockey video game. He is also on the European cover of ''NHL 2000''.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				! colspan="5"		Playoffs
Season (sports)>Season	! Team	! League		! GP		Goal (ice hockey)>G	Assist (ice hockey)>A	Point (ice hockey)>Pts	Penalty (ice hockey)>PIM	! GP	! G	! A	! Pts	! PIM
1988–89	Örnsköldsviks SK	SWE-3		14		7	6	13	—	—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	Modo Hockey			33		43	35	78	20	—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	Modo Hockey			32		10	9	19	14	—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	Modo Hockey	SEL		39		22	17	39	52	—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	Modo Hockey	J20		2		4	1	5	2	—	—	—	—	—
1992–93	Modo Hockey	SEL		39		22	17	39	67	3	3	2	5	0
	Pittsburgh Penguins			71		4	7	11	27	—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Cleveland Lumberjacks			5		1	6	7	4	—	—	—	—	—
	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		14		2	2	4	2	—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Cleveland Lumberjacks	IHL		7		3	4	7	6	4	1	3	4	8
	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		66		19	33	52	36	—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		10		3	0	3	6	6	1	2	3	8
	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		78		21	20	41	30	—	—	—	—	—
	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		76		14	20	34	56	—	—	—	—	—
	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		80		36	30	66	74	—	—	—	—	—
	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		82		27	38	65	64	—	—	—	—	—
	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		72		41	34	75	58	—	—	—	—	—
	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		81		40	50	90	50	6	1	1	2	2
	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		82		48	56	104	52	14	5	9	14	18
	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		78		35	49	84	58	7	2	7	9	2
	Modo Hockey	SEL		13		8	9	17	8	6	0	1	1	10
	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		81		32	47	79	66	—	—	—	—	—
	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		82		24	36	60	54	12	4	1	5	16
	Vancouver Canucks	NHL		82		25	30	55	46	—	—	—	—	—
	New York Rangers	NHL		82		24	22	46	57	7	1	2	3	10
	Modo Hockey	SEL		29		10	19	29	20	—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				! 1117		! 395	! 474	! 869	! 736	! 52	! 14	! 22	! 36	! 56
SEL totals				! 152		! 72	! 71	! 143	! 161	! 9	! 3	! 3	! 6	! 10
IHL totals				! 12		! 4	! 10	! 14	! 10	! 4	! 1	! 3	! 4	! 8

International statistics

! Year	! Team	! Event		! GP	! G	! A	! Pts	! PIM
1990	Sweden U18	EJC		6	0	0	0	2
1991	Sweden U18	EJC		6	14	2	16	14
				7	8	2	10	12
	Sweden U20	WJC		7	13	11	24	33
				8	1	1	2	14
	Sweden	WC		1	0	0	0	0
	Sweden			1	0	0	0	2
	Sweden	WC		10	6	4	10	16
	Sweden			4	2	1	3	0
	Sweden	WC		3	1	2	3	0
	Sweden	WCup		4	0	3	3	0
	! 26	! 35		! 15	! 50	! 61
	! 31	! 10		! 11	! 21	! 32

All-Star Games

! Year	! Location		! G	! A	! P
			0	1	1
			1	0	1
			2	1	3
			0	1	1
			0	3	3
All-Star totals			! 3	! 6	! 9

Awards

Sweden

!Award!!Year(s)
Sven Tumbas Award (TV-pucken best forward)	1988
Viking Award (NHL's best Swedish player)	2001, 2003, 2004

International

!Award!!Year(s)
List of IIHF World Under 20 Championship Media All-Star Teams	World Junior All-Star Team	1993 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships>1993

NHL

!Award!!Year(s)
NHL All-Star Team	First All-Star Team	2002, 2003, 2004
National Hockey League All-Star Game	All-Star Game	1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
Hart Memorial Trophy nomination	2003
Lester B. Pearson Award	2003

Vancouver Canucks team awards

!Award!!Year(s)
Cyclone Taylor Award	1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004
Cyrus H. McLean Trophy	1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006
Most Exciting Player Award	1999, 2001
Molson Cup	2001, 2002, 2003

Records

International

World Junior Championships' record; most goals, single tournament: 13 (1993)

Vancouver Canucks

All-time goals: 346 All-time points: 756 All-time hat-tricks: 10 (tied with Tony Tanti) All-time powerplay goals: 114 Longest tenured captain: 8 years (2000–08) Single-season points by a left wing: 104 (2002–03) Single-season goals by a left wing: 48 (2002–03) Single-game goals: 4 (twice; December 14, 2002, vs. Edmonton Oilers; December 9, 2003, vs. Pittsburgh Penguins; tied with 10 others)

See also

List of NHL players with 100-point seasons

List of NHL players with 1000 games played

Notes

References

External links

Category:1973 births Category:Cleveland Lumberjacks players Category:Lester B. Pearson Award winners Category:Living people Category:Modo Hockey players Category:National Hockey League All-Stars Category:National Hockey League first round draft picks Category:National Hockey League players with retired numbers Category:National Hockey League players with 100 point seasons Category:New York Rangers players Category:Olympic ice hockey players of Sweden Category:People from Örnsköldsvik Municipality Category:Pittsburgh Penguins draft picks Category:Pittsburgh Penguins players Category:Swedish expatriate sportspeople in Canada Category:Swedish expatriate sportspeople in the United States Category:Swedish ice hockey players Category:Vancouver Canucks captains Category:Vancouver Canucks players

cs:Markus Näslund da:Markus Näslund de:Markus Näslund eo:Markus Näslund fr:Markus Näslund it:Markus Näslund lv:Markuss Neslunds nl:Markus Näslund pl:Markus Näslund ru:Нэслунд, Маркус simple:Markus Näslund sk:Markus Näslund sl:Markus Näslund fi:Markus Näslund sv:Markus Näslund uk:Маркус Неслунд

Coordinates	38°43′05″N85°39′24″N
Name	Taylor Swift
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Taylor Alison Swift
Birth date	December 13, 1989
Birth place	Reading, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, ganjo, piano, ukulele
Genre	Country pop, pop, country, dance-pop
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, musician, record producer, actress
Years active	2006–present
Label	Big Machine
Associated acts	Nathan Chapman, Liz Rose
Website	150pxTaylor Swift's signature }}

Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.

In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. In November 2008, Swift released her second album, ''Fearless'', and the recording earned Swift four Grammy Awards, including the Album of the Year, at the 52nd Grammy Awards. ''Fearless'' and ''Taylor Swift'' finished 2008 at number-three and number-six respectively, with sales of 2.1 and 1.5 million. ''Fearless'' topped the ''Billboard'' 200 for 11 non-consecutive weeks. Swift was named ''Artist of the Year'' by ''Billboard'' Magazine in 2009. Swift released her third album ''Speak Now'' on October 25, 2010, which sold 1,047,000 copies in its first week.

In 2008, her albums sold a combined four million copies, making her the best-selling musician of the year in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. ''Forbes'' ranked Swift 2009's 69th-most powerful celebrity with earnings of $18 million, 2010's 12th-most powerful celebrity with earnings of $45 million and 2011's 7th-most powerful celebrity with earnings of $45 million, too. Swift was ranked the 38th Best Artist of the 2000s by ''Billboard''. In January 2010 Nielsen SoundScan listed Swift as the most successful digital artist in music history with over 34.3 million digital tracks sold. On June 2011, renowned site The Boot named Swift and Carrie Underwood ''The Country Royalty'', as they were the only female country artists to be ranked on ''Rolling Stone'' Queens of Pop list. , she has sold over 20 million albums and 34.3 million singles worldwide. She has been listed in the 2012 ''Guinness Book Of World Records'' as the Fastest Selling Digital Album by a Female Artist for her album ''Speak Now'', and Most Simultaneous U.S. Hot 100 Hits by a Female Artist. In 2011, ''Billboard'' named her woman of the year.

Early life

Swift was born on December 13, 1989, in Reading, Pennsylvania, and raised in Wyomissing, Pennsylvania. She is the daughter of Andrea Gardner (née Finlay), a homemaker who previously worked in finance, and Scott Kingsley Swift, a stockbroker. Her maternal grandmother, Marjorie Finlay (née Moehlenkamp), was an opera singer. Swift has a younger brother, Austin. She grew up on a Christmas-tree farm.

When Swift was in fourth grade, she won a national poetry contest with a three-page poem, "Monster in My Closet". At the age of ten, a computer repairman showed her how to play three chords on a guitar, sparking her interest in learning the instrument. Afterwards, Swift wrote her first song, "Lucky You". When Swift was 12, she devoted an entire summer to writing a 350-page novel, which remains unpublished. She began writing songs regularly and used it as an outlet to help her with her pain from not fitting in at school. Swift was a victim of bullying, and spent her time writing songs to express her emotions. She also started performing at local karaoke contests, festivals, and fairs.

Swift began to regularly visit Nashville, Tennessee, and work with local songwriters. When she was 14, her family relocated to Nashville. Her first major show was a well-received performance at the Bloomsburg Fair. In Tennessee, Swift attended Hendersonville High School, but was subsequently homeschooled for her junior and senior years. In 2008, she earned her high school diploma.

Swift's greatest musical influence is Shania Twain. Her other influences include LeAnn Rimes, Tina Turner, Dolly Parton, and Swift's grandmother. Although her grandmother was a professional opera singer, Swift's tastes always leaned more toward country music. In her younger years, she developed a love for Patsy Cline and Dolly Parton. She also credits the Dixie Chicks for demonstrating the impact that one can have by "stretching boundaries".

Music career

2000–2005: musical beginnings

At age 11, Swift made her first trip to Nashville, hoping to obtain a record deal by distributing a demo tape of her singing with karaoke songs. She gave a copy to every label in town, but was rejected. After Swift returned to Pennsylvania, she was asked to sing at the US Open tennis tournament, where her rendition of the national anthem received much attention.

When Swift was 15, she rejected RCA Records because the company wanted to keep her on an artist development deal. After performing at Nashville's songwriters' venue, The Bluebird Café, she caught the attention of Scott Borchetta, who signed her to his newly formed record label, Big Machine Records. At age 14, she became the youngest staff songwriter ever hired by the Sony/ATV Tree publishing house.

2006–2008: ''Taylor Swift''

Swift released her debut single, "Tim McGraw", in mid-2006, reaching No.6 on ''Billboard'' magazine's Hot Country Songs chart. Her self-titled debut album was later released on October 24, 2006. Debuting high on the ''Billboard'' 200, the album sold 39,000 copies during its first week. It peaked at No.1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums and No.5 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Her debut album spent eight consecutive weeks at the top of the Top Country Albums charts and remained at the top for 24 out of 91 weeks. The only other country artists this decade to achieve the number-one sales position for 20 weeks or more are The Dixie Chicks and Carrie Underwood. The music video for "Tim McGraw" won Swift an award for Breakthrough Video of the Year at the 2007 CMT Music Awards. Her pursuit of country music stardom was the subject of "GAC Short Cuts", a part-documentary, part-music-video series airing since the summer of 2006. On May 15, 2007, Swift performed "Tim McGraw" at the Academy of Country Music Awards. Swift has been an opening act for Tim McGraw and Faith Hill on their Soul2Soul 2007 tour. She has opened in the past for George Strait, Brad Paisley and Rascal Flatts as well. The second single from the ''Taylor Swift'' album, "Teardrops on My Guitar", was released February 24, 2007. In mid-2007, the song peaked at No.2 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart and No.33 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song was re-released with a pop remix that brought "Teardrops on My Guitar" to No.13 on the Hot 100 and No.11 on the Pop 100. In October 2007, Swift was awarded Songwriter/Artist of the Year by the Nashville Songwriters Assn. Intl., making her the youngest artist ever to win the award. Her third song off her debut album, "Our Song" spent six weeks at No.1 on the Country charts, peaked at No.16 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, and rose to No.24 on the ''Billboard'' Pop 100. Swift recorded a holiday album, ''Sounds of the Season: The Taylor Swift Holiday Collection,'' which was released exclusively at Target in late 2007. Swift was nominated for a 2008 Grammy Award in the category of Best New Artist, but lost to Amy Winehouse. Swift's successful single, "Picture to Burn", was the fourth single from her debut album. The song debuted and soon peaked at No.3 on the Billboard Country chart in spring 2008. left|upright|thumb|Swift performing at Yahoo HQ in 2007 "Should've Said No" became Swift's second No.1 single. In Summer 2008, Swift released ''Beautiful Eyes'', an EP sold exclusively at Wal-Mart. In its first week of release, the album sold 45,000 copies, debuting at No.1 on ''Billboard'''s Top Country Albums chart and No.9 on the ''Billboard'' 200. With her self-titled debut album sitting at No.2 during the same week, Swift became the first artist since 1997 to hold the Top 2 positions of the Top Country Albums chart. In October 2008, Swift performed a duet with best selling rock band Def Leppard in a taped show in Nashville, Tennessee, and their collaboration was up for both Performance of the Year and Wide Open Country Video of the Year at the CMT Music Awards in 2009.

2008–2010: ''Fearless'' and MTV VMA incident

Swift's second studio album, ''Fearless'', was released in the United States on November 11, 2008. The album debuted at No.1 on the ''Billboard'' 200 Album Chart. Its sales of 592,304 were the highest debut of any country artist in 2008. This is also the largest opening U.S. sales week in 2008 by a female artist in all genres of music, and the fourth biggest overall behind Lil Wayne, AC/DC and Coldplay. Its lead single "Love Story" became a hit on both the country and pop charts. During the first week of release, more than 129,000 of Swift's sales were sold digitally. This gives Swift the best online start for any country album in history. It also makes Swift the fourth biggest week for a digital album since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking them in 2004. Through its eighth week of release, ''Fearless'' has sold more than 338,467 downloads, making it the bestselling country album in digital history. In second place is Swift's debut ''Taylor Swift'' with sales of 236,046 downloads as of April 18, 2009. In its debut week, seven songs in total on ''Fearless'' were charted on ''Billboard'' Hot 100, tying Swift with Miley Cyrus for the most by a female artist in a single week. With "White Horse" charted at #13, this gave Swift her sixth top 20 debut of 2008, a calendar year record for any artist in the history of the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Of the 13 tracks on ''Fearless'', 11 have already spent time on the Hot 100. "Change", a song from the album, was selected as part of a soundtrack supporting Team USA's efforts in the 2008 Summer Olympics. The song was also featured as part of the soundtrack of NBC's broadcast package of the Olympics. The lead single from the album, "Love Story", was released on September 12, 2008. The Fearless album includes the "Love Story" music video which is based on ''Romeo and Juliet''. The song has reached No.2 on iTunes Store Top Downloaded Songs and No.4 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. Fifteen weeks after being added to pop radio, "Love Story" also became the first country crossover recording to hit number one on the Nielsen BDS CHR/Top 40 chart in the 16-year-history of the list, as well as number one on the Mediabase Top 40 Chart. The second single from ''Fearless'', "White Horse", was released on December 8, 2008. The music video for the song premiered on CMT on February 7, 2009. Though it missed the No.1 spot on Billboard's Hot Country Songs as of the week April 11, 2009, "White Horse" claimed the No.1 spot atop the USA Today/Country Aircheck chart (powered by Mediabase) in that week. "Forever & Always", another song from the album, was based on Swift's relationship with singer Joe Jonas. She was the first artist in the history of Nielsen SoundScan to have two different albums in the Top 10 on the year end album chart. It also was the first album by a female artist in country music history to log eight weeks at No.1 on The ''Billboard'' 200. In mid-January 2009, Swift became the first country artist to top the 2 million mark in paid downloads with three different songs. Swift is ''Billboard'''s Top Country Artist and Hot Country Songwriter of 2008; she is also country music's best-selling artist of 2008. Swift ranked seventh on Nielsen SoundScan Canada's top-10 selling artists across all genres in 2008. ''Fearless'' and ''Taylor Swift'' took the No.1 and No.2 slots on 2008 Year-End Canadian Country Albums Chart. Swift sang the Star-Spangled Banner at game three of the World Series in Philadelphia on October 25, 2008. In January 2009, Swift announced her North American Fearless Tour planned for 52 cities in 38 states and provinces in the US and Canada over the span of 6 months. The tour kicked off April 23 in Evansville, Indiana. In the same month, Swift made her first musical guest appearance on ''Saturday Night Live''. On February 8, 2009, Swift performed her song "Fifteen" with Miley Cyrus at the 51st Grammy Awards. As of the week ending February 8, 2009, Swift's single "Love Story" became the country song with the most paid downloads in history. Since the release of Swift's second album, ''Fearless'', she has released one new song "Crazier" for the soundtrack of the feature film ''Hannah Montana: The Movie''. At the 44th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, Swift picked up Album of the Year honors as a performer and producer for ''Fearless''. Swift is the youngest artist in history to win the ACM ''Album of the Year'' award. The Academy lauded her for career achievements including selling more albums in 2008 than any other artist in any genre of music, the breakthrough success of her debut album, and the worldwide crossover success of her No.1 single "Love Story". The Academy also cited Swift's contribution to helping country music attract a younger audience. As of late April 2009, Swift has sold more than 14 million downloads, as well as three Gold Mobile Ringtones. On April 28, 2009, Swift gave a free, private concert to students at Bishop Ireton High School, a small Catholic school in Alexandria, Virginia after the school won a national "TXT 2 WIN" contest from Verizon Wireless. The students sent over 19,000 text messages to Verizon during a roughly one month long contest. Swift played for about an hour during the school's field day, an annual day-long recess with games and activities. On October 8, 2009 Swift's official website announced that her sold-out Fearless Tour would return to North America for 37 additional dates in 2010.

Scheduled to perform on September 13, 2009, Swift attended the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards. This was her first VMA performance, where she became the first country music artist to win an MTV Video Music Award. During the show, as Swift was on stage accepting the award for Best Female Video for "You Belong with Me," singer/rapper Kanye West came on stage and took the microphone from Swift, saying that Beyoncé's video for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", nominated for the same award, was "one of the best videos of all time," an action that caused the many audience members to boo West. He handed the microphone back to a stunned and reportedly upset Swift, who did not finish her acceptance speech. When Beyoncé later won the award for Best Video of the Year for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", she called Swift up on stage so that she could finish her acceptance speech. Following the awards show, West apologized for his verbal outburst in a blog entry (which was subsequently removed). He was criticized by various celebrities for the outburst, and even by President Barack Obama who called West a "jackass" in an "off the record" comment. He later posted a second apology on his blog and made his first public apology one day after the incident on the debut episode of ''The Jay Leno Show''. On September 15, 2009, Swift talked about the matter on ''The View'', where she said she was at first excited to see West on stage and then disappointed once he acted out. She said West had not spoken to her following the incident. Following her appearance on ''The View'', West contacted her to apologize personally; Swift said she accepted his apology. However, on November 8, 2010, in an interview with a Minnesota radio station, West seemed to recant a bit of his past apologies by attempting to describe the act at the 2009 awards show as "selfless" and downgrade the perception of disrespect it created. Swift would later perform a song at the 2010 VMA called "Innocent" which is about the incident and in the song she absolves West of his actions. On November 11, 2009, Swift became the youngest artist ever to win the Country Music Association Award for Entertainer of the year, and is one of only six women to win the Country Music Association's highest honor. On the chart week of November 14, 2009, Swift set a record for the most songs on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 by a female artist at the same time with eight singles from the re-release of her 2008 album ''Fearless'' namely five debut new songs in the top 30: "Jump Then Fall" at #10, "Untouchable" at #19, "The Other Side of the Door" at #22, "Superstar" at No.27 and "Come in With the Rain" at No.30 and three already-charted songs that were released as singles—"You Belong with Me" (#14), "Forever & Always" which re-entered the chart at #34, and "Fifteen" (#46). In addition, the song "Two Is Better Than One" by Boys Like Girls which features Swift, debuted at No.80 in the same issue. This gives Swift six debuts in one week, the biggest number of debuts by any female artist of all time. It also lifts the number of her simultaneously-charting songs to nine, setting another record for the biggest number of charting songs by the same female artist in the same week. When "Fifteen" reached No.38 on the chart week of November 21, 2009, Swift became the female artist with the most Top 40 singles this decade, surpassing Beyoncé. "Fifteen" became Swift's twentieth Top 40 single overall. "Two Is Better Than One" by Boys Like Girls and John Mayer's "Half of My Heart" both featured Swift, peaking at No.40 and No.25 respectively. The two songs are her 21st and 22nd Top 40 singles. ''Fearless'' was the best-selling album of 2009 in the US with more than 3.2 millions copies sold in that year. Swift claimed both the No.1 and No.2 positions atop Nielsen's BDS Top 10 Most Played Songs chart (all genres), with "You Belong With Me" and "Love Story," respectively. She also topped the all format 2009 Top 10 Artist Airplay chart with over 1.29 million song detections, and the Top 10 Artist Internet Streams chart with more than 46 million song plays.

2010–present: ''Speak Now''

Swift released the track "Today Was a Fairytale" as a digital download on iTunes on January 19, 2010. The song was featured on the soundtrack for the film ''Valentine's Day'', in which she made her feature-film acting debut. The song debuted on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at No. 2, becoming her sixth Top 10 and 23rd Top 40 single on that chart. According to Nielsen SoundScan, with sales of "Today Was a Fairytale" more than 325,000 in its first week, Swift has broken the record for first-week download sales by a female artist. The song also debuted at number one on the Canadian Hot 100, making it Swift's first number one hit in Canada. In February 2010, Swift brought her Fearless Tour to 5 cities in Australia. Opening acts included Gloriana. In mid-July 2010, ''Billboard'' revealed that Swift's new album is called ''Speak Now''. It was released on October 25, 2010. She has written the album completely by herself in Arkansas, New York, Boston and Nashville with Nathan Chapman serving as co-producer. On Wednesday, August 4, 2010, the lead single from the album, "Mine," was leaked onto the internet. Big Machine Records decided to rush the release of the song to counteract the leak. Swift appeared at the 44th Annual Country Music Awards on November 10, 2010. In 2011, Swift visited Singapore as the first stop of the Asian leg of her first world tour. Hong Kong is the last stop of the Speak Now World Tour and Swift will begin the European and American leg afterwards. Swift's first live album, ''Speak Now World Tour: Live'', featuring all seventeen performances from the North American leg of her concert tour, is scheduled for a November 21, 2011 release. Many dates on the Speak Now World Tour were cancelled due to Swift suffering from bronchitis and was told she is unable to perform. Swift sold approximately 4,470,000 albums in the US in 2010 (more than any other artist) and sold 9.9 million digital tracks. She was ranked second on ''Rolling Stone'''s lists of Top 16 "Queen Of Pops" of the decade. Swift appeared on the ''Hamish & Andy'' show where she performed a new song called "Chaperone Dads", which is dedicated to a select group of her fans. The week following the release of her "Sparks Fly" video Swift jumped from nineteen to ten on the ''Billboard'''s Social 50. Swift has revealed that she has already written 25 songs for an untitled follow-up album to ''Speak Now'', set to release in the later part of 2012. She commented on them, "They’re sad. If I'm being honest."

On December 23, 2011, Taylor announced via Twitter, "Something I've been VERY excited about for a VERY long time is going to be happening VERY soon." Several hours later, Taylor announced that she is featured on ''The Hunger Games'' Official Movie Soundtrack. Her song, entitled "Safe & Sound", was the first track released from the album. The song was co-written by The Civil Wars, who also co-recorded the song with Taylor. On January 8, 2012, Taylor was elected the fifth top artist (fourth female top artist) of all-time with the best-selling digital music tracks. Taylor has sold 41,821,000 million digital tracks as of the end of 2011 according to Nielsen SoundScan.

Songwriting style

Swift's lyrics are highly autobiographical; she has said that "If you listen to my albums, it’s like reading my diary." For example, the song "Forever & Always" was inspired by her relationship with Joe Jonas, while the song "Hey Stephen" was written about a boy whom she toured with in the past. "Fifteen" was written about her freshman year of high school. It has been said that her lyrics "can be tinged with acid: the quiet loner girl getting one over on the cheerleaders, or a caustic payback for the boy who dumped her." She has also indicated that she tries to write so her fans can relate to the lyrics, saying "My goal is to never write songs that my fans can't relate to." She parodied her confrontational style of songwriting during her appearance on ''Saturday Night Live''; during her opening monologue, she performed an original song that featured lines such as "You might think I'd bring up Joe, that guy who broke up with me on the phone/ Hey, Joe, I'm doing real well, tonight I'm hosting 'SNL'" referring to her highly publicized relationship with Joe Jonas.

The intensely personal nature of the songs has drawn her attention in the music industry. Swift once said, "I thought people might find them hard to relate to, but it turned out that the more personal my songs were, the more closely people could relate to them." Due to the autobiographical nature of her songs, some fans have researched the songs' origins. Swift once said, "Every single one of the guys that I’ve written songs about has been tracked down on MySpace by my fans." ''The New York Times'' described Swift as "one of pop's finest songwriters, country’s foremost pragmatist and more in touch with her inner life than most adults".

Other work

Acting

In 2008, Swift made her acting debut in Brad Paisley's music video "Online". In that same year Swift filmed a documentary for MTV entitled ''MTV's Once Upon a Prom'' and a documentary with Def Leppard for CMT entitled ''CMT Crossroads'', which premiered on November 7, 2008. Swift collaborated with the Jonas Brothers in their 3D Concert Film, ''Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience''. The film was released on February 27, 2009 in North America and brought in $12.7 million on its opening weekend. Swift made her primetime television acting debut on CBS's ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'' "Turn, Turn, Turn" as Haley Jones on March 5, 2009 in the U.S. and Canada. The episode was watched by 20.8 million viewers. Swift made a cameo appearance in Kellie Pickler's music video "Best Days of Your Life". Swift also appeared in ''Hannah Montana: The Movie'' credited as herself. The film was released on April 10, 2009 in North America. The television show Dateline NBC showcased an hour on Swift on May 31, 2009. The episode titled ''Dateline NBC: On Tour With Taylor Swift'' included scenes from her tour bus, concert footage, and rehearsals. Swift both hosted and performed as the musical guest for the November 7, 2009 episode of ''Saturday Night Live''. In 2010, Swift made her feature film acting debut as Felicia in the film ''Valentine's Day''. For this role she won the Teen Choice Award for Movie Female Breakout. She has been cast to voice the role of Audrey in the animated film ''The Lorax'', set to be released in 2012. In January 2012, Swift was offered the role of Eponine in the film adaptation of the musical, ''Les Misérables''.

Cover model and recognition

Swift has been featured on the cover of a number of magazines. She has been a cover girl for ''Blender'', for which she was one of two country artists during the magazine’s fifteen year run to be a cover subject. She was included in ''People'''s annual "100 Most Beautiful People" 2008, 2009, and 2010 lists. Additionally, she was named number fifty-seven on ''Maxim's'' sexiest women of 2008, number fifty on the 2009 list and number thirty-one on the 2010 list. ''CosmoGirl'' voted Swift as the "2008 Girl of the Year". Swift was named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as one of "The RS 100: Agents of Change". She was nominated as a candidate for ''TIME''s "2009 The Time 100 Finalists" list, which is determined by online voting. ''People'' magazine named Swift one of 25 Most Intriguing People of 2009.

Merchandise

Jakks Pacific released a celebrity doll of Swift in late 2008. Swift has been the face of L.E.I. Jeans (Life Energy Intelligence) since 2008. Swift and the L.e.i. Clothing Line made a deal to create a line based on Swift's style of dressing, which will appear in Wal-Mart in the coming months. However, Swift said she does not want to be called a designer. Instead, she says she will inspire the clothing company's dress line based on her own style. "I don't look at it like I'm branching out as a designer... It's not the Taylor Swift designer line." In 2009, Swift became the National Hockey League's newest celebrity spokesperson. She appears in commercials for the Nashville Predators.

In May 2009, Swift filed a lawsuit (kept sealed until August 2010) against numerous sellers of unauthorized counterfeit merchandise bearing her name, likeness, and trademarks, where she demanded a trial by jury, sought a judgement for compensatory damages, punitive damages, three times the actual damages sustained, and statutory damages, and sought for recovery of her attorney's fees and prejudgement interest. Nashville's U.S. District Court granted an injunction and judgment against the sellers, who had been identified at Swift's concerts in several states. The court ordered merchandise seized from the defendants to be destroyed. On July 15, 2011, Swift's official website announced that she had partnered with Elizabeth Arden to launch a fragrance, which is to be released in October 2011. The fragrance's name, "Wonderstruck", is a reference to the song "Enchanted" featured on her ''Speak Now'' album. Swift is also working with American Greetings, Inc.

Philanthropy

On September 21, 2007, Swift helped launch a campaign to protect children from online predators. She has teamed up with Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen to combat internet sex crimes. The year-long campaign, in partnership with the Tennessee Association of Chiefs of Police, will distribute Internet safety information and materials to parents and students across the state. In early 2008, Swift donated the pink Chevy pick-up truck given to her by her record label to the children’s charity, the ''Victory Junction Gang''; in June 2008, Swift donated all the proceeds from her merchandise sales at the 2008 Country Music Festival to Red Cross, the ''Nashville Area Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund'' and the ''National American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund''.

Swift donated $100,000 to the Red Cross in Cedar Rapids, Iowa to help the victims of the Iowa flood of 2008. Swift has teamed up with Sound Matters to make listeners aware of listening "responsibly". Swift supports @15, a teen-led social change platform underwritten by Best Buy to give teens opportunities to direct the company's philanthropy through the newly-created @15 Fund. Swift's song, "Fifteen", is featured in this campaign. Swift lent her support to the Victorian Bushfire Appeal by joining the lineup at Sydney's Sound Relief concert, reportedly making the biggest contribution of any artist playing at Sound Relief to the Australian Red Cross. Swift donated her prom dress, which raised $1,200 for charity, to DonateMyDress.org. On November 20, 2009 after a live performance on BBC's Children in Need night Swift announced to Sir Terry Wogan she would donate £13,000 of her own money to the cause.

On December 13, Swift's own birthday, she donated $250,000 to various schools around the country which she had either attended or been involved with. Swift has donated a pair of her shoes – a gently-worn pair of black Betsey Johnson heels with her autograph on the sole – to the Wish Upon a Hero Foundation's Hero in Heels fundraiser for auction to raise money to benefit women with cancer.

In response to the May 2010 Tennessee floods, Swift donated $500,000 during a flood relief telethon hosted by WSMV, a Nashville television station.

On May 23, 2011, Taylor Swift transformed what was to have been the final dress rehearsal for the North American leg of her Speak Now tour into a benefit concert for victims of recent tornadoes in the United States southeast region. The concert in Nashville drew more than 13,000 people and raised more than $750,000 from proceeds from ticket sales, merchandise and other facets of the show. The benefit concert for tornado relief was subsequently honored at the 2011 Do Something Awards. In July 2011, Swift further aided to the cause by donating $250,000 to Alabama football coach Nick Saban's charity Nick's Kids to aid in the tornado relief efforts of West Alabama.

Personal life

In addition to her relationship with Joe Jonas, which ended in October 2008, Swift's dating history has included other celebrities: Taylor Lautner, for three months in 2009; and Jake Gyllenhaal, from late 2010 to early 2011. Swift has also been romantically linked to John Mayer. There has been speculation that the songs "Dear John" and "The Story of Us" from her album ''Speak Now'' are about Mayer. In October 2011, she revealed to Ellen Degeneres on her show ''Ellen'' that, "I don't even have, like, kind of a boyfriend. I don't have someone that I'm texting that is a guy that someday might be my boyfriend. There's like nothing going on right now."

In November 2011, Taylor adopted a Scottish fold kitten. She named her Meredith after the character Meredith Grey from the popular ABC drama ''Grey's Anatomy''. The kitten appeared in the official music video for Taylor's song ''Ours'' alongside Taylor and ''Friday Night Lights'' star Zach Gilford.

Filmography

>

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2007		Herself	Guest; Episode: Season 2 Finale
2008	''CMT Crossroads''	Herself	Episode: "Taylor Swift and Def Leppard"
2009	''Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience''	Herself
2009	''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation''	Haley Jones
2009	''Hannah Montana: The Movie''	Herself	Cameo
2009	''Saturday Night Live''	Herself	Host/Musical Guest
2009		Herself	Guest; Episode: Week 6 results
2010		Felicia	Movie acting debut
2010	''Taylor Swift: Journey to Fearless''	Herself	Main Role
2010		Herself	Guest; Episode: 200th episode
2012	''''	Audrey
2012	''Bruno the Robot''	Various

Discography

Albums

''Taylor Swift'' (2006)

''Fearless'' (2008)

''Speak Now'' (2010)

Awards and nominations

Tours

Fearless Tour (2009–10)

Speak Now World Tour (2011–2012)

References

External links

Category:1989 births Category:American child singers Category:American country banjoists Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American female guitarists Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American pianists Category:American pop singers Category:American television actors Category:Big Machine Records artists Category:Child pop musicians Category:English-language singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Pennsylvania Category:People from Reading, Pennsylvania Category:People from Wyomissing, Pennsylvania Category:Ukulele players

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Coordinates	38°43′05″N85°39′24″N
Name	Selena Gomez
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Selena Marie Gomez
Birth date	July 22, 1992
Birth place	Grand Prairie, Texas, U.S.
Genre	Pop rock, dance-pop, electropop
Occupation	Actress, singer, businesswoman
Instrument	Vocals, piano, guitar, drums
Years active	2002–present
Label	Hollywood
Associated acts	Selena Gomez & the Scene, Demi Lovato
Website	150pxSelena Gomez's signature }}

Selena Marie Gomez (born July 22, 1992) is an American actress and singer best known for portraying Alex Russo in the Emmy Award-winning Disney Channel television series ''Wizards of Waverly Place''. She subsequently ventured into feature films and has starred in the television movies ''Another Cinderella Story'', ''Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie'', and ''Princess Protection Program''. She made her starring theatrical film debut in ''Ramona and Beezus''.

Her career has expanded into the music industry; Gomez is the lead singer and founder of the pop band Selena Gomez & the Scene, which has released two RIAA Gold certified studio albums, ''Kiss & Tell'' and ''A Year Without Rain'' and spawned three RIAA Platinum certified singles, "Naturally", "Who Says" and "Love You Like a Love Song". As of April 2011, the band has sold 1,354,000 albums in the United States. Gomez has also contributed to the soundtracks of ''Tinker Bell'', ''Another Cinderella Story'', ''Wizards of Waverly Place'', and ''Shake It Up'' after signing a record deal with Hollywood Records. In 2008, Gomez was designated a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador.

Personal life

Gomez was born in Grand Prairie, Texas. She is the daughter of former stage actress Amanda Dawn "Mandy" Teefey (née Cornett) and Ricardo Joel Gomez. Her father is of Mexican ancestry, and her mother is of part Italian descent. Regarding her Hispanic heritage, Gomez said: "My family does have Quinceañeras, and we go to the communion church. We do everything that's Catholic, but we don't really have anything traditional except [that we] go to the park and have barbecues on Sundays after church." Her birth parents divorced when she was five years old, and she was raised as an only child by her working mother. In 2006, Mandy remarried Brian Teefey. She is named after Tejano singer Selena, who died almost three years after Gomez was born. In a 2009 interview with ''People'', Gomez mentioned that she developed an early interest in acting from watching her mother prepare for and act in theater productions. She earned a high school diploma through homeschooling in May 2010.

On February 27, 2011, Gomez attended the 2011 Vanity Fair Oscar Party with Canadian singer Justin Bieber, confirming several months of media speculation about a romantic relationship between the pair. The relationship has since continued to garner significant media attention.

Acting career

2002–06: ''Barney & Friends'' and early work

Gomez began her acting career at age seven, playing Gianna on ''Barney & Friends''. She later had minor roles in ''Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over'' and the TV film ''Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial By Fire''. Gomez also starred in the television movie ''Brain Zapped''. (Selena Gomez also found out that she wanted to be an actress because in E Special she states that "I would also watch my mom on stage do her lines".)

In 2004, Gomez was discovered by the Disney Channel in a USA-wide scouting. Gomez appeared as a guest star on ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'' and had a guest appearance – that later turned into a recurring role – on ''Hannah Montana'' from seasons two to three. Gomez previously taped two different pilots that were spin-offs to two previous Disney series. The first one, ''What's Stevie Thinking?'', was the spin-off to ''Lizzie McGuire''. Gomez played Stevie Sanchez, Miranda Sanchez's little sister. The other show was titled ''Arwin!'', the spin-off to ''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody'', in which she played Alexa. Neither series was picked up.

2007–09: ''Wizards of Waverly Place''

In early 2007 Gomez was cast in the Disney Channel series ''Wizards of Waverly Place'' as one of the three main characters, Alex Russo. The show premiered to an audience of 5.9 million, becoming a hit. Many news outlets began dubbing Gomez the next 'Miley Cyrus' causing some controversy and a reported 'feud'. Gomez clarified that there was no feud and that she was flattered by the comparison, saying: "It's a little overwhelming, but I think really, it's a compliment. She's obviously extremely successful, and I think she's a wonderful performer ... So being compared to her, I was very, very flattered."

In 2008, Gomez appeared in ''Another Cinderella Story'', the direct-to-DVD sequel to the 2004 Hilary Duff film, opposite Drew Seeley. She also had a minor voiceover role as one the Mayor's ninety-six daughters in ''Horton Hears a Who!'' which released in March of that year. In April, Lacey Rose, of ''Forbes'' ranked Gomez as being fifth on their "Eight Hot Kid Stars To Watch" list; and Rose described Gomez as having been "a multitalented teen".

In February 2009, Gomez signed on to star as one of the two female leads in ''Ramona and Beezus'', a film adaption of the children's novel series by Beverly Cleary. Gomez stated that she felt no pressure in taking more adult roles: "I think I’m fully aware of my audience and I’m still just a kid myself. I wouldn’t do a role I don’t feel comfortable doing or that my audience wouldn’t feel comfortable seeing."

In June 2009, Gomez did a guest appearance as herself in one episode of best friend Demi Lovato's Disney Channel television show, ''Sonny with a Chance'', entitled "Battle of The Network Stars". That same month Gomez appeared alongside Lovato in the made-for-television Disney Channel movie, ''Princess Protection Program''. The telecast garnered 8.5 million viewers becoming, at the time, the third most watched Disney Channel Original Movie. One month later, Gomez, along with two cast members of ''Wizards of Waverly Place'' appeared in a television three-way cross-over episode with ''Hannah Montana'' and ''The Suite Life on Deck'', entitled ''Wizards on Deck with Hannah Montana''.

On August 28, two months after appearing in ''Princess Protection Program'', Gomez starred in ''Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie'', a made-for-television film based on the show. The film premiered to an audience of 11.4 million viewers becoming cable's No. 1 scripted telecast of 2009 and Disney Channel's second most-viewed film premiere after ''High School Musical 2''. In 2010, the film adaptation won ''Wizards of Waverly Place'' its second consecutive Emmy for "Outstanding Children's Program" at the 62nd Primetime Emmy Awards over its television series counterpart which had won in the same category at the 61st Primetime Emmy Awards.

2010–present: Focus on film

Gomez's first theatrical film ''Ramona & Beezus'' premiered on July 23, 2010 and met with generally positive reviews. In March 2010, ''Variety'' reported that Gomez was set to star as one of the three lead roles in ''Monte Carlo'', alongside Leighton Meester and Katie Cassidy. In the film Gomez plays Grace, a girl who’s “mistaken for a socialite while on a trip to Paris.” To prepare for the role Gomez learned how to play polo and also took two weeks of vocal training to learn two different British accents. The same year Gomez confirmed that the fourth season of her hit Disney Channel show, ''Wizards of Waverly Place'', would be its last.

In February 2011, Deadline.com reported that Universal Pictures and Strike Entertainment had acquired the novel ''Thirteen Reasons Why'' by Jay Asher with Gomez attached to the lead. That same month TV Guide reported that Gomez would make a cameo in the ''Muppets'' film. Production for the final season of ''Wizards of Waverly Place'' came to a wrap on May 14, 2011. Gomez co-hosted the 2011 MuchMusic Video Awards on June 19. She also hosted the 2011 MTV EMAs on November 6, 2011, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, where she performed her band's new single "Hit The Lights". In early November, ''Variety'' reported that Gomez was in talks to star in the upcoming film ''Spring Breakers'' alongside James Franco, Emma Roberts, and Vanessa Hudgens. Gomez confirmed to ''MTV'' that she had signed on for the project and that production will begin in early 2012.

Music career

2009: Solo career

In 2008, Gomez recorded a cover of "Cruella de Vil"—which included a music video—for the compilation album ''DisneyMania 6''. Gomez recorded three songs for the ''Another Cinderella Story'' soundtrack, which Gomez appears in.left|thumb|Selena Gomez permorming [[Naturally (Selena Gomez & the Scene song)|Naturally on Good Morning America|150px]] Gomez also recorded "Fly to Your Heart" for the 2008 animated film ''Tinker Bell''. In July 2008, before Gomez' sixteenth birthday, she signed a recording deal with Hollywood Records, a music label owned by ''Disney''. In 2009, Gomez recorded "One and the Same" for ''Princess Protection Program'' as a duet with her co-star Lovato. Gomez recorded four songs, one of which was a cover, for the ''Wizards of Waverly Place'' soundtrack, only one single (Magic) from the album was released. In May, of the same year, Gomez was featured, with Forever the Sickest Kids, on a duet version of the non-album song "Whoa Oh!".

2009–present: Selena Gomez & the Scene

Formed in 2009, Selena Gomez & the Scene is a teen pop band which consists of Selena Gomez on vocals, Ethan Roberts on guitar, Joey Clement on bass, Greg Garman on drums and Dane Forrest on keyboards. ''Kiss & Tell'' is the band's debut studio album and was released on September 29, 2009 by Hollywood Records. On March 5, 2010, the album was certified Gold by RIAA. The album's single, "Naturally", was certified Platinum by the RIAA on July 15, 2010. The band's second album ''A Year Without Rain'' was released on September 17, 2010. The record debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 4, selling 66,000 copies. On January 19, 2011, the album was certified Gold by RIAA. The band's third album ''When the Sun Goes Down'', previously titled ''Otherside'', released on June 28, 2011. The album debuted at number 4 on the ''Billboard'' 200, selling 78,000 copies its first week. The following week, the album rose to number 3 on the, becoming the band's highest charting album to date. The album's lead single, "Who Says" was certified Platinum by RIAA on June 23, 2011 and has become the band's highest charting song on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 to date, peaking at number 21.

Other projects

Philanthropy

Gomez was involved in the UR Votes Count campaign which encouraged teenagers to learn more about 2008 presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain. In October 2008, Gomez participated in St. Jude's Children's Hospital "Runway For Life" benefit. Gomez is a spokesperson for Borden Milk; she is featured in the campaign's print and television ads. She is the ambassador of DoSomething.org after being involved with the charity Island Dog, which help dogs in Puerto Rico. She got involved while filming ''Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie'' in Puerto Rico. Gomez is a spokesperson for State Farm Insurance, and is featured in their TV commercials; which air on the Disney Channel, to raise awareness of being a safe driver. Gomez is also involved with the charity RAISE Hope For Congo, an initiative of the Enough Project, which helps raise awareness about conflict minerals and violence against Congolese women.

In October 2008, Gomez was named UNICEF's spokesperson for the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign, which encouraged children to raise money on Halloween to help children around the world. She said that she was "extremely excited" to "encourage other kids to make a difference in the world."

In August 2009, a 17-year-old Gomez became the youngest UNICEF ambassador ever, passing fellow songstress Hayley Westenra, who was 18 when she was chosen. In her first official field mission, Gomez traveled to Ghana on September 4, 2009 for a week to witness first-hand the stark conditions of vulnerable children that lack vital necessities including clean water, nourishment, education and healthcare. Gomez explained during an interview with Associated Press that she wanted to use her star power to bring awareness to Ghana: “That’s why I feel very honored to have a voice that kids listen to and take into consideration [...] I had people on my tour asking me where IS Ghana, and they Googled it [...] and because I went there, they now know where Ghana is. So it’s pretty incredible.” Gomez said of her role as ambassador that: "Every day 25,000 children die from preventable causes. I stand with UNICEF in the belief that we can change that number from 25,000 to zero. I know we can achieve this because every moment, UNICEF is on the ground providing children with the lifesaving assistance needed to ensure zero becomes a reality."

Gomez was named spokesperson for UNICEF's 2009 Trick-or-Treat campaign, for the second year in a row. Gomez, who raised over $700,000 for the charity in 2008, stated that she hopes to be able to raise 1 million dollars in 2009. Gomez participated in a celebrity auction and hosted a live web cast series on Facebook in support of the Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign. Gomez returned as the UNICEF spokesperson for the 60th anniversary of Trick-or-Treat for UNICEF campaign in 2010. In celebration of the 60th anniversary, Gomez and her band, The Scene, held a benefit concert donating all proceeds to the campaign.

In February 2011, Gomez traveled to Chile to witness and meet with the families of UNICEF's supported program, "Programa Puente" which helps families better understand and develops skills to deal effectively with early childhood education, development and other issues related to raising children. From her field trip experience, Gomez said "UNICEF is helping Chilean families get out of poverty, prevent violence within the home and promote education. To witness first hand these families' struggles, and also their hope and perseverance, was truly inspiring." In March 2011, Gomez participated in the UNICEF Tap Project's "Celebrity Tap Pack," limited-edition, custom-made water bottles featuring tap water from the homes of each celebrity advocate, in order to raise funds and increase profile for the clean water and sanitation programs. She is also featured in videos promoting the campaign.

Gomez is involved in Disney's Friends for Change, an organization which promotes "environmently-friendly behavior", and appears in its public service announcements. Gomez, Demi Lovato, Miley Cyrus, and the Jonas Brothers recorded "Send It On", a charity single with all of its proceeds to the Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund. It debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 at number 20. Also in 2009, Gomez made a surprise visit to a Los Angeles elementary school as part of the "A Day Made Better" program that was sponsored by OfficeMax. During her visit, Gomez gave the school an award and $1,000 worth of school supplies, and talked to students about the importance of giving back to the community.

Gomez is also the owner of six rescue dogs and describes herself as a "huge animal-lover".

Entrepreneurship and sponsorships

thumb|left|upright|Gomez on the set of her music video for "Tell Me Something I Don't Know" in July 2008 Gomez was part of Sears back-to-school fashion ad campaign. As part of the campaign Gomez was featured in the television commercials. In August 2009, Gomez also hosted the "Sears Arrive Air Band Casting Call" – to select five people for the first-ever "Sears Air Band", which performed at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards.

In October 2008, Gomez launched her own production company, July Moon Productions, and partnered with XYZ Films to create star vehicles for Gomez. As part of the agreement Gomez will have the opportunity to be able option articles, hire writers and create talent packages to shop to studios. Also, as part of the deal, "XYZ Films will allow Gomez to star in and produce at least two films. ''Variety'' reported that: "In August, XYZ [Films] inked a similar deal with Time Inc. and management-production company the Collective to finance the development of the print media giant's content for the bigscreen [...] As part of the July Moon-XYZ deal, [Selena] Gomez will have the ability to cherry-pick projects from the vast Time Inc. library, which includes Time, Sports Illustrated, Fortune and Life."

In October 2009, Gomez announced her plan to launch her own fashion line, called "Dream Out Loud by Selena Gomez". The clothing line launched in the fall of 2010. The collection consists of and features bohemian dresses, floral tops, jeans, skirts, jackets, scarves and hats, all made from recycled or eco-friendly materials. Gomez said that the line will reflect her own personal style and described the clothing as being "pretty, feminine, and bohemian," and: "With my line, I really want to give the customer options on how they can put their own looks together [...] I want the pieces that can be easy to dress up or down, and the fabrics being eco-friendly and organic is super important [...] Also, the tags will all have some of my inspirational quotes on them. I'm just looking to send a good message." Gomez, who has no background in fashion, teamed up with designers Tony Melillo and Sandra Campos, both who have worked with big-name fashion houses. Gomez said of the partnering: "When I met Tony and Sandra, I was instantly comfortable with them and now they are just like family to me [...] They are so creative and I love how I can just call them up whenever and talk to them about everything, even if it's just about changing a button [...] They've been so cool about everything." The brand will be manufactured by, Melillo and Campos teamed with New York-based Adjmi Apparel and formed by Adjmi CH Brands LLC; which is the holding company for the brand.

It was announced on July 14, 2011, that Gomez had signed a license agreement with Adrenalina, an extreme sports and adventure-themed lifestyle brand, to develop, manufacture, and distribute the actress' fragrance. It is expected to debut in the spring of 2012. Chairman and C.E.O. of Adrenalina, Ilia Lekach, said, "We are incredibly enthused to be working with Ms. Gomez and will reveal more details pertaining to the fragrance as we get closer to the launch date."

Filmography

Film

Notes
2003	''Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over''	Waterpark Girl	Minor role
2005	''Walker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire''	Julie	Television movie
2008	''Another Cinderella Story''	Mary Santiago	Direct-to-videoMain role
2008		96 daughters	(Voice)
2009	''Princess Protection Program''	Carter Mason
2009	''Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie''	Alex Russo
2009	''Arthur and the Vengeance of Maltazard''	Princess Selenia
2009	''Arthur 3: The War of the Two Worlds''	Princess Selenia	(Voice)
2010	''Ramona and Beezus''		Main role
2011		Grace Bennett/Cordelia Winthrop Scott	Main role
2011		Herself	Cameo appearance
2012		Hannah Baker	Main Role
2012	''Hot Mess''	TBA	Main Role
2013	''Spring Breakers''	TBA	Main Role

Television

Notes
2002–2003	''Barney & Friends''	Gianna	Recurring role
	''Brain Zapped''	Emily Grace Garcia	Unsold pilot
''The Suite Life of Zack & Cody''	Gwen
2007–2008	''Hannah Montana''	Mikayla	"I Want You to Want Me... to Go to Florida" (Season 2, episode 13)"That's What Friends Are For?" (Season 2, episode 18)"(We're So Sorry) Uncle Earl" (Season 2, episode 22) (uncredited)
2007–2012	''Wizards of Waverly Place''	Alex Russo	Lead role
	''The Suite Life on Deck''	Alex Russo
''Hannah Montana''	Alex Russo	"Double Crossed"
''Sonny With a Chance''	Herself
	''So Random!''	Herself
''PrankStars''	Herself	Guest star

Music videos

Notes
2008	"Burnin' Up"	Jonas Brothers	Played Nick Jonas' love interest
2011	"The Dance Routine"	The Midnight Beast	Cameo

Discography

Soundtrack albums

+ List of albums, with selected chart positions	scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:15em;"	Title	Album details	Peak chart positions
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"	! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"	! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"		! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"
! scope="row"		* Released: August 26, 2008	* Formats: CD, digital download	* Label: Walt Disney Records	116	8	—
scope="row"	''Wizards of Waverly Place''		* Released: August 4, 2009	* Formats: CD, digital download	* Label: Walt Disney Records	24	4	2

Singles

+ List of singles, with selected chart positions	scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:16em;"	Title	Year	Peak chart positions			Album
! scope="col" style="width:4em;font-size:90%;"	! scope="col" style="width:4em;font-size:90%;"	! scope="col" style="width:4em;font-size:90%;"
"Tell Me Something I Don't Know"	2008	58	—	—	''Another Cinderella Story#Soundtrack	Another Cinderella Story''
scope="row"	"Magic"		61	86	5	''Wizards of Waverly Place (soundtrack)	Wizards of Waverly Place''
scope="row"	"One and the Same" (with Demi Lovato)	82	—	—	''Disney Channel Playlist''
scope="row"	"Shake It Up"	2011	—	—	—	''Shake It Up: Break It Down''

Featured singles

+ List of singles, with selected chart positions	Title	Year	Peak chart positions	Album
! scope="col" style="width:6em;font-size:90%;"
! scope="row"		—	non-album song
! scope="row"	20	non-album song

Other appearances

Song	Year	Album
! scope="row"		''Disneymania 6''
"Fly to Your Heart"
"Everything Is Not What It Seem"		''Disney Channel Playlist''
"Everything Is Not What It Seem"	''Pop It Rock It!''
! scope="row"		''Disneymania 7''
"Winter Wonderland"	''Family Holiday, Vol. 2''

Music videos

Song	Year	Album
"Cruella De Vil"		Unknown
"Tell Me Something I Don't Know"	Unknown
"Fly to Your Heart"	Unknown
"One and the Same"		Unknown
"Send It On"	Unknown

Awards and nominations

! Year	! Award	! Category	! Work	! Outcome
	ALMA Award	Outstanding Female Performance in a Comedy Television Series		rowspan=3
Imagen Awards	Best Actress – Television
	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Program – Series or Special
	Favorite TV Actress	rowspan=2
	Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries, or Special – Leading Young Actress	''Another Cinderella Story''
Best Performance in a TV Series – Leading Young Actress	''Wizards of Waverly Place''	rowspan=2
Best Performance in a Voice-over Role
	"Choice Summer- Celebrity Dancer"	''Another Cinderella Story''	rowspan=4
"Choice Summer – TV Star-Female"	''Princess Protection Program''
"Choice Other Stuff – Red Carpet Icon: Female"
Hollywood Style Awards	Style Igenue
Imagen Awards	Best Actress – Television
Alma Award	Special Achievement Comedy – Television – Actress
Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards	Fave International TV Star
	Gracie Award	Outstanding Female Rising Star in a Comedy Series
NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Program – Series or Special
	Favorite TV Actress
Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a TV Movie, Miniseries, or Special – Leading Young Actress	''Princess Protection Program''	rowspan=3
BET Awards	YoungStars Award
American Latino Awards	Favorite American Latino Actor
rowspan="3"	Choice TV Actress: Comedy	rowspan=2
Choice Red Carpet Fashion Icon: Female	Herself
Choice Summer: Movie Star- Female	''Ramona and Beezus''	rowspan=2
Imagen Awards	Best Actress – Television	''Wizards of Waverly Place: The Movie''
Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards	Fave TV Star
	NAACP Image Awards	Outstanding Performance in a Youth/Children's Program – Series or Special
rowspan=2	Favorite TV Actress
Favorite Female Singer
rowspan=4	Choice Female Hottie	rowspan=2
Choice TV Actress: Comedy	''Wizards of Waverly Place''
Choice Summer: Movie Star- Female		rowspan=2
Choice Summer: Music Star- Female	Herself
Imagen Awards	Best Young Actress – Television
	Favorite TV Actress – Leading Role in a Comedy	rowspan=4
Favorite Movie Actress – Comedy/Musical	''Monte Carlo''
Favorite Female Music Artist
	Biggest Fans
Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards	Fave TV Star	''Wizards of Waverly Place''	rowspan=2
Nickelodeon Argentina Kids' Choice Awards	Favorite International Singer	''Selena Gomez & the Scene''

References

External links

Selena Gomez at Disney.com

Category:1992 births Category:Actors from Texas Category:American bloggers Category:American actors of Mexican descent‎ Category:American child actors Category:American child singers Category:American dance musicians Category:American female singers Category:American film actors Category:American musicians of Mexican descent Category:American musicians of Italian descent Category:American pop singers Category:American rock singers Category:American television actors Category:American television personalities Category:American voice actors Category:American women in business Category:Barney & Friends Category:Child pop musicians Category:Female American rock drummers Category:Living people Category:Musicians from Texas Category:People from Grand Prairie, Texas Category:Pop rock singers Category:UNICEF people

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