Beautiful is a 2000 American film directed by Sally Field, starring Minnie Driver, Joey Lauren Adams, Hallie Kate Eisenberg, Kathleen Robertson, and Kathleen Turner. The plot is based around becoming Miss America and the sacrifices needed for this.^[1]

Plot[link]

This section requires expansion.

Mona Hibbard (Driver) is a young woman from a troubled home who has one overarching goal: to become the winner of the Miss American Miss pageant. Unfortunately for Mona, women with children are not eligible for the crown, and she has a young daughter (Eisenberg), but her best friend Ruby Stilwell (Adams) selflessly agrees to raise Vanessa as her own daughter. As Mona gets closer to winning the title, she has to come to terms with her troubled past, her thoughtless present, the fact that Vanessa is starting to clue in to her true parentage, and an ambitious reporter (Leslie Stefanson) who is thrilled at the prospect of becoming a TV star by humiliating the despised Mona.^[2]

Cast[link]

• Minnie Driver as Mona Hibbard aka Miss Illinois
• Joey Lauren Adams as Ruby Stilwell
• Hallie Kate Eisenberg as Vanessa
• Kathleen Turner as Verna Chickle
• Leslie Stefanson as Joyce Parkins
• Bridgette Wilson as Miss Texas aka Lorna Larkin (former Miss Teen USA 1990)
• Kathleen Robertson as Miss Tennessee aka Wanda Love
• Michael McKean as Lance DeSalvo
• Gary Collins as Miss America Pageant Host
• Linda Hart as Nedra Hibbard
• Chuti Tiu as Miss Hawaii (former Miss Illinois 1994)
• Ali Landry as outgoing titleholder Belindy Lindbrook (former Miss USA 1996)
• Jessica Collins as Miss Lawrenceville, first runner at Miss Illinois (former Miss New York Teen USA 1988)
• Julie Condra as Miss Iowa
• Herta Ware as Clara
• Colleen Rennison as Mona, age 12
• Jacqueline Steiger as Ruby, age 12

References[link]

This article relies largely or entirely upon a single source. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Discussion about the problems with the sole source used may be found on the talk page. (May 2010)

External links[link]

• Beautiful at the Internet Movie Database

This article about a 2000s comedy–drama film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Minnie Driver
Driver at the premiere of Barney's Version in January 2011
Born	Amelia Fiona J. Driver (1970-01-31) 31 January 1970 (age 42) London, England, UK
Occupation	Actress, singer
Years active	1990–present
Awards	Emmy, Golden Globe
Website
http://www.minniedriver.com/

Minnie Driver (born Amelia Fiona J. Driver; 31 January 1970) is an English actress and singer-songwriter. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the 1997 film Good Will Hunting, as well as for an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe for her work in the television series The Riches.

Early life[link]

Driver was born Amelia Fiona J. Driver^[1] in Finsbury Park, London, the daughter of Gaynor Churchward (née Millington), a designer and former couture model, and Ronnie Driver, a Welsh businessman and financial adviser from Swansea.^[2][3][4] Her mother was her father's mistress, and her father's wife was not aware of his other family.^[5] Driver has Italian , Irish, Welsh, Scottish and French ancestry.^[2][6] Her sister, Kate, is a model and producer.^{[citation needed]} Driver was brought up in Barbados and educated at Bedales, an independent school near Petersfield, Hampshire, England, and the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.^{[citation needed]}

Acting career[link]

Driver's television debut was in a 1991 UK TV advert for Right Guard deodorant.^[7] Driver also made her stage debut in 1991,^[8] supplementing her income by performing as a jazz vocalist and guitarist.^[9] She appeared on British television with comedians such as Steve Coogan and Armando Iannucci and had small parts in such shows as Casualty, The House of Eliott, Lovejoy and Peak Practice. Driver first came to broad public attention when she played the lead role in Circle of Friends in 1995. She followed this with a string of supporting roles in big studio films like the 17th James Bond installment GoldenEye (1995), Sleepers (1996) and Grosse Pointe Blank (1997). She achieved greater recognition playing opposite Matt Damon in Gus Van Sant's Good Will Hunting (1997), a role for which she was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and a Screen Actors Guild Award, among others. In 2003 and 2004, she had a noted recurring role on Will & Grace as Lorraine Finster, the nemesis of Karen Walker (Megan Mullally) and daughter of Karen's lover, Lyle Finster (John Cleese). Driver has also worked on several animated features, voicing Jane in Disney's 1999 version of Tarzan, and Lady Eboshi in the 1999 English dubbed release of the Japanese film Princess Mononoke.

On 12 March 2007, Driver made her return to television starring alongside Eddie Izzard on the FX Network show The Riches, a series about a family of Travellers living in an upscale gated community in the suburbs. She was nominated for an Emmy Award^[10] and a Golden Globe Award as Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2007 and 2008, respectively.^[11]

Driver at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival

Driver guest-starred in the January 2010 episode of Modern Family entitled "Moon Landing". Her role was that of Claire's friend and former co-worker whom she hasn't seen in years.^[12] She also starred alongside James Nesbitt and Goran Visnjic in the British series The Deep, which was shown on BBC One over the summer of 2010.^[13]

In 2010, Driver appeared in Conviction, a film depicting the real-life story of Betty Ann Waters (Hilary Swank), a single mother who spends a decade pursuing a law degree so she can represent her wrongfully convicted brother (played by Sam Rockwell) at court. Driver plays a fellow law student and friend of Swank's character who helps her with the case. The film received generally positive reviews according to the review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes listing an average score of 6.3/10 and a 68% of approval from critics.^[14] Also in 2010, Driver starred alongside Paul Giamatti in the comedy-drama Barney's Version. According to Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an 80% of positive reviews from critics^[15] and Driver herself went on to win a Genie Award for Best Supporting Actress.^[15]

In 2011, Driver appeared alongside Vera Farmiga, David Duchovny, Will Arnett and Keri Russell in the comedy Goats.^[16]

Music career[link]

Early in her career, Driver was a member of a band called "Puff, Rocks and Brown"; the band was signed to a development deal with Island Records, which ended without a release.^{[citation needed]}

She began a low-profile return to music in 2000; the following year, she signed with EMI and Rounder Records and performed at SXSW.^{[citation needed]} Canadian music producer Colin Craig assisted in the eventual release of Everything I've Got in My Pocket, which reached No. 34^[17] in the UK, and a second single, "Invisible Girl" peaking at No. 68. The album was backed by a group including members of the Wallflowers and Pete Yorn's band. Driver wrote 10 of the 11 songs on the album and also covered "Hungry Heart" from Bruce Springsteen's The River. In 2004, Driver was the support act for the Finn Brothers on the UK portion of their world tour.^{[citation needed]}

In 2004, Driver played Carlotta Giudicelli in Joel Schumacher's film of The Phantom of the Opera. Because of the vocal requirements of the role, Driver was the sole cast member to have her voice dubbed. However, she did lend her own voice to Learn to be Lonely, a song written by Andrew Lloyd Webber specifically for the film version of his musical (it plays over the closing credits of the movie). Driver released her second album entitled Seastories on 17 July 2007. The 12-track set is produced by Marc "Doc" Dauer, who also produced Everything I've Got in My Pocket. Ryan Adams and his band the Cardinals and Liz Phair are among the list of collaborators for the album.^[18]

Personal life[link]

On 5 September 2008, Driver gave birth to a boy named Henry Story Driver. She did not then reveal the identity of the father.^[19] In February 2012, she said her son's father was a writer on her television show "The Riches."^[20]

She was once engaged to Josh Brolin but the pair amicably split.^[21]

Filmography[link]

Films[link]

Television series[link]

Other[link]

• Driver provided the voice of Anne in the videogame Jurassic Park: Trespasser.
• She was the subject of a cut-away gag in Family Guy's "Saving Private Brian" as having a big head, and the director had difficulty fitting it on the screen.

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

Singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

	England portal
	Biography portal

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Minnie Driver

• Official website
• Minnie Driver at the Internet Movie Database
• September 2004 interview from The Guardian
• Minnie Driver at Emmys.com

Liz Phair
Phair performing in October 2008
Background information
Birth name	Elizabeth Clark Phair
Born	(1967-04-17) April 17, 1967 (age 45) New Haven, Connecticut[1]
Origin	Chicago, Illinois, United States
Genres	Alternative rock, indie rock, lo-fi, pop rock
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, piano
Years active	1991–present
Labels	Matador, Capitol, ATO Records
Website	www.lizphair.com
Notable instruments
Fender Duo-Sonic II

Elizabeth Clark "Liz" Phair (born April 17, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist.

Phair began her career in the early 1990s by self-releasing audio cassettes under the moniker Girly Sound, before signing with the independent record label Matador Records. Her 1993 debut studio album Exile in Guyville was released to acclaim: by the turn of the 21st century, it had been ranked by Rolling Stone as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. Ten years after the release of her debut, Phair's fourth album, Liz Phair, was released on Capitol Records and her music began to move in a more pop rock-oriented approach. Phair has sold nearly three million records worldwide. Her latest album, Funstyle, was released on July 3, 2010.

Life and career[link]

1967–1992: Early life and career beginnings[link]

Phair was born in New Haven, Connecticut, but was raised in Winnetka, Illinois, by wealthy adoptive parents.^[1] She graduated from New Trier High School in 1985. During high school, Phair was involved in student government, yearbook, and the cross country team, and took AP Studio Art her senior year, among many other advanced-level classes.^[2] She attended Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, and majored in art history.^[3][4]

	"Don't Hold Your Breath" noicon from Yo Yo Buddy Yup Yup Word To Ya Muthuh (1991)
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Phair's entry into the music industry began when she met guitarist Chris Brokaw, a member of the band Come. Brokaw and Phair moved to San Francisco together, and Phair tried to become an artist there. After being unsuccessful as an artist in San Francisco and moving back to Chicago, Phair began writing songs and recording homemade tapes under the name Girly Sound,^[4] and supported herself by selling her charcoal drawings on the streets of Wicker Park^{[citation needed]}. She became part of the alternative music scene in Chicago and became friends with Material Issue and Urge Overkill, two of Chicago's upstart bands to go national in the early 1990s, as well as Brad Wood and John Henderson, head of Feel Good All Over, an independent label in Chicago.^[1] (A later attempt at re-recording the Girly Sound tapes failed after arguments between Henderson and Phair.)

[edit] 1992–2003: Exile in Guyville, Whip-Smart & Whitechocolatespaceegg

After asking Wood who the "coolest" indie label was, Phair called up Gerard Cosloy, co-president of Matador Records, in 1992 and asked him if he would put out her record. Coincidentally, Cosloy had just read a review of Girly Sound in Chemical Imbalance that very day and told Phair to send him a tape. Phair sent him a tape of six Girly Sound songs. Cosloy recalls: "The songs were amazing. It was a fairly primitive recording, especially compared to the resulting album. The songs were really smart, really funny, and really harrowing, sometimes all at the same time. . . . I liked it a lot and played it for everybody else. We usually don't sign people we haven't met, or heard other records by, or seen as performers. But I had a hunch, and I called her back and said O.K."

Cosloy offered a $3,000 advance, and Phair began working on a single, which turned into the eighteen songs of Exile in Guyville.

	"Divorce Song" noicon from Exile in Guyville (1993)
Problems listening to this file? See media help.

Exile in Guyville was produced by Phair and Brad Wood, and released in 1993.^[4] The album received uniformly excellent reviews. The album received significant critical acclaim for its very blunt, honest lyrics and for the music itself, a hybrid of indie rock and pop. The album established Phair's penchant for exploring sexually explicit lyrics such as in the song "Flower": "I want to be your blow job queen/...I'll fuck you and your minions too." By contrast, her trademark low, vibrato-less monotone voice ^[5] gave many of her songs a slightly detached, almost deadpan character. Most notable among her detractors, producer Steve Albini was involved in a public flamewar printed in Chicago's free art and culture weekly, the Chicago Reader. Albini wrote an angry response to an article by Billy Wyman (Hitsville), entitled "Not From the Underground: 1993 in Review", stating his belief that Phair and several other artists had shown an "explicit rejection of much of the insularity that increasingly characterizes underground music". Albini identified the aforementioned artists as "pandering sluts" and said Phair was the modern Rickie Lee Jones, "more talked about than heard, a persona completely unrooted in substance, and a [expletive] chore to listen to".^[6] Humanities professor Camille Paglia chimed in on Phair's Guyville era, stating, "I like Liz Phair, but there were these stupid women reviewers who said she's surpassing the [Rolling] Stones. Dream on."^[7]

	"Headache" noicon from whitechocolatespaceegg (1998)
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The release of Phair's second album received substantial media attention and an advertising blitz. Whip-Smart debuted at #27 in 1994 and "Supernova", the first single, became a Top Ten modern rock hit, and the video was frequently featured on MTV. Phair also landed the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine with the headline "A Rock Star is Born." Nonetheless, the album received mixed reviews^{[citation needed]}, and although it was certified Gold (shipments of at least 500,000 units), it ultimately did not sell as well as expected, as it was hoped the album would introduce Phair to a wider, more mainstream audience^{[citation needed]}. Following Whip-Smart, Phair released Juvenilia, a collection of some early Girly Sound tracks and several B-sides, including her cover of the 1980s song by The Vapors, "Turning Japanese".

In 1994, Phair made several live television and radio appearances in an effort to promote Exile in Guyville and Whip-Smart, including David Letterman performing "Never Said" and "Supernova" and Jay Leno performing an acoustic version of "Whip-Smart". She even performed "Alice Springs" live on 'Good Morning America.

She also appeared on the MTV alternative rock show 120 Minutes performing "Never Said", "6'1", "Cinco de Mayo" and "Supernova" live at various times during 1994 and early 1995.

In 1995, Phair married Jim Staskauskas, a film editor who had worked on her videos. They had one child, James Nicholas Staskauskas, on December 21, 1996.^[1] The couple divorced in 2001. Phair recorded a song called "Down" in response to her divorce^{[citation needed]}. A quasi-stop-motion animation video using photographs was created for it by filmmaker Rodney Ascher (he shot fifty rolls of still photographs in L.A.'s Chinatown), and posted on her official website LizPhair.com. The song was never officially released on any of her albums.

Phair's third album, entitled Whitechocolatespaceegg, was finally released in 1998 after some delays, which included a disagreement about content; at one point, the label rejected the album as submitted, and asked Phair to write a few additional radio-friendly songs for the set.^[8] The album displayed a more mature Phair, and reflected some of the ways marriage and motherhood affected her. The single "Polyester Bride" received some airplay, but the album was no more successful than her previous records. To promote the record Phair joined Lilith Fair. Phair performed on the main stage along with acts like Sarah McLachlan, Emmylou Harris, Sheryl Crow and Missy Elliott. She also opened for Alanis Morissette on her 1999 Junkie Tour.

She portrayed the role of Brynn Allen, opposite her good friend Robin Tunney, in the film Cherish.^[4][9]

[edit] 2003–2008: Liz Phair & Somebody's Miracle

Liz Phair in concert, October 26, 2005
Photo: Melanie Vyvyan

In 2003, her self-titled fourth album was released on her new label, Capitol Records. Phair had not released an album in several years; she had been working on her record, as well as making guest appearances on other tracks (she lent backing vocals to the Sheryl Crow hit "Soak Up the Sun").^[10]

Initially, Phair worked on several album tracks with songwriter Michael Penn as the producer. When she submitted the finished Penn-produced album to Capitol, the label gave it a lukewarm reception and was unwilling to release it as submitted. Having already exhausted her recording budget, label president Andy Slater offered Phair more money to record only if Phair agreed to work with the production team known as The Matrix (best known as songwriters for Britney Spears and Avril Lavigne) to come up with some singles for the album. Phair's collaboration with the Matrix resulted in only four songs, but much of the media attention focused solely on the Matrix-produced tracks, which were a departure from her earlier work.^{[citation needed]} The album received many negative reviews, especially from the independent music press, who accused Phair of "selling out" by making the record very pop-oriented.^[11]

Liz Phair provoked a strong backlash from critics and disappointed fans of her earlier work. Many decried her for "selling out", and she became a "piñata for critics."^[12] The New York Times' Meghan O'Rourke's review, titled "Liz Phair's Exile in Avril-ville", said that Phair "gushes like a teenager" and had "committed an embarrassing form of career suicide."^[13]

The debut single "Why Can't I?", co-written by The Matrix, did reach the Top 40 charts in North America, and its follow-up, "Extraordinary," was also somewhat successful: it appeared on the soundtrack to the 2004 movie Raising Helen and was the promotional theme for the 2004 Women's NCAA Basketball Tournament; in March 2007, the song began appearing in Gatorade television advertisements. Phair continued to flirt with sexually explicit themes, however, as was most evident in a track called "H.W.C.", standing for "Hot White Cum". Phair also offered backing vocals on Jimmy Eat World's "Work" track on their Futures album.

Somebody's Miracle, Phair's fifth album (and final album with Capitol Records), was released on October 4, 2005. The album returned to a more traditional rock sound, mixing the mood of Phair's earlier work with a more mellow sound.^[14] The album received mixed reviews and was not a chart success.

[edit] 2008–2010: Exile in Guyville reissue & career as TV composer

Phair signed with ATO Records in early 2008 and re-released Exile in Guyville on June 24, 2008.^[15] Exile in Guyville was reissued on CD, vinyl, and in digital format. The special reissue package includes three never-before-released songs from the original recording sessions: "Ant in Alaska," "Say You," and an untitled instrumental. Phair has also completed a new documentary DVD, "Guyville Redux." ^[16] This DVD features an introduction by Dave Matthews, founder/co-owner of ATO Records, and describes the making of the album, in the male-dominated, Chicago independent music scene of the early 1990s (which included Urge Overkill, Material Issue, and Smashing Pumpkins), associated with the Wicker Park neighborhood where many of these bands often performed.

"Exile in Guyville is miles more complex than the porn-star manifesto it was often considered," said Alan Light (former editor-in-chief of Spin, Vibe, and Tracks) in an essay written for the reissue. "Phair spoke for the uncertainties facing a new generation of women, struggling to find a balance between sexual confidence and romance, between independence and isolation. . . . Exile in Guyville sat at the center of a culture in transition."^[17]

In May 2009, Phair released a new song "Faith and Tenderness," sold exclusively at Banana Republic.

In recent years Phair has broadened her career by serving as a composer for television dramas. Beginning with the theme song for NBC's The Weber Show she has also worked on the CBS show Swingtown, the CW reboot of 90210, for which she won the 2009 ASCAP award for Top Television Composer, and most recently has been hired on as composer for the USA Network show In Plain Sight.

[edit] 2010–Present: Funstyle

Phair said in an interview that she is writing a book and working on a new album.^[18] On July 3, 2010, her official website announced a surprise link to download her new album Funstyle. It contains 11 songs, many of which are experimental or at least unorthodox, compared to most of her earlier songs. The song "Bollywood" was available to stream from the site for a limited time, before Phair took it down. The album download is available for $5.99 in three different electronic forms and with cover art.

A note from Phair to her fans posted on her official website explained why the songs were problematic:

How To Like It. You were never supposed to hear these songs. These songs lost me my management, my record deal and a lot of nights of sleep. Yes, I rapped one of them. Im as surprised as you are. But here is the thing you need to know about these songs and the ones coming next: These are all me. Love them, or hate them, but dont mistake them for anything other than an entirely personal, un-tethered-from-the-machine, free for all view of the world, refracted through my own crazy lens. This is my journey. Ill keep sending you postcards. -Liz

Phair revealed in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that the falling out with her record label, ATO, occurred after a change in management. She explained, "The people who were still there didn’t like, or didn’t know what to do with, the music I was making, so we just stalled out and I asked to leave."^[19]

Phair went on tour to promote the album, playing many songs from Guyville and Whip-Smart, along with songs from all throughout her repertoire. The Funstyle Tour ran from October 2010 to March 2011. The tour's last show took place at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas.

Phair also reviews books, including Keith Richards' Life.^[20] Phair is in the process of writing a new album and a novel, as well as continuing TV scoring.

Discography[link]

• Exile in Guyville (1993)
• Whip-Smart (1994)
• Juvenilia (1995)
• Whitechocolatespaceegg (1998)
• Liz Phair (2003)
• Somebody's Miracle (2005)
• Funstyle (2010)

Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Liz Phair

• Liz Phair — official site.
• Liz Phair — official Facebook.

Fran Drescher
Drescher at the Vienna Life Ball in 2009
Born	Francine Joy Drescher (1957-09-30) September 30, 1957 (age 54) Flushing, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, comedian, producer, screenwriter, director, author, activist, political lobbyist, singer-songwriter
Years active	1977–present
Spouse	Peter Marc Jacobson (m. 1978–1999) «start: (1978)–end+1: (2000)»"Marriage: Peter Marc Jacobson to Fran Drescher" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Fran_Drescher)

Francine Joy "Fran" Drescher (born September 30, 1957) is an American film and television actress, comedian, producer, and activist. She is best known for her role as Fran Fine in the hit TV series, The Nanny.

Drescher made her screen debut with a small role in the 1977 blockbuster film Saturday Night Fever prior to appearing in films such as the biopic American Hot Wax (1978), and Wes Craven's horror film Summer of Fear (1978). In the 1980s, she gained recognition as a comedic actress in the films The Hollywood Knights (1980), Doctor Detroit (1983), This Is Spinal Tap (1984), and UHF (1989) while establishing a television career with guest appearances on several series. In 1993, she achieved wider fame as Fran Fine in her own sitcom vehicle The Nanny, for which she was nominated for two Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress in a Comedy Television Series during the show's run. She received further recognition for her performances in Jack (1996) and The Beautician and the Beast (1997) and reinforced her reputation as a leading sitcom star with Living With Fran (2005–2006) and Happily Divorced (2011–present).

A uterine cancer survivor, Drescher is an outspoken healthcare advocate and LGBT rights activist, and is noted for her work as a Public Diplomacy Envoy for Women's Health Issues for the U.S. State Department. Divorced from writer and producer Peter Marc Jacobson, she currently lives in Malibu, California.

Early life[link]

Drescher was born in Flushing, Queens, New York,^[1] the daughter of Sylvia, a bridal consultant, and Morty Drescher, a naval systems analyst.^[2] Her Ashkenazi Jewish family is of South-East Central European origin. She has an older sister, Nadine.

Drescher was a first runner-up for "Miss New York Teenager" in 1973, as revealed in her first autobiography "Enter Whining" released December 29, 1995, and on her interview on William Shatner's Raw Nerve, which first aired on January 27, 2009. She attended Hillcrest High School in Jamaica, Queens, where she met her future husband, Peter Marc Jacobson, whom she married in 1978, at age 21. They divorced in 1999.^[3] Jacobson was Drescher's constant supporter in her show-business career, and he wrote, directed and produced her signature television series, The Nanny. Drescher graduated from Hillcrest High School in 1975; one of her classmates was comedian Ray Romano.^[4] Drescher's character Fran Fine on The Nanny and Romano's character Ray Barone on Everybody Loves Raymond met at a 20th high school reunion.^[5]

Career[link]

Early careers[link]

Her first break was a small role as the dancer Connie in the blockbuster movie Saturday Night Fever (1977) in which she delivered the line "So, are you as good in bed as you are on the dance floor?" to John Travolta. A year later, she began to gain more attention in films such as American Hot Wax (1978), and Wes Craven's Summer of Fear (1978). She also took on a rare dramatic role in the Milos Forman 1981 film, Ragtime.

During the 1980s, Drescher found moderate success as a character actress with memorable roles in films such as The Hollywood Knights, Doctor Detroit, The Big Picture, UHF, Cadillac Man, and memorably in This is Spinal Tap as publicist Bobbi Fleckman. She also made an appearance in a second season episode of Who's the Boss in 1985 as an interior decorator.

[edit] The Nanny and later film roles

Drescher and Jacobson created their own television show, The Nanny in 1993. The show aired on CBS from 1993 and ended in 1999, and Drescher became an instant star. In this sitcom, she played a charming and bubbly woman named Fran Fine who casually became the nanny of Margaret ("Maggie"), Brighton ("B"), and Grace ("Gracie") Sheffield; with her wit and her charm, she endeared herself to their widower father: stuffy, composed, proper British gentleman, and Broadway producer Maxwell Sheffield (played by British actor Charles Shaughnessy).

Drescher appeared in Jack (1996), directed by Francis Ford Coppola, The Beautician and the Beast (1997) (for which she was also executive producer) and Picking Up the Pieces (2000) co-starring Woody Allen. She also was the voice of "Pearl" in Shark Bait (2006).

Return to television[link]

In recent years, Drescher has made a return to television both with leading and guest roles. In 2003, Drescher appeared in episodes of the short lived sitcom, Good Morning, Miami as Roberta Diaz. In 2005, she returned to TV with the sitcom Living with Fran, in which she played Fran Reeves, a middle-aged mother of two, living with Riley Martin (Ryan McPartlin), a man half her age and not much older than her son. Former Nanny costar Charles Shaughnessy appeared as her philandering ex-husband, Ted. Living with Fran was cancelled May 17, 2006, after two seasons.

In 2006, Drescher guest starred in an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent; the episode, "The War at Home", aired on US television on November 14, 2006.^[6] She also appeared in an episode of the series Entourage and in the same year, gave her voice to the role of a female golem in The Simpsons episode "Treehouse of Horror XVII". In 2007, Drescher appeared in the US version of the Australian improvisational comedy series Thank God You're Here.

In 2008, Drescher announced that she was developing a new sitcom entitled The New Thirty, also starring Rosie O'Donnell. A series about two old high school friends coping with midlife crises, Drescher described the premature plot of the show as "kind of Sex and the City but we ain't getting any! It'll probably be more like The Odd Couple."^[7] The sitcom failed to materialize however.^[7] In 2010, Drescher returned to television with her own daytime talk show, The Fran Drescher Tawk Show. While the program debuted to strong ratings, it ended its three-week test run to moderate success, resulting in its shelving.^[8][9] The following year, the sitcom Happily Divorced, created by Drescher and her ex-husband, Peter Marc Jacobson, was picked up by TV Land for a ten-episode order. It premiered there June 15, 2011.^[10] The show was renewed in July 2011 for a second season of 12 episodes, which aired in spring 2012. On May 1, 2012, TV Land extended the second season and picked up 12 additional episodes, taking the second season total to 24. The back-order of season two will debut later in 2012.

Personal life[link]

After separating in 1996, Drescher and Jacobson divorced in 1999. They did not have any children. Drescher stated, "I would have been able to conceive but not hold on".^[11] Drescher and Jacobson remained friends, and she has worked to support LGBT rights issues after her ex-husband came out.^[12] Drescher has stated that the primary reason for the divorce was her need to change directions in life. After her divorce, Drescher dated a man 16 years her junior. She credits the relationship with helping her through cancer and used it as inspiration for her sitcom Living with Fran.^[13] Drescher and Jacobson remain friends and business partners. She has stated that "...we choose to be in each others’ lives in any capacity. Our love is unique, rare, and unconditional; unless he’s being annoying.”^[14]

1985 robbery and rape[link]

In January 1985, two armed robbers broke into Drescher and Jacobson's Los Angeles apartment. While one ransacked their home, the other raped Drescher and her friend at gunpoint. Jacobson was also physically attacked, tied up, and forced to witness the entire ordeal. It took Drescher many years to recover, and it took her even longer to admit this to the press. She was paraphrased as saying in an interview with Larry King that although it was a traumatic experience, she found ways to turn it into something positive. In her book Cancer Schmancer, the actress writes: "My whole life has been about changing negatives into positives." Her rapist, who was on parole at the time of the crime, was returned to prison and sentenced to two life sentences.^[11]

Cancer battle[link]

After two years of symptoms and misdiagnosis by eight doctors, Drescher was admitted to Los Angeles's Cedars Sinai Hospital on June 21, 2000, after doctors diagnosed her with uterine cancer. She had to undergo an immediate radical hysterectomy to treat the disease. Drescher was given a clean bill of health and no post-operative treatment has been ordered.

She wrote about her experiences in her second book, Cancer Schmancer.^[11] Her purpose for this book was to raise consciousness for men and women "to become more aware of the early warning signs of cancer, and to empower themselves." Drescher says, "I was going to learn what I needed to learn, ask questions, become partners with my doctor instead of having some kind of parent/child relationship."

Drescher at a press conference for the Austrian charity 'Dancer Against Cancer', 2010.

Cancer Schmancer Movement[link]

On June 21, 2007, the seventh anniversary of her operation, Drescher announced the national launch of the Cancer Schmancer Movement, a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that all women's cancers be diagnosed while in Stage 1, the most curable stage. She celebrated her tenth year of wellness on June 21, 2010.

Fran says:

Her goal is to live in a time when women's mortality rates drop as their health care improves and early cancer detection increases. More information can be found on her website at cancerschmancer.org.

Her efforts as an outspoken healthcare advocate in Washington DC helped get unanimous passage for H.R. 1245 (also known as Johanna's Law) and she is acknowledged in the Congressional Record.

Politics[link]

Life Ball 2009; Bill Clinton, Fran Drescher and Elke Winkens

In September 2008, Drescher, a Democrat, was appointed as a U.S. diplomat by George W. Bush Administration's Assistant Secretary of State Goli Ameri. Her official title is Public Diplomacy Envoy for Women's Health Issues. In traveling throughout the world, she will support U.S. public diplomacy efforts, including working with health organizations and women's groups to raise awareness of women’s health issues, cancer awareness and detection, and patient empowerment and advocacy. Her first trip was in late September and included stops in Romania, Hungary,^[16] Kosovo and Poland.^{[citation needed]}

U.S. Public Diplomacy Envoy Fran Drescher and Goli Ameri

In 2008, Drescher supported Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton for the Democratic Party presidential nomination. She attended a Super Democrat rally for Clinton. Drescher said that she had been considering a run for the United States Senate in 2008 to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton, but ultimately decided against it.^[17][18]

Music[link]

On September 28, 2009, she released a single entitled "Eye For An Eye".

Awards[link]

Drescher has been the recipient of the John Wayne Institute’s Woman of Achievement Award, the Gilda Award, the City of Hope Woman of the Year Award, the Hebrew University Humanitarian Award, and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine’s Spirit of Achievement Award.

Most recently she was honored with the City of Hope Spirit of Life Award, which was presented to her by Senator Hillary Clinton.

On April 10, 2010, she was guest of honor at the "Dancer against Cancer" charity ball held at the Imperial Palace, Vienna, Austria, where she received the first "My Aid Award" for her achievements in support of cancer prevention and rehabilitation.^[19]

In popular culture[link]

She is portrayed in the episode The Tan Aquatic with Steve Zissou from the US television cartoon series Family Guy as being the result of Peter Griffin having fed a mogwai after midnight; in a reference to the film Gremlins where mogwais turn into gremlins if fed at that time.

Filmography[link]

Film[link]

Television[link]

Stage[link]

References[link]

1. ^ Firestone, David. "For Queens, a Place in the Sun; Hollywood Is Suddenly Zooming In, With a Vengeance", The New York Times, September 18, 1994. Accessed 2008-01-27. "Ms. Drescher, who actually comes from Kew Gardens Hills, may be the most deliberately colorful of the lot, but she is hardly alone in celebrating the showbiz ascendancy of her native land."
2. ^ Fran Drescher Biography (1957-)
3. ^ Meisler, Andy. "TELEVISION; Mary Poppins She's Not", The New York Times, December 18, 1994. Accessed 2007-11-20. "After she graduated from Hillcrest High School in Queens, where she met Jacobson, the two of them moved to Los Angeles and were married."
4. ^ http://poobala.com/everybodyandnanny.html
5. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0657352/
6. ^ TV.com - episode page
7. ^ ^{a b} Gordon, Julie (2008-05-22). "BUZZ: Rosie O'Donnell, Fran Drescher combine for TV's whiniest sitcom?". Newsday. http://www.newsday.com/buzz-rosie-o-donnell-fran-drescher-combine-for-tv-s-whiniest-sitcom-1.880364. Retrieved 2011-03-31. 
8. ^ Albiniak, Paige (2011-11-29). "Audiences Still Love The Nanny". Broadcasting & Cable. http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/460398-Audiences_Still_Love_The_Nanny_.php. Retrieved 2011-03-31. 
9. ^ Albiniak, Paige (2011-12-21). "Syndies Flat as Holiday Season Revs Up". Broadcasting & Cable. http://www.broadcastingcable.com/article/461400-Syndies_Flat_as_Holiday_Season_Revs_Up.php. Retrieved 2011-03-31. 
10. ^ Sarah Anne Hughes (June 14, 2011). "Fran Drescher talks being ‘Happily Divorced’ from gay ex-husband". Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/celebritology/post/fran-drescher-talks-being-happily-divorced-from-gay-ex-husband/2011/06/14/AGJ4lhUH_blog.html. 
11. ^ ^{a b c} "LARRY KING LIVE Interview with Fran Drescher". CNN. May 6, 2002. http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0205/06/lkl.00.html. Retrieved 2009-07-23. 
12. ^ Fran Drescher's Ex-Husband Peter Marc Jacobson Is Gay, Shows Support
13. ^ Dustin Fitzharris (July 9, 2011). Fran Drescher on Dating After Divorce. ABC News. Accessed 2011-11-05.
14. ^ Modern Family - Peter Marc Jacobson on Success, Sexuality, and Being in Love with Fran Drescher. GuySpy. July 1, 2011.
15. ^ Cancer Schmancer Movement Website
16. ^ "U.S. Public Diplomacy Envoy Fran Drescher Raises Awareness of Women’s Cancer During Visit to Budapest". http://hungary.usembassy.gov/event_10092008.html. Retrieved 2010-05-16. 
17. ^ "'Nanny' state? Drescher eyes Clinton's Senate seat". Yahoo News. December 9, 2008. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/12/09/ap/national/main4658877.shtml. Retrieved 2009-01-07. 
18. ^ Alex Dobuzinskis (December 9, 2008). "Fran Drescher looks to graduate from “Nanny” to U.S. Senate". Reuters Blogs. http://blogs.reuters.com/fanfare/2008/12/09/fran-drescher-looks-to-graduate-from-nanny-to-us-senate/. Retrieved 2009-01-07. 
19. ^ "So war der 'Dancer Against Cancer'-Ball". http://madonna.oe24.at/Society/So-war-der-Dancer-Against-Cancer-Ball/1284900. Retrieved 2010-04-13. 
20. ^ Fran Drescher Emmy Award Winner

External links[link]

• Fran Drescher's Twitter page
• Cancer Schmancer Movement website
• Fran Drescher at the Internet Movie Database
• Fran Drescher at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Fran Drescher at AllRovi
• Fran Drescher Speaks Out in Support of New Bill Seeking Stricter Cosmetics Rules - video by Democracy Now!
• Fran Drescher at Emmys.com

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2012)

Kaley Cuoco
Cuoco at The Big Bang Theory panel at the 2008 Comic-Con convention
Born	Kaley Christine Cuoco (1985-11-30) November 30, 1985 (age 26) Camarillo, California, US
Residence	San Fernando Valley, California
Nationality	American
Occupation	Actress, voice actress
Years active	1992–present
Known for	8 Simple Rules Charmed The Big Bang Theory
Website
Twitter

Kaley Christine Cuoco ( /ˈkeɪliː ˈkwoʊkoʊ/ KAY-lee KWOH-koh; born November 30, 1985)^[1] is an American film and television actress. She first came to attention for her role as Bridget Hennessy on the Emmy Award-winning sitcom 8 Simple Rules (2002–2005). She later starred as Billie Jenkins on the final season of the supernatural drama series Charmed (2005–2006). She has gained international acclaim and recognition for her current role as Penny on the Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning comedy series The Big Bang Theory (2007–present),^[1] which became the highest rated comedy on television among adults 18–49 for the 2009–10 season.^[2] Cuoco's success within the television industry has launched her film career, appearing in films such as Lucky 13 (2005), The Penthouse (2010), Hop (2011), and The Last Ride (2011).

Career[link]

As a child, Cuoco was once a nationally-ranked amateur tennis player, a sport she took up when she was three years old but had to give up when she was six.^[1] Her role as Maureen McCormick in the 2000 TV movie Growing Up Brady brought her much attention, as well as a role on the CBS sitcom Ladies Man. In 2004 in addition to her role on 8 Simple Rules in which she played a teenager, she had starring roles on the NBC miniseries, 10.5, on the ABC Family original movie, Crimes of Fashion, and in the independent film, Debating Robert Lee.^[1] In 2000 she starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie Alley Cats Strike.

Cuoco was named number 77 on FHM-Us 100 Sexiest Women in 2005 and number 21 in 2008.^[3] She was also named number 28 on Maxim's annual Hot 100 list in 2010 and number 13 in 2011.

She began voicing the character of Brandy Harrington on the Disney Channel's cartoon, Brandy and Mr. Whiskers, later in 2004.

Cuoco played Bridget Hennessy on the ABC sitcom 8 Simple Rules. Bridget was the eldest child, despite Cuoco being six years younger than her on-screen little sister (Amy Davidson), and was portrayed as "the most beautiful girl in the school." She had several boyfriends throughout the series and used her feminine wiles to exert significant control over the boys she encountered.

In the eighth season of the hit cult TV show Charmed, Cuoco appeared as Billie Jenkins a young powerful witch who was also one of whitelighter Paige Matthews' charges. Executive producer Brad Kern stated Kaley's character was initially brought in as a possible spin-off. In 2004 Cuoco co-starred in the movie The Hollow with Nick Carter and Kevin Zegers.

In September 2007, Cuoco began a starring role in the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory. She plays Penny, an aspiring actress and employee at The Cheesecake Factory who lives across the hall from two nerdy scientists, Sheldon (Jim Parsons) and Leonard (Johnny Galecki). Prior to the 2010–2011 season, she earned $60,000 an episode for the series, the same as Johnny Galecki and Jim Parsons. In 2010 the cast negotiated a raise for each actor to make $200,000 per episode.^[4] On September 13, 2010, she broke her leg in a horse-riding accident and missed two episodes of the series.^[5]

Cuoco also starred in the Lifetime film To Be Fat Like Me, which premiered on January 8, 2007.^[6] She also played a minor role in the Prison Break episodes "The Message" and "Chicago" as well as taking the leading female role in the comedy horror spoof Killer Movie in 2008.

In 2011 Cuoco appeared in Allure magazine's annual "Naked Truth" feature. The photograph, which appeared in the May issue, was taken by Patrick Demarchelier.^[7] That same year, she appeared in the films Hop and The Last Ride.^[8] She was also chosen to host both the 2011 Teen Choice Awards^[9] and the 2012 People's Choice Awards.^[10]

Personal life[link]

While working on The Big Bang Theory, Cuoco dated co-star Johnny Galecki for two years. They kept their relationship private until they broke up.^[11][12]

In October 2011 Cuoco announced her engagement to boyfriend Josh Resnik, an addiction specialist and former bassist for Danzig.^[13] However, in March 2012 she revealed that she was no longer engaged.^[14]

Filmography[link]

Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kaley Cuoco

• Kaley Cuoco at the Internet Movie Database
• Kaley Cuoco on Twitter