Name	Brad Pitt
Alt	A Caucasian with light brown hair, blue eyes, and a mustache and short brown beard, in front of a turquoise background. He is wearing a white shirt and white hat.
Birth name	William Bradley Pitt
Birth date	December 18, 1963
Birth place	Shawnee, Oklahoma, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Missouri
Occupation	Actor, producer
Spouse
Partner	Angelina Jolie (2005–present)
Children	6 }}

William Bradley "Brad" Pitt (born December 18, 1963) is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received four Academy Award nominations and five Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one Golden Globe. He has been described as one of the world's most attractive men, a label for which he has received substantial media attention.

Pitt first gained recognition as a cowboy hitchhiker in the road movie ''Thelma & Louise'' (1991). His first leading roles in big-budget productions came with ''A River Runs Through It'' (1992), ''Interview with the Vampire'' (1994), and ''Legends of the Fall'' (1994). In 1995, he gave critically acclaimed performances in the crime thriller ''Seven'' and the science fiction film ''12 Monkeys'', the latter earning him a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor and an Academy Award nomination. Four years later, Pitt starred in the cult hit ''Fight Club''. He then starred in the major international hit ''Ocean's Eleven'' (2001) and its sequels, ''Ocean's Twelve'' (2004) and ''Ocean's Thirteen'' (2007). His greatest commercial successes have been ''Troy'' (2004) and ''Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' (2005). Pitt received his second and third Academy Award nominations for his leading performances in ''The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'' (2008) and ''Moneyball'' (2011). In addition, Pitt owns a production company, Plan B Entertainment, whose productions include ''The Departed'' (2006), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and ''Moneyball'', which garnered a Best Picture nomination.

Following a high-profile relationship with actress Gwyneth Paltrow, Pitt was married to actress Jennifer Aniston for five years. Pitt lives with actress Angelina Jolie in a relationship that has attracted wide publicity. He and Jolie have six children—Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne. Since beginning his relationship with Jolie, he has become increasingly involved in social issues both in the United States and internationally.

Early life[link]

William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is the son of Jane Etta (née Hillhouse), a high school counselor, and William Alvin Pitt, a truck company owner, and was born in Shawnee, Oklahoma. The family soon moved to Springfield, Missouri, where he lived together with his younger siblings, Doug (born 1966) and Julie Neal (born 1969). Born into a conservative household, he was raised as Southern Baptist, although he has since described himself as oscillating between atheism and agnosticism. Pitt has stated that his family's ancestry consists of "probably... Irish-Scots-Germans who settled in the area... I know we have some Seminole, and some Cherokee Indian, in us". Pitt has described Springfield as "Mark Twain country, Jesse James country", having grown up with "a lot of hills, a lot of lakes".

Pitt attended Kickapoo High School, where he was a member of the golf, tennis, wrestling and swimming teams. He participated in the school's Key and Forensics clubs, in school debates, and in musicals. Following his graduation from high school, Pitt enrolled in the University of Missouri in 1982, majoring in journalism, with a focus on advertising. As a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, he acted in several fraternity shows. As graduation approached, Pitt did not feel ready to settle down. He loved films—"a portal into different worlds for me"—and, since films were not made in Missouri, he decided to go to where they were made. Two weeks before earning his degree, Pitt left the university and moved to Los Angeles, where he took acting lessons and worked odd jobs.

Career[link]

Early work[link]

While struggling to establish himself in Los Angeles, Pitt took lessons from acting coach Roy London. Pitt's onscreen career began in 1987, with uncredited parts in the films ''No Way Out'', ''No Man's Land'' and ''Less Than Zero''. His television debut came in May 1987 with a two-episode role on the NBC soap opera ''Another World''. In November of the same year Pitt had a guest appearance on the ABC sitcom ''Growing Pains''. He appeared in four episodes of the CBS primetime series ''Dallas'' between December 1987 and February 1988 as Randy, the boyfriend of Charlie Wade (played by Shalane McCall). Pitt described his character as "an idiot boyfriend who gets caught in the hay." Speaking of his scenes with McCall, Pitt later said, "It was kind of wild, because I'd never even met her before." Later in 1988, Pitt made a guest appearance on the Fox police drama ''21 Jump Street''.

In the same year, the Yugoslavian–U.S. co-production ''The Dark Side of the Sun'' (1988) gave Pitt his first leading film role, as a young American taken by his family to the Adriatic to find a remedy for a skin condition. The film was shelved at the outbreak of the Croatian War of Independence, and was not released until 1997. Pitt made two motion picture appearances in 1989: the first in a supporting role in the comedy ''Happy Together''; the second a featured role in the horror film ''Cutting Class'', the first of Pitt's films to reach theaters. He made guest appearances on television series ''Head of the Class'', ''Freddy's Nightmares'', ''Thirtysomething'', and (for a second time) ''Growing Pains''.

Pitt was cast as Billy Canton, a drug addict who takes advantage of a young runaway (played by Juliette Lewis) in the 1990 NBC television movie ''Too Young to Die?'', the story of an abused teenager sentenced to death for a murder. Ken Tucker, television reviewer for ''Entertainment Weekly'' wrote: "Pitt is a magnificent slimeball as her hoody boyfriend; looking and sounding like a malevolent John Cougar Mellencamp, he's really scary." The same year, Pitt co-starred in six episodes of the short-lived Fox drama ''Glory Days'', and took a supporting role in the HBO television movie ''The Image''. His next appearance came in the 1991 film ''Across the Tracks''; Pitt portrayed Joe Maloney, a high school runner with a criminal brother, played by Ricky Schroder.

After years of supporting roles in movies and frequent television guest appearances, Pitt attracted wider recognition in his supporting role in the 1991 road film ''Thelma & Louise''. He played J.D., a small-time criminal who befriends Thelma (Geena Davis). His love scene with Davis has been cited as the event that defined Pitt as a sex symbol. After ''Thelma & Louise'', Pitt starred in the 1991 film ''Johnny Suede'', a low-budget picture about an aspiring rock star, and the 1992 film ''Cool World'', although neither furthered his career, having poor reviews and box office performance.

Pitt took the role of Paul Maclean in the 1992 biographical film ''A River Runs Through It'', directed by Robert Redford. His portrayal of the character has been described as a career-making performance, proving that Pitt could be more than a "cowboy-hatted hunk." He has admitted to feeling under pressure when making the film and thought it one of his "weakest performances ... It's so weird that it ended up being the one that I got the most attention for." Pitt believed that he benefited from working with such a talented cast and crew. He compared working with Redford to playing tennis with a superior player, saying "when you play with somebody better than you, your game gets better."

In 1993, Pitt reunited with Juliette Lewis for the road film ''Kalifornia''. He played Early Grayce, a serial killer and the boyfriend of Lewis's character in a performance described by Peter Travers of ''Rolling Stone'' as "outstanding, all boyish charm and then a snort that exudes pure menace." Pitt also garnered attention for a brief appearance in the cult hit ''True Romance'' as a stoner named Floyd, providing much needed comic relief to the action film. He capped the year by winning a ShoWest Award for Male Star of Tomorrow.

Critical success[link]

1994 marked a significant turning point in Pitt's career. Starring as the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac in the feature film ''Interview with the Vampire'', based on Anne Rice's 1976 novel of the same name, he was part of an ensemble cast that included Tom Cruise, Kirsten Dunst, Christian Slater, and Antonio Banderas. Despite his winning two MTV Movie Awards at the 1995 ceremony, his performance was poorly received. According to the ''Dallas Observer'', "Brad Pitt ... is a large part of the problem [in the film]. When directors play up his cocky, hunkish, folksy side ... he's a joy to watch. But there's nothing about him that suggests inner torment or even self-awareness, which makes him a boring Louis."

Following the release of ''Interview with the Vampire'', Pitt starred in ''Legends of the Fall'' (1994), based on a novel by the same name by Jim Harrison, set in the American West during the first four decades of the twentieth century. Portraying Tristan Ludlow, son of Colonel William Ludlow (Anthony Hopkins) a Cornish immigrant, Pitt received his first Golden Globe Award nomination, in the Best Actor category. Aidan Quinn and Henry Thomas co-starred as Pitt's brothers. Although the film's reception was mixed, many film critics praised Pitt's performance. Janet Maslin of ''The New York Times'' said, "Pitt's diffident mix of acting and attitude works to such heartthrob perfection it's a shame the film's superficiality gets in his way." The ''Deseret News'' predicted that ''Legends of the Fall'' would solidify Pitt's reputation as a lead actor.

In 1995, Pitt starred alongside Morgan Freeman and Gwyneth Paltrow in the crime thriller ''Seven,'' playing a detective on the trail of a serial killer (played by Kevin Spacey). Pitt called it a great movie and declared the part would expand his acting horizons. He expressed his intent to move on from "this 'pretty boy' thing [...] and play someone with flaws." His performance was critically well received, with ''Variety'' saying that it was screen acting at its best, further remarking on Pitt's ability to turn in a "determined, energetic, creditable job" as the detective. ''Seven'' earned $327 million at the international box office.

Following the success of ''Seven'', Pitt took a supporting role as Jeffrey Goines in Terry Gilliam's 1995 science-fiction film ''12 Monkeys''. The movie received predominantly positive reviews, with Pitt praised in particular. Janet Maslin of the ''New York Times'' called ''Twelve Monkeys'' "fierce and disturbing" and remarked on Pitt's "startlingly frenzied performance", concluding that he "electrifies Jeffrey with a weird magnetism that becomes important later in the film." He won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film and received his first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

The following year he had a role in the legal drama ''Sleepers'' (1996), based on Lorenzo Carcaterra's novel of the same name. The film received mixed reviews. In the 1997 movie ''The Devil's Own'' Pitt starred, opposite Harrison Ford, as the Irish Republican Army terrorist Rory Devany, a role for which he was required to learn an Irish accent. Critical opinion was divided on his accent; "Pitt finds the right tone of moral ambiguity, but at times his Irish brogue is too convincing – it's hard to understand what he's saying", wrote the ''San Francisco Chronicle.'' ''The Charleston Gazette'' opined that it had favored Pitt's accent over the movie. ''The Devil's Own'' grossed $140 million worldwide, but was a critical failure. Later that year he led as Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer in the Jean-Jacques Annaud film ''Seven Years in Tibet''. Pitt trained for months for the role, which demanded significant mountain climbing and trekking practice, including rock climbing in California and the European Alps with his co-star David Thewlis. The film received mostly negative reviews, and was generally considered a disappointment.

Pitt had the lead role in 1998's ''Meet Joe Black''. He portrayed a personification of death inhabiting the body of a young man to learn what it is like to be human. The film received mixed reviews, and many were critical of Pitt's performance. According to Mick LaSalle of the ''San Francisco Chronicle'', Pitt was unable to "to make an audience believe that he knows all the mysteries of death and eternity." Roger Ebert stated "Pitt is a fine actor, but this performance is a miscalculation."

From 1999 to 2003[link]

In 1999, Pitt portrayed Tyler Durden, an uncompromising and charismatic individual, in ''Fight Club'', a film adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk's novel of the same name, directed by David Fincher. Pitt prepared for the part with lessons in boxing, taekwondo, and grappling. To look the part, Pitt consented to the removal of pieces of his front teeth which were restored when filming ended. While promoting ''Fight Club'', Pitt said that the film explored not taking one's aggressions out on someone else but to "have an experience, take a punch more and see how you come out on the other end." ''Fight Club'' premiered at the 1999 Venice International Film Festival. Despite divided critical opinion on the film as a whole, Pitt's performance was widely praised. Paul Clinton of CNN noted the risky yet successful nature of the film, while ''Variety'' remarked upon Pitt's ability to be "cool, charismatic and more dynamically physical, perhaps than [...] his breakthrough role in ''Thelma and Louise''". In spite of a worse-than-expected box office performance, ''Fight Club'' became a cult classic after its DVD release in 2000.

Following ''Fight Club'', Pitt was cast as an Irish Gypsy boxer with a barely intelligible accent in Guy Ritchie's 2000 gangster film ''Snatch''. Several reviewers were critical of ''Snatch''; however, most praised Pitt. Mick LaSalle of the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' said Pitt was "ideally cast as an Irishman whose accent is so thick even Brits can't understand him", going on to say that, before ''Snatch'', Pitt had been "shackled by roles that called for brooding introspection, but recently he has found his calling in black comic outrageousness and flashy extroversion;" while Amy Taubin of ''The Village Voice'' claimed that "Pitt gets maximum comic mileage out of a one-joke role".

The following year Pitt starred opposite Julia Roberts in the romantic comedy ''The Mexican'', a film that garnered a range of reviews but enjoyed box office success. Pitt's next role, in 2001's $143 million-grossing Cold War thriller ''Spy Game'', was as Tom Bishop, an operative of the CIA's Special Activities Division, mentored by Robert Redford's character. Mark Holcomb of Salon.com enjoyed the film, although he noted that neither Pitt nor Redford provided "much of an emotional connection for the audience". On November 22, 2001, Pitt made a guest appearance in the eighth season of the television series ''Friends'', playing a man with a grudge against Rachel Green, played by Jennifer Aniston, to whom Pitt was married at the time. For this performance he was nominated for an Emmy Award in the category for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series. In December 2001, Pitt had the role of Rusty Ryan in the heist film ''Ocean's Eleven'', a remake of the 1960 Rat Pack original. He joined an ensemble cast including George Clooney, Matt Damon, Andy García, and Julia Roberts. Well-received by critics, ''Ocean's Eleven'' was highly successful at the box office, earning $450 million worldwide.

Pitt appeared in two episodes of MTV's reality series ''Jackass'' in February 2002, first running through the streets of Los Angeles with several cast members in gorilla suits, and participating in his own staged abduction in another episode. In the same year, Pitt had a cameo role in George Clooney's directorial debut ''Confessions of a Dangerous Mind''. He took on his first voice-acting roles in 2003, speaking as the titular character of the DreamWorks animated film ''Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas'' and playing Boomhauer's brother, Patch, in an episode of the animated television series ''King of the Hill''.

After 2003[link]

Pitt had two major film roles in 2004, starring as Achilles in ''Troy'', and making a second appearance as Rusty Ryan, in the sequel ''Ocean's Twelve''. He spent six months sword training before the filming of ''Troy'', based on the ''Iliad''. An on-set injury to his Achilles tendon delayed production on the picture for several weeks. With a total worldwide gross of $497 million, ''Troy'' remains Pitt's most commercially successful picture to date. The film earned $364 million outside the U.S. and $133 million domestically. Stephen Hunter of ''The Washington Times'' stated that Pitt excelled at such a demanding role. ''Troy'' was the first film produced by Plan B Entertainment, a film production company he had founded two years earlier with Jennifer Aniston and Brad Grey, CEO of Paramount Pictures. ''Ocean's Twelve'' earned $362 million worldwide, and Pitt and Clooney's dynamic was described (by CNN's Paul Clinton) as "the best male chemistry since Paul Newman and Robert Redford."

In 2005, Pitt starred in the Doug Liman-directed action comedy ''Mr. & Mrs. Smith'', in which a bored married couple discover that each is an assassin sent to kill the other. The feature received reasonable reviews but was generally lauded for the chemistry between Pitt and Angelina Jolie, who played his character's wife Jane Smith. The ''Star Tribune'' noted that "while the story feels haphazard, the movie gets by on gregarious charm, galloping energy and the stars' thermonuclear screen chemistry." ''Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' earned $478 million worldwide, making it one of the biggest hits of 2005.

For his next feature film, Pitt starred opposite Cate Blanchett in Alejandro González Iñárritu's multi-narrative drama ''Babel'' (2006). Pitt's performance was critically well-received, and the ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' said that he was credible and gave the film visibility. Pitt later said he regarded taking the part as one of the best decisions of his career. The film was screened at a special presentation at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and was later featured at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival. ''Babel'' received seven Academy and Golden Globe award nominations, winning the Best Drama Golden Globe, and earned Pitt a nomination for the Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe. That same year, Pitt's company Plan B Entertainment produced ''The Departed'', which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. Pitt was credited on-screen as a producer; however, only Graham King was ruled eligible for the Oscar win.

Reprising his role as Rusty Ryan in a third picture, Pitt starred in 2007's ''Ocean's Thirteen''. While less lucrative than the first two films, this sequel earned $311 million at the international box office. Pitt's next film role was as American outlaw Jesse James in the 2007 Western drama ''The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford'', adapted from Ron Hansen's 1983 novel of the same name. Directed by Andrew Dominik and produced by Pitt's company Plan B Entertainment, the film premiered at the 2007 Venice Film Festival, with Pitt playing a "scary and charismatic" role, according to Lewis Beale of ''Film Journal International'', and earning Pitt the Volpi Cup award for Best Actor at the 64th Venice International Film Festival. Although Pitt attended the festival to promote the film, he left early after being attacked by a fan who pushed through his bodyguards. He eventually collected the award one year later at the 2008 festival.

Pitt's next appearance was in the 2008 black comedy ''Burn After Reading'', his first collaboration with the Coen brothers. The film received a positive reception from critics, with ''The Guardian'' calling it "a tightly wound, slickly plotted spy comedy", noting that Pitt's performance was one of the funniest. He was later cast as Benjamin Button, the lead in David Fincher's 2008 film ''The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'', a loosely adapted version of a 1921 short story by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The story follows a man who is born an octogenarian and ages in reverse, with Pitt's "sensitive" performance making ''Benjamin Button'' a "timeless masterpiece," according to Michael Sragow of ''The Baltimore Sun''. The performance earned Pitt his first Screen Actors Guild Award nomination, as well as a fourth Golden Globe and second Academy Award nomination, all in the category for Best Actor. The film received thirteen Academy Award nominations in total, and grossed $329 million at the box office worldwide.

Since 2008, Pitt's work has included a leading role in Quentin Tarantino's ''Inglourious Basterds'', released in August 2009 at a special presentation at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. Pitt played Lieutenant Aldo Raine, an American resistance fighter battling Nazis in German-occupied France. The film was a box office hit, taking $311 million worldwide, and garnered generally favorable reviews. The film received multiple awards and nominations, including eight Academy Award nominations and seven MTV Movie Award nominations, including Best Male Performance for Pitt. He voiced the superhero character Metro Man in the 2010 animated feature ''Megamind''. Pitt appeared in Terrence Malick's drama ''The Tree of Life'', co-starring Sean Penn, which won the Palme d'Or at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival. In a performance that attracted strong praise, he portrayed the Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane in the drama ''Moneyball'', which is based on the 2003 book of the same name written by Michael Lewis. ''Moneyball'' received six Academy Award nominations including Best Actor for Pitt.

He has signed on to appear as a British explorer searching for a mysterious Amazonian civilization in ''The Lost City of Z'', based on David Grann's 2009 book of the same name.

Humanitarian and political causes[link]

Pitt visited the University of Missouri campus in October 2004 to encourage students to vote in the 2004 U.S. presidential election, in which he supported John Kerry. Later in October he publicly supported the principle of public funding for embryonic stem-cell research. "We have to make sure that we open up these avenues so that our best and our brightest can go find these cures that they believe they will find," he said. In support of this he endorsed Proposition 71, a California ballot initiative intended to provide federal government funding for stem-cell research.

Pitt supports the ONE Campaign, an organization aimed at combating AIDS and poverty in the developing world. He narrated the 2005 PBS public television series ''Rx for Survival: A Global Health Challenge'', which discusses current global health issues and traveled to Pakistan in November 2005 with Angelina Jolie to see the impact of the 2005 Kashmir earthquake. The following year Pitt and Jolie flew to Haiti, where they visited a school supported by Yéle Haïti, a charity founded by Haitian-born hip hop musician Wyclef Jean. In May 2007, Pitt and Jolie donated $1 million to three organizations in Chad and Sudan dedicated to those affected by the crisis in the Darfur region. Along with Clooney, Damon, Don Cheadle, and Jerry Weintraub, Pitt is one of the founders of "Not On Our Watch", an organization that tries to focus global attention and resources to stop and prevent genocides such as that in Darfur.

Pitt has a sustained interest in architecture and has narrated ''Design e2'', a PBS television series focused on worldwide efforts to build environmentally friendly structures through sustainable architecture and design. He founded the Make It Right Foundation in 2006, organizing housing professionals in New Orleans to finance and construct 150 sustainable, affordable new houses in New Orleans's Ninth Ward following the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. The project involves 13 architectural firms and the environmental organization Global Green USA, with several of the firms donating their services. Pitt and philanthropist Steve Bing have each committed $5 million in donations. The first six homes were completed in October 2008, and in September 2009 Pitt received an award in recognition of the project from the U.S. Green Building Council, a non-profit trade organization that promotes sustainability in how buildings are designed, built and operated. Pitt met with U.S. President Barack Obama and Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi in March 2009 to promote his concept of ''green housing'' as a national model and to discuss federal funding possibilities.

In September 2006, Pitt and Jolie established a charitable organization, the Jolie-Pitt Foundation, to aid humanitarian causes around the world. The foundation made initial donations of $1 million each to Global Action for Children and Doctors Without Borders, followed by an October 2006 donation of $100,000 to the Daniel Pearl Foundation, an organization created in memory of the late American journalist Daniel Pearl. According to federal filings, Pitt and Jolie invested $8.5 million into the foundation in 2006; it gave away $2.4 million in 2006 and $3.4 million in 2007. In June 2009 the Jolie-Pitt Foundation donated $1 million to a U.N. refugee agency to help Pakistanis displaced by fighting between troops and Taliban militants. In January 2010 the foundation donated $1 million to Doctors Without Borders for emergency medical assistance to help victims of the Haiti earthquake.

Pitt is a supporter of same-sex marriage. In an October 2006 interview with ''Esquire'', Pitt said that he would marry Jolie when everyone in America is legally able to marry. He reaffirmed his stance to ''Parade'' in August 2009, and again to ''People'' in July 2011. In September 2008, he donated $100,000 to the campaign against California's 2008 ballot proposition Proposition 8, an initiative to overturn the state Supreme Court decision that had legalized same-sex marriage. Pitt stated his reasons for the stance: "Because no one has the right to deny another their life, even though they disagree with it, because everyone has the right to live the life they so desire if it doesn't harm another and because discrimination has no place in America, my vote will be for equality and against Proposition 8." In March 2012, Pitt was featured in a performance of Dustin Lance Black's play, '''8''' — a staged reenactment of the federal trial that overturned California's Prop 8 ban on same-sex marriage — as Judge Vaughn Walker. The production was held at the Wilshire Ebell Theatre and broadcast on YouTube to raise money for the American Foundation for Equal Rights, a non-profit organization funding the plaintiffs' legal team and sponsoring the play.

In the media[link]

Pitt's sex appeal has been picked up by many sources including ''Empire'', who named him one of the 25 sexiest stars in film history in 1995. The same year, Pitt won ''People'''s Sexiest Man Alive, an accolade he won again in 2000. Pitt appeared on ''Forbes'''s annual Celebrity 100 list of the 100 most powerful celebrities in 2006, 2007, and 2008, at No. 20, No. 5, and No. 10 respectively. In 2007 he was listed among the Time 100, a compilation of the 100 most influential people in the world, as selected annually by ''TIME''. The magazine credited Pitt with using "his star power to get people to look [to where] cameras don't usually catch". Pitt was again included in the Time 100 in 2009, this time in the Builders and Titans list.

Starting in 2005, Pitt's relationship with Angelina Jolie became one of the most reported celebrity stories worldwide. After confirming that Jolie was pregnant in early 2006, the unprecedented media hype surrounding the couple reached what Reuters, in a story titled "The Brangelina fever," called "the point of insanity". To avoid media attention the couple flew to Namibia for the birth of their daughter Shiloh, "the most anticipated baby since Jesus Christ." Similarly intense media interest greeted the announcement two years later of Jolie's second pregnancy; for the two weeks Jolie spent in a seaside hospital in Nice, reporters and photographers camped outside on the promenade to report on the birth.

In a 2006 global industry survey by ACNielsen in 42 international markets, Pitt, together with Jolie, was found to be the favorite celebrity endorser for brands and products worldwide. Pitt has appeared in several television commercials. For the U.S. market, he starred in a Heineken commercial aired during the 2005 Super Bowl; it was directed by David Fincher, who had directed Pitt in ''Seven'', ''Fight Club'' and ''The Curious Case of Benjamin Button''. Other commercial appearances came in television spots designed for Asian markets, advertising such products as the Acura Integra, in which he was featured opposite Russian model Tatiana Sorokko, as well as SoftBank and Edwin Jeans.

Personal life[link]

Relationships[link]

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Pitt was involved in successive relationships with several of his co-stars, including Robin Givens (''Head of the Class''), Jill Schoelen (''Cutting Class''), and Juliette Lewis (''Too Young to Die?'' and ''Kalifornia''), who, at the age of 16, was ten years his junior when they started dating. In addition, Pitt had a much-publicized romance and engagement to his ''Seven'' co-star Gwyneth Paltrow, whom he dated from 1994 to 1997.

Pitt met ''Friends'' actress Jennifer Aniston in 1998 and married her in a private wedding ceremony in Malibu on July 29, 2000. For years their marriage was considered a rare Hollywood success; however, in January 2005, Pitt and Aniston announced that they had decided formally to separate after seven years together. Two months later Aniston filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. Pitt and Aniston's divorce was finalized by the Los Angeles Superior Court on October 2, 2005, legally ending their marriage. Despite media reports that Pitt and Aniston have an acrimonious relationship, Pitt said in a February 2009 interview that he and Aniston "check in with each other", adding that they were both big parts of each others' lives.

During Pitt's divorce from Aniston, his involvement with his ''Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' co-star Angelina Jolie attracted vigorous media attention. While Pitt denied claims of adultery, he admitted that he "fell in love" with Jolie on the set. In April 2005, one month after Aniston filed for divorce, a set of paparazzi photographs emerged showing Pitt, Jolie and her son Maddox at a beach in Kenya; the pictures were construed in the press as evidence of a relationship between Pitt and Jolie. During the summer of 2005, the two were seen together with increasing frequency, and the entertainment media dubbed the couple "Brangelina". On January 11, 2006, Jolie confirmed to ''People'' that she was pregnant with Pitt's child, thereby publicly acknowledging their relationship for the first time. Pitt and Jolie announced their engagement in April 2012 after seven years together.

Children[link]

In July 2005, Pitt accompanied Jolie to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where she adopted her second child, six-month-old Zahara Marley, a decision which Jolie later stated she and Pitt had made together. Pitt's publicist announced in December 2005 that Pitt was seeking to legally adopt Jolie's two children, Zahara and Cambodia-born Maddox Chivan. On January 19, 2006, a California judge granted Jolie's request to change the children's surnames from "Jolie" to "Jolie-Pitt". The adoptions were finalized soon after.

Jolie gave birth to daughter Shiloh Nouvel in Swakopmund, Namibia, on May 27, 2006. Pitt confirmed that their newborn daughter would have a Namibian passport. The couple sold the first pictures of Shiloh through the distributor Getty Images; the North American rights were purchased by ''People'' for over $4.1 million, while ''Hello!'' obtained the British rights for approximately $3.5 million. The proceeds from the sale were donated to charities serving African children. Madame Tussauds in New York unveiled a wax figure of two-month-old Shiloh; it marked the first time an infant was recreated in wax by Madame Tussauds.

On March 15, 2007, Jolie adopted three-year-old Pax Thien from an orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Since Vietnam does not allow unmarried couples to adopt, Jolie adopted Pax as a single parent. In April 2007, Jolie filed a request to legally change her son's surname from "Jolie" to "Jolie-Pitt", which was approved on May 31, 2007. The rights for the first post-adoption images of Pax were sold to ''People'' for a reported $2 million, as well as to ''Hello!'' for an undisclosed amount. Pitt adopted Pax in the United States on February 21, 2008.

At the Cannes Film Festival in May 2008, Jolie confirmed that she was expecting twins. She gave birth to son Knox Léon and daughter Vivienne Marcheline on July 12, 2008 in Nice, France. The rights for the first images of Knox and Vivienne were jointly sold to ''People'' and ''Hello!'' for $14 million—the most expensive celebrity pictures ever taken. The couple donated the proceeds to the Jolie-Pitt Foundation.

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Not On Our Watch – Founded by: George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Jerry Weintraub

Category:1963 births Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:Actors from Oklahoma Category:American people of Cherokee descent Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:American people of Welsh descent Category:American agnostics Category:American film actors Category:American film producers Category:American television actors Category:American vegans Category:American voice actors Category:Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Former Baptists Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:Living people Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from Pottawatomie County, Oklahoma Category:University of Missouri alumni Category:Volpi Cup winners

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Name	Angelina Jolie
Birth name	Angelina Jolie Voight
Birth date	June 04, 1975
Birth place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Citizenship	United States, Cambodia, Sarajevo (honorary)
Occupation	Actress, director, writer, producer, humanitarian
Years active	1982; 1991–present
Spouse	Jonny Lee Miller (1996–1999)Billy Bob Thornton (2000–2003)
Partner	Brad Pitt (2005–present)
Children	6
Parents	Jon VoightMarcheline Bertrand
Relatives	James Haven (brother)Chip Taylor (uncle) }}

Angelina Jolie ( , born Angelina Jolie Voight; June 4, 1975) is an American actress and director. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by ''Forbes'' in 2009 and 2011. Jolie promotes humanitarian causes, and is noted for her work with refugees as a Special Envoy and former Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). She has been cited as the world's "most beautiful" woman, a title for which she has received substantial media attention.—and received further critical acclaim for her performances in the dramas ''A Mighty Heart'' (2007) and ''Changeling'' (2008), which earned her a nomination for an Academy Award for Best Actress. Jolie made her directorial debut with the wartime drama ''In the Land of Blood and Honey'' (2011).

Divorced from actors Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Bob Thornton, Jolie now lives with actor Brad Pitt, in a relationship notable for fervent media attention. Jolie and Pitt have three adopted children, Maddox, Pax, and Zahara, and three biological children, Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne.

Early life and family[link]

Born in Los Angeles, California, Jolie is the daughter of actors Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand. She is the sister of actor James Haven, niece of singer-songwriter Chip Taylor, and goddaughter of actors Jacqueline Bisset and Maximilian Schell. On her father's side, Jolie is of German and Slovak descent, and on her mother's side, she is of primarily French Canadian, Dutch, and German ancestry. Like her mother, Jolie has stated that she is part Iroquois; her only known Native ancestor was a Huron woman born in 1649.

After her parents' separation in 1976, Jolie and her brother lived with their mother, who abandoned her acting ambitions to focus on raising her children. As a child, Jolie regularly saw movies with her mother and later explained that this had inspired her interest in acting; she had not been influenced by her father. When she was six years old, her mother and stepfather, filmmaker Bill Day, moved the family to Palisades, New York; they returned to Los Angeles five years later. She then decided she wanted to act and enrolled at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, where she trained for two years and appeared in several stage productions.

At the age of 14, Jolie dropped out of her acting classes and aspired to become a funeral director. She began working as a fashion model, modeling mainly in Los Angeles, New York, and London. During this period, she wore black clothing, experimented with knife play, and went out moshing with her live-in boyfriend. Two years later, after the relationship had ended, she rented an apartment above a garage a few blocks from her mother's home.

Jolie suffered episodes of suicidal depression throughout her teens and early twenties. later commenting, "I collected knives and always had certain things around. For some reason, the ritual of having cut myself and feeling the pain, maybe feeling alive, feeling some kind of release, it was somehow therapeutic to me." She also began experimenting with drugs; by the age of 20, she had tried "just about every drug possible," including heroin.

Jolie has had a difficult relationship with her father. Due to Voight's marital infidelity and the resulting breakup of her parents' marriage, she was estranged from her father for many years. They reconciled and he appeared with her in ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' (2001), but their relationship again deteriorated. In August of that year, Voight claimed his daughter had "serious mental problems" on ''Access Hollywood''. In response, Jolie released a statement in which she indicated that she no longer wished to pursue a relationship with her father. She explained that because she had adopted her son Maddox, she did not think it was healthy for her to associate with Voight. In the wake of her beloved mother's death from ovarian cancer on January 27, 2007, Jolie again reconciled with her father after a six-year estrangement.

Career[link]

Early work: 1982; 1991–1997[link]

When she was seven years old, Jolie had a small part in ''Lookin' to Get Out'' (1982), a movie co-written by and starring her father, Jon Voight. She committed to acting at the age of 16, but initially found it difficult to pass auditions, often being told that she was "too dark." The movie failed to make a profit at the box office, but developed a cult following after its video release.

She next appeared in the 1996 comedy ''Love Is All There Is'', a modern-day loose adaptation of ''Romeo and Juliet'' set among two rival Italian family restaurant owners in The Bronx, New York. In the road movie ''Mojave Moon'' (1996) she played a young woman who falls for Danny Aiello's middle-aged character, while he develops feelings for her mother, played by Anne Archer. That same year, Jolie also portrayed Margret "Legs" Sadovsky, one of five teenage girls who form an unlikely bond in the film ''Foxfire'' after they beat up a teacher who has sexually harassed them. The ''Los Angeles Times'' wrote about her performance, "It took a lot of hogwash to develop this character, but Jolie, Jon Voight's knockout daughter, has the presence to overcome the stereotype. Though the story is narrated by Maddy, Legs is the subject and the catalyst."

In 1997, Jolie starred with David Duchovny in the thriller ''Playing God'', set in the Los Angeles underworld. The movie was not well-received by critics; Roger Ebert noted that "Angelina Jolie finds a certain warmth in a kind of role that is usually hard and aggressive; she seems too nice to be [a criminal's] girlfriend, and maybe she is." She then appeared in the television film ''True Women'' (1997), a historical romantic drama set in the American West and based on the book by Janice Woods Windle. That year, she also appeared as a stripper in the music video for "Anybody Seen My Baby?" by the Rolling Stones.

Breakthrough: 1998–2000[link]

Jolie's career prospects began to improve after she won a Golden Globe Award for her performance in TNT's ''George Wallace'' (1997). She portrayed Cornelia Wallace, the second wife of Alabama Governor George Wallace, played by Gary Sinise. The film was very well received by critics and won, among other awards, the Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film. Jolie also received an Emmy Award nomination for her performance.

In 1998, Jolie starred in HBO's ''Gia'', portraying supermodel Gia Carangi. The film chronicled the destruction of Carangi's life and career as a result of her addiction to heroin, and her decline and death from AIDS in the mid-1980s. Vanessa Vance from Reel.com noted, "Angelina Jolie gained wide recognition for her role as the titular Gia, and it's easy to see why. Jolie is fierce in her portrayal—filling the part with nerve, charm, and desperation—and her role in this film is quite possibly the most beautiful train wreck ever filmed." For the second consecutive year, Jolie won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Emmy Award. She also won her first Screen Actors Guild Award.

In accordance with Lee Strasberg's method acting, Jolie preferred to stay in character in between scenes during many of her early films, and as a result had gained a reputation for being difficult to deal with. While shooting ''Gia'', she told her then-husband Jonny Lee Miller that she would not be able to phone him: "I'd tell him: 'I'm alone; I'm dying; I'm gay; I'm not going to see you for weeks.'" After ''Gia'' wrapped in 1997, Jolie announced that she had given up acting for good, because she felt that she had "nothing else to give." She separated from Miller and moved to New York, where she enrolled at New York University to study filmmaking and attend writing classes; she later described it as "just good for me to collect myself." Encouraged by her Golden Globe Award win for ''George Wallace'' and the positive critical reception of ''Gia'', she resumed her career. Jolie won the Breakthrough Performance Award from the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.

In 1999, she starred in the comedy-drama ''Pushing Tin'', alongside John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, and Cate Blanchett. The film received a mixed reception from critics, and Jolie's character—Thornton's seductive wife—was particularly criticized. ''The Washington Post'' wrote, "Mary (Angelina Jolie) [is] a completely ludicrous writer's creation of a free-spirited woman who weeps over hibiscus plants that die, wears lots of turquoise rings and gets real lonely when Russell spends entire nights away from home." She then co-starred with Denzel Washington in ''The Bone Collector'' (1999), an adaptation of a crime novel by Jeffery Deaver. Jolie played a police officer haunted by her cop father's suicide, who reluctantly helps Washington track down a serial killer. The movie grossed $151 million worldwide, but was a critical failure. The ''Detroit Free Press'' concluded, "Jolie, while always delicious to look at, is simply and woefully miscast."

Jolie next took the supporting role of the sociopathic mental patient Lisa Rowe in ''Girl, Interrupted'' (1999), an adaptation of author Susanna Kaysen's memoir of the same name. While Winona Ryder played the main character in what was hoped to be a comeback for her, the film instead marked Jolie's final breakthrough in Hollywood. She won her third Golden Globe Award, her second Screen Actors Guild Award, and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. ''Variety'' noted, "Jolie is excellent as the flamboyant, irresponsible girl who turns out to be far more instrumental than the doctors in Susanna's rehabilitation."

In 2000, Jolie appeared in her first summer blockbuster, ''Gone In 60 Seconds'', in which she played Sarah "Sway" Wayland, the ex-girlfriend of car thief Nicolas Cage. The role was small, and ''The Washington Post'' criticized that "all she does in this movie is stand around, cooling down, modeling those fleshy, pulsating muscle-tubes that nest so provocatively around her teeth." She later explained that the film had been a welcome relief after the emotionally heavy role of Lisa Rowe. It became her highest grossing movie up until then, earning $237 million internationally.

International success: 2001–present[link]

Although highly regarded for her acting abilities, Jolie's films to date had often not appealed to a wide audience, but ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' (2001) made her an international superstar. An adaptation of the popular ''Tomb Raider'' videogame, Jolie was required to learn an English accent and undergo extensive martial arts training to play the title role of Lara Croft. She was generally praised for her physical performance, but the movie generated mostly negative reviews. ''Slant'' commented, "Angelina Jolie was born to play Lara Croft but [director] Simon West makes her journey into a game of Frogger." The movie was an international success nonetheless, earning $275 million worldwide, and launched her global reputation as a female action star.

Jolie then starred opposite Antonio Banderas as his mail-order bride in ''Original Sin'' (2001), a thriller based on the novel ''Waltz into Darkness'' by Cornell Woolrich. The film was a major critical failure, with ''The New York Times'' noting, "The story plunges more precipitously than Ms. Jolie's neckline." In 2002, she starred in ''Life or Something Like It'' as an ambitious television reporter who is told that she will die in a week. The film was poorly received by critics, though Jolie's performance received positive reviews. CNN's Paul Clinton wrote, "Jolie is excellent in her role. Despite some of the ludicrous plot points in the middle of the film, this Academy Award-winning actress is exceedingly believable in her journey towards self-discovery and the true meaning of fulfilling life."

Jolie reprised her role as Lara Croft in ''Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life'' (2003), which established her among Hollywood's highest-paid actresses. The sequel was not as lucrative as the original, earning $156 million at the international box office. She appeared in the music video for Korn's "Did My Time", which was used to promote the film. She next starred in ''Beyond Borders'' (2003), as a socialite who joins aid workers in Africa and Asia. The film reflected Jolie's real-life interest in promoting humanitarian relief, but it was critically and financially unsuccessful. The ''Los Angeles Times'' wrote, "Jolie, as she did in her Oscar-winning role in ''Girl, Interrupted'', can bring electricity and believability to roles that have a reality she can understand. She can also, witness the ''Lara Croft'' films, do acknowledged cartoons. But the limbo of a hybrid character, a badly written cardboard person in a fly-infested, blood-and-guts world, completely defeats her."

In 2004, Jolie starred alongside Ethan Hawke in the thriller ''Taking Lives''. She portrayed an FBI profiler summoned to help Montreal law enforcement hunt down a serial killer. The movie received mixed reviews and ''The Hollywood Reporter'' concluded, "Angelina Jolie plays a role that definitely feels like something she has already done, but she does add an unmistakable dash of excitement and glamour." She also provided the voice of the angelfish Lola in the DreamWorks animated movie ''Shark Tale'' (2004), and had a brief appearance in ''Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow'' (2004), a science fiction adventure film shot entirely with actors in front of a bluescreen. That same year, Jolie played Olympias in ''Alexander'', about the life of Alexander the Great. The film failed domestically, which director Oliver Stone attributed to disapproval of the depiction of Alexander's bisexuality, but it succeeded internationally, with revenue of $139 million outside the United States.

Jolie then starred opposite Brad Pitt in the 2005 action-comedy ''Mr. & Mrs. Smith'', which tells the story of a bored married couple, John and Jane Smith, who find out that they are both secret assassins. The film received mixed reviews, but was generally lauded for the chemistry between the two leads. The ''Star Tribune'' noted, "While the story feels haphazard, the movie gets by on gregarious charm, galloping energy and the stars' thermonuclear screen chemistry." The movie earned $478 million worldwide, making it the seventh-highest grossing film of 2005.

Jolie next appeared in Robert De Niro's ''The Good Shepherd'' (2006), a film about the early history of the CIA, as seen through the eyes of Edward Wilson, an officer based on James Jesus Angleton and played by Matt Damon. Jolie played the supporting role of Margaret "Clover" Russell, Wilson's neglected wife. According to the ''Chicago Tribune'', "Jolie ages convincingly throughout, and is blithely unconcerned with how her brittle character is coming off in terms of audience sympathy."

In 2007, Jolie made her directorial debut with the documentary ''A Place in Time'', which captures daily life in 27 locations around the world during a single week. The film was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival and was intended for distribution to high schools through the National Education Association. Jolie then starred as Mariane Pearl in the documentary-style drama ''A Mighty Heart'' (2007). Based on Pearl's memoir of the same name, the film chronicles the kidnapping and murder of her husband, ''The Wall Street Journal'' reporter Daniel Pearl, in Pakistan. ''The Hollywood Reporter'' described Jolie's performance as "well-measured and moving," played "with respect and a firm grasp on a difficult accent." Jolie was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance. She also played Grendel's mother in the animated epic ''Beowulf'' (2007), which was created through the motion capture technique.

Jolie co-starred alongside James McAvoy and Morgan Freeman in the 2008 action movie ''Wanted'', an adaptation of Mark Millar's graphic novel of the same name. The film received predominately favorable reviews and proved an international success, earning $342 million worldwide. She also provided the voice of Master Tigress in the DreamWorks animated movie ''Kung Fu Panda'' (2008). With revenue of $632 million internationally, it became the third-highest grossing film of 2008. That same year, Jolie took on the lead role in Clint Eastwood's drama ''Changeling''. Based in part on the Wineville Chicken Coop Murders, the film stars Jolie as Christine Collins, who is reunited with her kidnapped son in 1928 Los Angeles—only to realize the boy is an impostor. The ''Chicago Tribune'' noted, "Jolie really shines in the calm before the storm, the scenes [...] when one patronizing male authority figure after another belittles her at their peril." Jolie received nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and a BAFTA Award.

Jolie next starred in the 2010 thriller ''Salt'', her first film in two years. She starred alongside Liev Schreiber as CIA agent Evelyn Salt, who goes on the run after she is accused of being a KGB sleeper agent. Originally written as male, the character Salt underwent a gender change after a Colombia Pictures executive suggested Jolie for the role to director Phillip Noyce. The film was an international success with revenue of $294 million. It received mixed to positive reviews, with Jolie's performance earning praise; ''Empire'' remarked, "When it comes to selling incredible, crazy, death-defying antics, Jolie has few peers in the action business." She also starred opposite Johnny Depp in ''The Tourist'' (2010), which was a major critical failure. Peter Travers wrote, "Depp and Jolie hit career lows, producing the chemistry of high-fashion zombies." After a slow start at the domestic box office, the film went on to gross $278 million worldwide. Jolie received a controversial Golden Globe Award nomination, which was speculated to have been given merely to ensure her high-profile presence at the awards ceremony.

In 2011, Jolie reprised her voice role as Master Tigress in the animated DreamWorks sequel ''Kung Fu Panda 2''. It became the fourth-highest grossing film of 2011 and Jolie's highest grossing film to date, earning $666 million at the international box office. She also made her directorial feature debut with ''In the Land of Blood and Honey'' (2011), a love story between a Serb soldier and a Bosniak prisoner of war, set during the 1992–95 Bosnian War. Jolie, who had twice visited Bosnia-Herzegovina in her capacity as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, explained that she made the film to rekindle attention for the survivors of a war that took place in recent history. The film, which Jolie also scripted and co-produced, aroused both praise and criticism in the Balkans; the response from Bosniak war-victims advocacy organizations was "overwhelmingly positive," while a Serb war prisoners group decried the film for its alleged anti-Serb bias. Sarajevo's regional government named Jolie an honorary citizen of the capital for raising awareness of the war. ''In the Land of Blood and Honey'' won the Stanley Kramer Award from the Producers Guild of America, which honors films that highlight provocative social issues. It also received a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Jolie will play the Disney villain Maleficent in the upcoming film of the same name, where the character's background story will be revealed.

Humanitarian work[link]

Jolie stated that she first became personally aware of worldwide humanitarian crises while filming ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' (2001) in Cambodia. She contacted the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for information on international trouble spots. To learn more about the conditions in these areas, Jolie began visiting refugee camps around the world. In February 2001, she went on her first field visit, an 18-day mission to Sierra Leone and Tanzania; she later expressed her shock at what she had witnessed. In the following months, she returned to Cambodia for two weeks and met with Afghan refugees in Pakistan. She covered all costs related to her missions and shared the same rudimentary working and living conditions as UNHCR field staff on all of her visits. Jolie was named a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador at UNHCR headquarters in Geneva on August 27, 2001.

Since then, Jolie has been on field missions around the world and met with refugees and internally displaced persons in more than 30 countries. Asked what she hoped to accomplish, she stated, "Awareness of the plight of these people. I think they should be commended for what they have survived, not looked down upon." Jolie aims to visit what she terms "forgotten emergencies," crises that media attention has shifted away from. She is noted for not shying away from traveling to areas that are at war: she visited the Darfur region of Sudan during the Darfur conflict in 2004; Chad during its civil war in 2007; Iraq during the Second Gulf War in 2007 and 2009; Afghanistan during the ongoing war in 2008 and 2011; and Libya during the Libyan revolution in 2011.

After more than a decade of service as Goodwill Ambassador, Jolie was promoted to the rank of Special Envoy of High Commissioner António Guterres on April 17, 2012. As Special Envoy, she represents the UNHCR and High Commissioner António Guterres at the diplomatic level and works to facilitate long-term solutions for people displaced by large-scale crises, such as Afghanistan and Somalia. "This is an exceptional position reflecting an exceptional role she has played for us," said a UNHCR spokesman.

In addition to her work with the UNHCR, Jolie uses her public profile to promote humanitarian causes through the mass media. Her early field visits were chronicled in her book ''Notes from My Travels'', which was published in conjunction with the release of her film ''Beyond Borders'' (2003). She filmed a 2005 MTV special, ''The Diary of Angelina Jolie & Dr. Jeffrey Sachs in Africa'', portraying her and noted economist Dr. Jeffrey Sachs on a trip to a remote group of villages in Western Kenya. Jolie has also regularly released public service announcements promoting World Refugee Day and other causes.

Over time, Jolie became more involved in promoting humanitarian causes on a political level. She has regularly attended World Refugee Day in Washington, D.C., and she was an invited speaker at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2005 and 2006. She also began lobbying humanitarian interests in the U.S. capital, where she met with members of Congress at least 20 times between 2003 and 2006, during which she pushed for several bills to aid refugees and vulnerable children in the Third World and the United States. She explained in 2006, "As much as I would love to never have to visit Washington, that's the way to move the ball." In 2007, she became a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Jolie has established several charitable organizations. In 2003, she founded the Maddox Jolie-Pitt Foundation—named the Maddox Jolie Project until 2007—which is dedicated to community development and environmental conservation in Cambodia's northwestern province Battambang. In 2006, she partnered with the Global Health Committee to establish the Maddox Chivan Children's Center, a daycare facility for children afflicted and affected by HIV in the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. That same year, she and her partner Brad Pitt founded the Jolie-Pitt Foundation, to aid humanitarian causes worldwide. In 2007, Jolie and noted economist Dr. Gene Sperling founded the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict, which funds education programs for children affected by man-made or natural disasters. In 2008, she collaborated with the Microsoft Corporation to establish Kids in Need of Defense, a pro bono movement of law firms, corporate law departments, NGOs and volunteers committed to providing legal counsel to unaccompanied immigrant children in the U.S. In 2010, she established the Jolie Legal Fellows Programme, which recruits lawyers to support governmental child protection efforts in Haiti.

Jolie has received wide recognition for her humanitarian work. In 2002, she received the inaugural Humanitarian Award by the Church World Service's Immigration and Refugee Program. In 2003, she was the first recipient of the Citizen of the World Award by the United Nations Correspondents Association. In 2005, she was awarded the Global Humanitarian Award by the UNA-USA. On July 31, 2005, King Norodom Sihamoni awarded Jolie Cambodian citizenship for her conservation work in the country. In 2007, Jolie received the Freedom Award by the International Rescue Committee. In 2011, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres presented Jolie with a gold pin reserved for the most long-serving staff, in recognition of her decade as a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador.

Personal life[link]

Relationships[link]

Jolie had a serious boyfriend for two years from the age of 14. Her mother allowed them to live together in her home, of which Jolie later said, "I was either going to be reckless on the streets with my boyfriend or he was going to be with me in my bedroom with my mom in the next room. She made the choice, and because of it, I continued to go to school every morning and explored my first relationship in a safe way." She has compared the relationship to a marriage in its emotional intensity, and said that the breakup compelled her to dedicate herself to her acting career at the age of 16.

During filming of ''Hackers'' (1995), Jolie had a romance with British actor Jonny Lee Miller, her first lover since the relationship in her early teens. Jolie and Miller separated in September 1997 and divorced on February 3, 1999. They remained on good terms, and Jolie later explained, "It comes down to timing. I think he's the greatest husband a girl could ask for. I'll always love him, we were simply too young."

Jolie had a brief relationship with model-actress Jenny Shimizu on the set of ''Foxfire'' (1996). She later said, "I would probably have married Jenny if I hadn't married my husband. I fell in love with her the first second I saw her." Shimizu claimed in 2005 that her relationship with Jolie had lasted many years and continued even while Jolie was romantically involved with other people. In 2003, asked if she was bisexual, Jolie responded, "Of course. If I fell in love with a woman tomorrow, would I feel that it's okay to want to kiss and touch her? If I fell in love with her? Absolutely! Yes!"

After a two-month courtship, Jolie married actor Billy Bob Thornton on May 5, 2000, in Las Vegas. They met on the set of ''Pushing Tin'' (1999), but did not pursue a relationship at that time as Thornton was engaged to actress Laura Dern. As a result of their frequent public declarations of passion and gestures of love—most famously wearing one another's blood in vials around their necks—their marriage became a favorite topic of the entertainment media. Jolie and Thornton announced the adoption of a son from Cambodia in March 2002, but abruptly separated three months later. Their divorce was finalized on May 27, 2003. Asked about the sudden dissolution of their marriage, Jolie stated, "It took me by surprise, too, because overnight, we totally changed. I think one day we had just nothing in common. And it's scary but... I think it can happen when you get involved and you don't know yourself yet."

In early 2005, Jolie was involved in a well-publicized Hollywood scandal when she was accused of being the reason for the divorce of actors Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. She and Pitt were alleged to have started an affair during filming of ''Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' (2005). She denied this on several occasions, but later admitted that they "fell in love" on the set. She explained in 2005, "To be intimate with a married man, when my own father cheated on my mother, is not something I could forgive. I could not look at myself in the morning if I did that. I wouldn't be attracted to a man who would cheat on his wife." Pitt and Jolie announced their engagement in April 2012, after seven years together. The couple—dubbed "Brangelina" by the entertainment media—are the subject of worldwide media coverage.

Children[link]

On March 10, 2002, Jolie adopted her first child, seven-month-old Maddox Chivan, from an orphanage in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. He was born as Rath Vibol on August 5, 2001, in a local village. Jolie applied for adoption after she had visited Cambodia twice, while filming ''Lara Croft: Tomb Raider'' (2001) and on a UNHCR field mission. The adoption process was halted in December 2001 when the U.S. government banned adoptions from Cambodia amid allegations of child trafficking. Once the adoption was finalized, she took custody of Maddox in Namibia, where she was filming ''Beyond Borders'' (2003). Although Jolie and her then-husband Billy Bob Thornton announced the adoption together, she in fact adopted Maddox as a single parent.

Jolie adopted a daughter, six-month-old Zahara Marley, from an orphanage in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on July 6, 2005. Zahara was born as Yemsrach on January 8, 2005, in Awasa. At the time of the adoption, Zahara was wrongly believed to be an AIDS orphan and it was unknown whether she herself had contracted HIV, but she later tested negative. Shortly after they returned to the United States, Zahara was hospitalized for dehydration and malnutrition. In November 2007, media outlets reported that Zahara's biological mother wanted her daughter back, but she denied these reports, saying she thought Zahara was "very fortunate" to have been adopted by Jolie.

Jolie was accompanied by her partner Brad Pitt when she traveled to Ethiopia to take custody of Zahara. She later indicated that she and Pitt had made the decision to adopt from Ethiopia together. In December 2005, Pitt's publicist announced that Pitt was seeking to adopt Maddox and Zahara. To reflect this, Jolie filed a request to legally change her children's surnames from Jolie to Jolie-Pitt, which was granted on January 19, 2006. The adoptions were finalized soon after.

In an attempt to avoid the media frenzy surrounding their relationship, Jolie and Pitt went to Namibia for the birth of their first biological child. On May 27, 2006, Jolie gave birth to a daughter, Shiloh Nouvel, in Swakopmund. Pitt confirmed that their newborn daughter would have a Namibian passport. The couple decided to sell the first pictures of Shiloh through the distributor Getty Images themselves, rather than allowing paparazzi to make these valuable photographs. ''People'' paid a reported $4.1 million for the North American rights, while ''Hello!'' obtained the British rights for a reported $3.5 million. All profits were donated to charities serving African children.

On March 15, 2007, Jolie adopted a son, three-year-old Pax Thien, from an orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Jolie adopted Pax as a single parent, because Vietnam's adoption regulations do not allow unmarried couples to co-adopt. The rights for the first post-adoption images of Pax were sold to ''People'' for a reported $2 million, as well as to ''Hello!'' for an undisclosed amount. In April, Jolie filed a request to legally change her son's surname from Jolie to Jolie-Pitt, which was approved on May 31, 2007. Pitt's adoption of Pax was finalized in the United States on February 21, 2008.

At the Cannes Film Festival in May 2008, Jolie confirmed that she was expecting twins. For the two weeks she spent in a seaside hospital in Nice, France, reporters and photographers camped outside on the promenade. She gave birth to a son, Knox Léon, and a daughter, Vivienne Marcheline, on July 12, 2008. The rights for the first images of Knox and Vivienne were jointly sold to ''People'' and ''Hello!'' for a reported $14 million—the most expensive celebrity pictures ever taken. The proceeds were donated to the Jolie-Pitt Foundation.

In the media[link]

During the first decade of her career, Jolie—who does not employ a publicist or an agent—maintained a "wild child" persona in her communication with the media. She openly discussed her love life, including her bisexuality and her interest in BDSM. After she kissed her brother during the Academy Awards in 2000, their close relationship became the subject of tabloid media speculation, which she dismissed. She spoke about her experiences with drugs and depression, and recalled the time, in 1997, when she almost hired a hitman to kill her, as well as the three days, just before her marriage to Billy Bob Thornton, that she was sectioned at UCLA's psychiatric ward. ''Esquire'' in 2004, American ''FHM'' and British ''Harper's Bazaar'' in 2005, ''People'' and ''Hello!'' in 2006, ''Empire'' in 2007, and ''Vanity Fair'' in 2009. Jolie's extensive collection of tattoos has often been addressed by interviewers. She has fourteen known tattoos, among which the Latin proverb "quod me nutrit me destruit" (what nourishes me destroys me), the Tennessee Williams quote "A prayer for the wild at heart, kept in cages," two sak yant designs featuring a prayer of protection and a twelve-inch-by-eight-inch tiger, and six sets of geographical coordinates indicating the origins of her children. Over time, she has covered or lasered several of her tattoos, including the name of her second husband, "Billy Bob", and the Chinese characters "死" (death) and "勇" (courage).

Today, Jolie is one of the best-known celebrities around the world. According to the Q Score, in 2000, subsequent to her Oscar win, 31% of respondents in the United States said Jolie was familiar to them; by 2006 she was familiar to 81% of Americans. In a 2006 global industry survey by ACNielsen in 42 international markets, Jolie, together with her partner Brad Pitt, was found to be the favorite celebrity endorser for brands and products worldwide. She was the face of St. John and Shiseido from 2006 to 2008, and in 2011 had an endorsement deal with Louis Vuitton reportedly worth $10 million—a record for a single advertising campaign. She was among the ''Time'' 100, a list of the most influential people in the world as assembled by ''Time'', in 2006 and 2008. ''Forbes'' named her Hollywood's highest-paid actress in 2009 and 2011, with estimated annual earnings of $27 million and $30 million respectively, and she topped the magazine's Celebrity 100, a ranking of the world's most powerful celebrities, in 2009. ''People'' named her one of 2012 Most Beautiful at Every Age.

Filmography[link]

Bibliography[link]

''Notes from My Travels''. Pocket Books. 2003. ISBN 0-7434-7023-0.

"Justice for Darfur". ''The Washington Post''. February 28, 2007.

"A Year for Accountability". ''The Economist''. November 15, 2007.

"The 2009 TIME 100: Somaly Mam". ''Time''. April 30, 2009.

"The Case Against Omar al-Bashir". ''Time''. June 5, 2009.

"Justice Delayed Is Not Justice Denied". ''Newsweek''. December 10, 2009

References[link]

Further reading[link]

McFay, Edgar. ''Angelina Jolie: Angel in Disguise''. Icon Press, 2005. ISBN 1-894864-25-5.

Wolf, Naomi. "The Power of Angelina". ''Harper's Bazaar''. June 8, 2009.

External links[link]

UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador Angelina Jolie, official homepage at UNHCR.org

Journey Through Eastern Congo, multimedia journal narrated by Jolie

Interviews with Angelina Jolie by Charlie Rose

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name	Stephen Fry
birth name	Stephen John Fry
birth date	August 24, 1957
birth place	Hampstead, London, England
occupation	Actor, comedian, author, journalist, broadcaster, film director
nationality	British
years active	1981–present
partner	Daniel Cohen (1995–2010)
alma mater	Queens' College, Cambridge
parents	Alan John Fry Marianne Eve Fry (née Newman)
religion	None (atheist)
title	President of Mind (2011–present) Patron of the Lip Theatre Company Patron of the Norwich Playhouse theatre Vice President of the Noël Coward Society Honorary fellow of Queens' College, Cambridge Honorary fellow of Cardiff University Honorary president of the Cambridge University Quiz Society Rector of the University of Dundee (1992–1998)
influences	Oscar Wilde, P. G. Wodehouse, Evelyn Waugh, Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson, Douglas Adams, Rowan Atkinson, Christopher Hitchens
website
signature	Stephen Fry signature.svg

Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, screenwriter, author, playwright, journalist, poet, comedian, television presenter, film director, and a director of Norwich City Football Club.

After a troubled childhood and adolescence, during which he was expelled from a number of schools and eventually spent three months in prison for credit card fraud, he was able to secure a place at Queens' College, Cambridge, where he studied English Literature.

He first came to public attention in the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue presentation "The Cellar Tapes", which also included Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson and Tony Slattery. With Hugh Laurie, as the comedy double act Fry and Laurie, he co-wrote and co-starred in ''A Bit of Fry & Laurie'', and took the role of Jeeves (with Laurie playing Wooster) in ''Jeeves and Wooster''.

As an actor, Fry played the lead in the film ''Wilde'', was Melchett in the BBC television series ''Blackadder'', starred as the title character Peter Kingdom in the ITV series ''Kingdom'', has a recurring guest role as Dr. Gordon Wyatt on the Fox crime series ''Bones'' and appeared as rogue TV host Gordon Deitrich in the dystopian thriller ''V For Vendetta''. He has also written and presented several documentary series including the 2008 television series ''Stephen Fry in America'', which saw him travelling across all 50 US states. Since 2003 he has been the host of the quiz show ''QI''.

As well as his work in television, Fry has contributed columns and articles for newspapers and magazines, and has written four novels and two volumes of autobiography, ''Moab Is My Washpot'' and ''The Fry Chronicles''. He also appears frequently on BBC Radio 4, starring in the comedy series ''Absolute Power'', being a frequent guest on panel games such as ''Just a Minute'', and acting as chairman for ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'', where he was one of a trio of hosts who succeeded the late Humphrey Lyttelton. Fry is also known in the UK for his audiobook recordings, particularly as reader for all seven ''Harry Potter'' novels.

Early life[link]

Fry was born in Hampstead, London, on 24 August 1957, the son of Marianne Eve Fry (née Newman) and Alan John Fry, who was an English physicist and inventor. His maternal grandparents, Martin and Rosa Neumann, were Hungarian Jewish immigrants from Šurany, which is now in Slovakia. His mother's aunt and cousins died in Auschwitz. Fry grew up in the village of Booton near Reepham, Norfolk, having moved from Chesham, Buckinghamshire at an early age.

Fry briefly attended Cawston Primary School, Cawston, Norfolk before going on to Stouts Hill Preparatory School at the age of seven, and then to Uppingham School, Rutland, where he joined Fircroft house and was described as a "near-asthmatic genius". He was expelled from Uppingham when he was 15, and subsequently from the Paston School.

At 17, after leaving Norfolk College of Arts and Technology, Fry absconded with a credit card stolen from a family friend, was arrested in Swindon, and as a result spent three months in Pucklechurch Prison on remand.

Following his release he resumed his education at City College Norwich, promising administrators that he would study rigorously to sit the Cambridge entrance exams. He scored well enough to gain a scholarship to Queens' College, Cambridge. At Cambridge, Fry joined the Cambridge Footlights, appeared on ''University Challenge'', and gained a degree in English literature. It was at the Footlights that Fry met his future comedy collaborator Hugh Laurie.

Career[link]

Television[link]

Comedy[link]

Fry's career in television began with the 1982 broadcasting of ''The Cellar Tapes'', the 1981 Cambridge Footlights Revue which was written by Fry, Hugh Laurie, Emma Thompson and Tony Slattery. The revue caught the attention of Granada Television, who, keen to replicate the success of the BBC's ''Not the Nine O'Clock News'', hired Fry, Laurie and Thompson to star alongside Ben Elton in ''There's Nothing to Worry About!.'' A second series, re-titled ''Alfresco'', was broadcast in 1983 and a third in 1984; it established Fry and Laurie's reputation as a comedy double act. In 1983, the BBC offered them their own show, which became ''The Crystal Cube'', a mixture of science fiction and mockumentary that was axed after the first episode. Undeterred, Fry and Laurie appeared in an episode of ''The Young Ones'' in 1984, and Fry in Ben Elton's 1985 series, ''Happy Families''. In 1986 and 1987 Fry and Laurie also performed sketches on the LWT/Channel 4 show ''Saturday Live''.

Forgiving Fry and Laurie for ''The Crystal Cube'', the BBC commissioned a sketch show in 1986 that was to become ''A Bit of Fry & Laurie''. The programme ran for 26 episodes spanning four series between 1986 and 1995, and was very successful. During this time Fry starred in ''Blackadder II'' as Lord Melchett, made a guest appearance in ''Blackadder the Third'' as the Duke of Wellington, then returned to a starring role in ''Blackadder Goes Forth'' as General Melchett. In the 1988 television special Blackadder's Christmas Carol he played the roles of Lord Melchett and Lord Frondo.

Between 1990 and 1993, Fry starred as Jeeves (alongside Hugh Laurie's Bertie Wooster) in ''Jeeves and Wooster'', 23 hour-long adaptations of P.G. Wodehouse's novels and short stories.

Towards the end of 2003, Fry starred alongside John Bird in the television adaptation of ''Absolute Power'', previously a radio series on BBC Radio 4.

In 2010 Fry took part in a Christmas series of Short Films called 'Little Crackers'. Fry's short is based on a story from his childhood at school. He appeared as the Christian God in 2011's ''Holy Flying Circus''.

Drama[link]

Fry has appeared in a number of BBC adaptations of plays and books, including a 1992 adaptation of the Simon Gray play ''The Common Pursuit'' (Fry had previously appeared in the West End stage production); a 1998 Malcolm Bradbury adaptation of the Mark Tavener novel, ''In the Red'', with Fry taking the part of the Controller of BBC Radio 2; and in 2000 Fry took the role of Professor Bellgrove in the BBC serial ''Gormenghast'' which were adapted from the first two novels of Mervyn Peake's Gormenghast series. In 2011, Fry portrayed Professor Mildeye in the BBC adaption of Mary Norton's 1952 novel The Borrowers.

Fry narrates the English language version of the Spanish children's animated series ''Pocoyo''.

From 2007 to 2009, Fry played the lead role in (and was executive producer for) the legal drama ''Kingdom'', which ran for three series on ITV1. He has also taken up a recurring guest role as psychiatrist Dr. Gordon Wyatt in the popular American drama ''Bones''.

In 2010, having learned some Irish for the role, he filmed a cameo role in ''Ros na Rún'', an Irish language soap opera broadcast in Ireland, Scotland and the United States.

Documentaries and other factual programmes[link]

Fry made his first foray into documentary-making with the Emmy Award-winning ''The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive'' in 2006; also in 2006, he appeared in the genealogy series ''Who Do You Think You Are?'', tracing his maternal family tree to investigate his Jewish ancestry. Fry narrated ''The Story of Light Entertainment'', which was shown from July–September 2006. In 2007 he presented a documentary on the subject of HIV and AIDS, ''HIV and Me''.

On 7 May 2008, Fry gave a speech as part of a series of BBC lectures on the future of public service broadcasting in the United Kingdom, which he later recorded for a podcast.

His six-part travel series ''Stephen Fry in America'' began on BBC One in October 2008 and saw him travel to each of the 50 US states; in the same year he narrated the nature documentaries ''Spectacled Bears: Shadow of the Forest'' for the BBC ''Natural World'' series.

In the 2009 television series ''Last Chance to See'', Fry and zoologist Mark Carwardine sought out endangered species, some of which had been featured in Douglas Adams' and Carwardine's 1990 book and radio series of the same name Also in 2009, Fry briefly hosted CBBC series ''Horrible Histories'', an educational TV show for school children.

In August 2011 ''Stephen Fry's 100 Greatest Gadgets'' was shown on Channel 4 as one of the ''100 Greatest'' strand. His choice for the greatest gadget was the cigarette lighter which he described as "fire with a flick of the fingers".

In September 2011 ''Fry's Planet Word'', a five-part documentary about language, aired on BBC HD and BBC Two.

''QI''[link]

In 2003, Fry began hosting ''QI'' (Quite Interesting), a British comedy panel game television quiz show. ''QI'' was created and co-produced by John Lloyd, and features permanent panellist Alan Davies. ''QI'' has the highest viewing figures for any show on BBC Four and UKTV G2 (now Dave). In 2006, Fry won the Rose d'Or award for "Best Game Show Host" for his work on the series.

Film[link]

Having made his film debut in the 1985 film ''The Good Father'', Fry had a brief appearance in ''A Fish Called Wanda'' (in which he is knocked out by Kevin Kline, who is posing as an airport security man) and then appeared in the lead role for Kenneth Branagh's ''Peter's Friends'' in 1992. In the 1994 romantic comedy film ''I.Q.'', he played the role of James Moreland. Portraying Oscar Wilde (of whom he had been a fan since the age of 13) in the 1997 film ''Wilde'', he fulfilled to critical acclaim a role that he has said he was "born to play". It also earned him a nomination for Best Actor – Drama in the 1998 Golden Globe Award. A year later, Fry starred in David Yates' small independent film ''The Tichborne Claimant'', and in 2001 he played the detective in Robert Altman's period costume drama, ''Gosford Park''. In the same year he also appeared in the Dutch film ''The Discovery of Heaven'', directed by Jeroen Krabbé and based on the novel by Harry Mulisch.

In 2003, Fry made his directorial debut with ''Bright Young Things'', adapted by himself from Evelyn Waugh's ''Vile Bodies''. In 2001, he began hosting the BAFTA Film Awards, a role from which he stepped down in 2006. Later that same year, he wrote the English libretto and dialogue for Kenneth Branagh's film adaptation of ''The Magic Flute''.

Fry continues to make regular film appearances, notably in treatments of literary cult classics. He portrayed Maurice Woodruff in ''The Life and Death of Peter Sellers'', served as narrator in the 2005 film version of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'', and in 2005 he appeared in both ''A Cock and Bull Story'', based on ''Tristram Shandy'', and as a non-conforming TV Presenter who challenges the fascist state in ''V for Vendetta''. In 2006, he played the role of gadget-master Smithers in ''Stormbreaker'', and in 2007 he appeared as himself hosting a quiz in ''St Trinian's''. In 2007, Fry wrote a script for a remake of ''The Dam Busters'' for director Peter Jackson.

Fry was offered a role in ''Valkyrie'' but was unable to participate. Fry starred in the Tim Burton version of ''Alice in Wonderland'', as the voice of The Cheshire Cat. He played Mycroft Holmes in the sequel to ''Sherlock Holmes'' directed by Guy Ritchie. In 2010, Fry provided the voice of Socrates the Lion in the environmental animated film ''Animals United''. He will portray the Master of Lake-town in the 2012 film adaptation of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Hobbit.''

Feature filmography[link]

1985: ''The Good Father'' – Creighton

1988: ''A Fish Called Wanda'' – Hutchison

1992: ''Peter's Friends'' – Peter

1994: ''I.Q.'' – James Moreland

1997: ''Wilde'' – Oscar Wilde

1998: ''The Tichborne Claimant'' – Hawkins

1999: ''Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?'' – Dr.Peter Robinson

2001: ''Gosford Park'' – Inspector Thompson

2001: ''The Discovery of Heaven'' – Onno

2002: ''Thunderpants'' – Sir Antony Silk (Judge)

2003: ''Bright Young Things'' – Director

2004: ''The Life and Death of Peter Sellers'' – Maurice Woodruff

2005: ''V for Vendetta'' – Deitrich

2005: ''The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy'' – The Narrator (Voice)

2006: ''The Magic Flute'' – Writer

2006: ''Stormbreaker'' – Smithers

2007: ''St. Trinian's'' – Himself

2007: ''Eichmann'' – Minister Tormer

2009: ''House of Boys'' – Dr Marsh

2010: ''Alice in Wonderland'' – Cheshire Cat (Voice)

2010: ''Animals United'' – Socrates the Lion (Voice)

2011: ''Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows'' – Mycroft Holmes

2012: ''The Hobbit: There and Back Again'' – Master of Lake-town

Radio[link]

Fry came to the attention of radio listeners with the 1986 creation of his alter-ego, Donald Trefusis, whose "wireless essays" were broadcast on the BBC Radio 4 programme ''Loose Ends''. In the 1980s he starred as David Lander in four series of the BBC Radio 4 show ''Delve Special'', written by Tony Sarchet, which became the six part Channel 4 series ''This is David Lander'' in 1988. In 1988, Fry wrote and presented a six-part comedy series entitled ''Saturday Night Fry''; frequent radio appearances have ensued (notably on panel games ''Just a Minute'' and ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue''). In 2000, he began starring as Charles Prentiss in the Radio 4 comedy ''Absolute Power'', reprising the role for three further series on radio and two on television. In 2002, Fry voiced Winnie-the-Pooh and was one of the narrators of A.A. Milne's ''Winnie-the-Pooh'' and ''The House at Pooh Corner''. He presented a 20-part, two-hour series, ''The Incomplete and Utter History of Classical Music'', a "witty guide" to the genre over the past 1,000 years, on Classic FM.

In 2007, he hosted ''Current Puns'', an exploration of wordplay, and ''Radio 4: This Is Your Life'', to celebrate the radio station's 40th anniversary. He also interviewed Tony Blair as part of a series of podcasts released by 10 Downing Street.

In February 2008, Fry began presenting podcasts entitled ''Stephen Fry's Podgrams'', in which he recounts his life and recent experiences. In July 2008, he appeared as himself in ''I Love Stephen Fry'', an ''Afternoon Play'' for Radio 4 written by former ''Fry and Laurie'' script editor Jon Canter.

Since August 2008 he has presented ''Fry's English Delight'', a series on BBC Radio 4 about the English language. As of 2011, it has been running for four series and 15 episodes.

In the summer 2009 series of ''I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue'', Fry was one of a trio of hosts replacing Humphrey Lyttelton (the others being Jack Dee and Rob Brydon).

In 2012 he appeared as a guest panellist in the BBC Radio 4 comedy panel show ''Wordaholics''.

Theatre[link]

Fry wrote the play ''Latin! or Tobacco and Boys'' for the 1980 Edinburgh Festival, where it won the Fringe First prize. It had a revival in 2009 at London's Cock Tavern Theatre, directed by Adam Spreadbury-Maher. ''The Cellar Tapes'', the Footlights Revue of 1981, won the Perrier Comedy Award. In 1984, Fry adapted the hugely successful 1930s musical ''Me and My Girl'' for the West End, where it ran for eight years. He was also cast in a lead role in Simon Gray's 1995 play, ''Cell Mates'', which he left three days into the West End run, pleading stage fright. He later recalled the incident as a hypomanic episode in his documentary about bipolar disorder, The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive. In 2007, Fry wrote a Christmas pantomime, ''Cinderella'', which ran at London's Old Vic Theatre.

Fry is a long-standing fan of the anarchic 1960s British musical comedy group, the ''Bonzo Dog Band'' and, particularly, of its eccentric front man, the late Vivian Stanshall. Fry helped to fund an ill-fated 1988 London re-staging of Stanshall's acclaimed ''Stinkfoot, a Comic Opera'', written by Vivian and Ki Longfellow-Stanshall for the Bristol-based Old Profanity Showboat. Fry performed several of Stanshall's numbers as part of the Bonzos' 2006 reunion concert at the London Astoria. He also appears as a shiny New Millennium Bonzo on their post-reunion album, ''Pour l'Amour des Chiens'', on which he recites a recipe for "Salmon Proust", plays a butler in "Hawkeye the Gnu", and voices ads for the fictitious "Fiasco" stores.

Following three one-man shows in Australia, Fry announced a "sort of stand-up" performance at The Royal Albert Hall in London for September 2010.

Audio books[link]

Stephen Fry has been the reader for the British versions of all of J.K.Rowling's ''Harry Potter'' series of audio books. He discussed this project in an interview with J.K. Rowling in 2005. Fry has also been the reader for Douglas Adams's ''The Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy'' film tie-in edition. He has also made recordings of his own books, such as ''The Stars' Tennis Balls'' and ''Moab Is My Washpot''; and works by Roald Dahl, Michael Bond, A. A. Milne, and Anthony Buckeridge.

Video games[link]

Fry's distinctive voice has been featured in a number of video games, including an appearance as Reaver, a primary antagonist in Lionhead Studios games ''Fable II'' and ''Fable III'', and as the narrator in ''LittleBigPlanet'' and its sequel on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable. He also served as narrator on the first four ''Harry Potter'' games (''Philosopher's Stone'', ''Chamber of Secrets'', ''Prisoner of Azkaban'' and the ''Goblet of Fire'').

Advertisements[link]

Fry has lent himself and his voice to many advertisements, starting with an appearance as "Count Ivan Skavinsky Skavar" in a 1982 advert for Whitbread Best Bitter. Fry has said in his memoirs that after receiving his payment for this work – £25,000 – he has never subsequently experienced "what one could call serious money troubles". He has since appeared in adverts for products and companies such as Marks and Spencer, Twinings, Kenco, Vauxhall, Honda, Direct Line, Calpol, Heineken, Alliance & Leicester, After Eights, Trebor, Panama cigars and Orange Mobile.

Literature[link]

Since the publication of his first novel, ''The Liar'' (1991), Fry has written three further novels, several non-fiction works and two volumes of autobiography. ''Making History'' (1997) is partly set in an alternative universe where Adolf Hitler's father is made infertile and his replacement proves a rather more effective Führer. The book won the Sidewise Award for Alternate History. ''The Hippopotamus'' (1994) is about Edward (Ted/Tedward) Wallace and his stay at his old friend Lord Logan's country manor in Norfolk. ''The Stars' Tennis Balls'' (2000) is a modern retelling of ''The Count of Monte Cristo''. Fry's book, ''The Ode Less Travelled: Unlocking the Poet Within'', is a guide to writing poetry.

When writing a book review for ''Tatler'', Fry wrote under a ''nom de plume'', Williver Hendry, editor of ''A Most Peculiar Friendship: The Correspondence of Lord Alfred Douglas and Jack Dempsey'', a field close to Fry's heart as an Oscar Wilde enthusiast. Once a columnist in ''The Listener'' and ''The Daily Telegraph'', he now writes a weekly technology column in the Saturday edition of ''The Guardian''. His blog attracted more than 300,000 visitors in its first two weeks.

In May 2009, Fry unveiled ''The Dongle of Donald Trefusis'', an audiobook series following Donald Trefusis (a fictional character from Fry's novel ''The Liar'' and from the BBC Radio 4 series ''Loose Ends''), set over 12 episodes. After its release, it reached No. 1 on the UK Album Chart list.

Fry's use of the word "luvvie" (spelled "lovie" by Fry) in ''The Guardian'' on 2 April 1988 is given by the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' as the earliest recorded use of the word as a humorous synonym for "actor".

Football[link]

In August 2010, Fry joined the Board of Directors at Norwich City Football Club. A lifelong fan of "the Canaries" and a regular visitor to Carrow Road, he said on being appointed "Truly this is one of the most exciting days of my life and I am as proud and pleased as I could be."

Twitter[link]

In October 2008, Fry began posting to the social networking site Twitter, which he regularly updates. On 16 May 2009, he celebrated the 500,000-follower mark: "Bless my soul 500k followers. And I love you all. Well, all except that silly one. And that's not you."

Fry wields a considerable amount of influence through his use of Twitter. He is frequently asked to promote various charities and causes, often inadvertently causing their websites to crash because of the volume of traffic generated by his large number of followers; as Fry notes on his website: "Four thousand hits a second all diving down the pipeline at the same time for minutes on end." Fry uses his influence to recommend underexposed musicians and authors (who often see large increases in web hits and sales) and to raise awareness of contemporary issues in the world of media and politics, notably the dropping of an injunction against ''The Guardian'' and the lambasting of ''Daily Mail'' columnist Jan Moir over her article on the death of Boyzone member Stephen Gately.

In October 2009 Fry again sparked debate amongst users when he announced his intention to leave the social networking site after criticism from another user on Twitter. He retracted the intention the next day. In October 2010, Fry left Twitter for a few days following press criticism of a quote taken from an interview he had given, with a farewell message of "Bye bye". After returning, Fry explained that he had left Twitter to "avoid being sympathised with or told about an article I would otherwise never have got wind of". In some quarters the general methods Fry uses on Twitter have been criticised.

In November 2009 Fry's Twitter account reached one million followers. He commemorated the million followers milestone with a humorous video blog in which a 'Step Hen Fry' clone speaks from the year 2034 where MySpace, Facebook and Twitter have combined to form 'Twit on MyFace'. In November 2010 Fry welcomed his two millionth follower with a blog entry detailing his opinions and experiences of Twitter. On 11 March 2012, Fry noted his passing of the four million follower mark with a tweet: "Lordy I've breasted the 4 million followers tape. Love you all. Yes even YOU. But let's dedicate today to Douglas Adams's diamond jubilee"

Acclaim[link]

In 1995, Fry was presented with an honorary doctorate from the University of Dundee, which named their main Students' Association bar after his novel ''The Liar''. Fry is a patron of its Lip Theatre Company. He also served two consecutive terms – 1992 to 1995 and 1995 to 1998 – as the student-elected Rector of the University of Dundee. Such was his popularity, he was unopposed when he sought re-election to office in 1995, and by the time he completed his second term in office he had won the widespread admiration of the University's staff and students. He was awarded the AoC Gold Award in 2004, and was entered into their hall of fame. Fry was also awarded an honorary degree from Anglia Ruskin University in 2005. He was made honorary president of the Cambridge University Quiz Society and honorary fellow of his ''alma mater'' Queens' College, Cambridge. On 13 July 2010, he was made an honorary fellow of Cardiff University and on 28 January 2011 he was awarded an honorary doctorate at the University of Sussex for his work campaigning for people suffering from mental health problems, bipolar disorder and HIV.

He is a Patron of the Norwich Playhouse theatre and a Vice President of The Noël Coward Society. Fry was the last person to be named Pipe Smoker of the Year before the award was discontinued.

In December 2006 he was ranked sixth for the BBC's Top Living Icon Award, was featured on ''The Culture Show'', and was voted ''Most Intelligent Man on Television'' by readers of ''Radio Times''. The ''Independent on Sunday'' Pink List named Fry the second most influential gay person in Britain in May 2007; he had taken the twenty-third position on the list the previous year. Later the same month he was announced as the 2007 ''Mind Champion of the Year'' in recognition of the success of his documentary ''The Secret Life of a Manic Depressive'' in raising awareness of bipolar disorder. Fry was also nominated in "Best Entertainment Performance" for ''QI'' and "Best Factual Series" for ''Secret Life of the Manic Depressive'' at the 2007 British Academy Television Awards. That same year, ''Broadcast'' magazine listed Fry at number four in its "Hot 100" list of influential on-screen performers, describing him as a polymath and a "national treasure". He was also granted a lifetime achievement award at the British Comedy Awards on 5 December 2007 and the Special Recognition Award at the National Television Awards on 20 January 2010.

BBC Four dedicated two nights of programming to Fry on 17 and 18 August 2007, in celebration of his 50th birthday. The first night, comprising programs featuring Fry, began with a sixty-minute documentary entitled ''Stephen Fry: 50 Not Out''. The second night was composed of programs selected by Fry, as well as a 60-minute interview with Mark Lawson and a half-hour special, ''Stephen Fry: Guilty''. The weekend programming proved such a ratings hit for BBC Four that it was repeated on BBC Two on 16 and 17 September 2007.

In 2011, he was the subject of Molly Lewis's song ''An Open Letter to Stephen Fry'', in which the singer jokingly offers herself as a surrogate mother for his child. In February 2011, Fry was awarded the Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism by the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard University, the Harvard Secular Society and the American Humanist Association.

Views on religion[link]

Fry has repeatedly expressed opposition to organised religion and has identified himself as an atheist and humanist, while declaring some sympathy for the ancient Greek belief in capricious gods. In his first autobiography he wrote, "I knew I couldn't believe in God, because I was fundamentally Hellenic in my outlook." He has accepted that religion can have positive effects, "Sometimes belief means credulity, sometimes an expression of faith and hope which even the most sceptical atheist such as myself cannot but find inspiring."

In 2009, ''The Guardian'' published a letter from Fry addressing his younger self, explaining how his future is soon to unfold, reflecting on the positive progression towards gay acceptance and openness around him, and yet not everywhere, while warning on how "the cruel, hypocritical and loveless hand of religion and absolutism has fallen on the world once more". Later that year, he and Christopher Hitchens participated in an "Intelligence Squared" debate in which they argued against Ann Widdecombe and Archbishop John Onaiyekan, who supported the view that the Catholic Church was a force for good. Fry and Hitchens argued that the church did more harm than good. Fry attacked the Catholic Church's teachings on sexuality and denounced its wealth.

In 2010 he was made a Distinguished Supporter of the British Humanist Association, stating: "it is essential to nail one’s colours to the mast as a humanist." Later that year, Fry, along with 54 other public figures, signed an open letter published in ''The Guardian'', stating their opposition to Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United Kingdom being a state visit.

On 22 February 2011, Fry was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award in Cultural Humanism by the Humanist Chaplaincy at Harvard University, joining a list of previous honorees including novelist Salman Rushdie, screenwriter Joss Whedon, and Mythbusters Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman.

Personal life[link]

Fry struggled to keep his homosexuality secret during his teenage years at public school, and has claimed not to have engaged in sexual activity for 16 years from 1979 until 1995. When asked when he first acknowledged his sexuality, Fry quipped: "I suppose it all began when I came out of the womb. I looked back up at my mother and thought to myself, 'That's the last time I'm going up one of those.'" Fry was in a 14-year relationship with Daniel Cohen, which ended in 2010. Fry has stated that he is 90% homosexual, but has been attracted to women on occasion.

Fry has a home in London and another in Hollywood. He also has a home near King's Lynn, Norfolk. When in London, Fry drives a dark green TX4 London cab.

Fry was an active supporter of the Labour Party for many years, and appeared in a party political broadcast on its behalf with Hugh Laurie and Michelle Collins in November 1993. Despite this, he did not vote in the 2005 General Election because of the stance of both the Labour and Conservative parties with regard to the Iraq War. Despite his praise of the Blair/Brown government's work on social reform, Fry has been critical of the Labour Party's "Third Way" concept. Fry appeared in literature to support changing the British electoral system from first-past-the-post to alternative vote for electing Members of Parliament to the House of Commons in the Alternative Vote referendum in 2011.

He is on cordial terms with Prince Charles (despite a mild parody Fry performed in his role of King Charles I in the comedy programme ''Blackadder: The Cavalier Years''), through his work with the Prince's Trust. He attended the Prince of Wales' and Camilla Parker Bowles' wedding in 2005.

Fry is a friend of British comedian and actor (and ''Blackadder'' co-star) Rowan Atkinson and was best man at Atkinson's wedding to Sunetra Sastry at the Russian Tea Room in New York City. Fry was a friend of British actor John Mills.

His best friend is Hugh Laurie, whom he met while both were at Cambridge and with whom he has collaborated many times over the years. He was best man at Laurie's wedding and is godfather to all three of his children.

A fan of cricket, Fry has claimed to be related to former England cricketer C.B. Fry, and was interviewed for the ''Ashes Fever'' DVD, reporting on England's victory over Australia in the 2005 Ashes series. Regarding football, he is a supporter of Norwich City, and is a regular visitor to Carrow Road.

He has been described as "deeply dippy for all things digital", claims to have bought the third Macintosh computer sold in the UK (his friend Douglas Adams bought the first two) and jokes that he has never encountered a smartphone that he has not bought. He counts Wikipedia among his favourite websites "because I like to find out that I died, and that I'm currently in a ballet in China, and all the other very accurate and important things that Wikipedia brings us all."

Fry has a long-standing interest in Internet production, including having his own website since 1997. His current site, ''The New Adventures of Mr Stephen Fry'', has existed since 2002 and has attracted many visitors following his first blog in September 2007, which comprised a 6,500 word "blessay" on smartphones. In February 2008, Fry launched his private podcast series, ''Stephen Fry's Podgrams'', and a forum, including discussions on depression and activities in which Fry is involved. The website content is created by Stephen Fry and produced by Andrew Sampson. Fry is also a supporter of GNU and the Free Software Foundation. For the 25th anniversary of the GNU operating system, Fry appeared in a video explaining some of the philosophy behind GNU by likening it to the sharing found in science.

On 30 April 2008, Fry signed an open letter, published in ''The Guardian'' newspaper by some well known Jewish personalities, stating their opposition to celebrating the 60th anniversary of the founding of the State of Israel. Furthermore, he is a signatory member of the British Jews for Justice for Palestinians organisation, which campaigns for Palestinian rights.

Fry was among over 100 signatories to a statement published by Sense About Science on 4 June 2009, condemning British libel laws and their use to "severely curtail the right to free speech on a matter of public interest."

Poland controversy[link]

On 6 October 2009, Fry was interviewed by Jon Snow on ''Channel 4 News'' as a signatory of a letter to British Conservative Party leader David Cameron expressing concern about the party's relationship with Poland's opposition national conservative Law and Justice party in the European Parliament. During the interview, he stated: The remark prompted a complaint from the Polish Embassy in London, an editorial in ''The Economist'' and criticism from British Jewish historian David Cesarani. Fry has since posted an apology in a six-page post on his personal blog, in which he stated:{{bquote|I offer no excuse. I seemed to imply that the Polish people had been responsible for the most infamous of all the death factories of the Third Reich. I didn't even really at the time notice the import of what I had said, so gave myself no opportunity instantly to retract the statement. It was a rubbishy, cheap and offensive remark that I have been regretting ever since.

I take this opportunity to apologise now. I said a stupid, thoughtless and fatuous thing. It detracted from and devalued my argument, such as it was, and it outraged and offended a large group of people for no very good reason. I am sorry in all directions, and all the more sorry because it is no one's fault but my own, which always makes it so much worse.}}

Health[link]

Fry has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder, specifically stating he suffers from Cyclothymia, referring to it as "bipolar lite". He suffered a nervous breakdown in 1995 while appearing in a West End play called ''Cell Mates'' and subsequently walked out of the production, prompting its early closure and incurring the displeasure of co-star Rik Mayall and playwright Simon Gray. Mayall's comedy partner, Adrian Edmondson, made light of the subject in his and Mayall's second ''Bottom'' live show. After walking out of the production, Fry went missing for several days while contemplating suicide. He abandoned the idea and left the United Kingdom by ferry, eventually resurfacing in Belgium.

Fry has spoken publicly about his experience with bipolar disorder, which was also depicted in the documentary ''Stephen Fry: The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive''. In the programme, he interviewed other sufferers of the illness including Carrie Fisher, Richard Dreyfuss and Tony Slattery. Also featured were chef Rick Stein, whose father committed suicide, Robbie Williams, who talks of his experience with major depression, and comedienne and former mental health nurse Jo Brand. He is also involved with the mental health charity Stand to Reason.

In 2009, Fry lent his support to a campaign led by the human rights organisation Reprieve to prevent the execution of heroin trafficker Akmal Shaikh, a British citizen originally from Pakistan. Some of Shaikh's supporters have said he suffered from undiagnosed bipolar disorder. Despite calls for clemency, Shaikh was executed in the People's Republic of China for drug trafficking.

In January 2008, he broke his arm while filming ''Last Chance to See'' in Brazil. He later explained in a podcast how the accident happened: while climbing aboard a boat, he slipped between it and the dock, and, while stopping himself from falling into the water, his body weight caused his right humerus to snap. The damage was more severe than first thought: the resulting vulnerability to his radial nerve – he was at risk of losing the use of his arm – was not diagnosed until he saw a consultant in the UK.

As the host of ''QI'', Fry has stated that he is allergic to both champagne and bumble bee stings.

Appearing on ''Top Gear'' in 2009, Fry had lost a significant amount of weight, prompting host Jeremy Clarkson to ask jokingly, "Where's the rest of you?" Fry explained that he had shed a total of , attributing the weight loss to doing a lot of walking while listening to downloaded Audiobooks.

Fry is between and in height.

Business[link]

In 2008, Fry formed SamFry Ltd, with long-term collaborator Andrew Sampson, to produce and fund new material, as well as manage his official website.

Bibliography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Five Minutes With: Stephen Fry, interview with Matthew Stadlen for the BBC

Category:1957 births Category:Living people Category:Alternate history writers Category:Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge Category:Honorary Fellows of Queens' College, Cambridge Category:Atheism activists Category:Audio book narrators Category:British actors of Hungarian descent Category:British people of Hungarian descent Category:English male comedians Category:Controversies in Poland Category:English atheists Category:English comedians Category:English comedy writers Category:English film actors Category:English film directors Category:English game show hosts Category:English humanists Category:English Jews Category:English novelists Category:English people of Hungarian descent Category:English podcasters Category:English radio writers Category:English television actors Category:English television writers Category:Gay actors Category:Gay writers Category:Jewish actors Category:Jewish atheists Category:Jewish comedians Category:British Jewish writers Category:Kentucky colonels Category:LGBT directors Category:LGBT Jews Category:LGBT screenwriters Category:LGBT writers from England

Category:People educated at Uppingham School Category:Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from Hampstead Category:People with bipolar disorder Category:QI Category:Rectors of the University of Dundee Category:Sidewise Award winning authors Category:University Challenge contestants Category:People educated at Paston College Category:LGBT comedians Category:BBC television presenters Category:BBC radio presenters Category:LGBT broadcasters

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name	Kristen Stewart
birth name	Kristen Jaymes Stewart
birth date	April 09, 1990
birth place	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
occupation	Actress
yearsactive	1999–present
website	kristenstewart.com
signature	Kristen Stewart signature.svg90px }}

Kristen Jaymes Stewart (born April 9, 1990) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Bella Swan in ''The Twilight Saga''. She has starred in other films, including ''Panic Room'' (2002), ''Zathura'' (2005), ''In the Land of Women'' (2007), ''The Messengers'' (2007), ''Adventureland'' (2009), ''The Runaways'' (2010), and ''Snow White and the Huntsman''. She will star in upcoming films in 2012: ''On the Road'' and ''The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2''.

Early life[link]

Stewart was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Her father, John Stewart, is a stage manager and television producer who has worked for Fox. Her mother, Jules Mann-Stewart, is a script supervisor originally from Maroochydore, Queensland, Australia. She has an older brother, Cameron Stewart, and an adopted brother, Taylor. Stewart attended school until the seventh grade and then continued her education by correspondence. She has since completed high school.

Career[link]

Early work[link]

Her whole family all worked behind the camera and Stewart thought she would become a writer/director, but never considered being an actor. "I never wanted to be the center of attention – I wasn't that 'I want to be famous, I want to be an actor' kid. I never sought out acting, but I always practiced my autograph because I love pens. I'd write my name on everything." Stewart's acting career began at the age of eight, after an agent saw her perform in her elementary school's Christmas play. After a year of auditioning, Stewart's first role was a small nonspeaking part in the Disney Channel original film ''The Thirteenth Year''. Then, she had another part in the film ''The Flintstones in Viva Rock Vegas'' as the "ring toss girl". She subsequently appeared in the independent film ''The Safety of Objects'', in which she played the tomboy daughter of a troubled single mother (Patricia Clarkson). Stewart also played a tomboy in the film ''Panic Room'', playing the diabetic daughter of a divorced mother (Jodie Foster). She was nominated for a Young Artist Award for her performance.

After ''Panic Room''s success, Stewart was cast in another thriller, ''Cold Creek Manor'', playing the daughter of Dennis Quaid's and Sharon Stone's characters. She was again nominated for a Young Artist Award for her performance. The following year, she played the character Maya in ''Fierce People'', directed by Griffin Dunne. After that film, she received the lead role of Jess Solomon in the supernatural thriller film ''The Messengers''.

In 2007, Stewart appeared as teenager Lucy Hardwicke in ''In the Land of Women'', a romantic drama starring Meg Ryan and Adam Brody. The film, as well as Stewart's performance, received mixed reviews. That same year, Stewart appeared in the Sean Penn-directed adaptation film ''Into the Wild''. For her portrayal of Tracy – a teenage singer who has a crush on young adventurer Christopher McCandless (played by Emile Hirsch) – Stewart received mixed reviews. While Salon.com considered her work a "sturdy, sensitive performance", and the ''Chicago Tribune'' noted that she did "vividly well with a sketch of a role", ''Variety'''s critic Dennis Harvey said, "It's unclear whether Stewart means to be playing hippie-chick Tracy as vapid, or whether it just comes off that way." After ''Into the Wild'', Stewart had a cameo appearance in ''Jumper'' and also appeared in ''What Just Happened'', which was released in October 2008. She also co-starred in ''The Cake Eaters'' an independent film that has only been screened at film festivals.

2008–present[link]

On November 16, 2007, Summit Entertainment announced that Stewart would play Isabella "Bella" Swan in the film ''Twilight'', based on Stephenie Meyer's bestselling vampire romance novel of the same name. Stewart was on the set of ''Adventureland'' when director Catherine Hardwicke visited her for an informal screen test which "captivated" the director. She starred alongside Robert Pattinson, who plays Edward Cullen, her character's vampire boyfriend. The film began production in February 2008 and finished filming in May 2008. ''Twilight'' was released domestically on November 21, 2008. Her performance garnered mixed reviews with some critcs calling her "the ideal casting choice" and praising her for conveying "Bella's detachment, as well as her need to bust through it" while others criticized her acting for being "wooden" and lacking variety in her facial expressions which they described as "blank".

Stewart reappeared as Bella in the sequel, ''The Twilight Saga: New Moon'', once again receiving mixed reviews for her performance. Jordan Mintzer from ''Variety'' called Stewart "the heart and soul of the film" and praised her for giving "both weight and depth to dialogue...she makes Bella's psychological wounds seem like the real deal" Manohla Dargis from ''The New York Times'' said Stewart's "lonely-girl blues soon grow wearisome" throughout the film and Billy Goodykoontz from ''The Arizona Republic'' stated "Stewart is a huge disapointment... She sucks the energy right out of the film". She reprised this role in ''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse''.

At the 2010 82nd Annual Academy Awards, Stewart and ''Twilight'' co-star Taylor Lautner presented a tribute in honour of the horror movie genre.

In 2009, Stewart starred in ''The Yellow Handkerchief'', which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival and was released into theaters in 2010 by Samuel Goldwyn Films. She also starred alongside James Gandolfini in ''Welcome to the Rileys'', which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2010.

In 2010, Stewart portrayed rock star Joan Jett in ''The Runaways'', a biographical film of the titular band of the same name from writer-director Floria Sigismondi. Stewart met with Jett over the 2008–2009 New Year to prepare for the role and ended up prerecording songs in a studio for the film. She received praise for her performance as the ''Metro Times'' wrote, "It turns out that Stewart is actually really good at capturing Jett's icy, tough-but-cool girl swagger, adding the needed touches of vulnerability that transform it into a pretty terrific performance... Stewart is a genuine rock star here." Also, A. O. Scott of ''The New York Times'' noted "Ms. Stewart, watchful and unassuming, gives the movie its spine and soul."

She was cast in the role of Mary Lou in an upcoming film adaptation of Jack Kerouac's cult classic novel ''On the Road''. Shooting began in August 2010.

Stewart was listed as the highest earning female actress in Hollywood in the "2010's Top Hollywood Top Earners List" compiled by ''Vanity Fair''. Throughout 2010, Stewart earned an estimated $28.5 million for all her movie appearances.

''The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1'' was released on November 18, 2011. The film was successful in the box office making $283.5 million its opening weekend. Though the film received negative reviews, Stewart's performance was praised. Gabriel Chong called Stewart's performance "mesmerising" and said that she "makes [Bella's] every emotion keenly felt that runs the gamut from joy, trepidation, anxiety, distress and above all quiet and resolute determination" and the ''Village Voice'''s Dan Konis saying Stewart "beautifully underplays" the role. However, some critics found Pattinson and Stewart's chemistry lacking and said that the relationship came off like a "charade" onscreen or that none of the three leads were convincing in their roles.

In March 2011, it was confirmed that Stewart would be playing Snow White in the film ''Snow White and the Huntsman''. Filming began on August 15 and the film was released on June 1, 2012.

On December 6, 2011, Stewart was named number one on Forbes magazine's list of Hollywood's Best Actors for the Buck.

She was named the new face of an unnamed Balenciaga perfume on January 13, 2012.

In May 2012, Stewart was cast in the thiller titled ''Cali'', directed by Nick Cassavetes. She will begin shooting the film at the end of this summer. Stewart plays one half of a troublesome pair of San Fernando Valley lovebirds who decide to sell a fake snuff film and permanently ditch with the cash. Years later, Stewart's character runs into a dilemma when she's compelled to return to Los Angeles to help out the little sister she left behind. After faking her own death, she must explain her dramatic decision to not only her closest family members but to the angry former business partners she left behind.

Personal life[link]

Stewart currently lives in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. She has expressed a desire to live and work in Australia, saying, "I want to go to Sydney University in Australia. My mom's from there." Apart from acting, she is also interested in attending college in the near future, saying, "I want to go to college for literature. I want to be a writer. I mean, I love what I do, but it's not all I want to do – be a professional liar for the rest of my life." In 2008, in an interview with ''Vanity Fair'', Stewart acknowledged that she was in a relationship with Michael Angarano, her co-star from ''Speak''.

Since meeting on the set of ''Twilight'', Stewart has been romantically linked to co-star Robert Pattinson. Though they have never explicitly confirmed a relationship, paparazzi photographs and eyewitness accounts have driven intense media and fan speculation and attention, making "Robsten" the subject of wide media coverage. In an interview with ''GQ'', when asked why she remained reluctant to talk about the relationship despite evidence of it being accessible online, Stewart replied, "Yeah, I know it is...So much of my life is so easily googled. I mean, it's like, come on guys, it's ''so'' obvious!" When asked why she refuses to talk about her life, Stewart replied "I'm selfish. I'm like, 'That's mine!' And I like to keep whatever is mine remaining that way. It's a funny little game to play and it's a slippery slope. I always say to myself I'm never going to give anything away because there's never any point or benefit for me. I guarantee whenever I get married or have a baby, everyone is going to want to know my kid's name and I'm not going to say it for ages."

Filmography[link]

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1999	''''	Girl waiting for drink	Uncredited
2000	''''	Ring toss girl	Uncredited
2001	''''	Sam Jennings	Limited release
2002	''Panic Room''	Sarah Altman
2003	''Cold Creek Manor''	Kristen Tilson
2004		Melinda Sordino
2004	''Catch That Kid''	Maddy
2004		Lila
2005		Maya Osbourne	Limited release
2005		Lisa
2007		Jessica "Jess" Solomon
2007	''In the Land of Women''	Lucy Hardwicke
2007	''''	Georgia	Limited release
2007		Tracy Tatro
2007		Young Robin	Short film
2008		Sophie	Cameo
2008	''What Just Happened''	Zoe
2008		Bella Swan
2009		Emily "Em" Lewin
2009	''''	Bella Swan
2010	''''	Martine	Limited release
2010	''''	Joan Jett
2010	''Welcome to the Rileys''	Mallory
2010	''''	Bella Swan
2011	''''	Bella Swan
2012	''Snow White and the Huntsman''	Snow White
2012		Marylou	Post-production
2012	''''	Bella Swan	Post-production

Awards and nominations[link]

+ List of awards and nominations
Year	! Title of work	! Award	! Category	! Result	Notes
2002	''Panic Room''	Young Artist Award	Best performance in a feature film- Leading Young Actress
2003	''Cold Creek Manor''	Young Artist Award	Best performance in a feature film- Supporting Young Actress
2004		Young Artist Award	Best performance in a feature film- Supporting Young Actress
2007		Young Artist Award	Best performance in a feature film- Supporting Young Actress
2007	''Into the Wild''	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture		Entire Cast
2008		MTV Movie Award
2008	''Twilight''	MTV Movie Award			Shared with Robert Pattinson
2008	''Twilight''	Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie Actress Drama
2008	''Twilight''	Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie Liplock		Shared with Robert Pattinson
2008	''Twilight''	Scream Award	Best Fantasy Actress
2008	''Twilight''	Scream Award	Best Ensemble Cast
2008	''Twilight''	People's Choice Award	Favourite On-Screen Team		Shared with Robert Pattinson and Taylor Lautner
2008	''Twilight''	People's Choice Award	Favourite Movie Actress
2009		Gotham Award	Best Ensemble cast		Entire cast
2009	''The Twilight Saga: New Moon''	BAFTA Award
2009	''The Twilight Saga: New Moon''		Cutest Couple		Shared with Taylor Lautner
2009	''The Twilight Saga: New Moon''	Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award	Cutest Couple		Shared with Robert Pattinson
2009	''The Twilight Saga: New Moon''	MTV Movie Award	Best Female Performance
2009	''The Twilight Saga: New Moon''	MTV Movie Award	Best Kiss		Shared with Robert Pattinson
2009	''The Twilight Saga: New Moon''	Golden Raspberry Award			Shared with Robert Pattinson
2009	''The Twilight Saga: New Moon''	Golden Raspberry Award	Worst Screen Couple		Shared with Taylor Lautner
2009	''The Twilight Saga: New Moon''	Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie Actress Fantasy
2010		Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie Actress Drama
2010	''The Runaways''	MTV Movie Award	Best Kiss		Shared with Dakota Fanning
2010	''Welcome to the Rileys''	Milan International Film Festival	Best Actress
2010	''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse''		Couple of the Year		Shared with Robert Pattinson
2010	''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse''		Fave Kiss		Shared with Taylor Lautner
2010	''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse''	Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Award	Fave Kiss		Shared with Robert Pattinson
2010	''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse''	Scream Award	Best Fantasy Actress
2010	''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse''	People's Choice Award	Favorite Movie Actress
2010	''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse''	People's Choice Award	Favourite On-Screen-Team		Shared with Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson
2010	''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse''	People's Choice Award	Favorite Movie Star Under 25
2010	''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse''	Golden Raspberry Award			Shared with the cast
2010		Golden Raspberry Award	Worst Actress
2011	''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse''	Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award	Movie Actress
2011	''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse''	MTV Movie Awards	Best Female Performance
2011	''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse''	MTV Movie Awards	Best Kiss		Shared with Taylor Lautner
2011	''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse''	MTV Movie Awards	Best Kiss		Shared with Robert Pattinson
2011	''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse''	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Actress: Sci-Fi/Fantasy
2011	''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse''	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie: Liplock		Shared with Robert Pattinson
2011	''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse''	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie: Liplock		Shared with Taylor Lautner
2011		Golden Raspberry Award	Worst Ensemble		Shared with the cast
2011	''The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1''	Golden Raspberry Award	Worst Actress
2011	''The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1''	Golden Raspberry Award	Worst Screen Couple		Shared with Taylor Lautner and Robert Pattinson
2012	''The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1''	Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award	Movie Actress

References[link]

External links[link]

Category:1990 births Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:Actors from Los Angeles, California Category:American child actors Category:American film actors Category:American people of Australian descent Category:American television actors Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Living people

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

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

Early life[link]

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

Career[link]

Modelling

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

Acting[link]

Early career[link]

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

2008-present[link]

In 2008 Pattinson landed the coveted role of Edward Cullen in the film ''Twilight'', based on Stephenie Meyer's best-selling novel of the same name. According to ''TV Guide'', Pattinson was initially apprehensive about auditioning for the role of Edward Cullen, fearful that he would not be able to live up to the "perfection" expected from the character. The film was released on November 21, 2008 and turned Pattinson into an instant overnight moviestar. Though the film received mixed reviews, critics praised his and co-star Kristen Stewart's chemisty in the film. The ''New York Times'' called Pattinson a "capable and exotically beautiful" actor and Roger Ebert of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' said he was "well-chosen" for the role.

After ''Twilight'' Pattinson starred in the independent films ''Little Ashes'' (in which he plays Salvador Dalí), ''How to Be'' (a British comedy), and''The Summer House''.

He reprised his role as Edward Cullen in the ''Twilight'' sequel ''The Twilight Saga: New Moon'' which was released on November 20, 2009. The film earned a record-breaking $142,839,137 opening weekend and an overall run of $709,827,462 worldwide. Though the film received negative reviews, film critic Michael Phillips from the ''Chicago Tribune'' said Pattinson was still "interesting to watch" despite the bad makeup. Bill GoodyKoontz from the ''Arizona Republic'' said, "Pattinson's actually not in the film that much, but he does his best when he's around" and Michael O'Sullivan of the ''Washington Post'' noted that his acting was "uniformly strong".

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

On May 13, 2010, Pattinson appeared on ''The Oprah Winfrey Show'' and on May 18, ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' for his film, ''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse''. He attended the official worldwide red carpet premiere for ''The Twilight Saga: Eclipse'' on June 24, 2010, at the Los Angeles Nokia Theatre and the film was released on June 30, 2010, earning $698,491,347 worldwide.

In 2010, Pattinson executively produced and starred in the film ''Remember Me'', which was released on March 12, 2010.

In 2011, he starred as Jacob Jankowski in ''Water for Elephants'', a film adaptation of the Sara Gruen novel of the same name, with Christoph Waltz and Reese Witherspoon. The film received mixed reviews but Pattinson's performance was praised. Film critic Richard Corliss from ''Time'' praised Pattinson for being "shy and watchful" and said he "radiates a slow magnetism that locks the viewer’s eyes on him", ultimately calling him "star quality". Mick LaSalle from the ''San Francisco Chronicle'' stated that Pattinson succeeded at holding his own at the center of a major feature and was "endlessly watchable". Peter Travers of the ''Rolling Stone'' said he "smolders" in the film and Todd McCarthy of ''The Hollywood Reporter'' said, "Pattinson is entirely convincing as Jacob".

Pattinson reappeared as Edward Cullen in ''The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1'', which was released on November 18, 2011, and earned $705,058,657 at the box office.

He played Georges Duroy in a film adaptation of the 1885 novel ''Bel Ami'', with Uma Thurman, Christina Ricci, and Kristin Scott Thomas. The film had a world premiere at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival and was released on February 12, 2012.

Pattinson will be starring in the upcoming film adaptation of Don Delillo's ''Cosmopolis'', directed by David Cronenberg in 2012. The film has been selected to compete for the Palme d'Or at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival.

In May 2012, Pattinson was cast alongside Guy Pierce to star in David Michod's ''The Rover''. He was also cast to star in the psychological thriller, ''Mission: Blacklist (film)'', based on the novel of the same name by military interrogator, Eric Maddox.

Music[link]

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

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

In the media[link]

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

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

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

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

In 2010, Pattinson politely turned down a $2 million fashion campaign with ''Burberry''.

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

In 2011, Pattinson was No. 15 on ''Vanity Fair'''s "Hollywood Top 40" with earnings of $27.5 million in 2010. GQ once again named Pattinson the "Best Dressed Man" of 2012.

Personal life[link]

Since meeting on the set of ''Twilight'', Pattinson has been romantically linked to co-star Kristen Stewart. Though they have never explicitly confirmed a relationship, paparazzi photographs and eyewitness accounts have driven intense media and fan speculation and attention making "Robsten" the subject of wide media coverage.

Filmography[link]

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
2004		Rawdy Crawley	Only seen on DVD release
2004		Giselher	Television film
2005		Cedric Diggory
2006	''''	Toby Jugg	Television film
2007	''''	Daniel Gale	Television film
2007		Cedric Diggory	Cameo
2008	''How to Be''	Art
2008		Edward Cullen	Hollywood Film Award for New HollywoodMTV Movie Award for Breakthrough Performance MaleMTV Movie Award for Best Kiss MTV Movie Award for Best Fight People's Choice Award for Favorite On-Screen-Team Scream Award for Best Fantasy ActorTeen Choice Award for Choice HottieTeen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor DramaTeen Choice Award for Movie Liplock Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Rumble Nominated—Empire Award for Best NewcomerNominated—People's Choice Award for Favorite Movie ActorNominated—Scream Award for Best Ensemble Cast
2009	''Little Ashes''	Salvador Dalí
2009	''''	Edward Cullen	Russia's Georges Award for Best Foreign ActorNational Movie Award for Best PerformanceMTV Movie Award for Best Male PerformanceMTV Movie Award for Global SuperstarMTV Movie Award for Best Kiss Teen Choice Award for Movie Liplock Teen Choice Award for Movie chemistry Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actor FantasyNominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice HottieNominated—Empire Award for Best ActorNominated—Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards for Cutest Couple Nominated—Razzie Award for Worst Supporting ActorNominated—Razzie Award for Worst Screen Couple (with Kristen Stewart)
2010		Tyler Hawkins
2010	''''	Edward Cullen	Teen Choice Award for Choice Summer Movie Star – MaleBrazilian Kids' Choice Award for Couple of the Year Scream Award for Best Fantasy ActorPeople's Choice Award for Favorite On-Screen-Team MTV Movie Award for Best Male PerformanceMTV Movie Award for Best Kiss MTV Movie Award for Best Fight Teen Choice Award for Choice VampireNominated—Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Award for Fave Kiss Nominated—People's Choice Award for Favorite Movie ActorNominated—People's Choice Award for Favorite Movie Star Under 25Nominated—Razzie Award for Worst ActorNominated—Razzie Award for Worst Ensemble
2011		Jacob Jankowski	Teen Choice Award
2011		Edward Cullen	Pending—[[MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss Nominated—References[link] External links[link] [[Category:1986 births">Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Couple/Ensemble
2012		Georges Duroy	Awaiting release
2012		Edward Cullen	Post-production
2012		Eric Packer	Post-production

References[link]

External links[link]

[[Category:1986 births Category:Actors from London Category:English child actors Category:English expatriates in the United States Category:English film actors Category:English guitarists Category:English male models Category:English singer-songwriters Category:English stage actors Category:English television actors Category:Living people Category:People educated at The Harrodian School Category:People educated at Tower House School Category:People from Barnes, London

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