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Beth Herr (born 1964) is an American tennis player. She became the number 1 junior tennis player in the world at age 16. She was the #1 college recruit in 1985 and went on to play for the University of Southern California where she won the NCAA singles title and team title in her freshman year. She beat Clemson's Gigi Fernández 7–6 in the 3rd set after being down a match point to win the NCAA singles final.^[1]

She cut short college and went directly into professional tennis after the NCAA Championship and played on tour for 11 years with wins over Martina Navratilova, Pam Shriver, Hana Mandlíková and Mary Joe Fernandez. She lost an epic match to Billie Jean King at Wimbledon 8–6 in the 3rd.^[2] Commentators on HBO Breakfast at Wimbledon made a very big deal out of her ability to hit numerous swinging volleys out of the air for winners. This which was something that had not been done before especially by a female.

After tennis she finished her undergraduate degree at UCLA and then went to law school at UCLA. She married Tennis Channel founder Steve Bellamy^[3] and after a short stint as a lawyer at Manatt, Phelps and Phillips, she stopped working and started raising their 4 children.

She later went on to win the US Open of paddle tennis and became the unofficial world champion of the sport.

References[link]

1. ^ "Beth Herr Wins". The New York Times. 1983-05-23. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9801E7DA1E38F930A15756C0A965948260. Retrieved 2010-04-26. 
2. ^ Miller, Geoffrey (1983-06-23). "King survives scare from Herr". The Daily Collegian. http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Default/Skins/BasicArch/Client.asp?Skin=BasicArch&&AppName=2&enter=true&BaseHref=DCG/1983/06/23&EntityId=Ar01001. Retrieved 2009-02-07. 
3. ^ Associated Press (2008-07-22). "Several tennis pros to play in unisex tourney". ESPN.com. http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/wire?section=tennis&id=3500836. Retrieved 2009-02-07. 

Laura Mixon Story Elvington (born c. 1978) is an American Contemporary Christian music singer-songwriter from Spartanburg, South Carolina.^[1]

Her single off the album "Blessings" became her first to reach No. 1 on the Billboard Christian Songs chart, making her one of the few female Christian artists to ever reach the top of the singles chart.

Career[link]

Story began her career in 1996 when she met Shane Williams, from the band Silers Bald, at Columbia International University. Williams asked Story to join the band and she became their bass player. Story released four independent albums with the band.^[2]

When the band was about to sign a deal with Essential Records, Story's manager suggested her to record a solo album. In 2002, Story left Silers Bald and began working on her first album, Indescribable, which was released independently that same year. In 2004, the title track of her album was recorded by Chris Tomlin in his album, Arriving. Tomlin's version peaked at #2 on Billboard's Hot Christian Songs and was included in the compilation album Passion: How Great Is Our God. The band Avalon also recorded a version of the song for the WOW Worship 2006 album.^[3]

Story released her second independent album in 2005, titled There Is Nothing. The album was produced by Ed Cash and Mitch Dane. During that year, she also married Martin Elvington, and moved to Atlanta, Georgia, to become the worship leader and women’s pastor for the arts and music community at Perimeter Church (http://www.perimeter.org).

In 2006, Story signed a record contract with INO Records and two years later, released her third album, Great God Who Saves. The album was also produced by Ed Cash.^[4] In 2010, she was nominated for a Dove Award for Female Vocalist of the Year at the 41st GMA Dove Awards.^[5]

Blessings[link]

In May 2011 Story released her fourth album titled Blessings. To date the album has become her biggest commercial success having debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Christian Albums chart, giving Story her highest placement ever on the album chart. In June 2011, the first single off the album also titled "Blessings" reached No. 1 on the Billboard Christian Songs chart, giving Story her first number one hit and making her one of the few female Christian artists to ever reach the top of the singles chart. In an interview, Story explains “Blessings is just a bunch of songs about worshipping when life is hard". Her husband was diagnosed with a brain tumor, and she wondered "Why didn’t you just fix it, God? You’re all powerful and all loving… just fix it." Later after mentioning her desire to return back to normal, her sister said "You know, I think the detour is actually the road." She realized that “Spending time with [husband] Martin obviously makes me happy, but it makes me a better person. That’s the blessing of it.”^[6]

Discography[link]

Solo Albums[link]

• Great God Who Saves also charted on the Billboard Heatseekers Album chart peaking at #25.
• Blessings also charted on the Billboard Folk Albums chart peaking at #3 and on the Billboard 200 chart peaking at #30.

With Silers Bald[link]

Singles[link]

• "Blessings" also charted on the Billboard Heatseekers Song chart peaking at #18.
• "Blessings" also charted on the Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart peaking at #7.

Awards and nominations[link]

GMA Dove Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Official biography

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Beth Ditto
Beth Ditto at the Eurockéennes de Belfort 2011
Background information
Born	(1981-02-19) February 19, 1981 (age 31)
Origin	Searcy, Arkansas, US
Genres	Indie rock, post-punk
Instruments	Vocals
Associated acts	Gossip

Mary Beth Patterson, known by her stage name Beth Ditto (born February 19, 1981, in Searcy, Arkansas)^{[citation needed]}, is an American singer-songwriter, most famous for her work with the indie rock band Gossip.^[1]

Personal life[link]

At 13, she moved out of her mother’s house and went to live with her aunt.^[2] A resident of Portland, Oregon, she is a close friend of Scissor Sisters lead singer Ana Matronic, and considers her favorite song to be "Oh Bondage, Up Yours" by X-Ray Spex. She courted mild controversy in 2006 when, during an interview for NME magazine, she claimed to have eaten squirrels as a child, saying that "people in Arkansas just do – they'd think you were a freak if you ate squid there!"^[3]

Ditto is known for her noticeable stage dances and her unique and revealing image. She classes herself as a punk, and thus does not wear deodorant or shave under her armpits, having once remarked that "I think punks usually smell".^[4] She also formerly contributed an advice column on body image to The Guardian newspaper.^[5]

In February 2009, she was featured in London as the cover model for the premiere of Love magazine with prominent public advertising.^[6] On July 9, 2009, Beth's fashion collection for the UK retailer Evans was released for sale, both online, and in selected stores across the UK.^[7]

Ditto, who is a lesbian, is well known for her outspoken support of both LGBT and feminist causes.^[8]

Her most recent modeling work consisted of opening the^[9] Jean Paul Gaultier spring 2011 fashion show during Paris Fashion Week on October 2, 2010.

Discography[link]

"Beth Ditto EP" (2011)[link]

Track listing[link]

1. "Do You Need Someone" - 6'04
2. "Goodnight, Good Morning" - 7'00
3. "I Wrote The Book" - 3'57
4. "Open Heart Surgery" - 5'40

Singles[link]

Ditto at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival.

Awards and nominations[link]

• 2006 – NME – Coolest Person In Rock – Won
• 2007 – NME Awards – Sexiest Woman Of The Year – Nominated
• 2008 – Glamour Awards – International Artist Of The Year – Won

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Beth Ditto

• The Gossip website
• BBC report of NME cool list
• Subculture Magazine Interview