Oscar Nunez
Nuñez in Los Angeles, California in February 2009
Born	(1958-11-18) November 18, 1958 (age 53)[1] Cuba
Occupation	Actor/Comedian
Years active	2000–present

Oscar Nunez (born November 18, 1958), sometimes credited as Oscar Núñez, is a Cuban American actor and comedian. He currently appears as Dunder Mifflin's paper supply accountant, Oscar Martinez, on NBC's The Office.

Career[link]

Born in Cuba, Nunez moved to Union City, New Jersey when he was fourteen years old.^[2] He is bilingual in English and Spanish. Having attended various colleges in New York, including Fashion Institute of Technology and the Parsons School of Design for writing, Nunez became a certified dental technician from Magna Institute of Dental Technology.^[3]

Nunez started his comedy career in New York, founding and performing over 300 shows with The Shock of the Funny theater company. The troupe was active in the East Village for several years. In addition to his work with Shock, Nunez appeared in theater in New York and Washington, D.C. before moving to Los Angeles in the mid 1990s. In LA, he joined The Groundlings and performed in their Sunday Company. While with the Groundlings, he wrote and starred in a production called "Smooth Down There."

In 1997, Nunez graduated from the Warner Brothers Comedy Writer’s Workshop. In 1999, he was a finalist in the ABC Latino Writers Project.

In 1998, he appeared on the game show Match Game, wearing a Dio shirt, but was not a winner.

Nunez was Adam Carolla's stand-in on The Man Show.

Nunez's television credits include Malcolm in the Middle, 24, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Reno 911, The District and Mad TV, in addition to his current role on The Office. He was also the creator and executive producer of the Comedy Central series Halfway Home, in which he played the character Eulogio Pla.

His film credits include The Italian Job (as a security guard), Reno 911: Miami, and When Do We Eat?. In 2009, Nunez recently played the role of Ramon, the caterer, stripper, soda jerk, and finally clergy performing wedding ceremony in The Proposal.

Nunez appeared as one of eight judges in the 2010 Miss USA Contest, posing a controversial question about the Arizona illegal immigrant law to Miss Oklahoma USA, Morgan Elizabeth Woolard, the first runner-up. Nunez was booed by the audience before finishing the question; however he asked the audience to wait until he finished the question before they reacted. Although Miss Woolard replied that she supports the law as a state rights issue, she added that she is against racial profiling.^[4]

Filmography[link]

• Celebrity Family Feud
• The Proposal
• Fred: The Movie (minor role)
• Curb Your Enthusiasm (Season 1, Episode 3; Car Park Attendant)
• "The Italian Job" (minor role)
• Reno 911 "Spanish Mike" Alvarez
• The Office as Oscar Martinez
• Bob's Burgers Episode Sheesh! Cab, Bob?

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Oscar Nuñez

• Oscar Nuñez at the Internet Movie Database
• Oscar Nuñez at NBC.com's The Office
• Oscar Nunez at Omnipop.com
• Interview with Oscar Nunez at WickedInfo.com

Paul Francis Tompkins^[1] (born c. 1968),^[1][2] best known as Paul F. Tompkins, is an American comedian, actor and writer. He is known for his work in television on such programs as Mr. Show with Bob and David, Real Time With Bill Maher and Best Week Ever,^[2][3][4] later renamed Best Week Ever with Paul F. Tompkins.^[1][5]

He is also the host of The Pod F. Tompkast, which was ranked #1 by Rolling Stone on their list of "The 10 Best Comedy Podcasts of the Moment" in 2011.^[6]

Early life and career[link]

A native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,^[2][7][8] In 1986 Tompkins first performed comedy at 17 years of age at The Comedy Works in Philadelphia (a club now located in Bristol, Pennsylvania) where he performed as half of a sketch comedy duo with the late Rick Roman.^{[8][9][10][11]} Tompkins attended Temple University however he dropped-out^[9] and left for Los Angeles, California in 1994.^{[8][9][11][12]}

Tompkins met actor Jay Johnston in L.A. through their mutual friend, actor and director Adam McKay.^[9] McKay and Tompkins had become friends in Philadelphia, where they had both started to perform stand-up at around the same time.^[4][9][13] McKay later moved to Chicago and met Johnston; Johnston moved to L.A. at around the same time as Tompkins and McKay introduced the two.^[4] Tompkins and Johnston went on to create a live sketch comedy show called "The Skates" that was seen by Bob Odenkirk and David Cross and helped get them hired to work on Mr. Show with Bob and David in 1996.^[4][8][11]

Career[link]

Live comedic performance[link]

Tompkins' comedy career has included stand-up, sketch comedy and a variety of other live performances.

Tompkins stand-up comedy performances are of a storytelling and observationalist style.^{[3][14][15][16]} His shows often consist of extended riffs and long anecdotes.^[2][5] Tompkins deals topics of the bizarre and the absurd^[2][3] — such as a rant about peanut brittle^[5][17], a discussion about cake versus pie,^[17] and smashed coins^[15] — in addition to recounting stories about his own life experiences and family.^{[2][13][14][17]} His comedic style has been described as alternative comedy;^[8][17][18] Tompkins has stated that he is not bothered by the label and that he likes the term.^[19]

Tompkins is known for his style of dress during his live comedic performances, always performing in suit and tie,^[5][13] sometimes in pinstripes and with a bowtie;^[14][20] his look has been described by some in the press as "dapper".^{[14][15][17][21]} Tompkins has described his look as "foppish" and "just this side of Cedric the Entertainer."^[17]

Tompkins is based in Los Angeles and performs regularly in the city.^[13][18] Since 2002 he has performed a monthly show called The Paul F. Tompkins Show at Largo, an L.A. nightclub and cabaret.^[2][22][23] His show has featured such guests such as Fiona Apple, Jack Black, Dave Foley, Zach Galifianakis, Ed Helms, Aimee Mann and Weird Al Yankovic.^[2] Since its inception in 2005, Tompkins has taken part in the Thrilling Adventure Hour, a staged production in the style of old time radio that is also held monthly at Largo.^[24][25][26] The show began podcasting in January 2011; in October of that same year the show's podcasts moved to the Nerdist Industries podcast network created by Chris Hardwick.^[27] Tompkins is a member of the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre (UCB) Los Angeles.^[28] His comedy album "Impersonal" was recorded live at the UCB Theatre.^[29] He also performs monthly at the "Dead Authors" show at UCB Theatre in support of the nonprofit organization 826LA;^[30][31] Tompkins plays the role of H.G. Wells who serves as the host of the show.^[30]

Tompkins has toured in the US and Canada^[32] and prefers to perform in independent venues, rather than conventional comedy clubs.^[33][34] Starting in 2009 he embarked on his "Tompkins 300" tour;^[7][21][32] Tompkins had been preparing for his one-hour Comedy Central special You Should Have Told Me at the Laughing Skull Lounge theatre in Atlanta, Georgia — a small theatre that seats about 74 people.^{[7][21][35][36]} In order to fill the seats for the his recording of his special, Tompkins required about 280 people in the audience over the course of 4 nights for the recording of his show.^[7][21][34] Tompkins decided to announce on Twitter that he needed 300 people to fill the seats each night;^[7][21][34] Bob Kerr, a Canadian comedian, saw the Twitter post and asked if Tompkins would like to perform in Toronto.^[7][21][34] Tompkins advised Kerr that if he was able to get 300 people to state that they would definitely see his show he would come to Toronto.^[7][21][34] Kerr then started a Facebook group called “I Wanna See Paul F. Tompkins in Toronto” and managed to get 300 people to join^[7][21][34] In October of that same year Tompkins performed at the The Rivoli theatre in Toronto,^[7][34] the same theatre in which the sketch comedy show The Kids in the Hall was filmed.^[21][37] Facebook groups were subsequently started in other North American cities^[21] and in 2010 he stated that he had stopped promoting his shows on the radio.^[38] In 2011 he said that the Facebook 300 groups had become his main method of booking comedy shows.^[2]

Tompkins wrote and performed in his one-man show, Driven to Drink which aired on HBO in 1998.^[3][9][12] He appeared on 6 episodes of Late Night with Conan O'Brien between 1998 and 2008^[7][9][12] as well as 2 episodes of Conan in 2011 and 2012.^[9] He has recorded two comedy albums: "Impersonal" in 2007^[4][10][29] and "Freak Wharf" in 2009.^[31] His stand-up appearances on the Comedy Central network include being featured in episodes of Comedy Central Presents in 2003 and 2007,^[9][31] hosting an episode of Live at Gotham in 2009,^[9][31] performing on John Oliver's New York Stand Up Show in 2010,^[9][31] and recording two original one-hour comedy specials — You Should Have Told Me which aired in 2010^[9][17][39] and Paul F. Tompkins: Laboring Under Delusions in 2012.^[9][17][39]

Acting and writing[link]

Tompkins wrote for and performed on Mr. Show with Bob and David from 1995 to 1998; the show's writers, including Tompkins, were nominated for an Emmy Award in 1998 for "Outstanding Writing for a Variety or Music Program".^[3][40]

Tompkins' work with Mr. Show's creators Bob Odenkirk and David Cross also led to his recurring role on the Tenacious D TV series.^[8][13] Tompkins played the character of a nightclub manager who is duped into reading Tenacious D’s ridiculous introductions during their open mic performances.^[8] He revived the role in the comedic band's film Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny released in 2006.^[9]

Longtime friend Adam McKay consulted Tompkins regarding the screenplay for Talladega Nights.^[8] Tompkins also played the MC of a cat show in McKay's Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy.^[13][12][41]

Tompkins has appeared on television programs including NewsRadio, Frasier, Weeds, The Sarah Silverman Program, Pushing Daisies, Community and Curb Your Enthusiasm.^{[2][4][5][7][9]} Tompkins played the role of Prescott in P.T. Anderson's film There Will Be Blood (2007);^[4][5] Anderson had previously cast Tompkins in a small role in the 1999 film Magnolia after watching Tompkins perform at Largo.^[4][5][12] Tompkins also played FBI Agent Anthony D’Angelo in Steven Soderbergh's The Informant! (2009).^[7]

Tompkins wrote for Real Time with Bill Maher in 2003 and 2009, in addition to being a show correspondent in the show's first season.^[9][12][13] In 2011 Tompkins was asked to write humorous recaps of American Idol episodes for New York magazine’s online blog Vulture.^[2][42][43]

Tompkins has expressed in interviews that he dislikes writing (particularly writing for others), preferring instead to perform in front of a camera.^[8][10]

Voice acting[link]

Tomkins has done voice work for many animated television series including Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist, King of the Hill and Bob's Burgers.^[9] He lent his voice to a character in an unaired 2007 episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force titled "Boston" that was supposed to be the premiere episode of the show's fifth season, but it was pulled by Turner Broadcasting System to avoid further controversy surrounding the 2007 Boston bomb scare.^[44] Tompkins later appeared in an episode during the show's 7th season. He was also the voice of one of the thugs in Walt Disney Animation Studios' 2010 computer animated film Tangled.^[9] Tompkins was the voice of Benton Criswell, a character in MTV series Super Adventure Team which featured marionettes in the style of the 1964 series Thunderbirds; the role was credited under the stage name Francis Mt. Pleasant. He was also the voice of a puppet in ads for the Ford Focus.^[39]

Political and social commentary[link]

Tompkins has appeared on several television programs devoted to discussing politics, popular culture and current events, however he says he does not consider himself to be a political comic.^[45]

Tompkins was a contributor to the "Us People's Weekly Entertainment" segment of The Daily Show in 1998.^[7][9][13] In 2003 he was a writer and correspondent Real Time with Bill Maher in the show's first season^[12][13] and wrote again for the show in 2009.^[9] He appeared on Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn in 2004.^[9][31] He was a pop culture analyst on VH1's Best Week Ever from the show's launch in 2004;^[1][46] the show was was retooled and relaunched as Best Week Ever with Paul F. Tompkins with Tompkins as host in 2008.^[1][5][46] From 2006 to 2008 he was a regular guest on Countdown with Keith Olbermann.^[4][5][10] In 2008 he appeared on Lewis Black's Root of All Evil^[31][47] and took part in a panel on Larry King Live in an episode titled "Politics & Humor".^[9]

Tompkins has appeared in documentaries such as Jamie Kennedy's Heckler (2007) and Doug Benson's Super High Me (2007);^[9] he also appears in The Bitter Buddha, the yet-to-be-released documentary about the career of actor and comedian Eddie Pepitone.^[9][48]

Podcasts, webcasts and radio[link]

In 2010 Tompkins launched his podcast called The Pod F. Tompkast.^[31][49] The podcast is a mixture of Tompkins discussing various topics, clips from his live show at Largo, and segments where Tompkins voices a variety of celebrities speaking with one another.^{[6][31][50][51]} Comedian Jen Kirkman is a regular contributer on the show.^[6][18][50]

The Thrilling Adventure Hour comedy show at Largo began podcasting in January 2011; in October of that same year the show's podcasts moved to the Nerdist Industries podcast network created by Chris Hardwick.^[52]

Dead Authors, a live show that Tompkins hosts at the UCB Theatre in Los Angeles, also began podcasting in September of 2011.^[53]

In May of 2012 Tompkins started a weekly web series called Speakeasy. Hosted by the Break Media site MadeMan.com, the series features Tompkins interviewing various male guests in the entertainment industry, such as Ty Burrell, Nathan Fillion, Zach Galifianakis, Chris Hardwick, Oscar Nunez and Weird Al Yankovic.^[54][55][56] The interviews are conducted as casual conversations between Tompkins and his guest over cocktails at various bars in the L.A. area.^[54][55][56]

Tompkins has appeared several times as a guest, and one time as a guest host, on Comedy Bang Bang (formerly Comedy Death-Ray Radio),^[4][21][18] a weekly audio podcast hosted by Scott Aukerman, a comedian who also wrote for Mr. Show with Bob and David.^[57][58] The show's format mixes conversation between the host and guests, occasionally including game segments and interspersed with comedy music recordings by artists like Weird Al Yankovic, The Lonely Island and Flight of the Conchords. Some guests play characters or impersonate certain celebrities, sometimes for the entirety of the episode; Paul F. Tompkins has impersonated celebrities such as rapper Ice-T, composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and Buddy Valastro from the reality television series Cake Boss.^[18]

In addition to Aukerman's Comedy Bang Bang, Tompkins regularly appears on the podcasts of other fellow comedians such as WTF with Marc Maron,^[18] Jimmy Pardo's Never Not Funny,^[43] Jessica Chaffin and Jamie Denbo's Ronna and Beverly podcast,^[18], the Superego podcast with Jeremy Carter and Matt Gourley,^[59] Tompkins has also been a regular guest on the radio show and podcast The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling.^[18][43]

Filmography[link]

Film[link]

• Jack Frost (1998)
• Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
• Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny (2006)
• Super High Me (2007)
• There Will Be Blood (2007)
• The Informant! (2009)
• Tangled (2010)

Television[link]

• Mr. Show with Bob and David (1996 to 1998)
• Tenacious D (1997)
• The Daily Show (1998)
• Super Adventure Team (1998)
• NewsRadio (1999)
• Dr. Katz, Professional Therapist (1999)
• DAG (2000 to 2001)
• Comedy Central Presents: Paul F. Tompkins (2003)
• Frasier (2003)
• Real Time with Bill Maher (2003)
• Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn (2004)
• King of the Hill (2005)
• Kelsey Grammer Presents: The Sketch Show (2005)
• Too Late with Adam Carolla (2005)
• Countdown with Keith Olbermann from (2006 to 2008)
• Comedy Central Presents: Paul F. Tompkins 2 (2007)
• The Sarah Silverman Program (2007)
• Weeds (2007)
• Best Week Ever (later known as Best Week Ever with Paul F. Tompkins) (2008)
• Larry King Live (2008)
• Lewis Black's Root of All Evil (2008)
• Pushing Daisies (2008)
• Aqua Teen Hunger Force (2010)
• Community (2010)
• Nick Swardson's Pretend Time (2010)
• True Jackson, VP (2010)
• Regular Show (2010 to 2011)
• The Life & Times of Tim (2010 to 2012)
• Curb Your Enthusiasm (2011)
• Talking Dead (2011)
• Bob's Burgers (2011 to 2012)
• Key & Peele (2012)

Discography[link]

• 2007 Impersonal (Released on AST Records)
• 2007 Comedy Death-Ray (Compilation released on Comedy Central Records)
• 2009 Freak Wharf (Released on AST Records)
• 2010 Sir, You Have Fooled Me Twice (EP) (Released on AST Records)
• 2010 You Should Have Told Me (DVD) (Released on AST Records)
• 2012 Laboring Under Delusions (DVD) (Released on Comedy Central Records)

Podcast and radio appearances[link]

• Never Not Funny, guest (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011)
• The Sound of Young America, guest (2006 and 2007)
• The Best Show on WFMU with Tom Scharpling, guest (2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011)
• Comedy Bang Bang, guest, guest host (2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012)
• WTF with Marc Maron, guest (2009 and 2011)
• Kevin Pollak's Chat Show, guest (2009)
• Doug Loves Movies, guest (2010, 2011 and 2012)
• The Superego Podcast, guest (2010, 2011 and 2012)
• The Pod F. Tompkast, host (2010 to present)
• The Nerdist Podcast, guest (2010)
• The Dead Authors Podcast, host (as H.G. Wells) (2011 to present)
• The Thrilling Adventure Hour podcast, cast member (2011 to present)
• The Anytime Show with Dominic Dierkes, guest (2011)
• Ronna and Beverly, guest (2011)
• The Todd Glass Show, guest (2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Paul F. Tompkins

• Official website
• Paul F. Tompkins at the Internet Movie Database
• The Pod F. Tompkast

Sandra Bullock
Bullock at the 83rd Academy Awards in 2011
Born	Sandra Annette Bullock (1964-07-26) July 26, 1964 (age 47) Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, comedian, producer
Years active	1985–present
Spouse	Jesse G. James (2005–2010)
Children	1
Parents	John Bullock Helga Meyer (deceased)

Sandra Annette Bullock ( /ˈbʊlək/; born July 26, 1964) is an American actress and producer who rose to fame in the 1990s after roles in successful films such as Demolition Man, Speed, The Net, A Time to Kill, and While You Were Sleeping. In the new millennium she appeared in such films as Miss Congeniality, The Lake House, and Crash, the third of which received critical acclaim. In 2007, she was ranked as the 14th richest female celebrity with an estimated fortune of US$85 million.^[1] In 2009, Bullock starred in two of the more financially successful films of her career, The Proposal^[2] and The Blind Side.^[3] Bullock was awarded a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, and the Academy Award for Best Actress, for her role as Leigh Anne Tuohy in The Blind Side. She is listed in the 2012 edition of the Guinness Book Of World Records as the highest-paid actress, with $56 million.^[4]

Early life[link]

Sandra Annette Bullock was born in Arlington, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Her father, John W. Bullock (born 1925), was a United States Army employee and part-time voice coach from Birmingham, Alabama, and her mother, Helga D. Meyer (1942–2000), was a German opera singer and voice teacher.^[5][6][7] Bullock's maternal grandfather was a rocket scientist from Nuremberg, Germany. John Bullock, then in charge of the Army's Military Postal Service in Europe, was stationed in Nuremberg when he met his wife. They married in Germany, soon moving to Arlington, where John Bullock worked with the Army Materiel Command, before becoming a contractor for The Pentagon.^[8][9]

Bullock frequently accompanied her mother on her opera tours throughout Europe. She spent time in Salzburg and Nuremberg, where she stayed with her aunt and grandmother and became fluent in German. Bullock studied ballet and vocal arts as a child, taking small parts in her mother's opera productions.^[5] She sang in the operas children's choir at the Staatstheater Nürnberg.^[10]

Bullock attended Washington-Lee High School, where she was a cheerleader and performed in high school theater productions. After she graduated in 1982, she entered East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. However, she dropped out in her fourth year in spring of 1986, just three credits short of graduating, to become an actress. She moved to Manhattan and supported herself as a bartender, cocktail waitress, and coat checker. She later completed her coursework and graduated from East Carolina University.^[11]

Acting[link]

This section includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (December 2010)

Bullock at the 2010 SAG Awards red carpet.

While in New York, Bullock took acting classes with Sanford Meisner.^{[citation needed]} She appeared in several student films, and later landed a role in an Off-Broadway play No Time Flat. Director Alan J. Levi was impressed by Bullock's performance and offered her a part in the TV movie Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman (1989). Afterward, she was cast in a series of small roles in several independent films as well as in the lead role of the short-lived NBC television version of the film Working Girl (1990). She later appeared in several films, such as Love Potion No. 9 (1992), The Thing Called Love (1993) and Fire on the Amazon. A prominent supporting role in the science-fiction/action movie Demolition Man (1993) led to her breakthrough performance in Speed the following year. She became a movie star in the late 1990s, carrying a string of successes, including While You Were Sleeping, and Miss Congeniality in 2000. Bullock received $11 million for Speed 2: Cruise Control, which she agreed to star in for financial backing for her own project, Hope Floats,^[12] and has revealed she regrets making the sequel.^[13] She later received $17.5 million for Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous.^{[citation needed]}

Bullock was selected as one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1996 and 1999, and was also ranked #58 in Empire magazine's Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time list. She was presented with the 2002 Raúl Juliá Award for Excellence^[14] for her efforts, as the executive producer of the sitcom George Lopez, in helping expand career openings for Hispanic talent in the media and entertainment industry. She also made several appearances on the show as Accident Amy, an accident-prone employee at the factory Lopez's character manages. In 2002, she starred opposite Hugh Grant in Two Weeks Notice and in the film Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.

In 2004, Bullock had a supporting role in the film Crash. She received positive reviews for her performance, with some critics suggesting that it was the best performance of her career.^[15] In 2005, she was a co-recipient of the Women in Film Crystal Award.

In 2008, Sandra Bullock was announced as "the face" of prestigious cosmetic brand Artistry.

Bullock later appeared in The Lake House, a romantic drama also starring her Speed co-star, Keanu Reeves; it was released on June 16, 2006. Because their film characters are separated throughout the film (due to the plot revolving around time travel), Bullock and Reeves were only on set together for two weeks during filming.^[16] The same year, Bullock appeared in Infamous, playing author Harper Lee. Bullock also starred in Premonition with Julian McMahon, which was released in March 2007.^[17] 2009 proved to be especially good for Bullock, giving the actress two record highs in her career, as earlier in the year she released The Proposal, with co-star Ryan Reynolds, a huge hit that took in more than $314 million at the box office worldwide, making it her most successful picture to date.^[18]

In November 2009, Bullock starred in The Blind Side, which opened at #2 behind New Moon with $34.2 million, making it her highest opening weekend ever. The Blind Side is unique in that it had a 17.6% increase at the box office its second weekend, and it took the top spot of the box office in its third weekend. The movie cost $29 million to make according to the Box Office Mojo. It has grossed over $309 million to date, making it her domestic highest grossing film and the first movie in history to pass the $200 million mark with only one top-billed female star.^[19][20] She won the award for Best Actress at the Golden Globes, Academy Awards, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance in The Blind Side.^[21] Bullock had initially turned down the role three times due to a discomfort with portraying a devout Christian.^[22] Winning the "Oscar" also gave her another unique distinction — since she won two "Razzies" the day before, for her performance in All About Steve, she is the only performer ever to have been named both "Best" and "Worst" for the same year.^[23] Sandra was asked to return her 2009 "Worst Actress of the Year" Razzie award; however, this wasn't because of a change of heart for Bullock's performance but because Bullock personally accepted her Razzie and accidentally took the original one-of-a-kind prototype Razzie, as opposed to the cheap trinket normally handed out to celebrities.^[24]

Recognition[link]

Sandra Bullock's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

As of 2009, Bullock's films have grossed over $3.1 billion worldwide.^[25] According to The Numbers, her total domestic gross stands at $1.7 billion, placing her among the Top 100 Stars at the Box Office.^[26]

Critics, while praising her screen persona,^[27] have been less receptive to her films. As of the 2009 release of The Proposal, Mark Kermode said she's made only three "good" films in her career—Speed, While You Were Sleeping, and Crash, and says "she's funny, she's gorgeous, it's impossible not to love her and yet she makes rotten film after rotten film after rotten film."^[28] As of December 2009, Bullock has appeared on three Entertainment Weekly covers. She was selected by People Magazine as its "Woman of the Year" for 2010.^[29] She was ranked #12 on People's Most Beautiful 2011 list.^[30]

Entrepreneurship[link]

Bullock runs her own production company, Fortis Films. Bullock was an executive producer of The George Lopez Show, which garnered a lucrative syndication deal that banked her some $10 million (co-produced with Robert Borden). Bullock tried to produce a film based on F.X. Toole's short story, Million-Dollar Baby, but could not interest the studios in a female boxing drama. The story was eventually adapted and directed by Clint Eastwood as the Oscar-winning film, Million Dollar Baby (2004). Bullock's production company, Fortis Films, also produced All About Steve, which was released in September 2009. Her father, John Bullock, is the company's CEO,^[31] and her sister, Gesine Bullock-Prado, is the former president.

Since November 2006, Bullock founded a popular Austin, Texas restaurant, Bess Bistro.^[32] She later opened another business across the street in a building she extensively renovated downtown called Walton's Fancy and Staple^[33] a bakery, upscale restaurant and floral shop that also offers services such as event planning.

Personal life[link]

Relationships and children[link]

Bullock was once engaged to actor Tate Donovan, whom she met while filming Love Potion No. 9; their relationship lasted four years. She previously dated football player Troy Aikman, Austin musician Bob Schneider (for two years), and actors Matthew McConaughey and Ryan Gosling.^[34][35]

Bullock married motorcycle builder and Monster Garage host Jesse James on July 16, 2005. They first met when Bullock arranged for her ten-year-old godson to meet James as a Christmas present.

In November 2009, Bullock and James entered into a custody battle with James' second ex-wife, former pornographic actress Janine Lindemulder, with whom James had a child. Bullock and James subsequently won full legal custody of James' five-year-old daughter.^[36]

Bullock at the 2010 Golden Raspberry Awards accepting her Razzie for "Worst Actress" for All About Steve

In March 2010, a scandal arose when several women claimed to have had affairs with James during his marriage to Bullock.^[37][38][39] Bullock cancelled European promotional appearances for The Blind Side citing "unforeseen personal reasons".^[40][41] On March 18, 2010, James responded to the rumors of infidelity by issuing a public apology to Bullock. He stated, "The vast majority of the allegations reported are untrue and unfounded" and "Beyond that, I will not dignify these private matters with any further public comment."^[42] James declared that "There is only one person to blame for this whole situation, and that is me", and asked that his wife and children one day "find it in their hearts to forgive me" for their current "pain and embarrassment".^[42] James’ publicist subsequently announced on March 30, 2010, that James had checked into a rehab facility "to deal with personal issues" and "save his marriage" to Bullock.^[43] However on April 28, 2010, it was reported that Bullock had filed for divorce^[44] on April 23 in Austin.^[45] Their divorce was finalized on June 28, 2010, with "conflict of personalities" cited as the reason.^[46]

Bullock announced on April 28, 2010, that she had proceeded with plans to adopt a baby boy born in January 2010 in New Orleans.^[47] Bullock and James had begun an initial adoption process four years earlier. The child began living with them in January 2010, but they chose to keep the news private until after the Oscars in March 2010. However, given the couple's separation and then divorce, Bullock continued the adoption of the baby, named Louis Bardo Bullock, as a single parent.^[47]

Vehicular accidents[link]

On December 20, 2000, Bullock and another passenger survived the crash of a chartered business jet during an attempted night landing at Jackson Hole Airport. The pilots were unable to activate the runway lights due to having out-of-date approach plates, but continued the landing. The aircraft landed in the airport's graded safety area between the runway and parallel taxiway and hit a snowbank. The accident caused a separation of the nose cone and landing gear, partial separation of the right wing, and a bend in the left wing.^[48]

On April 18, 2008, while Bullock was in Massachusetts shooting the film The Proposal, she and her then-husband were in an SUV that was hit head-on (driver's side offset) at moderate speed by a drunken driver. Vehicle damage was not major and there were no injuries.^[49]

Legal matters[link]

In October 2004, Bullock won a multimillion-dollar judgment against Benny Daneshjou, the builder of her Lake Austin, Texas home; the jury ruled the house was uninhabitable. It has since been torn down and rebuilt.^[50]

Stalking[link]

On April 22, 2007, Marcia Diana Valentine was found lying outside James and Bullock's Southern California home in Orange County. When James confronted the woman, she ran to her 2004 silver Mercedes, got behind the wheel, and tried to run over James. The woman is said to be an obsessed fan of Sandra Bullock.^[51] The woman was charged with one felony count each of aggravated assault and stalking, while Bullock obtained a restraining order to bar Valentine from "contacting or coming near her home, family or work for three years."^[52] Valentine pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated assault and stalking.^[53] Valentine was subsequently convicted of stalking and was sentenced to three years of probation.^[54]

Charity work[link]

Bullock has been a public supporter of the American Red Cross, having donated $1 million to the organization at least four times. Her first public donation of that amount was to the Red Cross's Liberty Disaster Relief Fund. Three years later, she sent money in response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunamis.^[55] In 2010, she donated $1 million to relief efforts in Haiti following the Haiti earthquake, and again donated the same amount following the 2011 Japan Earthquake.^[56]

Along with other stars, Bullock did a PSA urging people to sign a petition for clean-up efforts of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.^[57]

Filmography[link]