name	Katie
pronunciation
gender	Female
meaning	"Pure"
region	English-speaking countries
origin	Greek
related names	Katherine, Katharine, Kathryn, Catherine, Kaitlyn, Kathern, Cathern, Kate, Katy, Katerina, Catharine, Cathy, Cathaleen, Kathleen, Katija or even in rare cases when the spelling is Kaitie Spanish name: Katerina Katie is of English origin and means "pure".
footnotes	}}

Katie is an English feminine name. It is a pet form of Katherine, Kate, Kaitlynn and their related forms. It is frequently used on its own. It may refer to:

In sports:

Katie, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim Rally Monkey

Katie Hnida, American NCAA football player

Katie Hoff, American Olympic swimmer

Katie Thorlakson, Canadian football (soccer) forward

In fiction:

Katie, character from Total Drama Island and Total Drama Action

Katie Bell, character from the ''Harry Potter'' series by J.K. Rowling

Katie Fitch, character in the British teen drama ''Skins''

Katie Matlin, character in the Canadian drama ''Degrassi''

Katie Sugden, character in the ITV soap opera Emmerdale

Katie Walker, the Yellow Time Force Ranger in ''Power Rangers: Time Force''

In television and film:

''Katie'', a syndicated American talk show hosted by Katie Couric slated to premiere on September 10, 2012

Katie Brown, American television show host

Katie Cassidy, American singer and actress

Katie Finneran, American actress

Katie Griffin, Canadian actress, voice actress, and singer

Katie Holmes, American television and film actress

Katie Hopkins, the self-proclaimed "''Pantomime Villain''" of the third series of The Apprentice (UK)

Katie Leclerc, American actress

Katie Leung, Scottish actress

Katie McGrath, Irish actress and model

Katie Piper, British broadcaster and model, wounded in a 2008 acid attack

Katie Tippel, 1975 film by Paul Verhoeven

Katie (monkey), animal who played Marcel in the series ''Friends''

In modeling:

Katie Price, British model also known as "Jordan"

In literature:

Katie Couric, American journalist

Katie Hafner, American journalist

Katie.com, autobiographical book which details how author Katie Tarbox was stalked and almost molested at age 14 by Frank Kufrovich

In music:

Katie Kissoon, English singer

Katie Melua (born 1984), Georgian singer

Katie Underwood, Australian singer-songwriter

KT Tunstall, Scottish singer

Katie Waissel, British singer and contestant in the seventh series of The X Factor (UK)

Katie White, English singer and front-woman of The Ting Tings

In fashion:

Katie Perry (born 1980), Australian designer

In ships:

, a United States Navy patrol boat in commission from 1917 to 1918

References

See also

Katy

Katherine

Kate

Category:English given names

de:Katie hu:Kati

name	Pete Doherty
background	solo_singer
birth date	March 12, 1979
birth place	Hexham, Northumberland England
origin	London, England
genre	Indie rock, post-punk revival, garage rock revival
occupation	Musician, songwriter, writer
instrument	Vocals, guitar, bass guitar, harmonica, melodica, piano, organ
years active	1997–present
associated acts	The Libertines, Babyshambles
notable instruments	Epiphone CoronetGibson SGGibson ES-125Epiphone Casino }}

Peter Doherty (born 12 March 1979) is an English musician, writer, actor, poet and artist. He is best known musically for being co-frontman of The Libertines, which he reformed with Carl Barât in 2010. His other musical project is indie band Babyshambles. In 2005, Doherty became prominent in tabloids, the news media, and pop culture blogs because of his romantic relationship with model Kate Moss and his frequently-publicised drug addictions.

Early life

Peter Doherty was born in Hexham, Northumberland, England, the son of Jacqueline (née Michels), who is of paternal Jewish Russian descent and Peter John Doherty, who is of Irish descent. He had a Catholic upbringing and grew up at a number of army garrisons, due to his father's work as an officer in the British Army, living at various times at garrisons in Catterick, Belfast, Wildenrath Barracks in the north west of Germany (right behind Peter Slater's house in Krefeld), Bedworth, Dorset and Larnaca, along with his mother, a nurse, and two sisters, Amy Jo and Emily. Doherty was the second of the three children. It was whilst in Dorset at the age of 11 Pete was first inspired to play gutair. He started playing in order to impress classmate Emily Baker whom he fancied. 18 years later they were reunited where the now Brighton based singer/songwriter won his support slot. He achieved 11 GCSEs, 7 of which were A* grades, at Nicholas Chamberlaine Comprehensive School in Bedworth and four passes at A Level, two at grade A. At the age of 16, he won a poetry competition and embarked on a tour of Russia organised by the British Council.

After his A-levels, he moved to his grandmother's flat in London – where he said he felt 'destined' to be—and got a job filling graves in Willesden Cemetery, although most of his time was spent reading and writing while sitting on gravestones. In a clip later made famous by YouTube, an eighteen-year old Doherty can be seen in an interview with MTV, on the day of the release of Oasis' ''Be Here Now'' album. He attended Queen Mary, part of the University of London, to study English literature, but left the course after his first year. After leaving university, he moved into a London flat with friend and fellow musician Carl Barât, who had been a classmate of Doherty's older sister at Brunel University.

Career

The Libertines

Doherty and Barât formed a band called The Libertines in the late '90s, although it was not until 2002, with the release of their debut album ''Up the Bracket'', that they began to achieve widespread mainstream success.

The group achieved critical and commercial success and gained a dedicated cult following, with Doherty in particular being praised by fans and critics alike as one of the most promising songwriters to emerge on the British music scene for some time. However, Doherty's increasing drug problems led to his estrangement from the band. In 2003, he was jailed for burgling Barât's flat.

The two initially fell out over this incident, but made amends whilst Doherty was in prison. He was originally sentenced to 6 months, but his sentence was cut to 2 months. Upon his release, Doherty immediately reunited with Barât and the rest of the band to play a gig in the Tap 'n' Tin pub in Chatham, Kent.

Following his rejoining of the band, Doherty sought treatment for his drug addiction. He attended the alternative detox centre Wat Tham Krabok, a temple in Thailand, famous for its rehabilitation program for crack and heroin users. He left after three days and returned to England. As a consequence of this, The Libertines cancelled appearances that they were due to make at the Isle of Wight and Glastonbury festivals.

However, while post-production work was taking place on the second Libertines album in June 2004, Doherty was again asked to leave the band. The band cited Doherty's continuing drug addiction as the reason for his dismissal, but emphasised their willingness to take him back once he had addressed his addiction. Although Barât had previously stated that the Libertines were merely on hiatus, pending Doherty's recovery, the group effectively disbanded with Doherty's departure at the end of 2004. The remaining members became involved in other projects (see Yeti and Dirty Pretty Things).

On 12 April 2007, Pete Doherty and Carl Barât played 13 songs together at the second of Doherty's "An Evening with Pete Doherty" gigs at the Hackney Empire, London.

In 2010 The Libertines reformed for appearances at the Reading and Leeds Festivals. They performed on 27 August at Leeds Festival and on 28 August at Reading Festival. The festival appearances were preluded by two gigs at the HMV Forum on 24 and 25 August.

Collaborations

Prior to the disbanding of The Libertines, Doherty collaborated with local poet Wolfman. Together they recorded the single "For Lovers", which entered the top 10, charting at number 7, in April 2004. Despite the success of the single, which was nominated for a prestigious ''Ivor Novello Award'' for songwriting, Doherty and Wolfman received relatively little money, having already sold the publishing rights for a small sum in a pub.

Later in 2004, Doherty provided guest vocals to the song "Down to the Underground" by the British group Client. The song was released in June 2004 as a B-side to the group's single "In It for the Money" and appears on their second album ''City''.

In 2005 Doherty collaborated with the British rock band Littl'ans on the single "Their Way".

In 2006, Doherty was featured on the charity single "Janie Jones", which was released to raise funds for Strummerville. A number of artists and bands, such as Dirty Pretty Things, We Are Scientists, The Kooks and The Holloways, also featured on the track.

In August 2006 it was announced that Doherty was recording with The Streets frontman Mike Skinner on a new version of "Prangin' Out", from Skinner's album ''The Hardest Way to Make an Easy Living''.

Babyshambles

Doherty founded Babyshambles towards the end of his time with The Libertines. The group has released two studio albums, ''Down in Albion'', in November 2005 and ''Shotter's Nation'' in October 2007. The band's touring schedule and releases have occasionally been disrupted by Doherty's ongoing legal problems.

The line-up of the band has changed several times: drummer Gemma Clarke left the band due to Doherty's drug problems and was replaced by Adam Ficek, and guitarist and co-songwriter Patrick Walden has also left the band and was replaced by Mick Whitnall.

In August 2006, Babyshambles signed up with major record label Parlophone, on which they released ''The Blinding EP'' on 9 December 2006. In January 2007, they signed a long term record deal with Parlophone.

In November 2007 Babyshambles played their first arena tour, taking in dates at the MEN Arena in Manchester, the Nottingham Arena, Bournemouth International Centre, London's Wembley Arena and Birmingham's National Indoor Arena.

Solo work and Guerrilla gigs

Doherty has been working on new acoustic material, similar to the wealth of his unreleased songs that can already be downloaded on the internet. On his own, and often with his band, he has continued The Libertines' tradition of performing on short notice guerrilla gigs in small venues. On New Year's Eve 2005, Doherty held a guerrilla gig in his North London flat where he showcased some of his solo works, many of which later leaked onto the internet. 31 March and 1 April 2006 Doherty was performing two surprising solo gigs, his first in mainland Europe, at the NonStop Kino pornographic cinema and venue in Graz, Austria, after he failed to turn up for an earlier arrangement in January. For this occasion he produced, at the suggestion of Bettina Aichbauer, friend of Doherty and owner of the NonStop Kino, a film with the title ''Spew It Out Your Soul'' which he showed on screen during his performance. On 12 July 2008, Doherty played a solo gig at the Royal Albert Hall. It was his biggest solo show so far. The concert was originally scheduled for 26 April, but had to be rescheduled to a later date due to Doherty being sentenced to 14 weeks in prison for breaching probation on 8 April. The solo show did not get the best ratings but was all in all still well received. Jon Swaine of ''The Daily Telegraph'' criticised that "whole chunks of the set … passed by as listless noodling, with neither Doherty nor the audience appearing to know quite how to behave" and that - without a full band - Doherty seemed out of place at such a big venue. Betty Clarke of ''The Guardian'' described Doherty as "focused" and "on good form". Friend and collaborator Peter Wolfe had a guest appearance on stage when Doherty performed "For Lovers". Swaine stated Wolfe ruined the song with "some especially tuneless backing vocals". The gig was forced to an abrupt end during the encore due to a stage invasion by the fans.

On 13 January 2009, NME.COM announced that Doherty's solo album, entitled ''Grace/Wastelands'' would be released on 16 March, preceded by a single, "Last of the English Roses", on 9 March. The website also revealed the tracklisting of the album and credits. In 2009 Doherty was made an honorary patron of the University Philosophical Society.

Whilst performing a solo gig at the Grimsby Auditorium in March 2009, Doherty declared Grimsby a "shit-hole" mid-way through his set after being continuously pelted with coins and drinks by a harsh crowd.

Painting and writing

In June 2006, Doherty announced that he had signed a deal with Orion Books to publish his journals, in which he had recorded poetry, drawings, and photos over the course of his career. Most of Doherty's journals are freely available on the internet. The book, titled ''The Books of Albion: The Collected Writings of Peter Doherty'', was released on 21 June 2007.

On 15 May 2007, Doherty exhibited his paintings for the first time. The art exhibition took place at the London's Bankrobber Gallery, and was on show for one month. The collection featured 14 paintings.

An exhibition of Doherty's paintings titled, "Art of the Albion", took place at the Gallerie Chappe in Paris from 25 April to 25 May 2008. The exhibit caused controversy due to artworks made with Doherty's own blood. According to newspapers, anti-drug campaigners were enraged and accused Doherty of glamourising illegal substance abuse. Art experts were similarly unimpressed. David West, the owner of London's Decima gallery, for example, slammed his work: "It's not got any artistic merit. He's using his blood to make them interesting, but when you look at them they're what any four-year-old can do."

Modelling

Following in the footsteps of model and ex-fiancée Kate Moss, Doherty became the face of Roberto Cavalli's Fall 2007/2008 fashion advertising campaign. The photos gained praise for depicting a much cleaner and more handsome Doherty. The '50s-style photographs have also been compared to images of Marlon Brando.

Acting

On 9 December 2010 it was reported that Doherty would be taking the lead role in a film adaption of Alfred de Musset's autobiographical novel ''La Confession d'un Enfant du Siècle'' alongside Charlotte Gainsbourg.

Influences

In interviews, Doherty has listed his favourite books as George Orwell's ''1984'', ''Brighton Rock'' by Graham Greene, ''Our Lady of the Flowers'' by Jean Genet, ''Flowers of Evil'' by Charles Baudelaire and the complete works of Oscar Wilde. He has also mentioned Emily Dickinson and Tony Hancock as influences; Doherty and his father were once members of the Tony Hancock Appreciation Society. Doherty mentions Hancock, and makes an allusion to his famous phrase 'Stone me!', in an early song entitled "You're My Waterloo". However, numerous literary and musical allusions occur throughout Doherty's ongoing ''Books of Albion''. He places particular importance on the Romantic poets and on existential philosophers such as Albert Camus and Miguel de Unamuno. Doherty has also alluded to work by the Marquis de Sade and Thomas de Quincey. On the Babyshambles album ''Down in Albion'', there is a track entitled "À rebours", which is significantly influenced by the novel of the same name by Joris-Karl Huysmans. His favourite films include British films of the 1960s and seventies such as ''Billy Liar'', ''Poor Cow'', ''O Lucky Man!'' and the film versions of ''Steptoe and Son''. He is particularly fond of The Smiths and The Clash.

Doherty has also supported up-and-coming British bands, such as indie bands The Paddingtons and The View.

Doherty is also known to be a devoted follower of Queens Park Rangers football club. As a youth he wrote a fanzine, entitled "All Quiet on the Western Avenue". He sold copies of the fanzine on the club's grounds, but its mixture of literary references, quotes, poetry and football stories proved unsuccessful with the other fans.

A frequent lyrical theme for Doherty is Albion, the ancient name for Great Britain. Doherty also uses 'Albion' as the name of a ship sailing to a utopia called Arcadia, a place without rules or authority. Doherty and Barât shared a flat in London, at 112a Teesdale Street, Bethnal Green, affectionately known as 'The Albion Rooms', despite being rather run down. Doherty named his diaries, in which he writes poems and other thoughts, the ''Books of Albion''.

Drug abuse and legal problems

Doherty has been repeatedly arrested for drug offences and those arising from drug use, such as driving under the influence, car theft, and driving with a suspended licence. He has pled guilty to possession of crack cocaine, heroin, cannabis and ketamine. His addictions have resulted in jail time and multiple trips to rehabilitation facilities. The influence of drugs on his life had already reached such an intensity at times, that in his younger days, Doherty worked as a drug dealer to pay for his drug habit, as he stated to author Peter Welsh in his biography. Doherty stated that he has been a rent boy, and that during that time he robbed one of his male clients.

In 2003, while Doherty's first band The Libertines was performing in Japan without him, he broke into Carl Barât's flat and stole various items, including an old guitar and a laptop computer. On 7 September Doherty was sentenced by Judge Roger Davies to 6 months in prison, however the sentence was eventually shortened to two months on appeal with the judge commenting, "We feel that a custodial sentence was justified in this case but sufficient credit was not given for his timely plea of guilty which it should have been. We have reduced his sentence to two months which will allow for his almost immediate release." Doherty was released from jail on 8 October 2003.

On 2 February 2005, Doherty was arrested after an altercation with documentary filmmaker Max Carlish, who was making a rockumentary about the singer and sold photos of a heroin smoking Doherty to the tabloids. Doherty and his friend Alan Wass had been charged with robbery and blackmail. On 7 February Doherty was released on bail after his record company Rough Trade put up £150,000 in bonds. All charges against him were later dropped by the Crown Prosecution Service due to a lack of evidence.

In late 2007, a photo was published in several newspapers of Doherty allegedly forcing his pet cat to inhale from a crack pipe.

On 8 April 2008, Doherty was jailed for 14 weeks by a court for breaching a probation order after a string of brushes with the law for drugs and driving offenses. On 18 April 2008, he was moved to a private area of Wormwood Scrubs prison after learning that fellow inmates were planning to attack him, therefore making it safer for the singer. On 6 May 2008, he was released after his sentence was cut in half and further 18 days were remitted due to a government plan to reduce overcrowding. He also had another 2 days off for being in police custody (after serving just over 4 weeks of a 14-week sentence). He described prison life as "a lot of gangsters and Radio 4" and showed a certificate confirming he had passed a drugs test while inside.

Doherty made another attempt to fight his drug addiction in September 2007, when he underwent rehab for six weeks at Clouds House. However, Doherty relapsed in November 2007 following his appearance at the MTV Europe Music Awards 2007 in Munich. In September 2008 Andy Boyd, Doherty's manager, claimed in an interview with the ''Daily Mail'' that Doherty did not get off heroin. Boyd stated: "The only time I can be sure he’s not doing heroin or crack is when he’s in rehab or prison or asleep" and implied that when Doherty had an implant fitted, which blocks the body’s opiate receptors, he replaced heroin with another drug.

In June 2009, Doherty was arrested in Gloucester and charged with driving dangerously, while drunk, and being in possession of heroin. He was released on a £50,000 bail and after 'guilty' pleas were entered, was asked to return to court on 21 December for sentencing. On this date, Doherty was spared jail but was ordered to pay £2,050 in fines, and was banned from driving for 18 months, despite the court hearing Doherty had 21 previous drug offences and six motoring offences. Following his release from court, he was escorted by officers to the nearest police station and re-arrested for possession of a controlled substance, later revealed to be heroin. The following day, 22 December, it emerged that Doherty could be charged with offences linked to a hit-and-run incident, which left a pedestrian in a critical condition. Doherty's manager, Andrew Boyd, has already appeared in court charged with a number of offences relating to the incident. Whilst Doherty was in Gloucester court on 21 December, heroin fell out of his coat pocket. He was arrested for possession and was convicted for this offence at the same court on 27 January 2010. He was fined £750 and ordered to pay £85 court costs. On 11 March 2010, Lowestoft magistrates fined Doherty £500 and banned him from driving for 12 months for allowing his Daimler car to be used uninsured by his manager.

On 19 March 2010, Doherty was arrested on suspicion of supplying controlled drugs. He was reported to be bail until April 2010.

In June 2010 Doherty was, after spending 10 hours in detention in JFK Airport, refused entry into the United States - despite having a visa.

On 18 October 2010, Doherty was summoned to court under the charge of cocaine possession. In March 2011 he pleaded guilty to possession, he was granted unconditional bail until sentencing on 20 May. On 20 May, Doherty was sentenced to 6 months in jail for possession of cocaine, following the inquiry into the death of Robin Whitehead.

Family and personal life

Doherty has an older sister Amy-Jo and a younger sister Emily. His mother Jacqueline Doherty is a nurse, who published a book about family life with Doherty and his drug problems, called ''Pete Doherty: My Prodigal Son'' (ISBN 978-0755316083). Doherty's father, Peter Doherty Sr., is a retired Army Officer (Major).

After numerous attempts to convince him to start a serious rehab, in early 2005 Doherty's father decided that he was tired of broken promises and vowed never to see his son until he was clean of drugs. The sensitivity surrounding the issue became apparent in the BBC Two ''Arena'' documentary about Doherty, on 12 November 2006, which included footage of him talking about this aspect of his personal life. He was visibly upset and had to politely ask the interviewer at one point to stop filming. In October 2007, Doherty said in an interview with BBC Radio 4 show, ''Front Row'', that he briefly reconciled with his father after 3 years of no contact when his father came to visit him in rehab, but they are currently estranged due to his ongoing difficulties with drugs. In a radio interview in France on 6 July 2009, Doherty stated that 'I'm clean – the last 11 days I've been clean for the first time in quite a long time.' Doherty also stated that 'as we speak' work has begun on the third Babyshambles album, stating that he was keen to begin writing while he was clean, however he displayed some anxiety at writing music while clean due to the fact many of his songs have been written under the influence of drugs.

Doherty has had a tumultuous relationship with Kate Moss, frequently covered by the press. They met in January 2005 at Moss' 31st birthday party and have had an on-off relationship since. Moss has also taken to singing at some of Doherty's shows. On 11 April 2007, Doherty announced Moss as his fiancée during the first of his solo gigs at the Hackney Empire, London, at which Moss also performed. Doherty planned to marry Moss during the summer 2007. Since July 2007, Moss and Doherty have broken up.

In October 2007, Doherty was briefly engaged to fashion model Irina Lazareanu.

Doherty has a son named Astile Louis Doherty (born Camden, London, 12 July 2003) with singer Lisa Moorish. Doherty did not have much contact with his son until 2008. In an interview with the ''Daily Mail'', Doherty said that he intentionally kept away from Astile because of the state he felt himself to be in. However, he stated that their relationship has become a closer one since then.

In July 2008, ''Rolling Stone'' reporter Claire Hoffman asked Amy Winehouse about her relationship with Doherty. Winehouse replied: "We're just good friends", and added: "I asked Pete to do a concept EP, and he made this face, he looked at me like I'd pooed on the floor. He wouldn't do it. We're just really close".

Doherty currently lives in a nine-bedroomed red-brick Georgian house on the outskirts of Marlborough, Wiltshire - the house is leased from Lord Cardigan. Doherty chose Wiltshire to seek 'peace and quiet', and also because his probation order does not allow him to live in a residence with a London postcode. Doherty was rumoured to be facing eviction, due to the squalid conditions in which he lives, but his spokesperson dismissed these tabloid claims as false.

Musical equipment

Doherty prefers vintage equipment. Many of his vintage guitars and amplifers have been destroyed in various domestic incidents.

Guitars

Epiphone Coronet-Doherty used the rare one pickup model from the 1960s a lot in the early years of the libertines, as well as in some later gigs.

Gibson ES-330-One of Doherty's first known guitars. Used throughout the early libertines gigs.

Epiphone Casino-Used with Babyshambles at recent concerts.

Rickenbacker 360-Used a lot in Babyshambles, live and in the studio.

Gibson ES-335-Used during the later years of the Libertines.

Epiphone Olympic- Another rare one pickup epiphone. Seen on the cover of the 'I get along' single (Libertines).

Amplifers

Vox AC30

Matchless Amplifer Marshall Amplifier

Discography

Solo album

''Grace/Wastelands'' (16 March 2009) UK #17

Singles

; non-album singles:

"For Lovers" (Wolfman featuring Pete Doherty) (12 April 2004) UK #7

"Their Way" (Littl'ans featuring Pete Doherty) (17 October 2005) UK #22

"Prangin' Out" (The Streets featuring Pete Doherty) (25 September 2006) UK #25

; from ''Grace/Wastelands'':

"Last of the English Roses" (9 March 2009) UK #67

"Broken Love Song" (3 August 2009)

Other appearances

''Down To The Underground'' (Client, featuring Pete Doherty). Taken from the ''City'' album.

Bibliography

''The Books of Albion: The Collected Writings of Peter Doherty'' (2007, Orion Books; ISBN 0-752-88591-X)

Awards and honours

''2004'': Doherty was voted to be joint #1 in ''NME's'' 2004 Cool List, along with fellow Libertine Carl Barât. The following year he was placed at #6, and on 10 May 2006 was voted #2 in their poll depicting 50 of rock's greatest heroes. ''2008'': On 28 February 2008, Doherty won the "Hero of the Year" award at the 2008 Shockwave NME Awards. ''2009'': On 25 February 2009, Doherty won the "Best Solo Artist" award at the 2009 Shockwave NME Awards.

References

External links

Category:1979 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century artists Category:21st-century poets Category:Alumni of Queen Mary, University of London Category:English artists Category:English guitarists Category:English male singers Category:English people of Irish descent Category:English people of Russian descent Category:English poets Category:English rock singers Category:English songwriters Category:Lead guitarists Category:Musicians from Northumberland Category:NME Awards winners Category:People convicted of drug offenses Category:People from Hexham Category:People self-identifying as substance abusers Category:Rhythm guitarists Category:Rock songwriters Category:The Libertines members

bs:Pete Doherty ca:Pete Doherty cs:Pete Doherty da:Pete Doherty de:Pete Doherty es:Pete Doherty fa:پیت دوهرتی fr:Pete Doherty it:Pete Doherty lt:Pete Doherty hu:Pete Doherty nl:Pete Doherty ja:ピート・ドハーティ no:Pete Doherty pl:Pete Doherty pt:Pete Doherty ru:Доэрти, Пит simple:Pete Doherty sl:Pete Doherty sr:Пит Доерти fi:Pete Doherty sv:Pete Doherty zh:皮特·多赫提

alt	Katie Holmes making a speech at the National Memorial Day in Washington, D.C., May 24, 2009
birth name	Kate Noelle Holmes
birth date	December 18, 1978
birth place	Toledo, Ohio, US
spouse	Tom Cruise (2006–present)
children	1
occupation	Actress
yearsactive	1997–present }}

Kate Noelle "Katie" Holmes (born December 18, 1978) is an American actress who first achieved fame for her role as Joey Potter on The WB television teen drama ''Dawson's Creek'' from 1998 to 2003. Her movie roles have included the blockbuster ''Batman Begins'' along with art house films such as ''The Ice Storm'' and thrillers including ''Abandon''. She has also played on Broadway in a production of Arthur Miller's ''All My Sons''. She achieved worldwide recognition for her marriage to Tom Cruise, with whom she has a daughter, Suri.

Early life

Holmes was born in Toledo, Ohio. She is the fourth daughter and youngest child of five children born to Kathleen (née Stothers), a homemaker and philanthropist, and Martin Joseph Holmes, Sr., an attorney specializing in divorces, Holmes is of English, Irish, German and Russian descent. She has three older sisters and one older brother: Tamera, Holly Ann, Martin Joseph, Jr., and Nancy Kay.

Holmes was baptized a Roman Catholic. She attended Christ the King Church and parochial schools in Toledo. She graduated from the all-female Notre Dame Academy (also her mother's alma mater), where Katie was a 4.0 student. At St. John's Jesuit, a nearby all-male high school, Holmes appeared in school musicals, playing a waitress in ''Hello, Dolly!'' and Lola in ''Damn Yankees''. She scored 1310 out of 1600 on her SAT and was accepted to Columbia University (and attended for a summer session); her father wanted her to be a doctor.

At age 14, she began classes at a modeling school in Toledo run by Margaret O'Brien, who took her to IMTA, the International Modeling and Talent Association Competition held in New York City in 1996. Eventually, Holmes was signed to an agent after performing a monologue from ''To Kill a Mockingbird''. An audition tape was sent to the casting director for the 1997 film ''The Ice Storm'', directed by Ang Lee. She was cast in the role of Libbets Casey, in the film which starred Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver.

Career

Early work

In January 1997, Holmes went to Los Angeles for pilot season,when producers cast and shoot new programs in the hopes of securing a spot on a network schedule. ''The Toledo Blade'' reported she was offered the lead in ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' but she turned it down. Columbia Tri-Star Television, producer of a new show created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson, asked her to come to Los Angeles to audition, but there was a conflict with her schedule. "I was doing my school play, ''Damn Yankees''. And I was playing Lola. I even got to wear the feather boa. I thought, 'There is no way I'm not playing Lola to go audition for some network. I couldn't let my school down. We had already sold a lot of tickets. So I told Kevin and The WB, 'I'm sorry. I just can't meet with you this week. I've got other commitments.'"

The producers permitted her to audition on videotape. Holmes read for the part of Joey Potter, the tomboy best friend of the title character Dawson, on a videotape shot in her basement, her mother reading Dawson's lines. ''The Hollywood Reporter'' claimed the story of Holmes's audition "has become the stuff of legend" and "no one even thought that it was weird that one of the female leads would audition via Federal Express."

Holmes won the part. Paul Stupin, executive producer of the show, said his first reaction on seeing her audition tape was "That's Joey Potter!" Creator and executive producer Kevin Williamson said Holmes has a "unique combination of talent, beauty and skill that makes Hollywood come calling. But that's just the beginning. To meet her is to instantly fall under her spell." Williamson thought she had exactly the right look for Joey Potter. "She had those eyes, those eyes just stained with loneliness."

''Dawson's Creek''

"Joey Potter is a headstrong, vibrant, wily, sultry, and determined go-getter. And yet, in a gloriously contradictory manner, in spite of her tough-as-nails exterior demeanor, Joey's also a frail, sometimes uncertain, emotionally sensitive, in-need-of-love person", said the show's official book. Joey, named for Jo in ''Little Women'', for years had been climbing in Dawson's bedroom window and platonically sharing his bed. Joey's mother had died from cancer when Joey was thirteen and her father, Mike (Gareth Williams), was in prison for "conspiracy to traffic in marijuana in excess of 10,000 pounds." Her harried, unmarried, and very pregnant sister, Bessie (Nina Repeta), about ten years older than Joey, was raising her while running the Ice House restaurant, where Joey worked as a waitress. ''GQ'' described Joey as "kind of an uptight fussbudget—one who's always twisted up over doing the right thing and bungling-up ways to hook up with her crush and across the creek neighbor, Dawson."

"I'm a lot like Joey", said Holmes. "I think they saw that. I come from a small town. I was a tomboy. Joey tries to be articulate and deny that she doesn't have a lot of experience in life. Her life parallels mine, which is all about new everything—relationships, personal perceptions—and about being guarded." Holmes filmed the pilot of ''Dawson's Creek'' in Wilmington, North Carolina, during spring break of her senior year of high school in 1997.

The tall brunette enchanted the press, writers of both sexes commenting how Holmes was the sort of girl one wants to bring home to meet the parents and to marry. "The Audrey Hepburn of her generation", was one typical comment. ''Time'' called her "impossibly lovely" and ''Entertainment Weekly'' said she was "next up for idolhood." ''Variety'', reviewing the pilot, said Holmes "is a confident young performer who delivers her lines with slyness and conviction." Holmes made such an impression in Hollywood, ''The New York Times Magazine'' claimed everyone was seeking to cast a "Katie Holmes type", who, the reporter claimed, "is a throwback to the 1950s: she is a smart girl next door (as opposed to the babe-o-rama blondes)". But her "type" was no less attractive, ''Arena'' magazine declaring her "the most coquettishly sexy woman on television. ''Anywhere''."

Holmes was soon on the covers of magazines such as ''Seventeen'', ''TV Guide'', and ''Rolling Stone''. Jancee Dunn, an editor at ''Rolling Stone'' said she was chosen for the cover because "every time you mention ''Dawson's Creek'' you tend to get a lot of dolphin-like shrieks from teenage girls. The fact that she is drop-dead gorgeous didn't hurt either."

Reviews of ''Dawson's Creek'' were mixed. ''The Blade'' said the characters "just talk like they came from a planet ruled by Manhattan psychologists, one where small talk is punishable by death." Holmes herself needed help with the dialogue. "Sometimes before we read a script, I have to get my dictionary and call people to make sure I'm pronouncing some of the words correctly." The show brought her national attention and many fans back home; Toledo's Thanksgiving Day parade in November 1998 had record attendance when Holmes was named grand marshal.

''Dawson's Creek'' ran from 1998 to 2003, and Holmes was the only actor to appear in all 128 episodes. "It was very difficult for me to leave Wilmington, to have my little glass bubble burst and move on. I hate change. On the other hand it was refreshing to play someone else", she said in 2004. Holmes confirmed that, as often happens on soaps, the character was a caricature of the actor:

"As Joey", said ''Life'' magazine, "Holmes has had seismic influences on teen life... Through it all, Joey has managed to hang on to her integrity... The show—and Katie's character in particular—has touched a nerve."

Film

In 2005, Holmes characterised her film career as being a string of "bombs." "Usually I'm not even in the top ten", she said, the highest grossing film of her career then being ''Phone Booth''. She lamented "It's not like I have a lot of stuff that's great just waiting for me to sign on to."

Her first leading role came in ''Disturbing Behavior'' (1998), a ''Scream''-era ''Stepford Wives''-goes-to-high school thriller, where she was a loner from the wrong side of the tracks. Roger Ebert of the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' wrote her character, Rachel, "dresses in black and likes to strike poses on the beds of pickup trucks and is a bad girl who is in great danger of becoming a very good one." The actress won a MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance for the role, though Holmes said the film was "just horrible."

Holmes played a disaffected supermarket clerk in Doug Liman's ensemble piece ''Go'' (1999).

She had an uncredited cameo with ''Dawson's Creek'' co-star Joshua Jackson in ''Muppets from Space'' (1999), which was also filmed in Wilmington.

In Kevin Williamson's ''Teaching Mrs. Tingle'' (1999), which he wrote and directed, Holmes played a straight-A student whose vindictive teacher (Helen Mirren) threatens to keep her from a desperately needed scholarship.

In ''Wonder Boys'' (2000), directed by Curtis Hanson from the novel by Michael Chabon, Holmes had a small role (six and one-half minutes of screen time) but nevertheless attracted the attention of numerous film critics with her performance as Hannah Green, the talented student who lusts after Professor Grady Tripp (Michael Douglas), her creative writing instructor and landlord. Kenneth Turan of ''The Los Angeles Times'' said she was "just right as the beauty with kind of a crush on the old man."

In ''The Gift'' (2000), a Southern Gothic story directed by Sam Raimi and starring Cate Blanchett, she played the antithesis of Joey Potter: a promiscuous rich girl having affairs with everyone from a sociopathic wife-beater (Keanu Reeves) to the district attorney (Gary Cole), and is murdered by her fiancé (Greg Kinnear). Holmes did her first nude scene for the film, in a scene where her character was about to be murdered. Her appearance was lamented by ''Variety'''s Steven Kotler. In Ohio, the scene met with disapproval from Russ Lemmon writing in ''The Blade''.

In ''Abandon'' (2002), written by Oscar winner Stephen Gaghan, Holmes was a delusional, homicidal college student named "Katie." Todd McCarthy of ''Variety'' and Roger Ebert commended her performance, but other critics and audiences savaged it. The actress played the mistress of the public relations flack played by Colin Farrell in ''Phone Booth'' (2002) and Robert Downey, Jr.'s nurse in ''The Singing Detective'' (2003). Holmes's next starring role was in ''Pieces of April'' (2003), a gritty comedy about a dysfunctional family on Thanksgiving. ''Variety'' said it was "one of her best film performances." "Each actor shines", wrote Elvis Mitchell, "even Ms. Holmes, whose beauty seems to have fogged the minds of her previous directors" in playing "a brat who is slaving to find her inner decency and barely has the equipment for such an achievement, let alone to serve a meal whose salmonella potential could claim an entire borough. Yet it is her surliness, as well as her intransigent determination to make Thanksgiving work, that keeps the laughs coming."

In 2003, Holmes was a contender for the role of Christine Daaé in 2004's ''The Phantom of the Opera'', but lost the role to Emmy Rossum.

Holmes played the President's daughter in ''First Daughter'', which was originally to be released in January 2004 on the same day as ''Chasing Liberty'', another film about a president's daughter, but was ultimately released in September 2004 to dismal reviews and ticket sales. ''First Daughter'', directed by Forest Whitaker, also starred Michael Keaton as her father and Marc Blucas as her love interest. ''The Hollywood Reporter'''s Kirk Honeycutt called her character, Samantha Mackenzie, "a startling example of how a studio film can dumb down and neutralize the comic abilities of a lively young star." In the 2005 film ''Batman Begins'', the most successful film of her career to date, she played Rachel Dawes, an attorney in the Gotham City district attorney's office and the childhood sweetheart of the title character. ''Variety'' was unenthusiastic. "Holmes is OK", was its critic's sole remark on her performance. She was nominated for a Golden Raspberry for "worst supporting actress" for the film.

In 2005, she appeared in the film version of Christopher Buckley's satirical novel ''Thank You for Smoking'' about a tobacco lobbyist played by Aaron Eckhart, whom Holmes's character, a Washington reporter, seduces. ''Variety'' wrote one of the film's "sole relatively weak notes [came] from Holmes, who lacks even a hint of the wiliness of a ruthless reporter" and ''The New York Times'' said the cast was "exceptionally fine" except for Holmes, who "strain[ed] credulity" in her role.

Holmes had agreed to play in ''Shame on You'', a biopic about the country singer Spade Cooley written and directed by Dennis Quaid, as the wife whom Cooley (played by Quaid) stomps to death. But the picture, set to shoot in New Orleans, Louisiana, was delayed by Hurricane Katrina, and Holmes dropped out because of her pregnancy.

After speculation about Holmes reprising her role in ''The Dark Knight'', the sequel to ''Batman Begins'', it was finally confirmed that she would not appear. Her role was later recast with Maggie Gyllenhaal in her place. Instead, Holmes decided to star in the comedy ''Mad Money'', opposite Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah. ''The Canadian Press'' criticized Katie Holmes's performance "While Keaton has long done zany and giddy well, and she and Latifah have an interesting contrast of personalities, Holmes' presence feels like an afterthought." The ''New York Post'', ''The New York Times'' and ''Variety'' also criticized Katie Holmes's performance in the film, and ''The New York Times'' called Holmes "the movie's weakest link." In early July 2009, Holmes began filming a remake of the 1970s ABC telemovie ''Don't Be Afraid of the Dark''; the film was released in August 2011.

Holmes and Chace Crawford have been cast as the leads in the romantic comedy ''Responsible Adults'', to begin shooting in Los Angeles in "fall 2011".

Stage

Holmes made her Broadway debut in the revival of Arthur Miller's ''All My Sons'' in September 2008. She opened to mixed reviews. Ben Brantley of ''The New York Times'' claimed "the neophyte Ms. Holmes" is a "sad casualty" of director Simon McBurney's "high concept approach" to the play. He adds that "Ms. Holmes delivers most of her lines with meaningful asperity, italicising every word". Clive Barnes of the ''New York Post'' was similarly unimpressed by Holmes – and had few compliments for her co-stars. He wrote, "Lithgow starts in a sunny, benign fashion, but eventually finds himself screeching alongside Holmes, looking tough under a glossy wig." However, ''The New York Daily News''' Joe Dziemianowicz was won over by the actress' first stint on stage, writing, "Holmes, a TV and film vet, makes a fine Broadway debut. Her rather grand speech pattern takes getting used to, but she seems comfortable and adds a fitting glint of glamour." In 2009, Holmes appeared in the National Memorial Day Concert on the Mall in Washington, D.C. in a dialogue with Dianne Wiest celebrating the life of an American veteran seriously wounded in Iraq, José Pequeño.

TV work

Holmes hosted ''Saturday Night Live'' on February 24, 2001, participating in a send-up of ''Dawson's Creek'' where she falls madly in love with Chris Kattan's Mr. Peepers character and singing "Big Spender" from ''Sweet Charity''. On the November 9, 2003 episode, she was ''Punk'd'' by Ashton Kutcher and the next year she was the subject of an episode of the MTV program ''Diary''.

In 2008 Holmes appeared in an episode of ''Eli Stone'' as Grace, a lawyer, and her singing and dancing was praised by Tim Stack of ''Entertainment Weekly''.

In 2011, Katie Holmes played the role of Jackie Kennedy in ''The Kennedys''. Linda Stasi felt that Holmes took a while to get into the role, but was ultimately convincing as Kennedy. Bob Owen felt that while Holmes resembled Kennedy, Holmes could not perform her accent correctly. Dorothy Rabinovitz felt that while Holmes had Kennedy's "whispery tone", that she could not pull off Kennedy's class.

In October 2011 she also played the role of the "Slutty Pumpkin" (Naomi), in the TV show ''How I Met Your Mother'', episode "The Slutty Pumpkin Returns".

Other work

Holmes was annually named by both the British and American editions of ''FHM'' magazine as one of the sexiest women in the world from 1999 forward. She was named one of ''People'''s "50 Most Beautiful People" in 2003; its sibling '' Teen People'' declared her one of the "25 Hottest Stars Under 25" that year; and in 2005, ''People'' said she was one of the ten best dressed stars that year. She has appeared in advertisements for Garnier Lumia haircolor, Coach leather goods, and clothing retailer The Gap.

On November 4, 2007 Holmes ran, and successfully completed, the New York Marathon in 5:29:58.

After much speculation, in late November 2008 it was confirmed that she would be the new face of the spring 2009 campaign for the high-end fashion line Miu Miu.

In 2008 Holmes started a high fashion clothing line called Holmes &Yang; with longtime stylist Jeanne Yang.

In January 2011 she became the new face of Ann Taylor Spring 11 collection. In April 2011, she ranked 6th in ''People'' magazine's annual 100 Most Beautiful issue.

Awards

In June 2011 Katie Holmes received the Women in Film Max Mara Face of the Future Award.

Personal life

Relationships

Holmes dated her ''Dawson's Creek'' co-star Joshua Jackson early in the show's run. Holmes met actor Chris Klein in 2000. Klein and Holmes were engaged in late 2003, but in early 2005 she and Klein ended their relationship.

Weeks after her relationship with Klein ended, Holmes began dating actor Tom Cruise. Cruise proposed to Holmes in the early morning of June 17, 2005, on top of Paris' Eiffel Tower. On November 18, 2006, Holmes and Cruise were married at the 15th-century Odescalchi Castle in Bracciano, Italy, in a Scientology ceremony attended by many Hollywood stars. The actors' publicist said the couple had "officialized" their marriage in Los Angeles the day before the Italian ceremony.

Holmes, who was raised a Roman Catholic, joined the Church of Scientology shortly after the couple began dating.

On April 18, 2006, Holmes gave birth to her first child, a daughter named Suri. The ''Los Angeles Times'' summarized the written statement Cruise released on the birth, saying the name "is a word with origins in both Hebrew and Persian. In Hebrew, it means 'princess' and in Persian, 'red rose,' it was claimed in the release." Although some Hebrew linguists had never seen the word for "princess" spelled this way and its meaning, others said it was a Yiddish pronunciation of the Hebrew name "Sarah". The first photographs of Suri appeared in the October 2006 issue of ''Vanity Fair'', shot by Annie Leibovitz, and became the publication's second best selling issue of all time, selling more than 700,000 copies.

Legal issues

In July 2009, Holmes, Nigel Lythgoe, Adam Shankman, and Carrie Ann Inaba announced the launch of a dance scholarship fund called the Dizzy Feet Foundation.

In early March 2011, Katie Holmes filed a $50 million libel lawsuit against the ''Star Magazine'' following a cover story which insinuated that she took drugs. The suit was settled on April 27, 2011 when Star wrote a public apology in the May 6, 2011 issue along with an undisclosed "substantial" donation to Katie's charity Dizzy Feet.

Filmography

Films

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1997	''''	Libbets Casey	First professional role
1998	''Disturbing Behavior''	Rachel Wagner
1999		Claire Montgomery
1999	''Muppets from Space''	Joey Potter
1999	''Teaching Mrs. Tingle''	Leigh Ann Watson	First lead role
2000		Hannah Green
2000	''''	Jessica King
2002		Katie Burke
2003		Pamela McFadden
2003	''''	Nurse Mills
2003	''Pieces of April''	April Burns
2004		Samantha Mackenzie
2005	''Batman Begins''	Rachel Dawes
2005		Heather Holloway
2008		Jackie Truman
2010	''''	Mary Powell
2010	''''	Laura	Liv Tyler was originally cast for this role. Holmes, who was also the film's executive producer, replaced her. This is her first producing credit.
2011
2011		Kim
2011		Kerry White
2011		Erin Sadelstein

Television

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1998–2003	''Dawson's Creek''	Joey Potter
2008	''Eli Stone''	Grace
2011	''How I Met Your Mother''	Slutty Pumpkin (Naomi)	episode "The Slutty Pumpkin Returns"

Notes

References

Bibliography

Scott Lyle Cohen. "Home Sweet Holmes." ''Giant''. Issue 5. June-July 2005. 52+.

Darren Crosdale. ''Dawson's Creek: The Official Companion''. Kansas City, Missouri: Andrews McMeel, 1999. ISBN 0-7407-0725-6.

Janice Dunn. "Katie Holmes: A girl on the verge." ''Rolling Stone''. Issue 795. September 17, 1998. 44.

Caroline Graham. "What Katie Did Next." ''Mail on Sunday'' (London). November 9, 2003. 30.

Robert Haskell. "Holmes Sweet Holmes: She's landed the role of a lifetime—beautiful bride of the world's biggest movie star. What's so weird about that?" ''W''. August 2005. 164+

"Katie Holmes." ''Current Biography ''. On-line database accessed 2006-02-08.

"Katie Holmes to Wed Actor Chris Klein." ''The Blade''. December 31, 2003. D3.

Marilyn Johnson and Andrew Southam. "Nice Girls Finish First: So what does it mean that a very nice girl playing a very thoughtful girl has become TV's teen idol? Consider it a good sign." ''Life Magazine''. March 1999.

Tahree Lane. "Paris proposal latest plot twist to Holmes-Cruise romance: Toledo native agrees to take on role of wife." ''The Blade''. June 18, 2005. A1.

Judith Newman. "The Last Girl Scout." ''Allure''. v. 13, n. 6. June 2003. 182-189.

Further reading

Graham Brough. "Honey Loon: Tom takes Scientologist Best Man away to Maldives." ''The Daily Mirror'' (London). November 20, 2006. 4.

"Cheers and Jeers." ''TV Guide''. Issue 2516. v. 49, n. 24. June 16, 2001.

Joanna Connors. "How do you raise a daughter like Katie?" ''The Plain Dealer'' (Cleveland, Ohio). November 2, 2003. J9.

Roberta De Boer. "Toledo turns its attention to new breed of 'TomKat'." ''The Blade''. June 2, 2005. B1.

Roger Ebert. "Blanchett the key to 'Gift'." ''Chicago Sun-Times''. January 19, 2001. 29.

Roger Ebert. " Call waiting ; 'Phone Booth' a slick thriller." ''Chicago Sun-Times''. April 4, 2003. 29.

Renee Graham. "Sure, They're In Love—With Publicity." ''The Boston Globe''. May 24, 2005. C1.

Toby Harnden. "Scientology minder prompts Katie Holmes through first big interview". ''The Sunday Telegraph''. July 10, 2005. 29.

Mireya Navarro. "I Love You With All My Hype." ''The New York Times''. May 22, 2005. Sec. 9, p. 1.

Philip Recchia. "Scientology 'Princess" Is A Spooky Shadow on Kooky Katie." ''New York Post''. June 19, 2005. 4.

Ray Richmond. "When love is just part of the marketing plan." ''The Hollywood Reporter''. May 10, 2005. 15.

Richard Roeper. "Admit it, you're curious: Is Tom Cruise nuts or what?" ''Chicago Sun-Times''. June 7, 2005. 11.

Reuters. "Cruise baby name puzzles Israelis". MSN April 23, 2006. (accessed 2006-04-25).

Kyle Smith. "Roman Ha-ha day: Why Everyone Thinks Katie & Tom Are a Joke." ''New York Post''. April 30, 2005. 27.

Ryan E. Smith. "Baby frenzy begins: Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise are expecting their first child together." ''The Blade''. October 6, 2005. E11.

Holly Sorenson. "Katie Holmes." ''US''. May 1998. 64-5.

Anne Thompson. "Cruise vs. Pitt: a tale of two PR strategies." ''The Hollywood Reporter''. June 10, 2005. 2.

"Tom cult 'minder' for Katie." ''The Sun'' (London). June 15, 2005. 3.

Debra Wallace. "Katie Holmes Heats Up." ''Cosmopolitan''. v. 233, n. 4. October 2002. 200-203.

Steve Weizman. "Name of celebs' baby bemuses Israelis." ''Chicago Tribune''. April 24, 2006. 4.

Mike Wilkinson and James Drew. "Toledo-area coin dealer counted on GOP ties to bolster business." ''The Blade''. May 15, 2005. A1.

Simon Wright. "You're invited to Tom & Katie's wacky wedding: They take Scientology vows but mayor says the wedding isn't legal." ''Sunday Mirror'' (London). November 19, 2006. 2.

External links

Category:1978 births Category:Actors from Ohio Category:Actors from Toledo, Ohio Category:American film actors Category:American Scientologists Category:American television actors Category:American people of Russian descent Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Converts from Roman Catholicism Category:Living people

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Name	Eva Cassidy
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Eva Marie Cassidy
Birth date	February 02, 1963
Birth place	Washington, D.C., U.S.
Death date	November 02, 1996
Death place	Bowie, Maryland, U.S.
Origin	Maryland, United States
Instrument	Vocals, Guitar, Electric Guitar, Piano
Genre	Soul, Jazz, Blues, Folk, Gospel and Pop
Occupation	Landscaper, Painter, Singer, Guitarist
Years active	1981–1996
Label	Liaison (U.S.)Blix Street (U.S.)Hot (Europe)
Associated acts	Chuck Brown, Katie Melua
Website	www.evacassidy.org }}

Eva Marie Cassidy (February 2, 1963 – November 2, 1996) was an American vocalist known for her interpretations of jazz, blues, folk, gospel, country and pop classics. In 1992 she released her first album, ''The Other Side'', a set of duets with go-go musician Chuck Brown, followed by a live solo album, ''Live at Blues Alley'' in 1996. Although she had been honored by the Washington Area Music Association, she was virtually unknown outside her native Washington, D.C., when she died of melanoma (skin cancer) in 1996.

Four years later, Cassidy's music was brought to the attention of British audiences when her version of "Over the Rainbow" was played by Terry Wogan on BBC Radio 2. Following the overwhelming response, a camcorder recording of "Over the Rainbow", taken at Blues Alley in Washington, was shown on BBC Two's ''Top of the Pops 2''. Shortly afterwards, the compilation album ''Songbird'' climbed to the top of the UK Albums Charts, almost three years after its initial release. The chart success in the United Kingdom and Ireland led to increased recognition worldwide; her posthumously released recordings, including three UK number 1s, have sold more than ten million copies. Her music has also charted top 10 positions in Australia, Germany, Sweden, Norway and Switzerland.

Biography

Early life

Born on February 2, 1963, at the Washington Hospital Center, Cassidy grew up in Oxon Hill and later Bowie, Maryland, suburbs of Washington, D.C.. She was the third of four children born to Hugh and Barbara Cassidy. Her father, a retired teacher, sculptor, musician, Powerlifter and former army medic, is of Scottish and Irish descent, while her German-born mother was a horticulturist. From an early age, Cassidy displayed interest in art and music. When she was nine, her father taught her to play the guitar and she began to play and sing at family gatherings.

At age 11, Cassidy began singing and playing guitar in a Washington area band called Easy Street. This band performed in a variety of styles at weddings, corporate parties and pubs. Due to her shyness, she struggled with performing in front of strangers. While a student at Bowie High School, she sang with a local band called Stonehenge. During the summer of 1983, Cassidy sang and played guitar six days a week at the theme park Wild World. Her younger brother Dan, a fiddler, was also a member of this working band. She enrolled in art classes at a community college but dropped out after finding them unhelpful.

Throughout the 1980s, Cassidy worked with several other bands, including the techno-pop band Characters Without Names. During this period, Cassidy also worked as a propagator at a plant nursery and as a furniture painter. In her free time, she explored other artistic expressions including painting, sculpting and jewelry design. Despite holding a belief in God, Cassidy was not part of any organized religion.

Music career

In 1986, Cassidy was asked by Stonehenge guitarist and high school friend, David Lourim, to lend her voice to his music project, Method Actor. This brought her to Black Pond Studios, where she met bassist and recording engineer Chris Biondo. Biondo helped her find work as a session singer and later introduced her to Al Dale, who would become her manager. She sang back-ups for various acts, from go-go rhythm and blues band Experience Unlimited to rapper E-40. Biondo and Cassidy, who were in a romantic relationship for a time, formed the five-piece "Eva Cassidy Band" with Lenny Williams, Keith Grimes and Raice McLeod in 1990. They began to perform frequently in the Washington area.

In 1992, Biondo played a tape of Cassidy's voice for Chuck Brown, the "Godfather of go-go". It resulted in the duet album ''The Other Side'' featuring performances of classic songs such as "Fever", "God Bless the Child," and what would later become Cassidy's signature song, "Over the Rainbow". The album was released and distributed in 1992 by Liaison Records, the label that also released Brown's Go-go albums. Brown originally intended to record a single duet with Cassidy for his next solo album, but this was postponed due to ongoing negotiations between Dale and other labels for a solo deal. Cassidy's unwillingness to narrow her stylistic focus to one genre hindered her chances of securing a deal. After talks broke down, the two decided to record their own duet album. As a duo, they performed at the Columbia Arts Festival and opened for acts like Al Green and The Neville Brothers.

In 1993, Cassidy was honored by the Washington Area Music Association with a Wammie award for the ''Vocalist Jazz/Traditional'' category. The next year she was invited to perform at the event and chose to sing "Over the Rainbow". A ''Washington Times'' review of the event called her performance "a show-stopper". She took home two Wammies that night, again for ''Vocalist Jazz/Traditional'' and also for ''Roots Rock/Traditional R&B;''. For a brief period that year, Cassidy signed a deal with Blue Note Records to pair up with pop-jazz band Pieces of a Dream to release an album and tour the country. She sang two tracks in a mainly instrumental album. It was a musically unsatisfying experience for her.

After having a potential contract with Apollo Records collapse when the label went bankrupt, Biondo and Dale decided that she should release her own live album. In January 1996, the material for ''Live at Blues Alley'' was recorded over a two-day period at Blues Alley, Washington, D.C. Due to a technical glitch on the first night of recording, only the second night's recording was usable. Unhappy with the way she sounded due to a cold, she was reluctant to release the album. She eventually relented, on the condition that the studio track "Oh, Had I a Golden Thread", Cassidy's favorite song, would be included in the release, and that they start working on a follow-up studio album. Her apprehension appeared unfounded as local reviewers and the public responded positively. ''The Washington Post'' commented that "she could sing anything — folk, blues, pop, jazz, R&B;, gospel — and make it sound like it was the only music that mattered." The subsequent studio album she worked on was released as ''Eva by Heart'' posthumously in 1997. In the liner notes of ''Eva by Heart'', critic Joel E. Siegel described Cassidy as "one of the greatest voices of her generation."

Death

In 1993, Cassidy had a malignant mole removed from her back. Three years later, during a promotional event for the ''Live at Blues Alley'' album in July 1996, Cassidy noticed an ache in her hips, which she attributed to stiffness from painting murals while perched atop a stepladder. The pain persisted and a few weeks later, X-rays revealed that the melanoma had spread to her lungs and bones. Her doctors estimated she had three to five months to live. Cassidy opted for aggressive treatment, but her health deteriorated rapidly. In the early fall, at a benefit concert for her at the Bayou, she made her final public appearance, closing the set with "What a Wonderful World" in front of an audience of friends, fans and family. Additional chemotherapy was unavailing, and in six weeks she had died.

Cassidy died on November 2, 1996, at her family home in Bowie. She was 33. In accordance with her wishes, her body was cremated and the ashes were scattered on the lake shores of St. Mary's River Watershed Park, a nature reserve near California, Maryland.

Posthumous recognition

After Cassidy's death, local folk singer Grace Griffith introduced the Blues Alley recording to Bill Straw from her label, Blix Street Records. Straw approached the Cassidy family to put together a new album. In 1998, a compilation of tracks from Cassidy's three released recordings was assembled into the CD ''Songbird''. This CD lingered in relative obscurity for two years until being given airplay by Terry Wogan on his wide-reaching BBC Radio 2 show ''Wake Up to Wogan'', following recommendation by his producer Paul Walters. The album sold more than 100,000 copies in the following months. ''The New York Times'' spoke of her "silken soprano voice with a wide and seemingly effortless range, unerring pitch and a gift for phrasing that at times was heart-stoppingly eloquent."

Before Christmas of 2000, ''Top Of The Pops 2'' aired a video of Cassidy performing "Over the Rainbow", which resulted in ''Songbird'' climbing steadily up the UK charts over the next few weeks. Just as ITV's ''Tonight with Trevor McDonald'' aired a feature on Cassidy, the album topped the chart. Shot at Blues Alley by a friend with a camcorder the same night the album was recorded, the video became the most requested video ever shown on Top Of The Pops 2. "There's an undeniable emotional appeal in hearing an artist who you know died in obscurity singing a song about hope and a mystical world beyond everyday life", wrote ''The Guardian''. 250px|thumb|left|The camcorder recording of "Over the Rainbow" as shown on ''Top of the Pops 2'' Paul McCartney and Eric Clapton were among her new-found fans. Jazz critic Ted Gioia writes, "you might be tempted to write off the 'Cassidy sensation' [...] as a response to the sad story of the singer's abbreviated life rather than as a measure of her artistry. But don't be mistaken, Cassidy was a huge talent, whose obscurity during her lifetime was almost as much a tragedy as her early death." ''Songbird'' has since achieved significant chart success throughout Europe and six times platinum status in the UK. Although still relatively unknown in the United States at that time, the album would eventually be certified gold in the U.S. as well.

In May 2001, ABC's ''Nightline'' in the United States broadcast a well-received short documentary about Cassidy. Over the weekend, all five of Cassidy's albums occupied Amazon.com's best sellers list top spots. The Nightline episode has since been rebroadcast three times due to popular demand. Producer Leroy Sievers has said that it is "probably the most popular Nightline ever". In December, a nine-minute segment on NPR resulted in a similar sales surge, with five of the top seven spots going to Cassidy. A rebroadcast of the ''Tonight with Trevor McDonald'' feature on Cassidy in Britain also bumped up sales.

Since ''Songbird'', several other CDs with original material have been released: ''Time After Time'' (2000), ''Imagine'' (2002) and ''American Tune'' (2003). 2008 saw the release of another new album titled ''Somewhere''. Unlike previous albums, which consisted solely of cover songs, this release contains two original songs co-written by Cassidy. An acoustic album titled ''Simply Eva'' was released in January 2011.

Together with word of mouth and internet fansites, online commerce has played a big role in Cassidy's success. This point was further affirmed when in 2005, Amazon.com released a list of its top 25 best-selling musicians, which placed Cassidy in fifth position, behind The Beatles, U2, Norah Jones and Diana Krall, and far ahead of Elvis Presley and several other well-known stars.

In 2004, during the gala opening of the Bowie Center for the Performing Arts, the Bowie Regional Arts Vision Association, Inc. (BRAVA) dedicated the Star's Dressing Room to Eva. Following a moving tribute to Eva, Chuck Brown took the stage and performed his duet "with" Eva as her photos and video appeared in the background.

Unofficial recordings

A collection of previously unreleased studio recordings from 1987 to 1991, was released in 2000 as ''No Boundaries''. This release was not endorsed by the Cassidy family and was released under a different label. An allmusic review of the album stated that even "a gifted vocalist like Eva Cassidy can only do so much with bad material". In 2002, the self titled 1988 album by the band Method Actor, which featured Cassidy, was re-released by the band's guitarist and producer David Lourim with Cassidy's name displayed prominently on the cover. The Cassidy family and Blix Street Records filed a lawsuit against Lourim, claiming that Cassidy's name was used in a misleading fashion and that Blix Street has exclusive rights to her recordings. Lourim had Cassidy's written permission to release the album and eventually the cover was changed to look like the original LP album while already released copies were affixed with a sticker indicating that they are not solo Eva Cassidy albums.

A bootleg recording which has been in circulation is called ''Live at Pearl's''. It was recorded at Pearl's Restaurant in Annapolis, Maryland in 1994. Copies of the recording were circulated among friends and families after her death. Some of the songs on the recording are also on ''Imagine'' and ''American Tune''. Another recording, featuring Mick Fleetwood on drums and recorded at his restaurant in Alexandria, Virginia called Fleetwood's in the early 1990s, was in the possession of Niki Lee - the former wife of pianist Lenny Williams - who discovered it in her garage and attempted to sell it on eBay in 2008.

In popular media

In 2001, a book titled ''Songbird: Eva Cassidy: Her Story By Those Who Knew Her'', on the life and work of Cassidy based on interviews with close family and associates was released in the UK. The hardcover edition has since sold in excess of 100,000 copies. A U.S. edition published by Gotham Books was released in late 2003 and includes two additional chapters on her influences and success in the US. Her life story has also been adapted into a musical and also a Broadway piece for cancer benefit.

At the 2002 Winter Olympics gala, and later on tour, figure skater Michelle Kwan brought Cassidy's music to a new audience when she skated to a recording of "Fields of Gold". Kwan's part in exposing the music of Cassidy to the international and American public led Cassidy's label to present her a gold record from the certification of ''Songbird''. Subsequently, other figure skaters such as Kristi Yamaguchi, Sarah Hughes and Kimmie Meissner have used Cassidy's music in their routines.

Anglo-Georgian singer Katie Melua is a keen fan of Cassidy. Her debut album "Call Off the Search" contained the song "Faraway Voice", written in Cassidy's memory. Melua has also performed Cassidy's arrangement of "Anniversary Song" in concert. On Christmas Eve 2006, she performed alongside video footage of Cassidy singing ''Over The Rainbow'' on BBC One's "Duet Impossible". One year later, Cassidy's "What A Wonderful World" was spliced together with new vocals by Melua and released as a single exclusively at the British retail chain Tesco. It debuted at #1 on the UK Singles chart on December 16. All profits from the single went to the British Red Cross. Irish singer Chris de Burgh has stated that his song "Songbird" from his album ''The Road to Freedom'' was written in honour of Cassidy. Singer Mary Chapin Carpenter made reference to Cassidy in the song "My Heaven" on the album ''Between Here and Gone'': "More memories than my heart can hold, when Eva's singing 'Fields of Gold'."

In 2008, Cassidy's recording of "Autumn Leaves" was used by the Canadian National Professional Latin Champions, Andre and Natalie Paramonov, when they competed in America's Ballroom Challenge as finalists in the International Latin Competition.

The first film to feature an Eva Cassidy recording was ''Flight of Fancy'' starring Dean Cain. Since then her music has appeared in various film and TV series including the Dawson's Creek season four episode titled "The Graduate," ''Judging Amy'', ''Joe Somebody'', ''Love Actually'', ''Maid in Manhattan'', ''The Man From Elysian Fields'', ''Alpha Dog'' and ''Smallville''. Cassidy's arrangement of "Over the Rainbow" is a popular cover choice by singing competition contestants, with ''American Idol'' season 5 runner-up Katharine McPhee and ''The X Factor'' season 3 winner Leona Lewis among the singers. Her interpretation of "Imagine" has been performed by ''American Idol'' season 7 runner-up David Archuleta.

In March 2012, Sweden's Caroline Larsson and Bengt Magnusson released an album entitled ''A Tribute to Eva Cassidy''.

Possibility of future film

In late 2007, AIR Productions acquired the rights to produce a film based on Cassidy's life. It is being produced by Amy Redford (daughter of Robert Redford), Irwin Shapiro and Rick Singer. In an interview a year earlier, Cassidy's parents suggested Kirsten Dunst or Emily Watson as possible actresses who could play their daughter.

A documentary on the life, art and music of Cassidy entitled ''Eva's Song'' is expected to be in theaters February 2013.

Discography

Albums

Title	Release date	Label	Notes
		Liaison	Chuck Brown with Eva Cassidy.
''Live at Blues Alley''		Blix Street	Originally self-released under Eva Music in 1996.
''Eva by Heart''		Originally released under Liaison Records. Cassidy's only solo studio album.
		Compilation. UK #1, US (Pop Catalog) #1
	Renata/Brunswick
''Method Actor''		Blp	Reissue of a 1988 LP.
		Compilation.
''Simply Eva''		Blix Street

Singles

Title	Release date	Label	Notes
"Over the Rainbow"			UK #42 - Appeared in the charts between April and August 2001
"Take My Breath Away"			UK #54
"What a Wonderful World"		Dramatico	Posthumous duet with Katie Melua. UK #1
"Songbird"			UK #56

Bootleg

Title	Release date	Label	Notes
Live at Pearl's		align="center"
bootleg recording taped at Pearl's Restaurant in Annapolis, Maryland. Tracklist

Videography

Title	Release date	Format	Notes
Eva Cassidy Sings		PAL DVD (Region 2 and Region 4)

References

Notes

Books

''Johan Bakker: Behind the Rainbow, the tragic life of Eva Cassidy (2012)'' Omnibus Press, 207 pages, ISBN: 978-178038-231-9

External links

Eva Cassidy website maintained by her cousin, Laura Claire Bligh

Eva Cassidy Artwork website

Evasongs recordings information

[ Eva Cassidy] at the All Music Guide

Eva Cassidy on ABC Nightline

Eva Cassidy Feature on ABC Nightline

Eva Cassidy: Songbird: Her Story by Those Who Knew Her at Google Book Search

– Eva plays live, recorded on a friend's video camera — became the most requested video ever shown on Top Of The Pops 2. - ''Mary Ann Redmond & Eva Cassidy singing Eric Clapton's "Tears in Heaven"'' – From a 1995 performance at Fleetwood's in Alexandria, VA.

http://www.behindtherainbow.org Website Eva Cassidy Biography

Category:1963 births Category:1996 deaths Category:American blues singers Category:American folk singers Category:American gospel singers Category:American jazz singers Category:American female guitarists Category:Cancer deaths in Maryland Category:Deaths from skin cancer Category:Musicians from Maryland Category:Musicians from Washington, D.C. Category:People from Bowie, Maryland Category:Female jazz musicians Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:American musicians of Irish descent Category:American musicians of German descent

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