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Carol LeGrant Lewis (born August 8, 1963) is an American former track and field athlete who specialised in the long jump. Born in Birmingham, Alabama, she is the sister of former world record holder Carl Lewis.

She first came to prominence as a college athlete for the University of Houston. She first competed internationally at the 1980 Olympic Boycott Games, taking the silver medal with a jump of 6.60 meters. She won the Dial Award that year in recognition of her achievements. Further success came in 1983, with a win at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and bronze medal at the 1983 World Championships in Athletics.

After winning the Olympic Trials, she represented the United States at the 1984 Summer Olympics and managed to finish in ninth place, aged twenty. The following year she won the NCAA Outdoor Championships for a second time and took bronze at the World Cup in Athletics. In Zürich in August that year, Lewis reached her peak, setting a personal best and breaking the American record in the long jump twice at the same track meeting.

She competed at the 1987 IAAF World Indoor Championships, finishing in ninth position with a best jump of 6.23 m. She represented the US at the Olympics for a third time, but she failed to qualify for the final at the 1988 Olympics.

In 2000 she began competing in two-woman bobsled and, although she failed to make the 2002 US Olympic team, she served as Shauna Rohbock's brakeman at the 2002 World Cup in Calgary.

References

External links

Profile at sports-reference

Category:American long jumpers Category:Olympic track and field athletes of the United States Category:Athletes at the 1984 Summer Olympics Category:Athletes at the 1988 Summer Olympics Category:1963 births Category:Living people Category:People from Birmingham, Alabama Category:African American track and field athletes

Name	Carrie Underwood
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Carrie Marie Underwood
Born	March 10, 1983Muskogee, Oklahoma
Origin	Checotah, Oklahoma, U.S.
Occupation	Singer-songwriter, actress
Instrument	Vocals, guitar, piano
Genre	Country, country pop, CCM
Years active	2005–present
Label	19 / Arista Nashville (2005-current)Arista (2005-2009)
Associated acts	Brad Paisley, Randy Travis
Url

Carrie Marie Underwood (born March 10, 1983) is an American country singer-songwriter who rose to fame as the winner of the fourth season of American Idol.

Underwood has since become a multi-platinum selling recording artist, a multiple Grammy Award winner, a Grand Ole Opry inductee, a Golden Globe Award nominee, a three-time Academy of Country Music and Country Music Association Female Vocalist winner, and a past winner of ACM Entertainer of the Year. She is the first ever female artist to win back-to-back Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards for Entertainer of the Year (2009/2010).

Her debut album, Some Hearts, was certified seven times platinum, and as of February 2006, was the fastest selling debut country album in Nielsen SoundScan history. It was also the best-selling solo female debut album in country music history, as of February 2008. Some Hearts yielded three number one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 Songs. Her second album, Carnival Ride, was released on October 23, 2007. It has sold over 3 million copies as of January 2010, and produced four number one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs. Underwood released her third album, Play On, on November 3, 2009. It has been certified Platinum by the RIAA and has produced three number one hits on the Billboard Hot Country Songs so far. As of May 2010, Underwood has sold 20 million singles and over 16 million albums worldwide.

Having 10 #1 Hits on Billboard Hot Country Songs, Underwood is tied with Reba McEntire as the Female Country Artist with Most #1 Hits on such chart from 1990 to present. She's also the only solo Country Artist to have a #1 hit on Billboard Hot 100 Songs in the 2000 decade, as "Inside Your Heaven" reached the top of the chart on July 2005. Some Hearts, Underwood's debut album, was named the Best Country Album of the 2000 Decade by Billboard, and she's the only Female Artist to appear on the Top 10 of Billboard's Best Country Artists of the 2000 Decade list, ranked at #10. She was also ranked #50 on the Artists of the Decade list by Billboard. In 2010, Underwood was #3 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs Artists, #4 on the Top Country Album Artists and #23 on Top Artists of 2010.

Biography

Early life

Underwood was born to Stephen and Carole Underwood on March 10, 1983 in Muskogee, Oklahoma. She was raised on her parents' farm in the rural town of Checotah, Oklahoma. She has two older sisters, Shanna Means and Stephanie Shelton. Her father worked in a sawmill, while her mother taught elementary school. During her childhood, Underwood performed at Robbins Memorial Talent Show, and sang at the Free Will Baptist Church. She later sang for local events in Checotah, including Old Settler's Day and the Lion's Club. In 1996, Capitol Records was preparing a contract for Underwood but cancelled it when company management changed. She spent part of her summer as a page for Oklahoma State Representative Bobby Frame.

Education

Underwood graduated from Checotah High School in 2001 as salutatorian. Underwood is a member of the Alpha Iota chapter of Sigma Sigma Sigma sorority. For two years during the summer, she performed in Northeastern State University's Downtown Country show in Tahlequah. She also competed in numerous beauty pageants at the university and was selected as Miss NSU runner-up in 2004.

American Idol

In the summer of 2004, Underwood auditioned for American Idol in St. Louis, Missouri. After she sang "Could've Been" by Tiffany on the top 12 girls night, judge Simon Cowell commented that she would be one of the favorites to win the competition. During the top 11 finalists' performance on the March 22, 2005, Idol episode, Underwood sang a rendition of the number one 1980s rock hit "Alone", made famous by Heart, and Cowell predicted that Underwood would not only win the competition, but she would also outsell all previous Idol winners.

One of the show's producers later said she dominated the voting, winning each week handily. She gained a fan base known as "Carrie's Care Bears" during the course of the show, and became the fourth season winner on May 25, 2005.

Performances and results

Underwood is one of very few contestants to have never landed in the Bottom 3 or Bottom 2 joining the ranks of Kelly Clarkson, Clay Aiken, Taylor Hicks, Jordin Sparks, David Cook, David Archuleta, Crystal Bowersox, and Lee DeWyze.

Post-Idol

Underwood came back the next season of American Idol to perform her single "Jesus Take the Wheel". She also appeared on the sixth season of American Idol. She sang her single "Wasted" on March 8, making this her fourth time performing on the show since winning the competition in 2005. Underwood also performed at the Idol Gives Back concert singing "I'll Stand By You", (a cover of The Pretenders hit). A video of Underwood's trip to Africa accompanied the song. Underwood sang the same song at American Idol's season finale on May 23, 2007. Underwood sang "Praying for Time", a former number one for George Michael, during the seventh season American Idol Gives Back mini-telethon. She also came back to perform "Last Name" on May 21, 2008, for the finale of the seventh season of American Idol.

On February 12, 2009, Underwood appeared with the other six American Idol winners at the inauguration of The American Idol Experience at Walt Disney World in Florida. She and the other Idol winners received a microphone-shaped trophy honoring them for winning American Idol. Underwood also took the stage to sing her hit single "All-American Girl" as well as perform a duet of "Go Your Own Way" with fellow winner David Cook.

She returned again for season 8 on Wednesday, March 18 to perform a duet with Randy Travis with her single "I Told You So", a song Randy Travis wrote for his 1987 album Always & Forever. Underwood was back again on Tuesday, May 19, 2009, to perform the farewell song of Season 8, "Home Sweet Home".

On April 21, 2010, Underwood returned for Idol Gives Back to perform "Change" from her third studio album, Play On. She returned on the finale of American Idol Season 9 to perform "Undo It", her third single from the Play On album. She also sang Delta Goodrem's "Together We Are One" with all previous Idol winners that night as a farewell to Simon Cowell.

Career

2005–2007: Some Hearts

Underwood's debut album, entitled Some Hearts, was released on November 15, 2005, entering the Billboard 200 chart with 315,000 copies sold. The large first week sales of Some Hearts made it number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart and the biggest debut of any country artist since the advent of the SoundScan system in 1991. Some Hearts has since been certified seven-times Platinum by the RIAA, and is the fastest-selling debut country album in the history of the SoundScan era.

in 2006.|thumb|left|upright]] "Inside Your Heaven", Underwood's first single, was released on June 14, 2005 in the U.S., debuting at number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and on the Canadian Singles Chart, where it remained for one and seven weeks, respectively. It was the longest running single of 2005 in Canada. The single also peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot Pop Songs. In addition, it peaked at #4 on the Billboard Hot Christian Songs chart, Underwood's only single to receive significant airplay on Christian stations. It was certified gold by the RIAA and two times platinum by the CRIA.

The album's second single, "Jesus, Take the Wheel" was released to radio on October 18, 2005. It reached number one for six consecutive weeks. The songwriters, Gordie Sampson, Brett James and Hillary Lindsey, were awarded the 2006 Grammy award for Country Song of the Year.

Underwood's third single, "Some Hearts", was released to Pop, Adult Contemporary and Hot Adult Contemporary stations in October 2005 and peaked in the Top 25 on the Hot AC format, while it made the Top 15 on the AC Charts. "Don't Forget to Remember Me", the second of Underwood's singles to be released to country radio, her fourth single overall, also proved successful, reaching number one on the Radio & Records Country Chart, number two on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, and number forty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100. "Don't Forget To Remember Me" was her second number one country single and third number one single overall.

"Jesus, Take the Wheel" won the Gospel Music Association's award for Best Country Single of the Year. Underwood performed "Jesus, Take the Wheel" on May 23, 2006, and received a standing ovation at the ACM Awards. At the same show, she won Best New Female Vocalist and Single of the Year for the "Jesus, Take the Wheel".

Later that autumn, Underwood's third country single,

Underwood also had her film soundtrack appearance with "Some Hearts" which was played during the ending credits of Aquamarine.

2007–2009: Carnival Ride

Underwood's second album, Carnival Ride, was released on October 23, 2007. "So Small", the first single from the album, was released on July 31, 2007. On Carnival Ride, Underwood was more involved in the songwriting process than on her debut; she set up a writers' retreat at Nashville's famed Ryman Auditorium to collaborate with such Music Row tunesmiths as Hillary Lindsey, Craig Wiseman, Rivers Rutherford, and Gordie Sampson. Carnival Ride was certified double platinum as of December 14, 2007.

Underwood made her second vocal performance in a film with "Ever Ever After" for the Disney's Enchanted. In the music video for the song, she appears as both animated and live action, much like the characters in the movie. Underwood's name was also mentioned in the Disney Channel series, Hannah Montana. She appeared on the holiday CD Hear Something Country Christmas 2007 with a rendition of "Do You Hear What I Hear?". Since then, the song has reached #2 on the AC Chart, and remained there for 3 consecutive weeks.

Underwood was named as Billboard's best country artist of the Billboard year 2007, and in December 2007 over 1,000,000 People magazine readers named "Before He Cheats" as the song of the year. "All-American Girl", her second single, also reached number 1 on the Billboard country charts.

In January 2008, Underwood embarked on a joint tour with Keith Urban named the Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy Carnival Ride Tour, with dates fixed nationwide that continued through April.

On May 19, 2008, Underwood opened the 43rd Annual Country Music Association Awards with her new single "Last Name" and later went on to win Top Female Vocalist for the second consecutive year. On May 21, she performed "Last Name" again on the season finale of American Idol. The single later reached number one on the Hot Country Song chart, making it the third single to reach #1 from Carnival Ride, her sixth consecutive number one on the Hot Country Chart and her seventh straight country single number one, and her eighth number one single overall. This made Underwood the first female artist to have two consecutive albums each release three number-ones on this chart since Shania Twain in 1998.

Her single, "Just a Dream" was released on July 21, 2008. For the chart week of November 8, 2008, the song became her ninth number one, her seventh consecutive number one on the Hot Country Chart, and her eighth straight number one country single overall. With that, Underwood became the third female artist in country music history to have released four consecutive Number Ones from the same album with Rosanne Cash's King's Record Shop and Shania Twain's "The Woman in Me" being the other two that have done so.

Underwood received two Country Music Association nominations for the 2008 CMA Awards, Female Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year: Carnival Ride. At the show, she walked away with the Female Vocalist of the Year award for the third consecutive time and lost the Album of the Year award to George Strait's Troubadour.

Underwood co-wrote a song for Idol alum Kristy Lee Cook's major-label debut album Why Wait, called "Not Tonight".

On October 21, 2008, Carnival Ride was re-released as a Wal-Mart exclusive 2-pack with a Christmas CD containing 5 songs including her hit, "Do You Hear What I Hear?".

On October 22, 2008, Times Square got a double dose of Underwood as she unveiled her wax figure at Madame Tussauds New York. The creation of Underwood’s figure began when a team of Madame Tussauds studio artists flew out to meet her on tour for her figure sitting. Underwood was an enthusiastic participant in the figure making process – not only did she spend more than an hour with the studio artists, but she also generously donated a replica of the dress that she wore to the 2006 CMA Awards, when she was first named Female Vocalist of The Year, to Madame Tussauds for her figure to don. “We are thrilled that Carrie was able to join us today to help unveil her figure. Not only is she a bona fide superstar with fans around the world, but she is also an incredibly kind and generous young woman – a true role model for young people today. We know that our guests will love her figure, and we can’t wait for them to see it,” said Janine DiGioacchino, General Manager of Madame Tussauds New York and Madame Tussauds Washington D. C. Underwood's wax likeness is now part of the attraction's "VIP Room" and is posed in a standing position with hands on hips.

The fifth single "I Told You So" was officially released on February 2, 2009. On March 18, she performed the song live with Randy Travis, who originally recorded the song. It peaked at number two on the Billboard country charts.

On February 11, 2009, The nominees for the 44th Academy of Country Music Awards were announced, and Underwood was nominated for four major awards, including Top Female Vocalist, Video of the Year for "Just a Dream", Album of the Year for "Carnival Ride", and Entertainer of the Year. Underwood was the only female nominee for this year's Entertainer of the Year, alongside Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney and George Strait. On April 5, 2009 Underwood won the Academy Of Country Music Award for Female Vocalist Of the Year. Underwood also won the prestigious trophy for Entertainer of The Year, thus making her only the 7th female to take the award (previous female winners include Loretta Lynn in 1975, Dolly Parton in 1977, Barbara Mandrell in 1980, Reba McEntire in 1994, Shania Twain in 1999, and most recently Dixie Chicks in 2000) in the award show's four decade run.

Underwood was nominated for Video of the Year at the 2009 CMT Awards for "Just a Dream".

Also in 2009, Forbes reported that Underwood is the top earning American Idol alumni from June 2008 – May 17, 2009. She earned more than twice as much as the second place finisher, with estimated earnings of $14 million during this time period.

2009–present: Play On

Underwood released her third studio album on November 3, 2009 via Arista Nashville. USA Today revealed on August 30, 2009, that the album would be titled Play On, named after the final song on the album. Three promotional singles were made available to iTunes prior to the release of the album. The album debuted atop both Nielsen SoundScan's country and overall album charts, selling nearly 318,000 copies. It also debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 and was rated as the highest first week sales for a female artist in 2009. Susan Boyle broke that record a few weeks later when her debut album sold 701,000 copies during its debut week, therefore making Underwood grab the second-highest female artist first week sales for 2009.

It was announced in August 2009 that Underwood was currently writing a song with pop/R&B; singer-songwriter Ne-Yo for the album. Underwood later stated that she was not sure if the song fit within the context of the rest of the album, but was confident that "someone, somewhere, will definitely record this song".

The first single from the album, "Cowboy Casanova", co-written by Underwood, Brett James and hip hop producer Mike Elizondo, was released on September 14, but after a demo of the song was leaked to and played by a Seattle radio station on September 2, Underwood decided to release the song late that night. The song's official release was September 14. The song was digitally released on iTunes on September 22, 2009. The song has been established as the fastest-selling song in the past year of country music, as well as Underwood's fastest-selling song to date. According to a news release, “Cowboy Casanova” has become Underwood’s 11th No. 1 single and the first hit from Play On.

Underwood made a promotional stop in Singapore to promote her upcoming album, Play On, to the Asian media. The album was released on Nov. 2 in Singapore and various parts of Asia, followed by a November 3 release in the US.

Awards, in April 2010]] On November 10, Underwood and Brad Paisley played a free mini-concert in downtown Nashville for ABC's Good Morning America, one day before the CMA Awards. She performed "All-American Girl" (from her album Carnival Ride) and "Temporary Home" (from Play On). The show was open to the public. The pair co-hosted the 2009 CMA Awards on November 11 for a second time. She received two nominations: for Female Vocalist Of The Year and Musical Event Of The Year for I Told You So featuring the original artist Randy Travis. She performed "Cowboy Casanova" at the awards show.

It was announced on November 17, 2009, that Underwood's second single would be "Temporary Home". The single was released to country radio the week of December 14, 2009. On November 16, she performed "Temporary Home" on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. On February 4, 2010, the video for Temporary Home made its premiere.

Underwood hosted a Christmas special, Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special, a two-hour variety show on Fox. Also featured were seventh-season American Idol champion David Cook, Dolly Parton, Kristin Chenoweth, Brad Paisley and others. The show was broadcast on December 7, 2009.

On December 10, 2009, Underwood's 2010 tour was announced. The first leg of the tour started March 11, 2010 in Reading, Pennsylvania and ended May 30, 2010 in Spokane, Washington. The second leg of the tour started on September 25, 2010 in Portland, Oregon and ends December 19, 2010 in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

On December 16, Underwood received the 2009 Harmony Award at Nashville's Schermerhorn Symphony Center.

Underwood's image was one of three selected to appear on the cover of the 2010 edition of the World Almanac and Book of Facts. This makes her the second American Idol winner to make the cover of the annual publication, following David Cook.

Underwood performed a duet with Canadian singer Bryan Adams at the February 2010 CRS Radio Event in Nashville. She also performed a duet with country star Miranda Lambert at this same event, singing a Creedence Clearwater Revival song, "Travelin' Band".

Underwood appeared on the CBS sitcom "How I Met Your Mother". That was her acting debut. Her character, Tiffany, is a pharmaceutical sales representative who becomes the love interest for another main character on the show. The episode, entitled "Hooked", was aired at 8pm on March 1, 2010.

On Saturday, March 20, 2010, a truck driver in Underwood's crew was killed in a terrible crash on I-95 en route to her concert in Mashantucket, Connecticut. Underwood dedicated her hit single, "Temporary Home", to him, and she teared up towards the end of the song. The audience gave both Underwood and the driver a standing ovation after the performance.

On March 2, 2010, Underwood was nominated for 6 Academy of Country Music Awards, including Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year for Play On, Female Vocalist of the Year, Song of the Year for Cowboy Casanova(writer and artist), and Vocal Event for her duet with Randy Travis on "I Told You So". The ACMs took place in Las Vegas, Nevada on April 18, 2010. At the show, Underwood was named Entertainer of the Year, making her the only country female artist in history to win this award twice, let alone consecutively. Underwood opened the show with fellow artist Miranda Lambert with the Creedence Clearwater Revival song Travelin' Band. Brad Paisley played guitar while Charlie Daniels appeared on fiddle. A guest appearance was made by CCR lead singer John Fogerty. She also performed "Temporary Home" during the show.

Host Reba McEntire presented Underwood with the "ACM Triple Crown Award" signifying her winning Top New Artist, Top Female Vocalist and Entertainer of the Year during her career. She was only the 2nd Female to win the Coveted "Triple Crown Award", as the only other woman to win this award was Barbara Mandrell.

On Tuesday, March 30, 2010, it was announced that Underwood's single, "Temporary Home", from her junior album "Play On", has hit #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs, thus spawning Underwood's 12th #1 single in her career. On April 6, 2010, Carrie Underwood was in Columbus, Ohio, when it was announced that she would film the audience for her music video for "Undo It".

On April 16, 2010, Underwood announced a second leg for her "Play On Tour". Her opening acts were confirmed to be Sons of Sylvia and Billy Currington. Tickets went on sale on April 24, 2010 for the second leg.

On April 20, 2010, Underwood was one of the first artists to be confirmed to perform at the 2010 CMT Music Awards. The ceremony was be held live in Nashville, Tennessee on June 9, 2010. Underwood, was a 3-time nominee for Video of the Year for "Cowboy Casanova", Female Video of the Year for "Cowboy Casanova", and CMT Performance of the Year for her performance of "Temporary Home" on Underwood's very own CMT Invitation Only.

On May 24, 2010, "Undo It", Underwood's third single from "Play On", was released to radio.

In May, 2010, Underwood was selected on People Magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People List for 2010. This was the 4th year in a row that she was selected for this prestigious list.

On May 23, 2010, CBS aired a special PSA that Underwood had taped for a new charitable foundation that she organized with the Academy of Country Music Association to help the victims of the May 2010 Nashville Flood.

On June 9, 2010, the CMT Music Awards were held. Underwood walked away with the biggest award of the night for Video of the Year for "Cowboy Casanova". She also won CMT Performance of the Year for "Temporary Home" from CMT: Invitation Only presents Carrie Underwood. Underwood performed "Undo It" at the show. She was presented by American Idol judge and co-writer of the song Kara DioGuardi.

On June 22, 2010, Underwood participated in the Nashville Rising Benefit concert with other celebrities like Miranda Lambert, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, Toby Keith, Jason Aldean, LeeAnn Rimes. She was the first to perform and her set list consisted of her current single "Undo It" then followed it up by a breathtaking performance of her first single "Jesus, Take the Wheel", transitioning into the classic hymn "How Great Thou Art". At the end of her performance the audience gave her a standing ovation. When asked why she decided to do it she responded "You hear everything from people losing possessions to entire houses being gone. I've heard of people living in tents in their backyard," she said. "You just hear the worst of the worst and hope that in some way there's something you can do about it. It is for a good cause so I feel like everyone [was happy to be] giving. You look out there and everybody's at their best." According to CMT the sold out concert was estimated to raise between 2-3 million dollars for the city of Nashville.

In June 2010, Underwood was nominated for four Teen Choice Awards, including Choice Country Artist Female, Choice Country Album for "Play On", Choice Country Single for "Undo It", and Choice American Idol Alum. All the awards were fan-voted at the show's official website.

On June 16, 2010, the RIAA certified Underwood's song, "Temporary Home", as Gold. On July 8, 2010, the RIAA certified Underwood's song, "Undo It", as Gold. The certifications gave Underwood her seventh and eighth Gold single to tag along with four platinum or multi-platinum singles.

On July 30, 2010, Underwood performed at The Today Show's Summer Concert Series. Underwood performed "Before He Cheats", "Cowboy Casanova", and "Undo It". Later on that day, she confirmed in an interview that the fourth single from Play On would be "Mama's Song".

On July 31, 2010, Underwood performed at the Greenbrier Classic PGA Tour event alongside Brad Paisley. An estimated 60,000 people attended the outdoor event and watched the two perform in the pouring rain.

On the week ending August 7, 2010, "Undo It" hit #1 on the Hot Country Songs chart.

On August 26, 2010, Underwood and Brad Paisley were announced as cohosts for the 44th Country Music Awards to be held in Nashville, November 10, 2010. This is the third year in a row that Underwood and Paisley hosted the CMAS. Underwood is also nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year ("Play On").

In early September, 2010, Underwood gave a press conference in NYC where she was announced as the new face of "Olay" skincare products. She is the first ever North American ambassador for the product. As part of the campaign, Underwood will appear in television and print ads.

The 4th single from Play On, Mama's Song, was released to country radio on September 13, 2010. The music video premiered on VEVO on September 24. Underwood's real-life mother and husband Mike Fisher appeared in the video.

On September 16, 2010, Underwood taped a special concert at the Grand Ole Opry that aired on November 14, 2010, on the TV show Extreme Makeover Home Edition. Underwood, LeAnn Rimes, and Keith Urban participated in rebuilding a school in Tennessee that was lost in the Nashville flood.

On October 2, Underwood sold out the prestigious Hollywood Bowl in LA and played with the Hollywood Bowl orchestra as part of her Play On Tour. Randy Travis and Orianthi joined her on stage to perform a few songs.

Underwood was honored by the CMT Artists of the Year special as one of the 5 top Artists of the year in 2010 in country music. The event aired on CMT on December 3, 2010.

On October 14, 2010, Underwood won an Inspirational Country Music Award for Video of the year for her song, "Temporary Home".

On October 23, 2010, Underwood won Female Vocalist of the Year, and Video of the Year for "Cowboy Casanova" at the French Country Music Awards.

Underwood co-wrote and recorded a song entitled "There's a Place for Us," the lead single from . It was released to iTunes on November 16, 2010. Underwood and songwriters, David Hodges and Hillary Lindsey, received a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song.

Underwood co-hosted the 44th Annual Country Music Awards on November 10, 2010 with Brad Paisley.

Underwood won her 6th American Music Award. She won "Favorite Country Album", for "Play On". That makes her the only artist in the American Music Award history to have all albums awarded in such a category.

Underwood was the American Country Awards' top winner with six wins, Artist of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for (Play On), Female Artist Single of the Year for ("Cowboy Casanova"), Female Artist Video of the Year for ("Cowboy Casanova") and Touring Artist of the Year.

On December 14, 2010, Underwood was nominated by the Hollywood Foreign Press for her first Golden Globes award, under the category Best Original Song from a Movie, for the song she co-wrote and recorded for the movie "Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader."

Carrie was nominated for a Pollstar Touring Award on January 4, 2011, for her Play On Tour, for Most Creative Stage Production. The award ceremony will be held February 5, 2011, at the Nokia Center in LA.

Filmography

Underwood starred in and hosted a 2009 television special, Carrie Underwood: An All-Star Holiday Special, and, in 2010, made her dramatic acting debut in an episode of the television series, How I Met Your Mother. She performed a voice-over as 'Carrie Underworm', a parodied "worm" character, in an episode of the PBS children's television series, Sesame Street, and will portray Sarah Hill in the independent film, Soul Surfer, scheduled for release in 2011. On October 4, 2010, Underwood was featured in an episode on the second season of the MTV show The Buried Life, playing herself as one of the dream dates the members want to ask out on a date.

Personal interests

after performing in Tikrit, Iraq in December 2006.]] In addition to being a singer, Underwood is a guitarist and pianist, and has accompanied herself on guitar for some songs such as "Don't Forget to Remember Me" and "Inside Your Heaven" during live concert performances and on albums. She plays a McPherson guitar with an off-set sound hole.

Underwood is an animal lover and a vegetarian. She stopped eating meat at the age of thirteen because she couldn't stand the thought of eating one of her own animals. She was voted "World's Sexiest Vegetarian" by PETA in 2007 for the second time, the first being in 2005 alongside Coldplay frontman Chris Martin. In a 2007 interview with PETA, Underwood stated, "Ever since I was little I loved animals [...] If you told me I could never sing again, I'd say that was horrible, but it's not my life. If you told me I could never be around animals again, I would just die." Underwood is a supporter of the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) and has done several public service announcements for the organization. Underwood has also done a "Protect Your Pets" public service announcement for Do Something.

Aside from maintaining her physique through healthy eating habits, Underwood told Oprah Winfrey earlier this year that she makes healthy living and fitness a priority. In Nashville, Underwood's personal trainer incorporates a mix of running and kickboxing to keep her trim figure. She also uses a food log to keep track of her eating habits and even gives herself a reward for staying on the healthy eating track.

Underwood also lent her voice to benefit cancer research. She was featured on the 2008 song, "Just Stand Up". The proceeds benefited Stand Up to Cancer (SU2C). As a result of their fund raising efforts, the SU2C scientific advisory committee, overseen by the American Association for Cancer Research was able to award $73.6 million towards novel, groundbreaking research.

A native of eastern Oklahoma, she co-wrote a song dedicated to her hometown, "I Ain't in Checotah Anymore". In December 2005, Underwood was named Oklahoman of the Year by Oklahoma Today. Underwood performed with the USO Christmas Tour in Iraq during the 2006 Holiday season, to spread holiday cheer to the troops overseas. She follows a celebrity entertainment tradition started by Bob Hope that continues to this day. Several Internet sites have photos and video clips of Underwood's performances in Iraq, including photos of Underwood in military garb.

Underwood has also stated she has a great interest in sports. In 2005, she performed the "Star-Spangled Banner" at Game 4 of the NBA Finals between the San Antonio Spurs and Detroit Pistons, and in 2006 at the NBA All-Star Game. She also performed the "Star-Spangled Banner" at the between the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers in 2006, as well as at the 2006 edition of NASCAR's Coca-Cola 600, the MLB All Star Game in Pittsburgh, P.A., and at Game 3 of the 2007 World Series between the Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies. In 2007 she was seen attending an NHL game between the Nashville Predators and Columbus Blue Jackets alongside fellow American Idol contestant Kellie Pickler, as well as another game between the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers.

On February 7, 2010, Underwood performed the National Anthem for Super Bowl XLIV.

In August 2009, Underwood formed the Checotah Animal Town and School (C.A.T.S.) Foundation to benefit her hometown of Checotah, Oklahoma. On August 28, 2009, Underwood visited Checotah High School with ABC news anchor Robin Roberts, where she gave a presentation on stage, sang with a young girl in front of students and school faculty, and donated over $117,000 worth of musical instruments to three music programs at three of Checotah's schools. Underwood later mingled with fans, signing autographs and taking pictures, as well as being interviewed by several local news stations. The story aired on November 10, 2009 on a program called "In the Spotlight With Robin Roberts" on ABC.

On October 16, 2009, Underwood performed in Singapore; it is her first public appearance in an Asian country in line of a series of events for the grand opening of the newest shopping attraction in the heart of the city, ION Orchard.

Underwood has participated in the annual City of Hope Celebrity Softball tournament for charity for many years. The event takes place in Nashville, Tennessee and benefits research for life-threatening diseases. At this event in 2010, her then-fiance Mike Fisher also played for the Grand Ole Opry team and the two of them were given a "surprise bridal shower" and received gifts from Gloriana, Luke Bryan, David Nail and Josh Thompson among others.

Personal life

Underwood performed at halftime of the 2006 Thanksgiving Day football game at Texas Stadium in Irving, Texas, and was friends with Dallas Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo. She attended his birthday party in April 2007, and on May 15, 2007, he escorted her to the Academy of Country Music Awards. They were rumored to be dating on and off throughout 2007. Although she denied the rumor when asked, Romo confirmed it by saying "[...] I'm dating Carrie Underwood" on his website. He also told an Illinois newspaper that they were dating.

In August 2007, Underwood began dating Chace Crawford of the American television series Gossip Girl. On October 4, 2007, People magazine reported that the two were seen holding hands in New York City, though according to further reports, they ended their relationship in the spring of 2008.

She became engaged in December 2009 to Ottawa Senators hockey player Mike Fisher, whom she began dating after they met at one of her concerts in 2008. Underwood and Fisher appeared together publicly for the first time in January 2010, at the Bell Sens Soiree, an annual fundraiser in Gatineau for the Ottawa Senators' official charity. After appearing together at the CMT Awards in June 2010, Underwood told reporters that Fisher was planning a surprise honeymoon for the two of them after their summer wedding.

On July 10, 2010, Underwood and Fisher wed at the Ritz Carlton Resort at Reynolds Plantation in Greensboro, Georgia, with more than 250 people in attendance. The couple gave People magazine the following statement, which they signed "Mike & Carrie Fisher": "We could not feel more blessed to have found each other and to have shared this day with our friends and family that mean so much to us!" According to People, Monique Lhuillier created a dress of Chantilly lace for Underwood and also designed the bridesmaids' dresses. The ceremony featured classical music and readings of the couple's favorite Bible verses. National Hockey League players, as well as Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Garth Brooks, American Idol contestants, and judges Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson were in attendance

Discography

2005: Some Hearts

2007: Carnival Ride

2009: Play On

Tours

2005: American Idols LIVE! Tour 2005

2006:

2008: Love, Pain and the Whole Crazy Carnival Ride Tour (w/ Keith Urban)

2008: Carnival Ride Tour

2010: Play On Tour

Awards

Grammy Awards

On December 7, 2006, Underwood's album Some Hearts received four Grammy nominations. Underwood won her two Grammy Award nominations: Best New Artist, becoming the second of only three country artist to ever win this award after Leann Rimes, and was followed by Zac Brown Band in 2010, and Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "Jesus, Take the Wheel", which also won Best Country Song for the songwriters Gordie Sampson, Brett James and Hillary Lindsey. The song was also nominated for "Song of the Year". Her nomination and victory in the Best New Artist category marked the first time that an American Idol winner or contestant had been nominated for such category. The award ceremony was held on February 11, 2007, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. She sang the Eagles song "Life in the Fast Lane" alongside Grammy nominees Rascal Flatts. She also sang the Eagles' "Desperado" to honour Don Henley of The Eagles. She also paid tribute to Bob Wills and His Texas Playboys by performing "New San Antonio Rose".

On February 10, 2008, Underwood was nominated for two Grammys: Best Female Country Vocal Performance, for "Before He Cheats" and Best Country Collaboration with Vocals, for "Oh, Love" a duet with Brad Paisley. She won one Grammy Award that night, for Best Female Country Vocal Performance, and "Before He Cheats" also won Best Country Song for its songwriters. The song was also nominated for "Song of the Year". Underwood performed "Before He Cheats" at the ceremony, with a more powerful vocal ending.

On February 8, 2009, Underwood, for the third year in a row, won the Grammy Award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "Last Name", which she performed during the show, for a total of four Grammy awards in three years. "Ever Ever After", which she recorded for the soundtrack of the 2007 film Enchanted, was also nominated for a Grammy Award under the category Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media.

On December 2, 2009, Underwood received a Grammy nomination for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for her No. 1 song "Just a Dream" and a nomination for Best Country Collaboration With Vocals for "I Told You So" with Randy Travis, the latter of which she won to score her the 5th Grammy of her career.

On January 30, 2010, Underwood performed at the annual Clive Davis Pre-Grammy party at the Beverly Hills Hotel. She performed a duet with Harry Connick Jr. of "All the Way", and a solo version of her hit "Cowboy Casanova".

Underwood performed at the Grammy Awards on January 31, 2010 for the fourth consecutive year, with Celine Dion, Usher, Smokey Robinson and Jennifer Hudson during the 3-D Michael Jackson tribute at the 52nd Grammy Awards. Grammy Awards producer Ken Ehrlich stated that Michael Jackson greatly admired Carrie Underwood, which is why she was hand-picked to perform during his tribute.

On January 31, 2010, Underwood won her fifth Grammy Award. She won the Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals for "I Told You So" with Randy Travis.

On December 1, 2010, Underwood was nominated for a Grammy award for the 8th time, for 'Best Female Country Vocal Performance' for Temporary Home. The awards will take place on February 13, 2011.

International awards

Underwood received her very first international award nomination in 2006. She was nominated for "World's Best Selling New Artist" at the 2006 World Music Awards. The award is given due to worldwide sales (who sells more is the winner). Among the six nominees, Underwood ranked #2, while British singer James Blunt ranked #1 and ended winning the award.

Also in 2006, Underwood's record "Jesus, Take the Wheel" won "SOCAN Song of the Year" at the Canadian Country Music Awards.

In 2008, Underwood won her first international award, which was "Female Vocalist of the Year" at the European Country Music Association Awards.

On October 23, 2010, Underwood won 2 awards from the 8th French Country Music Awards. She won "Best Female Vocalist of the Year (Meilleure Chanteuse)" and "Best Video of the year (Meilleure Video)" for "Cowboy Casanova". The ceremony was held by The French Association of Country Music.

On December 14, 2010, Underwood was nominated for a CMC Australian Country Music Award for International Artist of the Year.

References

Bibliography

Tracey, Kathleen. Carrie Underwood: American Idol IV. September 2005. Blue Banner Biography series (Juvenile) ISBN 1-58415-425-X

Footnotes

External links

Official site of Carrie Underwood from Arista Records

Carrie Underwood at Billboard.com

Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:American country singer-songwriters Category:American female singers Category:American country singers Category:American expatriates in Canada Category:American Idol winners Category:American vegetarians Category:Arista Records artists Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Grand Ole Opry members Category:People from Muskogee, Oklahoma Category:Northeastern State University alumni Category:Musicians from Oklahoma Category:American Christians Category:Baptists from the United States Category:American people of Native American descent Category:Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame inductees

Name	Martina McBride
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Martina Mariea Schiff
Born	July 29, 1966
Origin	Sharon, Kansas, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals
Genre	Country, country pop, adult contemporary
Occupation	Singer-Songwriter, Producer
Years active	1992–present
Label	RCA Nashville(1992-2010)Republic Nashville(2010-Present)
Associated acts	Clint Black, Jim Brickman, Jimmy Buffett, Andy Griggs, Dolly Parton, Jason Sellers, Mindy McCready, Sara Evans
Url	Official Website

Martina McBride (born Martina Mariea Schiff on July 29, 1966, in Sharon, Kansas) is an American country music singer and songwriter. McBride has been called the "Céline Dion of Country Music" for her big-voiced ballads and soprano range.

McBride was signed to RCA Records in 1991 and made her debut the following year as a neo-traditionalist country singer with the single, "The Time Has Come." It was not until 1997, when she released her fourth album, Evolution, that she broke through into the country music industry with a new pop-styled crossover sound, similar to that of Faith Hill and Shania Twain. From that point on, McBride has had a string of major hit singles on the Billboard country chart and occasionally on the adult contemporary chart. Five of these singles went to #1 on the country chart between 1995 and 2001, and one peaked at #1 on the adult contemporary chart in 2003.

McBride has recorded a total of nine studio albums, one "greatest hits" compilation, one "live" album, a "Christmas" compilation, as well as two additional compilation albums. Seven of her studio albums and two of her compilations have received an RIAA certification of "Gold", or higher. Worldwide, she has sold over 18 million albums. In addition, Martina has won the Country Music Association's "Female Vocalist of the Year" award four times (tied with Reba McEntire for the most wins) and the Academy of Country Music's "Top Female Vocalist" award three times. In her 19 year career she has accomplished many things including being named 2007's Top Grossing Country Artist of the year, and the over all Top Grossing Female in 2007 behind only Gwen Stefani.

Early life

McBride was born Martina Mariea Schiff in Sharon, Kansas, to Daryl and Jeanne (née Clark) Schiff on July 29, 1966. She has two brothers, Martin and Steve, who currently play in her concert band, and a sister, Gina.

She was raised in Sharon, Kansas, a small town with population of about 200. Her father, who was a farmer and cabinetry shop owner, exposed McBride to country music at a young age. Listening to country music helped her acquire a love for singing. After school, she would spend hours singing along to the records of such popular artists as Pat Benatar, Linda Ronstadt and Bonnie Raitt. Around the age of 8 or 9, McBride began singing with a band her father fronted, "The Schiffters." As Schiff grew older her role in the band progressively increased, from simply singing, to also playing keyboard with them. She enjoyed performing in her early years.

At the end of high school, Schiff was offered a scholarship to a local college, but she only attended it for one semester. She realized her passions lay in music and she began performing with local rock bands, including the Penetrators and Private Parts throughout her home area. In 1987, Schiff arranged a group of musicians and started to look for rehearsal space. She began renting space by studio engineer John McBride, whom Schiff met and became engaged to four months later.

After marrying McBride, the two moved to Nashville, Tennessee, in 1989 in the hope of beginning a career in country music. John McBride joined the sound crew of Garth Brooks and later become his concert production manager. Martina occasionally joined her husband on the road and helped sell Garth Brooks souvenirs. Brooks, who was impressed by McBride's enthusiastic spirit, offered her the position of his opening act on his 1992 tour, though only if she could obtain a recording contract. During this time, while her husband was working with country artists Charlie Daniels and Ricky Van Shelton, he also helped produce her a demo tape, which helped her gain a recording contract with RCA Nashville Records, in 1991. "Independence Day" won "Video of the Year" by the Country Music Association Awards, and since then she has rarely released a single without a music video to accompany it.

McBride's third studio album was 1995's Wild Angels, which spawned her third Top 10 hit, "Safe in the Arms of Love." The album's title track became her first #1 hit single in 1996. The album's final three singles released between 1996 and 1997, ("Phones Are Ringin' All Over Town," "Cry on the Shoulder of the Road," and "Swingin' Doors") only reached the Top 40 on the country chart.

Breakthrough: 1997-2003

In 1997, McBride released her fourth album, Evolution, which became her first Top 10 country album, reaching #4 on the Top Country Albums chart. The third single spawned from the album, "Valentine," a duet with Jim Brickman, produced by pop producer Dan Shea, was not just a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Country Chart, but also went to #3 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart, giving her one of her first major hits on Adult Contemporary radio. From the album, McBride had two singles that reached #2 on the country charts, "Happy Girl" and "Whatever You Say," as well as two #1 singles, "A Broken Wing" and "Wrong Again." The album was McBride's breakthrough into the country music industry, after acquiring 5 Top 10 hits from it.

In 2003, McBride released her sixth studio album, Martina, which celebrated womanhood. The album included cover versions of country music standards, such as Hank Williams' "You Win Again," Loretta Lynn's "You Ain't Woman Enough," and Kris Kristofferson's "Help Me Make It Through the Night." To make the album fit its older style, McBride and her husband hired older Nashville session players and outdated analog equipment. The album was very successful, selling over 250,000 copies within its first week, the highest sales start for a Martina McBride album. McBride later joined Canadian Idol on a tour in the Spring. In 2007, McBride also served as a guest coach on Fox Networks television series, American Idol.

In 2007, McBride released her eighth studio album, Waking Up Laughing. It was the first album in which McBride co-wrote some of the tracks. She set up her Waking Up Laughing Tour in 2007, which included country artists Rodney Atkins, Little Big Town, and Jason Michael Carroll. McBride recently recorded an electronically-produced duet with the late Elvis Presley, performing his song "Blue Christmas" as a duet with him on his latest compilation, The Elvis Presley Christmas Duets. A compilation collection entitled was released on December 16, 2008 as part of Sony BMG Playlist series. The album features 11 previously released tracks and three unreleased tracks.

Shine: 2009-2010

Martina McBride wrapped up production of her tenth studio album in late 2008. The first single, "Ride", was released to radio in October 2008 and debuted at #43 on the Hot Country Songs chart. It barely missed the Top 10 on the chart, peaking at #11 in March 2009. A music video produced by Kristin Barlowe was also released at the end of the year. The album, Shine, was released by RCA Records on March 24, 2009, and debuted at the top of the U.S. Country album chart as well as #10 on the Billboard 200. McBride co-produced the album with Dann Huff, and it featured "Sunny Side Up", a song that she co-wrote.

The second single, "I Just Call You Mine", was released in May 2009 and reached the Top 20 on the Hot Country Songs chart, peaking at #18 in December 2009. A music video produced by Theresa Wengert was also released in June 2009.

McBride also initiated the Shine All Night Tour, a co-headlining venture with fellow country star and friend Trace Adkins and opening act Sarah Buxton. The tour began in November 2009 and ended in May 2010.

On July 15, 2009 she performed on the Today Show Throws a Wedding reception.

In May 2010, Martina was nominated for the first round of CMT Music awards, but lost the second round to Mirand Lambert, Reba McEntire, Carrie Underwood & Taylor Swift.

On June 10, 2010, Billboard announced that McBride has collaborated on a song with Kid Rock for his upcoming new album. The song will also feature rapper T.I. In late June 2010, Martina was nominated for a Teen Choice Award, "Favorite Country Female Artist", alongside country stars Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Taylor Swift & Gretchen Wilson.

The third single from the critically acclaimed album "Shine" was "Wrong Baby Wrong." It was released in February 2010, and has peaked at #11 on the Hot Country Singles Charts, and became her highest charting single (reaching #74) on the Hot 100 Charts since "Anyway" in 2006.

In late 2010 Martina McBride was nominated for 2 American Country Awards (Best Female Single & Touring Artist of the year w/ Trace Adkins.) Along with the ACA nominations, she recived her 14th Female Vocalist nomination for Country Music Association in October.

McBride exited RCA in November 2010 and signed with Republic Nashville.

Future Projects: 2011-present

After exiting RCA Nashville Records, and entering Republic Nashville, McBride announced that she had started working on her 11th studio album, with Bryan Gallimore who has also produced projects with Faith Hill, and Tim McGraw.

Charity work

Martina McBride works with a variety of charities. She is currently the spokeswoman for the "National Domestic Violence Hotline" as well as for the "National Network to End Domestic Violence" and national spokeswoman for the Tulsa Domestic Violence and Intervention Services. Every year since 1995, she has hosted Middle Tennessee's YWCA, "Celebrity Auction", and it has raised nearly $400,000 so far. In 2004, she worked with "Kids Wish Network" to fulfill the wish of a young girl dying from Muscular Dystrophy. McBride was awarded the "Minnie Pearl Humanitarian Award" in 2003.

McBride explained that educating girls and women on domestic violence is something she works on at home with her own daughters, stating that: }}

McBride has also teamed up with, "Loveisrespect, National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline," working with them on a new program called, "My Time to Shine."

McBride appeared on the Stand up 2 Cancer telethon in September 2010. alongside Leona lewis, Aaron Neville, and Stevie Wonder, she performed Unchained Melody. Also in 2010 she hosted the YWCA again, for the 16th year raising over 50,000 dollars this year, it totals over 500,000 dollars raised so far.

Personal life

McBride has been married to sound engineer John McBride, since May 15, 1988. The couple has three daughters: Delaney Katharine (b. 22 December 1994), Emma Justine (b. 29 March 1998), and Ava Rose Kathleen (b. 20 June 2005).

Discography

;Main albums

1992: The Time Has Come

1993: The Way That I Am

1995: Wild Angels

1997: Evolution

1998: White Christmas

1999: Emotion

2001: Greatest Hits

2003: Martina

2005: Timeless

2007: Waking Up Laughing

2009: Shine

2008:

2008:

Tours

"Timeless Tour" 2006

"The Waking Up Laughing Tour" 2007/2008 (w/ Rodney Atkins and Little Big Town)

"Shine All Night Tour" 2009/2010 (w/ Trace Adkins, Blake Shelton, The Lost Trailers and Sarah Buxton).

Musical Style & Legacy

McBride's style has been referred to as country/pop, which occasional singles would cross-over to the Adult Contepmprary Chart, and the Bubbling Under Chart. Perhaps her most successful cross over single would be "Anyway". The single charted of-course on the Hot Country Singles Chart, as well on the Hot 100, Hot Adult Contemporary, Hot Adult Christian Contemporary, Hot Christian, Hot Pop Singles, and the Bubbling Under chart. In 2005, Country Weekly announced their first ever Most Beautiful Women competition. The fans would go on Country Weekly's website, or send in their ballot, and the votes were counted. McBride placed at number 4 in 2005. Since then McBride has been featured in the Most Beautiful issue since then with these following positions: 2005, #4. 2006, #5. 2007, #6. 2008, #6. 2009, #8. 2010, #10. McBride has said in many interviews, etc. that she is and has been very influenced by Reba McEntire. She even dedicated her first ever ACM Award to McEntire during the 2002 broadcast of the award ceremony. McBride, and McEntire has been seen performing together, including when McBride was featured in McEntires' Giants episode on CMT. In 2005, Carrie Underwood mentioned in her American Idol audition that she liked McBride's singing, and that she was an influence to her. Later in the season she performed one of McBride's most recognizable songs "Independence Day". McBride has been referred to as the Queen of Country many times, including placing above the rankings of Dolly Parton, and Loretta Lynn. With nearly over 20 million records sold world-wide, she has been recognized as one of the Most Influential Country Stars in history. She has also been defined as the best voice in country music and one of the best vocalists music has ever seen. The biggest shock people have about McBride, is that she has yet to win even one Grammy Award. Even though she has been featured on the show multiple times, and honored with over 10 nominations, she has never won, music's highest honor. In 2007, McBride was honored with her own star on the Walk of Fame. Which some might say was a long time over-due.

Awards

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" Country Music superstar Martina McBride has accepted over 15 major music awards including matching Reba McEntire's record for most wins for the CMA's Female Vocalist in 2004. She also has accepted the Flameworthy's (or now called CMT Video Awards) Female Video award twice, sharing the record for most wins with Carrie Underwood & Taylor Swift. She has been nominated for over 10 Grammy Awards, but never won. McBride is also known as winning the AMA's, ACM's, & CMA's, Female Vocalist of The Year, two of them being multiple times. |- ! Year ! Award ! Category ! Result |- | 1993 | Academy of Country Music Awards | New Female Vocalist of The Year | Nominated |- | 1994 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Music Video of The Year | Nominated |- | 1994 | Country Music Association Awards | Horizon | Nominated |- | 1994 | Country Music Association Awards | Music Video of the Year for "Independence Day" | Won |- | 1995 | Grammy Awards | Best Country/Western Vocal Performance | Nominated

|- | 1996 | TNN/Music City News | Music Video of the Year for "Independence Day" | Won |- | 1996 | Grammy Awards | Best Country/Western Vocal Performance | Nominated |- | 1996 | Country Music Association | Album of The Year | Nominated |- | 1996 | Country Music Association | Female Vocalist of The Year | Nominated |- | 1997 | Academy of Country Music | Music Video of The Year "A Broken Wing" | Nominated |- | 1997 | Academy of Country Music | Top Female Vocalist | Nominated |- | 1998 | Country Music Association | Female Vocalist of The Year | Nominated |- | 1998 | Country Music Association | Single of The Year "A Broken Wing" | Nominated |- | 1998 | Academy of Country Music | Single Record of The Year | Nominated |- | 1998 | Academy of Country Music | Top Female Vocalist | Nominated |- | 1999 | American Music Awards | Favorite Female Country Artist | Nominated |- | 1999 | Country Music Association Awards | Female Vocalist of the Year | Won |- | 1999 | Academy of Country Music | Top Female Vocalist | Nominated |- | 2000 | American Music Awards | Favorite Female Country Artist | Nominated |- | 2000 | Grammy Awards | Country Female Vocalist | Nominated |- | 2000 | Academy of Country Music | Top Female Vocalist | Nominated |- | 2000 | Country Music Association | Female Vocalist of The Year | Nominated |- | 2001 | Flameworthy Awards | Video Dierector "Blessed" | Nominated |- | 2001 | Flameworthy Awards | Laugh Out Loud Video "When God Fearin Women" | Nominated |- | 2001 | Flameworthy Awards | Fashion Plate Video "Blessed" | Nominated |- | 2001 | Flameworthy Awards | Female Video of the Year for "Blessed" | Won |- | 2001 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Top Female Vocalist | Won |- | 2001 | Country Music Association | Female Vocalist of The Year | Nominated |- | 2002 | Flameworthy Awards | Concept Video "Concrete Angel" | Nominated |- | 2002 | Country Music Association | Single of The Year "Blessed" | Nominated |- | 2002 | Billboard Music Awards | Country Female Artist of The Year | Nominated |- | 2002 | Flameworthy Awards | Video of The Year "Concrete Angel" | Nominated |- | 2002 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Top Female Vocalist | Won |- | 2002 | Country Music Association Awards | Female Vocalist of the Year | Won |- | 2002 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Top Female Vocalist | Won |- | 2003 | Grammy Awards | Best Female Country Vocal Performance | Nominated |- | 2003 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Album of The Year "Martina" | Nominated |- | 2003 | Academy of Country Awards | Humanitarian of The Year | Won |- | 2003 | Flameworthy Awards | Female Video of the Year "Concrete Angel" | Won |- | 2003 | Country Music Association Awards | Female Vocalist of the Year | Won |- | 2003 | American Music Awards | Favorite Female Country Artist | Won |- | 2004 | Country Music Association Awards | Female Vocalist of the Year | Won |- | 2004 | Grammy Awards | Best Short Form Music Video "Concrete Angel" | Nominated |- | 2004 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Top Female Vocalist | Nominated |- | 2004 | Grammy Awards | Best Female Country Vocal Performance | Nominated |- | 2004 | Flameworthy Awards | Most Inspiring Video "Gods Will" | Nominated |- | 2004 | Flameworthy Awards | Female Video "How Far" | Nominated |- | 2004 | Billboard Music Awards | Female Country Artist of The Year | Nominated |- | 2004 | American Music Awards | Favorite Female Artist | Nominated |- | 2004 | American Music Awards | Favorite Country Album | Nominated |- | 2005 | CMT Video Awards | Most Inspiring Video "Gods Will | Nominated |- | 2005 | CMT Video Awards | Female Video "Gods Will" | Nominated |- | 2005 | Grammy Awards | Best Female Country Vocal Performance | Nominated |- | 2005 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Top Female Vocalist | Nominated |- | 2005 | American Music Awards | Favorite Female Country Artist | Nominated |- | 2006 | Grammy Awards | Best Short Form Music Video "Gods Will" | Nominated |- | 2006 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Top Female Vocalist | Nominated |- | 2007 | American Music Awards | Favorite Female Country Artist | Nominated |- | 2007 | Grammy Awards | Best Female Country Vocal Performance | Nominated |- | 2007 | Academy of Country Music Awards | Top Female Vocalist | Nominated |- | 2007 | Country Music Association | Female Vocalist of The Year | Nomnated |- | 2007 | Country Music Association | Music Video of Th Year "Anyway" | Nominated |- | 2007 | Country Music Associatin | Single of The Yeat "Anyway" | Nominated |- | 2007 | Country Music Association | Song of The Year "Anyway" | Nominated |- | 2007 | BMI | Song of The Year "Anyway" | Nominated |- | 2007 | BMI | Most Played Song of The Year "Anyway" | Won |- | 2007 | Billboard Music Awards | Top Country Grossing Tour of The Year | Won |- | 2007 | ASCAP | Female Song of The Year "Anyway" | Won |- | 2007 | ASCAP | Song of The Year "Anyway" | Won |- | 2008 | CMT Video Awards | Female Video "Anyway" | Nominated |- | 2008 | Academy of Country Music | Top Female Vocalist | Nominated |- | 2008 | Country Music Association | Female Vocalist of The Year | Nominated |- | 2009 | Grammy Awards | Best Female Country Vocal Performance | Nominated |- | 2009 | Country Music Association | Female Vocalist | Nominated |- | 2009 | CMT Video Awards | Female Video "Ride" | Nominated |- | 2010 | Grammy Awards | Best Female Country Vocal Performance | Nominated |- | 2010 | Teen Choice Awards | Female Country Artist | Nominated |- | 2010 | CMT Video Awards | Female Video "I Just Call You Mine" | Nominated |- | 2010 | American Country Awards | Single by A Female Artist "Wrong Baby Wrong" | Nominated |- | 2010 | American Country Awards | Touring Artist of The Year | Nominated |- | 2010 | Country Music Association | Female Vocalist | Nominated |}

References

External links

Official Website

Martina Official Music Videos

Category:1966 births Category:American Christians Category:American country singers Category:American female singers Category:American musicians of German descent Category:Grand Ole Opry members Category:Musicians from Kansas Category:Living people Category:People from Barber County, Kansas Category:RCA Records artists Category:Republic Records artists

Name	Lewis Hamilton
Nationality	British
Date of birth	January 07, 1985
2010 team	McLaren–Mercedes
2010 car number	2
2011 team	McLaren–Mercedes
2011 car number	3
Races	71
Championships	1 ()
Wins	14
Podiums	36
Poles	18
Points	496
Fastest laps	8
First race	2007 Australian Grand Prix
First win	2007 Canadian Grand Prix
Last win	2010 Belgian Grand Prix
Last race
Last season	2010
Last position	4th (240 points)

Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton MBE (born 7 January 1985) is a British Formula One racing driver, currently racing for the McLaren team, and was the Formula One World Champion.

Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. In December 1995, at the age of ten, he approached McLaren team principal Ron Dennis at the Autosport Awards ceremony and told him, "I want to race for you one day ... I want to race for McLaren." Less than three years later McLaren and Mercedes-Benz signed him to their Young Driver Support Programme. Hamilton is often labelled "the first black driver in Formula One".

In his first season in Formula One, Hamilton set numerous records, while finishing second in the 2007 Formula One Championship, just one point behind Kimi Räikkönen. He won the World Championship the following season, ahead of Felipe Massa by the same margin of a single point. He has stated he wants to stay with the McLaren team for the rest of his F1 career.

From March to November 2010, Hamilton was the central character in the alternate reality game, .

Personal life

Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton Hamilton's mother, Carmen Larbalestier (now married as Carmen Lockhart), is white British, while his father, Anthony Hamilton, is black British, making him mixed-raced, Lewis Hamilton's parents separated when he was two, as a result of this he lived with his mother and half-sisters Nicola and Samantha until he was twelve, when he started living with his father, stepmother Linda and half-brother Nicholas (who has cerebral palsy). He was raised as a Roman Catholic.

. From this point until March 2010 Anthony Hamilton also managed his son.]] Hamilton's father bought him a radio-controlled car in 1991, which gave him his first taste of racing competition. Hamilton finished second in the national BRCA championship the following year. He said of the time: "I was racing these remote-controlled cars and winning club championships against adults". As a result of this his father bought him his first go-kart as a Christmas present at the age of six. His father told him that he would support his racing career as long as he worked hard at school. Supporting his son became problematic, which caused him to take redundancy from his position as an IT Manager and became a contractor. He was sometimes employed in up to three jobs at a time, while still managing to find enough time to attend all Hamilton's races. He later set up his own computer company as well as working as a full-time manager for Hamilton.

Hamilton was educated at The John Henry Newman School, a voluntary aided Catholic secondary school in Stevenage, Hertfordshire. Alongside his interest for racing, he played football for his school team with current Aston Villa and England international midfielder Ashley Young. or a cricketer, having played both for his school teams as a youngster. He subsequently attended, in February 2001, Cambridge Arts and Sciences (CATS), a private sixth-form college in Cambridge. At the age of five Hamilton took up Karate in order to defend himself as a result of bullying at school.

In October 2007, Hamilton announced his intention to live in Switzerland, stating that this was because he wished to get away from the media scrutiny that he experienced living in the United Kingdom. Hamilton admitted under questioning on the television show Parkinson, which was broadcast on 10 November 2007, that taxation was partly responsible for his decision, in addition to wanting more privacy. Hamilton received public criticism from UK MPs including Liberal Democrat MP Bob Russell for avoiding UK taxes. He settled in Luins in Vaud canton on Lake Geneva; other Formula One drivers, including world champions Michael Schumacher, Kimi Räikkönen and Fernando Alonso, also live in Switzerland. Hamilton was one of several super-rich figures whose tax arrangements were singled out for criticism in a report by the charity Christian Aid in 2008.

(left), Paul di Resta and Bruno Spengler at Stars and Cars 2007]] On 18 December 2007, Hamilton was suspended from driving in France for a month after being caught speeding at on a French motorway. His Mercedes-Benz CLK was also impounded. In November 2007, Hamilton started dating Nicole Scherzinger, the lead singer of the American girl band Pussycat Dolls; it was announced in January 2010 that they split up to focus on their respective careers, however they were seen together at the 2010 Turkish Grand Prix and at the Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal, on 13 June 2010.

Hamilton was awarded an MBE by the Queen in the 2009 New Year Honours.

On 18 March 2009, Madame Tussauds unveiled a waxwork of Hamilton in his Vodafone McLaren Mercedes race suit. This wax replica cost around £150,000 and took over six months to complete.

Two days before the 2010 Australian Grand Prix, Victoria Police witnessed Hamilton "deliberately losing traction" in his silver Mercedes-AMG C63, and impounded the car for 48 hours. Hamilton immediately released a statement of apology for "driving in an over-exuberant manner". After being charged with intentionally losing control of a vehicle, Hamilton was eventually fined A$500 (£288), being described as a "Hoon" [boy racer] by the magistrate.

Early career

Karting

Hamilton began karting in 1993 at the age of eight, at the Rye House Kart Circuit and quickly began winning races and Cadet class championships. At the age of ten he approached McLaren F1 team boss Ron Dennis for an autograph, and told him, "Hi. I'm Lewis Hamilton. I won the British Championship and one day I want to be racing your cars." Dennis wrote in his autograph book, "Phone me in nine years, we'll sort something out then." From the Cadet ranks, he progressed through to Junior Yamaha (1997) and Ron Dennis actually called him in 1998 after Hamilton won an additional Super One series and his second British championship.|width=21%|align=right}} Hamilton continued his progress in the Intercontinental A (1999), Formula A (2000) and Formula Super A (2001) ranks, and became European Champion in 2000 with maximum points. In Formula A and Formula Super A, racing for TeamMBM.com, his team mate was Nico Rosberg who would later drive for the Williams and Mercedes GP teams in Formula One. Following his karting successes the British Racing Drivers' Club made him a "Rising Star" Member in 2000.

In 2001, Michael Schumacher made a one-off return to karts and competed against Hamilton along with other future F1 drivers Vitantonio Liuzzi and Nico Rosberg. Hamilton ended the final in seventh, four places behind Schumacher. Although the two saw little of each other on the track Schumacher praised the young Briton (see quote box).

Formula Renault and Formula Three

Hamilton began his car racing career in the 2001 British Formula Renault Winter Series. Despite crashing on his third lap in the car in testing, he finished fifth overall in the winter series. and in the second he crashed out and was taken to hospital after a collision with his team-mate Tor Graves. He did show his speed at both the Macau Grand Prix and Korea Super Prix, in the latter he qualified on pole position in his first visit to the track and in only his fourth F3 race. Asked in 2002 about the prospect of becoming one of the youngest ever Formula One drivers, Hamilton replied that his goal was "not to be the youngest in F1 ...[but] to be experienced and then show what I can do in F1".

Later in 2004 Williams would announce that they had come close to signing him but were refused the opportunity due to BMW, their engine supplier at the time, refusing to fund Hamilton's career. Hamilton eventually re-signed with McLaren, and made his debut with Manor in the 2004 Formula 3 Euro Series. They won one race and Hamilton ended the year fifth in the championship. He also won the Bahrain F3 Superprix and raced one of the Macau F3 Grand Prix. Hamilton first tested for McLaren in late 2004 at Silverstone.

Hamilton moved to the reigning Euro Series champions ASM for the 2005 season and dominated the championship, winning 15 of the 20 rounds. This would have been 16 but for being disqualified from one win at Spa-Francorchamps on a technical infringement that caught out several other drivers. After the season British magazine Autosport featured him in their "Top 50 Drivers of 2005" issue, ranking Hamilton 24th.

GP2

Due to his success in Formula Three, he moved to ASM's sister GP2 team ART Grand Prix for 2006. Just like their sister team in F3, ART were the leaders of the field and reigning champions having taken the 2005 GP2 crown with Nico Rosberg. Hamilton won the GP2 championship at his first attempt, beating Nelson Piquet, Jr. and Timo Glock.

His performances included a dominant win at the Nürburgring, despite serving a penalty for speeding in the pit lane. At his home race at Silverstone, supporting the , Hamilton overtook two rivals at Becketts, a series of high-speed (up to 150 mph in a GP2 car) bends where overtaking is rare. In Istanbul he recovered from a spin that left him in eighteenth place to take second position in the final corners. He won the title in unusual circumstances, inheriting the final point he needed after Giorgio Pantano was stripped of fastest lap in the Monza feature race. In the sprint race, though he finished second with Piquet sixth, he finished twelve points clear of his rival.

His 2006 GP2 championship coincided with a vacancy at McLaren following the departure of Juan Pablo Montoya to NASCAR and Kimi Räikkönen to Ferrari. After months of speculation on whether Hamilton, Pedro de la Rosa or Gary Paffett would be paired with defending champion Fernando Alonso for , Hamilton was confirmed as the team's second driver. He was told of McLaren's decision on 30 September, but the news was not made public until 24 November, for fear that it would be overshadowed by Michael Schumacher's retirement announcement.

Formula One career

2007 season

.]] behind Ferrari's Felipe Massa]] .]] It was announced prior to the start of the season that Hamilton would be partnering defending double World Champion Fernando Alonso who had joined McLaren after leaving Renault. On his debut at the , he qualified fourth and finished third in the race, becoming the thirteenth driver to finish on the podium in his first F1 career race (excluding those in the first ever World Championship round). In Bahrain, Hamilton got his first front-row start, qualifying and finishing second behind Felipe Massa. Hamilton again finished second behind Massa in the , to take the lead in the drivers championship. This meant that Hamilton broke Bruce McLaren's record of being the youngest driver to ever lead the world championship.

Hamilton finished second behind Alonso at Monaco and afterwards suggested he was prevented from racing his team mate. The FIA cleared McLaren following an investigation. Hamilton had both his first pole position and first victory of his F1 career in the at Montreal. He led for most of the race even after the safety car was deployed four times increasing the chances of him being overtaken. A week later Hamilton won the , also from pole position, becoming the first Briton since John Watson in 1983 to win an F1 race in the US, and only the second person, after Jacques Villeneuve, to win more than one race in his rookie Formula One season since the first year of the Championship.

By finishing third at Magny-Cours behind Ferrari drivers Kimi Räikkönen and Felipe Massa, Hamilton extended his lead in the Driver's Championship to 14 points. This was the first time in his F1 career he finished a race in a lower position than he started, and the first time he had been passed on the race track in Formula One. He took pole at his home Grand Prix at Silverstone and led for the first 16 laps, but slipped to third, 40 seconds behind Räikkönen and Alonso.

During qualifying for the , Hamilton crashed at the after a problem with the wheel nut caused by the air gun used on his car. He was taken to the circuit's medical centre on a stretcher with an oxygen mask and drip, but was conscious throughout. He was unable to complete qualifying and his existing laptime was surpassed by all other competitors during Q3, thus he qualified in tenth position. After a final medical check on Sunday morning, Hamilton was cleared to race. During a heavy rainstorm which caused the race to be red-flagged Hamilton slid off into a gravel trap, however as he kept his engine running he was lifted back on to the circuit and able to rejoin the race after the restart. His ninth place finish in this race was his first non-podium and non-points finish, enabling title contenders Alonso and Massa to reduce Hamilton's championship lead.

Hamilton won the from pole position following a controversial qualifying session. Alonso had set the fastest time, but was relegated five places down the grid to sixth for preventing Hamilton to leave the pit lane in time to complete his final qualifying lap. Kimi Räikkönen stayed within five seconds of Hamilton for the entire race (excluding pit stop periods). McLaren were docked any constructor's points earned during the race due to the incident in qualifying.

After declaring he had restored his relationship with Alonso, Hamilton qualified second in Turkey. After dropping to third at the first corner, Hamilton looked set for a podium finish with 15 laps remaining, but a right-front tyre puncture forced him to crawl back to the pits, leaving him to finish fifth meaning his championship lead was cut once more.

Alonso beat Hamilton in the Italian and Belgian Grands Prix, leaving Hamilton with a two-point lead in the title race. However he extended his lead to 12 points after winning the in heavy rain after Alonso crashed. Following the race Hamilton was investigated by the race stewards over his involvement in an incident behind the safety car, which saw both Sebastian Vettel and Mark Webber crash out of the race while following the McLaren. The trio were cleared on the Friday of the weekend.

After securing pole position in China, which saw changeable weather conditions, Hamilton retired from the race. He experienced considerable tyre wear, notably his right rear, and he ran wide into the gravel trap in the pitlane where his car beached, recording the first retirement of his Formula One career. It was later revealed that Bridgestone became unnerved at the glaringly worn tyres and advised McLaren to order him to make a pit stop, which McLaren refused to do, believing it would be counterproductive. Hamilton himself couldn't tell the full extent of the tyre problem as raindrops were in his wing mirrors. Hamilton thus went into the final race of the season four and seven points ahead of Alonso and Räikkönen respectively.

In the he failed to finish in a championship-winning position, finishing the race in seventh after being as low as 18th place during the race, due to two incidents. In the first he was passed by Räikkönen away from the line before being boxed in by Massa and Räikkönen into the first corner, and 'wrong-footed' by Räikkönen mid-corner, Hamilton was passed by Alonso in Turn 3. Hamilton attempted to re-pass Alonso in turn four, but ran wide, dropping four places to eighth. The second problem started on lap 9 when Hamilton encountered a gearbox problem, which meant that he was stuck in neutral and could not select any gears. The gearbox became operational again after Hamilton switched settings on his steering wheel, but he lost 40 seconds while his car was coasting. For most of the race, Massa was leading with Räikkönen in second. If this had been the case come the chequered flag with Hamilton in seventh place, Hamilton would have become world champion. After the second round of pit stops, Räikkönen stayed out a couple of laps longer than Massa and took the lead. Once in front Räikkönen made no mistakes in the remaining laps and won the race to become the Formula One world champion.

On 21 October 2007 it was announced that the FIA were investigating BMW Sauber and Williams for fuel irregularities, the BMW drivers had finished in fifth and sixth place, and if they were to be excluded Hamilton would be promoted to fifth and would win the 2007 Drivers World Championship by one point over Räikkönen. Ultimately no penalty whatsoever was given to any team as there was "sufficient doubt as to render it inappropriate to impose a penalty", though McLaren officially appealed this decision. Hamilton subsequently told the BBC he does not want to win an F1 title through the disqualifications of other drivers. A precedent had been set in 1995 when Michael Schumacher, then of Benetton-Renault, and David Coulthard, then of Williams-Renault, were both found guilty of possessing illegal fuel in their cars and in that situation both drivers were initially docked drivers points, but for unspecified reasons it would transpire over a week later that constructor points would be docked instead.

Ahead of the world championship finale, Hamilton answered a question about what it would mean to him to become the first black champion, saying: "It will show that not only white people can do it, but also black people, Indians, Japanese and Chinese. It will be good to mean something." Having made few public remarks about his ethnicity since becoming an F1 driver, Hamilton added: "Outside of Formula One my heroes are foremost my father, then Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King. Being black is not a negative. It's a positive, if anything, because I'm different. In the future it can open doors to different cultures and that is what motor sport is trying to do anyway". with the first indication that Hamilton was unhappy with his team appearing after he finished second at Monaco in 2007. After post-race comments made by Hamilton which suggested he had been forced into a supporting role, the FIA initiated an inquiry to determine whether McLaren had broken rules by enforcing team orders. McLaren denied favouring double world champion Fernando Alonso, and the FIA subsequently vindicated the team, stating that: "McLaren were able to pursue an optimum team strategy because they had a substantial advantage over all other cars. They did nothing which could be described as interfering with the race result". Alonso was relegated to sixth place on the starting grid, thus elevating Hamilton (who had originally qualified second) to first, while McLaren were docked constructors championship points. Hamilton said he thought Alonso's penalty was "quite light if anything" and only regretted the loss of constructors' points. Hamilton was reported to have sworn at Dennis on the team radio following the incident. British motorsport journal Autosport claimed that this "[led] Dennis to throw his headphones on the pit wall in disgust (a gesture that was misinterpreted by many to be in reaction to Alonso's pole)". However McLaren later issued a statement on behalf of Hamilton which denied the use of any profanity. As a result of these events, the relationship between Hamilton and Alonso temporarily collapsed, with the pair not on speaking terms for a short period. In the aftermath it was reported that Hamilton had been targeted by Luca di Montezemolo regarding a Ferrari drive for .

Following the stewards' investigation into the incident at the 2007 Japanese Grand Prix, Alonso stated: "I'm not thinking of this championship anymore, it's been decided off the track. The drivers' briefing has no purpose. You go there to hear what Charlie Whiting and the other officials say. Twenty one drivers have an opinion, Charlie and the officials another, and so it's like talking to a wall".

The rivalry between Hamilton and teammate Alonso led to speculation that one of the pair would leave McLaren at the end of the 2007 season and Alonso and McLaren subsequently terminated their contract by mutual consent on 2 November 2007.

2008 season

.]]

On 14 December 2007, it was confirmed that Heikki Kovalainen who drove for Renault in 2007 would drive the second car for McLaren-Mercedes for the 2008 Formula One season alongside Hamilton. In January 2008, Hamilton signed a new five-year multi-million pound contract to stay with McLaren-Mercedes until the end of the 2012 season.

Hamilton won the first race of the 2008 season, the , having qualified on pole position. In Malaysia, he finished fifth after duels with Mark Webber and Jarno Trulli. He had been demoted to ninth on the grid, from fourth, for impeding Nick Heidfeld's flying lap. In Bahrain, Hamilton destroyed his car during a practice crash. He continued with a spare chassis and took third place in qualifying. In the race, after a bad start, he crashed into the back of Alonso's Renault finishing 13th. This led to him being overtaken in the Drivers' Championship by Kimi Räikkönen and Nick Heidfeld. He was back on the podium in Spain finishing third from fifth on the grid. Hamilton finished second in Turkey, and won the a fortnight later, putting him in the lead of the championship.

He achieved his eighth career pole position in Montreal but he crashed into the back of Räikkönen during the race, after failing to see that the Finn was waiting at a red light at the end of the pit lane. Both cars were forced to retire and Hamilton was given a 10 position grid penalty for the next race, the , as a result of this incident. At that race, Hamilton overtook Sebastian Vettel at the chicane on lap 1 but missed the apex and was given a drive through penalty which he served on lap 13, finishing the race in 13th. Despite an error in qualifying that saw him start fourth on the grid, Hamilton went on to win the in difficult, wet conditions. His performance was stated as being one of his best drives to date. Hamilton himself said in the post race press conference that it was his most difficult and most meaningful win.

In the next race at Hockenheim, Hamilton started from pole position, building up an 11 second lead over second-placed Felipe Massa early in the race. After stopping and re-emerging in the lead, McLaren then decided to keep Hamilton out on-track when the safety car was deployed mid-way through the race. When Hamilton finally pitted, he came out in fifth place, jumping to third after his team-mate let him by and Nick Heidfeld pitted. He then overtook Massa and Nelson Piquet, Jr. for the lead, eventually winning by 9 seconds.

for passing Kimi Räikkönen after cutting the previous corner. The stewards judged that he gained an illegal advantage, and the penalty dropped him from first to third position.]]

Hamilton won the on the road, however he was later judged to have gained an unfair advantage by cutting a chicane when he used a tarmac run off area to avoid hitting Kimi Räikkönen. McLaren said that their telemetry showed Hamilton backed off to let Räikkönen past but Hamilton was given a 25 second penalty, thereby dropping him to third. As a result his main title rival Massa inherited the win. Hamilton's lead in the drivers' championship was cut to two points, and a subsequent appeal by McLaren to the FIA World Motor Sport Council was rejected on the grounds that the case was inadmissible. The Italian Grand Prix was won by Sebastian Vettel in the Toro Rosso. Both Massa and Hamilton failed to capitalise on the weather and each other's poor grid positions finishing sixth and seventh respectively. This result cut Hamilton's lead in the Championship to one point. Hamilton finished third at the next race in Singapore, while Massa failed to score any points, allowing Hamilton to increase his championship lead to seven points.

At Fuji, Hamilton took pole in qualifying. His closest rival for the Championship title, Felipe Massa, could only manage to qualify fifth. As the race began Kimi Räikkönen made a good start from second position, getting ahead of pole-sitter Hamilton. Hamilton moved down the inside before the first corner, out-braking himself and running wide. This forced some of the drivers behind him to go off the track, including the cars of Räikkönen and Heikki Kovalainen, for which Hamilton was given a drive-through penalty. A second incident followed soon afterwards, on the second lap, when Hamilton attempted to pass Massa into the chicane at turn 10. Hamilton pulled alongside the Ferrari and as Massa ran wide into the corner, Hamilton made a move to pass him. Massa then ran up inside Hamilton and the cars collided at the second bend of the chicane, pushing the McLaren into a spin. Massa was later given a drive-through penalty for this move. Hamilton, who had been in sixth place behind Massa, dropped down to last place but managed to regain some places and managed to finish the race in 12th position. However Massa finished seventh after being given an extra point after a penalty was given to Toro Rosso's Sébastien Bourdais. This meant that with just two races to go Hamilton led the World Championship by five points from Massa.

At the penultimate race of the season, the , Hamilton was much faster than all the other cars in the practice sessions, and qualified on pole position. He went on to win the race from Felipe Massa and Kimi Räikkönen, taking a 7 point lead in the World Championship into the last race of the season. Speaking afterwards, Hamilton said "All weekend we have had God on our side as always, and the team did a phenomenal job in preparing the car, which has been a dream to drive." Hamilton needed to finish at least fifth in the to secure the World Championship. After a hard fought race Hamilton was in fifth but, after rain, and in the closing laps of the race, Sebastian Vettel of Scuderia Toro Rosso took the fifth position away from Hamilton. Had the race ended then, this would have given the driver's title to Massa.

On the final lap of the race first Vettel and then Hamilton managed to pass Timo Glock of Toyota, after Glock (unlike Hamilton) had risked staying on the track with dry-weather tyres, despite the rain. This moved Hamilton back up to fifth, ensuring that he finished one point ahead of Massa overall and winning the 2008 title. Hamilton's overtaking move happened after Massa had crossed the line to win. This meant that Hamilton had clinched the 2008 Formula One World Championship, becoming the youngest driver to win the title, as well as the first black driver. He is also the first British driver to win the World Championship since Damon Hill triumphed in 1996.

Racial abuse

On 4 February 2008, Hamilton was verbally heckled and otherwise abused during pre-season testing at the Circuit de Catalunya in Catalonia by several Spanish spectators who wore black face paint and black wigs, as well as shirts bearing the words "Hamilton's ". Hamilton became widely unpopular in Spain because of his rivalry with Spanish former team-mate Fernando Alonso. The FIA have warned Spanish authorities about the repetition of such behaviour. In reaction to this behaviour, the FIA announced on 13 February 2008 that it will launch a "Race Against Racism" campaign.

Shortly before the 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix, a website owned by the Spanish branch of the New York-based advertising agency TBWA and named "pinchalaruedadeHamilton" (burst Hamilton's tyre) was featured in the British media. The website contained an animated image of Interlagos that allowed users to leave nails and porcupines on the track for Hamilton's car to run over. Among thousands of anti-Hamilton comments left since 2007, some included racial insults. His rival Fernando Alonso condemned the racist supporters.

2009 season

A year after winning the 2008 Australian Grand Prix from pole position, Hamilton started the season-opening from 18th place on the grid after the McLaren team incurred a penalty for changing his malfunctioning gearbox during qualifying. Hamilton benefited from a late crash between Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel and BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica to move into fourth place by the end of the race. He was then promoted to third after Jarno Trulli was penalised for overtaking him under safety-car conditions. During a post-race stewards' hearing, Hamilton and McLaren officials told stewards they had not purposely let Trulli pass, but it was revealed by release of the McLaren race radio communication that this was not true. Hamilton was then disqualified from the race for providing "misleading evidence" during the stewards' hearing. He later privately apologised to FIA race director Charlie Whiting for having lied to the stewards.

Over the next six races, Hamilton qualified outside the top ten three more times, twice qualifying as high as fifth. He scored minor points at the Malaysian, Chinese and Bahrain Grands Prix. A chance for points, and even hopes for a podium finish came at the Nürburgring when he again qualified fifth, but a puncture on the first lap caused by a collision with Mark Webber sent him down to 19th as the McLaren limped back to the pits damaging the floor and undertray. With the car's aerodynamics damaged he finished 18th, last and the only driver in the race lapped.

Hamilton's fortunes were reversed at the Hungaroring, the tenth round of the season. A KERS-assisted start from fourth place saw him take second place by the first corner, before losing it to Mark Webber at the next turn. Hamilton repassed Webber on lap five and following Alonso's retirement on lap 13, he led the remainder of the race to finish 11.529 seconds clear of Räikkönen and take his 10th career win and the first for a KERS-equipped car. McLaren's return to form continued in Valencia, where Hamilton qualified on pole position for the first time in the season, heading a McLaren one-two with team-mate Heikki Kovalainen. In the race a poor pit stop by the mechanics lost Hamilton first place but he finished a steady second behind Rubens Barrichello's Brawn.

Hamilton crashed out of the next two races, the Belgian and Italian Grands Prix, going out of third place on the last lap of the Italian race when chasing Jenson Button for second. This mathematically eliminated his chances of defending his title. In September, at the , Hamilton took his second win of the season. He finished third at the next two races, the Japanese and Brazilian Grands Prix, starting the latter event from 17th on the grid. In the inaugural , Hamilton was quick throughout the practice sessions and qualified on pole, six tenths of a second quicker than Sebastian Vettel who was second on the grid. Hamilton led the race, but retired on lap 20 due to a rear brake problem, his first technical-related retirement in Formula One.

2010 season

at the 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix, where he finished in sixth position, having started 20th]] After a difficult 2009 season Hamilton was set out to challenge for the title hoping for a better season for him and McLaren. For the new season Hamilton would drive alongside new teammate, Jenson Button, while Heikki Kovalainen moved to Lotus Racing.

Hamilton finished third in Bahrain, having qualified fourth on the grid. In Australia, Hamilton failed to make the top ten in qualifying, starting the race from eleventh place on the grid. He ran as high as third, before ending the race in sixth, after a late-race collision with Mark Webber. The Malaysia saw him in the top three positions in all practice sessions, but a misjudgement on the weather by his team in qualifying, left him on tyres that were unfavourable for the wet conditions. This restricted him to 20th on the grid for the race, before he came through to finish sixth. He was given a warning during the race, after he weaved four times over a straight trying to break the tow that Vitaly Petrov was receiving and was not intending to block him. Hamilton qualified on pole for the , continuing a 100% pole record at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve. After setting his pole lap, Hamilton received instructions from his team to stop on circuit due to a lack of fuel in the car which would not be equivalent to the level necessary for a sample to be taken by the FIA. Hamilton was reprimanded after failing to complete his in-lap in a sufficient time, while his team received a $10,000 fine. This fine did not appear to affect Hamilton who won the race and promoted him to lead the Drivers Championship. A day after the Grand Prix Hamilton flew back into the UK and drove Ayrton Senna's championship winning MP4/4. Hamilton had been denied the chance to drive it in 2009 when the car had a gearbox problem the day before he drove it at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Hamilton was clearly excited and overcome with emotion and described it as 'one of the best days of his life'. He also stated that he had 'ticked off one of his dreams' by driving the car.

Hamilton qualified third in Valencia and passed Mark Webber at the start of the race. He went up the inside of Vettel into the second corner but was run out of room by Vettel, jumped over the kerbs and made slight contact which resulted in some damage to his McLaren. When the safety car was deployed after Webber's 300 km/h flying crash, Vettel and Hamilton were on the pit straight. Vettel passed the second safety car line before the safety car exited the pits while Hamilton just missed making the line by about 0.5s. Hamilton passed the safety car after the second safety car line instead of decelerating to follow the safety car. Fernando Alonso was a second behind Hamilton and was disadvantaged by having to remain behind the safety car. Alonso complained on the radio to his team which led to the stewards investigating the incident and penalising Hamilton with a drive through penalty. The stewards announced the penalty 20 minutes after the incident which allowed Hamilton to make a gap before serving the penalty and kept him in second place. This angered Alonso and the Ferrari team as the penalty did not alter the results, leading Hamilton to accuse Alonso of "sour grapes", although the pair reconciled before the next race.

Hamilton finished second behind Vettel and retained his lead in the drivers championship. He finished second at Silverstone and fourth at Hockenheim, while in Hungary, Hamilton qualified fifth but retired during the race due to gearbox problems, losing the championship lead to Webber. Despite running into the gravel at Spa-Francorchamps, Hamilton won his third race of the season and reclaimed the championship lead.

Hamilton crashed out of the Singapore Grand Prix in a racing incident with Mark Webber on lap 35. Webber had overtaken Hamilton during his pitstop, then Hamilton attempted to overtake Webber whilst Webber was lapping Virgin Racing's Lucas di Grassi. The resulting collision ended Hamilton's race while Webber went on to finish third.

Records

Hamilton has matched or set the following records in Formula One: Most consecutive podiums from debut race: 9 – Australian GP 2007 – British GP 2007 (previous record was 2 by Peter Arundell – Monaco GP 1964 – Dutch GP 1964) Most consecutive podiums for a British driver: 9 – Australian GP 2007 – British GP 2007 (tied with Jim Clark – Belgian GP 1963 – South African GP 1963) Youngest driver to lead the World Championship: 22 years, 4 months, 8 days – at the Bahrain GP 2007 (Previous record was 23 years, 7 months, 22 days by Fernando Alonso at the Malaysian GP 2005) Most wins in a debut season: 4, Canadian, USA, Hungarian and Japanese GPs 2007 (equalling Jacques Villeneuve, European, British, Hungarian and Portuguese GPs 1996) Most pole positions in a debut season: 6, Canadian, USA, British, Hungarian, Japanese and Chinese GPs 2007 (Previous record was 3 held jointly by Jacques Villeneuve () and Juan Pablo Montoya ()) Most points in a debut season: 109 Highest average points per race: 6.99

In his debut season, Hamilton took the record of Youngest World Drivers' Championship runner-up, at 22 years and 288 days, previously held by Kimi Räikkönen at 23 years and 360 days. In 2009, this record was taken by Sebastian Vettel, who was 22 years and 122 days when he secured runner-up position in the championship.

Hamilton is the first driver of black heritage to compete in Formula One (although Willy T. Ribbs tested an F1 car in 1986) and the first driver of black heritage to win a major race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in any discipline. In addition, he is the third youngest driver to achieve an F1 pole position, and the fourteenth F1 driver to achieve a podium finish on his debut. Since then, the FIA have now banned the use of mechanical assistance to help move a car back onto the track, meaning that Hamilton became the first and the last driver to have his car recovered by crane back onto the track.

Lewis Hamilton's contract for the McLaren driver development program made him the youngest ever driver to secure a contract which later resulted in an F1 drive. Confidence in car control allows Hamilton to excel in wet conditions as demonstrated in his performance at the 2008 British Grand Prix. Confidence is also demonstrated when overtaking, as reflected in his 32 overtakes in 4 races during .

His aggressive style often attracts the attention of critics. For example, critics argued that Hamilton's defensive weaving during the 2010 Malaysian Grand Prix in attempt to break the tow of Vitaly Petrov's chasing Renault was potentially dangerous. Hamilton was quick to defend himself to these accusations, but race director Charlie Whiting clarified after the race that such weaving would favour a penalty in the future.

Helmet

Due to the fact that Hamilton has said in the past that Ayrton Senna was his hero, some people assumed that his helmet is yellow in honour of him. In actuality it was made yellow so that his father could tell which kart his son was driving back in his karting days. Hamilton chose the colours blue, green and red and they were originally in a ribbon design however Hamilton later felt that the design was "a bit old hat" so it was changed. In later years a white ring was added and the ribbons moved forward to make room for adverts and logos.

During the 2010 Monaco Grand Prix, Hamilton had an altered helmet design with the addition of a roulette wheel image on the top. Hamilton had said, "...I'll also be wearing a specially-painted helmet for the occasion. When you see it, you'll know why I'll be hoping for it to swing the odds in my favour."

Racing results

Career summary

Season in progress.

Complete Formula Renault 2000 Eurocup results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position)

Complete British Formula Three results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula Three Euroseries results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete GP2 Series results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Formula One results

(key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) {| class="wikitable" border="1" style="text-align:center; font-size:90%;" |- ! Year ! Entrant ! Chassis ! Engine ! 1 ! 2 ! 3 ! 4 ! 5 ! 6 ! 7 ! 8 ! 9 ! 10 ! 11 ! 12 ! 13 ! 14 ! 15 ! 16 ! 17 ! 18 ! 19 ! WDC ! Points |- | ! Vodafone McLaren Mercedes ! McLaren MP4-22 ! Mercedes FO 108T 2.4 V8 |bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| AUS3 |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| MAL2 |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| BHR2 |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| ESP2 |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| MON2 |bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| CAN1 |bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| USA1 |bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| FRA3 |bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| GBR3 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| EUR9 |bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| HUN1 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| TUR5 |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| ITA2 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| BEL4 |bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| JPN1 |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| CHNRet |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| BRA7 | | | align="center" bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| 2nd | align="center" bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| 109 |- | ! Vodafone McLaren Mercedes ! McLaren MP4-23 ! Mercedes FO 108V 2.4 V8 |bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| AUS1 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| MAL5 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| BHR13 |bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| ESP3 |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| TUR2 |bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| MON1 |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| CANRet |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| FRA10 |bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| GBR1 |bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| GER1 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| HUN5 |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| EUR2 |bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| BEL3 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| ITA7 |bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| SIN3 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| JPN12 |bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| CHN1 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"|BRA5 | | align="center" bgcolor="FFFFBF"| 1st | align="center" bgcolor="FFFFBF"| 98 |- | ! Vodafone McLaren Mercedes ! McLaren MP4-24 ! Mercedes FO 108W 2.4 V8 |bgcolor="#000000" style="color: #ffffff"| AUSDSQ |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| MAL7 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| CHN6 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| BHR4 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| ESP9 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| MON12 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| TUR13 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| GBR16 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| GER18 |bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| HUN1 |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| EUR2 |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| BELRet |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| ITA12 |bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| SIN1 |bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| JPN3 |bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| BRA3 |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| ABURet | | ! 5th ! 49 |- | ! Vodafone McLaren Mercedes ! McLaren MP4-25 ! Mercedes FO 108X 2.4 V8 |bgcolor="#FFDF9F"| BHR3 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| AUS6 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| MAL6 |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| CHN2 |bgcolor="#CFCFFF"| ESP14 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| MON5 |bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| TUR1 |bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| CAN1 |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| EUR2 |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| GBR2 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| GER4 |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| HUNRet |bgcolor="#FFFFBF"| BEL1 |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| ITARet |bgcolor="#EFCFFF"| SINRet |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| JPN5 |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| KOR2 |bgcolor="#DFFFDF"| BRA4 |bgcolor="#DFDFDF"| ABU2 ! 4th ! 240 |} Did not finish, but was classified as he had completed more than 90% of the race distance. Half points awarded as less than 75% of race distance was completed.

References

Further reading

Written by Hamilton

(also in paperback )

Written by others

(also in paperback ) (also in paperback )

External links

Official Web Site

Career details

Lewis Hamilton biography – McLaren.com

}}

Category:1985 births Category:Living people Category:People from Stevenage Category:English racecar drivers Category:English Formula One drivers Category:English people of Grenadian descent Category:McLaren Formula One drivers Category:Formula One World Drivers' Champions Category:GP2 Series drivers Category:GP2 Series Champions Category:Formula Three Euroseries drivers Category:British Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Category:Eurocup Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Category:German Formula Renault 2.0 drivers Category:Monaco Grand Prix winners Category:CIK-FIA Karting World Championship drivers Category:English Roman Catholics Category:British karateka Category:BRDC Gold Star winners Category:Segrave Trophy recipients Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire Category:British expatriates in Switzerland

Name	Lewis Black
Caption	Lewis Black, December 2007
Birth name	Lewis Niles Black
Birth date	August 30, 1948
Birth place	Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S.A.
Education	University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Medium	Stand-up, television, film, theatre
Nationality	American
Active	1981 – present
Genre	Satire, news satire, political satire, observational comedy, black comedy, rant
Subject	American politics, American culture, current events, pop culture
Influences	George Carlin, Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Lily Tomlin, Bill Hicks, Bob Newhart, Shelley Berman
Notable work	Back in Black on The Daily Show with Jon StewartThe Carnegie Hall PerformanceLewis Black's Root of All Evil Stark Raving Black
Website	www.lewisblack.com

}} Lewis Niles Black (born August 30, 1948) is an American stand-up comedian, author, playwright, and actor. He is known for his comedy style, which often includes simulating a mental breakdown, or an increasingly angry rant, ridiculing history, politics, religion, trends and cultural phenomena. He hosted Comedy Central's The Root of All Evil and makes regular appearances on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart delivering his “Back in Black” commentary segment. When not on the road performing, he resides in Manhattan. He also maintains a residence in Chapel Hill, N.C. He is currently the spokesman for Aruba Tourism, appearing in television ads that aired in late 2009 and 2010. He was voted 51st of the 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all time by Comedy Central in 2004.

Early life

Black is the son of Jeannette, a teacher, and Sam Black, an artist and mechanical engineer. He was born and raised in a middle-class Jewish family in Silver Spring, Maryland, graduating from Springbrook High School in 1966, summa cum laude. Black claims in his book that he scored highly on the math section of his SAT exam and later applied to Princeton University among others. Black enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where he studied playwriting and was a brother of Pi Lambda Phi International fraternity and a member of Student Congress. He earned a Masters in Fine Arts at the Yale School of Drama in 1977.

Black's career began in theater as a playwright. He served as the playwright in residence and associate artistic director of Steve Olsen's West Bank Cafe Downstairs Theatre Bar in Hell's Kitchen in New York City, where he collaborated with composer and lyricist Rusty Magee and artistic director Rand Foerster on hundreds of one-act plays from 1981 to 1989. Also with Rusty Magee, Black wrote the musical The Czar Of Rock and Roll, which premiered at Houston's Alley Theatre in 1990.

Black's stand-up comedy began as an opening act for the plays as he was also the master of ceremonies. After a management change at the theater, Black left and began working as a comedian as well as finding bit parts in television and films.''

Comedic style

Black's style of comedy is that of a man who, in dealing with the absurdities of life and contemporary politics, is approaching his personal limits of sanity. Sarcasm, hyperbole, profanity, shouting and trademark angry finger-shaking bring emphasis to his topics of discussion. He once described his humor as "being on the Titanic every single day and being the only person who knows what is going to happen." He claims that he doesn't write his jokes down, he merely starts talking about something that makes him angry until he has to move on before he has a stroke.

Black has described his political affiliation as: "I'm a socialist, so that puts me totally outside any concept...the Canadians get it. But seriously, most people don't get it. The idea of capping people's income just scares people. 'Oh, you're taking money from the rich.' Ooh, what a horrifying thing. These people really need $200 million".

Black lists his comedic influences as George Carlin, Lenny Bruce, Richard Pryor, Lily Tomlin, Bob Newhart and Shelley Berman.

Recent career

In 1998, Black starred in his first comedy special on the series Comedy Central Presents. He starred in two additional episodes of the series in 2000 and 2002. He starred in another special for the network in 2002, titled Taxed Beyond Belief.

In 2000, Black and fellow comedian Jim Norton were arrested for their involvement with "The Naked Teen Voyeur Bus", a specially designed bus with acrylic glass walls containing numerous (18 and 19 year old) "teen girls". This bus rode around Manhattan while being broadcast on the "Opie and Anthony" radio show. Unfortunately, radio station management did not inform the O&A; show that the bus' route was also the route that President Clinton was taking that same day. Twenty-eight hours after the arrest, Black and Norton were released. Black appeared on The Daily Show the following night where he stated he was exercising his constitutional rights. He then joked that the location of this particular right was unclear, but that it was "between 'all men are created equal' and 'don't shit where you eat.'" Additionally, at a fundraising event for New York Attorney General candidate Mark Green on June 28, 2006, Black talked about how he was unable to attend a previous fundraising event for Green because the arrest occurred shortly before.

Since 2003, Black has hosted the World Stupidity Awards ceremony at Montreal's Just for Laughs comedy festival for the three years the awards have been presented.

In 2004, he had an HBO stand-up special titled Black on Broadway. That same year Black appeared in an episode of as a shock jock. He also released his autobiography, Nothing's Sacred, in 2005. Since November 9, 2005, Black has been making appearances in small segments on The Weather Channel. In December 2005, he appeared in an animated holiday special The Happy Elf, as the voice of the extremely tightly wound elf, Norbert.

Black was the voice of "Manobrain" during the third season of the Cartoon Network series "Duck Dodgers". He was the inventor of a diet pill which was stolen while he was in college. He blamed the theft on his college friend Dr. I. Q. High, not realizing that the actual thief was Duck Dodgers. The theft set Manobrain on the path of evil.

Black played the character of the Deadly Duplicator in , on Adult Swim. He appeared in four episodes before the show ended. He played the part once more in the .

On April 21, 2006, Black performed at the Warner Theatre in Washington, DC for an HBO special, Red, White, and Screwed. It aired on June 10, 2006, and a DVD was released October 3, 2006. When explaining his choice of venue, Black said that "some asshole" was paid to count the number of uses of the word "fuck" from his previous HBO special, Black On Broadway, and that the original location, the Kennedy Center, wanted him to cut back on its use. Black was told the number was 42, when actually it was approximately 78.

In the film Accepted, a film about high school graduates who create a college when they fail to get accepted into any, he plays Dean Ben Lewis of the school "South Harmon Institute of Technology" or S.H.I.T.; as the Dean, he talks about his views of the world. He also appears in the 2006 films Man of the Year and Unaccompanied Minors. Black hosted Comedy Central's Last Laugh '06, which aired on December 10, 2006.

On February 11, 2007, Black received a Grammy award for "Best Comedy Album" for his album The Carnegie Hall Performance.

On June 18, 2007 he sat in with Southern rock/Jam band Gov't Mule at the 6th annual Bonnaroo music festival, where he had performed earlier that weekend, for what was to be a quick joke. A member of the audience threw a bottle at Black, which struck him. Black was upset and he encouraged the audience to boo the heckler before leaving the stage in disgust, while shouting obscenities at the heckler. This act was seen in an episode of "Lewis Black's Root of All Evil" titled "YouTube vs. Porn".

On June 29, 2007, Black gave a benefit show at Springbrook High School, his alma mater, in the school's auditorium for 1,100 alumni, faculty, and students. He performed in his usual style, stopping at points to remark how good it felt to use that language on that particular stage. At the end of the show he was given a Springbrook football jersey, and cursed at one teacher for giving him a B and causing him not to graduate first in his class.

Black did the voice-over for an oxpecker named Ted in Cartoon Network series My Gym Partner's a Monkey, appearing in "Hornbill and Ted's Bogus Journey." The character is portrayed in the same fashion as his comedy shows, though without the profanity. In addition, the bird's clothes, looks, and mannerisms match those of Black himself.

Black hosted the Comedy Central television series The Root Of All Evil in 2008. The show pitted two people or pop-culture topics against each other as a panel of comedians argued, in the style of a court trial, which is more evil, e.g., "Paris Hilton vs. Dick Cheney" and "Internet Porn vs. YouTube". After hearing arguments from both sides, Black, acting as judge, made the final decision as to which is more evil.

Black hosted Comedy Central's Last Laugh '07, which aired on December 2, 2007 along with Dave Attell and D.L. Hughley.

In mid December 2007, Black went with Robin Williams, Kid Rock, Lance Armstrong and Rachel Smith, Miss USA 2007, on a USO trip to support the troops in Iraq and Kuwait. They then wrapped it up on Dec 22nd at the U.S Naval Station in Rota, Spain.

Comedy Central's "Stand-Up Month" in January 2008 features specials originally presented on HBO by Black, along with programs featuring Dane Cook and Chris Rock.

In January 2008, as part of Comedy Central's "Stand-Up Month", Black's routine finished at #5 on "Stand-Up Showdown 2008", a viewer-based countdown of the top "Comedy Central Presents" routines.

On February 18, 2008, Black hosted History of the Joke with Lewis Black, a 2-hour comedy-documentary on The History Channel.

Black helped create the annual Carolina Comedy Festival at his alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Black is currently on tour touting his latest book Me of Little Faith. He is also currently doing a stand-up tour called "Let Them Eat Cake".

On August 2, 2009, Black filmed two shows at the Fillmore Theater in Detroit, MI. These shows were the basis for a concert film called Stark Raving Black, which appeared in theatres for a limited time in October. It will also be released as a CD or DVD June 15 th 2010 .

At the end of 2009, Black returned to the History Channel to host Surviving the Holidays with Lewis Black, in which he discussed the year-end pressures of Thanksgiving, Channukah, Christmas, and New Year's.

Beginning in January 2010, Black embarked on a new tour called "In God We Rust".

Published works

Nothing's Sacred (2005)

Nothing's Sacred (audio book) (2006)

Nothing's Sacred (softcover version) (2007)

Me of Little Faith (2008) (New York: Riverhead Books -- Penguin Group) 240 pages, ISBN 978-1-59449-994-5.

Me of Little Faith (paperback version with added content) (2009)

I'm Dreaming of a Black Christmas (2010)

Media releases

CDs

The White Album (2000)

Revolver (EP) (2002)

The End of the Universe (2002)

Rules of Enragement (2003)

Luther Burbank Performing Arts Center Blues (2005)

The Carnegie Hall Performance (2006)

Anticipation (2008)

Stark Raving Black (2010)

DVDs

Unleashed (compilation of his four Comedy Central specials plus his appearances on ) (2002)

Black on Broadway (2003 HBO Special) (2004)

A Pair of Lewis Black Shorts (Sidesplitters: The Burt & Dick Story and The Gynecologists) (2006)

Red, White, and Screwed (2006 HBO Special)

History of the Joke with Lewis Black (2008 History Channel special)

Surviving the Holidays with Lewis Black (2009 History Channel special)

Stark Raving Black (2010)

Filmography

Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)

Jacob's Ladder (1990)

The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd (1990–1991) (TV series)

Law & Order, "Aria" (1991)

The Hard Way (1991)

, "Deception" (1997)

, "" (2004)

The Happy Elf (2005)

Accepted (2006)

Man of the Year (2006)

Unaccompanied Minors (2006)

Farce of the Penguins (2007)

Falling for Grace (2007)

History of the Joke (2008) (Documentary) History Channel

Lewis Black's Root of All Evil (2008) (TV series) Comedy Central

The Big Bang Theory, "The Jiminy Conjecture" (2009) (TV series) CBS

Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated (2010) (TV Series) Cartoon Network

References

External links

Lewis Black's Official Site

Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

InnerVIEWS with Ernie Manouse: Lewis Black (TV Interview)

Interview with Black on NPR's Fresh Air (April 7, 2005)

Interview with Black on NPR's Talk of the Nation (January 29, 2003)

Interview with Lewis Black with the Village Voice (September 23, 2008)

Onion A.V. Club Interview

Interview with Lewis Black by Maurie Sherman

Lewis Black MySpace Page

Stand Up! Records

Interview, Real Detroit Weekly (November 13, 2007)

"Straight Talk" Interview in Submerge Magazine, (Sept. 2008)

Category:1948 births Category:American Jews Category:American comedians Category:American dramatists and playwrights Category:American socialists Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Jewish actors Category:Jewish comedians Category:Living people Category:People from Chapel Hill, North Carolina Category:People from Silver Spring, Maryland Category:People from Washington, D.C. Category:University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni Category:Yale School of Drama alumni

Name	Lennox Lewis, CM, CBE
Realname	Lennox Claudius Lewis
Nationality	British
Nickname	The Lion
Weight	Heavyweight
Height
Reach
Birth date	September 02, 1965
Birth place	West Ham, London, England
Home	London, England, UK
Style	Orthodox
Total	44
Wins	41
Ko	32
Losses	2
Draws	1
No contests	0

}}

Lennox Claudius Lewis, CM, CBE (born September 2, 1965) is a retired British boxer and the most recent Undisputed World Heavyweight Champion. He also holds dual Canadian citizenship. As an amateur he won gold representing Canada at the 1988 Olympic Games after defeating future World Heavyweight Champion Riddick Bowe in the final.

Professionally, Lewis rose through the rankings and knocked out Donovan Ruddock to take over the number one position in the World Boxing Council (WBC) rankings and eventually be declared WBC heavyweight champion. He was the undisputed champion after defeating Evander Holyfield by unanimous decision in 1999. Throughout his professional career, Lewis suffered only two losses, both of which he avenged in rematches, both by knockout. Upon retirement in 2004, he had defeated every opponent he had faced.

Along with Muhammad Ali, Holyfield, Vitali Klitschko and Michael Moorer, Lewis is one of only five boxers in history to have won the heavyweight championship three times.

Lewis is tall and has an reach, much longer than average for his height. During his boxing prime, he weighed about . Lewis often referred to himself as "the pugilist specialist."

Early life

Lewis was born on September 2, 1965, in West Ham, London, England to Jamaican-born parents. At birth he weighed , and was given the name Lennox by the doctor, who said he looked like a Lennox. Lewis moved to Kitchener, Ontario, Canada in 1977 at the age of 12; however he always regarded himself as British. He attended Cameron Heights Collegiate Institute for high school, where he excelled in Canadian football, soccer and basketball.

Amateur career

Lewis eventually decided that his favourite sport was boxing. He became a dominant amateur boxer and won the world amateur junior title in 1983.

At the age of 18, Lewis represented Canada as a super heavyweight at the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles. He advanced to the quarter-finals, where he lost a decision to American Tyrell Biggs, the eventual gold medalist.

Lewis chose not to turn professional after the Olympics, and instead fought four more years as an amateur, hoping for a second chance to win a gold medal. After winning several more amateur titles during those years, he travelled to Seoul, South Korea for the 1988 Summer Olympics and achieved his goal. In the gold medal match, Lewis defeated future world champion Riddick Bowe by a second round technical knockout.

Professional boxing career

Having achieved that goal, Lewis declared himself a professional boxer and moved back to his native England. He claimed he'd always considered himself British, but many British fans regard him as "a Canadian at heart and a Briton for convenience", as he had trained only in Canada and the United States and already lived half his life in North America.

He signed with the boxing promoter Frank Maloney and the early part of his pro career was filled with knockouts of journeymen. After he signed with American promoter Main Event he captured the European heavyweight title late in 1990 against Frenchman Jean Maurice Chanet, added the British heavyweight title in March 1991 and the Commonwealth title in April 1992. By this time, Lewis was a consensus top-five heavyweight in the world. During this period Lewis defeated the unbeaten top ten rated fellow Briton Gary Mason,former WBA World Heavyweight Champion Mike Weaver former Cruiserweight World Champions Glenn McCrory and Osvaldo Ocasio and fringe contenders Levi Billups and Mike Dixon

WBC Champion

On 31 October 1992, Lewis knocked out Canada's Donovan "Razor" Ruddock in two rounds for the number one contender's position in the WBC world rankings. But ultimately, the victory won Lewis even more than that. Undisputed heavyweight champion Riddick Bowe refused to fight Lewis and Bowe's WBC title was declared vacant. On 14 January 1993, the WBC declared Lewis its champion, making him the first world heavyweight titleholder from Britain in the 20th century.

Lewis successfully defended the belt three times, defeating Tony Tucker, who was decked (in the third and ninth rounds) for the first time in his career, Phil Jackson and Frank Bruno. The Lennox Lewis vs. Frank Bruno fight was the first time that two British-born boxers had fought for the world heavyweight title. He suffered a technical knock-out loss at the hands of Oliver McCall on 24 September 1994. In the second round, McCall connected with a powerful right hand to the chin, putting Lewis down on his back. Lewis was up at the count of six, signalling that he wanted to continue, but the referee felt he was dazed and ended the fight. Lewis and others argued that the stoppage was premature and that a champion should be given the benefit of the doubt.

Regaining the WBC title

Lewis knocked out Australian Justin Fortune in his first comeback fight. He then received a chance to fight for the mandatory challenger position within the WBC and won it by knocking out American contender Lionel Butler in the U.S. However, at the behest of promoter Don King the WBC chose to bypass him and give Mike Tyson the first shot at the title that had recently been won by fellow Briton Frank Bruno against Oliver McCall. Bruno had previously lost to both Lewis and Tyson.

While Lewis had the No. 1 contender's slot in the WBC rankings, he defeated Olympic gold medallist Ray Mercer by a close majority decision and contender Tommy Morrison. Lewis successfully sued to try to force Tyson to make a mandatory defense of the WBC title against him or force Tyson to give up the title, winning a four million dollar settlement from promoter Don King. Rather than fight Lewis, Tyson relinquished the WBC belt to fight Evander Holyfield, and the title was declared vacant. This set up a rematch between Lewis and McCall, who squared off on February 7, 1997 in Las Vegas for the WBC title. In one of the strangest fights in boxing history, McCall refused to box in the fourth and fifth rounds and actually began to cry in the ring, forcing the referee to stop the fight and award Lewis the victory. On March 28, 1998, Lewis retained the WBC world title when he knocked out lineal champion Shannon Briggs in five rounds. (Briggs had recently outpointed George Foreman in a controversial fight, to win the lineal title.) Lewis also successfully defended against fellow Briton and former WBO world champion Henry Akinwande, who was disqualified after five rounds for excessive clinching. Lewis then met Poland's Andrew Golota, whom he knocked out in the first round, and beat formerly-undefeated European champion Željko Mavrović from Croatia in a 12-round unanimous decision. Lewis stated in 2006 that his fight with Mavrovic was the most awkward win of his career.

Undisputed heavyweight champion

On March 13, 1999, Lewis faced WBA and IBF title holder Evander Holyfield in New York City in what was supposed to be a heavyweight unification bout. Lewis fought a brilliant tactical fight, keeping Holyfield off balance with a long jab and peppering him with combinations almost at will. Although most observers believed Lewis had clearly won the fight, the bout was declared a draw, to much controversy. The raw statistics of the fight suggested the bout belonged to Lewis, who landed 348 punches compared to Holyfield's 130. Lewis also out-jabbed Holyfield 137 to 52. Judge Eugenia Williams, who scored the fight in Holyfield's favour, said she saw Lewis land fewer punches than the champion.

The sanctioning bodies ordered a rematch. Eight months later in Las Vegas (November 13, 1999), the two men fought again and Lewis won by unanimous decision, in doing so becoming undisputed heavyweight champion of the World

In 1999, Lewis was given one of the most prestigious sports awards in Britain, being voted the BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

After Lewis defeated Holyfield the WBA ordered Lewis to defend the title against John Ruiz of Puerto Rico, then an obscure Don King fighter who had been made the WBA's #1-ranked contender. Lewis refused to fight Ruiz, but Ruiz litigated the matter on the basis of a clause in the Lewis Holyfield rematch contract.

Rather than face Ruiz in a commercially unattractive bout, Lewis elected to instead fight the 6 ft 8 inch American Michael Grant. In doing so, Lewis forfeited the WBA title. He did however successfully defend his title against Grant with a second round knockout victory.

Lewis then knocked out South African Francois Botha in two, before winning a 12-round decision against New Zealander, David Tua. However, on April 21, 2001, Lewis was knocked out by 15-to-1 underdog Hasim Rahman in a bout in South Africa. The loss, coupled with Lewis's earlier TKO loss to McCall, led many ringside observers to question Lewis's heart and chin. Prior to the bout, Lewis had a role in the film Ocean's Eleven in which he "boxed" against Wladimir Klitschko, and many feel that the distraction and disrupted training schedule contributed significantly to his loss.

While promoting the rematch with Rahman on ESPN's Up Close, the fighters got into a brawl similar to the one between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier in front of Howard Cosell on Wide World of Sports. Many felt the brawl was staged to promote the fight, so the reality of the episode is still a matter of debate. Lewis regained the title on November 17 by outclassing and then knocking out Hasim Rahman in the fourth round of their rematch.

Lewis vs. Tyson

fight was one of the most anticipated heavyweight fights in years.]] On June 8, 2002, Lewis defended his title against Mike Tyson. A fight many had hoped would be a classic turned out to be one-sided as Lennox used his jab and superior reach to score a dominant knockout victory over "Iron Mike." By the end of the seventh round Tyson was tired and sluggish, his face swollen and his eyes cut. He was knocked out in the eighth by a right hook from Lewis. After the fight was over, George Foreman declared "He [Lewis] is, no doubt, the best heavyweight of all time. What he's done clearly puts him on top of the heap."

This fight was the highest-grossing event in pay-per-view history, generating $106.9 million from 1.95 million buys in the U.S., until it was surpassed by De La Hoya-Mayweather in 2007.

Ticket sales were slow because they were priced as high as $2,400, but a crowd of 15,327 turned up to see the biggest sporting event ever in the city of Memphis, Tennessee. Tyson also had to pay Lewis $335,000 out of his purse for biting him at the news conference to announce the fight, which was originally scheduled for April 6, 2002 in Las Vegas. Las Vegas, however, rejected the fight because of Tyson's licensing problems and several other states refused Tyson a license before Memphis finally bid $12 million to land it.

Lewis vs. Klitschko

In May 2003, Lewis sued boxing promoter Don King for $385 million, claiming that King used threats to have Tyson pull out of a rematch scheduled with Lewis for a month later. Lewis then scheduled a fight with Kirk Johnson for the championship belt of the less-recognized IBO, but dropped it when Johnson suffered an injury in training. Instead, Lewis fought Vitali Klitschko, the WBC's No. 1 contender and former WBO titlist at short notice. Lewis had planned to fight him in December, but since Klitschko had been on the undercard of the Johnson fight anyway, they agreed to square off on June 21. Lewis entered the ring at a career high 256½ pounds. Lewis was dominated in the early rounds and was wobbled in round two by solid Klitschko punches. Lewis opened a cut above Klitschko's eye with a right cross in the third round and gave a better showing in the fourth round, and gaining the upper hand in fifth and sixth rounds. Before the start of round seven the doctor advised that the fight should be stopped because of a severe cut above Klitschko's left eye, awarding Lewis victory by TKO. Klitschko was leading 58–56 on all three judges' scorecards when the fight was stopped.

Interviewed about the fight by HBO, doctor Paul Wallace explained his decision: "When he raised his head up, his upper eyelid covered his field of vision. At that point I had no other option but to stop the fight. If he had to move his head to see me, there was no way he could defend his way against a punch." Klitschko's face required sixty stitches.

Because Klitschko had fought so bravely against Lewis, boxing fans soon began calling for a rematch. The WBC agreed, and kept the Ukrainian as its No. 1 contender. Lewis, however, had no hunger for a rematch, commenting later:

So, when it came time for me to see if I should fight Klitschko again, I thought - at my worst, at my worst! I beat Klitschko and look what I did to his face! I was at my worst - just think [what would’ve happened] if I’d trained just a little bit harder. I didn’t need to fight him again.

Hanging up the gloves

during the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival.]] Lewis announced his retirement in February 2004 and decided to pursue other interests, including sports management and music promotion. Lewis said he would not return to the ring. At his retirement, Lewis's record was 41 wins, 2 losses and 1 draw, with 32 wins by knockout. Though it was rumoured in an article published by the Daily Mail on the February 24 that he would return to fight Klitschko once again, Lewis quickly shot down those rumours on his personal website. In 2008 Lewis commented on a possible match up with Riddick Bowe. "He waits until I am in retirement to call out my name," said Lewis. "I will come out of retirement to beat up that guy. I'll beat him up for free."

Along with Gene Tunney and Rocky Marciano he is one of three world heavyweight champions to have retired with no unavenged defeats.

On May 8, 2010 Lewis was let go by HBO as a commentator for Friday Night Fights. In 2002, he was reportedly offered £5m by WWE chairman Vince McMahon to take up wrestling with WWE. His camp held discussions over a possible match with former WWE superstar Brock Lesnar in February 2003, at the No Mercy pay-per-view event.

Lennox played at the World Series of Poker in both 2006 and 2007, and was knocked out without winning any money.

Lewis appeared on NBC's Celebrity Apprentice in 2008. He came in fourth place (out of 14).

In 2008, Lewis was inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame. In 2009, in his first year of eligibility, Lewis was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

In 2003 Lewis made a brief cameo appearance in the Jennifer Lopez and LL Cool J video "All I Have".

Personal life

Upon retiring from boxing, Lewis moved to Miami Beach with his wife, Violet Chang, a former Miss Jamaica runner-up. The couple have a daughter named Ling (born 2004), a son named Landon (born 2006) and in 2009 the couple welcomed their third child, a daughter. Lewis told AventuraUSA.com in 2007 that he is contemplating opening an "international boxing academy" and perhaps one day starting a record label, but contrary to rumours, he has yet to embark on either endeavour.

Lewis has also done a public service announcement against domestic violence for Do Something.

Amateur highlights

Record: 75–7 (58 KOs)

1983 Junior World Super Heavyweight Champion

Represented Canada as a Super Heavyweight at the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Results were:

*Defeated Mohammad Youssuf (Pakistan) TKO 3

*Lost to Tyrell Biggs (United States) points

1985 Silver Medalist at World Cup competition.

1986 Super Heavyweight Gold Medalist at the Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh, Scotland

1987 Super Heavyweight Silver Medalist at Pan American Games in Indianapolis. Lost to Jorge Luis Gonzalez of Cuba in the final.

1987 Won the North American Super Heavyweight championship competition, defeating Jorge Luis Gonzalez

Won the Super Heavyweight Gold medal for Canada at the 1988 Olympics in Seoul, South Korea.

*Defeated Chris Odera (Kenya) TKO 2

*Defeated Ulli Kaden (East Germany) TKO 1

*Defeated Janusz Zarenkiewicz (Poland) forfeit

*Defeated Riddick Bowe (United States) TKO 2.

Professional boxing record

| style="text-align:center;" colspan="8"|41 Wins (32 knockouts), 2 Losses, 1 Draw |- style="margin:0.5em auto; font-size:95%;" |align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Res. |align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Record |align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Opponent |align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Type |align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Rd., Time |align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Date |align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Location |align=center style="border-style: none none solid solid; background: #e3e3e3"|Notes |-align=center |Win||41–2–1||align=left| Vitali Klitschko ||||| |align=left| Staples Center, Los Angeles, California}} |align=left| |-align=center |colspan=8|Lewis later vacated his IBF title on September 5, 2002. |-align=center |Win||40–2–1||align=left| Mike Tyson ||||| |align=left| The Pyramid, Memphis, Tennessee}} |align=left| |-align=center |colspan=8|Lewis was awarded with The Ring Magazine Championship belt in 2002. |-align=center |Win||39–2–1||align=left| Hasim Rahman ||||| |align=left| Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |-align=center |Loss||38–2–1||align=left| Hasim Rahman ||||| |align=left| Carnival City Casino, Brakpan, Gauteng}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||38–1–1||align=left| David Tua ||||| |align=left| Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||37–1–1||align=left| Francois Botha ||||| |align=left| New London Arena, Millwall, London}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||36–1–1||align=left| Michael Grant ||||| |align=left| Madison Square Garden, New York, New York}} |align=left| |-align=center |colspan=8|Lewis was later stripped of his WBA title on April 29, 2000, due to refusal to fight John Ruiz. |-align=center |Win||35–1–1||align=left| Evander Holyfield ||||| |align=left| Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |-align=center |style="background: #dae2f1"|Draw||34–1–1||align=left| Evander Holyfield ||||| |align=left| Madison Square Garden, New York, New York}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||34–1||align=left| Željko Mavrović ||||| |align=left| Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||33–1||align=left| Shannon Briggs ||||| |align=left| Boardwalk Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||32–1||align=left| Andrew Golota ||||| |align=left| Caesar's Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, New Jersey}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||31–1||align=left| Henry Akinwande ||||| |align=left| Caesars Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||30–1||align=left| Oliver McCall ||||| |align=left| Hilton Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||29–1||align=left| Ray Mercer ||||| |align=left| Madison Square Garden, New York, New York}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||28–1||align=left| Tommy Morrison ||||| |align=left| Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||27–1||align=left| Justin Fortune ||||| |align=left| Point Theatre, Dublin}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||26–1||align=left| Lionel Butler ||||| |align=left| ARCO Arena, Sacramento, California}} |align=left| |-align=center |Loss||25–1||align=left| Oliver McCall ||||| |align=left| Wembley Arena, Wembley, London}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||25–0||align=left| Phil Jackson ||||| |align=left| Boardwalk Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||24–0||align=left| Frank Bruno ||||| |align=left| Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||23–0||align=left| Tony Tucker ||||| |align=left| Thomas & Mack Center, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |-align=center |colspan=8|Lewis was declared the WBC Heavyweight Champion on 14 January 1993, after then-champion Riddick Bowe refused to defend against him. |-align=center |Win||22–0||align=left| Donovan Ruddock ||||| |align=left| Earls Court Exhibition Centre, Kensington, London}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||21–0||align=left| Mike Dixon ||||| |align=left| Harrah's Atlantic City, Atlantic City, New Jersey}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||20–0||align=left| Derek Williams ||||| |align=left| Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||19–0||align=left| Levi Billups ||||| |align=left| Caesars Palace, Las Vegas, Nevada}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||18–0||align=left| Tyrell Biggs ||||| |align=left| The Omni, Atlanta, Georgia}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win ||17–0||align=left| Glenn McCrory ||||| |align=left| Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||16–0||align=left| Mike Weaver ||||| |align=left| Caesars Tahoe, Stateline, Nevada}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||15–0||align=left| Gary Mason ||||| |align=left| Wembley Arena, Wembley, London}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||14–0||align=left| Jean Chanet ||||| |align=left| National Sports Centre, Crystal Palace, London}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||13–0||align=left| Mike Acey ||||| |align=left| Superstars Nite Club, Kitchener, Ontario}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||12–0||align=left| Ossie Ocasio ||||| |align=left| Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||11–0||align=left| Dan Murphy ||||| |align=left| Sheffield Town Hall, Sheffield, Yorkshire}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||10–0||align=left| Jorgé Dascola ||||| |align=left| Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||9–0|| align=left| Michael Simuwelu ||||| |align=left| Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||8–0|| align=left| Calvin Jones ||||| |align=left| Leisure Centre, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||7–0||align=left| Noel Quarless ||||| |align=left| York Hall, Bethnal Green, London}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||6–0||align=left| Greg Gorrell ||||| |align=left| Memorial Auditorium, Kitchener, Ontario}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||5–0||align=left| Melvin Epps ||||| |align=left| Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||4–0||align=left| Steve Garber ||||| |align=left| City Hall, Hull, Yorkshire}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||3–0||align=left| Andrew Gerrard ||||| |align=left| National Sports Centre, Crystal Palace, London}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||2–0||align=left| Bruce Johnson ||||| |align=left| Convention Center, Atlantic City, New Jersey}} |align=left| |-align=center |Win||1–0||align=left| Al Malcolm ||||| |align=left| Royal Albert Hall, Kensington, London}} |align=left|

Styles from birth

Lennox Lewis, CM (1988–1999)

Lennox Lewis, CM, MBE (1999–2002)

Lennox Lewis, CM, CBE (2002–present)

See also

List of heavyweight boxing champions

List of WBC world champions

List of Canadian sports personalities

List of British heavyweight boxing champions

List of European Boxing Union heavyweight champions

References

External links

Official Site

BBC Sports-Lewis' career in photos

Lennox Lewis Profile at AventuraUSA.com

Boxing-Encyclopedia

Category:1965 births Category:BBC Sports Personality of the Year winners Category:Black British sportspeople Category:Black Canadian sportspeople Category:Boxers at the 1984 Summer Olympics Category:Boxers at the 1987 Pan American Games Category:Boxers at the 1988 Summer Olympics Category:British boxers Category:Canadian boxers Category:Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Category:Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada Category:Boxers at the 1986 Commonwealth Games Category:English boxers Category:English immigrants to Canada Category:English people of Jamaican descent Category:Heavyweights Category:IBF Champions Category:International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees Category:Canadian people of Jamaican descent Category:Members of the Order of Canada Category:Naturalized citizens of Canada Category:Olympic boxers of Canada Category:Olympic gold medalists for Canada Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Kitchener, Ontario Category:People from West Ham Category:Sportspeople from Ontario Category:Super-heavyweights Category:The Apprentice (U.S. TV series) contestants Category:World Heavyweight Champions Category:WBA Champions Category:WBC Champions Category:Living people

Name	Janis Joplin
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Janis Lyn Joplin
Born	January 19, 1943 Port Arthur, Texas, U.S.
Died	October 04, 1970 Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Instrument	Vocals, guitar
Genre	Blues-rock, hard rock, psychedelic rock, blues
Voice type	Mezzo-soprano
Occupation	Singer, songwriter, arranger
Years active	1962–1970
Label	Columbia
Associated acts	Big Brother & the Holding CompanyKozmic Blues BandFull Tilt Boogie Band
Url	http://www.officialjanis.com/

Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer, songwriter and music arranger. She rose to prominence in the late 1960s as the lead singer of Big Brother and the Holding Company and later as a solo artist. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Joplin number 46 on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time in 2004, and number 28 on its 2008 list of 100 Greatest Singers of All Time.

Early life: 1943–1965

Janis Joplin was born in Port Arthur, Texas, on January 19, 1943, to Dorothy (née East) Joplin (1913–1998), a registrar at a business college, and her husband, Seth Joplin (1910–1987), an engineer at Texaco. She had two younger siblings, Michael and Laura. The family attended the Church of Christ. The Joplins felt that Janis always needed more attention than their other children, with her mother stating, "She was unhappy and unsatisfied without [receiving a lot of attention]. The normal rapport wasn't adequate."

As a teenager, she befriended a group of outcasts, one of whom had albums by African-American blues artists Bessie Smith and Leadbelly, whom Joplin later credited with influencing her decision to become a singer. She began singing in the local choir and expanded her listening to blues singers such as Odetta and Big Mama Thornton.

Primarily a painter while still in school, she first began singing blues and folk music with friends. While at Thomas Jefferson High School, she stated that she was mostly shunned. The campus newspaper ran a profile of her in 1962 headlined "She Dares To Be Different." She left Texas for San Francisco in January 1963, living in North Beach and later Haight-Ashbury. In 1964, Joplin and future Jefferson Airplane guitarist Jorma Kaukonen recorded a number of blues standards, further accompanied by Margareta Kaukonen on typewriter (as percussion instrument). This session included seven tracks: "Typewriter Talk," "Trouble In Mind," "Kansas City Blues," "Hesitation Blues", "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out", "Daddy, Daddy, Daddy" and "Long Black Train Blues," and was later released as the bootleg album The Typewriter Tape.

Around this time her drug use increased, and she acquired a reputation as a "speed freak" and occasional heroin user. She also used other psychoactive drugs and was a heavy drinker throughout her career; her favorite beverage was Southern Comfort.

In the spring of 1965, Joplin's friends, noticing the physical effects of her amphetamine habit (she was described as "skeletal" Her first public performance with them was at the Avalon Ballroom in San Francisco. Due to persistent persuading by keyboardist and close friend Stephen Ryder, Joplin avoided drug use for several weeks, enjoining bandmate Dave Getz to promise that using needles would not be allowed in their rehearsal space or in the communal apartment where they lived. during a four week engagement in Chicago, the group signed a deal with independent label Mainstream Records.

In early 1967, Joplin met Country Joe McDonald of the group Country Joe and the Fish. The pair lived together as a couple for a few months. the group began its first East Coast tour in Philadelphia, and the following day gave their first performance in New York City at the Anderson Theater.

Cheap Thrills, which gave the band a breakthrough hit single, "Piece of My Heart", reached the number one spot on the Billboard charts eight weeks after its release, remaining for eight (nonconsecutive) weeks.

Full Tilt Boogie Band

In February 1970, Joplin traveled to Brazil, where she stopped her drug and alcohol use. She was accompanied on vacation there by her friend Linda Gravenites, who had designed the singer's stage costumes from 1966 to 1969. Joplin was romanced by an American schoolteacher named David (George) Niehaus, who was traveling around the world. They were photographed by the press at Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. In the August 3, 1970, Cavett broadcast, Joplin referred to her upcoming performance at the Festival for Peace to be held at Shea Stadium in Queens, New York, on August 6, 1970.

Joplin attended the reunion on August 14, accompanied by fellow musician and friend Bob Neuwirth, road manager John Cooke, and her sister Laura, but it reportedly proved to be an unhappy experience for her. Joplin held a press conference in Port Arthur during her reunion visit. Interviewed by Rolling Stone journalist Chet Flippo, she was reported to wear enough jewelry for a "Babylonian whore." Also included was the social commentary of the a cappella "Mercedes Benz", written by Joplin, close friend and song writer Bob Neuwirth and beat poet Michael McClure. In 2003, Pearl was ranked #122 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

During the recording sessions for Pearl, Joplin began seeing Seth Morgan, a 21 year-old Berkeley student, cocaine dealer and future novelist; He saw Joplin's psychedelically painted Porsche still in the parking lot. Upon entering her room, he found her dead on the floor. The official cause of death was an overdose of heroin, possibly combined with the effects of alcohol. Cooke believes that Joplin had accidentally been given heroin which was much more potent than normal, as several of her dealer's other customers also overdosed that week.

Joplin was cremated in the Pierce Brothers Westwood Village Mortuary in Los Angeles; her ashes were scattered from a plane into the Pacific Ocean and along Stinson Beach. The only funeral service was a private affair held at Pierce Brothers and attended by Joplin's parents and maternal aunt.

Joplin's will funded $2,500 to throw a wake party in the event of her demise. The party, which took place October 26, 1970, at the Lion's Share, located in San Anselmo California, was attended by her sister Laura and Joplin's close friends, that included tattoo artist Lyle Tuttle; Joplin's fiancé Seth Morgan; Bob Gordon; and her road manager, John Cooke. Brownies laced with hashish were unknowingly passed around. Her death at age 27 has caused her to be included in a phenomenon rock historians call the 27 Club.

Legacy

, New York)]]

Joplin's death in October, 1970 at the age of 27 stunned her fans and shocked the music world. Her death was coupled with the fact that another rock icon Jimi Hendrix had died earlier in September. Music historian Tom Moon wrote that Joplin had "a devastatingly original voice." Music columnist Jon Pareles of the New York Times wrote Joplin as an artist was "overpowering and deeply vulnerable." Author Megan Terry claimed the Joplin was the female version of Elvis Presley in the ability to captivate an audience.

Joplin's extraordinary success as a pioneer in a male-dominated rock industry of the late 1960s was unprecedented. Joplin, along with Grace Slick of the Jefferson Airplane, opened opportunities into the rock music business for future female singers. Stevie Nicks commented that after seeing Joplin perform, "I knew that a little bit of my destiny had changed. I would search to find that connection that I had seen between Janis and her audience. In a blink of an eye she changed my life."

Joplin's body decoration, with a wristlet and a small heart on her left breast, by the San Francisco tattoo artist Lyle Tuttle, is taken as a seminal moment in the tattoo revolution and was an early moment in the popular culture's acceptance of tattoos as art. Another trademark was her flamboyant hair styles, often including colored streaks and accessories such as scarves, beads and feathers.

Leonard Cohen's 1974 song "Chelsea Hotel #2" is about Joplin. Likewise, lyricist Robert Hunter has commented that Jerry Garcia's "Birdsong" from his first solo album, Garcia, is about Joplin and the end of her suffering through death. Mimi Fariña's song "In the Quiet Morning" is about Joplin's death.

The 1979 film The Rose was loosely based on Joplin's life. Originally titled Pearl, after Joplin's nickname, and the title of her last album, it was fictionalized after her family declined to allow the producers the rights to her story. Bette Midler earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance.

In 1988, the Janis Joplin Memorial, with an original bronze, multi-image sculpture of Joplin by Douglas Clark, was dedicated in Port Arthur, Texas.

Joplin was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1995, and was given a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2005. In November 2009, the Hall of Fame and museum honored her as part of its annual American Music Masters Series. Among the artifacts at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum Exhibition are Joplin's scarf and necklaces, her 1965 Porsche 356 Cabriolet with psychedelically designed painting, and a sheet of LSD blotting paper designed by Robert Crumb, designer of the Cheap Thrills cover. She was the honoree at the Rock Hall's American Music Master concert and lecture series for 2009.

In the late 1990s, the musical play Love, Janis was created with input from Janis's younger sister Laura plus Big Brother guitarist Sam Andrew, with an aim to take it to Off Broadway. Opening in the summer of 2001 and scheduled for only a few weeks of performances, the show won acclaim and packed houses and was held over several times, the demanding role of the singing Janis attracting rock vocalists from relative unknowns to pop stars Laura Branigan and Beth Hart. A national tour followed.

At the 2009 Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Janis, a one-woman show by Nicola Haydn, which imagined the last hour of Joplin's life, gained its first substantial run. It was nominated for 'Best Solo Performance' in The Stage Awards for Acting Excellence. The production tour bus also used a recreation of Joplin's Porsche by Brighton graffiti artist Req — on a VW Polo for budgetary reasons.

There have been many attempts at making a film about Joplin. On June 13, 2010, producer Wyck Godfrey said Amy Adams starred in director Fernando Meirelles' biographical drama, titled Janis Joplin: Get It While You Can.

Discography

; Big Brother and the Holding Company

; Kozmic Blues Band

; Full Tilt Boogie

; Big Brother & the Holding Company / Full Tilt Boogie

; Later collections

References

Further reading

Amburn, Ellis. Pearl: The Obsessions and Passions of Janis Joplin: A Biography. NY: Warner Books, 1992. ISBN 0-446-39506-4.

Caserta, Peggy. Going Down with Janis: Janis Joplin's Intimate Story. Dell: 1974. ASIN: B000NSBNMI.

Dalton, David. Piece of my Heart: A Portrait of Janis Joplin. NY: Da Capo Press, 1991. ISBN 0-306-80446-8.

Echols, Alice. Scars of Sweet Paradise: The Life and Times of Janis Joplin. NY: Henry Holt, 1999. ISBN 0-8050-5394-8.

Friedman, Myra. (1992). Buried Alive: The Biography of Janis Joplin. NY: Harmony Books. ISBN 0-517-58650-9.

ISBN 1-878923-08-0

Joplin, Laura. Love, Janis. NY: Villard Books, 1992. ISBN 1-888358-08-4.

Stieven-Taylor, Alison. Rock Chicks. Sydney: Rockpool Publishing, 2007. ISBN 978-1-921295-06-5.

External links

Biography at The Handbook of Texas Online

JohnGilmore.com: Spotlight on Janis Joplin

Janis Joplin's Kozmic Blues - janisjoplin.net

Re-introducing Janis Joplin - slideshow by The New York Times

Half Moon Dick Cavett Show - August 3, 1970

Category:1943 births Category:1970 deaths Category:American blues singers Category:American child singers Category:American female singers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American rock singers Category:American soul musicians Category:Big Brother and the Holding Company members Category:1960s singers Category:1970s singers Category:Burials at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery Category:Deaths by heroin overdose in California Category:Female rock singers Category:Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winners Category:Musicians from Texas Category:People from Austin, Texas Category:People from Beaumont, Texas Category:People from Port Arthur, Texas Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees‎ Category:University of Texas at Austin alumni

}} Heike Gabriela Drechsler née Daute (born 16 December 1964 in Gera, Thuringia, then East Germany) is a German track and field athlete. She is one of the most successful female long jumpers of all time and also had several successes in sprint disciplines.

She is the only woman who has won two Olympic gold medals in the long jump (1992 and 2000). She also won two World Championships in the long jump (1983 and 1993), as well as gold medals in the long jump and the 200 m sprint in the World Indoor Championships 1987. In addition, she had numerous successes in European and German championships.

Drechsler's greatest rival in the long jump was Jackie Joyner-Kersee, with whom she was also very good friends.

In 1986, Drechsler twice equalled Marita Koch's 200 metres sprint world record and set two long jump world records and equalled one in 1985 and 1986. , she had more than four hundred long jump competitions with results over seven meters, more than any other female athlete.

As teenager she was active in the Free German Youth (FDJ) and in 1984 she was elected to the Volkskammer of East Germany.

Several German websites, including her own, claim that Heike Drechsler was voted "Athlete of the Century" in 1999 by the IAAF. This is not quite correct: she was put on the "shortlist" but the award was given to Fanny Blankers-Koen .

World records

Long Jump:
1983: 7.14 meters Bratislava / (Juniors)
1985: 7.44 meters Berlin
1986: 7.45 meters Tallinn
1986: 7.45 meters Dresden
In 1992 Heike Drechsler jumped 7.63 m at altitude in Sestriere Italy with a 2.1 m / sec. wind, over the allowable. That jump is 11 cm longer than the current world record. Her personal best under legal conditions was 7.48 set in Neubrandenburg July 9, 1994, which is still the #4 jump of all time.

200-meter run:
1986: 21.71 seconds Jena
1986: 21.71 seconds Stuttgart

Heptathlon:
1981: 5891 Points (Junior)

Doping allegations

There were many accusations of drug use while she competed for East Germany. She has never failed a drug test during her career In 2001, the BBC claimed she has admitted to unknowingly taking prohibited substances in the early 1980s under orders from her team doctors.

In 1991, after the fall of East Germany, Brigitte Berendonk and Werner Franke wrote several theses and dissertations quoting former GDR doping researchers in the Military Medical Academy Bad Saarow (MMA). The basis of the work reconstructed state-organized doping practices involving many well-known GDR athletes, including Heike Drechsler. Indications were that Heike Drechsler used high doses Oral Turinabol plus more testosterone ester injections before competitions from 1982 to 1984. In 1993, Drechsler challenged Brigitte Berendonk, accusing her of lying in a lawsuit. In the case, the full annual dosage schedules, and charts of the development of sport performance as a function of the dosage amount were released. Drechsler lost the lawsuit, essentially validating the claims of the book .

References

External links

Daute-Drechsler rzutyiskoki.pl Home page of Heike Drechsler

{| align="left" | | |}

Anişoara Cuşmir|title=Women's Long Jump World Record Holder|years=22 September 1985 – 11 June 1988|after= Galina Chistyakova}} Marita Koch|title=East German Sportswoman of the Year|years=1986|after= Silke Möller}} Heike Henkel|after= Wang Junxia|years=1992}} Steffi Graf|title=German Sportswoman of the Year|years=2000|after= Hannah Stockbauer}} Anişoara Cuşmir|title=Women's Long Jump Best Year Performance|years=1984 — 1986|after= Jackie Joyner-Kersee}} Marita Koch|title=Women's 200 m Best Year Performance|years=1986|after= Silke Möller}} Galina Chistyakova|title=Women's Long Jump Best Year Performance|years=1991 — 1993|after= Jackie Joyner-Kersee}} Jackie Joyner-Kersee|title=Women's Heptathlon Best Year Performance|years=1994|after= Ghada Shouaa}} Jackie Joyner-Kersee|title=Women's Long Jump Best Year Performance|years=1995|after= Jackie Joyner-Kersee}}

Category:1964 births Category:Living people Category:People from Gera Category:German long jumpers Category:German sprinters Category:Olympic athletes of East Germany Category:Olympic athletes of Germany Category:Athletes at the 1988 Summer Olympics Category:Athletes at the 1992 Summer Olympics Category:Athletes at the 1996 Summer Olympics Category:Athletes at the 2000 Summer Olympics Category:Olympic silver medalists for East Germany Category:Olympic bronze medalists for East Germany Category:Olympic gold medalists for Germany Category:Dancing on Ice participants Category:Former world record holders in athletics

Name	Carol Alt
Birthname	Carol Ann Alt
Birthdate	December 01, 1960
Birth place	Flushing, Queens, New York, United States
Height
Haircolor	Brown
Eyecolor	Blue
Nickname	The Face
Measurements	34B-25-34
Weight
Dress size	(US) 6 ; (EU) 36
Shoesize	(US) 9.5 ; (EU) 41
Occupation	Actress/Model
Yearsactive	1983-present
Homepage	http://www.carolalt.com/

Carol Ann Alt (born December 1, 1960) is a American supermodel and actress.

Biography

Early life

Alt was born in Flushing, Queens, New York, the daughter of Muriel, an airline employee and model, and Anthony Alt, a fire chief. She was noticed waiting tables in her hometown of East Williston, New York. When she was 18, she decided to try modeling as a summer job to save money for college. She is of German, Belgian and Irish descent.

Career

Alt's first big break in modeling was in 1980, when she was featured on the cover of Harper's Bazaar magazine, but she gained real fame in 1982 when she was featured on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. During the 1980s she appeared on over 500 magazine covers, becoming one the most famous models of her era. Alt was referred to as "The Face" by Life Magazine. During the height of her popularity, she was the face of ad campaigns for Diet Pepsi, General Motors, Cover Girl Cosmetics, Noxzema, Hanes and numerous others. She was the first model to produce her own posters and calendars. As the eighties were winding down, Alt switched from fashion modeling to acting.

Since 1986 she has been in a variety of movies, many of which were Italian productions. Her success in the US market has been limited. In 2004, she had a starring role in a Canadian movie Snakehead Terror. She also played "Karen Oldham" in the TV adaptation of Peter Benchley's "Amazon" (1999). She has also had a few minor television roles, including one episode of Wings and a voice role in an episode of King of the Hill.

She has more recently returned to her modeling roots and taken on a number of model/spokesperson projects, including becoming a consultant with the "Le Mirador" skin-care line and appearing on late night TV infomercials. Alt has written two books, promoting her own raw food diet plans. She has been the cover girl for travelgirl magazine both in 2004 and 2008. After refusing to pose nude her entire career and turning down numerous offers from Playboy Magazine, Alt finally appeared on the cover and in a nude pictorial in Playboy's December 2008 issue. She placed #5 on askmen.com's list of "Top 10 Models Of All Time", behind only Kathy Ireland, Christie Brinkley, Gisele Bündchen and Cindy Crawford.

In 2006, Carol Alt was honored as Grand Marshal at the German-American Steuben Parade in New York City, the largest celebration of German-American Friendship in the United States. She was greeted by thousands of fans alongside Fifth Avenue.

Alt was a contestant on NBC's 2008 The Celebrity Apprentice, with Donald Trump, competing for her charity, the Tony Alt Memorial Foundation, which raises funds for scholarships that will allow young adults to continue their studies. She ended up in third place before being fired, but was brought back for the final task of the show and was chosen by finalist Piers Morgan to help him to become the Celebrity Apprentice.

Alt was spoofed in the Family Guy episode, "The Man with Two Brians".

She starred in the Italian TV series Caterina e le sue figlie 2 and in the TV movie Piper, both were aired on Canale5 in 2007. In 2009, she was one of the contestants of the Italian version of Dancing with the Stars (Rai Uno). She's also filming a new Italian TV series called Piper - The series, a spin-off of the successful TV movie of the same title broadcast on Canale5.

In 2008, Carol founded Raw Essentials, by Carol Alt, a skin care and beauty products line with her partners Philip Masiello and Steven Krane. The line is featured on Shopnbc as well as The SHopping Channel in Canada.

Marketing

Carol's marketing is powered by marketing agency Attention Interactive, which also works with NBA basketball player Sasha Vujacic.

Personal life

Alt was married to former New York Rangers player Ron Greschner from 1983 to 1996. As of November, 2008, the former couple are in court, with Alt suing her ex-husband with claims that he failed to divide the profits of an investment the couple made while still married.

Alt is currently in a relationship with Russian ice hockey player Alexei Yashin, who is thirteen years her junior and played previously with the Ottawa Senators and the New York Islanders. He is currently playing for SKA Saint Petersburg in Russia. In an interview with ESPN in 2006, Yashin stated he is not married to Alt and instead said they are in a committed relationship.

Films

I miei primi quarant'anni (English-language title -My First Forty Years) (1987, by Carlo Vanzina), about the life of countess Marina Punturieri, with Elliott Gould and Jean Rochefort.

Bye Bye Baby (1988)

Via Montenapoleone (1986)

I miei primi quarant'anni (1987)

La più bella del reame (1989)

Mortacci (1989)

Donna d'onore (1990)

Beyond Justice (1990) Co-starred with Rutger Hauer, Elliott Gould and Omar Sharif

Un piede in paradiso (1991)

Miliardi (1991)

Anni 90 - Parte II (1993)

Thunder in paradise (1994)

Private Parts (1997)

(1999)

Snakehead Terror (2004)

Piper (2007)

Caterina e le sue figlie 2 (2007)

Bibliography

References

External links

Carol Alt's official website

Category:American female models Category:American film actors Category:The Apprentice (U.S. TV series) contestants Category:Hofstra University alumni Category:Actors from New York Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:1960 births Category:Living people Category:People from North Hempstead, New York