Jami Gertz
Gertz arrives at the Opening of the Broad Contemporary Art Museum on February 9, 2008 in Los Angeles, CA.
Born	Jami Beth Gertz (1965-10-28) October 28, 1965 (age 46) Chicago, Illinois, United States
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1981–present
Spouse	Tony Ressler (1989–present; 3 children)

Jami Beth Gertz (born October 28, 1965) is an American actress. Gertz is known for her early roles in the films Sixteen Candles, Crossroads, The Lost Boys, Less Than Zero, the 1980s TV series Square Pegs with Sarah Jessica Parker, and 1996's Twister, as well as for her role as Judy Miller in the CBS sitcom Still Standing with Mark Addy.^[1]

Career[link]

She was discovered in a nationwide talent search by Norman Lear, and she studied drama at NYU.^[2] Gertz made her film debut in the 1981 romance film Endless Love, which was followed by a co-starring role in the 1982-83 TV series Square Pegs. After its cancellation, she appeared in the teen movie Sixteen Candles in 1984. She gained attention with a starring role in 1987's Less Than Zero, as the friend of a doomed drug addict played by Robert Downey, Jr. She also starred in the 1987 film The Lost Boys as Star, the "half vampire" girlfriend, with Kiefer Sutherland and Jason Patric.

After working in Paris as a scent designer for Lanvin, Gertz returned to America and landed a key supporting role in the 1996 blockbuster Twister after other films including 1986's Solarbabies and Crossroads also the 1989 film Listen to Me with Kirk Cameron and 1992's Jersey Girl. In the 1994 episode of Seinfeld, "The Stall", she appeared as one of Jerry's girlfriends who works as a phone sex operator and can't "spare a square" of toilet paper to Elaine in the restroom. Gertz later played the recurring character Dr. Nina Pomerantz during the 1997 season of ER. She reportedly was offered, but declined, the role of Rachel Green, during pre-production of Friends.^{[citation needed]}

In 2000, Gertz took up a recurring role on the Fox hit Ally McBeal as Kimmy Bishop, John Cage's love interest. Gertz was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. She returned to this role in one more episode as a guest star in the show's final season in 2002.

Also In 2002, she portrayed Gilda Radner in the television movie Gilda Radner: It's Always Something.^[3] Gertz's character on Still Standing, Judy Miller, is named after a character Radner portrayed on Saturday Night Live.

Gertz was in one episode of Diff'rent Strokes along with Andrew Dice Clay. She also had a recurring role on The Facts of Life as Blair's friend and fellow schoolmate Boots St. Clair. In 2003 Gertz starred as Brandy, a wanted criminal's girlfriend, in Undercover Christmas, and in 2005 Gertz played the lead role in the TV film Fighting the Odds: The Marilyn Gambrell Story.

In 2009-10 she had a recurring role as Marlo Klein, wife of Ari Gold's newest business partner Andrew Klein, an agent at Miller-Gold Talent Agency, on HBO's Entourage. In 2011, she returned to broadcast television with a guest role in the Modern Family episode "Slow Down Your Neighbors".

In 2011, she earned a producers' credit on the Academy Award-nominated film A Better Life which was put in limited release throughout the month of June and early July before arriving on DVD in October.

Personal life[link]

Gertz was born in Chicago, Illinois, but lived in the city's close suburb of Park Ridge, Illinois. Jami attended Maine East High School and was a 1983 graduate. She is the daughter of Sharon and Walter Gertz, who was a builder and contractor.^[4] She lives in Beverly Hills with her husband Anthony Ressler (b. July 16, 1959) and their three sons: Oliver Jordan Ressler (b. May 6, 1992), Nicholas Simon Ressler (b. February 17, 1995) and Theo Ressler (b. 1998). Gertz and her husband are members of the investment group led by Mark Attanasio that purchased the MLB franchise Milwaukee Brewers. Gertz-Ressler High Academy is named after Jami and her husband.^[5]

She has two brothers, Michael and Scott. Gertz is Jewish, and was raised in Conservative Judaism.^[3]

In 2011, the Giving Back Fund named Gertz and her husband the number one donor to charity of any celebrity in 2010.^[6]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

This article uses bare URLs for citations. Please consider adding full citations so that the article remains verifiable. Several templates and the Reflinks tool are available to assist in formatting. (Reflinks documentation) (November 2011)

External links[link]

• Jami Gertz at the Internet Movie Database

Saint Jami
Jami, depicted in a monochrome Muslim miniature
Mystic, Spiritual Poet, Historian, Theologian
Born	1414 C.E. Khorasan
Died	1492 C.E. Herat
Honored in	Islam
Influences	Prophets of Islam
Influenced	Hamza Hakimzade Niyazi
Tradition/Genre	Sufi poetry
Major work(s)	Haft Awrang

Illustration from Jami's Rose Garden of the Pious, dated 1553. The image blends Persian poetry and Persian miniature into one, as is the norm for many works of Persian literature.

Nur ad-Dīn Abd ar-Rahmān Jāmī (Persian: نورالدین عبدالرحمن جامی‎) also known as DJāmī, Mawlanā Nūr al-Dīn 'Abd al-Rahmān or Abd-Al-Rahmān Nur-Al-Din Muhammad Dashti who is commonly known as Jami (August 18, 1414 – November 17, 1492), is known for his achievements as a scholar, mystic, writer, composer of numerous lyrics and idylls, historian, and one of the greatest Persian and Sufi poets of the 15th century. Jami was primarily an outstanding poet-theologian of the school of Ibn Arabī and a prominent Khwājagānī Sũfī. He was recognized for his eloquent tongue and ready at repartee who analyzed the idea of the metaphysics of mercy.^[1][2] Among his famous poetical works are: Haft Awrang, Tuhfat al-Ahrar, Layla wa -Majnun, Fatihat al-Shabab, Lawa'ih, Al-Durrah al-Fakhirah.

Biography[link]

Jami was born in Khardijird/Kharjerd in central Khorasan.^[3] Previously his father Nizām al-Dīn Ahmad b. Shams al-Dīn Muhammad had come from Dasht, a small town in the district of Isfahan.^[3] A few years after his birth, his family migrated to the cultural city of Herat where he was able to study Peripateticism, mathematics, Arabic literature, natural sciences, language, logic, rhetoric and Islamic philosophy at the Nizamiyyah University of Herat.^[1] His father became his first teacher and mentor, who was also a Sufi.^[1] While in Herat, Jami was a central role and function of the Timurid court, involved in the politics, economics, philosophy, religion, and Persian culture.^[1]

Because his father was from Dasht, Jami's early pen name was Dashti but later, he chose to use Jami because of the two reasons that he mentioned in a poem:

مولدم جام و رشحهء قلمم
جرعهء جام شیخ الاسلامی است
لاجرم در جریدهء اشعار
به دو معنی تخلصم جامی است

My birthplace is Jam, and my pen

Has drunk from (knowledge of) Sheikh-ul-Islam (Ahmad) Jam

Hence in the books of poetry

My pen name is Jami for these two reasons.

Afterward he went to Samarkand, the most important center of scientific studies in the Muslim world and completed his studies there. He was a famous Sufi, and a follower of the Naqshbandi Sufi Order. He embarked on a pilgrimage that greatly enhanced his reputation and further solidified his importance through the Persian world.^[3] Jami had a brother called Molana Mohammad, who was, apparently a learned man and a master in music, and Jami has a poem lamenting his death. Jami fathered four sons, but three of them died before reaching their first year.^[4] The surviving son was called Zia-ol-din Yusef and Jami wrote his Baharestan for this son.

Youth seeking his father's advice on love From the Haft Awrang of Jami, in the story "A Father Advises his Son About Love". See Nazar ill'al-murd Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC.

At the end of his life he was living in Herat. His epitaph reads "When your face is hidden from me, like the moon hidden on a dark night, I shed stars of tears and yet my night remains dark in spite of all those shining stars."^[5] There is a variety of dates regarding his death, but consistently most state it was in November 1492. Although, the actual date of his death is somewhat unknown the year of his death marks an end of both his greater poetry and contribution, but also a pivotal year of political changed where Spain was no longer inhabited by the Arabs after 781 years.^[6] His funeral was conducted by the prince of Harat and attended by great numbers of people demonstrating his profound impact.^[4]

Teachings and Sufism[link]

In his role as Sufi shaykh, which began in 1453, Jami expounded a number of teachings regarding following the Sufi path. He created a distinction between two types of Sufi's, now referred to as the "prophetic" and the "mystic" spirit.^[7] Jami is known for both his extreme piety and mysticism.^[1][2] He remained a staunch Sunni on his path toward Sufism and developed images of earthly love and its employment to depict spiritual passion of the seeker of God.^[1][8] He began to take an interest in Sufism at an earlier age when he received a blessing by a principal associate Khwaja Mohammad Parsa who came through town.^[9] From there he sought guidance from Sa'd-alDin Kasgari based on a dream where he was told to take God and become his companion.^[10] Jami followed Kasagari and the two became tied together upon Jami's marriage to Kasgari's granddaughter.^[9] He was known for his commitment to God and his desire for separation from the world to become closer to God often causing him to forget social normalities.^[9]

Yusuf and Zulaikha (Joseph chased by Potiphar's wife), miniature by Behzād, 1488.

After his re-emergence into the social world he became involved in a broad range of social, intellectual and political actives in the cultural center of Herat.^[9] He was engaged in the school of Ibn Arabi, greatly enriching, analyzing, and also changing the school or Ibn Arabi. Jami continued to grow in further understanding of God through miraculous visions and feats, hoping to achieve a great awareness of God in the company of one blessed by Him.^[9] He believed there was three goals to achieve "permanent presence with God" through ceaselessness and silence, being unaware of one's earthly state, and a constant state of a spiritual guide.^[11] Jami wrote about his feeling that God was everywhere and inherently in everything.^[7] He also defined key terms related to Sufism including the meaning of sainthood, the saint, the difference between the Sufi and the one still striving on the path, the seekers of blame, various levels of tawhid, and the charismatic feats of the saints.^[11] Oftentimes Jami's methodology did not follow the school of Ibn Arabi, like in the issue of mutual dependence between God and his creatures Jami stated "We and though are not separate from each other, but we need Thee, whereas Thou doest not need us."

Jami created an all-embracing unity emphasized in a unity with the lover, beloved, and the love one, removing the belief that they are separated.^[12] Jami was in many ways influenced by various predecessors and current Sufi's, incorporating their ideas into his own and developing them further, creating an entirely new concept. In his view, love for the Prophet Mohammad was the fundamental stepping stone for starting on the spiritual journey. Jami served as a master to several followers and to one student who asked to be his pupil who claimed never to have loved anyone, he said, "Go and love first, then come to me and I will show you the way."^[11][13] For several generations, Jami had a group of followers representing his knowledge and impact. Jami continues to be known for not only his poetry, but his learned and spiritual traditions of the Persian speaking world.^[11] In analyzing Jami's work greatest contribution may have been his analysis and discussion of God's mercy towards man, redefining the way previous texts were interpreted.

Works[link]

Jami wrote approximately eighty-seven books and letters, some of which have been translated into English. His works range from prose to poetry, and from the mundane to the religious. He has also written works of history and science. As well, he often comments on the work of previous and current theologians, philosophers and Sufi's.^[1] In Herat, his manual of irrigation design included advanced drawings and calculations and is still a key reference for the irrigation department.^[14] His poetry has been inspired by the ghazals of Hafiz, and his famous and beautiful divan Haft Awrang (Seven Thrones) is, by his own admission, influenced by the works of Nizami. The Haft Awrang also known as the long masnavis or mathnawis are a collection of seven poems.^[15] Each poem discusses a different story such as the Salaman va Absal that tells the story of a carnal attraction of a prince for his wet-nurse.^[16] Throughout Jami uses allegorical symbolism within the tale to depict the key stages of the Sufi path such as repentance and expose philosophical, religious, or ethical questions.^[4][15] Each of the allegorical symbols has a meaning highlighting knowledge and intellect, particularly of God. This story reflects Jamī's idea of the Sufi-king as the ideal medieval Islamic ruler to repent and embark upon the Sufi path to realize his rank as God's 'true' vicegerent and become closer to God.^[15] As well, Jami is known for his three collections of lyric poems that range from his youth towards the end of his life called the Fatihat al-shabab (The Beginning of Youth", Wasitat al-'ikd (The Central Pearl in the Necklace), and Khatimat al-hayat (The conclusion of Life).^[4] Throughout Jami's work references to Sufism and the Sufi emerge as being key topics. One of his most profound ideas was the mystical and philosophical explanations of the nature of divine mercy, which was a result of his commentary to other works.^[1]

Artwork[link]

Jami is also known for his poetry influencing and being included with Persian paintings that depict Persian history through manuscript paintings. Most of his own literature included illustrations that was not yet common for literature. The deep poetry Jami provides, is usually accompanied with enriched paintings reflecting the complexity of Jami's work and Persian culture.^[17]

Impact of Jamī's Work Outside Iran[link]

Jami worked within the Tīmūrid court of Herat helping to serve as an interpreter and communicator.^[1] His poetry reflected Persian culture and was popular through Islamic East, Central Asia and the Indian subcontinent.^[1] His poetry addressed popular ideas that led to Sufi's and non-Sufi's interest in his work.^[12] He was known not only for his poetry, but his theological works and commentary of on culture.^[1] His work was used in several schools from Samarqand to Istanbul to Khayrābād in Iran as well India.^[1] For centuries Jami was known for his poetry and profound knowledge. In the last half-century Jami has begun to be neglected and his works forgotten, which reflects an overarching issue in the lack of research of Islamic and Persian studies.^[1]

Divan of Jami[link]

Among his works are:

• Baharestan (Abode of Spring) Modeled upon the Gulestan of Saadi
• Diwanha-ye Sehganeh (Triplet Divans)
• Fawa ed Ziya'iya fi sah al'Kafiya
• Haft Awrang (Seven Thrones) His major poetical work. The fifth of the seven stories is his acclaimed "Yusuf and Zulaykha", which tells the story of Joseph and Potiphar's wife based on the Quran.
• Jame -esokanan-e Kaja Parsa
• Lawa'ih A treatise on Sufism (Shafts of Light)
• Nafahat al-Uns (Breaths of Fellowship) Biographies of the Sufi Saints
• Resala-ye manasek-e hajj
• Resala-ye musiqi
• Resala-ye tariq-e Kvajagan
• Resala-ye sarayet-e dekr
• Resala-ye so al o jawab-e Hendustan
• Sara-e hadit-e Abi Zarrin al-Aqili
• Sar-rešta-yetariqu-e Kājagān (The Quintessence of the Path of the Masters)
• Shawahidal-nubuwwa (Distinctive Signs of Prophecy)
• Tajnīs 'al-luġāt (Homonymy/Punning of Languages) A lexicographical work containing homonymous Persian and Arabic lemmata.^[18]
• Tuhfat al-ahrar (The Gift of the Free)

Along with his works are his contributions to previous works and works that have been created in response to his new ideas.^[8]

See also[link]

Poetry portal

• Ghazal
• Persian literature
• List of Persian poets and authors
• Nazar ill'al-murd

Notes[link]

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m} Rizvi, Sajjad. "The Existential Breath of al-rahman and the Munificent Grace of al-rahim: The Tafsir Surat al-Fatiha of Jami and the School of Ibn Arabi". Journal of Qur'anic Studies. 
2. ^ ^{a b} Williams, John (1961). Islam. New York: George Braziller. 
3. ^ ^{a b c} Losensky, Paul (23). "Jami Life and Works". Encyclopaedia Iranica. 
4. ^ ^{a b c d} Huart, Cl.; Masse, H.. "Djami, Mawlana Nur al-Din 'Abd ah-Rahman". Encyclopaedia of Islam. 
5. ^ Ahmed, Rashid (2001). Taliban, p. 40. Yale University Press.
6. ^ Machatsche, Roland (1996). The Basics:2 Islam. Trinity Press. 
7. ^ ^{a b} Schimmel, AnnMarie (1975). Mystical Dimensions of Islam. Capital Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. 
8. ^ ^{a b} Rahman, Fazlur (1966). Islam. Holt, Rinehart, and Winston. 
9. ^ ^{a b c d e} Algar, Hamid (June 2008). "Jami and Sufism". Encyclopaedia Iranica. 
10. ^ Kia, Chad (June 2008). "Jami and Sufism". Encyclopaedia Iranica. 
11. ^ ^{a b c d} Algar, Hamid (23). "Jami and Sufism". Encyclopaedia Iranica. 
12. ^ ^{a b} Schimmel, AnnMarie (1975). Mystical Dimensions of Islam. Capital Hill: The University of North Caolina Press. 
13. ^ VOLUME X_3_4
14. ^ Chokkakula, Srinivas. (2009). Interrogating Irrigation Inequities: Canal Irrigation Systems in Injil District, Herat. Case Study Series. Afghanistan Research and Evaluation Unit. p.12. http://www.areu.org.af/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=42&Itemid=76
15. ^ ^{a b c} Lingwood, Chad (March 2011). "Jami's Salaman va Absal: Political Statements and Mystical Advice Addressed to the Aq Qoyunlu Court of Sultan Ya'qub (d. 896/1490)". Iranian Studies 44 (2): 175–191. 
16. ^ Lingwood, Chad (March 2011). "Jami's Salaman va Absal: Political Statements and Mystical Advice Addressed to the Aq Qoyunlu Court of Sultan Ya'qub (d. 896/1490)". Iranian Studies 44 (2): 174–191. 
17. ^ Kia, Chad (23). "Jami and Persian Art". Encyclopaedia Iranica. 
18. ^ Shīrānī, 6.

References[link]

• E.G. Browne. Literary History of Persia. (Four volumes, 2,256 pages, and twenty-five years in the writing). 1998. ISBN 978-0-7007-0406-4
• Jan Rypka, History of Iranian Literature. Reidel Publishing Company. 1968 OCLC 460598 ISBN 978-90-277-0143-5
• Ḥāfiż Mahmūd Shīrānī. "Dībācha-ye awwal [First Preface]." In Ḥifż ul-Lisān [a.k.a. Ḳhāliq Bārī], edited by Ḥāfiż Mahmūd Shīrānī. Delhi: Anjumman-e Taraqqi-e Urdū, 1944.
• Aftandil Erkinov. "Manuscripts of the works by classical Persian authors (Hāfiz, Jāmī, Bīdil): Quantitative Analysis of 17th-19th c. Central Asian Copies". Iran: Questions et connaissances. Actes du IVe Congrès Européen des études iraniennes organisé par la Societas Iranologica Europaea, Paris, 6-10 Septembre 1999. vol. II: Périodes médiévale et moderne. [Cahiers de Studia Iranica. 26], M.Szuppe (ed.). Association pour l`avancement des études iraniennes-Peeters Press. Paris-Leiden, 2002, pp. 213–228.
• Jami. Flashes of Light: A Treatise on Sufism. Golden Elixir Press, 2010. ISBN 978-0-9843082-2-4 (ebook)

External links[link]

Wikisource has original works written by or about: Jami

• Jami on PoetryPortal
• Jami on Iran Chamber Society Website
• Jami's Yusuf and Zulaikha: A Study in the Method of Appropriation of Sacred Text
• Jami's Salaman and Absal as Translated by Edward Fitzgerald. 1904
• Persian deewan of Jami Uploaded by Javed Hussen
• Online books by Jami - maktabah.org

v t e Sufism and Tariqa Ideas Qutb Wali Abdal Fakir Dervish Tazkiah Baqaa Fanaa Haal Keramat Haqiqa Ihsan Irfan Kashf Lataif Manzil Marifa Nafs Noor Sufi cosmology Sufi metaphysics Sufi philosophy Sufi poetry Sufi psychology Sulook Yaqeen Silsila Practices Anasheed Dhikr Haḍra Muraqaba Qawwali Sama Whirling Ziyarat Sufi orders Azeemia Akbarī Alians Ba 'Alawī Bayramī Bektashī Chishtī Galibī Gulshanī Ḥurūfī Idrīsī Jelvetī Jerrahī Khalwatī Kubrāwī Madarī Malāmatī Mawlāwī Mourīdī Naqshbandī Naqshbandi Uwaisī Khalidiyya Nasuhī Ni'matullāhī Nuqtawī Qadirī Qalāndārī Rifa'ī Safāvī Shadhilī Suhrawardī Sunbulī Tijanī Ussakī Uwaisī Zahedī Notable early Sufi saints and mystics Abdul-Qadir Gilanī Abul-Khayr Ahmad Ghazālī Ahmed Yasāvī Al-Ghazālī Al-Hallaj al-Misrī Al-Qāsim al-Qunawī Amīr Kulal Ardabilī Ata Allah Attar Balım Sultan Baha ūd-Dīn Naqshband Bande Nawāz Baqī Billah Bastamī Bhita'ī Bulleh Shah Shah Waliullah Dehlāvī Farīd ūd-Dīn Fozail Gālib Gharīb Nawāz Ghujdawanī Ghulam Farīd Sheik Edebali Gül Baba Hajji Bayram Hajji Bektash Hazrat Mai Safoora Qadiriyya Haddad Hamadānī Hansvī Harabatī Baba Hasan Basri Mahmud Hudayī Hujwirī ibn ʿArabī Jābir ibn Hayyān Jahangasht Jamī Jan-e-Jānāān Jazoulī Junayd Baġdādī Kākī Kaliyarī Karkhī Kharaqanī Kubrā Nāimī Najib al-Suhrawardī Nasīmī Mansur Al-Hallaj Ni'matullāh Nizām ūd-Dīn Nurī Otman Baba Pir Sultan Qutb ūd-Dīn Haydār Rabbānī Rabia Basri Razī Rifa'ī Rukn-e-Alam Rūmī Ibrahim ibn Adham Saadī Salman al-Farisī Sanai Mevlana Halid-i Bagdadi Sarı Saltuk Semnanī Shadhilī Shahāb al-Dīn Suhrawardī Shams Tabrizī Shiblī Shirazī Sultan Walad Surkh Bukhari Taj al-Dīn Gilanī Umar al-Suhrawardī Uwais al-Qarni Yunus Emre Magtymguly Pyragy Zakariya Zarruq Notable modern Sufi saints Auliya Azeemi Nagpuri Meher Ali Sheikh Muhammad Uthman Sirajuddin Qadeer Piya Muhammad Maliki Gohar Shahi Tahir ul-Qadri Tahir Allauddin Taqi Usmani Abdal Hakim Murad Nazim Al-Haqqani Hisham Kabbani Nuh Keller Nooruddeen Durkee Abdalqadir as-Sufi Zaheen Ghulam Mustafa Reshad Feild Ahmad al-Alawi Ashraf Ali Thanvi Bawa Muhaiyaddeen Abd al-Rahman al-Shaghouri Omar Shah Haeri Raza Khan Syed Shujaat Pir Zulfiqar Abdullah Naqshbandi Sufi Barkat Ali Hafiz Qamaruddin Saheb Qibla Fultali Feisal Abdul Rauf Osman Nuri Topbaş Sufi studies Aguéli Almqvist Burckhardt Chittick Corbin Ernst Frager Guénon Hixon Lindbom Lings Nasr Schimmel Sells Shah Schuon Topics in Sufism Art Fiction History Music Poetry Shrines Texts Portal

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (October 2009)

Renee Olstead
Olstead at Java Jazz Festival in Jakarta, 2008.
Background information
Birth name	Rebecca Renee Olstead
Born	(1989-06-18) June 18, 1989 (age 23) Kingwood, Texas, U.S.
Origin	Houston, Texas, U.S.
Genres	Jazz
Occupations	Actress, singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1995–present
Labels	Renee LLC, 143, Reprise
Website	www.reneeolstead.com

Rebecca Renee Olstead (born June 18, 1989) is an American actress and singer. Active since childhood as an actress, she is best known for her roles in the TV sitcoms Still Standing as Lauren Miller and The Secret Life of the American Teenager as Madison Cooperstein. In addition, she has recorded five studio albums, primarily of jazz music.

Early life[link]

Olstead was born in Kingwood, Texas, to Christopher Eric Olstead and Rebecca Lynn Jeffries. Olstead is of Norwegian ancestry.^[1][2][3] As a child actress, she made films and commercials from age eight onwards. She also attended Centre Stage theatrical school and is mentioned on their website's alumni.

From 2002 to 2006, she appeared in the TV sitcom Still Standing as middle sister Lauren Miller. Olstead was presented the Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Series (Comedy) - Supporting Young Actress for Still Standing in 2002. She also had a small part in the 2004 film 13 Going on 30. She is currently (2011) co-starring in the ABC Family series The Secret Life of the American Teenager, about fifteen year old Amy Juergens's struggle through her unexpected pregnancy and how it affects her peers. Olstead plays the character of Madison Cooperstein, who is one of Amy's best friends.

Music career[link]

In 2004, Olstead released an eponymous album of jazz songs and pop standards for Warner Bros. Records to good reviews: since her previous releases had had limited distribution, this album was considered her true debut. She subsequently performed in Berlin during the Live 8 concert on July 2, 2005.^{[citation needed]}

Olstead also recorded with trumpeter Chris Botti on his 2005 album To Love Again: The Duets and appeared on the 2006 DVD Chris Botti Live with Orchestra and Special Guests. Her singing style is influenced by such great jazz vocalists as Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan. Reportedly, her musical talent was discovered by composer David Foster, who produced her 2004 album. She later also performed with Foster on the Oprah Winfrey Show.

A follow-up album entitled Skylark, also produced by Foster, was originally announced for release in 2005, but it was subsequently pushed back several times, with release dates in the summer of 2006 and early 2007 being mentioned on online retailers such as Amazon.com. It was then scheduled for a June 2008 release, but was delayed once again.^[4] It was finally released on January 27, 2009, nearly four years after it was originally announced.

Discography[link]

• Stone Country (2000)
• Unleashed (2000)
• By Request (2002)
• Renee Olstead (2004)
• The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (soundtrack) (2004)
• Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (soundtrack) (2008)
• Skylark (2009)
• A Tribute to Billie Holliday (various artists) (2009)

Filmography[link]

Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Renee Olstead's Official Website
• Renee Olstead's Official Fansite
• Renee Olstead at the Internet Movie Database

Jennifer Irwin (born June 17, 1975) is a Canadian actress best known for her roles as Linda on Still Standing and as Maria Ganitisis in the Molly Shannon comedy Superstar.

Irwin is a graduate of McGill University in Montreal, Quebec. She worked with The Second City in the mid-1990s,^[1] and stars in the HBO series Eastbound & Down. She played Carol in Kerri Kenney-Silver's Dame Delilah web series.

At the 6th Annual Canadian Comedy Awards (2005) she was nominated for Pretty Funny Female. She was nominated for a Gemini Award for her performance Slings and Arrows. In 2010, the Canadian Comedy Awards nominated her for Best Performance by a Female in TV for Less Than Kind.

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Jennifer Irwin at the Internet Movie Database
• Jennifer Irwin at Yahoo! Movies

This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Tagged since December 2011. The notability of this article's subject is in question. If notability cannot be established, it may be listed for deletion or removed. Tagged since March 2012. Very few or no other articles link to it. Please help introduce links to this page from other articles related to it. Tagged since December 2011.

Rabbi Doug is the host of the "TAPED WITH... RABBI DOUG" television show.^[1] It is locally produced in Chicago, Illinois (the mid-western United States). The show airs weekly on TV (with public funding) and airs on YouTube and on the TV show's website.

Biography[link]

Rabbi Doug is rabbi of a congregation in Chicago, a chaplain, and he is also a school teacher. He is a frequent guest on a number of other television & radio shows, and Rabbi Doug writes a Torah column in the Chicago Jewish News. His TV show has been airing since 1996.

References[link]

External links[link]

• youtube link
• tvrabbi.com
• cantv.org