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Cyia Batten
Cyia Batten, April 2008
Born	(1972-01-26) January 26, 1972 (age 40) Locust Valley, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, dancer, model, vedette/showgirl
Years active	1995–present

Cyia Batten (born January 26, 1972) is an American dancer, model and film/television actress as well as former Pussycat Dolls dance troupe.^[1] She has worked as a professional dancer all over the world for various projects including The Pussycat Dolls and Carmen Electra, Teatro Comunale di Firenze and others.

She has had roles in Charlie Wilson's War, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning, Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle, The Sweetest Thing and Killer Movie and on such TV shows as CSI, CSI: NY, CSI: Miami and Crossing Jordan as well as numerous appearances as different characters on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,^[2] Star Trek: Voyager, Star Trek: Enterprise, and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

Batten was awarded Best Actress at Screamfest LA 2005 for her role in Cookers in which she played a crystal meth addict and hooker. She replaced actress Kelly Carlson in the film Dead of Night. She is also known for her work as a professional model, and also has her own brand of jewelry, T. Cyia, with fellow actor Tim McElwee.

She lives in New York City and Los Angeles.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Cyia Batten at the Internet Movie Database
• Cyia Batten at AllRovi
• Cyia Batten at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)

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Menina Fortunato
Menina Fortunato attending the "Cuties for Canines" charity event, West Los Angeles, CA on 16 November 2007
Born	28 November 1980 Revelstoke, British Columbia

Menina Fortunato (born 28 November 1980) is a Canadian actress, dancer, choreographer, and model. Originally from Coquitlam, British Columbia, Menina is of Portuguese and French Canadian descent. Her sister Sante Fortunato is a dancer and circus performer.

Her television and movie appearances include Blue Collar TV, The Hollow Men, Star Trek: Enterprise, Mad TV, Poseidon, Holla, Spectacular!, House Bunny, Crank 2: High Voltage, The Cabin in the Woods, C.L.A.S.S and Kickin It Old Skool.

External links[link]

• Menina Fortunato at the Internet Movie Database
• http://www.menina.ca/
• Menina Fortunato at Memory Alpha (a Star Trek wiki)

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Leighton Meester
Meester at Chanel's SoHo store re-opening, September 9, 2010
Born	Leighton Marissa Meester (1986-04-09) April 9, 1986 (age 26) Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, singer, model
Years active	1999–present
Website
leightonmeestermusic.com

Leighton Marissa Meester (born April 9, 1986)^[1] is an American actress and singer. Meester first garnered attention and critical acclaim for playing Blair Waldorf in the CW's teen drama television series Gossip Girl. She most recently appeared in the 2010 country drama film Country Strong, the 2011 thriller The Roommate, and the 2011 romantic-comedy Monte Carlo.

Early life[link]

Meester was born in Fort Worth, Texas, to Constance and Douglas Meester and lived most of her life in New York City and Los Angeles.^[2][3][4] Meester's last name is the Dutch word for "master" or "teacher".^[5]

At the time of her birth, her mother was serving time in a federal prison for her involvement in a drug ring that smuggled marijuana from Jamaica to the United States. She was able to give birth to Leighton in a hospital and nurse her for three months in a halfway house, before returning to prison to complete her sentence,^[2][3] after which Leighton's grandmother cared for her. She has a brother, Alexander, who is 8 years younger.

Meester has maintained that her parents gave her a normal upbringing and, despite their criminal past, are good people with experience that has only made Meester more open-minded and non-judgmental, "It made me realize that you can't judge anyone — especially your parents — for what they've done in their past, because people change."^[6] Meester has joked, "Look, I could've turned out a lot worse."^[7] She has cited her mother as her style icon.^[8]

Meester grew up in Marco Island, Florida, where she participated in productions at a local playhouse.^[9] When she was 11 years old, Meester and her mother moved to New York City.^[9] Meester attended the Professional Children's School and also began working as a model with Wilhelmina, booking a Ralph Lauren campaign shot by Bruce Weber and working with then photographer (now film maker) Sofia Coppola^[9][10] as well as many commercials including Tamagotchi toys and Clearasil. She has also posed for Limited Too campaigns alongside fellow future actress, Amanda Seyfried, in which Seyfried recalls, "Leighton was very confident."^[11] Meester made her television acting debut as a murder victim's friend on an episode of Law & Order.^[9][10] At 14, Meester moved to Los Angeles, California, wanting more stable work, and attended Hollywood High School and Beverly Hills High School.^[10][12] She then transferred to a small private school and graduated a year early.^[13]

Career[link]

Acting[link]

Meester at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival for the premiere of Killer Movie

After her television debut in 1999 playing Alyssa Turner in Law & Order, Meester appeared as a guest in two more series before landing her big role in the movie Hangman's Curse, based on the best-selling book by Frank Peretti. She appeared in Tarzan, which ran for only eight episodes. Meester then started to land guest roles in other series such as Crossing Jordan, 8 Simple Rules, 7th Heaven, Veronica Mars, 24, and Entourage.^[9]

In 2005, Meester began a regular role in the series Surface as Savannah Bennet. Meester appeared in two more 2006 movies, Flourish and Inside. She also guest appeared in Numb3rs and in two episodes of House M.D. as Ali, a young girl who has a crush on House.^[9] She had guest roles on CSI: Miami and Shark, and played the female lead in the horror film Drive-Thru.

In 2007, Meester was cast in the CW's teen drama series Gossip Girl as Blair Waldorf.^[9] The show is based on the book series by Cecily von Ziegesar about the lives of New York's privileged Upper East Side young adults. Her performance is the most critically acclaimed of the show, with Blair being cited as the series' breakout character, and also garnering much media recognition due to her wardrobe.^[14][15] She dated Gossip Girl co-star Sebastian Stan.^[16]

Meester appeared on the television film The Haunting of Sorority Row, and played a part in the ensemble comedy/drama Remember the Daze. She also appeared in the horror/thriller film Killer Movie in 2008.

Meester starred in three films in 2010 with small roles in the comedies Date Night and Going The Distance^[17] and a bigger role in Screen Gems' country drama Country Strong starring Gwyneth Paltrow and Garrett Hedlund. The Boston Globe found the best thing in the film was Meester because "she’s just doing Reese Witherspoon’s June Carter Cash in Walk the Line with dabs of Miley Cyrus and Kellie Pickler. But it’s not an impersonation; it’s a performance with its own comedy and sweetness."^[18] USA Today was also positive towards her performance writing "Meester shows she can do more than play one of Gossip Girl’s privileged Manhattan socialite."^[19]

In 2011, she played the role of Rebecca, an obsessive bipolar girl in the thriller The Roommate.^[20] Though the film mainly received negative reviews, Meester's portrayal was praised by critics. Entertainment Weekly found she was the only one to bring "the slightest trace of something fascinating to her role"^[21] while Los Angeles Times wrote "her performance often has the feeling of a sports car in neutral. When she punches it for quick changes of tone from manic to wounded or around the bend, she shows how much more she is capable of."^[22] Meester's second film of the year was the young femme comedy Monte Carlo, loosely based on Jules Bass's young-adult book Headhunters, in which she plays Selena Gomez's sister and Katie Cassidy's friend.^[23] Movieline noted that "As in Country Strong, Meester's crack timing and irresistible poignancy illuminate a part that would leave other actresses simpering themselves off the screen."^[24] Her last film of 2011 was the indie dramatic comedy The Oranges opposite Hugh Laurie, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

She will next star in the comedy That's My Boy, alongside Adam Sandler, Andy Samberg, and Milo Ventimiglia, which is set to release in June 2012.^[25][26] She is also attached to The Uncatchable Cowgirl Bandits of Nottingham, Texas alongside Amber Heard.^[27]

Music[link]

Meester performing in June 2011

In April 2009, Meester signed a recording contract with Universal Republic.^[28] Meester's first official single, "Somebody to Love", featuring R&B singer Robin Thicke, was released for airplay on October 13, 2009, and became available for digital download on October 14, 2009.^[29] In November 2009, Meester revealed that Lil Wayne had worked with her on one of her songs titled "Make It Rain", which hasn't been released.^[30] Her second single, "Your Love's a Drug", was digitally released on March 30, 2010.^[31]

Meester is featured on Cobra Starship's song "Good Girls Go Bad", which reached the Top 10 on Billboard Hot 100 peaking at #7, and on Stephen Jerzak's song "She Said".^[32][33] She recorded a cover of the song "Christmas (Baby Please Come Home)" for the compilation album A Very Special Christmas 7.^[34] For her 2010 country drama film Country Strong, she recorded a cover of the song "Words I Couldn't Say" by Rascal Flatts as well as "A Little Bit Stronger" by Sara Evans featured on the film's soundtrack; a promotional single titled "Summer Girl"; and a duet with Garrett Hedlund titled "Give In To Me".^[35]

In October 2010, Meester said she had been working with a band called Check in the Dark and had been writing for the last six months being inspired by Country Strong, "I've just been having fun and writing from my heart". She revealed her influences, "I love Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, that style of music, and as far as songwriting I think that's where my heart is."^[36] On April 22, 2012, Meester announced via Twitter a five-city tour with Check in the Dark, which will start on May 29 and end on June 4.^[37][38][39]

Endorsements[link]

Meester has fronted many charity as well as advertising campaigns. In 2008, she was a spokesperson for Sunsilk's "Life Can't Wait" campaign^[40] to motivate women to pursue their dreams and collaborated with Safe Horizon to raise awareness about and prevent domestic violence.^[41] Early in 2009, Meester partnered with Reebok to model their new Top Down sneakers.^[42] Outside of Gossip Girl, Meester has worked with co-star Ed Westwick in a Nikon Coolpix series camera advertisement and both were faces for a Korean clothing line called ASK Enquired.^[43] In 2010, Meester signed on to be the spokesperson for Herbal Essences hair products.^[44] In the same year, Meester took part in Bulgari's humanitarian efforts for the Save the Children organization with Isabella Rossellini and Maribel Verdútaken.^[45] Vera Wang has also chosen Meester to be the face of her newest scent Lovestruck, breaking in summer of 2011, stating that the actress's "beauty, talent and spirit will inspire all the young women that I hope will enjoy this passionate, new young fragrance."^[46] In 2011, Italian fashion house Missoni revealed they have tapped Meester to be part of their Spring/Summer 2011 campaign.^[47] She fronts another South Korean brand, this time a beauty campaign, called eSpoir.^[48] Leighton is additionally the new face of Vera Wang's scent "Lovestruck" which was first sold in Harrods on June 9, 2011. In May 2012, she became an endorser for Philippine clothing brand Penshoppe's campaign "All Stars".^[49]

In the media[link]

Meester was listed several times in Maxim's Hot 100, starting #48 in 2008,^[50] #12 in 2009,^[51] #17 in 2010^[52] and #16 in 2011.^[53] BuddyTV ranked her #32 on its TV's 100 Sexiest Women of 2010 list.^[54] She was ranked #75 by AskMen.com readers in the list "Top 99 Women of 2010" and #53 in 2011.^[55] Men's Health ranked her #30 in its "Hottest Women in 2011" list.^[56] Glamour ranked her #5 among the Most Glamorous Celebrities of 2011.^[57]

Personal life[link]

From 2008 to 2010, Meester dated actor Sebastian Stan.^[58] In July 2011, Meester and her mother filed lawsuits against each other regarding Meester's financial support of her younger brother, who has multiple health problems.^[59] Meester's suit claims the money she sent was misused by her mother; her mother's suit makes a cross-claim alleging breach of contract and physical abuse.^[59] In November 2011, Constance Meester dropped the $3 million claim for damages against her daughter. As a result, Leighton obtained a default judgement on December 7, 2011.^[60] Leighton is also said to be seeking custody of her 17-year-old brother Alexander, who has suffered health problems, including recently undergoing brain surgery.^[61] Meester is currently dating Remember the Daze co-star Aaron Himelstein, after meeting and briefly dating in 2007. ^[62]

Filmography[link]

Meester at the 2009 CW Upfront presentation.

Discography[link]

Singles[link]

Featured singles[link]

Awards[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Leighton Meester

• Official website
• Leighton Meester at the Internet Movie Database
• Leighton Meester at AllRovi

This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (January 2011)

Torrey DeVitto
DeVitto at the 2012 Wizard World Toronto
Born	Torrey Joel DeVitto (1984-06-08) June 8, 1984 (age 28) Huntington, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, model, violinist
Years active	2003–present
Spouse	Paul Wesley (m. 2011–present)

Torrey Joel DeVitto (born June 8, 1984) is an American actress and former fashion model. She is best known for her roles as Zoe in the 2006 horror film I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, Karen Kerr in the short lived television series Beautiful People, Carrie in The CW series One Tree Hill, Melissa Hastings on the hit ABC Family series Pretty Little Liars and most recently as Meredith Fell in The CW series The Vampire Diaries.

Early life[link]

Torrey Joel DeVitto was raised in Fort Salonga on Long Island, New York and Winter Park, Florida. Her parents are Mary and Liberty DeVitto; her father was a long-time drummer for Billy Joel. On the day of her birth, Joel was performing at the Wembley Arena and made a special note before beginning "The Longest Time" that DeVitto's wife was having a baby, causing a standing ovation for DeVitto, who was playing the drums at the concert. She has two sisters, Devon and Maryelle. Her sister Maryelle was in the TV series Endurance. As a child, DeVitto spent a lot of time touring with her parents.

She attended Fort Salonga Elementary School, part of Kings Park Central School District. At age six, DeVitto took violin lessons and when she was in 4th grade, Torrey earned her place as the 4th chair violinist in a high school band. When DeVitto was 12 years old, she played a solo violin piece at Christie Brinkley and Peter Cook's wedding. After graduating from Winter Park High School in Winter Park, Florida, she spent her summer in Japan working as a model and had earlier spent time in Chicago.^[1]

Career[link]

DeVitto started her career by working in commercials, which she described to be a "stepping stone to get to TV and film jobs."^[2] She was signed to Ford and Avenue One modeling agencies, but in 2002, she realized her future wasn't in modeling and chose to pursue a career in acting. Staying true to her love of music, in 2002 she played violin with the Tommy Davidson Band at the Sunset Room in Hollywood. She also played violin on Raphael Saadiq's 2004 album, Ray Ray, as well as Stevie Nicks's 2011 album "In Your Dreams." ^[3] From that point, DeVitto feels that acting is her "strongest passion and takes precedence over music", but hopes that she "can do more with it in the future."^[2]

DeVitto co-starred in ABC Family series Beautiful People as aspiring model Karen Kerr. "Even girls that aren't trying to be models will be able to relate to it," she said about the show. She also appeared in the 2006 movie sequel I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer as Zoe.^[4] She has guest starred on Drake & Josh, Scrubs, Jack & Bobby and had a small part in the short film Forbidden Love. Her movie role debut was in Starcrossed, which tells about brothers, who develop a sexual attraction to one another. Later she played L.A. actress Sierra Young in Heber Holiday and was in the main cast of Green Flash along with David Charvet and Kristin Cavallari.^[4][5] She played Phoebe Hilldale in Killer Movie.^[6] She is most notable for her recurring role as Carrie on the CW drama One Tree Hill during seasons five and six.^[7] She also made a guest appearance in a CSI: Miami episode, "You May Now Kill the Bride" in 2008.

She was in Will.I.Am's 'Vote Obama' video "We Are The Ones". In 2010, DeVitto was cast as Melissa Hastings in the TV series Pretty Little Liars based on the book series by Sara Shepard.^[8] On November 10, 2011, DeVitto was confirmed to be in the TV series The Vampire Diaries as Meredith Fell, will be playing a young doctor who is fascinated by Alaric, when she notices how quickly he recovers from an injury.^[9][10]

Personal life[link]

DeVitto and Wesley in 2008.

DeVitto met and began dating Vampire Diaries actor, Paul Wesley in 2007 when they acted together in Killer Movie. They married in a private ceremony in New York City in April 2011.^[11]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Torrey DeVitto

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Torrey DeVitto

• Torrey DeVitto at the Internet Movie Database