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Calvin Klein Incorporated

Type	Subsidiary
Founded	1968
Founder(s)	Calvin Klein
Headquarters	New York City, United States
Parent	Phillips-Van Heusen
Website	calvinklein.com

Calvin Klein Inc. is a fashion house founded by American fashion designer Calvin Klein. The company is headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City^[1] and currently owned by Phillips-Van Heusen. Like other fashion brands, Calvin Klein established a monogram: the "cK" emblem.^[2]

History[link]

In 1968, Klein founded Calvin Klein Limited, a coat shop in the York Hotel in New York City, with $10,000. The first Calvin Klein collection was a line of men's and women's coats featured at the New York City store, Bonwit Teller.

In 1969, Klein appeared on the cover of Vogue magazine. By 1971, sportswear, classic blazers and lingerie were added to his women's collection.

In 1973, he received his first Coty American Fashion Critics' Award for his 74-piece womenswear collection. By 1977, annual revenues had increased to $30 million, and Klein had licenses for scarves, shoes, belts, furs, sunglasses, and sheets. Klein and Schwartz were making $4 million each. After the company signed licenses for cosmetics, jeans, and menswear, Klein's annual retail volume was estimated at $100 million. In 1978, Klein claimed sales of 200,000 pairs of his famous jeans the first week they were on the market. By 1981, Fortune figured Klein's annual income at $8.5 million a year. In the mid-1970s, he had created a designer-jeans craze by putting his name on the back pocket.

In the late 1970s, the company also made attempts to set up its own fragrance and cosmetics business, but soon withdrew from the market with big financial losses. In the 1980s, as the designer-jeans frenzy reached its all-time high, Calvin Klein introduced a highly successful line of boxer shorts for women and a men’s underwear collection which would later gross $70 million in a single year. Calvin Klein’s underwear business, promoted later in the 1990s with giant billboards showing images of pop singer Mark "Marky Mark" Wahlberg, was so successful that his underpants became generally known as "Calvins".

The stunning growth continued through the early eighties. The licensing program, which brought in $24,000 when it was initiated in 1974, had royalty income of $7.3 million ten years later. That year, worldwide retail sales were estimated at more than $600 million. Klein's clothes were sold through 12,000 stores in the United States and were available in six other countries. His annual income passed $12 million.

Financial problems, increased pressure from all sides, disagreements with the licensee of the menswear line and its disappointing sales as well as an enormous employee turnover both within Calvin Klein and its licensing partners led to the first rumors that Calvin Klein Industries, as the company had been known by then, was up for sale. And indeed, in late 1987, it was said that the sale of the company to Triangle Industries, a container manufacturer, had only failed because of the crashing stock market.

Although the company almost faced bankruptcy in 1992, Calvin Klein managed to regain and increase the profitability of his empire throughout the later 90s, mainly through the success of its highly popular underwear and fragrance lines, as well as the ck sportswear line. Klein was named "America's Best Designer" for his minimalist all-American designs in 1993, and it came as a surprise in 1999 when it was announced that CKI was again up for sale. Planning to expand its business, the company had been approached by two luxury goods companies, LVMH and Pinault Printemps Redoute, to join Calvin Klein, but nothing resulted. Other potentials like Tommy Hilfiger Corp. and Italy's Holding di Partecipazioni proved to be similar disappointments because of CKI's steep price tag of supposedly $1 billion. After seven months and no potential buyer, Klein announced that his empire was not on the market any more. The company would never manage to go public, which had supposedly been Klein's plan once. In June 2008, Calvin Klein started to sponsor America's Next Top Male Model, allowing the winner to embark on a 100,000 dollar contract as well as a runway show, as a bonus, to launch their career.

Acquisition by Phillips van Heusen[link]

In mid-December 2002, Calvin Klein Inc. (CKI) was finally sold to shirt maker Phillips Van Heusen Corp (PVH),^[3] whose then CEO Bruce Klatsky was the driving force behind the deal, for about $400 million in cash, $30 million in stock as well as licensing rights and royalties linked to revenues over the following 15 years that were estimated at $200 to $300 million. The sale also included an ongoing personal financial incentive for Klein based on future sales of the Calvin Klein brand.

PVH outbid VF Corp., the maker of Lee and Wrangler jeans, which had also been interested in the jeans, underwear and swimwear business of CK that had been controlled by Warnaco Group, maker of Speedo swimwear in the US, since 1997. The deal with PVH did not include these businesses, and they remained with Warnaco. Unable to pay debts from acquisitions and licensing agreements and due to bad publicity by a later dismissed lawsuit with Calvin Klein over selling license products to retailers other than agreed upon with Calvin Klein, Warnaco had filed for chapter 11 protection in mid-2001 but eventually emerged from bankruptcy in February 2003.^{[citation needed]}

The transaction between Calvin Klein and PVH was financially supported by Apax Partners Inc., a New York private equity firm, which is said to have made a $250 million equity investment in PVH convertible preferred stock, as well as a $125 million, two-year secured note, all in exchange for seats on the board of PVH.^{[citation needed]}

CKI thus became a wholly owned subsidiary of PVH. In the beginning, Klein himself, who was included as a person in the 15-year contract he had signed with PVH, remained creative head of the collections but then continued as an advisor (consulting creative director) to the new company from 2003 on and has since been more withdrawn from the business. Barry K. Schwartz was said to concentrate on his role as chairman of the New York Racing Association, a horse-racing club. The current President and COO of the CKI division within PVH is Tom Murry, who had filled this position already before the acquisition.

With the fall 2006 Collection runway presentations in New York City, CKI inaugurated an 8,600 sq ft (800 m²) show room space that can seat up to 600 people on the ground floor of 205 West 39th Street, in Times Square South where Calvin Klein has been headquartered since 1978.

Designers[link]

The current creative director for Calvin Klein Collection for women is Brazilian-born Francisco Costa who had already worked with Klein directly before the founder's departure from the company. Costa had taken over the job in 2003.^[4]

Italo Zucchelli, a former Jil Sander and Romeo Gigli designer, had collaborated with Calvin Klein for six seasons before he became head designer of the Calvin Klein Collection menswear line in spring 2004.

Kevin Carrigan, an Englishman, is the creative director of the ck Calvin Klein and Calvin Klein (white label) brands and their related licensed products. Carrigan has been with Calvin Klein since 1998.

Brands[link]

The most visible brand names in the Calvin Klein portfolio include:

• Calvin Klein Collection (black label, top-end designer line)
• ck Calvin Klein (grey label, recently repositioned as bridge collection line; licensed to Warnaco Group, Inc. through at least 2044^[5])
• Calvin Klein (white label, better sportswear line)
• Calvin Klein Sport (sports version of the white label line for Macy's)
• Calvin Klein Jeans (denimwear line; licensed to Warnaco Group through at least 2044^[5])
• Calvin Klein Home (high end bedding, towel, bath rug and accessory collections)
• The Khaki Collection (youthful medium to high end bedding, towel, bath rug and accessories) discontinued in 2008
• Calvin Klein Golf (launched in late 2007)
• Calvin Klein Underwear (underwear collections; licensed to Warnaco Group through at least 2044^[5])
• CK one Lifestyle brand (fragrance, underwear, jeans -launched 2011)^[6]
• Calvin Klein Watches + Jewelry (watches launched in 1997, jewelry in 2004)

Stores[link]

• Calvin Klein Collection

In the late 1990s the company opened elegant Calvin Klein Collection stores in Paris, Seoul, and Taipei and ultra high-end cK Calvin Klein stores in Hong Kong, Milan and Kuwait City. As of today, there is only one Calvin Klein Collection store operated by CKI. It is located in New York City. Out of the two Calvin Klein Collection stores that existed in the US, the Dallas location in Highland Park Village which had been open for 20 years was closed in mid-2005. The only international location, in Paris, was closed by PVH in March 2006. The New York store, which serves as the company's flagship store at 654 Madison Ave., remains open still today. Partners maintain Calvin Klein Collection stores in Shanghai, Beijing, Seoul, Dubai and Qatar.

• Calvin Klein (white label)

Specialty retail Calvin Klein stores, designed by New York architecture firm Lynch/Eisinger/Design have been opened at Lenox Square in Atlanta, Beverly Center in Los Angeles; now closed down, Cherry Creek Mall in Denver; now closed down, Natick Collection in Natick, MA; closing down on July 25, 2010, The Mall at Partridge Creek in Michigan; now closed down, Aventura Mall in Aventura, Florida, South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa California. An additional eight stores also designed by Lynch/Eisinger/Design are set to open in 2008. There are also several Calvin Klein Outlet stores, mostly located within factory outlet malls in the US, that sell the white label sportswear and sometimes the Calvin Klein white label at reduced prices but do not carry the Collection lines. It has been reported that Calvin Klein will close all White Label locations within the next year.

• Calvin Klein Jeans

The Warnaco Group maintains Calvin Klein Jeans and corresponding outlet stores in the US and elsewhere, carrying the denim and casual collections. International Calvin Klein Jeans stores exist around the globe. Among many other countries in the UK, Germany, Greece, Russia, Brazil, México, Croatia, Egypt, Chile, Argentina, India, Australia and New Zealand.

Calvin Klein models

• Calvin Klein Underwear

Signature Calvin Klein Underwear boutiques can be found in Buenos Aires, Cardiff (as of April 2011), Mexico City, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Melbourne, Hong Kong, London, Manchester, New York City, Shanghai, Singapore, Frankfurt am Main, Toronto and Hatfield, Metrotown in Burnaby, B.C. (Metro Vancouver). There also have many type for calvin Klein Underwear:bra,taga,slip.this ck 36k 2010,ck world cup and so on.

• Department Stores

The major department stores in the US, including Macy's, Lord & Taylor and Nordstrom, as well as many small independent stores carry the ck, white label and/or Jeans collections. Some high-end department stores, such as Bergdorf Goodman, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus also carry Calvin Klein Collection. Notable retailers in the UK offering Calvin Klein include stores such as John Lewis, Debenhams and KJ Beckett. In Australia the dominant retailer is Myer. Calvin Klein products are also found online with particular internet focus on selling Calvin Klein underwear and fragrance.

• Europe and Asia

In Europe, Calvin Klein is predominantly known for its underwear, accessories and perhaps the Collection business, rather than for the medium-priced sportswear lines which are available at select high-end retail stores. In Asia, there are also signature ck Calvin Klein stores that carry diffusion line, aka grey label including womenswear, menswear, accessories.

Fragrances[link]

Calvin Klein is famous for the label's various lines of perfumes and colognes. Their perfumes and the corresponding fragrance lines used to be maintained by Calvin Klein Cosmetics Company (CKCC), a Unilever company, until recently when in May 2005 cosmetics giant Coty, Inc. of New York bought up the fragrance licensing agreements from Unilever.

[Year of launch.]

Calvin Klein Eternity for Men

Calvin Klein Euphoria for Men

• Calvin (men) [1981]
• Obsession (men and women) [men 1986, women 1985]
• Eternity (men and women) [men 1989, women 1988)
• Escape (men and women) [men 1993, women 1991]
• ck one (unisex) [1994, 'Red Hot' limited edition 2000, 'Graffiti' art limited edition 2003]
• ck be (unisex) [1996]
• Contradiction (women and men) [women 1997, men 1998]
• Truth (men and women) [men 2002, women 2000]
• Eternity Rose blush (women) 2002 LIMITED EDITION
• Crave (men) [2003]
• Eternity Purple Orchid (women) [2003] LIMITED EDITION
• Eternity Moment (women) [2004]
• ck one Summer [2004 yellow and green] [2005 yellow and orange] [2006 blue and green] [2007 red and green] [2008 clear blue] [2009 blue and yellow] [2010 orange and yellow] LIMITED EDITIONS
• Obsession Night (men and women) [2005]
• Euphoria (women) [2005] (men) [2006]
• ck one Electric (unisex) [2006] LIMITED EDITION
• ck one Scene (unisex) [2006] LIMITED EDITION
• Eternity Summer (men and women)[2006] [2007] [2008] [2009] [2010] LIMITED EDITION
• Calvin Klein Man [2007]
• ck IN2U (men and women) [2007]
• Euphoria Blossom (women)[2007]
• Euphoria Intense (men) [2008]
• CK Free (men) [2009]
• Beauty (women) [2010]
• ck one Shock (women) [2011]
• ck one Shock (men) [2011]

Advertising[link]

The early ads were shot by Bruce Weber and Richard Avedon. Avedon photographed and directed the Calvin Klein Jeans campaign that featured a fifteen-year-old Brooke Shields. Some of those television commercials were banned, including the infamous ad where Brooke asks "Do you want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing!" Calvin Klein's advertising campaigns are frequently controversial, but prove this can be very successful, to the point of making a blitz career. One of his male underwear models, Mark Wahlberg, went on to fame as hip hop star "Marky Mark", launching himself into the Hollywood scene to become a current popular actor. Another Hollywood star owing his respectable career to the Calvin Klein advertisements is Antonio Sabato Jr.. In the early 1990s, Calvin Klein was also responsible for launching the international career of supermodel Kate Moss and offering her another opportunity to revive her career in 2002 after cocaine allegations. Other spokesmodels were Natalia Vodianova, Scott King and Toni Garrn, whose career were launched by Calvin Klein, too. Current spokesmodels of the brand are Jamie Dornan and Lara Stone. Other models who have visibly modeled for Calvin Klein include Jerry Hall, Patti Hansen, Tom Hintnaus, David Agbodji, Doutzen Kroes, Mini Anden, Garrett Neff, Sean O'Pry, Edita Vilkeviciute, Andrew Stetson, and Vladimir Ivanov.^[7] Actors such as Eva Mendes, Mehcad Brooks, Scarlett Johansson, Kellan Lutz, Andie MacDowell, Zoe Saldana and Diane Kruger have also been chosen to model for the brand.^[7] Swedish footballer Freddie Ljungberg starred in a series of hugely successful underwear adverts for the brand.^[8] They also use other young models representing them, like Jayli Alejandra Rodriguez, Kenia Ferro, Penelope Layevska, Laura Cristina Calderon and Isabela Parini.

They also play with emerging technologies. When advertising cKone perfume in 1999, they employed a very unusual and groundbreaking campaign that displayed e-mail addresses in print advertisements, targeted at teenagers. When these teens mailed these addresses, they would be placed on a mailing list that sent them mails with vague details about the models' lives, with fake details meant to make them more relatable. These mails came at unpredictable intervals, and were supposed to give readers the feeling that they had some connection with these characters. Though the mailing lists were discontinued in 2002, the campaign has inspired similar marketing tactics for movies and other retail products.

Internet[link]

In 2004 the company bought the domain name CK.com. Calvin Klein is one of the few corporations worldwide to own a two letter domain name.^[9]

Calvin Klein Underwear also owns Bras.com and Underwear.com. Both of the domain names are used to re-direct hits to CKU.com

See also[link]

	New York City portal
	Companies portal

• Sex in advertising

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Calvin Klein

• Calvin Klein Official site (www.calvinkleininc.com or www.ck.com)
• Great CK Biography With Photos
• Calvin Klein Jeans, ca. 1975-1985, in the Staten Island Historical Society Online Collections Database

v t e Lingerie Upper torso Types of bras (History) Balconette brassiere • Bandeau • Cupless bra • Male bra • Nursing bra • Push-up bra • Sports bra • Training bra • Underwire bra Other Babydoll • Bustier • Camisole • Negligee • Torsolette Lower torso Bikini • Boyshorts • French knickers • Girdle • Girl boxers • Panties • Tanga • Tap pants • Thong (G-string) Full torso BodyBriefer • Corsage • Corset • Corselet • Nightshirt • Playsuit • Slip • Teddy Hosiery Garter • Knee highs • Pantyhose • Stocking Historical Basque • Bustle • Chemise • Crinoline • Farthingale • Hoop skirt • Liberty bodice • Pannier • Pantalettes • Petticoat • Pettipants • Waist cincher • Yếm Accessories Falsies • Lingerie tape Brands Aerie • Agent Provocateur • American Apparel • Andrés Sardá • Baby Phat • Bali • Berlei • Bruno Banani • Calvin Klein • Chantelle • DKNY • Formfit • Frederick's of Hollywood • Fruit of the Loom • Gerbe • Gilly Hicks • Hanes • HerRoom • Intimissimi • Intimo Lingerie • Jockey • Jolidon • La Senza • Maidenform • No Nonsense • Olga Intimates • Passport Panties • Peach John • Playtex • Pretty Polly • Trashy Lingerie • Triumph International • Ultimo • Underalls • Valisere • Van de Velde • Vassarette • Victoria's Secret • Wacoal • Warner's • Wolford • Wonderbra • XTG Extreme Game

Alexander Skarsgård
Skarsgård in March 2012.
Born	Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård (1976-08-25) August 25, 1976 (age 35) Stockholm, Sweden
Occupation	Actor, director
Years active	1984–present

Alexander Johan Hjalmar Skarsgård (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈskɑːʂɡoːɖ]; born August 25, 1976) is a Swedish actor. He is best known for his roles as vampire Eric Northman on the HBO series True Blood, Meekus in Zoolander and Brad Colbert in the HBO miniseries Generation Kill.

Early life[link]

Skarsgård was born in Stockholm, Sweden. He is the son of Swedish actor Stellan Skarsgård and his first wife, My, a physician. He has six younger siblings: Gustaf, Sam, Bill, Eija and Valter Skarsgård, and a half-brother, Ossian.^[1][2] Gustaf, Bill, and Valter are also actors.^[1]

A director friend of his father gave Skarsgård his first film role when he was seven years old. He played Kalle Nubb in Åke och hans värld (Åke and His World). In 1989, the lead role in the Swedish television production Hunden som log (The Dog That Smiled) made him famous in Sweden at the age of thirteen. Uncomfortable with being recognized, he quit acting for the next seven years.^[3][4][5]

At age 19, he applied to do his national service. He served in the Swedish military for 18 months, in a unit that dealt with anti-sabotage and anti-terrorism in the Stockholm archipelago.^[6] After completing his service in 1996 he left Sweden and attended Leeds Metropolitan University in England for six months. He enrolled to study English but admits he did not study much and "had a blast" instead.^[4][1]

After seven years away from acting, he started to consider it again. In 1997 he enrolled in a theater course at Marymount Manhattan College and moved to New York City. He returned to Stockholm after six months, but the time he spent studying theater showed him that he wanted to act.^[1][7]

Career[link]

Upon his return to Sweden, Skarsgård began picking up acting jobs, working in film, television and theatrical productions.^[1] While on vacation in the United States, he auditioned for and landed the role of Meekus in the 2001 film Zoolander.^[8] In 2003 his work in Hundtricket-the Movie (The Dog Trick) earned him a Guldbagge nomination for Best Supporting Actor.^[9] He was named the Sexiest Man in Sweden five times.^[3]

He moved to Los Angeles in 2004 but continued to work in Sweden.^[10] His break came when he was cast as Sergeant Brad "Iceman" Colbert in the critically acclaimed HBO miniseries Generation Kill. An adaptation of journalist Evan Wright's book of the same name, Generation Kill follows the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion of the United States Marine Corps during the early part of the Iraq War. The part of Brad Colbert was the closest to a "lead" in Generation Kill, and director Susanna White and executive producer David Simon at first disagreed about casting Skarsgård. White wanted to cast him but Simon was not convinced he could pull off the American accent. After four auditions in three cities, Skarsgård learned the part was his just 36 hours before he had to board a plane for Namibia where the project was filming. The cast and crew filmed for seven months in the desert, shooting six days a week. Skarsgård worked with a dialect coach to master the American accent.^{[3][1] [11]}

Skarsgård at the 2010 Tribeca Film Festival

Just before leaving to shoot Generation Kill, Skarsgård heard about True Blood, a new series HBO was developing based on the Southern Vampire Mysteries series of novels by Charlaine Harris. At first he was unsure about playing a vampire, but when he learned that Alan Ball, creator of the HBO series Six Feet Under and Academy Award winning screenwriter of American Beauty, was behind the project, he sent in an audition tape. The audition was for the role of Bill Compton, which eventually went to Stephen Moyer. Skarsgård was later cast as Eric Northman, a 1000-year-old, Viking vampire sheriff, local bar owner and potential love interest of heroine Sookie Stackhouse.^[3][12] True Blood is in its fifth season.

In 2009, Skarsgård appeared in the music video for pop singer Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi".^[12] He was the voice of Stefan in the 2009 animated film Metropia, directed by Tarik Saleh.^[4] In 2010, Skarsgård portrayed Terje, a gay Norwegian trekking to the North Pole, in the British mockumentary Beyond the Pole.^[13]

Suit maker Hickey Freeman chose Skarsgård to model a new look it debuted in 2010. Annie Leibowitz photographed the ad campaign which appeared in The Wall Street Journal Magazine, GQ and Details.^[14][15] He covered the September 2010 issue of Rolling Stone with his True Blood co-stars, Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer.^[16]

Skarsgård appeared in two 2011 films. Melancholia, an apocalyptic movie directed by Lars von Trier and starring Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Kiefer Sutherland, premiered at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival.^[17][18] Skarsgård appeared in Straw Dogs, a remake of the 1971 film of the same name, as Charlie Venner. The remake's director, Rod Lurie, transferred the small town setting from Cornwall to Mississippi, and described Venner as "an ex-football star gone to seed". The film co-starred James Marsden and Kate Bosworth^[6] and was released September 16, 2011.

Skarsgård appeared alongside Taylor Kitsch and Rihanna in Peter Berg's Battleship, an adaptation of the Hasbro game. It was released in May 2012.^[19] He will appear in Scott McGehee and David Siegel’s film, What Maisie Knew, an adaptation of the Henry James novel of the same name, which will also star Julianne Moore and Steve Coogan.^[20]

Personal life[link]

Skarsgård is a fan of Swedish football and supports Hammarby IF, a club based in his birth city.^[21] In October 2010, he participated in "Bajen Aid" by donating several items he had autographed and auctioning them off to raise money for the Hammarby football club.^[22]

In July 2011, Skarsgård received an honorary degree from Leeds Metropolitan University where he was formerly a student.^[23] Around the same time, he and his girlfriend of two years, actress Kate Bosworth, ended their relationship.^[24][25]

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alexander Skarsgård

• Alexander Skarsgård at the Internet Movie Database
• Alexander Skarsgård at the Swedish Film Database
• Alexander Skarsgård interview on True Blood
• Alexander Skarsgård interviewed about Lady Gaga and True Blood
• Alexander Skarsgård: Millennium Man interview at Los Angeles Times Magazine
• Alexander Skarsgård: Millennium Man video interview at Los Angeles Times Magazine

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. (August 2010)

Mehcad Brooks
Born	Mehcad Jason McKinley Brooks (1980-10-25) October 25, 1980 (age 31) Austin, Texas, US
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2002—present
Partner	Serinda Swan

Mehcad Jason McKinley Brooks (born October 25, 1980) is an American actor and former fashion model.

Early life[link]

Brooks was born and raised in Austin, Texas, where he attended L.C. Anderson High School. After graduating from high school in 1999, he attended the University of Southern California's School of Cinema-Television. Brooks mentioned on a September 2010 episode of The Wendy Williams Show that he turned down basketball scholarships and offers from Ivy League schools in favor of going to USC. He then left to pursue an acting career.

Career[link]

Brooks' early work includes being a Calvin Klein underwear model.

From 2005 to 2006, Brooks played the role of Matthew Applewhite on the ABC TV drama Desperate Housewives. He appeared in Glory Road, portraying Harry Flournoy, an athlete at Texas Western University. He acted in the 2007 film In the Valley of Elah. He guest starred opposite Tia Mowry as her boyfriend, Jerome, on the TV series The Game in 2008. In 2009 he appeared on FOX's TV series Dollhouse. Brooks played Benedict "Eggs" Talley in the second season of HBO's True Blood. Beginning January 2010, he appeared as attorney Malcolm Bennet in the now-canceled ABC series The Deep End. He plays the "new boyfriend" in a recent State Farm Insurance television commercial alongside former The Game co-star Gabrielle Dennis.

Brooks appeared in the ABC documentary-style dramedy television series My Generation, which premiered in Fall 2010. The show was canceled after only two episodes.^[1] He is among the cast on the USA Network series Necessary Roughness which debuted on June 29, 2011.^[2] Brooks guest starred in the episode "Personal Fouls" of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Prince Miller, a basketball superstar who was once one of his coach's (Dan Lauria) prodigies, the coach under suspicion of being a sexual predator.2012 and a guest role on JJ Abrams new show 'Alcatraz'episode 6 as a bomb disposal expert.

In the media[link]

He appeared in July 2010 issue of GQ, alongside Emanuela de Paula.^[3]

Awards and nominations[link]

Personal life[link]

He is the son of former NFL Wide Receiver Billy Brooks.

Brooks has stated in an interview with IGN that he is an avid player of video games, including the Call of Duty, Medal of Honor (series), and Madden series.^[4]

Mehcad has been dating Breakout Kings actress Serinda Swan for several years. The couple starred in the 2011 film Creature and arrived at the film's premiere together.

His older brother, Billy Brooks Jr., is a regular on Spill.com's podcast Let's Do This!!!, where Billy is often made fun of for his preference of white women over black women, the fact that his oral hygiene is pristine, and is sometimes referred to by his nickname, "Uncle Popcorn."

See also[link]

• List of male underwear models

References[link]

External links[link]

• Mehcad Brooks at the Internet Movie Database
• Interview at LIFETEEN.com

Brooke Shields
Brooke Shields at the 2008 Emmy Awards
Born	Brooke Christa Shields[1] (1965-05-31) May 31, 1965 (age 47) New York City, United States
Occupation	Actress, model
Years active	1966–present
Spouse	Andre Agassi (1997–1999) Chris Henchy (2001–present)
Children	Rowan Francis (2003) Grier Hammond (2006)
Parents	Frank Shields (father) Teri Shields (mother)

Brooke Christa Shields (born May 31, 1965) is an American actress and model.^[2] Some of her better-known movies include Pretty Baby and The Blue Lagoon, as well as TV shows such as Suddenly Susan, That '70s Show and Lipstick Jungle.^[1]

Early life[link]

Brooke Shields was born in New York City^[2] to Frank and Teri Shields (née Schmon), who divorced several months after she was born.

Through her father's side, she has Italian, French, Irish, and English roots, along with high social position and relations to nobility.^[3] Her paternal grandmother was the Italian princess Donna Marina Torlonia. Shields was raised in the Roman Catholic faith.^[4] She has two stepbrothers and three half-sisters.^[5][6]

When Shields was five days old, her mother openly stated she wanted her to be active in show business, "She's the most beautiful child and I'm going to help her with her career."^[7]

For her confirmation at the age of 10, Shields adopted her middle name, "Camille". While attending high school, Shields resided in Haworth, New Jersey.^[8]

When she was 12 years old, Shields played a child prostitute her age in the 1978 film Pretty Baby. Eileen Ford, founder of the Ford Modeling Agency, said of Brooke Shields: "...She is a professional child and unique. She looks like an adult and thinks like one."^[9]

Shields with Princeton University Band for taping of Sally Jessy Raphael's Show (Feb 1991)

Education[link]

She attended the all-female New Lincoln School until eighth grade.^[10][11] Shields graduated from The Dwight-Englewood School in Englewood, New Jersey in 1983.^[1]

Shields moved into the dorms of Princeton University to pursue her bachelor's degree in French literature, graduating in June 1987.^[12][13] While attending Princeton, she spoke openly about her sexuality and virginity. Shields was a member of the Princeton Triangle Club and the Cap and Gown Club. Her autobiography, On Your Own, was published in 1985.^[14] Her 1987 senior thesis was titled "The Initiation: From Innocence to Experience: The Pre-Adolescent/Adolescent Journey in the Films of Louis Malle, Pretty Baby and Lacombe Lucien."^[1]

In the op-ed page of The New York Times, her Princeton education was scrutinized after she had publicized her school records in a July edition of Life Magazine shortly after university graduation. The criticism emphasized that Shields did not take any courses in history, mathematics, philosophy, economics, world literature or science with laboratory experience.^[15]

Career[link]

Early work[link]

Brooke Shields began her career as a model in 1966, at the age of 11 months. Her first job was for Ivory Soap, shot by Francesco Scavullo.^[1] She continued as a successful child model with model agent Eileen Ford, who, in her Lifetime Network biography, stated that she started her children's division just for Shields.

In early 1980, the 14-year-old Shields was the youngest fashion model ever to appear on the cover of the top fashion publication Vogue magazine. Later that same year, Shields appeared in controversial print and TV ads for Calvin Klein jeans. The TV ad included her saying the famous tagline, "You want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing."^[1][16][17] Brooke Shields ads would help catapult Klein's career to super-designer status.^[18]

From 1981 to 1983, Brooke Shields, her mother, photographer Gary Gross, Playboy Press and the New York City Courts were involved in litigation over the rights to some photographs her mother had signed away to the photographer (when dealing with models who are also minors, a parent or legal guardian must sign such a release form while other agreements are subject to negotiation) which were originally intended to appear in a book titled Sugar and Spice to be published by Playboy Press. The courts ruled in favor of the photographer but due to a strange twist in New York law, it would have been otherwise had Brooke Shields been considered a child "performer" rather than a model.^[19]

By the age of 16, Shields had become one of the most recognizable faces in the world, because of her dual career as a provocative fashion model and controversial child actress.^[1] TIME magazine reported, in its February 9, 1981, cover story, that her day rate as a model was $10,000. In 1983, Shields appeared on the cover of the September issue of Paris Vogue, the October and November issues of American Vogue and the December edition of Italian Vogue.^[12] During that period Shields became a regular at New York City's nightclub Studio 54.^[20] In 2009, a naked picture of Brooke Shields, taken when she was 10, and included in a work by Richard Prince, Spiritual America, created a row. It was removed from an exhibition at the Tate Modern after a warning from the police.^[21]

Film[link]

Brooke Shields at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival.

Shields' first major film role was her 1978 appearance in Louis Malle's Pretty Baby, a movie in which she played a child who lived in a brothel (and in which there were numerous nude scenes).^[1] Because she was only 12 when the film was released, and possibly 11 when it was filmed, questions were raised about child pornography.^[22][23][24] This was followed by a slightly less controversial and less notable film, Wanda Nevada (1979).

After two decades of movies, her best known films are still arguably The Blue Lagoon (1980), which included a number of nude scenes between teenage lovers on a tropical island (Shields later testified before a U.S. Congressional inquiry that older body doubles were used in some of them), and Endless Love (1981). The MPAA initially rated Endless Love with an X rating. However, the film was re-edited to earn an R rating.^[25] She won the People's Choice Award in the category of Favorite Young Performer in four consecutive years from 1981 to 1984. In 1998, she played lesbian Lily in The Misadventures of Margaret.^[26]

In 2001, Lifetime aired the film What Makes a Family, starring Brooke Shields and Cherry Jones in a true-to-life story of two married lesbian mothers and a baby versus the adoption laws of Florida.^[27]

Television appearances[link]

Brooke Shields has appeared in a number of television shows. In 1980, she was the youngest guest star to ever appear on The Muppet Show, in which she and the Muppets put on their own version of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. She was also the youngest person to host ABC's Fridays, a Saturday Night Live-like sketch comedy show, in 1981. In one episode of the popular comedy sitcom Friends, Shields played Joey's stalker. This role led directly to her being cast in the NBC sitcom Suddenly Susan, in which she starred from 1996 until 2000, and which earned a People's Choice Award in the category of Favorite Female Performer in a New Television Series for her, in 1997, and two Golden Globe nominations.^[1]

In the early 1980s, she starred in the USPHS PSA sponsored by the American Lung Association as an initiative that VIPs should become examples and advocates of non-smoking.^[28] In the mid-1980s, Brooke began her support of the USO by touring with Bob Hope.^[29]

Brooke Shields aboard the USS Midway (CV-41) during a USO tour on January 1, 1991.

Shields made a couple of guest appearances on That '70s Show. She played Pam Burkhart, Jackie's (Mila Kunis) mother, who later was briefly involved with Donna's (Laura Prepon) father (played by Don Stark). Shields left That '70s Show when her character was written out. Shields recorded the narration for the Sony/BMG recording of The Runaway Bunny, a Concerto for Violin, Orchestra and Reader, by Glen Roven. It was performed by the Royal Philharmonic and Ittai Shapira.

In the latter half of the first decade of the 21st century, Shields guest-starred on shows like FX's Nip/Tuck and CBS' Two and a Half Men. In 2005, Shields appeared in a season two episode of HBO's Entourage, entitled "Blue Balls Lagoon." In 2007, she made a guest appearance on Disney's Hannah Montana playing Susan Stewart, Miley and Jackson's mother, who died in 2004. In 2008, she returned in the primetime drama Lipstick Jungle. The series ended a year later.^[1]

In 2010, Brooke Shields guest-starred in the situation comedy, The Middle, as the next-door nemesis of Patricia Heaton's character, Frankie.^[30][31] She also appeared as a featured celebrity in NBC's genealogy documentary reality series, Who Do You Think You Are?, where it was revealed that, through her father's ancestry, she is the distant cousin (many generations removed) of King Louis XIV of France, and thus a descendant of both Saint Louis and Henry IV of France.^[32]

Theatre[link]

Brooke has appeared in several Broadway theatre productions, including the musicals Grease (1994 revival) as Betty Rizzo, the 1998 revival of Cabaret (in 2001), the 2003 revival of Wonderful Town (in 2004-2005) and Chicago.^[1] She also performed in Chicago in London's West End. She took over the role of "Morticia" in the Broadway musical The Addams Family on June 28, 2011.^[33]

Personal life[link]

In the June 2009 issue of Health magazine, Brooke Shields related that she lost her virginity at age 22. She said it would have occurred earlier if she had a better self-image.^[34]

In the mid-1980s while at Princeton, Shields dated classmate Dean Cain.^[35] Shields has also been linked to John F. Kennedy Jr,^[36] actor Liam Neeson^[37] and singer George Michael.^[38] She was also a favorite date of Prince Naruhito of Japan.^[39] After a romantic interlude with John Travolta, the 16-year-old Brooke Shields dated 18-year-old Mohammed, son of the arms-dealer billionaire Adnan Khashoggi, in Cannes where they first met.^[40] At 18, Brooke Shields met Dodi Fayed and they became friends. Brooke was 24 years old when she spent the evening with Dodi Fayed in Paris to celebrate his 33rd birthday.^[41]

By the 1990s, Brooke Shields would be exhibiting her physique as an extension of her womanhood, promoting physical fitness as an extension of femininity, demonstrating that femininity and athletics are consistent rather than incongruous. Although she was not the only one, Shields had what was required to promote woman athletics.^[42]

Brooke has been married twice. From April 19, 1997, to April 9, 1999, Shields was married to professional tennis player Andre Agassi; the couple had been together since 1993.^[43] On April 4, 2001, she married television writer Chris Henchy after they met in 1999 through mutual friends.^[44] The couple have two daughters: Rowan Francis (born May 15, 2003) and Grier Hammond (born April 18, 2006).^[45]

Postpartum depression[link]

In the spring of 2005, Brooke Shields spoke to magazines (such as Guideposts) and appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show to publicize her battle with postpartum depression, an experience that included depression, thoughts of suicide, an inability to respond to her baby's needs and delayed maternal bonding. The illness may have been triggered by a traumatic childbirth, the death of her father three weeks earlier, stress from in vitro fertilization, a miscarriage and a family history of depression, as well as the hormones and life changes which were brought on by childbirth. Her book, Down Came the Rain, discusses her experience,^[46] contributing to a greater public awareness of postpartum depression.^[47]

In May 2005, Tom Cruise, a Scientologist whose beliefs frown upon psychiatry, condemned Brooke, both personally and professionally, particularly for both using and speaking in favor of the antidepressant drug Paxil. As Cruise said, "Here is a woman and I care about Brooke Shields, because I think she is an incredibly talented woman, you look at [and think], where has her career gone?" Shields responded that Cruise's statements about anti-depressants were "irresponsible" and "dangerous." She said that he should "stick to fighting aliens" (a reference to Cruise's starring role in War of the Worlds as well as some of the more exotic aspects of Scientology doctrine and teachings), "and let mothers decide the best way to treat postpartum depression." The actress responded to a further attack by Cruise in an essay "War of Words" published in The New York Times on July 1, 2005, in which she made an individual case for the medication and said, "In a strange way, it was comforting to me when my obstetrician told me that my feelings of extreme despair and my suicidal thoughts were directly tied to a biochemical shift in my body. Once we admit that postpartum is a serious medical condition, then the treatment becomes more available and socially acceptable. With a doctor's care, I have since tapered off the medication but, without it, I wouldn't have become the loving parent I am today."^[48] On August 31, 2006, according to USAToday.com,^[49] Cruise privately apologized to Shields for the incident and Shields accepted and said that it was "heartfelt." Three months later, she and her husband attended the wedding of Cruise and Katie Holmes, in November, 2006.

Brooke Shields is a spokeswoman for Tupperware's Chain of Confidence SMART Girls campaign, a program that teaches girls to nurture their mental and physical well-being.

Relationship with Michael Jackson[link]

Brooke Shields spoke at the memorial service for Michael Jackson on July 7, 2009, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, before a television audience of more than one billion people.^[50] Shields stated in that speech that she first met Michael when she was 13 years old, and the two instantly became friends.^[51] Shields said:

Thinking back to when we met and the many times that we spent together and whenever we were out together, there would be a caption of some kind, and the caption usually said something like 'an odd couple' or 'an unlikely pair,' but to us it was the most natural and easiest of friendships... Michael always knew he could count on me to support him or be his date and that we would have fun no matter where we were. We had a bond... Both of us needed to be adults very early, but when we were together, we were two little kids having fun.^[52]

In her eulogy speech, she also shared a number of anecdotes, including an occasion in which she was his date for one of Elizabeth Taylor's weddings, and the pair sneaked into Taylor's room to get the first look at her dress, only to discover Taylor asleep in the bed. Shields gave a tearful speech, referring to the many times she and Michael Jackson shared and briefly joked about his famous sequin glove. She also mentioned Jackson’s favorite song "Smile" by Charlie Chaplin which was later sung in the memorial service by Jermaine Jackson.^[53]

New York Times columnist Gail Collins noted that "it was a little peculiar hearing Brooke Shields’s weepy testimony about her deep friendship with Jackson given the fact that she told reporters that the last time she saw him was at Elizabeth Taylor’s eighth wedding in 1991."^[54] This however does not agree with Michael's statements during his 1993 interview with Oprah Winfrey that he was dating Shields at the time,^[55] as well as with the fact that Shields was Michael Jackson's date to the 1993 Grammys.^{[citation needed]} Shields has stated that Jackson asked her to marry him numerous times and to adopt a child together.^{[56][dead link]}

Jackson said of Shields in a conversation with Rabbi Shmuley Boteach in 2001:

That was one of the loves of my life. I think she loved me as much as I loved her, you know? We dated a lot. We, we went out a lot. Her pictures were all over my wall, my mirror, everything. And I went to the Academy Awards with Diana Ross and this girl walks up to me and says "Hi, I'm Brooke Shields." Then she goes "Are you going to the after-party?" I go, "Yeah." "Good, I'll see you at the party." I'm going "Oh my God, does she know she's all over my room?" So we go the after-party. She comes up to me she goes, "Will you dance with me?" I went, "Yes. I will dance with you." Man, we exchanged numbers and I was up all night, singing, spinning around my room, just so happy. It was great.^[57]

Filmography[link]