Children at a primary school in Paris

Biologically, a child (plural: children) is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child.^[1] The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority. "Child" may also describe a relationship with a parent (such as sons and daughters of any age)^[2] or, metaphorically, an authority figure, or signify group membership in a clan, tribe, or religion; it can also signify being strongly affected by a specific time, place, or circumstance, as in "a child of nature" or "a child of the Sixties".^[3]

Legal, biological, and social definitions[link]

Population aged under 15 years in 2005

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child defines a child as "a human being below the age of 18 years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier".^[4] Ratified by 192 of 194 member countries. Some English definitions of the word 'child' include the fetus and the unborn.^[5] Biologically, a child is anyone between birth and puberty or in the developmental stage of childhood, between infancy and adulthood. Children generally have fewer rights than adults and are classed as not able to make serious decisions, and legally must always be under the care of a responsible adult.

Recognition of childhood as a state different from adulthood began to emerge in the 16th and 17th centuries. Society began to relate to the child not as a miniature adult but as a person of a lower level of maturity needing adult protection, love and nurturing. This change can be traced in painting: In the Middle Ages, children were portrayed in art as miniature adults with no childish characteristics. In the 16th century, images of children began to acquire a distinct childish appearance. From the late 17th century onwards, children were shown playing. Toys and literature for children also began to develop at this time.^[6]

Children's Games, 1560, Pieter Bruegel the Elder

Socialization[link]

Sikh children playing on Nintendo DSi in Punjab, India

Children in Namibia

All children go through stages of social development. An infant or very young child will play alone happily. If another child wanders onto the scene, he or she may be physically attacked or pushed out of the way. Next, the child is able to play with another child, gradually learning to share and take turns. Eventually, the group grows larger, to three or four children. By the time a child enters kindergarten, he or she is usually able to join in and enjoy group experiences.^[7]

Children with ADHD and learning disabilities may need extra help in developing social skills. The impulsive characteristics of an ADHD child may lead to poor peer relationships. Children with poor attention spans may not tune in to social cues in their environment, making it difficult for them to learn social skills through experience.^[7]

Attitudes toward children[link]

Social attitudes toward children differ around the world in various cultures. These attitudes have changed over time. A 1988 study on European attitudes toward the centrality of children found that Italy was more child-centric and Holland less child-centric, with other countries, such as Austria, Great Britain, Ireland and West Germany falling in between.^[8]

Age of responsibility[link]

The age at which children are considered responsible for their society-bound actions (e. g. marriage, voting, etc.) has also changed over time, and this is reflected in the way they are treated in courts of law. In Roman times, children were regarded as not culpable for crimes, a position later adopted by the Church. In the nineteenth century, children younger than seven years old were believed incapable of crime. Children from the age of seven forward were considered responsible for their actions. Therefore, they could face criminal charges, be sent to adult prison, and be punished like adults by whipping, branding or hanging. ^[9] Today, in many countries like Canada and the United States, children twelve and older are held responsible for their actions and may be sent to special correctional institutions, such as juvenile hall.

Surveys have found that at least 25 countries around the world have no specified age for compulsory education. Minimum employment age and marriage age also vary. In at least 125 countries, children aged 7–15 may be taken to court and risk imprisonment for criminal acts. In some countries, children are legally obliged to go to school until they are 14 or 15 years old, but may also work before that age. A child's right to education is threatened by early marriage, child labour and imprisonment.^[10]

One-child policy[link]

See also: Two-child policy

China's one-child policy forces some couples to have no more than one child. China's population policy has been credited with a very significant slowing of China's population growth which had been higher before the policy was implemented. It has come under criticism that the implementation of the policy has involved forced abortions and forced sterilization. However, while the punishment of "unplanned" pregnancy is a fine, both forced abortion and forced sterilization can be charged as intentional assault, which is punished with up to 10 years' imprisonment. If born with another child and kept, parents must pay a large fine for every day he/she is alive.

Child mortality[link]

Children rounded up for deportation to the Chełmno extermination camp. Some 1.5 million Jewish children were murdered by the Nazis.

During the early 1600s in England, life expectancy was only about 35 years, largely because two-thirds of all children died before the age of four.^[11] During the Industrial Revolution, the life expectancy of children increased dramatically.^[12]

According to population health experts, child mortality rates have fallen sharply since the 1990s. Deaths of children under the age of five are down by 42% in the United States, while Serbia and Malaysia have cut their rates by nearly 70%.^[13]

See also[link]

Listen to this article (info/dl)

This audio file was created from a revision of the "Child" article dated 2008-06-24, and does not reflect subsequent edits to the article. (Audio help)

More spoken articles

• Childhood
• Childlessness
• Child sexual abuse
• Index of youth articles
• Outline of children
• Religion and children

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Children

• Wikichild.org
• United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF)
• Family database, OECD

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. (May 2009)

Pete Tong
Pete Tong at Glastonbury in 2009
Background information
Birth name	Peter Tong
Born	(1960-07-31) July 31, 1960 (age 51) Dartford, Kent, England
Genres	Electronica, Balearic beat, house
Occupations	Disc jockey, music producer
Website	petetong.com

Peter "Pete" Tong (born July 30, 1960) is an English DJ who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as Essential Mix and Essential Selection on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio streams, for his record label FFRR Records, and for his own performances at nightclubs and music festivals. Tong has worked as a record producer and is known by the nickname of Lord of the Dance.

The phrase "It's all gone Pete Tong", where the name is used as rhyming slang for "wrong", was reputedly first coined by Paul Oakenfold in late 1987 in an article about acid house called "Bermondsey Goes Balearic" for Terry Farley and Pete Heller's Boys Own fanzine. It's All Gone Pete Tong is also the title of a 2004 film which portrays a fictional DJ's experiences as he realizes he is becoming deaf. Tong appears briefly in the film. It is also the name Tong has adopted for his club night at the nightclub Pacha in Ibiza.

In 2008 he was involved with the founding of the International Music Summit in Ibiza.

Early years[link]

Pete Tong was born in Dartford, Kent in July 1960 and was educated at King's School, Rochester, Kent.

Tong's original musical interest was in drumming, but he soon moved on to DJing. He played his first public gig at a friend's wedding at age 15. While at school he and a couple of friends earned some extra money by promoting a couple of local bands, booking halls for gigs etc. He also worked as part of the Kent "Soul Mafia" bringing soul weekenders to seaside towns like Caister-on-Sea and Prestatyn. Tong was heavily influenced by the late DJ Froggy in his early years and most of Tong's success is down to Froggy's originality in style of record mixing presentation.

Initially after leaving school he set up a mobile disco based in a transit van, but he soon started his own club in Baker Street called Family Function. He also booked bands for an alternative night, the first of which was the then unknown Culture Club. Later he became DJ/Promoter at the Kings Lodge club in West Kingsdown and quickly gained a faithful following, who were prepared to travel from far and wide on a Wednesday night to hear him playing underground Jazz, Funk and Soul. Later moving venue to the Hill Top also in West Kingsdown, he was responsible for breaking classics such as Lonnie Liston Smith's "Expansions" and Ritchie Cole's "Groovin on a New York Afternoon".

In 1979, he became a staff writer for Blues & Soul Magazine.^[1] After a year he was promoted to features editor, a position he would hold until 1983. He left Blues & Soul to join London Records as an A&R manager.

Through his connections in London Records Tong was exposed to the newly emerging house music sound from Chicago. In 1986, Tong organised a compilation album, The House Sound of Chicago, Vol. 1, the first British release to gather and expose this genre.

Radio career[link]

Tong's first appearance on radio was in the late 1970s on Radio Invicta 92.4fm, Europe's first soul station. He joined a rotation of nightclub djs including Steve Walsh, Chris Hill, Chris Brown and others to present monthly guest shows. Later he appeared on local radio station BBC Radio Medway in the 'Soul Mafia' and doing occasional mixes for Radio London. In 1981 he made his first appearance on Radio 1 hosting a 15 minute feature on Peter Powell's show, playing the new tracks and covering the latest gossip and news from the dance world.

When Invicta Radio started up in Kent in 1984, Tong joined them to host a regular soul show, where assisted by local Kent journalist Eddie Gordon of the Kent Messenger he built up a big county profile. Tong stayed at Invicta until 1987. He was then hired by Capital Radio in 1988 at the suggestion of DJ Jeff Young to present a weekly dance programme. DJ Jeff Young having initially been offered the slot by Capital went to BBC Radio 1 to broadcast a weekly Friday night show called The Big Beat.

In 1991 Tong returned to national radio taking over the "hot" Friday night slot from the retiring Jeff Young. Thus Tong began his long stint as the host of the Essential Selection.

The Essential Selection was a BBC Radio 1 show that aired on Friday evenings, at varying times from 6-10pm between 1991 and 2006. From 1992 to 1993, a second weekly edition of the show aired on Sunday evenings from 7-8pm. From 29 September 2006 onwards, the show dropped its name in the UK from Essential Selection and was referred to as simply "Pete Tong: The Official Start To The Weekend", airing from 7-9pm until 2009 when it changed to 9-11pm. The programme showcases the latest dance & electronic music, and informs listeners what club nights are on around the United Kingdom at weekends. It is endorsed by Radio 1 as the official start to the weekend, and attracts one of the highest audiences for a radio show in the UK. There are no plans to change this successful format.

DJing[link]

Tong is one of England's most recognised DJs.^{[citation needed]} From 2003 to 2007 he was resident at the Pacha nightclub in Ibiza, drawing people from all over the world to his Pure Pacha nights. In 2008 he left Pacha and signed with Eden in Sant Antoni de Portmany to host his own Wonderland night. In March 2011 he announced that he would be returning to Pacha on Friday nights with his new event named 'All Gone Pete Tong'.

Pete Tong plays the Together Winter Music Festival in London at the Alexandra Palace on Saturday 26 November.

Mix album discography[link]

All chart positions are in the UK Compilation Chart^[2]

• Cream Live (1995) (#3) (CD1, mixed with Paul Oakenfold)
• The Annual (1995) (#13) (CD1)
• The Annual II (1996) (#1) (CD1)
• Dance Nation 3 (1997) (Mixed by Pete Tong and Judge Jules)
• Essential Selection Summer 1997 (1997) (#4) (Orange cover)
• The Annual III (1997) (#3) (CD1)
• Essential Selection Winter 1997 (1997) (#10) (Light blue cover)
• Dance Nation 5 (Mixed by Pete Tong and Boy George)
• Essential Selection Spring 1998 (#4) (Green cover)
• Essential Selection Summer 1998 (1998) (#4) (Red cover of strawberries)
• Essential Selection Summer 1998 (1998) (Limited Edition) (#2) (Yellow cover of strawberries, CD3 is Twelve Ibiza Classics mixed by Paul Oakenfold)
• Essential Selection '98 Tong/Oakenfold (1998) (#13) (Orange cover of oranges)
• Essential Selection '98 Tong/Oakenfold (1998) (Limited Edition) (#11) (Purple cover of tinted oranges, CD3 is mixed by Carl Cox)
• Essential Selection Spring 1999 (1999) (#13) (Cover of gold, green and purple easter eggs)
• Essential Selection Spring 1999 (1999) (Limited Edition) (#3) (Gold cover of easter eggs, CD3 is Hacienda Classics mixed by Graeme Park)
• Essential Selection Ibiza 1999 (1999) (#11) (Cover of blue, red and yellow buckets and spades)
• Essential Selection Ibiza 1999 (1999) (#7) (Cover of green, purple and virdian bucket and spades, CD3 is mixed by DJ Pippi)
• Essential Millennium (1999) (#10) (Mixed by Pete Tong/Fatboy Slim/Paul Oakenfold)
• Essential Selection Spring 2000 (2000) (#8)
• Essential Selection Ibiza 2000 (2000) (#11)
• Essential Mix 2000 (2000)
• Twisted Beats (2001)
• Essential Selection Presents The Clubber's Bible Winter 2002 (2001)
• Fashion TV Presents Pete Tong (2003)
• Essential Selection Pete Tong (2003) (did not chart)
• Pure Pacha Ibiza: Mixed by Pete Tong and Andy B (2004)
• It's Showtime! (Pete Tong Presents Pure Pacha Vol.II Summer Season 2005 (2005)
• Essential Classics (2005)
• Pure Pacha Vol.1 (2006) (Mixed by Pete Tong & Sarah Main)
• Essential Dance Mix (2006)
• Pure Pacha 3 (Mixed with Pete Tong and Sarah Main)
• Wonderland (2008)
• Pete Tong Presents Wonderland 2009 (2009)
• Pete Tong Presents Wonderland 2010 (2010)
• Pete Tong and Riva Starr: Future Underground (2011)
• All Gone Pete Tong & Felix da House Cat Ibiza '11 (2011)
• All Gone Pete Tong & Groove Armada Miami '12 (2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Pete Tong at BBC Programmes
• Pete Tong Interview - Laptoprockers (2009)
• Pete Tong Interview (2006)
• Pete Tong discography at Discogs
• Interview with DJ Times, 2000
• Video; Pete Tong interviewed by Paul Morley, 2010

Further reading[link]

• "Pete Tong Issues a Wikipedia Correction and Announces Concert at Mansion October 27" blog post by S. Pajot on "CrossFade, the Music Blog", Tue., Oct. 19 2010 @ 1:00PM, accessed October 19, 2010

Lindsey Stirling
Background information
Birth name	Lindsey Stirling
Born	(1986-09-21) September 21, 1986 (age 25) Gilbert, Arizona, U.S.[1][2]
Occupations	Violinist, Performance artist, Composer
Instruments	Violin
Website	http://www.lindseystirlingviolin.com/

Lindsey Stirling (born on September 21, 1986)^[3] is an American violinist, musician, dancer, performance artist, and composer. In 2010 she competed on the fifth season of America's Got Talent.^[4][5][6] Stirling is noted for her versatility performing music from country to hip hop.^[7]

At the age of 23 Stirling was a quarter-finalist on the fifth season of America's Got Talent where she was known as the ‘Hip Hop Violinist’.^[8] After Stirling's performance, Sharon Osbourne said, "Wow... we love you Lindsey!” and Piers Morgan called her performance "Electrifying!".^[9]

Biography[link]

Life and career[link]

At the age of 5, after being influenced by the classic music records played by her father, Stirling requested the opportunity to learn and play the violin.

Stirling was classically trained through private lessons for 12 years. When she was 16, she joined a rock band with four friends called Stomp on Melvin. As part of her experience with Stomp on Melvin, Stirling wrote a solo violin rock song, and her performance helped her to win both the title of Arizona’s Jr. Miss in 2005 and the talent category of the National Jr. Miss Pageant. As of May 2, 2012, Stirling is 5'3" tall.^[10]

Shortly after her performance on America's Got Talent in 2010, cinematographer Devin Graham contacted her via facebook in hopes of making a YouTube video together. A few months later, Stirling replied to him and they scheduled to shoot a music video for her new song, "Spontaneous Me".^[11] It was filmed the week of May 9, 2011 while Graham was on a nearby business trip. The video gave a major boost to Stirling's popularity and she began making music videos for her YouTube channel regularly.^[12] Still close friends afterward, Graham eventually moved to Stirling's home state of Utah and they began dating a few days after her "Transcendence" music video was released.^[13] They have been together since, and frequently collaborate on eachother's YouTube videos; Graham films almost all of her videos, and Stirling often does backup camera work and assistance for his.^[14]

Discography[link]

• Lindsey Stomp (EP, 2010)
  • "Transcendence"
  • "Song of the Caged Bird"
  • "Spontaneous Me"
• "Electric Daisy Violin" (Single, 2011)
• "Shadows" (Single, 2011)
• "River Flows in You" (Single, 2011)
• "Zelda Medley" (Single, 2011)
• "On the Floor Take Three" (Single, 2011)
• "Silent Night" (Single, 2011)
• "Celtic Carol" (Single, 2011)
• "By No Means" (Eppic feat. Lindsey Stirling, 2011)
• "Lord of the Rings Medley" (Single, 2012)
• "Crystallize" (Single, 2012)
• "Skyrim" (Single with Peter Hollens, 2012)^[15]
• "We Found Love" (Single, 2012)

References[link]

External links[link]

• Lindsey Stirling Violin homepage
• Official Twitter
• Lindseystomp on YouTube
• Lindsey Stirling on Google+
• Lindsey Stirling on Facebook

Jessica Alba
Alba in 2010
Born	Jessica Marie Alba (1981-04-28) April 28, 1981 (age 31) Pomona, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1994–present
Spouse	Cash Warren (m. 2008) «start: (2008)»"Marriage: Cash Warren to Jessica Alba" Location: (linkback:http://en-wiki.pop.wn.com/index.php/Jessica_Alba)
Children	2

Jessica Marie Alba (born April 28, 1981^[1]) is an American television and film actress. She began her television and movie appearances at age 13 in Camp Nowhere and The Secret World of Alex Mack (1994). Alba rose to prominence as the lead actress in the television series Dark Angel (2000–2002).^[2][3] Alba later appeared in various films including Honey (2003), Sin City (2005), Fantastic Four (2005), Into the Blue (2005), Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and Good Luck Chuck both in 2007.^[4][5]

Alba has been called a sex symbol.^[6][7] She appears on the "Hot 100" section of Maxim and was voted number one on AskMen.com's list of "99 Most Desirable Women" in 2006, as well as "Sexiest Woman in the World" by FHM in 2007.^[8][9][10] The use of her image on the cover of the March 2006 Playboy sparked a lawsuit by her, which was later dropped.^[11] She has also won various awards for her acting, including the Choice Actress Teen Choice Award and Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television, and a Golden Globe nomination for her lead role in the television series Dark Angel.^[4]

Early life[link]

Alba was born in Pomona, California^[1] to Catherine (née Jensen) and Mark Alba. Her mother is of Danish and French Canadian descent and her father is Mexican American.^[12] She has a younger brother, Joshua. Her father's Air Force career took the family to Biloxi, Mississippi and Del Rio, Texas, before settling back in California when she was nine years old.^[3][12] Alba described her family as being a "very conservative family – a traditional, Catholic, Latin American family" and herself as very liberal; she says she had identified herself as a "feminist" as early as age five.^[13]

Alba's early life was marked by a multitude of physical maladies. During childhood, she suffered from collapsed lungs twice, had pneumonia four to five times a year, as well as a ruptured appendix and a tonsillar cyst.^[3] Alba became isolated from other children at school, because she was in the hospital so often due to her illnesses that no one knew her well enough to befriend her.^[14] Alba has also had asthma since she was a child.^[3] Alba has said that her family's frequent moving also contributed to her isolation from her peers.^[13] She has acknowledged that she has suffered from obsessive–compulsive disorder during her childhood.^[15][16] Alba graduated from high school at age 16,^[17] and she subsequently attended the Atlantic Theater Company.^[18]

Career[link]

Alba at the 2008 Paris premiere for The Eye.

Alba expressed interest in acting since the age of five. In 1992, the 11-year-old Alba persuaded her mother to take her to an acting competition in Beverly Hills, whose grand prize was free acting classes. Alba won the grand prize, and took her first acting lessons. An agent signed Alba nine months later.^[3][18][19] Her first appearance on film was a small role in the 1994 feature Camp Nowhere as Gail. She was originally hired for two weeks but her role turned into a two-month job in a leading role when one of the prominent actresses dropped out.^[2]

Alba appeared in two national television commercials for Nintendo and J.C. Penney as a child. She was later featured in several independent films. She branched out into television in 1994 with a recurring role as the vain Jessica in three episodes of the Nickelodeon comedy series The Secret World of Alex Mack.^[3] She then performed the role of Maya in the first two seasons of the television series Flipper.^[2][3] Under the tutelage of her lifeguard mother, Alba learned to swim before she could walk, and she was a PADI-certified scuba diver, skills which were put to use on the show, which was filmed in Australia.^[3][20]

In 1998, she appeared as Melissa Hauer in a first-season episode of the Steven Bochco crime-drama Brooklyn South, as Leanne in two episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210, and as Layla in an episode of The Love Boat: The Next Wave.^{[citation needed]} In 1999, she appeared in the Randy Quaid comedy feature P.U.N.K.S..^[2] After Alba graduated from high school, she studied acting with William H. Macy and his wife, Felicity Huffman, at the Atlantic Theater Company, which was developed by Macy and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright and film director, David Mamet.^[18][21]

Alba rose to greater prominence in Hollywood in 1999 after appearing as a member of a snobby high school clique in the Drew Barrymore romantic comedy Never Been Kissed, and as the female lead in the 1999 comedy-horror film Idle Hands, opposite Devon Sawa.^[5]

Her big break came when writer/director James Cameron picked Alba from a pool of 1,200 candidates for the role of the genetically-engineered super-soldier, Max Guevara, on the Fox sci-fi television series Dark Angel. Co-created by Cameron, the series starred Alba, and ran for two seasons until 2002, earning her critical acclaim as well as a Golden Globe nomination.^[5][22] Alba later admitted to practicing anorexia while in preparation for Dark Angel.^[23]

Alba has been well-received in popular culture. She received the Teen Choice Award for Choice Actress and Saturn Award for Best Actress for her role in Dark Angel. In 2006, Alba received an MTV Movie Award for "Sexiest Performance" for Sin City.^[4][10][24] Her acting has also drawn criticism, however, as she was nominated for a 2007 Razzie Award for Worst Actress for her performances in Awake, Good Luck Chuck, and Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.^[25] She was also nominated for the same award in 2005 for her performances in Fantastic Four and Into the Blue.^[26]

Alba's most notable film roles have included an aspiring dancer-choreographer in Honey, exotic dancer Nancy Callahan in Sin City, and as the Marvel Comics character Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman in Fantastic Four. She then appeared in its sequel, in Into the Blue later that year, and Good Luck Chuck a few years later.^[4][27][28] Alba hosted the 2006 MTV Movie Awards and performed sketches spoofing the movies King Kong, Mission: Impossible 3, and The Da Vinci Code.^[29] In February 2008, she hosted the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Science and Technical Awards.^[30] Alba has been represented by talent agents Patrick Whitesell^[31] and Brad Cafarelli.^[11]

In 2008, Alba made her acting transition to the horror-film genre in The Eye, a remake of the Hong Kong original.^[12][32] The film was released on February 1, 2008. Though the film was not well received by critics,^[33] Alba's performance was both positively and negatively received. Alba won a Teen Choice for Choice Movie Actress: Horror/Thriller and a Razzie Award for Worst Actress-nomination.^[34] Also in 2008, Alba starred alongside Mike Myers and Justin Timberlake in "box office bomb" The Love Guru. Alba was nominated for a Razzie Award for Worst Actress.^[4]

In late 2008, Alba signed on to star as the lead role in An Invisible Sign of My Own.^[35] The movie finished filming in November 2008.^[36] It premiered at the Hamptons International Film Festival and was released to theaters in May 2011.^[37][38]

In 2010, Alba starred in five films. She played Joyce Lakeland, a prostitute in The Killer Inside Me, film adaption of the book of the same name which co-starred Kate Hudson and Casey Affleck. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.^{[39][40][41][40][42]} Her second film of the year was the hit romantic comedy Valentine's Day, directed by Garry Marshall.^[43][44][45] She portrayed Ashton Kutcher's girlfriend, Morley Clarkson, in the ensemble film that included Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Biel, Bradley Cooper, and Jennifer Garner, among others.^[44][46][47] It was released on February 12, 2010.^[47] Later in the year, she appeared in action film Machete, in An Invisible Sign of My Own and in Little Fockers, reuniting with Robert De Niro who was also in Machete.

In August 2010, it was announced that Alba would appear in Spy Kids 4.^[48] The film was released a year later.

In January 2012, Alba and business partner Chris Gavigan launched The Honest Company, a collection of toxin-free household goods, diapers, and body care products.^[49] In March 2012, Alba announced that she will be releasing a book, The Honest Life, based on her experiences creating a natural, non-toxic life for her family. The book, slated for release in early 2013, will be published by Rodale.^[50]

Her next projects include comedy A.C.O.D.^[51] and animated film Escape from Planet Earth.^[52] Alba will also reprise her role as Santana in Machete's sequel Machete Kills^[53] and as Nancy Callahan in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, sequel to 2005's Sin City.^[54] Filming for Sin City is expected to start in the summer of 2012 with a release set in October 2013.^[54]

Public image[link]

In 2001, Alba was ranked No. 1 on Maxim magazine's Hot 100 list. She said that "I have to go to certain lengths to use sexuality to my advantage, while guiding people to thinking the way I want them to."^[55] In 2005, Alba was named one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People, and also appeared in the magazine's 100 Most Beautiful list in 2007. In 2002, Alba was voted as the fifth Sexiest Female Star for 2002 in a Hollywood.com poll, No.4 in the Top 10 Sci-Fi Babes, No.6 in FHM's Sexiest Girls for their poll, and ranked at No.12 in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women in the World" 2002 edition.^[56] In 2005, Alba was ranked at No.5 on the Maxim magazine's Hot 100 list.^[57]

On the cover of the March 2006 issue, Playboy magazine named Alba among its 25 Sexiest Celebrities, and the Sex Star of the Year. Alba was involved in litigation against Playboy for its use of her image (from a promotional shot for Into the Blue) without her consent, which she contends gave the appearance that she was featured in the issue in a "nude pictorial". However, she later dropped the lawsuit after receiving a personal apology from Playboy owner Hugh Hefner, who agreed to make donations to two charities that Alba has supported.^[11]

When reports surfaced that a 21-year-old Chinese girl was seeking plastic surgery to resemble Alba in order to win back an ex-boyfriend, the star spoke out against the perceived need to change one's appearance for love.^[58]

Alba in 2007 at the London premiere of Fantastic Four

In 2006, Alba ranked No.3 on E! Television's 101 Sexiest Celebrity Bodies. In 2006 readers of AskMen.com voted Alba No. 1 on 99 Most Desirable Women,^[9] while in 2007, Maxim Magazine placed Alba on the number 2 spot of their "Top 100".^[10] Both GQ and In Style had Alba on their June 2008 covers,^[59][60] and in May, after eight million votes, FHM (UK and USA editions) named Alba the winner as "2007's Sexiest Woman in the World".^[61] Alba has been regarded as one of the world's most attractive women, being named to Maxim's Hot 100 in 2008.^[62] In 2007, Alba was ranked in at No.1 in FHM's Sexiest Girls of 2007 poll, in the magazine's Latvian edition. Alba was ranked No.4 on Empire Magazine's 100 Sexiest Movie Stars in 2007. In 2006 and 2007, Alba was voted No.1 as the most sexy woman in the world by the Norwegian FHM.^[57] Alba appeared in the 2009 Campari calendar. Campari printed 9,999 copies of the calendar featuring photos of Alba posing sexually in swimsuits, and high heels.^[63] In 2008, Alba was ranked No.34 on Maxim magazine's Hot 100 list, was ranked No.2 on Wizard magazine's "Sexiest Women of TV" list, and was named in GQ Magazine one of the 25 Sexiest Women in film of all time.^[57] Alba is the only woman who has made the Maxim Magazine Hot 100 list in all the years it was published; from 2000 to 2012.^[64] She appeared on Maxim's 2011 Hot 100 list, finishing 21.^[65] She was named one of the "100 Hottest Women of All-Time" by Men's Health.^[66] People named her one of 2012 Most Beautiful at Every Age.^[67]

Alba fears being typecast as a sex kitten based on the bulk of parts offered to her, commenting, "Somehow, I don't think this is happening to Natalie Portman."^[69] In the interview, Alba said she wants to be taken seriously as an actress but believes she needs to do movies that she would otherwise not be interested in to build her career, stating that eventually she hopes to be more selective in her film projects.^[69] Alba also maintains a strict no-nudity clause in her contract. She was given the option to appear nude in Sin City by the film's directors, Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez, but declined the offer, saying, "I don't do nudity. I just don't. Maybe that makes me a bad actress. Maybe I won't get hired in some things. But I have too much anxiety".^[70] She remarked of a GQ shoot in which she was scantily clad, "They didn't want me to wear the granny panties, but I said, 'If I'm gonna be topless I need to wear granny panties."^[71] In March 2010, she reasserted her position to Scarlet magazine, saying, "I can act sexy and wear sexy clothes but I can’t go naked."^[72] For the shower scene in Machete, she was wearing underwear, which was digitally removed afterwards.^[72]

Personal life[link]

Religion[link]

Alba was raised as a Catholic^[73] throughout her teenage years,^[74] but left the church after four years because she felt she was being judged for her appearance, explaining: "Older men would hit on me, and my youth pastor said it was because I was wearing provocative clothing, when I wasn't. It just made me feel like if I was in any way desirable to the opposite sex that it was my fault, and it made me ashamed of my body and being a woman".^[75]

Alba also had objections to the church's condemnations of premarital sex and homosexuality, and what she saw as a lack of strong female role models in the Bible, explaining "I thought it was a nice guide, but it certainly wasn't how I was going to live my life."^[70] Her "religious devotion [began] to wane" at the age of 15 when she guest-starred as a teenager with gonorrhea in the throat in a 1996 episode of the television series Chicago Hope. Her friends at church reacted negatively to her role, making her lose faith in the church.^[3] However, she has stated that she still holds her belief in God despite leaving the church.^[76]

Relationships and family[link]

While filming Dark Angel in January 2000, Alba began a three year relationship with her co-star Michael Weatherly, which caused controversy due to their 12-year age difference.^[77] Weatherly proposed to Alba on her twentieth birthday, which she accepted.^[12] In August 2003, Alba and Weatherly announced that they'd ended their relationship.^[3] In July 2007, Alba spoke out about the breakup, saying "I don't know [why I got engaged]. I was a virgin. He was 12 years older than me. I thought he knew better. My parents weren't happy. They're really religious. They believe God wouldn't allow the Bible to be written if it wasn't what they are supposed to believe. I'm completely different."^[78] Alba had at one time said she envisioned a much older man as her ideal partner, making references to Morgan Freeman, Sean Connery, Robert Redford, and Michael Caine. She said, "I have this thing for older men. They've been around and know so much."^[79]

Alba met Cash Warren, son of actor Michael Warren, while filming Fantastic Four in 2004.^[80][81] Alba married Warren in Los Angeles on Monday, May 19, 2008.^[82][83] They have two daughters: Honor Marie Warren (born 2008)^[84][85] and Haven Garner Warren (born 2011).^[86] The first pictures of Honor Marie appeared in the July 2008 issue of OK! magazine, which reportedly paid $1.5 million.^[87]

Charity and politics[link]

In 2005, Alba offered her acting talents for free, to raise money for AIDS charity Amfar at the Cannes Film Festival. The Industry had held a benefit for the US research foundation. Alba had caused "the greatest stir" by promising to star as an unpaid actress in one of The Lord of the Rings producer Bob Weinstein's movies, if Weinstein agreed to bid $100,000 for tennis lessons with sports stars Monica Seles and Boris Becker.^[88]

Alba's charity work includes participation with Clothes Off Our Back, Habitat for Humanity, National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Project HOME, RADD, Revlon Run/Walk for Women, SOS Children Villages, Soles4Souls, and Step up.^[89] Alba openly endorsed and supported Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama during the 2008 primary season.^[90] Alba is an ambassador for the 1Goal movement to provide education to children in Africa.^[91]

Alba posed for a bondage-themed print advertising campaign by Declare Yourself, a campaign encouraging voter registration among youth for the 2008 United States presidential election. The ads photographed by Mark Liddell,^[92][93] which feature Alba wrapped in and gagged with black tape, drew national media attention. The ads were described by some as being "Shocking".^[93] Alba said of doing the advertisements that "it didn't freak me out at all." Alba also said "I think it is important for young people to be aware of the need we have in this country to get them more active politically," and "People respond to things that are shocking."^[94]

In June 2009, while filming The Killer Inside Me in Oklahoma City, Alba was involved in a controversy with residents when she pasted posters of sharks around town.^{[citation needed]} Alba said that she was trying to bring attention to the diminishing population of great white sharks. Media outlets speculated that Alba would be pursued and charged with vandalism.^[95] On June 16, 2009, Oklahoma City police said that they would not pursue criminal charges against Alba, because none of the property owners wanted to pursue it.^[96][97] Alba apologized in a statement to People magazine and said that she regretted her actions.^[96] She later donated an undisclosed amount of money (over $500)^[98] to the United Way, whose billboard she had obscured with one of the shark posters.^{[99][100][101][102]}