Josephine "Joey" Lynn Potter is a fictional character portrayed by Katie Holmes in the American television drama Dawson's Creek.

Fictional biography[link]

Background[link]

Joey has been friends with Dawson Leery since they were very young. She lives with her older sister, Bessie, Bessie's son Alexander and (sometimes) boyfriend, Bodie. Her father, Mike, is in and out of prison for drug trafficking. Her mother, Lillian, died of breast cancer when Joey was thirteen. She was given the name Josephine in honor of Jo March, the heroine from her mother's favorite book, Little Women. Her middle name of Lynn can be seen on her passport shown in season 6. Joey is also the only character from the show to appear in every episode of the series.

Season 1[link]

In season one, Joey is the "girl next door." She is confused by her growth into a teenager and her developing feelings for her longtime best friend Dawson, whom she also admitted is her soulmate. She immediately becomes jealous when Jen Lindley arrives and steals Dawson away from her. She is intimidated by Jen, who grew up in New York, and doesn't know how to compete. She lives with her pregnant sister Bessie, and she works for her at the Ice House---the Potter family restaurant. She is frustrated with having to deal with work and taking care of her sister along with significant helpings of teenage angst. Nonetheless, Joey manages to be helpful with the birth of Bessie's son, Alexander, as does their critical neighbor, Evelyn Ryan. One day she is convinced to compete in the beauty pageant, which she does so that she can win the cash prize. But instead of winning the contest, she wins Dawson's heart, as he finally sees past his best friend image, and realizes that he has strong romantic feelings towards her. At the end of the season, she finds herself with the opportunity of going to Paris for the summer, but rejects it in favor of staying in Capeside with Dawson after her and Dawson kiss.

Season 2[link]

At the start of the season, she and Dawson are a couple and things start out good, but Joey begins to think that she is losing her identity, as she can't see where Dawson ends and she begins. During a full moon, the new guy in town, Jack McPhee, kisses her. Dawson finds out during a school dance. After a huge argument, Joey decides to break up with him, even though for the first time they both say that they love each other. She says that she wants to "find herself," and so she breaks up with him.

Joey and Jack begin dating afterward but the relationship ends just as quickly when Jack realizes that he's gay. Joey's father is released from prison and comes back into her life. At first this change is uneasy, but they heal the rift between them and she gets back together with Dawson. However, Dawson finds out that Joey's father is dealing cocaine. After a fire at the restaurant which was started by rivals of Joey's father, Dawson tells Joey. He convinces her to wear a wire, and get a confession from her father so that nothing like the fire will happen again. She gets the confession from her father and shows him the wire. Knowing that she had betrayed her father, she is understandably heartbroken and angry with Dawson. She breaks up with him and tells him she doesn't even want to know him.

Season 3[link]

After Dawson returns from visiting his mom over the summer, Joey offers herself to him but Dawson rejects her. Joey flees and Dawson asks Pacey Witter to keep an eye on her. As the season progresses, it becomes obvious that Pacey and Joey's friendship evolves into something deeper. Joey has a brief relationship with a college student, A.J. Moller (Robin Dunne). This relationship makes Pacey jealous and forces him to confront his true feelings for Joey. After months of build up, Pacey finally kisses Joey after she confides in him that he and Dawson are the only ones to "have ever known her in a way that no one else does." Joey initially is angry when Pacey kisses her; however, later she comes to realize that she may also have feelings for him, as well.

During a trip to the home of Dawson's aunt, Gwen (Gail's sister), Joey and Pacey confront their feelings for one another. Joey confesses that being around Pacey makes her feel more alive resulting in Pacey kissing her again. Pacey tells Joey she needs to figure out what she wants and leaves. Joey stops him and pulls Pacey into a kiss, having made her choice. After this realization, they begin a secret romantic relationship.

When Dawson finds out about Joey and Pacey's relationship, he is furious, and the friendship between the three is never the same again. Dawson gives Joey an ultimatum- him or Pacey. Joey pulls back from Pacey in an effort to mend his and her friendship with Dawson. Dawson, however, sees Pacey as his enemy and opponent in winning Joey's heart. Dawson tries his best to win Joey back, including throwing an alternative prom with Joey as his date. However, Dawson witnesses Joey and Pacey share a romantic dance before the night is over.

In the season finale, Joey comes to realize that while she's just fearful of losing her oldest friend, Dawson, she has fallen in love with Pacey. With Dawson's urging, Joey rushes off to tell Pacey that she loves him before he departs for a summer at sea on his boat. She joins Pacey on his boat and the two then sail off into the sunset.

Season 4[link]

Joey and Pacey return to Capeside from their summer at sea in the fourth season, and are quickly brought back to reality when they must confront the events of the past year and the subsequent fallout. Joey is eager to mend fences, though Dawson is still hurt by what happened. Pacey's relationship with Dawson never quite recovers, though the two are civil and acknowledge a shared history and group of friends.

Joey and Pacey are chosen "Class Couple" and reaffirm their commitment to their relationship throughout the year, but insecurities threaten to overwhelm them as they begin to look to their futures beyond Capeside. Pacey has returned to academic probation while Joey dreams of admittance to the prestigious Worthington College in Boston. On a ski trip with the senior class, Pacey and Joey finally sleep together for the first time. However, when Dawson questions her, she lies about losing her virginity. Pacey finds out about the lie and is unsettled. He is further disturbed when Joey accepts money from Dawson to attend Worthington.

After Joey returns from New York with Jen, she discovers from Gretchen that Pacey was arrested for public drunkness and that she also believes she may be pregnant. Bessie soon finds out that Joey believes she may be pregnant at Gail's baby shower, and Bessie argues with her about not being ready to have a baby, and having an immature boyfriend who would never cope with a child. Joey later defends herself by saying that whatever happens in her life will be different. Joey later does a test and finds out she is not pregnant, but the situation draws the sisters close together. When Joey finally reaches Pacey on the phone, she lies about the pregnancy scare and is disappointed that Pacey didn't tell her about his arrest.

Pacey soon begins to feel insecure about Joey's success and their relationship despite her insistence that her future lies with him, believes that he isn't good enough for her, and that their futures are worlds apart. At their senior prom, Pacey breaks up with Joey, who is devastated. The season ends with Joey headed to Worthington and Pacey to another summer at sea.

At the end of the season, as Dawson is preparing to leave Capeside for Los Angeles, in a scene reminiscent of Season One's ending, Dawson and Joey share a kiss.

Season 5[link]

In season five, Joey attends Worthington University in Boston, where she meets and befriends her roommate Audrey Liddell. Joey is studying English Literature, and for a time starts seeing her college professor, David Wilder.

She sees Pacey upon his return to Boston and the two share a friendly reunion, but do not interact much for the majority of the season.

Throwing everyone for a loop, Mitch is killed in a car accident leaving Gail, Dawson and baby Lily behind. Having been a witness to her mother's painful last days, Joey thinks that she can help Dawson through the process of grieving for his father. She attends Mitch's funeral, but is rejected when she tries to help Dawson deal with his whirl of emotions. Upon returning to her dorm room in Boston, a crying Joey is comforted by Audrey. While Jen convinces Dawson to go to counseling, Joey catches Jack in a 'bid' to get one of his frat brothers in bed with Audrey during the fraternity's Winter Formal.

Joey later joins the band, Aggressive Mediocrity, as lead singer with Jen's cheating ex, Charlie Todd (Chad Michael Murray). They embark on a whirlwind romance before she tells him to leave to pursue his dream of being a touring musician. She has an unforgettable run-in with a mugger, who luckily for her, gets hit by a car shortly after robbing her at gunpoint. However, when she is requested to be at his side in the hospital, Joey discovers that the mugger is also a drug addict, and has a young daughter, Sammie, with his wife, Grace. When the mugger dies with Joey at his side, she returns to the waiting room, all of her belongings returned, including the money. Thinking of Sammie, whose situation reminds her of the relationship she has with her own father, Joey leaves all the money hidden in Grace's backpack.

At the end of the season she returns to Capeside, and Dawson confesses to her that he wants to be with her. She rejects him saying that all those feelings were in the past, but in the last episode she rushes to the airport, to declare her true feelings for Dawson. She catches him, and they kiss. Joey tells Dawson to go to Los Angeles as that is his destiny, and that they'll meet up after the summer. As she goes to get a refund, she is offered the chance to go to Paris, and the audience is left hanging.

Season 6[link]

In the beginning of the sixth season, it is revealed that Joey didn't end up going to Paris, but went home to Capeside. After not talking all summer, she and Dawson meet up and have a one night stand in her dorm room. The next day it is revealed that Dawson has a girlfriend in California. Joey breaks things off with him. She takes a job as a waitress at Hell's Kitchen, with the help of aspiring drummer, Emma Jones. Joey eventually falls for the bartender, Eddie Doling (Oliver Hudson). They both have a love for writing and literature, but it turns out that he is not officially a student at Worthington, as his family was too poor to afford the tuition.

After Christmas, Eddie disappears without telling Joey, going back to Worcester to live with his parents. In trying to find him, Joey gets some help from Harley Hetson---the 15-year-old, alienated, headstrong daughter of her snobbish and somewhat misogynist English professor, Greg Hetson (Roger Howarth), whom Joey clashes with several times during the entire season. Harley lies, telling Eddie that Joey was pregnant with his child in order to lure him back to Boston.

Joey and Pacey begin to rekindle their romance after sharing a kiss at his apartment. After being locked overnight in a K-Mart together, they discuss their past and current relationship. Each admits that they miss the other. They briefly reunite, but when Eddie reappears in Joey's life, she breaks it off with Pacey (ironically Pacey and Joey break up at another prom).

After Pacey and Dawson have another falling out after Pacey's stocks tank and Dawson loses his entire investment, Joey decides that it's time they worked things out for themselves without her in the middle because it "is not her fight" and that it never has been, and never will be.. After a heart to heart with Pacey on the dock, Joey brings everyone together to help Dawson make his movie. Joey finally goes to Paris and the final episode of the season ends with her standing before the famous Eiffel Tower.

Series finale[link]

The final two episodes are set in the future, approximately five years after the season finale. Joey is revealed to be a junior editor living in New York with her writer boyfriend, Christopher (Jeremy Sisto). During this double episode, the five friends return to Capeside for Gale Leery's third wedding (but second husband). Although she had originally planned to spend the weekend with Christopher, Joey runs scared after finding an engagement ring hidden in the couple's dresser while packing for the trip.

The five friends reunite at Pacey's restaurant to reminisce about the past. Afterwards, Joey drops by Dawson's house and the two reestablish their friendship. During Gale's wedding reception, Joey and Pacey kiss (reigniting still lingering feelings between the two) but the moment is interrupted when Jen suddenly collapses. It is later discovered that Jen has a deadly heart condition.

At the same time, Joey ends her relationship with Christopher and finally chooses between Dawson and Pacey. Though she loves Dawson, she acknowledges that he is her soulmate who is tied to her childhood; a love that is pure and eternally innocent. She also can not deny she is still in love with Pacey. A love so real that has kept her running away from it and never completely ready for it. She has always known Pacey is the one she is meant to be with and after Jen's death, she finally decides to stop running and confront her feelings for Pacey.

In the midst of their romantic entanglements, Joey, Dawson, Jack, and Pacey are all brought together at the Ice House, now owned by Pacey, to say goodbye to Jen, who dies from pulmonary congestion.

In the epilogue, Joey and Pacey watch Dawson's semi-autobiographical television series The Creek in their apartment, before calling up Dawson together where they discover he is going to meet his hero, Steven Spielberg, we also learn that they have renewed their romantic relationship and the series ends with them as a couple living together in New York.

Notable relationships[link]

• Anderson Crawford
  • Fling
    • Beginning: "Kiss" (1.03)
    • Broke Up: "Kiss" (1.03)
      • Reason: Didn't continue because she lied about who she was.
• Dawson Leery
  • Boyfriend
    • First Relationship:
      • Beginning: "Decisions" (1.13)
      • End: "The Dance" (2.06)
      • Reason: After Jack kisses her she gets confused about who she really is and what she wants
    • Second Relationship:
      • Beginning: "A Perfect Wedding" (2.18)
      • End: "Parental Discretion Advised" (2.22)
      • Reason: Dawson convinced her to get her father to confess to a crime that burned down the ice house and his drug use.
    • Third Relationship:Almost (they don't confirm this relationship)
      • Beginning: Coda" (4.23)
      • End: "High Anxiety" (5.06)
      • Reason: Dawsons dad dies and Joey has a difficult time trying to get him to open up. So he goes with Jack to a party where he gets drunk and tells Joey that it was her fault because she convinced him to stay making Mitch go out to clear his head and die in a car accident
    • Fourth Relationship:
      • Beginning: "The Kids Are Alright" (6.01)
      • End: "The Song Remains The Same" (6.02)
      • Reason: After they sleep together she finds out he had a girlfriend
• Jack McPhee
  • Kissed
    • Beginning: "Full Moon Rising" (2.05)
    • Broke Up: "Full Moon Rising" (2.05)
      • Reason: Didn't continue to be a couple because she was still with Dawson.
  • Boyfriend
    • Beginning: "The Reluctant Hero" (2.08)
    • Broke Up: "...That Is The Question" (2.15)
      • Reason: He finds out after reading a poem that he's gay
• A.J. Moller
  • Boyfriend
    • Beginning: "Northern Lights" (3.13)
    • Broke Up: "Cinderella Story" (3.17)
      • Reason: Didn't continue to be a couple because she finds out his best friend loves him and he loves her but not knowing it yet.
• Pacey Witter
  • Kissed
  • "Double Date" (1.10)
    • • Reason: She didn't feel the same way and he knew that she liked Dawson and Dawson liked her even though he was still hung up on Jen
  • Kissed
  • "Cinderella Story" (3.17)
  • "Neverland" (3.18)
    • • Reason: She didn't fully realize that she liked him yet till she talks to Jen but still doesn't tell him till the next episode
  • Boyfriend
    • First Relationship:
      • Beginning: "Stolen Kisses" (3.19)
      • End: "The Longest Day" (3.20)
      • Reason: She feels guilty when Dawson finds out about their relationship and ends things with him
    • Second Relationship:
      • Beginning: "True Love" (3.23)
      • End: "Promicide" (4.20)
      • Reason: They realize that they are different and it seemed like she had a bright future ahead of her while he felt like he was being left behind.
    • Third Relationship:
      • Beginning: Castaways" (6.15)
      • End: "Love Bites" (6.18)
      • Reason: Eddie comes back.
    • Fourth Relationship:
      • Beginning: ...Must Come To An End" (6.24)
      • Note: Jen tells Joey as her final wish is for Joey to choose between Dawson and Pacey she chooses Pacey.
• Elliot
  • Almost Fling but never kissed
    • Beginning: "Sleeping Arrangements" (5.12)
    • Broke Up: "Guerrilla Filmmaking" (5.14)
      • Reason: After finding out he never slept with Audrey she gives him another second chance. But she later bails on a date with him to go to a thing with Wilder who she later kissed and the next day tells him she cant go out with him off-screen.
• David Wilder
  • Kissed/Almost Fling
    • Beginning: "Something Wilder" (5.13)
    • Broke Up: "In A Lonely Place" (5.16)
      • Reason: Joey inadvertently stands David up after getting mugged. This gives him the time to reflect upon the relationship and he realizes that he can't have an affair with a student.
• Charlie Todd
  • Kissed
    • Beginning: "Something wild" (5.11)
    • Broke Up: "Something wild" (5.11)
      • Reason: Because he cheated on Jen.
  • Fling
    • Beginning: "100 Light Years From Home" (5.19)
    • Broke Up: "Separate Ways (Worlds Apart)" (5.20)
      • Reason: She tells him to go off and fulfill his dream of being a musician
• Eddie Doling
  • Boyfriend
    • First Relationship:
    • Beginning: "Ego Tripping At The Gates Of Hell" (6.07)
    • Broke Up: "Rock Bottom" (6.13)
      • Reason: He left without telling her
    • Second Relationship:
    • Beginning: "Love Bites" (6.18)
    • Broke Up: "Catch-22" (6.20)
      • Reason: They didn't see a future with each other
• Christopher
  • Boyfriend
    • Beginning: About a year or two before "All Good Things..." (6.23)
    • End: "...Must Come To An End" (6.24)
      • Reason: Joey breaks up with him over the phone after having found a ring in his drawer back in New York.

Holmes' thoughts on Joey Potter[link]

"I'm a lot like Joey", said Holmes. "I think they saw that. I come from a small town. I was a tomboy. Joey tries to be articulate and deny that she doesn't have a lot of experience in life. Her life parallels mine, which is all about new everything—relationships, personal perceptions—and about being guarded." Holmes filmed the pilot of Dawson's Creek in Wilmington, North Carolina, during spring break of her senior year of high school in 1997.^[1] When the show was picked up by The WB, Holmes moved to Wilmington, where the show filmed.^{[citation needed]}

Dawson's Creek ran from 1998 to 2003, and Holmes was the only actor to appear in all 128 episodes. "It was very difficult for me to leave Wilmington, to have my little glass bubble burst and move on. I hate change. On the other hand it was refreshing to play someone else", she said in 2004.^[2] Holmes confirmed that, as often happens on soaps, the character was a caricature of the actor:

Reception[link]

"Joey Potter is a headstrong, vibrant, wily, sultry, and determined go-getter. And yet, in a gloriously contradictory manner, in spite of her tough-as-nails exterior demeanor, Joey's also a frail, sometimes uncertain, emotionally sensitive, in-need-of-love person", said the show's official book.^[4] Joey, named for Jo in Little Women, for years had been climbing in Dawson's bedroom window and platonically sharing his bed. Joey's mother had died from cancer when Joey was thirteen and her father, Mike (Gareth Williams), was in prison for "conspiracy to traffic in marijuana in excess of 10,000 pounds." Her harried, unmarried, and very pregnant sister, Bessie (Nina Repeta), about ten years older than Joey,^{[n 1]} was raising her while running the Ice House restaurant, where Joey worked as a waitress. GQ described Joey as "kind of an uptight fussbudget—one who's always twisted up over doing the right thing and bungling-up ways to hook up with her crush and across the creek neighbor, Dawson."^[5]

The 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) tall^[5][6] brunette enchanted the press, writers of both sexes commenting how Holmes was the sort of girl one wants to bring home to meet the parents and to marry.^[7][5] "The Audrey Hepburn of her generation", was one typical comment.^[8] Time called her "impossibly lovely" and Entertainment Weekly said she was "next up for idolhood."^[9][10] Variety, reviewing the pilot, said Holmes "is a confident young performer who delivers her lines with slyness and conviction."^[11] Holmes made such an impression in Hollywood, The New York Times Magazine claimed everyone was seeking to cast a "Katie Holmes type", who, the reporter claimed, "is a throwback to the 1950s: she is a smart girl next door (as opposed to the babe-o-rama blondes)"—the sort represented by her Dawson's Creek co-star Michelle Williams.^[12] But her "type" was no less attractive, Arena magazine declaring her "the most coquettishly sexy woman on television. Anywhere."^[13]

Holmes was soon on the covers of magazines such as Seventeen, TV Guide, and Rolling Stone. Jancee Dunn, an editor at Rolling Stone said she was chosen for the cover because "every time you mention Dawson's Creek you tend to get a lot of dolphin-like shrieks from teenage girls. The fact that she is drop-dead gorgeous didn't hurt either."^[14]

Reviews were mixed. The Blade said the characters "just talk like they came from a planet ruled by Manhattan psychologists, one where small talk is punishable by death."^[15] Holmes herself needed help with the dialogue. "Sometimes before we read a script, I have to get my dictionary and call people to make sure I'm pronouncing some of the words correctly."^[16] The show brought her national attention and many fans back home; Toledo's Thanksgiving Day parade in November 1998 had record attendance when Holmes was named grand marshal.^[17][18]

"As Joey", said Life magazine, "Holmes has had seismic influences on teen life... Through it all, Joey has managed to hang on to her integrity... The show—and Katie's character in particular—has touched a nerve."^[19]

Notes[link]

1. ^ Dawson's Creek, Season 2, confirmed Bessie was in high school when Joey was in kindergarten

References[link]

Mandy Moore
Moore at 83rd Academy Awards, February 27, 2011
Background information
Birth name	Amanda Leigh Moore
Born	(1984-04-10) April 10, 1984 (age 28) Nashua, New Hampshire, U.S.
Origin	Orlando, Florida, U.S.
Genres	Pop, dance,[1] folk pop, pop rock[2]
Occupations	Singer-songwriter, actress, model, fashion designer
Years active	1999–present
Labels	Epic, Sire, The Firm Music, EMI, Storefront Recordings, RED Distribution
Website	www.mandymoore.com

Amanda Leigh "Mandy" Moore (born April 10, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and fashion designer. Moore became famous as a teenager in the late 1990s, after the release of her teen pop albums So Real, I Wanna Be with You, and Mandy Moore. In 2007, she took an adult pop-folk direction with the release of Wild Hope. Her most recent album, Amanda Leigh, was released on May 26, 2009.^[3] Moore has sold more than 10 million records worldwide.^[4] Moore subsequently branched out into film, starring in 2002's A Walk to Remember and later in other movies, such as Chasing Liberty, Saved! and License to Wed. Most recently Moore provided the voice of Rapunzel in Tangled. In April 2011, she ranked 5th in People's annual Most Beautiful issue.^[5]

Early life[link]

Moore was born in Nashua, New Hampshire. Her mother, Stacy (née Friedman), is a former news reporter who once worked for the Orlando Sentinel, and her father, Donald "Don" Moore, is a pilot for American Airlines.^[6][7][8] Moore's father is of Irish and Cherokee descent, and her mother is of half-English and half-Jewish ancestry.^[9][10] Moore, who has an older brother Scott and a younger brother Kyle, grew up in Longwood, Florida, outside of Orlando, where the family moved shortly after her birth because of her father's job as an airline pilot.^[11] She was raised Catholic (though she is no longer practicing),^[12] and attended Bishop Moore High School,^[13] in Orlando, as well as Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs.

Moore's interest in singing grew after seeing the musical Oklahoma!.^{[citation needed]} She was also encouraged to perform by her English-born maternal grandmother, who was her inspiration.^[10] Some of Moore's first public exposure occurred when she sang the national anthem at several Florida sporting events.^{[citation needed]} She subsequently came to the attention of the head of the artists and repertoire department at Epic Records after his friend, a FedEx employee, overheard her as she sang at a recording studio.^[14]

Music career[link]

1999–2002[link]

[edit] So Real

Moore toured with N'SYNC throughout the first half of 1999.^[11] Her debut album, So Real, was released in December 1999 and reached No.31 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album charts.^[15] Unfortunately for her image, at the time of the album's release, reviewers considered Moore the latest in a series of heavily-marketed female teen singers described as "pop princesses," akin to Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera.^[16] Entertainment Weekly Magazine's review of So Real, written by Elizabeth Vincentelli, accused Moore's songs of revolving around "not-yet-experienced love," of having been performed with "suffocating professionalism," and called the album's ballads "nauseating."^[17]

Moore reached mainstream radio later, and at a younger age, than Aguilera and Spears had, and she was initially not as successful as they were. However, So Real was still certified platinum in the U.S. in early 2000 and sold nearly one million copies.^[18] Moore's debut teen-oriented pop hit single "Candy," which Yahoo! Movies described as "strangely provocative,"^[7] peaked just outside the top 40 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100^[19] charts, and was certified gold.^[15] The single was more successful in Europe, especially in the UK, where it reached number 6.^{[citation needed]} Allmusic called the single "mediocre" and "typical," containing lyrics that described love "in terms of sugar treats."^[20]

[edit] I Wanna Be with You

Moore released I Wanna Be with You in May 2000.^[21] The album, which was mostly completed with synthesizers, bass, guitar, and drums^[22] comprised new songs alongside tracks and remixes from So Real. Several reviewers criticized it on the basis that it was a remix album and not a true follow-up,^[23][24] with Allmusic accusing its style of being "trashier, flashier, gaudier, and altogether more disposable" than that of So Real.^[25] It peaked at No.21 on the Billboard 200, was certified gold in the U.S., selling nearly 1,000,000 copies.^[18] The title track, "I Wanna Be with You," was the album's only single and reached No.24 on the Hot 100,^[19] Moore's highest peak to date.^{[citation needed]} It was also featured on the soundtrack of the film Center Stage in 2000.^[26]

[edit] Mandy Moore

In June 2001, Moore released her second full-length album, her third overall, the self-titled album Mandy Moore. She promoted the album with her first headlining concert, "Mandy Moore Live@ShoutBack."^{[citation needed]} The album contained uptempo tracks and influences from Eastern music,^[27] and Allmusic described it as a "lush, layered production."^[28] It received mixed reviews from other critics.^[29] The album debuted at No.35 on the Billboard 200, and was later certified gold in the U.S., selling 443,000 copies.^[18] The lead single was "In My Pocket," which Entertainment Weekly said contained "pumping, Indian influenced Euro disco."^[30] The album's follow-up single was titled "Crush." The early 2002 release of the final single, "Cry", tied in with the film A Walk to Remember, Moore's debut as a lead actress.^{[citation needed]}

In 2006, Moore commented on her early albums, noting that although she believed that her first album was appropriate for her age at the time when she released it,^[10][31] she felt it "sucked"^[32] and that her first albums were "just awful."^[16] Moore also said that she "would give a refund to everyone who bought my first two albums" if she could;^[33] during a radio interview in April 2006, the show's co-host—who had seen her comments—asked her for a refund on the first album, a request that Moore fulfilled.^[32]

2003–2006[link]

In October 2003, Moore released her fourth album Coverage,^[34] which Allmusic characterized as a "leap to musical maturity"^[35] and which Entertainment Weekly called an "effort to shed her bubblegum-blond image".^[36] The album peaked at No.14 on the Billboard 200;^[15] but "Have a Little Faith in Me" and "Senses Working Overtime", its only two singles, did not perform well on the charts.^[15] Moore's cover of "I Feel the Earth Move" appeared on Love Rocks, a compilation CD of songs from gay rights supporters.^[37]

Due to creative differences between Moore and her label, a split was announced.^{[citation needed]} The company released the hits compilation album The Best of Mandy Moore, which reached No.148 on the Billboard 200^[38] in November 2004 as a final obligation to Moore's contract.^[39] Another compilation, Candy, followed in 2005. During this time period, the only music Moore had recorded was a song demo, "Hey!", written by James Renald, and a cover version of Lori McKenna's "Beautiful Man".^{[citation needed]} Moore also voiced the character "Nita" in the 2006 film, Brother Bear 2.

2007–2009[link]

In early 2006, Moore stated that she missed her music career and that singing is what she was the "most passionate about."^[16] Moore had signed to Sire Records after her contract with Epic Records ended, but she left the company in May 2006.^{[citation needed]} She signed with a new EMI Music-owned record company, The Firm, in July that year, describing her new contract as "especially exciting,"^[40] and adding that she left Sire Records because she did not want to "follow the mainstream," but rather have "complete control and freedom" over her work.^[41] Moore's new album, Wild Hope, was released on June 19, 2007,^[42] and includes collaborations with artists Chantal Kreviazuk, Rachael Yamagata, Lori McKenna and The Weepies.^[43] Moore stayed alone in a house in Woodstock in Upstate New York while recording the album in late 2006.^[44] She performed new material from Wild Hope at the Sundance Film Festival;^{[citation needed]} her first single, "Extraordinary," premiered on her MySpace profile on January 29, 2007.^{[citation needed]} Moore performed the song at the Brick Awards on April 12, 2007^[45] and launched a tour in the summer of 2007.^[46]

The album was released in the USA in June 2007 to positive reviews.^{[citation needed]} It fared moderately well on the charts, debuting at number thirty on the Billboard 200 (Moore's third highest charting album in the U.S.), and at number 84 in Canada.^{[citation needed]} In August 2007, Moore toured with Paula Cole, and Rachael Yamagata, playing at mid-size venues in the United States and Canada.^{[citation needed]} Wild Hope was placed at number 10 on Entertainment Weekly's "The Must List" and also named Reader's Choice for that August 10 issue, two months after its release.^{[citation needed]} Moore surprised many with a free concert in Boston on July 18, 2007.^[47]

On February 23, 2008, Moore released Wild Hope in Australia, and subsequently toured with Ben Lee and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra in Western Australia, supporting Kelly Clarkson on her tour.^{[citation needed]} In October 2008, Moore posted on her website blog live videos of three new songs she's been working on, along with singer-songwriter, pianist and guitarist Mike Viola. It was at first expected to a be a duo album between the two, but then in January 2009, it was revealed it would be a solo album with a collaboration with him, slated for release in April 2009.^[48]

On June 2009, Moore performed 5 tracks of her new Amanda Leigh album, including “Nothing Everything” and “Love To Love Me Back,” at the Walmart Soundcheck show.^[49]

In May 2009, she released her latest album, Amanda Leigh, to generally positive reviews. Rolling Stone said about the album: "the title is taken from the singer's real first and middle names, the acoustic instrumentation emits a cozy campfire glow, and the album was recorded in a modest basement home studio. Message: This is real music, not computerized starlet pop."^{[citation needed]} Time Magazine said that the album was "impeccably recorded."^{[citation needed]} An article on the album by Paper Magazine said, "Mandy (in the album)... shows real thoughtful and emotional depth." Paper concluded that "Moore is a far better musician than she's often given credit for."^[50][51][52]

Moore has a total of singles sales in Australia of more than 241,000 copies, and was ranked at # 281 on the 1000 artists chart of ARIA Music Decade Charts (1980–2010).^[53]

2010–present[link]

In 2010, Moore voiced Rapunzel in Disney animation film Tangled and recorded several songs for the soundtrack,^[54] including I See the Light,^[55] which she performed live during the Oscar presentation in February 2011.

Acting career[link]

2000–2002[link]

During the summer of 2000, Moore hosted a half-hour MTV talk show, The Mandy Moore Show, which was renamed Mandy a year later.^[56] Moore was also a Neutrogena spokesperson, appearing in commercials and print ads for the product.^[7] She has modelled for Penshoppe in the Philippines,^{[citation needed]} Coach handbags in Japan,^[57] and was a spokesperson for the School and Youth Programs of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.^[58] Her first acting role was in the straight-to-video children's film Magic Al and the Mind Factory in which she plays the character of Brittany Foster.^{[citation needed]}

In 2001, Moore appeared in a small part as the mean and popular cheerleader Lana Thomas opposite actresses Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews in the film The Princess Diaries. During the film, Moore's character performs "Stupid Cupid," a song from the film's soundtrack. She also had a voiceover role in Dr. Dolittle 2 as the Girl Bear Cub. In 2002, Moore had her first starring role in a major feature film in A Walk to Remember, which co-starred Shane West. Based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks, the film revolved around the developing romance between a Protestant minister's daughter Jamie Sullivan (Moore) and an unruly teenager Landon Carter (West). The film was moderately successful, bringing in $41 million in the United States,^[59] and establishing Moore's status as a lead actress. Although the film received mainly negative reviews,^[60] Moore received several positive notices for her performance, with critic Roger Ebert calling her "quietly convincing".^[61] At that summer's MTV Movie Awards, Moore won an award for "Breakthrough Female Performance" for the role.^[62] The same year, she voiced the Final Fantasy VII character Aerith Gainsborough in the Square-Disney crossover video game Kingdom Hearts, was featured in the music video for Elton John's "Original Sin", and was ranked number sixty-seven in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women in the World".^[63]

2003–2005[link]

In 2003, Moore starred in the romantic comedy film How to Deal, which failed to draw in teenage crowds in the U.S. and grossed a total of $14 million domestically.^[59] Her next film was 2004's Chasing Liberty, a romantic comedy that grossed approximately $12 million.^[59] Both films received negative reviews;^[64] however, Ebert once again singled Moore's performances out, noting in his review of How to Deal that Moore has "an unaffected natural charm" and "almost makes the movie worth seeing,"^[65] and adding in his Chasing Liberty review that she has "undeniable screen presence and inspires instant affection."^[66] Other critics described her as an "actress of limited range,"^[67] though one review of Chasing Liberty noted that she was the "most painless of former pop princesses."^[68] Later in 2004, Moore appeared in a lead role in the religion satire Saved! in which she played Hilary Faye, a proper and popular girl at a Christian school. The film was positively reviewed,^[69] though it did not receive a wide release. Moore received praise for her performance,^[70] with one critic calling her a "demented delight"^[71] and another naming it her best performance to date.^[72] She sang a cover version of The Beach Boys 1966 hit "God Only Knows", with Michael Stipe, that bookended the movie.

In 2005, Moore lent her voice to the film Racing Stripes as Sandy the white horse and appeared on the television series Entourage; she was also originally scheduled to star in the films Cursed, Havoc, and The Upside of Anger, all of which were eventually released in 2005 without Moore's involvement.^[13]

2006–2007[link]

In 2006, Moore guest-starred in two episodes of Scrubs: "My Half-Acre" and "Her Story II". The same year, she lent her voice to The Simpsons, playing Tabitha Vixx in the episode "Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play".^[73]

Moore also appeared in the film American Dreamz, which was released in April 2006. In the film, she played a deranged contestant on a television series modeled after American Idol. Director Paul Weitz stated that he had Moore in mind for the role before she was cast, explaining that "there's something inherently sweet about Mandy; it makes it all the more interesting to see her in a villainess role".^[74] Moore has said that she enjoys playing mean-spirited characters but fears being typecast as a villain.^[75] American Dreamz opened at number nine at the U.S. box office,^[76] eventually totaling barely $7 million,^[77] and received mixed reviews;^[78] critic Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly, however, wrote that Moore and co-star Hugh Grant have a "wicked barbed chemistry" in their roles,^[79] while Variety's Robert Koehler said Moore's role was a "pitch-perfect study of a woman for whom a reality show is reality".^[80]

Later that year, in what ComingSoon.net's review described as a "surprisingly good performance", Moore voiced Nita, the heroine of the Disney animated sequel Brother Bear 2, which was released directly-to-DVD on August 29.^[81] She was also originally cast to appear in that year's ensemble film Bobby, but was replaced by Mary Elizabeth Winstead.^[82]

Moore, citing her conservative upbringing, has expressed dissatisfaction with her appearance on a May 2006 cover of Cosmopolitan; the magazine's headline is "orgasms unlimited", which refers to an article unrelated to her.^[83] In her movie following this, Because I Said So, co-starring Gabriel Macht, Lauren Graham and Diane Keaton, Moore's character describes in detail the feeling of an orgasm to her mother. It was released on February 2, 2007 and received mixed reviews.^[84] In License to Wed, Moore portrays a young bride-to-be who has to complete a three-week prenup course before her wedding. Co-starring John Krasinski as her fiance and Robin Williams as a priest, the film was released on July 3, 2007 to mostly negative reviews. Nevertheless, Variety described Moore's performance as "appealing."^[85][86][87] In 2007, Moore returned to the small screen in an episode of How I Met Your Mother entitled "Wait for It".

2009–present[link]

After a break of almost two years from big screen roles, Moore filmed the romantic comedy Swinging with the Finkels in the United Kingdom in 2009 for a 2011 release.^[88] Moore also starred with actor Kellan Lutz in the 2010 film, Love, Wedding, Marriage.^[89][90] She was a guest star on the sixth season finale of Grey's Anatomy on May 20, 2010, her first television role since 2007.^[91] She returned in a guest role for an episode of the show's seventh season.^{[citation needed]} Also that year, Moore voiced Princess Rapunzel in the CGI animated film Tangled. Moore, alongside Zachary Levi, performed the film's theme song, "I See the Light" at the 83rd Academy Awards where it was nominated for Best Original Song.^[92]

In October 2011, it was announced that she is set to star in an ABC comedy titled Us and Them.^[93] The series was eventually not picked up by ABC.^[94]

Along with her voice role in the upcoming 2012 Tron: Uprising animated series, she is also set to be the title character voice in the Disney Junior series Oki’s Oasis.^[95]

Fashion career[link]

Moore branched into the fashion world in 2005 with her own fashion line named Mblem., a brand of contemporary knitwear and cashmere. One of her aims was to provide clothing for taller women (Moore herself is 5'10).^[96] In February 2009, Moore announced that the line would be shutting down, but that she hoped to reenter the fashion world again under different circumstances in the future.^[3]

Philanthropy[link]

According to a press release from her own official website, Moore was involved in teaming up with nonprofit organization Population Services International (PSI), and its subsidiary, Five & Alive, which addresses health crises facing children under the age of five and their families.^[97][98]

According to USA Today, Moore was also involved in serving as the Honorary Chairperson of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's division on awareness for youth. She served as a spokesperson by helping young people be aware of the seriousness of leukemia and lymphoma.^[99] She also serves as the spokesperson for Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, held every January.^[100] In addition, to increase cervical cancer awareness, Moore teamed up with Dr. Yvonne Collins, The Gynecologic Cancer Foundation (GCF), and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).^[101]

Personal life[link]

Her relationships with Adam Goldstein aka DJ AM, singer Billy Crawford, tennis player Andy Roddick,^[102] and actors Wilmer Valderrama^[103] and Zach Braff,^[104] as well as her marriage to singer Ryan Adams, have become the subject of media coverage. Moore and Adams were married on March 10, 2009, in Savannah.^[105][106]

Moore has become a fan of mixed martial arts, often attending UFC events.^[107]

As to her religious beliefs, Moore considers herself spiritual, and has said that she does not think of herself as Christian.^[12]

Reporters have mentioned that Moore has a slight lisp in her performances,^[108] but Moore denied having one when asked by a fan on her official blog.^[109]

Social networking[link]

Moore is the ambassador for the UN Foundations’s “Nothing But Net’s” campaign. The campaign launched a mass distribution of mosquito nets, ensuring that young children, women and newborn babies are not infected with malaria.^[110] Through her use of social networking she has brought awareness to the cause. In August 2011, the campaign used the Town hall function on Facebook for the first time ever. Almost $5,000 was raised immediately. With nearly two million twitter followers, Moore continues to tweet about fundraising for the foundation.^[110] For further awareness of the cause she created a page on the commonly used site, crowdrise.com.

Discography[link]

Filmography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

	Book: Mandy Moore
Wikipedia books are collections of articles that can be downloaded or ordered in print.

• Official website
• Mandy Moore at the Internet Movie Database
• Mandy Moore at People.com