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Blindsided is the second studio album by the band Axium, and the first to be released with a label. It features David Cook (vocals, guitar); Bobby Kerr (drums); Jerron Nichols (bass); Tom Basile (bass); and Jeff Shrout (guitar); with guest vocals on ‘Hold’ by AndySkib (Midwest Kings (MWK)) and Mikey J (Mad Verb, New Science). The album was produced by Paul Johnson, Tom Basile, and Axium; recorded at “In The Can Mobile Studios” by Paul Johnson; and mixed and mastered by Tom Basile at Holy Toledo.

Track listing[link]

Notes[link]

"Hold," was picked up by AMC Theatres Movie Tunes and was played before previews on over 20,000 screens nationwide. ^[1]

The band distributed a Blindsided Limited Edition CD at live shows in Warrensburg, MO and Kansas City, MO September 12 & 13, 2003. This limited edition included the 9 tracks of the original "Blindsided" album, plus a Bonus Track "Still" (3:19) written by David Cook.

References[link]

External links[link]

• Allmusic.com
• lastfm.com

This 2000s hard rock album-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

Mike Richards
Richards as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers during the 2009–10 season.
Born	(1985-02-11) February 11, 1985 (age 27) Kenora, ON, CAN
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	199 lb (90 kg; 14 st 3 lb)
Position	Centre
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	Los Angeles Kings Philadelphia Flyers
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	24th overall, 2003 Philadelphia Flyers
Playing career	2005–present

Michael Richards (born February 11, 1985) is a Canadian professional ice hockey centre for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously played for and was captain of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Playing career[link]

Early years[link]

Richards grew up playing minor league hockey in his hometown of Kenora, Ontario. He played level A rep hockey for the Kenora Thistles until being drafted fourth overall in the 2001 OHL Priority Selection by the Kitchener Rangers. Richards was not a noted prospect prior to the selection.^[1] After receiving a tip from a friend in Kenora, Rangers general manager Jamie MacDonald traveled to see Richards play on two occasions.^[1]

Richards began his major junior career with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) in 2001–02. He was a member of a dominant 2003 Kitchener team that captured the Memorial Cup and led the team in scoring during the regular season with 87 points.^[2] Following the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) championship victory, Richards was chosen as team captain.^[1] That summer, the Philadelphia Flyers selected him 24th overall in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft with the second of the team's first round picks that season.

Upon being drafted, Richards returned to the Rangers for two more seasons. In his last season of junior, 2004–05, he embarked on another Memorial Cup run with Kitchener, but despite a remarkable 28-point performance from Richards in just 15 playoff games, the Rangers were eliminated by the London Knights in the OHL semi-finals. As soon as Kitchener was eliminated, the Flyers assigned Richards to the Philadelphia Phantoms, their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, for their playoff run. Averaging over a point per game, he became a key part of the Phantoms' 2005 Calder Cup championship.

Philadelphia Flyers[link]

Richards with the Flyers October 2010.

Richards made his NHL debut with the Flyers the following season and scored a goal in his first game on October 5, 2005, against the New York Rangers.^[3] Later in the season, he scored his first career NHL hat trick, which included two shorthanded goals, against the New York Islanders on February 8, 2006.^[4] His hat trick was the first by a Flyers rookie since Mikael Renberg on February 15, 1994.^{[citation needed]} Richards finished his NHL rookie season with 34 points in 79 games, third among Flyers rookies to Jeff Carter (drafted the same year as Richards, 11th overall) and R.J. Umberger.^[5]

Following an injury shortened sophomore season – Richards was kept to 32 points in 59 games due to stomach surgery^[6] – Richards emerged as a star with the Flyers in 2007–08 and topped the team in scoring with 75 points. Recognizing his ascent as a leader on the team, Richards was named one of the Flyers' alternate captains at the outset of the season^[7] and was signed to a lengthy 12-year contract extension worth $69 million on December 13, 2007.^[8] Shortly after signing the deal, Richards was selected to represent the Eastern Conference at the 2008 NHL All-Star Game in Atlanta.^[9] In the first NHL All-Star Game of his career, Richards registered an assist.

As the Flyers entered the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the third-seeded Washington Capitals, Richards scored his first playoff goal on a penalty shot against Washington goaltender Cristobal Huet in game three.^[10] In doing so, he became just the second player in NHL history to score his first playoff goal on a penalty shot (the first was Wayne Connolly who did so with the Minnesota North Stars in 1968).^[11] The Flyers defeated the Capitals in seven games and then upset the Montreal Canadiens before falling to the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals. Richards finished his 2008 playoff run with 14 points in 17 games.

Before the start of the 2008–09 season, on September 17, 2008, Richards was named the 17th captain in Flyers history, succeeding previous captain Jason Smith, who had signed with the Ottawa Senators in the off-season.^[12] On February 15, 2009, Richards became the first player in NHL history to score three career 3-on-5 shorthanded goals when he beat New York Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist in a 5–2 win.^[13] Six days later, on February 21, Richards became the first Flyer in team history^{[citation needed]} to score a shorthanded goal in three consecutive games and the first NHL player to do so since Joe Sakic in 1998.^[14] He finished the season second in team scoring to Jeff Carter with 80 points to go with a league-leading 7 shorthanded goals.^[14]

Facing the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second consecutive year in the 2009 playoffs, Richards added 5 points in 6 games, but could not help the Flyers from being eliminated. After Richards' season ended, he was announced as a finalist for the Selke Trophy, along with Pavel Datsyuk of the Detroit Red Wings and Ryan Kesler of the Vancouver Canucks.^[14] The next day, on April 29, 2009, it was revealed that Richards required surgery on both shoulders. He had reportedly felt discomfort since training camp and was on anti-inflammatory medication throughout the season. Richards narrowly missed out on the Selke, which could have been Philadelphia's first individual player trophy since Eric Lindros won the Hart in 1995. Datsyuk won the vote 945-942 in the closest Selke Trophy race since its inception.

Richards (left) and Jeff Carter prior to a Flyers game during the 2008–09 season.

The 2009-10 season started successfully for Richards, scoring five goals in his first three games including his second career hat trick in the second period of the Flyers' home opener against the Washington Capitals on October 6, 2009.^[15] Against the Florida Panthers on October 24, Richards delivered a shoulder hit to David Booth's head. Knocked unconscious, Booth fell awkwardly on his head and neck and had to be carried of the ice on a stretcher. Richards was given a game misconduct, but was not suspended by the NHL.^[16][17]

From the outset of the season, Richards was involved in an ongoing feud with the Philadelphia media. He issued a verbal boycott against the media in October 2009 after he was asked if the trade of forward Joffrey Lupul to the Anaheim Ducks was the result of a partying lifestyle that many players on the team were accused of sharing.^[18] Accusations of team players drinking and partying excessively continued throughout the season, specifically with Richards and Carter.^[18] As the team began to lose, Richards criticized the local media in an interview with The Hockey News for "throwing the team under the bus."^[18] He also told the Philadelphia Daily News that the drinking accusations were fabricated.^[18] Following a loss to the Washington Capitals on January 17, 2010, Richards reportedly got into a verbal exchange with reporters outside the Flyers' locker room, telling them he was unhappy with how the team was being covered in the media.^[18] On February 1, 2010, Richards scored his 100th career NHL goal.^[19] The Flyers barely scraped into the playoffs, winning in a shootout in their last game of the season to secure their place. However, they then embarked on a remarkable run to the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals, a run in which Richards cemented his captaincy and scored some important goals leading to renewed comparisons to Bobby Clarke, which eventually ended in the Stanley Cup Finals when the Flyers lost 4-3 in OT of game 6 to the Chicago Blackhawks.

Richards scored 23 goals to go along with 43 assists during the 2010-11 NHL season as the Flyers earned the 2nd seed in the Eastern Conference, and played the Buffalo Sabres in the first round of the 2011 Stanley Cup Playoffs. After eliminating the Sabres in 7 games, Richards and the Flyers were eliminated by the Boston Bruins in a 4 game sweep. Richards recorded one goal and six assists during the playoffs.

Los Angeles Kings[link]

Richards and Flyers prospect Rob Bordson were traded to the Los Angeles Kings on June 23, 2011. In return, the Flyers received Wayne Simmonds, Brayden Schenn, and Los Angeles' 2012 second round pick.^[20][21] Richards reacted to the major deal by saying, "“I was very shocked. At first I was shocked and then excited – I’m excited to move out to L.A. and be a part of a team that has a ton of great players. I’m just looking forward to helping them out.”^[22] A Dan Gross article suggested that Richards' "hard-partying ways" influenced the Flyers' decision to trade Richards. However, Flyers' General manager Paul Holmgren stated that it was "preposterous" that partying had anything to do with the trade.^[23]

Richards was reunited with former Flyers teammate Simon Gagne when he was traded

Richards was reunited with former Flyers teammate Jeff Carter on February 23, 2012, upon Carter's trade to the Kings from the Columbus Blue Jackets.

International play[link]

Medal record
Competitor for  Canada
Ice hockey
Olympic Winter Games
Gold	2010 Vancouver
World Junior Championships
Gold	2005 United States
Silver	2004 Finland

Richards made his international debut with Team Canada at the 2004 World Junior Championships in Finland. Despite a third period lead in the gold medal game, Canada lost to the United States 4-3.

The following year, Richards returned to the World Juniors as team captain and led Canada to its first gold medal at the tournament since 1997. Richards tallied 5 points in 6 games.

After Richards' rookie season with the Philadelphia Flyers, he was chosen to his first senior tournament with Team Canada at the 2006 World Championships. Richards scored 5 points in 9 games, but Canada was defeated by Finland in the bronze medal game, failing to medal.

On December 30, 2009, Richards was selected to play for Team Canada at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. ^[24] Richards helped lead Team Canada to an 8-0 victory over Norway in the first game of the 2010 Olympic tournament by scoring one goal on February 17, 2010.^[25] He would go on to score a total of 2 goals and 3 assists in 7 games with a +5 rating.^[26] This includes an important assist on the first goal by the Canadians in the Gold Medal game where he forced a turnover, fired a shot and the rebound was put into the net by Jonathan Toews. The Canadians would win that game 3-2 in overtime giving Richards an Olympic gold medal.^[27]

Personal life[link]

Richards was born in Kenora, Ontario to Norm and Irene.^[1] He has two brothers, Mark and Matt.^[1] His cousin, Jeff Richards,^[1] is also an OHL graduate who plays in Germany.^[28] He recently appeared on Making the Cut, a Canadian reality show about aspiring hockey players.

Growing up, he attended Beaver Brae Secondary School in Kenora,^[29] until being drafted to the Kitchener Rangers at which point he attended Eastwood Collegiate Institute.^[1] He also played soccer in high school with Beaver Brae.^{[citation needed]}

Mike Richards was starred on NHL:36 which takes you through 36 hours with him.

Awards[link]

Junior

• Memorial Cup championship (with the Kitchener Rangers) - 2003
• Memorial Cup All-Star Team - 2003
• OHL Second All-Star Team - 2005

Professional

• Calder Cup championship (with the Philadelphia Phantoms) - 2004–05
• Prince of Wales Trophy (with the Philadelphia Flyers) - 2010
• NHL All-Star Game - 2008
• Bobby Clarke Trophy (Philadelphia Flyers' MVP) - 2007–08, 2008–09
• Gene Hart Memorial Award (Philadelphia Flyers' fan favorite) - 2007–08

International

• World Junior gold medal - 2005
• Winter Olympic Gold Medal - Vancouver 2010

Records[link]

• NHL record; most 5-on-3 shorthanded goals, career - 3

Career statistics[link]

Regular season and playoffs[link]

International[link]

All-Star Games[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mike Richards

• Mike Richards's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Mike Richards at Hockey-Reference.com
• Mike Richards's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Mike Richards's NHL player profile
• Mike Richards at TSN.ca

Adam Levine
Levine during a press conference in Singapore in 2011
Background information
Birth name	Adam Noah Levine
Born	(1979-03-18) March 18, 1979 (age 33) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Alternative rock, funk rock, pop rock, soul, rhythm and blues
Occupations	Musician, singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, bass, piano
Years active	1994–present
Labels	A&M Octone
Associated acts	Maroon 5, Kara's Flowers, Kanye West, Wiz Khalifa, Natasha Bedingfield, Ying Yang Twins, Alicia Keys, K'naan, Rihanna, Slash, Gym Class Heroes, Christina Aguilera
Website	www.maroon5.com

Adam Noah Levine^[1] (born March 18, 1979) is an American singer-songwriter and musician, best known as the front man and guitarist for the pop rock band Maroon 5. He is also a coach on the American talent show The Voice.

Early life[link]

Levine was born in Los Angeles to Fred and Patsy (née Noah) Levine. His uncle is journalist and author Timothy Noah.^[2] He has a brother, Michael, and a sister, Julia.^[3] When he was six years old, he made the winning shot of his local YMCA championship basketball game (on a team his father coached) with no time left on the clock. He has said that the incident changed his life and gave him the confidence to be successful.^[4][5]

Levine attended French Woods Festival of the Performing Arts Camp (Hancock, NY) with best friend Jesse Carmichael, guitar player of the band known at that time as Kara's Flowers. He graduated from Brentwood School in 1997.

Levine has Jewish ancestry on both sides of his family (his father and maternal grandfather were Jewish), and considers himself Jewish, though according to The Jewish Chronicle, who interviewed Levine, he "has rejected formal religious practice for a more generalized, spiritual way of life". He chose not to have a Bar Mitzvah as a child.^[6]

Original band Kara's Flowers[link]

Having met at Brentwood School in Los Angeles, the band released their first album titled The Fourth World in 1997 as high school seniors. That same year the band appeared on an episode of Beverly Hills, 90210. The album had little success, and its only single, "Soap Disco", failed commercially. Disappointed with the results of their album, the band members went their separate ways.^[7]

Levine and Carmichael left Los Angeles for New York. This was the first time the two Los Angeles natives were exposed to a completely different music scene, a cultural awakening for the young men.^[8] On MTV News, in 2002, Levine said, "That's when I started waking up to the whole hip hop, R&B thing. We had friends named Chaos and shit. It was not Brentwood High."^[9]

Maroon 5 and mainstream success[link]

During this time, Levine worked a two-week stint as a waiter at Johnny Rockets.^[10] After dropping out of Five Towns College, Levine and Jesse reunited with Mickey and Ryan, but added former Square guitarist, James Valentine in 2001. Renaming the band Maroon 5, Levine and his friends began to compile all of their newfound musical influences into their music. While Levine was working as a writer's assistant on the television show "Judging Amy," he spent time writing the lyrics about his ex-girlfriend, Jane. Those lyrics became the album "Songs About Jane."^[10]

Other work[link]

Levine (right) with bandmate Jesse Carmichael in 2007

Levine has collaborated with various musical acts. In 2005, Levine was featured on the Ying Yang Twins song "Live Again". He appeared on Kanye West's Late Registration album, on the third single, "Heard 'Em Say".^[11] He is also featured in the song "Wild Horses" on Alicia Keys' third album Alicia Keys: MTV Unplugged. Over the next year, he co-wrote the track "Say It Again" on Natasha Bedingfield's album N.B.. He also performed the background vocals on this song. Most recently, Levine offered his vocals on Gym Class Heroes' newest album in the song "Stereo Hearts".

Levine has made four notable comic appearances on television. During 2007, he appeared on the 33rd season premiere of Saturday Night Live in an SNL Digital Short called Iran So Far with Andy Samberg, Fred Armisen and Jake Gyllenhaal. Levine played himself while singing a humorous bridge to a "love song" for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. In 2008, he appeared on Comedy Central's "Night Of Too Many Stars". Levine also had a cameo on Jimmy Kimmel Live for the night of stars and endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential Election.

In October 2008, Levine collaborated with First Act to create the First Act 222 Guitar, fashioned to Levine's specifications. The guitar was made available for purchase at Target retail stores.^[12]

Levine has stated in various interviews that he does not plan on continuing in Maroon 5 forever, and may stop after the tour for Maroon 5's third album.^[13][14] In 2009, he recorded "Gotten", a song for Slash's first solo album Slash released in April 2010. "Gotten" was premiered at amazon.com on March 29, 2010.^[15] Levine is also featured as a singer for his band's song "She Will be Loved" in the music rhythm game Band Hero. In February 2010, he was among approximately 80 musicians who sang on the charity-single remake of "We Are the World" called "We Are the World 25 for Haiti".^{[citation needed]}

Levine is one of the contestant judges and coach mentors on the singing TV show, The Voice.^[16] The winner of the first season, Javier Colon, was on Levine's team. Levine also returned as a coach for Season 2 of The Voice. His team consisted of Mathai (singer), Pip (singer), Tony Lucca, Katrina Parker, Karla Davis, and Kim Yarbrough. Levine will appear in the second season of American Horror Story.^[17]

Personal life[link]

Levine's ex-girlfriend Jane is the inspiration behind the name of the band's debut album Songs About Jane. In a 2004 interview, he claimed that she had not contacted him despite the success of the album.^[18]

In September 2010, Levine said on the Howard Stern Show he had been dating Russian Sports Illustrated swimsuit and Victoria's Secret model Anne Vyalitsyna seriously for about eight months. The couple met when Maroon 5 performed at the 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue release party in Las Vegas.^[19] In April 2012, Levine and Vyalitsyna announced that they had split.^[20]

Levine stripped naked for testicular cancer awareness for a centerfold in Cosmopolitan UK's February 2011 issue.^[21]

During Levine's teenage years, he was medically diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. In 2011, he launched an educational campaign to raise awareness of ADHD, titled "Own It".^[22]

Levine, whose brother is openly gay, is an outspoken supporter of LGBT rights.^[23] In 2011, he made a video^[24] on Maroon 5's official YouTube account in support of the It Gets Better Project. In January 2012, he announced that Maroon 5 had changed the location of their post-Grammy Awards show because of the "unnamed Los Angeles restaurant's backing of Proposition 8".^[23]

Discography[link]

As a featured artist[link]

Other charted songs[link]

Guest appearances[link]

Further reading[link]

• Kimpel, Dan (2006), How They Made It: True Stories of How Music's Biggest Stars Went from Start to Stardom!. Location unknown:Hal Leonard Corporation. ISBN 0-634-07642-6

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Adam Levine

• Adam Levine at the Internet Movie Database
• "y’know – interviews with the famous". C.B.Liddell. February 10, 2008. http://yknow-interviews.blogspot.com/2008/02/adam-levine-maroon-5.html. 

Sandra Bullock
Bullock at the 83rd Academy Awards in 2011
Born	Sandra Annette Bullock (1964-07-26) July 26, 1964 (age 47) Arlington County, Virginia, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, comedian, producer
Years active	1985–present
Spouse	Jesse G. James (2005–2010)
Children	1
Parents	John Bullock Helga Meyer (deceased)

Sandra Annette Bullock ( /ˈbʊlək/; born July 26, 1964) is an American actress and producer who rose to fame in the 1990s after roles in successful films such as Demolition Man, Speed, The Net, A Time to Kill, and While You Were Sleeping. In the new millennium she appeared in such films as Miss Congeniality, The Lake House, and Crash, the third of which received critical acclaim. In 2007, she was ranked as the 14th richest female celebrity with an estimated fortune of US$85 million.^[1] In 2009, Bullock starred in two of the more financially successful films of her career, The Proposal^[2] and The Blind Side.^[3] Bullock was awarded a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, and the Academy Award for Best Actress, for her role as Leigh Anne Tuohy in The Blind Side. She is listed in the 2012 edition of the Guinness Book Of World Records as the highest-paid actress, with $56 million.^[4]

Early life[link]

Sandra Annette Bullock was born in Arlington, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C. Her father, John W. Bullock (born 1925), was a United States Army employee and part-time voice coach from Birmingham, Alabama, and her mother, Helga D. Meyer (1942–2000), was a German opera singer and voice teacher.^[5][6][7] Bullock's maternal grandfather was a rocket scientist from Nuremberg, Germany. John Bullock, then in charge of the Army's Military Postal Service in Europe, was stationed in Nuremberg when he met his wife. They married in Germany, soon moving to Arlington, where John Bullock worked with the Army Materiel Command, before becoming a contractor for The Pentagon.^[8][9]

Bullock frequently accompanied her mother on her opera tours throughout Europe. She spent time in Salzburg and Nuremberg, where she stayed with her aunt and grandmother and became fluent in German. Bullock studied ballet and vocal arts as a child, taking small parts in her mother's opera productions.^[5] She sang in the operas children's choir at the Staatstheater Nürnberg.^[10]

Bullock attended Washington-Lee High School, where she was a cheerleader and performed in high school theater productions. After she graduated in 1982, she entered East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. However, she dropped out in her fourth year in spring of 1986, just three credits short of graduating, to become an actress. She moved to Manhattan and supported herself as a bartender, cocktail waitress, and coat checker. She later completed her coursework and graduated from East Carolina University.^[11]

Acting[link]

This section includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations. Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations. (December 2010)

Bullock at the 2010 SAG Awards red carpet.

While in New York, Bullock took acting classes with Sanford Meisner.^{[citation needed]} She appeared in several student films, and later landed a role in an Off-Broadway play No Time Flat. Director Alan J. Levi was impressed by Bullock's performance and offered her a part in the TV movie Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman (1989). Afterward, she was cast in a series of small roles in several independent films as well as in the lead role of the short-lived NBC television version of the film Working Girl (1990). She later appeared in several films, such as Love Potion No. 9 (1992), The Thing Called Love (1993) and Fire on the Amazon. A prominent supporting role in the science-fiction/action movie Demolition Man (1993) led to her breakthrough performance in Speed the following year. She became a movie star in the late 1990s, carrying a string of successes, including While You Were Sleeping, and Miss Congeniality in 2000. Bullock received $11 million for Speed 2: Cruise Control, which she agreed to star in for financial backing for her own project, Hope Floats,^[12] and has revealed she regrets making the sequel.^[13] She later received $17.5 million for Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous.^{[citation needed]}

Bullock was selected as one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1996 and 1999, and was also ranked #58 in Empire magazine's Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time list. She was presented with the 2002 Raúl Juliá Award for Excellence^[14] for her efforts, as the executive producer of the sitcom George Lopez, in helping expand career openings for Hispanic talent in the media and entertainment industry. She also made several appearances on the show as Accident Amy, an accident-prone employee at the factory Lopez's character manages. In 2002, she starred opposite Hugh Grant in Two Weeks Notice and in the film Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.

In 2004, Bullock had a supporting role in the film Crash. She received positive reviews for her performance, with some critics suggesting that it was the best performance of her career.^[15] In 2005, she was a co-recipient of the Women in Film Crystal Award.

In 2008, Sandra Bullock was announced as "the face" of prestigious cosmetic brand Artistry.

Bullock later appeared in The Lake House, a romantic drama also starring her Speed co-star, Keanu Reeves; it was released on June 16, 2006. Because their film characters are separated throughout the film (due to the plot revolving around time travel), Bullock and Reeves were only on set together for two weeks during filming.^[16] The same year, Bullock appeared in Infamous, playing author Harper Lee. Bullock also starred in Premonition with Julian McMahon, which was released in March 2007.^[17] 2009 proved to be especially good for Bullock, giving the actress two record highs in her career, as earlier in the year she released The Proposal, with co-star Ryan Reynolds, a huge hit that took in more than $314 million at the box office worldwide, making it her most successful picture to date.^[18]

In November 2009, Bullock starred in The Blind Side, which opened at #2 behind New Moon with $34.2 million, making it her highest opening weekend ever. The Blind Side is unique in that it had a 17.6% increase at the box office its second weekend, and it took the top spot of the box office in its third weekend. The movie cost $29 million to make according to the Box Office Mojo. It has grossed over $309 million to date, making it her domestic highest grossing film and the first movie in history to pass the $200 million mark with only one top-billed female star.^[19][20] She won the award for Best Actress at the Golden Globes, Academy Awards, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance in The Blind Side.^[21] Bullock had initially turned down the role three times due to a discomfort with portraying a devout Christian.^[22] Winning the "Oscar" also gave her another unique distinction — since she won two "Razzies" the day before, for her performance in All About Steve, she is the only performer ever to have been named both "Best" and "Worst" for the same year.^[23] Sandra was asked to return her 2009 "Worst Actress of the Year" Razzie award; however, this wasn't because of a change of heart for Bullock's performance but because Bullock personally accepted her Razzie and accidentally took the original one-of-a-kind prototype Razzie, as opposed to the cheap trinket normally handed out to celebrities.^[24]

Recognition[link]

Sandra Bullock's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

As of 2009, Bullock's films have grossed over $3.1 billion worldwide.^[25] According to The Numbers, her total domestic gross stands at $1.7 billion, placing her among the Top 100 Stars at the Box Office.^[26]

Critics, while praising her screen persona,^[27] have been less receptive to her films. As of the 2009 release of The Proposal, Mark Kermode said she's made only three "good" films in her career—Speed, While You Were Sleeping, and Crash, and says "she's funny, she's gorgeous, it's impossible not to love her and yet she makes rotten film after rotten film after rotten film."^[28] As of December 2009, Bullock has appeared on three Entertainment Weekly covers. She was selected by People Magazine as its "Woman of the Year" for 2010.^[29] She was ranked #12 on People's Most Beautiful 2011 list.^[30]

Entrepreneurship[link]

Bullock runs her own production company, Fortis Films. Bullock was an executive producer of The George Lopez Show, which garnered a lucrative syndication deal that banked her some $10 million (co-produced with Robert Borden). Bullock tried to produce a film based on F.X. Toole's short story, Million-Dollar Baby, but could not interest the studios in a female boxing drama. The story was eventually adapted and directed by Clint Eastwood as the Oscar-winning film, Million Dollar Baby (2004). Bullock's production company, Fortis Films, also produced All About Steve, which was released in September 2009. Her father, John Bullock, is the company's CEO,^[31] and her sister, Gesine Bullock-Prado, is the former president.

Since November 2006, Bullock founded a popular Austin, Texas restaurant, Bess Bistro.^[32] She later opened another business across the street in a building she extensively renovated downtown called Walton's Fancy and Staple^[33] a bakery, upscale restaurant and floral shop that also offers services such as event planning.

Personal life[link]

Relationships and children[link]

Bullock was once engaged to actor Tate Donovan, whom she met while filming Love Potion No. 9; their relationship lasted four years. She previously dated football player Troy Aikman, Austin musician Bob Schneider (for two years), and actors Matthew McConaughey and Ryan Gosling.^[34][35]

Bullock married motorcycle builder and Monster Garage host Jesse James on July 16, 2005. They first met when Bullock arranged for her ten-year-old godson to meet James as a Christmas present.

In November 2009, Bullock and James entered into a custody battle with James' second ex-wife, former pornographic actress Janine Lindemulder, with whom James had a child. Bullock and James subsequently won full legal custody of James' five-year-old daughter.^[36]