In linguistics, a copula (plural: copulas or copulae) is a word used to link the subject of a sentence with a predicate (a subject complement). The word copula derives from the Latin noun for a link or tie that connects two different things.

A copula is often a verb or a verb-like word, though this is not universally the case. A verb that is a copula is sometimes called a copulative or copular verb. In English primary education grammar courses, a copula is often called a linking verb. Other copulas show more resemblances to pronouns. This is the case for Classical Chinese and Guarani, for instance. In highly synthetic languages, copulas are often suffixes, attached to a noun, that may still behave otherwise like ordinary verbs, for example -u- in Inuit languages. In some other languages, such as Beja and Ket, the copula takes the form of suffixes that attach to a noun but are distinct from the person agreement markers used on predicative verbs. This phenomenon is known as nonverbal person agreement or nonverbal subject agreement and the relevant markers are always established as deriving from cliticised independent pronouns.

Dita Von Teese (born Heather Renée Sweet on September 28, 1972) is an American burlesque dancer, model, costume designer, author and actress.

Dita Von Teese was born Heather Renée Sweet on September 28, 1972, in West Branch, MI, the middle child of three daughters. Her mother was a manicurist and her father was a machinist. She is of partly Armenian heritage.

Von Teese is known for her fascination with 1940s cinema and classic retro style. This began at a young age and was fostered by her mother, who would buy clothes for her daughter to dress up in. Her mother was a fan of old, Golden-era Hollywood films, and it was from her that Von Teese developed a fascination with the actresses of that day, especially Betty Grable.

She was classically trained as a ballet dancer from an early age, and danced solo at age thirteen for a local ballet company. Though she originally wanted to be a ballerina, Von Teese states that "By 15, I was as good as I’d ever be." She was later to incorporate this element into her burlesque shows, where she frequently goes en pointe.

Kimberly Noel "Kim" Kardashian (born October 21, 1980) is an American socialite, celebutante, television personality, model, actress and businesswoman. She is known for starring in Keeping Up with the Kardashians, the E! reality series that she shares with her family, and its spin-offs including Kourtney and Kim Take New York.

Prior to the development of her career as a reality television star, Kardashian gained notoriety as the subject of a sex tape that subsequently resulted in a court awarding her $5 million. She has been involved in the production of several lines of clothing and fragrances. In 2010, she was the highest earning reality star, with estimated earnings of $6 million, and is one of the most highly documented and followed celebrities in the world in popular media.

In August 2011, Kardashian married basketball player Kris Humphries in a widely publicized ceremony. In October 2011, Kardashian filed for divorce, 72 days after the wedding.

Kardashian was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of attorney Robert Kardashian and his wife Kris Kardashian (née Houghton). Her father was a third generation Armenian American, and her mother is of Dutch and Scottish descent. Kardashian has two sisters, Kourtney and Khloé, and one brother, Robert. She has stepbrothers Burton Jenner, Brandon Jenner, and reality TV star Brody Jenner, step-sister Casey Jenner, and half-sisters Kendall Jenner and Kylie Jenner. She attended Marymount High School.

Stephen William Hawking, CH, CBE, FRS, FRSA (born 8 January 1942) is a British theoretical physicist, cosmologist, and author. His key scientific works to date have included providing, with Roger Penrose, theorems regarding gravitational singularities in the framework of general relativity, and the theoretical prediction that black holes should emit radiation, which is today known as Hawking radiation (or sometimes as Bekenstein–Hawking radiation).

He is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, a lifetime member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences, and in 2009 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. Hawking was the Lucasian Professor of Mathematics at the University of Cambridge between 1979 and 2009. Subsequently, he became research director at the university's Centre for Theoretical Cosmology.

Hawking has a motor neurone disease related to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, a condition that has progressed over the years. He is now almost completely paralysed and communicates through a speech generating device. He has been married twice and has three children. Hawking has achieved success with works of popular science in which he discusses his own theories and cosmology in general; these include A Brief History of Time, which stayed on the British Sunday Times best-sellers list for a record-breaking 237 weeks.

Gavin Shane DeGraw (born February 4, 1977) is an American musician and singer-songwriter. He is known for his songs "Chariot", "Follow Through", "I Don't Want to Be" (which has been featured as the theme song for the television drama series, One Tree Hill since 2003), "In Love with a Girl", and "Not Over You".

DeGraw grew up in the Catskills in South Fallsburg, New York. His mother, Lynne (Krieger), was a detox specialist, and his father, Wayne DeGraw, was a prison guard; he referenced his father's occupation in the song "I Don't Want to Be". His father is of Irish descent and his mother's family was of Russian ancestry. DeGraw began singing and playing piano at the age of eight. He also has two siblings, both older, named Neeka and Joey (born August 1973). It was at his brother's advice that he began writing his own songs.Joey DeGraw is a musician as well, currently touring to promote his own music.

DeGraw rose to fame in 2003 when "I Don't Want to Be" was chosen as the theme song for teen drama One Tree Hill. The song has also been performed on American Idol and Idol Sweden by various contestants during different seasons.