Yugoslavia (Macedonian, Croatian, Serbian, Slovene: Jugoslavija; Cyrillic: Југославија) is a term that describes three political entities that existed successively on the western part of the Balkans, during most of the 20th century.

The first country to be known by this name was the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, which before 3 October 1929 was known as the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. It was established on 1 December 1918 by the union of the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs and the Kingdom of Serbia (to which the Kingdom of Montenegro was annexed on 13 November 1918, and the Conference of Ambassadors in Paris gave international recognition to the union on 13 July 1922). The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was invaded by the Axis powers in 1941, and because of the events that followed, was officially abolished in 1943 and 1945.

The second country with this name was the Democratic Federal Yugoslavia, proclaimed in 1943 by the Yugoslav Partisans resistance movement during World War II. It was renamed to the Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia in 1946, when a communist government was established. In 1963, it was renamed again to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SFRY). This was the largest Yugoslav state, as Istria and Rijeka were added to the new Yugoslavia after the end of World War II.

The constituent six Socialist Republics and two Socialist Autonomous Provinces that made up the country were: SR Bosnia and Herzegovina, SR Croatia, SR Macedonia, SR Montenegro, SR Slovenia and SR Serbia (including the autonomous provinces of SAP Vojvodina and SAP Kosovo which after 1974 were largely equal to the other members of the federation).

Starting in 1991, the SFRY disintegrated in the Yugoslav Wars which followed the secession of most of the country's constituent entities. The next Yugoslavia, known as the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, existed until 2003, when it was renamed Serbia and Montenegro.

Background

Yugoslavia was the idea for a single state for all South Slavic intelligentsia and emerged in the late 17th and gained prominence in the 19th century Illyrian Movement. It culminated in the realization of the ideal with the 1918 collapse of Habsburg Austria-Hungary at the end of World War I and the formation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes. However, the kingdom was better known, colloquially as well as even on maps, as Yugoslavia (or Jugo-Slavia in the rest of Europe), coined from the Slavic words "jug" (south) and "slaveni" (Slavs). In 1929 it was formally renamed the "Kingdom of Yugoslavia".

Kingdom of Yugoslavia

of Yugoslavia in 1929]]

1918–1928

Yugoslavia was formed after World War I as what was commonly called at the time a "Versailles state".

King Alexander

King Alexander I banned national political parties in 1929, assumed executive power and renamed the country Yugoslavia. He hoped to curb separatist tendencies and mitigate nationalist passions. However, Alexander's policies later encountered opposition from other European powers stemming from developments in Italy and Germany, where Fascists and Nazis rose to power, and the Soviet Union, where Stalin became absolute ruler. None of these three regimes favored the policy pursued by Alexander I. In fact, Italy and Germany wanted to revise the international treaties signed after World War I, and the Soviets were determined to regain their positions in Europe and pursue a more active international policy.

Alexander attempted to create a centralized Yugoslavia. He decided to abolish Yugoslavia's historic regions, and new internal boundaries were drawn for provinces or banovinas. The banovinas were named after rivers. Many politicians were jailed or kept under police surveillance. The effect of Alexander's dictatorship was to further alienate the non-Serbs from the idea of unity. During his reign the flags of Yugoslav nations were banned. Communist ideas were banned also.

The king was assassinated in Marseille during an official visit to France in 1934 by an experienced marksman from Ivan Mihailov's Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization with the cooperation of the Ustaše, a Croatian fascist revolutionary organization. Alexander was succeeded by his eleven-year-old son Peter II and a regency council headed by his cousin, Prince Paul.

1934-1941

The international political scene in the late 1930s was marked by growing intolerance between the principal figures, by the aggressive attitude of the totalitarian regimes and by the certainty that the order set up after World War I was losing its strongholds and its sponsors were losing their strength. Supported and pressured by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, Croatian leader Vladko Maček and his party managed the creation of the Banovina of Croatia (Autonomous Region with significant internal self-government) in 1939. The agreement specified that Croatia was to remain part of Yugoslavia, but it was hurriedly building an independent political identity in international relations. The entire kingdom was to be federalized but World War II stopped the fulfillment of those plans.

Prince Paul submitted to the fascist pressure and signed the Tripartite Treaty in Vienna on March 25, 1941, hoping to still keep Yugoslavia out of the war. But this was at the expense of popular support for Paul's regency. Senior military officers were also opposed to the treaty and launched a coup d'état when the king returned on March 27. Army General Dušan Simović seized power, arrested the Vienna delegation, exiled Paul, and ended the regency, giving 17-year-old King Peter full powers. Hitler then decided to attack Yugoslavia on April 6, 1941, followed immediately by an invasion of Greece where Mussolini had previously been repelled.

World War II

, Stjepan Filipović shouting "Death to fascism, freedom to the people!" shortly before his execution]]

Invasion of Yugoslavia

At 5:12 a.m. on April 6, 1941, German, Italian and Hungarian forces attacked Yugoslavia. The German Air Force (Luftwaffe) bombed Belgrade and other major Yugoslav cities. On April 17, representatives of Yugoslavia's various regions signed an armistice with Germany in Belgrade, ending 11 days of resistance against the invading German Army (Wehrmacht Heer). More than 300,000 Yugoslav officers and soldiers were taken prisoner.

The Axis Powers occupied Yugoslavia and split it up. The Independent State of Croatia was established as a Nazi satellite state, ruled by the fascist militia known as the Ustaše that came into existence in 1929, but was relatively limited in its activities until 1941. German troops occupied Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as part of Serbia and Slovenia, while other parts of the country were occupied by Bulgaria, Hungary, and Italy. From 1941-45, the Croatian Ustaše regime murdered around 500,000 people, 250,000 were expelled, and another 200,000 were forced to convert to Catholicism; the victims were predominantly Serbs but included 37,000 Jews.

See: Jasenovac concentration camp

Yugoslav People's Liberation War

From the start, the Yugoslav resistance forces consisted of two factions: the communist-led Yugoslav Partisans and the royalist Chetniks, with the former receiving Allied recognition only at the Tehran conference (1943). The heavily pro-Serbian Chetniks were led by Draža Mihajlović, while the pan-Yugoslav oriented Partisans were led by Josip Broz Tito.

The Partisans initiated a guerrilla campaign that developed into the largest resistance army in occupied Western and Central Europe. The Chetniks were initially supported by the exiled royal government as well as the Allies, they but soon focused increasingly on combating the Partisans rather than the occupying Axis forces. By the end of the war, the Chetnik movement transformed into a collaborationist Serb nationalist militia completely dependent on Axis supplies. The highly mobile Partisans, however, carried on their guerrilla warfare with great success. Most notable of the victories against the occupying forces were the battles of Neretva and Sutjeska.

On November 25, 1942, the Anti-Fascist Council of National Liberation of Yugoslavia was convened in Bihać, modern day Bosnia and Herzegovina. The council reconvened on November 29, 1943, in Jajce, also in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and established the basis for post-war organization of the country, establishing a federation (this date was celebrated as Republic Day after the war).

The Yugoslav Partisans were able to expel the Axis from Serbia in 1944 and the rest of Yugoslavia in 1945. The Red Army provided limited assistance with the liberation of Belgrade and withdrew after the war was over. In May 1945, the Partisans met with Allied forces outside former Yugoslav borders, after also taking over Trieste and parts of the southern Austrian provinces of Styria and Carinthia. However, the Partisans withdrew from Trieste in June of the same year.

Western attempts to reunite the Partisans, who denied the supremacy of the old government of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, and the émigrés loyal to the king led to the Tito-Šubašić Agreement in June 1944; however, Marshal Josip Broz Tito was seen as a national hero by the citizens and was elected by referendum to lead the new independent communist state, starting as a prime minister.

The official Yugoslav post-war estimate of victims in Yugoslavia during World War II is 1,704,000. Subsequent data gathering in the 1980s by historians Vladimir Žerjavić and Bogoljub Kočović showed that the actual number of dead was about 1 million.

Socialist Yugoslavia

On November 29, 1945, while still in exile, King Peter II was deposed by Yugoslavia's Constituent Assembly. However, he refused to abdicate.

On January 31, 1946, the new constitution of Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia, modeled after the Soviet Union, established six republics, an autonomous province, and an autonomous district that were part of SR Serbia. The federal capital was Belgrade. Republics and provinces were (in alphabetical order):

()

In 1947, negotiations between Yugoslavia and Bulgaria were led and finalized with the Bled agreement. The aim of the negotiations was to include Bulgaria in Yugoslavia or to form a new union of two independent countries. After the intervention of Stalin this agreement was never realized.

Yugoslavia solved the national issue of nations and nationalities (national minorities) in a way that all nations and nationalities had the same rights. The flags of the republics used versions of the red flag and/or Slavic tricolor, with a red star in the centre or in the canton.

In 1974, the two provinces of Vojvodina and Kosovo-Metohija (for the latter had by then been upgraded to the status of a province), as well as the republics of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro, were granted greater autonomy to the point that Albanian and Hungarian became nationally recognised minority languages and the Serbo-Croat of Bosnia and Montenegro altered to a form based on the speech of the local people and not on the standards of Zagreb and Belgrade. In Slovenia the recognized minorities were Hungarians and Italians.

Vojvodina and Kosovo-Metohija formed a part of the Republic of Serbia but those provinces also formed part of the federation, which led to the unique situation that Central Serbia did not have its own assembly but a joint assembly with its provinces represented in it. The country distanced itself from the Soviets in 1948 (cf. Cominform and Informbiro) and started to build its own way to socialism under the strong political leadership of Josip Broz Tito. The country criticized both Eastern bloc and NATO nations and, together with other countries, started the Non-Aligned Movement in 1961, which remained the official affiliation of the country until it dissolved.

Demographics

Yugoslavia had always been a home to a very diverse population, not only in terms of national affiliation, but also religious affiliation. Of the many religions, Islam, Catholicism, Judaism and Protestantism as well as various Orthodox faiths composed the religions of Yugoslavia, comprising over 40 in all. The religious demographics of Yugoslavia have changed dramatically since World War II. A census taken in 1921 and later in 1948 show that 99% of the population appeared to be deeply involved with their religion and practices. With postwar government programs of modernization and urbanization, the percentage of religious believers took a dramatic plunge. Connections between religious belief and nationality posed a serious threat to the post-war Communist government's policies on national unity and state structure.

After the rise of communism, a survey taken in 1964 showed that just over 70% of the total population of Yugoslavia considered themselves to be religious believers. The places of highest religious concentration were that of Kosovo with 91% and Bosnia and Herzegovina with 83.8%. The places of lowest religious concentration were Slovenia 65.4%, Serbia with 63.7% and Croatia with 63.6%. Religious differences between Orthodox Christian Serbs, Catholic Croats, and Muslim Bosniaks and the rise of nationalism contributed to the collapse of Yugoslavia in 1991.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina in November 1991, the Bosnian Serbs held a referendum which resulted in an overwhelming vote in favour of forming Serbian republic in borders of Bosnia and Herzegovina and staying in a common state with Serbia and Montenegro. On January 9, 1992, the self-proclaimed Bosnian Serb assembly proclaimed a separate "Republic of the Serb people of Bosnia and Herzegovina". The referendum and creation of SARs were proclaimed unconstitutional by the government of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and declared illegal and invalid. However, in February–March 1992 the government held a national referendum on Bosnian independence from Yugoslavia. That referendum was in turn declared contrary to the BiH and Federal constitution by the federal Constitution court in Belgrade and the newly established Bosnian Serb government.

The referendum was largely boycotted by the Bosnian Serbs. The Federal court in Belgrade did not decide on the matter of the referendum of the Bosnian Serbs. The turnout was somewhere between 64–67% and 98% of the voters voted for independence. It was not clear what the two-thirds majority requirement actually meant and whether it was satisfied. The republic's government declared its independence on 5 April, and the Serbs immediately declared the independence of Republika Srpska. The war in Bosnia followed shortly thereafter.

The end of the Second Yugoslavia

Various dates are considered as the end of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia:

June 25, 1991, when Croatia and Slovenia declared independence

September 8, 1991, following a referendum the Republic of Macedonia declared independence

October 8, 1991, when the July 9 moratorium on Slovenian and Croatian secession was ended and Croatia restated its independence in Croatian Parliament (that day is celebrated as Independence Day in Croatia)

January 15, 1992, when Slovenia and Croatia were internationally recognized by most European countries

April 6, 1992, full recognition of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s independence by the U.S. and most European countries

April 28, 1992, Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is formed

November 1995, Dayton Agreement is signed by leaders of FR Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia

Legacy

New states

Countries created from the former Yugoslavia:

The first former Yugoslav republic to join the European Union was Slovenia, which applied in 1996 and became a member in 2004. Croatia applied for membership in 2004. Macedonia applied in 2004, and will probably join by 2010–2015. Montenegro is official candidate for membership in the European Union The remaining three republics have yet to apply so their acceptance generally is not expected before 2015. These states are signatories of various partnership agreements with the European Union. Since 1 January 2007, they have been encircled by member-states of EU (and Albania, which is encircled with them). The Assembly of Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in February 2008. Its independence is recognised by and the Republic of China (Taiwan). On 8 October 2008, upon request of Serbia, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution asking the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion on the issue of Kosovo's declaration of independence. On 22 July 2010, the court ruled that Kosovo's independence was not illegal.

Remaining cultural and ethnic ties

The similarity of the languages and the long history of common life have left many ties among the peoples of the new states, even though the individual state policies of the new states favour differentiation, particularly in language. The Serbo-Croatian language is linguistically a unique language, with several literary and spoken variants and also was the imposed means of communication used where other languages dominated (Slovenia, Macedonia). Now, separate sociolinguistic standards exist for the Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian languages. Although the SFRY had no official language, technically there had been three official languages, along with minority languages official where minorities lived, but in all federal organs only Serbo-Croatian or Croato-Serbian was used and others were expected to use it as well.

Remembrance of the time of the joint state and its perceived positive attributes is referred to as Yugo-nostalgia. Many aspects of Yugonostalgia refer to the socialist system and the sense of social security it provided. There are still people from the former-Yugoslavia who self-identify as Yugoslavs, and commonly seen in demographics relating to ethnicity in today's independent states.

Miscellaneous

Asteroid 1554 Yugoslavia was discovered by Milorad B. Protić and named after Yugoslavia.

See also

History of the Balkans

Yugoslav wars

Notes and references

Notes:

{| class="references-small" style="margin-left:13px; line-height:150%" |align="right" valign="top"|a. | |}

References: - Yugoslavia

Further reading

Allcock, John B.: Explaining Yugoslavia. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000

Anne Marie du Preez Bezdrob: Sarajevo Roses: War Memoirs of a Peacekeeper. Oshun, 2002. ISBN 177007031

Chan, Adrian: Free to Choose: A Teacher's Resource and Activity Guide to Revolution and Reform in Eastern Europe. Stanford, CA: SPICE, 1991. ED 351 248

Cigar, Norman, : Genocide in Bosnia: The Policy of Ethnic-Cleansing. College Station: Texas A&M; University Press, 1995

Cohen, Lenard J.: Broken Bonds: The Disintegration of Yugoslavia. Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 1993

Conversi, Daniele: German -Bashing and the Breakup of Yugoslavia, The Donald W. Treadgold Papers in Russian, East European and Central Asian Studies, no. 16, March 1998 (University of Washington: HMJ School of International Studies) http://easyweb.easynet.co.uk/conversi/german.html

Dragnich, Alex N.: Serbs and Croats. The Struggle in Yugoslavia. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1992

Fisher, Sharon: Political Change in Post-Communist Slovakia and Croatia: From Nationalist to Europeanist. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2006 ISBN 1 4039 7286 9

Glenny, Mischa: The Balkans: Nationalism, War and the Great Powers, 1804-1999 (London: Penguin Books Ltd, 2000)

Glenny, Mischa: The fall of Yugoslavia: The Third Balkan War, ISBN 0-14-026101-X

Gutman, Roy.: A Witness to Genocide. The 1993 Pulitzer Prize-winning Dispatches on the "Ethnic Cleansing" of Bosnia. New York: Macmillan, 1993

Hall, Brian: The Impossible Country: A Journey Through the Last Days of Yugoslavia. Penguin Books. New York, 1994

Harris, Judy J.: Yugoslavia Today. Southern Social Studies Journal 16 (Fall 1990): 78–101. EJ 430 520

Hayden, Robert M.: Blueprints for a House Divided: The Constitutional Logic of the Yugoslav Conflicts. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2000

Hoare, Marko A., A History of Bosnia: From the Middle Ages to the Present Day. London: Saqi, 2007

Jelavich, Barbara: History of the Balkans: Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, Volume 1. New York: American Council of Learned Societies, 1983 ED 236 093

Jelavich, Barbara: History of the Balkans: Twentieth Century, Volume 2. New York: American Council of Learned Societies, 1983. ED 236 094

Kohlmann, Evan F.: Al-Qaida's Jihad in Europe: The Afghan-Bosnian Network Berg, New York 2004, ISBN 1-85973-802-8; ISBN 1-85973-807-9

Lampe, John R: Yugoslavia As History: Twice There Was a Country Great Britain, Cambridge, 1996, ISBN 0 521 46705 5

Malesevic, Sinisa: Ideology, Legitimacy and the New State: Yugoslavia, Serbia and Croatia. London: Routledge, 2002.

Owen, David: Balkan Odyssey Harcourt (Harvest Book), 1997

Ramet, Sabrina: The Three Yugoslavias: State-building and Legitimation, 1918-2003. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2006

Roberts, Walter R|Walter R Roberts: "Tito, Mihailovic, and the Allies: 1941-1945". Duke University Press, 1987; ISBN 0-8223-0773-1

Sacco, Joe: Safe Area Gorazde: The War in Eastern Bosnia 1992-1995. Fantagraphics Books, January 2002

Silber, Laura and Allan Little:Yugoslavia: Death of a Nation. New York: Penguin Books, 1997

West, Rebecca: Black Lamb and Gray Falcon: A Journey Through Yugoslavia. Viking, 1941

White, T.: Another fool in the Balkans - in the footsteps of Rebbecca West. Cadogan Guides, London , 2006

Time homepage: New Power

External links

European University Institute Yugoslavia

Maps

Teaching about Conflict and Crisis in the Former Yugoslavia

The First Yugoslavia: Search for a Viable Political System, by Alex N. Dragnich

Timeline: Break-up of Yugoslavia at BBC

"Where the West went wrong": an article in the TLS by Charles King about the dissolution of Yugoslavia.

CIA report from November 1970">"Yugoslavia: the outworn structure" CIA report from November 1970

The collapse of communist Yugoslavia

Category:Yugoslavia Category:Former countries in the Balkans Category:Former countries in Europe Category:Former Slavic countries Category:Former monarchies

Name	Ellen DeGeneres
Caption	Ellen DeGeneres (2009)
Birth name	Ellen DeGeneres
Birth date	January 26, 1958
Birth place	Metairie, Louisiana, U.S.
Active	1981 – present
Medium	Stand-up comedy, television, film
Nationality	American
Spouse	Portia de Rossi (2008–present)

}}

Ellen DeGeneres (; born January 26, 1958) is an American stand-up comedienne, television host and actress. She hosts the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and was also a judge on American Idol for one year, having joined the show in its ninth season.

DeGeneres has hosted both the Academy Awards and the Primetime Emmys. As a film actress, she starred in Mr. Wrong, appeared in EDtv and The Love Letter, and provided the voice of Dory in the Disney-Pixar animated film Finding Nemo, for which she was awarded a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress, the first and only time a voice performance won a Saturn Award.

She also starred in two television sitcoms, Ellen from 1994 to 1998 and The Ellen Show from 2001 to 2002. During the fourth season of Ellen in 1997, Degeneres came out publicly as a lesbian in an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Shortly afterwards, her character Ellen Morgan also came out to a therapist played by Winfrey, and the series went on to explore various LGBT issues including the coming out process.

She has won twelve Emmys and numerous other awards for her work and charitable efforts.

Early life and education

DeGeneres was raised in Metairie, Louisiana, the daughter of Betty Jane DeGeneres (née Pfeffer), a speech therapist, and Elliott DeGeneres, an insurance agent. She has one brother, Vance DeGeneres, who is a producer and musician. She is of French, English, German and Irish descent. DeGeneres was raised as a Christian Scientist until the age of thirteen. In 1973 DeGeneres' parents filed for separation and were divorced the following year. Shortly after, Betty Jane remarried Roy Gruessendorf, who worked as a salesman. Betty Jane and Ellen moved with Gruessendorf from the New Orleans area to Atlanta, Texas. Vance stayed with their birth father.

DeGeneres graduated from Atlanta High School in May 1976, after completing her first years of high school at Grace King High School in Metairie, Louisiana. She moved back to New Orleans to attend the University of New Orleans, where she majored in communication studies. After one semester, she left school to do clerical work in a law firm with her cousin Laura Gillen. She also held a job selling clothes at the chain store the Merry-Go-Round at the Lakeside Shopping Center. Other working experiences included being a waitress at TGI Friday's and another restaurant, a house painter, a hostess, and a bartender. She relates much of her childhood and career experiences in her comedic work.

Career

Stand-up comedy

DeGeneres started performing stand-up comedy at small clubs and coffee houses. By 1981 she was the emcee at Clyde's Comedy Club in New Orleans. Degeneres cites Woody Allen and Steve Martin as her main influences at this time. In the early 1980s she began to tour nationally, being named Showtime's Funniest Person in America in 1982. In 1986 she appeared for the first time on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, who likened her to Bob Newhart.

Ellen reached its height of popularity in February 1997, when DeGeneres made her homosexuality public on The Oprah Winfrey Show. Subsequently her character on the sitcom came out of the closet in April to her therapist, played by Oprah Winfrey, revealing that she was gay. The coming out episode, titled "The Puppy Episode", was one of the highest-rated episodes of the show. Later episodes of the series did not match its popularity, and after declining ratings, the show was canceled. DeGeneres returned to the stand-up comedy circuit, and later re-established herself as a successful talk show host.

Ellen's Energy Adventure

DeGeneres starred in a series of films for a show named Ellen's Energy Adventure, which is part of the Universe of Energy attraction and pavilion at Walt Disney World's Epcot. The film also featured Bill Nye, Alex Trebek, Michael Richards and Jamie Lee Curtis. The show revolved around DeGeneres falling asleep and finding herself in an energy-themed version of Jeopardy!, playing against an old rival, portrayed by Curtis, and Albert Einstein. The next film had DeGeneres hosting an educational look at energy, co-hosted with Nye. The ride first opened on September 15, 1996, as Ellen's Energy Crisis but was quickly renamed to the more positive-sounding Ellen's Energy Adventure.

The Ellen Show

DeGeneres returned to series television in 2001 with a new CBS sitcom, The Ellen Show.

2001 Emmy Awards

DeGeneres received wide exposure on November 4, 2001 when she hosted the televised broadcast of the Emmy Awards. Presented after two cancellations due to network concerns that a lavish ceremony following the September 11, 2001 attacks would appear insensitive, the show required a more somber tone that would also allow viewers to temporarily forget the tragedy. DeGeneres received several standing ovations for her performance that evening which included the line: "What would bug the Taliban more than seeing a gay woman in a suit surrounded by Jews?"

In August 2005, DeGeneres hosted the 2005 Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony held on September 18, 2005. This was three weeks after Hurricane Katrina, making it the second time she hosted the Emmys following a national tragedy. She also hosted the Grammy Awards in 1996 and in 1997.

Voice acting

DeGeneres lent her voice to the role of Dory, a fish with short-term memory loss, in the summer 2003 hit animated Disney/Pixar film Finding Nemo. The film's director, Andrew Stanton, claimed that he chose Ellen because she "changed the subject five times before one sentence had finished" on her show. For her performance as Dory, DeGeneres won the Saturn Award from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films for "Best Supporting Actress"; "Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie" from the Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards; and the Annie Award from the International Animated Film Association for "Outstanding Voice Acting". She was also nominated for a Chicago Film Critics Association Award in the "Best Supporting Actress" category. She also provided the voice of the dog in the prologue of the Eddie Murphy feature film Dr. Dolittle. Her win of the Saturn Award marked the first and only time the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films has given the acting award for a voice performance.

The Ellen DeGeneres Show

DeGeneres launched a daytime television talk show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show in September 2003. Amid a crop of several celebrity-hosted talk shows surfacing at the beginning of that season, such as those of Sharon Osbourne and Rita Rudner, her show has consistently risen in the Nielsen ratings and received widespread critical praise. It was nominated for 11 Daytime Emmy Awards in its first season, winning four, including Best Talk Show. The show has won 25 Emmy Awards in its first three seasons on the air. DeGeneres is known for her dancing and singing with the audience at the beginning of the show and during commercial breaks. She often gives away free prizes and trips to her studio audience with the help of her sponsors.

DeGeneres celebrated her thirty-year class reunion by flying her graduating class to California to be guests on her show in February 2006. She presented Atlanta High School with a surprise gift of a new electronic LED marquee sign.

In May 2006, DeGeneres made a surprise appearance at the Tulane University commencement in New Orleans. Following George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton to the podium, she came out in a bathrobe and furry slippers. "They told me everyone would be wearing robes," she said. Ellen then went on to make another commencement speech at Tulane in 2009.

The show broadcast for a week from Universal Studios Orlando in March 2007. Skits included DeGeneres going on the Hulk Roller Coaster Ride and the Jaws Boat Ride.

In May 2007 DeGeneres was placed on bed rest due to a torn ligament in her back. She continued hosting her show from a hospital bed, tended to by a nurse, explaining "the show must go on, as they say." Guests sat in hospital beds as well.

On May 1, 2009, DeGeneres celebrated her 1000th episode, featuring celebrity guests such as Oprah, Justin Timberlake, and Paris Hilton, among others.

79th Academy Awards

On September 7, 2006, DeGeneres was selected to host the 79th Academy Awards ceremony, which took place on February 25, 2007. This makes her the first openly gay or lesbian person to have hosted the event. During the Awards show DeGeneres said, "What a wonderful night, such diversity in the room, in a year when there's been so many negative things said about people's race, religion and sexual orientation. And I want to put this out there: if there weren't blacks, Jews and gays, there would be no Oscars, or anyone named Oscar, when you think about that." Reviews of her hosting gig were positive, with one saying, "DeGeneres rocked, as she never forgot that she wasn't just there to entertain the Oscar nominees but also to tickle the audience at home." Regis Philbin said in an interview that "the only complaint was there's not enough Ellen."

DeGeneres was nominated for an Emmy Award as host of the Academy Awards broadcast.

2007 Writers Guild strike

DeGeneres, like many actors who are also writers, is a member of both the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) and the Writers Guild of America (WGA). Thus, although DeGeneres verbally supported the 2007 WGA strike she did not support it when she crossed the picket line the day after the strike began. Her representatives said she was competing with other first-run syndicated shows during the competitive November sweeps period, and that she could not break her contracts or risk her show losing its time slot. As a show of solidarity with the strikers, DeGeneres omitted her monologue during the strike, typically written by WGA writers. The WGA condemned her while the AFTRA defended her.

Commercial spokeswoman

In November 2004, DeGeneres appeared, dancing, in an ad campaign for American Express. Her most recent American Express commercial, a two-minute black-and-white spot where she works with animals, debuted in November 2006 and was created by Ogilvy and Mather. In 2007, the commercial won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Commercial.

DeGeneres began working with Cover Girl Cosmetics in September 2008, for which she has been criticized, as her animal-friendly values clash with Procter and Gamble's (the maker of Cover Girl Cosmetics) animal testing. Her face is the focus of new Cover Girl advertisements starting in January 2009. The beauty campaign will be DeGeneres' first.

American Idol

On September 9, 2009, it was confirmed that DeGeneres would replace Paula Abdul as a judge of the ninth season of American Idol. Her role started after the contestant auditions, at the beginning of "Hollywood Week". DeGeneres also reportedly signed a contract to be a judge on the show for at least five seasons. She made her American Idol debut on February 9, 2010.

On July 29, 2010, DeGeneres and Fox executives announced that the comedienne would be departing from the series after one season. In a statement, DeGeneres said that the series "didn't feel like the right fit for me".

Eleveneleven

On May 26, 2010, Ellen announced on her show that she was starting her own record label entitled "eleveneleven". She mentioned that she had been looking for videos of performances on YouTube to start her label. Her first act to be signed is Greyson Chance, a 12-year-old who gained fame after his cover of Lady Gaga's "Paparazzi" went viral. Ellen explained her choice of name, claiming that she often sees the number when looking at her clocks, that she found Greyson on the 11th, and that the singer's soccer jersey has the number 11.

Some months later, on September 16, 2010, Ellen announced her label's second signed artist, 16-year old Tom Andrews, from the United Kingdom.

Also as of 2010, pop singer Jessica Simpson has joined the label.

Personal life

DeGeneres was in a relationship (1997–2000) with former Another World actress Anne Heche, who went on to marry cameraman Coley Laffoon. From 2001 to 2004, DeGeneres and actress/director/photographer Alexandra Hedison were in a relationship. They appeared on the cover of The Advocate after their separation had already been announced to the media.

Since 2004, DeGeneres has had a relationship with former Ally McBeal and Arrested Development star Portia de Rossi. After the overturn of the same-sex marriage ban in California, DeGeneres announced on a May 2008 show that she and de Rossi were engaged, and gave de Rossi a three-carat pink diamond ring. The passage of Proposition 8 cast doubt on the legal status of their marriage but a subsequent Supreme Court judgment validated it because it occurred before November 4, 2008.

DeGeneres and de Rossi live in Beverly Hills, with three dogs and four cats, and both are vegan.

On August 6, 2010, de Rossi filed a petition to legally change her name to Portia Lee James DeGeneres The petition was granted on September 23, 2010.

In her book, Love, Ellen, DeGeneres' mother, Betty DeGeneres, describes being initially shocked when her daughter came out as a lesbian, but has become one of her strongest supporters, an active member of Parents & Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) and spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign's Coming Out Project.

In 2007, Forbes estimated DeGeneres' net worth at US$65 million.

Filmography

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;" |- align="center" ! style="background: #B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background: #B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background: #B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background: #B0C4DE;" | Notes |- | 1990 | Arduous Moon | Herself | Short film |- | 1991 | Wisecracks | Herself | Documentary |- | 1993 |Coneheads | Coach | |- | 1994 | Trevor | Herself | Short film |- | rowspan=2|1996 | Ellen's Energy Adventure | Herself | Short film |- |Mr. Wrong | Martha Alston | |- | rowspan=2|1998 |Goodbye Lover | Sgt. Rita Pompano | |- |Dr. Dolittle | Prologue Dog | Voice |- | rowspan=2|1999 | EDtv | Cynthia | |- | The Love Letter | Janet Hall | |- | rowspan=2|2003 | Pauly Shore Is Dead | Herself | |- | Finding Nemo | Dory | VoiceAnnie Award for Outstanding Voice Acting in an Animated Feature ProductionKids' Choice Award for Favorite Voice from an Animated MovieSaturn Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance |- | 2004 | My Short Film | Herself | Short film |}

Television

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;" |- align="center" ! style="background: #B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background: #B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background: #B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background: #B0C4DE;" | Notes |- | 1988 | Women of the Night | Herself | Comedy Special |- | 1989 | Open House | Margo Van Mete | Episode: "The Bad Seed" Episode: "Let's Get Physicals" |- | 1992 | Laurie Hill | Nancy MacIntyre | Episode: "Pilot" Episode: "The Heart Thing" Episode: "Walter and Beverly" |- | 1994–1998 | Ellen | Ellen Morgan | 109 episodes |- | 1995 | Roseanne | Dr. Whitman | Episode: "The Blaming of the Shrew" |- | 1998 | Mad About You | Nancy Bloom | Episode: "" |- | 2000 | If These Walls Could Talk 2 | Kal | Segment: "2000" |- | 2001 | On the Edge | Operator | Segment: "Reaching Normal" |- | 2001–2002 | The Ellen Show | Ellen Richmond | 18 episodes |- | rowspan=2|2003 | | Herself | Comedy special |- | MADtv | Herself | Episode: "9.3" |- | 2003–present | The Ellen DeGeneres Show | Herself | TV show |- | rowspan=2|2004 | E! True Hollywood Story | Herself | |- | Six Feet Under | Herself | Episode: "" |- | 2005 | Joey | Herself | Episode: "Joey and the Sex Tape" |- | rowspan=4|2007 | Ellen's Really Big Show | Herself | |- | Sesame Street | Herself | Episode: "The Tutu Spell" (uncredited) |- | Forbes 20 Richest Women in Entertainment | Herself | |- | The Bachelorette | Herself | |- | 2007–2008 | American Idol | Herself | Episode: "Idol Gives Back 2007" "Idol Gives Back 2008" |- | 2008 | Ellen's Even Bigger Really Big Show | Herself | Comedy special |- | rowspan=2|2009 | Ellen's Bigger, Longer & Wider Show | Herself | Comedy special |- | So You Think You Can Dance | Guest Judge | "Week 7 (July 22, 2009)" |- | 2010 | American Idol | Judge | Season 9. |- | 2010 | The Simpsons | Herself | Episode: "Judge Me Tender" |}

Discography

{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;" |- align="center" ! style="background: #B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background: #B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background: #B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background: #B0C4DE;" | Notes |- |1996 | | Stand-up comedy | Live CD |- |}

Awards

;Daytime Emmy Awards

Outstanding Talk Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show – 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007

Outstanding Talk Show Host, The Ellen DeGeneres Show – 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

Outstanding Special Class Writing, The Ellen DeGeneres Show – 2005, 2006, 2007

;Emmy Awards

Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series, Ellen: "The Puppy Episode" – 1997

;People's Choice Awards

Favorite Funny Female Star – 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008

Favorite Talk Show Host – 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010

Favorite Yes I Chose This Star – 2008

;Kids' Choice Awards

Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie – 2004

; Tulane University President's Medal 2009

Bibliography

References

External links

The Ellen DeGeneres Show's official website

Ellen DeGeneres blog

Ellen DeGeneres community Forum

DeGeneres talks about coming out experience, an April 1999 article about her appearance at the University of Michigan

DeGeneres on the JohnJay and Rich radio show helping a mother in need to win a car

Category:1958 births Category:Living people Category:Actors from Louisiana Category:American film actors Category:American actors of English descent Category:American actors of French descent Category:American actors of German descent Category:American people of Irish descent Category:American philanthropists Category:American stand-up comedians Category:American Christian Scientists Category:American television actors Category:American television talk show hosts Category:American vegans Category:Daytime Emmy Award winners Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Lesbian actors Category:LGBT comedians Category:LGBT people from the United States Category:LGBT television personalities Category:LGBT Christians Category:People from New Orleans, Louisiana Category:Saturn Award winners Category:University of New Orleans alumni Category:Women comedians Category:LGBT rights activists from the United States Category:Reality television judges Category:American activists Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors

Birth name	Whitney Elizabeth Houston
Also known as	The Voice, Queen of R&B;, The Diva of all Divas
Background	solo_singer
Born	August 09, 1963Newark, New Jersey, U.S.
Origin	East Orange, New Jersey
Instrument	Vocals, piano
Genre	R&B;, pop, dance, soul, gospel
Occupation	Singer, songwriter, actress, record producer, film producer
Years active	1985–present
Label	Arista/Sony Music
Associated acts	Mariah Carey, Chaka Khan, Bobby Brown
Url

Whitney Elizabeth Houston (born August 9, 1963) is an American R&B;/Pop singer, actress, and former fashion model. A relative of several prominent soul singers, including her mother Cissy Houston, cousins Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Warwick, and Godmother Aretha Franklin, Houston began singing at her New Jersey church as a member of a junior gospel choir at age eleven. After she began performing alongside her mother at night clubs in the New York City area, she was discovered by Arista Records label head Clive Davis. Houston has released studio albums and movie soundtrack albums throughout her career, all of which have had diamond, multi-platinum, platinum, or gold certification.

Houston released her debut album Whitney Houston in 1985, which became the best-selling debut album by a female act at the time of its release. Her second studio album Whitney (1987) became the first album by a female artist to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 albums chart.

Houston appeared in her first starring role in the feature film The Bodyguard in 1992. The film's won the 1994 Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Its lead single, "I Will Always Love You", became the best-selling single by a female artist in music history. After the release of her fourth studio album My Love Is Your Love (1998), she renewed her recording contract with Arista Records in 2001. with 2 Emmy Awards, 6 Grammy Awards, 16 Billboard Music Awards, 22 American Music Awards, among a total of 411 career awards as of 2006. Houston is also one of the world's best-selling music artists, having sold over 170 million albums and singles worldwide. Although she has released relatively few albums, she is ranked as the fourth best-selling female artist in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America, with 55 million certified albums sold in the US alone. In 2008, Billboard magazine released a list of the Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists to celebrate the US singles chart's fiftieth anniversary, ranking Houston at number nine. She has been listed by Rolling Stone magazine as one of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time. Similiary, she is ranked as one of the Top 100 Greatest Artists of All Time by VH1.

Biography

Early life

Whitney Houston was born in what was then a middle income neighborhood of Newark, New Jersey, the third and youngest child of John and gospel singer Cissy Houston. She is of African American, Native American and Dutch descent. Her mother, along with cousins Dionne Warwick and the late Dee Dee Warwick and godmother Aretha Franklin were all notable figures in the gospel, rhythm and blues, pop, and soul genres. Houston was raised a Baptist, but was also exposed to the Pentecostal church. After the 1967 Newark riots, the family moved to a middle class area in East Orange, New Jersey when she was four. Her first solo performance in the church was "Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah". When Houston was a teenager, she attended a Catholic single-sex high school, Mount Saint Dominic Academy, where she met her best friend Robyn Crawford, whom she describes as the "sister she never had." While Houston was still in school, her mother continued to teach her how to sing.

1977–84: Early career

Houston spent some of her teenage years touring nightclubs where her mother Cissy was performing, and she would occasionally get on stage and perform with her. In 1977, at age 14, she was a backup singer on the Michael Zager Band's single "Life's a Party". Zager subsequently offered to obtain a recording contract for the young singer, but Cissy declined, wanting her young daughter to finish school first. Then in 1978, at age 15, Houston sang background vocals on Chaka Khan's hit single "I'm Every Woman", a song she would later turn into a hit for herself on her monster-selling soundtrack album The Bodyguard. She also sang back-up on albums by Lou Rawls and Jermaine Jackson. In the early 1980s, Houston started working as a fashion model after a photographer saw her at Carnegie Hall singing with her mother. She appeared as a lead vocalist on a Paul Jabara album, entitled Paul Jabara and Friends: featuring The Weather Girls, Leata Galloway & Whitney Houston (Columbia Records, 1983). She appeared in Seventeen Magazine and became one of the first women of color to grace the cover of Seventeen magazine. She was also featured in layouts in the pages Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Young Miss and appeared in a Canada Dry soft drink TV commercial. Her striking looks and girl-next-door charm made her one of the most sought after teen models of that time.

Houston had previously been offered several recording agencies (Michael Zager in 1980 and Elektra Records in 1981). In 1983, Gerry Griffith, an A&R; representative from Arista Records saw her performing with her mother in a New York City nightclub and was impressed. He convinced Arista's head Clive Davis to make time to see Houston perform. Davis too was impressed and offered a worldwide recording contract which Houston signed. Later that year, she made her national televised debut alongside Davis on The Merv Griffin Show.

Houston signed with Arista in 1983 but did not begin work on her album immediately. The label wanted to make sure no other label signed the singer away. Davis wanted to ensure he had the right material and producers for Houston's debut album. Some producers had to pass on the project due to prior commitments. Houston first recorded a duet with Teddy Pendergrass entitled "Hold Me" which appeared on his album, Love Language. The single was released in 1984 and gave Houston her first taste of success, becoming a Top 5 R&B; hit. It would also appear on her debut album in 1985.

1985–86: Rise to prominence

With production from Michael Masser, Kashif, Jermaine Jackson and Narada Michael Walden, Houston's self-titled debut album was released in February 1985. Rolling Stone Magazine praised the new talent, calling her "one of the most exciting new voices in years" while The New York Times called the album "an impressive, musically conservative showcase for an exceptional vocal talent." The first single, the dance-funk "Someone For Me", failed to chart in the US and UK. The next single, "Thinking About You", reached the top ten of the US R&B; Chart, as the album sold modestly. The release of the next single, the soulful ballad "You Give Good Love", peaked at #3 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and went to #1 on the R&B; Charts. The next single, "How Will I Know", peaked at #1 and introduced Houston to the MTV audience thanks to its video. This would make the singer the first African-American female artists to receive heavy rotation on the network. The final single, "Greatest Love of All", became Houston's biggest hit at the time after peaking #1 and remaining there for three weeks. At the time, Houston released the best-selling debut album by a female artist. Houston then embarked on her world tour, Greatest Love Tour. The album had become an international success, and was certified 13x Platinum (diamond) in the United States alone, and has sold a total of 25 million copies worldwide.

At the 1986 Grammy Awards, Houston was nominated for three awards including Album of the Year. She was ineligible for the Best New Artist category due to her previous duet recording with Teddy Pendergrass in 1984. She won her first Grammy award for 'Best Pop Vocal Performance, Female' for "Saving All My Love for You". At the same award show, she performed that Grammy-winning hit; that performance later winning her an Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance in a Variety or Music Program. Houston won seven American Music Awards in total in 1986 and 1987, and an MTV Video Music Award. The album's popularity would also carry over to the 1987 Grammy Awards when "Greatest Love of All" would receive a Record of the Year nomination. Houston's debut album is currently listed as one of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time and on The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame's Definitive 200 list. Whitney Houston's grand entrance into the music industry is considered one of the 25 musical milestones of the last 25 years, according to USA Today. Following Houston's breakthrough, doors were opened for other African-American female artists such as Janet Jackson and Anita Baker to find notable success in popular music and on MTV.

1987–91: Whitney, I'm Your Baby Tonight and "The Star Spangled Banner"

Houston’s second album, Whitney, was released in June 1987. The album again featured production from Masser, Kashif and Walden as well as Jellybean Benitez. Many critics complained that the material was too similar to her previous album. Rolling Stone said, "the narrow channel through which this talent has been directed is frustrating." Still, the album was an enormous success. Houston became the first female artist in music history to debut at number one on the US and UK album chart while also hitting number one or top ten in dozens of other countries around the world. The album's first four singles, "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)", "Didn't We Almost Have It All", "So Emotional", and "Where Do Broken Hearts Go" all peaked at number one on the US Hot 100, which gave her a total of seven consecutive number one hits, breaking the record of six previously shared by The Beatles and The Bee Gees. The album's fifth, and final single, "Love Will Save the Day" also became a Top 10 hit on the Hot 100. Whitney has been certified 9x Platinum in the US for shipments of over 9 million copies, and has sold a total of 20 million copies worldwide.

At the Grammy Awards in 1988, Houston was nominated for three awards, including Album of the Year, winning her second Grammy for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)". Also Houston won two American Music Awards in 1988 and 1989 respectively. Following the release of the album, Houston embarked on the Moment of Truth World Tour which was one of the ten highest grossing concert tours of 1987. The success of the tour and her albums ranked Houston #8 for the highest earning entertainers list according to Forbes Magazine. She was the highest earning African-American woman and the third highest entertainer after Bill Cosby and Eddie Murphy.

Houston was a supporter of Nelson Mandela and the anti-apartheid movement. During her modeling days, the singer refused to work with any agencies who did business with the then-apartheid South Africa. In June 1988, during the European leg of her tour, Houston joined other musicians to perform a set at Wembley Stadium in London to celebrate a then-imprisoned Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday. Houston then flew back to the US for a concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City in August. The show was a benefit concert that raised a quarter of a million dollars for the United Negro College Fund. In the same year, she recorded a song for NBC's coverage of the 1988 Summer Olympics, "One Moment in Time", which became a Top 5 hit in the US, while reaching number one in the UK and Germany. With her current world tour continuing overseas, Houston was still one of the top 20 highest earning entertainers for 1987–1988 according to Forbes Magazine.

In 1989, Houston formed The Whitney Houston Foundation For Children, a non-profit organization that has raised funds for the needs of children around the world. The organization cares for homelessness, children with cancer or AIDS, and other issues of self-empowerment. With the success of her first two albums, Houston was undoubtedly an international crossover superstar, the most prominent since Michael Jackson, appealing to all demographics. However, some black critics believed she was "selling out". Houston defended herself against the criticism, stating, "If you're gonna have a long career, there's a certain way to do it, and I did it that way. I'm not ashamed of it." while Entertainment Weekly, at the time thought Houston's shift towards an urban direction was "superficial". The album peaked at number three on the Billboard 200 and went on to be certified four times platinum in America while selling twelve million total worldwide. The first two singles, the new jack swing "I'm Your Baby Tonight" and the gospel-tinged "All The Man That I Need", each hit number one on both the US Hot 100 and US R&B; singles charts. The third and fourth singles, "Miracle"; and "My Name Is Not Susan" peaked at numbers nine and twenty, respectively. A fifth single, "I Belong to You", peaked in the Top 10 on the R&B; charts, while yet a sixth single, the duet with Stevie Wonder entitled, "We Didn't Know", made the R&B; Top 20.

With America at war, Houston performed "The Star Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XXV in January 1991. VH1 listed the performance as the 12th greatest moment that rocked TV. Her recording of the song was released as a commercial single, and reached the Top 20 on the US Hot 100, making her the only act to turn the national anthem into a pop hit of that magnitude (Jose Feliciano's version reached #50 in November 1968). Houston donated all her share of the proceeds to the Red Cross. Later that year, Houston put together her Welcome Home Heroes concert with HBO for the soldiers fighting in the Gulf War and their families. The free concert took place at Naval Station Norfolk in Norfolk, Virginia in front of 3,500 servicemen and women. HBO descrambled the concert so that it was free for everyone to watch. Houston's concert gave HBO its highest ratings ever. She then embarked on the I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour.

1992–94: Marriage to Bobby Brown and The Bodyguard

Throughout the 1980s, Houston was romantically linked to American football star Randall Cunningham and actor Eddie Murphy, whom she dated. With the huge successes of her albums, movie offers poured in, including offers to work with Robert De Niro, Quincy Jones, and Spike Lee; but Houston felt the time wasn't right. Houston’s first film role was in The Bodyguard, released in 1992 and co-starring Kevin Costner. Houston plays Rachel Marron, a star who is stalked by a crazed fan and hires a bodyguard to protect her. USA Today listed it as one of the 25 most memorable movie moments of the last 25 years. The movie is also notable for not mentioning or needing to explain its interracial aspect. Houston's mainstream appeal allowed people to look at the movie color-blind. Still, controversy arose as some felt the film's ads intentionally hid Houston's face to hide the film's interracial aspect. In an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine in 1993, the singer commented that "people know who Whitney Houston is—I'm black. You can't hide that fact." and The New York Times said she lacked passion with her co-star. Despite the film's mixed reviews, it was hugely successful at the box office, grossing more than $121 million in the U.S. and $410 million worldwide, making it one of the top 100 grossing films in film history at its time of release, though it is no longer in the top 100.

The film's soundtrack was also a worldwide success. Houston executive produced and contributed six songs for the motion picture's . It featured production from David Foster. Entertainment Weekly said the two cover songs are "artistically satisfying". Rolling Stone said it is "nothing more than pleasant, tasteful and urbane". The soundtrack's lead single was "I Will Always Love You", written and originally recorded by Dolly Parton in 1974. Some, including Foster and radio programmers, were skeptical that the song would fare well on radio due to Houston's a capella intro. Still, the record company took the risk and released it as the first single and it became a massive global hit. The single peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for a then-record-breaking 14 weeks, number one on the R&B; chart for a then-record-breaking 11 weeks, and number one on the Adult Contemporary charts for five weeks, thus becoming the first single to top those three charts simultaneously for five weeks. The song also hit number-one in nearly every other country worldwide. The soundtrack debuted at #1 and remained there for twenty non-consecutive weeks and became one of the fastest selling albums ever. At one point the soundtrack sold over a million copies within a week, becoming the first album to do so. With the follow-up singles "I'm Every Woman", a Chaka Khan cover, and "I Have Nothing" both peaking in the top five, Houston became the first female artist to ever have three singles in the Top 20 simultaneously. The album was certified 17× platinum in the United States with worldwide sales of 42 million, making "The Bodyguard" the only album by a female act on the list of the world's Top 10 best-selling albums. Houston won three Grammys for the album, including two of the Academy's highest honors, Album of the Year and Record of the Year. In addition, she won eight American Music Awards at that year's ceremony, including the Award of Merit, and a BRIT award. Following the success of the project, Houston embarked on another expansive global tour in 1993 and 1994. Her concerts, movie, and recording grosses made her the third highest earning female entertainer of 1993–1994, just behind Oprah Winfrey and Barbra Streisand according to Forbes Magazine. Houston placed in the top five of Entertainment Weekly's annual "Entertainer of the Year" ranking and was labeled by Premier Magazine as one of the 100 most powerful people in Hollywood.

In October 1994, Houston attended and performed at a state dinner in the White House honoring newly elected South African president Nelson Mandela. At the end of her world tour, Houston performed three concerts in South Africa to honor President Mandela, playing to over 200,000 people. This would make the singer the first major musician to visit the newly unified and apartheid free nation following Mandela's winning election. The concert was broadcast live on HBO with funds of the concerts being donated to various charities in South Africa. The event was considered the nation's "biggest media event since the inauguration of Nelson Mandela."

1995–97: Waiting to Exhale, The Preacher's Wife and Cinderella

In 1995, Houston starred alongside Angela Bassett, Loretta Devine, and Lela Rochon in her second film Waiting to Exhale, a motion picture about four African-American women struggling with relationships. Houston plays the lead character Savannah Jackson, a TV producer in love with a married man. She chose the role because she saw the film as "a breakthrough for the image of black women because it presents them both as professionals and as caring mothers". it proved that a movie primarily targeting a black audience can cross over to success, while paving the way for other all-black movies such as How Stella Got Her Groove Back and the Tyler Perry movies that have become popular in the 2000s. The film is also notable for its portrayal of black women as strong middle class citizens as opposed to stereotypes. The reviews were mainly positive for the ensemble cast. The New York Times said "Ms. Houston has shed the defensive hauteur that made her portrayal of a pop star in 'The Bodyguard' seem so distant." Houston was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for "Outstanding Actress In A Motion Picture," but lost to her co-star Bassett.

Like Houston's previous project, the film's accompanying soundtrack was also a huge hit. Houston co-produced, with Babyface, the soundtrack, . Though Babyface originally wanted Houston to record the entire album, she declined. Instead, she "wanted it to be an album of women with vocal distinction", and thus gathered several African-American female artists for the soundtrack, to go along with the film's strong women message. As a result, the album featured a range of contemporary R&B; female recording artists along with Houston, such as Mary J Blige, Aretha Franklin, Toni Braxton, Patti Labelle, and Brandy. Houston's "Exhale (Shoop Shoop)" peaked at #1, and then spent a record eleven weeks at the #2 spot and eight weeks on top of the R&B; Charts. "Count On Me", a duet with CeCe Winans, hit the US Top 10; and Houston's third contribution, "Why Does It Hurt So Bad", made the Top 30. The album debuted at #1, and was certified 7× Platinum in the United States, denoting shipments of seven million copies. and has since ranked it as one of the 100 Best Movie Soundtracks. Newsday called it "the most significant R&B; record of the decade." Later that year, Houston's children's charity organization was awarded a VH1 Honor for all the charitable work

In 1996, Houston starred in the holiday comedy The Preacher's Wife, with Denzel Washington. She plays a gospel-singing wife of a pastor (Courtney B. Vance). Houston earned $10 million for the role, making her one of the highest paid actress in Hollywood at the time and the highest earning African American actress in Hollywood. The movie, with its all African-American cast, was a moderate success, earning approximately $50 million at the U.S. box offices. The movie gave Houston her strongest reviews so far. The San Francisco Chronicle said Houston "is rather angelic herself, displaying a divine talent for being virtuous and flirtatious at the same time" and that she "exudes gentle yet spirited warmth, especially when praising the Lord in her gorgeous singing voice." Houston was again nominated for an NAACP Image Award and won for Outstanding Actress In A Motion Picture.

Houston recorded and co-produced, with Mervyn Warren, the film's accompanying gospel soundtrack. included six gospel songs with Georgia Mass Choir that were recorded at the Great Star Rising Baptist Church in Atlanta. Houston also duetted with gospel legend Shirley Caesar. The album sold six million copies worldwide and scored hit singles with "I Believe in You and Me" and "Step by Step", becoming the largest selling gospel album of all time. The album received mainly positive reviews. Some critics, like USA Today, noted the presence of her emotional depth, while The UK Times said "To hear Houston going at full throttle with the 35 piece Georgia Mass Choir struggling to keep up is to realise what her phenomenal voice was made for."

In 1997, Houston's production company changed its name to BrownHouse Productions and was joined by Debra Martin Chase. Their goal was "to show aspects of the lives of African-Americans that have not been brought to the screen before" while improving how African-Americans are portrayed in film and television. Their first project was a made-for-television remake of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella. In addition to co-producing, Houston starred in the movie as the Fairy Godmother along with Brandy, Jason Alexander, Whoopi Goldberg, and Bernadette Peters. Houston was initially offered the role of Cinderella in 1993, but other projects intervened. The film is notable for its multi-racial cast and nonstereotypical message. An estimated 60 million viewers tuned into the special giving ABC its highest TV ratings in 16 years. The movie received seven Emmy nominations including Outstanding Variety, Musical or Comedy, while winning Outstanding Art Direction in a Variety, Musical or Comedy Special.

Houston and Chase then obtained the rights to the story of Dorothy Dandridge. Houston was to play Dandridge, who was the first African American actress to be nominated for an Oscar. She wanted the story told with dignity and honor. Later that year, Houston paid tribute to her idols such as Aretha Franklin, Diana Ross, and Billie Holliday by performing their hits during the three-night HBO Concert Classic Whitney, live from Washington, D.C. The special raised over $300,000 for the Children's Defense Fund.

1998–2000: My Love Is Your Love and Whitney: The Greatest Hits

After spending much of the early and mid 1990s working on motion pictures and their adjacent soundtrack albums, Houston's first studio album in eight years, the critically acclaimed My Love Is Your Love, was released in November 1998. Though originally slated to be a greatest hits album with a handful of new songs, recording sessions were so fruitful that a new full-length studio album was released. Recorded and mixed in only six weeks, it featured production from Rodney Jerkins, Wyclef Jean and Missy Elliott. The album debuted at number thirteen in the US. It had a funkier and edgier sound than past releases and saw Houston handling urban dance, hip hop, mid-tempo R&B;, reggae, torch songs, and ballads all with great dexterity. The album featured several hit singles: "When You Believe" (US #15, UK #4), a duet with Mariah Carey for 1998s The Prince of Egypt soundtrack, it also became an international hit as it peaked in the Top 10 in several countries and won an Academy Award; "Heartbreak Hotel" (US #2, UK# 25) featured Faith Evans and Kelly Price, and number one on the US R&B; chart for seven weeks; "It's Not Right But It's Okay" (US #4, UK #3) won Houston her sixth Grammy Award; "My Love Is Your Love" (US #4, UK #2); and "I Learned from the Best" (US #27, UK #19). These singles became international hits as well, and all the singles, except "When You Believe", became number one hits on the U.S. Dance/Clubplay Chart. The album sold four million copies in America (4x platinum) and a total of eleven million worldwide. and The Village Voice called it "Whitney's sharpest and most satisfying so far". In 1999, Houston participated in VH-1's Divas’ Live '99, alongside Mary J. Blige, Tina Turner, and Cher. The same year, Houston hit the road with her 70 date My Love Is Your Love worldwide tour. The European leg was Europe's highest grossing arena tour of the year.

In May 2000, was released. The double disc set peaked at number five in the United States and reached number one in the United Kingdom. While ballad songs were left unchanged, the album is notable for featuring house/club remixes of many of Houston's up-tempo hits, in place of their original version. Also included on the album were four new songs: "Could I Have This Kiss Forever" (a duet with Enrique Iglesias), "Same Script, Different Cast" (a duet with Deborah Cox), "If I Told You That" (a duet with George Michael), and "Fine", none of which landed in the American Top 40, but were hits in the UK and several other countries. Along with the album, an accompanying DVD was released featuring the music videos to Houston's greatest hits. The greatest hits album was certified triple platinum in the US, with worldwide sales of ten million. Houston and Chase, along with Warner Brothers, were then set to produce a remake of the 1976 film Sparkle about a 1960s singing group of three sisters in Harlem. Aaliyah, who was to star in the remake, was killed in a plane crash in 2001 before production began.

2000–05: Just Whitney, drug allegations and personal struggles

Though Houston was seen as a "good girl" with a perfect image in the '80s and early '90s, during the late '90s her behavior changed. She was often hours late for interviews, photo shoots and rehearsals, and canceling concerts and talk-show appearances. With the missed performances and weight loss, rumors about Houston using drugs with her husband circulated. On January 11, 2000, airport security guards discovered marijuana in both Houston's and husband Bobby Brown's luggage at a Hawaiian airport, but the two boarded the plane and departed before authorities could arrive. Charges were later dropped against her and Brown, but rumors of drug usage between the couple would continue to surface. Two months later, Clive Davis was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Houston had been scheduled to perform at the event, but did not attend. Shortly thereafter, Houston was scheduled to perform at the Academy Awards but was fired from the event by musical director and long time friend Burt Bacharach. Though her publicist cited throat problems as the reason for the cancellation, many speculated it was drugs. In his book The Big Show: High Times And Dirty Dealings Backstage At The Academy Awards, author Steve Pond revealed that "Houston's voice was shaky, she seemed distracted and jittery, and her attitude was casual, almost defiant," and that while Houston was to sing "Over The Rainbow", she would start singing a different song. Houston later admitted to having been fired. Later that year, Houston's long-time executive assistant and friend, Robyn Crawford, resigned from Houston's management company. She later made an appearance on . Her extremely thin frame further spurred rumors of drug use. Houston's publicist said, "Whitney has been under stress due to family matters, and when she is under stress she doesn't eat." The singer was scheduled for a second performance the following night but canceled. Within weeks, Houston's rendition of "The Star Spangled Banner" would be re-released after the terrorist attacks of September 11. The song peaked at #6 this time on the US Hot 100, topping its previous position. Houston stated that her 81-year-old father had nothing to do with the lawsuit. Although Skinner tried to claim otherwise, John Houston never appeared in court. Houston's father later died in February 2003. The lawsuit was dismissed on April 5, 2004, and Skinner was awarded nothing.

Also in 2002, Houston did an interview with Diane Sawyer to promote her upcoming album "Just Whitney". The interview was the highest-rated television interview in history. During the prime-time special, Houston spoke on topics including rumored drug use and marriage. She was asked about the ongoing drug rumors and replied, "First of all, let's get one thing straight. Crack is cheap. I make too much money to ever smoke crack. Let's get that straight. Okay? We don't do crack. We don't do that. Crack is wack." Houston did, however, admit to using other substances at times. Some reviews from publications were positive, but Rolling Stone said the album "only shows an artist vainly trying to reach for her future," while The San Francisco Chronicle said the album did "show signs of life, but not enough to declare a resurrection." The album debuted at #9 on the Billboard Hot 200 chart and it had the highest first week sales of any album Houston had ever released. However, the singles struggled on the charts. "Whatchulookinat", "One of Those Days", and "Try It on My Own" didn't reach the Top 40, but the singles performed somewhat better on the R&B; Chart. All singles, including the song "Love That Man", would become hits on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart, with the latter three reaching number one on that chart. Just Whitney was certified platinum in the United States, and sold approximately three million worldwide.

In late 2003, Houston released her first Christmas album , with a song listing of traditional holiday songs. Houston produced the album with Mervyn Warren and Gordon Chambers. The album received positive reviews. The New York Times praised her "lavish swoops, the sultry whispers, the gospelly asides and the meteoric crescendos." USA Today also gave the album a positive review, stating, "she finds satisfying ways to bring new life to old classics." The single "One Wish (for Christmas)" reached the Top 20 on the Adult Contemporary chart, and the album was certified gold in the US.

In early 2004, husband Bobby Brown starred in his own reality TV program, Being Bobby Brown (on the Bravo network), which provided a view into the domestic goings-on in the Brown household. Though it was Brown's vehicle, Houston was a prominent figure throughout the show, receiving as much screen time as Brown. The series aired in 2005 and featured Houston in, what some would say, not her most flattering moments. The Hollywood Reporter said it was "undoubtedly the most disgusting and execrable series ever to ooze its way onto television." Despite the perceived train-wreck nature of the show, the series gave Bravo its highest ratings in its time slot and continued Houston's successful forays into film and television. The show was not renewed for a second season after Houston stated she would no longer appear in it, and Brown and Bravo could not come to an agreement for another season.

2006–present: Return to music, I Look To You and tour

After years of controversy and turmoil, Houston separated from Bobby Brown in September 2006, filing for divorce the next month. On February 1, 2007, Houston asked the court to fast track their divorce. The divorce was finalized on April 24, 2007, with Houston granted custody of the couple's daughter. Less than a month later, Brown sued Houston in Orange County, California court in an attempt to change the terms of their custody agreement. Brown also sought child and spousal support from Houston. In the lawsuit, Brown claimed that financial and emotional problems prevented him from properly responding to Houston's divorce petition. Brown lost at his court hearing as the judge dismissed his appeal to overrule the custody terms, leaving Houston with full custody and Brown with no spousal support. In March 2007, Clive Davis of Arista Records announced that Houston would begin recording a new album. In October 2007, Arista released The Ultimate Collection. In 2009, Houston embarked on a world tour, entitled the Nothing But Love Tour. It is her first world tour in over ten years and was announced as a triumphant comeback. However, some poor reviews and rescheduled concerts brought some negative media attention.

Houston released her new album, I Look To You, on August 2009. The album's first two singles are "I Look To You" and "Million Dollar Bill". The album entered the Billboard 200 at #1, with Houston's best opening-week sales of 305,000 copies, marking Houston's first number one album since The Bodyguard , and Houston's first studio album to reach number one since 1987's Whitney. Houston gave her first interview in seven years, appearing on Oprah Winfrey's season premiere on September 2009. The interview was billed as "the most anticipated music interview of the decade". The interview was so candid that Whitney admitted using drugs with former husband Bobby Brown describing to Oprah that she "laced marijuana with rock cocaine". Houston has also appeared on European television programs to promote the album. She performed the song "I Look To You" on the German television show Wetten Dass. Three days later, she performed the worldwide first single from I Look To You, Million Dollar Bill, on the French television show Le Grand Journal. Houston appeared as guest mentor on The X Factor in the United Kingdom. She performed "Million Dollar Bill" on the following day's results show, completing the song even as a strap in the back of her dress popped open two minutes into the performance. She later commented that she "sang [herself] out of [her] clothes". The performance was poorly received by the British media, and was variously described as "weird" and "ungracious", "shambolic" and a "flop". Despite this reception, "Million Dollar Bill" jumped to its peak from 14 to number 5 (her first UK top 5 for over a decade), and three weeks after release "I Look To You" went gold. Houston redeemed herself by appearing on the Italian version of X Factor performing the same song "Million Dollar Bill" to good reviews. She was awarded the Gold Certificate for achieving over 50,000 CD sales of "I Look To You" in Italy. In November, Houston performed "I Didn't Know My Own Strength" at the 2009 American Music Awards in Los Angeles, California. The performance had one of the best, if not the best reviews on the night. Two days later, Houston performed both songs on the Dancing With The Stars season 9 finale. As of December 2009, "I Look to You" has been certified platinum by the RIAA for sales of more than one million copies in the United States.

In January 2010 Houston was nominated for two NAACP Image Awards, one for Best Female Artist and one for Best Music Video. She won the award for Best Music Video for her single I Look to You. On January 16, she received the BET Honors Award for Entertainer citing her lifetime achievements spanning over 25 years in the industry. The 2010 BET Honors was held at the Warner Theatre in Washington, DC and aired February 1, 2010. Jennifer Hudson and Kim Burrell performed in honor of her, garnering positive reviews. Houston also received a nomination from the Echo Awards, Germany's version of the Grammys, for Best International Artist. In April 2010, the UK newspaper The Mirror reported that Houston was thinking about recording her eighth studio album and would like to collaborate with will.i.am (of The Black Eyed Peas), her first choice for a collaboration. Houston also performed on the 2011 BET Celebration of Gospel, with gospel–jazz singer Kim Burrell, held at the Staple Center, Los Angeles. The performance will air on January 30, 2011.

Legacy

Voice and influence

During the 1980s, MTV was coming into its own and received harsh criticism for not playing enough videos by black artists. With Michael Jackson breaking down the color barrier for black male artists, Houston did the same for black female artists. She became one of the few black female artists to receive heavy rotation on the network following the success of the "How Will I Know" video. Following Houston's breakthrough, other African-American female artists, such as Janet Jackson and Anita Baker, were successful in popular music. Allmusic also noted her contribution to success of black artists on the pop scene, commenting "Houston was able to handle big adult contemporary ballads, effervescent, stylish dance-pop, and slick urban contemporary soul with equal dexterity; the result was an across-the-board appeal that was matched by scant few artists of her era, and helped her become one of the first black artists to find success on MTV in Michael Jackson's wake." The New York Times stated that "Houston was a major catalyst for a movement within black music that recognized the continuity of soul, pop, jazz and gospel vocal traditions". Richard Corliss of TIME magazine commented about her first success breaking various barriers as follows; "Of her first album's ten cuts, six were ballads. This chanteuse[Houston] had to fight for air play with hard rockers. The young lady had to stand uncowed in the locker room of macho rock. The soul strutter had to seduce a music audience that anointed few black artists with superstardom. [...] She was a phenomenon waiting to happen, a canny tapping of the listener's yen for a return to the musical middle. And because every new star creates her own genre, her success has helped other blacks, other women, other smooth singers find an avid reception in the pop marketplace." Mary J. Blige said that Houston's inviting her onstage during VH1's Divas Live show in 1999 "opened doors for [her] all over the world."

Houston's debut is currently listed as one of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time by Rolling Stone magazine Houston's entrance into the music industry is considered one of the 25 musical milestones of the last 25 years, according to USA Today in 2007. It stated that she paved the way for Mariah Carey’s chart-topping vocal gymnastics.

Houston is a mezzo-soprano. Her vocal range extends from G below middle C (G₃) to high B-flat (B₅); she can belt out to treble F (F₅). Describing Houston's voice, Mariah Carey states "[She] has a really rich, strong mid-belt that very few people have. She sounds really good, really strong." While in her review of I Look To You, music critic Ann Powers of The Los Angeles Times writes, "[Houston's voice] stands like monuments upon the landscape of 20th century pop, defining the architecture of their times, sheltering the dreams of millions and inspiring the climbing careers of countless imitators," adding "When she was at her best, nothing could match her huge, clean, cool mezzo-soprano." sixth on Online Magazine COVE's list of the 100 Best Pop Vocalists with a score of 48.5/50. In 2008, Rolling Stone listed Houston as the thirty-fourth of the 100 greatest singers of all time, stating "Her voice is a mammoth, coruscating cry: Few vocalists could get away with opening a song with 45 unaccompanied seconds of singing, but Houston's powerhouse version of Dolly Parton's "I Will Always Love You" is a tour de force."

Houston's vocal stylings have had a significant impact on the music industry. She has been called the "Queen of Pop" for her influence during the 1990s, rivaling Celine Dion and Mariah Carey. She is commonly referred to as "The Voice", in reference to her exceptional vocal talent. According to The New York Times, Houston has "revitalized the tradition of strong gospel-oriented pop-soul singing". Ann Powers of the Los Angeles Times referred to the singer as a "national treasure". Similarly, Steve Huey from Allmusic wrote that the shadow of Houston's prodigious technique still looms large over nearly every pop diva and smooth urban soul singerㅡmale or femaleㅡin her wake, and spawned a legion of imitators. A number of artists have acknowledged Houston as an influence. Mariah Carey, who was often compared to Houston, said, "Houston has been a big influence on me." She later told USA Today that "none of us would sound the same if Aretha Franklin hadn't ever put out a record, or Whitney Houston hadn't." Brandy stated "The first Whitney Houston CD was genius. That CD introduced the world to her angelic yet powerful voice. Without Whitney half of this generation of singers wouldn't be singing," picking Houston's first album as a work of inspired. Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson cites Houston as her biggest musical influence. She told Newsday that she learned from Houston the "difference between being able to sing and knowing how to sing". Leona Lewis, who has been called as the New Whitney Houston, also cites her as an influence. Lewis has stated that she idolized as a little girl. Beyoncé Knowles told the Globe and Mail that Houston "inspired [her] to get up there and do what [she] did." Alicia Keys, in the interview on her new studio album with the Billboard magazine, also said "Whitney is an artist who inspired me from [the time I was] a little girl." Celine Dion, Toni Braxton, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Britney Spears, Ciara, P!nk, Jennifer Hudson, Amerie, Destiny's Child, Regine Velasquez and Charice have all cited Houston as a musical inspiration.

Discography

Whitney Houston (1985)

Whitney (1987)

I'm Your Baby Tonight (1990)

My Love Is Your Love (1998)

Just Whitney (2002)

(2003)

I Look to You (2009)

Filmography

Tours and concerts

;World tours

1986: Greatest Love Tour

1987–1988: Moment of Truth World Tour

1991: I'm Your Baby Tonight World Tour

1993–1994: The Bodyguard World Tour

1999: My Love Is Your Love World Tour

2009–2010: Nothing But Love World Tour

;Regional tours

1990: Feels So Right Tour

1997: The Pacific Rim Tour

1998: The European Tour

2004: Soul Divas Tour

;Notable concerts

1988: Nelson Mandela 70th Birthday Tribute

1991: Welcome Home Heroes with Whitney Houston

1991: Super Bowl XXV

1994:

1997: Classic Whitney Live from Washington, D.C.

Further reading

See also

Whitney Houston chart records and achievements

List of Whitney Houston awards

Grammy nominations for Whitney Houston

American Music Award nominations for Whitney Houston

List of best-selling music artists

List of artists who reached number one in the United States

List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance chart

References

External links

Whitney Houston at Whitney Info

Category:Articles with inconsistent citation formats Category:Whitney Houston Category:1963 births Category:African American actors Category:African American female singers Category:American people of Native American descent Category:American people of Dutch descent Category:American dance musicians Category:American female models Category:American film actors Category:American film producers Category:American pop pianists Category:American pop singers Category:American record producers Category:American rhythm and blues singers Category:American mezzo-sopranos Category:American vegetarians Category:Arista Records artists Category:Baptists from the United States Category:English-language singers Category:Grammy Award winners Category:Living people Category:Actors from New Jersey Category:Musicians from New Jersey Category:Participants in American reality television series Category:People from Newark, New Jersey Category:World record holders Category:1970s singers Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:2010s singers

Name	William Shatner
Caption	William Shatner in 2005
Birthdate	March 22, 1931
Birthplace	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Birthname	William Alan Shatner
Othername	Bill Shatner
Spouse	Gloria Rand (1956–1969) Marcy Lafferty Shatner (1973–1994) Nerine Kidd-Shatner (1997–1999; her death) Elizabeth Martin (2001–present)
Occupation	Actor, novelist, spokesman
Yearsactive	1950–present
Website	www.williamshatner.com

William Alan Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor, recording artist, and author. He gained worldwide fame and became a cultural icon for his portrayal of James T. Kirk, captain of the USS Enterprise, in the science fiction television series from 1966 to 1969, from 1973 to 1974, and in seven of the subsequent Star Trek feature films from 1979 to 1994. He has written a series of books chronicling his experiences playing Captain Kirk and being a part of Star Trek as well as several co-written novels set in the Star Trek universe. He has also authored a series of science fiction novels called TekWar that were adapted for television.

Shatner also played the eponymous veteran police sergeant in T. J. Hooker from 1982 to 1986. He has since worked as a musician, author, producer, director, and celebrity pitchman. From 2004 to 2008, he starred as attorney Denny Crane in the television dramas The Practice and its spin-off Boston Legal, for which he won two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award.

Early life

Shatner was born in Côte Saint-Luc, Quebec, the son of Anne (née Garmaise) and Joseph Shatner, a clothing manufacturer. He has two sisters, Joy and Farla. His paternal grandfather, Wolf Schattner, anglicized the family name to "Shatner". Shatner's grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Austria, Poland, and Hungary, and Shatner was raised in Conservative Judaism. He attended Willingdon Elementary School, in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (NDG) and Baron Byng High School, in Montreal, as well as West Hill High School in NDG. He is an alumnus of the Montreal Children's Theatre. He also attended McGill University in Montreal.

Career

Early stage, film, and television work

Trained as a classical Shakespearean actor, Shatner performed at the Shakespearean Stratford Festival of Canada in Stratford, Ontario. He played a range of roles at the Stratford Festival in productions that included a minor role in the opening scene of a renowned and nationally televised production of Sophocles' Oedipus Rex directed by Tyrone Guthrie, Shakespeare's Henry V, and Marlowe's Tamburlaine the Great. Shatner made his Broadway debut in the latter, in 1956. In 1954, he was cast as Ranger Bob on The Canadian Howdy Doody Show. Shatner was understudy to Christopher Plummer; the two would later star as adversaries in .

Though his official movie debut was in the 1951 Canadian film entitled The Butler's Night Off, Shatner's first feature role came in the 1958 MGM film The Brothers Karamazov with Yul Brynner, in which he starred as the youngest of the Karamazov brothers, Alexei. In December of the same year, he appeared opposite Ralph Bellamy playing Roman tax collectors in Bethlehem on the day of Jesus' birth in a vignette of a Hallmark Hall of Fame live television production entitled The Christmas Tree directed by Kirk Browning and featuring in other vignettes such stars as Jessica Tandy, Margaret Hamilton, Bernadette Peters, Richard Thomas, Cyril Ritchard and Carol Channing. In 1959, he received decent reviews when he took on the role of Lomax in the Broadway production of The World of Suzie Wong. In 1960, Shatner appeared in two television series. He starred twice as Wayne Gorham in NBC's The Outlaws Western series with Barton MacLane and then twice on Alfred Hitchcock Presents episodes titled "The Glass Eye" (Season 3) and "Mother, may I go out to swim?"(Season 5). Prior to all of the above, a very young Shatner also had a leading role in the same Hitchcock series during its third season (1957–58) titled "The Glass Eye", making it one of his first TV appearances. In 1961, he starred in the Broadway play A Shot in the Dark with Julie Harris and directed by Harold Clurman. Walter Matthau (who won a Tony Award for his performance) and Gene Saks were also featured in this play. Shatner also starred in two episodes of the NBC television series Thriller, "Grim Reaper" and "The Hungry Glass".

Guthrie had called the young Shatner the Stratford Festival's most promising actor, and he was seen as a peer to contemporaries like Steve McQueen, Paul Newman, and Robert Redford. Shatner was not as successful as the others, however, and during the 1960s he "became a working actor who showed up on time, knew his lines, worked cheap and always answered his phone." His motto was "Work equals work", but Shatner's willingness to take any role, no matter how "forgettable", likely hurt his career. In 1962, he starred in Roger Corman's award-winning movie The Intruder. He also appeared in the Stanley Kramer film Judgment at Nuremberg and two episodes, "Nick of Time" and "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet", of the science fiction anthology series The Twilight Zone. In the 1963-1964 season, he appeared in episodes of two ABC series, Channing and The Outer Limits ("Cold Hands, Warm Heart"). In 1963, he starred in the Family Theater production called "The Soldier" and received credits in other programs of The Psalms series. That same year he guest starred in Route 66, in the episode, "Build Your Houses with Their Backs to the Sea". In 1964, he guest starred in the episode "He Stuck in His Thumb" of the CBS drama The Reporter.

Shatner guest-starred in The Man from U.N.C.L.E. in an episode that also featured Leonard Nimoy, with whom Shatner would soon be paired in Star Trek. He also starred in the critically acclaimed drama For the People in 1965 as an assistant district attorney, costarring with Jessica Walter. The program lasted for only thirteen episodes. Shatner starred in the 1965 Gothic horror film Incubus, the second feature-length movie ever made with all dialogue spoken in Esperanto. He also starred in an episode of Gunsmoke in 1966 as the character Fred Bateman.

Star Trek, the TV series

Shatner was first cast as Captain James Kirk for the second pilot of , entitled "Where No Man Has Gone Before". He was then contracted to play Kirk for the Star Trek series and held the role from 1966 to 1969. In the episode "" he also played the corpse of the recently killed George Samuel Kirk (the brother of James Kirk).

In 1973, he returned to the role of Captain Kirk, albeit only in voice, in the . He was slated to reprise the role of Kirk for , a follow-up series chronicling the second five-year mission of the Enterprise, but Star Trek: Phase II was cancelled in pre-production and expanded into .

Stalled in the '70s

After Star Trek, Shatner experienced difficulty in finding work in the early 1970s. Moreover, his wife Gloria Rand left him. With very little money and few acting prospects, he lived in a truck bed camper in the San Fernando Valley until small roles turned into higher-paying jobs. Shatner refers to this part of his life as "that period", a humbling one in which he would take any odd job, including small party appearances, to support his family.

He again appeared in "schlock" films, such as the horror film The Devil's Rain and Corman's Big Bad Mama. Shatner received good reviews as the lead prosecutor in a 1971 PBS adaptation of Saul Levitts play The Andersonville Trial. Other television appearances included a starring role in the western-themed secret agent series Barbary Coast during 1975 and 1976, and guest roles on many 1970s series such as The Six Million Dollar Man, Columbo, The Rookies, Kung Fu, and .

He was an occasional celebrity guest on The $20,000 Pyramid in the 1970s, once appearing opposite Nimoy in a matchup billed as "Kirk vs. Spock". His appearances became far less frequent after a 1977 appearance in which, after giving an illegal clue ("the blessed" for Things That Are Blessed) at the top of the pyramid ($200) which deprived the contestant of a big money win, he threw his chair out of the Winner's Circle. Other shows included The Hollywood Squares, Celebrity Bowling, and Match Game.

Shatner did a number of television commercials for Ontario-based Loblaws supermarket chain in the 1970s, and finished the ad spots by saying, "At Loblaws, more than the price is right. But, by Gosh, the price is right."

A return to Kirk, and to work

After its cancellation, Star Trek unexpectedly gained a cult following during the 1970s from syndicated reruns, and Captain Kirk became a cultural icon. Shatner and the other Star Trek cast members returned to their roles when Paramount produced , released in 1979. It re-established Shatner as an actor, and he played Kirk in the next six Star Trek films, ending with the character's death in 1994's Star Trek Generations. His final appearances in the role are in the movie sequences of the video game (1997), and briefly for a DirecTV advertisement using footage from running from late summer 2006.

While continuing in the successful series of Star Trek movies he gained a new starring role on television as a police officer in T. J. Hooker, which ran from 1982 to 1986. He then hosted the popular dramatic reenactment series Rescue 911 from 1989 to 1996. During the 1980s Shatner also began directing film and television, directing numerous episodes of T. J. Hooker and the feature film .

As the unwilling central figure of a widespread geek-culture of Trekkies, Shatner was often humorously critical of the sometimes "annoying" fans of Star Trek. As a guest host on Saturday Night Live, in a famous skit about a Star Trek convention, he advised a room full of Trekkies to "Get a life". Shatner also appeared in the film Free Enterprise in 1998, in which he played himself and tried to dispel the Kirk image of himself from the view of the film's two lead characters. He also has found an outlet in spoofing the cavalier, almost superhuman character persona of Captain Kirk, in films such as (1982) and National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon (1993).

Tim Allen's role in Galaxy Quest as Captain Peter Quincy Taggart/Jason Nesmith is an analogue of James T. Kirk/William Shatner as seen by the public at large. Taggart has a reputation for taking off his shirt at the flimsiest excuse, rolling on the ground during combat, and making pithy speeches, while Nesmith is an egomaniac who regards himself as the core of Galaxy Quest and tells fans to "get a life". Poking fun at himself, Shatner professed to have no idea whom Allen was parodying.

Subsequent acting career

Shatner has appeared in advertisements for many companies and products, and in recent years he has done a series of commercials for the travel web site Priceline, in which Shatner plays a pompous, fictionalized version of himself. Although he received stock options for the commercials, reports that they are now worth hundreds of millions of dollars are exaggerated. Shatner was also the CEO of the Toronto, Ontario-based C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures, a special effects studio that operated from 1994 to 2010.

Shatner has enjoyed success with a series of science fiction novels published under his name, though most are widely believed to have been written by uncredited co-writers such as William T. Quick and Ron Goulart. The first, published in 1990, was TekWar. This popular series of books led to a Marvel Comics series, to a number of television movies, in which Shatner played a role, and to a short-lived television series in which Shatner made several appearances; he also directed some episodes. In 1995, a first-person shooter game named William Shatner's TekWar was released, and was the first game to use the Build engine.

In the television series 3rd Rock from the Sun, Shatner appeared in several episodes as the "Big Giant Head", a womanizing party-animal and high-ranking officer from the same alien planet as the Solomon family. The role earned Shatner a nomination for an Emmy. In 2003, Shatner appeared in Brad Paisley's "Celebrity" and "Online" music videos along with Little Jimmy Dickens, Jason Alexander, and Trista Rehn.

producer Manny Coto stated in Star Trek Communicator's October 2004 issue that he was preparing a three-episode story arc for Shatner. Shortly thereafter, Enterprise was cancelled.

After David E. Kelley saw Shatner's commercials, he joined the final season of the legal drama The Practice. His Emmy-award winning role, the eccentric but highly capable attorney Denny Crane, was essentially "William Shatner the man...playing William Shatner the character playing the character Denny Crane, who was playing the character William Shatner." Shatner took the Crane role to Boston Legal, and won a Golden Globe, an Emmy in 2005, and was nominated again in 2006, 2007, 2008, & 2009 for his work. With the 2005 Emmy win, Shatner became one of the few actors along with co-star James Spader as Alan Shore, to win an Emmy award while playing the same character in two different series. Even rarer, Shatner and Spader each won a second consecutive Emmy while playing the same character in two different series. Shatner remained with the series until its end in 2008.

Shatner made several guest appearances on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, including cameos reciting Sarah Palin's resignation speech, Twitter posts, and . He has also recited Twitter posts by Levi Johnston, father of Palin's grandson. He also appears in the opening graphics of the occasional feature "In The Year 3000," with his disembodied head floating through space, announcing, "And so we take a cosmic ride into that new millennium; that far off reality that is the year 3000," followed by the tag line, "It's the future, man."

Shatner also played the voice of Ozzie the opossum in Dreamworks' 2006 feature Over the Hedge.

In January 2007, Shatner launched a series of daily vlogs on his life called ShatnerVision on the LiveUniverse.com website. In 2008, he launched his video blogs on YouTube in a project renamed "The Shatner Project". Shatner also starred as the voice of Don Salmonella Gavone on the 2009 YouTube animated series The Gavones.

Shatner was not "offered or suggested" a role in the 2009 film Star Trek. Director J.J. Abrams said in July 2007 that the production was "desperately trying to figure out a way to put him in" but that to "shove him in...would be a disaster.", an opinion echoed by Shatner in several interviews. Shatner had invented his own idea about the beginning of Star Trek with his latest novel, Star Trek: Academy — Collision Course.

Shatner's autobiography Up Till Now was released in 2008. He was assisted in writing it by David Fisher. Shatner has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (for Television work) at 6901 Hollywood Boulevard. He also has a star on the Canadian Walk of Fame. Shatner was the first Canadian actor to star in three successful TV series on three different major networks (NBC, CBS, and ABC).

Shatner currently stars in the CBS sitcom $#*! My Dad Says, which is based on the Twitter feed Shit My Dad Says created by Justin Halpern. The series premiered in late 2010.

Shatner is also the host of the Discovery Channel television series Weird or What?.

Music and spoken word work

Shatner began his musical career with the spoken word 1968 album The Transformed Man, delivering exaggerated, interpretive recitations of "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds". He performed a reading of the Elton John song "Rocket Man" during the 1978 Science Fiction Film Awards that has been parodied by Chris Elliot on Late Night with David Letterman, on The Simpsons, by Stewie of Family Guy, and by Zapp Brannigan in Futurama. Ben Folds, who has worked with him several times, produced and co-wrote Shatner's well-received second studio album, Has Been, in 2004. During his lean times, he toured night clubs and colleges, being featured on the cover of Performance Magazine in 1976 as being available for bookings.

Personal life

Marriages and children

Shatner has been married four times. His first marriage was to Gloria Rand, from 1956 to 1969. His second marriage — his longest thus far — lasted 21 years and was to Marcy Lafferty; the couple was married in 1973 and divorced in 1994. His third marriage was to Nerine Kidd-Shatner, from 1997 until her death in 1999.

On August 9, 1999, Shatner returned home around 10 p.m. to discover Nerine's body at the bottom of their back yard swimming pool. She was 40 years old. An autopsy detected alcohol and Valium in her blood, and the coroner ruled her death an accidental drowning. The LAPD ruled out foul play and the case was closed. Speaking to the press shortly after his wife's death, a clearly shaken and emotional Shatner said that she "meant everything" to him and called her his "beautiful soulmate." Shatner urged the public to support Friendly House, a non-profit organization that helps women re-establish themselves in the community after suffering from alcoholism and drug addiction. He later told Larry King in an interview that "...my wife, whom I loved dearly and who loved me, was suffering with a disease that we don’t like to talk about, alcoholism. And she met a tragic ending because of it." Shatner's 2004 album Has Been included a spoken word piece titled "What Have You Done" that describes his anguish upon discovering his wife's body in the pool.

Shatner's fourth and current wife is Elizabeth Martin, whom he married in 2001. The couple came together through their interest in horses shortly after they were both widowed. Shatner has three daughters, Leslie Carol (b. 1958), Lisabeth Mary (b. 1960), and Melanie (b. 1964), from his marriage to Rand. Melanie had a brief career as an actress and is now the proprietor of Dari, an upscale women's clothing boutique. She is married to actor Joel Gretsch, with whom she has two daughters, Kaya and Willow.

Relationships with other actors

Shatner first appeared on screen with Leonard Nimoy in 1964, when both actors guest-starred in an episode of The Man from U.N.C.L.E., entitled: "The Project Strigas Affair". However, Shatner states in his autobiography that he does not recall meeting Nimoy at that time. As co-stars on , they interacted socially both on and off the set. After classic Star Trek's cancellation in 1969, Shatner and Nimoy reunited in the production of , as well as The $20,000 Pyramid, where "Kirk vs. Spock" appeared on two different tables. Nimoy also guest-starred on T. J. Hooker for a few episodes. Shatner starred in the title role of the show.

The 1999 death of Shatner's third wife, Nerine, served to strengthen the friendship of Shatner and Nimoy, as Nimoy had mourned over the loss of his best friend's wife. Nimoy also appeared alongside Shatner at the TV Land Awards (hosted by John Ritter) and was one of the many people to serve as a celebrity "roaster" of Shatner. Nimoy summarized his four decade friendship with Shatner by remarking, "Bill's energy was good for my performance, 'cause Spock could be the cool individual, our chemistry was successful, right from the start." Nimoy has also spoken about mutual rivalry between the actors during the Star Trek years: "Very competitive, sibling rivalry up to here. After the show had been on the air a few weeks and they started getting so much mail for Spock, then the dictum came down from NBC: 'Give us more of that guy, they love that guy, you know?' Well, that can be ... that can be a problem for the leading man who was hired as the star of the show; and suddenly, here's this guy with ears -- 'What's this, you know?'" said Nimoy. On an episode of the A&E; Network series Biography, Nimoy remarked, "Bill Shatner hogging the stage? No. Not the Bill Shatner I know."

Shatner has been friends with Heather Locklear since 1982, when Locklear began co-starring with him on T. J. Hooker as Officer Stacy Sheridan. Locklear was asked by Entertainment Tonight whether it was hard to work on two weekly TV shows at the same time. During the four years Locklear was in Hooker, she was also appearing in a semi-regular role in a fellow Aaron Spelling production, Dynasty. She replied "...I'd get really nervous and want to be prepared..." for Shatner and the experienced cast of Dynasty. After Hooker ended Shatner helped Locklear get other roles. Locklear supported a grieving Shatner in 1999 when he was mourning the death of his wife, Nerine. In 2005, Locklear appeared in two episodes of Shatner's Boston Legal as Kelly Nolan, an attractive, youthful woman being tried for killing her much older, wealthy husband. Shatner plays Crane, a founding partner of a large law firm, and a legendary litigator. Crane is attracted to Nolan and tries to insert himself into her defense. He is about the same age as Nolan's deceased husband, so Crane courts death by pursuing her. Locklear was asked how she came to appear on Boston Legal. She explained "I love the show, it's my favorite show; and I sorta kind of said, 'Shouldn't I be William Shatner's illegitimate daughter, or his love interest?'"

For years, Shatner was accused of being difficult to work with by some of his Star Trek co-stars, most notably James Doohan and George Takei. In the 2004 Star Trek DVD sets, Shatner seemed to have made up with Takei, but their differences continue to resurface. In the 1990s, Shatner made numerous attempts to patch things up with Doohan, but was unsuccessful for some time; however, an Associated Press article published at the time of Doohan's final convention appearance in late August 2004 stated that Doohan had forgiven his fellow Canadian Shatner and they had mended their relationship. Takei continues to speak negatively about Shatner. In a 2008 television interview, he stated "he has a big, shiny, demanding ego." Shatner, in turn, recorded videos for YouTube, saying that Takei had some sort of "psychosis".}

Takei has repeatedly asserted (most recently on the December 26, 2009, episode of the NPR radio program Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me) that he invited Shatner (along with other Star Trek cast members) to his 2008 wedding to Brad Altman, but Shatner never responded to the invitation. Shatner has repeatedly counter-asserted (most recently in the January 2010 issue of GQ) that he never received an invitation.

Health, hobbies and causes

In his spare time, Shatner enjoys breeding and showing American Saddlebreds and Quarter Horses. Shatner has a 150 hectare (360 acre) farm near Versailles, Kentucky, named Belle Reve, where he raises American Saddlebreds. His champion American Saddlebreds include Call Me Ringo, Revival, and Sultan's Great Day.

Shatner suffers from tinnitus and is involved in the ATA (American Tinnitus Association). His treatment for this condition involved wearing a small electronic device that generated a low-level, broadband sound (white noise) that "helped his brain put the tinnitus in the background".

On October 19, 2005, while working on the set of Boston Legal, Shatner was taken to the emergency room for lower back pain. He eventually passed a kidney stone, recovered and soon returned to work. In 2006, Shatner sold his kidney stone for US$75,000 to GoldenPalace.com. In an appearance on The View on May 16, 2006, Shatner said the $75,000 and an additional $20,000 raised from the cast and crew of Boston Legal, paid for the building of a house by Habitat for Humanity.

Shatner also plays on the World Poker Tour in the Hollywood Home games. He plays for the Wells Fargo Hollywood Charity Horse Show.

Nominations and awards

In 2004, Shatner won his first Emmy Award for his role as “Denny Crane” on The Practice. In 2005, he won his first Golden Globe award and a second Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his work on Boston Legal. In 2009, Shatner won a Streamy Award in the category of Best Reality Web Series.

Works

Film

Television

Other work

(1992)

(1993)

(1995)

Star Trek Generations (video game) (1997)

(2006, video game)

(2006, video game)

Plays "Chief Negotiating officer" in Priceline commercials

Voice of Don Salmonella Gavone on the animated series The Gavones

World of Warcraft Television commercial as himself (2007)

"Hupy and Abraham" Television commercial as himself (2010)

Discography

The Transformed Man (Decca, 1968)

William Shatner Live (Lemli, 1977)

Spaced Out: The Very Best of Leonard Nimoy and William Shatner (Universal International, 1997)

Has Been (Shout! Factory, 2004)

Exodus: An Oratorio In Three Parts (Jewish Music Group, 2007) One Night With Shatner (TBC)

Bibliography

Fiction

Tek series, with Ron Goulart

Star Trek series, with Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens

*Star Trek: The Ashes of Eden, 1995, ISBN 0-671-52035-0

*Star Trek: The Return, 1996, ISBN 0-671-52610-3

*Star Trek: Avenger, 1997, ISBN 0-671-55132-9

*Star Trek: Spectre, 1998, ISBN 0-671-00878-1

*Star Trek: Dark Victory, 1999, ISBN 0-671-00882-X

*Star Trek: Preserver, 2000, ISBN 0-671-02125-7

*Star Trek: Captain's Peril, 2002, ISBN 0-7434-4819-7

*Star Trek: Captain's Blood, 2003, ISBN 0-671-02129-X

*Star Trek: Captain's Glory, 2006, ISBN 0-7434-5343-3

*Star Trek: The Academy—Collision Course, 2007 ISBN 1-4165-0396-X

Believe (with Michael Tobias), 1992, ISBN 978-0-425-13296-8

War series

*Man o' War, 1996, ISBN 0-399-14131-6

*The Law of War, 1998, ISBN 0-399-14360-2

Quest for Tomorrow series

*Delta Search, 1997, ISBN 0-06-105274-4

*In Alien Hands, 1997, ISBN 0-06-105275-2

*Step into Chaos, 1999, ISBN 0-06-105276-0

*Beyond the Stars, 2000, ISBN 0-06-105118-7

*Shadow Planet, 2002, ISBN 0-06-105119-5

Comic book adaptations

*Star Trek: The Ashes of Eden, DC Comics graphic novel, 1995, ISBN 1-56389-235-9

Non-fiction

Captain's Log: William Shatner's Personal Account of the Making of "", as told by Lisabeth Shatner, 1989, ISBN 0-671-68652-6

Star Trek Memories, with Chris Kreski, 1993, ISBN 0-06-017734-9

Star Trek Movie Memories, with Chris Kreski, 1994, ISBN 0-06-017617-2

Get a Life!, with Chris Kreski, 1999, ISBN 0-671-02131-1

Star Trek: I'm Working on That: A Trek from Science Fiction to Science Fact, with Chip Walker, 2002, ISBN 0-671-04737-X

, With David Fisher, 2008, ISBN 0-283-07058-7

Notes

References

William Shatner Animation Contest on Toonboom with My Outer Space (finals voting from Dec10 to Dec 22, 2010)

William Shatner talks about 'Star Trek: The Tour' in Long Beach.

William Shatner at the LA Art Show*William Shatner has made around 40 short interview films on Videojug "Ask the Expert - William Shatner"*Shatner at Amazon Reviews

William Shatner Interview at Slashdot

Shatner at Fame Tracker

The Times (London), January 26, 2008. "Man of Enterprise. As a new series of Boston Legal begins, our critic salutes the many facets of its veteran star William Shatner" by Sophie Davies

Shatner turns down real offer to go into space "I do want to go up but I need guarantees I'll definitely come back.", accessed 2010-07-21

William Shatner Issues Urgent Plea in Animals’ Behalf

William Shatner for animal rights

New York Times story on Shatner's "Has Been" album with Ben Folds*"Shatner almost committed suicide over tinnitus trouble", Yahoo News UK, 2009-03-06 (accessed 2009-03-27)

External links

William Shatner's Official Website

William Shatner's "Official Store"

Publisher's Author Page

Shatner's daily vlogs on "ShatnerVision"

My Outer Space

William Shatner Animation Contest on Toonboom with My Outer Space (finals voting from December 10–22, 2010)

The Butler's Night Off William Shatner's first ever film

Category:1931 births Category:Actors from Quebec Category:American actors of Hungarian descent Category:American game show hosts Category:American Jews Category:American people of Austrian-Jewish descent Category:American people of Canadian-Jewish descent Category:American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent Category:American people of Polish-Jewish descent Category:Anglophone Quebec people Category:Audio book narrators Category:Best Supporting Actor Golden Globe (television) winners Category:Canadian bloggers Category:Canadian expatriate actors in the United States Category:Canadian film actors Category:Canadian game show hosts Category:Canadian immigrants to the United States Category:Canadian Jews Category:Canadian people of Austrian descent Category:Canadian people of Hungarian descent Category:Canadian people of Polish descent Category:Canadian science fiction writers Category:Canadian television actors Category:Canadian vegetarians Category:Canadian voice actors Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Jewish actors Category:Living people Category:McGill University alumni Category:People from Côte Saint-Luc, Quebec Category:People from Montreal Category:People from Westmount, Quebec Category:Shakespearean actors Category:Writers from California

Title	Yuna Kim
Caption	Kim at the 2009 Skate America.
Fullname	Yuna Kim김연아
Country	South Korea
Dateofbirth	September 05, 1990
Birthplace	Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do
Hometown	Gunpo, Gyeonggi-do
Residence	Seoul, South KoreaArtesia, California
Height
Coach	Peter Oppegard
Formercoach	Brian OrserSe-Yeol KimHyeon-jeong ChiHye-sook ShinJong-hyeon Ryu
Choreographer	David Wilson
Formerchoreographer	Sandra BezicTom DicksonJeffrey ButtleJadene Fullen Se-Yeol Kim Catarina LindgrenHyeon-jeong Chi
Combined total	228.56 (WR)
Combined date	2010 Winter Olympics
Sp score	78.50 (WR)
Sp date	2010 Winter Olympics
Fs score	150.06 (WR)
Fs date	2010 Winter Olympics
Medaltemplates

}}

}}

Kim Yu-na (Hangul: , Hanja: , ; born September 5, 1990) is a South Korean figure skater.

She is the 2010 Olympic champion in Ladies' Singles, the 2009 World champion, the 2009 Four Continents champion, a three-time (2006–2007, 2007–2008, 2009–2010) Grand Prix Final champion, the 2006 World Junior champion, the 2005–2006 Junior Grand Prix Final champion, and a four-time (2002–2005) South Korean national champion.

Kim is the first South Korean figure skater to win a medal at an ISU Junior or Senior Grand Prix event, ISU Championship, and the Olympic Games. She is the first female skater to win the Olympic Games, the World Championships, the Four Continents Championships and the Grand Prix Final. She is one of the most highly recognized athletes and media figures in South Korea.

, she is ranked first in the world by the International Skating Union (ISU). She is the current record holder for ladies in the short program, the free skating and the combined total under the ISU Judging System. She is also the first female skater to surpass the 200-point mark

Personal life

Kim was born in 1990 in Bucheon, Gyeonggi-do and moved to Gunpo when she was six years old. She currently lives and trains in Artesia, California, USA.

In 2008, Kim was baptized as a Catholic alongside her mother, taking the saint's name Stella. In 2009, Kim enrolled at Korea University, one of the most prestigious universities in Korea, as a Physical Education major.

The correct transcription of her name from Korean script would be 'Kim Yeona' or 'Kim Yeon-a'. However, when she applied for her passport, she intended to write her name as 'Yun-a', but the official mis-wrote her name as 'Yu-na'. In Hangul 'Yu-na' would properly be spelled "유나" and not "연아."

Career

Early career

Kim began skating at the age of 7. Her coach at the time, Jong-Hyeon Ryu, strongly suggested to Kim's mother that Kim should continue to skate, predicting that she would become a world-class figure skater in the future.

In 2002, she competed internationally for the first time at the Triglav Trophy, where she won the gold medal in the novice competition. A year later, at age 12, she won the senior title at the South Korean Figure Skating Championships, becoming the youngest skater ever to win that title. She won her second international competition at the Golden Bear of Zagreb, a novice competition. She continued her reign as the South Korean champion in 2004.

Junior career

2004–2005 season

In the 2004–2005 season, Kim competed as a junior at the ISU Junior Grand Prix. She won a silver medal at the event in China and a gold medal at the event in Hungary. She won a silver medal at the 2004-2005 Junior Grand Prix Final with an overall score of 137.75 points.

She retained her National Championship title for the third year in a row on her way to the 2005 World Junior Figure Skating Championships. At that competition, she won a silver medal earning 158.93 points and landed her first triple-triple combination jump in the free skating.

2005–2006 season

For the 2005–2006 season, Kim was not old enough to compete at the 2006 Olympics, even if South Korea were granted a spot at the final qualifying competition, the 2005 Karl Schäfer Memorial.

Instead, she competed in the 2005–2006 Junior Grand Prix and won both of her competitions in Bulgaria and Slovakia. At the 2005-2006 Junior Grand Prix Final, she won the competition 28.34 points ahead of silver medalist Aki Sawada. During her free skate, she landed seven triple jumps, including a triple flip - triple toe loop combination and a double axel - triple toe loop combination.

Kim won her fourth senior national title. At the 2006 World Junior Figure Skating Championships, she won the gold medal scoring 177.54 points overall, with a 24.19-point margin of victory over silver medalist Mao Asada.

Senior career

2006–2007 season

at the 2006 Skate Canada.]]

In order to prepare for her senior debut in the 2006–2007 season, Kim trained extensively at the Toronto Cricket, Skating and Curling Club of Toronto, Canada during the summer of 2006.

Kim made her senior international debut at 2006 Skate Canada where she won a bronze medal after being placed first at the short program and fourth in the free skate program with a total overall score of 168.48 points.

At the 2006 Trophée Eric Bompard, Kim received a score of 65.22 in the short program and 119.32 in the free skate, placing first both of them and won the event with 184.54 points, 10.10 points ahead of silver medalist Miki Ando. Those performances qualified Kim for the Grand Prix Final for the first time.

At the 2006 Grand Prix Final in St. Petersburg, Russia, Kim placed third in the short program with 65.06 points and first in the free skating with 119.14. She won the Grand Prix Final earning 184.20 points, by a margin of 11.68 ahead over silver medalist Mao Asada.

Kim was forced to withdraw due to an injury at 2006–2007 South Korean Championships and was unable to defend her national title. In January 2007, Kim was diagnosed as being in the early stage of lumbar disc herniation (L₄~L₅).

Kim was selected to compete at the 2007 World Figure Skating Championships based on her performance during the season. Because of the placement of Choi Ji Eun the year before, South Korea had only one spot in the World Championships. During the World Championships in Tokyo, Japan, Kim won the short program with 71.95 points, setting the highest short program score ever under the ISU Judging System and consequently, a world record. She placed fourth in the long program earning 114.19 points, and finished third overall with 186.14 points behind Japanese skaters Miki Ando and Mao Asada. Kim's placement qualified South Korea two ladies entries for the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships. Kim was the only lady skater whose triple-triple combination was recognized by the judges in both the short and the free skating programs in the 2006-2007 season.

In March 2007, Brian Orser became her new full-time coach. Satisfied with the training environment in Toronto, Kim made Toronto her training home.

Kim qualified for the 2007–2008 Grand Prix of Figure Skating Final in Turin, Italy. She stood in 1st place after the Short Program, landed triple flip-single toeloop combination, a triple lutz and a double axel. And she succeed triple flip-triple toe loop combination, triple lutz-double toe loop-double loop combination, double axel-triple toe loop combination, a triple lutz, a triple salchow and a double axel in the free skating. Kim only fell on a triple loop. She won the short program with 64.62 points and was placed 2nd in the free skate earning 132.21. With a total score of 196.83 points, Kim won her second Grand Prix Final.

In the January 2008, Kim's hip injury that forced her off the ice last season for six weeks has flared up again, forcing her to withdraw from the 2008 Korean National Championships. She has her own physiotherapist who moved from South Korea to Canada to provide her with massage therapy. But she withdrew from the 2008 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships.

With persistent back pain, she competed at the 2008 World Figure Skating Championships in Gothenburg, Sweden. She was placed 5th in the short program with 59.85 points but rebounded in the free skate to win the program with 123.38. In the free skating, Kim landed triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a double axel, a triple lutz-double toe loop-double loop combination, double axel-triple toe loop combination, single lutz, triple salchow and double axel. She scored 183.23 points overall, winning her second consecutive bronze medal at the World Championships.

2008–2009 season

at the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships.]]

Kim was assigned to the 2008 Skate America and the 2008 Cup of China Grand Prix for the 2008–2009 ISU Grand Prix season.

At the 2008 Skate America, Kim was placed first in the short program with a score of 69.50, standing out by the margin of 11.70 points despite a trouble in her double axel. She went on to capture the ladies title by winning the free skate as well with a score of 123.95. She won the event earning 193.45 points overall, a score that was more than 20 points ahead of silver medalist Yukari Nakano of Japan.

Her success continued at the 2008 Cup of China, where she received a score of 63.64 in the short program and 128.11 in the free skate, placing first in both of them. The combined total of 191.75 was nearly 21 points ahead of silver medalist Miki Ando of Japan. Her performance qualified her for a spot in the 2008–2009 Grand Prix Final.

During the 2008–2009 Grand Prix Final, which was held in Goyang, South Korea, she was placed first in the short program with 65.94 points and second in the free skate where she earned 120.41 points. She won silver medal with a total score of 186.35 points, 2.20 behind Mao Asada of Japan.

Kim competed in the 2009 Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Vancouver, Canada. She set a new world record of 72.24 points in the short program with a clean performance. She scored 116.83 in the free skating program, keeping the lead with 189.07 points overall and winning the gold medal.

During the 2009 World Figure Skating Championships, held in Los Angeles, United States, she set another new world record of 76.12 points in the short program, surpassing her previous record by almost four points. She performed a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a triple lutz and a double axel as well as earning a level four on all her spins and her spiral sequence. She also won the free skating program, scoring 131.59 points and showing great presentation skills with her artistry and her musicality. She executed a triple flip-triple toe loop combination, a double axel, a triple lutz-double toe loop-double loop combination, a double axel-triple toe loop combination, a triple lutz and a double axel. As a result, she set a new world record total of 207.71 as well as winning her first World Championship title and she became the first female skater to surpass 200 points under the ISU Judging System. Her margin of victory was 16.42 points ahead of silver medalist Joannie Rochette. She was the only competitor who earned eights in program components marks in both the short program and the free skate at the competition. Kim was the only female skater whose triple-triple combination was recognized by the judges in both the short and free programs during the 2008–2009 season.

2009–2010 season

at the 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard.]]

Kim was assigned to the 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard and the 2009 Skate America in the 2009–2010 ISU Grand Prix season.

At the 2009 Trophée Eric Bompard, she placed first in the short program with the score of 76.08 points, 16.44 points ahead of Yukari Nakano. She successfully executed a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination, followed by a triple flip and a double axel. Her spiral sequence and all three spins were graded a level four. Opening with a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination and showing great artistic skills, she won the free skate scoring 133.95 points. She also executed a double axel-double toe loop-double loop, a double axel-triple toe loop, a triple salchow, a triple lutz and a double axel. She won the event with 210.03 points, 36.04 ahead of silver medalist Mao Asada. Kim set world records for the free skate and the overall score under the ISU Judging System at the competition.

At the 2009 Skate America, Kim placed first again after the short program with the score of 76.28, which was 17.48 points ahead of her closest competitor Rachael Flatt. She received +2.20 grade of execution for her triple lutz-triple toe loop combination, the highest ever given for jumps by the ISU in ladies' figure skating. She placed second in the free skate with the score of 111.70 points, due to mistakes in her jumps. Although it was one of her lowest scores, she still won the event with 187.98 points, beating silver medalist Rachael Flatt with a lead of 13.07. At the competition, she set a new world record again for the short program under the ISU Judging System.

Her victories in both Grand Prix events qualified her for the 2009–2010 Grand Prix Final in Tokyo, Japan, in December 2009. At the event, she placed second in the short program with 65.64 points, 0.56 behind Miki Ando. The next day, she won the free skate with 123.22 points. As a result, Kim won her 3rd Grand Prix Final title with a total of 188.86 points.

In February 2010, Kim competed in the ladies event at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, where she won the gold medal.

In March 2010, Kim competed at the 2010 World Figure Skating Championships in Turin, Italy. Kim said she had struggled with finding the motivation to compete at the World Championships after winning the gold medal at the Olympic Games. Kim placed seventh in the short program with 60.30 points. She opened with a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination, but had problems with her layback spin and spiral sequence. She rebounded in the free skate to win the program with 130.49 points completing a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination, a triple flip, a double axel-double toe loop-double loop combination, a double axel-triple toe loop combination and a triple lutz, but having trouble with her triple salchow and double axel. She won the silver medal totalling 190.79 points.

2010 Winter Olympics

medal ceremony.]]

In February 2010, Kim competed in the ladies event at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. She entered the Games as a strong favorite to win the gold.

In the short program on February 23, she executed a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination, a triple flip and a double axel. Her spirals and her spins were graded a level four. Her technical score of 44.70 points was the highest of the event. She also received superior scores in the program components, where she received 33.80 due to her interpretative artistic skills. As a result Kim scored 78.50 points, taking the lead by 4.72 over Mao Asada of Japan and achieving her best score in the short program. She set a new world record.

On February 25 she won the free skate with a score of 150.06 points, 18.34 ahead of Asada, who also came in second place in that segment of the competition. Kim landed a triple lutz-triple toe loop combination, a triple flip, a double axel-double toe loop-double loop combination, a double axel-triple toe loop combination, a triple salchow, a triple lutz and a double axel as well as receiving level fours for her spins and her spiral sequence. Combined with her grace and musical expression, both her technical score of 78.30 and her presentation of 71.76 were the highest of the night. She was the only competitor to earn nines in her program components scores. She set a new world record for the free skate under the ISU Judging System. Overall, Kim totaled 228.56 points, shattering her personal best and own old world record by a margin of 18 points. Due to her dominance for the past few years, she has been nicknamed "Queen Yuna".

Kim's short program, long program and combined total scores in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver were the highest scores ever since the ISU Judging System was created, and were automatically registered in the Guinness World Records. After the 2010 Winter Olympics, Hillary Clinton praised Kim's performance. Kim thanked her in a letter.

2010-2011 season

Kim was assigned to the 2010 Cup of China and to the 2010 Cup of Russia for the 2010–2011 ISU Grand Prix season. However, she chose not to compete in the Grand Prix series to focus on the 2011 World Figure Skating Championships.

Coaching change

In August 2010, Kim and her coach Orser parted ways. Their split was first known to public by Orser’s press release. Orser claimed that his dismissal had been "sudden and unexpected" and that he had been given no explanation for the split However, Rippon said in an interview that they have known about the situation longer than the general public, and had time to deal with it. He said "It hasn't affected Brian's coaching, and it certainly hasn't affected my training." Kim posted an online message accusing Orser of lying. She stated on her official website that they had been maintaining an awkward and ambiguous relationship for months and that she was perplexed by Orser’s announcement. She also said that the dismissal had been her decision and that the reason behind it did not need to be made public. After the split, Orser gave multiple interviews regarding his dismissal. On August 25, 2010, Orser caused controversy by revealing Kim's 2010-2011 competitive program information to the press without Kim and her choreographer's consent. Soon after, Kim left the rink where she had trained with Orser, and is now training at East West Ice Palace in Los Angeles owned by Michelle Kwan.

On October 5, 2010, it was announced that Peter Oppegard would become Kim's new coach.

Skating techniques

.]]

Kim landed her first triple jump at the age of 10, and at 12, she used five triple jumps in her figure skating programs. When she was 14 years old, she landed her first triple-triple combination jump at the 2005 World Junior Championships.

Kim has executed three different triple-triple combination jumps in competitions: a triple lutz-triple toe loop, a triple flip-triple toe loop, and a triple toe loop-triple toe loop. She can also execute a triple lutz-double toe loop-double loop jump combination. She has received +2.20 grade of execution for jumps, steps sequence and spins.

Her signature move is a layback ina bauer that she leads directly into a double axel jump, to a double axel-triple toe loop jump combination or to a double axel-double toe loop-double loop jump combination.

Kim is famous for her technical skill, high jumps, speed, wide ice coverage, mature artistry, musicality, grace, elegance and for the great ice coverage of her jumps due to her high speed take-off. Her triple lutz-triple toe loop combination jump is known for its huge scale.

Public life and endorsements

at the 2010 All That Skate LA.]] Among Kim's official sponsors are Kookmin Bank, Nike, Korean Air and Hyundai Motor Company. Her other endorsements include Anycall (mobile phone), Hauzen (air conditioner), Lac Vert (cosmetics), Maeil Dairies Co.Ltd (dairy products), Saffron (fabric softener), Tous Les Jours (bakery), J. Estina (jewelry) and Qua (apparel). Her skating music and other favorites were compiled in the album Yuna Kim ~ Fairy On ICE ~ Skating Music (Universal Music Korea, 2008).

Kim was the headliner of the ice show 2008, 2009 and 2010 Festa on Ice produced by her former agency, IB Sports. IB Sports produced another ice show, Ice All Stars 2009, which took place in Seoul on August 14–16, 2009. Michelle Kwan, who is Kim's idol and the most decorated figure skater in the U.S. history, joined the ice show.

In April 2010, Kim left IB Sports and set up her own agency All That Sports Corp. (AT Sports) with the support of her mother. They organized an ice show, All That Skate.

Kim has appeared in many commercials in South Korea. Her commercial for a new touchscreen haptic phone from Samsung Electronics, dubbed as Yuna's Haptic (SPH-W7700), sold over one million devices in a record seven months. During the 2010 Winter Olympics, Forbes magazine named Kim, along with American snowboarder Shaun White, as the top-earning athletes participating in the Olympics with $7.5 million each to their name. In August 2010, Forbes magazine listed her as one of the highest-paid female athletes in the world, with annual earnings of $9.7 million.

Kim has worked in several projects as a singer. She recorded a duet with K-pop singer Lee Seung-gi to collaborate on "Smile Boy", the 2010 Football World Cup commercial song. She also sang with Korean band Big Bang on the single "Shouts of Reds" created for the Korean World Cup soccer team. Kim has also performed songs by Korean pop singers IU, Narsha and BoA on the television show Kim Jung Eun's Chocolate.

Gala.]]

Kim was named as an ambassador for the 2010–2012 Visit Korea Year. Kim has been rated as one of the world's most influential people in 2010 by TIME. Michelle Kwan offered her congratulations to celebrate. In July 2010, Kim was named international UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. She was also named an ambassador for the 2010 G-20 Seoul summit alongside actress Han Hyo Joo and soccer player representative Park Ji-Sung.

In August 2010, in honor of Kim's visit, Los Angeles City designated Aug. 7 as "Yu-Na Kim Day," and granted her honorary citizenship. She also received the “Proud Korean Award” from the Korean American Leadership Foundation in the city on the same day as Sammy Lee, the two-time Olympic gold medalist in men’s diving in 1948 and 1952.

In September 2010, Kim was invited to the United Nation's New York headquarter to mark the annual International Day of Peace celebration in capacity of UNICEF International Goodwill Ambassador. She joined the ceremony alongside high level UN officials including UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon and Goodwill Ambassadors representing other branches of the United Nations. There, she advocated peace messages from UNICEF.

In October 2010, Kim and her management All That Sports debuted 2010 All That Skate LA, a US version of their highly successful Korean ice show brand, All That Skate, at Staples Center, Los Angeles. The show, which was directed by renowned Canadian choreographer David Wilson and boasted an impressive all-star cast, including the five-time world champion Michelle Kwan, the reigning Olympic champions from three skating disciplines including Kim, and many world champions, received rave reviews from both figure skating fans and critics for bringing a new style of skating show to the US and also for its overall high quality production. The show, held on October 2 through 3rd, was broadcasted nationwide in the US through NBC network on Octorber 10th.

Kim won the Sportswoman of the Year from Women's Sports Foundation on October 12, 2010. In an acceptance speech in New York, Kim said, "For me, this isn't just any award. As a figure skater, I am glad for this opportunity to bring more attention to the sport of figure skating so that more girls become interested and become inspired to participate in the sport." She added and said that through this award she hopes to take a part and aspire other people, so that everyone can enjoy sports and live their life to the fullest.

Kim published her book, "Kim Yu-na's Seven-Minute Drama" on January 28, 2010 about her experience with figure skating since the age of seven to the preparation of 2010 Winter Olympic in Vancouver. The Chosun Ilbo stated that the book "deals with her attempts to overcome her obstacles and to become the world's top figure skater." In addition to the book "Seven-Miunute Drama," she also wrote the book called, "Like Kim Yuna," published on March 30, 2010. This book targets younger readers.

Donations

Kim donated more than 2.0 billion won ($1.7 million) over her career. Her charitable contributions known to public include: Every Year since Jan 2007 – 12 million won scholarships to 6 young skaters after her first advertisement endorsement of Kookmin Bank. May 2007 – 10 million won scholarship to fellow skater Hyeon-Jung Kim after making a contract with LG Household & Health Care advertisement. Sep 2007 – 200 million won (100 million of her own + 100 million won additional contributions from Ivy Club) in form of school uniforms to low-income-family youths after making a contract with Ivy Club advertisement. Dec 2007 – 100 school uniforms (worth 20 million won) to youths damaged by Taean oil spill disaster. Apr 2008 – Visited to Everland with 800 children from Seoul Boys Town on Kookmin Bank Volunteer Day. May 2008 – 50 million won (in addition to contributions from Daishin Securities) to young skaters after giving a talk to public at Daishin Investment Forum 2008. May 2008 – 40 million won worth of one-year provision of Maeil Dairies Company products to low-income-family youths. May 2008 – Participated in the recording of a humanitarian song "I Love Asia" Project to help earthquake victims of Sichuan, China. Dec 2008 – 100 million won worth of school uniforms to low-income-family youths after renewing her advertisement contract with Ivy Club. Dec 2008 – Over 1,000 dolls, she received at Grand Prix Final, to juvenile cancer wards in hospitals in metropolitan Seoul area. Dec 2008 – 50 million won to young skaters at "Little Yuna' Youth skaters support project" Campaign of Sports Toto Lottery Company. Dec 2008 – 144 million won, total amount of ticket earnings from the charity ice show “Angels on Ice 2008” to children with rare diseases and juvenile cancer patients. Apr 2009 – 100 million won worth of dairy products to low-income-family youths through the Seongname Welfare Center of World Vision. May 2009 – Visited Asan Hospital to inquire after juvenile cancer patients on Children’s Day. May 2009 – 100 million won and skate boots while participating in UNICEF Pigotta Doll Project to help children with immunization campaign. Dec 2009 – Her portrait rights for free to be included in the Christmas seals for tuberculosis eradication. Jan 2010 – 100 million won through UNICEF to Haiti relief. Apr 2010 – 40 million won fee for appearing in a radio campaign for the rights of the disabled to Korea Foundation for Persons with Disabilities. Apr 2010 – 50 million won, some part of earnings from Festa on Ice 2010, to ChunAhn-Häm (sunken Korean battleship) victims who passed away in the ship. Jul 2010 - As a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, she thanked Haiti donors. Aug 2010 - $10,000 to UNICEF. It was the prize money awarded to Kim with her Proud Korean Award by the Korean-American Leadership Foundation in Los Angeles. Dec 2010 - $45,000 to children of families without parents through the Korean Committee for UNICEF.

Programs

during her exhibition to Méditation at the 2010 World Figure Skating Championships.]] in her exhibition to Only Hope at the 2008 Skate America.]] during her Reflection gala at the 2006 Skate Canada.]]

{|class="wikitable" style="text-align:center" |- ! Season ! Short Program ! Free Skating ! Exhibition |- ! 2010-2011 | Giselle by Adolphe Charles Adam choreography by David Wilson | Homage to Korea choreography by David Wilson | Bulletproof by La Rouxchoreography by David Wilson
|- ! 2009-2010 | James Bond Medleyby Monty Norman, John Barryand David Arnoldchoreography by David Wilson | Concerto in F by George Gershwin choreography by David Wilson | Méditationfrom Thaïs by Jules Massenetchoreography by David Wilson
----Don't Stop the Music by Rihanna choreography by Sandra Bezic
|- ! 2008–2009 | Danse Macabreby Camille Saint-Saënsperformed by Gil Shahamchoreography by David Wilson | Scheherazadeby Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakovchoreography by David Wilson | Goldfrom Camille Claudelby Linda Ederchoreography by David Wilson
----Only Hopefrom A Walk to Remember
by Mandy Moorechoreography by David Wilson
|- ! 2007–2008 | Die Fledermausby Johann Strauss IIchoreography by David Wilson | Miss Saigon by Claude-Michel Schönbergchoreography by David Wilson | Only Hopefrom A Walk to Remember
by Mandy Moorechoreography by David Wilson
----Once Upon a Dreamfrom Jekyll and Hyde
by Linda Ederchoreography by David Wilson
----Just a Girl by No Doubtchoreography by David Wilson
|- ! 2006–2007 | El Tango de Roxannefrom Moulin Rouge!by Mariano Mores
Despertarby Ástor Piazzollachoreography by Tom Dickson
| The Lark Ascendingby Ralph Vaughan Williamschoreography by David Wilson | Reflectionfrom Mulan
by Christina Aguilerachoreography by Brian Orser |- ! 2005–2006 | El Tango de Roxannefrom Moulin Rouge!by Mariano Mores
Despertar by Ástor Piazzollachoreography by Tom Dickson
| Papa, Can You Hear Me?from Yentlby Michel Legrandperformed by Itzhak Perlmanchoreography by Jeffrey Buttle and Jadene Fullen
| One Day I'll Fly Away from Moulin Rouge!
by Nicole Kidmanchoreography by Se-Yeol Kimand Yu-Na Kim |- ! 2004–2005 | Snowstormby Georgy Sviridovchoreography by Catarina Lindgren | Papa, Can You Hear Me?from Yentlby Michel Legrandperformed by Itzhak Perlmanchoreography by Jeffrey Buttle and Jadene Fullen
| Benby Michael Jacksonchoreography by Chi Hyun-Jungand Yu-Na Kim |- ! 2003–2004 | Snowstormby Georgy Sviridovchoreography by Catarina Lindgren
| Carmenby Georges Bizetchoreography by Catarina Lindgren
| |- ! 2002–2003 | Can-canby Jacques Offenbachchoreography by Catarina Lindgren
| Carmenby Georges Bizetchoreography by Catarina Lindgren
| |- ! 2001–2002 | Can-canby Jacques Offenbachchoreography by Catarina Lindgren
| The Carnival of the Animalsby Camille Saint-Saënschoreography by Garnet
| |}

Competitive Results

Senior Results

podium.]]

Junior Results

S = Senior level

N = Novice level

J = Junior level

Detailed results

Senior Results

medal ceremony.]] .]]

SP = Short program; FS = Free skating

World records highlighted in bold

Season bests highlighted in Italic

Junior Results

ISU season bests highlighted in Italic.

QR = Qualifying round; SP = Short program; FS = Free skating

References

External links

Official website

Yuna Kim's profile on Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics official website

Category:1990 births Category:Living people Category:People from Bucheon Category:People from Gyeonggi-do Category:South Korean expatriates in Canada Category:South Korean figure skaters Category:Olympic figure skaters of South Korea Category:Figure skaters at the 2010 Winter Olympics Category:Korea University alumni Category:Olympic gold medalists for South Korea Category:UNICEF people Category:Winter Olympics medalists Category:Converts to Christianity