Gwyneth Paltrow

Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (/ˈɡwɪnᵻθ ˈpæltroʊ/; born September 27, 1972) is an American actress, singer, and food writer. She first garnered worldwide recognition through her performance in Shakespeare in Love (1998), for which she won the Golden Globe, SAG, and Academy Award for Best Actress.

Paltrow is also known for roles in the films The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), and Proof (2005), for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination. Since 2008, she has portrayed Pepper Potts, the love interest of Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She also won an Emmy Award in 2011 for her role as Holly Holliday on the Fox hit TV show Glee.

Paltrow has been the face of Estée Lauder's Pleasures perfume since 2005. She is also the face of American fashion brand Coach, owner of a lifestyle company, and author of two cookbooks.

Early life and education

Paltrow was born in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of actress Blythe Danner and film producer/director Bruce Paltrow. Her father was Jewish and her mother is from a Christian background, and Paltrow was raised with "both Jewish and Christian holidays" (her brother had a Bar Mitzvah ceremony). Her father's Ashkenazi family immigrated from Belarus and Poland, while her mother has Pennsylvania Dutch (German), and some white Barbadian (English), ancestry. Paltrow's paternal great-great-grandfather, whose surname was "Paltrowicz," was a rabbi in Nowogród, Poland. Paltrow has a younger brother, director and screenwriter Jake Paltrow, and is a half-cousin of actress Katherine Moennig (through her mother), and a second cousin of former U.S. Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (AZ-08) (through her father). Her uncle is opera singer and actor Harry Danner.

Amanda Peet

Amanda Peet (born January 11, 1972) is an American actress and author who has appeared in film, stage, and television. After studying with Uta Hagen at Columbia University, Peet began her career in television commercials, and progressed to small roles on television, before making her film debut in 1995. Featured roles in the 2000 comedy film The Whole Nine Yards brought her wider recognition.

She has appeared in a variety of films, including the 2001 comedy Saving Silverman, the 2003 romantic comedy Something's Gotta Give, the 2003 psychological thriller film Identity, the 2005 action-thriller Syriana, the 2006 comedy-drama remake Griffin & Phoenix, the 2007 romantic comedy The Ex, the 2008 science fiction film The X-Files: I Want to Believe and the 2009 disaster adventure drama 2012. She has also appeared in the 1999 drama series Jack & Jill and the 2006 drama series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip.

Early life

Peet was born in New York City, the daughter of Penny (née Levy), a social worker, and Charles D. Peet, Jr., a corporate lawyer. Her parents are divorced. Her maternal great-grandfathers were Samuel Levy, a lawyer, businessman, and public official, who served as Manhattan Borough President, and Samuel Roxy Rothafel, a theatrical impresario and entrepreneur. Peet's father is a Quaker and Peet's mother is Jewish. Peet attended Friends Seminary, then studied history at and graduated from Columbia University, where she auditioned for acting teacher Uta Hagen and decided to become an actress after taking Hagen's class. During her four-year period of study with Hagen, Peet appeared in the off-Broadway revival of Clifford Odets's Awake and Sing with Stephen Lang.

Kim Zolciak

Kimberleigh "Kim" Zolciak-Biermann (born Kimberleigh Marie Zolciak; May 19, 1978) is an American television personality. In 2008, she rose to prominence as one of the original housewives that appeared on the reality television series The Real Housewives of Atlanta aired on Bravo.

Zolciak left The Real Housewives of Atlanta in 2012 during the fifth season of the series. Earlier that year, she received her own spin-off show entitled Don't Be Tardy for the Wedding, which focused on the preparation of her wedding to football player Kroy Biermann. The series was subsequently renewed for a second season with a shortened title, Don't Be Tardy. The fourth season of the show premiered on August 16, 2015. In 2015, she was one of the contestants of the 21st season of the dancing competition series Dancing with the Stars.

Early life

Kim Zolciak was born in Pensacola, Florida, to a military family, and grew up in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. Her parents are Joseph and Karen, and she has a brother named Michael. She is of Italian descent and was raised Roman Catholic.

The Real Housewives of New Jersey

The Real Housewives of New Jersey (abbreviated RHONJ) is an American reality television series that premiered on May 12, 2009 on Bravo. Developed as the fourth installment of The Real Housewives franchise, following The Real Housewives of Orange County, New York City, and Atlanta, it has aired six seasons and focuses on the personal and professional lives of several women residing in New Jersey.

The series originally focused on Teresa Giudice, Jacqueline Laurita, Caroline Manzo, Dina Manzo, and Danielle Staub. Of the original housewives, Dina Manzo stopped filming during production of the second season before returning for the sixth; Staub left after the second season; and Laurita and Caroline Manzo left after the fifth. The remaining housewives joined in later seasons: Melissa Gorga in the third, and Teresa Aprea and Nicole Napolitano in the sixth. Past housewives include Kathy Wakile (season 3–5) and Amber Marchese (season 6).

Overview and casting

The Real Housewives of New Jersey was first announced when Bravo released its 2008–09 programming on April 15, 2008. It was later announced that the series would debut on May 12, 2009, with Caroline Manzo, Jacqueline Laurita, Teresa Giudice, Dina Manzo, and Danielle Staub as the cast. For the first time in the franchise, the series followed housewives who are related to one another: sisters Caroline and Dina are married to brothers Albert and Tommy Manzo, and Jacqueline Laurita is married to Caroline and Dina's brother, Chris Laurita. Dina and Tommy Manzo would later end up separated.