Zhang Ziyi - 章子怡

0 komentar 2011/06/17
 BIOGRAPHY FOR ZHANG ZIYI
Ziyi Zhang (Chinese: 章子怡, pinyin: Zhāng Zǐyí; born Feb. 9, 1979 (32 years ago)) is a Chinese movie actress and singer. Zhang is considered one of the Four Young Dan actresses (四小花旦) in China, along with Zhao Wei, Xu Jinglei, and Zhou Xun. With a string of Chinese and international hits to her name, she has worked with renowned directors such as Zhang Yimou, Ang Lee, Wong Kar-Wai, Chen Kaige, Tsui Hark, Lou Ye, Seijun Suzuki, Feng Xiaogang and Rob Marshall.








EARLY YEARS
Zhang was born and raised in Beijing, China, the daughter of Zhang Yuanxiao, an economist, and Li Zhousheng, a kindergarten teacher. Zhang joined the Beijing Dance Academy at the age of 11. When Zhang's parents suggested she attend the school, she was skeptical. While at this boarding school, she noticed how catty the other girls were while competing for status amongst the teachers. Zhang disliked the attitudes of peers and teachers, so much that, on one occasion, she ran away from the school.

Zhang entered China's prestigious Central Academy of Drama (regarded as the top acting college in China) at the age of 15.

CAREER
At the age of 19, Zhang was offered her first role in Zhang Yimou's The Road Home, which won the Silver Bear award in the 2000 (11 years ago) Berlin movie Festival.

Zhang further rose to fame due to her role as the headstrong Jen (Chinese version: Xia Long) in the phenomenally successful Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, for which she won several awards in the West, such as Chicago movie Critics Association Awards, Toronto movie Critics Association Awards and Independent Spirit Awards. Zhang's first appearance in an American movie was in Rush Hour 2, but because she didn't speak English at the time, Jackie Chan had to interpret everything the director said to her. In the movie, her character's name, "Hu Li," is translated from Mandarin Chinese to "Fox".

Zhang then appeared in Hero, with her early mentor Zhang Yimou, which was a huge success in the English-speaking world and nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe award. Her next movie was the avant-garde drama Purple Butterfly by Lou Ye, which competed at the 2003 (8 years ago) Cannes movie Festival. Zhang went back to the martial arts genre with House of Flying Daggers (十面埋伏), which earned her a Best Actress nomination from the British Academy of movie and TV Arts.

In 2046, directed by Wong Kar-wai, starring many of the best-known Chinese actors and actresses, Zhang was the female lead and won the Hong Kong movie Critics' Best Actress Award and the Hong Kong movie Academy's Best Actress Award.

Showing her whimsical musical tap-dancing side, Zhang starred in Princess Raccoon, directed by Japanese legend Seijun Suzuki, who was honored at the 2005 (6 years ago) Cannes movie Festival.

In 2005 (6 years ago), Zhang landed the lead role of Sayuri in the movie adaptation of the international bestseller Memoirs of a Geisha. There was a slight controversy in Japan about a Chinese woman portraying a Japanese Geisha. For the film, she reunited with her 2046 co-star Gong Li and with her Crouching Tiger co-star Michelle Yeoh. For the role, Zhang received a 2006 (5 years ago) Golden Globe Award nomination, a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination and a BAFTA nomination.

Zhang has also been known to sing, and was featured on the House of Flying Daggers soundtrack with her own musical rendition of the ancient Chinese poem, Jia Rén Qu (佳人曲, The Beauty Song). The song was also featured in two scenes in the film.

On Jun. 27, 2005 (6 years ago), it was announced that Zhang had accepted an invitation to join the Academy of Motion picture (wallpaper) Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), placing her among the ranks of those able to vote on the Academy Awards.

In May 2006 (5 years ago), Zhang became the youngest member to sit on the jury of the Cannes movie Festival. In the fall of 2006 (5 years ago), Zhang played Empress Wan in The Banquet (Yè Yàn 夜宴), a movie set in the Tang Dynasty.

Zhang provided the voice of Karai in the TMNT movie that was released on Mar. 23, 2007 (4 years ago). She later starred in Forever Enthralled (Mei Lanfang) (2008, 3 years ago) and appeared in The Horsemen (2009, 2 years ago) with Dennis Quaid.

PERSONAL LIFE
Soon after Zhang's debut in Zhang Yimou's The Road Home, rumors arose regarding a possible affair between the actress and the older director. Zhang Yimou was previously involved in an extramarital affair with actress Gong Li, whom he similarly debuted and with whom Zhang Ziyi was quickly compared. However, a relationship between the two remains unconfirmed.

Hong Kong and Taiwanese media have often pushed at ties between Zhang and co-star Jackie Chan. This was fueled in part by photos that emerged of the pair during celebrations of Chan's birthday on the set of Rush Hour 2.

Zhang for a while was publicly linked with Fok Kai-shan, grandson of Hong Kong business tycoon Henry Fok.

In the Jul. 2006 (5 years ago) issue of Interview Magazine, Zhang Ziyi spoke of her movies' contents and being careful about the roles she takes on, especially in Hollywood.

“ Yes. Otherwise I could have done a lot of Hollywood movies. After Crouching Tiger I got a lot of offers, but I turned them down because they were all victim roles--poor girls sold to America to be a wife or whatever. I know I have the ability to go deeper, to take on more original roles than that. That's why I really appreciated Geisha, because it allowed us to show the world what kind of actors we are and what kind of characters we can play--not just action, kick-ass parts. ”

She stated in an early interview that if she had not become an actress, she would have liked to have been a kindergarten teacher, as she "...loves children!"

In Jan. 2007 (4 years ago), Zhang was spotted holding hands and kissing her new boyfriend at a New York basketball game. The man was identified as Israeli multi-millionaire and venture capitalist, Vivi Nevo. The two were again seen together at an Oscar party in Los Angeles. Nevo, who has previously been tied to model Kate Moss, is a major shareholder in Time Warner and an early backer of The Weinstein Company with whom Zhang is purported to have a multi-film deal. Zhang Ziyi and Nevo are currently engaged.

Other information
Of the characters making up her name, Zhāng (章) is her surname (not to be confused with the more common Zhāng 张 which is a homonym but written with a different character), Zǐ (子) means 'child' or 'esteemed person', and Yí (怡) means 'joy' or 'happiness'. She has appeared in English language movies under the name Ziyi Zhang. In an interview, she stated that the name change was her publicist's idea of a way to appeal to Western audiences.

FILMOGRAPHY
1999 (12 years ago): The Road Home 我的父親母親
2000 (11 years ago): Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 臥虎藏龍
2001 (10 years ago): Rush Hour 2 尖峰时刻2
2001 (10 years ago): The Legend of Zu 蜀山傳
2001 (10 years ago): Musa 武士
2002 (9 years ago): Hero 英雄
2003 (8 years ago): Purple Butterfly 紫蝴蝶
2003 (8 years ago): My Wife is a Gangster 2 我老婆是大佬2
2004 (7 years ago): 2046
2004 (7 years ago): House of Flying Daggers 十面埋伏
2004 (7 years ago): Jasmine Women 茉莉花開開
2005 (6 years ago): Princess Raccoon 貍御殿
2005 (6 years ago): Memoirs of a Geisha 艺伎回忆录
2006 (5 years ago): The Banquet 夜宴
2007 (4 years ago): TMNT
2008 (3 years ago): Forever Enthralled 梅蘭芳
2009 (2 years ago): Horsemen 骑士
2009 (2 years ago): Sophie's Revenge
2009 (2 years ago): The Founding of a Republic
2009 (2 years ago): Lost for Words
2010 (last year): Waiting

TV-SHOWS (SERIES)
1996 (15 years ago): Touching Starlight 星星點燈

MAGAZINE RECOGNITION
Ranked 2nd of the 100 Sexiest Women by FHM Taiwan (2001, 10 years ago).
Named one of the 25 Hottest Stars Under 25 by Teen People Magazine (2001, 10 years ago).
Named one of the 25 Hottest Stars Under 25 by Teen People Magazine (2002, 9 years ago).
Ranked #91 in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women In The World" (2002, 9 years ago)
Voted in at #100 in FHM's Sexiest 100 Girls of 2002 (9 years ago), UK edition. [June 2002]
Forbes magazine's China edition recently ranked her the second most popular celebrity after NBA player 'Yao Ming'. [August 2004]
Named by Entertainment Weekly in their 'The Must List' 2005 (6 years ago). Listed 38th out of the 122 people and things the magazine "loves" this year, Ziyi was the only Chinese to be included.
Selected by Southern People Weekly magazine as 'Chinese Top Ten Leaders Of The Younger Generation' in 2005 (6 years ago).
Listed in People's '50 Most Beautiful People' List in 2005 (6 years ago).
Listed in TIME's World's 100 Most Influential People. They called her "China's Gift to Hollywood".
Ranked one of the '100 Most Beautiful Women in the World' in the Jul. 2005 (6 years ago) issue of Harpers & Queen magazine. It was her first time on the list. She was ranked number 15.
Included in People's 100 Most Beautiful People in the World the second year in a row in 2006 (5 years ago). This is now her third appearance on the list.
Voted in at #86 in FHM's sexiest women in the world in 2006 (5 years ago). She had not appeared in the list since 2002 (9 years ago).
Topped Japanese Playboy's "100 Sexiest Women in Asia" list and was featured on the cover. (April 2006 (5 years ago))
Voted #1 in E!'s Sexiest Action Stars list in summer 2007 (4 years ago).
Ranked #3 in Japanese magazine CLASSY's 'Super Perfect Head-to-Body Size Ratio List' in Jan. 2009 (2 years ago).


Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Daniela Hantuchova Beats Venus

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Daniela Hantuchova brought Venus Williams' Eastbourne comeback to an end as she beat the former world number one in three sets.

The world number twenty nine made the brighter start as a double break saw her ease her way to the opening set 6-2.

But the wind was a major factor in the second set and it was Williams who coped the better of the two players as she fought back from a 4-2 defect to level the match at a set a piece.

But Williams, who has been out of action since the Australian Open with a hip injury, was not able to keep it up in the decider as an early break gave Hantuchova the momentum.

Williams got just two games on the board in that final game as Hantuchova reasserted her dominance to wrap up a 6-2 5-7 6-2 victory.

Speaking to the BBC after the match Hantuchova said: "I felt I came out and played well early in the match.

"But then the wind picked up and it got difficult for both of us. It was then about who had the mentality and I came through.

"This is my most favourite time of the year - the grass season - and I'm feeling really good. My form is good."

Hantuchova will now face Petra Kvitova in the semi-finals as she had to fight back from a set down against Agnieszka Radwanska.

It was all Radwanska in that opening set as she took it 6-1 before Kvitova finally pulled herself together in the second set.

It was an equally one sided set as Kavitova dropped just two games on her way to levelling the match at a set a piece.

The decider was much more competitive and a tie-break was required to decide the winner and it was Kvitova who came through 1-6 6-2 7-6 (7-2).
source :  http://www.femalefirst.co.uk









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Reese Witherspoon

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BIOGRAPHY FOR REESE WITHERSPOON
Laura Jeanne Reese Witherspoon (born Mar. 22, 1976 (35 years ago)), better known as Reese Witherspoon, is an American actress and movie producer. In 1998 (13 years ago) she appeared in three major movies: Overnight Delivery, Pleasantville, and Twilight. The following year, Witherspoon appeared in the critically acclaimed Election, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination. 2001 (10 years ago) marked her career's turning point with the breakout role as "Elle Woods" in the box office hit Legally Blonde, and in 2002 (9 years ago) she starred in Sweet Home Alabama, which became her biggest commercial movie success to date. 2003 (8 years ago) saw her return as lead actress and executive producer of Legally Blonde 2. In 2005 (6 years ago), Witherspoon received worldwide attention and praise for her portrayal of Jun. Carter Cash in Walk the Line, which earned her an Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.






Witherspoon married actor and Cruel Intentions co-star Ryan Phillippe in 1999; they have two children, Ava and Deacon. The couple separated at the end of 2006 (5 years ago) and divorced in Oct. 2007 (4 years ago). Witherspoon owns a production company named Type A Films, and she is actively involved in children's and women's advocacy organizations. She serves on the board of the Children's Defense Fund (CDF), and was named Global Ambassador of Avon Products in 2007 (4 years ago), serving as honorary chair of the charitable Avon Foundation.

EARLY YEARS
Witherspoon was born at the former Southern Baptist Hospital (now the Ochsner Baptist Medical Center) in New Orleans, Louisiana, where her parents were living while her father was a student at Tulane University medical school. Her father, John Witherspoon, is a Georgia-born otolaryngologist who previously served as a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army reserves. Her mother, Betty (née Reese), is from Harriman, Tennessee, has a Ph.D. in pediatric nursing and works as a professor of nursing at Vanderbilt University. Witherspoon has claimed to be a descendant of Scottish-born John Witherspoon, the sixth president of Princeton University and a signatory of the United States Declaration of Independence. This genealogical claim, however, has never been verified. Because Witherspoon's father worked for the U.S. military in Wiesbaden, Germany, she lived there for four years as a small child. After returning to the U.S., she settled and spent her childhood in Nashville, Tennessee, where she was raised as an Episcopalian.

Witherspoon was selected as a model for a florist's TV advertisements at age seven, which motivated her to take acting lessons. At age eleven she took first place in the Ten-State Talent Fair. Witherspoon received good grades in school; she loved reading and considered herself "a big dork who read loads of books." On mentioning her love for books, she said, "I get crazy in a bookstore. It makes my heart beat hard because I want to buy everything." Witherspoon attended middle school at Harding Academy and graduated from the prestigious all-girls' Harpeth Hall School in Nashville, Tennessee, during which time she was a cheerleader. She attended Stanford University as an English literature major. After completing one year of studies, she left Stanford to pursue an acting career.

Witherspoon is proud of the "definitive Southern upbringing" she received, which, as she said, gave her "a sense of family and tradition" and taught her about "being conscientious about people's feelings, being polite, being responsible and never taking for granted what you have in your life." Witherspoon is described as a "multi-achiever" and was given the nickname "Little Type A" by her parents. On discussing her early achievements, she told Interview magazine, "I just don't see any of it as that remarkable. Maybe that's the attitude I choose to have to keep me sane and keep my feet on the ground. I grew up in an environment where women accomplished a lot. And if they weren't able to, it was because they were limited by society."

CAREER
1990-1998: Early work
In 1990 (21 years ago), Witherspoon attended an open casting call for The Man in the Moon with some friends, intending to audition as a bit player. She was instead cast in the lead role of Dani Trant, a 14-year-old country girl who falls in love for the first time with her 17-year-old neighbor. Her performance was regarded as "memorably touching" by Variety magazine, and critic Roger Ebert commented, "Her first kiss is one of the most perfect little scenes I've ever seen in a movie." For this role, Witherspoon was nominated for the Young Artist Award Best Young Actress. Later that year, she made her TV acting debut in the cable movie Wildflower, directed by Diane Keaton and starring Patricia Arquette. In 1992 (19 years ago), Witherspoon appeared in the TV movie Desperate Choices: To Save My Child, portraying a critically ill young girl. In 1993 (18 years ago), she played a young wife in the CBS mini series Return to Lonesome Dove, and got a starring role as the leading character Nonnie Parker, a South African girl who must cross 1,250 miles (2,000 km) of the Kalahari, in the teen-aimed Disney movie A Far Off Place. In the same year, Witherspoon had a minor role in Jack the Bear, which garnered her the Young Artist Award for Best Youth Actress Co-star. The following year, Witherspoon acted in another leading role as Wendy Pfister in the 1994 (17 years ago) movie S.F.W., directed by Jefery Levy.

In 1996 (15 years ago), Witherspoon was offered parts in two major movies. She appeared in the thriller Fear alongside Mark Wahlberg (3 walls) and Alyssa Milano (85 walls), playing the role of Nicole Walker, a teenage girl with a handsome boyfriend who turns out to be a violent psychopath. She was also the leading actress in the thriller and black comedy Freeway, starring alongside Kiefer Sutherland and Brooke Shields. Her character, Vanessa Lutz, is a poor girl living in Los Angeles, who, on the way to her grandmother's home in Stockton, encounters a freeway serial killer. The movie received positive reviews from the press. Among them was the San Francisco Chronicle, with Mick LaSalle commenting, "Witherspoon, who does a shrill Texas accent, is dazzling, utterly believable in one extreme situation after the other." Witherspoon's performance won her the Best Actress Award at the Cognac Police movie Festival, and firmly established her as a rising star. The making of the movie also gave Witherspoon significant acting experience; as she said, "Once I overcame the hurdle of that movie – which scared me to death – I felt like I could try anything." Following completion of Freeway in 1997 (14 years ago), Witherspoon took a break from acting in major movies for a year, and began dating actor Ryan Phillippe. She returned to the screen in 1998 (13 years ago) with major roles in three movies, Overnight Delivery, Pleasantville and Twilight. In Pleasantville, Witherspoon starred alongside Tobey Maguire in a tale about a pair of 1990 (21 years ago) teenage siblings who are magically transported into the setting of a 1950 (61 years ago) TV series. She portrayed the sister Jennifer, who is mainly concerned about appearances, relationships, and popularity. Witherspoon's performance received good reviews and garnered her the Young Hollywood Award for Best Female Breakthrough Performance. Director Gary Ross said he firmly believed Witherspoon was going to be an outstanding movie star.

1999-2000: Early critical success
In 1999 (12 years ago), Witherspoon starred alongside Alessandro Nivola in the drama thriller Best Laid Plans; she played Lissa, a woman who schemes with her lover Nick to escape a small, dead-end town. In this same year, she co-starred with Sarah Michelle Gellar (29 walls) and Ryan Phillippe in the drama movie Cruel Intentions, a modern take on the 18th-century French novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Her performance as Annette Hargrove was praised by the San Francisco Chronicle: "Witherspoon is especially good in the least flashy role, and even when called upon to make a series of cute devilish faces, she pulls it off." Coincidentally, she appeared in a music video by Marcy Playground for the film's soundtrack. In the same year, Witherspoon and Matthew Broderick starred in the movie adaptation of the 1998 (13 years ago) novel Election by Tom Perrotta. She portrayed Tracy Flick, a competitive and ambitious over-achiever who runs for student body president. She received vast critical acclaim for her performance and won the Best Actress Award from the National Society of movie Critics and the Online movie Critics Society, a first Golden Globe nomination and an Independent Spirit Award nomination. Witherspoon also received a rank on the list of 100 Greatest movie Performances of All Time by Premiere. Academy Award - winning director Alexander Payne praised her: "She's got that quality that men find attractive, while women would like to be her friend. But that's just the foundation. Nobody else is as funny or brings such charm to things. She can do anything." In spite of her successful performance, Witherspoon noted in an interview that she struggled to find work after completing the film, due to typecasting. When analyzing the reasons behind her difficulty to find work, Witherspoon commented "I think because the character I played was so extreme and sort of shrewish – people thought that was who I was, rather than me going in and creating a part. I would audition for things, and I'd always be the second choice – studios never wanted to hire me, and I wasn't losing the parts to big box office actresses but to ones who I guess people felt differently about."

In 2000 (11 years ago), Witherspoon received a supporting role in American Psycho and made a cameo appearance in Little Nicky. She also appeared as a guest star in season six of Friends, playing the role of Jill Green, Rachel Green's sister. The next year, Witherspoon provided the voice of Serena in the animated movie The Trumpet of the Swan, produced by Crest Animation Productions.

2001-2004: Worldwide recognition
2001 marked a significant turning point in Witherspoon's career, when she starred in the feature movie Legally Blonde. She portrayed Elle Woods, a fashion merchandising major who decides to become a law student in order to follow her ex-boyfriend to Harvard University. Speaking about Woods' character, Witherspoon said "When I read Legally Blonde, I was like, 'She's from Beverly Hills, she's rich, she's in a sorority. She has a great boyfriend. Oh yeah, she gets dumped. Who cares? I still hate her.' So we had to make sure she was the kind of person you just can't hate." Legally Blonde was a box office hit, grossing US$96 million domestically. Witherspoon's performance earned her praise from critics, as the press began referring to her as "the new Meg Ryan". Roger Ebert commented, "Witherspoon effortlessly animated this material with sunshine and quick wit", and Salon.com noted that "she [Witherspoon] delineates Elle's character beautifully". Meanwhile, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer concluded, "Witherspoon is a talented comedian who can perk up a scene just by marching in full of pep and drive and she powers this modest little comedy almost single-handedly." For her work, Witherspoon garnered her second Golden Globe Best Actress nomination and an MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance.

Following the success of Legally Blond, Witherspoon starred in several roles. In 2002 (9 years ago), Witherspoon provided the voice of the animated character Greta Wolfcastle in The Simpsons (15 walls) (1 walls) episode The Bart Wants What It Wants. In the same year, she portrayed Cecily in the comedy The Importance of Being Earnest, a movie adaptation of a play by Oscar Wilde; she received a Teen Choice Award nomination for her performance. Her next feature movie in 2002 (9 years ago) was Sweet Home Alabama, a movie directed by Andy Tennant. Witherspoon, alongside Josh Lucas and Patrick Dempsey, played Melanie Carmichael, a young fashion designer who intends to marry a New York politician but must return to Alabama to divorce her childhood sweetheart, from whom she has been separated for seven years. Witherspoon regarded this as a "personal role" in that the role reminded her of experiences she had when she moved from her hometown Nashville to Los Angeles. The movie became Witherspoon's biggest box office hit to date, earning over $35 million in the opening weekend and grossing over $127 million domestically in the US. Despite the commercial success, Sweet Home Alabama was given negative reviews by critics. It was called "a romantic comedy so rote, dull and predictable" by The Miami Herald, and the press widely agreed that Witherspoon was the only factor that helped the movie attract a large audience. When describing Witherspoon's role in the movie, The Christian Science Monitor concluded, "She is not the movie's main attraction, she is its only attraction."

Witherspoon signing autographs at the premiere of Walk The Line.In 2003 (8 years ago), Witherspoon followed up the success of Legally Blonde by starring in the sequel Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde. Her character, Elle Woods, has become a Harvard-educated lawyer who is determined to protect animals from cosmetics-industry science tests. The sequel was not as financially successful as the first movie, and it generated mostly critical reviews. USA Today considered the movie "plodding, unfunny and almost cringe-worthy", but also noted that "Reese Witherspoon still does a fine job portraying the fair-haired lovable brainiac, but her top-notch comic timing is wasted on the humorless dialogue." Meanwhile, Salon.com concluded that the sequel "calcifies everything that was enjoyable about the first movie". Despite being panned by critics, the sequel took over $39 million in its first five days in the U.S. box office charts and went on to gross $90 million in the US. Witherspoon received a $15 million paycheck for the role - a starting point to make her consistently one of Hollywood's highest paid actresses from 2002 (9 years ago) onwards.

In 2004 (7 years ago), Witherspoon starred in Vanity Fair, adapted from the 19th-century classic novel Vanity Fair and directed by Mira Nair. Witherspoon's character – Becky Sharp – is a woman whose impoverished childhood turns her into an ambitious person with a ruthless determination to find fortune and establish herself a position in society. Witherspoon was pregnant during the filmmaking of this movie and was therefore carefully costumed to conceal her pregnancy. This pregnancy was not a hindrance to her work, as Witherspoon believed the gestation had in fact helped her portrayal of Sharp's character: "I love the luminosity that pregnancy brings, I love the fleshiness, I love the ample bosom—it gave me much more to play with", she said. The movie and Witherspoon's portrayal of Sharp received good reviews, as The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Nair's cast is splendid. Witherspoon does justice to the juicy role by giving the part more buoyancy than naughtiness." At the same time, The Charlotte Observer called her work "an excellent performance that's soft around the edges" and the Los Angeles Times concluded that Becky is "a part Reese Witherspoon was born to play".

2005-Present: Walk the Line and beyond

Witherspoon with President Barack Obama in the Oval Office on Jun. 25, 2009In late 2004 (7 years ago), Witherspoon began working alongside Mark Ruffalo on the romantic comedy Just Like Heaven. Her character, Elizabeth Masterson, is an ambitious young doctor left in a coma by a serious car accident; her spirit returns to her old apartment where she later finds true love.

Earlier that year Witherspoon was chosen to portray Jun. Carter Cash, the second wife of country music singer and songwriter Johnny Cash, in Walk the Line. She never had the chance to meet Carter Cash, as Witherspoon was filming Vanity Fair at the time Carter Cash died. Witherspoon performed her own vocals in the movie, and her songs had to be performed in front of a live audience. When she learned that she had to perform live, Witherspoon was so worried that she asked her lawyer to terminate the movie contract. "That was the most challenging part of the role," she later recalled in an interview, "I'd never sung professionally." Subsequently, she had to spend six months learning how to sing for the role. Witherspoon's portrayal of Carter Cash was well received by critics, and Roger Ebert wrote that her performance added "boundless energy" to the movie. She won several awards for her performance, including the Golden Globe Award, the Screen Actors Guild, the BAFTA and the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Lead Role. Besides critical success in the movie industry, Witherspoon and her co-star in Walk the Line Joaquin Phoenix received a nomination for "collaborative video of the year" from the CMT Music Awards. Witherspoon expressed her passion for the movie: "I really like in this movie that it is realistic and portrays sort of a real marriage, a real relationship where there are forbidden thoughts and fallibility. And it is about compassion in the long haul, not just the short easy solutions to problems." She also spoke about Jun. Carter Cash, stating that she believed Carter Cash was a woman ahead of her time: "I think the really remarkable thing about her character is that she did all of these things that we sort of see as normal things in the 1950 (61 years ago) when it wasn't really acceptable for a woman to be married and divorced twice and have two different children by two different husbands and travel around in a car full of very famous musicians all by herself. She didn't try to comply to social convention, so I think that makes her a very modern woman."

Witherspoon's first post-Oscar role came in the modern-day fairy tale Penelope, co-starring Christina Ricci. Witherspoon played the supporting role of Annie, the best friend of Penelope, a girl who has a curse in her family. The movie was produced by Witherspoon's company Type A movies and premiered at the 2006 (5 years ago) Toronto International movie Festival. The final release date of Penelope was delayed twice, and the movie was then set for a Feb. 2008 (3 years ago) release.

Witherspoon was back in front of the camera again in Nov. 2006 (5 years ago), as shooting began for the political thriller Rendition. She starred alongside Meryl Streep, Alan Arkin, Peter Sarsgaard, and Jake Gyllenhaal (6 walls), playing Isabella El-Ibrahim, the pregnant wife of a bombing suspect. Rendition was released in Oct. 2007 (4 years ago) and marked Witherspoon's first appearance in theaters in two years, since the 2005 (6 years ago) release of Walk the Line. The movie received mostly negative reviews, and was generally considered a disappointment at the Toronto movie Festival. Witherspoon's performance was also criticized: "Reese Witherspoon is surprisingly lifeless", USA Today wrote, "She customarily injects energy and spirit into her parts, but here, her performance feels tamped down." In dec. 2007 (4 years ago), Witherspoon began filming the holiday comedy Four Christmases, a story about a couple who have to spend their Christmas Day trying to visit all four of their divorced parents, and in which she stars alongside Vince Vaughn. The movie was released in Nov. 2008 (3 years ago). Despite only receiving average reviews by critics, the movie became a box office success, earning more than 120 million US dollars domestically, and US$157m worldwide.

In 2009 (2 years ago), Witherspoon will take on the horror genre for the first time as a star of Our Family Troubles, which she will produce under the Type A banner, partnering with Jennifer Simpson, co-producer of Legally Blonde 2. She also provided the voice for Susan Murphy, the main character of the computer-animated 3-D feature movie Monsters vs. Aliens, which had a Mar. 27, 2009 (2 years ago) release from DreamWorks Animation. Her future projects include voicing in The Bear and the Bow, a computer-animated 3-D movie produced by Pixar Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures; the movie is scheduled for a release in Christmas 2011 (this year). Another movie on the slate for the future is Witherspoon is a Universal pictures (wallpaper) remake of the 1939 (72 years ago) comedy Midnight, scripted by Michael Arndt.

PERSONAL LIFE
Marriage
Witherspoon met American actor Ryan Phillippe at her 21st birthday party in Mar. 1997 (14 years ago), where she introduced herself to him saying "I think you're my birthday present." The couple became engaged in dec. 1998 (13 years ago), and got married in Charleston, South Carolina on Jun. 5, 1999 (12 years ago) at Wide Awake Plantation, following the release of the box office hit Cruel Intentions. They have two children: a daughter named Ava Elizabeth, born sep. 9, 1999 (12 years ago), and a son Deacon Reese, born Oct. 23, 2003 (8 years ago). To be able to look after the children, the couple alternated shooting schedules for their films.

By 2005 (6 years ago), in response to news reports of Witherspoon and Phillippe receiving marriage counseling, Witherspoon stated, "We've done that in the past, and it's always struck me as odd that people grabbed onto that story and made it sound so negative." In dec. 2005 (6 years ago), she said on The Oprah Winfrey Show, "In what capacity is working on yourself or your marriage a bad thing? What marriage isn't a journey?... Nobody's perfect... We all have our own set of problems." That same month, Witherspoon also said in an interview, "I think if anybody rests on the idea that they are perfect or their life is perfect or their relationship is perfect and is so troubled about destroying the facade as opposed to getting to what's real, that is troublesome."

Separation and divorce
In Oct. 2006 (5 years ago), Witherspoon and Phillippe announced that they decided to formally separate after seven years of marriage. The following month, Witherspoon filed for divorce, citing irreconcilable differences. In her petition she sought joint legal custody of their two children and sole physical custody, with full visitation rights for Phillippe. The couple had no prenuptial agreement and the couple would be entitled to half of all assets gained during the marriage under California law, with Witherspoon's being the more significant. Witherspoon requested that the court grant no spousal support for Phillippe, which he did not contest. On May 15, 2007 (4 years ago), Phillippe filed for joint physical custody of the couple's children, and made no motion to block Witherspoon from seeking support from him. In sep. 2007 (4 years ago), Witherspoon spoke openly about the separation for the first time when she told Elle magazine that it was "a difficult and frightening experience" for her. Witherspoon and Phillippe's final divorce documents were granted by the Los Angeles Superior Court on Oct. 5, 2007 (4 years ago), ending their marriage.

Throughout 2007 (4 years ago), there was persistent speculation in the mass media about a romantic relationship between Witherspoon and her Rendition co-star Jake Gyllenhaal. The pair denied the rumors while promoting Rendition in the fall of 2007 (4 years ago). However, after the finalization of Witherspoon's divorce in Oct. 2007 (4 years ago), Gyllenhaal and Witherspoon became more open with their relationship, particularly due to the release of paparazzi pictures (wallpaper) that showed the couple vacationing together in Rome. The couple has since been regularly photographed together by paparazzi. In Mar. 2008 (3 years ago), Phillippe was the first to confirm the relationship in interviews conducted during the promotion of his latest film. Witherspoon personally confirmed her relationship with Gyllenhaal in an interview for the Nov. 2008 (3 years ago) issue of Vogue magazine, calling her boyfriend "very supportive".

FILMOGRAPHY
The Man in the Moon
Wildflower
Desperate Choices: To Save My Child
A Far Off Place
Jack the Bear
S.F.W.
Freeway
Fear
Twilight (54 walls)
Overnight Delivery
Pleasantville
Cruel Intentions
Election
Best Laid Plans
Little Nicky
American Psycho
The Trumpet of the Swan
Legally Blonde
The Importance of Being Earnest
Sweet Home Alabama
Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde
Vanity Fair
Walk the Line
Just Like Heaven
Rendition
Penelope
Four Christmases
Monsters vs. Aliens

TV-SHOWS (SERIES)
King of the Hill
Friends
The Simpsons (15 walls) (1 walls)
Legally Blondes

DISCOGRAPHY
Walk the Line


Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Penelope Cruz

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BIOGRAPHY FOR PENELOPE CRUZ
Penélope Cruz Sánchez (born Apr. 28, 1974 (37 years ago)), better known as Penélope Cruz, is a Spanish actress. She gathered critical acclaim as a young actress for movies such as Jamón, Jamón, La Niña de tus ojos, and Belle époque. She has also starred in several American movies such as Blow, Vanilla Sky, and Vicky Cristina Barcelona. She is perhaps best known for her work with acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, in Volver and Todo sobre mi madre. Cruz has been awarded three Goyas, two European movie Awards, and the Best Actress Award at the Cannes movie Festival. In 2009 (2 years ago), she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, a Goya, and a BAFTA for her role in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. She is Spain's first female Oscar winner and also becomes the sixth Hispanic person to win an Oscar after José Ferrer, Rita Moreno and Benicio Del Toro (Puerto Rico), Anthony Quinn (Mexico), plus fellow Spaniard Javier Bardem.






EARLY YEARS
Penélope Cruz Sánchez was born in Alcobendas, Madrid, Spain, the daughter of Encarna Sánchez, a hairdresser and personal manager, and Eduardo Cruz, a retailer and auto mechanic. As a toddler, she was already a compulsive performer, re-enacting TV commercials for her family's amusement. Initially, Cruz decided to focus on dance. After studying classical ballet for nine years at Spain's National Conservatory, she continued her training under a series of prominent dancers. She received three years of Spanish Ballet training with Ángela Garrido. She also had jazz dance training with Raúl Caballero and studied at Cristina Rota (mother of Juan Diego Botto) school in Madrid. At 15, however, she followed another calling after beating more than 300 other girls at a talent agency audition.

CAREER
Cruz first achieved fame when she appeared in the video for "La fuerza del destino" for the Spanish synthpop group Mecano. She later started a relationship with Nacho Cano, a member of the group. A TV presenter for the teen-oriented program La Quinta Marcha, she also had early exposure in Série Rose, an erotic French TV serial. In one episode she played the role of a blind prostitute and in another played a young noblewoman pretending to be a young nobleman in a comedy of errors. She also directed Nacho Cano's video of "El waltz de los locos", in 1994 (17 years ago).

Cruz's first major movies were Jamón, jamón and Belle Époque, a movie which won an Academy Award for Foreign Language Film. In 1997 (14 years ago), she starred as Sofía Pangia, alongside Eduardo Noriega, in Abre los ojos, directed by Alejandro Amenábar, while in 1999 (12 years ago) she appeared in Pedro Almodóvar's Todo sobre mi madre (All About My Mother), which also won an Academy Award for Foreign Language Film. In 2000 (11 years ago) she appeared with Matt Damon (4 walls) in All the Pretty Horses.

For Cruz, the early 2000 (11 years ago) were a period of mediocre reviews and mixed commercial success. In late 2001 (10 years ago), she appeared in the movie Vanilla Sky, the Hollywood remake of Abre los ojos. Returning to Europe, in 2004 (7 years ago), Cruz learned Italian (she already spoke Spanish, French, and English) to star in the movie Don't Move. She earned critical praise for her role and earned the coveted David di Donatello award, the Italian equivalent of the Oscar.

In 2006 (5 years ago), she co-starred with her best friend, Salma Hayek (21 walls), in the movie Bandidas. That same year, Cruz received highly favourable reviews for her performance in Pedro Almodóvar's Volver. She shared a Best Actress award at the Cannes movie Festival with five of her co-stars, and was nominated for the Golden Globe, the Screen Actors Guild Award, the BAFTA Award, and the Academy Award for Best Actress in a leading role. The latter of these nominations made her the first Spanish actress to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress.

In May 2007 (4 years ago), it was announced that Penélope and her sister Mónica would be designing a 25-piece collection for the Barcelona-based fashion chain Mango. On Jul. 7, 2007 (4 years ago), Cruz presented at Live Earth. In late 2007 (4 years ago), she starred in the Jaume de Laiguana-directed video for her brother's first single, named "Cosas que contar", along with her friend Mía Maestro and her sister Mónica. Cruz had previously shown a keen interest in fashion and is a model for L'Oréal and its "Telescopic" mascara.

In 2008 (3 years ago), Cruz appeared with Sir Ben Kingsley in fellow Spaniard Isabel Coixet's movie Elegy, earning her critical praise for an English-speaking role. The movie was based on the Philip Roth story The Dying Animal. She was nominated for a Golden Satellite award for her performance.

In 2008 (3 years ago), she starred in Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona as María Elena, Javier Bardem's mentally unstable ex-wife. Her performance received wide critical praise. For the role, Cruz received her second Academy Award Nomination, and later won for Best Supporting Actress, making her only the second Spanish actor to win an Academy Award, a year after her boyfriend, Javier Bardem, won for No Country for Old Men. She became the first Spanish actress to win an Academy Award, and one of the only actors besides Robert De Niro (6 walls) and Ingrid Bergman to win the Oscar for a role speaking two different languages. Besides the Oscar, Cruz won the BAFTA, the Independent Spirit Award, the National Board of Review Award, and the New York movie Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress in Vicky Cristina Barcelona. She also earned Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations for her role.

Cruz again collaborated with Pedro Almodóvar in his movie Los Abrazos Rotos, which is slated to be released in the U.S. in Nov. 2009 (2 years ago). She will also be featured in the movie version of the musical Nine along with other Oscar winners Sophia Loren, Judi Dench, Daniel Day-Lewis, Nicole Kidman (24 walls) and Marion Cotillard.

PERSONAL LIFE
Cruz has a younger brother, Eduardo, a singer, and a younger sister, Mónica.

Cruz claims to be a vegetarian since 2000 (11 years ago). She speaks four languages: Spanish, Italian, French and English. Cruz has also donated a considerable amount of money and time to charity; in 1997 (14 years ago) she volunteered in Uganda for two months.

Cruz was raised as a Roman Catholic, but the religion she feels closest to is Buddhism. After appearing in Vanilla Sky with Tom Cruise (12 walls), they had a three-year relationship which ended in Jan. 2004 (7 years ago). During that time, she and Cruise were seen visiting several Church of Scientology locations in Hollywood, and there was published speculation that Cruise had convinced Cruz to join the church.

After filming Sahara in Feb. 2005 (6 years ago), she began dating actor Matthew McConaughey. In May 2006 (5 years ago), they released a joint statement to People, saying that they "have decided to take time off as a couple." Later that year they announced that they were "no longer intimate and separating was the best thing to do at this time". She has been dating actor Javier Bardem since 2007; the two appeared together in Jamón, Jamón, Live Flesh and 2008's Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

In Apr. 2007 (4 years ago) Cruz, who was single at the time, stated that she would like to have children one day and she feels the need to adopt. "Of course I want to have kids," Cruz, told the Spanish edition of Marie Claire in its Apr. issue. "I want to have my own kids, but also adopt. For a while I've had the feeling that my life won't be complete if I don't adopt".

FILMOGRAPHY
Jamón, jamón
Belle Époque
For Love, Only for Love
The Greek Labyrinth
The Rebel
Alegre ma non troppo
Todo es mentira
Entre rojas
El Efecto mariposa
La Celestina
Brujas
Más que amor, frenesí
Love Can Seriously Damage Your Health
Open Your Eyes
Live Flesh
Hjørne af paradis, Et
The Girl of Your Dreams
"The Hi-Lo Country"
Don Juan
All About My Mother
All the Pretty Horses
Woman on Top
Blow
Don't Tempt Me
Captain Corelli's Mandolin
Vanilla Sky
Waking up in Reno
Fanfan la tulipe
Gothika
Head in the Clouds
Don't Move
Noel
Sahara
Chromophobia
Bandidas
Volver
The Good Night
Manolete
Elegy
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
G-Force
Broken Embraces
Nine

AWARDS AND NOMINATIONS
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
Imagen Foundation Awards
MTV Movie Awards
NAACP image (wallpaper) Awards
Ondas Awards
Peñíscola Comedy movie Festival


Source: en.wikipedia.org
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January Jones

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BIOGRAPHY FOR JANUARY JONES
January Kristen Jones (born Jan. 5, 1978 (33 years ago)) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Betty Draper on Mad Men and for her role as Cadence Flaherty in American Wedding.





CAREER
She currently appears in the AMC original TV drama series Mad Men as young suburban housewife and mother Betty Draper. She is also well known for her role as Cadence Flaherty in American Wedding (2003, 8 years ago), from the American Pie comedy movie series.

She had the lead female role in the movie Love's Enduring Promise as a pioneer family's oldest child. Her character fell in love with a mysterious man who saved her father's life.

Jones has had supporting roles in Anger Management (2003, 8 years ago), Love Actually, and Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights. In 2005 (6 years ago) she appeared as a U.S. border guard's frustrated wife in the movie The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada directed by and starring Tommy Lee Jones. In We Are Marshall (2006, 5 years ago), she played the role of Carol Dawson, wife of football coach William "Red" Dawson.

She appeared in the Season 18 Law & Order episode "Quit Claim", playing a con artist who matches wits with Assistant District Attorney Michael Cutter, in which she is the lone surviving suspect connected to a real estate scam involving organized crime.

She also appeared in The Boat That Rocked, a British movie about offshore pirate radio in the 1960s, renamed Pirate Radio for North American release in 2009 (2 years ago).

Jones was ranked #82 on the Maxim Hot 100 Women of 2002 (9 years ago). She appeared on the cover of "The Hot Issue" of British GQ magazine in May 2009 (2 years ago).

On Nov. 14, 2009 (2 years ago), Jones hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live which featured the musical guest Black Eyed Peas.

In 2010 (last year) she is slated to star alongside Liam Neeson and Diane Kruger (25 walls) in the thriller movie Unknown White Male, directed by Jaume Collet-Serra.

PERSONAL LIFE
Jones was born and raised in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. She is named after Jan. Wayne, a character in Jacqueline Susann's Once Is Not Enough. She graduated from Edison Middle School and Roosevelt High School in Sioux Falls. She is currently dating Saturday Night Live's Jason Sudeikis.

FILMOGRAPHY
1999 (12 years ago): Sorority as Number One
1999 (12 years ago): It's the Rage as Janice Taylor
1999 (12 years ago): Get Real as Jane Cohen (1 episode)
2001 (10 years ago): The Glass House as Girl
2001 (10 years ago): Bandits as Claire/Pink Boots
2002 (9 years ago): In My Life as Diane St. Croix
2002 (9 years ago): Taboo as Elizabeth
2002 (9 years ago): Full Frontal as Tracy
2003 (8 years ago): Anger Management as Gina
2003 (8 years ago): American Wedding as Cadence Flaherty
2004 (7 years ago): Love Actually as Jeannie, American Angel
2004 (7 years ago): Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights as Eve
2004 (7 years ago): Love's Enduring Promise as Missie Davis
2005 (6 years ago): Huff as Marissa Wells (2 episodes)
2005 (6 years ago): The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada as Lou Ann Norton
2006 (5 years ago): Swedish Auto as Darla
2006 (5 years ago): We Are Marshall as Carole Dawson
2007 - present: Mad Men as Betty Draper
2008 (3 years ago): Law & Order as Kim Brody (1 episode)
2009 (2 years ago): The Boat That Rocked as Elenore
2009 (2 years ago): Saturday Night Live as Herself/Host
2010 (last year): The Hungry Rabbit Jumps as Laura Gerard (post-production)
2011 (this year): Unknown White Male as Elizabeth Harris (post-production)


Source: en.wikipedia.org
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Kristian Bell

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FACTS ABOUT KRISTEN BELL

Date of Birth:18 July 1980
Birthplace:Huntington Wood, Michigan
Age:29
First Name:Kristen
Middle Name:Anne
Last Name:Bell
Build:Slim
Height:5' 1" (155 cm)
Eye Color:Blue
Hair Color:Blonde
Star Sign:Cancer
Claim to Fame:Veronica Mars
Occupation:Actress
Occupation Category:Actress
Nationality:American
Alternative Names:K-Bell, Annie, KB, Veronica Mars


BIOGRAPHY FOR KRISTEN BELL
Kristen Anne Bell (born Jul. 18, 1980 (31 years ago)) is an American actress. Although her first movie role was an uncredited appearance in Polish Wedding, Bell previously acted in stage and musical productions. In 2001 (10 years ago), she made her Broadway debut as Becky Thatcher in The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. After re-locating to Los Angeles, Bell landed various TV guest appearances and small movie parts, before she gained fame as the title role on the critically acclaimed TV series, Veronica Mars from sep. 2004 (7 years ago) to May 2007 (4 years ago). 


During her time on Veronica Mars, Bell reprised her role as Mary Lane in the movie version of Reefer Madness: The Movie Musical, a stage production she had taken part in. She also portrayed the lead role in Pulse, a remake of a J-Horror film. In 2007 (4 years ago), she joined the cast of Heroes playing the character Elle Bishop, and Gossip Girl as the offscreen titular narrator. Additionally, she played the title character in the comedy movie Forgetting Sarah Marshall. Bell has received a Satellite Award and Saturn Award, and has been nominated several times for TV Critics Association Awards and Teen Choice Awards. 








EARLY LIFE AND FAMILY
Bell was born and raised in Huntington Woods, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. She is the daughter of Tom Bell, a TV news director, and Lorelei "Lori" Bell, a registered nurse. Bell is of Polish and Scottish descent. Her parents divorced when she was two years old, and she has two half sisters, Sara and Jody, from her father's second marriage. Bell has a lazy eye which affects her right eye. She inherited it from her mother, who had it corrected as a child. Bell claims that if she does not get enough sleep, it furthers the ailment. She nicknames her right eye "Wonky". 


At the age of four, Bell claimed she did not like her first name and opted to change it to "Smurfette" after the character in the The Smurfs. However, her mother convinced Bell to go by her middle name of Anne instead; she used the name Annie until high school. She attended Burton Elementary school in Huntington Woods where she studied singing and tap dancing. 


Just before her freshman year of high school, Bell's parents decided to pull her from the public school system. She then attended Shrine Catholic High School in nearby Royal Oak, where she took part in the drama and music club. During her time at the school, she won the starring role in the school's 1997 (14 years ago) production of The Wizard of Oz as Dorothy Gale and also appeared in productions of Fiddler on the Roof (1995, 16 years ago), Lady Be Good (1996, 15 years ago), and Li'l Abner (1998, 13 years ago). In 1998 (13 years ago), the year she graduated, Bell was named the yearbook's "Best Looking Girl" by senior class vote. 


When Bell was 17, her best friend Jenny DeRita, whom she met at age 11 during a Detroit community theater production, was killed in an automobile accident. Bell said that it was "both the best and worst thing that has ever happened to me....Once you learn not to take people for granted, you live a lot happier life." 


Shortly after her high school graduation, Bell moved to New York and attended the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, majoring in musical theater. In 2001 (10 years ago), during her senior year at New York University, Bell left a few credits shy of graduating to take a role in the Broadway musical version of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. 


PERSONAL LIFE


Bell signing in Jan. 2005 (6 years ago) at San Francisco's Metreon.At age 11, Bell became a vegetarian. In an interview with PETA, Bell stated, "I have always been an animal lover. I had a hard time disassociating the animals I cuddled with — dogs and cats, for example — from the animals on my plate, and I never really cared for the taste of meat. I always loved my Brussel sprouts!" During her time in Michigan, Bell fostered animals from Michigan Humane Society and she now supports the San Diego-based Helen Woodward Animal Center. Bell often attends fund raisers for the ASPCA and other non-profit organizations dedicated to protecting animals. She owns a Welsh Corgi-Chow Chow mix named Lola, a Welsh Corgi-Chihuahua mix named Shakey, and a black Labrador Retriever named Sadie, who was 11 years old when she was rescued from Hurricane Katrina and adopted by Bell in 2005 (6 years ago). She and many of those who worked on Veronica Mars, including friend Ryan Hansen, are involved with the charity organization Invisible Children Inc. The goal of the organization is to create awareness regarding the plight of Northern Ugandans who are caught in the midst of a civil war between the government and Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army. Bell has shown her support for the Writers Guild of America in the writer's strike, appearing in the picket lines in dec. 2007 (4 years ago) stating, "the writers are just looking for some fairness." 


Bell has also done a public service announcement for Do Something's great Healthy Living Campaign. 


In 2007 (4 years ago), Bell ended a five-year relationship with former fiancé Kevin Mann, and went on to date actor Dax Shepard. She told Complex magazine that dating "makes me want to vomit. And not out of grossness — OK, a little bit out of grossness, but just nerves." Bell explains, "I’ve always been a serial monogamist." 


As she is a Detroit native, she is also an avid fan of the Detroit Red Wings hockey team.


Source: en.wikipedia.org

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Yui Yoshioka 2

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Early life
Yui Yoshioka was born in Fukuoka, Japan. She grew up in a single-parent family; her father left her mother before she was born. She stated that she had always been close to music; she would remember the beats from music she heard on the radio, and could sing it. By the time she was in elementary school she thought she would like to become a singer.
During her third year in middle school, at her mother's suggestion, Yui began writing a journal of her feelings and tried to compose them into poems. By the time she was in high school, she began to write songs. While in high school, she worked part-time to help pay for tuition. She thought that, being so busy, she no longer had the time to realize her dreams of a music career. Eventually she got ill.While in hospital, she was overwhelmed with the desire to make music. She decided that school and music could not coexist. Upon leaving the hospital, she encountered a live street performance and expressed her desire to pursue a musical career to the band, Bianco Nero, at the end of the concert. Bianco Nero advised Yui to join a private music school. Yui soon dropped out of high school and began to study guitar and songwriting at a juku in her hometown of Fukuoka.[1] Aspiring to become a professional, she took to street performing at Fukuoka's Tenjin Station. These street performances helped Yui to overcome her shyness.





 Initial career
Her professional career began in March 2004 when, at the recommendation of her juku instructors, she applied for an audition hosted by Sony Music Japan. Despite the audition rule that a participant could only perform two songs, Yui was allowed to sing three. She first sang "Why Me" (a song later included in her debut single), followed by "It's Happy Line" and "I Know". The judges gave her the maximum score, causing a fierce scramble among record labels to sign her.[citation needed] Because "I Know" was incomplete at the time, the judges were able to get a glimpse of what would later be dubbed "Yui-go", or Yui-speak (Yui語 in Japanese), nonsensical English hummed to a tune during her songwriting process — an example of Yui-go can be found in the film Song of the Sun when Yui is working on the song "Goodbye Days".
On December 24, 2004, she released her debut single "It's Happy Line" under the indie label Leaflet Records, coupled with the track "I Know". The pressing was limited to only 2,000 copies in her home area.

 From Me to You (2005–2006)
Upon leaving her hometown in Fukuoka for Tokyo, Yui wrote the song "Feel My Soul" as a tribute to her hometown. She initially had planned its release on an indie label. However, when the song caught the ears of Fuji TV producer Mr. Yamaguchi, who saw the demo video clip, he claimed that Yui's voice touched him so much that he went out of his way to visit the recording studio.[citation needed] Fuji Television's primetime drama Fukigen na Gene used Yui's debut track as an insert song.
On February 23, Yui released her first major debut single, "Feel My Soul". The music in Fukigen na Gene was based on her songs "Feel My Soul" and "It's Happy Line". With the publicity the drama tie-in drew in, "Feel My Soul" managed to sell over 100,000 copies and managed to chart at number 8 on Oricon Weekly Charts in its first week. Her next three singles, "Tomorrow's Way" (theme song for the Japanese movie, "Hinokio"), "Life" (5th ending theme for the anime series Bleach), and "Tokyo" did not chart as high as Feel My Soul did and were only moderately successful in comparison.
After the release of four singles, Yui released her debut album, titled From Me to You, a moderate success with sales of more than 200,000 copies.

 Can't Buy My Love (2006–2007)
Yui made her acting debut in the full-length Japanese feature film Song of the Sun (Taiyou no uta, タイヨウのうた),[4] which opened on June 17, 2006. The film was screened at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.[5] Yui attended the Japan Academy Prize and received the Best Newcomer Award for Midnight Sun. Prior to the release of the movie, Yui released her fifth single "Good-bye Days" written specifically for the film. The single is by far her highest selling at more than 200,000 copies sold. All three tracks on the single are featured in the "Midnight Sun." The single also re-released the track "It's Happy Line," originally released on her debut single.
Her next single, "I Remember You", did well in terms of sales, riding on the wave of the popularity of "Good-bye Days." Yui's seventh single "Rolling Star" was chosen as the 5th opening theme for the anime series Bleach. Her eighth single, "Cherry" was featured in commercial promoting KDDI au Listen Mobile Service.
She released her second album Can't Buy My Love on April 4, 2007. The album spending two weeks at number 1 on the Oricon charts, shattering her entire previous album's record sales in one week. Can't Buy My Love managed to sell over 680,000 copies. Due to the success of Can't Buy My Love, Yui's previous album, From Me to You charted once again, adding another 9,000 copies to the Oricon counting
  Loved Yesterday (2007–2008)
Yui released her 9th single "My Generation/Understand" on June 13, 2007. It was her first double A-side single. "My Generation" was selected as the ending theme for the drama Seito Shokun!, and "Understand" was chosen as the theme song for the movie Dog in a Sidecar (サイドカーに犬),[6] (starring her senpai at Stardust Promotion, Yūko Takeuchi). The single charted at number 1 on the Oricon Weekly Charts the first week of its release.
Her tenth single, "Love & Truth" was released on September 26, 2007. The title track is the theme song to the Japanese film, Closed Note (クローズド・ノート) (starring Erika Sawajiri, also of Stardust).
During this time, her previous two albums were re-released as Winter Sleeve Editions in alternative covers taken from her "Love & Truth" photoshoot. Her first live concert DVD "Thank You My Teens" was released on November 14, 2007, which contained footage of her second live concert tour. On November 19, 2007, Yui opened her first live show at Nippon Budokan. The tickets for the concert sold out.[7]
Yui started 2008 with her eleventh single, Namidairo, released on February 27, 2008.[8] Yui composed the song as a "mysterious and sad sounding" insert for the television drama 4 Shimai Tantei Dan. The chorus of the song was incidentally written by YUI long ago, during her singing debut.
A week following the release of her 11th single, the promotional video of a new song "Laugh Away", was released. The song was used in Glico's "Watering KissMint" commercial. "Laugh Away" was released as a digital single on March 10, 2008.
Her third studio album was released on April 9, 2008 titled I Loved Yesterday. It quickly charted at number 1 on the Oricon Weekly Charts and sold more than 400,000 copies, only a little behind her second album. The 10th track on the album, titled "Oh Yeah", was used as the opening theme to Mezamashi TV, a morning television show. The limited edition version of the album included a DVD which contained music videos of her previous singles and live footage of her Nippon Budokan show.
Yui's third tour, named '"Oui": I Loved Yesterday' started in May 2008 and ran until July.
 My Short Stories/Holidays in the Sun (2008–present)
Yui released "Summer Song" on July 2, 2008,[10] again charting at number 1 on Oricon Weekly Charts. "Summer Song" sold 83,440 copies in a week, making "Summer Song" second highest in first week sales after "Love & Truth."
Yui released her B-side compilation album, My Short Stories,[11] released 12 November 2008, again charted at number 1 on Oricon. The album included all the B-side tracks of all her singles to date, along with a new song "I'll Be".[12] Yui is the second female artist whose B-side compilation album topped the charts, after Seiko Matsuda's "Touch Me" in 1984. The last compilation album that reached No. 1 was Mr. Children's B-Side in May 2007. On the success of "My Short Stories", sales of her first album From Me to You rose again.
In her "Yui Diary" blog entry on August 29, 2008, Yui mentioned that she would put her career on hold, not making any public appearances after the release of the album. With this break, she would be able to fully concentrate on her plans for the next year. During this break, she co-wrote the song "I Do It" with Okinawan girl band Stereopony. It was released as Stereopony's third single on April 22, 2009.[13]
Yui announced her return from her 5-month hiatus on March 25, 2009 on her official website. The single celebrating her return is an up-tempo tune titled "Again." The track was chosen as the first opening theme of the new season of the Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood anime series, premiered on April 5, 2009. The single was released on June 3, 2009.[14] "Again" debuted atop the Oricon charts, selling over 110,000 copies in its first week. It currently has the highest opening week sales for a female act in 2009.[15]
On July 27, 2009, Yui-net.com announced the release of her second double-A side single named, "It's All Too Much/Never Say Die". The two songs featured in a movie version of an anime, Kaiji as a both a theme and an insert song.[16] The single was released on October 7, 2009 and Kaiji released on October 10, 2009. The single debuted at No. 1, selling 75,000 copies in its first week of sales. This is her fifth overall number 1 single.
Yui released "Gloria" on January 20, 2010. It was another chart-topper, selling 80,000 copies in the first week. Her next single, "To Mother," was released on June 2, 2010. On July 14, 2010, Yui released her fourth studio album, Holidays in the Sun, which includes her five singles from "Summer Song" to "To Mother". Her single "Rain" was released on November 24, 2010.[17] Yui's newest addition is a double-A side of "It's My Life" and "Your Heaven," released on January 26, 2011. Yui traveled to Sweden for the shooting of the "Your Heaven" music video.
Yui's tour DVD, Holidays in the Sun will be available in Japan on March 9.

Studio albums

  • 2006: From Me to You
  • 2007: Can't Buy My Love
  • 2008: I Loved Yesterday
  • 2010: Holidays in the Sun
Compilation albums


  • 2008: My Short Stories

source :en.wikipedia.org
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