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- Hassie Harrison is an American actress. She was born in Dallas, Texas. She is known for Yellowstone, Tacoma FD and The Iron Orchard. Harrison was born in Dallas, Texas. Her mother was heavily involved with the children's theater in Dallas, where Harrison found her love in acting. She started college at age 15, studying European Cinema in Copenhagen, Denmark. She later attended a drama school headed by acting coach Ivana Chubbuck, where she learned modern methods of film performance and creativity. She also joined the Upright Citizens Brigade, an American improvisational theatre which teaches comedy skills.
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Hayley first appeared in national commercials for GM, On Star, K-Mart, and Slim Jim, and became the TV spokesperson for Cinnamon Toast Crunch. In addition, she had a couple of guest star roles on Nickelodeon's Unfabulous (2004). As a dancer, she studied with Scotty Nyugen. She is a prolific songwriter and she plays the drums, keyboards, and guitar. She was a member of a five girl-singing group, the Stunners up until their disbandment in 2011. The Stunners have released their first five-song EP with the video "Dancing Around the Truth." Scooby-Doo! The Mystery Begins (2009) debuted on Cartoon Network in 2009 with Hayley in the iconic role of Velma Dinkley. She appeared in the role of Stevie on Disney Channel's Wizards of Waverly Place (2007). Hayley, with the Stunners, toured as Justin Bieber's opening act in the summer of 2010.
Hayley recently joined the cast of the new CBS mid-season drama CSI: Cyber (2015). The series revolves around Special Agent Avery Ryan (Patricia Arquette), who is in charge of the Cyber Crime Division at Quantico, Virginia. Hayley plays Raven, a rookie techie working in the division who is an expert in social media, cyber trends, and international relations.
This past summer, Hayley filmed the Universal feature Jem and the Holograms (2015), in which she plays Aja. This Jon M. Chu-helmed film is set to be released on October 23, 2015. She followed that with Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015), the third installment in the successful franchise. Hayley can also be seen in the recurring role of Gabi, an ex-cyberbully in an all-girl group home on the breakout ABC Family show The Fosters (2013). Prior to this, she guest-starred on the hit CW series The Vampire Diaries (2009) and also appeared in the Disney Channel original movie Lemonade Mouth (2011).
In addition to a successful acting career, Hayley is a prolific songwriter and gifted musician. To follow up her solo artist debut in 2013, she is scheduled to release her new EP, "This Side of Paradise," in 2015. Working in collaboration with producer James Flannigan, she recorded the new album in London as well as in a makeshift studio in the garage of her Los Angeles home. Her music has garnered praise in multiple online publications including Nylon, Just Jared, Earmilk, and Hype Machine.- Laura Harring is a Mexican actress best known for her role as the mysterious amnesiac Rita in David Lynch's enigmatic film Mulholland Drive, which was recently voted the best film of the 21st century in multiple polls. Film critic Roger Ebert compared Harring to screen legend Rita Hayworth, while the International Herald Tribune's film reviewer likened Laura to Ava Gardner. But Laura Harring is her own person, a classical performer with a passion for acting, dance, travel, food and life.
Laura Harring became a world traveler shortly after finishing her studies at the prestigious Aiglon College, one of Switzerland's exclusive private boarding schools. After graduating with an academic diploma, Laura spent time in the foothills of the Himalayas, working as a social worker to help transport heavy rocks, plant gardens, build schools, and perform other manual tasks that helped the villagers create a better quality of life. After her social work, Laura devoted a year to backpacking through Asia and Europe, often falling asleep beside the ocean in a sleeping bag, an experience that changed her life forever. Laura spent time living in other countries and meeting new people, and it changed her life profoundly.
Years later, Harring starred opposite extraordinary actors such as Oscar winner Javier Bardem in the adaptation of Nobel Peace Prize winner Garcia Marquez's Love in the Time of Cholera, Oscar winner Denzel Washington in John Q, and Oscar winner William Hurt in The King. Laura also starred opposite John Travolta in Marvel's The Punisher. For the small screen, Laura starred opposite Forest Whitaker in the critically acclaimed television show The Shield, a show that changed the conventional formula of the cop genre and won multiple awards. Later she starred as Ed Westwick's mom in the super-hit TV show Gossip Girl. But Laura was no stranger to the small screen, having started her career as a series regular on Aaron Spelling's Sunset Beach on NBC.
In her earlier years, Laura studied at the London Academy of Performing Arts. She credits her grandfather, an extraordinary athlete who was due to compete in the Olympics in 1948, for her equestrian and fencing skills. Her philosophy in life is unique. She believes we are all one human family meant to enjoy the trip of life. - Vanessa Marcil was born Vanessa Sally Ortiz on October 15, 1968 in Indio, California to Patricia Irene Marcil-Ortiz (née Marcil), an herbalist and Pete Ortiz, a contractor. She grew up in Indio with her parents, big brother: Pete Samuel "Sam" Ortiz Jr. (November 16, 1958 - November 7, 2019) and big sisters: Tina (b. October 20, 1959) and Sherry (b. September 7, 1962). When Vanessa was 8, she started acting in plays and even performed her own song at a sixth-grade talent show, which she won. Soon afterward she began pursuing an acting career and starred in several theatre productions before landing the role of Brenda Barrett on the ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital (1963) in 1992.
She made her feature film debut in The Rock (1996) opposite Nicolas Cage and starred in a made-for-television movie, To Love, Honor and Deceive (1996), in 1996. She stayed with General Hospital (1963) until 1998 and then left to join the cast of Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990) as Gina Kincaid, a former ice skater replacing Tiffani Thiessen as the show's vixen. She met Brian Austin Green on the show and the two had a son named Kassius Lijah Marcil-Green on March 15, 2002.
In the fall of 2002 she made her long-awaited return to General Hospital (1963) reprising her role as Brenda Barrett, garnering her a Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Supporting Actress" in 2003. Vanessa later joined the cast of the NBC drama Las Vegas (2003) as Sam Marquez, a casino host where she remained on the show for five seasons until 2008. That same year she became the host of Lifetime's reality show Blush: The Search for America's Greatest Makeup Artist (2008) as well as making a three episode guest appearance on the NBC show Lipstick Jungle (2008).
In 2009, she starred in the Hallmark channel movie The Nanny Express (2008) as well as in the Lifetime movie One Hot Summer (2009). In 2010, she was in the web series The Bannen Way (2010) and in August 2010 after a seven year absence, she made her return to General Hospital (1963) remaining on the show for a year before her departure from the show in July 2011. Although she did make a guest appearance in April 2013 to commemorate the show's 50th anniversary.
Then in 2014, she starred in the Hallmark channel movie, Stranded in Paradise (2014) alongside James Denton. She is writing a book about her life which will be released in the near future. She resides in Los Angeles with her son, Kassius Marcil-Green. - Actress
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Taylor Cole is best known for her recurring roles in THE ORIGINALS on the CW in addition to TV Land's IMPASTOR, the CW's SUPERNATURAL, and A&E's THE GLADES. She was a series regular on the NBC hit series, THE EVENT. She has since appeared in numerous shows, including SECOND CHANCE, BALLERS, CASTLE, TWO AND A HALF MEN, and NCIS, to name a few.
Taylor recently starred in LONG LOST CHRISTMAS and PUMPKIN EVERYTHING for Hallmark, and prior to that starred in ALL IS BRIGHT and SOUTH BEACH LOVE for them as well. She will next star in ALOHA HEART for Hallmark. Other feature credits include ONE WINTER WEDDING and UNLOCKING CHRISTMAS for Hallmark, and BAD for Lifetime. Taylor can also be seen in the films THE VIOLENT KIND, which premiered at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival, THE SURROGATES, TWELVE ROUNDS, as well as MTV's ALL YOU'VE GOT. Taylor first debuted in the WB TV series SUMMERLAND as a series regular.- Actress
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Sienna Guillory is the daughter of American folk guitarist Isaac Guillory and Tina Thompson, an English model. Guillory's parents encouraged her to express herself artistically as she was growing up and this led to her decision to become an actor. She was educated at Gresham's School, Holt, Norfolk, England and appeared in school plays.
Her acting break came when she was 16, and was cast in the TV movie Riders (1993). To support her acting career, Guillory also took up modeling and appeared in campaigns for such high profile companies as Armani and Dolce & Gabbana, as well as gracing many magazine covers. Further acting success followed in TV and films. Projects include The Time Machine (2002), Love Actually (2003) and the 'Resident Evil' film series.- Actress
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Louise Bourgoin was born on 28 November 1981 in Vannes, Morbihan, France. She is an actress and writer, known for The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec (2010), I Am a Soldier (2015) and La fille de Monaco (2008).- Actress
Sofia Pernas was born in Fes, Morocco, and saw a lot of the world before finally settling in Los Angeles. Initially aiming for a career in journalism, Pernas' life took an unexpected turn when she was approached by a modeling scout and later an acting agent who put her career into motion. Her unique look is attributed to her Moroccan-Cuban heritage.- Actress
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Lara Flynn Boyle was born in Davenport, Iowa on March 24, 1970 to 21-year old Sally Boyle. For Sally and young Lara, money was not plentiful so Sally was required to work three jobs in addition to raising baby Lara by herself. Since Lara was mostly around Sally, they developed a bond that still binds Lara and Sally today. Until recently, Sally lived with Lara. Now they only live 10 minutes away from each other. Growing up, Lara had many struggles including dyslexia and a learning disability. Still, she could not let that get to her and she knew she had to be strong. She finally graduated, and, the day after doing so, she and her mother, Sally, moved. They drove on what would be "the road to fame". She soon landed roles in movies like Poltergeist III (1988) and Wayne's World (1992). Since then, she has become a prolific actress on both the small screen and the big screen.- Actress
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Danneel Ackles (born Elta Danneel Graul, she went by Danneel Harris professionally until after her marriage to Jensen Ackles) was born on March 18, 1979, in Lafayette, Louisiana is an American actress and model. The name "Danneel" was inspired by Danneel Street in New Orleans. She is known for her roles as Shannon McBain on the American daytime soap opera One Life to Live (1968) and as Rachel Gatina on the WB/CW television drama series One Tree Hill (2003).
Graul/Ackles was born and raised in Louisiana before moving to Los Angeles to study acting. She did some modeling work and in 2004 landed a role in the small independent film The Plight of Clownana (2004), a film was co-produced by her husband. She also had guest roles in a number of TV series, and a recurring role as Rachel on the CW's One Tree Hill (2003).
She has appeared in episodes of a number of TV Shows including, NCIS, CSI and How I Met Your Mother. Her other films include Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay (2008), A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas (2011), and Fired Up! (2009). Danneel co-starred with Jensen in Ten Inch Hero (2007) which they filmed in 2006. n May 2009, Harris was announced to have been cast in the Screen Gems Thriller film, The Roommate (2011).- Actress and former model Brooklyn Danielle Decker was born in Kettering, Ohio, the oldest child of Tessa Renee (Moore), a nurse, and Stephen Michael Decker, a pacemaker salesman. She has a younger brother, Jordan. Decker has German, English, and Irish ancestry. When she was a teenager, she was discovered by a talent spotter in a shopping mall in Charlotte, North Carolina and embarked on a modeling career. Her first modeling engagement was for a prom dress maker.
Huge modeling success followed, with Decker appearing in various magazines and campaigns. In 2006, she appeared in her first Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue. Decker appeared again in the 2007 and 2008 issues, and was the cover girl in 2010. Alongside modeling, Decker began acting, winning roles in TV series such as Chuck (2007), Royal Pains (2009) and Ugly Betty (2006). She then moved on to movie projects, including Just Go with It (2011), Battleship (2012) and What to Expect When You're Expecting (2012).
Since 2009, Decker has been married to tennis player Andy Roddick. - Actress
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"Want to know what comes between me and my Calvins? Nothing." If you have not heard of Brooke Shields before, this tagline from her Calvin Klein Jeans ad had to grab your attention. Not that she has not had a previously noteworthy resume. She was born on May 31, 1965 in New York City, to Teri (Schmon) and Frank Shields. At age 12, she starred as a child prostitute in Pretty Baby (1978). Could this movie even be made today? It was considered risky and controversial in 1978. It was followed by another blockbuster, the romance adventure drama The Blue Lagoon (1980). Brooke has proved herself to be so much more than her early films. Her broad range of work as an adult would be quite an achievement for anyone, especially given how difficult transitioning from child actor to adult often is.
She has never stopped working, whether it be a Bob Hope Christmas special, her own sitcom Suddenly Susan (1996) or as an author. She also managed to work on a degree from Princeton University. She has received a number of awards during her career, most notably The People's Choice award for 1981 through 1984 in the category of Favorite Young Performer. In 1997, she was honored again with The People's Choice award for Favorite Female Performer in a New Television Series in 1997 for her work in Suddenly Susan (1996). In her personal life, she was married in 1997 to tennis player Andre Agassi and was devastated when they divorced two years later. She married for the second time in 2001 to Chris Henchy. She has been open about using fertility treatments to become pregnant with their daughter, Rowan, born in 2003.
When suffering debilitating depression after the birth of her daughter, she made the decision to put her feelings down on paper. Her book, "Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression," takes a hard, honest look at what she and many other women experience after childbirth. She still lives in New York City, and is still sought after for work in movies, television, and on stage. Pretty nice list of achievements for the once Calvin Klein jeans girl.- Actress
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Danielle Nicole Panabaker was born in Augusta, Georgia. Her younger sister, actress Kay Panabaker, starred in the TV series Summerland (2004)(WB, 2004-05). Panabaker started acting at a summer camp before joining community theater productions when she was 10 years old. Panabaker moved to Naperville, IL, where she was a member of the Neuqua Valley High School speech team. At the age of 14, while most students her age were barely starting their high school careers, she graduated.
Panabaker followed her initial appearances in commercials with roles in television, including a part in the series The Guardian (2001) (for which she won a Young Artist Award), as well as other television series, including Malcolm in the Middle (2000), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999), Medium (2005), Summerland (2004), and the Disney Channel original movie Stuck in the Suburbs (2004). She also appeared in the Lifetime Television productions Sex & the Single Mom (2003) and Mom at Sixteen (2005), as well as the well-reviewed miniseries Empire Falls (2005). She considers "Empire Falls" to be her big break, as it gave her the confidence to pursue her career. In addition, Panabaker appeared in stage productions, with roles in musical theater, including "West Side Story," Pippin,":"Once Upon a Time," and "Beauty Lou and the Country Beast." In 2004, she starred in the ABC film Searching for David's Heart (2004), alongside former co-Disney star Raviv Ullman. In 2005, Panabaker co-starred in two widely-released theatrical films, Sky High (2005) and Yours, Mine & Ours (2005). Her next role was in the film Home of the Giants (2007), opposite Ryan Merriman and Haley Joel Osment. She also had a supporting role in the film Mr. Brooks (2007), opposite Kevin Costner. In the Disney Channel original movie Read It and Weep (2006), she plays Is, an alternate version of Jamie, who was played by her real-life sister, Kay Panabaker.- Actress
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Minka Kelly was born in Los Angeles, California and she is the only child of former Aerosmith guitarist, Rick Dufay, and Maureen Kelly, an exotic dancer and single mother, who often moved with her daughter to different communities before settling in Albuquerque, New Mexico, by the time Minka was in junior high school.
Her paternal grandfather was actor Richard Ney. Minka's ancestry includes Austrian, German, French, Irish, English, Scottish, and Dutch.- Actress
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Blake Ellender Lively was born Blake Ellender Brown on August 25, 1987 in Los Angeles, California to Elaine Lively & Ernie Lively. Her brother is actor Eric Lively, and her half-siblings are actors Lori Lively, Robyn Lively and Jason Lively. She followed her parents' and siblings' steps. Her first role was Trixie, the Tooth Fairy in the musical movie Sandman (1998), directed by her father. Her big break came along a few years later, though. Blake was up to finish high school when she got the co-starring role of Bridget in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2005).
Blake was so perfect for the role of Bridget that, with no big references or even auditioning, she landed the role. According to her, all she did was walk in and leave a photo of herself. It was clear that she was the Bridget needed. After the film, Blake went back to high school for her senior year to have the life of a regular teenager -- or a very busy regular teenager. She was class president, a cheerleader, and performed with the choir.- Chloe Bridges (born December 27, 1991) is an American actress known for her roles as Zoey Moreno in the sitcom Freddie (2005) (2005-2006) and as Dana Turner in the Disney Channel original film Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010). She has starred in the films Forget Me Not (2009), Family Weekend (2013), Mantervention (2014), The Final Girls (2015), and Nightlight (2015). She has also portrayed Donna LaDonna in The Carrie Diaries (2013), Sydney in Pretty Little Liars (2010), and Kibby in Daytime Divas (2017). From 2005 until 2006, Bridges portrayed the role of Zoey Moreno in the ABC sitcom Freddie (2005), starring alongside Freddie Prinze Jr.. For this role, she was credited under her birth name, Chloe Suazo. In 2006, she guest-starred as the character in an episode of George Lopez (2002). Bridges originally auditioned for the role of Mitchie Torres in the first Camp Rock (2008) film, but it ultimately went to Demi Lovato. She also appeared in the 2009 films Legally Blondes (2009) and Forget Me Not (2009). She secured the role of Dana Turner in the sequel, Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010), which aired on Disney Channel in 2010. In March 2012, Bridges was cast as Donna LaDonna in The CW's Sex and the City (1998) prequel, titled The Carrie Diaries (2013), which aired from 2013 to 2014 over two seasons. In April 2014, she landed a recurring role in the fifth season of the ABC Family teen drama series Pretty Little Liars (2010) as Sydney Driscoll.Bridges portrayed the supporting role of Paula in the horror comedy film The Final Girls (2015), and starred as Nia in the supernatural thriller film Nightlight (2015). The film, was released on March 27, 2015. In August 2016, Bridges was cast as Kibby, a former child star and recovering addict, in VH1's scripted drama series Daytime Divas (2017)which premiered on June 5, 2017.
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Christa Miller was introduced to the entertainment world at a very young age. As a toddler, she was photographed by the acclaimed Francesco Scavullo for an Ivory Snow ad with her mother, and, at the age of three, appeared on the cover of "Redbook". Miller was bitten by the acting bug as a child, but couldn't pursue her passion because her parents had other plans for her. Her father hoped she'd have a law career, while her mother, a 1960s supermodel, knew all too well how tough a career in entertainment could be. Despite her parents' concern and her rigorous studies at the Convent of the Sacred Heart, she pursued a modeling career. She appeared in national magazines while working steadily in Europe and Japan. She landed her first commercial (for Polaroid) at age 16. Her first prime-time television role was on Kate & Allie (1984), a part she auditioned for and landed without the help of her aunt, series co-star Susan Saint James. Upon moving to Los Angeles in 1990, Miller won a guest role in an episode of Northern Exposure (1990). Other television credits include guest roles on Seinfeld (1989), Party of Five (1994) and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990). Her film credits include Deceived (1991) and Love and Happiness (1995). She also starred with Kellie Martin in the acclaimed made-for-television movie Death of A Cheerleader (1994).- Actress
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Maria Menounos was born on 8 June 1978 in Medford, Massachusetts, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Fantastic Four (2005), Entourage (2015) and Kickin' It Old Skool (2007). She has been married to Keven Undergaro since 31 December 2017. They have one child.- Jaime Murray is a British actress, activist and television producer who lives and works in Los Angeles California. Trained at Drama Centre London before playing con artist Stacie Monroe in the BBC series Hustle upon graduation in 2004. The role of Lila West in the Showtime series Dexter took her to Los Angeles in 2007 where she has since lived and worked. Jaime is developing a limited TV series about the The Life and Death of John Allen Chau. The series will tell the story of the 26-year old Chinese American, who believed he was called by God to save the souls of the last 'uncontacted tribe' on earth by converting them to Christianity. She will exec produce with UCP, Littleton Road Productions and Activist Artists Management. Known for playing Stahma Tarr in the Syfy series Defiance (2013-2015), The Black Fairy in the ABC series Once Upon a Time (2016-2017), Antoinette in The CW series The Originals (2018), and Nyssa al Ghul in Gotham (2019), Gaia in the Starz miniseries Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (2011), Olivia Charles in The CW series Ringer (2011-2012), Helena G. Wells in the Syfy series Warehouse 13 (2010-2014)
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Mikaela Mehrizi Hoover was born on July 12 in Colbert, Washington and is the first of 4 siblings. Mikaela started taking dance classes at age 2 and stared school plays and local commercials as a child. She was a cheerleader in high school and the captain of her high school dance team as well as being on the Debate team. After graduation she was accepted to Loyola Marymount University's theatre program in Los Angeles. After getting her BA in theatre she booked the first movie she auditioned for called "Frank". She later went on to play the role of Madison in the WB's "Sorority Forever" and landed a recurring role on the ABC show "Happy Endings". She has guest starred on many extremely popular sitcoms including "How I Met Your Mother", "Two and a Half Men", "Saint George", "The League", and "Anger Management". She has done many projects with writer/director James Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy) including "The Sparky and Mikaela Show", "PG Porn", "Humanzee", and the movie "Super".- Actress
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Piper Perabo is a Golden Globe nominated film, stage and TV actor. Born in Dallas, Texas, and raised in New Jersey, she graduated summa cum Laude from Ohio University. In 2000 she was cast in a breakout role in Coyote Ugly. Since then she has been seen in such films as Christopher Nolan's "The Prestige" with Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale, "Because I Said So" with Diane Keaton and "First Snow", with Guy Pearce, "Cheaper by the Dozen" films with Steve Martin, "Imagine Me & You" with Lena Heady and Matthew Goode and the crime drama "10th & Wolf" with an ensemble cast that included James Marsden and Dennis Hopper. She starred alongside Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon Levitt, Emily Blunt and Jeff Daniels in Rian Johnson's sci-fi action film, "Looper.".
In television Perabo starred as Annie Walker in all 5 seasons of USA Network's spy drama, "Covert Affairs." Following that she co-starred in ABC's 2016 legal drama "Notorious."And can next be seen on Netflix in "Turn Up Charlie" with Idris Elba.
She made her Broadway debut in Neil LaBute's controversial play "Reasons to be Pretty", which was nominated for the Tony for Best Play.
Outside of her work on screen and stage, Perabo is also an activist. She is a Voice for the International Rescue Committee to raise awareness about the world's refugee crisis and help those displaced by conflict, religious persecution and political oppression around the globe.
Piper lives in Los Angeles and New York City.- Actress
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Emmanuelle Vaugier is a Canadian actress and model. She began acting in grade school, after she was cast as an understudy in a play and had to fill in when the lead actor became ill. She modeled in Japan for three years. She made her acting debut in the 1995 made-for-TV movie drama, A Family Divided. She took up horseback riding in 2010; entered a Burbank, CA, horse show in which she placed third. She is involved with animal protection organizations including JIMI'S Angels and Best Friends Animal Society; she created Fluff-ball, an animal fundraiser event, to provide monetary support for the groups.- Actress
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Dina Meyer is an American film and television actress best known for her roles as Barbara Gordon in Birds of Prey (2002), Dizzy Flores in Starship Troopers (1997) and Detective Allison Kerry in the Saw installments. Meyer started acting in 1993, with her first major role playing Lucinda Nicholson in the TV series Beverly Hills, 90210 (1990). In the same year she made her film debut in the TV movie Strapped (1993). She broke out two years later, playing the cybernetically enhanced bodyguard Jane in the cyberpunk thriller Johnny Mnemonic (1995). In addition to Johnny Mnemonic, Meyer has played roles in other science fiction productions including Starship Troopers, Birds of Prey and Star Trek: Nemesis (2002). She also starred as Detective Allison Kerry in the horror/thriller film Saw (2004) and its sequels as well. She has made many guest appearances and played one of the series regular roles in FOX's Point Pleasant (2005). Her additional guest star roles include Criminal Minds (2005), Castle (2009), The Mentalist (2008), Burn Notice (2007), and Nip/Tuck (2003), and she has recurred on ABC's Scoundrels (2010), CW's 90210 (2008), CBS's CSI: Miami (2002), and NCIS (2003).
Meyer resides in Los Angeles.- Actress
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Angie Everhart was born on 7 September 1969 in Akron, Ohio, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Last Action Hero (1993), Take Me Home Tonight (2011) and Bandido (2004). She has been married to Carl Ferro since 6 December 2014. She was previously married to Ashley Hamilton.- Actress
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Minnesota-born Brianna Brown began acting in elementary school and local community productions. After high school and a brief stint at St. Olaf College, Brianna moved to Los Angeles when she was 19 to pursue an acting career full-time. She snagged a part in the pilot show for Judd Apatow's quirky, fondly remembered series Freaks and Geeks (1999). From there she got parts in several theatrical features, mostly comedies, and in 2004 secured a part in Spider-Man 2 (2004). She worked steadily over the next few years, playing everything from a farmer's wife to a killer of zombies (Night of the Living Dead 3D (2006)), and worked again for Apatow in two more of his comedies, The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) and Knocked Up (2007).
She also kept busy with guest-starring roles on some of the top series on TV, such as CSI: Miami (2002), Without a Trace (2002), Smallville (2001) and had a memorable turn as a serial-killing call girl in Criminal Minds (2005). She had a long-running part on the soap General Hospital (1963) as Dr. Lisa Miles.
Outside the film industry, she has been involved in giving women the opportunity to empower themselves financially, co-founding the "Green Goddess Investment Club" and starting a women's group called "The New Hollywood Women's Goal Group".- Actress
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Edwige Fenech was born Edwige Sfenek on December 24, 1948, in Bone, Constantine, France, to a Maltese father and an Italian mother. She began her show-business career as a participant in beauty contests (she won the title of "Miss Mannequin de la Cote d'Azur" at age 16 and even won a Miss France beauty contest) and worked as a photo model prior to making her film debut in the comedy Toutes folles de lui (1967). She appeared in such saucy West German sex farces as Alle Kätzchen naschen gern (1969) and Sexy Susan Sins Again (1968).
With her lustrous and long black hair, lovely and sensuous face, full shapely figure and smoldering screen presence, Edwige soon became a very popular and much sought-after actress in a diverse array of European productions made in Italy, France, Spain and West Germany. She achieved her greatest enduring cult cinema popularity by starring in several superior Italian giallos for director Sergio Martino: The Strange Vice of Mrs. Wardh (1971), They're Coming to Get You! (1972) and Your Vice Is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key (1972) (she was the onetime girlfriend of Martino's producer brother, Luciano Martino).
Edwige also acted for Martino in a handful of racy Italian sex comedies and the Italian mini-series Delitti privati (1993). Other noted Italian film directors Fenech has worked for are Mario Bava (Five Dolls for an August Moon (1970)), Giuliano Carnimeo (The Case of the Bloody Iris (1972)), Andrea Bianchi (Strip Nude for Your Killer (1975)), Umberto Lenzi (The Biggest Battle (1978)), Steno (Dr. Jekyll Likes Them Hot (1979)), Dino Risi (Sono fotogenico (1980)) and Ruggero Deodato (Phantom of Death (1987)).
She demonstrated her exceptional range and skill as an actress with enjoyably uninhibited performances in such amusingly bawdy Italian comedic romps as Quel gran pezzo della Ubalda tutta nuda e tutta calda (1972) and The School Teacher (1975). Edwige became a television personality in the 1980s and made frequent appearances on an Italian chat show along with fellow giallo goddess Barbara Bouchet. Moreover, Fenech launched her own fashion line and founded her own film production company, Immagine e Cinema S.r.l., with her son Edwin Fenech (she co-produced the 2004 film The Merchant of Venice (2004) as well as various Italian TV mini-series and made-for-TV features).
In the mid-1990s Edwige was engaged to famous Italian industrialist Luca Cordero di Montezemolo. She made a welcome return to acting with a small but funny part as an alluring art class professor in Eli Roth's Hostel: Part II (2007).- Actress
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Named one of fall TV's breakout stars by IndieWire, Emma Dumont has quickly become known for the powerful characters she brings to life on screen. Dumont can currently be seen starring on FOX's drama series "The Gifted," which follows an ordinary suburban family whose lives change course forever when they discover their children have developed mutant powers. "The Gifted," based on Marvel Comics' X-Men series, is set in an alternate timeline where the X-Men have disappeared. Dumont shines as Polaris, daughter to X-Men character Magneto, however while brave and loyal, she struggles with an internal darkness and teeters in and out of control due to an undiagnosed bipolar disorder. "The Gifted" premiered on October 2, 2017 and is currently in production of season 2.
In addition to "The Gifted" Dumont recently starred as Charles Manson's dedicated follower Emma Karn on NBC's 60's-era drama "Aquarius" opposite David Duchovny. She also appeared on ABC Family's scripted dance series "Bunheads" as Melanie. Dumont made her feature film debut in director Craig Johnson's "True Adolescents" at 12 years old, alongside Melissa Leo and Mark Duplass. Additional credits include: "Mind Games" for ABC, "T@gged" for AwesomenessTV, "Pretty Little Liars" and "The Fosters" for Freeform, and "The Magicians" for SYFY.
Born in Seattle, Washington Dumont had a love for the arts at a young age. She began ballet dancing at just three years old and studied at Pacific Northwest Ballet School, Cornish College of the Arts and Spectrum Dance Theatre School, while spending summers at the American Ballet Theatre, Joffrey Ballet School and the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow, Russia. At four years old she began taking violin lessons and went on to play with the Seattle Youth Symphony Orchestra and the Glendale Youth Orchestra. At 15 years old Dumont won V Magazine's model search contest and appeared in their March 2010 issue, landing a contract with Ford Models. She worked fashion week in New York City that year, and went on to model in Hong Kong, New York, Los Angeles, China, and Tokyo. While Dumont was excelling in dance, music, and modeling, one of her biggest passions was acting, and she continued to hone her craft in community theater and classes, landing roles in indie films in her teens and a handful of series roles.
While acting and the arts are two of Dumont's greatest loves, she also has a passion for mechanical engineering and computer programming. She is a member of Mensa and participated in FIRST Robotics on a team sponsored by NASA/JPL and Walt Disney Imagineering. Today, Dumont remains passionate about mentoring youth associated with the program. While her current production schedule is demanding, Dumont is continuing her studies and is taking classes in engineering and programming. She currently resides in Los Angeles with her puppy Zoe.- Sasha Feline Barrese is the daughter of actress and model Katherine Barrese. Katherine was a model when she gave birth to baby Sasha. The two lived in Maui, Hawaii and soon moved to Paris, France. There, Katherine continued to model and take Sasha to work with her. Sasha got a lot of early modeling experience by going to the photo shoots with her mom.
In 1989, the pair got their debut acting roles in the movie Homer and Eddie (1989). Katherine and little Sasha went on to star as the younger and older versions of a character named "Jezebel" in 1990's Jezebel's Kiss (1990). This film was the only role in which Sasha is credited by her real name, Alexandra Barrese.
Katherine worked hard to put her little girl through good private schools. Pre-teen Sasha attended Ojai Private School in Ojai Valley, California and graduated middle school in 1995. She continued on to Tabor Academy in Marion, Massachusetts and graduated high school in 1999. She did some modeling during her school years for NEXT Agency, Elite, and Guess? Jeans.
After graduation, she went on to do more television and film work, including Supernatural (2005), Hellraiser: Inferno (2000), The Ring (2002), Just Shoot Me! (1997), MTV's Undressed (1999) and WB's Run of the House (2003). Sasha says she and her mom, Katherine, are very close. They lived together for many years in Beverly Hills, California. - Actress
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Hallelujah for Sela. Everyone's favorite "Sister" was born Sela Ann Ward, on July 11, 1956, in Meridian, Mississippi. Sela's parents were Annie Kate (Boswell) and Granberry Holland Ward, Jr., an electrical engineer; the three younger children in the family are Jenna (1957), Berry (1959) and Brock (1961). "Sela" is a Hebrew word that means "rock, boulder, cliff". Sela graduated from the University of Alabama in 1977, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in art and advertising; Sela was also a cheerleader for the Crimson Tide football team, a Homecoming Queen and a member of the Chi Omega sorority. Sela moved to New York to work for an advertising agency.
Responding to a friend's suggestion that she was tall (5' 7") and pretty enough to try modeling, Sela began a highly successful career with the Wilhelmina Agency. Sela's first gig was in the Pepsi advertising department, and her first commercial was for Maybelline. After appearing in 20 national television commercials, Sela moved to Los Angeles and got her first television role in Emerald Point N.A.S. (1983); she dated tall co-star Richard Dean Anderson for three years (which is much longer than the television series lasted). Sela's movie break came by appearing with Burt Reynolds in the film The Man Who Loved Women (1983), and by now her acting career was established.
But perhaps Sela is best known for starring in the television series Sisters (1991), which ran for six seasons. The series was a big hit with women, and if the males in the audience stuck around after the steamy (literally) opening sauna sequence, they too would discover a series with fascinating writing and story plots, with Sela as Teddy Reed -- in the fashion industry she began her first company, which she wanted to call Teddy Wear. In 1992 and 1994, Sela got the Golden Globe Award nomination for best lead actress in a drama series; in 1994, she won an Emmy Award and, in 1996, the Screen Actors Guild Award.
During the series' run, Sela married Howard Sherman (May 23, 1992 - present). They had two children: Austin Ward (May 13, 1994), Anabella Raye (May 30, 1998). Still very much a pretty woman, Sela appeared in Runaway Bride (1999) as Pretty Bar Woman. In 2000, Sela won her second Emmy Award, this time for her work in Once and Again (1999).- Actress
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Deborah Kara Unger was the first Canadian accepted into the prestigious Australian National Institute of Dramatic Art. She made her feature film debut in Blood Oath (1990), followed by roles in Christopher Crowe's Whispers in the Dark (1992), Till There Was You (1991), and Highlander: The Final Dimension (1994). She acted in the award-winning television drama Bangkok Hilton (1989) with Nicole Kidman and Denholm Elliott, as well as HBO's Hotel Room (1993), directed by James Signorelli, and Showtime's ensemble medical drama State of Emergency (1994).- Actress
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Eva Maria Olivia Amurri Martino (born March 15, 1985) is an American film and television actress Amurri Martino was born in New York City, to Italian director Franco Amurri and American actress Susan Sarandon. She attended Friends Seminary (Manhattan) for middle school, and graduated from Saint Ann's School in Brooklyn, New York, and Brown University.
Eva initially appeared in Bob Roberts (1992) in 1992 and Dead Man Walking (1995) in 1999. In 1999, she appeared in Earthly Possessions (1999) and Anywhere But Here (1999).In 2009, she appeared as Shelly in the episode The Playbook (2009) of How I Met Your Mother (2005). Amurri Martino starred in the thriller film Isolation (2011), directed by Stephen Kay. She guest-starred, along with her mother, on an episode of Friends (1994) in The One with Joey's New Brain (2001) Amurri Martino had a role in the 2002 film The Banger Sisters (2002), in which her mother starred, with Amurri Martino playing the daughter of her mother's character. She guest-starred, along with her mother, on an episode of Friends (1994) in Season 7 Episode 15 The One with Joey's New Brain (2001). In 2004, she appeared in Saved! (2004). She had a role in the third season of the Showtime series Californication (2007), where she played Jackie, a stripper, student and love interest of central character Hank Moody. Amurri Martino played the leading role in the 2008 film Middle of Nowhere (2008).
In 2010, she appeared in the Fox series House (2004) as Nicole in the episode The Choice (2010). In 2012, she appeared in Happy Madison Production's That's My Boy (2012) as young Mary McGarricle. Her mother also appeared in the film as McGarricle's older self.- Writer
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Brit Heyworth Marling was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Heidi (Johnson) and John Marling, both of whom work in real estate. She graduated from Georgetown University, with a bachelor's in economics, and was offered a job with Goldman Sachs, which she turned down in favour of a career as an artist.
She moved to Los Angeles to act and, after spending a couple of years exploring the movie industry and being offered roles as "the cute blonde in horror movies", she taught herself to write, reasoning that the best way to get decent parts was to write them, herself. She worked on two movies, simultaneously - one in the mornings, one in the afternoons - and eventually both Another Earth (2011) and Sound of My Voice (2011) premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2011.- Charlotte Vega was born in Madrid, to a British mother and Spanish/British father. After ten months, they moved to Barcelona, where Charlotte grew up. Her multicultural background has enabled her to speak both English and Spanish as a native and work in both languages from the early stages of her career. She is known for her leading role as 'Rachel' in 'The Lodgers', 'Katrina' in 'American Assassin' and for her leading role as 'Valeria' in the Spanish film 'El Club de los Incomprendidos'.
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Alexa Ellesse PenaVega was born Alexa Ellesse Vega on August 27, 1988 in Ocala, Florida and raised in Los Angeles, California to Gina Denise Rue, a former model & Baruch Jairo Vega, a photographer. She is known for her role as Carmen Cortez in the Spy Kids series and Shilo Wallace in the film Repo! The Genetic Opera (2008). In 2009, she starred as the title character Ruby Gallagher in the ABC Family series Ruby & The Rockits.- Actress
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June Diane Raphael is an American actress, comedian, and screenwriter. She has starred in TV comedy programs Burning Love, Adult Swim's NTSF:SD:SUV::, and Grace and Frankie. Notable film work includes supporting roles in Year One and Unfinished Business, as well as her 2013 Sundance film Ass Backwards, which she co-wrote and starred in with her creative partner Casey Wilson. She also co-hosts the movie discussion podcast How Did This Get Made? alongside Jason Mantzoukas and her husband Paul Scheer.- Actress
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Best-known to television audiences as Lily van der Woodsen on the hit show Gossip Girl, Kelly played the sophisticated, fashionable matriarch on the Upper East Side of Manhattan for all six seasons. Kelly is also known for her former roles in television shows Melrose Place, Homefront, and Brisco County Jr, and the film Scream 3. Her most recent projects include playing Laura Wyatt in the ABC hit series Quantico and an online talk show for The View.
Kelly is an advocate of multiple women's and children's charities including StepUp Women's Network and Healthy Child Healthy World, and she is currently a member of the Board of Directors for Free Arts NYC.- Actress
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Melissa Marie Benoist is an American actress, singer and dancer. She was raised in Littleton, Colorado , the daughter of Julie and Jim Benoist, a physician. She is of French, German, English, and Scottish descent. She started dance classes at the age of three and when she was four years old her aunt put her in a church play she was directing. As a teen, Benoist performed anonymously at Disneyland for three summers with the Academy of Theatre Arts, a musical theatre school located in Littleton, Colorado run by Paul Dwyer and Alann Worley. She performed locally in productions including Cinderella and Bye Bye Birdie at Town Hall Arts Center, and Evita at the Country Dinner Playhouse.
In 2006, The Denver Post named Benoist one of Colorado's five "Can't Miss Kids". She graduated from Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colorado, in 2007,and from Marymount Manhattan College in New York City in 2011 with a Bachelor of arts in theatre arts. Benoist has become known for her portrayal of the title character in the CBS/CW superhero drama series Supergirl (2015). She had risen to prominence for her portrayal of Marley Rose on the fourth and fifth seasons of the Fox musical comedy-drama television series Glee (2009), and has appeared in films such as Whiplash (2014) ,Danny Collins (2015), The Longest Ride (2015), Lowriders (2016) , Patriots Day (2016) and Sun Dogs (2017).- Actress
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Jamie Chung was born and raised in California, the daughter of Korean parents. She studied Economics at the University of California, Riverside. Chung's break came in 2004, when she was working in a sports bar. MTV held auditions for The Real World (1992) there, she tried out, and was successful, appearing in the San Diego based fourteenth season.
Chung went on to successfully launched an acting career, making her debut with a small part in Veronica Mars (2004). Roles in other TV series followed, including Days of Our Lives (1965) and Greek (2007). She also transitioned into feature films with such projects as Sorority Row (2009), Sucker Punch (2011) and The Hangover Part II (2011).- Actress
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Trachtenberg grew up in Brooklyn and started her acting career young; she began appearing in commercials at the age of 3.
She continued to act and dance through her school years, making regular television appearances from the age of 10. She landed a recurring role in the kids' TV show The Adventures of Pete & Pete (1992) and starred in Harriet the Spy (1996), but it was her role as Buffy's sister Dawn from the fifth season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997) that really brought her to worldwide attention, and all before she was 18 years old.
More high profile TV and movie work followed.- Actress
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María Belén Rueda García-Porrero (born March 16, 1965) is a Spanish actress. She is best known for her roles as Lucía in the TV series Los Serrano (2003); as Julia in The Sea Inside (2004), for which she won a Goya Award; and as Laura in The Orphanage (2007), for which she received another Goya Award nomination. Most recently she played the lead role in the movie Julia's Eyes (2010).
Rueda was born in Madrid. Her father was a civil engineer and her mother was a ballet instructor. She is the second of three children; her siblings are named María Jesús (Chus) and Alfonso. She and her family moved to San Juan, Alicante when she was a child. When Rueda was 18 years old she moved to Madrid to study architecture, but she left the university when she met an Italian man whom she later married.
Rueda returned to Madrid and worked as a salesperson and a model until she became a TV presenter. After that she worked as an actress on television, including the show Los Serrano (2003), and eventually acted in films. She won a Goya Award in 2004 for her role as Julia in The Sea Inside (2004). She received another Goya nomination for her role in the 2007 film, The Orphanage (2007). Rueda played the lead role of the Spanish thriller Julia's Eyes (2010), which was produced by Guillermo del Toro. She also starred in Oriol Paulo's thriller The Body (2012).- Zuleyka Silver was born in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. She is an actress, known for 9-1-1 (2018) and Too Old to Die Young (2019).
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Ashley Michele Greene was born in Jacksonville, Florida to parents Michele (Tatum), an insurance broker, and Joseph Lacy Greene, US Marine who runs a concrete business. A self-confessed tomboy and "daredevil", Ashley loved to try to keep up with her older brother Joe, taking on activities such as taekwondo and winning several awards. Ashley says she was not allowed to spar the girls in taekwondo class because she "beat the girls up". She even accidentally once gave a boy she liked a bloody nose and lip while sparring. Ashley admits she is a "competitive little sucker".
During her early teen years, Ashley found herself hanging out with older girls, which impacted her self-esteem when she found them to be more mature and, in her mind, prettier than she was. Ashley describes herself as a "hot mess" as a teenager. Ashley's mother put her into modeling classes to improve her confidence, and Ashley began to consider becoming a model as a career. After being told she was too short to be a model, Ashley considered becoming a lawyer and getting a degree in psychology. She actually convinced her parents to let her leave her private school to attend a public one which had a law and psychology program. However, after taking a commercial class, which led to acting class, Ashley knew what she wanted to do - acting.
Luckily for Ashley, her parents were supportive and allowed her to move to LA at seventeen years of age. Due to her excellent grades and extra credits, she was able to graduate high school early to follow her acting dream.
For three years, Ashley struggled to find acting roles. She picked up small roles here and there in TV shows such as Punk'd (2003) and Crossing Jordan (2001), and some very small film roles in Shrink (2009) and King of California (2007).
Ashley's big break came when she got to audition for the film, Twilight (2008), based on Stephenie Meyer's popular book series. She originally auditioned for "Bella", but, as she says herself, "I was no Bella". She was called back to audition for the role of "Alice Cullen". After a long auditioning process, Ashley was finally told she got the part.
Ashley had previously worked in restaurants but, like the rest of her fellow "Twilight" cast-mates, Ashley found herself suddenly thrust into the limelight. Though she says she doesn't get the same kind of insanity as the boys - especially Robert Pattinson. She says most fans relate to her on a "best friend" level rather than screaming at her hysterically.
Ashley has already begun filming other roles and has high hopes for her career outside of the "Twilight" franchise. She has said she wants to be a superhero, a Bond girl and possibly Wonder Woman in future projects.- Actress
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It would seem that 2004, the year of her 18th birthday, will be remembered as pivotal for Emmy Rossum due to her appearance in two very different films, The Day After Tomorrow (2004) and The Phantom of the Opera (2004). Emmy's performance in the latter film gained her a Golden Globe nomination.
Emmanuelle Grey Rossum was born in New York City, where she was raised by her single mother, Cheryl Rossum, a corporate photographer (she has only met her father a few times). Her mother is of Russian Jewish descent and her father has English and Dutch ancestry. After passing an audition at the Metropolitan Opera when she was 7 years old, Rossum performed in more than 20 operas in six different languages at Lincoln Center, alongside such figures as Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti. She was directed by Franco Zeffirelli in "Carmen." She left the opera when she entered her teenage years, as she had grown too tall to perform as a child. Emmy also appeared in a Carnegie Hall presentation of "The Damnation of Faust." She graduated from the Spence School, a private institution in Manhattan, in 1996 and then earned a high school diploma when 15 years old by taking online extension courses offered by Stanford University (Education Program for Gifted Youth). She later enrolled at Columbia University and studied art history and French.
In a change of venue, Emmy created the role of Abigail Williams in the daytime soap opera As the World Turns (1956) in 1997 and branched out in performances in the made-for-television movies Genius (1999) and The Audrey Hepburn Story (2000), in which she played the title character as a young teenager. Other television work included Snoops (1999), Law & Order (1990), and The Practice (1997).
Emmy made her theatrical feature debut in the indie film Songcatcher (2000), with her good friend Rhoda Griffis, which won the Special Jury Award for Outstanding Ensemble Performance at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2000. Rossum received an Independent Spirit Award nomination in the category of Best Debut Performance for her performance as an Appalachian orphan. She played an aspiring songwriter (the title character) in the romantic comedy Nola (2003). Cast as the ill-fated daughter of a small-business owner in Clint Eastwood's Mystic River (2003), she projected an aura of innocence that made her character's tragic death memorable and heartbreaking. This was her first major studio film.
After six months of filming her role as the fresh-faced but highly intelligent teenage damsel in distress The Day After Tomorrow (2004) in Montreal, she returned to New York and screen-tested for the role of Christine in The Phantom of the Opera (2004) in full costume and makeup, and was finally selected for the part by Andrew Lloyd Webber after singing for him at his home. Although she was surprised to be chosen ahead of many better-known and older actresses considered for the part, the combination of her vulnerable, fragile beauty and fine, classically trained singing voice ultimately proved that she was perfectly cast. In preparation for the role, she took ballet classes for two months and started polishing her singing. Emmy has commented that, in her approach to acting, she draws heavily upon her own experiences, so she visited locations in Paris and conjured up what she terms "past memories" to draw upon in making her performance emotionally realistic. She stood on the roof of the Opéra Garnier, where Christine sings "All I Ask of You," and went underneath the opera house, where there is actually a gloomy, dark lake. She studied Degas's paintings of ballerinas in the Musée d'Orsay to learn how to stand like one.
Her next project Poseidon (2006) was a mainstream effort, but since its release, she has been more true to advice she obtained from Sean Penn when making Mystic River (2003), that she should be picky and only accept roles that are fun to do, such as Dragonball Evolution (2009).- Parveen Kaur is a Canadian actress. She is best known for playing Christine in Beyond and scientist Saanvi Bahl in Manifest. Kaur was born on 19 October 1988 and raised in Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Canada. She is of Punjabi ethnicity and a Sikh. At the age of 18, she moved to Toronto. She is a practitioner of yoga, hot yoga and mindfulness.
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Nazanin Boniadi's film and television credits are a testament to her versatility, spanning a breadth of genres including drama, comedy, sci-fi, fantasy and action. She recently starred as Bronwyn in the first season of Amazon's global hit series adaptation The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power (2022), she also starred alongside J.K. Simmons in the critically acclaimed Starz series Counterpart (2017), created and produced by Justin Marks. She was the female lead of the Thunder Road / Bleecker Street feature Hotel Mumbai (2018) from director Anthony Maras, in which she starred opposite Dev Patel and was nominated for an Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Award (AACTA), as well as had a supporting role in the Jay Roach and Charles Randolph's Roger Ailes film BOMBSHELL for Lionsgate and BRON opposite Charlize Theron, Nicole Kidman, and Margot Robbie. She also portrayed Ester in the 2016 major motion picture Ben-Hur (2016), and had a supporting role in Jon Favreau's Iron Man (2008).
Among her many television credits, Boniadi earned an outstanding drama ensemble SAG nomination for her work on Showtime's hit series Homeland (2011) in which she played CIA analyst Fara Sherazi. She portrayed Nora, a relatively longstanding love interest to Neil Patrick Harris's Barney Stinson, in seasons six and seven of How I Met Your Mother (2005). She also appeared as the notorious Adnan Salif in season three of Shonda Rhimes' hit political drama Scandal (2012).
Born in Tehran in the direct aftermath of the Iranian Revolution, Boniadi's parents relocated to London, England, shortly thereafter, where she was raised with an emphasis on education. While she was involved in theatre early in life, Boniadi later decided she wanted to become a physician. She moved to the United States at the age of 19 to attend the University of California, Irvine, where she received her Bachelor's Degree, with Honors (Dean's Academic Achievement and Service Award) in Biological Sciences, and won the "Chang Pin Chun" Undergraduate Research Award for her work in heart-transplant rejection and cancer research.
Switching gears to pursue her first love, Boniadi then decided to study acting, which included training in Contemporary Drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London under the supervision of dramaturge Lloyd Trott.
Boniadi is fluent in both English and Persian. She is also a longtime, renowned human rights activist, with a focus on her homeland Iran. Among her numerous recognitions she is the 2023 Sydney Peace Prize laureate. She has served as an ambassador for Amnesty International UK since 2020, and has been a member of the board of directors of the Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran since 2023. She is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations.- Actress
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Katherine McNamara, named one of Vanity Fair's "Breakout Bunch," is a sought after accomplished actor, dancer, singer/songwriter. She is most recently known as the titular lead role of "Abby Walker" in Walker: Independence (2022), the prequel to CW's Walker (2021). In 2023, Katherine was nominated for the Critics Choice Association's Super Award for Best Actress in an Action Series. Before she went West, she was cast as "MIa Smoak Queen" as the beloved badass daughter of "Felicity Smoak" and "Oliver Queen" (a true amalgamation of her parents - tough, smart, and takes no shit) and was to follow in her father's footsteps to become the next "Green Arrow" in "Green Arrow and the Canaries." Kat masterfully created the daughter, Mia, a tough street fighter, in the CW series Arrow (2012) with Stephen Amell and Emily Bett Rickards.
Katherine has amassed a large audience from her leading roles of Abby, Mia, and "Clary Fray" in the Freeform series, Shadowhunters (2016) ; a book-to-screen adaptation of the bestselling "The Mortal Instruments." Katherine received many nominations and awards for her portrayal of Clary including winning the The E! People's Choice Awards (2018) for Top Female Television Actress as well as two Teen Choice Award wins for Choice TV Actress: Fantasy/ Sci-fi and Choice Ship with Dominic Sherwood Kat was nominated twice for other Teen Choice Awards and won the The E! People's Choice Awards (2018) with Shadowhunters (2016) for Favorite Sci-fi/Fantasy Show. The series premiered to stellar ratings, being the #1 series debut in more than two years, and helped launch the re-brand of the channel alongside fan favorite Pretty Little Liars (2010). In 2015, McNamara closed out a lightning year, portraying another fierce female role as 'Sonya' in the second installment of Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) trilogy, Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018) alongside Dylan O'Brien and Kaya Scodelario.
McNamara began her professional career on Broadway, at the age of 13, as the principle character "Fredrika Armfeldt" in Stephen Sondheim's "A Little Night Music", starring opposite Catherine Zeta-Jones and Angela Lansbury. She was fortunate to continue on as "Fredrika" with the second ALNM Broadway cast of Bernadette Peters and Elaine Stritch. Her other theater roles include "Esther Jane" in the per-Broadway world premiere of "A Christmas Story, the Musical!", as well as "To Kill a Mockingbird", "The Crucible", "Inherit the Wind", "Annie", "The Secret Garden" and "Galileo". She has also been cast in a number of Equity workshops/readings, including "Little Dancer" and "Pan" (aka "Fly") with Laura Osnes, which was created by the "In the Heights" creative team - Jeffrey Seller, Alex Lacamoire, and Andy Blankenbuehler.
McNamara's love for acting stretches beyond the stage, with credits in television and film productions. Television credits include Katherine's portrayal of Julie Lawry, the erratic Tinkerbell of the apocalypse in Stephen King 's newest adaptation of The Stand (2020) directed by Josh Boone starring Whoopi Goldberg, Alexander Skarsgård, and James Marsden. Additional television credits include 30 Rock (2006), Glee (2009), Happy Together (2018), Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999), Drop Dead Diva (2009), Love, Classified (2022) , Late Show with David Letterman (1993), Good Morning America (1975) and PBS's Sondheim! The Birthday Concert (2010) . McNamara starred in Disney Channel's Girl Vs. Monster (2012) with Olivia Holt which attracted more than 5 million viewers and had recurring roles on Jessie (2011) as "Bryn Breitbart" and on Kickin' It (2011) as the mean girl from Swathmore Academy, "Claire". She filmed the much anticipated Disney pilot, Madison High (2012), where she portrayed "Cherri O'Keefe", resident fashionista and creator of Madison High's popular gossip blog. She can also be seen in the highly acclaimed Freeform series, The Fosters (2013).
McNamara made her big screen debut film in Warner Brothers picture New Year's Eve (2011), where she portrays "Lily Bowman". Besides the Maze Runner series, Kat also starred in Universal's R.L.Stein's film R.L. Stine's Monsterville: Cabinet of Souls (2015) opposite Dove Cameron as well as the independent bullying film, Contest (2013) with Kenton Duty . The film dives into the dark world of high school bullying and found a home on Cartoon Network as part of their anti-bullying initiative. Other film projects include Katherine starring as "Becky Thatcher" in the re-make of Tom Sawyer & Huckleberry Finn (2014), alongside Joel Courtney and Jake T. Austin, which was released in 2013, Disney's family-friendly Little Savages (2016), A Sort of Homecoming (2015) opposite Laura Marano, Is That a Gun in Your Pocket? (2016) with Cloris Leachman, Natural Selection (2016) with Anthony Michael Hall, A Wife's Nightmare (2014) with Jennifer Beals and Indiscretion (2016) with Mira Sorvino, Christopher Backus and Cary Elwes. She recently finished filming a cameo in the new Charlie Day comedy, Fool's Paradise (2023).
Besides working on music, McNamara wants to expand her creative repertoire to include producing and directing. Katherine is also an advocate for education. At the age of 14, McNamara graduated with top honors from high school and then quickly graduated Summa Cum Laude with a degree in Business (emphasis in Finance) from Drexel University's Le Bow School of Business at the age of 17. She is now pursuing a Master of Science in Literature at Johns Hopkins University as part of their Advanced Academics Graduate Degree program.
McNamara is an award winning dancer and has a passion for all forms including ballet, tap, jazz, hip hop, lyrical, waltz and even hula. She was a member of the Actors Equity Young Performers Committee and is a reader for the Blank Theater's New Play Development Reading Committee and recurring performer in their Living Room Series. Katherine is committed to giving back to the community as well. She is an ambassador for Girl Up, the United Nation's girl empowerment organization, a spokesperson for Stomp Out Bullying, an avid supporter of the MS Society, a member of the Lollipop Theater Network, a lifetime Girl Scout and a volunteer for the Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. She also supports Paul Rudd, Jason Sudeikis, Rob Riggle, Eric Stonestreet, David Koechner and Heidi Gardner 's Big Slick charity benefiting Kansas City Children's Hospital, and Michelle Obama 's Global Girls' Alliance, an organization that helps young women around the world achieved their potential. She currently resides in Los Angeles and her hometown is Kansas City, Missouri.- Actress
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Elena Satine was born in Tbilisi, Georgia and grew up in Sochi. She began her professional career at the tender age of 6 when she appeared on the popular children's variety show "Morning Star". On a spontaneous trip to New York City, the young actress attended an open call for at the Professional Performing Arts School, and got accepted on the spot. After graduating with honors, Elena continued her dramatic studies at the renowned Moscow Art Theater School.- Fabiana Udenio was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and grew up in Italy, where at the age of thirteen, was crowned "Miss Teen Italy." That same year Fabiana made her theatre debut as "Miranda" in "The Tempest" directed by the legendary Giorgio Strehler. Miss Udenio first came to America to perform at the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Olympics Arts Festival, in that very famous edition of "The Tempest." Her film roles include playing the daughter of a World War II Resistance fighter costarring with Gregory Peck, Christopher Plummer and John Gielgud in the CBS miniseries The Scarlet and the Black (1983), the Italian foreign-exchange student Anna-Maria Mazzarelli in Summer School (1987) directed by Carl Reiner costarring Mark Harmon and Kirstie Alley, and the sunbather in the "Sunblock 5000" commercial within RoboCop 2 (1990). She portrayed "Alotta Fagina" in Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997) costarring with Mike Myers directed by Jay Roach. She starred as "Don Na" in The Godson (1998) with Dom DeLuise and Rodney Dangerfield. Most recently Fabiana starred in the independent films Love and Love Not and Cloudy with a chance of Christmas. On television, Udenio had the recurring role of "Giulietta" on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live from 1985 to 1986, and was regular cast member in the syndicated drama Amazon (1999-2000) written by Peter Benchley. She has guest starred and had recurring roles on dozens of television shows, including Babylon 5, Baywatch, Full House, NYPD Blue, Quantum Leap, Cheers, Mad About You, Wings and The Magnificent Seven. She had the recurring role of Atooza Shirazi on 90210 (2008-2011) . She also had the recurring role of Elena Di Nola/Mutter in the critically acclaimed series Jane the Virgin (2015-2016). She will soon be seen as a series regular in the new spy series for Netflix starring Arnold Schwazenegger. Fabiana is fluent in four languages.
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Odeya Rush was born and raised in Haifa, Israel with her six brothers. Her first role was Larry David's childhood friend in an episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Shortly after that, she starred in "The Odd Life of Timothy Green," then went on to do "The Giver" alongside Jeff Bridges and Meryl Streep, and "Goosebumps" opposite Jack Black. At age 18, she wrote, directed, and starred in her own short film, "Thanks." Odeya recently starred in the Oscar-nominated "Lady Bird" directed by Greta Gerwig, and played a leading role in "Dumplin" alongside Jennifer Aniston. Odeya became a US citizen in 2018. This past year, she's written and directed two short-film-style music videos, and she hopes to continue to work behind the camera.- Actress
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Yvonne Jaqueline Strzechowski was born and raised in Australia. Her parents were Polish immigrants. She attended the Santa Sabina College for her high school education. She then went on to study Performance at the University of Western Sydney's School of Contemporary Arts, graduating in 2003. Shortly afterwards, she landed her first role on television in an episode of Fear Factory (2004). Her next role was also on Australian television, appearing in several episodes of Headland (2005). In 2007, she made her big screen debut in Gone (2006). This performance caught the attention of casting directors in Hollywood. She decided to move from Australia to Los Angeles and, on her third day of arrival, she landed her breakthrough role as "Sarah Walker" in Chuck (2007).- Actress
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Katherine Waterston is an American actress. She is best known for Inherent Vice (2014), Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), and Alien: Covenant (2017).
Waterston made her feature film debut in Michael Clayton (2007). She also had supporting roles in films including Robot & Frank (2012), Being Flynn (2012), The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby: Her (2013), and Steve Jobs (2015).
She is the daughter of Sam Waterston, an Oscar-nominated actor.- Actress
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Christina Rene Hendricks was born in Knoxville, Tennessee, and grew up in Twin Falls, Idaho. Her father, Robert, originally from England, worked for the U.S. Forest Service, while her mother, Jackie Sue (Raymond), was a psychologist. At the age of 13 her father transferred to the Forest Service Washington, D.C. headquarters and the family moved to nearby Fairfax, Virginia. She began acting at school and went into modeling from the ages of 18 to 27. In her early 20s, she also began appearing on television, landing a recurring role in Beggars and Choosers (1999) in 2000 and another on Kevin Hill (2004) before rising to international fame in Mad Men (2007). As well as her more famously conventional awards nominations (Emmys) and wins (SAG Awards) she also won a SyFy Genre Award in for "Best Special Guest/Television" for her role as Saffron in Joss Whedon's short-lived Firefly (2002).- Actress
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Academy Award-nominated actress Abigail Breslin is one of the most sought-after actors of her generation. Her unique and charismatic talents have contributed to her versatile roles in both comedy and drama.
Recently, Breslin headlined the first season of the horror-comedy series, Scream Queens (2015), opposite Emma Roberts, Lea Michele and Jamie Lee Curtis, and starred in the coveted role of "Baby" in ABC/Lionsgate's recreation of the pop-culture classic, Dirty Dancing (2017).
Abigail Kathleen Breslin was born in New York City, New York, to Kim and Michael Breslin, a telecommunications expert and consultant. She has two sibling, Ryan Breslin and Spencer Breslin, who is also an actor. She is of Irish, Austrian Jewish, and English descent.
Abigail has acted since she was a small child. She is widely recognized for her role in the critically-acclaimed Little Miss Sunshine (2006), the irreverent, antic comedy which created a sensation at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, Breslin played the role of "Olive", an ambitious young girl who is obsessed with winning a beauty pageant. For her performance, she received a Best Actress Award from the Tokyo International Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award, SAG and BAFTA Best Supporting Actress awards. In addition, she was honored as ShoWest's "Female Star of Tomorrow" in 2008, and made her Broadway debut in 2010 in "The Miracle Worker".
Her many credits include Ender's Game (2013), Haunter (2013), The Call (2013), Rango (2011), Janie Jones (2010), Zombieland (2009), My Sister's Keeper (2009), New Year's Eve (2011), Raising Helen (2004), The Ultimate Gift (2006), The Santa Clause 3: The Escape Clause (2006), No Reservations (2007), Definitely, Maybe (2008), Nim's Island (2008), Kit Kittredge: An American Girl (2008) and M. Night Shyamalan's 2002 film, Signs (2002), opposite Mel Gibson.
Breslin was seen in The Weinstein Company film, August: Osage County (2013), opposite Meryl Streep, Ewan McGregor, Julia Roberts, Sam Shepard, Dermot Mulroney and Juliette Lewis. She starred in the coveted role of "Jean Fordham", the daughter of Julia Roberts' and Ewan McGregor's characters.
She starred in the Lionsgate film, Maggie (2015), opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger. The film follows a teenage girl (Breslin) from a small town in the Midwest, who becomes infected by a disease that slowly turns her into a zombie. The film premiered at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival in New York and was released on May 8, 2015.
In October of 2015, Harper Collins published Breslin's first book, "This May Sound Crazy". The book is based on her popular Tumblr "Mixtapes & Winter Coats", in which she writes honest, funny and emotional observations on her daily life as a young adult.- Actress
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Hilary was born in Lincoln, Nebraska, to Judith Kay (Clough), a secretary, and Stephen Michael Swank, who served in the National Guard and was also a traveling salesman. Her maternal grandmother, Frances Martha Dominguez, was of Mexican descent, and her other roots include German, English, and Scottish. During her early childhood, her family moved to Spokane, Washington, and when she was six, to Bellingham, Washington.
Hilary was discovered as a child by producer Suzy Sachs, who coached her in acting. When she was nine years old, she starred in her first play as "Mowgli" in "The Jungle Book". She began to appear regularly in local theater and school plays. She went to school in Bellingham, where she lived with her family, until she was 16. She competed in the Junior Olympics and Washington State championships in swimming; she ranked 5th in the state in all-around gymnastics (which would come in handy for starring in The Next Karate Kid (1994) years later). In 1990, Hilary and her mother moved to Los Angeles, where she enrolled in South Pasadena High School, and started acting professionally. She appeared in Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992) but The Next Karate Kid (1994), where she got the part competing against hundreds of other actresses, was her breakout role. Ever since then, she has been much in demand and has worked non-stop in movies. She won the Best Actress Oscar for playing "Brandon Teena" in Boys Don't Cry (1999). In addition to the Oscar, Hilary won the Golden Globe Award for "Best Actress in a Drama" and "Best Actress" prizes from The New York Film Critics, The Los Angeles Film Critics, The Chicago Film Critics and The Broadcast Film Critics Association. She also won the "Breakthrough Performance" prize from The National Board of Review.
Hilary then appeared in supporting roles opposite Cate Blanchett and Keanu Reeves in Sam Raimi's The Gift (2000) and opposite Al Pacino and Robin Williams in Christopher Nolan's Insomnia (2002). Hilary then starred as "Alice Paul" in HBO's Iron Jawed Angels (2004), which told the story of the women's suffragist movement and she was honored with both SAG and Golden Globe nominations for her performance in this film. In 2004, Hilary starred opposite Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman as the title character in Eastwood's Million Dollar Baby (2004); the story of a young woman's quest to realize her dream of becoming a professional boxer. For this performance, she was honored with her second Academy Award for "Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role" and has garnered "Best Actress" prizes from the National Society of Film Critics, the Screen Actors Guild, The Broadcast Film Critics, and a Golden Globe for "Best Lead Actress in a Drama".
Hilary Swank is the third youngest woman in history to win two Academy Awards for "Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role".
She subsequently had a supporting role opposite Scarlett Johansson and Josh Hartnett in Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia (2006), starred in Freedom Writers (2007), the true story of Long Beach schoolteacher, Erin Gruwell, The Reaping (2007) for Warner Brothers, and reunited with her Freedom Writers (2007) writer/director, Richard LaGravenese, starring in the film adaptation of Cecelia Ahern's novel, P.S. I Love You (2007).
An aficionado for anything that involves the outdoors, she enjoys: sky diving, river rafting and skiing.- Actress
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Hannah Dakota Fanning was born on the 23rd of February 1994, in Conyers, Georgia, USA, to Heather Joy (Arrington) and Steven Fanning. Her mother played professional tennis, and her father, now an electronics salesman, played minor league baseball. She is of German, Irish, English, French, and Channel Islander descent. Before her debut into the cinematic world, Dakota did her own acting around her house. She was very active for her age, and often put a blanket under her shirt and pretended to be having a baby, using her younger sister, Elle Fanning, who is also an actress now, as the baby. Dakota went to a playhouse near her home, where the children that attended put on a play every week to show to their parents. But the people running the playhouse noticed that Dakota stood out, and advised her parents to take her to an agency. They believed that she was extremely talented.
The Fanning family were advised to spend six weeks in Los Angeles, a long way from their home in Georgia. But there Dakota managed to get her first work; to star in a national Tide commercial. She was chosen out of many, many other children.
The family then decided to move to Los Angeles permanently, for it looked like Dakota's career was looking very good. After they moved, Dakota signed with a professional agency, and soon won a role in the movie Tomcats (2001). She then went onto a small project called Father Xmas (2001) as Clairee.
But Dakota's big break-through was yet to come. She auditioned for one of the main characters in I Am Sam (2001), and the director and the rest of the crew were amazed by her extraordinary talent. Dakota was cast, and starred in the movie as Lucy Diamond Dawson, alongside major Hollywood stars Sean Penn and Michelle Pfeiffer.
After I Am Sam (2001) her talent was immediately recognized around the world. She went straight onto Trapped (2002) as Abby Jennings, alongside Charlize Theron, then played the younger version of Reese Witherspoon in 2002's Sweet Home Alabama (2002) But Dakota still had two more movies to come in 2002. Firstly she got a huge role in Steven Spielberg's Taken (2002), the mini-TV series, and narrated the ten whole episodes, as well as having a part. This was a little more challenging, as she was playing a troubled alien child, but she managed to do brilliantly. Her last movie for 2002 was the children's movie Hansel & Gretel (2002) as Katie.
2003 was also a brilliant year for Dakota, as she starred in a number of exciting projects. Firstly, it was as Sally Walden in The Cat in the Hat (2003) with Mike Myers, then she played Lorraine "Ray" Schleine, a bratty little girl, in the sweet comedy Uptown Girls (2003) alongside Brittany Murphy. She then voiced preschool Kim in Kim Possible: A Sitch in Time (2003).
In 2004, Dakota appeared in the violent thriller, Man on Fire (2004), alongside Denzel Washington. Her reviews were excellent.
First in 2005 was Nine Lives (2005), as Maria, then the chilling Hide and Seek (2005) alongside Robert De Niro. By now, she was the busiest child actress in Hollywood, with a resume to die for. Her younger sister, (Elle Fanning), had also been discovered a few years earlier.
After Hide and Seek (2005) came War of the Worlds (2005), which was one of her major movies out of everything she'd worked in. Not only did it make her more popular, but she got to play the daughter of A-list Hollywood actor Tom Cruise. They had four very successful premieres; the first in Tokyo, Japan, the second in France, the third in London, England and the fourth in New York, USA. The reviews were outstanding, especially Dakota's. She then voiced Lilo in Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch (2005).- Actress
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Sarah Shahi was born Aahoo Jahansouzshahi in Euless, Texas, to an Iranian father and Spanish-Iranian mother. She is a former NFL cheerleader and a descendant of a 19th-century Persian Shah. She attended Trinity High School and Southern Methodist University, studied opera and majored in English. As a teenager, she won several beauty contests and took first place in the Miss Fort Worth USA pageant in 1997. She joined the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders and was part of the 1999-2000 squad. She also appeared on the cover of their 2000 calendar.
While working as an extra on the set of Dr. T & the Women (2000), she met director Robert Altman, who encouraged her to move to Hollywood to pursue a career as an actress. Shahi was the first ghost in Supernatural (2005), the CW paranormal drama series. She had recurring roles in several TV series, such as Alias (2001), in which she played "Jenny"; and Dawson's Creek (1998), where she was "Sadia Shaw". She became a fan favorite in her role as the Mexican-American DJ "Carmen de la Pica Morales" in the Showtime series, The L Word (2004), which she joined in its second season. Sarah did not renew her contract with the show for a fourth season and, consequently, her character was written out.
However, she is best-known for her main role as "Sameen Shaw" on the CBS show Person of Interest (2011) playing a CIA agent turned-vigilante with a heart of gold.
She also appeared on HBO's The Sopranos (1999), in the episode Kennedy and Heidi (2007) as "Sonya Aragon", a stripper and a college student who spends a weekend with Tony after a death in his family. Although uncredited by most sources, Sarah also appeared in the Jackie Chan film, Rush Hour 3 (2007), as one of the girls being handcuffed along with Mia Tyler for a traffic offense by Chris Tucker early in the film. She also starred with Damian Lewis in the NBC show, Life (2007).
Sarah speaks English, Farsi, and some Spanish, and has a brown belt in karate.- Born in White Rock, British Columbia, Canada, Jewel Staite spent the first three years of life living in Maui, Hawaii. She started out as a model and was recommended at the age of six to act. She won an award as best actor in "Meeting Dad," a Vancouver, British Columbia Film School short.
- Sherry Miller is a Canadian actress. Miller began her career in the 1970s as a singer and dancer, who later gained attention in Canadian television for representing Spumante Bambino wine in commercial advertisements, as well as for her role as the host of the children's television series, Polka Dot Door (1971). She also appeared in Sofia Coppola's The Virgin Suicides (1999). She won a 2001 Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Supporting Role in a Dramatic Program or Mini-Series for her work as Elisha Cuthbert's mother in My Daughter's Secret Life (2001). Miller is best known for her recurring role as Justin's mother Jennifer Taylor on the American version of Queer as Folk (2000), during the entire run of the series from 2000 to 2005. She also appeared on the television series E.N.G. (1989) as weather reporter/anchor person Jane Oliver, and the 2004 miniseries Kingdom Hospital (2004) as sleep psychologist Dr. Lona Massingale. Miller was also an anchor for Global Television's newscasts from 1986 to 1988.
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Lauren Cohan is a British-American actress and model, best known for her role as Maggie Greene on The Walking Dead (2010) and recurring roles on The Vampire Diaries (2009), Supernatural (2005), and Chuck (2007). After her film debut on Casanova (2005) as Sister Beatrice, she starred in the sequel to National Lampoon's Van Wilder (2002), Van Wilder: The Rise of Taj (2006), as Charlotte Higginson. Her next role was in the 2007 film, Float (2008). In February 2010, she was cast in Death Race 2 (2010), with Sean Bean and Danny Trejo, and also the supernatural-horror film The Boy (2016), where Lauren played the main character, Greta Evans. In 2016, Cohan also appeared as Martha Wayne in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016).
She was born in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and moved to the United Kingdom as a teen. She graduated from the University of Winchester / King Alfred's College where she studied Drama and English Literature, before touring with a theatre company she co-founded at the University. Lauren then split her time and work between London and Los Angeles, working on several films as well as some non-commercial projects.- Actress
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Isabela Yolanda Moner, now officially Isabela Merced, is an American actress, voice actress, singer, songwriter, dancer, and ukulele player. She is known for Transformers: The Last Knight (2017), Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018), Instant Family (2018), and the title role in Dora and the Lost City of Gold (2019). Merced also starred in the Nickelodeon television series "100 Things to Do Before High School." She made her Broadway debut at age 10 in a production of "Evita." Her film debut was "The House That Jack Built" (2013).
She was born in Cleveland, Ohio to Katherine, a Peruvian from Lima, and Patrick Moner, who was born in Louisiana, and has Polish and Slovak ancestry. She is the middle child of her family; she has an older brother, Jared, and a younger brother, Gyovanni.- Actress
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Victoria Justice is an American actress and singer. She was born on February 19, 1993 in Hollywood, Florida, USA. She is the daughter of Serene Reed and Zack Justice. Her mother has Puerto Rican ancestry, while her father is of English, German, and Irish descent. She has a younger half-sister, Madison Reed.
She rose to fame on Nickelodeon, starring as Lola Martinez in the television series, Zoey 101 (2005), and Tori Vega in the sitcom, Victorious (2010).
She starred in the films, The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (2010), The First Time (2012) and Fun Size (2012).
She released her debut single "Gold" on June 18, 2013.
She starred in the film, Naomi and Ely's No Kiss List (2015) in the MTV television series, Eye Candy (2015).- Actress
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Lulu Wilson was born on 7 October 2005 in New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for The Wrath of Becky (2023), Modern Love (2019) and The Haunting of Hill House (2018).- Actress
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Melissa Fumero is an American actress. From the age of ten, she aspired to become an actress and attended New York University, from which she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Drama. She made her professional debut in 2004, recurring as Adriana Cramer in the soap opera One Life to Live. Following several minor roles, Fumero had her first main role in the Fox (later NBC) comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine as Amy Santiago, a role she played from 2013 to 2021. Since this breakthrough, Fumero has voiced Melissa Tarleton in the critically acclaimed animated series M.O.D.O.K. (2021) and is set to star in Netflix's upcoming series Blockbuster. She is married to actor and former model David Fumero, with whom she has two sons.- Actress
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Aimeé Richelle Teegarden, is an American actress, model, director and producer. She starred as Julie Taylor in the NBC drama Friday Night Lights (2006) from 2006 to 2011. In 2011, she co-starred with Dennis Quaid in Martin Guigui's thriller Beneath the Darkness (2011). Later she plays Jenny Randall in the horror film Scream 4 (2011) and as Nova Prescott in the Disney film Prom (2011). In 2014, she starred as Emery Whitehill in The CW's short-lived science fiction romantic drama Star-Crossed (2014), and in 2017, she had a role in the horror sequel Rings (2017).- Actress
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Cobie Smulders was born on April 3, 1982, in Vancouver, British Columbia, to a Dutch father and an English mother. As a girl, Cobie had set her sights on becoming a doctor or a marine biologist. In fact, it wasn't until high school that Cobie started to explore acting after appearing in several school productions. As a teenager, Cobie caught the eye of a modeling agency, which led to several years of world travel to places such as France, Japan, Italy, Greece, and Germany. Yet even as Cobie's modeling career was on the rise, she still managed to attend school, graduating from high school in 2000 with honors.
Once out of high school, Cobie continued modeling internationally until the opportunity arose to audition for film and television. It was not long before Cobie's natural ability as an actress impressed casting directors, landing her guest spots on television series such as Special Unit 2 (2001) and Jeremiah (2002). In addition, Cobie also appeared in the short Candy from Strangers (2001) directed by fellow Canadian rising star Eric Johnson.
Cobie got her big break just months later when she landed the role of Juliet Droil in the ABC program Veritas: The Quest (2003). The series marked her first series role for television.- Actress
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Jane Leeves has made her mark in the entertainment world, acting in television, theater, and film over the past 20 years.
She is most famous for her role as "Daphne" in the award-winning show Frasier (1993). Leeves played one of the five main characters of the sitcom, a live-in physical therapist hired to take care of Frasier Crane's father. Leeves' character added a comical element to many scenes between Frasier and his family with her wit, down-to-earth remarks, and part-time, self-determined psychic abilities. Frasier Crane's brother becomes instantly smitten with her smile and Mancunian accent, which she had to fake for the whole duration of the show.
She became very good friends with the cast, including Peri Gilpin, David Hyde Pierce and John Mahoney, who are all godparents to her children.
Her role as Daphne Moon was awarded numerous awards nominations during the course of the TV series :- In 1994 she was nominated for the "Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film" Golden Globe Award.
- In 1995, she won the Q Award for "Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Comedy Series". She was nominated five more times in that same category (1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000).
- In 1998, she was nominated for the "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series" Primetime Emmy Award.
- In 1999 and 2003, she was nominated for the "Best Supporting Actress - Television Series, Musical or Comedy" Satellite Award.
- In 2001, she was nominated for the "Supporting Actress of the Vear in a Comedy Series" TV Guide Award.
Leeves stars in the Emmy® Award-winning TV Land series, Hot in Cleveland (2010), which in 2011 was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award® for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. Leeves plays eyebrow archer to the stars, "Joy Scroggs". The comedy revolves around three fabulous LA women of a certain age, and best friends (Leeves, Valerie Bertinelli and Wendie Malick) whose lives are changed forever when their plane, bound for Paris, unexpectedly lands in Cleveland.
She graced the world of theater by starring as "Sally Bowles" in the Roundabout production of "Cabaret" on Broadway. Leeves has also lent her voice to various animated television series, including The Penguins of Madagascar (2008), Phineas and Ferb (2007), and The Simpsons (1989), as well as the major motion picture, James and the Giant Peach (1996). Leeves also appeared in the film, Music of the Heart (1999), which co-starred Meryl Streep. On June 16, 2011, Leeves -- along with Hot in Cleveland (2010) co-stars Valerie Bertinelli, Wendie Malick and Betty White -- was presented with the key to the city of Cleveland by the mayor.
She recently started the "Tellurian Foundation", a line of all-natural skin care and baby products. A portion of the profits will be donated to those who strive to provide help to those in need, most recently "Food Share".- Actress
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Ali Landry broke onto the scene and gained instant fame as "the Doritos Girl", when she was featured in a commercial for Frito Lay during the 1998 Super Bowl telecast. The next day, the NY Post hailed in a cover story "A star was born during Superbowl XXXII". Later that year, she was named one of People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful".
Following the success of the commercial campaign, Ali, who was crowned Miss USA 1996, made the transition from modeling to acting with a variety of film and television roles. Most recently, she co-starred in the feature film Bella (2006), which won the Toronto Film Festival Award in 2006, in addition to three seasons on the hit UPN Network series Eve (2003).
Other television appearances included recurring roles on Felicity (1998), Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place (1998), Sunset Beach (1997) and Popular (1999). Her hosting credits have included the weekly music-talk show Farmclub.com (2001), Cooking with Mom (2003) and Full Frontal Fashion (2002) on WE: Women's Entertainment, and NBC's Spy TV (2001). Plus, Ali was an MTV staple in the summer of 1999, appearing in the popular video for 98 Degrees' single, "I Do". In feature films, she co-starred in Beautiful (2000), directed by Sally Field, in 2000.
A trained dancer in jazz, tap and ballet for 15 years, Landry hails from Beaux Bridge, Louisiana. She also enjoys kickboxing and gymnastics. Ali currently lives in Los Angeles with her husband, director Alejandro Monteverde, and their daughter, Estela.- Actress
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Nathalie Kelley is an actress of Indigenous Quechua descent, most recently starring in the hit series Dynasty and The Baker and the Beauty, which is now on Netflix. With a background in social science and policy, Nathalie strives to use her gifts as a storyteller to tell stories that educate and inspire. She is a graduate of Kiss The Ground's Soil Advocacy program, and on the board of the Fungí Foundation. She is passionate about using her IG platform of 1.6 million followers to highlight the threats against Indigenous communities around the world while elevating Indigenous wisdom and technologies as means of coming back into harmony with our ecosystem. Her life mission is to give a voice to the voiceless: namely the soil, the water, the fungí, the forest and to dedicate her life to preserving bio and Myco-diversity on the planet.- Actress
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Amanda Catherine Crew was born in Langley, British Columbia. Her mother is a legal secretary and her father is a telecommunication worker. Amanda attended Brookswood Secondary School in Langley. She began her acting career when she was cast in the musical Dragon Tales during her fourth grade in elementary school. Three agents contacted her, and she has been acting ever since. She did a Coca-Cola commercial and acted in stage plays like Stalling, Cordstons Courts, and Langley, the Musical. Crew attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.- Actress
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New York City-born Erin Moriarty launched her acting career in a way many hopefuls dream of: with an awards-recognized project. Erin first appeared on screen in the Emmy-nominated soap opera One Life to Live (1968) in 2010, playing the character Whitney Bennett in six episodes. In 2011 she built on her TV work with a guest role in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999).
The following year, Erin landed a small part in her first feature film. Acting alongside Ben Stiller, Vince Vaughn and Jonah Hill, she appeared in the sci-fi comedy The Watch (2012). In 2013, she took another supporting gig in a movie. The coming-of-age drama The Kings of Summer (2013) follows three teenagers who hatch a plan to part ways with their parents and live off the land in a house built by themselves. Portraying Natalie Walraven, the daughter of Radha Mitchell's character, Erin also worked on the 2013 TV series Red Widow (2013).
She stayed in TV in 2014 and played the daughter of Woody Harrelson's hard character Marty Hart in the first season of the Emmy-winning and Golden Globe-nominated True Detective (2014). It was a role that required her to appear in three episodes. Since the show wrapped, Erin has said playing a Goth was "fun... because it's the opposite of how I present myself, and is the opposite of any role I'd been considered for." In 2015, Erin landed a recurring guest role on hit Netflix crime action series Jessica Jones (2015). In 2016's Captain Fantastic (2016), starring Viggo Mortensen, she played the supporting role of Claire in the film festival favorite about the changing dynamics of a unique family. Erin followed that up with the action thriller Blood Father (2016), starring Mel Gibson and William H. Macy. She went on to play a starring role as Kelly in the biopic The Miracle Season (2018) (2018), alongside Helen Hunt. As of 2019, she is co-starring in Amazon Prime's 'The Boys'.- Actress
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Olivia resides in New York City where she was born and raised. She has trained extensively in classical Shakespearian acting in New York at the American Globe Theatre, and in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. She began acting professionally in 2003, and plans to pursue a career in both theater and film.- Actress
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Úrsula Corberó Delgado (born 11 August 1989) is a Spanish actress, best known for her roles as Ruth in the Antena 3 series Physics or Chemistry (2008), Margarita de Austria en Isabel (2011), Esther Salinas in the series La embajada and Tokyo in the television series Money Heist (2017).
Corberó debuted as Maria in television series Mirall trencat (2002) in 2002. She appeared as Sara in Ventdelplà (2005) in 2005-06, and in series Countdown (2007) in 2007. In 2008, she portrayed Manuela Portillo in series The Boarding School (2007) and began working on the Antena 3 television series Physics or Chemistry (2008). Her character, Ruth Gomez, suffered from bulimia. The series attracted a lot of controversy but Corberó has been critically acclaimed for her outstanding performance.
Úrsula Corberó appeared in several movies such as horror film XP3D, comedy Quien mató a Bambi? and Perdiendo el norte alongside the actors Blanca Suárez and Yon González. Cómo sobrevivir a una despedida (2015) is her first main role in a movie and confirmed she's one of the best comical actresses of Spain.
In 2017 she starred in the heist TV series Money Heist (2017). The series first aired in Spain, and was later made available internationally through Netflix. The actress received a nomination for Best Actress in a TV Series at the Premios Feroz.
Later this year, she was given her first main dramatic role in cinema by Julio Medem. The Tree of Blood (2018) is a thriller and Corberó is Rebecca, a mysterious woman who, along with her husband, discover secrets from her family. The actress was also directed by Isabel Coixet for the movie Proyecto tiempo (2017): La Llave. The film debuted at the San Sebastian Film Festival.- Celeste Desjardins was born on 14 June 1996 in Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. She is an actress, known for Taken (2017), Skate God and Fashionably in Love (2023).
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Madelaine Petsch was born on 18 August 1994 in Port Orchard, Washington, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Riverdale (2017), Sightless (2020) and The Strangers: Chapter 1 (2024).- Olivia Frances Culpo is an American fashion influencer and internet celebrity. After winning the Miss Rhode Island USA competition, she went on to be crowned Miss USA, and then Miss Universe in 2012. She is born in Cranston, Rhode Island. Culpo is the middle child of five siblings, and can play the cello.
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Mckenna Grace is an American actress and singer from Grapevine, Texas who is known for playing Phoebe Spengler from Ghostbusters: Afterlife, Jasmine from Crash & Bernstein, Faith Newman from The Young and the Restless and Mary Adler from Gifted. She also acted in I, Tonya, Amityville: The Awakening, The Handmaid's Tale, Spirit Untamed and Scoob.- Actress
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Abbie Cornish, also known by her rap name Dusk, is an Australian actress and rapper. Following her lead performance in 2004's Somersault, Cornish is best-known for her film roles as the titular heroin addict in the drama Candy (2006), courtier Bess Throckmorton in the historical drama Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007), Fanny Brawne in the John Keats biopic Bright Star (2009), "Sweet Pea" in the action film Sucker Punch (2011), Lindy in the science fiction thriller Limitless (2011) and for her work with writer/director Martin McDonagh in Seven Psychopaths (2012) and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017).
Cornish was born in Lochinvar, New South Wales, Australia, as the second of five children of Shelley and Barry Cornish. Her sister, Isabelle Cornish, is also an actress. She grew up on a 70-hectare (170-acre) farm before moving to Newcastle, New South Wales. As a teenager, Cornish was fascinated by independent and foreign films. In 2006 she became an ambassador for Australian animal rights group Voiceless, the animal-protection institute, and was part of a national advertising campaign in 2012. Cornish began model-ling at age 13 after reaching the finals of a Dolly Magazine competition. In 1999, Cornish was awarded the Australian Film Institute Young Actor's Award for her role in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's television show Wildside and was offered her first role in a feature film, The Monkey's Mask.
In 2004, Cornish appeared in the award-winning short film Everything Goes with Hugo Weaving. She received the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, Best Actress at the FCCA and IF Awards and Best Breakthrough Performance at the 2005 Miami International Film Festival for her role in Somersault. Cornish received critical acclaim for her role in Candy, opposite Heath Ledger. She has also starred in A Good Year, Elizabeth: The Golden Age and Kimberly Peirce's Stop-Loss. In April 2010, Cornish was cast in Limitless, the film adaptation of the novel The Dark Fields, directed by Neil Burger and also starring Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro.
Cornish narrated Zack Snyder's film Sucker Punch, in which she played one of the protagonists, at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International. Cornish played the role of Wally in Madonna's film W.E., about Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson. She replaced Emily Blunt in the independent film The Girl. It premiered at Tribeca Film Festival in 2012. She starred alongside Woody Harrelson and Colin Farrell in Seven Psychopaths, released in 2012. Cornish co-starred in the 2014 RoboCop reboot. She played Clara Murphy, the wife of protagonist Alex Murphy (Joel Kinnaman). In 2015, she played Agent Katherine Cowles in Solace, a mystery thriller film directed by Afonso Poyart with central performances by Anthony Hopkins, Colin Farrell, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan. In 2016, she filmed The Girl Who Invented Kissing with Luke Wilson.
Cornish is a rapper, singer and songwriter. She has been rapping under the name Dusk since 2000 and was part of an Australian hip hop group from the age of 18 to 22. In 2015, Cornish supported American rapper Nas on his Australian tour. The same year she released two new tracks on SoundCloud: "Evolve" featuring Jane Tyrrell and "Way Back Home" which was produced by Suffa from Hilltop Hoods.- Actress
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Amber Midthunder is an American actress who uncovered a deep love of acting at a young age. Growing up with an actor father and casting director mother, she began her own on-screen career early in life. Her first speaking role was at the age of 9 opposite Oscar winner Alan Arkin in the indie hit Sunshine Cleaning. Since that time she has continued her work as an actress with series regular roles on Marvel/FX's "Legion", and The CW's "Roswell, New Mexico"; as well as leading feature films such as "The Ice Road" for Netflix and 20th Century's "Prey."
Midthunder is an enrolled tribal member at Ft. Peck Indian Reservation.
Outside of acting she has a passion for animal rights and environmental activism.- Actress
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Camila Carraro Mendes is an American actress and singer. She made her debut portraying Veronica Lodge on The CW teen drama series Riverdale (2017), for which she won the Teen Choice Award for Choice Scene Stealer in 2017. She has appeared in the romantic comedy The New Romantic (2018), the Netflix original films The Perfect Date (2019) and Dangerous Lies (2020), and the critically acclaimed sci-fi comedy Palm Springs (2020). She also starred alongside Maya Hawke in the teen comedy Do Revenge (2022).- Actress
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Constance Wu was born and raised in Richmond, Virginia. Her mother is a computer programmer and her father is a college professor. Both are immigrants from Taiwan. Constance grew up in Richmond performing in the local community theater scene. At 16, she moved to New York City to study at the famed Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute and she's been busy ever since. While in New York, she worked in classical theater and quickly transitioned to film work. She soon appeared in several Sundance Feature Films including Stephanie Daley (2006) and Year of the Fish (2007). In 2010, she moved to Los Angeles where her theater and film background helped land her a role in another Sundance Feature, Sound of My Voice (2011). In 2014, she was cast as Jessica Huang in the ABC comedy series Fresh Off the Boat (2015), which premiered in 2015. Based on Eddie Huang's memoir, it is set in the 1990s and revolves around a Taiwanese family that moves to suburban Orlando. Wu enjoys long-distance running, camping, piano, and reading. She lives in Silverlake, Los Angeles, with her pet rabbit, Lida Rose.
In 2018, she starred as Rachel Chu, an American college professor who dates a Singaporean multimillionaire (Henry Golding), in the smash romantic comedy hit Crazy Rich Asians (2018).- Actress
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Zendaya (which means "to give thanks" in the language of Shona) is an American actress and singer born in Oakland, California. She began her career appearing as a child model working for Macy's, Mervyns and Old Navy. She was a backup dancer before gaining prominence for her role as Rocky Blue on the Disney Channel sitcom Shake It Up (2010) which also includes Bella Thorne, Kenton Duty and Roshon Fegan. Zendaya was a contestant on the sixteenth season of the competition series Dancing with the Stars. She went on to produce and star as K.C. Cooper in the Disney Channel sitcom K.C. Undercover (2015) She made her film breakthrough in 2017, starring as Michelle "MJ" Jones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and as Anne Wheeler in the musical drama film The Greatest Showman (2017) alongside actors such as Tom Holland, Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron. Besides acting, singing and dancing she is an ambassador for Convoy of Hope. She has written a book, launched her own clothing line (Daya by Zendaya) and proved herself to be a great role model for young girls all around the world.- Egerton attended Ditcham Park School near Petersfield in Hampshire, where she says she was bullied. She also states she truanted, preferring to go to modeling shoots. After finishing school at 16 with nine A-grade GCSEs, Egerton decided to pursue acting rather than going to university. She had a brief job as a babysitter for three children. She previously shared a flat in Marylebone, Central London, with her St. Trinian's (2007) castmate, Talulah Riley, whom she described as her "soulmate". She lived in Hampstead with theatre producer Jamie Hendry.
She has cited Takeshi Kitano as her favourite film director. - Actress
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Ashley Michelle Tisdale (born July 2, 1985) is an American actress, singer, and producer. During her childhood, she appeared in more than 100 TV advertisements and had roles in theatre and television shows. In 2004, she was cast as Maddie Fitzpatrick in Disney Channel's The Suite Life of Zack & Cody, and rose to prominence in 2006 as Sharpay Evans in the television film High School Musical. The High School Musical series included three films and the spin-off Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure (2011). Tisdale's resultant popularity led her to sign a record deal with Warner Bros. Records in 2006. Her debut album, Headstrong (2007), was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and features the single "He Said She Said". Two years later, Tisdale released her second studio album, Guilty Pleasure. In 2013, she announced plans to make music again and confirmed that she has been recording her third studio album.- Actress
- Producer
Accustomed to airplanes and distant countries since she could recall, Adria Arjona was born in Puerto Rico and raised in Mexico City. Falling asleep in Guatemala and waking up in Argentina was not out of norm for her. She is the daughter of a Puerto Rican mother, Leslie, and a Guatemalan father, Ricardo Arjona, a renowned singer-songwriter in Latin America, who took her along on his tours, allowing her to breathe art, music and a bohemian lifestyle. At twelve, she moved to Miami and lived there until she was eighteen, when she took a plunge and made the brave decision to move to New York City on her own. In order to assure her professional success and personal growth, her father made the tough decision in making sure nothing was secure and easily given to her. While studying to become an actor at The Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, Adria worked as a hostess and waitress at several New York restaurants in order to pay her bills and sustain her life. Having had a front row seat to stardom, Adria saw the bigger picture for her career, in that fame and fortune does not ameliorate her work and passion. She set out to achieve her goals with a focus on maintaining the pleasure of pursuing what she loves, while honing her craft and creating with pride.- Actress
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Miranda Taylor Cosgrove was born May 14, 1993 in Los Angeles, California, to Christina (Casey) and Tom Cosgrove, who owns a dry-cleaning business. She was discovered at a young age singing and dancing around a table in a restaurant, where an agent saw her talent and quickly signed her. Miranda's career started with commercials for Burger King, McDonalds and more as she auditioned for many roles and finally won her first role as the band's manager in the movie, School of Rock (2003).
While filming School of Rock (2003) in New York, she was informed that her pilot Drake & Josh (2004) had been picked up. She co-starred as Drake and Josh's little sister, while making brief appearances on other Nickelodeon shows, before landing in her own show for the network, iCarly (2007). Her iCarly (2007) popularity helped her launch a singing career, and she was named an MTV Pop Rookie for 2009. Her debut album, "Sparks Fly", was released in 2010 and reached #8 on the Billboard 200 chart, along with two EPs: "About You Now" in 2009, and "High Maintenance" in 2011.
While continuing her singing career, Miranda has expanded upon her voice-over work for the children's movies, including Here Comes Peter Cottontail: The Movie (2005), and the Despicable Me (2010) films and related shorts, as well as expanding her film work with Yours, Mine & Ours (2005), Keeping Up with the Steins (2006) and The Wild Stallion (2009). Her TV reach has extended beyond Nickelodeon, with an appearance on the CBS legal drama The Good Wife (2009) during the show's second season. She has served as a spokesperson for Neutrogena skin care products since 2010.
She lives in Los Angeles with her family.- Actress
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Mexican-Lebanese actress Emeraude Toubia, whose first name means "a stone the color of beauty and love," is one of the most-watched up and coming talents in the industry today. Raised in Brownsville, Texas, Toubia is currently starring in the hit Freeform series "Shadowhunters." After her first season on the Teen Choice winning show, Emeraude was nominated for a Teen Choice Award for "Choice Sci-Fi TV Actress." "Shadowhunters" just wrapped airing its second season and has been renewed for a third.
"Shadowhunters" is based on the bestselling young adult fantasy series, The Mortal Instruments, written by Cassandra Clare. Toubia plays 'Isabelle Lightwood,' a Shadowhunter-human-angel hybrid who hunts down demons - a drop dead gorgeous trained fighter in heels.
Prior to making the permanent move to Los Angeles, Toubia was raised in a diverse household that immersed her in the best of both Mexican and American cultures. At the age of five, she started to professionally train in classical ballet, flamenco, lyrical, and belly dance. At only fifteen years old, Toubia's love for the stage led her to compete in a series of pageants.
As a result of her multiple wins and success in pageants she went on to star in many commercials. Additional credits for Toubia include hosting for a national-cable network and starring in both youth and primetime telenovelas for various Latin American markets.
When she is not working, Emeraude has a huge place in her heart for charity and regularly volunteers for a handful of non-profit organizations including: Toys for Tots, Make-a-Wish Foundation, and leads the "Queen for a Day" program at her hometown's children's hospital.- Deva Cassel was born on 12 September 2004 in Rome, Italy. She is an actress, known for The Beautiful Summer (2023), The Leopard and Venezia 2021: the Dolce&Gabbana Alta Moda Fashion Show in Piazzetta San Marco (2021).
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Azita Ghanizada is a political refugee and asylum seeker, who has broken many cultural barriers in Hollywood. She has worked consistently on both film and TV holding her own opposite Academy Award-winners and nominees such as Rachel Weisz, Mahershala Ali, David Strathairn, Sam Shepard, Michael Shannon, Casey Affleck and others. In 2016 she was named one of the "Seven Sundance Breakout Actresses You Must Know" for her work opposite Rachel Weisz in "Complete Unknown." On television she has appeared on a number of hit TV shows, including CBS's "United States o f Al," HBO's "Ballers," Freeform's "Good Trouble," and Syfy's "Alphas". In 2022, she became the first woman from Afghanistan on Broadway, in her Broadway debut in the "The Kite Runner" at The Helen Hayes Theater.
Azita is also the Founder and President of MENA Arts Advocacy Coalition (MAAC). An organization that she launched after building the first new Diversity, Equity and Inclusion hiring category into a labor contract in 37 years. Middle Eastern North African, MENA, was drafted into the SAG-AFTRA theatrical contracts in 2017. Azita has served as the SAG-AFTRA National MENA Committee Chair, and a Global Ambassador to Women for Women International.- Actress
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Melissa Barrera Martinez was born in Monterrey, Nuevo León México. The first of four daughters of Rosana Maria Martinez García and Tomás Gerardo Barrera Tames. She attended the American School Foundation of Monterrey from the ages of 4 to 18 when she graduated high school. It was during her middle school years that she began getting involved in theater. She participated in school plays and musicals such as 'The Wizard of Oz,' 'Footloose,' 'Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat' and 'Aida.' She began her professional career during her last year of high school when she led the Mexican production of 'Romeo y Julieta'(the original french musical) playing the part of Julieta. After that she also participated in a regional production of 'Footloose'in the role of Ariel before leaving for college in New York. She auditioned and was accepted to the Collaborative Arts Project 21 (CAP21) as part of the Tisch School of the Arts in New York University (NYU) in 2009. During her years at NYU she participated in productions such as 'Sweet Charity' and Brecht's 'The Caucasian Chalk Circle' in the lead role of Grusche Vachnadze. In 2011 she left NYU when she was selected to participate in the Mexican reality show 'La Academia'of TV Azteca in which she gained lots of critical acclaim for her singing and dancing abilities. At the end of 2011 she was chosen to participate in her first telenovela in TV Azteca: 'La Mujer de Judas' in the role of Zulamita. Directly after that she was offered her second role as the young ingenue in the telenovela 'La Otra Cara del Alma' alongside the latin telenovela star Gabriela Spanic. In this telenovela she earned great reviews for her acting abilities and earned her first lead in a telenovela as Olvido in 'Siempre Tuya Acapulco.' This became her big break as she positioned herself as one of the fresh new faces of Mexican television and the show became one of the most successful and beloved stories in over 20 countries. After the success of 'Siempre Tuya Acapulco'she got offered her second lead role in a telenovela 'Tanto Amor'in which she once again earned critical acclaim for her acting. After working in television she opted to try her luck in the film industry doing 4 films in two years. Two of the films which she leads are set to premiere in the second half of 2017: The first set in the 1950s 'Sacúdete las Penas', the second, a modern drama 'Prima.' Not leaving her love for the theatre behind Melissa has always procured to alternate television and film with theatre, starring in three long running productions in Mexico city: ¨Despertando en Primavera'(Spring Awakening) as Wendla, the spanish hit musical ¨Hoy No Me Puedo Levantar (Hnmpl)¨ as Maria, and Mel Brook's Él Joven Frankenstein'(Young Frankenstein) as Inga alongside the comedians Adal Ramones and the famous Mascabrothers. For her role as Maria in 'Hnmpl' she won two awards: Revelation in Theatre from the Agrupación de Periodistas Teatrales (APT), and the Female Revelation in a Musical from the Agrupación de Críticos y Periodistas de Teatro (ACPT).- Actress
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With a passionate work ethic and an insatiable sense of humor & charm, Jill Wagner is the "American Girl" who's established herself as a widely-recognizable actress and television personality. Her diverse body of work combined with a rapidly growing fan base has demonstrated her appeal to a broad range of audiences who can easily relate to her approachable wit and down-to-earth personality. With a career that successfully stretches between acting and hosting endeavors, there are few artists who have been able to effectively transition back-and-forth between the two. With global recognition and achievement, Jill has broken down barriers in her inherent ability to do both. Always enthusiastic and whole-hearted about the subject matter she pursues, Jill partnered-up with renowned producer / writer / director Taylor Sheridan as executive producer and actress in the new female-led series, Special Ops: Lioness. Jill teams up with co-star and executive producer Zoe Saldana and Oscar winning actress and executive producer Nicole Kidman in this global spy thriller. As an actress with diverse talent who has been consistently featured in various genres in film & television for nearly two decades, Jill's illustrious range of work has not only solidified her as a dominant name and presence in the entertainment industry, but has earned her unwavering respect and acclaim. Starring opposite Jason Momoa, Jill appeared in the breakout independent film, Braven. Earlier in her acting career, Jill made an impactful and celebrated debut in the award-winning horror film, Splinter, starring opposite Shea Whigman. The film is a disturbing yet masterfully crafted horror feature in which Jill showcased her ability to carry top billing in a feature film and earned her a cult following. As a dominant presence in front of the camera, Jill also starred in MTV's hit series, Teen Wolf. Jill played the role of Kate Argent, who was one of the primary antagonists featured throughout the show's first four seasons. With her popularity having soared on the series, coupled with her natural instincts as a television host, Jill was presented with the opportunity to host Teen Wolf's after-show, Wolf Watch. Jill's natural skill and ability to improv is what paved the path for her to make her mark in Hollywood, when she was cast as the first female regular sketch performer on MTV's hit television series, Punk'd, opposite Ashton Kutcher. As is relevant to both her cinematic story and personal life - family and faith are Jill's most valued priorities. There was a very special and unique relationship Jill had with her paternal grandmother, who helped raise Jill as a child. As Jill's career continued to blossom, opportunities from The Hallmark Channel soon began to present themselves. Jill would seek her grandmother's advice on which projects would be the most appropriate to pursue. Jill stated, "My grandma loves to watch these kinds of films, so the two of us made an agreement. Whenever any of these scripts come my way I'll send them to her, and if she likes them, I'll do them. I do these films for her." And, it was this value that launched and continues to drive Jill's ongoing roles in The Hallmark Channel's catalog of movies, including fan favorites Autumn Dreams; Christmas Cookies; A Harvest Wedding; Karen Kingsbury's Maggie's Christmas Miracle; Pearl in Paradise; and, Christmas in Evergreen: Letters to Santa. As Jill became a widely-recognized talent within the Hallmark platforms, her movies became some of the highest rated films and series on the network. This has led to her continued success with featured roles in additional Hallmark Channel television movies and mysteries, including, Christmas Wishes and Mistletoe Kisses; Mystery 101, which was the highest rated mystery series on The Hallmark Channel; Hearts of Winter; The Angel Tree; and, A Christmas Miracle for Daisy, which was the second highest rated movie for the recently launched GAC Family network. Hosting was a natural fit for Jill as she embraced this role for some of the most widely popular network television shows, including the INSP TV series, Handcrafted America. In this inspirational series, Jill traveled the country in search of talented artisans who continue to make sought-after products the traditional way: with their own two hands. Jill's energetic, infectious and unique style of getting to the heart of the story was undoubtedly a significant reason why the series had sustained success for three seasons. Paving the way for Jill's hosting spotlight was solidified when she spent a remarkable seven seasons on ABC's hit reality game show, Wipeout. Born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, Jill and her brother were raised by their father, a former U.S. Marine and local tire shop owner. During her younger years, her father and grandmother instilled an ever-present value system which was designed to build a strong and solid foundation around family and support. Through this upbringing, Jill continues to carry the Wagner approach of providing great respect, care and love in how she cherishes and defines her faith and 'family values'. Jill and her husband are living the life they dream - raising their three young daughters on their historical working farm in Tennessee. It is there that Jill and her family raise cattle, grow crops, remain connected to nature and find their balance experiencing life through a farming community. Jill attended North Carolina State University, from which she graduated cum laude with a degree in business. As an active woman passionately dedicated to a regularly intense & challenging fitness regime, Jill has often stated, "There's nothing better than cranking some classic rock in my headphones and hiking up a mountain." And, whether she is climbing a mountain or taking on new experiences and roles as one of Hollywood's most dynamic and multi-talented artists, this All-American Girl's message remains the same: "It's the view from the top that makes it all worthwhile." Jill has also dedicated her life to being enthusiastically involved in 'giving back'. As a daughter to a military veteran, Jill has often paid homage to her father and countless veterans by traveling to different parts of the world, including Afghanistan, in support of the troops. Jill is also very passionate and dedicated to her causes with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Her untiring campaign within her own charity, "Jill's Closet for a Cure", continues to raise money and awareness to help find a cure for these diseases that have touched the lives of so many people, including her own family.- Actress
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Growing up in New York City, Tristin was with the Ford Modeling Agency, where she quickly became one of the top child models in the country. She later landed several national commercials such as Kraft Cheese, Play Skool, Kool- Aid, Sunkist, Ross, McDonald's, and Hershey's. Tristin was also in several Broadway productions, including Disney's "The Lion King" as Young Nala. From 2016 to 2021, she starred on CBS's MacGyver (2016) as Riley Davis. Her other television credits include a starring role as Shaina on Nickelodeon's Gullah, Gullah Island (1994), as Jenise Huckstable on Everybody Hates Chris (2005), and the multi-personality bully Bernice on Nickelodeon's Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide (2004). She also appeared on Disney XD's Zeke and Luther (2009) as Monica Lopez, Big Time Rush (2009) as Stephanie King, True Jackson, VP (2008) as Hailey, Disney XD's Kickin' It (2011) as Vanessa Love, Alias (2001) as Robin Dixon, Private (2009) as Taylor Bell, Supergirl (2015) as Paulina, and The Vampire Diaries (2009) as Sarah Nelson.
Tristin was once in a singing group called Jane3. The group was signed to Jive/Zomba records with a single produced by T-Pain and Marques Houston called "Screensaver." The video can still be seen on Youtube along with several of her other projects. While working on an accessory design patent, which Tristin later secured, her mother suggested she start her own company. Nicknamed Trizzio as a little girl by her dad, Tristin chose Trizzio as her business name. She specializes in handbags, jewelry, clothes, and accessories, and has her products on display at her small boutique in Riverside, California.
Tristin's film work includes a starring role as Isabel Sanchez in Thunderstruck (2012), alongside Taylor Gray and NBA star Kevin Durant. She also starred in House Party: Tonight's the Night (2013) as Autumn Rose.- Olivia is the daughter of real estate developer, of Italian descent, Douglas Palermo and interior designer Lynn Hutchings. Palermo grew up between the Upper East Side, New York and Greenwich, Connecticut where she attended Nightingale-Bamford School, and then St. Luke's School, where she was on the field hockey team. She attended the American University of Paris for a year and studied media at The New School in New York. Palermo's father filed for bankruptcy in 2007 after failing to pay $2.75 million to a creditor. However, it was overturned when the judge discovered he had used multiple fake organizations to obscure his actual worth to borrow money and join private clubs and send his children to expensive schools.
She interned at Quest. Photographer Patrick McMullan spotted her at an auction, then took pictures of her about town. Palermo began taking part in the charity event circuit in New York, becoming a member of the Friends Committee of New Yorkers For Children and joining the committee of Operation Smile. Palermo found herself at the center of a controversy when she was reported to have sent out a letter to fellow socialites pleading for acceptance. This letter was forwarded to the owners of the social website, Socialite Rank.com who promptly published it. Palermo immediately denied the authenticity of the letter and filed a lawsuit against the website. The website was eventually shut down and in May 2007, Palermo appeared on the cover of New York Magazine in a story about the incident.
Palermo has been dating model Johannes Huebl since 2008. - Actress
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Natalie Wood was an American actress of Russian and Ukrainian descent. She started her career as a child actress and eventually transitioned into teenage roles, young adult roles, and middle-aged roles. She drowned off Catalina Island on November 29, 1981 at age 43.
Wood was born July 20, 1938 in San Francisco to Russian immigrant parents: housewife Maria Gurdin (née Zoodiloff), known by multiple aliases including Mary, Marie and Musia, and second husband Nick Gurdin (née Zacharenko), a janitor and prop builder. Nicholas was born in Primorsky Krai, son of a chocolate-factory worker. Maria was born in Barnaul, southern Siberia to a wealthy industrialist. Natalie's maternal grandfather owned soap and candle factories.
Wood's parents had to migrate due to the Russian Civil War. Her paternal grandfather joined the anti-Bolshevik civilian forces early in the war and was killed in a street fight between Red and White Russian soldiers. This convinced the Zacharenkos to migrate to Shanghai, China, where they had relatives. Wood's paternal grandmother remarried in 1927 and moved the family to Vancouver, British Columbia. In 1933 they resettled along the U.S. West Coast. Nicholas met Wood's mother, four years his senior, while she was still married to Alexander Tatuloff, an Armenian mechanic she divorced in 1936.
Mary Tatuloff, Wood's mother, had unfulfilled ambitions of becoming a ballet dancer. She grew up in the Chinese city of Harbin and had married Alexander there in 1925. The Tatuloffs had one daughter, Ovsanna, before coming to America in 1930. After marrying Nicholas Zacharenko in 1938, five months before Wood's birth, Mary (now calling herself Marie) transferred her dream of stardom onto her second child. Marie frequently took a young Wood with her to the cinema, where she could study the films of Hollywood child stars.
Wood's parents changed the family name to Gurdin upon obtaining U.S. citizenship, and her pseudonymous mother finally settled on a permanent first name: Maria. In 1942 they bought a house in Santa Rosa, where young Natalie was noticed by members of a crew during a film shoot. She got to audition for roles as an actress, and the family moved to Los Angeles to help seek out roles for her. RKO Radio Pictures' executives William Goetz and David Lewis chose the stage name Wood for her, in reference to director Sam Wood. Natalie's younger sister Svetlana Gurdin would eventually follow an acting career as well, under the stage name Lana Wood.
Wood made her film debut in Happy Land (1943). She was only five years old, and her scene as the "Little Girl Who Drops Ice Cream Cone" lasted 15 seconds. Wood somehow attracted the interest of film director Irving Pichel who remained in contact with her family. She had few job offers over the following two years, but Pichel helped her get a screen test for a more substantial role in the romance film Tomorrow Is Forever (1946). Wood passed through an audition and won the role of Margaret Ludwig, a post-World War II German orphan. At the time, Wood was unable to "cry on cue" for a key scene, so her mother tore a butterfly to pieces in front of her, giving her a reason to cry for the scene.
Wood started appearing regularly in films following this role and soon received a contract with 20th Century Fox. Her first major role was that of Susan Walker in the Christmas film Miracle on 34th Street (1947), which was a commercial and critical hit. Wood got her first taste of fame, and afterwards Macy's invited her to appear in the store's annual Thanksgiving Day parade. Following her early success, Wood receive many more film offers. She typically appeared in family films, cast as the daughter of such stars as Fred MacMurray, Margaret Sullivan, James Stewart, Joan Blondell, and Bette Davis. Wood found herself in high demand and appeared in over twenty films as a child actress.
The California laws of the era required that until reaching adulthood, child actors had to spend at least three hours per day in the classroom. Wood received her primary education on the studio lots, receiving three hours of school lessons whenever she was working on a film. She was reportedly a "straight A student." Director Joseph L. Mankiewicz was quite impressed by Wood's intellect. After school hours ended, Wood would hurry to the set to film her scenes.
While Wood acquired the services of agents, her early career was micromanaged by her mother. An older Wood gained her first major television role in the short-lived sitcom The Pride of the Family (1953). At the age of 16, she found more success with the role of Judy in Rebel Without a Cause (1955). She played the role of a teenage girl who wears makeup and dresses up in racy clothes to attract the attention of a father who typically ignores her. The film's success helped Wood make the transition from child actress to an ingenue. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Her next significant film was The Searchers (1956), a western in which she played the role of abduction victim Debbie Edwards, niece of John Wayne's character. The film was a commercial and critical hit, and has since become regarded as a masterpiece. Also in 1956, Wood graduated from Van Nuys High School. She signed a contract with Warner Brothers, where she was kept busy with several new films. To her disappointment, she was typically cast as the girlfriend of the protagonist and received roles of little depth. For a while, WB had her paired with teen heartthrob Tab Hunter. The studio was hoping that the pairing would serve as a box-office draw, but this did not work out. One of Wood's only serious roles from this period was the title character in Marjorie Morningstar (1958), as a young Jewish girl whose efforts to create her own identity and career path clash with the expectations of her family. The film was a critical success, and fit well with other films exploring the restlessness of youth in the '50s.
Wood's first major box office flop was the biographical film All the Fine Young Cannibals (1960), examining the rags to riches story of jazz musician Chet Baker without actually using his name. The film's box office earnings barely covered the production costs, and MGM recorded a loss of $1,108,000. For the first time. Wood's appeal to the audience was in doubt. With her career in decline following this failure, Wood was seen as "washed up" by many in the film community. But director Elia Kazan gave her the chance to audition for the role of the sexually-repressed Wilma Dean Loomis in his upcoming film Splendor in the Grass (1961). Kazan cast Wood as the female lead, because he found in her (in his words): a "true-blue quality with a wanton side that is held down by social pressure." Kazan is credited for producing Wood's most powerful moment as an actress. The film was a critical success, with Wood nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress.
Wood's next important film was West Side Story (1961), where she played Maria, a restless Puerto Rican girl. Wood was once again called to represent the restlessness of youth, this time in a story involving youth gangs and juvenile delinquents. The film was a great commercial success with about $44 million gross, the highest-grossing film of 1961. It was also critically acclaimed, and is still regarded as one of the best films of Wood's career. Her next film was Gypsy (1962), playing the role of burlesque entertainer and stripper Gypsy Rose Lee. Film historians credit the film as an even better role for Wood than that of Maria, with witty dialogue, a greater emotional range, and complex characterization. The film was the eighth highest-grossing release of 1962, and was well-received critically.
Wood's next significant role was that of Macy's salesclerk Angie Rossini in Love with the Proper Stranger (1963). In the film, Angie has a one-night-stand with musician Rocky Papasano, played by Steve McQueen, finds herself pregnant and desperately seeks an abortion. The film under-performed at the box office but was critically well-received. Wood received her third (and last) nomination for an Academy Award. At age 25, Wood was tied with Teresa Wright as the youngest person to score three Oscar nominations. Wood held that designation until 2013, when Jennifer Lawrence achieved her third nomination at age 23.
Wood continued her successful film career until 1966, but her health status was not as successful. She was suffering emotionally and had sought professional therapy. She paid Warner Bros. $175,000 to cancel her contract and was able to retire for a while. She also fired her entire support team: agents, managers, publicist, accountant, and attorneys. She took a three-year hiatus from acting.
Wood made her comeback in the comedy Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) with the themes of sexual liberation and wife swapping. It was a box office hit. Wood decided to gamble her $750,000 fee on a percentage of the gross, earning a million dollars in profits. She chose not to capitalize on the film's success, however, and did not take another acting job for five years.
In 1970, Wood was married to the screenwriter Richard Gregson and was expecting her first child, Natasha Gregson Wagner. She went into semi-retirement to be a stay-at-home mom, appearing in only four more theatrical films before her death. These films were the mystery comedy Peeper (1975), the science fiction film Meteor (1979), the comedy The Last Married Couple in America (1980), and the posthumously-released science fiction film Brainstorm (1983).
In the late '70s, Wood found success in television roles, appearing in several made-for-TV movies and the mini-series From Here to Eternity (1979). Her project received high ratings, and she had plans to make her theatrical debut in a 1982 production of Anastasia.
On November 28, 1981, Wood joined her last husband Robert Wagner, their married friend Christopher Walken, and captain Dennis Davern on a weekend boat trip to Catalina Island. Conspicuously absent from the group was Christopher's wife, casting director Georgianne Walken. The four of them were on board the Wagners' yacht "Splendour." Earwitness Marilyn Wayne heard cries for help around 11:05 P.M. and a "man's voice slurred, and in aggravated tone, say something to the effect of, 'Oh, hold on, we're coming to get you,' and not long after, the cries for help subsided." On the morning of November 29, Wood's corpse was recovered 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) away from the boat, near small Valiant-brand inflatable dinghy beached nearby. The toxicology report revealed her blood alcohol level was at .14, over the legal limit of .10. Wood was buried on December 2 at Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Los Angeles. Nine days later, the LACSD officially closed the case.- Actress
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Anna Maria Pierangeli was born June 19, 1932, in Cagliari, Sardinia, Italy. Anna and her twin sister, Marisa Pavan, both had their eyes on becoming film stars, since that was one of the big Italian pastimes. Anna adopted her surname and split it in half, and it was as Pier Angeli that she would find fame. Her first role was an uncredited part in 1948's The Million Dollar Nickel (1952), an Italian production. Pier was 16 at the time and it was to be the first of many roles for this beautiful woman. The film was largely forgettable but it was a start. The following year she played in another Italian production, Tomorrow Is Too Late (1950). Again it was a very small role, and she was not seen on the screen again until 1951. Between 1949 and 1951 she appeared in stage productions and found work in menial jobs. When she did return it was in the film The Light Touch (1951) as Anna Vasarri. Later that year she won the title role in Teresa (1951). However, she again hit a drought with only one film in 1952 and two in 1953. The next year things began to pick up, however, with Hollywood beckoning. After the Italian Miss Nitouche (1954) she caught the eyes of Hollywood moguls, who cast her in Flame and the Flesh (1954) and The Silver Chalice (1954). Now she divided her time between Italy and the US making movies. She married Vic Damone in 1954, a union that lasted only four years and produced one son.
No film offers came in 1955, but in 1956 Pier landed the role of Norma Graziano (wife of fighter Rocky Graziano) in Somebody Up There Likes Me (1956) opposite Paul Newman. The film was well received at the box office and she had hopes that things were going to pick up again. She played Ynez in Port Afrique (1956) later that year and then another drought ensued. After The Vintage (1957), Merry Andrew (1958) and SOS Pacific (1959), she made three more films in 1960. Then once again 1961 saw no appearances. In 1962 Pier played Ildith in Sodom and Gomorrah (1962) and later that year played in a French production entitled White Slave Ship (1961). After the Italian production of Shadow of Evil (1964) she returned in the hit European-American co-production Battle of the Bulge (1965).
After a handful of films between 1966 and 1970, Pier realized her dreams of super-stardom were not to be. She had divorced her second husband (Armando Trovajoli) in 1969 and made her final appearance on the screen in 1971 in the low-budget sci-fi opus Octaman (1971). On September 10th of that year Pier was found dead of a barbiturate overdose in her Beverly Hills home. She was only 39 years old.- Actress
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A native of Berlin, Maryland, Linda Harrison was Miss Berlin at 16, then a model in New York's Garment Center. Homesickness brought her back to Maryland, where she entered and won the state beauty pageant. During the finals in the Miss International contest (held in Long Beach, California), she was "spotted" by talent scout Mike Medavoy and presented at 20th Century-Fox. Throughout her acting years at Fox, and amidst movie roles in Planet of the Apes (1968), Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970) and others, she dated studio boss Richard D. Zanuck and married him in 1968. They were divorced in 1978, but she's appeared in three of his movies since then.- Actress
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Carré Otis was born on 28 September 1968 in San Francisco, California, USA. She is an actress, known for Wild Orchid (1989), Exit in Red (1996) and Under Heavy Fire (2001). She has been married to Matthew Sutton since 17 December 2005. They have two children. She was previously married to Mickey Rourke.- Mireille Enos was born in Houston, Texas, to Monique, a teacher, and Jon Goree Enos. Her Texas-born American father, and French mother, met while her father was serving on a Mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. She is the fourth of five children and grew up in Houston, Texas, where, following in her older siblings footsteps, she attended The High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. She then went to Brigham Young University. She spent ten years living in New York City during which time she was nominated for a Tony Award for her portrayal of "Honey" in Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?". She is now married to actor Alan Ruck.
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For Michèle Mercier, the role of Angélique, "the Marquise of the Angels," was both a blessing and a curse. It catapulted her to almost instant stardom, rivaling Brigitte Bardot in her celebrity and popularity, but ruined her acting career. The character of Angélique made to forget the other aspects of the career of Mercier, but it is true that general public discovered her only in "Angélique," and made her a real star of the French cinema of that time. By the end of the 1960s, the names Angélique and Michèle Mercier were synonymous, and to escape type-casting, Mercier was compelled to leave France and try to re-start her career in United States, unfortunately without any success.
Daughter of Nice's pharmacists, born on January 1, 1939 and named as Jocelyne Yvonne Renée, she initially wanted to be a dancer. Wartime, no money to buy food, but little Jocelyne wept all week, cadging father, well-known pharmacist in Nice, to buy her ballet skirts and points. In return she promised to work in drug-store. Father took this only as childish whim. But little girl got her wish through: of "small ballet-rat," as they call little dancers, who participate in stage shows, she grew up to soloist in Opera of Nice. Then came Paris. First she was engaged to the troupe of Roland Petit, then she danced in the company of the "Ballets of the Eiffel tower." At 15, she met Maurice Chevalier, who predicted her success and glory. They did arrive, but by another way that the dance. Parallel to her career as dancer, Jocelyne followed courses of dramatic art in the class of Solange Sicard. Her debut in French cinema was for Mercier another compromise: her birth name seemed too long and too old-fashioned for movie credits. What, if she'll take a name Michèle? She winced - this was name of her little sister, who died at the age of five by the fever typhoid, but she agreed. And it was also as in testimony of admiration for her partner Michèle Morgan, as she borrowed her name to her. After some romantic comedies and a small role in François Truffaut's "Shoot the pianist" (1960; her favorite role), she approaches the Sixties mainly in the cinema of district. She also worked in England and made then mainly small-budget films in Italy, always in the same register of easy girl. To this moment Michèle already competed with Sophia Loren and Gina Lollobrigida, continuously shooting in Italy. She needed a role, which could make her a star. Only in 1963, when was decided to make movie by sensational novel "Angélique," Michèle got this kind of chance.
Many actresses were approached to play the role of Angélique. The Producer Francis Cosne absolutely wanted Brigitte Bardot for the part. She refused, but later judged Michèle Mercier to be fantastic in it. Annette Stroyberg was considered next, but judged not to be sufficiently well-known. Catherine Deneuve was too pale, Jane Fonda spoke French with an American accent, and Virna Lisi was busy in Hollywood. The most serious actress considered was Marina Vlady. She almost sign a contract, but Michèle Mercier won the role after trying out for it - which she did not appreciate very much since she was being treated like a beginner while she was already a big star in Italy. At the time she was contacted to play Angélique, she had already acted in over twenty movies. During four years she made five Angélique-movies, enjoying the real success. Nevertheless the moment came, when she finally wanted to interrupt with this aggravating character. Michèle played with Jean Gabin in "The Thunder of God" of Denys de la Patellière. Then with Robert Hossein in "La second vérité" of Christian-Jaque... But the time has gone. That was also confirmed by Mercier's flop in Hollywood... What life didn't taught her, that's the skill how to dominate men. Every time Michèle captivated regardlessly. She was deceived, betrayed. She suffered. "Men in their way, shattered my life. What I wanted from them? Real, mutual love. What they wanted - no hard to guess," candidly confessed Michèle after sensational story with a shah, who overwhelmed actress with diamonds and bouquets of flowers, and then tryed to rape her. Press enjoyed Michèle's love affairs and divorces. For some reason or other, in real life this beautiful and kind woman met only rascals, without exception. First husband turned out to be alcoholic. With well known racer Claude Bourillot she lived together 12 years. And she was shocked, when in one day she found out that he vanished with her jewels. Full of dramatism was story of her romance with Italian prince N., who after many years of courtship got intimate with Michèle and at the end betrayed her, refusing to marry her. Incidentally, all these failures even more hardened the character of Michèle Mercier. After a very long eclipse, she decided to return to the cinema. In 1998, the actress made in Cuba and in Italy "La Rumbera," a feature film by Italian director Piero Vivarelli. In 1999, swindled of several million francs in a business venture, Mercier had serious financial problems. She even planned to sell famous wedding gown of the Marquise of the Angels. The actress confessed in Nice Matin: "I am ruined, I'll be obliged to sell part of my paintings, my furnitures, my properties, my jewels and the costumes of Angélique." In 2002, she presented at the Cannes Film Festival her second book of memories in which she affirms in the cover that "she's not Angélique!," entrusting her irritation to be summarized to this glamour-image of the Sixties. In this book Mercier also tells about how Italian actor Vittorio Gassman tried to take her by force, but remembers also the gentility of Marcello Mastroianni and the suppers of Bettino Craxi, former Prime Minister, and Silvio Berlusconi. In the end she admits: "All the men who have made the court of me, tried to seduce Angélique... not me. But then one day I understood that Angelique could not make more harm to me, therefore I have learned to consider she's like a little sister, with whom I had to live hand in hand."- Actress
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Eleanor Jean Parker was born on June 26, 1922, in Cedarville, Ohio, the last of three children born to a mathematics teacher and his wife. Eleanor caught the acting bug early and began performing in school plays. She was was so serious about becoming an actor, that she attended the Rice Summer Theatre on Martha's Vineyard in Massachusetts, beginning when she was 15 years old. She was offered her first screen test by a 20th Century-Fox talent scout while attending Rice, but turned the opportunity down to gain professional stage experience in Cleveland after graduating from high school.
She moved on to California to continue her acting studies at the Pasadena Playhouse. It was there, while sitting in the audience of a play being put on at the Playhouse, that she was again offered a screen test - this time from a Warner Brothers' scout - and again declined, wanting to finish her first year at the Playhouse. When the year was up, Eleanor contacted Warner Brothers to take them up on their offer of a screen test and was signed as a contract player two days after it was shot.
She was cast in Raoul Walsh's They Died with Their Boots On (1941), but her performance was left on the cutting room floor.
She was then cast in short subjects and given other assignments typical of novice film actors, to enable them to learn their craft, such as voice-acting and appearances in other actors' screen tests. Finally, she was promoted to the B-picture unit, making her feature debut in Busses Roar (1942).
Her beauty meant she was not forgotten, and she was cast in one of Warner Brothers' biggest productions for the 1943 season, the pro-Soviet Mission to Moscow (1943), directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Walter Huston as the U.S. ambassador to the USSR. Eleanor played his daughter in the film, which became notorious in the McCarthy era for its glorification of "Uncle Joe" Stalin. The film proved significant to Eleanor, as she met a future husband on the set, Navy Lieutenant. Fred L. Losse, Navy dentist. The marriage was a brief wartime affair, lasting from March 21, 1943, to December 5, 1944.
She went back to the B's with The Mysterious Doctor (1943), then bounced back to the A-list for Between Two Worlds (1944), a remake of the Leslie Howard vehicle Outward Bound (1930) in which she played Paul Henreid's fiancee (both die from suicide, but in Hollywood logic that didn't mean they couldn't frolic together on the silver screen). Eleanor then made two more B-quickies in 1944, Crime by Night (1944) and The Last Ride (1944), before graduating to the A-list for good with Pride of the Marines (1945) with John Garfield.
In the 1946 Warner Bros. remake of Of Human Bondage (1946), she took the role that Bette Davis had made good in 1934 (ironically, at rival RKO). Though Parker would be gaining kudos and Oscar nominations by the beginning of the next decade, her portrait of Mildred was weak in comparison with Davis's dynamic performance.
Parker received the first of her three Best Actress Oscar nominations for playing a prisoner in Caged (1950), and won the best actress award at the Venice Film Festival. She was also nominated the next year for playing the cop's wife who shared a secret with the neighborhood abortionist in William Wyler's Detective Story (1951). Her third and last Oscar nod came for Interrupted Melody (1955), wherein she played an opera singer struck down by polio. She could easily have been nominated that same year for her portrayal of Frank Sinatra's faux crippled wife in Otto Preminger's brooding masterpiece The Man with the Golden Arm (1955), adapted from the novel by Nelson Algren.
Parker proved herself to be a supremely talented and very versatile lead actress. The versatility was likely one of the reasons she never quite became a major star. Audiences attending a movie starring Parker never knew quite what to expect of her; if they even remembered she was the same actress they had seen before in a different type of role in another picture. Her turns in Detective Story (1951) and The Man with the Golden Arm (1955) could not have been more different. Parker's stardom and subsequent fame (and remembrance) suffered from her focusing on being a serious actress and creating a character who fit the motion picture she was in, rather than playing a character over and over, as most actors do. She probably best remembered for the relatively tame part as the Baroness in The Sound of Music (1965).
She received an Outstanding Lead Actress Emmy nomination in 1963 for her appearance in The Eleventh Hour (1962) episode Why Am I Grown So Cold? Despite the success of The Sound of Music (1965) being completely attributed to #1 box office sensation Julie Andrews, it's probably Parker's best-remembered role.
Her appearances in such fare as The Oscar (1966) (the cast of which the Playboy Magazine reviewer derided as "has-beens and never-will-bes") and the movie adaptation of Norman Mailer's indescribable existential potboiler An American Dream (1966) with fellow Oscar-nominee Stuart Whitman signaled that Miss Parker was now inscribed on the list of the has-beens.
She had one last hurrah, winning a Golden Globe nomination in 1970 as best lead actress for her role in the TV series Bracken's World (1969), but unfortunately times had changed during the tumultuous 1960s. Her last film role was in a Farrah Fawcett bomb, Sunburn (1979). Subsequently, she appeared very infrequently on TV, most recently in Dead on the Money (1991).
Eleanor Parker retired far too soon for those who were her fans, and those who appreciated a superb actress.- Actress
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Olivia Mary de Havilland was born on July 1, 1916 in Tokyo, Japan to British parents, Lilian Augusta (Ruse), a former actress, and Walter Augustus de Havilland, an English professor and patent attorney. Her sister Joan, later to become famous as Joan Fontaine, was born the following year. Her surname comes from her paternal grandfather, whose family was from Guernsey in the Channel Islands. Her parents divorced when Olivia was just three years old, and she moved with her mother and sister to Saratoga, California.
After graduating from high school, where she fell prey to the acting bug, Olivia enrolled in Mills College in Oakland, where she participated in the school play "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and was spotted by Max Reinhardt. She so impressed Reinhardt that he picked her up for both his stage version and, later, the Warner Bros. film version in 1935. She again was so impressive that Warner executives signed her to a seven-year contract. No sooner had the ink dried on the contract than Olivia appeared in three more films: The Irish in Us (1935), Alibi Ike (1935), and Captain Blood (1935), this last with the man with whom her career would be most closely identified: heartthrob Errol Flynn. He and Olivia starred together in eight films during their careers. In 1939 Warner Bros. loaned her to David O. Selznick for the classic Gone with the Wind (1939). Playing sweet Melanie Hamilton, Olivia received her first nomination for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, only to lose out to one of her co-stars in the film, Hattie McDaniel.
After GWTW, Olivia returned to Warner Bros. and continued to churn out films. In 1941 she played Emmy Brown in Hold Back the Dawn (1941), which resulted in her second Oscar nomination, this time for Best Actress. Again she lost, this time to her sister Joan for her role in Suspicion (1941). After that strong showing, Olivia now demanded better, more substantial roles than the "sweet young thing" slot into which Warners had been fitting her. The studio responded by placing her on a six-month suspension, all of the studios at the time operating under the policy that players were nothing more than property to do with as they saw fit. As if that weren't bad enough, when her contract with Warners was up, she was told that she needed to make up the time lost because of the suspension. Irate, she sued the studio, and for the length of the court battle she didn't appear in a single film. The result, however, was worth it. In a landmark decision, the court said that not only would Olivia not need to make up the time, but also that all performers would be limited to a seven-year contract that would include any suspensions handed down. This became known as the "de Havilland decision": no longer could studios treat their performers as chattel. Olivia returned to the screen in 1946 and made up for lost time by appearing in four films, one of which finally won her the Oscar that had so long eluded her: To Each His Own (1946), in which she played Josephine Norris to the delight of critics and audiences alike. Olivia was the strongest performer in Hollywood for the balance of the 1940s.
In 1948 she turned in another strong showing in The Snake Pit (1948) as Virginia Cunningham, a woman suffering a mental breakdown. The end result was another Oscar nomination for Best Actress, but she lost to Jane Wyman in Johnny Belinda (1948). As in the two previous years, she made only one film in 1949, but she again won a nomination and the Academy Award for Best Actress for The Heiress (1949). After a three-year hiatus, Olivia returned to star in My Cousin Rachel (1952). From that point on, she made few appearances on the screen but was seen on Broadway and in some television shows. Her last screen appearance was in The Fifth Musketeer (1979), and her last career appearance was in the TV movie The Woman He Loved (1988).
Her turbulent relationship with her only sibling, Joan Fontaine, was press fodder for many decades; the two were reported as having been permanently estranged since their mother's death in 1975, when Joan claimed that she had not been invited to the memorial service, which she only managed to hold off until she could arrive by threatening to go public. Joan also wrote in her memoir that her elder sister had been physically, psychologically, and emotionally abusive when they were young. And the iconic photo of Joan with her hand outstretched to congratulate Olivia backstage after the latter's first Oscar win and Olivia ignoring it because she was peeved by a comment Joan had made about Olivia's new husband, Marcus Goodrich, remained part of Hollywood lore for many years.
Nonetheless, late in life, Fontaine gave an interview in which she serenely denied any and all claims of an estrangement from her sister. When a reporter asked Joan if she and Olivia were friends, she replied, "Of course!" The reporter responded that rumors to the contrary must have been sensationalism and she replied, "Oh, right--they have to. Two nice girls liking each other isn't copy." Asked if she and Olivia were in communication and spoke to each other, Joan replied "Absolutely." When asked if there ever had been a time when the two did not get along to the point where they wouldn't speak with one another, Joan replied, again, "Never. Never. There is not a word of truth about that." When asked why people believe it, she replied "Oh, I have no idea. It's just something to say ... Oh, it's terrible." When asked if she had seen Olivia over the years, she replied, "I've seen her in Paris. And she came to my apartment in New York often." The reporter stated that all this was a nice thing to hear. Joan then stated, "Let me just say, Olivia and I have never had a quarrel. We have never had any dissatisfaction. We have never had hard words. And all this is press." Joan died in 2013.
During the hoopla surrounding the 50th anniversary of GWTW in 1989, Olivia graciously declined requests for all interviews as the last of the four main stars. She enjoyed a quiet retirement in Paris, France, where she resided for many decades, and where she died on 26 July, 2020, at the age of 104.
As well as being the last surviving major cast member of some of cinema's most beloved pre-war and wartime film classics (including The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) and Gone with the Wind (1939)), and one of the longest-lived major stars in film history, Olivia de Havilland was unquestionably the last surviving iconic figure from the peak of Hollywood's golden era during the late 1930s, and her passing truly marked the end of an era.