Dolly Parton

March 12th, 2008 admin

Birth Name
Dolly Rebecca Parton

Nickname
The Smoky Mountain Songbird
The Iron Butterfly
The Queen of Country
The Backwoods Barbie
The Queen of Nashville
The Book Lady

Height
5′ (1.52 m)

Mini Biography

Dolly Rebecca Parton was born on January 19, 1946, one of 12 children of Robert Lee Parton, a tobacco farmer, and Avie Lee Parton (née Owens). Dolly grew up on a run-down farm in Locust Ridge, TN. At 12, she was appearing on Knoxville TV and, at 13, she was already recording on a small label and appearing at the Grand Ole Opry. After graduating from high school in Sevier County, Tennessee, in 1964, she moved to Nashville to launch her career as a country singer. She fell in love with Carl Dean, who ran an asphalt-paving business; they got married on May 30, 1966 (and they are still together). The next year, Dolly’s singing caught the attention of Porter Wagoner. He hired Dolly to appear on his program, “The Porter Wagoner Show” (1960). Dolly stayed with the show for 7 years, their duets became famous, and she appeared with his group at the Grand Ole Opry; she also toured and sold records. By the time her hit “Joshua” reached #1 in 1970, her fame had overshadowed Porter’s, and she struck out on her own, though still recording duets with him. She left him for good to become a solo artist in 1974. Dolly gained immense popularity as a singer/songwriter. Dolly won numerous Country Music Association awards (1968, 1970, 1971, 1975, 1976). This petite (5′0″) beauty was a natural for television and, by the mid-1970s, Dolly was appearing frequently on TV specials and talk shows. Dolly then got her own show, aptly titled “Dolly” (1976). In 1977, Dolly got her first Grammy award: Best Female Country Vocal Performance, for her song “Here You Come Again”. Dolly’s movie debut was in Nine to Five (1980), where she got an Oscar nomination for writing the title tune, and also Grammy awards 2 and 3, Best Country Song, and Best Female Country Vocal Performance for _”Nine to Five”. Dolly got more fame for appearing in The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas (1982), and in Rhinestone (1984) with the song “Tennessee Homesick Blues”. She is the head of Dolly Parton Enterprises, a $100 million media empire, and, in 1986, she founded Dollywood, a theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee, celebrating her Smokey Mountain upbringing. She appeared as herself in the “Dolly” (1987) TV series. In 1988, she won another Grammy award: Best Country Performance Duo or Group with Vocals, for “Trio”. Dolly was in the acclaimed picture Steel Magnolias (1989) with Julia Roberts, and went on to appear in 15 movies and TV-movies for the 1990s, and of course garnered more Country Music Association awards. In 2000, Dolly received her 5th Grammy award: Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. She also released a Bluegrass Album. Dolly is known for beautiful songs such as “Coat of Many Colors” and “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You”. Dolly said in an interview, “My music is what took me everywhere I’ve been and everywhere I will go. It’s my greatest love. I can’t abandon it. I’ll always keep making records”.

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Dannii Minogue

March 12th, 2008 admin

Birth Name
Danielle Jane Minogue

Nickname
Danstar
Queen Of The Clubs
Disco

Height
5′ 2″ (1.57 m)

Mini Biography

Danielle Jane Minogue was born in 1971, the middle one between older sister Kylie Minogue and younger brother Brendan Minogue. By June 1978, she had secured a role in the Australian series “Skyways” (1979). A number of guest appearances followed, leading to her appearance as a “Talent Discovery” on the popular “Young Talent Time” (1971). Three years later, she became an official cast member. As Dannii’s professional resume grew, so did her popularity. Her first fashion range, titled “Dannii”, sold out in a record 10 days in 1988. International stardom came when Dannii took the role of Emma Jackson in the popular soap opera “Home and Away” (1988), which led to her receiving the “Most Popular Female TV Personality” Award at the Australian Television Awards 1989 Logie Awards. Her self-titled debut album was released in 1991. Her motion picture debut Secrets (1990) (V) came in 1992, and she followed this success with a second album, “Get Into You”, in 1993. Upon relocating to London in the early 1990s, Dannii hosted a series of talk shows for British television. After a break of three years, Dannii began work on her third album, “Girl”, which was released on September 8, 1997.

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Vanessa Paradis

March 12th, 2008 admin

Birth Name
Vanessa Chantal Paradis

Height
5′ 3″ (1.60 m)

Mini Biography

Vanessa Paradis is one of the most beautiful French actresses. She was a model and a singer before she became a film-star. Her first success was the song “Joe Le Taxi”, which was a success in 15 countries. In 1990, she was awarded a César for her debut movie Noce blanche (1989). For the next 5 years, she concentrated on her musical career, she rejected Pedro Almodóvar and John Boorman. In 1995, she appeared in Élisa (1995), but decided to concentrate on her private life with Johnny Depp and their children. After several years, Vanessa continued her singing and acting career.

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Aretha Franklin

March 12th, 2008 admin

Birth Name
Aretha Louise Franklin

Nickname
The Queen of Soul

Height
5′ 5″ (1.65 m)

Spouse
Glynn Turman     (11 April 1978 - 1984) (divorced)
Ted White     (1962 - 1969) (divorced) 1 child

Trivia

Her favorite film as a child was The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)

First woman to be admitted to the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame.

Younger sister of vocalist Erma Franklin, who originally recorded the song “Piece of My Heart,” later a hit for Big Brother and the Holding Company with Janis Joplin. Older sister of singer/songwriter Carolyn Franklin, who wrote Aretha’s hit “Ain’t No Way.” Daughter of the Rev. Cecil Franklin.

Suffers from a fear of flying that affects her schedule–she declined attending her Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame induction because of it.

She gave birth to her first child at age 14, the second at age 16.

1992: Performed at President Bill Clinton’s presidential inauguration.

1984: Her father, the Rev. Cecil Franklin, died from gunshot wounds sustained during a burglary.

Her voice was designated a “Natural Resource” by the State of Michigan.

Is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.

1987: Her duet with George Michael, “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)”, was a UK #1 single.

Won 15 Grammy Awards; Grammy Legend Award; Kennedy Center Honor.

Ranked #1 on VH1’s Greatest Women of Rock N Roll

She has four sons: Clarence, Jr., was born when she was 14; Edward (”Eddie”) when she was 16; Ted White, Jr. (”Teddy”), son and namesake of her first husband and former manager, Ted White; and, Kecalf, her son with Ken Cunningham. Aretha’s grandmother took in the two eldest children so that Aretha could pursue her career.

She was voted the 9th Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll Artist of all time by Rolling Stone.

11/9/05: Awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush. Other recipients were Frank Robinson, Muhammad Ali, Gen. Richard Myers, Paul Rusesabagina, Carol Burnett, Andy Griffith, Vint Cerf and his Internet co-developer Robert Kahn, Jack Nicklaus, Alan Greenspan and former congressman G.V. “Sonny” Montgomery.

Mentioned in the song “Life Is a Rock But the Radio Rolled Me” by Reunion.

1999: She was awarded the American National Medal of the Arts by the National Endowment of the Arts in Washington, DC.

She has won 16 Grammy Awards.

Freddie Mercury, lead singer of Queen, was an avid fan of her work.

11/16/05: Inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame for her outstanding contribution to British music and integral part of British music culture.

Godmother of Whitney Houston.

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Demi Moore

March 12th, 2008 admin

Birth Name
Demetria Gene Guynes

Height
5′ 5″ (1.65 m)

Mini Biography

Demi Moore was born 1962 in Roswell, New Mexico. Her father left her mother, Victoria, before Demi was born. Her stepfather, Danny Guynes, didn’t add much stability to her life, either. He frequently changed jobs and made the family move a total of 40 times. The parents kept on drinking, arguing and beating, until Guynes finally committed suicide. Demi quit school at the age of 16 to work as a pin-up-girl. At 18, she married rock musician Freddie Moore; the marriage lasted four years. At 19, she became a regular on the TV show “General Hospital” (1963). From the first salaries, she started partying and sniffing cocaine. That lasted more than 3 years, until director Joel Schumacher fired her from the set of St. Elmo’s Fire (1985) when she turned up high. She got a withdrawal treatment and returned clean after a week… and stayed clean. With determination and a skill for publicity stunts, like the nude appearance on the cover of Vanity Fair while pregnant, she made her way to fame. Since the huge commercial success of Ghost (1990) and the controversial pictures Indecent Proposal (1993) and Disclosure (1994), she’s one of Hollywood’s most sought-after and most expensive actresses.

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Charlotte Church

March 12th, 2008 admin

Birth Name
Charlotte Maria Reed

Nickname
The Voice of an Angel

Height
5′ 5″ (1.65 m)

Mini Biography

Charlotte Maria Church was born on February 21, 1986 in Llandaff, Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom to Steven Reed and his wife Maria. The couple separated shortly after the child’s birth, and she was left in her mother’s care. She started singing publicly when she was only three and a half years old, singing the Ghost Busters (1984) theme with her cousin at a seaside holiday camp in Caernarfon, Wales. She came to public notice after an appearance on the UK daytime magazine program, “This Morning” (1988) (aka “This Morning with Richard and Judy”) and then made an impromptu appearance on “The Big Big Talent Show” (1996). She came on to say a few words about her aunt Caroline Cooper, who was also making an appearance on the show, and the show’s host, Jonathan Ross, asked her to sing. She stole the show and immediately became an overnight sensation in her native Wales. More television and concert appearances followed, such as the ones at Cardiff Arms Park in Wales, the London Palladium, and the Royal Albert Hall, and opening for Shirley Bassey in Antwerp, Belgium. She was signed to Sony Music (UK) and has released three best selling albums of popular classics.

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Cerys Matthews

March 12th, 2008 admin

Birth Name
Cerys Elizabeth Philip Matthews

Height
5′ 3½” (1.61 m)

Spouse
Seth Riddle (22 February 2003 - October 2007) (divorced) 2 children

Trivia

Lead singer of the Welsh pop band Catatonia.

Gave birth to a baby girl on August 10, 2003, weighing 6lbs. 10ozs

Speaks fluent Welsh and English, also has a firm grasp of French, Spanish and Catalan

BBC Radio 1’s 21st Best Female Vocalist of the Millenium

Won ‘SKY’s Lungs of the Year’ 1998

Was FHM 36th `Sexiest Woman in the World’ 1999

Named her daughter, Glenys Pearl y Felin

Daughter, Glenys Pearl

Gave birth to her second child, christened Johnny Natchez Jones Riddle August 2005. It was a home birth at their Nashville estate.

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Martina Hingis

March 12th, 2008 admin

Martina Hingis (born September 30, 1980 in Košice, Slovakia) is a former World No. 1 professional tennis player. She won five Grand Slam singles titles (three Australian Open, one Wimbledon, and one U.S. Open). She also won nine Grand Slam women’s doubles titles, winning a calendar year Grand Slam in 1998, and one Grand Slam mixed doubles title. She spent a total of 209 weeks as World No. 1.

Hingis set a series of “youngest-ever” records before ligament injuries in both ankles forced her to withdraw temporarily from professional tennis in 2002 at the age of 22. After several surgeries and long recuperations, Hingis returned to the WTA tour in 2006. She then climbed to World No. 6 and won three singles titles. On November 1, 2007, after suffering from injuries for much of the year, Hingis announced her retirement from tennis while admitting she had tested positive for cocaine during Wimbledon in 2007. She denied using the drug. On January 4, 2008, she was banned from tennis for two years due to the cocaine offense.

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Mischa Barton

March 12th, 2008 admin

Mischa Barton

Birth Name
Mischa Anne Marsden Barton

Height
5′ 8½” (1.74 m)

Mini Biography

An actress with talent and poise beyond her 21 years, born in London and raised in New York, Mischa Barton has the kind of career most actors can only dream about. From humble beginnings in New York Theater in 1994 where she trained with such esteemed Director/Writers as James Lapine (”Twelve Dreams” at Lincoln Center with Donna Murphy), Tony Kushner (”Slavs!” at New York Theater Workshop with Marissa Tomei), and Naomi Wallace (”One Flea Spare” at the Public Theatre with Dianne Weist)., she went on to work side by side with modern day screen icons including Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant, “Notting Hill”., Bruce Willis and Toni Collette “The Sixth Sense” and Sam Rockwell in her Sundance critically lauded feature film debut “Lawn Dogs’ produced by Duncan Kenworthy in 1998.

Yet, despite this early success in theater and film what really catapulted Mischa to the next level and made her a household name is her small screen performance as the irrepressible and irresistible Marisa on the popular Fox television show, “The O.C.” 2003 to 2006. The show fast become a global cult phenomenon and has earned many awards including a Television Critics Association Award nomination for “Outstanding New Program of the Year.”

Established as one of the most sought after young actresses of her generation Mischa was named “It Girl” in 2003 by Entertainment Weekly, she was also Hollywood Life’s “Breakthrough Actress of the Year”., she won several American Teen Choice Awards for the show, and also Cosmopolitan’s “Fun Fearless Female Award” for “Knockout Ingenue” and Glamour’s “Women of the Year’. She has been ranked as one of People magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People” from 2003 to 2007. She was awarded the VIPer Award in 2008 for “Style Icon 2007″ by Mr Karl Lagerfeld.

Most recently in 2007, she played opposite Shirley McClaine & Christopher Plummer in Sir Richard Attenborough’s “Closing the Ring”., with Hayden Christiansen in the Dino De Laurentiis film “Virgin Territory”, and starred opposite Bruce Willis in “Assassination of a High School President” for the Yari Production Company. In 2007 she filmed “Walled In” for the French production Company Canal Plus, and has starred in and produced the film “Homecoming” 2008.

Even at such an early age, Mischa has also made a major impression in the fashion and beauty world. She has already graced the covers of countless international magazines and has become the face of numerous advertising campaigns.

This commercial and theatrical success has given the young woman an opportunity to take an extremely influential role in the global community. She became the spokesperson for “Climate Star”, an organization that fights global warming through social and legislative activism. She serves as an “Entertainment Industry Foundation” ambassador teaming up with QVC to spread awareness and raise funds for women’s cancer research through the “Fashion Footwear Association” of New York “Shoes on Sale Initiative” and is also involved in the “SAFE” campaign for skin cancer awareness. She is an ambassador for “Save the Children” and the “One Water” campaign which brings water to remote locations in Africa., and is on the board of the “Lupus Research Committee” in Los Angeles.

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Elle MacPherson

March 12th, 2008 admin

Birth Name
Eleanor Nancy Gow

Nickname
The Body

Height
6′ (1.83 m)

Spouse
Gilles Bensimon     (1985 - 1989) (divorced)

Trivia

Was quoted in an Australian magazine (Sydney Morning Herald’s Good Weekend magazine) as saying that she did not like reading things that she had not written.

One of the models who own the Fashion Cafe in New York City, along with Claudia Schiffer and Naomi Campbell.

She was “discovered” at the age of eighteen while vacationing in Aspen, Colorado, and was promptly signed to the Click modeling agency.

Son, Arpad Flynn Busson born in New York, New York, USA. Father is Arpad Arky Busson, a Swiss financier. [14 February 1998]

Elle claims she put on over 20 pounds in weight so that she would have a figure more in the tradition of a model of the day, for the film Sirens (1994)

Home was robbed. Money and photographs were stolen. Ransom was held for photographs. Elle and husband worked with FBI and they caught the thieves. One of the thieves claimed that he was the father of Elle’s baby.

Became engaged to her partner of six years, French-Swiss financier Arpad Arky Busson, in the Bahamas. [January 9, 2002]

One of People Magazine’s “50 Most Beautiful People” in 1995.

Has own line of lingerie in Australia, planning on extending it to US (May 2002)

Measurements: 36C-24-35 (early modeling career- 1984), 37D-25-36 (after adding weight to flm “Sirens”), 36D-24-35 1/2 (in 1997), (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine)

Gave birth to her second child, a son named Aurelius Cy Andre, with Arky Busson. [February 4, 2003]

Checked into the Meadows Clinic in Arizona, which offers treatment for psychological conditions and addictions. She is suffering from postnatal depression after the birth of her second child in February. [October 2003]

One of the world’s top fashion models.

As a teenager, she ran a mile in 4 minutes, 24 seconds.

Has split with French financier Arpad Arky Busson [June 2005].

Was ranked #7 in Channel 5’s “World’s greatest supermodel”.

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