Jenny McCarthy

Jennifer Ann "Jenny" McCarthy (born November 1, 1972) is an American model, comedian, actress, author and activist. She began her career as a Playboy magazine model in 1993, before launching a television and film acting career. Most recently, she has written books about parenting, and has become an activist promoting controversial claims that vaccines cause autism and that chelation therapy is effective against autism.

Early life

McCarthy was born in Chicago, Illinois. Her middle-class Irish Catholic family lived in the West Elsdon neighborhood of Chicago. She is the second of four daughters; her sisters are named Lynette, Joanne and Amy. Her cousin is Melissa McCarthy of Gilmore Girls fame. McCarthy's mother, Linda, was a housewife and courtroom custodian, and her father, Dan McCarthy, was a steel mill foreman. She attended St. Turibius Grade School on Chicago's South Side. As a teenager, McCarthy attended Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School (whose school sweater she donned in the pages of Playboy) and was a cheerleader at both Brother Rice High School and St. Laurence High Schools, although she has referred to herself as an "outcast" at her school.After McCarthy graduated from high school, she attended Southern Illinois University Carbondale to study nursing. She needed money to pay for college, so she decided to submit her picture to Playboy magazine to make money. She was accepted and became a model.

Career

[edit]Modeling and acting

Jenny McCarthy

Playboy centerfold appearance

October 1993

Preceded by Carrie Westcott

Succeeded by Julianna Young

Playmate of the Year

1994

Preceded by Anna Nicole Smith

Succeeded by Julie Lynn Cialini

Personal details

Born 1 November 1972

Measurements Bust: 38 in (97 cm)

Waist: 24 in (61 cm)

Hips: 34 in (86 cm)

Height 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)

Weight 120 lb (54 kg)

After getting accepted by Playboy in 1993, the magazine wanted her to pose for the October issue. McCarthy was paid $20,000 for the photo shoot. McCarthy became the Playmate of the Month and later the Playmate of the Year. In 1994, thanks to this newfound attention and popularity, McCarthy moved to Los Angeles and, for a time, hosted Hot Rocks, a Playboy TV show featuring uncensored music videos.

In 1995, MTV chose McCarthy to be the host of a new dating show called Singled Out, for which she left Hot Rocks. Her job as a host was a success, and Playboy wanted her to do more modeling. That same year, she also appeared at WrestleMania XI as a guest valet for Shawn Michaels. She left after the match with the victor, WWF Heavyweight Champion Diesel. She returned to the WWE on the August 2, 2008 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event to thank the fans for supporting Generation Rescue. In 1996, McCarthy landed a small part in the comedy The Stupids. In 1997, McCarthy launched two shows. The first one was an MTV sketch comedy show The Jenny McCarthy Show, which was sufficiently popular for NBC to sign her for an eponymous sitcom later that year, Jenny. The latter show is generally considered a disappointment and was quickly canceled. Also in 1997, she appeared on one of two covers for the September issue of Playboy (the other cover featured Pamela Anderson). McCarthy also released an autobiography: Jen-X: Jenny McCarthy's Open Book.

In 1998, McCarthy starred in BASEketball. In 1999, she starred in Diamonds, a movie which was directed by her husband John Mallory Asher. The next year, she appeared in the horror movie Scream 3. Since 2001, McCarthy has guest starred in such shows as Stacked, Charmed, The Drew Carey Show, Wings, Fastlane, and Just Shoot Me!.

In 2003, McCarthy appeared in Scary Movie 3 along with model and actress Pamela Anderson. In 2005, McCarthy produced, wrote, and starred in Dirty Love along with Carmen Electra. The same year, McCarthy hosted a new show on E! called Party at the Palms. The reality show, which is filmed at The Palms Hotel in Las Vegas, features hotel guests, party goers, and celebrities. In March 2006, she was given Razzie Awards for "Worst Actress", "Worst Screenplay", and "Worst Picture" for her work on Dirty Love, which also netted her then-husband, John Asher, a Razzie for "Worst Director."

McCarthy has continued her work with Playboy over the years, both as a model and in other capacities. She appeared on the cover of the magazine's January 2005 issue wearing a leopard skin bunny suit and was featured in a pictorial shot at Elvis Presley's Graceland mansion in the same issue. She was the second woman (Carmen Electra was the first) and first Playmate to become a celebrity photographer for the Playboy Cyber Club, getting behind the camera to photograph model Jennifer Madden, who is not a Playmate.

Jenny's younger sister, Amy, has also posed for Playboy. She was a Cyber Girl of the Week and the Cyber Girl of the Month for January 2005.

She is the voice of Six in the third season of Canadian CGI Sci-Fi cartoon Tripping the Rift.

McCarthy currently stars in an online five episode series, called In The Motherhood, along with Chelsea Handler and Leah Remini. The show is on MSN and is based on being a mother where users could submit their stories to have it made into real webisodes.

She also plays the role of Agent Tanya in the video game Command and Conquer: Red Alert 3, replacing Kari Wührer. McCarthy's body was used for a character in a video game called, Your Shape.

Public persona

April 4, 2005

McCarthy once modeled for Candie's, a shoe company. In one magazine ad, McCarthy posed on a toilet seat, with her underwear near her ankles. Cultural scholar Collin Gifford Brooke wrote that the ad's "taboo nature" brought it attention, while noting that the ad itself helped to weaken that taboo. Another Candie's ad depicted McCarthy passing gas in a crowded elevator.

A sketch on her MTV show centered on her character, a well-coifed business woman, answering the question of "What did you have for lunch?" by seeming to force herself to vomit all over a table which she then ate on-screen. This was faked using special effects. The direct contrast of McCarthy's reputation as a sex symbol and this often grotesque humor is closely associated with her image. This image was taken to a new extreme in her film Dirty Love, which featured McCarthy's character sitting in a massive pool of her own menstrual blood.

Personal life

McCarthy dated her manager Ray Manzella for a short time in 1998. After breaking up with Manzella, McCarthy began dating actor/director John Mallory Asher. The couple became engaged in January 1999, and married on September 11 of that year. They have a son, Evan Joseph, born on May 18, 2002. Evan was diagnosed with autism. In August 2005, McCarthy and Asher filed for divorce.

In December 2005, McCarthy began dating Jim Carrey. They did not make their relationship public until June 2006. She announced on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on April 2, 2008 that she and Carrey were then living together, but had no plans to marry, as they did not need a "piece of paper."[citation needed] Carrey almost made a mock proposal to McCarthy as a promotion to the film, Yes Man for Ellen's Twelve Days of Holidays. McCarthy and Carrey announced that they had split up in April, 2010.

Her brother-in-law is former NHL hockey player Dan Hinote, now playing for Modo Hockey. Dan is married to her younger sister, Amy McCarthy, a former Playboy Cyber Girl. She is also an avid Chicago

White Sox fan.

McCarthy is a vegan.

Activism and autism controversy

In May 2007, McCarthy announced that her son Evan was diagnosed with autism in 2005. Evan's disorder began with seizures and his improvement occurred after the seizures were treated; these symptoms are more consistent with Landau–Kleffner syndrome, which is often misdiagnosed as autism. McCarthy served as a spokesperson for Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) from June 2007 until October 2008. She participated in fundraisers, online chats, and other activities for the non-profit organization to help families affected by autism spectrum disorders. Her first fundraiser for TACA, Ante Up for Autism, was held on October 20, 2007, in Irvine, California. She is a prominent spokesperson and activist for the Generation Rescue foundation.Before claiming that her son's autism was caused by vaccination, McCarthy wrote that he is a "crystal child" and she an "indigo mom".

McCarthy's book on the subject, Louder than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism was published September 17, 2007. She has stated both in her book and during her appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show that her husband was unable to deal with their son's autism, which led to their divorce. In 2008, she appeared on a Larry King Live special dedicated to the subject, and argued that vaccines can trigger autism. No scientists were invited to speak in response. McCarthy is also the spokesperson for Talk About Curing Autism (TACA), and is a member of the board of Generation Rescue.

Although McCarthy's claims on television that vaccines cause autism are not supported by the medical evidence, they have contributed to parental concerns about a possible link;parental concerns have led to decreased immunization rates and increased incidence of measles, a highly contagious and sometimes deadly disease. Producer and post production supervisor on various television programs, Derek Bartholomaus maintains "body count" statistics, with her being held "indirectly responsible for at least some of these illnesses and deaths."McCarthy has stated at many talk shows and rallies that chelation therapy helped her son recover from autism; however, the underlying rationale for chelation, which is that mercury in vaccines causes autism, has been roundly rejected by scientific studies, with the National Institute of Mental Health concluding that autistic children are unlikely to receive any benefit to balance the risks of cognitive and emotional problems posed by the chelating agents used in the treatment.

McCarthy's public presence and vocal activism on the vaccination-autism controversy, led to her being awarded The James Randi Educational Foundation's Pigasus Award (awards granted by Randi for contributing to pseudoscientific ideas) for the 'Performer Who Has Fooled The Greatest Number of People with The Least Amount of Effort'. Randi stated in a video on the JREF's website that he did sympathize with the plight of McCarthy and her child, but admonished her for using her public presence in a way that may discourage parents from having their own children vaccinated.

In an April 27, 2010 PBS Frontline documentary, she was interviewed about the controversy.

Publications

Jen-X: Jenny McCarthy's Open Book, an autobiography (Harpercollins, ISBN 978-0-06-039233-8).

Belly Laughs: The Naked Truth about Pregnancy and Childbirth (ISBN 978-0-7382-0949-4)

Baby Laughs: The Naked Truth about the First Year of Mommyhood (ISBN 978-0-525-94883-4)

Life Laughs: The Naked Truth about Motherhood, Marriage, and Moving On (ISBN 978-0-525-94947-3)

Louder than Words: A Mother's Journey in Healing Autism (ISBN 978-0-525-95011-0)

Mother Warriors: A Nation of Parents Healing Autism Against All Odds (ISBN 978-0-525-95069-1)

Healing and Preventing Autism Co-written with Dr. Jerry Kartzinel. Dutton Adult, March 31, 2009. (ISBN 978-0-525-95103-2)

McCarthy is also an occasional columnist for FHM magazine and has also recently appeared in a commercial for Weight Watchers after successfully losing and maintaining her post-pregnancy weight by following the program.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes

1995 Things to Do in Denver When You're Dead Blonde Nurse

1996 The Stupids Glamorous Actress

1998 BASEketball Yvette Denslow

1999 Diamonds Sugar

2000 Scream 3 Sarah Darling

Python Francesca Garibaldi made for TV

2001 Thank Heaven Julia

2002 Crazy Little Thing Whitney Ann Barnsley

2003 Scary Movie 3 Katie

2005 Dirty Love Rebecca Sommers

2006 Lingerie Bowl - made for TV

John Tucker Must Die Lori

Santa Baby Mary Class made for TV

2008 Witless Protection Connie

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 Agent Tanya video game

2009 Santa Baby 2: Christmas Maybe Mary Class made for TV

Television work

Mr. Show (1995)

Singled Out (host from 1995–1997)

Wings (1996)

Jenny (1997–1998)

Home Improvement (Guest Star) (1998)

The Big Breakfast (1998)

Honey Vicarro (2001) (unsold pilot)

Untitled Jenny McCarthy Project (2003) (unsold pilot)

Charmed (2003)

Hope & Faith (2004)

What I Like About You (2005)

The Bad Girl's Guide (2005) (canceled after 6 episodes)

Party @ the Palms (2005–2006)

One on One (2003–2004)

My Name Is Earl (2006)

Tripping the Rift (Voice of Six) (2007– )

Two and a Half Men (2007-2008)

Just Shoot Me (season 5 episode 6)

WWE Saturday Night's Main Event (Saturday Night's Main Event XXXVI, August 2, 2008, edition)

Chuck (Chuck Versus The Suburbs) (2009)

(source:wikipedia)

Leona Lewis

Leona Louise Lewis, (born 3 April 1985) is a British pop and R&B singer–songwriter. Lewis rose to fame in 2006 as the winner of the third series of the British television series The X Factor.
Lewis has become a multi-platinum selling artist and three time Grammy Award nominee. She was proclaimed 'Top New Artist' by Billboard magazine in 2008. Lewis has released two albums to date, Spirit and Echo, in 2007 and 2009 respectively. Spirit became the fastest-selling debut album and the biggest seller of 2007 in both the United Kingdom and Ireland, and made Lewis the first British solo artist to top the Billboard 200 with a debut album. It has sold over 6.5 million copies worldwide.
Lewis's debut single "A Moment Like This" became the fastest selling UK single after being downloaded over 50,000 times within thirty minutes of its release. Her second single, "Bleeding Love", reached number one positions in over thirty singles charts around the world. In November 2008 she set a record in the UK for the fastest selling download-only release with her cover version of the Snow Patrol song "Run" which sold 69,244 copies in two days. In November 2009, the first set of dates for her 2010 debut world tour were announced.


Early life

Lewis was born in the London Borough of Islington, to Aural Josiah "Joe" Lewis of Afro-Guyanese descent and Maria Lewis of Welsh descent. Her parents enrolled her at the Sylvia Young Theatre School, and from there she attended the Italia Conti Academy and the BRIT School, where she learned to play instruments such as the guitar and piano, and began to write her own songs in the hope of becoming a singer-songwriter,writing her first full-length song at the age of 12. She initially trained in opera, but went on to singing jazz and blues, eventually leading to popular music, citing Minnie Riperton, Eva Cassidy and Stevie Wonder as her main influences. After leaving the BRIT School at 17,she took a number of jobs to fund studio time, recording a demo album called Twilight. The album, comprised almost exclusively of her own compositions, was recorded under Spiral Music, a production company based in Fulham. "I tried to secure a record deal by doing things my own way. I worked very hard but I never managed to land a contract", said Lewis. Other demos were recorded under licence from UEG Entertainment, later included on an album called Best Kept Secret. However, none of Lewis's demos were released and she considered taking a hiatus from her music career to attend university until her boyfriend persuaded her to enter The X Factor which subsequently severed her connections with UEG.




Music career

2006: The X Factor
The X Factor (UK series 3)


Lewis at the London premiere for Flushed Away, November 2006.
Lewis auditioned for the third series of The X Factor in 2006, singing "Over the Rainbow". She was mentored by Simon Cowell and was announced the winner on 16 December 2006, winning a £1 million recording contract.
Her debut single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's "A Moment Like This", was released on CD on 20 December 2006, and was available as a digital download from midnight on 17 December. It broke a world record after it was downloaded 50,000 times in thirty minutes. On 24 December, "A Moment Like This" was crowned the 2006 UK Christmas number-one single, having sold 571,253 copies, outselling the rest of the Top 40's sales combined.The single became the most downloaded song in 2006; it stayed at number one for four weeks and stayed at the top spot in the Irish Singles Chart for six weeks.



2007–2009: Spirit and international breakthrough
Spirit (Leona Lewis album)
Wikinews has related news: British pop star Leona Lewis breaks US Billboard records
In February 2007, Lewis signed a £5 million ($9.7 million) five-album contract in the United States with Clive Davis's record label, J Records, and showcased for several American music executives. A press release was sent out revealing that Cowell and Davis would work together in a first-of-its-kind partnership on both the song and producer selection for Lewis's debut album, entitled Spirit.Lewis recorded tracks for the album in London, Miami, Los Angeles, New York City, and Atlanta, where she worked with several songwriters and record producers including Dallas Austin, Walter Afanasieff, Salaam Remi, Steve Mac, Stargateand Ne-Yo. It was released in November 2007 and entered both the Irish Albums Chart and the UK Albums Chart at number one, becoming the fastest-selling debut album in both countries, and the United Kingdom's fourth fastest selling album of all time. It was released in several other nations in January 2008, and went to number one in New Zealand, Australia, Austria, Germany, South Africa and Switzerland.Two further tracks were recorded in 2008 for the US release of the album: "Forgive Me", produced by Akon, and "Misses Glass", produced by Madd Scientist. It was released in the United States in April 2008 and entered the Billboard 200 at number one, making Lewis the first British artist to reach number one with a debut album. A special edition of Spirit was re-released in November 2008 in Europe, including the songs "Forgive Me", "Misses Glass" and a cover of the Snow Patrol song "Run". The album again went to number one in the UK Albums Chart. To date the album has sold over 6.5 million copies worldwide and has a 9× platinum certification in the UK.
Lewis's second single, "Bleeding Love", produced by Ryan Tedder and written by Tedder and Jesse McCartney, was released in October 2007 in the UK, where it sold 218,805 copies in its first week, giving it the biggest first-week sales of 2007 to date. It entered the UK Singles Chart at number one, where it stayed for seven weeks, and in the Irish Singles Chart it remained at number one for eight weeks. It reached number one in the singles charts of New Zealand, Australia, France, Germany, Norway, Switzerland, Belgium, The Netherlands, Austria, Canada and the United States. "Bleeding Love" won The Record of the Year in December 2007. In February 2008, "Bleeding Love" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 85 and then went on to peak at number one for four non-consecutive weeks. The song became the first track by a UK female to reach number one since Kim Wilde's "You Keep Me Hangin' On" in 1987. Lewis's third single, a double A-side featuring "Better in Time" and "Footprints in the Sand", was released in the United Kingdom in March 2008, in aid of Sport Relief, and she visited South Africa for the charity. The single reached a peak of number two in the UK singles chart selling over 40,000 copies in its first week of physical release. "Better in Time" was released as Lewis's second single in the US, where it peaked at number 11 in the Billboard Hot 100. "Forgive Me" was released as Lewis's fifth single in November 2008; it reached number five in the UK. "Run" was released as a download-only single in the UK, reaching number one, and becoming the UK's fastest-selling download-only single with 69,244 copies sold in two days. Lewis's last single from Spirit, "I Will Be", was released in January 2009, only in North America; it peaked at number 66 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In August 2008, she performed "Whole Lotta Love" with guitarist Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin at the 2008 Summer Olympics closing ceremony in Beijing, representing the handover to London as the host of the 2012 Summer Olympics. In September 2008, she joined several female singers to perform a single for the anti-cancer campaign Stand Up to Cancer. The single, titled "Just Stand Up!", was performed live during the one-hour telethon that aired on all major US television networks. Lewis received three nominations for the 51st Grammy Awards in December 2008. "Bleeding Love" was nominated for Record of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance and Spirit was nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album. She was nominated for four BRIT Awards, in the categories British Female Solo Artist, British Breakthrough Act, British Album for Spirit, and British Single for "Bleeding Love", but despite being the favourite to win the most awards, she received none. She won two awards at the 2008 MOBO Awards: Best Album for Spirit and Best Video for "Bleeding Love". In December 2008 Lewis was named 'Top New Artist' by Billboard magazine.





2009–present: Echo and world tour
Echo (Leona Lewis album) and The Labyrinth (tour)

Leona Lewis performing in 2009.
Lewis's second album, Echo, was given a worldwide release in November 2009. Production took place throughout 2009, including work with Ryan Tedder, Justin Timberlake,[52] Max Martin, Arnthor Birgisson, Kevin Rudolf, and John Shanks.It was recorded in Los Angeles and took nine months to produce. Lewis described the album as "more guitar-driven" compared to Spirit.One of the albums's songs, "My Hands", appears as the theme song to Final Fantasy XIII's North American and European release. Lewis performed her first full UK show at the Hackney Empire in London on 2 November 2009, performing songs from Spirit and Echo. Echo reached number one in the UK Albums Chart and the top ten of Austria, Ireland and Switzerland.
Despite previous attempts from Lewis's lawyers to ban the release of Best Kept Secret by UEG Music, claiming that the singer had not given her consent, the album was released in January 2009 when the label insisted it owned the rights to the music and Lewis would receive a 50% share of the album's profits. However, a television advert for the album was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority, who said in a statement: "We considered that the claim 'Leona Lewis's new album' misleadingly implied it was the singer's latest recording rather than a new CD of tracks recorded some years ago." The album was released to iTunes in standard and deluxe editions, and two EPs, "Private Party" and "Dip Down"/"Joy", were released in September 2009.
The first single released from Echo was "Happy", which was written by Lewis, Tedder and Evan Bogart and produced by Tedder  The single was released on 15 September 2009, peaking at number two in the UK, and reaching the top ten in Austria, Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Japan and Switzerland.Lewis also recorded the theme song for the 2009 science fiction film Avatar, directed by James Cameron. The song, "I See You (Theme from Avatar)", was written by James Horner and Simon Franglen. It was nominated for Best Original Song at the 67th Golden Globe Awards. In January 2010, Lewis provided vocals on a cover of "Everybody Hurts", released to help raise money for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake. The second single from Echo, "I Got You", was released in February 2010. In April 2010, she featured on a duet with Italian singer Biagio Antonacci, called "Inaspettata (Unexpected)", from his album Inaspettata.
Lewis plans to start her first world tour, titled The Labyrinth supporting Spirit and Echo in May 2010, which is reported to be lasting 14 months. It is said that Lewis has hired choreographer Travis Payne for the tour, which is reported to have a Labyrinth theme. Her label have apparently said that money is no object. Lewis will tour North America from July to August 2010 supporting Christina Aguilera on her Bionic Tour. In an interview named "Under the skin of Leona Lewis" with 4music, Lewis stated that she will be working on her third album after the tour.
Other activities

In October 2008, The Times reported that Lewis had turned down a $1 million deal with Mohamed Al Fayed to open a Harrods sale. Lewis commented in the press that she turned down the deal on the grounds that Harrods is the only UK department store which continues to stock clothing made from animal fur. She told The Big Issue, "I got a lot of flak for that. There were people who said I should have done it and given the money to charity, but that would have been such a contradiction." She announced in October 2008 that she was in the "bargaining period" of launching her own ethical line of accessories through Topshop,] and that she is in the late stages of releasing her own perfume for Europe.
Lewis signed a book deal in January 2009 to release an illustrated autobiography in October 2009. The book, entitled Dreams, contains mostly pictures taken by photographer Dean Freeman.
In 2010 she joined Cotton's Fabric of Our Lives campaign, recording a song and appearing in a television advert.




Personal life

Lewis lives in Hackney with her boyfriend Lou Al-Chamaa, an electrician, whom she has known since she was approximately ten years old. She has a tattoo of Hebrew letters on her left wrist, symbolising her relationship with Al-Chamaa. A vegetarian since she was 12, Lewis won PETA's Sexiest Vegetarian along with Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis in 2008, and again in 2009 with actor Scott Maslen. She also was named PETA's Person Of The Year for 2008. Lewis is a supporter of the World Society for the Protection of Animals.
Wikinews has related news:
Leona Lewis assaulted at book signing in London, England
Man charged with assaulting British singer Leona Lewis
At a book signing for Dreams on 14 October 2009 at the Piccadilly branch of Waterstone's book store in central London, Lewis received a punch to the head from Peter Kowalczyk, a 29-year-old man from south London. Eyewitnesses say Lewis ran out with her hand covering her face, whilst security wrestled the attacker, who was reportedly laughing, to the floor. The police were called immediately to the scene and Kowalczyk was arrested. Lewis suffered bruising and was taken to a private doctor as a precaution. She cancelled a scheduled appearance on the BBC's The One Show and a two-day promotional trip to Germany. She later released a statement, saying "Thank you so much for your support, it is truly overwhelming. Yesterday was a horrible shock and left me extremely hurt and upset. I'm very sorry to those I wasn't able to meet at the signing. Thank you again for all of the lovely messages. Love you all."Kowalczyk was subsequently sectioned under the Mental Health Act. He was charged with common assault, for which he was due to appear before City of Westminster magistrates on 26 October 2009. The case was adjourned as Kowalczyk was "not fit to attend court". It was reported that he had a history of mental health problems and may have attacked Lewis due to jealousy, as he had attempted to enter The X Factor but was rejected by producers.[96] On 14 December 2009, Kowalczyk admitted common assault and was ordered to remain in hospital for an indeterminate period.
Discography

Leona Lewis discography
Studio albums
Spirit (2007)
Echo (2009)
Tours

2010: The Labyrinth
Source:wikipedia

Deepika Padukone

Deepika Padukone 

Deepika Padukone (Kannada/Konkani:ದೀಪಿಕಾ ಪಡುಕೋಣೆ, pronounced [diːpɪkaː ˈpədʊkoːn]); born 5 January 1986) is an Indian actress and a former model. Padukone made her acting debut with the 2006 Kannada film Aishwarya. The following year, she made her Hindi film debut with the blockbuster Om Shanti Om which earned her the Filmfare Best Female Debut Award.

Early life and background

Padukone was born in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her family moved to Bangalore, India, when she was eleven months old. Padukone is of Mangalorean origin, and her mother tongue is Konkani. Her lineage hails from Padukone village in Kundapura Taluk in the Udupi District of the state of Karnataka, India.Her father, Prakash Padukone, is a retired badminton player of international repute, and her mother is a travel agent. Padukone also has a younger sister, Anisha, born on February 2, 1991.

Padukone attended Sophia High School in Bangalore, and completed her pre-university studies at Mount Carmel College Bangalore. While in high school she played badminton at the state level.However, she was not keen on pursuing a career as a badminton player.

Career

Modeling

While in college, Padukone pursued a career in modeling. She was spotted in a ramp competition in NLS, Bangalore. Over the years, she has modeled for such Indian brand names as Liril, Dabur Lal powder, Close-Up toothpaste and Limca, and has been "brand ambassador" for the Jewels of India retail jewellery show. The cosmetics company Maybelline made her its international spokesperson.

At the fifth annual Kingfisher Fashion Awards she was awarded the title "Model of the Year". Shortly afterward, she was chosen as one of the models for the Kingfisher Swimsuit Calendar for 2006 and won two trophies at the Idea Zee Fashion Awards: "Female Model of the Year - (Commercial Assignments)" and "Fresh Face of the Year". Padukone was also chosen as the brand ambassador of Kingfisher Airlines and later Levi Strauss and Tissot SA.

Acting

After pursuing a successful career in modeling, Padukone branched out into acting. She started by starring in the music video for the song Naam Hai Tera from the independent pop album Aap Kaa Surroor by Himesh Reshammiya.

In 2006, Padukone made her cinematic debut in the Kannada film Aishwarya starring opposite actor Upendra. She later made a successful Bollywood debut in 2007 with Farah Khan's blockbuster Om Shanti Om opposite Shahrukh Khan. Her performance was well received, earning the actress a Filmfare Best Female Debut Award as well as her first Filmfare Best Actress nomination. Taran Adarsh from indiaFM noted, "Deepika has all it takes to be a top star — the personality, the looks and yes, she's supremely talented too. Standing in the same frame as SRK and getting it right is no small achievement. She comes as a whiff of fresh air!" Padukone was then seen in Siddharth Anand's romantic comedy Bachna Ae Haseeno opposite Ranbir Kapoor and alongside Bipasha Basu and Minissha Lamba. The film, which released on 15 August 2008, performed reasonably well at the box office. Her next film Chandni Chowk To China, released on 16 January 2009, and was a critical and commercial disaster. Padukone's fourth release Love Aaj Kal, released on 31 July 2009 and proved to be one of the biggest hits of 2009.

Padukone was last seen in Excel Entertainment’s Karthik Calling Karthik opposite Farhan Akhtar followed by Sajid Khan’s Housefull alongside Akshay Kumar. Her future projects include Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey directed by Ashutosh Gowarikar, and Kunal Kohli’s Break Ke Baad co-starring Imran Khan.

Other work

In 2009, Deepika started writing weekly columns for HT City, the lifestyle supplement of Hindustan Times. These columns appear online on social network, Desimartini.

Personal life

In March 2008, Padukone began dating Ranbir Kapoor, her co-star from the film Bachna Ae Haseeno (2008). The couple broke up in November 2009.

Awards and nominations

See also: List of awards and nominations received by Deepika Padukone

Filmography

Year Film Language Role Notes

2006 Aishwarya Kannada Aishwarya

2007 Om Shanti Om Hindi Shantipriya,

Sandhya (Sandy) Double-Winner, Filmfare Best Female Debut Award &

Sony Head N Shoulders Fresh Face of the Year

Nominated, Filmfare Best Actress Award

2008 Bachna Ae Haseeno Hindi Gayatri

2009 Chandni Chowk to China Hindi Sakhi (Ms. TSM),

Meow Meow (Suzy) Double role

Billu Hindi Herself Special appearance in the song Love Mera Hit Hit

Love Aaj Kal Hindi Meera Pandit Nominated, Filmfare Best Actress Award

Main Aurr Mrs Khanna Hindi Raina Khan Special appearance

Love 4 Ever Telugu Herself Special appearance for an item number

2010 Karthik Calling Karthik Hindi Shonali Mukherjee

Housefull Hindi Sandy Released on 30 April 2010

Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey Hindi Kalpana Datta Filming

Break Ke Baad Hindi Aaliya Filming.

(source:wikipedia)

Katherine Heigl

Katherine Marie Heigl, (pronounced /ˈhaɪɡəl/; born November 24, 1978) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Dr. Izzie Stevens on Grey's Anatomy and her starring role in the movies Knocked Up, 27 Dresses and The Ugly Truth.

Heigl started her career as a child model with Wilhelmina Models before she turned her attention to acting. She made her debut in the coming-of-age film, That Night. Heigl co-starred as Isabel Evans in the television series Roswell and movies including My Father the Hero before landing her break out role in Grey's Anatomy. Over the years, Heigl has established herself as a cover model appearing on numerous publications including Maxim, Vanity Fair and Cosmopolitan.

Early life and family

Heigl was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Nancy, a personnel manager, and Paul Heigl, a financial executive and accountant. Heigl has German and Irish ancestry, and was raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. She is the youngest of four children (her siblings are Meg, Jason, and Holt).[8] Heigl lived in Virginia and then Denver before her family settled in Connecticut, where they moved into a large, old Victorian-style farmhouse in the wealthy town of New Canaan, where she spent most of her childhood.

In 1986, her older brother Jason died of injuries suffered in a car accident, after being thrown from the back of a pickup truck while out for lunch with some of his high school classmates. Following his death, the family decided to donate his organs. Afterward, their parents converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (prior to that her mother was Lutheran and her father Catholic).Heigl is now a strong proponent of organ donation. Although she is no longer a "strong practicing Mormon", she stated that she hopes to "...find my way back as I get older and a little less selfish."

Career

Early work, 1986–1998

When Heigl was nine, an aunt visiting the family decided to take a number of photographs of her. After returning to her home in New York, her aunt sent the photos to a number of modeling agencies, with the permission of Heigl's parents. Within a few weeks, Heigl was signed with Wilhelmina Models as a child model. Soon after signing with the agency, a client slated Heigl for use in a magazine advertisement where she made her debut. At the time, she was earning $75 an hour posing for Sears and Lord & Taylor catalogs. Heigl appeared in her first national television spot for Cheerios cereal.

She made her acting debut in the 1992 movie That Night. Heigl appeared as Christina Sebastian in Steven Soderbergh's Depression-era drama King of the Hill before being cast in her first leading role in the 1994 comedy My Father the Hero. During this time, Heigl continued to attend New Canaan High School, balancing her film and modeling work with her academic studies. Heigl dropped out of New Canaan High School after her sophomore year to pursue her career in Hollywood.

In 1995, she starred in the Steven Seagal action thriller Under Siege 2: Dark Territory. Heigl portrayed a 16-year-old travelling on a train across a mountain pass to visit the grave of her deceased father with uncle Casey Ryback (Seagal), an ex-SEAL counter-terrorist expert. The main plotline has the train hijacked by mercenaries in Colorado, keeping her as a hostage. Much of her work in the film was opposite Morris Chestnut, Sandra Taylor and Everett McGill.

Despite an increased focus on acting, she still modeled extensively, appearing regularly in magazines such as Seventeen. She took the lead role in Disney's made-for-television film Wish Upon a Star in 1996. Also in 1996, Heigl's parents divorced and her mother was diagnosed with cancer. After her high school graduation in 1997, she moved with her mother into a four-bedroom house in Malibu Canyon, Los Angeles, and her mother became her manager.

In 1998, she co-starred with Peter Fonda in a re-working of the classic Shakespearian play The Tempest, set during the American Civil War. Later that year, she starred in the horror film Bride of Chucky.

Rise to fame, 1999–2004

In 1999, Heigl turned her attention to television when she accepted the role of Isabel Evans on the science fiction TV drama Roswell, a role that was expanded in the show's second and third seasons. Heigl had auditioned for all three of the show's female leads (the other two roles eventually went to Shiri Appleby and Majandra Delfino) before she was finally cast as alien-human hybrid Isabel.

Heigl was frequently featured in photo essays in magazines such as Life, TV Guide, and Teen as well as FHM. She appeared in the FHM and Maxim calendars, FHM's annual "100 Sexiest Women in the World", and was featured in the Girls of Maxim Gallery. In May 2006, Maxim awarded her #12 on their annual Hot 100List as well as voted the 19th "Sexiest Woman in the World" by readers of FHM magazine. While Roswell was in production, Heigl worked on several films, including 100 Girls, an independent 2001 film, and Valentine, a horror film starring David Boreanaz and Denise Richards.

Heigl accepted a role in Ground Zero, a television thriller scheduled to be telecast that fall which was based on the bestselling James Mills novel The Seventh Power, in the spring of 2001. She co-starred as a brilliant and politically-concerned college student who helps to build a nuclear device to illustrate the need for a change in national priorities. The device ends up in the hands of a terrorist following betrayal by a fellow student. However, after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the film was shelved when its plot was considered inappropriate. It reemerged in 2003 under the title Critical Assembly. After the attacks, Heigl recorded a public service announcement for the American Red Cross in an effort to help raise money for victims.

In 2003, Heigl appeared in three television movies. She returned to the horror genre with Evil Never Dies, a modern-day variation on the Frankenstein story co-starring Thomas Gibson. Love Comes Softly, for Hallmark Entertainment, found Heigl starring as Marty Claridge, a young, pregnant newlywed traveling west. (She reprised the role of Marty in the sequel Love's Enduring Promise the next year.) Heigl played Isabella Linton in MTV's modern revamp of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights. In October 2003, Heigl was cast opposite Johnny Knoxville in The Ringer, a Farrelly brothers comedy that was released in December 2005. Heigl starred as Romy in the 2005 television movie Romy and Michele: In the Beginning, a prequel to the 1997 film Romy and Michele's High School Reunion.

Breakthrough, 2005–present

In 2005, Heigl was cast in what would become her most high-profile role to date, as medical intern Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens on Grey's Anatomy, an ABC medical drama. The show, originally introduced as a mid-season replacement, became a huge ratings success and is still one of the highest-rated television series on broadcast television. The same year, Heigl landed the starring role in the independent film, Side Effects, about marketing and the pharmaceutical industry. In late 2006, Heigl was nominated for a Golden Globe award in the category Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-series, or Motion Picture Made for Television for her work on Grey's Anatomy. Also in 2006, she filmed Knocked Up, a comedy from writer/director Judd Apatow, starring opposite Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, and Apatow's real life wife, Leslie Mann. Upon its June 2007 theatrical release, the film received largely positive reviews from critics, and proved to be a box office success. Despite her run of success, she also starred in the box office bomb Zyzzyx Road which despite being filmed in 2004, was not released until 2006. It has been cited as the lowest grossing film of all time. She has been on FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World" list twice as of 2007.

Heigl at the 59th Annual Emmy Awards in 2007

On September 16, 2007, Heigl won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Izzie Stevens. In her acceptance speech she acknowledged that even her mother did not believe she would win, and when her name was called, she had to be censored vocally by the telecast's producers, due to her saying "Shit!" when she reacted to the win. Earlier, she had corrected telecast announcer Rebecca Riedy, who had been given an incorrect phonetic spelling of Heigl's name, when she mispronounced her name as Hi-jell before the presentation of the award with Kyle Chandler for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie. She starred in the film, 27 Dresses which was released in January 2008, playing alongside James Marsden.

Katherine Heigl was announced the Most Desirable Woman of 2008, according to AskMen.com.

There was some speculation that Heigl may be leaving Grey's Anatomy after the end of the 2008-2009 season. This speculation revolved around her refusal to put her name in for Emmy Award consideration and the time she had devoted to producing a film version of Carolyn Jessop's book Escape. Grey's showrunner Shonda Rhimes said she was not insulted by Heigl's Emmy withdrawal, but also noted that Heigl's character Izzy had less to do during the season because Heigl asked for a light work schedule.However, despite Heigl's reported displeasure with the previous season as well as suggestions that her character had died, Heigl's return for the sixth season of Grey's has been confirmed by ABC.

In 2009, Heigl starred opposite Gerard Butler in The Ugly Truth, which opened July 24.

Heigl is currently filming the Lionsgate thriller Killers, opposite Ashton Kutcher. She has signed on to star in and produce the big-screen drama Life As We Know It. Life As We Know It revolves around a woman and a man whose respective best friends die in a car accident. Following the tragedy, they are left to share in caring for the deceased's orphaned daughter. Everwood creator Greg Berlanti will direct the film.

Whether or not Katherine Heigl would leave Grey's Anatomy remained to be seen for the bigger part of season six.However, on March 11, 2010, Heigl reportedly did not show up for work when she was supposed to, and that she and Shonda Rhimes had come to an agreement to release her from her contract immediately. Therefore, Heigl's last appearance on the January 21st episode of Grey's Anatomy is also her final appearance on the series. Heigl said that her departure was not about advancing her movie career but that she wanted to focus more on her family.

While receiving an award at the ShoWest Convention in March 2010, a strap on Heigl's dress broke in an apparent wardrobe malfunction.

Salary

Heigl won greater financial success after Knocked Up (2007). The movie grossed $148,761,765 in the U.S., for which she earned a salary of $300,000 USD. Heigl got higher wages in the film 27 Dresses (2008), for which she received $6 million USD.

Feminism

Despite Heigl's constant reassurances that she is "quite boring... really", Movie Entertainment called Heigl a complex individual with many contrasts, referring to her as an "ex-model with a strong feminist streak" and an "actress known for her dramatic roles who really wants to do comedy".

In the wake of widespread media attention to accusations of sexism (including articles in New York, The New Yorker, Slate, The Los Angeles Times, USA Today, The Guardian, Vanity Fair and People) against director and producer Judd Apatow and his film Knocked Up,Heigl has been tagged as a potentially important and assertive modern proponent of women's rights.

In a highly-publicized Vanity Fair interview, as one of the lead actors in the hit film Knocked Up, Heigl admitted that though she enjoyed working with Apatow and Rogen, she had a hard time enjoying the film itself. She called the movie "a little sexist", claiming that the film "paints the women as shrews, as humorless and uptight, and it paints the men as lovable, goofy, fun-loving guys". In his review for The Guardian, humorist Joe Queenan called Knocked Up "the latest in a new genre of romantic comedies in which an unappealing hero gets together with a gorgeous, successful woman".

Heigl's comments spurred widespread reaction in the media, primarily consisting of personal attacks in which she was called "an ungrateful traitor", "hypocrite", and "assertive, impatient go-getter who quickly tired of waiting for her boyfriend to propose", in some cases debasing her religious beliefs and criticizing her private relationships Heigl clarified her remarks to People magazine, stating that, "My motive was to encourage other women like myself to not take that element of the movie too seriously and to remember that it's a broad comedy", adding that, "Although I stand behind my opinion, I'm disheartened that it has become the focus of my experience with the movie".

The Guardian noted that Heigl's comments "provoked quite a backlash, and Heigl was described as ungrateful and a traitor. Some people even suggested she would never work again", remarks which in retrospect were not only proved demonstrably wrong but the publicity and promotion in the wake of her comments may well have propelled Heigl's career.

Following the release of 27 Dresses, the New York Post expressed some disappointment with the mismatch of Heigl's talent with the "chick-flick" triviality of the film, suggesting that Heigl might be more compatible "with female directors such as Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don't Cry) or Tamara Jenkins (The Savages)...".On the other hand, her newest project, The Ugly Truth, has been touted as "a battle of the sexes" chick flick.

Animal welfare projects

Heigl has worked with Best Friends Animal Society on several projects including their Pup My Ride program. The program transports small dogs from high-kill animal shelters to other parts of the US where there is a greater demand for such dogs. Her involvement in this led her to give Best Friends a grant which would fund a year of the program.

Heigl and her mother, Nancy, then started Heigl's Hounds of Hope which operates as part of the Jason Debus Heigl Foundation. The Foundation was created in honor of Katherine's brother, who was killed in a car accident in 1986 at the age of fifteen. Heigl's Hounds of Hope rescues larger dogs with behavior problems from shelters with a high kill rate and rehabilitates them through training and other adjustments to make them suitable for re-homing.

As of 2009, Heigl has six dogs of her own.

Personal life

Heigl dated Joey Lawrence in 1994 and Roswell costar Jason Behr during the run of the series. In June 2006, she became engaged to singer Josh Kelley, whom she met on the set of his music video for "Only You".They were married on December 23, 2007 in Park City, Utah. During a taping of Live With Regis and Kelly, Heigl stated that she and Kelley chose not to live together before they were married, saying, "I think I just wanted to save something for the actual marriage... I wanted there to be something to make the actual marriage different than the dating or the courtship."At the end of 2007, Barbara Walters named Heigl one of "The 11 Most Fascinating People of 2007" on an ABC program of that title. Heigl questioned her inclusion on the list, saying that in fact she is actually "quite boring...not, just kidding, but really". In March 2010, Heigl changed hair color from her signature blonde to brunette.

On September 9, 2009, Heigl's representative confirmed that the couple had started the process of adopting a baby girl from South Korea. Later that month, the couple adopted a special needs baby girl they named Nancy Leigh (named after Heigl's mother and sister), nicknamed Naleigh.

Filmography

Film

Year Film Role Notes

1992 That Night Kathryn

1993 King of the Hill Christina Sebastian

1994 My Father the Hero Nicole Nominated — Young Artist Award — Best Performance by a Young Actress Starring in a Motion Picture

1995 Under Siege 2: Dark Territory Sarah Ryback

1997 Prince Valiant Princess Ilene

Stand-ins Taffy-Rita Hayworth's Stand-in

1998 Bug Buster Shannon Griffin

Bride of Chucky Jade

2000 100 Girls Arlene

2001 Valentine Shelley Fisher

2003 Critical Assembly Aizy Hayward

2005 Side Effects Karly Hert Executive producer

The Ringer Lynn Sheridan

2006 Zyzzyx Road Marissa

Caffeine Laura

2007 Knocked Up Alison Scott Nominated — Empire Award — Best Actress

Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Best Performance

Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

Nominated — Teen Choice Award — Choice Movie Actress: Comedy

2008 27 Dresses Jane Nichols

2009 The Ugly Truth Abby Richter Executive producer

Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

Nominated — Teen Choice Award — Choice Summer Movie Star: Female

2010 Killers Jen Kornfeldt

Life as We Know It Holly Berenson Executive producer

One For The Money Stephanie Plum

Television

Year Title Role Notes

1996 Wish Upon a Star Alexia Wheaton Television movie

1998 The Tempest Miranda Prosper Television movie

1999–2002 Roswell Isabel Evans 61 episodes

Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television

Nominated — Teen Choice Award — Choice Television Actress

2001 The Twilight Zone Andrea Collins Episode: "Cradle of Darkness"

2003 Vegas Dick Television movie

Love Comes Softly Marty Claridge Television movie

CAMIE Award

Wuthering Heights Isabel Linton Television movie

Evil Never Dies Eve Television movie

2004 Love's Enduring Promise Marty Claridge Davis Television movie

CAMIE Award

2005 Romy and Michele: In the Beginning Romy White Television movie

2005–2010 Grey's Anatomy Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens 109 episodes

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Drama Series

Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film (2007, 2008)

Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2006, 2008)

Nominated — Teen Choice Award — Choice Television Actress

(source:wikipedia)