Sandra Bullock

Sandra Bullock
Bullock at the premiere for The Proposal in June 2009
Born	Sandra Annette Bullock July 26, 1964 (age 46) Arlington, Virginia, U.S.
Nationality	American
Occupation	Actress, producer
Years active	1985–present
Spouse	Jesse G. James (2005–2010, divorced)
Children	Louis Bardo Bullock (adopted)
Parents	John Bullock Helga Meyer (deceased)

Sandra Annette Bullock (pronounced /ˈbʊlək/; born July 26, 1964) is an American actress and producer who rose to fame in the 1990s, after roles in successful films such as Speed and While You Were Sleeping. She has since established her career with films such as Miss Congeniality and Crash, the second of which received critical acclaim. In 2007, she was ranked as the 14th richest female celebrity with an estimated fortune of $85 million. In 2009, Bullock starred in the most financially successful films of her career, The Proposal and The Blind Side. Bullock was awarded a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role, and the Academy Award for Best Actress, for her role as Leigh Anne Tuohy in The Blind Side.

Early life

Sandra Annette Bullock was born in Arlington, Virginia, the daughter of Helga D. Meyer (1942–2000), a German opera singer and voice teacher, and John W. Bullock (born 1925), an Army official and part time-voice coach from Birmingham, Alabama. Bullock's maternal grandfather was a rocket scientist from Nuremberg, Germany. John Bullock, then over the Army's Military Postal Service in Europe, was stationed in Nuremberg when he met Helga Meyer.

The couple married in Germany, soon moving to United States. Settling in the Arlington area, John worked with the Army Materiel Command, eventually becoming a contractor for The Pentagon. Six years after the birth of Sandra, her sister, Gesine, was born. Bullock frequently traveled with her mother on her opera tours throughout Europe. She lived at times in Salzburg and Nuremberg, where she stayed with her aunt and grandmother. She became fluent in German. Bullock studied ballet and vocal arts as a child, taking small parts in her mother's opera productions. She sang in the operas children's choir at the Staatstheater Nürnberg.

Bullock attended Washington-Lee High School, where she was a cheerleader and participated in high school theater productions. She graduated in 1982 and enrolled in East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina. She left East Carolina during her senior year in the spring of 1986, only three credits short of graduating, to pursue an acting career. She moved to Manhattan to pursue auditions and supported herself with a variety of jobs including bartender, cocktail waitress and coat checker.

Bullock later completed her coursework at East Carolina University.

Acting

Bullock, Cannes Festival 2002

While in New York, Bullock took acting classes with Sanford Meisner. She appeared in several student films, and later landed a role in an Off-Broadway play No Time Flat. Director Alan J. Levi was impressed by Bullock's performance and offered her a part in the TV movie Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman (1989). Afterward, she was cast in a series of small roles in several independent films as well as in the lead role of the short-lived NBC television version of the film Working Girl (1990). She later appeared in several films, such as Love Potion No. 9 (1992), The Thing Called Love (1993) and Fire on the Amazon. A prominent supporting role in the science-fiction/action movie Demolition Man (1993) led to her breakthrough performance in Speed the following year. She became a movie star in the late 1990s, carrying a string of successes, including While You Were Sleeping, and Miss Congeniality in 2000. Bullock received $11 million for Speed 2: Cruise Control, which she agreed to star in for financial backing for her own project, Hope Floats, and has revealed she regrets making the sequel. She later received $17.5 million for Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous.

Bullock was selected as one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People in the World in 1996 and 1999, and was also ranked #58 in Empire magazine's Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time list. She was presented with the 2002 Raúl Juliá Award for Excellence for her efforts, as the executive producer of the sitcom George Lopez, in helping expand career openings for Hispanic talent in the media and entertainment industry. She also made several appearances on the show as Accident Amy, an accident-prone employee at the factory Lopez's character manages. In 2002, she starred opposite Hugh Grant in the global hit Two Weeks Notice and in the film Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.

Bullock at the acceptance ceremony of her Razzie for Worst Actress, 2010

In 2004, Bullock had a supporting role in the film Crash. She received positive reviews for her performance, with some critics suggesting that it was the best performance of her career. Bullock later appeared in The Lake House, a romantic drama also starring her Speed co-star, Keanu Reeves; it was released on June 16, 2006. Because their film characters are separated throughout the film (due to the plot revolving around time travel), Bullock and Reeves were only on set together for two weeks during filming. The same year, Bullock appeared in Infamous, playing author Harper Lee. Bullock also starred in Premonition with Julian McMahon, which was released in March 2007. 2009 proved to be especially good for Bullock, giving the actress two record highs in her career, as earlier in the year she released The Proposal, with co-star Ryan Reynolds, a huge hit that took in more than $314 million at the box office worldwide, making it her most successful picture to date.

In November 2009, Bullock starred in The Blind Side, which opened at #2 behind New Moon with $34.2 million, making it her highest opening weekend ever. The Blind Side is unique in that it had a 17.6% increase at the box office its second weekend, and it took the top spot of the box office in its third weekend. The movie cost $29 million to make according to the Box Office Mojo. It has grossed over $250 million to date, making it her highest grossing film and the first movie in history to pass the $200 million mark with only one top-billed female star. She won the award for Best Actress at the Golden Globes, Academy Awards, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for her performance in The Blind Side.Bullock had initially turned down the role three times due to a discomfort with portraying a devout Christian. Winning the "Oscar" also gave her another unique distinction — since she won two "Razzies" the day before, for her performance in All About Steve, she is the only performer ever to have been named both "Best" and "Worst" for the same year. Sandra was asked to return her 2009 "Worst Actress of the Year" Razzie award; however, this wasn't because of a change of heart for Bullock's performance that earned her award in the first place. In reality, when Sandra personally accepted her Razzie and left she accidentally took the original one-of-a-kind prototype Razzie, as opposed to the cheap trinket normally handed out to celebrities.

Recognition

Sandra Bullock's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

As of 2009, Bullock's films have grossed over $3.1 billion worldwide. According to The Numbers, her total domestic gross stands at $1.7 billion, placing her among the Top 100 Stars at the Box Office.

Critics, while praising her screen persona, have been less receptive to her films. As of the 2009 release of The Proposal, Mark Kermode said she's made only three "good" films in her career—Speed, While You Were Sleeping, and Crash, and says "she's funny, she's gorgeous, it's impossible not to love her and yet she makes rotten film after rotten film after rotten film." As of 18 December 2009, Bullock has appeared on three Entertainment Weekly covers.

Entrepreneurship

Bullock runs her own production company, Fortis Films. Her sister, Gesine Bullock-Prado, was president of the company, but has since quit the business and moved to Montpelier, Vermont, where she opened a pastry shop and published a book. Her father, John Bullock, is the company's CEO. Bullock was an executive producer of The George Lopez Show, which garnered a lucrative syndication deal that banked her some $10 million (co-produced with Robert Borden). Bullock tried to produce a film based on F.X. Toole's short story, Million-Dollar Baby, but could not interest the studios in a female boxing drama. The story was eventually adapted and directed by Clint Eastwood as the Oscar-winning film, Million Dollar Baby (2004). Bullock's production company, Fortis Films, also produced All About Steve, which was released in September 2009.

Since November 2006, Bullock has owned an Austin, Texas, restaurant, Bess Bistro.[31] She later opened another business in downtown Austin called Walton's Fancy and Staple, a bakery and floral shop that also offers services such as event planning.

Personal life

Relationships

Bullock was once engaged to actor Tate Donovan, whom she met while filming Love Potion No. 9; their relationship lasted four years. She previously dated football player Troy Aikman, Austin musician Bob Schneider (for two years), and actors Matthew McConaughey and Ryan Gosling.

Bullock married motorcycle builder and Monster Garage host Jesse James on July 16, 2005. They first met when Bullock arranged for her ten-year-old godson to meet James as a Christmas present.

In November 2009, Bullock and James entered into a custody battle with James' second ex-wife, former pornographic actress Janine Lindemulder, with whom James had a child. Bullock and James subsequently won full legal custody of James' five-year-old daughter.

In March 2010, a scandal arose when several women claimed to have had affairs with James during his marriage to Bullock. Bullock cancelled European promotional appearances for The Blind Side citing "unforeseen personal reasons".[39][40] On March 18, 2010, James responded to the rumors of infidelity by issuing a public apology to Bullock. He stated, "The vast majority of the allegations reported are untrue and unfounded" and "Beyond that, I will not dignify these private matters with any further public comment." James declared that "There is only one person to blame for this whole situation, and that is me", and asked that his wife and children one day "find it in their hearts to forgive me" for their current "pain and embarrassment". James’ publicist subsequently announced on March 30, 2010, that James had checked into a rehab facility "to deal with personal issues" and "save his marriage" to Bullock. However on April 28, 2010, it was reported that Bullock had filed for divorce on April 23 in Austin. Their divorce was finalized on June 28, 2010, with "conflict of personalities" cited as the reason.

Bullock announced on April 28, 2010, that she had proceeded with plans to adopt a baby boy born in New Orleans. Bullock and James had begun an initial adoption process four years earlier. The child began living with them in January 2010, but they chose to keep the news private until after the Oscars in March 2010. However, given the couple's separation and then divorce, Bullock continued the adoption of the baby, named Louis Bardo Bullock, as a single parent.

Vehicular accidents

On December 20, 2000, Bullock and another passenger survived the crash of a chartered business jet during an attempted night landing at Jackson Hole Airport. The pilots were unable to activate the runway lights due to having out-of-date approach plates, but continued the landing. The aircraft landed in the airport's graded safety area between the runway and parallel taxiway and hit a snowbank. The accident caused a separation of the nose cone and landing gear, partial separation of the right wing, and a bend in the left wing.

On April 18, 2008, while Bullock was in Massachusetts shooting the film The Proposal, she and her husband were in an SUV that was hit head-on (driver's side offset) at moderate speed by a drunken driver. Vehicle damage was not major and there were no injuries.

Legal matters

In October 2004, Bullock won a multimillion-dollar judgment against Benny Daneshjou, the builder of her Lake Austin, Texas home; the jury ruled the house was uninhabitable. It has since been torn down and rebuilt.

On April 22, 2007, Marcia Diana Valentine was found lying outside James's and Bullock's Southern California home in Orange County. When James confronted the woman, she ran to her 2004 silver Mercedes, got behind the wheel, and tried to run over James. The woman is said to be an obsessed fan of Sandra Bullock. The woman was charged with one felony count each of aggravated assault and stalking, while Bullock obtained a restraining order to bar Valentine from "contacting or coming near her home, family or work for three years."Valentine pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated assault and stalking.Valentine was subsequently convicted of stalking and was sentenced to three years of probation.

Charity work

Bullock has been a public supporter of the American Red Cross, twice donating $1 million, first to its Liberty Disaster Relief Fund and four years later in response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunamis. In 2010, she donated $1 million to relief efforts in Haiti following the Haiti earthquake.

Along with other stars, Bullock did a PSA urging people to sign a petition for clean-up efforts of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Bullock backs the Texas non-profit organization The Kindred Life Foundation, Inc. In late 2008, she joined other top celebrities in supporting the work of CEO and Founder Amos Ramirez. She shared this at a gala that raised money for the organization, "Amos has led many efforts across our nation that have helped families that are in need. Our country needs more organizations that are committed to the service that Kindred Life is.

Filmography

Feature films

Year Title Role Notes

1987 Hangmen Lisa Edwards

1989 Religion, Inc. (aka "A Fool and His Money") Debby

1989 Bionic Showdown: The Six Million Dollar Man and the Bionic Woman Kate Mason

1989 Who Shot Patakango? Devlin Moran

1989 The Preppie Murder Stacy

1990 Lucky/Chances Maria Santangelo

1992 Who Do I Gotta Kill? (aka "Me and the Mob") Lori

1992 When the Party's Over Amanda

1992 Love Potion No. 9 Diane Farrow

1993 The Vanishing Diane Shaver

1993 The Thing Called Love Linda Lue Linden

1993 Demolition Man Lt. Lenina Huxley Nominated—Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress

1993 Fire on the Amazon Alyssa Rothman

1993 Wrestling Ernest Hemingway Elaine

1994 Speed Annie Porter Saturn Award for Best Actress

1995 While You Were Sleeping Lucy Moderatz Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance

1995 The Net Angela Bennett/Ruth Marx

1996 Two If by Sea Roz

1996 A Time to Kill Ellen Roark

1996 In Love and War Agnes Von Kurowsky

1997 Speed 2: Cruise Control Annie Porter Nominated—Razzie Award for Worst Actress

Nominated—Razzie Award for Worst Screen Couple (with Jason Patric)

1997 Making Sandwiches actor/writer/director/producer Debut—Sundance Film Festival

1998 Hope Floats Roberta "Birdee" Pruitt

1998 Practical Magic Sally Owens

1998 The Prince of Egypt (animated film) Miriam (Voice)

1999 Forces of Nature Sarah Lewis

2000 Gun Shy Judy Tipp

2000 28 Days Gwen Cummings

2000 Miss Congeniality Gracie Hart Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

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

2002 Murder by Numbers Cassie Mayweather/Jessica Marie Hudson

2002 Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood Siddalee Walker

2002 Two Weeks Notice Lucy Kelson

2004 Crash Jean Cabot Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble

Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture

Nominated—Gotham Awards for Best Ensemble

2005 Loverboy Mrs. Harker

2005 Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous Gracie Hart

2006 The Lake House Kate Forster

2006 Infamous Nelle Harper Lee

2007 Premonition Linda Hanson

2009 The Proposal Margaret Tate Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance

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

2009 All About Steve Mary Horowitz Razzie Award for Worst Actress

Razzie Award for Worst Screen Couple (with Bradley Cooper)

2009 The Blind Side Leigh Anne Tuohy Academy Award for Best Actress

Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress (tied with Meryl Streep)

Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama

Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

Nominated—Denver Film Critics Award for Best Actress

Nominated—Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress

Nominated—Washington D.C. Area Films Critics Association for Best Actress

2011 Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

(source:wikipedia)

Amy Adams

Amy Lou Adams, (born August 20, 1974) is an American actress. Adams began her performing career on stage in dinner theaters before making her screen debut in the 1999 black comedy film Drop Dead Gorgeous. After a series of television guest appearances and roles in B movies, she landed the role of Brenda Strong in 2002's Catch Me If You Can, but her breakthrough role was in the 2005 independent film Junebug, playing Ashley Johnsten, for which she received critical acclaim and an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Adams subsequently starred in Disney's 2007 film Enchanted, a critical and commercial success, and received a Golden Globe Award nomination for her performance as Giselle. She received her second Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations the following year for her role as a young nun, Sister James, in Doubt. Though she has appeared in a range of dramatic and comedic roles, Adams has gained a reputation for playing characters with cheerful and sunny dispositions.[3][4] Adams starred in the 2008 film Sunshine Cleaning with Emily Blunt and Alan Arkin. She has since acted in the 2009 films Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian in the role of Amelia Earhart and Julie & Julia portraying writer Julie Powell.

Early life

Amy Adams was born in Vicenza, Italy, the fourth of seven children of American parents Kathryn (née Hicken) and Richard Adams. She has four brothers and two sisters. Her father, a US serviceman, was stationed at Caserma Ederle at the time of her birth,and took the family from base to base before settling in Castle Rock, Colorado when she was eight or nine years old. Thereafter, her father sang professionally in restaurants, while her mother was a semi-professional bodybuilder. Adams was raised as a Mormon, although her family left the church after her parents' divorce when she was 11 years old. Regarding her religious upbringing, she said, "... it instilled in me a value system I still hold true. The basic 'Do unto others...', that was what was hammered into me. And love."
Throughout her years at Douglas County High School, she sang in the school choir and trained as an apprentice at a local dance company with ambitions of becoming a ballerina. Her parents had hoped that she would continue her athletic training, which she gave up to pursue dance, as it would have given her a chance to obtain a college scholarship. Adams later reflected on her decision not to go to college: "I wasn't one of those people who enjoyed being in school. I regret not getting an education, though." After graduating from high school, she moved to Atlanta with her mother. Deciding that she was not gifted enough to be a professional ballerina, she entered musical theater, which she found was "much better suited to [her] personality". Upon turning 18, Adams supported herself by working as a greeter at a Gap store while performing in community theater.She took her first full-time job as a hostess at Hooters, a fact that became her "entire press career" for a while.Adams left the job three weeks later after having saved enough money to buy her first car. She admitted: "... there was definitely an innocence to my interpretation of what Hooters was about. Though I did learn, quickly, that short shorts and beer don't mix!"
Career

1995–2004: Early work
She began working professionally as a dancer at Boulder's Dinner Theatre and Country Dinner Playhouse. There, she was spotted by a Minneapolis dinner theater director, Michael Brindisi, in 1995. Adams relocated to Chanhassen, Minnesota and worked at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatres for the next three years. While she was off work nursing a pulled muscle, she auditioned for the satirical 1999 comedy Drop Dead Gorgeous, which was being filmed in Minnesota, and was cast in her first film role. Persuaded by her Drop Dead Gorgeous co-star Kirstie Alley, Adams moved to Los Angeles, California in January 1999.Describing her first year there as her "dark year" and "bleak", she recalled that she would "pine for that time" at Chanhassen because she "really loved that security and schedule", and said, "The people I worked with there were also a great family to me." Shortly after arriving in Los Angeles, she was cast in Fox Network's television series spin-off of Cruel Intentions, Manchester Prep, in the role of Kathryn Merteuil. The series did not live up to the network's expectations and following numerous script revisions and two production shutdowns, it was canceled. The filmed episodes were then re-edited to be released as the direct-to-video film, Cruel Intentions 2.
From 2000 to 2002, Adams appeared in a series of small films like Psycho Beach Party while guest-starring on television series such as That '70s Show, Charmed, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Smallville and The West Wing. She then appeared in Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can as Brenda Strong, a candy-striper with whom Frank Abagnale, Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) falls in love. It was, in Spielberg's words, "the part that should have launched her career" but she was unemployed for a year after that. However, Adams said, "It was the first time I knew I could act at that level with those people. To be believed in by Steven Spielberg... it was a huge confidence booster." In 2004, she starred in The Last Run as well as voicing characters on the animated television series King of the Hill. She was also cast as a regular in the television series, Dr. Vegas, in the role of Alice Doherty but was later fired after a contract dispute.



2005–2007: Critical success

Adams in 2006 as her Enchanted character Giselle while filming in New York City's Central Park
Prior to leaving Dr. Vegas, she had received the script for a low-budget independent film named Junebug and auditioned for the role of Ashley Johnsten, a young, cheerful and talkative pregnant woman. Director Phil Morrison explains his decision to cast Adams: "Lots of people looked at Ashley and thought, 'What's the sorrow she's masking?' To me, the fact that Amy didn't approach it from the angle of 'What's she covering up?' was key." The film was shot in 21 days in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. During that time, Adams turned 30 years old and was worried about her film career: "I thought maybe I should move to New York, maybe I should do something else. It wasn't that I was quitting or making a dramatic statement. It was more like maybe this just wasn't a good fit." On the experience of making Junebug, Adams said, "It was really empowering. At the end of the summer I was unemployed but I was happy and I was proud. I was like, you know what, I'm done with being pushed around." Junebug premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival with Adams winning a Special Jury Prize for her performance.
After the theatrical release of The Wedding Date, in which Adams appeared alongside Debra Messing and Dermot Mulroney, Junebug was released in theaters by Sony Pictures Classics. Adams earned critical accolades for her work in Junebug; Carina Chocano of Los Angeles Times noted, "Adams' performance in a role that could have easily devolved into caricature is complex and nuanced." Joe Leydon of Variety commented, "Partly due to her character's generosity of spirit, but mostly due to her own charisma, Adams dominates pic with her appealing portrayal of a nonjudgmental optimist savvy enough to recognize the shortcomings of others, but sweet enough to offer encouragement, not condemnation".She received several awards for Best Supporting Actress including the National Society of Film Critics award and the Independent Spirit Award. She was also nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award and an Academy Award. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences invited Adams to become a member in 2006.
Although Junebug had a limited audience, Adams' critically acclaimed performance in the film helped to increase interest in her acting career. Adams went on to appear in films like Standing Still and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, and played the recurring guest role of Katy on the television series The Office. After providing the voice for Polly Purebred in Walt Disney Pictures' Underdog, Adams starred in Disney's 2007 big-budget animated/live-action feature film, Enchanted. The film, which co-stars Patrick Dempsey, Idina Menzel, Susan Sarandon, and James Marsden, revolves around Giselle, who is forced from her 2D-animated world to real-life New York City. Adams was amongst 300 or so actresses who auditioned for the role of Giselle, but she stood out to director Kevin Lima because her "commitment to the character, her ability to escape into the character's being without ever judging the character was overwhelming".
Enchanted was a commercial success, grossing more than $340 million worldwide. Her performance was well received by the critics, with Todd McCarthy of Variety describing Enchanted as a star-making vehicle for Adams the way Mary Poppins was for Julie Andrews. Roger Ebert of Chicago Sun-Times commented that Adams was "fresh and winning", while Wesley Morris of The Boston Globe stated that she "demonstrates a real performer's ingenuity for comic timing and physical eloquence". Adams garnered a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, a Critics' Choice Award nomination for Best Actress, and the Saturn Award for Best Actress. Three of the film's songs were nominated for Best Original Song at the 80th Academy Awards. Adams performed one of the songs, "Happy Working Song", live on stage during the Oscar ceremony. "That's How You Know", originally performed by Adams in the film, was sung by Kristin Chenoweth at the ceremony. In an interview, Adams remarked that the song was "perfect" for Chenoweth since Chenoweth "was a huge inspiration for how [she] approached Giselle".
Following Enchanted, Adams appeared in Charlie Wilson's War, co-starring with Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. Adams portrayed Bonnie Bach, the title character's administrative assistant. On the experience of making the film, Adams said, "It was so much fun. Just to be on that set and learn from these people and get to watch Philip Seymour Hoffman and Tom Hanks do these amazing scenes together, directed by Mike Nichols, it was for me like going to school."
The success of Enchanted increased Adams' media exposure during the 2007–08 film awards season. As well as appearing on the covers of Interview, Elle and the Hollywood issue of Vanity Fair, which named her as one of the "10 fresh faces of 2008",Adams hosted the seventh episode of the 33rd season of Saturday Night Live in March 2008. In the episode, she played various characters, including Heidi Klum, as well as singing "What is this Feeling" from Wicked in a mock battle with SNL cast member Kristen Wiig during the opening monologue.
Adams' next project was Sunshine Cleaning, an independent film shot in and around Albuquerque, New Mexico from February to March in 2007. She played a single mother who starts her own crime scene clean-up business in order to make enough money to send her son to a private school. The film premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival as one of the most anticipated titles, but received mixed reviews and was not sold to a distributor as quickly as expected. When it received a limited theatrical release in March 2009, it was generally well-received. Mick LaSalle of San Francisco Chronicle gave the film a positive review, saying: "The play of emotion on Amy Adams' face is the main reason to see Sunshine Cleaning." A. O. Scott of The New York Times wrote that the film "sometimes seems better than it is" because "Ms. Jeffs (Rain, Sylvia) has a good touch with actors and a very good cast. Amy Adams and Emily Blunt, playing sisters who go into business together, attack their roles with vivacity and dedication, even if the roles themselves don't entirely make sense." Of Adams' portrayal of her character, Michael Sragow of The Baltimore Sun said, "Adams achieves perfect clarity, with a touch of the divine."


2008–present
Her first theatrically released film of 2008 was the 1939-set film Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, in which she plays Delysia Lafosse, an aspiring American actress living in London whose life is changed after meeting a governess named Miss Pettigrew, played by Frances McDormand. While the film received generally favorable reviews, Adams' role was noted to be similar to her joyful and naïve characters in Junebug and Enchanted. Carina Chocano of Los Angeles Times stated that "Adams is amazingly adept at playing smart playing dumb". Similarly, Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that "Adams more or less reprises her princess from Enchanted, only with a beguiling touch of ditzy naughtiness".
When asked whether she is in danger of being typecast, Adams responded, "Not at this point... Right now I'm just doing what I enjoy and I've done some different films, I've done some different types of roles. I've done drama this year, we had a film at Sundance (Sunshine Cleaning), but I enjoy playing upbeat characters, I really do because you take your characters home with you whether you intend to or not." In another interview, Adams said, "I think I just respond to those kinds of characters... They're so layered, and I love the fact that they've made this choice to be joyful... I really identify with that sense of hop She also noted that before dyeing her naturally blonde hair red, she mostly played the role of "the bitchy girl".
In late 2008, Adams starred in Doubt, an adaptation of John Patrick Shanley's play of the same name, as the young and innocent Sister James alongside Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Viola Davis. After being informed of the project by her Sunshine Cleaning co-star, Emily Blunt, Adams pursued the role of Sister James but was told that it had already been offered to another actor.Shanley eventually cast Adams in the role because "she's got this Ingrid Bergman thing going on, this luminosity. You see a good person struggling in this complicated world. She's fiercely intelligent but has this peculiar innocence about her. She has a beautiful face of light." On acting alongside Streep and Hoffman, Adams revealed that there was "a sense of uncertainty, a sense of doubt, a sense of wanting to please these amazing actors". The film was well-received by the critics, while Adams' role was noted to be the "least-showy" among the four major parts. Though her performance was criticized by Manohla Dargis of The New York Times as "unsteady", Todd McCarthy of Variety commented that "Adams does all anyone could with the role of a nice young nun." Mick LaSalle of San Francisco Chronicle wrote: "Adams provides one of the film's singular advantages. She takes the role of Sister James, which onstage seemed little more than a sounding board for Sister Aloysius, and turns the young nun into someone quite specific and lovely." Adams was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 81st Academy Awards, the 66th Golden Globe Awards, the 15th Screen Actors Guild Awards, and the 62nd British Academy Film Awards.


Adams with Owen Wilson and Ben Stiller while promoting Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian in May 2009

Adams' next role was Amelia Earhart in Night at the Museum 2: Battle of the Smithsonian, opposite Ben Stiller. The film premiered over the 2009 Memorial Day weekend and topped the U.S. box office with a gross of $15.3 million on its first day, beating Terminator Salvation. Although the film received "mixed or average reviews", Adams' performance was praised by most critics. Among those to give it a positive review, Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune thought that the film "radically improves whenever Amy Adams pops up as aviatrix Amelia Earhart... she's terrific — a sparkling screen presence"; and Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly wrote that "Battle of the Smithsonian has plenty of life. But it's Adams who gives it zing." On the other hand, Ty Burr of The Boston Globe disliked the film, describing Adams' Earhart as "a flighty pill with no resemblance to the woman herself". While Lael Loewenstein of Variety thought Adams was "trying a bit too hard", Roger Ebert commented that she was the only actor who surpassed the material. The film's director, Shawn Levy, says of her: "I don't know that there's a better actress in her generation... I mean, there are other big female actors, but someone who can do Doubt and Julie & Julia, and Night at the Museum 2, all in the same year? Her range is almost unparalleled. It's a huge part of why we feel that this movie is even better than the first."
Following Smithsonian, Adams starred in Julie & Julia as a frustrated government secretary, Julie Powell, who decides to cook all of the recipes in Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking. She next appeared in Leap Year, a romantic comedy which began filming in March 2009 and was released in early 2010. Her upcoming projects include The Fighter; Daughter of the Queen of Sheba; and an adaptation of Adena Halpern's novel The Ten Best Days of My Life, which she will also be producing.



Personal life

As of April 2008, Adams is engaged to her boyfriend of six years, actor and artist Darren Le Gallo. She met Le Gallo in 2001 in an acting class. Since she was "really focused" in class, he initially thought that she was "like Tracy Flick in Election." About a year after they met, Adams and Le Gallo acted together in a short film called Pennies over one weekend, during which they became better acquainted with each other. They started dating shortly thereafter. On May 15, 2010, Adams gave birth to the couple's first child, a girl named Aviana Olea Le Gallo.


Body of work

Filmography
Year Film Role Notes
1999 Drop Dead Gorgeous Leslie Miller
2000 Psycho Beach Party Marvel Ann
"The Chromium Hook" Jill Royaltuber Short film
Cruel Intentions 2 Kathryn Merteuil
2002 The Slaughter Rule Doreen
Pumpkin Alex
Serving Sara Kate
Catch Me if You Can Brenda Strong
2004 The Last Run Alexis
2005 The Wedding Date Amy Ellis
Junebug Ashley Johnsten Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress tied with Michelle Williams for Brokeback Mountain
Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress
Gotham Award for Breakthrough Performance
Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress
Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize for Acting
Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Performance
Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominated—Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Breakthrough Performance
Standing Still Elise
2006 "Pennies" Charlotte Brown Short film
Moonlight Serenade Chloe
Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby Susan
Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny Gorgeous Woman Cameo
2007 The Ex Abby March
Underdog 'Sweet' Polly Purebred (voice)
Enchanted Giselle Saturn Award for Best Actress
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Central Ohio Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance
Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance
Nominated—MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss
Nominated—National Movie Award for Best Performance - Female
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress: Comedy
Charlie Wilson's War Bonnie Bach
2008 Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day Delysia Lafosse/Sarah Grubb
Doubt Sister James National Board of Review Award for Best Cast
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast
Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2009 Sunshine Cleaning Rose Lorkowski
Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian Amelia Earhart/Tess Nominated—Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress: Comedy
Julie & Julia Julie Powell
2010 Leap Year Anna
The Fighter Charlene Post-production


Television appearances
Year Title Role Notes
1999 Late Night with Conan O'Brien Herself (Guest) Episode (23 July 1999)
2000 That '70s Show Kat Peterson Episode ("Burning Down the House")
Charmed Maggie Murphy Episode ("Murphy's Luck")
Zoe, Duncan, Jack & Jane Dinah Episode ("Tall, Dark and Duncan's Boss")
Providence Rebecca 'Becka' Taylor Episode ("The Good Doctor")
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Beth Maclay Episode ("Family")
2001 Smallville Jodi Melville Episode ("Craving")
2002 The West Wing Cathy Episode ("20 Hours in America: Part 1")
2004 King of the Hill Merilynn/Sunshine (voice) Episode ("Cheer Factor")
Misty (voice) Episode ("My Hair Lady")
Dr. Vegas Alice Doherty Recurring
2006 The Office Katy Episodes ("Hot Girl", "The Fire" and "Booze Cruise")
Late Night with Conan O'Brien Herself (Guest) Episode (7 February 2006)
Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson Herself (Guest) Episode (16 February 2006)
2008 Late Show with David Letterman Herself (Guest) Episodes (28 February 2008 and 9 December 2008)
Live with Regis and Kelly Herself (Guest) Episodes (4 March 2008 and 10 December 2008)
Saturday Night Live Herself (Host) Episode (8 March 2008)
The Charlie Rose Show Herself (Guest) Episode (12 December 2008)
The View Herself (Guest) Episode (12 December 2008)
Late Night with Conan O'Brien Herself (Guest) Episode (15 December 2008)
2009 Oprah Winfrey Show Herself (Guest) Episode (20 February 2009)
Late Show with David Letterman Herself (Guest) Episode (29 July 2009)
2010 Late Show with David Letterman Herself (Guest) Episode (5 January 2010)
Late Show with Jimmy Fallon Herself (Guest) Episode (7 January 2010)


Discography
Year Song Soundtrack Label
2007 "True Love's Kiss", Enchanted Walt Disney Records
"Happy Working Song"
"That's How You Know"
2008 "If I Didn't Care" Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day Varèse Sarabande
Source:wikipedia

Blake Shelton

Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976, in Ada, Oklahoma) is an American country music artist. In 2001, he made his debut with the single "Austin". Released as the lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" went on to spend five weeks at Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts. This song was the first single from his gold-certified debut album, which also produced two more Top 20 hits. Although the album was released on Giant Records Nashville, Shelton was transferred to Warner Bros. Records Nashville after Giant closed in late 2001.
His second and third albums, 2003's The Dreamer (his first for Warner Bros. proper) and 2004's Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill, were each certified gold as well. Shelton's fourth album, Pure BS, was issued in 2007, and re-issued in 2008 with a cover of Michael Bublé's pop hit "Home" as one of the bonus tracks. This cover was also that album's third single. A fifth album, Startin' Fires, was released in November 2008.
Overall, Shelton has charted seventeen singles on the country charts, including six Number One hits: "Austin" (2001), "The Baby" (2003), "Some Beach" (2004-2005), "Home" (2008), "She Wouldn't Be Gone" (2009) and "Hillbilly Bone" (2010), a duet with Trace Adkins. Besides these, three more of his singles have reached Top Ten: a cover version of Conway Twitty's "Goodbye Time", "Nobody but Me" and "I'll Just Hold On".

Biography

Biographical info -- life before his musical career.
Shelton was born in Ada, Oklahoma, and began singing at an early age. By age sixteen, Shelton had received a Denbo Diamond Award in his home state. At age 17, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee in pursuit of a recording career.

Blake Shelton and The Dreamer
After several years in Nashville, he signed to Giant Records in 1998. In 2001, he was slated to release a song entitled "I Wanna Talk About Me" as a single. Staff at the label considered the song unsuitable for a lead-off single, however, and the song was eventually recorded by Toby Keith, whose version was a Number One hit.
Instead, Giant released "Austin" written by Kirsti Manna and David Kent, as Shelton's debut single. Shortly after its release, however, Giant Records was dissolved, and Shelton was transferred to Warner Bros. Records, the parent company. "Austin" went on to spend five weeks at Number One on the Billboard Hot Country Singles & Tracks (now Hot Country Songs) charts. This song was the single from his self-titled debut album, which also produced the #18-peaking "All Over Me" (which Shelton co-wrote with fellow country artist Earl Thomas Conley) and the #14-peaking "Ol' Red", the latter of which was a cover version of a George Jones song. Although Shelton's rendition was not a major radio hit, he considers it his signature song, and it has become popular in concert. Blake Shelton is certified gold by the RIAA.
Shelton's second album, The Dreamer, was first released on February 4, 2003 on Warner Bros. Records. Its lead-off single, "The Baby", reached Number One on the country charts, holding that position for three weeks. Although the second and third singles ("Heavy Liftin'" and "Playboys of the Southwestern World", respectively) only reached #32 and #24, The Dreamer earned gold certification as well. He, along with Andy Griggs and Montgomery Gentry, sang guest vocals on Tracy Byrd's mid-2003 single "The Truth About Men".
[edit]Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill and Pure BS
Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill was the title of Shelton's third studio album, released in 2004.Its lead-off single, the Harley Allen co-write "When Somebody Knows You That Well", peaked at #37 on the country charts, while the follow-up "Some Beach" went on to become his third Number One hit, holding the Number One position for four weeks. This single was followed by a cover of Conway Twitty's 1988 single "Goodbye Time". Both this cover and its followup, "Nobody but Me", reached Top Ten for Shelton as well. As with his first two albums, Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill was certified gold. Accompanying the album's release was a video collection entitled Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill: A Video Collection.
On December 18, 2005, several of Shelton's songs, including "Nobody but Me", appeared on the TV movie The Christmas Blessing, starring Neil Patrick Harris, Rebecca Gayheart, Angus T. Jones, and Rob Lowe. Shelton had a small role at the end of the movie, playing himself at a benefit concert, singing "Nobody but Me".
Shelton issued his fourth studio album, Pure BS, in early 2007. Unlike with his first three albums, which were produced entirely by Bobby Braddock, Shelton worked with Braddock, Brent Rowan, and Paul Worley as producers for this album. Its first two singles — "Don't Make Me" and "The More I Drink" — were both Top 20 hits on the country charts, respectively reaching #12 and #19. Also in late 2007, Shelton made appearances on television shows: first as a judge on the talent competition Nashville Star, and later on Clash of the Choirs.
Pure BS was re-released in 2008 with three bonus tracks, including a cover of Michael Bublé's hit single "Home". This cover, released in early 2008 as the album's third single, became his fourth Number One hit in July of that year.
[edit]Startin' Fires and Hillbilly Bone
"Home" was followed in August 2008 by the single "She Wouldn't Be Gone", his fourteenth chart entry and his fifth Number One hit, as well as the first time in his career that he had two consecutive Number Ones. "She Wouldn't Be Gone" is the lead-off to Shelton's fifth studio album, Startin' Fires, which has also produced the single "I'll Just Hold On". This album also includes "Bare Skin Rug", a duet with Lambert. It was produced by Scott Hendricks, except for one track which was produced by Brent Rowan, and another ("I Don't Care", which carried over from Pure BS) was produced by Braddock.
After "I'll Just Hold On" fell from the chart, in late-October 2009, Shelton released a duet with Trace Adkins titled "Hillbilly Bone." The song is the lead-off single and title track to Shelton's EP, Hillbilly Bone, which was released on March 2, 2010. The song has become Shelton's 16th consecutive Top 40 hit on the Hot Country Songs chart.


All About Tonight
After "Hillbilly Bone" reached #1 in February 2010, Shelton released "All About Tonight", as the lead-off single to his upcoming second extended play, which is set for release later in 2010.


Personal life

Shelton was married to longtime girlfriend Kaynette Williams on November 17, 2003. They were divorced in 2006. As of 2006, he began dating fellow country singer Miranda Lambert, whom he met at the CMT's 100 Greatest Duets Concert.  Lambert also sang background vocals on his cover of Michael Bublé's song, "Home". Shelton's version of the song was a Number One single on the Hot Country Songs chart. Blake proposed to Miranda after asking her father for this blessing on May 9, 2010.



Discography

Main article: Blake Shelton discography
Studio album
Blake Shelton (2001)
The Dreamer (2003)
Blake Shelton's Barn & Grill (2004)
Pure BS (2007)
Startin' Fires (2008)
Extended plays
Blake Shelton: Collector's Edition (2008)
Hillbilly Bone (2010)
All About Tonight (2010)
Compilation album
Blake Shelton - The Essentials (2009)



Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Result
2001 Academy of Country Music Top New Male Vocalist Nominated
2002 Academy of Country Music Top New Male Vocalist Nominated
2003 Academy of Country Music Vocal Event of the Year - "The Truth About Men" (with Tracy Byrd, Andy Griggs and Montgomery Gentry) Nominated
2003 Country Music Association Horizon Award Nominated
Vocal Event of the Year - "The Truth About Men" (with Tracy Byrd, Andy Griggs and Montgomery Gentry) Nominated
2010 Academy of Country Music Vocal Event of the Year - "Hillbilly Bone" (with Trace Adkins) Won
CMT Music Awards Collaborative Video of the Year - "Hillbilly Bone" (with Trace Adkins) Pending
Source:wikipedia