Michelle Pfeiffer

Michelle Marie Pfeiffer, (pronounced /ˈfaɪfər/; born April 29, 1958) is an American actress. She made her screen début in 1980, but first garnered mainstream attention with her appearance in Scarface (1983). She rose to prominence during the late 1980s and early 1990s, during which time she gave a series of critically-acclaimed performances in the films Dangerous Liaisons (1988), Married to the Mob (1988), The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), The Russia House (1990), Frankie and Johnny (1991), Love Field (1992), and The Age of Innocence (1993), as well as appearing as Catwoman, the feline anti-heroine of Batman Returns (1992).

Pfeiffer has been nominated for an Academy Award three times: Best Supporting Actress for Dangerous Liaisons (1988), Best Actress for The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), and Best Actress for Love Field (1992). She won a Golden Globe Award for The Fabulous Baker Boys, a BAFTA Award for Dangerous Liaisons, and the Silver Bear for Best Actress for Love Field. She has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard.

Pfeiffer appeared on the cover of People's first "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" issue in 1990, and again in 1999, having made the list a record six times during the decade.

Early life

Pfeiffer was born in Santa Ana, California, the second of four children born to Richard Pfeiffer, a heating and air-conditioning contractor, and Donna (née Taverna), a homemaker. She has one elder brother, Rick, and two younger sisters, Dedee Pfeiffer and Lori Pfeiffer, both actresses. The family moved to Midway City, California, where Pfeiffer spent her childhood. She attended Fountain Valley High School and worked as a check-out girl at Vons supermarket. She then attended Golden West College where she was a member of the Alpha Delta Pi sorority. After a short stint training to be a court stenographer, she decided upon an acting career, and entered the Miss Orange County Beauty Pageant in 1978 (which she won), and the Miss Los Angeles contest later that year, after which she was signed by a Hollywood agent who appeared on the judging panel. Moving to Los Angeles, she began to audition for commercials and bit parts in films.

Film career

First television and film appearances

Pfeiffer's early acting appearances included television roles in Fantasy Island, Delta House and BAD Cats, and small film roles in Falling in Love Again (1980) with Susannah York, The Hollywood Knights (1980) opposite Tony Danza, and Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen (1981), none of which met with much success. Pfeiffer took acting lessons, and appeared in three further television movies - Callie and Son (1981) with Lindsay Wagner, The Children Nobody Wanted (1981), and a remake of Splendor in the Grass (as Ginny) - before landing her first major film role as Stephanie Zinone in Grease 2 (1982), the sequel to the smash-hit musical Grease (1978). The film was a critical and commercial failure, although Pfeiffer herself received some positive attention, notably from the New York Times, which said "although she is a relative screen newcomer, Miss Pfeiffer manages to look much more insouciant and comfortable than anyone else in the cast." Despite escaping the critical mauling, Pfeiffer's agent later admitted that her association with the film meant that "she couldn't get any jobs. Nobody wanted to hire her."

Screen success

Pfeiffer in March 1985

Director Brian de Palma, having seen Grease 2, refused to audition Pfeiffer for Scarface (1983), but relented upon the producer's insistence. She was cast as cocaine-addicted trophy wife Elvira Hancock. The film was considered excessively violent by most critics, but became a commercial hit and gained a large cult following in subsequent years. Pfeiffer received positive reviews for her supporting turn; Richard Corliss of Time Magazine wrote, "most of the large cast is fine: Michelle Pfeiffer is better..." while Dominick Dunne, in an article for Vanity Fair entitled "Blonde Ambition", wrote, "[s]he is on the verge of stardom. In the parlance of the industry, she is hot."

Following Scarface, she accepted the roles of Isabeau d'Anjou in Ladyhawke (1985) opposite Rutger Hauer, Diana in John Landis' comedy Into the Night (1985) opposite Jeff Goldblum, Faith Healy in Alan Alda's Sweet Liberty (1986) opposite Michael Caine, and Brenda Landers in a segment of the 1950s sci-fi parody Amazon Women on the Moon (1987), all of which, despite achieving only modest commercial success, helped to establish her as an actress. She finally scored a major box-office hit as Sukie Ridgemont in the supernatural comedy The Witches of Eastwick (1987), alongside Jack Nicholson, Cher and Susan Sarandon.

Critical acclaim

Pfeiffer was cast against type, as a murdered gangster's widowed moll on the run, in Jonathan Demme's mafia comedy Married to the Mob (1988), opposite Matthew Modine, Dean Stockwell and Mercedes Ruehl. For the role of Angela de Marco, she donned a curly brunette wig and a Brooklyn accent, and received her first of six consecutive Golden Globe Best Actress Award nominations. Pfeiffer then appeared as chic restauranteuse Jo Ann Vallenari in Tequila Sunrise (1988) opposite Mel Gibson and Kurt Russell, but experienced creative and personal differences with director Robert Towne, who later described her as the "most difficult" actress he's ever worked with.

At Demme's personal recommendation, Pfeiffer joined the cast of Stephen Frears's Dangerous Liaisons (1988) alongside Glenn Close and John Malkovich, playing the virtuous victim of seduction, Madame Marie de Tourvel. Her performance won her widespread acclaim; Hal Hinson of the Washington Post saw Pfeiffer's role as "the least obvious and the most difficult. Nothing is harder to play than virtue, and Pfeiffer is smart enough not to try. Instead, she embodies it. Her porcelain-skinned beauty, in this regard, is a great asset, and the way it's used makes it seem an aspect of her spirituality." She won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Pfeiffer then accepted the role of Susie Diamond, a hard-edged former call girl turned lounge singer, in The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), which co-starred Jeff Bridges and Beau Bridges as the eponymous Baker Boys. She underwent intensive voice training for the role, and performed all of her character's vocals. The film was a modest success, but Pfeiffer's portrayal of Susie drew raves from critics. Pauline Kael wrote of the performance as possessing "the grinning infectiousness of Carole Lombard, [and] the radiance of the very young Lauren Bacall," while Roger Ebert compared her to Rita Hayworth in Gilda and Marilyn Monroe in Some Like It Hot, and described the film as "one of the movies they will use as a document, years from now, when they begin to trace the steps by which Pfeiffer became a great star."Variety singled out her performance of 'Makin' Whoopee', writing that Pfeiffer "hits the spot in the film's certain-to-be-remembered highlight... crawling all over a piano in a blazing red dress. She's dynamite." During the 1989–1990 awards season, Pfeiffer dominated the Best Actress category at every major awards ceremony, winning awards at the Golden Globes, the National Board of Review, the National Society of Film Critics, the New York Film Critics Circle, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association and the Chicago Film Critics Association. At the Academy Awards, she was favored to win the Best Actress Oscar,but the award went to Jessica Tandy for Driving Miss Daisy in what was considered a surprise upset. The only other major acting award for which she was nominated that she did not take home for The Fabulous Baker Boys was the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, which also went to Tandy.

Mid-career

Pfeiffer continued to build on her A-list status in Hollywood, accepting (and also turning down) many varied, high-profile roles. She took the part of Katya Orlova in the film adaptation of John le Carré's The Russia House (1990) opposite Sean Connery, a role that required her to adopt a Russian accent. For her efforts, she was rewarded with a third Golden Globe nomination. Pfeiffer then landed the role of damaged waitress Frankie in Garry Marshall's Frankie and Johnny (1991), a film adaptation of Terrence McNally's Broadway play Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, which reunited her with her Scarface co-star, Al Pacino. The casting was seen as controversial by many, as Pfeiffer was considered far too beautiful to play an "ordinary" waitress; Kathy Bates, the original Frankie on Broadway, also expressed disappointment over the producers' choice.Pfeiffer herself stated that she took the role because it "wasn't what people would expect of [her]." Pfeiffer was once again nominated for a Golden Globe for her performance.

Pfeiffer earned her third Academy Award nomination and fifth Golden Globe nomination for her performance as Lurene Hallett in the nostalgic independent drama Love Field (1992), a film that had been temporarily shelved by the financially-troubled Orion Pictures. It was finally released in late 1992, in time for Oscar consideration. The New York Times review wrote of Pfeiffer as "again demonstrating that she is as subtle and surprising as she is beautiful." For her portrayal of the eccentric Dallas housewife, she won the Silver Bear Best Actress award at the Berlin Film Festival.

Pfeiffer took the role of Catwoman (Selina Kyle) in Tim Burton's Batman Returns (1992) opposite Michael Keaton and Danny DeVito. For the role of Catwoman, she trained in martial arts and kickboxing; one co-star stated that "Michelle had four stunt doubles - but she did all her own whippin'." Peter Travers of Rolling Stone praised her for giving the "feminist avenger a tough core of intelligence and wit" and called her a "classic dazzler."Premiere retrospectively lauded her performance: "Arguably the outstanding villain of the Tim Burton era, Michelle Pfeiffer's deadly kitten with a whip brought sex to the normally neutered franchise. Her stitched-together, black patent leather costume, based on a sketch of Burton's, remains the character's most iconic look. And Michelle Pfeiffer overcomes Batman Returns' heavy-handed feminist dialogue to deliver a growling, fierce performance."

The following year, she played Countess Ellen Olenska in Martin Scorsese's film adaptation of Edith Wharton's The Age of Innocence (1993) opposite Daniel Day-Lewis and Winona Ryder, receiving the Elvira Notari Prize at the Venice Film Festival, and a sixth nomination for a Golden Globe award.

Pfeiffer's subsequent career choices have met with varying degrees of success. After The Age of Innocence, she played the role of Laura Alden opposite Jack Nicholson in Wolf (1994), a horror film that garnered a mixed critical reception.[25] Her next role was that of high school teacher and former US Marine LouAnne Johnson in the surprise box office hit Dangerous Minds (1995). She appeared as her character in the music video for the soundtrack's lead single, 'Gangsta's Paradise' by Coolio (featuring L.V.). The song won the 1996 Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance, and the video won the MTV Video Music Award for Best Rap Video. She then took the role of Sally Atwater in the romantic drama Up Close & Personal (1996) opposite Robert Redford; the film's screenplay, co-written by husband and wife team John Gregory Dunne and Joan Didion, was intended to be a biographical account of the career of news anchor Jessica Savitch, but the final version had almost nothing to do with Savitch's life, leading Dunne to write an exposé of his eight-year battle with the Hollywood producers, Monster: Living Off the Big Screen.

Subsequent performances included the title (but technically supporting) role of Gillian Lewis in To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday (1996) opposite Peter Gallagher and Claire Danes, Melanie Parker in One Fine Day (1996) opposite George Clooney, Rose Cook Lewis in the film adaptation of Jane Smiley's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel A Thousand Acres (1997) with Jessica Lange and Jennifer Jason Leigh, Beth Cappadora in The Deep End of the Ocean (1998) opposite Treat Williams, Titania the Queen of the Fairies in A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999) with Kevin Kline, Rupert Everett and Stanley Tucci, and Katie Jordan in The Story of Us (1999) opposite Bruce Willis.

Her next film, the Hitchcockian thriller What Lies Beneath (2000) with Harrison Ford, was a commercial success, opening number one at the box office in July 2000. She then accepted the role of highly-strung lawyer Rita Harrison in I Am Sam (2001) opposite Sean Penn. For her performance as murderous artist Ingrid Magnussen in White Oleander (2002), alongside Alison Lohman in her film début, Renée Zellweger and Robin Wright Penn, Pfeiffer garnered a substantial amount of critical praise. Stephen Holden of the New York Times wrote that "Ms. Pfeiffer, giving the most complex screen performance of her career, makes her Olympian seductress at once irresistible and diabolical." Kenneth Turan of the Los Angeles Times described her as "incandescent," bringing "power and unshakable will to her role as mother-master manipulator" in a "riveting, impeccable performance."She earned Best Supporting Actress Awards from the San Diego Film Critics Society and the Kansas City Film Critics Circle, as well as a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination.

Pfeiffer also did voice work in two animated films during this period, voicing Tzipporah in The Prince of Egypt (1998), in which she introduced the Academy Award–winning song, 'When You Believe', and Eris in Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003).

Return to films

After a four-year hiatus, during which she remained largely out of the public eye and devoted time to her husband and children,[30] Pfeiffer returned to the screen in 2007 with villainous roles in two major summer blockbusters, as Velma Von Tussle in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical Hairspray (2007) with John Travolta and Christopher Walken, and as ancient witch Lamia in fantasy adventure Stardust (2007) opposite Claire Danes and Robert De Niro.

Pfeiffer then accepted the roles of Rosie in Amy Heckerling's I Could Never Be Your Woman (2007) with Paul Rudd and Saoirse Ronan, and Linda in Personal Effects (2009) opposite Ashton Kutcher. Her next film, an adaptation of Colette's Chéri (2009), reunited her with the director (Stephen Frears) and screenwriter (Christopher Hampton) of Dangerous Liaisons (1988), a film for which all three were nominees for (and, in Hampton's case, recipient of) an Academy Award. Pfeiffer played the role of Léa de Lonval opposite Rupert Friend in the title role, with Kathy Bates as his mother. Chéri premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in February 2009, and received a nomination for the Golden Bear award. The Times of London reviewed the film favorably, describing Hampton's screenplay as a "steady flow of dry quips and acerbic one-liners" and Pfeiffer's performance as "magnetic and subtle, her worldly nonchalance a mask for vulnerability and heartache."[32] Roger Ebert in the Chicago Sun-Times wrote that it was "fascinating to observe how Pfeiffer controls her face and voice during times of painful hurt." Kenneth Turan in the Los Angeles Times praised the "wordless scenes that catch Léa unawares, with the camera alone seeing the despair and regret that she hides from the world. It's the kind of refined, delicate acting Pfeiffer does so well, and it's a further reminder of how much we've missed her since she's been away."

Theatre

In 1989, Pfeiffer made her stage début in the role of Olivia in Twelfth Night, a New York Shakespeare Festival production staged in Central Park. Other film actors appearing in the play included Jeff Goldblum as Malvolio and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio as Viola. Frank Rich's review in the New York Times was extremely critical of the production, stating "Ms. Pfeiffer offers an object lesson in how gifted stars with young careers can be misused by those more interested in exploiting their celebrity status than in furthering their artistic development."[22] Rich praised Pfeiffer's performance in what was then her most recent film, the screwball comedy Married to the Mob, but stating it was "unfortunate that the actress has been asked to make both her stage and Shakespearean comic début in a role chained to melancholy and mourning."

Personal life

Marriages

At the start of her career, Pfeiffer met Peter Horton at an acting class taught by Milton Katselas in Los Angeles.They married in Santa Monica when Pfeiffer was 22, and it was on their honeymoon that she discovered she had won the lead role in Grease 2. Horton directed Pfeiffer in a 1985 ABC TV special, One Too Many, in which she played the high school girlfriend of an alcoholic student (Val Kilmer); and in 1987, the real-life couple then played an on-screen couple in the 'Hospital' segment of John Landis's comedy skit compilation, Amazon Women on the Moon. However, they decided to separate in 1988, and were divorced two years later; Horton later blamed the split on their devotion to their work rather than their marriage.

Pfeiffer and husband David E. Kelley at the 47th Emmy Awards, 1994

In 1993, Pfeiffer was set up on a blind date with television writer and producer David E. Kelley (creator of Chicago Hope, Picket Fences, Ally McBeal, Boston Public, The Practice and Boston Legal), but it became a group event and they barely spoke to each other.[40] The following week, Kelley took her to the movies to see Bram Stoker's Dracula, and they began dating seriously. They married on November 13, 1993. Since then, she has made an uncredited cameo appearance in one episode of Kelley's television series Picket Fences and played the title character in To Gillian On Her 37th Birthday, for which Kelley wrote the screenplay.

Other relationships

In between her marriages to Horton and Kelley, Pfeiffer had a three-year relationship with Fisher Stevens (Early Edition, Hackers and Short Circuit). They met when Pfeiffer was starring in the New York Shakespeare Festival production of Twelfth Night, in which Stevens had the part of Sir Andrew Aguecheek.

Children

Pfeiffer and Kelley have two children, one adopted daughter and one biological son. Pfeiffer, who was by her own admission desperate to start a family, had entered into private adoption proceedings before she even met Kelley. The biracial baby girl she adopted had been born in March 1993, to a young nurse in New York who could not afford to support all of her children; she was christened Claudia Rose in November 1993, on the same day that Pfeiffer and Kelley were married. Pfeiffer soon became pregnant, and in August 1994, gave birth to a son, John Henry.

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes

1980 The Hollywood Knights Suzie Q

Falling In Love Again Sue Wellington

1981 Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen Cordelia Farenington

1982 Grease 2 Stephanie Zinone Nominated - Young Artist Award for Best Young Motion Picture Actress

1983 Scarface Elvira Hancock

1985 Into the Night Diana

Ladyhawke Isabeau d'Anjou Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Actress

1986 Sweet Liberty Faith Healy

1987 The Witches of Eastwick Sukie Ridgemont

Amazon Women on the Moon Brenda Landers

1988 Married to the Mob Angela de Marco Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

Tequila Sunrise Jo Ann Vallenari

Dangerous Liaisons Madame Marie de Tourvel BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role

Nominated - Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress

1989 The Fabulous Baker Boys Susie Diamond Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama

Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress

Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress

National Board of Review Award for Best Actress

National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress

New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress

Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actress

Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role

1990 The Russia House Katya Orlova Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama

1991 Frankie and Johnny Frankie Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

1992 Batman Returns Catwoman/Selina Kyle Nominated - MTV Movie Awards - Most Desirable Female and Best Kiss (with Michael Keaton)

Love Field Lurene Hallett Berlin Film Festival - Silver Bear for Best Actress

Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actress

Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama

1993 The Age of Innocence Countess Ellen Olenska Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama

1994 Wolf Laura Alden Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Actress

1995 Dangerous Minds LouAnne Johnson Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress (Drama)

Nominated - MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance and Most Desirable Female

1996 Up Close & Personal Sally/Tally Atwater

To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday Gillian Lewis

One Fine Day Melanie Parker Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress (Comedy/Romance)

Executive producer

1997 A Thousand Acres Rose Cook Lewis Producer (uncredited)

1998 The Prince of Egypt Tzipporah Voice

1999 The Deep End of the Ocean Beth Cappadora

A Midsummer Night's Dream Titania

The Story of Us Katie Jordan

2000 What Lies Beneath Claire Spencer Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Actress (Suspense)

Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Actress

2001 I Am Sam Rita Harrison Williams

2002 White Oleander Ingrid Magnussen Kansas City Film Critics Circle Best Supporting Actress

San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress

Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress

2003 Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas Eris Voice

2007 Stardust Lamia Nominated - Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress

Hairspray Velma Von Tussle Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast

Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast in a Motion Picture

I Could Never Be Your Woman Rosie

2009 Personal Effects Linda

Cheri Lea de Lonval

Television work

Year Title Role Notes

1978 Fantasy Island Athena Episode - "The Island of Lost Women/The Flight of Great Yellow Bird"

1979 Delta House The Bombshell 2 episodes ("Hoover and the Bomb", "The Legacy")

The Solitary Man Tricia

CHiPs Jobina Episode - "The Watch Commander"

1980 Enos Joy 1 episode

B.A.D. Cats Samantha "Sunshine" Jensen

1981 Fantasy Island Deborah Dare Episode - "Elizabeth's Baby/The Artist and the Lady"

Callie & Son Sue Lynn Bordeaux credited as Michele Pfeiffer

Splendor in the Grass Ginny Stamper

The Children Nobody Wanted Jennifer Williams

1985 One Too Many Annie ABC Afterschool Special

1987 Tales from the Hollywood Hills: Natica Jackson Natica Jackson

1993 The Simpsons Mindy Simmons Episode "The Last Temptation of Homer"

Picket Fences Client Episode "Freezer Burn"

1996 Muppets Tonight Herself (1 episode)

(source:wikipedia)

Juliana Paes

Juliana Couto Paes (born March 26, 1979 in Rio Bonito, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a Brazilian actress of mixed Bolivian, Azerbaijani and Portuguese ancestry[1][not in citation given]. She became nationally-know in telenovelas and modelling. She also starred a local version of the musical The Producers, as Ulla.

Biography

Juliana is the oldest child of Regina and Carlos Henrique Paes. She has three siblings: Mariana, Rosana and Carlos Henrique Jr.
An actress, model and with a university degree, she became nationally known for her performances in soap operas of Rede Globo and for her beauty. She was cover of Playboy magazine on the 2004 May issue.
In 2006, Juliana was elected one of the sexiest one hundred people in the world by People Magazine. After that international projection, she hired an agent, showing interest in starting an acting career in the US.
Juliana starred in many commercial campaigns, such as Colorama's and Hope's. Currently, she is the face of Arezzo for the second time and will replace model Gisele Bündchen as the star of the campaign for the jewelry brand Vivara.
On September 9, 2008, Juliana got married to business man Carlos Eduardo Baptista, at the Itanhangá Golf Club. Her last work on television was the role of Maíra, on a João Emanuel Carneiro soap opera called "A Favorita", which had to be interrupted so she could play a leading role for the first time on "Caminho das Índias" in which she plays Maya.



Filmography

Novelas
2009 Caminho das Índias - Maya Meetha
2008 A Favorita - Maíra Carvalho
2008 Duas Caras - Herself
2006/07 Pé na Jaca - Guinevere "Gui" Ataliba dos Santos
2005 América - Creusa
2003/04 Celebridade - Jaqueline Joy
2001/02 O Clone - Karla
2000/01 Laços de Família - Ritinha
[edit]TV Series
2007 Toma Lá, Dá Cá - Suellen
2007 Dicas de um Sedutor - Vera Lucia
2005 Levando a Vida - Grace
2003 Os Normais - Marialva
2002 Sítio do Pica-Pau Amarelo - Jurema
2001 Brava Gente - Rosinha
1998 Malhação


Miniseries
2003 A Casa das Sete Mulheres - Teiniaguá

Cinema
2008 - Kung Fu Panda - Master Tigress (Brazilian dub)
2007 - A Casa da Mãe Joana - Dolores Sol
2006 - Seus problemas acabaram - special guest
2005 - Mais uma vez amor - Lia
Source:wikipedia

Adrien Brody

Adrien Brody (born April 14, 1973) is an American actor. He received widespread recognition and subsequent acclaim after starring in Roman Polanski's The Pianist (2002). He is notable as the youngest actor to ever win the best actor in a leading role and is the only one under 30 years old to receive an Academy Award for Best Actor. He is also the only American actor ever to win a César Award.

Early life

Brody was born in Woodhaven, Queens, New York, the son of Sylvia Plachy, a photojournalist, and Elliot Brody, a retired history professor and painter. Brody's father is of Polish-Jewish descent, and Brody's mother was born in Budapest, Hungary to a Catholic father and Jewish mother.As a child, Brody performed magic shows at children's birthday parties as "The Amazing Adrien". Brody attended New York's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts (famous as the inspiration for television's Fame). His parents enrolled him in acting classes to distance him from the dangerous kids with whom he associated. He attended summer camp at Long Lake Camp for the Arts in the Adirondacks in upstate New York.
In 1992, Brody was seriously hurt in a motorcycle accident in which he flew over a car and crashed head-first into a crosswalk. He spent months recuperating. He has broken his nose three times doing stunts. His nose was broken once again during the filming of Summer of Sam.



Career

Taking acting classes as a youth, by age thirteen, he had done an off-Broadway play and a PBS-TV-movie. Brody hovered on the brink of stardom, receiving an Independent Spirit Award nomination for his role in the 1998 film Restaurant and later praise for his roles in Spike Lee's Summer of Sam and Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line. He received widespread recognition when he was cast as the lead in Roman Polanski's The Pianist (2002). To prepare for the role, Brody withdrew for months, gave up his apartment and his car, learned how to play Chopin on the piano, and lost 29 lbs (13 kg). The role won him an Academy Award for Best Actor, making him, at 29, the youngest actor ever to win the award, and to date the only winner under the age of 30. He also won a César Award for his performance, becoming the only American actor to win one. Throughout his career, Brody has been compared to Al Pacino for his unique looks and method acting.[citation needed] He is also widely known for giving presenter Halle Berry a back-breaking kiss before accepting his Best Actor Oscar, and as the spokesman for fashion brand Ermenegildo Zegna.
Brody appeared on Saturday Night Live on May 10, 2003, his first TV work, but he was banned from the show after giving an improvised introduction while wearing faux dreadlocks for Jamaican reggae musical guest Sean Paul (the show's producer, Lorne Michaels, is notorious for hating unscripted performances). However, the unscripted intro remains in reruns of the episode. Other TV appearances include NBC's The Today Show and on MTV's Punk'd after being tricked by Ashton Kutcher.
After The Pianist Brody appeared in four very different movies. He played Noah Percy, a mentally disabled young man, in the movie The Village, by M. Night Shyamalan, shell-shocked war veteran Jack Starks in The Jacket, writer Jack Driscoll in the 2005 King Kong remake, and father-to-be Peter Whitman in The Darjeeling Limited by Wes Anderson. King Kong was a box office success; it grossed $550 million worldwide and is Brody's most successful movie to date in monetary terms. He also played a detective in Hollywoodland. He has also appeared in Diet Coke commercials and Tori Amos' music video for "A Sorta Fairytale".
On January 5, 2006, Brody confirmed speculation that he indeed was interested and very willing to play the role of The Joker in 2008's The Dark Knight. However, Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros. eventually decided to cast Heath Ledger as The Joker. He was also in talks with Paramount to play Spock in J. J. Abrams Star Trek XI, but it ultimately went to Zachary Quinto. Brody starred as a con man named "Bloom" in Rian Johnson's The Brothers Bloom, released in May 2009. Also in 2009, Brody starred in Splice, a science fiction film directed by Vincenzo Natali. He will also play the lead role of Royce in Predators (a sequel to the original Predator) which will be directed by Nimrod Antal and produced by Robert Rodriguez.



Personal life

In May 2009, Adrien Brody and Elsa Pataky ended their two-year relationship.


Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
1988 Home at Last Billy
1989 New York Stories Mel
1991 The Boy Who Cried Bitch Eddie
1993 King of the Hill Lester Silverstone
1994 Angels in the Outfield Danny Hemmerling
Jailbreakers Skinny
1996 Nothing to Lose Ray Diglovanni aka Ten Benny
Solo Dr. Bill Stewart, Solo's Designer
Bullet Ruby
1997 The Last Time I Committed Suicide Ben
Six Ways to Sunday Arnie Finklestein
1998 The Thin Red Line Cpl. Fife His character doesn't speak throughout the movie, despite being onscreen for over 15 minutes.
The Undertaker's Wedding Mario Bellini
Restaurant Chris Calloway Nominated - Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Male
1999 Oxygen Harry
Liberty Heights Van Kurtzman
Summer of Sam Richie Tringale
2000 Bread and Roses Sam Shapiro
Harrison's Flowers Kyle Morris
2001 The Affair of the Necklace Count Nicolas De La Motte
Love the Hard Way Jack Grace VFAA Award for Best Actor
2002 Dummy Steven
The Pianist Wladyslaw Szpilman Academy Award for Best Actor
Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
César Award for Best Actor
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor
Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated - Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor
Nominated - European Film Award for Best Actor
Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Drama
Nominated - Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actor
Nominated - Polish Academy Award for Best Actor
Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actor
Nominated - Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor
2003 The Singing Detective First Hood
2004 The Village Noah Percy
2005 The Jacket Jack Starks
King Kong Jack Driscoll
2006 Hollywoodland Louis Simo
2007 The Tehuacan Project Narrator
Manolete Manuel Rodríguez Sánchez "Manolete"
The Darjeeling Limited Peter Whitman
2008 The Brothers Bloom Bloom
Cadillac Records Leonard Chess Black Reel Award for Best Ensemble Cast
2010 Splice Clive
Giallo Inspector Enzo Lavia
Fantastic Mr. Fox Rickity voice
2010 High School Psycho Ed post-production
The Experiment Travis post-production
Predators Royce post-production
Source:wikipedia

Beatriz Montañez

Lopez Beatriz Montañez, ( Almaden , Ciudad Real , 1977) is a journalist Spanish collaborating on the program The middle of The Sixth.

Biography and Career

Born in Almaden , experience in the media begins in the town of Almaden station Onda Mancha ", now converted Cadena SER Almaden , with the help of its director Luis Mariano Waiters , producing various programs. Subsequently, following completion of compulsory education in Spain , left the country to pursue a degree in Media by the University of California , in the United States ,1meanwhile made his early work in U.S. Hispanic media in different chain affiliate stations Telemundo ( American chain owned by NBC ), or Radio KLVE (K-Love). Back in Spain, made various audio-visual courses, studied conducting at the Institute of Spanish Radio and Television issued an online master in Harvard University , Education online and Democracy and the Media. " He has also worked in local radio Cadena SER in Castilla-La Mancha reporting programs featuring local and provincial levels. In print wrote collaborations in the Lanza Journal of Ciudad Real. In his years as a model, made numerous advertising campaigns that led her to visit various cities such as Milan, , Tokyo, , New York and Los Angeles.
He has also appeared in music videos, like video Andrés Calamaro Like I Love You (1999), or the video for the song of my life The fate of El Canto del Loco.
In the year 2006he joined the program of The Sixth Intermediate , presented by The Great Wyoming , where he participates as a collaborator with the "media Fritanga" (formerly "Journal of Media") which is reviewed in humorous currently every day, and as such has earned for winning an Ondas Award for best current affairs program. In 2009it he combined with the presentation of documentary program Where were you when ... , produced for the channel Forta.
Source:wikipedia

Clotilde Reiss

Clotilde Reiss (born 31 July 1985) is a French student, whose arrest in Iran on espionage charges on 1 July 2009 has generated considerable diplomatic controversy. She holds a master's degree from Sciences-Po Lille. At the time of her arrest she was teaching in Isfahan and writing a master'sthesis about teaching history and geography in Iranian schools.
Reiss was arrested at Tehran airport on 1 July 2009 on her way home to France via Beirut. Iranian authorities alleged that Reiss took photographs of the 2009 Iranian election protests in Isfahan and emailed them to a friend, an act which constituted potential espionage against the Islamic Republic in the eyes of Iranian prosecutors. News of her arrest did not become public for several days, during which time the French government tried unsuccessfully to obtain her release.
When it became clear that Iran intended to put Reiss on trial, officials at the highest level of the French government publicly mobilized on her behalf; French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner called the charges against her "absurd" and President Nicolas Sarkozy dismissed them as "pure fantasy". She was visited by the ambassador of France in Tehran, Bernard Poletti, on 9 July 2009.
Her trial began in Tehran on August 8, 2009[4], at the same time as Nazak Afshar, a French-Iranian employee of the French Embassy and Hossein Rassam, an Iranian employee of the British embassy. The Swedish Presidency of the European Union expressed concern over the trial and demanded that the prisoners be released promptly, saying, "The Presidency reiterates that actions against one EU country - citizen or embassy staff - is considered an action against all of EU, and will be treated accordingly." She was released on bail and resided at the French embassy, unable to leave the country pending the final outcome of her trial.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran issued a statement signaling his government's willingness to release Reiss, but clarifying that her release depended on the "approach and behavior adopted by French officials. He declined to elaborate further as to what he expected from the French government, saying only that "they know what to do." France has suggested that Iran is attempting to blackmail Paris into releasing an Iranian agent jailed in France for the 1991 murder of an exiled former prime minister in exchange for Reiss's freedom, a swap that they have vigorously opposed.
Clotilde Reiss was freed on Sunday, May 16th, 2010. She arrived in Paris on Sunday the 16 May 2010 at around one o'clock and was received at the Elysee by president Nicolas Sarkozy. In a statement, she thanked her supporters and the president, "who proclaimed my innocence as soon as I was arrested".wikipedia

Sime Darby

Sime Darby (MYX: 4197) is Malaysia's leading multinational conglomerate involved in five core sectors: plantations, property, industrial, motors and energy & utilities, with a growing presence in healthcare. Sime Darby is listed on the Main Board of Bursa Malaysia Securities Berhad.


History

Sime Darby
In 1910, British businessmen William Sime and Henry Darby established Sime, Darby & Co, a fledgling player in the lucrative rubber industry. The company later diversified to cultivating palm oil and coca and met with enormous success.


William Middleton Sime
William Middleton Sime was a 37-year-old Scottish adventurer and fortune seeker. He had two failed ventures behind him – one in import-export business and the other in coffee plantations - when he left his job as a mercantile assistant in Singapore.


Henry Darby
Henry Darby was a wealthy 50-year-old English banker who owned property in Northern Malaya.


Kumpulan Guthrie Berhad
Main article: Guthrie (company)
The company was founded in Singapore in 1821 by Alexander Guthrie: it was the first British trading company in South East Asia. Guthrie introduced rubber and oil palm in Malaysia in 1896 and 1924 respectively.



Golden Hope
Main article: Golden Hope
In 1905 Harrison and Crosfield, a British tea and coffee trading company, purchased several small estates in Malaysia for £50,000 and amalgamated them to form the Golden Hope Rubber Estate.
In 1982 Harrison and Crosfield sold three large plantation groups - Golden Hope, Pataling, and London Asiatic - to Malaysian concerns for £146 million.
The business was renamed GHPB in 1990 after Pemodalan Nasional Berhad took majority equity of the company. Its interests originally were in tropical agriculture but, while plantations have remained a core business interest, the company has diversified into other areas including glycerine manufacture, fruit juices and real estate. The group now has 83 subsidiaries based in seven countries. The main estate and plantations are Carey Island and Banting in Selangor.



Malaysianisation of the three companies
In the late 1970s just under half the equity in Sime Darby Holdings was acquired by Malaysian investors – mainly through Tradewinds (Malaysia) Sendirian Berhad. In December 1979 with the incorporation of two new Malaysian entities, Sime Darby Berhad (SDB) and Consolidated Plantations Berhad (CPB), Sime Darby moved its headquarters to Kuala Lumpur and became a Malaysian registered and managed concern. By 1983, the Malaysian equity stood at over 54%.
In 1981, the group became a wholly Malaysian-owned company after former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad engineered a raid by Pemodalan Nasional Berhad to take over the group at the London Stock Exchange.
Guthrie Group was made a public company in 1987 and was subsequently listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) in 1989 in what was then the largest public issue in Malaysia.
In 1982 Harrison and Crossfield sold three large plantation groups - Golden Hope, Pataling, and London Asiatic - to Malaysian concerns for £146 million. The business was renamed Golden Hope Plantations Berhad in 1990 after Pemodalan Nasional Berhad took majority equity of the company. Its interests originally were in tropical agriculture but, while plantations have remained a core business interest, the company has diversified into other areas including glycerine manufacture, fruit juices and real estate. The group now has 83 subsidiaries based in seven countries. The main estate and plantations are Carey Island and Banting in Selangor.


Merger
In January 2007, the three Malaysian giants merged into the vehicle entity named Synergy Drive and on 27 November 2007, Synergy Drive was renamed Sime Darby Berhad.



Post Merger
Sime Darby Berhad, the merged entity of three Malaysian corporations is a diversified Malaysian multinational with a workforce of 104,300 employees. Its core businesses are plantations, property, motor, heavy equipment and energy & utilities which are expected to benefit from continued population growth and economic development within the Asia Pacific region and the global economy. Sime Darby's non-core business units such as healthcare, insurance, and home products are grouped under its Allied Products and Services division (APS). Subsidiaries under APS include Sime Darby Medical Centre Subang Jaya (formerly known as Subang Jaya Medical Centre) (healthcare), Sime Alexander Forbes (insurance), and Dunlopillo Malaysia Sdn Bhd (home products). It also has a controlling share in the supermarket chain Tesco in Malaysia. Sime Darby is a multinational company, with more than 60 percent of the group’s revenue coming from abroad.
As a result of the merger, Sime Darby became one of the world’s leading listed oil palm plantation groups. Sime Darby Berhad also has a significant presence in downstream palm oil activities. The merger also made Sime Darby a leading developer of residential and commercial communities. Furthermore it holds Caterpillar rights in 12 countries worldwide and distributorship and dealership of well known motor brands such as BMW. The current President and Group Chief Executive is Dato’ Seri Ahmad Zubir Murshid.


Businesses

Sime Darby is an international conglomerate involved in many types of businesses raging from aerospace to tourism. Plantation sector remains the most important sector for the company.


Plantation
Plantation is Sime Darby largest revenue generator. In 2009, about 70% of the conglomerate profits comes from this segment. The company operates palm oil and rubber plantations in Malaysia and Indonesian islands of Sumatera, Kalimantan and Sulawesi. With a land bank of over 633,000 hectares, including 300,000 hectares in Indonesia.It is one of the largest plantation company in the world.


Property
The company is involved in the property development business in eight countries, namely Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam, People's Republic of China, Australia and United Kingdom.
One of the most notable township that the company built was Sime UEP in Subang Jaya, Ara Damansara in Bukit Damansara and Bandar Bukit Raja in Klang.


Industrial
The company is involved in the purchasing, leasing and selling of industrial equipment such as Caterpillar Inc. heavy duty trucks and tractors


Motoring
The company has motor dealerships in eight countries. It owns Auto Bavaria in Malaysia, which sells BMWs and MINIs. With partnership with Ford, it sells Ford's cars and trucks together with the Land Rover brand. It is also a major BMW dealer in Singapore, Australia and Thailand. In Southern China, the company sells BMW and Rolls-Royce.
In addition, Sime Darby co-owns Inokom Corp Bhd, a joint-venture with Hyundai Motor Company which assembles and sells Hyundai vehicles in Malaysia.


Energy
The company is an Oil and Gas services company which provides equipment for exploring oil and gas assets in the South East Asia region.
The company is also an independent power provider in Malaysia and Thailand. The company also provides engineering services in the system integration and sales sectors, security and oil & gas sectors.


Healthcare
Under the healthcare division, the company has a hospital and college of its own. The hospoital name as Sime Darby Medical Centre Subang Jaya Sdn. Bhd (SDMC - Formerly known as Subang Jaya Medical Centre - SJMC) and its college formerly known as SJMC Academy of Nursing and Health Sciences, it was established in 1995 and currently is known as Sime Darby Nursing and Health Sciences College.


Other businesses
The company has a port utility company named Weifang Sime Darby Port Co Ltd. Other businesses that the company is involved in include healthcare, aerospace (divested from Asian Composites Manufacturing (ACM) in 2009), bedding, consumer and industrial products, logistics and packing.
The company also owns the 30% of the Malaysian arm of Tesco stores.


Sustainable Practices

Sime Darby plantations implemented Zero Burning Planting Techniques (ZBPT), a practical and environmentally sound technique of replanting, in 1989: the old and uneconomical stands of oil palms and other tree crops are felled and shredded and left to decompose in situ.

References

^ a b c Elementis
^ (Indonesian) "Tak ada investasi tanpa insentif". Majalah Tempo. 30 November 2009.
Source:wikipedia

La Liga, BBVA

The Primera División (First Division) of the Liga de Fútbol Profesional (Professional Football League), commonly known as La Liga (The League) or, in terms of sponsorship, Liga BBVA (BBVA League) since 2008, is the top professional association football league in Spain. It is contested by 20 teams, with the three lowest placed teams relegated to the Segunda División and replaced by the top three teams in that division. A total of 58 teams have competed in La Liga, nine of which have been crowned champions. Since the 1950s, Real Madrid and Barcelona have dominated the championship. The former have won the title 31 times while the latter have won it on 19 occasions. However, during the 1930s and 1940s and in the last two decades, La Liga has seen other champions including Atlético Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Valencia, Real Sociedad, Deportivo, Sevilla and Real Betis.
La Liga is one of the most popular professional sports leagues in the world, with an average attendance of 29,029 for league matches in the 2007–08 season. This is the eighth highest of any domestic professional sports league in the world and the third highest of any professional association football league, behind the Premier League. La Liga is currently ranked the second strongest league in Europe according to UEFA's league coefficient, based on recent European performances.

Competition format

The competition format follows the usual double round-robin format. During the course of a season, which lasts from September to June, each club plays every other club twice, once at home and once away, for a total of 38 games. Teams receive three points for a win, one point for a draw, and no points for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points, with the highest-ranked club at the end of the season crowned champion. If points are equal between two or more clubs, head-to-head results usually determine their placement. The first tiebreaker used when two teams are even on points is the goal difference resulting from the two matches between the clubs in question. When more than two teams are tied, the points accumulated from the games between those teams are used to rank them, then goal difference if needed. If head-to-head results are not sufficient to separate teams, goal difference over the entire season, then total goals scored in the season may be used.
A system of promotion and relegation exists between the Primera División and the Segunda División. The three lowest placed teams in La Liga are relegated to the Segunda División, and the top three teams from the Segunda División are promoted to La Liga.




Qualification for European competitions
The top four teams in La Liga qualify for the UEFA Champions League, with the first, second, and third placed teams directly entering the group stage and the fourth placed team entering the third qualifying round. The fifth and sixth placed teams qualify for the first round of the UEFA Europa League.




History

Foundation
In April 1927 Jose Maria Acha, a director at Arenas Club de Getxo, first proposed the idea of a national league in Spain. After much debate about the size of the league and who would take part, the Real Federación Española de Fútbol eventually agreed on the ten teams who would form the first Primera División in 1929. Barcelona, Real Madrid, Athletic Bilbao, Real Sociedad, Arenas Club de Getxo and Real Unión were all selected as previous winners of the Copa del Rey. Atlético Madrid, Espanyol and Europa qualified as Copa del Rey runners-up and Racing Santander qualified through a knockout competition. Only three of the founding clubs, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao, have never been relegated from the Primera División.



The 1930s
Although Barcelona won the very first Liga in 1929 and Real Madrid won their first titles in 1932 and 1933, it was Athletic Bilbao that set the early pace winning Primera División in 1930, 1931, 1934 and 1936. They were also runners-up in 1932 and 1933. In 1935, Real Betis, then known as Betis Balompié, won their only title to date. Primera División was suspended during the Spanish Civil War.
In 1937, the teams in the Republican area of Spain, with the notable exception of the two Madrid clubs, competed in the Mediterranean League and FC Barcelona emerged as champions. Seventy years later, on September 28 2007, Barcelona requested RFEF to recognise that title as a Liga title. This action was taken after RFEF recognised Levante FC's Copa de la España Libre win as equivalent to Copa del Rey trophy.



The 1940s
When the Primera División resumed after the Spanish Civil War it was Atlético Aviación (nowadays Atlético Madrid), Valencia and Sevilla that initially emerged as the strongest clubs. Atlético Aviación were only awarded a place during the 1939–40 season as a replacement for Real Oviedo, whose ground had been damaged during the war. The club subsequently won their first Liga title and retained it in 1941. While other clubs lost players to exile, execution and as casualties of the war, the Atlético Aviación team was reinforced by a merger. The young pre-war squad of Valencia had also remained intact and in the post-war years matured into champions, gaining three Liga titles in 1942, 1944 and 1947. They were also runners-up in 1948 and 1949. Sevilla also enjoyed a brief golden era, finishing as runners-up in 1940 and 1942 before winning their only title to date in 1946. By the latter part of the decade Barcelona began to emerge as a force when they were crowned champions in 1945, 1948 and 1949.


Di Stéfano, Puskás, Kubala and Suárez
Although Atlético Madrid, previously known as Atlético Aviación, were champions in 1950 and 1951 under catenaccio mastermind Helenio Herrera, the 1950s saw the beginning of the Barcelona/Real Madrid dominance. During the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s there were strict limits imposed on foreign players. In most cases clubs could only have three foreign players in their squads, meaning that at least eight local players had to play in every game. During the 1950s, however, these rules were circumnavigated by Real Madrid and Barcelona who naturalized Alfredo di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás and Ladislao Kubala. Inspired by Kubala, Barça won the title in 1952 and 1953. Di Stéfano, Puskás and Francisco Gento formed the nucleus of the Real Madrid team that dominated the second half of the 1950s. Madrid won the first division for the first time as Real Madrid in 1954 and retained its title in 1955. They were winners again in 1957 and 1958, with only Athletic Bilbao interrupting their sequence. During this period, Real Madrid also won an unprecedented five consecutive European Cups. Barcelona with a team coached by Helenio Herrera and featuring Luis Suárez gained the title in 1959 and 1960.



The Madrid Years
Between 1961 and 1980, Real Madrid dominated the Primera División being crowned champion 14 times. This included a five-in-a-row sequence from 1961 to 1965 and two three-in-a-row sequences (1967–1969 and 1978–1980). During this era only Atlético Madrid offered Real Madrid any serious challenge, adding four more titles to their tally in 1966, 1970, 1973 and 1977. Of the other clubs, only Valencia in 1971 and the Johan Cruyff-inspired Barcelona of 1974 managed to break the dominance of Real Madrid.



The 1980s
The Madrid winning sequence was ended more significantly in 1981 when Real Sociedad won their first ever title after barca had won in 2008 . They retained it in 1982 and their two in a row was followed by another by their fellow Basques, Athletic Bilbao who won back-to-back titles in 1983 and 1984. Terry Venables led Barcelona to a solitary title in 1985 before Real Madrid won again another five in a row sequence (1986–1990) with a team, guided by Leo Beenhakker, and including Hugo Sánchez and the legendary La Quinta del Buitre - Emilio Butragueño, Manolo Sanchís, Martín Vázquez, Míchel and Miguel Pardeza.



The 1990s
Johan Cruijff returned to Barcelona as manager in 1988, JEWEL OF CUMNOCK and assembled the legendary Dream Team. Cruijff introduced players like Josep Guardiola, José Mari Bakero, Txiki Beguiristain, Goikoetxea, Ronald Koeman, Michael Laudrup, Romário and Hristo Stoichkov. This team won Primera División four times between 1991 and 1994 and won the European Cup in 1992. Laudrup then moved to arch-rivals Real Madrid after a fall-out with Cruijff, and helped them end Barcelona's run in 1995. Atlético Madrid won their ninth Primera División title in 1996 before Real Madrid added another Liga trophy to their cabinet in 1997. After the success of Cruijff, another Dutchman - Ajax manager Louis van Gaal - arrived at the Camp Nou, and with the talents of Luís Figo, Luis Enrique and Rivaldo, Barcelona again won the title in 1998 and 1999. Meanwhile, Real Madrid also experienced success on the continental stage, winning the UEFA Champions League in 1998.



The 2000s
As Primera División entered a new century, the Big Two found themselves facing new challengers. Between 1993 and 2004, Deportivo La Coruña finished in the top three on ten occasions, a better record than either Real Madrid or Barcelona, and in 2000, under Javier Irureta, they became the ninth team to be crowned champions. Real Madrid won two more Liga titles in 2001 and 2003 and also the UEFA Champions League in 2000 and 2002, and won their third league title in 2007 after a three year drought. They were challenged by a re-emerging Valencia in both competitions. Under the management of Héctor Cúper, Valencia finished as Champions League runners-up in 2000 and 2001. His successor, Rafael Benítez, built on this and led the club to a Liga title in 2002 and the winning a double with a league title and the UEFA Cup in 2004. The 2004–05 season saw a resurgent Barcelona, inspired by the brilliant Ronaldinho, win their first title of the new century, in addition to the Liga-Champions League double in 2005–06. Real Madrid won La Liga in 2006–07 and 2007–08 season, and Barcelona again in 2009, as part of their treble winning season.





La Liga clubs in Europe

In addition to their success in Primera División, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia are three of the most successful teams in European competition history. All three clubs are the only Spanish clubs to have won 5 or more international trophies. All three clubs are also in the top ten most successful clubs in European football in terms of total European trophies. In 2005–06, Barcelona won the UEFA Champions League and Sevilla won the UEFA Cup. The Primera División became the first league to do the European "double" since 1997.
The Primera División is currently second in the UEFA rankings of European leagues based on their performances in European competitions over a five-year period, behind the English Premier League in first and ahead of Italy's Serie A in third.


Clubs in 2009–10 season

Club Position in
2008–09 First season after
most recent promotion Region Stadium Capacity
Barcelona 1 Never relegated Catalonia Camp Nou 98,772
Real Madrid 2 Never relegated Madrid Santiago Bernabéu 80,400
Sevilla 3 2001–02 Andalucía Ramón Sánchez Pizjuán 45,500
Atlético Madrid 4 2002–03 Madrid Vicente Calderón 54,851
Villarreal 5 2000–01 Valencia El Madrigal 23,000
Valencia 6 1987–88 Valencia Mestalla 55,000
Deportivo La Coruña 7 1991–92 Galicia Riazor 34,600
Málaga 8 2008–09 Andalucía La Rosaleda 29,000
Mallorca 9 1997–98 Balearic Islands ONO Estadi 23,142
Espanyol 10 1994–95 Catalonia Cornellà-El Prat 40,500
Almería 11 2007–08 Andalucía Mediterráneo 22,000
Racing Santander 12 2002–03 Cantabria El Sardinero 22,271
Athletic Bilbao 13 Never relegated Basque Country San Mamés 39,750
Sporting Gijón 14 2008–09 Asturias El Molinón 25,585
Osasuna 15 2000–01 Navarra Reyno de Navarra 19,500
Real Valladolid 16 2007–08 Castile and León José Zorrilla 26,512
Getafe 17 2004–05 Madrid Alfonso Pérez 16,300
Xerez 1st
in Segunda 2009–10 Andalusia Chapín 20,300
Real Zaragoza 2nd
in Segunda 2009–10 Aragon La Romareda 34,596
Tenerife 3rd
in Segunda 2009–10 Canary Islands H. Rodríguez López 24,000


Champions

Year by year
Year Winner Runner Up Third Place

1929 FC Barcelona Madrid CF Athletic Bilbao
1929–30 Athletic Bilbao FC Barcelona Arenas Club de Getxo
1930–31 Athletic Bilbao Racing de Santander Real Sociedad
1931–32 Madrid CF Athletic Bilbao FC Barcelona
1932–33 Madrid CF Athletic Bilbao CE Espanyol
1933–34 Athletic Bilbao Madrid CF Racing de Santander
1934–35 Betis Balompié Madrid CF Oviedo CF
1935–36 Athletic Bilbao Madrid CF Oviedo CF
1936–39 League suspended due to the Spanish Civil War
1939–40 Atlético Aviación Sevilla FC Athletic Bilbao
1940–41 Atlético Aviación Athletic Bilbao Valencia CF
1941–42 Valencia CF Real Madrid Atlético Aviación
1942–43 Athletic Bilbao Sevilla FC FC Barcelona
1943–44 Valencia CF Atlético Aviación Sevilla FC
1944–45 FC Barcelona Real Madrid Atlético Aviación
1945–46 Sevilla FC FC Barcelona Athletic Bilbao
1946–47 Valencia CF Athletic Bilbao Atlético Aviación
1947–48 FC Barcelona Valencia CF Atlético Madrid
1948–49 FC Barcelona Valencia CF Real Madrid
1949–50 Atlético Madrid Deportivo de La Coruña Valencia CF
1950–51 Atlético Madrid Sevilla FC Valencia CF
1951–52 FC Barcelona Athletic Bilbao Real Madrid
1952–53 FC Barcelona Valencia CF Real Madrid
1953–54 Real Madrid FC Barcelona Valencia CF
1954–55 Real Madrid FC Barcelona Athletic Bilbao
1955–56 Athletic Bilbao FC Barcelona Real Madrid
1956–57 Real Madrid Sevilla FC FC Barcelona
1957–58 Real Madrid Atlético Madrid FC Barcelona
1958–59 FC Barcelona Real Madrid Athletic Bilbao
1959–60 FC Barcelona Real Madrid Athletic Bilbao
1960–61 Real Madrid Atlético Madrid FC Barcelona
1961–62 Real Madrid FC Barcelona Atlético Madrid
1962–63 Real Madrid Atlético Madrid Real Oviedo
1963–64 Real Madrid FC Barcelona Real Betis
1964–65 Real Madrid Atlético Madrid Real Zaragoza
1965–66 Atlético Madrid Real Madrid FC Barcelona
1966–67 Real Madrid FC Barcelona RCD Espanyol
1967–68 Real Madrid FC Barcelona UD Las Palmas
1968–69 Real Madrid UD Las Palmas FC Barcelona
1969–70 Atlético Madrid Athletic Bilbao Sevilla FC
1970–71 Valencia CF FC Barcelona Atlético Madrid
1971–72 Real Madrid Valencia CF FC Barcelona
1972–73 Atlético Madrid FC Barcelona RCD Espanyol
1973–74 FC Barcelona Atlético Madrid Real Zaragoza
1974–75 Real Madrid Real Zaragoza FC Barcelona
1975–76 Real Madrid FC Barcelona Atlético Madrid
1976–77 Atlético Madrid FC Barcelona Athletic Bilbao
1977–78 Real Madrid FC Barcelona Athletic Bilbao
1978–79 Real Madrid Sporting de Gijón Atlético Madrid
1979–80 Real Madrid Real Sociedad Sporting de Gijón
1980–81 Real Sociedad Real Madrid Atlético Madrid
1981–82 Real Sociedad FC Barcelona Real Madrid
1982–83 Athletic Bilbao Real Madrid Atlético Madrid
1983–84 Athletic Bilbao Real Madrid FC Barcelona
1984–85 FC Barcelona Atlético Madrid Athletic Bilbao
1985–86 Real Madrid FC Barcelona Athletic Bilbao
1986–87 Real Madrid FC Barcelona RCD Espanyol
1987–88 Real Madrid Real Sociedad Atlético Madrid
1988–89 Real Madrid FC Barcelona Valencia CF
1989–90 Real Madrid Valencia CF FC Barcelona
1990–91 FC Barcelona Atlético Madrid Real Madrid
1991–92 FC Barcelona Real Madrid Atlético Madrid
1992–93 FC Barcelona Real Madrid Deportivo de La Coruña
1993–94 FC Barcelona Deportivo de La Coruña Real Zaragoza
1994–95 Real Madrid Deportivo de La Coruña Real Betis
1995–96 Atlético Madrid Valencia CF FC Barcelona
1996–97 Real Madrid FC Barcelona Deportivo de La Coruña
1997–98 FC Barcelona Athletic Bilbao Real Sociedad
1998–99 FC Barcelona Real Madrid Real Mallorca
1999–2000 Deportivo de La Coruña FC Barcelona Valencia CF
2000–01 Real Madrid Deportivo de La Coruña Real Mallorca
2001–02 Valencia CF Deportivo de La Coruña Real Madrid
2002–03 Real Madrid Real Sociedad Deportivo de La Coruña
2003–04 Valencia CF FC Barcelona Deportivo de La Coruña
2004–05 FC Barcelona Real Madrid Villarreal CF
2005–06 FC Barcelona Real Madrid Valencia CF
2006–07 Real Madrid FC Barcelona Sevilla FC
2007–08 Real Madrid Villarreal CF FC Barcelona
2008–09 FC Barcelona Real Madrid Sevilla FC
2009–10 FC Barcelona Real Madrid C.F. Valencia CF


Performance by club
Club Winners Runners-up Winning Years
Real Madrid CF
31
18
1931–32, 1932–33, 1953–54, 1954–55, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1960–61, 1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64,
1964–65, 1966–67, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1971–72, 1974–75, 1975–76, 1977–78, 1978–79, 1979–80,
1985–86, 1986–87, 1987–88, 1988–89, 1989–90, 1994–95, 1996–97, 2000–01, 2002–03, 2006–07,
2007–08
FC Barcelona
19
22
1928–29, 1944–45, 1947–48, 1948–49, 1951–52, 1952–53, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1973–74, 1984–85,
1990–91, 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2008–09
Atlético Madrid
9
8
1939–40, 1940–41, 1949–50, 1950–51, 1965–66, 1969–70, 1972–73, 1976–77, 1995–96
Athletic Bilbao
8
7
1929–30, 1930–31, 1933–34, 1935–36, 1942–43, 1955–56, 1982–83, 1983–84
Valencia CF
6
6
1941–42, 1943–44, 1946–47, 1970–71, 2001–02, 2003–04
Real Sociedad
2
3
1980–81, 1981–82
Deportivo de La Coruña
1
5
1999–2000
Sevilla FC
1
4
1945–46
Real Betis
1
–
1934–35

Note on name changes

During the Second Spanish Republic clubs such as Real Madrid and Real Betis dropped the Real from their name and Real Sociedad became Donostia CF. In 1941, a decree issued by Franco banned the use of non-Spanish language names. FC Barcelona and Sevilla FC became CF Barcelona and Sevilla CF, Athletic Aviación changed the spelling of its prefix to Atlético, and Sporting de Gijón and Racing de Santander became Real Gijón and Real Santander. Some of these changes have been undone.


Players

Eligibility of non-EU players
In La Liga, players can claim citizenship from the nation their ancestors came from. If a player does not have European ancestry, he can claim Spanish citizenship after playing in Spain for 5 years.Sometimes, this can lead to a triple-citizenship situation e.g. Leo Franco, who is Argentine-born, of Italian heritage and can claim a Spanish passport, having played in La Liga for over 5 years.[dubious – discuss]
In addition, players from the ACP countries—countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Pacific that are signatories to the Cotonou Agreement—are not counted against non-EU quotas, due to the Kolpak ruling.


Individual awards
Many individual awards are conceded relating to La Liga, although not sanctioned by the LFP nor the RFEF they are widely regarded as official.
The most notable of these are three awarded by Spain's biggest sports paper, Marca, namely the Pichichi Trophy, awarded to the top scorer of the season, the Ricardo Zamora Trophy for the goalkeeper with the least "goals-to-games" ratio, and the Trofeo Alfredo di Stéfano, for the player judged to be the best overall player in the division. The most recent winners (for the 2008–09 season) were:
Pichichi - Diego Forlán (Atlético Madrid)
Ricardo Zamora - Víctor Valdés (Barcelona)
Zarra Trophy - David Villa (Valencia CF)
Trofeo Alfredo di Stéfano - Lionel Messi (Barcelona)


All-time top scorers
All-time top scorers in La Liga
Rank Player Goals Par
1 Telmo Zarra 252 0,91
2 Hugo Sánchez 234 0,67
3 Raúl 228 0,42
4 Alfredo di Stéfano 227 0,69
5 César Rodríguez 226 0,64
6 Quini 219 0,49
7 Pahiño 210 0,76
8 Edmundo Suárez 195 0,84
9 Santillana 186 0,40
10 Juan Arza 182 0,52
11 Guillermo Gorostiza 181 0,70
12 Samuel Eto'o 162 0,58
13 Luis Aragonés 160 0,44
14 Ferenc Puskás 156 0,86
15 Julio Salinas 151 0,36
16 Adrián Escudero 150 0,52
17 Dani 147 0,48
18 Silvestre Igoa 141 0,49
19 Manuel Badenes 139 0,69
20 David Villa 135 0,67
In bold Currently playing in La Liga

European Footballers of the Year
The following were all elected winners of the Golden Ball while playing in La Liga:
Alfredo di Stéfano - 1957, 1959 (Real Madrid)
Raymond Kopa - 1958 (Real Madrid)
Luis Suárez - 1960 (FC Barcelona)
Johan Cruijff - 1973, 1974 (FC Barcelona)
Hristo Stoichkov - 1994 (FC Barcelona)
Rivaldo - 1999 (FC Barcelona)
Luís Figo - 2000 (FC Barcelona) transfer to (Real Madrid)
Ronaldo - 2002 (Real Madrid)
Zinedine Zidane - 2001, 2003 (Real Madrid)
Ronaldinho - 2005 (FC Barcelona)
Cannavaro - 2006 (Juventus) transfer to (Real Madrid)
Lionel Messi - 2009 (FC Barcelona)
Source:wikipedia

Erica Blasberg

Erica Paige Blasberg (July 14, 1984 – May 9, 2010) was an American golfer who played on the LPGA Tour.

Early life

Blasberg was born in Orange, California, and raised in Corona, California. She attended Corona High School where she played on the boys' golf team.

Amateur career

As an amateur, Blasberg was the medalist at the 2000 U.S. Girls' Junior and lost in the quarterfinals.[3] In 2003, she reached the quarterfinals of the U.S. Women's Amateur. She attended the University of Arizona and was the country's number 1 ranked college player as a freshman, compiling six victories before leaving in her sophomore year to turn pro. She was an All-America golfer in 2003 and 2004, NCAA Freshman of the Year in 2003, Pac-10 Player of the Year in 2003, and won the Golfists Cup, awarded for the NCAA women's lowest stroke average, in 2003. In 2004 she was on the winning United States Curtis Cup team.

Professional career

Blasberg turned professional in June 2004 and played on the Futures Tour that season. She won the Laconia Savings Bank Golf Classic and en route to her first professional win broke the Tour's 18 hole scoring record, shooting a 62. She earned non-exempt status for the LPGA Tour at the 2004 LPGA Final Qualifying Tournament.

Blasberg started on the LPGA Tour in 2005, making the cut in most of her early events but not contending for top positions. She was disqualified from the Chick-fil-A Charity Championship in May 2005 when she left the scoring tent without signing her card. Blasberg later told reporters that the rule infraction was poorly handled by the officials and that she should not have received a penalty. The next week she made a hole in one and won a Mercury SUV. At mid-season she fired her caddie, because she "needed a change." She ended 2005 109th on the money list. She was chosen to play in the 2005 Lexus Cup, where she won two matches and halved another, including a 98 yard hole out on the 18th to win a match. In 2006, despite a late season rally she once again finished just outside the top one hundred on the money list, but a successful tournament at Qualifying School in the fall of 2006 won her exempt status for 2007 — the first and only time in her career she had exempt status on the LPGA Tour.

In 2007, she finished 104th on the money list. She chose not to return to Qualifying School, leaving her once again as a non-exempt player for 2008. In 2008 her results were only marginally better than in 2007. She played 23 tournaments and, while she did earn the only top-10 finish of her career, she again finished near the bottom of the LPGA money list.

She returned again to Qualifying School in 2009 in an attempt to improve her status on Tour for the 2010 but withdrew after shooting rounds of 72 and 78 in the final stage of the Tournament. She entered 2010 with limited playing opportunities and played just one tournament, the Tres Marias Championship in Morelia, Mexico where she finished tied for 44th after Monday qualifying for the event. During the tournament week, Blasberg participated in a "Back to College" event at which she joined fellow players Mina Harigae and Mariajo Uribe in visiting student-athletes at the Universidad Latina De America in Morelia to answer questions on golf and education.

Personal life

Blasberg was considered one of the LPGA's more photogenic players and in February 2006 Puma signed her to endorse and wear their clothing.ESPN radio once compared her to Natalie Gulbis, an LPGA golfer who did a swimsuit calendar.

Death

Blasberg's body was found at her Henderson, Nevada home on the afternoon of May 9, 2010, according to local police. The six-year tour player was 25 years old. No cause of death was disclosed and an investigation is ongoing.According to an Associated Press story, Henderson police were dispatched to Blasberg's home in response to a 911 call around 3:00 PM (PST). The source of the 911 call was not released, as it is part of the investigation.In an interview reported in the Riverside County Press-Enterprise on May 10, Blasberg's father, Mel Blasberg, was quoted saying, "At first glance it looks like she might have taken her own life, but at second glance, something is very, very strange about it. We’re waiting for the police to make an investigation."

Professional wins (1)

Futures Tour (1)

2004 (1) Laconia Savings Bank Golf Classic

Results in LPGA majors

Tournament 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010

Kraft Nabisco Championship CUT DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP DNP

LPGA Championship DNP DNP DNP T76 CUT CUT –

U.S. Women's Open CUT DNP DNP T39 DNP DNP –

Women's British Open DNP DNP DNP DNP T64 DNP –

DNP = did not play

CUT = missed the half-way cut

"T" = tied

Green background for wins. Yellow background for top-10.

LPGA Tour career summary

Year Tournaments

played Cuts

made Wins 2nd 3rd Top 10s Best

finish Official

earnings ($) Money

list rank Scoring

average Scoring

rank

2003 1 0 0 0 0 0 T49 n/a n/a 68.75 n/a

2004 3 0 0 0 0 0 MC n/a n/a 75.83 n/a

2005 16 12 0 0 0 0 T31 52,522 T109 73.23 75

2006 16 10 0 0 0 0 T25 62,477 112 72.37 58

2007 19 11 0 0 0 0 T18 72,037 104 73.45 80

2008 23 11 0 0 0 1 T8 113,428 94 73.09 96

2009 17 5 0 0 0 0 T36 26,408 128 73.55 113

2010 1 1 0 0 0 0 T44 5,544 971 73.00 n/a

1Money list ranking as of May 2, 2010, at the end of her last tournament.

(source:wikipedia)