Jennifer Aniston

Born in Sherman Oaks, California, Jennifer Aniston spent a year of her childhood living in Greece with her family. Her family then relocated to New York City where her parents, John Aniston and Nancy Dow, divorced when she was 9. Jennifer was raised by her mother and her father landed a role, as Victor Kiriakis, on the daytime soap "Days of Our Lives" (1965). Jennifer had her first taste of acting at age 11 when she joined the 'Rudolf Steiner' School's drama club. It was also at the 'Rudolf Steiner' School that she developed her passion for art. She began her professional training as a drama student at New York's High School of the Performing Arts. In 1987, after graduation, she appeared in such Off-Broadway productions as "For Dear Life" and "Dancing on Checker's Grave". In 1989, she landed her first television role, as a series regular on "Molloy" (1990). She also appeared in "The Edge" (1992), "Ferris Bueller" (1990), and had a recurring part on "Herman's Head" (1991). By 1993, she was floundering. Then, in 1994, a pilot called "Friends Like These" came along. Originally asked to audition for the role of Monica, Aniston refused and auditioned for the role of Rachel Green, the suburban princess turned coffee peddler. With the success of the series "Friends" (1994), Jennifer has become famous and sought-after as she turns her fame into movie roles during the series hiatus.

IMDb Mini Biography By: cb@lim.nl

Keira Knightley

Keira Christina Knightley was born in the South London suburb of Richmond on March 26th 1985. She is the daughter of actor Will Knightley and actress turned playwright Sharman Macdonald. An older brother, Caleb, was born in 1979. Brought up immersed in the acting profession from both sides - writing and performing - it is little wonder that the young Keira asked for her own agent at the age of three. She was granted one at the age of six and performed in her first TV role as Little Girl in _Royal Celebration (1993) (TV)_ , aged seven. It was discovered at an early age that Keira had severe difficulties in reading and writing. She was not officially dyslexic as she never sat the formal tests required of the British Dyslexia Association. Instead she worked incredibly hard, encouraged by her family, until the problem had been overcome by her early teens.

Her first multi-scene performance came in A Village Affair (1994), an adaptation of the lesbian love story by Joanna Trollope. This was followed by small parts in British crime series "The Bill" (1984), an exiled German princess in _Treasure Seekers (1996) (TV)_ and a much more substantial role as the young Judith Dunbar in Giles Foster's adaptation of Rosamunde Pilcher's novel Coming Home (1998) (TV), alongside 'Peter O' Toole' , Penelope Keith and Joanna Lumley. The first time Keira's name was mentioned around the world was when it was revealed (in a plot twist kept secret by director George Lucas) that she played Natalie Portman's decoy Padme to Portman's Amidala in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999).

It was several years before agreement was reached over which scenes featured Keira as the queen and which Natalie! Keira had no formal training as an actress and did it out of pure enjoyment. She went to an ordinary council-run school in nearby Teddington and had no idea what she wanted to do when she left. By now she was beginning to receive far more substantial roles and was starting to turn work down as one project and her schoolwork was enough to contend with. She reappeared on British television in 1999 as Rose Fleming in Alan Bleasdale's faithful reworking of Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist" (1999) (mini), and travelled to Romania to film her first title role in Disney's Princess of Thieves (2001) (TV) in which she played Robin Hood's daughter Gwyn.

Keira's first serious boyfriend was her Thieves co-star Del Synnott, and they later co-starred in Peter Hewitt' 's 'work of fart' Thunderpants (2002). Nick Hamm's dark thriller The Hole (2001) kept her busy during 2000, and featured her first nude scene (15 at the time, the film was not released until she was 16 years old).

In the summer of 2001, while Keira studied and sat her final school exams (she received six As) she filmed a movie about an Asian girl's (Parminder Nagra) love for football and the prejudices she has to overcome regarding both her culture and her religion.) Bend It Like Beckham (2002) was a smash hit in football-mad Britain but it had to wait until another of Keira's films propelled it to the top end of the US box office. Bend It cost just £3.5m to make, and nearly £1m of that came from the British Lottery. It took £11m in the UK and has since gone on to score more than US$76m worldwide. Meanwhile, Keira had started A-levels at Esher College, studying Classics, English Literature and Political History, but continued to take acting roles which she thought would widen her experience as an actress. The story of a drug-addicted waitress and her friendship with the young son of a drug-addict, Pure (2002), occupied Keira from January to March 2002. Also at this time, Keira's first attempt at Shakespeare was filmed. She played Helena in a modern interpretation of a scene from A Midsummer Night's Dream entitled The Seasons Alter (2002). This was commissioned by environmental organisation Futerra, of which Keira's mother is patron. Keira received no fee for this performance, or for another short film, New Year's Eve (2002), by award-winning director Colin Spector.

But it was a chance encounter with producer Andy Harries at the London premiere of Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) which forced Keira to leave her studies and pursue acting full-time. The meeting lead to an audition for the role of Larisa Feodorovna Guishar - the classic heroine of Boris Pasternak' 's novel _"Doctor Zhivago" (2002) (mini)_ , played famously in the David Lean movie by Julie Christie. This was to be a big-budget TV movie with a screenplay written by Andrew Davies. Keira won the part and the mini-series was filmed throughout the Spring of 2002 in Slovakia, co-starring Sam Neill and Hans Matheson as Yuri Zhivago. Keira rounded off 2002 with a few scenes in the first movie to be directed by Blackadder and Vicar of Dibley writer Richard Curtis. Called Love Actually (2003), Keira played Juliet, a newlywed whose husband's Best Man is secretly besotted with her.

A movie filmed after Love Actually but released before it was to make the world sit up and take notice of this beautiful fresh-faced young actress with a cute British accent. It was a movie which Keira very nearly missed out on altogether. Auditions were held in London for a new blockbuster movie called Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), but heavy traffic in the city forced Keira to be tagged on to the end of the day's auditions list. It helped - she got the part. Filming took place in Los Angeles and the Caribbean from October 2002 to March 2003 and was released to massive box office success and almost universal acclaim in the July of that year. Meanwhile, a small British film called Bend It Like Beckham (2002) had sneaked onto a North American release slate and was hardly setting the box office alight. But Keira's dominance in Pirates had set tongues wagging and questions being asked about the actress playing Elizabeth Swann. Almost too late, Bend It's distributors realised one of its two stars was the same girl whose name was on everyone's lips due to Pirates, and took the unusual step of re-releasing Bend It to 1,000 screens across the US, catapulting it from no. 26 back up to no. 12. Pirates, meanwhile, was fighting off all contenders at the top spot, and stayed in the Top 3 for an incredible 21 weeks.

It was perhaps no surprise, then, that Keira was on producer Jerry Bruckheimer's wanted list for the part of Guinevere in a planned accurate telling of the legend of King Arthur. Filming took place in Ireland and Wales from June to November 2003. In July Keira had become celebrity face of British jeweller and luxury goods retailer Asprey.

At a photoshoot for the company on Long island New York in August Keira met and fell in love with Northern Irish model Jamie Dornan. King Arthur (2004) was released in July 2004 to lukewarm reviews. It seems audiences wanted the legend after all, and not necessarily the truth. Keira became the breakout star' and 'one to watch in 2004' throughout the world's media at the end of 2003.

Keira's 2004 started off in Scotland and Canada filming 'John Maybury 's time-travelling thriller The Jacket (2005) with Oscar-winner Adrien Brody. A planned movie of Deborah Moggach's novel, Tulip Fever, about forbidden love in 17th Century Amsterdam, was cancelled in February after the British government suddenly closed tax loopholes which allowed filmmakers to claw back a large proportion of their expenditure. Due to star Keira and Jude Law in the main roles, the film remains mothballed. Instead, Keira spent her time wisely, visiting Ethiopia on behalf of the Comic Relief charity, and spending summer at various grandiose locations around the UK filming what promises to be a faithful adaptation of Jane Austen's classic novel _Pride and Prejudice (2005)_ , alongside Matthew Macfadyen as Mr. Darcy, and with Donald Sutherland and Judi Dench in supporting roles.

In October 2004, Keira received her first major accolade, the Hollywood Film Award for Best Breakthrough Actor - Female. The remainder of 2004 saw Keira once again trying a completely new genre, this time the part-fact, part-fiction life story of model turned bounty hunter Domino (2005). Her pre-contracted sequel clause from the original Pirates movie meant the production of not one, but two sequels were already in the works. Pre-production started in February, and Keira started filming - again in Los Angeles and the Caribbean - from mid-March onwards. Filming is expected to wrap in January of 2006 with _Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest_ (2006) due for a Summer 2006 release and _Pirates of the Caribbean 3_ (2007) for Summer 2007.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Paul Fisher - paul@keiraweb.com

Jessica Alba

Born in Pomona, California, on April 28, 1981, Jessica Alba and her family moved to Biloxi, Mississippi, when she was an infant. Three years later her Air Force father brought the family back to California, then to Del Rio, Texas, before finally settling in Southern California when Jessica was nine. In love with the idea of becoming an actress from the age of five, she was 12 before she took her first acting class. Nine months later she was signed by an agent. A gifted young actress, Jessica has already played a variety of roles ranging from light comedy to gritty drama since beginning her career. She made her feature film debut in 1993 in Hollywood Pictures' comedy Camp Nowhere (1994). Originally hired for two weeks, she got her break when an actress in a principal role suddenly dropped out. Jessica cheerfully admits it wasn't her prodigious talent or charm that inspired the director to tap her to take over the part -- it was her hair, which matched the original performer's. The two-week job stretched to two months, and Jessica ended the film with an impressive first credit. Two national TV commercials for Nintendo and J.C. Penney quickly followed before Jessica was featured in several independent films. She branched out into TV in 1994 with a recurring role in Nickelodeon's popular comedy series "The Secret World of Alex Mack" (1994). She played an insufferable young snob, devoted to making life miserable for the the title character, played by Larisa Oleynik. That same year she won the role of Maya in "Flipper" (1995) and filmed the pilot for the series. She spent 1995 shooting the first season's episodes in Australia. An avid swimmer and PADI-certified scuba diver, Jessica was delighted to be doing a show that allowed her to play with dolphins. The show's success guaranteed it a second season, which she also starred in. Her involvement in the show lasted from 1995 to 1997. Since the show ended she has appeared in a number of TV shows and films. In 1996 she appeared in Venus Rising (1995) as Young Eve. The next year she appeared on the "The Dini Petty Show" (1989), a Canadian talk show, and spoke about her role in "Flipper" and her general acting career. She began working on P.U.N.K.S. (1999), featuring Randy Quaid, in 1998. In early 1998 she appeared in "Brooklyn South" (1997) as Melissa. That same year she was in two episodes of "Beverly Hills, 90210" (1990) as Leanne and in two episodes of "The Love Boat: The Next Wave" (1998). She appeared in "Teen Magazine" in 1995 and various European magazines in the following several years. More importantly, she was featured in the February 1999 issue of "Vanity Fair" magazine. She also had major roles in two movies that year: Never Been Kissed (1999) and Idle Hands (1999). In 2000 she had roles in Paranoid (2000/I) and starred in the sci-fi TV series "Dark Angel" (2000).

IMDb Mini Biography By: Gerald Olivier (qv's & corrections by A. Nonymous)

Keanu Reeves

One of the most inscrutable actors to ever hit it big, Keanu Reeves has been by turns adored, reviled, and grudgingly respected by the movie-going public. As the controversy over his talent rages on, his career choices and paychecks show him inching toward A-list status. Reeves, whose first name means "cool breeze over the mountains" in Hawaiian, was born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1964. His mother, Patricia, was a showgirl; his father, Samuel Nowlin Reeves, a geologist. After their marriage dissolved, Keanu moved with his mother and younger sister Kim to New York City, then Toronto. Stepfather #1 was Paul Aaron, a stage and film director - he and Patricia divorced within a year, after which she went on to marry (and divorce) rock promoter Robert Miller and hair salon owner Jack Bond. Reeves never reconnected with his biological father, who is now in prison on charges of cocaine possession. In high school, Reeves was lukewarm toward academics but took a keen interest in ice hockey (as team goalie, he earned the nickname "The Wall") and drama. He eventually dropped out of school to pursue an acting career.

After a few stage gigs and a handful of made-for-TV movies, he scored a supporting role in the Rob Lowe hockey flick Youngblood (1986), which was filmed in Canada. Shortly after the production wrapped, Reeves packed his bags and headed for Hollywood. Reeves popped up on critics' radar with his performance in the dark adolescent drama River's Edge (1986), but his first popular success was the role of totally rad dude Ted Logan in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989). The wacky time-travel movie became something of a cultural phenomenon, and audiences would forever confuse Reeves's real-life persona with that of his doofy on-screen counterpart. Over the next few years, Reeves tried to shake the Ted stigma with a series of highbrow projects. He played a slumming rich boy opposite River Phoenix's narcoleptic male hustler in My Own Private Idaho (1991), an unlucky lawyer who stumbles into the vampire's lair in Dracula (1992), and Shakespearean party-pooper Don Jon in Much Ado About Nothing (1993).

In 1994, the understated actor became a big-budget action star with the release of Speed (1994/I). Its success heralded an era of five years in which Reeves would alternate between largely unwatched small films, like Feeling Minnesota (1996) and The Last Time I Committed Suicide (1997), and unwatched big films like Johnny Mnemonic (1995) and Chain Reaction (1996). After all this Reeves did the unthinkable and passed on the Speed sequel, but he struck box-office gold again a few years later with the Wachowski brothers' cyberadventure The Matrix (1999). Despite his deadpan delivery style and reputation as an oaf, Reeves continues to reel in choice roles and fat paychecks. Whatever he knows, he's not telling the public--his self-deprecating interview tactics and mysterious private life provide little insight into his artistry. As far as Reeves is concerned, it seems, he's just a regular guy who rides a motorcycle, plays in a band (Dogstar), and shows up every now and then for a movie shoot.

IMDb Mini Biography By: IMDb Editors

Hugh Grant

Hugh Grant, one of Britain's best known faces who has been equally entertaining on-screen as well as in real life, and had enough sense of humor to survive a media frenzy, is best known for his roles in Notting Hill (1999), opposite Julia Roberts, and in Music and Lyrics (2007), opposite Drew Barrymore, among his other works.

He was born Hugh John Mungo Grant on September 9, 1960, in Hammersmith, London, United Kingdom. His father, James Grant, was an artist and a carpet salesman. His late mother, Finvola Grant, was a teacher of Scottish ancestry. His grandfather was in the British military service during WWII. Young Grant was fond of literature and acting. He won a scholarship to Oxford, going up to New College in 1979. There he was involved in student drama, and considered a career as an art historian. After Oxford, he turned down a scholarship to do postgraduate studies in Art History at the Courtauld Institute in London, and focused on his acting career. In 1982, while still a student, Grant made his big screen debut in Privileged (1982) by director Michael Hoffman.

Grant's breakthrough came with the leading role as Charles in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), opposite Andy MacDowell, a role which won him a Golden Globe Award, as well as a BAFTA Film Award for Best Actor. During the 1990s Grant established himself as a very original and resourceful actor. He played a string of characters projecting a positive mindset, showing how do you stay optimistic when you are actually worried about a cascade of troubles. Grant had his own experience as a survivor of an unfortunate episode in his private life, which he managed to overcome thanks to having a pretty damn good outlook on life.

His forte is playing characters projecting warmth and sincere happiness, with his hallmark stuttering, albeit some accused him of reprising the same character he has been playing for the past two decades. Grant's ability to show his character development within a limited screen time shines in Love Actually (2003), with his witty portrayal of a Prime Minister whose personal insecurities become intertwined with his country's international affairs, a performance that earned him a nomination for European Audience Award. His screen presence and skillful understatement takes his characters beyond the written script, thanks to his mastery of timing and effortless style.

Outside of his acting profession, Grant has been a good athlete, he played cricket and football in his younger years. He currently enjoys playing golf, frequently taking part in Pro-Am tournaments. He has been an avid art lover since his younger years, and has been collecting fine art, a passion he inherited from his father.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Steve Shelokhonov

Drew Barrymore

With a natural flair for comedy and a warm, engaging demeanor, Drew Barrymore has come a long way since her big-screen breakout in Steven Spielberg's beloved sci-fi blockbuster, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). Despite a troubled and much-publicized adolescence during which she appeared in only a handful of films, Barrymore's star was officially on the rise during the 1990s with notable appearances in Poison Ivy (1992), _Bad Girls (1994)_ , Boys on the Side (1995), Batman Forever (1995), Woody Allen's Everyone Says I Love You (1996) and horror megahit Scream (1996/I).

Higher-profile turns in The Wedding Singer (1998), Ever After (1998), Never Been Kissed (1999), Charlie's Angels (2000), Riding in Cars with Boys (2001) and Donnie Darko (2001) followed, proving to once-cynical audiences that Barrymore was not only a capable leading lady, but also a gifted and versatile actor.

Recent big-screen ventures have included the comedies Duplex (2003), 50 First Dates (2004), Fever Pitch (2005) and Music and Lyrics (2007). Next up is a headlining role in Curtis Hanson's poker drama Lucky You (2007), opposite Eric Bana.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Nate

Leonardo DiCaprio

His name allegedly derives from his German mother Irmalin's having experienced a sudden kick from her unborn boy while enjoying a DaVinci painting at the Uffizi. In the year following his birth, she and his Italian father, George, were divorced. He grew up in Echo Park, then a particularly seedy, drug-dominated area of Los Angeles. At five he appeared on his favorite TV show "Romper Room" (1953) and was nearly thrown off for misbehaving. After a string of commercials, educational films ("Mickey's Safety Club"), occasional parts in TV series, a debut film role as Josh in Critters 3 (1991), a continuing role as the homeless boy Luke in the TV series "Growing Pains" (1985), he got his break-through part as Toby in This Boy's Life (1993), co-starring with Robert De Niro and Ellen Barkin.

The part led the New York Film Critics and the National Society of Film Critics to name him runner-up for Best Supporting Actor. His first Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations came for the difficult role of Arnie in What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993). Equally challenging parts were a drug-troubled Jim Carroll in The Basketball Diaries (1995), the tormented homosexual poet Rimbaud in Total Eclipse (1995), and the angry teenage son of a harried mother in Marvin's Room (1996). He made a major impact with his starring role in a very updated Romeo + Juliet (1996). Superstardom came to DiCaprio playing Jack Dawson in Titanic (1997), highest grossing film ever, tied with Ben-Hur (1959) for most Academy Awards, though Leo himself was not nominated. His performance in the remake of The Man in the Iron Mask (1998/I) was poorly received, but the film still turned a profit. His next major film, The Beach (2000/I), was not a success, but he made another comeback in Catch Me If You Can (2002) and remains an A-list star.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Ed Stephan <>

Brad Pitt

Brad Pitt was born in Oklahoma and raised in Springfield, Missouri. His mother's name is Jane. His father, Bill, worked in management at a trucking firm in Springfield. At Kickapoo High School, Pitt was involved in sports, debating, student government and school musicals. Pitt attended the University of Missouri, where he majored in journalism with a focus on advertising. He occasionally acted in fraternity shows. He left college two credits short of graduating to move to California. Before he became successful at acting, Pitt supported himself by driving strippers in limos, moving refrigerators and dressing as a giant chicken while working for "el Pollo Loco."

IMDb Mini Biography By: JJH

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#23). [1995]

Turned down a role as an astronaut in Apollo 13 (1995) to accept his role in Se7en (1995).

Posed for a campus calendar in college.

A girl went to Pitt's Hollywood-area home shortly after midnight Jan. 7, 1999 and crawled in through an open window, dressed herself in his clothes and stayed for 10 hours before the alarm went off. Athena Rolando, 19, was ordered not to contact the actor and to stay 100 yards away from him for three years. [1999]

Ranked #32 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. [October 1997]

Mutally agrees to split with Gwyneth Paltrow. [June 1997]

Banned from entering China because of his role in Seven Years in Tibet (1997). [1997]

Chosen by "People" magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. [1997]

Engaged to actress Gwyneth Paltrow. [20 December 1996]

Donated $100,000 to the Discovery Center - a children's learning museum in his hometown of Springfield, MO. [June 1996]

Chosen by People (USA) magazine as one of the 50 most beautiful people in the world. [1996]

His first starring role in a feature film was in _Dark Side of the Sun, The (1997)_ , shot in pre-war Yugoslavia during the summer of 1988. As editing neared completion, civil war tore apart the region and much of the footage was lost. In 1996, after a five-year search, all of the lost footage was found and returned to producer Andjelo Arandjelovic, who is currently working on getting a distribution deal for the film. Pitt was paid $1,523 per week for seven weeks. He played a young American taken by his family to the Adriatic Sea to search for a cure for a rare skin disease.

Purchased a mansion is Southern California from the actress who portrays "Elvira" (Cassandra Peterson). He reportedly paid $1.7 million for the house. This mansion is filled with antiques and has a "vampirish" look to it. [1996]

Given title "Sexiest Man Alive" from People Magazine. After making Legends of the Fall (1994). [1994]

Lived in Southern California with friend Buck Simmonds, who starred with Pitt in the movie A River Runs Through It (1992). [May 1992]

Dated Juliette Lewis. They met when they filmed the NBC movie of the week entitled Too Young to Die? (1990) (TV). Pitt and Lewis also did the film Kalifornia (1993) together.

He was the third choice for the role of J.D. in Thelma & Louise (1991). William Baldwin, the first choice, left to star in Backdraft (1991).

He had to learn how to fly-cast for his role in A River Runs Through It (1992). He practiced on top of buildings in Hollywood. During these practices, Pitt would frequently hook himself in the back of his head.

Voted "Best Actor" by viewers of MTV's "The Big Picture" (1988) in 1995.

Was a journalism major in college with an advertising focus.

Listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1991" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 43. [1991]

Graduated from Kickapoo High School in Springfield, Mo. [1982]

Dropped out of the University of Missouri School of Journalism (Columbia, Missouri).

In high school was a member of the golf, tennis, and swim teams.

Belonged to the Key Club and the Forensics Club in High School.

Listed in "People Weekly"s "Most Intriguing People" list. (December 25, 1995/January 1, 1996 issue)

He has a brother Doug, born in 1966 and a sister Julie, born in 1969.

Given title "Sexiest Man Alive" from People Magazine, Mr. Pitt was also People's choice in 1995. [2000]

Was considered for the lead in The Matrix (1999).

Has his teeth capped.

Sued Damiani International, the company which created the wedding ring he gave Jennifer Aniston. According to Pitt, the ring was his design and was to be exclusive. The company has since been selling replicas and indicating Pitt/Aniston's endorsement of the ring. [18 July 2001]

He and ex-wife Jennifer Aniston spent $1 million on their wedding. [2000]

He and ex-wife Jennifer Aniston reached a settlement with Damiani International. The pair claimed the company agreed to never reproduce their wedding rings, but it manufactured and sold "Brad and Jennifer" rings in 18 karat white or yellow gold, featuring either 12 or 13 diamonds and costing about $1,000 apiece. Under the settlement, Pitt will now design jewelry for Damiani that Aniston will model in ads, and Damiani will stop selling the Pitt and Aniston copies. [11 January 2002]

For the last couple of years he has been the spokesman for Edwin Jeans ads in Japan. In 2001 he was also the face of the ads for a new Japanese canned coffee which is named Roots. Was replaced in these tv ads (2002) by Kevin Costner.

Studied acting with the late Roy London.

Spokesmodel of Toyota (Altis model). The commercial only aired in Asia. The car became so popular and resulted in strong sales figures (an almost 32% share of the total passenger car market for Toyota).

Has a home at Lake Mohawk in Sparta, New Jersey.

Auditioned for the role of "J.D." in the 1988 cult classic film Heathers (1989) and, though he showed talent, casting directors thought him to be "too sweet" for the role, which later went to Christian Slater. He would later go on to a very similar role in the horror film Cutting Class (1989) in 1989.

Is mentioned by name in the Shania Twain hit song, "That Don't Impress Me Much."

He is a member of the Sigma Chi Fraternity. The Xi Xi chapter at The University of Missouri - Columbia.

After watching Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), Pitt asked director Guy Ritchie if he could be in his next film. He couldn't master the English accent, so Ritchie gave him the role of Mickey the One Punch Pikey.

Along with ex-wife Jennifer Aniston and friend Brad Grey, he owns Plan B Entertainment.

Tore his Achilles tendon during the production of Troy (2004), in which he plays, ironically, Achilles. His injury caused the production of Ocean's Twelve (2004) to be pushed back to April 2004. [2003]

Is the first man ever to be named "Sexiest Man Alive" twice by "People Magazine." (1994 and 2000).

He and ex-wife Jennifer Aniston are campaigning in the United States to save "EastEnders" (1985) from being axed there [2003].

He is "in talks" to portray Marvel superhero Captain America, a role he says he has wanted to play for a long time. [Early 2004]

Showed his parents the "Chemical Burn" scene to convince them not to watch Fight Club (1999).

He had a mishap during the production of Troy (2004) - he tore his left achilles tendon.

Got into better shape and eventually gained over 20 pounds of muscle for Troy (2004).

He has appeared in three movies with the number seven in the title (Se7en (1995), Seven Years in Tibet (1997), and Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003)). He has also appeared in two movies with the number twelve in the title (Ocean's Twelve (2004) and Twelve Monkeys (1995)).

He was ranked #6 on VH1's "100 Hottest Hotties."

His high school nickname was Brad the "Pitt-bull."

He took Greek language lessons in secret to surprise his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston who is of Greek ancestry.

Voted #1 in Company magazine's annual "100 Sexiest Men" poll, 2004.

His favorite movies are Planet of the Apes (1968) and Saturday Night Fever (1977).

Announced on January 7, 2005 that he and Jennifer Aniston are separating after 4 1/2 years of marriage.

Was listed as a potential nominee on the 2005 Razzie Award nominating ballot. He was listed as a suggestion in the Worst Actor category for his performance in the film Troy (2004). He did not receive a nomination, however.

Dianne Wiest is his favorite actress.

Premiere Magazine ranked him as #50 on a list of the Greatest Movie Stars of All Time in their Stars in Our Constellation feature (2005).

His best friend is Troy (2004) co-star Orlando Bloom.

Shares a birthday with Katie Holmes, Christina Aguilera, DMX, Ray Liotta, film critic Leonard Maltin, Casper Van Dien and filmmaker Steven Spielberg.

A short while after completing A River Runs Through It (1992), he fled to Amsterdam where he briefly lived for three months by himself in a small basement apartment before returning to the USA to film Kalifornia (1993).

He and his ex-wife Jennifer Aniston met on a blind date, which was arranged by their agent

He and his Ocean's Eleven (2001) / Ocean's Twelve (2004) co- stars, Julia Roberts, George Clooney and Elliott Gould, all have guest-starred on the TV show "Friends" (1994), though not in the same episodes

Owns and plays Taylor Guitars

In 2001, Frank O. Gehry renovated the wine cellar in the home of Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. Pitt subsequently did an informal apprenticeship in Gehry's Los Angeles office.

Owns the rights to the Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs (2002). He wanted it to be remade with him and Tom Cruise in the leading roles.

Visited over 100 orphans affected by HIV at a facility run by The Salvation Army in South Africa.

Is a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity.

Has appeared in 8 movies with a number in the Title - and only one of those movies uses an actual number rather than spelling the word out. Which is Se7en (1995), and that is a combination of the two - he has appeared in 1 movie with the number Zero in the title, 1 movie with the number Two in the title, 3 movies with the number Seven in the title, 1 movie with the number Eleven and 2 with the number Twelve.

Without being asked to, he made an appearance on MTV's "Jackass" (2000) where he did stunts with the cast, dressed in an ape outfit.

Raised in Springfield Missouri and is an alumni of Kickapoo high school. Other Alumni include Adrienne Wilkinson and Jay Kenneth Johnson.

Broke his arm during the filming of Se7en (1995). The injury was written into the movie.

Adoptive father of Angelina Jolie's children Maddox and Zahara.

Wanted to play Darcy in Bride & Prejudice (2004), but wasn't able to work out the filming dates.

Daughter, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt [b. 27 May 2006], in Namibia Africa, with girl friend Angelina Jolie

Ranked #15 on Premiere's 2006 "Power 50" list. Had ranked #31 in 2005.

Was considered for two roles which went to Johnny Depp: Ichabod Crane in Sleepy Hollow (1999) and Willy Wonka in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005). Both were directed by Tim Burton.

The first commercial that Brad Pitt ever booked was through Matrix Talent Agency, Los Angeles. His agent was Linda Olhava, sister of film director Jody Lee Olhava.

Has Single Engine Land pilot license.

Occasionally fly a Cessna 208B Caravan belonging to Chivan Productions.

Initially, he didn't want to appear in Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), although it was he who gave the script for the movie to director Doug Liman.

Tore his Achilles tendon during the production of Troy (2004), in which he plays, ironically, Achilles who is wounded in the Trojan War by an arrow piercing his Achilles tendon. His injury caused the production of Ocean's Twelve (2004) to be pushed back to April 2004. [2003].

Originally cast as Colin Sullivan in The Departed (2006), but later dropped out. He continued to produce the film under his (and his then wife Jennifer Aniston's) production company, Plan B.

His first job was dancing in a chicken suit for a chicken restaurant.

March 2007 - he and girlfriend Angelina Jolie adopted a 3-year-old boy named Pax Thien from Vietnam.

Made a cameo appearance with Matt Damon for free in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002) as a favor to Ocean's Eleven (2001) costar and close friend George Clooney - the film was Clooney's directorial debut.

Has been in 7 movies where the title contains the name of the character he plays: Johnny Suede (1991), Meet Joe Black (1998), Sinbad: Legend of the Seven Seas (2003), Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005), The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) and Chad Schmidt (2008).

Considered for the role in "Crimson Tide" (1995) that went to Denzel Washington.

Moved with Angelina Jolie and their four children to New Orleans. [2007]

Voted #6 in Elle (France) Magazine's "15 Sexiest Men" poll (June 2007).

Johnny Depp

Born John Christopher Depp in Owensboro, Kentucky, on June 9, 1963, Johnny Depp was raised in Florida. He dropped out of school at age 15 in the hopes of becoming a rock musician. He fronted a series of garage bands including The Kids, which once opened for Iggy Pop. Depp got into acting after a visit to Los Angeles, California, with his former wife, Lori Anne Allison, who introduced him to actor Nicolas Cage. He made his film debut in A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984). In 1987 he shot to stardom when he replaced Jeff Yagher in the role of undercover cop Tommy Hanson in the popular TV series "21 Jump Street" (1987).

In 1990, after numerous roles in teen-oriented films, his first of a handful of great collaborations with director Tim Burton came about when Depp played the title role in Edward Scissorhands (1990). Following the film's success, Depp carved a niche for himself as a serious, somewhat dark, idiosyncratic performer, consistently selecting roles that surprised critics and audiences alike. He continued to gain critical acclaim and increasing popularity by appearing in many features before re-joining with Burton in the lead role of Ed Wood (1994). In 1997 he played an undercover FBI agent in the fact-based film Donnie Brasco (1997), opposite Al Pacino; in 1998 he appeared in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), directed by Terry Gilliam; and then, in 1999, he appeared in the sci-fi/horror film The Astronaut's Wife (1999). The same year he teamed up again with Burton in Sleepy Hollow (1999), brilliantly portraying Ichabod Crane.

Depp has played many characters in his career, including another fact-based one, Insp. Fred Abberline in From Hell (2001). He stole the show from screen greats such as Antonio Banderas in the finale to Robert Rodriguez's "mariachi" trilogy, Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003). In that same year he starred in the marvelous family blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), playing a character that only the likes of Depp could pull off: the charming, conniving and roguish Capt. Jack Sparrow. Now Depp is collaborating again with Burton in a screen adaptation of Roald Dahl's novel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005).

Off-screen, Depp has dated several female celebrities, and has been engaged to Jennifer Grey, Winona Ryder and Kate Moss. He was married to Lori Anne Allison in 1983 but they divorced her in 1985. Currently, Depp is living with French singer-actress Vanessa Paradis, with whom he has two children: Lily-Rose Melody, born in 1999 and Jack, born in 2002.

IMDb Mini Biography By: mikedavies86 (qv's & corrections by A. Nonymous)

Scarlet Johansson

Scarlett Johansson was born on 22 November 1984 in New York City to Melanie Johansson (of Polish descent) and Karsten Johansson (of Danish descent). Scarlett showed a passion for acting at a young age and starred in many plays. She has a sister named Vanessa Johansson, a brother named Adrian, and a twin brother named Hunter Johansson born three minutes after her.

She began her acting career in 1994 starring as "Laura Nelson" in North (1994). In 1998, the acclaimed film The Horse Whisperer (1998) brought Johansson critical praise and worldwide recognition. Following the film's success, she starred in many other films including the critically acclaimed cult film Ghost World (2001) and then the hit Lost in Translation (2003) with Bill Murray in which she again stunned critics. Later on, she appeared in Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003).

In 2003, she was nominated for two Golden Globes, one for drama (Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003)) and one for comedy (Lost in Translation (2003)). She dropped out of Mission: Impossible III (2006) due to scheduling conflicts. Her next film role was in The Island (2005) alongside Ewan McGregor which earned weak reviews from U.S. critics.

After this, she appeared in Woody Allen's Match Point (2005) and was nominated again for a Golden Globe.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Jack Pearce

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie is an Oscar-winning actress who has become popular by taking on the title role in the "Lara Croft" series of blockbuster movies. Off-screen, Jolie has become prominently involved in international charity projects, especially those involving refugees. She often appears on many "most beautiful women" lists, and she has a personal life that is avidly covered by the tabloid press.

In her earliest years, Angelina began absorbing the acting craft from her parents at home -- her father was the Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight and her mother was Marcheline Bertrand, who had studied with Lee Strasberg. At age 11, Angelina began studying at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. She undertook some film studies at New York University and later joined the renowned Met Theatre Group in Los Angeles. At age 16, she took up a career in modeling and appeared in some music videos. Her exotic good looks may derive from her mixed ancestry which is Czech, French-Canadian, Iroquois and English.

In the mid-1990s, Jolie appeared in various small films where she got good notices, including Hackers (1995) and Foxfire (1996). Her critical acclaim increased when she played strong roles in the made-for-TV movies True Women (1997) (TV), and in George Wallace (1997) (TV) which won her a Golden Globe award and an Emmy nomination. Jolie's acclaim increased even further when she played the lead role in the HBO production Gia (1998) (TV). This was the true life story of supermodel Gia Carangi, a sensitive wild child who was both brazen and needy and who had a difficult time handling professional success and the deaths of people who were close to her. Carangi became involved with drugs and because of her needle-using habits she became, at the tender age of 26, one of the first celebrities to die of AIDS. Jolie's performance in Gia (1998) (TV) again garnered a Golden Globe award and another Emmy nomination, and she additionally earned a SAG Award.

Angelina got a major break in 1999 when she won a leading role in the successful feature The Bone Collector (1999), starring alongside Denzel Washington. In that same year, Jolie gave a tour de force performance in Girl, Interrupted (1999) playing opposite Winona Ryder. The movie was a true story of women who spent time in a psychiatric hospital. Jolie's role was reminiscent of Jack Nicholson's character in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), the role which won Nicholson his first Oscar. Unlike "Cuckoo", "Girl" was a small film that received mixed reviews and barely made money at the box office. But when it came time to give out awards, Jolie won the triple crown -- "Girl" propelled her to win the Golden Globe, the SAG Award and the Academy Award for best leading actress in a supporting role.

With her new-found prominence, Jolie began to get in-depth attention from the press. Numerous aspects of her controversial personal life became news. Jolie divorced her Hackers (1995) co-star Jonny Lee Miller and, in 2000, she married her Pushing Tin (1999) co-star Billy Bob Thornton. Jolie had now become the fifth wife of a man twenty years her senior. At her wedding to Miller, she had displayed her husband's name on the back of her shirt painted in her own blood. During her marriage to Thornton, the spouses each wore a vial of the other's blood around their necks. In addition, Jolie was estranged from her famous father.

In 2000, Jolie was asked to star in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001). At first, she expressed disinterest but then decided that the required training for the athletic role was intriguing. The Croft character was drawn from a popular video game. Lara Croft was a female cross between Indiana Jones and James Bond. When the film was released, critics were unimpressed with the final product, but critical acclaim wasn't the point of the movie. The public paid $275 million for theater tickets to see a buffed up Jolie portray the adventuresome Lara Croft.

Jolie's father Jon Voight appeared in "Croft", and during filming there was a brief rapprochement between father and daughter.

One of the Croft movie's filming locations was Cambodia. While there, Jolie witnessed the natural beauty, culture and poverty of that country. She considered this an eye opening experience, and so began the humanitarian chapter of her life. Jolie began visiting refugee camps around the world and came to be formally appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Some of her experiences were written and published in her popular book "Notes from My Travels" whose profits go to UNHCR.

Jolie has stated that she now plans to spend most of her time in humanitarian efforts, to be financed by her actress salary. She devotes one third of her income to savings, one third to living expenses and one third to charity. In 2002, Angelina adopted a Cambodian refugee boy named "Maddox" and, in 2005, she adopted an Ethiopian refugee girl named "Zahara". Jolie's dramatic feature film Beyond Borders (2003) parallels some of her real life humanitarian experiences although, despite the inclusion of a romance between two westerners, many of the movie's images were too depressingly realistic -- the film was not popular among critics or at the box office.

In 2004, Jolie began filming Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) with co-star Brad Pitt. The film became a major box office success. Jolie's marriage to Billy Bob Thornton had come apart in 2002, and there were rumors that Pitt and Jolie had an affair while filming "Smith". Jolie insisted that because her mother had been hurt by adultery, she herself could never participate in an affair with a married man, therefore there had been no affair with Pitt at that time. Nonetheless, Pitt separated from his wife Jennifer Aniston in January 2005 and, in the months that followed, he was frequently seen in public with Jolie, apparently as a couple. Pitt's divorce was finalized later in 2005.

Jolie and Pitt announced in early 2006 that they would have a child together, and Jolie gave birth to daughter "Shiloh" that May. They said that they wish to adopt another child as well. The couple continues to pursue movie and humanitarian projects.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Roger Burns

Lindsay Lohan

Lindsay Dee Lohan was born in New York City, on 2 July 1986, to Dina Lohan and Michael Lohan. She began her career at age three as a Ford model, and also made appearances in over sixty television commercials, including spots for The Gap, Pizza Hut, Wendy's, and Jell-O (opposite Bill Cosby). Lohan made her acting debut in 1996 as the third actress to play Ali Fowler in the television drama "Another World" (1964). Shortly afterward, she was hand-picked by Oscar-nominated writer Nancy Meyers as estranged twin sisters in an adaptation by Walt Disney Pictures of a novel by Erich Kästner, which marked Meyers' directorial debut. Lohan's first feature film, The Parent Trap (1998), a remake of The Parent Trap (1961), was a modest commercial success, earning her widespread critical acclaim, and a Young Artist award for Best Leading Young Actress in a Feature Film, as well as Blockbuster Entertainment and YoungStar award nominations.

After signing a three-movie contract with Disney, she returned to the small screen to star in the made-for-TV movies Life-Size (2000) (TV) (opposite Tyra Banks) and Get a Clue (2002) (TV) (opposite Bug Hall). She also appeared as Rose in the pilot episode of the short-lived comedy series "Bette" (2000), which starred Bette Midler.

In June 2001, Lohan took a brief hiatus from acting. Her music career was launched over a year later, when Estefan Enterprises made a five-album production deal with her in September 2002, and she signed a recording contract with the reactivated Casablanca Records.

But Lohan was not turning her back on her blossoming acting career. Just over a month previously, she had been cast opposite Jamie Lee Curtis for another Disney adaptation of a novel, this time of a fantasy comedy by Mary Rodgers. Freaky Friday (2003), a remake of Freaky Friday (1976), was a huge hit (generating over US$160 million in worldwide box office receipts), and critics were spellbound by delightful performances from Lohan and Curtis (who went on to receive a Golden Globe nomination for her work). In addition, Lohan won the 2004 MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Female, as well as a Saturn award nomination and another Young Artist award nomination.

Lohan relocated permanently to Los Angeles, California, between projects, and moved into an apartment with fellow actress Raven. She also dated pop star Aaron Carter for a short time.

Lohan's next acting role was the title character in the comedy Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004), a Disney adaptation of the novel by Dyan Sheldon. The film received scathing reviews upon its release and died a quick death at the box office, but even the harshest of critics were impressed by Lohan's charming turn as aspiring actress Lola.

Lohan's next project, Mean Girls (2004) saw her reunite with Freaky Friday (2003) director Mark Waters. Inspired by a non-fiction book by Rosalind Wiseman and written by "Saturday Night Live" (1975) scribe Tina Fey, the high-school comedy-drama opened to glowing reviews, and grossed $86 million in the US. This earned her status as a bankable actress, and a salary of $7.5 million for the Donald Petrie romantic comedy Just My Luck (2006).

One of the most sought-after young actresses in the industry, she is staring in Bobby (2006) (opposite Nick Cannon), The Fashionistas (2008) (based on the novel by Lynn Messina), the high school dramas "Dramarama" (1983), _Gossip Girl (2006)_ (based on the novel by Cecily von Ziegesar), and the Disney fantasy adventure _Herbie: Fully Loaded (2005)_ (a pseudo-sequel to The Love Bug (1968)). On top of a thriving film career, Lohan released her debut album, called "Speak," which hit shelves in December 2004.

In her spare time, Lohan enjoys swimming, basketball, shopping, singing, reading, writing, gymnastics, collecting Beanie Babies, roller-blading, and playing with her siblings Ali Lohan, Dakota and Michael Lohan.

Pamela Anderson

Pamela Denise Anderson was born on July 1, 1967 in Ladysmith, British Columbia in Canada at 4:08 PST. During her childhood, she moved to the city of Vancouver with her parents, Barry Anderson and Carol Anderson. As a teenager, she went to Highland Secondary School. Pamela was first "discovered" at a British Columbia Lions football game, when her image was shown on the stadium screen. The fans cheered her and she was brought down to the football field. Because of her fame in Vancouver, she signed a commercial contract with Labatt's beer to be the Blue Zone girl. More advertising assignments followed, and soon Playboy approached her. In October 1989, Pamela was on the cover of Playboy magazine. With the success from Playboy, Pamela Anderson moved to Los Angeles in 1990. In 1991, she made her television debut on "Home Improvement" (1991), where she starred as Lisa, the Tool Time Girl. Soon, she got attention from viewers nationwide, which got her the role of C.J. Parker on "Baywatch" (1989). She was on one of the most viewed television series worldwide. She made her big screen debut on Raw Justice (1994). Soon after, Pamela met Mötley Crüe drummer Tommy Lee on New Year's Eve 1994 in New York City. In February 1995, they got married in Cancun, Mexico. They both returned to Los Angeles and stunned the world.

In spring of 1996, Pamela starred in Barb Wire (1996). While filming, she suffered a miscarriage. Pamela and Tommy were devastated, but there was hope for the couple when, on June 6, 1996, Brandon Thomas Lee was born. Soon later, a pornographic video of Pamela and Tommy was stolen from their home. Both of them sued an Internet web site for stealing the video. Their case wasn't settled and the video is still on the Internet. Meanwhile, Pamela and Tommy were having a rocky marriage, but, on December 29, 1997, Dylan Jagger Lee was born. Two months later, Pamela filed for divorce when her husband assaulted her. Tommy was sentenced to six months in jail. In late 1998, she starred on a TV show called "V.I.P." (1998). Soon later, she stunned the world again by removing her breast implants. In fall of 2001, she started to date singer Kid Rock, they announced their engagement in the spring of 2002. Then, Pamela announced that she was infected with hepatitis C. The cause of it was that Pamela shared a needle with her ex-husband Tommy for a tattoo. Immediately, Pamela went into treatment and her show was canceled. In the fall of 2003, she broke up with Kid Rock and starred on a animated series by Stan Lee called "Stripperella" (2003). Pamela soon joined PETA on many issues including fur, slaughter of chickens and supporting vegetarians. In 2005, she starred on a FOX comedy show called "Stacked" (2005). She also decided to get bigger breast implants. Pamela also teaches at her sons' Sunday school and still poses for magazines.

Britney Spears

Born on 2 December 1981 in the small town of Kentwood, Louisiana, to parents Jamie and Lynne Spears, Britney is their second child of three. Her older brother Brian was born in April 1977 and her younger sister, Jamie-Lynn was born in April 1991. From a young age, Britney was always fixing to be a star with idols such as Madonna, Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston, the young Britney could always be heard singing, no matter what else was going on around her. After taking extensive dance and vocal lessons and performing in numerous talent shows and fairs, Britney auditioned for "The Mickey Mouse Club" (1955) when she 8, however she was too young to get the part. Instead, Britney, her mother and baby sister moved to New York where she starred in several TV adverts and an off broad-way play "Ruthless", where she was under-study with Natalie Portman. Her love of music and dance took over and 2 years later she auditioned for a part in Mickey Mouse again and this time won the part along with Christina Aguilera and Justin Timberlake. As a Mouseketeer, Britney received extensive training in dance, drama and singing and had to grow up a lot during that time. However, after the show was canceled two years later, Britney returned home and did "the normal teenager thing", attending pool parties and she was also the homecoming Queen. As a young teenager, Britney soon grew restless again and this time was desperate to become a star yet again. Again, she traveled to New York and sent out demo tapes to various labels including Sony and Mercury, but was turned down. It was Jive Records that finally took the young Britney on and set out on making her the star she is today.

She hit the studio with writers/producers such as Max Martin and Eric Foster White and the result was her debut album. In late 1998, Jive released her debut single "(Hit me) Baby one more time" which was a pop hit around the Globe, accompanied by the sixteen year old first of many controversial acts - the video, which featured Britney dressed in a Catholic Schoolgirl Uniform, baring her midriff, which was soon to become her trademark. Nonetheless, the single was a smash worldwide and Britney was instantly a Household name. She toured with popular boy band N*Sync and the single shot to the top of the charts for 3 weeks. Her debut album was released a few months later in early 1999 and like the single took to the top of the album charts, where it remained number one for six weeks. The album has now sold millions worldwide and is officially 14 x platinum in the US. Her next controversial act, after the video, was to take the cover of Rolling Stones magazine in a suggestive pose, but as Britney mania took off, the 17 year-old became more and more popular. Appealing to young girls, teenage boys and older men, Britney was on her way, yet nobody could have predicted at that time the impact she would have on Pop Culture. The second single, "Sometimes" was released in June 1999 followed on by the top 10 hit "Crazy" in September and "from the bottom of my broken heart" soon after. Britney ended 1999 selling over 10 million copies of her debut and as the Billboard Top Female Pop Artist (singles and albums), Top New Pop Artist, Top Billboard 200 album Artist and Top 100 singles Artist - female. The American Awards, MTV and Teen Choice awards soon began rolling in and in early 2000 Britney was nominated for two Grammy awards.

At just 18, Britney released her second album in 2000, the #1 smash "Oops! I did it again" and single of the same title, which topped the singles chart for 5 weeks. Smash singles "Stronger" and "Lucky" followed, but it was around this time that Britney was beginning to raise more than a few eyebrows. It seemed some people weren't too happy with the message she was sending their impressionable young children. On one hand, Britney was the perfect picture of innocence, declaring herself a Virgin until marriage yet on the other hand, she was sexually charged and provocative, with performance such as the MTV Video Music Awards in 2000, when her costume made her appear scantily-clad. As the young woman was growing up, it seemed there was an internal conflict between her, her management and her mother, all pulling her in different directions. Yet the image the public saw was a gorgeous young woman, beautifully dressed and damn close to perfection, often labeled the "Pop Princess" around the world. Still, the awards kept rolling in and in early 2001 Britney struck a lucrative deal with Pepsi-Cola for Sponsorship and advertising. The 19 year-old was growing up fast, with the media constantly fixed on what she was and wasn't doing, her "rivalry" with former fellow Mouseketeer Christina Aguilera and also her blossoming relationship with N*Sync heartthrob Justin Timberlake. Britney was keen that people saw her as a growing woman as she began to ready the public for her next LP release in late 2001.

In November, she hit the top 10 with the sexually charged "I'm a slave 4 u" which took a completely different turn in musical direction from her previous singles and in the same month released her third LP, self-titled "Britney" which shot to the top of the albums charts, breaking records for a female artist. Her performance of "Slave" at the MTV VMA's caused outrage among animal rights campaigners, as she performed with a live giant Snake and wearing little herself. It was a far cry from the Britney of just three years ago, and perhaps the critical moment when what some people would say "she started going downhill". Sales of her third album, while impressive, where not nearly as high as her former releases, perhaps due to the increase of new pop female singers flooding the market, yet Britney, still incredibly popular, carried on. In early 2002, the 20 year-old Britney released "I'm not a girl, not yet a woman", taken from the soundtrack of her debut movie Crossroads (2002/I) which was released in February that year. She soon after hit the charts with "Overprotected" and also toured Worldwide on the "Dream within a dream tour". Yet it seemed it was all getting too much for Britney, her four year relationship with Timberlake ended suddenly and very publicly and she soon announced she was to take 6 months off, after all, she had achieved so much by such a young age and in such a short space of time. Her star was by no means fading, with "Forbes" declaring her "The Worlds most powerful celebrity" in mid-2002.

While she may have been on a break from her career, she was by no means breaking from the media, who followed her relentlessly, even more keen to track her down and find out what she was up to. Britney was increasingly letting her pop princess crown slip, admitting she had lost her sacred virginity to Timberlake, outside of marriage. Britney could also be seen smoking and drinking to excess on wild nights out and famously breaking down in tears while being interviewed by Diane Sawyer about her parents (who were recently divorced) and her bitter split from Timberlake. Britney was linked to men such as Fred Durst of Limp Bizkit and openly kissed Colin Farrell at a movie premiere. However, she seemed to get herself back together for her new album released in late 2003. In a blitz of publicity which included the infamous "Like a Virgin" performance and Madonna kiss at the MTV Video Music Awards in August that year. The new album "In The Zone" was a bid to be seen as a woman and caused controversy with songs on it such as "Breathe on me" and "Touch of my hand" - which was about masturbation - however, the appeal of Britney was still there and the album topped the Billboard 200 albums charts. The first single to be lifted was "Me against the music" a club hit that featured pop icon Madonna and singing with her was a dream come true for Britney. Now 22, it seemed Britney was in a lot more control over her career, yet her personal life still seemed to be slipping. In January 2004, Britney got "married" to childhood friend Jason Alexander in a Las Vegas ceremony. The incident shocked the world, especially when the marriage was annulled 55 hours later and was described as "a joke taken too far" by her management.

Britney soon released one of her biggest singles, "Toxic" which topped various charts around the world including the UK and Canadian singles charts. The single was a smash-hit and silenced any critics that said Britney no longer had what it took to make a comeback. She soon began her highly publicized and overtly sexual "Onyx Hotel Tour" which was canceled a few months later after Britney damaged her knee during a video shoot and had to receive medical treatment. Other singles off the album included the Gold Selling "Everytime", which topped the UK singles charts and like usual, also carried a fair amount of controversy for its video, which allegedly depicted the star committing suicide after a fight with her boyfriend, played by Stephen Dorff ; however, this was "changed" to an accident in which she drowns yet reincarnates. It was around this time that Britney began dating Kevin Federline, a former back up dancer who she had taken on tour with her a few months previously. The snag here was that Kevin came with baggage - in the form of an "ex" girlfriend, heavily pregnant "Moesha" (1996) actress Shar Jackson and their young child. Britney and Kevin soon became engaged and in September 2004 were married in a secret ceremony, soon after the birth of Kevin's second child. That same month, Britney released a single off her upcoming "Greatest Hits" album (released in November 2004) a cover of Bobby Browns 1988 hit "My Prerogative".

Britney was a changed woman, no longer concerned with what the public thought of her or her appearance, she parted ways with her manager who she had had since she was 13, and was increasingly stepping out looking more "trailer trash" than Multi-Millionaire. In February 2005, Britney won her first Grammy for the single "Toxic" as Best Dance Recording. Just two months later, it was announced Britney was pregnant her first child. A reality TV Series "Britney & Kevin: Chaotic" (2005), which featured the pair getting to know each other the previous year, leading up to their wedding aired on UPN and eventually got a world wide audience, despite harsh criticism. In September 2005, Britney evolved yet again, this time as a devoted wife and mother, with the birth of her first child, a Son, which she named Sean Preston. In November that year, she released a remix album "B in the mix, the Remixes".

Looking back over the last seven years of this remarkable ladies career and life, it really is hard to imagine what the face of Pop would look like without her. Here is a 24 year-old woman who has grown in the face of the glaring media from innocent School-girl to Sexual Pop Vixen to Young wife and Mother. Who knows what is next for Britney? Rumours of a comeback album for 2006 have been circulating for a while and also a few more movie productions, yet one thing is for certain: Britney Spears has worked hard to get to where she is today and by no means will she be disappearing any time soon. Her name and face is legend in the media and celebrity circuit and it's surely only a matter of time before Spears shocks us all again, with her next album or tour or movie or personal move. One thing is for certain though: the public will be watching.

Paris Hilton

Socialite Paris Hilton was born on February 17, 1981 in New York City into the Hilton family and, along with her three younger siblings, is heir-apparent to the vast Hilton hotel and real estate dynasty. Her childhood was spent in palatial dwellings in the priciest neighborhoods on both coasts and featured a brief flirtation with the educational system, including high schooling at the ultra-exclusive Dwight School, from which she dropped out and ultimately earned her high school GED.

Living the glitzy socialite life from a relatively early age, attending exclusive parties and being covered by the gossip press, Hilton apparently became hooked on obtaining celebrity status, which was perhaps furthered by the example of her mother, Kathy Richards, who had a brief acting career herself, mostly on TV. Hilton began a remarkable and well-financed campaign to put herself in the public eye, on screen, on television and in music. This effort has included a substantial amount of physical alteration. A naturally pleasant-looking girl, Hilton underwent extensive plastic surgery, hair coloring and tinted contact lenses in her attempt to reinvent herself as "hot". Sadly, money could not buy alteration of the physical attribute she most dislikes about herself: her exceptionally-large feet.

Some skeptics have guessed that the endless parade of inane inter-celebrity feuds centering around Hilton are, in fact, publicity stunts, another front in the campaign to keep her exposure level high. It has even been argued that the infamous home video of Hilton with then-boyfriend Rick Salomon, in which Hilton performs explicit romantic activities with Rick Salomon, was part of this campaign as well. If it was, it worked. For better or for worse, it made Hilton a household name overnight, and was even widely marketed as a video, 1 Night in Paris (2004) (V).

Eventually Hilton's efforts paid off and she got some modeling work, the designers presumably relying on her notoriety. She has been an increasing presence on-screen too, in TV commercials, on TV series and in the movies, at first bit parts in movies such as Zoolander (2001), Wonderland (2003), The Cat in the Hat (2003) and guest-star roles on TV shows such as "The O.C." (2003) and "George Lopez" (2002), but later more substantial roles in horror flick House of Wax (2005), the direct-to-DVD _Bottom's Up (2006)_ and her own TV show, the fish-out-of-water reality series "The Simple Life" (2003).

Hilton also has plans to become a player in the music business, has recorded an album and even started her own music label, Heiress Records, in order to release it.

Hilton is widely scorned for what some see as her narcissism, shallow intellect and materialism and for other things besides, but she seems to be aware of the old adage that there's no such thing as bad publicity and it should be evident even to her detractors that she is ambitious and driven to achieve, rather than simply basking in her family's vast fortune, as do so many other socialites. In fact, performing is only part of her many activities and she has dabbled in designing, writing (one hastens to add, with a professional writer on the team), nightclub management and even marketing video games - all of which feature Paris Hilton, front and center.