Anna Friel

Anna Friel


Anna Friel


Anna Friel


A staple of British soap operas before she was even out of her teens, Anna Friel experienced the type of fame encouraged by tabloids and Internet shrines before getting a chance to prove her talents on the stage and screen. Born in Rochdale, Lancashire on July 12, 1976, Friel began acting as a teenager, performing with theatres across Britain. In 1990, she made her television debut with a role on the BBC series In Their Shoes, and was soon appearing in a number of popular TV series, including Coronation Street and Emmerdale. She received her greatest amount of notice to date when she was cast on the soap opera Brookside in 1993; the resulting popularity of her role on the show made the waifish, saucer-eyed actress something of a celebrity in her native country.

In 1997--two years after leaving Brookside--Friel made her film debut in The Land Girls. A World War II drama, it featured Friel, Rachel Weisz and Catherine McCormack as its titular heroines. Although the film was virtually unheard of outside the UK, it received generally favorable reviews. The following year, Friel appeared in two more films, The Stringer and Rogue Trader, the latter of which had her starring opposite Ewan McGregor. That same year, she won great acclaim on the London stage for her performance in Patrick Marber's -Closer. A trenchant commentary on love and sex, it featured the young actress as an enigmatic stripper, and allowed her to work alongside such performers as Natasha Richardson, Ciaran Hinds and Rupert Graves. The play proved to be so successful that it moved to Broadway the next year, where it continued to win accolade after accolade. Friel herself won a Drama Desk award for Best Supporting Actress for her work. That same year, she continued to broaden her resume and fan base with starring roles in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Sunset Strip, the former of which featured her as Hermia, and the latter of which saw her experiencing the ups and downs of life in 1972 Los Angeles. Following roles in The War Bride and Me Without You (both 2001) Friel continued to develop her onscreen persona, and with Richard Donner's time travel adventure Timeline (2003) the actress remained poised for the role that would provide her with her widest exposure to date.

In 2005, Friel appeared in the sports drama Goal!, about a Los Angeles teenager with dreams of becoming a professional soccer player. She also appeared alongside Kevin Pollak in the drama Niagra Motel, which found a group of seemingly disparate strangers connecting when they pass through the same motel. Then in 2007, Friel joined the cast of the new series Pushing Daisies, about a man who falls in love with a deceased woman after he discovers he can communicate with the dead. Rebecca Flint Marx, All Movie Guide

Rihanna

Rihanna


Rihanna


Rihanna


Rihanna


Rihanna


Rihanna established herself big-time in summer 2005 with her debut smash hit, "Pon de Replay," and continued to demonstrate her smash hit potential in subsequent years (e.g., "S.O.S.," 2006; "Umbrella," 2007). By the time of her third album, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007), she was a full-fledged international pop star with a regular presence atop the charts, from Germany to Japan. Born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on February 20, 1988, in Saint Michael, Barbados, she always exhibited a special quality, winning beauty and talent contests as a schoolchild. But because she lived on the fairly remote island of Barbados in the West Indies, she never foresaw the sort of stardom that would later befall her.

That stardom came courtesy of a fateful meeting with a man named Evan Rogers. The New Yorker was vacationing in Barbados with his wife, a native of the island, when someone turned him on to Rihanna. Since Rogers had spent years producing pop artists -- including superstars like *NSYNC, Christina Aguilera, Jessica Simpson, Kelly Clarkson, Laura Pausini, and Rod Stewart -- he offered her the opportunity to record some music after he recognized her talent and potential. Along with Rogers' production partner, Carl Sturken (the other half of Syndicated Rhythm Productions), Rihanna recorded some demos that sparked the interest of the Carter Administration -- that is, newly appointed Def Jam president Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter. This led to an audition and, in turn, an on-the-spot offer to sign with Def Jam, which Rihanna indeed inked on the spot.

Rihanna's third album, Good Girl Gone Bad (2007), continued her success and, more notably, signaled a change of direction. Whereas her past two albums had been been imbalanced -- often weighed down by faceless balladry and canned Caribbean-isms -- Good Girl Gone Bad was a first-rate dance-pop album. Moreover, it was surprisingly solid, stacked with potential singles and easily enjoyable from beginning to end. Collaborators included Jay-Z, Ne-Yo, Timbaland, and StarGate. The lead single, "Umbrella," shot to number one and, for the third year in a row, was a potential "song of the summer." By this point it was clear that Rihanna had become one of the biggest singles artists of the mid-2000s. ~ Jason Birchmeier

Marisa Miller

Marisa Miller


Marisa Miller


Marisa Miller


Marisa Miller


Marisa Miller

Marisa Miller is a strawberry blonde surfer-turned-model. According to Sports Illustrated, she was discovered in 2001 by fashion photographer Mario Testino, who took pictures of her riding the waves in California. The next year she appeared in the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue and has since appeared on the covers of Vogue, Fitness and Shape, among other high-profile magazines. Her athletic West Coast look was at first reminiscent of another SI model, Christie Brinkley, but Miller later opted for a more typically skinny supermodel look. She also has modelled for the ad campaigns of Tommy Hilfiger and has made frequent appearances in the Victoria's Secret lingerie catalogs. She appeared on the cover of the 2008 edition of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue.
Extra credit: According to her official site, Miller is 5'8" tall and weighs 110 pounds... Miller took a spin at Daytona Speedway with Nascar driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr. for a 2003 Sports Illustrated feature... Miller is no relation to singer Marissa Lee Miller or to the actress Marisa Miller who appeared in the 2002 film A Walk to Remember.

Eva Mendez

Eva Mendez


Eva Mendez


Eva Mendez


Eva Mendez


Eva Mendez


Eva Mendes, also given credit as Eva Mendez was born in Houston, Texas on March 5, 1978. He parents are both Cubans, and contributed to an interesting childhood that saw Eva move to Miami and then Los Angeles, when she was still a young girl. A fiercely independent actress who refuses to be pressed into a conventional mode or typecast, Eva Mendez was studying marketing in the late '90s when an agent stumbled across her photo while perusing Mendez's neighbor's portfolio. Eva Mendes kicked off her acting career in an Aerosmith video. The 25-year-old resident of Los Angeles hadn't considered acting as a career until two and a half years ago, and has never taken an acting class. As the classic Hollywood story goes, she was discovered because her neighbour, a photographer, had her photo in his portfolio and it caught the eye of an agent. Dropping out of school soon after being randomly discovered by an agent, Mendez appeared in a few made-for-television productions and hammed it up with Will Ferrell and Chris Kattan in A Night at the Roxbury before being cast in a prominent role in Urban Legends: Final Cut. She was thrilled about the opportunity to play a lesbian Latina, but she is still seeking the role that will challenge her as well as her viewers. After spending the last part of the 1990s in TV roles, music videos and small parts in movies such as A Night at Roxbury and Exit Wounds (both 1998), Eva Mendes had a career breakthrough co-starring with Denzel Washington in Training Day (2001, with Ethan Hawke). Since then she's been one busy, sexy actor in half a dozen movies, including 2 Fast 2 Furious (2003, starring Paul Walker), Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003, with Antonio Banderas and Johnny Depp) and Out of Time (2003, also with Denzel Washington) and Stuck on You (2003, with Matt Damon). Recently Eva played an FBI agent in Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003). She is writing a children's book, "Crazy Leggs Beshee." Inspired by her nieces and nephews, she wants to introduce vocabulary, art, history and values through a medium kids understand.

Jaime King

Jaime King


Jaime King


Jaime King


Jaime King


James (now Jaime) King was a famously troubled teen supermodel of the 1990s; she was "discovered" at 14, a success at 15 and a heroin user at 16. After well-publicized battles with drugs and alcohol King turned sober and continued her successes in modelling; her male-sounding name, once a novelty, became her calling card. On TV she has served as occasional co-host of the MTV show House of Style and appeared in the short-lived TV series Kitchen Confidential (2005, starring Bradley Cooper). She has also had several small roles in feature films, including Blow (2001, starring Johnny Depp), Pearl Harbor (2001, with Ben Affleck) and the film version of Frank Miller's Sin City (2005).

Jennifer Garner

Jennifer Garner


Jennifer Garner


Jennifer Garner


Jennifer Garner


Jennifer Garner


Jennifer Garner, who has catapulted into stardom with her lead role on the series "Alias" (2001), has come a long way from her birthplace of Houston, Texas. Raised in Charleston, West Virginia by her mother Pat, a retired English teacher, and her father, Bill, a former chemical engineer, Jennifer was the middle sibling of three girls. She spent nine years of her adolescence studying ballet and describes her years in dance as ones characterized by determination rather than talent, being driven mostly by a love of the stage.

Jennifer took this determination with her when she enrolled at Denison University as a chemistry major, a decision that was later changed to a drama major when she found that her passions for the stage were stronger than her love of science. New York attracted the young actress after college where she worked as a hostess while pursuing a career in film and television. Her most recent move has been to Los Angeles, a decision that led to a role on the show "Felicity" (1998), where she met her future husband Scott Foley. The couple divorced in 2004.

She appears on television as Agent Sydney Bristow, who works for the CIA. For her work, Garner has received four consecutive Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She has also received four Golden Globe nominations and won once, as well as received two Screen Actors Guild Award nominations, and won once.

She has appeared in numerous other television production as well as such films as Elektra (2005), 13 Going on 30 (2004), Daredevil (2003), Pearl Harbor (2001) and Dude, Where's My Car? (2000). Aside from filming "Alias" (2001), Jennifer enjoys cooking, gardening, hiking, and inspired by her character on the show, kickboxing.

Lauren Conrad

Lauren Conrad


Lauren Conrad


Lauren Conrad



Lauren Conrad


Laruen Conrad


Lauren Conrad and Heidi Montag

Lauren was born on February 1st, 1986 to Jim and Kathy Conrad in Laguna Beach, California in the United States. Lauren is the eldest of 3 children and has a younger sister named Breanna and a younger brother. Lauren's father is an architect and her mother runs her father's business.

Lauren has been immersed in the wealth of Laguna Beach. Whilst in High School, she and her friends spent their time tanning, shopping, and searching for attractive boys. She signed onto a role on MTV's Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County in her last year of High School and starred in Season 1 and 2.

Lauren enjoys designing fashion and attended the Academy of Art University in San Francisco for one semester before transferring to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in Los Angeles.

Since moving to Los Angeles from Laguna Beach, she has her own spin-off series called The Hills which also airs on MTV. Lauren is now an intern at Teen Vogue Magazine in Los Angeles.

As of 2007, Lauren resides in West Hollywood with her friend, Audrina.