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Ming-Na ("enlightenment") was born on the island of Macau, forty miles from Hong Kong. Her mother, Lin Chan Wen, divorced her father when Ming-Na was only a toddler. She has an older brother named Jonathan. After the divorce, they moved to Hong Kong where her mother became a nurse. There her mother met Soo Lim Yee, a U.S. businessman. They soon married, and at four years, Ming-Na moved with her family to Queens, New York. Five years later, they transferred to Yee's hometown of Pittsburgh where his family runs the Chinatown Inn restaurant. Jonathan and half-brother, Leong, now manage this restaurant. Struggling to fit in at school, she changed her name to Maggie & Doris. She found a love for acting while appearing in a third grade Easter play, where she played a klutzy bunny. Her mother was not excited about her desire to pursue acting, She preferred that she go into medicine. Nonetheless, Ming-Na graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a degree in theatre. She got her first acting job in 1988 on the soap As the World Turns (1956). Her big break came when she was cast in The Joy Luck Club (1993). When she needed a ride to the premiere of the film, her acting instructor sent one of his students, Eric Michael Zee. The two started dating in 1994 after Ming-Na moved permanently to Los Angeles and married in 1995, dropping her last name, Wen, at that time. She says she is now like Ann-Margret. Zee is a screenwriter and, with Ming-Na, manages At Last, a boy band.- Actress
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Andrea Donna de Matteo, called Drea (pronounced "dray"), was born on January 19, 1972 in Queens, New York, into an affluent family, the youngest of three children and the only girl. She is the daughter of Donna, a playwright and playwriting teacher at HB Studio in New York, and Albert A. De Matteo, a furniture manufacturer. She is of Italian descent. De Matteo spent her early childhood in Queens, and the family then moved to the Upper East Side in Manhattan, into Aretha Franklin's former townhouse.
De Matteo decided to pursue a directing career at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, perhaps because of the brief moment when, as a girl, she was brought onstage out of the audience and dazzled by the stage lights when she was seeing the play "Cats," perhaps because of her mother's involvement in the entertainment business. Once she was in school, however, it was the acting classes which attracted her greatest interest, and she decided on an acting career. After a screen debut in an obscure independent and a small part in a small movie, Meet Prince Charming (1999), de Matteo auditioned for a one-episode part in the HBO series The Sopranos (1999). She impressed the producers enough that they expanded the role, as Adriana La Cerva, girlfriend to up-and-coming Soprano family soldier Christopher Moltisanti (Michael Imperioli), and she eventually became a regular on the show. De Matteo had the right sultry beauty to portray Adriana, but her acting skills greatly fleshed out the character, making her as rich and complex a character as a slightly ditzy gangster's girlfriend can be in the first place - humorous, even charming in a way and, ultimately, tragic. She won an Emmy award for her portrayal of Adriana in 2004.
Although De Matteo's role on the HBO series ended in 2004, in that same year she got a leading role in Joey (2004), a spin-off of the long-running NBC sitcom Friends (1994). She has also appeared in several movies since starting on "The Sopranos" - regardless of the caliber of the production, de Matteo has consistently shown her strong acting skills, such as her award-winning lead in Abel Ferrara's 'R Xmas (2001) and her supporting role in Prey for Rock & Roll (2003).
Although De Matteo describes herself as shy, she also says she was and remains a wild, multi-tattooed party-girl who peppers her conversation with strong language and prefers jeans to dressing up. She owned a rock and roll vintage clothing store in the East Village called "Filth Mart" for several years but has closed it and is considering re-opening it in the Los Angeles area. She has said that she considers actor Vince Vaughn to be like a brother to her.- Actress
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Gina was born in New York City and is youngest of three children in a close-knit Cuban American family. Attended New York City's High School of Music and Art She is a gifted mezzo soprano and was trained in opera and jazz and also sang in a gospel choir.- Actress
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Lisa Nicole Carson has the distinction of having simultaneously starred in television's most lauded comedy and drama series. She has both amused audiences as Renee Radick, the D.A. roommate of Calista Flockhart on Fox's Ally McBeal (1997) and riveted them as Carla Reese, the mother of Eriq La Salle's son on NBC's ER (1994). Carson has been repeatedly nominated for a variety of awards as a result of these credits. Additional forays into television include the series Divas (1995) and guest turns on Law & Order (1990), as well as the telefilm Aftershock: Earthquake in New York (1999). Her feature credits are just as impressive. Among her many roles are the comedy Life (1999) with Eddie Murphy and Martin Lawrence, the temptress in Eve's Bayou (1997) with Samuel L. Jackson, Love Jones (1997) with Larenz Tate, Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) with Denzel Washington and Jason's Lyric (1994) with Jada Pinkett Smith. Born in Brooklyn, and having spent her teen years in Gainesville, Florida - graduating from Buchholz High School in June 1987 - Lisa moved to New York City after graduation to live with her grandmother and pursue an acting. She is a recent transplant to Los Angeles. In addition to acting, she is also an accomplished vocalist.- Actress
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On February 13th, 1968, a girl of Chinese, English, and Hawaiian ancestry was born in Honolulu, Hawaii. Her father, Herbert, was a salesman and her mother, Juanita, worked many odd jobs to help support the family. She has one older brother, Glenn. She is a former Miss Teen USA, and modeled in Japan and Italy for several months before deciding to relocate to L.A. and try her hand at show business. She received her break on TV's Growing Pains (1985) in 1987 and never looked back.- Actress
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Sarah Shahi was born Aahoo Jahansouzshahi in Euless, Texas, to an Iranian father and Spanish-Iranian mother. She is a former NFL cheerleader and a descendant of a 19th-century Persian Shah. She attended Trinity High School and Southern Methodist University, studied opera and majored in English. As a teenager, she won several beauty contests and took first place in the Miss Fort Worth USA pageant in 1997. She joined the Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders and was part of the 1999-2000 squad. She also appeared on the cover of their 2000 calendar.
While working as an extra on the set of Dr. T & the Women (2000), she met director Robert Altman, who encouraged her to move to Hollywood to pursue a career as an actress. Shahi was the first ghost in Supernatural (2005), the CW paranormal drama series. She had recurring roles in several TV series, such as Alias (2001), in which she played "Jenny"; and Dawson's Creek (1998), where she was "Sadia Shaw". She became a fan favorite in her role as the Mexican-American DJ "Carmen de la Pica Morales" in the Showtime series, The L Word (2004), which she joined in its second season. Sarah did not renew her contract with the show for a fourth season and, consequently, her character was written out.
However, she is best-known for her main role as "Sameen Shaw" on the CBS show Person of Interest (2011) playing a CIA agent turned-vigilante with a heart of gold.
She also appeared on HBO's The Sopranos (1999), in the episode Kennedy and Heidi (2007) as "Sonya Aragon", a stripper and a college student who spends a weekend with Tony after a death in his family. Although uncredited by most sources, Sarah also appeared in the Jackie Chan film, Rush Hour 3 (2007), as one of the girls being handcuffed along with Mia Tyler for a traffic offense by Chris Tucker early in the film. She also starred with Damian Lewis in the NBC show, Life (2007).
Sarah speaks English, Farsi, and some Spanish, and has a brown belt in karate.- Actress
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It was inevitable that Nona Gaye would become a singer - she is the granddaughter of Cuban jazz great Slim Gaillard, the niece of R&B singer/songwriter Frankie Gaye and the daughter of soul legend Marvin Gaye. Signed to Third/Stone Atlantic at 14, Nona released "Love for the Future" in 1992, which included the top 20 hit "I'm Overjoyed". But it was acting that give Nona a name of her own. With no acting experience and her agents warning her not to get her hopes up, she won the role of Khalilah Camacho Ali in Ali (2001)opposite Academy Award-nominee Will Smith. Nona went on to play Zee in the "Matrix" sequels, replacing singer Aaliyah after her sudden death in a plane crash. In 2004, Nona provided the voice for Hero Girl in The Polar Express (2004), which also starred Tom Hanks. Nona has plans to return to the music studio as well as the silver screen. "My music will always reflect upon my family's legacy or people's expectations," Nona told Interview Magazine in 2001. "But acting's all mine."- Actress
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Elise Neal was born in Memphis, Tennessee and began dancing at age six. She credits her success to her mother, Arletha Neal, who always supported her and drove her to many talent shows and recitals. After moving to New York and quickly booking many off-Broadway shows and musical revivals, she thought Broadway would be her winning ticket. But she moved to LA to give acting a 'try.'
Born to entertain when she begged her mother to put her in dance class at age six!
Now of course an actress known worldwide - Either from seven TV shows: The Hughleys, All of Us, and Belle's (as a series regular), or one of her thirty films. Her last film, Logan, marked her third film as number one at the box office and has grossed over $400 million dollars worldwide. Elise also broke the internet for how she looks for her age, Elise is executive producing a fitness show, teaming up with Loud TV, who produced The Biggest Loser, and is pitching many TV and film projects!- Actress
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Kali Hawk was a child prodigy, beginning high school at the age of 12, and gaining acceptance to prestigious New York arts university SUNY Purchase before she was 16 years old. While in a play on campus, she was introduced to a friend's agent and began doing commercials and plays in Manhattan's Lower East Side theatre district. A move to Los Angeles would come years later, with Kali finding work as a model. Her long legs, and model looks would land her in magazines and commercials for KFC, Clorox 2, MTV Europe, and in music videos for rock band KoRn, Rob Zombie, Norah Jones, T.I. and Usher.
Her first film role came in the Lion's Gate thriller 'Holla', which cast Kali alongside Michael Bergin as the sweet, unsuspecting camper Caprice. She would follow that project with a supporting role in the Spike Lee comedy 'Lovers & Haters', playing a scathing Hollywood diva opposite singer/superstar Mariah Carey. On television, she has also appeared on the hit CW sitcom 'The Game', executive produced by Kelsey Grammer.- Actress
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Raised in a working-class Ohio town, Danielle Nicolet moved with her family to southern California to train in gymnastics. She competed through her teenage years, but finally admitted that acting was her dream. She has always played unpredictable characters, whether they be dramatic or comedic. Early on she appeared most notably in National Lampoon's Loaded Weapon 1 (1993), The Jacksons: An American Dream (1992), Where Truth Lies (1996), Shadow of Doubt (1998) and Race (1998). She spent six seasons as "Caryn" on the Emmy-winning sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996), and has since established herself as a truly versatile and engaging star. In 2005 Entertainment Weekly named her "the breakout star of the network" for her turn on the sitcom Second Time Around (2004). She has since twice been deemed "favorite character to watch" for her work as the cross-bearing head of the ICU on the TNT hospital drama, Heartland (2007) and as the insecure and oversexed pal of Debra Messing and Judy Davis on the USA Network series The Starter Wife (2008). Danielle has also appeared in the films Ticking Clock (2011), Alpha Males Experiment (2009) and Rocker (2006).- Actress
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Moving from Orangeburg, South Carolina to the states capital, Columbia at the age of 2, Angell Conwell began her journey in entertainment at a very young age. After winning numerous awards locally and in the surrounding states of Georgia and North Carolina, she signed with Wilhelmina's Kids Division in New York. Always one to challenge herself, Angell begged for her parents permission to audition for August Wilson's highly acclaimed, "Fences". After landing the role she realized, commitment to pursuing a career in entertainment was exactly what she would set out to do.
At age 11, Angell and her mother, with only enough funds to stretch a couple months, relocated to Los Angeles for pilot season. It was quite an eye opener for her. After a very trying season, on the exact day she was scheduled to move back to Columbia, she booked the CBS pilot "On Our Own". Although, the pilot wasn't picked up to series, the network noticed this vibrant young actress and soon flew her back to California to audition for the role of Meshach Taylor's daughter on the CBS show "Dave's World". She landed the role.
At 17, John Singleton cast Angell in her first silver screen role as Kim in "Baby Boy" sharing the screen with Tyrese, Taraji P. Hensen & Omar Gooding. Immediately after, Conwell began filming the Lions Gate comedic remake "The Wash", and MGM's wildly popular "Soul Plane" alongside Kevin Hart and Sofia Vergara. She's guest starred and recurred on dozens of hit shows.
Angell was presented with Columbia, South Carolina's Key To The City on February 5, 2019. This day was also deemed Angell Conwell Day by Mayor Steven Benjamin.- Actress
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Shalita Grant was raised in Petersburg, Virginia and attended high school at the Baltimore School for the Arts in Maryland where she was a YoungArts Winner in Theater and Presidential Scholar in the Arts. At 17, she received a scholarship to attend the Julliard School for her B.F.A. in Drama, graduating in 2010.
In the first season of NCIS: New Orleans (2014), her role as former ATF turned NCIS Agent Sonja Percy, was recurring and was soon followed with a promotion to series regular at the start of the second season. Grant also starred as contraband slave, Aurelia Johnson, in the PBS original Civil War mini-series, Mercy Street (2016). Her television guest star credits include The Good Wife (2009), Battle Creek (2015), Bones (2005), and Melissa & Joey (2010). Her film features include shorts Empire Corner (2010), Invisible (2010), and Oscar-nominated documentary, Rehearsing a Dream (2006).
Grant's stage credits include "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" at the Lincoln Center, "The Philanderer" (The Pearl Theatre Company), "Measure for Measure", "The Winter's Tale" and "Merchant of Venice" (The Public Theater). In spring of 2013, she continued her role of Cassandra in "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" on Broadway, for which she earned a Tony Award nomination for Featured Actress in a Play and won the 2013 Theatre World Award for Outstanding Broadway Debut.
Following her Tony Award nomination, she moved to Los Angeles to pursue television where she fondly recalls her struggles in auditioning 54 times within one year for various roles and, at one point, while running out of savings, briefly turned to bartending before landing a series of guest star roles and finally series regular. Grant splits her time between New Orleans, Louisiana, where NCIS: New Orleans is filmed, and Los Angeles, California.- Actress
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Larissa Wilson was born on 5 May 1989 in Bristol, England, UK. She is an actress and director, known for Shift (2020), Tormented (2009) and Skins (2007).- Actress
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Ayelet Zurer is one of Israel's most acclaimed actresses. She was born in Tel Aviv, and first garnered the attention of Hollywood when she was cast by Steven Spielberg in her first English-speaking role, as Eric Bana's character's wife in the Oscar® nominated film Munich (2005). Since arriving in the United States, Zurer has starred in Studio films including Sony Pictures' Vantage Point with Dennis Quaid and William Hurt, Samuel Goldwyn's Fugitive Pieces opposite Stephen Dillane, Paul Schrader's Adam Resurrected opposite Jeff Goldblum and Willem Dafoe. Ron Howard's Angeles and Demons, opposite Tom Hanks, Darling Companion, a Lawrence Kasdan ensemble cast featuring Diane Keaton, Kevin Kline and Warner Bros. Man Of Steel opposite Russell Crow. She filmed Rodrigo Garcia, Last days in the desert opposite Ewan McGregor, as well as awaiting the release of the movie The Last Knights by the Japanese director Kazuaki Kiriya opposite Clive Owen.
She recently won the Gold Nymph Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series at the 54th Festival of Television of Monte-Carlo for her role in the series "Hostages". Ayelet won the Israeli Film And Television Academy Award for her lead performance in Nina's Tragedies. She also received nominations for her work in the features Only Dogs Run Free, The Dybbuk from the Holy Apple Field, Desperado, and Rutenberg. She won the Haifa International Film Festival critic award and was awarded a star on Haifa's "film boulevard," for her international and local achievements. Zurer also won the Israeli Television Academy Award for her lead performance in "In Treatment," a highly acclaimed television series that has been adapted by HBO for American television. In 2014 She was nominated apposite herself in the year's best drama "Shtisel", but won best actress in a drama for her portrayal of a brilliant surgeon faced with the life and death dilemma in Hostages, sold to BBC4 and Canal Plus, and as a format to the American ABC. The "face " of one of Israel's leading women's fashion companies- Golbary. She is a producer, a writer, an illustrator of two adult books, "Shorts" and the best seller "Badolina" by Gabi Nitazn. Ayelet has been developing a few of her own projects in Israel and the US, expressing interest in working internationally with directors from all over the world, believing in joining unknown writers/directors as well as known ones.- Actress
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Paula Jai Parker is from Cleveland, Ohio. She moved to Washington, D.C. in 1987 to study at Howard University. After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree, she moved to New York City and played a number of clubs. Her reputation as a comedian earned her a place on the FOX comedy program "The Apollo Comedy Hour," filmed live at the legendary Apollo Theater. She left the show after one year to pursue a film career, taking memorable roles in the F. Gary Gray urban comedy Friday and earned a Cable ACE Award for her role in the HBO anthology presentation, Cosmic Slop.
Parker returned to television in 1995 in the WB television series The Wayans Bros. opposite Shawn and Marlon Wayans. Throughout the 1990s, she appeared in several shows, including 1997's The Weird Al Show and David E. Kelley's Snoops in 1999. Between television projects, she appeared in a number of films, including the Million Man March docudrama Get on the Bus (1996), the urban comedy Sprung (1997), the Frankie Lymon biography, Why Do Fools Fall in Love (1998), the ensemble comedy 30 Years to Life (2001), Cover and in the comedy-drama, She Hate Me (2004).
In 2000, Parker voiced the sophisticated matriarch Trudy Proud in the popular animated series The Proud Family. The series became a success, and has continued to be produced by Disney and gain a positive standing among television critics. Between voice sessions, Parker has continued to take supporting roles in films, in 2002's "High Crimes", 2003's Phone Booth and 2005's Hustle & Flow. She also starred in My Baby's Daddy. Parker was also featured in the television series Touched by an Angel. In 2006, Parker starred in the feature film The Genius Club for writer/director Tim Chey.
Paula Jai Parker appeared in music video "I Belong to You" by singer Rome and in music video "Follow My Lead" by 50 Cent featuring Robin Thicke. In 1999, she made a cameo appearance in the music video "I Really Like It" by Harlem World with Tracy Bingham and Tia and Tamera Mowery. In 2001, Parker appeared in the music video for "Girls, Girls, Girls" by rapper and business mogul Jay-Z with fellow actresses Tamala Jones and Carmen Electra.
Parker married Forrest Martin in 2004. The couple met on the set of Hustle & Flow. Forrest had just graduated with a Master of Fine Arts. They have one son.
Paula is starring in a TV One Production, "Hollywood Divas," to air later in 2014. Forrest, a writer and producer, and Paula as the director and actor, are collaborating on several projects including the TV series "The White Sisters."- Actress
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Zazie Beetz (born c. 1991) is a German-American actress known for the role of Vanessa on Atlanta (2016), as well as for starring in Deadpool 2 (2018), Joker (2019), and Nine Days (2020).
Born in Berlin to a German father and an African-American mother, Beetz was raised in New York speaking both German and English at home. Performing in community theaters and local stages since childhood, Zazie found her joy in grade school and grew up acting. She attended LaGuardia Arts High school, where she continued to engage her love for performing arts, but decided to not pursue a conservatory program afterward. Instead, she went to Skidmore College, where she received a bachelor's degree in French. Beetz currently resides in her hometown, New York.- Actress
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Kimrie Lewis was born on 16 March 1982 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Kenan (2021) and Single Parents (2018).- Actress
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Tempestt Bledsoe was born on 1 August 1973 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for The Cosby Show (1984), ParaNorman (2012) and N-Secure (2010).- Actress
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Tammy Townsend is a veteran performer with remarkable versatility and range whose acting and musical talents are showcased in a variety of notable projects.
She is a series regular on the seventh and final season of OWN's acclaimed drama series, "Queen Sugar," from Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Ava DuVernay and executive producer Oprah Winfrey. Set in rural Louisiana and the fictional community of St. Josephine, the show focuses on the trio of Bordelon siblings (Dawn-Lyen Gardner, Rutina Wesley and Kofi Siriboe), and their extended family. Townsend's character 'Billie,' the daughter of beloved Bordelon family friend 'Prosper Denton' (Henry G. Sanders), was introduced in the sixth season. She has returned to St. Josephine for the first time in 20 years to care for her ailing father, and soon secrets from her past are revealed. "Queen Sugar" airs on OWN, with previous seasons streaming on Hulu.
Townsend has most recently booked the female lead role in BET+'s upcoming dark comedy series, "Average Joe," from Robb Cullen and McG. The storyline follows blue-collar plumber, 'Joe Washington' (Deon Cole), who discovers his recently deceased father lived a secret, second life and stole millions of dollars from dangerous people just before he died. Townsend plays his loving wife, 'Angela Washington,' who suffers from a painful illness, yet works shifts as a waitress to help to provide for her family. Production is currently underway in Atlanta, and the series is slated to premiere in 2023.
She recently starred for two seasons as 'Candace' opposite Timon Kyle Durrett ("Queen Sugar") in the ALLBLK series, "Stuck With You." The storyline revolves around celebrity couple 'Candace' and 'Luvell' as their model marriage falls apart, but they decide to try to protect their brand and status by holding off on divorce while living separate lives. Townsend served as a co-producer on the series, which was Emmy-nominated in the category of Outstanding Writing for a Daytime Fiction Program.
Townsend previously starred as tough but loveable mom and veteran spy 'Kira Cooper' in Disney Channel's live-action spy comedy series, "K.C. Undercover," which revolved around high school student math whiz 'K.C. Cooper' (Zendaya) who trains to be an undercover super spy, following in the footsteps of her parents (mom played by Townsend and dad played by Kadeem Hardison). In addition, Townsend guest-starred on the Disney+ series, "Big Shot," with John Stamos.
An accomplished actress, singer and dancer, Townsend has been performing for audiences since the age of nine. She landed her first TV role at the age of 14 with a guest spot on "Diff'rent Strokes" with Gary Coleman and Todd Bridges. She soon found work on such series as "In the Heat of the Night" and "Quantum Leap."
Townsend made her feature film debut in Robert Townsend's cult classic, "The Five Heartbeats." Additional feature credits include "The Preacher's Kid," "Simone" starring Al Pacino and Evan Rachel Wood, "Playing Mona Lisa," "The Pest" with John Leguizamo and "The Brady Bunch Movie."
She went on to showcase her comedic and singing skills with her starring role on "Sherri," opposite Sherri Shepherd. She had memorable roles in such series as "9ine," "Rock Me Baby" and "Lincoln Heights." She has also starred in numerous television movies, including "The Mistle-Tones," "To Love and to Cherish," "Love Me or Leave Me" and "Home of the Brave."
As a singer, Townsend has worked with many of the music industry's more celebrated singers/musicians, including Branford Marsalis, R&B singer/songwriter Tank, Gerald Albright, Norman Connors, Tamia and guitarist Kevin Eubanks ("The Tonight Show"). She performed the hit single 'One Kiss' from the "Preacher's Kid" soundtrack and has toured with singer/songwriter Eric Benet.
Townsend is an outdoor enthusiast who lives for adventure! She loves participating in activities such as hiking, snowboarding, 4-wheel driving and fly boarding. When she's not working or outdoors, she enjoys watching documentaries of all kinds. Travel is also a huge passion of hers, and she recently traveled to Croatia.
Follow Tammy Townsend on Instagram & Twitter: @tammytownsend10- Actress
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Zendaya (which means "to give thanks" in the language of Shona) is an American actress and singer born in Oakland, California. She began her career appearing as a child model working for Macy's, Mervyns and Old Navy. She was a backup dancer before gaining prominence for her role as Rocky Blue on the Disney Channel sitcom Shake It Up (2010) which also includes Bella Thorne, Kenton Duty and Roshon Fegan. Zendaya was a contestant on the sixteenth season of the competition series Dancing with the Stars. She went on to produce and star as K.C. Cooper in the Disney Channel sitcom K.C. Undercover (2015) She made her film breakthrough in 2017, starring as Michelle "MJ" Jones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and as Anne Wheeler in the musical drama film The Greatest Showman (2017) alongside actors such as Tom Holland, Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron. Besides acting, singing and dancing she is an ambassador for Convoy of Hope. She has written a book, launched her own clothing line (Daya by Zendaya) and proved herself to be a great role model for young girls all around the world.- Actress
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Ebubennem Megalyn Ann Echikunwoke was born May 28, in Spokane, Washington. Her father was Nigerian and her mother is of English and Scots-Irish descent. Her last name, "Echikunwoke", means "leader of men" and Megalyn is the granddaughter of a Nigerian tribal leader of the Igbo, which technically makes her African royalty. She is known for playing "Nicole Palmer" in the first season of 24 (2001), "Angie Barnett" (Kelso's girlfriend) in the seventh season of That '70s Show (1998) and "Isabelle Tyler" in The 4400 (2004). She was raised on a Navajo Indian Reservation in Chinle, Arizona. In early 2008, she starred opposite Alessandro Nivola in an independent movie, directed by Jerry Zaks, titled Who Do You Love (2008) where she played a heroin-addicted lounge singer. She did all of her own singing in the movie.- Shannon Kane was born on 14 September 1986 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, USA. She is an actress, known for Brooklyn's Finest (2009), The Collection (2012) and Blood and Bone (2009).
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Teyonah Parris was born on 22 September 1987 in Hopkins, South Carolina, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Dear White People (2014), Chi-Raq (2015) and If Beale Street Could Talk (2018). She is married to James Parris.- Actress
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In one word, Persia White is prolific. An actress, musician, producer and animal rights activist, she is best known for her lead in the popular CW series "Girlfriends." Driven by her passion to change the world, Persia co-produced the award winning documentary film "Earthlings" narrated by Joaquin Phoenix, and is involved in the series "Whale Wars" on Animal Planet. Persia is a Board Member of the Humane Society of the United States as well as the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. She is the co-founder of Echoed Images, a new production company whose mission is to create conscious, world-changing media.
Puerto Rican, African-American and Irish, Persia was born in south Florida. As begins the biography of many an artist, Persia spent he first two months of her life in a musical instrument case; in this instance: an upright bass case. Her mother was a compassionate schoolteacher, writer and civil-rights activist and moved the family to the Bahamas for work. Persia's early life was enmeshed with lush tropical landscapes, multi-cultural exposure and Reggae. When Persia was eight the family moved back to the United States and settled in Miami, FL. It's here that Persia began her acting career. Already an accomplished ballet dancer, Persia knew she wanted to try theater. While walking down the street with her mother, Persia was spotted by a talent scout for the now world-renown Coconut Grove Children's Theater. Upon seeing her, the scout asked, "Are you an actress?" Persia immediately said, "Yes!" She has been a non-stop performer since that day, delving into musical theater, new forms of dance, acting, modeling, singing, playing instruments and even branching out into painting, a passion of her's to this day.
Persia actually intended to be a singer before an actress. When she moved to Los Angeles, she turned down several album deals due to the lack of creative control offered in the contracts. Persia explains, "When I make music I want it to be honest and to be me. I wanted to wait and do it the way I felt it should be in my heart." She focused on building her acting career, and garnered the role she is most known for, Lynn Searcy on The CW's "Girlfriends," Girlfriends was the #1 TV show of in African American homes for over 8 years as well as a leading show all women ages 14-42. She also has a repertoire of guest star credits from some of the most popular shows on television, as well as leads in feature films. In 2010, Persia will star in "Spoken Word," directed by Victor Nunez. Through this, Persia still developed her music on the backburner. She has worked with great artists such as Gary Wallis of Pink Floyd, Dominique Miller of Sting, Jerome Dillon of Nine Inch Nails, and Big Bio of Outcast, as well as written soundtrack music for three Independent films and three songs for the Girlfriends soundtrack. On October 25, 2009, her birthday, Persia debuted her first solo album MECCA, a sprawling, twelve track journey, combining a number of genres, including electronica and trip-hop and including elements of blues and prog-rock. The album features collaborations with ex-fiancé Saul Williams, Tricky and Ric Alien. The overall album was produced by Persia herself, mixed by the legendary Dave Way and mastered by (BigBass) Brian Gardner.
Persia's success as an artist and public figure are all fueled by the desire to make change in the world. A passionate animal rights activist since she was twelve, Persia has devoted her life to raising the consciousness of the public on issues of animal cruelty. As an artist, as an advocate and as a person, Persia strives to reach further and deeper and bring all that she finds to light.- Actress
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Lacey Nicole Chabert was born in Purvis, Mississippi, to Julie (Johnson) and Tony Chabert, a representative for an oil company. She is of Cajun (French), Italian, English, and Scottish ancestry. Chabert started in drama and music performances in and around her hometown in Mississippi from an early age, and was a finalist on Star Search (1983) in 1991. She gained her break in a cough syrup commercial, before successfully auditioning for the Broadway production of Les Miserables, where she played young Cosette for two years. Since then, she has been on a few television series, notably Party of Five (1994), a number of telemovies like Gypsy (1993), and her big-screen debut, Lost in Space (1998). Known for her natural acting skills and charming personality, her cotton candy voice has seen her record many advertising jingles, plus play parts in animated films and TV shows like Nickelodeon's The Wild Thornberrys (1998). A more than capable violinist, she enjoys various activities, especially shoe shopping, and she is particularly fond of Cajun cooking. As a result of her promising career, her family, including two sisters and a brother, have moved from Mississippi to California.- Actress
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Danielle Harris is an American actress and film director from Plainview, New York. She is regarded as a scream queen for her many roles in horror films. Her better known roles include protagonist Jamie Lloyd in "Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers" (1988) and "Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers" (1989), and "final girl" Annie Brackett in "Halloween" (2007) and "Halloween II" (2009). As a voice actress in animation, Harris is primarily known for voicing 16-year-old Debbie Thornberry in the fantasy animated series "The Wild Thornberrys" (1998-2004).
In 1977, Harris was born in a Jewish family of Plainview, New York. Plainview is a hamlet of Long Island with a large Jewish population. The hamlet is named because its location offered a clear view over the Hempstead Plains. Harris' family soon moved to Florida, where Harris received part of her primary education.
While still in elementary school, Harris won a beauty contest for children. She was consequently offered various modeling jobs, but initially had to turn down these offers. The modeling gigs would require long-distance travel, which she could not afford at the time. When her family moved to New York City, Harris started working as a child model. She also began to regularly appear in television commercials.
In 1985, Harris joined the cast of the long-running soap opera "One Life to Live" (1968-2012) in her first acting role. She played the part of "miracle child" Samantha "Sammi" Garretson. Her character was extracted as an embryo from the womb of her recently deceased mother Samantha Vernon and implanted in family friend Delilah Ralston, with her birth considered miraculous by the other characters. Harris continued playing Samantha until 1987, when the character was written out of the series. Afterwards, Harris started making guest star appearances in other television series.
Harris auditioned for the role of child protagonist Jamie Lloyd for the horror film "Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers" (1988), competing against several other child actresses. She won the role and made her film debut at the age of 11. In the film series "Halloween", serial killer Michael Myers was initially obsessed with attempts to kill his younger sister Laurie Strode (played by Jamie Lee Curtis). In the fourth film, Michael awakes from a coma and learns that Laurie died in an unrelated traffic accident. He decides to instead hunt down Laurie's daughter Jamie Lloyd, who is his sole living relative. The film also focuses on Jamie's relationship with her foster sister Rachel Carruthers (played by Ellie Cornell). Its finale hints that Jamie has a dark side of her own and is following in Michael's footsteps.
The fourth "Halloween" film only earned about 18 million dollars at the box office, but gained a cult following due to its cast of interesting female characters. Harris played Jamie again in the direct sequel "Halloween 5: The Revenge of Michael Myers" (1989). In the film, the minds of Jamie and Michael are linked through telepathy. It was the first "Halloween" film to introduce elements of supernatural horror, and was considered controversial by the series' fans. The film earned only about $12 million at the box office, though Harris was praised for her acting skills. The "Halloween" series went on a hiatus for several years following the release of this film.
Harris' next film project was the action film "Marked for Death" (1990). She played Tracey Hatcher, niece of retired Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) agent John Hatcher (played by Steven Seagal). In the film, John's family is repeatedly threatened and attacked by employees of a drug lord who wants revenge against John, and styles himself as a user of black magic. The film was a surprise box office hit, earning $58 million at the worldwide box office. It was the highest-grossing film in Harris' career up to that point.
Harris had a substantial role in the television film "Don't Touch My Daughter" (1991), as a kidnapped damsel-in-distress. Her next major film project was the black comedy "Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead" (1991). She played Melissa Crandell, a 12-year-old tomboy. In the film, 5 siblings are supposed to spend their entire summer vacation under the care of an elderly babysitter. When the old woman dies in her sleep, they decide to cover-up her death, to take control of her car, and to start living on their own. The leader of the siblings in this film was played by Christina Applegate. The film performed modestly well at the box office, but gained more success in the home video market.
Harris returned to the action genre with the action comedy "The Last Boy Scout" (1991). She played Darian Hallenbeck, the rebellious daughter of private detective Joseph Cornelius "Joe" Hallenbeck (played by Bruce Willis). In the film, Joe is implicated in the murders of his ex-partner and a female client. While trying to clear his name, Joe learns that he is about to be framed for the assassination of a senator. He sets out to prevent this assassination, though the senator in question is one of his old enemies. The film earned $114.5 million at the worldwide box office and was credited with reviving Willis' career.
In 1992, Harris joined the cast of the sitcom Roseanne (1988-1997). She played the recurring character of Molly Tilden, the promiscuous daughter of supporting character Ty Tilden (played by Wings Hauser). Molly was depicted as a frenemy to main character Darlene Conner (played by Sara Gilbert). They hanged out together but frequently argued, and they soon realized that they were competing over the same potential boyfriend. Subplots involving Molly included her relationship with her older sister (and mother figure) Charlotte Tilden (played by Mara Hobel), and her habitual use of marijuana. Molly was written out of the series in 1993. Harris would later play Molly again in the sequel series "The Conners" (2018-), in an episode depicting Molly as a dying cancer patient.
Harris played the runaway girl Gwenie in the drama film "Free Willy" (1993). The film focused on the growing bond between a troubled orphan boy and a captive orca at an ailing amusement park. The film had a worldwide gross of about $154 million, and turned animal actor Keico the orca (1976 - 2003) into a popular star. The film had three sequels, but Harris was not involved with these film projects.
For the next couple of years, Harris was limited to playing only minor television roles. She entered negotiations to reprise the role of Jamie Lloyd in the sequel "Halloween: The Curse of Michael Myers" (1995), but eventually declined to play the part. The character of Jamie only had limited screen time in the film and the salary offered for the role was below Harris' expectations. The role was instead played by J. C. Brandy.
In 1995, Harris made the news for her personal life. She was being stalked by obsessed fan Christopher Small, who frequently mailed death threats to her. Small was arrested after he arrived at her home with a shotgun. Several years later, Small started harassing Harris online. In 2009, Harris was granted a restraining order against Small.
In 1996, Harris co-starred with Katherine Heigl in the fantasy-themed television film "Wish Upon a Star". Harris played science nerd Hayley Wheaton, who is secretly envious of the supposedly perfect life of her older sister Alexia Wheaton (played by Heigl). The girls experience body swapping following a wish, and get to experience each other's life first hand. Hayley soon finds out that Alexia had a dysfunctional relationship with her female friends, and a rather poor relationship with her boyfriend. The life she just inherited is far from perfect. The film was one of several popular television films produced by the Disney Channel.
Harris returned to the action genre with the film "Back to Back". (1996). She played Chelsea Malone, daughter of disgraced ex-cop Bob Malone (played by Michael Rooker). She tries to raise bail money for her father, who was arrested for executing a gang of bank robbers in an episode of intense rage. But father and daughter instead find themselves hostages of a Yakuza member who is trying to flee Los Angeles. All three are soon on the run from both the local Mafia and from crooked cops. The film was marketed as a sequel to the crime film "American Yakuza" (1993), but their only similarities were depictions of conflicts between the Mafia and the Yakuza.
Harris had a supporting role in the disaster film "Daylight" (1996), which featured an accidental explosion and a consequent tunnel cave-in in the vicinity of New York City. Harris played teenager Ashley Crighton, one of several survivors who tried to find a way out of the collapsed tunnel. The film earned $159.2 million at the worldwide box office, and its sound editors were nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound Editing.
Harris' next film project was the slasher film "Urban Legend" (1998), her first appearance in a horror film since the late 1980s. The film featured a series of murders within the campus of a private university in New England, with each murder styled after an urban legend. Harris played Tosh Guaneri, a goth girl who was strangled to death within her own room. Tosh's sleeping roommate later claimed that she never heard any disturbance during the night of the murder., The film earned $72.5 million at the worldwide box office, and it was followed by two sequels. The film is credited with starting a trend of horror films which took inspiration from multiple urban legends.
In 1998, Harris was cast in the role of Debbie Thornberry in the fantasy animated series "The Wild Thornberrys" (1998-2004). It was the first time that she was part of the main cast in a series. The series featured the Thornberrys, a British family of modern-day nomads who traveled the world in order to film nature documentaries. The youngest daughter, Eliza Thornberry (voiced by Lacey Chabert), was secretly granted the ability to communicate with animals by an African shaman. She tried to keep this secret from her family, though her older sister Debbie is eventually let in on the secret. The two sisters have a love-hate relationship with each other, but each of them tries to defend the other sister from danger. The series lasted for 5 seasons and 91 episodes. Harris also voiced Debbie in the animated film "The Wild Thornberrys Movie" (2002) and the crossover film "Rugrats Go Wild" (2003). The series was one of the most popular television projects created by the animation studio Klasky Csupo, and provided Harris with a share of the spotlight for several years.
Harris had a supporting role in the crime comedy film "Poor White Trash" (2000). In the film, two teenagers from lower-class backgrounds start working together in heists in order to finance their college education. But their plans clash with those of their manipulative and opportunistic relatives, who each have agendas of their own. And the duo start hanging out with various local eccentrics in the process of their criminal plans. The film was noted for its ensemble cast, though the casting of 23-year-old Jaime Pressly in the role of of a scheming step-grandmother was regarded as the film's main appeal at the time.
In the autumn of 2000, Harris joined the main cast of the comedy-drama series "That's Life" (2000-2002). The series depicted life in the working-class suburbs of Newark, New Jersey. Harris played Plum Wilkinson, the girlfriend (and later wife) of police officer Paulie DeLucca (played by Kevin Dillon) and the close friend and college classmate of Paulie's sister Lydia DeLucca (played by Heather Paige Kent). The series was well-received by critics, but suffered from poor ratings throughout its run. It lasted for 2 seasons and 36 episodes. Its abrupt ending reportedly left several of its subplots unresolved.
In 2004, Harris became part of the main cast on the adult animated sitcom "Father of the Pride" (2004-2005). The main characters were anthropomorphic white lions, and Harris was cast as 16-year-old lioness Sierra. Her character was depicted as a rebellious teenager, who was frustrated by her inept parents. A subplot involving Sierra was that her boyfriend Dean was an older male, who already had children from a previous relationship. The series lasted for a single season and 14 episodes. While it started with strong ratings, the series' ratings rapidly declined during its run. The series won an Annie Award for its character design, which was considered unique.
During the following few years, Harris herself considered her career to have declined as she was offered no major roles in either film or television. When she heard of an upcoming remake of the original "Halloween" film, she decided to audition for a role. Rob Zombie, the film's director, was initially not interested in casting people who had participated in any of the older films in the series. He was, however, sufficiently impressed with Harris' audition to cast her in the role of Annie Brackett. Annie was a relatively minor character in the original "Halloween" film (where she was played by Nancy Kyes), but was she was re-imagined as one of the main characters in the remake. After capturing Annie, Mike Myers decides to torture her instead of killing her. She survives the events of the film. Harris' role required her to perform her first nude scene, and she noted in an interview that she felt more vulnerable than ever before.
"Halloween" (2007) was released to great success, and earned $80.4 million at the worldwide box office. It was at that time the highest-grossing film in the entire film series. As Harris had hoped, the film helped revive her career and she started being considered a potential asset to horror films. Among her next few projects were the fantasy horror film "The Black Waters of Echo's Pond" (2009), the slasher film "Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet" (2009), and the superhero comedy "Super Capers" (2009). "Blood Night" was the first time that Harris played the main villain in a film.
Also in 2009, Harris played Annie Brackett in the sequel "Halloween II". Annie was depicted as Laurie Strode's housemate, scarred due to previous torture but mentally stable in comparison to the traumatized Laurie. Michael Myers eventually kills Annie, which leads to the further deterioration of Laurie's sanity. The film earned only $39.5 million at the worldwide box office, and it was seen as far more brutal than the previous films in the series.
During the 2010s, Harris further established her reputation as a scream queen with many horror-themed roles. Among her most notable appearances was playing recurring character Marybeth Dunston in two films of the "Hatchet" film series. Harris replaced Tamara Feldman, who had originally portrayed the character. In 2013, Harris directed the horror comedy "Among Friends". This was her directorial debut.
In 2013, Harris was engaged to her boyfriend David Gross. In January 2014, the couple had a private wedding ceremony in Holualoa, Hawaii. Harris was 36-years-old at the time of her wedding, and she had no previous marriages or engagements. She had her first son in 2017, and a second son in 2018. In 2019, Harris played a member of the Manson Family in the historical film "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood", a film depiction of the Tate murders (1969).
Harris has had relatively few new roles in the early 2020s. She maintains a large fan following due to her previous roles. By 2022, Harris was 45-year-old. She has been an actress for most of her life, and seems to have no plans to retire yet. She has stated in interviews that despite several difficulties in her career over the years, she has managed to never quit trying. This determination has helped her endure in show business for decades.- Actress
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Amanda Catherine Crew was born in Langley, British Columbia. Her mother is a legal secretary and her father is a telecommunication worker. Amanda attended Brookswood Secondary School in Langley. She began her acting career when she was cast in the musical Dragon Tales during her fourth grade in elementary school. Three agents contacted her, and she has been acting ever since. She did a Coca-Cola commercial and acted in stage plays like Stalling, Cordstons Courts, and Langley, the Musical. Crew attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.- Throughout her diverse career, Selma Blair has been one of the most versatile and exciting actresses on screen. Blair's longstanding career began with her comedic roles in pop culture classics in the early 2000s. Blair has worked with an array of acclaimed directors including Guillermo del Toro and Todd Solodnz, to name a few. Additionally, Blair was named one of Time Magazine's Person of The Year in 2017 as one of their Silence Breakers.
Upcoming, Blair will be seen as the subject of the documentary, Introducing, Selma Blair, which premiered to rave reviews at the 2021 SXSW Festival. At the festival, the feature won the Special Jury Recognition for Exceptional Intimacy in Storytelling. Following SXSW, DEADLINE wrote "Selma Blair's unflinching and raw vulnerability in Introducing, Selma Blair, coupled with director Rachel Fleit's almost voyeuristic chronicling of her MS diagnosis, invites us not just to feel empathy for the star. More than that, it invites us into her fight, prompting anyone watching to feel joined with her in battle." The documentary, which reveals Blair's intimate and raw journey with Multiple Sclerosis, was acquired by Discovery+ and is slated for release in Fall 2021.
Previously, Blair starred in the comedy/horror thriller Mom and Dad, alongside Nicholas Cage. The film, which follows a teenage girl and her younger brother as they must survive a wild 24 hours during which a mass hysteria of unknown origin causes parents to turn violently on their own kids. The film premiered at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival and later screened at the 2017 Sitges Film Festival and the 2017 Molins Film Festival, where it was nominated for the Jury Prize for Best Film and the Audience Award for Best Films. VARIETY critic Dennis Harvey wrote "She [Blair] covers a gamut from bittersweet sympathy to farce to monstrousness, running amok like a cat on piano keys, yet hitting each note perfectly. "Mom & Dad" isn't the kind of movie they give acting awards to - but in a just world, it would be."
On television, Blair was recently seen co-starring as "Kris Jenner" in FX's The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story for Ryan Murphy.
Blair also starred in Todd Solodnz's Dark Horse in 2011 as Miranda (formerly 'Vi'), alongside Christopher Walken and Mia Farrow. The film debuted at the Venice Film Festival and was later released by Virgil Films & Entertainment. Blair also starred in Todd Solodnz's Storytelling in 2001.
In 2008, Blair reprised her role as Liz Sherman in Guillermo del Toro's Hellboy II: The Golden Army, after starring in the original Hellboy in 2004 (also directed by del Toro).
Blair is perhaps best well known for her scene stealing performance as 'Vivian Kesington' in MGM's hit Romantic comedy Legally Blonde, alongside Reese Witherspoon. The film was nominated in 2002 for a Golden Globe Award in the category of Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy.
In 1999, Blair played the role of Cecile Caldwell in Cruel Intentions, alongside Reese Witherspoon, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Ryan Phillippe. Columbia Pictures released the film, which was directed by Roger Kumble.
Other film credits include the YA film After (2019) and its sequel, After We Collided (2020), based on the popular romance novels of the same name. Blair also starred in Robert Benton's Feast of Love in 2007, and John Water's A Dirty Shame in 2004. In 2002, Blair reconnected with her Cruel Intentions director Roger Kumble in The Sweetest Thing for Columbia Pictures, alongside Cameron Diaz, Christina Applegate, and Jason Bateman.
Blair also starred on television as 'Kim' on Kath & Kim for NBC from 2008-2009, opposite Molly Shannon. Blair has made memorable guest star appearances including Friends, Another Life, Heathers, Portlandia and Web Therapy.
On stage, Blair starred in the World Premiere production of Rajiv Joseph's Gruesome Playground Injuries at The Alley Theater and was nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Spoken Word Recording" for her reading of The Diary of Anne Frank.
Blair currently resides in Los Angeles. - Actress
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Dawn Orienne Olivieri is an American actress perhaps best known for her turn as Lydia in Heroes and Monica Talbot in House of Lies. She has appeared in the Showtime series House of Lies for 41 episodes, starting in 2012, playing the competitive management consultant and ex-wife of main character Marty Kaan and mother of their son, Roscoe Kaan. She acted as Janice Herveaux in the third season of the HBO series True Blood. She played a reporter and Damon Salvatore's girlfriend Andie Star in the hit CW show The Vampire Diaries. Wrapping up the 4th season on Heroes, she has also completed parts on TBS's My Boys, NBC's Knight Rider, TNT's Trust Me, and SyFy's Stargate: Atlantis, and recurred on CBS's How I Met Your Mother. Olivieri played a lead role in the SyFy movie Hydra, and she is the voice of Pepper Potts in the new Avengers animated series on Disney XD. She appeared in the October 2009 issue of Maxim. Olivieri appeared on HBO's Entourage on September 13, 2009, and hosted a contest on Scripped. She voiced Lucy Kuo in a PlayStation 3 video game, Infamous 2, which was released in June 2011. As of March 2018, she has a recurring role in the CBS action-adventure series SEAL Team as Amy Nelson.- Actress
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Sienna Guillory is the daughter of American folk guitarist Isaac Guillory and Tina Thompson, an English model. Guillory's parents encouraged her to express herself artistically as she was growing up and this led to her decision to become an actor. She was educated at Gresham's School, Holt, Norfolk, England and appeared in school plays.
Her acting break came when she was 16, and was cast in the TV movie Riders (1993). To support her acting career, Guillory also took up modeling and appeared in campaigns for such high profile companies as Armani and Dolce & Gabbana, as well as gracing many magazine covers. Further acting success followed in TV and films. Projects include The Time Machine (2002), Love Actually (2003) and the 'Resident Evil' film series.- Born to a Puerto Rican family in Brooklyn, Talisa was raised there and in Massachusetts. She started modeling at age 15 and has appeared on the covers of "Vogue," "Mademoiselle," "Glamour," and "Self," as well as in a "Sports Illustrated" swimsuit issue. She has been making film appearances since 1988, beginning with Spike of Bensonhurst (1988).
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Sheree J. Wilson has gained worldwide recognition starring in two enormously popular long running television series. Appearing in the hit series Dallas for five seasons playing opposite Patrick Duffy, and then for the entire eight year run of Walker, Texas Ranger opposite Chuck Norris. Currently, Ms. Wilson has starred and produced two feature films, Easy Rider: The Ride Back, a prequel to the cult favorite movie Easy Rider, and The Gundown. She also co-produced a zombie/comedy called Dug Up.
Sheree began her film and television career in a starring role, opposite Louise Lasser, Brian James and Reed Burney, in "Crimewave", a 1984 black comedy directed by Sam Raimi. Three days after that film wrapped, she was cast in "Velvet," an ABC/Aaron Spelling MOW/series pilot, in which she played a female "James Bond" character opposite Shari Belafonte. Within the next year, she had a lead with Tim Robbins in "Fraternity Vacation", a summer comedy in which she played an intellectual beauty who was the object of everyone's desire.
Producers began to take notice of this dynamic newcomer to Hollywood, and soon she starred in the 1985 CBS television miniseries "Kane & Abel," with Peter Strauss. This immediately led to "Our Family Honor," a CBS drama about Irish cops vs. the Mafia, in which she starred with Ray Liotta, Michael Madsen and Eli Wallach. Her career continued to grow including "News at Eleven" with Martin Sheen. And then, in 1986, television producer Leonard Katzman called Sheree to talk about a part he thought was tailor-made for someone with her classic beauty and sassy, fun-loving, energetic nature.
The role was that of 'April Stevens' on the CBS mega-hit series "Dallas." For five seasons she played a brainy, wealthy femme fatale. Her character went from being one of the most powerful women in Dallas and J.R. Ewing's nemesis, to being one of the warmest characters in town, eventually marrying Bobby Ewing, the show's ultimate good guy. Ultimately, April Stevens was gunned down during her honeymoon in Paris. Bowing out with a bang, Sheree's performance earned her the "Soap Opera Digest Award" for Best Death Scene.
In fact, Sheree was pregnant and wanted to leave in order to fully devote herself to motherhood.
At the end of 1992, she signed to do the lead female role of 'Alex Cahill' in "Walker, Texas Ranger," opposite Chuck Norris, which ran for eight seasons.
The daughter of two IBM executives, Sheree was born in Minnesota and moved to Colorado at the age of seven, where she learned to ride horses. Her superb equestrian skills won her first place riding cutting horses in the 1995 National Multiple Sclerosis Rodeo.
Currently, Sheree resides in Dallas, TX- Actress
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Necar Zadegan is a versatile actress known for a career on stage and screen. She made her Broadway debut when she originated the role of the Leper in Rajiv Joseph's Pulitzer Prize nominated and multi Tony award accoladed play " The Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo" opposite Robin Williams. She stars as Special Agent Hannah Khoury in the CBS global franchise series, "NCIS: New Orleans" and has joined the cast of the much anticipated and newest installation of the Star Trek franchise, "Picard".
Ms. Zadegan first garnered critical acclaim for her portrayal of First Lady turned president Dalia Hassan on Fox's hit series "24", and most recently for her hilarious leading role in the absurdist docu-spoof film for IFC on Netflix called "Documentary: Now" written by Seth Meyers and alongside an all-star cast. The show has been nominated for multiple Emmys and has begun streaming in the UK. For HBO in the drama "Here and Now" from Oscar winning screenwriter, creator Alan Ball, she takes the lead in the delicate portrayal of Layla Shokrani.
In the much beloved Bravo comedy streaming on Netflix, "Girlfriends Guide to Divorce", Ms. Zadegan plays the character written for her by show creator Marti Noxon, of fashionable, high powered attorney and fan favorite, Delia Banai. The show recently began streaming its fifth and final season. The year also saw Ms. Zadegan join the cast of the ABC hit "The Good Doctor". Other series regular roles include her portrayal of Dr. Gina Bandari on "Emily Owens MD" and in the lead opposite Greg Kinnear in the FOX comedy "Rake".
Some highlights from her many other credits include roles for Steven Spielberg company produced series "Extant", opposite Sean Bean in spy series "Legends" and a very memorable turn as the Queen of Iran in Showtime's critical success "Masters of Sex" opposite Michael Sheen, with whom she also starred opposite in the Columbia Tri Star film, psychological thriller "Unthinkable" alongside Samuel L. Jackson. She appeared with Adam Sandler in Judd Apatow's "You Don't Mess With the Zohan" and played the title role in "Elena Undone" which enjoyed success at independent festivals worldwide.
Ms. Zadegan has worked at some of the world's most prestigious theaters including The Mark Taper Forum, the Royal Dramatic Theater of Stockholm, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco and many more, and toured internationally in the Persian language production of "Satellite with Love".
Necar Zadegan was born in Heidelberg, Germany and raised in Northern California. She studied theater and dance on a performance scholarship at the University of California, Santa Barbara and graduated with honors and a BA degree in English Literature. She also studied at the Sorbonne University in Paris. She speaks Persian, French and German and has learned Spanish, Arabic and Hebrew while working in those languages. She works with USAID in supporting opportunities for education across the globe and is an ambassador for BuildOn.org and travels with them around the world building schools for children.- Actress
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Fanny Ardant was the youngest of five children born to a cavalry officer and his wife. She was raised in Monte Carlo where she was educated at a convent school. A voracious reader, she discovered Proust when she was 15, and felt as though his writings were for her.
When she was 17 her father died, and the shock of his loss never left her. Shortly before his death Ardant began acting on stage. However, following her father's death she followed his advice and went to university in Aix-en-Provence where she read Political Science. Upon graduating, she took a job working for the French embassy in London; she was sacked from this, for poor timekeeping and being dishevelled. The latter was attributed to the social whirl that she enjoyed in London.
Ardant continued working odd jobs in London before deciding, almost on a whim, to go to drama school. She returned to France for her studies, and before long began acting on stage and then on television. At the age of 31 she was contacted by Francois Truffaut who had spotted her in a television drama and wanted to cast her in his film The Woman Next Door (1981).
While working together Ardant and Truffaut fell in love, and in 1983 she gave birth to their daughter Josephine. Truffaut died a year later from a brain tumour.- Actress
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The French actress Ludivine Sagnier was born on July 3, 1979 in La Celle-Saint-Cloud, in France's Yvelines department. Ludivine studied acting as a young girl and had made her movie debut at the age 10 in Les maris, les femmes, les amants (1989). She has established her reputation as one of the brightest young stars in French and international cinema in her collaborations with French filmmaker François Ozon, starting with Water Drops on Burning Rocks (2000) (based on a screenplay by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 8 Women (2002) and in Swimming Pool (2003). For her performance in 8 Women (2002), she won a Cesar Award nomination (the French equivalent of the Oscar) and the Romy Schneider Award that is given each year to a promising young French actress. In that film, Sagnier proved her acting prowess by distinguishing herself in a stellar cast that included the legendary actresses Danielle Darrieux, Catherine Deneuve and Isabelle Huppert as well as Emmanuelle Béart and Fanny Ardant. Along with these grand ladies of the French cinema, Sagnier won the Best Actress Award from the European Film Academy Award and the Silver Bear Award at the 2002 Berlin International Film Festival.
Swimming Pool (2003) represented her crossover into English-language cinema. (Sagnier played her first English language role in Toothache (2006).) Marketed in the U.S. with a comely shot of Sagnier sunbathing alongside a pool, Ozon's film became one of the biggest-grossing foreign movies in the U.S. during 2003. So far, she has turned down large monetary offers to appear in American films as the foreign girlfriend of young American superstars, as she remains committed to French cinema.
Sagnier became a mother on March 25, 2005, when she gave birth to a daughter named Bonnie by her boyfriend, French actor Nicolas Duvauchelle.- Actress
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Kristen Miller was born on 20 August 1976 in Manhattan Beach, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Team America: World Police (2004), Cherry Falls (1999) and Lifeline (2003). She has been married to Morgan Langley since June 2007.- Actress
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Elisabeth Shue was born in Wilmington, Delaware, to Anne Brewster (Wells), who worked for the Chemical Banking Corporation, and James William Shue, a lawyer and real estate developer. She is of German and English ancestry, including descent from Mayflower passengers. Shue's parents divorced while she was in the fourth grade. Owing to the occupational demands of her parents, Shue and her siblings found plenty of time to get into trouble in their suburban neighborhood, but Elisabeth soon enrolled in Wellesley College, an all-female institution which kept her out of trouble.
During her studies, she found a way to make a little extra money by acting in television commercials. Elisabeth became a common sight in ads for Burger King, DeBeers diamonds, and Hellman's mayonnaise. In 1984, she landed a role in the The Karate Kid (1984) as the on-screen girlfriend of Ralph Macchio and a role as the teenage daughter of a military family in the short-lived series Call to Glory (1984). At this time, Shue got herself an acting coach and transferred to Harvard, where she began studying political science.
She continued her acting work with Adventures in Babysitting (1987), Cocktail (1988), Soapdish (1991) and The Marrying Man (1991). Unfortunately, time was catching up with the impressive girl-next-door. Her brother Andrew Shue had almost eclipsed her own fame by landing a starring role in the hit TV series Melrose Place (1992). It was at this time that Elisabeth took a chance on a low-budget, high-risk project entitled Leaving Las Vegas (1995), directed by Mike Figgis. Her gutsy portrayal of a prostitute mixed up with a suicidal alcoholic paid off as she was recognized with a Best Actress nomination at the Academy Awards that year. This was the turning point of her career. What followed was a barrage of film roles, including The Saint (1997), Woody Allen's Deconstructing Harry (1997), Palmetto (1998) and Hollow Man (2000).- Actress
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Hallelujah for Sela. Everyone's favorite "Sister" was born Sela Ann Ward, on July 11, 1956, in Meridian, Mississippi. Sela's parents were Annie Kate (Boswell) and Granberry Holland Ward, Jr., an electrical engineer; the three younger children in the family are Jenna (1957), Berry (1959) and Brock (1961). "Sela" is a Hebrew word that means "rock, boulder, cliff". Sela graduated from the University of Alabama in 1977, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in art and advertising; Sela was also a cheerleader for the Crimson Tide football team, a Homecoming Queen and a member of the Chi Omega sorority. Sela moved to New York to work for an advertising agency.
Responding to a friend's suggestion that she was tall (5' 7") and pretty enough to try modeling, Sela began a highly successful career with the Wilhelmina Agency. Sela's first gig was in the Pepsi advertising department, and her first commercial was for Maybelline. After appearing in 20 national television commercials, Sela moved to Los Angeles and got her first television role in Emerald Point N.A.S. (1983); she dated tall co-star Richard Dean Anderson for three years (which is much longer than the television series lasted). Sela's movie break came by appearing with Burt Reynolds in the film The Man Who Loved Women (1983), and by now her acting career was established.
But perhaps Sela is best known for starring in the television series Sisters (1991), which ran for six seasons. The series was a big hit with women, and if the males in the audience stuck around after the steamy (literally) opening sauna sequence, they too would discover a series with fascinating writing and story plots, with Sela as Teddy Reed -- in the fashion industry she began her first company, which she wanted to call Teddy Wear. In 1992 and 1994, Sela got the Golden Globe Award nomination for best lead actress in a drama series; in 1994, she won an Emmy Award and, in 1996, the Screen Actors Guild Award.
During the series' run, Sela married Howard Sherman (May 23, 1992 - present). They had two children: Austin Ward (May 13, 1994), Anabella Raye (May 30, 1998). Still very much a pretty woman, Sela appeared in Runaway Bride (1999) as Pretty Bar Woman. In 2000, Sela won her second Emmy Award, this time for her work in Once and Again (1999).- Actress
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Born and raised in Los Angeles, Tania Raymonde began her career on Malcolm in the Middle (2000), and is known for her portrayal of Alex Rousseau in the J.J. Abrams series Lost. She played the title role of notorious murderer Jodi Arias in the Lifetime original feature Jodi Arias: Dirty Little Secret (2013), and starred alongside Billy Bob Thornton and William Hurt in David E. Kelley's legal drama Goliath for Amazon. Other TV credits include recurring roles on The Last Ship, The Big Bang Theory (2007), and Crash (2008), opposite Dennis Hopper.- Actress
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Award Winning Actress Alysia Reiner just originated the role of #DODC Agent Sadie Deever in the much anticipated and critically acclaimed Disney+/Marvel TV series, Ms. Marvel, and is best known as "FIG" on all 7 seasons of Orange Is the New Black, for which she won a SAG AWARD, Additionally, she just finished her 5th season as Sunny on Peabody Award-winning Better Things on F/X x HULU, and is about to start her second season playing Katharyn in STARZ's Shining Vale with Courteney Cox and Greg Kinnear, after finishing 2 seasons as KIKI on HBO's THE DUECE.
As a producer, Alysia produced and stars in the motherhood dark comedy EGG with Christina Hendricks and Anna Camp. It premiered at Tribeca film festival, is 100% FRESH on Rotten tomatoes and available on iTunes, Amazon & VOD Now. Additionally, Alysia conceived of, developed, produced and starred in the feature film EQUITY, bought/distributed by Sony Pictures Classics at Sundance 2016.
A few other filmed adventures include getting married in the Oscar winning film Sideways, getting naked in an Emmy Award winning episode of Broad City, and going head to head against Viola Davis on How To Get Away with Murder, and she just starred in Stampede Ventures' feature film, Going Places, and wrapped The Independent with John Cena, Jodie Turner-Smith, and Brian Cox.
Equity was Alysia's first feature as both actress and producer, but she has acted in countless critically acclaimed and award winning films and shows, working with film masters like "Sideways" director Alexander Payne, Jodie Foster, Richard Loncraine, Matt Weiner, and of course Jenji Kohan and Pamela Adlon. You may also know her from feature films like Sideways, 5 Flights up, Kelly and Cal, Shine, Fort Tilden, Kissing Jessica Stein, or countless other indie films and TV shows (and yes you have seen her on all of the Law & Orders multiple times).
A classically trained theatre actor, Alysia has appeared on stages around the world; from the Sundance Filmmakers Lab in Utah to The Royal Court Theatre in London; from the famed Apollo Theatre in Harlem NYC to The Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. She starred in the NY premiere of "Pentecost" by Tony-winning playwright David Edgar, and the provocative two character play "An Oak Tree" with Tim Crouch, which won a Special Obie Award. Her portrayal of June Miller in "Anais Nin: One Of Her Lives" was critically acclaimed, as was her turn in "Wasps in Bed" of which The New York Times wrote "Alysia Reiner is priceless."
As a voice actress, Alysia just finished her second season as the voice of Ms. Marmalady on Butterbean's Cafe on Nickelodeon, has voiced other cartoons as well as many books on tape, video games, podcasts for audible, as well as many national commercial campaigns, including the award winning brand change for Campbell's Soup.
She loves working as a change maker for women and an advocate for women's rights & climate change initiatives. Along with being on the board and an ambassador for Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, on the board of EARTH DAY INITIATIVE, on the advisory board for AIR PROTEIN, Alysia is the face and zero waste eco-emissary for IZZY BEAUTY and started eco-fashion zero waste initiative, Livari. As a champion of all things eco-friendly, she and her husband used their home as a way to share information about building green. Their brownstone eco-renovation in Harlem was featured on television's "World's Greenest Homes'' and "Renovation Nation"; in various magazines like Dwell, Gotham, Origin and The Nest; and they allowed the environmentally friendly construction process to be chronicled on websites such as Dwell.com and Kohler.com. Alysia has been invited to speak and keynote at The White House, The United Nations, Google, Cannes Lion, Women's Media Summit, Collision, and countless film festivals and events about breaking barriers for women in all fields, specifically the entertainment industry.
Alysia received the Acclaimed Collaborator Award from Women in Arts and Media, is an ambassador and on the board of the Geena Davis Institute for Gender Equality, recently received a MUSE "MADE IN NY" AWARD from The Mayor's office and New York Women in Film and Television, and has been invited to THE WHITE HOUSE, THE UNITED NATIONS, S.H.E. SUMMIT, GOOGLE, CANNES LION and countless film festivals and events to speak about breaking barriers for women in all fields. Additionally, she was awarded the SARAH POWELL HUNTINGTON LEADERSHIP AWARD by the Women's Prison Association, and was honored with the VOICE OF A WOMAN AWARD, the PIONEER IN FILMMAKING AWARD, and the FOUNDERS AWARD FOR SUPPORT.
She works regularly with Bard Prison Association, Sanctuary Neighborhood, This is about Humanity, Vote plus 10, is an ambassador for The Geena Davis Institute for Gender Equality, the Women's Prison Association, who gave her the Sarah Powell Huntington Leadership Award; The Cancer Support Community, Actors for Autism, The Young Women's Leadership Network, SAY: The Stuttering Association for the Young, and Bent on Learning.
"Speed Grieving," the award winning short film that Alysia created, produced and stars in, had it's world premiere at The Hamptons International Film Festival, went on to dozens of festivals winning awards and is now used as a grief counseling tool in every Cancer Support Community center in the country.- Actress
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Diana Prince (a.k.a. Kasey Poteet, Kasey Kroft) was born June 6, 1979, in Charleston, SC, of mixed Irish, German and Cherokee descent. Diana first began performing in explicit hardcore movies in her mid-20s in 2006. An avid fan of comic books and video games, she has been featured as an on-line personality for various pop culture websites, which included hosting the daily program "Geek Rawk" for Music Plus TV. Diana has also made occasional forays into the "mainstream" with small roles on two episodes of the hit cable TV series Entourage (2004) and bigger roles in several direct-to-DVD films. She has also appeared on numerous reality shows, including "Playboy's Foursome" and Blind Date Uncensored (2002). She resides in Los Angeles, California, and is the mother of an autistic son.- Actress
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Shenae Grimes-Beech, previously credited as Shenae Grimes, is a Canadian actress. She portrayed Annie Wilson on The CW series 90210, a spin-off of Fox's Beverly Hills, 90210. Prior to that, she had a recurring role on the television series Naturally, Sadie, and played Darcy Edwards on the CTV series Degrassi: The Next Generation for four seasons.- Actress
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Milla Jovovich is a Ukrainian-American actress, supermodel, fashion designer, singer and public figure, who was on the cover of more than a hundred magazines, and starred in such films as The Fifth Element (1997), Ultraviolet (2006), and the Resident Evil (2002) franchise.
Milica Bogdanovna Jovovich was born on December 17, 1975 in Kyiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now in Ukraine). Her Serbian father, Bogdan Jovovich, was a medical doctor in Kyiv. There, he met her mother, Galina Jovovich (née Loginova), a Russian actress. At the age of 5, in 1981, Milla emigrated with her parents from the Soviet Union, moving first to London, UK, then to Sacramento, California, and eventually settled in Los Angeles. There her parents worked as house cleaners for the household of director Brian De Palma. Her parents separated, and eventually divorced, because her father was arrested and spent several years in prison.
Young Milla Jovovich was brought up by her single mother in Los Angeles. In addition to her native Ukrainian, she also speaks Russian and English. However, in spite of her cosmopolitan background, Milla was ostracized by some of her classmates, as a kid who emigrated from the Soviet Union amidst the paranoia of the Cold War. Many emotional scars had affected her behavior, but she eventually emerged as a resilient, multi-talented, albeit rebellious and risk-taking girl. She was coached by her actress mother since her childhood, first at home, then studied music, ballet, and acting in Los Angeles.
She shot to international fame after she was spotted by the photographer Richard Avedon at the age of 11, and was featured in Revlon's "Most Unforgettable Women in the World" advertisements, and on the cover of the Italian fashion magazine 'Lei' which was her first cover shoot. She made her first professional model contract at the age of 12, and soon made it to the cover of 'The Face', 'Vogue', 'Cosmopolitan' and many other magazines. In 1994, she appeared on the cover of 'High Times' in the UK, at the age of 18. The total number of her magazine covers worldwide was over one hundred by 2004, and keeps counting. In 2004, she made $10.4 million, becoming the highest paid supermodel in the world.
Milla appeared in ad campaigns for Chanel, Versace, Emporio Armani, Donna Karen, DKNY, Celine, P&K, H&H, and continues her role as the worldwide spokesperson and model for L'Oreal. Thanks to their continued success with Milla, Giorgio Armani chose her to be the face of his fragrance, Night. In addition to Armani's fragrance, Milla was the face for Calvin Klein's Obsession and Christian Dior's Poison for over 10 years and has most recently become the new face for Donna Karan's Cashmere Mist fragrance, which debuts in August 2009. Milla continues to shoot with the fashion industry's most sought after photographers, including Peter Lindbergh, Mario Sorrenti, Craig McDean and Inez & Vinoodh.
Milla made her acting debut in the Disney Channel movie The Night Train to Kathmandu (1988) and she made guest appearances on television series including Married... with Children (1987) (in 1989 as a French exchange student), Paradise (1988) and Parker Lewis Can't Lose (1990). In 1988, at age 12, she made her film debut credited as Milla in a supporting role in Two Moon Junction (1988) by writer/director Zalman King. During the 1980s and early 1990s, she played several supporting roles as a teenage actress in film and on television, then starred in Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991). In 1997, she co-starred opposite Bruce Willis in the sci-fi blockbuster The Fifth Element (1997), then she starred as the title character of The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999).
In the early 2000s, Milla had a few years of uncertainty in her acting career due to the uneven quality of her films, as well as some hectic events in her private life. She appeared with Mel Gibson in Wim Wenders' The Million Dollar Hotel (2000) which premiered at the Berlin Film Festival. She went on to co-star with Wes Bentley and Sarah Polley in The Claim (2000) and in Ben Stiller's spoof of the world of models and high-fashion, Zoolander (2001).
Milla achieved box office success in the U.S. and around the world with the action-packed thriller, Resident Evil (2002), based on the wildly popular video game, Resident Evil. It was written and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson. Milla reprised her role as the zombie slaying heroine, Alice, in Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004), Resident Evil: Extinction (2007), Resident Evil: Afterlife (2010), Resident Evil: Retribution (2012), and again in Resident Evil: The Final Chapter (2016) A seventh resident Evil movie is in pre-production.
She received glowing reviews opposite Oscar-winner Adrien Brody and Illeana Douglas in Dummy (2002) which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. In the spring of 2006, Milla returned to the big screen as action heroine, Violet, in the futuristic film Ultraviolet (2006) directed by Kurt Wimmer.
Focusing on her personal sense of style, her love of fashion led Milla and her friend and business partner, Carmen Hawk, to launch their Jovovich-Hawk clothing line, which achieved instant acclaim in the domestic and international fashion world. The fresh, unique line garnered the attention of red carpet watchers and fashion magazines, including American Vogue, who featured Jovovich-Hawk on their coveted list of "10 Things to Watch Out for in 2005." A student of voice and guitar since she was very young, Milla began writing songs for her first record at the age of 15.
Her first album, "The Divine Comedy", was released by EMI Records in 1994. Informed by her experiences as a child growing up as a Russian emigrant in the Red-bashing Reagan era, the introspective European-folkish debut drew favorable reviews for Milla's songwriting and performing. She continues to write music, and has had songs featured on several film soundtracks. She has been writing music and lyrics to her song-demos, playing her guitar and sampling other sounds from her computer, and allowing free download and remix of her songs from her website.
Charitable work also plays a major part in Milla's life. She has served as Master of Ceremonies and co-chaired with Elizabeth Taylor for the amfAR and Cinema Against AIDS event at the Venice Film Festival, and has been heavily involved with The Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, as well as The Wildlands Project.
For many years Milla Jovovich has been maintaining a healthier lifestyle, practicing yoga and meditation, trying to avoid junk food, and cooking for herself. Since she was a little girl, Milla has been writing a private diary, a habit she learned from her mother. She has been keeping a record of many good and bad facts of her life, her travels, her relationships, and all important ideas and events in her career, planning eventually to publish an autobiography. After dissolution of her two previous marriages, Milla Jovovich became engaged to film director Paul W.S. Anderson; their daughter, Ever Anderson, was born on November 3, 2007. They got married on August 22, 2009. Their second daughter, Dashiel Edan, was born on April 1, 2015.- Actress
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Gillian Jacobs was born on October 19, 1982 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, US. Her father, William F. Jacobs Jr., was an investment banker and her mother, Martina Magenau Jacobs, was an alumni relations officer at Carnegie Mellon University.
Gillian is an alumnus of Mt. Lebanon High School, Pennsylvania, and Juilliard School, New York. She holds a bachelor's degree in fine arts and began acting at a young age by attending acting classes at the Pittsburgh Playhouse on weekends.
Jacobs made her acting debut portraying the role of Titania in Pittsburgh Public Theater's stage adaptation of Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the age of 16. Years later, she made her debut in a feature film with the Building Girl (2005) then, made her television debut with the role of Adele Congreve in three episodes of The Book of Daniel (2006).
In 2006, Gillian appeared in "Cagelove", an off-Broadway production. The play received negative reviews from all quarters yet, all reviews appreciated Gillian's acting talent.
Jacobs' performance as CJ in the Nonames (2010) remains the most memorable role in the pre-breakout of her career, which brought huge laurels for her acting as well as the Special Jury Award and Copper Wing Award in Phoenix Film Festival.
Her big break came in the form of Community (2009), wherein she played the role of Britta Perry for six seasons until curtains came down on the show. In 2015, she also appeared in the HBO series Girls (2012) with a recurring role as Mimi-Rose Howard.
In 2016, she joined the Love (2016) to play the role of Mickey Dobbs for three consecutive seasons on Netflix. Her other streaming platform collaboration for a TV series came in 2021 with Invincible (2021) on Amazon Prime where she plays the role of Atom Eve. She will feature as Chris Riley, wife of legendary basketball coach Pat Riley, in Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty (2022) and Maggie in Minx (2022) for a recurring role. Both shows will debut on HBO and HBO Max respectively in 2022.
Gillian's other prominent film appearances include Choke (2008), Gardens of the Night (2008), The Box (2009), Life Partners (2014), Walk of Shame (2014), Don't Think Twice (2016), Life of the Party (2018) and I Used to Go Here (2020) while her future projects are The Contractor (2022) and Any Other Night.
She also appeared on the back of the camera as well. In 2015, Gillian directed a short documentary titled The Queen of Code (2015) about Grace Hopper, a rear admiral in the US Navy and a computer scientist, who ushered in the digital era.
Later, she directed a short film Curated (2018) in the form of Shatterbox, a film series from TNT and Refinery29. Her latest as a director came with Higher, Further, Faster (2020) for Marvel 616 (2020).
In 2022, she will have her directing and acting credit together on a feature film with The Seven Faces of Jane (2022) for the first time.
In-person Jacobs is a teetotaler. She says she made a choice while young to never have an alcoholic beverage or do drugs. She says her father is an addict, and together with reading the cautionary tale in the young adult novel "Go Ask Alice", about a 15-year-old drug addict, made an impact on her life in this regard.
Another book that shaped Gillian's perspective of life is "No Turn Unstoned" by Diana Rigg, a collection of terrible reviews that undeniably great actors received over the years. It was given to her by an acting teacher after she received a very bad review in a local paper for her initial performance in "A Midsummer Night's Dream." Thanks to this experience, she started to see these performances as an opportunity, a chance to improve instead of a burden.- Actress
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Virginie Ledoyen was born Virginie Fernandez on 15 November 1976 in Aubervilliers, near Paris. At the age of 2, she was already shooting advertisements for television. At 9, she started going to the École des Enfants du Spectacle, and made her film debut at 10 in What Every Frenchwoman Wants (1986). She was then nominated for the César (the French equivalent of an Oscar) for most promising actress in 1993, 1994 and 1995.
Her international breakthrough was in 1999, when she became ambassador for the cosmetics L'Oréal; this led to her casting in The Beach (2000), with Leonardo DiCaprio.- Actress
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Alexandra Paul was modeling when she decided to forego college at Stanford University and pursue acting. With lead roles in 75 feature films and television programs, she can also be seen in the award-winning documentary Who Killed the Electric Car? (2006).
Internationally recognized for her 5-year starring role as "Lt. Stephanie Holden" in the hit series Baywatch (1989), Alexandra began her acting career in 1982 at age 18, starring in the highly rated telefilm Paper Dolls (1982). She was then cast in studio flicks like Stephen King's Christine (1983); American Flyers (1985) opposite Kevin Costner; 8 Million Ways to Die (1986) opposite Jeff Bridges and Andy Garcia; Dragnet (1987) opposite Tom Hanks and Dan Aykroyd, and Spy Hard (1996) with Leslie Nielsen.
Alexandra hosted the extreme sports series Wild Waters on the Outdoor Life Network for 4 years, and hosted the WE network series Winning Women for two seasons. She co-hosted 150 episodes of the environmental TV talk show Earth Talk Today through 2008.
Throughout the 1990s, Alexandra had regular roles in several television series: Baywatch (1989), Fox's Fire Co 132, Daytona Beach (pilot), and the last 8 episodes on Melrose Place (1992). She also filmed two movies in war-torn Croatia with Pierce Brosnan and did many independent films. In the first decade of the 21st Century, Alexandra starred in 11 movies on Lifetime Movie Network. She also played a lesbian 4 times, opportunities she appreciates since her identical twin sister is gay.
In 2006, she shot 6 films, including a cameo in Borat:Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, and although her part was edited out, she remains in the DVD extras.
From 2010 - 2017, Alexandra has shot independent movies and an online series. She is producing 2 movies, a movie based on the book Free The Animals with her producing partner, Nik Tyler; and The B Team, an action comedy starring 8 of her Baywatch castmates.- Actress
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Nancy Travis was born in New York City, to Theresa, a social worker, and Gordon Travis, a sales executive. She lived in Baltimore and Boston before returning to her birthplace to study drama at New York University. Her first job out of school was with New York's American Jewish Theater, after which she hit the road, joining the national tour of Neil Simon's "Brighton Beach Memoirs." She has maintained a connection to the stage throughout her career. A founding member of the New York-based off-Broadway theater company Naked Angels, she appeared in their production of Frank Pugliese's play "Aven-U Boys, " as well as "King of Connecticut" with Frances McDormand. She also performed in the Broadway run of the award-winning play "I'm Not Rappaport" with Cleavon Little and Judd Hirsch. More recently, she appeared in Athol Fugard's "My Children, My Africa," which the author directed at the La Jolla Playhouse. No stranger to television, Travis starred with Peter Gallagher and Isabella Rossellini in the Tom Cruise-directed segment of the Showtime anthology series Fallen Angels (1993).- Actress
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Beth Alison Broderick was born on February 24, 1959 in Falmouth, Kentucky, USA but was raised in Huntington Beach, California. Beth was always very interested in theater as a child and she graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena, California at age 18. After that, she moved to New York and began her professional acting career. She stopped acting for a few years to dedicate herself to dealing with the AIDS crisis in the early eighties. When she was 27, she started acting again and she made her debut in 1988 when she played the sexy neighbor who seduces a young, innocent Jonathan Silverman in Stealing Home (1988). In 1990, she appeared in The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990). She has also appeared in several theater productions like "Carnal Knowledge", "Triplets in Uniform" and "Zastrozzi, the Master of Discipline" (which she also co-produced). In New York, she has starred in "The Mousetrap", "The Lion in Winter" and many more. Beth is not only an actress, she is also a writer and she has written "A Cup of Joe", "Wonderland" and "Literatti" with Dennis Bailey. Beth is also a director and she has directed an episode of Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996) called Making the Grade (2001). She has been active in the battle against AIDS since 1984 and she is the founding director of "Momentum", one of the first organizations in New York established to assist people with AIDS. Beth was also a founding member of the Celebrity Action Council of the City Light Women's Rehabilitation Program at the Los Angeles Mission, which provides hands-on service to homeless women, helps them to overcome substance abuse and learn job skills to help them reclaim their lives and families.- Actress
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Jane Asher (born 5 April 1946) is an English actress, author and entrepreneur, who achieved early fame as a child actress, and has worked extensively in film and TV throughout her career.
She has appeared in TV shows and films such as The Masque of the Red Death (1964), Alfie (1966), Deep End (1970), The Mistress (1985-1987), Crossroads (2001-2003), Death at a Funeral (2007) and The Old Guys (2009-). She is also known for supplying specialist cakes and kitchenware, as well as publishing three bestselling novels.
Asher was the middle of three children born to Richard Alan John and Margaret Asher, née Eliot, in Willesden, North West London. Her father was a consultant in blood and mental diseases at the Central Middlesex Hospital, as well as being a broadcaster and the author of notable medical articles. Asher's mother was a professor at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Asher attended Queen's College in Harley Street, London and is the elder sister of Clare Asher, a radio actress and school inspector. Asher's elder brother is record producer Peter Asher, of Peter and Gordon.
She was a key figure of 1960s show-business society as the fiancée of Paul McCartney. Asher met the illustrator Gerald Scarfe in 1971, and they married ten years later. They have three children, daughter actress Katie Scarfe (born April 17, 1974), and sons Alex Scarfe (born December 1981) and Rory (born 1984).- Actress
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Elizabeth Mitchell was born in Los Angeles in 1970. Shortly after her birth, her parents moved to Dallas, Texas. She was graduated from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas. Later, she earned a BFA degree in acting from Stephens College and also studied at the British American Drama Academy. Additionally, she spent six years at the respected Dallas Theatre Center and one year with that theater's Encore Company. Before her big screen debut, she started her acting career from theaters. Her theatrical stage credits include productions of "As You Like It", "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum", "Measure for Measure", "Baby" and "Chicago", among many others.
Her breakthrough performance was opposite Angelina Jolie in Michael Cristofer's acclaimed HBO telefilm Gia (1998) endearing her to audiences and critics, alike. Following with the sci-fi time-travel adventure, Frequency (2000) with Dennis Quaid and Neil LaBute's highly anticipated Nurse Betty (2000) opposite Renée Zellweger, Elizabeth showed her charismatic acting skills. With numerous credits from theaters, TV series and movies, Elizabeth Mitchell continues to give her best in the acting field.- Actress
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Amy Landecker started her career as a theatre actor in Chicago IL, where she worked with the Steppenwolf and Goodman theaters. A Bob Falls directed production of Rebecca Gilman's brought her to NYC and the Public Theatre. While in NYC, she worked at the Barrow St Theater and Second Stage. She won an ensemble Obie award for her performance in Tracy Letts' "Bug", the same play that brought her to LA. While performing on stage in LA, she was tapped to play "Mrs. Samsky" in the Coen brothers' Oscar-nominated A Serious Man (2009), which was the beginning of an exciting on-camera career in movies and TV shows like Louie (2010), Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000), Enough Said (2013) and her starring role as "Sarah Pfefferman" in the Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning series, Transparent (2014). Amy has also written pilots for FX and Amazon and is a top VO talent in animation and commercials.- Actress
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Kelly Preston was born on October 13, 1962 in Honolulu, Hawaii. A talented and captivating performer, she first garnered international attention with her role as "Marnie Mason" in Ivan Reitman's Twins (1988), starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito. With her diverse character portrayals in films, such as director Cameron Crowe's Jerry Maguire (1996); Citizen Ruth (1996) for Alexander Payne; and For Love of the Game (1999), directed by Sam Raimi, she continued to capture audience attention.
In the early part of her career, Kelly worked with notable director John Frankenheimer in the Elmore Leonard film, 52 Pick-Up (1986), alongside Roy Scheider and Ann-Margret. Her career saw her cast her beside some of Hollywood's most notable names, including Kevin Spacey in Casino Jack (2010); Quentin Tarantino, George Clooney, and Harvey Keitel in Robert Rodriguez's From Dusk Till Dawn (1996); Kevin Bacon in Death Sentence (2007); Meg Ryan and Matthew Broderick in Addicted to Love (1997); Debra Winger, Zooey Deschanel, and Hank Azaria in Eulogy (2004); Mike Myers in The Cat in the Hat (2003); and Rod Steiger and Julie Harris in the Academy Award-nominated short, Little Surprises (1996).
Kelly was actively involved in education, drug reform and many charitable organizations. She was acknowledged with numerous awards as a result of her work. She married John Travolta on September 12, 1991, and they had three children.
Kelly died on July 12, 2020, in Ocala, Florida, after a two-year battle with breast cancer. She was 57.- Actress
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Aura Garrido Sánchez is a Spanish film and television actress. She has appeared in such films as Stockholm as well as the television series El Ministerio Del Tiempo.
Garrido was born in Madrid in 1989. Her father Tomás Garrido is a composer and orchestra conductor, and her mother, Pilar Sánchez, is a painter. She took her first piano classes when she was four years old, and soon after, started practicing ballet. She speaks English thanks to having an English-speaking best friend growing up.
After ending her high school studies, she enrolled herself in the Real Escuela Superior DE Arte Dramático, in Madrid, she took interpretation until her third year, specializing in textual interpretation, but she dropped out in 2010 because she was cast for the film Planes para manana. This role earned her the Silver Biznaga for best supporting actress and a Goya Awards nomination in the best breakthrough actress category among other nominations.- Actress
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Anne Ramsay was born on 11 September 1960 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for A League of Their Own (1992), Planet of the Apes (2001) and The Taking of Deborah Logan (2014).- Actress
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Jessie Buckley is an Irish singer and actress, who came in second place in the BBC talent show-themed television series I'd Do Anything, and subsequently played Anne Egermann in the West End revival of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music. Most recently, Buckley played Lyudmilla Ignatenko in the HBO drama miniseries, Chernobyl. She also appeared on three BBC television series, as Marya Bolkonskaya in BBC's adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's War and Peace, as Lorna Bow in Taboo and as Honor Martin in The Last Post.
Buckley was born in Killarney, County Kerry, the eldest of five children. Her mother, Marina Cassidy, encouraged her to sing and coached her. She has a brother and three sisters. Buckley went to Ursuline Secondary School, an all-girls convent school in Thurles, County Tipperary, where her mother works as a vocal coach and where she performed in school productions. She played a number of male roles at school, including the male lead role of Jets gang founder Tony in the musical West Side Story and Freddie Trumper in Chess.
She has achieved Grade eight in piano, clarinet and harp with the Royal Irish Academy of Music. She is also a member of the Tipperary Millennium Orchestra. Buckley also attended The Association of Irish Musical Societies (AIMS) workshops during the summer, to help improve her singing and acting; it was where she was then recognized as a talented actress and was encouraged to apply for Drama School in London. Just before she auditioned for I'd Do Anything, she was turned down by two drama schools, including one the day before her first audition for the show. In 2008, Buckley won the AIMS Best Actress award for her portrayal of Julie Jordan in the Killarney Musical Society production of Carousel.
Buckley competed in I'd Do Anything, a search for a new, unknown lead to play Nancy in a London West End stage revival of the British musical Oliver. Buckley reached the final on 31 May 2008, finishing in second place behind Jodie Prenger. Before the final vote was announced in Show two of the final, Graham Norton asked the panel who they each thought was Nancy. Three of the panel said Buckley and two Prenger. John Barrowman and Denise van Outen said "Jodie", while Barry Humphries, Cameron Mackintosh and Andrew Lloyd Webber said "Jessie". However, the public voted for Jodie.
Buckley performed at the Andrew Lloyd Webber's Birthday in the Park show in Hyde Park, London on 14 September 2008, singing "I Don't Know How To Love Him" as a solo and "Light at the End of the Tunnel" from Starlight Express with fellow I'd Do Anything finalists Keisha Amponsa-Banson, Niamh Perry, Rachel Tucker as well as Any Dream Will Do finalists Daniel Boys, Lewis Bradley, Ben James-Ellis and Keith Jack. On 18 September she and Aoife Mulholland performed with the RTÉ Concert Orchestra at an Andrew Lloyd Webber evening at the National Concert Hall in Dublin. On 26 August 2008 Buckley performed on Denny Street in Tralee, Co. Kerry where the first ever Millionaire raffle was broadcast live on RTÉ Radio 1. After this, Jessie performed at a charity concert in Tipperary, where she announced that she would be starting rehearsals for A Little Night Music in London the following Monday.
Buckley was offered the opportunity to understudy Nancy, but turned it down in favour of another production: on 10 October 2008 it was announced that Buckley would be appearing in a revival of the Stephen Sondheim musical A Little Night Music, in the role of Anne Egerman, at the Menier Chocolate Factory, a fringe Studio Theatre, in London from 22 November 2008 to 8 March 2009. She appeared alongside Maureen Lipman and Hannah Waddingham in the production, which was directed by Trevor Nunn. A Little Night Music transferred from the Menier Chocolate Factory to the Garrick Theatre in London's West End on 7 April 2009 (previews from 28 March - 6 April). A Little Night Music was Buckley's West End debut. The show closed on 25 July 2009. Since then, she has appeared in a number of concerts nationally, including a Christmas concert alongside Maria Friedman, Cantabile - the London Quartet and Tim Rice, and in February 2010 appeared alongside Daniel Boys (and Night Music co-star Kelly Price) in a series of Valentine musical concerts.- Actress
- Casting Director
- Soundtrack
Elizabeth Maxwell was born on 13 October 1983 in the USA. She is an actress and casting director, known for Attack on Titan (2013), The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017) and A Perfect Getaway (2009).