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- Farah LeeAllen Fath was born in Lexington, Kentucky on May 1st, 1984. When she was only five, she decided to start a career in show-business. After finding success as a child model, she turned her attention to acting and at the age of 15 nabbed her first audition for the role of Mimi Lockhart on Days of our Lives. She would continue in the role for almost 8 years until 2007 when she moved to New York and took a part on One Life to Live (a part that was written specifically for her). After One Life to Live was canceled in 2011, Farah moved back to Los Angeles.
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Leigh-Allyn Baker is an American actress from Kentucky. Her better known roles include the supporting character Ellen in the sitcom "Will & Grace" (1998-2006, 2017-2020), the recurring antagonist Hannah Webster in the first season of the fantasy series "Charmed" (1998-1999), and co-protagonist Amy Duncan in the sitcom "Good Luck Charlie" (2010-2014).
Baker made her film debut in the comedy horror film "Shrunken Heads" (1994). The film's plot involved the murder of three adolescent boys by local hoodlums. A voodoo priest resurrected the trio, and allowed them to seek revenge. Baker's first significant voice role was that of recurring character Alisa Silver/Alisa Silvermane in "Spider-Man: The Animated Series". She voiced the character from 1995 to 1997. Alisa was both a love interest and a foe for Spider-Man. She was depicted as the college-aged daughter of the aged crime lord Silvermane. Alisa took over her father's criminal empire after he was incapacitated. Silvermane was one of Spider-Man's recurring foes in Marvel's comic books, but Alisa was an original character created for this series.
In 1996, Baker was cast in the regular role of bar co-owner Joy Garfield in the short-lived sitcom "The Last Frontier". The series only lasted for 6 episodes. In 1998, Baker gained a more important role as Ellen in "Will & Grace". Her character was a close friend of protagonist Grace Adler (played by Debra Messing) since their college years, and they regularly played party games together in their adult years. Grace and Ellen had a history of arguments. Grace always managed to reconcile with her friend, through cooking for Ellen and convincing her to discuss their differences. Ellen had provided Grace with emotional support during some difficult times. Baker appeared in 20 episodes of the series, appearing in nearly every season of the long-running sitcom.
Also in 1998, Baker was cast in the role of antagonist Hannah Webster in "Charmed". Hannah was initially introduced as a new co-worker for the young witch Prue Halliwell (played by Shannen Doherty). They both worked at an auction house, but Hannah was always hostile to Prue. Hannah was soon revealed to be a magic user in her own right. Her main powers were thermokinesis (the ability to create heat) and shape-shifting into a black panther. Hannah was working for the Underworld, and aimed to kill Prue and her sisters. She was eventually defeated by the sisters, manipulated into killing her own lover, and then killed by an unseen foe. Hannah was the first female enemy introduced in the series, and among the earliest recurring villains which the protagonists faced.
In the video game "Star Trek: Voyager - Elite Force" (2000), Baker voiced the Betazoid field medic Juliet Jurot. The character was a member of Voyager's hazard team, an elite force used for high-risk missions. Juliet was also depicted as a love interest to the human hybrid Austin Chang. Juliet proved able to suppress mental attacks by the Vohrsoth, a powerful telepath. Baker returned to the role of Juliet in the sequel "Star Trek: Elite Force II" (2003). In this game, Juliet served in the USS Enterprise-E under Jean-Luc Picard. Juliet was depicted as having reactivated her Starfleet commission, after completing further studies at the Vulcan Science Academy.
In the video game "Command & Conquer: Renegade" (2002), Baker voiced Dr. Sydney Mobius. She was one of three skilled scientists captured by the terrorist organization Brotherhood of Nod, and forced to work on a human augmentation project. When rescued by the protagonist Nick "Havoc" Parker, Sydney started accompanying him in missions. She wore a combat armor exoskeleton, which she had co-designed with her father.
In 2003, Baker guest-starred in an episode of the sitcom "That '70s Show" as Officer Debbie. Debbie was depicted as a police officer who looked young and attractive when in uniform, while looking old and plain in her civilian clothing. Regular character Michael Kelso (played by Ashton Kutcher) figured than a police uniform would enhance his own fading looks, and started aspiring to a career as a police officer. This became a major subplot for the character throughout the series.
Baker voiced the vengeful ghost of Miyako Sudo in the English dub of the video game "Fatal Frame II: Crimson Butterfly" (2003). Miyako was depicted as a young woman who bravely searched for her missing boyfriend, only to be strangulated by his ghost. In death, she became a hostile ghost in her own right. But she had not fully figured out what happened to her, and questioned the reasons for her fate. Miyako's notebooks represented another subplot in the game, offering clues about the past.
Baker voiced the mutant superheroine Jean Grey in the video game "X-Men Legends" (2004). Jean had to rescue fellow mutant Magik/Illyana Rasputina from the psychic influence of the Shadow King. Baker also voiced Jean in the sequel game "X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse" (2005). In the game, the rival teams X-Men and Brotherhood of Mutants have to join forces against a common foe, Apocalypse.
In the video game "Agatha Christie: Murder on the Orient Express" (2006), Baker voiced two of the murder suspects. She voiced both the young aristocrat Countess Andrenyi and the experienced governess Mary Debenham. The game depicted Mary as a 32-year-old woman, while she was in her mid-20s in the source novel. The game was loosely based on the mystery novel "Murder on the Orient Express" (1934) by Agatha Christie. It featured a number of additional characters, and introduced a further plot twist concerning the fate of the supposedly long dead Daisy Armstrong.
In the video game "God of War II" (2007), Baker voiced Lakhesis, one of the three goddesses of Fate. Lakhesis and her sisters , Atropos (voiced by voiced by Debi Mae West) and Clotho (voiced by Susan Silo), attempted to prevent the protagonist Kratos from traveling back in time and altering events according to his wishes. They were killed for their efforts. The game was loosely based on Greek mythology, and all three sisters were based on the three goddesses of Fate in the Greek legends.
Baker was cast as the main character Abby in the animated series "Back at the Barnyard" (2007-2011). Abby was an anthropomorphic cow, with a tough and rebellious attitude. She and her friend Otis (voiced by Chris Hardwick) were attracted to each other, but were never able to act on their feelings. Abby was still jealous when other females expressed an interest in Otis. The series lasted for 2 seasons and 52 episodes.
In the video game "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra" (2009), Baker voiced the heroine Scarlett/Shana M. O'Hara. Scarlett is one of the main members of the G.I. Joe team in most of its incarnations. She is typically depicted as a young redhead from Atlanta, Georgia. Her code-name is based on her perceived resemblance to Scarlett O'Hara from "Gone with the Wind".
Baker was cast in the main role of Amy Duncan in the popular sitcom "Good Luck Charlie" (2010-2014). Her character was depicted as a married mother of four, and a professional nurse. But Amy also had ambitions to start a career in show business, and took advantage of any opportunity to act or sing in front of an audience. Amy had a particularly close relationship with her eldest daughter Teddy Duncan (played by Bridgit Mendler)), in part because Teddy was a fellow overachiever with both an interest and actual skills in singing. The series lasted for 4 seasons and 97 episodes.
Baker voiced the recurring character of Queen Coralie in the animated series "Captain Jake and the Never Land Pirates", a spin-off of Peter Pan. She voiced the character from 2013 to 2016. Coralie was depicted as the queen of the mermaids of Neverland. She was a snobbish and self-centered ruler, but not villainous. She was a recurring foe for Captain Hook, but also a close friend of his mother, the veteran pirate Mama Hook. The female pirate was depicted as Coralie's former teacher, but they became friends when Coralie became an adult.
Baker had two supporting roles in the animated series "The 7D" (2014-2016), which featured the adventures of the Seven Dwarfs. She voiced the regular character Queen Delightful, who typically assigned missions to the Dwarves. The Queen was depicted as a naive and goofy ruler, but had an aggressive side and above-average survival skills. The Queen was also a love interest for the dwarf Bashful, though he had problems in expressing his affection for her. Baker also voiced the recurring character of Snazzy Shazam, a young witch who served as a rival to Hildy Gloom (the main villain of the series). Snazzy and Hildy were both skilled witches, but Snazzy's main goal in life was to outperform Hildy at any opportunity. The series lasted for 2 seasons and 44 episodes.
Baker co-starred in the television film "Bad Hair Day" (2015). It featured a developing friendship between the suspended police officer Liz (played by Baker) and the adolescent tech whiz Monica Reeves (played by Laura Marano). They allied themselves in search of a stolen diamond, whose whereabouts were unknown even to the thief who had originally taken it from a museum. Baker was also the film's executive producer. The film delivered 4.0 million viewers for its television premiere.
Baker has not had any major voice roles in several years. She voiced relatively minor recurring characters in both "Star vs. the Forces of Evil" (2015-2019) and "Mickey Mouse Mixed-Up Adventures" (2017-2021). As of 2022, Baker was 50-years-old. She has gained a fan following for several of her past roles. She has no known plans to retire, but it is unclear whether she will return to the spotlight.- Actor
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John Christopher "Johnny" Depp II was born on June 9, 1963 in Owensboro, Kentucky, to Betty Sue Palmer (née Wells), a waitress, and John Christopher Depp, a civil engineer. He was raised in Florida. He dropped out of school when he was 15, and fronted a series of music-garage bands, including one named 'The Kids'. When he married Lori A. Depp, he took a job as a ballpoint-pen salesman to support himself and his wife. A visit to Los Angeles, California, with his wife, however, happened to be a blessing in disguise, when he met up with actor Nicolas Cage, who advised him to turn to acting, which culminated in Depp's film debut in the low-budget horror film, A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), where he played a teenager who falls prey to dream-stalking demon Freddy Krueger.
In 1987 he shot to stardom when he replaced Jeff Yagher in the role of undercover cop Tommy Hanson in the popular TV series 21 Jump Street (1987). In 1990, after numerous roles in teen-oriented films, his first of a handful of great collaborations with director Tim Burton came about when Depp played the title role in Edward Scissorhands (1990). Following the film's success, Depp carved a niche for himself as a serious, somewhat dark, idiosyncratic performer, consistently selecting roles that surprised critics and audiences alike. He continued to gain critical acclaim and increasing popularity by appearing in many features before re-joining with Burton in the lead role of Ed Wood (1994). In 1997 he played an undercover FBI agent in the fact-based film Donnie Brasco (1997), opposite Al Pacino; in 1998 he appeared in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998), directed by Terry Gilliam; and then, in 1999, he appeared in the sci-fi/horror film The Astronaut's Wife (1999). The same year he teamed up again with Burton in Sleepy Hollow (1999), brilliantly portraying Ichabod Crane.
Depp has played many characters in his career, including another fact-based one, Insp. Fred Abberline in From Hell (2001). He stole the show from screen greats such as Antonio Banderas in the finale to Robert Rodriguez's "mariachi" trilogy, Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003). In that same year he starred in the marvelous family blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003), playing a character that only the likes of Depp could pull off: the charming, conniving and roguish Capt. Jack Sparrow. The film's enormous success has opened several doors for his career and included an Oscar nomination. He appeared as the central character in the Stephen King-based movie, Secret Window (2004); as the kind-hearted novelist James Barrie in the factually-based Finding Neverland (2004), where he co-starred with Kate Winslet; and Rochester in the British film, The Libertine (2004). Depp collaborated again with Burton in a screen adaptation of Roald Dahl's novel, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), and later in Alice in Wonderland (2010) and Dark Shadows (2012).
Off-screen, Depp has dated several female celebrities, and has been engaged to Sherilyn Fenn, Jennifer Grey, Winona Ryder and Kate Moss. He was married to Lori Anne Allison in 1983, but divorced her in 1985. Depp has two children with his former long-time partner, French singer/actress Vanessa Paradis: Lily-Rose Melody, born in 1999 and John Christopher "Jack" III, born in 2002. He married actress/producer Amber Heard in 2015, divorcing a few years later.- Actor
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Joshua Ryan Hutcherson was born on October 12, 1992 in Union, Kentucky to Michelle Fightmaster, who worked for Delta Air Lines, and Chris Hutcherson, an EPA analyst. He has one younger brother, Connor Hutcherson. From the age of four, Josh knew that he wanted to be an actor. In order to pursue his goal, Josh and his family moved to Los Angeles when he was nine-years-old.
In 2002, Josh landed his first acting role in the TV film, House Blend (2002), with Amy Yasbeck, Dan Cortese and Sean Faris. The same year, Josh was cast in the pilot, Becoming Glen (2002), but Fox did not order it to series (though, several years later, it was reconfigured as the short-lived series, The Winner (2007), starring Rob Corddry, and co-written/produced by Seth MacFarlane). Toward the end of 2002, Josh appeared on an episode of ER (1994).
Josh made his big-screen debut, in 2003, with a bit part in the Oscar-nominated American Splendor (2003). His career began its measured ascent in 2005 with a supporting slot as one of Will Ferrell's kids in Kicking & Screaming (2005), a co-starring role in the indie hit Little Manhattan (2005), and another co-starring role in Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005), which was originally conceived as a sequel to Jumanji (1995). Despite underperforming at the box office, "Zathura" helped earned for Josh his first Young Artist Award for "Leading Young Actor".
2006 saw bigger returns for Josh's burgeoning film career with a role as one of Robin Williams' sons in the modest hit, RV (2006). The following year, he landed his first breakthrough role in Bridge to Terabithia (2007), the kid-approved adaptation of Katherine Paterson's novel that co-starred AnnaSophia Robb, whose career was also taking off at this time.
Josh starred as Brendan Fraser's nephew in another family-film hit, Journey to the Center of the Earth (2008), and he had a smaller role in the Crash-like drama, Fragments (2008), though by now his face and name were being used in movie-marketing materials. Though it wasn't a hit, Josh's character in Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant (2009) served as a major plot device early in the story.
In 2010, Josh co-starred in the critically-acclaimed film, The Kids Are All Right (2010), alongside Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, Mark Ruffalo, and Mia Wasikowska. The film received several awards and four Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. Josh's performance as the youngest child in a family, led by two mothers, earned him acclaim from audiences and the industry, alike. Josh followed up with an expanded role in Journey 2: The Mysterious Island (2012), which saw Dwayne Johnson take over as the main character from Brendan Fraser. Between the star power and the allure of 3D, the sequel was a worldwide hit and a third installment is in development.
With the announcement that he would portray the beloved "Peeta Mellark" in The Hunger Games (2012), the film adaptation of the best-selling novel written by Suzanne Collins, Josh became an instant celebrity. In the wake of the movie's massive worldwide success, Detention (2011), a horror/comedy that Josh made before "The Hunger Games", was released. Josh was also an executive producer on that feature.
Before Josh reprises his role as "Peeta" in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), we will see him in the long-delayed remake of Red Dawn (2012); the omnibus 7 Days in Havana (2011) (aka "7 Days in Havana") (Josh's segment was directed by Benicio Del Toro); The Forger (2012) opposite Lauren Bacall, Alfred Molina, and Hayden Panettiere; and the animated Epic (2013) from Ice Age (2002) co-director (and voice of "Scrat"), Chris Wedge.- Actor
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George Timothy Clooney was born on May 6, 1961, in Lexington, Kentucky, to Nina Bruce (née Warren), a former beauty pageant queen, and Nick Clooney, a former anchorman and television host (who was also the brother of singer Rosemary Clooney). He has Irish, English, and German ancestry. Clooney spent most of his youth in Ohio and Kentucky, and graduated from Augusta High School. He was very active in sports such as basketball and baseball, and tried out for the Cincinnati Reds, but was not offered a contract.
After his cousin, Miguel Ferrer, got him a small role in a feature film, Clooney began to pursue acting. His first major role was on the sitcom E/R (1984) as Ace. More roles soon followed, including George Burnett, the handsome handyman on The Facts of Life (1979); Booker Brooks, a supervisor on Roseanne (1988); and Detective James Falconer on Sisters (1991). Clooney had his breakthrough when he was cast as Dr. Doug Ross on the award-winning drama series ER (1994), opposite Anthony Edwards, Noah Wyle and Julianna Margulies.
While filming "ER" (1994), Clooney starred in a number of high profile film roles, such as Robert Rodriguez's From Dusk Till Dawn (1996), and One Fine Day (1996), opposite Michelle Pfeiffer. In 1997, Clooney took on the role of Batman in Joel Schumacher's Batman & Robin (1997). The film was a moderate success in the box office, but was slammed by critics, notably for the nipple-laden Batsuit. Clooney went on to star in Steven Soderbergh's Out of Sight (1998), Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line (1998), and David O. Russell's Three Kings (1999).
In 1999, Clooney left "ER" (1994) (though he would return for the season finale) and appeared in a number of films, including O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), The Perfect Storm (2000) and Ocean's Eleven (2001). Collaborating once again with Steven Soderbergh, Ocean's Eleven (2001) received critical acclaim, earned more than $450 million at the box office, and spawned two sequels: Ocean's Twelve (2004) and Ocean's Thirteen (2007).
In 2002, Clooney made his directorial debut with Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), an adaptation of TV producer Chuck Barris' autobiography. This was the first film under the banner of Section Eight Productions, a production company he founded with Steven Soderbergh. The company also produced many acclaimed films, including Far from Heaven (2002), Syriana (2005), A Scanner Darkly (2006) and Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005). Clooney won his first Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in Syriana (2005), and was nominated for Best Director and Best Original Screenplay for Good Night, and Good Luck. (2005).
In 2006, Section Eight Productions was shut down so that Soderbergh could concentrate on directing, and Clooney founded a new production company, Smokehouse Productions, with his friend and longtime business partner, Grant Heslov.
Clooney went on to produce and star in Michael Clayton (2007) (which earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor), directed and starred in Leatherheads (2008), and took leading roles in Burn After Reading (2008), The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009), Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), and Jason Reitman's Up in the Air (2009). Clooney received critical acclaim for his performance in Up in the Air (2009) and was nominated for several awards, including a Golden Globe Award and Academy Award. He didn't win that year, but took home both Best Actor awards (as well as countless nominations) for his role as a father who finds out his wife was unfaithful as she lays in a coma in Alexander Payne's The Descendants (2011). Through his career, Clooney has been heralded for his political activism and humanitarian work. He has served as one of the United Nations Messengers of Peace since 2008, has been an advocate for the Darfur conflict, and organized the Hope for Haiti telethon, to raise money for the victims of the 2010 earthquake. In March 2012, Clooney was arrested for civil disobedience while protesting at the Sudanese embassy in Washington, D.C.
Clooney was married to actress Talia Balsam, from 1989 until 1993. After their divorce, he swore he would never marry again. Michelle Pfeiffer and Nicole Kidman bet him $10,000 that he would have children by the age of 40, and sent him a check shortly after his birthday. Clooney returned the funds and bet double or nothing he wouldn't have children by the age of 50. Although he has remained a consummate bachelor, Clooney has had many highly publicized relationships, including with former WWE wrestler Stacy Keibler. In 2014, he married lawyer and activist Amal Clooney, with whom he has two children, twins.- Actress
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As the highest-paid actress in the world in 2015 and 2016, and with her films grossing over $5.5 billion worldwide, Jennifer Lawrence is often cited as the most successful actress of her generation. She is also the first person born in the 1990s to have won an acting Oscar.
Jennifer Shrader Lawrence was born August 15, 1990, in Louisville, Kentucky, to Karen (Koch), who manages a children's camp, and Gary Lawrence, who works in construction. She has two older brothers, Ben and Blaine, and has English, German, Irish, and Scottish ancestry.
Her career began when she traveled to Manhattan at the age of fourteen after dropping out of the 8th grade. After conducting her first cold read, agents told her mother that "it was the best cold read by a 14-year-old they had ever heard," and tried to convince her stage mother that she needed to spend the summer in Manhattan. After leaving the agency, Jennifer was spotted by an agent in the midst of shooting an H&M ad and asked to take her picture. The next day, that agent followed up with her and invited her to the studio for a cold-read audition. Again, the agents were highly impressed and strongly urged her mother to allow her to spend the summer in New York City. As fate would have it, she did and subsequently appeared in commercials such as MTV's "My Super Sweet 16" and played a role in the movie The Devil You Know (2013).
Shortly thereafter, her career forced her and her family to move to Los Angeles, where she was cast in the TBS sitcom The Bill Engvall Show (2007), and in smaller movies such as The Poker House (2008) and The Burning Plain (2008).
Her big break came when she played Ree in Winter's Bone (2010), which landed her Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. Shortly thereafter, she secured the role of Mystique in franchise reboot X-Men: First Class (2011), which went on to be a hit in Summer 2011. Around this time, Lawrence scored the role of a lifetime when she was cast as Katniss Everdeen in the big-screen adaptation of literary sensation The Hunger Games (2012). The film went on to become one of the highest-grossing movies ever, with over $407 million at the US box office, and instantly propelled Lawrence to the A-list among young actors and actresses. Three Hunger Games sequels were released in each consecutive November: The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013), The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1 (2014), and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015), with Lawrence reprising her role.
In 2012, the romantic comedy Silver Linings Playbook (2012) earned her the Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, Satellite Award, and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Actress, among other accolades, making her the youngest person ever to be nominated for two Academy Awards for Best Actress and the second-youngest Best Actress winner.
She starred in David O. Russell's popular drama-comedy American Hustle (2013), as Roselyn Rosenfield, and teamed with the director again to play inventor Joy Mangano in another family comedy, Joy (2015), for which she earned Oscar nominations for both roles (Best Supporting Actress and Best Actress, respectively).- Actor
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Josh Hopkins was born on 12 September 1970 in Lexington, Kentucky, USA. He is an actor and director, known for The Perfect Storm (2000), G.I. Jane (1997) and Only the Brave (2017).- Actress
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Kassie Wesley DePaiva was born on 21 March 1961 in Morganfield, Kentucky, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for One Life to Live (1968), Evil Dead II (1987) and General Hospital (1963). She has been married to James DePaiva since 31 May 1996. They have one child. She was previously married to Richard C. Hankins.- Actress
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Telma Hopkins was born on 28 October 1948 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Family Matters (1989), Half & Half (2002) and The Love Guru (2008). She was previously married to Donald B. Alen.- Actress
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Annie Potts is an American film, television, and stage actress. She is known for her roles in popular 1980s films such as Ghostbusters (1984) and Pretty in Pink (1986). She made her debut on the big screen in 1978 in the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer comedy film Corvette Summer (1978), with Mark Hamill, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe. In 2017 she was cast to portray Meemaw in Young Sheldon (2017), a spin-off of the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory (2007). Potts also voiced voiced Bo Peep in the animated films Toy Story (1995), Toy Story 2 (1999) and Toy Story 4 (2019).
Interested in stage and film at an early age, Annie Potts attended Stephens College in Missouri, enrolling in the theater studies course, followed by graduate work in California. At the age of 20, she married her college sweetheart, Steven Hartley. Only a short time later, she and her husband were in serious automobile accident in Sumner, Washington -- their Volkswagen bus was demolished by two drivers who were drag racing. Steve lost a leg, and Annie had multiple fractures (resulting in a traumatic arthritis that still persists). Early roles were primarily in television, such as Black Market Baby (1977), but her presence moved up with an appearance in the mega-hit Ghostbusters (1984), and then she hit the big time with a seven-year stint as one of the stars of Designing Women (1986). A brief period in Love & War (1992) ended with the cancellation of the show, about which she remains resentful.- Actor
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Billy Ray Cyrus was born on 25 August 1961 in Bellefonte, Kentucky, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Hannah Montana: The Movie (2009), Mulholland Drive (2001) and The Spy Next Door (2010). He has been married to Firerose since 10 October 2023. He was previously married to Tish Cyrus and Cindy Smith.- Actress
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Chrishell Stause was born on 21 July 1981 in Draffenville, Kentucky, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Selling Sunset (2019), A Rose for Her Grave: The Randy Roth Story (2023) and Dancing with the Stars (2005). She has been married to G Flip since May 2023. She was previously married to Justin Hartley.- Music Artist
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Loretta Lynn was born on 14 April 1932 in Butcher Hollow, Kentucky, USA. She was a music artist and actress, known for The New Mutants (2020), High Crimes (2002) and Logan Lucky (2017). She was married to Oliver Lynn. She died on 4 October 2022 in Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, USA.- Actress
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Patty Loveless was born on 4 January 1957 in Pikeville, Kentucky, USA. She is an actress and composer, known for A Few Good Men (1992), Tin Cup (1996) and Patty Loveless: How Can I Help You Say Goodbye (1994). She has been married to Emory Gordy Jr. since 6 February 1989. She was previously married to Terry Lovelace.- Actress
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Rebecca Gayheart was born on 12 August 1971 in Hazard, Kentucky, USA. She is an actress and director, known for Jawbreaker (1999), Nothing to Lose (1997) and Urban Legend (1998). She has been married to Eric Dane since 29 October 2004. They have two children.- Actress
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Wynonna Judd was raised in various places across the country, beginning in her birth state of Kentucky. As her mother Naomi Judd continued pursuing her nursing career, the Judd family settled twice in California and later full-time in Kentucky. In 1979, Wynonna, Naomi and younger half-sister Ashley Judd settled in Franklin, Tennessee and began searching for a record deal in nearby Nashville. In 1983, an unprecedented sit-down audition with RCA Nashville was successful, and indicated great things to come for country's newest duo The Judds. Several years and awards later, Naomi announced that she had contracted Hepatitis C during her nursing career from a needle stick. Their final concert on December 4, 1991 indicated an end to country music's most influential duo, and a beginning for someone who would break new records within the industry. Wynonna's first solo album, 'Wynonna', sold over 5 million copies, a first in the industry. Today, Wynonna continues her successful recording career along with raising children Elijah Judd and Grace Pauline from her first marriage to Nashville's Arch Kelley.- Actress
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Naomi Judd was born on 11 January 1946 in Ashland, Kentucky, USA. She was an actress and producer, known for Someone Like You (2001), An Evergreen Christmas (2014) and Route 65 Nashville. She was married to Larry Strickland and Michael Charles Ciminella. She died on 30 April 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA.- Actor
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Brian Littrell was born on 20 February 1975 in Lexington, Kentucky, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Napoleon Dynamite (2004), Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001) and This Is the End (2013). He has been married to Leighanne Littrell since 2 September 2000. They have one child.- Actress
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Melissa Suzanne McBride (born May 23, 1965) is an American actress and former casting director, best known for her role as Carol Peletier on the AMC series The Walking Dead. McBride has garnered critical acclaim and received multiple awards and nominations for her role on the show.
McBride was born in Lexington, Kentucky to parents John Leslie McBride and Suzanne Lillian (née Sagley) (1937-2018). Her father owned his own business, and her mother studied at the historic Pasadena Playhouse. She had three siblings: John Michael (1957-1990), Neil Allen (1960-2008), and Melanie Suzanne (1962-2012).
McBride began her acting career in 1991, appearing in several television commercials for clients such as Rooms To Go; she was also a spokeswoman for Ford. She made her series television debut in a 1993 episode of ABC legal drama series Matlock, and later guest-starred in several other television drama series, including In the Heat of the Night; American Gothic; Profiler; Walker, Texas Ranger; and Dawson's Creek. In the last, she played Nina - a film buff who charms Dawson after his breakup with Jen - in the Season 1 episode "Road Trip" (1998) - and in 2003 returned to the series finale playing a different character.
In the 1990s, McBride had supporting roles in several made-for-television movies, such as Her Deadly Rival (1995) opposite Annie Potts and Harry Hamlin, Close to Danger (1997) with Rob Estes, Any Place But Home (1997), and Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999). In 1996, she appeared on the CBS miniseries A Season in Purgatory, based on Dominick Dunne's eponymous 1993 novel. From 2000 to 2010, she worked as a film and commercial casting director in Atlanta, Georgia and starred in several short films. In 2007, director Frank Darabont cast McBride as the "woman with the kids at home" in the ensemble-cast science-fiction horror film The Mist, alongside Thomas Jane, Laurie Holden, and Marcia Gay Harden. McBride was in contention for a bigger role in the film but did not want to take a significant amount of time away from her job as a casting director. The following year, she appeared in the Lifetime television movie Living Proof.
McBride's earlier relationship with Darabont led him to cast her as Carol Peletier in the AMC television drama series The Walking Dead - her biggest role to date. Peletier is a mid-forties widow and caring mother to preteen Sophia, fighting to survive in a violent post-apocalyptic world populated with flesh-eating zombies and the few surviving humans, some of whom are diabolical and even more dangerous than the zombies themselves. McBride did not audition for the role, which she thought was temporary. She was a recurring cast member in Season 1 and was promoted to series regular for Season 2. McBride's name appeared in the opening credits sequence beginning with the first episode of Season 4. Carol was supposed to have been killed off in the episode "Killer Within", but the producers eventually had a change of plans.
As the series progresses, McBride's character develops from being weak and dependent, into a strong, cunning, and loyal warrior. The direction of her character is contrasted between the two media. In the comic series, Carol is much younger and exhibits a neurotic, self-centered, and naive demeanor. Throughout her time in the comics, she grows increasingly unstable to the point of being self-destructive. The television show differs in these regards, as she is shown to be a stern, pragmatic, and compassionate individual who has been gradually building inner strength. Producers of the series, Scott M. Gimple and Robert Kirkman, said in 2014 that "Carol is her own unique character; it would be a disservice to Melissa McBride to say she's evolved into the Carol from the comics. The Carol in the TV show is a wholly original creation that we'll continue to explore on the show to great effect. Everyone in the writers' room loves that character, and we're thrilled with what Melissa has brought to the table. She has definitely become a character that is one to watch, and there's some really exciting stuff ahead for her."
McBride has received critical acclaim for her performance as Carol and won positive reviews from critics during Seasons 3, 4, and 5. Many critics praised McBride's performance in the Season 4 episode centered on her character, "The Grove". Others singled out Carol's actions in the Season 5 premiere, "No Sanctuary", which earned critical praise and positive fan reception. Despite the praise of some critics and a fan campaign, McBride did not receive a nomination for the 2014 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. However, she won the 40th Annual Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television, and was nominated for the 2014 Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in Season 4. In March 2015, McBride was nominated for a Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Leading Actress in a Television series, for her role as Carol. She once again won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television at the 41st Saturn Awards, for the second year in a row.- Music Department
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Born January 9, 1951, in Paintsville, Kentucky, Crystal Gayle moved with her family to Wabash, Indiana, when she was still quite young. Her music career was given a big boost by her older sister, country superstar Loretta Lynn. Loretta thought that Crystal's real name of Brenda Gail Webb was not quite "classy" enough, and after noticing a sign for the Krystal restaurant chain, she changed the "K" to a "C" and her sister became Crystal Gayle. She recorded her first hit song, "I've Cried the Blue (Right Out of My Eyes)", in 1970, which peaked at #23. In 1974 she signed with United Artists Records and producer Allen Reynolds. Over the next two years she released three albums and had several hit songs, including "This Is My Year for Mexico", "I'll Do It All Over Again", "Wrong Road Again" and "I'll Get Over You", her first #1. The next year, 1977, would prove to be a landmark year for her, with the release of her album "We Must Believe in Magic" and the worldwide smash hit, "Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue", which--along with her almost floor-length hair--made her a household name.
She had many more hits throughout the rest of the 1970s, including "Talking in Your Sleep", "Ready for the Times to Get Better" and "Half the Way". She continued into the 1980s with such hits as "If You Ever Change Your Mind", "Too Many Lovers", "The Woman in Me", "Til I Gain Control Again" and "The Sound of Goodbye". In 1982 she recorded a duet with Eddie Rabbitt, the acclaimed "You and I", which has become one of the most popular wedding songs ever. In 1985 she teamed up with Gary Morris to record the love theme for the prime-time soap opera Dallas (1978), called "Makin' Up For Lost Time", which turned into yet another #1 hit. Her other 1980s hits included "A Long and Lasting Love", "Nobody Wants to Be Alone", "Straight to the Heart", "Cry" and "Nobody's Angel". In 1987 she guest-starred on the daytime soap opera Another World (1964) for a week. She teamed up again with Gary Morris and turned out the hit "Another World", which was also used as the new theme song for the soap opera. Her career took somewhat of a downturn in the late 1980s and she released her last major single, "Never Ending Song of Love", which peaked at #72, in 1990. Since then she has released several more acclaimed albums and many hit compilations.- Actress
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- Director
Mary Sean Young was born on November 20, 1959 in Louisville, Kentucky. She is the daughter of Lee Guthrie (née Mary Lee Kane), an Emmy-nominated producer, screenwriter, public relations executive, and journalist, and Donald Young, Jr., an Emmy award winning television news producer and journalist. She has Irish, English, and Swiss-German ancestry. She grew up with an older brother Donald Young III and a sister Cathleen Young in Cleveland, Ohio. She attended Cleveland Heights High School, and then transferred to and graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy. A trained dancer, she studied at the School of American Ballet in New York City, and did some modeling. Sean Young began a promising film career by acting in a Merchant-Ivory film Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980) for Academy Award winning director James Ivory, She followed that up in the comedy hit film Stripes (1981) for Academy Award nominated producer-director Ivan Reitman. Soon, important directors were casting her in their films, such as Garry Marshall in Young Doctors in Love (1982), Academy Award nominee David Lynch in Dune (1984), and Academy Award nominee Ridley Scott in Blade Runner (1982) in what is her most respected film. 1987 was a big year for her, since she appeared in two big movies. Academy Award winner Oliver Stone cast her in the hit film Wall Street (1987). However, her other hit film No Way Out (1987), which involved a famous steamy scene in the backseat of a limousine with Kevin Costner, gave her star status. She was at the height of her fame, which led to her being cast as Vicky Vale in Batman (1989). She had an accident while she was training for the film. As a result, she lost the role to Kim Basinger for what turned out to be the biggest hit of 1989. Young put on a brave face and gamely moved on to do comedies Fatal Instinct (1993) for director Carl Reiner, and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994), the latter's box office success made Jim Carrey a star, who immediately landed the role of the Riddler in the Batman sequel. Mary Sean Young is living in Austin, Texas. She created a new business venture called Austin Film Tours. It is Austin's first and only film location tour.- Actor
- Soundtrack
- Director
Josh Dallas was born in Louisville Kentucky. At the age of sixteen, Josh received the Sarah Exley Scholarship, a full ride scholarship given to one American student every three years to study acting at the prestigious "Mountview Conservatoire for the Performing Arts" in London, England. As an actor, Josh has performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company, Royal National Theatre, The English National Opera, The New Shakespeare Company, The Young Vic, to name a few.- Justin Deeley was born on 1 February 1986 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. He is an actor, known for Geography Club (2013), Couples Retreat (2009) and Fear the Walking Dead (2015).
- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Since the start of his music career, Dwight Yoakam has proven he's more than just another guy with a guitar and a hat. He has risen from hot country star to being one of country music's biggest influences. While doing that, he has also become a critically acclaimed actor.
Dwight David Yoakam was born on October 23, 1956 in the coal mining community of Pikeville, Kentucky, to Ruth Ann (Tibbs), a key-punch operator, and David Yoakam, a gas-station owner. Soon after his birth, his family moved to Columbus, Ohio, where he was raised. As part of the Drama Club in his days at Northland High School in Columbus, he acted in school plays. He played Helen Keller's brother in his sophomore year in the school's production of "The Miracle Worker." He followed that his Junior year playing the lead as Charlie in "Flowers for Algernon." He capped off his high school acting career as Richard Bravo in The "Demon Seed." In 1977, Dwight moved to Nashville to pursue a career in music. At the time, Nashville was moving away from the traditional country sound that he was playing. After a brief time there, he moved to California, which was more receptive to the music he was doing. He hooked up with producer/guitar virtuoso Pete Anderson in 1982. That began a musical relationship that became country music's equivalent to rock's Glimmer Twins (Mick Jagger and Keith Richards).
Financial backing to make a high-quality recording came from Dwight's sister and brother-in-law, an insurance check that was meant to fix Dwight's El Camino and money raised from a benefit classical music concert staged by UCLA music professor Dr. Robert Winter. With the EP (extended play) that captured the "Dwight Yoakam sound." In1984, Dwight released the six-song EP "Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc." on the independent Oak label, and then hit the road with such artists as Los Lobos and Violent Femmes. Playing traditional country music, Dwight gained a following among not only country fans but punk rockers and rockabilly fans as well. This eclectic fan base brought him to the attention of many record labels. Warner Brothers signed him to its newly revived Reprise Record label in 1985. The EP's title and tracks were kept intact and more songs added to make a full album. At the time, country music was in the waning days of its Urban Cowboy (1980) phase, and fans of country were hungry for something "new." This new sound was a return to a more traditional style that had been abandoned when John Travolta put on a cowboy hat. After establishing himself in the music industry, Dwight set his sights on his second love, acting. In 1991 he appeared as a stuntman/country singer in an episode of P.S.I. Luv U (1991). This became the beginning of his professional acting career. In 1992, he appeared on the big screen for the first time in the Nicolas Cage/Dennis Hopper film Red Rock West (1993). In 1993, Dwight released what is considered his masterpiece, the album "This Time." He supported the album with a tour that lasted over a year and covered the world. In 1994, he received his first Grammy for the album's single, "Ain't That Lonely Yet." In 1996, he co-starred in Billy Bob Thornton's film Sling Blade (1996). His work as the evil Doyle Hargraves left audiences speechless and critics hailing his performance.
Dwight was included with the cast who were among the nominees for "Best Cast" by the Screen Actors Guild awards. As the 1990s drew to a close, Dwight proved that his music didn't have to suffer as he pursued more ventures into movies. While filming The Newton Boys (1998), he wrote what many consider his most personal album, "A Long Way Home." All the tracks were written solely by Dwight. He began 1999 with a Grammy win for his contribution to the track "Same Old Train" from the various artists' album "Tribute to Tradition." He then added two new items to his resume: director and screenwriter. In South of Heaven, West of Hell (2000), he not only starred, he made his directorial debut with a screenplay he authored. Dwight Yoakam continues to prove that he is able to successfully have careers in both film and music, without either profession suffering.- Actor
- Producer
Wes Robinson began his professional career with a move to Los Angeles and a recurring role on the late Dick Clark's American Dreams as Carl Sherwood. Over the years, Robinson has worked alongside Cameron Crowe, Adam Shankman, Adam Wingard, Bryan Cranston and Jean-Claude Van Damme to name a few. He is perhaps best known as Lane in Lionsgate's Blair Witch (2016) which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival that year. Steady television and film work continue to date.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Steve Kazee was born on 30 October 1975 in Ashland, Kentucky, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Shameless (2011), The Walking Dead (2010) and Nashville (2012).- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Trace Cyrus was born on 24 February 1989 in Ashland, Kentucky, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for The House Bunny (2008), Winged Creatures (2008) and Already Lucky (2018).- Writer
- Additional Crew
- Actress
Diane Sawyer was born on 22 December 1945 in Glasgow, Kentucky, USA. She is a writer and actress, known for ABC World News Tonight with David Muir (1953), 20/20 (1978) and Primetime (1989). She was previously married to Mike Nichols.- Actor
- Soundtrack
Miles Heizer was born on 16 May 1994 in Greenville, Kentucky, USA. He is an actor, known for Nerve (2016), Rails & Ties (2007) and Roman J. Israel, Esq. (2017).- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Michael Corbett Shannon was born and raised in Lexington, Kentucky, the son of Geraldine Hine, a lawyer, and Donald Sutherlin Shannon, an accounting professor at DePaul University. His grandfather was entomologist Raymond Corbett Shannon.
Shannon began his professional stage career in Chicago. His first acting role was in "Winterset" at the Illinois Theatre Center. Over the next several years, he continued working on the stage with such companies as Steppenwolf, The Next Lab and the Red Orchid Theatre. He subsequently relocated to London for a year, and performed on stage in London's West End in such productions as "Woyzeck", "Killer Joe" and "Bug".
While in Chicago, Shannon also kept busy in front of movie and television cameras, most notably in the big screen project Chicago Cab (1997), based on the long-running stage play "Hellcab". Kangaroo Jack (2003) marked the third Jerry Bruckheimer production in which Shannon has appeared. He also appeared in Bad Boys II (2003), directed by Michael Bay and starring Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, and in Grand Theft Parsons (2003), with Johnny Knoxville and Christina Applegate.
In addition, Shannon appeared in Pearl Harbor (2001), also directed by Bay. His other film credits also include Curtis Hanson's 8 Mile (2002); Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky (2001) with Tom Cruise; Carl Franklin's High Crimes (2002) with Morgan Freeman; John Waters' Cecil B. Demented (2000), and Joel Schumacher's war drama Tigerland (2000).- Actress
- Director
- Producer
Laura Bell Bundy was born on 10 April 1981 in Euclid, Ohio, USA. She is an actress and director, known for Jumanji (1995), Dreamgirls (2006) and Legally Blonde: The Musical (2007). She has been married to Thom Hinkle since 3 June 2017. They have one child.- Actor
- Director
- Composer
Kevin Scott Richardson was born on 3 October 1971 in Lexington, Kentucky, USA. He is an actor and director, known for Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius (2001), Sex, Lies, and Sugar (2011) and This Is the End (2013). He has been married to Kristin Richardson since 17 June 2000. They have two children.- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Eddie Montgomery was born on 30 September 1963 in Danville, Kentucky, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Old Henry (2021), Natalie: Goin' Crazy (AOL Sessions) (2006) and Best of CMT Music Awards (2009). He has been married to Jennifer Belcher since April 2014. He was previously married to Tracy Wells, Jo Cox and Jennifer Cain.- Troy Gentry was born on 5 April 1967 in Lexington, Kentucky, USA. He was married to Angie McClure and Kia Bradley Gentry. He died on 8 September 2017 in Medford, New Jersey, USA.
- Music Artist
- Actor
- Soundtrack
John Michael Montgomery was born on 20 January 1965 in Danville, Kentucky, USA. He is a music artist and actor, known for Maverick (1994), John Michael Montgomery: Sold (1995) and A Dog's Journey (2019). He has been married to Crystal White since 8 January 1996. They have two children.- Additional Crew
- Actor
- Writer
Born in Louisville, Kentucky - Mark grew up moving around the Midwest with extended stops in Michigan, Minnesota - where he also attended The University of Minnesota, and more recently Chicago, Illinois. His career in the entertainment industry began working for "The Oprah Winfrey Show," when a twist of fate led to Mark becoming one of the audience warm-up guys for the show - still one of his favorite gigs. Around this time he began studying improvisation at The Second City in Chicago before deciding to relocate to Los Angeles. Mark continued his training at the famed Beverly Hills Playhouse where he also starred in one acts for The Katselas Theatre Company. Some notable on-camera appearances along the way include the bong smoking adult party-goer in Superbad, the dreamer-husband in Kia's 2012 Superbowl spots with Adrianna Lima and Mötley Crüe, and network TV appearances on Love Bites, The Mentalist and CSI. His short film "The Ricochet," the first project he wrote in addition to starring in, was an official selection at the Los Angeles Shorts Film Festival and The Other Venice Film Festival. He is married to entertainment lawyer, Jennifer Provencher and lives in the Venice neighborhood of Los Angeles.- Ryan Phillips, born on September 2nd, 1986, from the city of Louisville, Kentucky, where he spent his formative years surrounded by a love for athletics. However, destiny had an exciting twist in store for him during his time at Western Kentucky University, where he discovered a profound passion for acting.
Fuelled by his newfound love for the craft, Ryan made a bold decision after graduating, embarking on a transformative journey to the bustling city of Los Angeles. Determined to make his mark in the entertainment industry, he set out to build an portfolio of credits, honed his skills through diligent classes, and fearlessly worked in the background to gain invaluable experience.
Off-screen, Ryan is a charismatic and approachable individual, radiating positivity and inspiring those around him with his tenacity and work ethic. As he sets his sights on reaching new heights, he remains grateful for the unwavering support of his friends, family, and the team that has been instrumental in shaping his journey. - Actress
- Director
- Soundtrack
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
- Soundtrack
Actress J. Smith-Cameron was born Jean Isabel Smith in Louisville, Kentucky, and raised in Greenville, South Carolina, the daughter of an architect. She was known simply as J. Smith by her fellow students at Florida State University School of Theatre program in the mid-1970s. Despite her age, she made for a completely believable teenage Anne Frank in "The Diary of Anne Frank", was a touching and memorable Helen Keller in "The Miracle Worker", was wonderfully bizarre as Honey in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" and demonstrated great skill and versatility in an all-female version of "The Taming of the Shrew". Smith's older sister, actress Jo Ann Smith (who later became a teacher), also attended FSU at the same time and performed in a production of the classic Iranian allegory, "The Butterfly" ("Shaparak Khanoom") by Bijan Mofid and directed by his actor/brother, Ardavan Mofid.
She made her film debut while studying at FSU, starring in the acclaimed low-budget production of Gal Young Un (1979), directed by Victor Nunez, who later directed Ulee's Gold (1997). The film, shot in Florida, starred and featured several fellow FSU alumni, including David Peck, Marc H. Glick, Tim McCormack, Gil Lazier (FSU acting teacher), and Randy Ser (who later won an Emmy as production designer for the Whitney Houston version of Cinderella (1997)). The film was not released until 1979, several years after her college graduation. Following college, she added the hyphenated Cameron to her moniker as both a tribute to her great-grandmother and to avoid confusion once she joined Actors' Equity.
As "J. Smith-Cameron", she made her Broadway debut as the crazy, suicidal "Babe" in Beth Henley's "Crimes of the Heart" (as a replacement). She went on to make an award-worthy New York impression with a Tony nomination for "Our Country's Good" (1991), winning an Outer Critics Circle award for "Lend Me a Tenor" (1989), and an Obie for her no-holds-barred performance in "As Bees in Honey Drown" (1997). Other stage successes have included "Wild Honey", "The Memory of Water", "Night Must Fall", "Tartuffe", and "After the Night and the Music".
Her TV and film work has become stronger and more frequent with each decade. She has shown that, even in the smallest role, she can draw attention to herself, as evinced by her hysterically funny bit as a sexual compulsive in the gay film Jeffrey (1995). She has played various wife and/or mother parts, some more stable than others, in such films as Mighty Aphrodite (1995), Harriet the Spy (1996) and The Rage: Carrie 2 (1999). She also had strong roles in TV guest spots on such shows as The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd (1987), in a recurring role, plus such East Coast-based television series as "The Equalizer", "Homicide: Life on the Street", "Spin City", and "Law & Order".
She met and married playwright/film writer Kenneth Lonergan. They have a daughter, Nellie, who was featured as Mabel, the secretary, in Lonergan's Oscar-nominated breakthrough play-turned-film You Can Count on Me (2000), which made film stars out of Laura Linney and Mark Ruffalo, and was particularly effective in Margaret (2011). Other film projects have included The First Wives Club (1996), In & Out (1997), Bittersweet Place (2005), Man on a Ledge (2012), Like Sunday, Like Rain (2014), and, most recently, True Blood (2008) (as a shape-shifter), as a tormented mother in Rectify (2013), and as "Gerri" in the social drama Succession (2018).- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Best-known to television audiences as Lily van der Woodsen on the hit show Gossip Girl, Kelly played the sophisticated, fashionable matriarch on the Upper East Side of Manhattan for all six seasons. Kelly is also known for her former roles in television shows Melrose Place, Homefront, and Brisco County Jr, and the film Scream 3. Her most recent projects include playing Laura Wyatt in the ABC hit series Quantico and an online talk show for The View.
Kelly is an advocate of multiple women's and children's charities including StepUp Women's Network and Healthy Child Healthy World, and she is currently a member of the Board of Directors for Free Arts NYC.- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Boyd Holbrook is an American actor and producer. He has appeared in films such as Milk (2008), Out of the Furnace (2013), Gone Girl (2014), A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014), Run All Night (2015) and in the Netflix series Narcos.
In 2007 Holbrook sent a screenplay to director Gus Van Sant, who was impressed enough to give him the role of Denton Smith for the movie Milk (2008).
In 2017 he starred in the film Logan alongside Hugh Jackman.- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Matt Long was born and raised in Winchester, Kentucky and started acting early on in school plays in elementary school. He continued to act throughout his college years and after graduating from Western Kentucky University, Matt moved to New York. While playing at the Williamstown Theater Fest in Massachusetts he was spotted by his current manager and soon after that he was set to star as alpha bro Jack McCallister in his television-debut in Jack & Bobby (2004). Matt currently resides in Los Angeles, loves the outdoors and enjoys hiking and backpacking when he is not working.- Actor
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- Producer
Comedian, actor and United States Marine Corps Reserve Lieutenant Colonel Robert Allen Riggle, Jr. was born April 21, 1970 in Louisville, Kentucky, to Sandra (Shrout) and Robert Allen Riggle, who worked in insurance. Riggle has amassed notable television credits and has also earned roles in many feature films, including The Lorax (2012) and 21 Jump Street (2012). After graduating from the University of Kansas with a B.A. in Theater and Film, Riggle joined the Marines and earned a Master's degree from Webster University in Public Administration. Riggle had intentions of becoming a Marine Corps pilot, but eventually left the military to pursue a career in comedy. A featured cast member on Saturday Night Live (1975) during the 2004/2005 season, Riggle then joined Comedy Central's The Daily Show (1996) in 2006 as a correspondent. Riggle's numerous television appearances, including credits on Arrested Development (2003), Chappelle's Show (2003), 30 Rock (2006) and The Office (2005) would lead to big-screen roles in Step Brothers (2008), The Hangover (2009) and The Other Guys (2010). When he is not on set or traveling across the United States performing stand-up comedy, Rob Riggle lives in Los Angeles.- Actor
- Producer
Kurt McKinney originally hails from Louisville, Kentucky. At the age of 21 he was already a black belt in taekwondo and an amateur kickboxing champion. He decided to become an actor and moved to Hollywood. He would go on to star in the 1985 film No Retreat, No Surrender as the lead. The film, one of the 1st Hong Kong-U.S. crossovers (written and directed by Corey Yuen), also starred the man who would become known as Van Dammage, Jean-Claude Van Damme as the main villain. The film was a sizable hit in the U.S. but Kurt didn't want to be typecast. Kurt went on to star on the soap General Hospital as Ned. This was after he was turned down for American Ninja because he was too young. He was offered to appear in American Ninja III-VI but he didn't like the idea of working on all the films in South Africa (he also turned down "No Retreat No Surrender 2: Raging Thunder" in 1987 possibly due to the film's location). Kurt went on to TV films like Sworn to Vengeance to big-screen films like Blonde Justice with Cynthia Rothrock. He currently appears on Guiding Light as Matt Reardon, but martial arts fans will always remember him from his film debut in 1985 as Jason Stillwell!- Writer
- Actor
- Producer
Silas House is the nationally bestselling author of six novels, including Clay's Quilt (2001), A Parchment of Leaves (2003), The Coal Tattoo (2005), Eli the Good (2009), Same Sun Here (with Neela Vaswani, 2012), and the most recent, Southernmost (2018). His nonfiction book, Something's Rising (with Jason Howard, 2009), is about mountaintop removal mining. House is the NEH Chair of Appalachian Studies at Berea College and is on the fiction faculty at the Spalding University MFA in Creative Writing. He has also served as an executive producer and consultant on films and has appeared in documentaries. He is a native of Southeastern Kentucky.- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Bram Hoover was born on 2 December 1983 in Corbin, Kentucky, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for 23 Blast (2014), California Heaven (2005) and Dirt (2007).- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Becky Ann Baker was born on 17 February 1953 in Fort Knox, Kentucky, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for A Simple Plan (1998), Men in Black (1997) and Spider-Man 3 (2007). She has been married to Dylan Baker since 6 September 1987. They have one child.- Actress
- Writer
Rebecca Budig was born on 26 June 1973 in Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for General Hospital (1963), All My Children (1970) and Getaway (2013). She has been married to Mike Benson since 2012. They have one child. She was previously married to Bob Guiney and Daniel Geller.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Rumer Glenn Willis was born August 16th, 1988, in Paducah, Kentucky, to actors Demi Moore and Bruce Willis. She was named after the British novelist Rumer Godden. She made her debut at the age of 5 in the movie Now and Then (1995) but was credited as Willa Glen. Her mother hired cameramen to video tape her birth.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Traci Lind was born on 1 April 1968 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Class of 1999 (1990), Bugsy (1991) and Fright Night Part 2 (1988). She has been married to Shakil Richardson since 27 February 1992. They have two children.- Marcy Walker has been married five times. Of her four divorces, three of them were over before she was thirty. Her first marriage was to actor Stephen Ferris, to whom she was briefly married in the early '80s. The blonde actress then married actor Billy Warlock, former Days of Our Lives (1965) star, in 1987. After that marriage crumbled, she found herself in the arms of cameraman Stephan Collins. They had a child together in 1989 and then married a year later. Sadly, however, that marriage even failed, and she was once again single. "I think everybody loves to be in love. But now I've come to the point where I say if I don't know what marriage is, I shouldn't be married," she said in response to her marital record. But even after saying this, Marcy married and divorced Robert Drew Primrose in 1997 and 1999, respectively. In 1999 she married her fifth husband (Doug Smith), to whom she is still married.
- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Maggie Lawson was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. When she was eight, she began appearing in local community and dinner theater productions, and at 10, she earned an on-air commercial gig at a Louisville TV station, which soon led to a steady six-year role as a TV personality who filed news reports targeted for her fellow kids. At 17, she moved to Los Angeles for her first professional TV appearance in a recurring role on the sitcom Unhappily Ever After (1995). She finished her senior year in high school with a correspondence course. In 2000, she starred in twin roles as a model and a nerdy student in the movie Model Behavior (2000). In her free time, she enjoys singing and songwriting.- Music Artist
- Actress
- Composer
Nicole Scherzinger was born on June 29, 1978 in Honolulu & raised in Louisville, Kentucky. While attending a performing arts high school, she won the Coca-Cola Classic Talent Contest & performed in many plays at The Actors Theatre of Louisville. She then furthered her studies, majoring in theater arts at Wright State University before joining the premiere season of WB's TV show Popstars (2000), where she earned the role of lead vocalist in the female pop group, Eden's Crush.
Outside of her work w/ The Pussycat Dolls, she recently performed w/ Japanese superstar Yoshiki at the Tokyo International Forum of Japan. She also had guest appearances on My Wife and Kids (2000) & Wanda at Large (2003). She also released a single, Breakfast in Bed out on Adam Sandler's 50 First Dates (2004) soundtrack.- Actor
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Stocky, genial-looking supporting actor Ned Beatty was once hailed by Daily Variety as the "busiest actor in Hollywood."
Ned Thomas Beatty was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to Margaret (Fortney) and Charles William Beatty. He grew up fishing and working on farms. His hometown of St. Matthews, Kentucky, is hardly the environment to encourage a career in the entertainment industry, though, so when asked, "How did you get into show business?" Beatty responded, "By hanging out with the wrong crowd." That "crowd" includes some of the industry's most prominent names, such as John Huston, Steven Spielberg, Robert Altman, Paul Newman, Richard Burton, Charlton Heston, Marlon Brando and Robert Redford.
Beatty garnered praise from both critics and peers as a dedicated actor's actor. He started as a professional performer at age ten, when he earned pocket money singing in gospel quartets and a barber shop. The big city and bright lights did not come easy, though. The first ten years of Beatty's career were spent at the Barter Theater in Abingdon, Virginia. He then moved on to the Erie Playhouse in Pennsylvania, the Playhouse Theater in Houston, Texas, and the prestigious Arena Stage Company in Washington, D.C. He was also a member of Shakespeare in Central Park, Louisville, Kentucky. Later, he appeared in the Broadway production of "The Great White Hope". At the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, he won rave reviews when he starred in "The Accidental Death of an Anarchist."
In 1971, Beatty was chosen by director John Boorman for the role of Bobby Trippe in the hit film/backwoods nightmare Deliverance (1972). Co-star Burt Reynolds and Beatty struck up a friendship, and Ned was then cast by Burt in several other films together, including White Lightning (1973), W.W. and the Dixie Dancekings (1975), and the abysmal Stroker Ace (1983). Ned's talents were also noticed by others in Hollywood and he was cast in many key productions of the 1970s turning in stellar performance, including an Academy Award nomination of Best Supporting Actor for his role in Network (1976). Beatty was also marvelous in Nashville (1975), under fire from a crazed sniper in The Deadly Tower (1975), an undercover FBI man in the action comedy Silver Streak (1976), as Lex Luthor's bumbling assistant, Otis, in the blockbuster Superman (1978) ... and he returned again with Gene Hackman to play Otis and Lex Luthor again in Superman II (1980).
Beatty continued to remain busy throughout the 1980s with appearances in several big budget television productions including The Last Days of Pompeii (1984). However, the overall caliber of the productions in general did not match up to those he had appeared in during the 1970s. Nonetheless, Beatty still shone in films including The Big Easy (1986) and The Fourth Protocol (1987). Into the 1990s, Beatty's work output swung between a mixture of roles in family orientated productions (Gulliver's Travels (1996), Back to Hannibal: The Return of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn (1990), etc.) taking advantage of his "fatherly" type looks, but he could still accentuate a hard edge, and additionally was cast in Radioland Murders (1994) and Just Cause (1995). His many other films include The Toy (1982), All the President's Men (1976), Wise Blood (1979), Rudy (1993), Spring Forward (1999), Hear My Song (1991) -- for which he earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor -- Prelude to a Kiss (1992), He Got Game (1998) and Cookie's Fortune (1999). Beatty's numerous television credits include three years on the NBC series Homicide: Life on the Street (1993), Streets of Laredo (1995) and The Boys (1993).
Beatty received an Emmy Award nomination for Best Actor for his performance in Friendly Fire (1979) opposite Carol Burnett, and a Best Supporting Actor nomination for Family Channel's Magic Hour: Tom Alone (1989). Other notable credits include The Wool Cap (2004), The Execution of Private Slovik (1974), A Woman Called Golda (1982), Pray TV (1982), the miniseries Robert Kennedy and His Times (1985), Lockerbie: A Night Remembered (1998) and T Bone N Weasel (1992). He also had a recurring role on Roseanne (1988) and performed musically on television specials for Dolly Parton and The Smothers Brothers.
In 2001, Beatty returned to his theatrical roots starring in London's West End revival production of Tennessee Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" with Brendan Fraser. He also appeared in the production on Broadway in 2003/2004 with Jason Patric and Ashley Judd. In 2006, Beatty completed three features to be released next year: The Walker (2007); Paul Schrader's film also starring Woody Harrelson, Kristin Scott Thomas and Lily Tomlin; Paramount Pictures' Shooter (2007) starring Mark Wahlberg; and Charlie Wilson's War (2007), Mike Nichols's film with Tom Hanks, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Julia Roberts. Also in the 21st century, Beatty turned out a terrific performance in the popular Where the Red Fern Grows (2003). Blessed with eight children, Ned Beatty enjoyed golf and playing the bass guitar. He gave himself until the age of 70 to become proficient at both. He died at age 83 of natural causes on June 13, 2021 in Los Angeles, California.- Actor
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Scrappy, plucky-looking Kentucky-born Tommy Kirk, who was born on December 10, 1941, became synonymous with everything clean and fun that Disney Entertainment prescribed to in the late 1950s and very early 1960s. One of four sons born to a mechanic, Louie, and legal secretary, Lucy, the Kirk family, in search of better job prospects, moved from Louisville to Downey, California while Tommy was still an infant. The boy's interest in acting was ignited at the age of 13 years when he (instead of older brother Joe) was cast in a minor role in a production of Will Rogers Jr. and Bobby Driscoll in a production of Eugene O'Neill's "Ah, Wilderness!" at the Pasadena Playhouse. Discovered by a Hollywood agent who saw him and signed him up, Tommy went on to appear in two other Pasadena theatre plays, Portrait in Black" and "Barefoot in Athens" and on TV ("Lux Video Theatre, "Frontier," "Big Town," "Gunsmoke" and "The Loretta Young Show") and film (Down Liberty Road (1956) and The Peacemaker (1956)). It was an episode of "Matinee Theatre" that brought the freshly-scrubbed All-American kid to the attention of mogul Walt Disney who quickly signed him to a long-term contract.
In 1955, the lad became a member of the The Mickey Mouse Club (1955) TV series and won a legion of young fans as the brush-cut haired, irrepressibly inquisitive young sleuth Joe Hardy in two "Hardy Boys" serials ("The Mystery of the Applegate Treasure," "The Mystery of the Ghost Farm") with Tim Considine, another young promising Disney staple, playing older brother Frank. With time Tommy became a prime juvenile Disney hero and ideal mischief maker for many of the studio's full-length comedy and drama classics, earning nationwide teen idol status for his exuberant work in Old Yeller (1957), The Shaggy Dog (1959), Swiss Family Robinson (1960), The Absent Minded Professor (1961), Babes in Toyland (1961), Bon Voyage! (1962), Moon Pilot (1962), Son of Flubber (1962) and The Misadventures of Merlin Jones (1964).
In 1963 the bubble completely burst when the Disney factory found out 21-year-old Tommy was in a relationship with an underage boy. He was also arrested on Christmas Eve in 1964 when a party he was attending was raided and busted for marijuana use. Although charges were dropped, it was too late. Fired from his role in the John Wayne western The Sons of Katie Elder (1965) as a result, the Disney studio, out of protection, was forced to release him from his contract, but not after rehiring him one more time to complete a "Merlin Jones" movie sequel entitled The Monkey's Uncle (1965)).
Tommy found very mild restitution after signing with AIP (American International Pictures) and appearing in such popular teen-oriented flicks as Pajama Party (1964), co-starring fellow Disney cohort Annette Funicello, and The Ghost in the Invisible Bikini (1966). He also began appearing on the musical stage as Harold Hill in "The Music Man," Riff in "West Side Story" and as the lead in "Tovarich." He also was lent out to do a lead in the mediocre cult sci-fi Embassy Picture Village of the Giants (1965). After leaving AIP, things got progressively worse for Tommy with a lead role in Trans American Film's It's a Bikini World (1967) -- by this time, beach party films were no longer trendy. Bargain basement fare such as Unkissed Bride (1966)_ (aka Mother Goose a Go-Go), UA's Track of Thunder (1967), Catalina Caper (1967) Mars Needs Women (1968), in which he played a Martian, and Blood of Ghastly Horror (1967) (aka Psycho a Go-Go) pretty much spelled as a leading man. Practically blacklisted by an industry that deemed "outed" gay actors "box office poison," he returned to the musical theatre in his home state of Kentucky with such shows as "Anything Goes" (as Moonface Martin), "Hello, Dolly!" (as Horace Vandergelder), "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" (as Marcus Lycus) and "Little Mary Sunshine" (as General Fairfax).
Following roles in the low budget 70s films Ride the Hot Wind (1973) and the unreleased My Name Is Legend (1975) as well as an isolated TV part on a 1972 episode of "The Streets of San Francisco," Tommy disappeared from the limelight. His life went into a seemingly irreversible tailspin. Depressed and angry, he sought solace in drugs and nearly died from an acute overdose at one point. For health reasons he felt the need to completely abandon his career and slowly moved himself forward as a recovering addict. On a very positive note, he was able to build a very successful carpet and upholstery cleaning company for himself ("Tommy Kirk's Carpet and Upholstery) in Southern California's San Fernando Valley. It stayed open for business for well over two decades.
After some time away, Tommy showed up again in Hollywood, glimpsed in a few dismissible low-budgeters here and there, including Streets of Death (1988), Attack of the 60 Foot Centerfolds (1995), Little Miss Magic (1998), Billy Frankenstein (1998), Club Dead (2000) and, his last to date, The Education of a Vampire (2001). He appeared in several documentary interviews for the DVD releases of some of his best known films and TV shows, and occasionally at film festivals and nostalgia convention/memorabilia fests. He lived in Las Vegas.- Wes Ramsey just completed a long run starring on the daytime hit, GENERAL HOSPITAL. He starred in the film DELIVERANCE CREEK and the series THE PLAYBOY CLUB. He has recurred on CSI: MIAMI, THE EVENT, and CHARMED and has guest starred on many shows including CODE BLACK, GREY'S ANATOMY, HOUSE, PRETTY LITTLE LIARS and HEROES. He starred in the independent films LAST SEEN IN IDAHO and PERCEPTION, and he can also be seen in the feature TWO PICTURES.
- In 1945 the Thompson family left Louisville and relocated to Miami, Florida, where Ron spent his formative years. At age 19, with $200 in his pocket, he headed to New York to pursue an acting career and within two years was performing in a live television drama on the Armstrong Circle Theater, opposite Robert Duvall.
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Keith Robinson was born in Kentucky and grew up in Greenville, South Carolina. He later moved to Augusta and graduated from Lakeside High School. He attended the University of Georgia and, while there, signed a recording contract with Motown Records, but that label never issued any of his material.
Robinson moved to Los Angeles and earned a starring role as Joel Rawlings, the Green Ranger in the TV series Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue. Robinson appeared in other series including ER (1994), American Dreams (2002), Monk (2002), Half & Half (2002), and Over There (2005).
Robinson's role as C.C. White in Dreamgirls (2006), which includes a Robinson-led version of the song "Family," appears to have been a breakout. He was subsequently cast in Comanche Moon (2008) now in post-production, in This Christmas (2007) now filming, The Apostles (2008) in pre-production and Caught on Tape (2011) now in production.- Actress
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Joan Osborne was born on 8 July 1962 in Anchorage, Kentucky, USA. She is an actress and composer, known for Vanilla Sky (2001), For Love of the Game (1999) and Nightcrawler (2014).- Music Artist
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Chris Stapleton was born on 15 April 1978 in Lexington, Kentucky, USA. He is a music artist and actor, known for The Predator (2018), The Midnight Sky (2020) and The Do-Over (2016). He has been married to Morgane Stapleton since 27 October 2007. They have five children.- Actress
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Born in rural Kentucky, she and her family relocated to Brooklyn, where her father worked as a businessman. Following her high school graduation, she was recommended to partake in a singing contest held by a local radio station from friends. She was so successful that she worked professionally as a singer during the Second World War, during which she was discovered. After breaking into films in 1945 she was often cast as best friends, starlets, good girls, and secretaries, in a three decade film and TV career. After leaving films in the 1960s, she spent her life dedicated to family and religious causes.- Actor
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Bobby Osborne was born on 7 December 1931 in Thousandsticks, Kentucky, USA. He was an actor, known for The Marty Stuart Show (2008), The Drifter (1965) and The Road to Nashville (1967). He was married to Karen. He died on 27 June 2023 in Gallatin, Tennessee, USA.- Actor
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Steve Zahn was born in Marshall, Minnesota, to Zelda, who worked at a YMCA, and Carleton Edward Zahn, a Lutheran pastor at Peace Lutheran Church, Robbinsdale, Minnesota. His career kicked off in his native Minnesota when he crashed the audition of a local stage production of "Biloxi Blues" and won the lead role. He next trained at American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, MA; then moved to New York City, where he won a role touring for 13 months in national company of Tommy Tune-directed version of "Bye Bye Birdie". Back in New York, he played opposite Ethan Hawke in "Sophistry" at Playwright's Horizon, where Ben Stiller noticed him and cast him and Hawke in Reality Bites (1994).- Producer
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Chris Hardwick was born on 23 November 1971 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. He is a producer and actor, known for Talking Dead (2011), @midnight (2013) and The Wall (2016). He has been married to Lydia Hearst since 20 August 2016. They have one child.- Music Artist
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Nick Lachey was born on 9 November 1973 in Harlan, Kentucky, USA. He is a music artist and actor, known for Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica (2003), Bewitched (2005) and Taking the Stage (2009). He has been married to Vanessa Lachey since 15 July 2011. They have three children. He was previously married to Jessica Simpson.- Music Artist
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Fiercely rooted in the classics, the girl who left her Kentucky home and high school at 16 to take a job at Dollywood has grown into a woman who embraces the genre's forward progression. GRAMMY® Award-winning singer-songwriter Carly Pearce lit a fire with her debut album Every Little Thing and the PLATINUM-certified history-making title track, and she hasn't slowed down since.
Pearce's 3x PLATINUM-certified "I Hope You're Happy Now" with Lee Brice won both the 2020 CMA Awards Musical Event and 2021 ACM Awards Music Event, plus ACM Single of the Year. Pearce, now a Grand Ole Opry and Kentucky Music Hall of Fame member, has come a long way from the pain she felt writing her critically acclaimed and commercially lauded third studio album 29 which includes Country Radio chart toppers "Never Wanted To Be That Girl" with Ashley McBryde and PLATINUM-certified "What He Didn't Do." For the PLATINUM-certified "Never Wanted To Be That Girl," Pearce picked up her second consecutive ACM Music Event of the Year in 2022 and marked the third duet between two solo women to top Billboard's Country Airplay chart. The song also took home the 2022 CMA Musical Event of the Year and won a GRAMMY® Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance, marking Pearce's first and making history as the first female pairing to win in the category.
In 2023, Pearce joined Blake Shelton's BACK TO THE HONKY TONK TOUR and made her 100th performance at the Grand Ole Opry. As she closed out that pivotal 29 chapter with her first live album 29: Written In Stone (Live From Music City), Pearce now steps into the next chapter of her musical career with the praised release of her latest Top-20-and-rising single "we don't fight anymore" (featuring Chris Stapleton), which earned her second GRAMMY® nomination for Best Country Duo/Group Performance. Pearce went on to release "country music made me do it," to critical acclaim, performing the song at the first annual People's Choice Country Awards and on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Last Fall, Pearce wrapped her headline Country Music Made Me Do It Tour, connecting with her fans all across the country. This March, Pearce will join Tim McGraw's 2024 Standing Room Only Tour as direct support. Pearce will release her highly anticipated fourth album, hummingbird, on June 14, continuing to resonate with her honest lyrics and timeless musicality.- Actor
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American character actor and teacher. Born Jewel Guy in Powderly, Kentucky, on July 26, 1926, he was orphaned at three and adopted by Armen and Essa Knowland Best, who renamed him James Knowland Best and raised him in Corydon, Indiana. Following high school he worked briefly as a metalworker before joining the Army during World War II in July 1944. The majority of his service was as an MP in Wiesbaden, Germany just after the end of the war. While still in Germany, Best was transferred to Special Services and began his acting career. According to Best, he first acted in a European tour of "My Sister Eileen" directed by Arthur Penn. Upon his return to the U.S., he toured in road and stock companies in plays and musicals, and was finally spotted by a scout from Universal Pictures, who put him under contract. A handsome young man, his rural inflections perhaps kept him from frequent leading man roles. During the 1950s and '60s, he was a familiar face in movies and television in a wide range of roles, from Western bad guys to craven cowards and country bumpkins. Physical ailments curtailed his work for a long period late in his career, and he established a well-respected acting workshop in Los Angeles. He also served as artist-in-residence at the University of Mississippi, teaching and directing. He worked in both acting and producing capacities for Burt Reynolds on several of the latter's films in the late 1970s, before taking on his greatest commercial success. Although the The Dukes of Hazzard (1979) TV series was far beneath his talents, his role as Sheriff Rosco Coltrane was the part that gave him his greatest fame. He continued teaching, both in Hollywood and later in Florida (at the University of Central Florida). Semi-retired, he makes personal appearances and exhibits his paintings. James Best starred in the 2007 feature film, Moondance Alexander (2007), along with Don Johnson, Lori Loughlin, Kay Panabaker, Sasha Cohen and Whitney Sloan.- Actor
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As a rule, W. Earl Brown does not usually speak of himself in the third-person, however the Internet Movie Database will not accept biographical information written in the first person, therefore:
W Earl Brown was born and raised in western Kentucky. Realizing early in life that he had an aversion to manual labor, he knew that farming life was not for him. He could spend entire afternoons jumping gullies and climbing trees playing Cowboy or Soldier but the drudgery of having to attend to chores was not a strong suit of young Earl's. The first theater he ever attended was on his grandparents' front porch, where, in following family tradition, they would entertain themselves after a day's work with songs and stories. He was much better suited to that part of Kentucky farm life rather than the fields and barns.
In high school, Earl was actively involved in forensic competition where his coach fired a competitive spirit and taught his students the value of hard work and sacrifice. It was during those years, Earl's love of movies blossomed and he first had the dream of working in films; however, at that point in his life such an idea seemed impossible to achieve. The first in his family to go to college, Earl took an acting class on a whim at Murray State University and it was in that class that he found his Calling. He began performing in numerous productions on campus. It was in a production of "That Championship Season" in 1984 that he first had the experience of craft being elevated to art, and due to that, he was hooked.
Earl received his MFA from DePaul University's Theatre School in 1989. After graduation, he performed in numerous plays around Chicago. His first job on a film set was teaching dialect on Backdraft (1991). Not long after that, his performance in "A View From the Bridge" at the Steppenwolf Theatre catapulted his career as an actor into television and film. He landed numerous roles and within a couple of years had hit the proverbial glass ceiling. In 1993, he relocated to Los Angeles and started over.
Wes Craven was an early supporter, casting Earl in New Nightmare (1994), A Vampire in Brooklyn (1995) and the role of "Kenny" in the classic, Scream (1996). Two years after the success of Scream, Earl played "Warren", Cameron Diaz's mentally challenged brother, in There's Something About Mary (1998). Among his many other film credits are the highly regarded films: Being John Malkovich (1999), The Master (2012), The Sessions (2012), Wild (2014), Black Mass (2015), and the Netflix hits - The Highwaymen (2019) and The Unforgivable (2021).
On television, Earl has guest starred in many series, including: The Mandalorian (2019), Luck (2011), Seinfeld (1995), American Horror Story (2011), Justified (2009), X-Files (2002), Six Feet Under (2001), and NYPD Blue (2000 & 2005). Among the TV movies he has been involved with, was the starring role in VH1's Meatloaf: To Hell and Back (2000). He played "Tom Carlin" in ABC's highly acclaimed anthology series American Crime (2015) and "Teague Dixon" in HBO's True Detective (2015). He is probably best known as "Dan Dority" in HBO's Deadwood (2003). During that series' second season, the show's creator, David Milch, invited him to join the writing staff. In 2007, Earl earned a WGA nomination for writing on a drama series and a SAG nomination for best drama ensemble acting. Establishing himself on a show as critically lauded as Deadwood opened doors for other writing projects, including the Sony release, Bloodworth (2011), which Earl wrote and produced.
In addition to his television and film work, Earl co-starred in Sony's The Last Of Us, 2013 Video Game Of The Year. He also writes music and records with Sacred Cowboys, an LA based Americana band. In 2018, he combined his love of music and film by co-creating the short film, Dad Band, which racked up 1.3 million views on YouTube.
One other thing of note, because W. Earl Brown gets asked it often and it seems as hoity-toity as speaking of himself in the third person: The "W" was added to his name upon joining the Screen Actors Guild. The guild has a rule that actors can not have the same name as another actor. He was told that there was an "Earl Brown" and a "William Brown", hence he became W. Earl Brown (a name he remembered from the label of an Elvis Presley record)... Then when his recording work in Sacred Cowboys necessitated his joining the songwriter's rights association, ASCAP, (where songwriter W. Earl Brown was represented) he had to become "William Earl Brown." It's confusing - he knows.- Music Department
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John Howard Carpenter was born in Carthage, New York, to mother Milton Jean (Carter) and father Howard Ralph Carpenter. His family moved to Bowling Green, Kentucky, where his father, a professor, was head of the music department at Western Kentucky University. He attended Western Kentucky University and then USC film school in Los Angeles. He began making short films in 1962, and won an Academy Award for Best Live-Action Short Subject in 1970, for The Resurrection of Broncho Billy (1970), which he made while at USC. Carpenter formed a band in the mid-1970s called The Coupe de Villes, which included future directors Tommy Lee Wallace and Nick Castle. Since the 1970s, he has had numerous roles in the film industry including writer, actor, composer, producer, and director. After directing Dark Star (1974), he has helmed both classic horror films like Halloween (1978), The Fog (1980), and The Thing (1982), and noted sci-fi tales like Escape from New York (1981) and Starman (1984).- Hagen Mills was born on 9 August 1990 in Murray, Kentucky, USA. He was an actor, known for Baskets (2016), Swedish Dicks (2016) and Bonnie & Clyde: Justified (2013). He died on 19 May 2020 in Mayfield, Kentucky, USA.
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Matt Hobbie was born on 12 December 1974 in Murray, Kentucky, USA. He is an actor and writer, known for Crazy/Beautiful (2001), Summer Catch (2001) and Flipped the Script (2017).- Actor
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Seth Morrison was born on 30 November 1973 in Murray, Kentucky, USA. He is an actor, known for Deep Winter (2008), Who You Know (1998) and The Ordinary Skier (2011).- Actor
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Colton Ryan was born on 10 June 1995 in Lexington, Kentucky, USA. He is an actor, known for The Girl from Plainville (2022), Poker Face (2023) and Dear Evan Hansen (2021).- Actress
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Jennifer was born in Kentucky. Her mother is Catherine Mitchell and her father is Robert Carpenter.
She attended St. Raphael the Archangel and then Sacred Heart Academy. During her last two years of high school, she studied drama at the Walden Theatre in Louisville, Kentucky. She then trained at the Juilliard School in New York City. In 2002, before she graduated, she made her Broadway debut in the revival of Arthur Miller's "The Crucible", starring Liam Neeson and Laura Linney.
Her breakthrough film role was "Emily Rose" in The Exorcism of Emily Rose (2005). She won a MTV Movie Award for "Best Frightened Performance" and a Hollywood Life Breakthrough Award. She was also named "Breakout Performer" at the 2006 Scream Awards.
In 2006, she cast as Dexter's adoptive sister in Showtime's Dexter (2006). Here, she met her first husband, Michael C. Hall.
In 2011, she starred in the off-Broadway play, "Gruesome Playground Injuries", at Second Stage Theatre and had a guest appearance on the CBS drama, The Good Wife (2009).
In January, 2014, it was announced that Carpenter will star in a new ABC drama Sea of Fire (2014), playing "FBI Agent Leah Pierce". However, the show was not picked into series.
In August, 2014, it was announced that she will provide the voice of "Juli Kidman" in the survival horror video game, The Evil Within (2014), marking her first video game appearance. The game was released in October 2014.- Actress
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Ashley was born in Louisville, Kentucky but was raised in Orlando, Florida. Often playing the antagonist, Ashley played Muffy, the popular nemesis on That's So Raven. Besides acting, Ashley loves to design and make clothes. Ashley's parents are Tony and Sharon Drane. She also has three siblings, Michael, Tara and Taylor.- This Kentucky native began her career in her home state and abroad in Europe, singing with The Kentucky Ambassadors of Music. Sarah attended Seneca High School in Kentucky. Discovered by a modeling agent, Sarah moved to Chicago where her career took off.
In 2011, Wright began a recurring role in the CBS mid-season replacement comedy series Mad Love (2011), and maintained a small recurring role as Millicent Gergich on the NBC show Parks and Recreation (2009). In 2014, she co-starred alongside Casey Wilson and Ken Marino in the short-lived NBC sitcom Marry Me (2014). In 2017, she starred alongside Tom Cruise in the action biography American Made (2017). - Actor
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Will Chase is a Tony-Nominated, critically acclaimed actor, singer, director and producer who can currently be seen opposite Tom Holland on the Apple TV + limited series THE CROWDED ROOM. As a director he most recently released his award-winning short films TRUNK SHOW (Winner-BEST SHORT FILM-Ridgewood International Film Festival) and DAGGER (Winner-BEST SCORE-Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival), both of which he wrote and directed. Recent acting credits include Hulu's DOPESICK, Peacock's GIRLS 5EVA, Amazon Prime's BOSCH: LEGACY, and YouTube Premium/Amazon Prime's IMPULSE. Best known as country star "Luke Wheeler" on ABC's NASHVILLE, he also starred in the ABC drama TIME AFTER TIME. His other television appearances include recurring roles on Netflix's STRANGER THINGS, HBO's SHARP OBJECTS, FX's AMERICAN CRIME STORY: THE ASSASSINATION OF GIANNI VERSACE, HBO's THE DEUCE, MADAM SECRETARY, QUANTICO, CBS's THE GOOD WIFE, FX's RESCUE ME, and as Michael Swift on NBC's Broadway-inspired SMASH, as well as appearances on BLUE BOODS, WHITE COLLAR, PAN AM, ROYAL PAINS, and LAW AND ORDER: CRIMINAL INTENT. Film credits include the upcoming AFTER THE WEDDING, BUTTERFLIES OF BILL BAKER (BEST ACTOR-Chain NYC Film Festival), FOUR SINGLE FATHERS, and SHAFT.
Known as one of Broadway's "most versatile leading men", he received the 2013 Tony Award Nomination and Outer Critics Circle Award Nomination for BEST FEATURED ACTOR IN A MUSICAL for his portrayal of John Jasper in the Broadway revival of THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD. His other Broadway credits include KISS ME KATE, SOMETHING ROTTEN, BILLY ELLIOT, AIDA, LENNON, NICE WORK IF YOU CAN GET IT, HIGH FIDELITY, THE FULL MONTY, MISS SAIGON, and Roger in RENT, which was captured on the big screen in RENT: FILMED LIVE ON BROADWAY.
Will can be heard on several Original Broadway Cast Recordings as well as three seasons of cast albums for the show NASHVILLE. He has performed all over the world and has sung with the renowned New York Pops at Carnegie Hall, the Cincinnati Pops, and the Colorado Symphony. Having studied conducting with world-renowned conductor Robert Spano, Will has premiered countless compositions, and has worked and performed with some of the most important composers and musical luminaries in the world, including John Adams, Michael Daugherty, Gunther Schuller, Lorin Maazel, and John Cage.
Born and raised in rural Kentucky, Chase trained as a percussionist, conductor, and actor, and received his degree from the Oberlin Conservatory of Music in Oberlin, Ohio. He has two daughters, Daisy and Gracie, and calls Brooklyn, New York, home.- Actress
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Ciara Bravo has become one of the few actresses working today to move easily between television and film. Ciara's acting career has brought her roles that range from the girl next door brainiac to the deeply troubled adolescent. Her finesse with subtle off-beat humor and a touch of warmth adds to Ciara's allurement as an actress.
Next up, Ciara is co-starring in the YouTube RED series, Wayne as troubled and defiant Del. Ciara's two breakout television roles were as a series-regular in FOX's Second Chance and as a co-star in FOX's Red Band Society. She has landed the recent guest starring characters in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and NCIS.
Ciara will soon be seen in the Sundance-nominated film The Long Dumb Road as Ashly, the rebellious daughter of Casey Wilson. In Marti Noxon's film To the Bone, she plays Tracey a teen battling Bulimia. Her cameo appearance of Neighbor's 2 - Sorority Rising Ciara brought her All-American charm.
Ciara began her acting career at the young age of nine in local television commercials in her small hometown in Northern Kentucky, just ten miles south of Cincinnati, Ohio. Voice-over and commercial acting became her staple until, at only 11- years -old, she was discovered from an audition tape to play Katie Knight on Nickelodeon's hit show Big Time Rush. As Ciara's fan base grew, Nickelodeon cast her in several television movies including the lead in Jinxed. Ciara's audience appeal helped Nickelodeon's Jinxed to achieve record-breaking network viewership ratings.
Ciara studied acting with Larry Moss during his Master Class Workshop and continues to study with Aaron McPhearson. She strives to maintain her small town charm and works not to make acting the "be-all and end-all." To further her acting career, Ciara has chosen to put her dream of being a documentary filmmaker and director on hold and deferred her admission to film school. In the meantime, she plans to gain as much knowledge for the craft by watching and learning from those in the business that she has the privilege to work alongside. In her past-time, Ciara enjoys studying art history and has enrolled in art history classes through UCLA.- Actor
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John Hensley was born in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. He is an actor and director, known for Nip/Tuck (2003), Teeth (2007) and Shutter (2008).- Producer
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Ben Bailey was born on 30 October 1970 in Bowling Green, Kentucky, USA. He is a producer and actor, known for Ca$h Cab (2005), Don't Shoot the Pharmacist! (2008) and One Life to Live (1968). He was previously married to Laurence Izard.- Kendall Applegate was born on 12 March 1999 in Versailles, Kentucky, USA. She is an actress, known for Desperate Housewives (2004), Opposite Day (2009) and Ranger Rob: The Movie (2010).
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- Producer
Devlin is an actor best known for his endearingly oddball energy and his dynamic and powerful performances across stage and screen. He is also known as the sensationally entertaining host of the comedy podcast Faux Real on Wilder Entertainment having welcomed guests across the industry and pop culture including Patrick Brammall, Nova Miller, Vir Das, Britney Young, Shadi Petosky, Caroline Kepnes, Tiffany and Simmi Singh.
Devlin was born on December 10 (year undisclosed) in Covington, KY. He studied theatre at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville just over the river from St. Louis, MO where he worked on hundreds of set from 2005 to 2011. In 2012, he transitioned to Los Angeles where he quickly began appearing in a number of series across NBC, ABC, FOX, HBO, Showtime, and FX.
Besides working professionally as an actor since 2005, he can be seen on stage as a standup at venues throughout Los Angeles including the Comedy Store, the Laugh Factory, and Flappers. He is also a talented voiceover actor having voiced an array of characters across TV, film, and streaming.
He resides in Los Angeles where he is continually making his mark in the industry as an actor, producer, comedian, host, and voiceover talent.- Talent Agent
- Actor
- Casting Department
Chad Broskey (born July 3, 1987) is an American actor/singer/dancer. He appeared as Gavin in an episode for The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. He also co-starred in Read It and Weep opposite Kay Panabaker as Marco Vega and appeared in the Scrubs episode Their Story as The Todd's fantasy son Rod. Recently, Chad appeared in an episode of Wizards of Waverly Place as one of the football players that helps Justin take down The Answer Man.
Chad also has a strong musical theatre background and has been seen on stages across the country in shows such as Legally Blonde: The Musical (Warner Huntington III), and Hairspray (Link Larkin). He has also performed on board Norwegian Cruise Line's ship, the Norwegian Getaway as a production cast principle in Legally Blonde, Wine Lovers and Burn The Floor.- Tim Couch was born on 31 July 1977 in Hyden, Kentucky, USA. He is an actor, known for Arli$$ (1996), NFL Monday Night Football (1970) and The NFL on CBS (1956). He has been married to Heather Kozar since 26 February 2005. They have two children.