List of Famous Mononymous People (Famous People Known By One Name)
This is a list for all famous people whose stage names or legal names are a single word; a mononym. From religious figures like Cometan to singers like Adele to Madonna, the mononymous club keeps growing, but still remains exclusive.
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The remarkable, hyper-ambitious Material Girl who never stops re-inventing herself, Madonna has sold over three hundred million records and CDs to adoring fans worldwide. Her film career, however, is another story. Her performances have consistently drawn scathing or laughable reviews from film critics, and the films have usually had tepid, if any, success at the box office. Born Madonna Louise Ciccone in August 1958 in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York in 1978 and studied with renowned choreographer Alvin Ailey, joined up with the Patrick Hernandez Revue, formed a pop/dance band called Breakfast Club and began working with then-boyfriend Stephen Bray on recording several disco-oriented songs. New York producer/D.J. Mark Kamins passed her demo tapes to Sire Records in early 1982 and the rest is history. The 1980s was Madonna's boom decade, and she dominated the music charts with a succession of multimillion-selling albums, and her musical and fashion influence on young women was felt around the globe. Madonna first appeared on screen in two low-budget films marketed to an adolescent audience: A Certain Sacrifice (1979) and Vision Quest (1985). However, she scored a minor cult hit with Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) starring alongside spunky Rosanna Arquette. Madonna's next effort with then husband Sean Penn, Shanghai Surprise (1986), was savaged by critics, although the resilient star managed to somewhat improve her standing with her next two films, the offbeat Who's That Girl (1987) (although she did receive decidedly mixed reviews, they weren't as negative as those of her previous effort) and the quirky Damon Runyon-inspired Bloodhounds of Broadway (1989). The big-budget and star-filled Dick Tracy (1990) had her playing bad girl "Breathless Mahoney" flirting with Warren Beatty, but the epic failed to catch fire at the box office. Taking an earthier role, Madonna was much more entertaining alongside Tom Hanks and Geena Davis in A League of Their Own (1992), a story about female baseball players during W.W.II. However, she again drew the wrath of critics with the sexy whodunit Body of Evidence (1992). Several other minor screen roles followed, then Madonna starred as Eva Perón in Evita (1996), a fairly well received screen adaptation of the hugely successful Broadway musical, for which she received a Golden Globe for Best Actress. The Material Girl stayed away from the movie cameras for several years, returning to co-star in the lukewarm romantic comedy The Next Best Thing (2000), followed by the painful Swept Away (2002). If those films weren't bad enough, she was woefully miscast as a vampish fencing instructor in the James Bond adventure Die Another Day (2002). After finally admitting that her acting days were over, Madonna began a directing career in 2008 with the barely remembered Filth and Wisdom (2008) and a year later she reunited with Madonna: Truth or Dare (1991) director Alek Keshishian to develop a script about the relationship between the Duke of Windsor and the Duchess of Windsor that led to his abdication in 1936: the result, a movie named W.E. (2011), starring James D'Arcy and Andrea Riseborough as the infernal but still royal couple, was released in 2011 to lukewarm critics but it gathered one Oscar nomination for costumes and won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song for "Masterpiece".- Producer
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Founder of Astronism, philosopher and astrotheologian, lecturer, human rights scholar and specialist in freedom of religion or belief, Cometan was born Brandon Reece Taylor (later changed to Taylorian) in Preston in the county of Lancashire in England to hair salon owner Janet Louise Richardson (née Warbrick; later Counsell) and business owner Seán Frederick Taylor. Both his mother and father are of English ancestry. Cometan's ascent to fame began when, at age fifteen, he began to found a new religion that would come to be called Astronism. Before beginning to write seriously the first great Astronist treatise called the Omnidoxy, Cometan wrote mystery stories centring on a London teenager named Jesse Millette, an ideal young male hero figure during a futuristic age in which the human exploration of outer space has greatly advanced. Cometan's Jesse Millette books have since come to compliment and act as an auxiliary vehicle for his fundamental Astronist messages. During the period beginning when he was fifteen, Cometan began to experience an alarming amount ideations about the nature, function and destiny of humanity in the astronomical world. These ideations snowballed into writings strange and stupefying, climaxing with Cometan's experience of several astral ecstasies during his young adult years. Based on these deeply personal and thematically astral experience, Cometan began writing the Omnidoxy when he was seventeen years old. Upon the book's completion, which is now referred to as the "founding treatise of Astronism", it had grown to over 1.7 million words. The Omnidoxy gives an exposition of the Astronist view of existence and humanity's place within The Cosmos as Astronists should see it. Omnidoxical literature is both poetic and religious, sometimes difficult to follow and grasp, with a multitude of layered meanings ornamented with rich text throughout. The Omnidoxical treatise is a grand introduction to the Astronist belief system and its upcoming successor the Astrodoxy, which has already been dubbed the "central text of Astronism", continues on this tradition of writing over grand vistas of cosmic metaphor and transcensional instruction.
Cometan is blessed with a large family, the influence of whom over Cometan's founding of Astronism isn't to be understated, however, only small snippets are verifiably attributed to Cometan's family members and are only ever described as inspirational in order to preserve the sole development of Astronism to Cometan's original ideas and revelations. Cometan had two sets of grandparents whom he was more close to in different periods of his life. His paternal grandparents, Derrick and Irene Mary Taylor, were closer to Cometan during his childhood years especially his grandmother, Irene, a mother to ten children and a devout Roman Catholic whom instilled a strict religiosity into her grandchildren; it was this large presence of religion in his childhood that Cometan later attributed to his deep interests in exploring theology and philosophy. In his later years, after his paternal grandparents both passed away and his father's side of the family became bitterly divided over inheritance issues, Cometan became closer to his maternal grandparents, Hilda and William "Bill" Warbrick. After his parents' separation when he was four, Cometan's father remarried 7 years later and had five other children (Kieran Taylorian, Kent Taylorian, Zara Taylorian, Jay Taylorian, and Edie Taylorian), and his mother also remarried ten years later and had her second daughter after Lucia Natalie Richardson named Charlotte Sophia Louise Counsell.Cometan has been mononymous from the age of nineteen.- Music Artist
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Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (born May 5, 1988) is a British singer-songwriter who has sold millions of albums worldwide and won a total of 15 Grammys as well as an Oscar. Adele's first two albums, 19 and 21, earned her critical praise and a level of commercial success unsurpassed among her peers. After becoming a mom in 2012, Adele returned to the charts with the ballad "Hello" in 2015, the lead single from what was dubbed her comeback album 25. In 2017 she won five Grammys for her work on 25, including album, record and song of the year.Early on, Adele developed a passion for music. She gravitated toward the songs of Lauryn Hill, Mary J. Blige and Destiny's Child. But her true, eye-opening moment came when she was 15 and she happened upon a collection of Etta James and Ella Fitzgerald records at a local shop. "There was no musical heritage in our family," Adele told The Telegraph in a 2008 interview. "Chart music was all I ever knew. So when I listened to the Etta James and the Ella Fitzgerald, it sounds so cheesy, but it was like an awakening. I was like, oh, right, some people have proper longevity and are legends. I was so inspired that as a 15-year-old I was listening to music that had been made in the '40s."While clearly bright, Adele wasn't oriented towards traditional classroom settings. Instead, her mother enrolled her in the BRIT School for Performing Arts & Technology, which counts Amy Winehouse as an alum.While at school, Adele cut a three-track demo for a class project that was eventually posted on her MySpace page. When executives at XL Recordings heard the tracks, they contacted the singer and, in November 2006, just four months after Adele had graduated school, signed her to a record deal.
Adele has recorded a total of three studio albums since the beginning of her career in 2008: 19, 21 and 25.
'19' (2008) Adele's debut album, 19, which is named for the singer's age when she began recording the project, went on sale in early 2008. Led by two popular lead singles, "Adele: Hometown Glory (2009)" and "Adele: Chasing Pavements (2008)" the record rocketed Adele to fame. Released in the United States through Columbia Records, 19 resonated with American audiences, much as it had with British music fans. Adele cemented her commercial success with an appearance in October 2008 on Saturday Night Live (2016). At the taping of the show, the album was ranked No. 40 on iTunes. Less than 24 hours later, it was No. 1.
'21' (2011) Adele's much anticipated follow-up album, 21, again named for her age at the time of recording, did not disappoint upon its release in early 2011. Tapping even deeper into Adele's appreciation for classic American R&B and jazz, the record was a monster hit, selling 352,000 copies within its first week. Anchored by hits like "Adele: Rolling in the Deep (2010)" and "Adele: Someone Like You (2011)" 21 placed Adele in rarified air. In February 2011, she found herself with two Top 5 singles and a pair of Top 5 albums in the same week, becoming the only artist besides The Beatles and 50 Cent to achieve that milestone. And with 21 staying at No. 1 for 11 weeks, Adele also broke the solo female artist record previously held by Madonna's Immaculate Collection for consecutive weeks atop the album charts. 21 went on to sell more than 30 million copies worldwide.
'25' (2015) On October 22, 2015, Adele announced that she would release her third album, 25, in November. She posted 25's cover on Instagram, and said of her first full-length studio project in several years: "My last record was a break-up record, and if I had to label this one, I would call it a make-up record. Making up for lost time. Making up for everything I ever did and never did. 25 is about getting to know who I've become without realizing. And I'm sorry it took so long but, you know, life happened." 25, released in November 2015, is a collection of emotional, sometimes plaintive songs looking at the ins and outs of relationships, owing much of its sound to traditional pop craft. The album went on to become an international smash hit, reaching No. 1 on iTunes in 110 countries. In the U.S., 25 sold 3.38 million copies in seven days, beating the 'NSync record of 2.42 million album copies sold in a week. Among other feats, 25 is also the only album to reach a million copies sold in the U.K. in 10 days.- Writer
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Born between January 13 and January 15 of the year 1622, from a 25yo tapestry-maker, Jean Poguelin (who worked for the King of France from 1631), and a 20yo woman, Marie Cresé, in Paris, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin lost his mother when he was 10. From 1638 to 1640, he studied in the Jesuit college of Clermont, then started a brief lawyer career and pursued his father's work under Louis XIII, especially in Narbonne, until the King's death in 1643, when Jean-Baptiste co-founded L'Illustre Théâtre, installed at the jeu de paume des Métayers (faubourg Saint-Germain, Paris). He chose his nom-de-plume Molière in 1644 but his company had some financial difficulties due to a lack of success: Molière was imprisoned twice in 1645 for debts. The troupe moved several times in different parts of France (Lyon, Grenoble, Dijon, Narbonne...) and they became the troupe of the Prince de Conti in 1653 (in Pézenas, Languedoc).
In 1654, Molière presented his first play, "L'Etourdi", in Lyon, then "Le Dépit amoureux" in Béziers in 1656. But the same year the troupe lost its grants from de Conti, who was becoming extremely unfavorable to theater creation. Back to Paris in 1658, under the protection of the King's brother, they played "Nicomède" and "Le Docteur amoureux" at the Vieux-Louvre in front of the King (Louis XIV) and his court. Louis XIV offered Molière to play at the Petit-Bourbon where his first 2 plays eventually had great success. In 1659, Molière presented his third play, "Les Précieuses Ridicules". After his younger brother's death, Molière re-took in charge the familial tapestry-making business and kept it until his death. The same year, he presented "Sganarelle ou le Cocu imaginaire" and the troupe was moved to the Palais-Royal. Rival comedians tried to divide Molière's troupe but failed. Molière successively presented "L'Ecole des maris" in 1661 and "L'Ecole des femmes" in 1662.
He married Armande Béjart in 1662 (the year Molière and his troupe were accepted at the King's court), they had a son Louis in 1664 (Louis XIV was his godfather) but the latter died before his first birthday. The same year, members of the Compagnie du Saint-Sacrement tried to ban Molière's play "Le Tartuffe" but it was shown in May. Molière's troupe also presented Jean Racine's first play "La Thebaïde" then "Alexandre" the following year, but the troupe learnt that Racine made his play been performed elsewhere too, which brought a tension between the two authors. Armande gave birth to their daughter Esprit-Madeleine in 1665. Molière premiered "Dom Juan" in 1665, "Le Misanthrope" and "Le Médecin malgré lui" in 1666. In 1667 the troupe plaid Pierre Corneille's "Attila" and Molière's "L'Imposteur", which was only presented once because immediately banned. Molière had his first health problems. The troupe presented "Amphitryon", "George Dandin" and "L'Avare" in 1668, "Tartuffe" again in 1669 (the year Molière's father died), "Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme" in 1670, "Les Fourberies de Scapin" and "Psyché" in 1671, "Les Femmes savantes" in 1672.
Molière had a quarrel with Jean-Baptiste Lully in 1672 over the right of using music in plays since Lully ruled the music utilization with his "académie royale de musique". Molière's second son, Pierre-Jean-Baptiste-Armand, was born the same year but died a few days after his baptism. In February 1673, during the 4th performance of his last play, "Le Malade Imaginaire", Molière fell and died a few hours later in his house (rue de Richelieu, Paris). His wife obtained from the King the right to bury his corpse in a cemetery, which was normally unauthorized for a comedian. Her daughter was his only child to live long enough to have children but didn't, therefore Molière had no direct descendants.- Writer
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Colette was born on 28 January 1873 in Saint-Sauveur-en-Puisaye, Yonne, France. She was a writer, known for Gigi (1958), Chéri (2009) and Matinee Theatre (1955). She was married to Maurice Goudeket, Henri de Jouvenel des Ursins and Willy. She died on 3 August 1954 in Paris, France.- Future proponent for victims of injustice and tyranny during the years prior to the French Revolution, Voltaire (born François Marie Arouet on November 21, 1694 in Paris) was educated in Paris by the Jesuits. For a time he studied law, then decided to become a writer. Witty, thought-provoking and socially critical, his unique writings inspired France's common people but angered the royalty. In 1717 he was imprisoned in the Bastille for 11 months for ridiculing Duc d'Orléans. While in prison he rewrote his tragedy "Oedipe", which upon its publication brought the young author and philosopher enormous fame and ominous notoriety; in 1726 he was forced to go into exile in England. There he became fascinated with the plays of William Shakespeare, and while shocked by their "barbaric" nature (calling Shakespeare "a drunken savage"), he was deeply affected by their genius, energy and human drama. He felt that France had much to learn from England's literature. Three years later he returned to France, writing plays and poetry as well as historical and scientific treatises, his brilliant 1734 "Lettres philosophiques" was published. Scandal followed this work, which harshly criticized the religious and political institutions. A warrant for his arrest was issued in 1734, and he fled, taking refuge at Cirey in Champagne in the home of Gabrielle Emilie Le Tonnelier de Breteuil Marquise du Châtelet, the 28-year-old wife of the Marquis Florent du Châtelet. Here he began his professional liaison with the young, intelligent woman. Gabrielle worked with him on many philosophical and scientific topics. Her one major work was a translation of Isaac Newton's "Principia." Voltaire lived with her in the château he had renovated at his own expense. After 15 years as his guide and supporter, tragedy struck when Gabrielle died in childbirth on September 10, 1749. The baby was the presumed child of her lover, poet Jean-François de Saint-Lambert. Her husband, Voltaire, and Saint-Lambert were present at her death bed. Voltaire was overwhelmed with grief, often waking in the middle of the night calling her name. He eventually regained favor at the French court and was appointed its royal historiographer.
In 1755 he was living near Geneva, Switzerland, and wrote his most famous work, the satirical "Candide," in 1759. He later produced many anti-religious writings and his 1764 "Dictionnaire philosophique." His fame became worldwide. He was called "Innkeeper of Europe," and he entertained chic philosophers of the day and such literary figures as James Boswell, Giovanni Casanova and Edward Gibbon. Always impassioned about injustice, he took a keen interest in the case of Jean Calas, whose innocence he helped to establish. In 1761 Calas was accused, on trivial evidence, of murdering his eldest son to prevent him becoming a Roman Catholic. Calas was found guilty and executed by being broken on the wheel. Voltaire, in his late 60s by this time, spearheaded a fervent campaign, resulting in a revision of the trial. It was determined that the son had committed suicide, and the Parisian parliament declared Calas innocent in 1765. Voltaire finally returned to Paris in 1778, 28 years after leaving. He had become a beloved national celebrity, and it's believed that the frenzied excitement of such adoration from the French people aggravated his precarious health, reportedly, more than 300 people called on him the day after his arrival. He died a painful death on May 30 of uremia, only a few months after his celebrated arrival, at age 83. His nephew, the Abbé Mignot, had his body, clothed as it was the day he died, quickly transported to the Abbey of Scellières, where Voltaire was given a Christian burial; the prohibition of such a burial came after the ceremony. Because of his lifelong criticism of the church, Voltaire was denied burial in church ground. He was finally buried at an abbey in Champagne. His heart was removed from his body, and now lays in the Bibliotheque nationale in Paris. His brain was also removed, but after a series of moves during the next hundred years, it disappeared following an auction. Voltaire's remains were moved to the Panthéon in Paris during the Revolution in July 1791. In 1814, a group of right-wing religious "ultras" stole Voltaire's remains from his enormous sarcophagus and dumped them in a garbage heap. The theft went undetected for about 50 years. - One of the greatest Greek philosophers (considered the greatest Greek writer of prose by some), Plato, was born into an aristocratic Athenian family. He met Socrates around 407 BC and became his disciple in philosophy. Socrates was executed in 399 BC. Plato and fellow disciples took refuge under Euclid in Megara. Following that for a period of 12 years Plato traveled extensively to Egypt, Sicily and Italy. He met Dionysius I of Syracuse in 390 BC. And the Pythagorean mathematician Archytas of Taras (Tarentum) while in Italy, who was a follower of the semi-legendary Pythagoras of Samos (6th Cent. B.C.). He began teaching pupils near the grove of Academus outside Athens in 388 BC. His school was named Academy after the place. Plato was summoned to the court of Dionysuis II of Syracuse by Dion, the ruler's uncle, in 366 BC, and by Dionysius II himself in 362 BC. Plato's philosophical and literary activities extend over a period of 50 years. His main works falls into 2 categories viz. letters and dialogs. The 13 letters are mainly addressed to Dionysus the Tyrant of Syracuse and deal with political advice. The 26 dialogs fall into 3 broad categories - early, middle and late based on his travels. The more well known include the Protagoras, Gorgias, Ion, the Republic (where he attacks the power and pretension of literature), Cratylus, Phaedrus, Sophist and Laws. His death is reported by some authorities as having occurred at a wedding feast or while he was writing. He was buried at the Academy.
- Socrates (470-399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no texts and is known mainly through the posthumous accounts of classical writers, particularly his students Plato and Xenophon. These accounts are written as dialogues, in which Socrates and his interlocutors examine a subject in the style of question and answer; they gave rise to the Socratic dialogue literary genre. Contradictory accounts of Socrates make a reconstruction of his philosophy nearly impossible, a situation known as the Socratic problem. Socrates was a polarizing figure in Athenian society. In 399 BC, he was accused of impiety and corrupting the youth. After a trial that lasted a day, he was sentenced to death. He spent his last day in prison, refusing offers to help him escape.
- Chinese philosopher who was born Kong Qiu, with the formal name Kong Zhongni, in the state of Lu in what is now Shandong province. The second son of a minor aristocratic family that had fallen from power, Confucius was orphaned as a child and grew up in relative poverty. A voracious reader, he educated himself, eventually becoming a private tutor for the sons of wealthy gentlemen. Distressed by the division of China into fiercely competitive and often warring states, Confucius, like many other thinkers of his era, devoted much time to pondering ways to restore order to the chaotic world in which he lived. For a decade beginning when he was about 55, Confucius wandered through neighboring states, attempting to convince various rulers of his worthiness for political positions through which he could introduce his planned reforms. Though by most accounts his travels never resulted in an offer for political office (some sources say he became a minister of state), Confucius was able to gather a substantial number of students who devoted themselves to his school of thought. Though it has been described as a religion, Confucianism is more of a political and social philosophy based on humanism, rationality, education, and virtuous example. During imperial times, Confucius was lauded as the "First Teacher" and the "Uncrowned King".
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Born in 1983, British singer Cheryl Cole studied dance, modeled and appeared in advertisements as a child. Her crowd-pleasing performances on Popstars: The Rivals (2002) won her membership to the pop group Girls Aloud and vaulted her into music stardom, virtually overnight. Cole has also enjoyed some success as a solo artist and appeared as a judge on The X Factor UK (2004).Born Cheryl Ann Tweedy in Newcastle upon Tyne, England on June 30, 1983. Cole showed an early interest in dance and was enrolled at The Royal Ballet's summer school at 9 years of age. She also won several modeling competitions and appeared in advertisements, including a pair of nationally televised commercials for British Gas. Cole's breakout moment, however, came in 2002 when, at age 19, she auditioned for the United Kingdom talent show Popstars: The Rivals (2002). After weeks of competition, the show's audience selected her along with four other female contestants: Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. Together they formed the group Girls Aloud, and Cole would spend the next seven years accumulating 20 Top 10 singles, including four songs and two albums that topped the U.K. charts. Cole began her solo trajectory in June 2008, when she signed on to be a judge on Simon Cowell's TV talent show, The X Factor UK (2004). She also released a single, "Cheryl Cole: Fight for This Love (2009)" which quickly rose to No. 1 on the charts. In December 2009, 5 million viewers tuned in to watch Cole host a one-hour special, Cheryl Cole's Night In (2009). Cole had signed on for the American version of The X Factor UK (2004).in 2011, but she was dropped from the show early on.- Music Artist
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Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll was born on February 2, 1977 in Barranquilla, Colombia to Nidia del Carmen Mebarak (née Ripoll Torrado) & William Alberto Mebarak Chadid. She is of Lebanese, Spanish & Italian descent. Shakira began her musical career at the age of 12 and quickly captured fans around the world. She won the 2001 Best Latin pop Grammy for her MTV Unplugged album.- Actress
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Zendaya (which means "to give thanks" in the language of Shona) is an American actress and singer born in Oakland, California. She began her career appearing as a child model working for Macy's, Mervyns and Old Navy. She was a backup dancer before gaining prominence for her role as Rocky Blue on the Disney Channel sitcom Shake It Up (2010) which also includes Bella Thorne, Kenton Duty and Roshon Fegan. Zendaya was a contestant on the sixteenth season of the competition series Dancing with the Stars. She went on to produce and star as K.C. Cooper in the Disney Channel sitcom K.C. Undercover (2015) She made her film breakthrough in 2017, starring as Michelle "MJ" Jones in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero film Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017) and as Anne Wheeler in the musical drama film The Greatest Showman (2017) alongside actors such as Tom Holland, Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron. Besides acting, singing and dancing she is an ambassador for Convoy of Hope. She has written a book, launched her own clothing line (Daya by Zendaya) and proved herself to be a great role model for young girls all around the world.- Music Artist
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Selena was born in Lake Jackson, Texas, 50 miles southeast of Houston, to Abraham Quintanilla Jr. and Marcella Quintanilla. Abraham opened a Mexican restaurant, Papagayo, in Lake Jackson. Selena was 9 years old when her father discovered her talent for singing. He formed a band consisting of Selena on vocals, her brother A.B. Quintanilla on bass, and her sister Suzette Quintanilla on drums. The group, called Los Dinos after a band Abraham was a member of in the 1950s and 1960s, frequently performed at the restaurant. In 1981, the family moved to Corpus Christi where Abraham started booking his band for weddings and parties. This became their way of life. Selena and Los Dinos' big break came in 1987, when 15-year-old Selena won the Tejano Music Award for Female Entertainer of the Year. That award led Selena to a major record-label contract with Capitol Records and six very successful albums. By 1992, Selena had branched out and launched her clothing line and married her guitarist, Chris Pérez. In 1994, she was nominated and won her first Grammy for Best Mexican-American album, "Selena Live!" That year, she opened her first boutique in Corpus Christi, Texas. On March 31, 1995, Selena was murdered by Yolanda Saldivar, her friend and president of her fan club.- Music Artist
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The beat goes on ... and on ... and as strong as ever for this superstar entertainer who has well surpassed the half-century mark while improbably transforming herself from an artificial, glossy "flashionplate" singer into a serious, Oscar-worthy, dramatic actress ... and back again! With more ups and downs than the 2008 Dow Jones Industrial Average, Cher managed to rise like a phoenix from the ashes each time she was down, somehow re-inventing herself with every decade and finding herself on top all over again. As a singer Cher is the only performer to have earned "top 10" hit singles in four consecutive decades; as an actress, she and Barbra Streisand are the only two Best Actress Oscar winners to have a #1 hit song on the Billboard charts. At age 77, Cher has yet to decide to get completely off her fabulous roller coaster ride, although she has threatened to on occasion.
The daughter of Arkansas-born Georgia Holt (the former Jackie Jean Crouch) and truck driver John Sarkisian, Cher was born in El Centro, California, on May 20, 1946. She has a half-sister, Georganne LaPiere. Cher is of Armenian heritage on her father's side, and of English and German, with more distant Irish, Dutch, and French, heritage on her mother's side. Cher's parents divorced when she was an infant and her mother went on to marry six more times. Her mother, who aspired to be an actress and model, paid for Cher's acting classes. Cher had undiagnosed dyslexia, which acutely affected her studies; frustrated, she quit high school at 16 to pursue her dream. At that time, she had a brief relationship with actor Warren Beatty.
Meeting the quite older (by 11 years) Sonny Bono in November 1962 changed the 16-year-old's life forever. Bono was working for record producer Phil Spectorat Gold Star Studios in Hollywood at the time and managed to persuade Spector to hire Cher as a session singer. As such, she went on to record backup on such Spector classics as "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" and "Be My Baby". The couple's relationship eventually shifted from soulmates to lovers and she and Sonny married on October 27, 1964.
At first Cher sang solo with Sonny behind the scenes writing, arranging and producing her songs. When the records went nowhere, Sonny decided they needed to perform as a team so they put out two songs in 1964 under the recording names of Caesar and Cleo ("The Letter" and "Baby Don't Go"). Again, no success. The changing of their names, however, made a difference and in 1965, they officially took on the music world as Sonny & Cher and earned instant rewards.
The now 19-year-old Cher and 30-year-old Sonny became huge hits following the release of their first album, "Look at Us" (summer, 1965), which contained the hit single "I Got You Babe". With the song catapulting to #1, they decided to re-release their earlier single "Baby Don't Go", and it also raced up the charts to #8. An assembly line of mild hits dotted the airwaves over the next year or two, culminating in the huge smash hit "The Beat Goes On" (#6, 1967). Between 1965 and 1972 Sonny & Cher charted a total of six "Top 10" hits.
The kooky couple became icons of the mid-'60s "flower power" scene, wearing garish garb and outlandish hairdos and makeup. However, they found a way to make it trendy and were embraced around the world. TV musical variety and teen pop showcases relished their contrasting styles -- the short, excitable, mustachioed, nasal-toned simpleton and the taller, exotic, unflappable fashion maven. They found a successful formula with their repartee, which became a central factor in their live concert shows, even more than their singing. With all this going on, Sonny still endeavored to promote Cher as a solo success. Other than such hits with "All I Really Want to Do" (#16) and "Bang, Bang" (#2), she struggled to find a separate identity. Sonny even arranged film projects for her but Good Times (1967), an offbeat fantasy starring the couple and directed by future powerhouse William Friedkin, and Cher's serious solo effort Chastity (1969) both flickered out and died a quick death.
By the end of the 1960s, Sonny & Cher's career had stumbled as they witnessed the American pop culture experience a drastic evolutionary change. The couple maintained their stage act and all the while Sonny continued to polish it up in a shrewd gamble for TV acceptance. While Sonny on stage played the ineffectual object of Cher's stinging barbs on stage, he was actually the highly motivated mastermind off stage and, amazingly enough, his foresight and chutzpah really paid off. Although the couple had lost favor with the new 70s generation, Sonny encouraged TV talent scouts to catch their live act.
The network powers-that-be saw potential in the duo as they made a number of guest TV appearances in specials and on variety and talk shows and in what was essentially "auditioning" for their own TV vehicle. The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour (1971) was given the green light as a summer replacement series and was an instant sensation when it earned its own time spot that fall season. The show received numerous Emmy Award nominations during its run and the couple became stars all over again. Their lively, off-the-wall comedy sketch routines, her outré Bob Mackie fashions and their harmless, edgy banter were the highlights of the hour-long program. Audiences took strongly to the couple who appeared to have a deep-down sturdy relationship. Their daughter Chaz Bono occasionally added to the couple's loving glow on the show. Cher's TV success also generated renewed interest in her as a solo recording artist and she came up with three #1 hits during this time ("Gypsys, Tramps & Thieves," "Half-Breed" and "Dark Lady").
Behind the scenes, though, it was a different story. A now-confident Cher yearned to be free of husband Sonny's Svengali-like control over her life and career. The marriage split at the seams in 1974 and they publicly announced their separation. The show, which had earned Cher a Golden Globe Award, took a fast tumble as the separation and divorce grew more acrimonious. Eventually they both tried to launch their own solo variety shows, but both failed to even come close to their success as a duo. Audiences weren't interested in Cher without Sonny, and vice versa.
In late June of 1975, only four days after the couple's divorce, Cher married rock musician Gregg Allman of The Allman Brothers Band. That marriage imploded rather quickly amid reports of out-of-control drug use on his part. They were divorced by 1979 with only one bright outcome -- son Elijah Allman.
In 1976 Sonny and Cher attempted to "make up" again, this time to the tune of a second The Sonny and Cher Show (1976). Audiences, however, did not accept the "friendly" divorced couple after so much tabloid nastiness. After the initial curiosity factor wore off, the show was canceled amid poor ratings. Moreover, the musical variety show format was on its way out as well. Once again, another decade was looking to end badly for Cher.
Cher found a mild success with the "top 10" disco hit "Take Me Home" in 1979, but not much else. Not one to be counted out, however, the ever resourceful singer decided to lay back and focus on acting instead. At age 36, Cher made her Broadway debut in 1982 in what was essentially her first live acting role with "Come Back to the Five and Dime, Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean". Centering around a reunion of girlfriends from an old James Dean fan club, her performance was critically lauded. This earned her the right to transfer her stage triumph to film alongside Karen Black and Sandy Dennis. Cher earned critical raves for Come Back to the 5 & Dime Jimmy Dean, Jimmy Dean (1982), her first film role since 1969.
With film #2 came a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe win for her portrayal of a lesbian toiling in a nuclear parts factory in Silkwood (1983), starring Meryl Streep and Kurt Russell. This in turn was followed by her star turn in Mask (1985) as the blunt, footloose mother of a son afflicted with a rare disease (played beautifully by Eric Stoltz). Once again Cher received high praise and copped a win from the Cannes Film Festival for her poignant performance.
Fully accepted by this time as an actress of high-caliber, she integrated well into the Hollywood community. Proving that she could hold up a film outright, she was handed three hit vehicles to star in: The Witches of Eastwick (1987), Suspect (1987), and Moonstruck (1987), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. Along with all this newfound Hollywood celebrity came interest in her as a singer and recording artist again. "If I Could Turn Back Time (#3) and the Peter Cetera duet "After All" (#6) placed her back on the Billboard charts.
During the 1990s Cher continued to veer back and forth among films, TV specials and expensively mounted concerts. In January of 1998, tragedy struck when Cher's ex-husband Sonny Bono, who had forsaken an entertainment career for California politics and became a popular Republican congressman in the process, was killed in a freak skiing accident. That same year the duo received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for their contribution to television. In the meantime an astounding career adrenaline rush came in the form of a monstrous, disco-flavored hit single ("Believe"). The song became a #1 hit and the same-titled album the biggest hit of her career. "Believe" reached #1 in 23 different countries.
Having little to prove anymore to anyone, Cher decided to embark on a "Farewell Tour" in the early part of the millennium and, after much stretching, her show finally closed in 2005 in Los Angeles. It didn't take long, however, for Cher to return from this self-imposed exile. In 2008, she finalized a deal with Las Vegas' Caesars Palace for the next three years to play the Colosseum, and has since returned live on numerous "farewell" tour extravaganzas. Never say never. Cher returned films with her co-starring role opposite Christina Aguilera in Burlesque (2010), but has since only provided a glitzy cameo in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018). After keeping a low romantic profile for some time, she nearly out-cougared Madonna by embarking on a romance with four-decades-younger Def Jam executive Alexander "A.E." Edwards, father of rapper Amber Rose's second son. The couple celebrated their one-year anniversary in 2023, right before the release of Cher's first holiday album, simply titled Christmas.
In other facets of her life, Cher has been involved with many humanitarian groups and charity efforts over the years, particularly her work as National Chairperson and Honorary Spokesperson of the Children's Craniofacial Association, which was inspired by her work in Mask (1985).- Music Artist
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Beyoncé Giselle Knowles was born on September 4, 1981 in Houston, Texas. Her mom, Tina Knowles designs their glittering costumes & her dad, Mathew Knowles manages Destiny's Child. Solange, her sister (they're 4 years apart) has released her debut album. She dances with her big sister during DC-3 concerts. Beyoncé's of Louisiana Creole & African descent.
She and her group were discovered by Whitney Houston. One of her favorite songs is "Lovefool" by The Cardigans. Her favorite item of clothing is a pair of path work metallic boots. She writes & produces many of the group's songs, including smash hits "Jumpin Jumpin", "Bootylicious", "Nasty Girl", "Independent Women", "Happy Face" and "Apple Pie a la mode".- Music Artist
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Rihanna was born Robyn Rihanna Fenty on February 20, 1988 in Bridgetown, St. Michael, Barbados to Monica Braithwaite, an accountant & Ronald Fenty, a warehouse supervisor. Her mother is Afro-Guyanese and her father is of Afro-Barbadian and British Isles ancestry. Rihanna lived the life of a normal island girl going to Combermere, a top sixth form school. Rihanna won numerous beauty pageants and performed Mariah Carey's single, Hero in a school talent show. Her life changed forever when one of her friends introduced her to Evan Rodgers, a producer from New York who was in Barbados for a vacation with his wife, who is a native. Rodgers arranged for her to go to New York to meet Jay-Z, CEO of Def Jam Records. He heard her sing and knew she was going to be incredibly successful. She was age 16 when she was signed to Def Jam. Since then, she's amassed phenomenal success.- Music Artist
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Aubrey Drake Graham was born in Toronto, Ontario, the son of Dennis Graham, an African-American musician born in Memphis, Tennessee, and Sandi (Sher) Graham, a Canadian Jewish educator. As a young man, Drake appeared in several commercials, for such retailers as Sears and GMC. In 2001, Drake rose to fame playing the role of "Jimmy Brooks", a character on Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001), a basketball star who is confined to a wheelchair after being shot by a classmate. In 2006, Drake launched his music career by releasing his first mix tape, "Room for Improvement". Three years later, his third mix tape, "So Far Gone", garnered him critical and commercial success, and, the following year, he released his official debut album, "Thank Me Later", to generally positive reviews. Aubrey Drake Graham has established himself as a multi-talented young Canadian, and the entertainment industry has great expectations for him.- Actor
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Most remembered for his extravagant costumes and trademark candelabra placed on the lids of his flashy pianos, Liberace was loved by his audiences for his music talent and unique showmanship. He was born as Wladziu Valentino Liberace on May 16, 1919, into a musical family, in Wisconsin. His mother, Frances Liberace (née Zuchowski), whose parents were Polish, played the piano. His father, Salvatore Liberace, an immigrant from Formia, Italy, played the French horn for the Milwaukee Symphony. His siblings, George Liberace, Angie Liberace and Rudy Liberace, also had musical ability. Liberace's own extraordinary natural talent became evident when he learned to play the piano, by ear, at the age of four. Although Salvatore tried to discourage his son's interest in the piano, praises from Ignacy Jan Paderewski, a famous Polish pianist, helped the young musician follow his musical career.
As a teenager, Liberace earned wages playing popular tunes at movie theaters and speakeasies. Despite being proud of his son's accomplishments, Salvatore strictly opposed Liberace's preference for popular music over the classics. Pianist Florence Bettray Kelly took control of Liberace's classical training when he was 14.
He debuted as a soloist with the Chicago Symphony, under the direction of Dr. Frederick Stock. At age 17, Liberace joined the Works Progress Administration Symphony Orchestra. He received a scholarship to attend the Wisconsin College of Music. In 1939, after a classical recital, Liberace's audience requested the popular tune, "Three Little Fishes". Liberace seized the opportunity and performed the tune with a semi-classical style which the audience loved. Soon, this unique style of playing the piano got Liberace bookings in large nightclubs.
By 1940, Liberace was traveling with his custom-made piano, on top of which he would place his candelabrum. He then took Paderewski's advice and dropped Wladziu and Valentino to become simply Liberace. South Sea Sinner (1950), a movie with Shelley Winters, was Liberace's film debut. He played a honky tonk pianist in the movie, which opened in 1950.
In 1952, The Liberace Show (1952), a syndicated television program, turned Liberace into a musical symbol. It began as a summertime replacement for The Dinah Shore Show (1951), but after two years, the show was one of the most popular on TV. It was carried by 217 American stations and could be seen in 20 foreign countries. Sold-out live appearances at Madison Square Garden enhanced the pianist's popularity even more. Soon, Liberace added flamboyant costumes and expensive ornaments to his already unique performances. His second movie, Sincerely Yours (1955), opened in 1955, and Liberace wrote his best-selling autobiography, "Liberace", in 1972. His first book, "Liberace Cooks", went into seven printings.
In 1977, Liberace founded the non-profit "Liberace Foundation for the Performing and Creative Arts". The year 1978 brought the opening of "The Liberace Museum" in Las Vegas, Nevada, which serves as key funding for the Liberace Foundation. The profits from the museum provide scholarship money for financially needy college musicians. He continued performing until the fall of 1986, despite suffering from heart disease and emphysema during most of the 1980s. A closeted homosexual his entire life, Liberace was secretly diagnosed with AIDS sometime in August 1985, which he also kept secret from the public until the day he died. His last concert performance was at Radio City Music Hall on November 2, 1986. He passed away in his Palm Springs home on February 4, 1987 at age 67.
Liberace was bestowed with many awards during his lifetime including: Instrumentalist of the Year, Best Dressed Entertainer, Entertainer of the Year, two Emmy Awards, six gold albums, and two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In The Guinness Book of World Records, he has been listed as the world's highest paid musician and pianist. Liberace was an extremely talented and versatile man. He not only played the piano, but sang, danced and joked during his performances. In fact, one of Liberace's biggest accomplishments was his ability to turn a recital into a show full of music, glitter and personality.- Music Department
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Annunzio Paolo Mantovani was born November 15, 1905, in Venice, Italy, the son of a violinist who performed at La Scala under the baton of maestro Arturo Toscanini. Born into a musical household, Mantovani was taught the piano and music theory while a youth. When Mantovani's father was appointed conductor of the orchestra at London's Covent Garden theater in 1912, he moved with his family to England, which became his life-long home.
Following in his father's footsteps, Mantovani switched to violin at the age of 14, though he remained adept at the piano, which he used for composing music. At the age of 16, he made his debut as a professional violinist. As a member of a touring orchestra, he quickly matured as a performer and became a featured soloist. Appointed the conductor of the Hotel Metropole Orchestra in 1925, Mantovani made his first recordings with the group in 1928.
Mantovani's critical reputation as a virtuoso on the violin was established in 1930 and 1931 with a series of recitals. It was at this time, he organized the Tipica Orchestra to make radio broadcasts from London's tony Monseigneur restaurant. The Tipica Orchestra successfully toured England while recording for multiple labels in the period of 1932-1936, winding up on Columbia. Mantovani and the Tipica Orchestra scored major hits in the United States with "Red Sails in the Sunset" and "Serenade to the Night," after which Columbia changed the billing on the records to "Mantovani & His Orchestra." In 1940, Mantovani left Columbia and signed with Decca, which would be his label for the next 33 years.
Mantovani & His Orchestra were extremely popular in England during the early 1940s. During World War II, Mantovani served as musical director for a number of theatrical productions, but after the end of the war, Mantovani turned away from live performance and concentrated on recording. With arranger Ronald Binge, the former accordion-player for the Tipica Orchestra, Mantovania developed the lush sound he became famous for: the "cascading strings" (also known as "tumbling strings" effect. This emphasis on the string section that was his signature became a hallmark of "easy listening" music (also known as "light orchestral" music). The cascading strings effect (which was used frequently in movie and television scores for a generation afterwards by Mantovani imitators) was first employed on the 1951 single "Charmaine." The single sold over 1 million copies and opened the U.S. market to Mantovani's music for the first time since the mid-1930's.
Mantovani became a hit machine, releasing a plethora of hit singles in the early to mid-1950s, including "Song from Moulin Rouge," a #1 platter in 1953. Mantovani co-wrote and arranged (and backed with his orchestra) David Whitfield on his own #1 British smash "Cara Mia" in 1954, which cracked the U.S. Top Ten. He began recording long-playing records for Decca and its London subsidiary in 1954, and although the change-over of popular music to rock 'n roll limited his success on the singles chart, his albums sold millions, particularly in the U.S.
Over 40 Mantovani albums registered on the U.S. pop charts from 1955 to 1972, with 27 reaching the Top 40 and 11 scaling the heights into the Top Ten. His biggest hits were linked to the movies: "Film Encores," which went #1 in 1957 (his sole chart-topping LP), and "Mantovani Plays Music From 'Exodus' and Other Great Themes," a #2 hit in 1961. The "Exodus" LP moved over 1 million copies and remained on the charts for almost a year.
As the 1960s wore on, Mantovani's brand of pleasant, easy listening music increasingly diverged from mainstream tastes (and began to be seen as old-fashioned, something that belonged to the pre-rock 1950s along with round-screened, B+W TV sets). HIs LPs placed lower and lower on the charts, until they no longer charted at all after 1972's eponymous "Annunzio Paolo Mantovani." When the Decca label was dissolved and absorbed into MCA in 1973, his recording career came to an end. In all, he had recorded over 50 albums of his distinct brand of light orchestral music since the early 1950s.
Annunzio Paolo Mantovani died on March 30, 1980 at his country home in Tunbridge Wells, England. He was 74 years old.- Actor
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Steven Patrick Morrissey was born in Davyhulme, Manchester, England, UK. At a very early age, he took an interest in writing. His top priority was poetry, though he would have his biography on James Dean, "James Dean Is Not Dead", published by his early 20s. His literary influences ranged from Oscar Wilde to Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, though he was also an avid fan of pop music and film. Some of his primary musical idols were David Bowie, Ray Davies and Marc Bolan.
In 1982, Morrissey was approached by local Mancunian guitarist and songwriter Johnny Marr. Marr asked him to collaborate, and so began possibly the greatest songwriting duo of the 1980s. Morrissey's witty and morbidly sentimental lyrics were a perfect match with Marr's odd chord progressions and unusual tunings. They soon added Marr's schoolmates Andy Rourke (bass) and Mike Joyce (drums). The duo became a quartet and dubbed themselves The Smiths. The Smiths released six studio albums and several catchy three-minute singles from 1983 to 1987. The band found critical acclaim in both their native England and the U.S. They never broke into the mainstream in the U.S., though they became college radio legends, mainly due to Morrissey's intelligent but often controversial themes.
The band broke up in 1987 over a conflict of musical interest between Morrissey and Marr. Morrissey found solo success after The Smiths, achieving a far greater status in the U.S. than The Smiths ever had. His greatest triumph was 1992's "Your Arsenal", which was nominated for a Grammy for best alternative album. The album was produced by former David Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson.
In 1997, former The Smiths drummer Mike Joyce successfully sued Morrissey and Marr over songwriting royalties. The chance of a "Smiths" reunion seems bleak, but their music will continue to be played by devoted, intelligent fans everywhere. To put it simply, the music of Steven Morrissey and The Smiths was "as smart as pop music gets".- Music Artist
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Eminem was born Marshall Bruce Mathers III in St. Joseph, Missouri, to Deborah R. (Nelson) and Marshall Bruce Mathers, Jr., who were in a band together, Daddy Warbucks. He is of English, as well as some German, Scottish, and Swiss-German, ancestry. Marshall spent his early childhood being shoved back and forth from Kansas City and Detroit. He settled on the Eastside of Detroit when he was 12. Switching schools every two to three months made it difficult to make friends, graduate and to stay out of trouble. Marshall attended Lincoln High School in Warren, Michigan, 1986-1989.
Being a rap fan for most of his life, Marshall began rapping at the early age of 4. Rhyming words together, battling schoolmates in the lunchroom brought joy to what was otherwise a painful existence. At the age of 14, he began to get very serious about his rapping but it wasn't until he was 17 that he actually made a name for himself, becoming M&M, which he would later respell as "Eminem". Being rejected by most fellow rappers because of his race, Marshall grew an anger that flows through his music to this day. After failing the 9th grade for three times in a row, he quit school, but has remarked that he does not consider himself stupid and does not advise that people should follow his example. He says that it just wasn't for him. Forcing himself on radio shows, freestyle battles, Marshall threw himself head first into the rap game, where he was swallowed up most of the time. His very first album was titled "Infinite" and, while the album sold less than a thousand copies, it was the gearing up stages for the rapper who became a millionaire. It was then that his daughter, Hailie Jade Scott, was born on December 25th of 1995 with long time girlfriend Kim Scott.
Having nothing to lose at all, flat broke and not knowing where he would be living the next week, Marshall set out to rant about life in general, the set quickly caught the ear of hip-hop's difficult-to-please underground. What came out of this was the Slim Shady EP, the early work for the later Dr. Dre revised Slim Shady LP. Down to nearly his last dime, he went into the 1997 Rap Olympics in Los Angeles, basically hoping to win the $1,500 cash prize which he badly needed. After battling for an hour and throwing back every race diss thrown at him, Marshall made it to second place losing in a slip up. Furious that he had lost, Marshall didn't even notice that he had been spotted. In the crowd were a few producers from Interscope, and they were handed a copy of the "Infinite" tape by way of a demo.
Dr. Dre got to hear it and eventually tracked him down. The two instantly hit it off, recording four songs in their first six hours of working - three which made it to his first LP. After the album was finished, Dr. Dre asked Marshall to come work with him on his new album. He helped produce several tracks and was on the best songs of the album. Now officially making it, Marshall and Dre set to make his second LP. The album became the Marshall Mathers LP and won 3 Grammies and was the first rap album ever to be nominated "Album of the Year", selling more than 8 million records in the United States alone. He also stunned critics when he shot down all homophobic remarks by performing "Stan" with Elton John. Eminem made a movie, 8 Mile (2002). Though 2001 was a rough year for the rapper, being charged with weapon offenses, divorcing his wife, and almost going to prison, Marshall has explained his life in one word: "Claimer".- Music Artist
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Pink was born Alecia Beth Moore in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, and was later raised in Philadelphia. Her parents, Judith Moore (née Kugel), a nurse, and Jim Moore, a Vietnam veteran, divorced when she was very young. Her mother is from an Ashkenazi Jewish family, while her father has Irish, German, and English ancestry. As a child, all Pink wanted was to become a singer, and she was driven by the music of Madonna, Mary J. Blige, 4 Non Blondes, Janis Joplin, Billy Joel and Whitney Houston. She was a very unique teenager, and went through phases as a skateboarder, hip-hopper and gymnast.
Pink spent several years as part of the club scene in Philadelphia, singing guest spots and performing for talent shows. At the age of 13, she was asked by a local DJ to sing back-up for his rap group, Schools of Thought. A short time later, she was discovered by a record executive and joined a female R&B group, Choice. When that didn't work out, she signed with LaFace Records and began her solo career. In spring 2000, she released her debut, "Can't Take Me Home". She co-wrote many songs and watched it go multi-platinum by the year's end. Her debut included the Top 10 hit, "There You Go", which was certified a gold single.
Pink is now considered an icon in the world of pop music. For example, in 2019 she won the Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music, becoming the first non-British artist to have won the award since the Brit Awards began in 1977 (originally known as the BPI Awards). This was especially impressive as she was chosen ahead of the likes of Phil Collins, a British musician who has sold more records and had a longer career but never won the award.- Music Artist
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Born on November 7, 1996, Lorde (Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor) is a singer/songwriter born in the Auckland suburb of Takapuna and raised in neighboring Devonport, New Zealand. She is of Irish and Croatian descent. She became an international crossover hit in 2013 with her debut studio album, Pure Heroine. The album's debut single, "Royals," soared to no. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 100 - making her the youngest pop star to achieve this feat since 1987 - and won two Grammys. In 2017 Lorde released her sophomore album Melodrama to widespread critical acclaim, earning a Grammy nomination for Album of the Year. Her poet mother encouraged Lorde to immerse herself in reading in a variety of genres, and it was through her constant consumption of books that the seeds of her lyricism began to grow. In 2009 Lorde and her friend won their school's talent show and from there, they were invited to sing on a local radio show and sing covers. She was eventually signed to a development deal with Universal Music Group in her early teens and began performing her own songs in 2011. That same year she teamed up with producer Joel Little and within a few weeks, they produced her first EP, The Love Club.- With classic patrician features and an independent, non-conformist personality, Capucine began her film debut in 1949 at the age of 21 with an appearance in the film Rendezvous in July (1949). She attended school in France and received a BA degree in foreign languages. Married for six months in her early twenties, she never remarried. In 1957, she was discovered by director Charles K. Feldman while working as a high-fashion model for Givenchy in Paris and was brought to Hollywood to study acting under Gregory Ratoff. She was put under contract by Columbia studios in 1958 and had her first leading part in the movie Song Without End (1960). She made six more major movies in the early to mid 1960s, two of which (The Lion (1962) and The 7th Dawn (1964)) starred William Holden, with whom she had a two-year affair. Moving from Hollywood to a penthouse apartment in Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1962, she continued making movies, mostly in Europe, until her suicide in 1990.
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Sting was born Gordon Matthew Sumner on 2 October, 1951 in Wallsend, North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, the eldest of four children of Audrey (Cowell), a hairdresser, and Ernest Matthew Sumner, an engineer and milkman. He received his name from a striped sweater he wore which looked like a bee. He grew up in the turmoil of the ship-building industry and wanted to become a musician very early. He played cruise ships, backing strippers in cabarets, and developed a love for the bass guitar. Having played in jazz/rock bands like "Last Exit" and other various groups, including a dixieland jazz group, he settled down with Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers for a decade-long tenure with the smashing rock trio, The Police.
In 1984, he went on to record solo albums, and holds a reputation as one of the most literate songwriters and talented musicians in the world. He has also delved into acting, having starred in such films as Quadrophenia (1979), Radio On (1979), Plenty (1985), Julia and Julia (1987) (aka Julia and Julia), Dune (1984), Bring on the Night (1985) (a documentary about the formation of his Blue Turtles jazz group), most recently, Gentlemen Don't Eat Poets (1995), where he plays a bisexual, conniving butler.
He received an honorary Doctorate of Music degree from Northumbria University in October 1992, and from Berklee College of Music in May 1994. He plays guitar, bass guitar, mandolin, piano, harmonica, saxophone and pan-flute, and he gave a name to his bass (Brian).
Sting is married to film producer Trudie Styler, and has six children with Trudie and ex-wife, actress Frances Tomelty. Sting owns a Jacobian castle in Wiltshire, which he calls "Lake House", where he records his albums, as well as a place in London, an apartment in New York, a place on the beach in Malibu, California, and a Renaissance Florentine Villa called "Palagio" in Figline Valdarno, Tuscany, Italy. Along with his wife Trudie and a Brazilian Indian, he started the Rainforest Foundation in 1989 to help save rainforests.- Music Artist
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Bono was born Paul David Hewson in Dublin, Ireland on May 10, 1960, to Iris (Rankin) and Brendan Robert Hewson. He has been the lead singer of the rock band U2 since 1976. U2 has won 22 Grammy Awards to date, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. Lauded by fans and critics as an outstanding performer and songwriter, Bono has also been praised by world leaders as an accomplished activist due to his powers of persuasion and knowledge of the issues. He travels extensively to give speeches and lobby politicians. Bono's career as a socially conscious musician has been shaped by childhood experiences in Ireland as well as volunteer work in Africa and South America. He married his childhood sweetheart Ali Hewson in 1982, and actress Eve Hewson is among their children. An accomplished activist in her own right, Ali Hewson once declined an invitation to run for President of Ireland because her husband "would not move to a smaller house". They live in Dublin with their four children: Jordan, Memphis Eve, Elijah Bob Patricius Guggi Q and John Abraham.
Bono was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2003 for his successful efforts to relieve third world debt and promote AIDS awareness in Africa. He received the rank of Chevalier dans I'Ordre de la Legion d'Honneur (Knight in the Order of the Legion of Honor) from French President Jacques Chirac on February 28, 2003.- Music Artist
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Fergie was born Stacy Ann Ferguson on March 27, 1975 in Hacienda Heights, California, to Theresa Ann "Terri" (Gore) and John Patrick Ferguson, both schoolteachers. Her ancestry includes German, English, Irish, Scottish, Swedish, and Luxembourgish. When she was a teenager, her parents divorced, which was a big challenge for a girl who wanted to be a star. As a child actress, she appeared on the television program Kids Incorporated (1984) for several years with Renee Sandstrom. Later, Ferguson was a member of the female trio Wild Orchid, which she fronted with fellow Kids Incorporated (1984) star Renee Sandstrom and Stefanie Ridel. Wild Orchid released two albums, but after completing a third album, their record label declined to release it. This prompted an emotional crisis, and Ferguson sought therapy. She left the group shortly thereafter. In 2003, she was invited for a part in The Black Eyed Peas' song "Hey Mama." The members of the group were so impressed by her performance that she became the fourth member of the band. Since then, she's mostly known as "Fergie." In September 2004, Fergie met an American actor, Josh Duhamel, who she married in 2009. She took part in a Hollywood blockbuster, Poseidon (2006). Fergie is a favorite singer of Quentin Tarantino, who invited her to co-star in his movie Grindhouse (2007).- Actor
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Simply he was, and for many people still is, the greatest football player of the world. Not a single thing was impossible for him: he won three World Cups with his National Team of Brazil (Sweden 1958, Chile 1962, Mexico 1970). He scored more than 1.200 goals during his long career (more than 1.300 official matches). He also won many national Leagues and Continental Cups ("Copa Libertadores"), with his team, the Santos Futebol Clube (of Brazilian 'São Paulo' State). In the '60s, he was nick-named "O Rei" (The King), and in the '70s, ninety-five people out of 100 knew his name. ("Wow, man, you're popular!" said Robert Redford, some years ago, after seeing Pelé give dozens of autographs in New York while he was not asked for one). In the late 1960s, when he and his team, Santos, went to Nigeria to play a few friendly matches, the ongoing civil war stopped for the duration of his visit. He finished his career in the New York Cosmos, in 1977. He later became a United Nations Ambassador and has been also Minister for Sports in his country, but, for the people who saw him make magics with his right foot, he is, now and forever, the biggest footballer in the world, and the one and only "King".- Actress
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Charo was born on 15 January 1951 in Murcia, Spain. She is an actress, known for Thumbelina (1994), The Concorde... Airport '79 (1979) and Tiger by the Tail (1970). She was previously married to Kjell Rasten and Xavier Cugat.- Music Artist
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Tim Bergling, also known as Avicii, was a Swedish DJ and producer who worked on live concerts. In 2011, his single ''Levels'' was on the 100 billboard chart. He was also known for ''Hey Brother''. He sometimes appeared on Radio 1's Pete Tong show. He was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and died in Muscat, Oman.- Actress
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Chyna had been called "The First Lady of Sports Entertainment". Her accomplishments went far beyond the wrestling ring and anyone's guess. Before exchanging body slams, modeling for top magazines and guest-starring on hundreds of shows,
Chyna was a shy girl who was born Joan Marie Laurer in Rochester, New York, to Janet Carol (Wahl) and Joseph "Joe" Von Laurer, Jr. She spent most of her childhood in a home filled with alcoholism and domestic problems. She found her escape through working out, and began doing aerobics and lifting weights at a gym near her home. This is where she found her true niche: the world of fitness.
As the only female in the gym, Chyna always stood out but developed bonds and friendships with the gym members, who gave her the encouragement to keep going. She broke all gender barriers everywhere she went, and continued her love of fitness throughout her college days. Chyna graduated from the University of Tampa with a 3.9 GPA, and a double major in Spanish Literature, in under two years. She also studied foreign languages, and could speak English, Spanish, German and French. Chyna was a true humanitarian, and served in the U.S. Army ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) and the Peace Corps, helping to teach illiterate third-world children to read. She was a strong supporter of the National Animal Rescue charity, which helps domesticated animals find good, loving homes.
Throughout her life, Chyna dreamed of being an entertainer. She began that career in the early 1990s, as a belly dancer, and soon moved on to fitness competitions, but the star found her real calling in the entertainment world: professional wrestling. She began training to be a professional under the guidance of the wrestling legend Walter 'Killer' Kowalski, in a professional wrestling school in which all other students were men. She soon took the world of women's wrestling by storm and began competing in the PGWA, where she was given the 1996 Rookie of the Year award for the Women's Championship.
After dominating the world of women's wrestling, Chyna was discovered by Paul Levesque (aka "Triple H") and Shawn Michaels (HBK), two WWF (World Wrestling Federation) superstars who helped Chyna break into the big-time. She made her worldwide television debut in February 1997 as a bodyguard for Triple H, but soon went on to break all gender stereotypes by competing with some of the toughest men in the WWF, under the name "Chyna". Years later, she was the only woman to qualify for the Royal Rumble and King of the Ring tournaments, and became the only female Intercontinental Champion and the only undefeated Women's Champion in WWF history.
Five years after she debuted as a professional wrestler in the WWF, Chyna parted ways with the company. She then toured Japan, taking the country by storm and battling in the ring with the likes of such champions as Keiji Mutô, The Great Kabuki, and most notably, Masahiro Chôno. Her 2002 Tokyo Dome match against Chono earned her the title of Nikkian Sport's 2002 Women's Wrestler of the Year.
Meanwhile, back in the US, Chyna appeared in several films, hosted a variety of shows, and showed that women can combine strength and beauty in two top-selling issues of "Playboy" magazine, which proved to the world that women can be beautiful without having the anorexic "Twiggy" look. She also appeared in the first-ever Playboy documentary, which conducted in-depth interviews with Chyna, her former manager Rich Minzer, her friend Joe Gold, and Hugh Hefner himself.
Her strong will to the best and "survival of the fittest" attitude made her one of the top wrestlers in history. She served as a role model to millions of men and women by proving anything is possible, through hard work and determination. In her best-selling autobiography "If They Only Knew", she discussed what it took to make it to the top, and showed the world what she had to overcome to make her one of the most well-known pop culture icons in the world. Shortly after her first appearance in "Playboy", she released her own fitness video, Chyna Fitness: More Than Meets the Eye (2000), which won awards from fitness and lifestyle magazines. The video is still popular with both Chyna's fans and fitness fans alike.
Unlike most former pro wrestlers, Chyna had success on her own two feet. She was on nearly every talk show, and was featured on hundreds of magazine covers, from "Playboy" and "Newsweek" to "TV Guide" and "People". She was featured on Reggie Benjamin's CD "2X-Centrix", performing drums and back up vocals. She was on the top of the "dance music" billboard charts for five weeks with the CD single "Ride", and also sang with her own rock band, "The Chynna Dolls", for a short time, playing venues like The Roxy, Elrey Theater, Hollywood Athletic Center, and two performances on Howard Stern (1994). She starred in the comedies Cougar Club (2007) and Illegal Aliens (2007), and also hosted a variety of shows, from Robot Wars: Extreme Warriors (2001) to FYE and AMC's "Tough Guys series. She had many guest-starring roles on TV series, such as Whose Line Is It Anyway? (1998), 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996), Pacific Blue (1996), The Nick Cannon Show (2002), Sabrina the Teenage Witch (1996), Mad TV (1995), MTV's "Diary" and many others. She was also featured on season four of The Surreal Life (2003) and VH1's spin off, The Surreal Life: Fame Games (2007), as well as in films, including Alien Tracker (2003), Alien Fury: Countdown to Invasion (2000), Frank McKlusky, C.I. (2002), Hunter: Back in Force (2003). In 2008, she appeared on VH1's Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew (2008) TV series to conquer personal demons and depression caused from an abusive relationship and childhood trauma.
In 2009, she released a fashion book, "Paper Doll", which became a best-seller. In May 2011, she returned to the world of wrestling with TNA, debuting on the May 12 edition of TNA iMPACT! Wrestling (2004), and followed it up with one last match at the TNA TNA: Sacrifice (2011) Pay-per-view, where she and Kurt Angle took on Jeff Jarrett and Karen Jarrett. The episode was one of the highest-rated for the company in many years. Although her match with TNA was a one-time-only deal, Chyna showed the world she had turned her life around - she had overcome depression, emotional trauma and was finally where she wanted to be in life.
In June 2011, Chyna released her first adult video with Vivid Entertainment, Backdoor to Chyna (2011), which sold over a million copies. She said the movie allowed her to regain control of her life, gave her a newfound confidence and got her back on her feet. She embarked on a huge media tour, appearing all over the US. She began feature dancing at high-end nightclubs, appeared on dozens of radio shows, including Howard Stern on Demand (2005) and ABC radio, and in November 2011 won a Fleshbot Award for her "Backdoor to Chyna" video. In 2012, she appeared in A Night at the Silent Movie Theater (2012) and appeared in the music video "Gonna Make You Love Me" for the band Lovechild. She also appeared in a tell-all interview with KayFabe Commentaries, in which she discussed everything from her childhood to drugs, porn and everything in between.
Chyna died on April 20, 2016, in Redondo Beach, California. She was 46.- Writer
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Teller was born on 14 February 1948 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Penn & Teller: Bullshit! (2003), Penn & Teller Get Killed (1989) and Tim's Vermeer (2013).- Writer
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Homer is the name traditionally ascribed to the brilliant Greek bard that authored, most notably, the Iliad and the Odyssey (Western civilization's first complete stories). Nothing concrete is known of his life, but he is traditionally thought to be blind and was probably born in either Chios or Smyrna. His epic poems were most likely memorized and recited in bardic lays and only later written down. While the details and dates of Homer's life have been lost in the mists of time, the Iliad and Odyssey were probably composed in the late eighth century B.C.- Actress
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Lulu Kennedy-Cairns was born Marie McDonald McLaughlin Lawrie in Glasgow, Scotland on November 3, 1948. As a teenager, she toured the northern clubs with her band, the Luvvers. After her initial success with a cover of "Shout" reaching #7 in 1964, Lulu went on to establish herself as one of the biggest-selling British female singers of the 1960s.
She made her film début in To Sir, with Love (1967), starring Sidney Poitier, and performed the title song, which went to No. 1 in the United States, but was only released as a B-side in the United Kingdom with the A-side, "Let's Pretend", making #11. She was one of four joint winners of the 1968 Eurovision Song Contest with "Boom Bang-a-Bang". In 1969, she married The Bee Gees member Maurice Gibb, and moved more into family entertainment, building on the success of her self-titled BBC television show. She recorded a version of David Bowie's song "The Man Who Sold the World", which reached #3 in the UK charts (it hadn't charted for Bowie), and sang the title theme to the James Bond feature The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), both in 1974.
After marriage to celebrity hairdresser John Frieda, with whom she had one son, Jordan Frieda, Lulu's career moved more into occasional adverts and pantomimes. The 1990s saw her divorce again and she released the hit album "Independence" (1993). She also penned, with her brother, "I Don't Wanna Fight", which was performed by Tina Turner on the soundtrack to What's Love Got to Do with It (1993), and at 44 she finally topped the UK charts with the British boyband Take That with a cover of "Relight My Fire". She went on to contribute to the soundtrack of the Tim Rice/Elton John musical "Aida" (1999), front her own short-lived prime-time UK lottery show on BBC TV, Red Alert with the National Lottery (1999), and starred in the film Whatever Happened to Harold Smith? (1999).
In 2002, she released an album of duets entitled "Together", featuring the likes of Paul McCartney, Elton John, Cliff Richard, Sting, and Ronan Keating, along with a best-selling autobiography. In 2003, she released her "Greatest Hits" album, which débuted at #35 in the UK charts. She was awarded Officer of the Order of the British Empire at the 2000 Queen's Birthday Honours for her services to entertainment. She was awarded Commander of the Order of the British Empire at the 2021 Queen's Birthday Honours for her services to entertainment, music, and charity.- Music Artist
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Prince Rogers Nelson was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to Mattie Shaw, a jazz singer and social worker, and John L. Nelson, a lyricist and pianist. His father's stage name was "Prince Rogers". His parents were both from African-American families from Louisiana. They separated during his youth, which lead him to move back and forth. Prince had a troubled relationship with his step-father which lead him to run away from home. Prince was adopted by a family called the Andersons. Prince soon after became friends with the Anderson's son, Andre Anderson (Cymone) together along with Charles Smith they joined a band called Grand Central. The band later renamed themselves Champagne and were a fairly successful live band, however soon diminished.
Prince at the age of eighteen started working on high-quality demo tracks with Chris Moon. With these demo tracks Prince eventually ended up signing a recording contract with Warner Brothers Records and was the youngest producer associated with the label. Prince made his debut on the record label with his 1978 album, For You. It wasn't a strong successful album, however it was fair for a beginning artist and ranked 163 on the U.S. Pop Charts. Prince's next releases would tend to do much better on the charts with his singles, "Why You Wanna Treat Me So Bad?" and I Wanna Be Your Lover in 1979. This would start to introduce Prince as a person who presented sexually explicit material into the music industry. However Prince didn't begin to attract mainstream artists until he release his single, 1999. This single began to be noticed by M.T.V. viewers and this would make him a part of the main-stream music media. Prince released two more singles called Little Red Corvette and Delirious. The album featured Prince's new band, The Revolution. In 1984 Prince would release what would be seen as an admired and profound masterpiece the feature film/sound-track album, Purple Rain in 1984. Prince's father contributed to this album, by cowriting the chord sequence for a couple of his songs. Prince continued to give cowriting credit to his father on several other albums, as his famous chord sequence would be used in several of Prince's singles and albums.
A lot of Prince's songs did not agree with listeners and one of his songs, Darling Nikki prompted a group of people to start a censorship organization called, Parents Music Resource Center (P.M.R.C.) as the track implemented grinding ludicrous acts such as masturbating, which stunned listeners. Prince however continued to release various other singles with the same platform his memorable releases being, Around The World In A Day, Parade, Love Sexy, and Batman.
Prince released a sequel to Purple Rain in 1990 called Graffiti Bridge, a soundtrack album accompanied this movie entitled, Graffiti Bridge. The film did terrible in box-office and was nominated for several Razzie awards. Many people saw the sound-track album, as the high point of the film.
In 1991, Prince assembled a new band called, The New Power Generation with this band he would release singles such as Diamond And Pearls, Cream, and Gett Off. Prince eventually changed his stage name from Prince to a symbol, which lead people to call him, "The Artist Formerly Known As Prince". Prince soon took back his old stage name.
In the 1990s, Prince continued to release singles such as Came, The Gold Experience, Chaos And Disorder, and Emancipation. With the rise of the new millennium, Prince released material such as a religious album called The Rainbow Children,One Nite Alone,The Chocolate Invasion,The Slaughter House, and had a collaboration with Stevie Wonder on Stevie's single called, What The Fuss in 2005.
Prince died on April 21, 2016 in Chanhassen, Minnesota, at his Paisley Park recording studio complex. He was 57.
Prince will be remembered as a musician and artist who inspired millions through his music, and set an inspirational platform which others still abide by.- Music Artist
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Born in 1965 in the Icelandic capital city of Reykjavik, the daughter of Gudmundur Gunnarsson (an electrician) and Hildur Hauksdóttir who divorced before her second birthday, Björk grew up in a hippie-type community with her mother and her seven siblings. She started to study classical music at the age of 5 and released her first album in 1977 (mainly traditional Icelandic folk songs and international hits translated to Icelandic) when she was only 11. During her teenage years Björk became involved in several bands, most of them punk: Spit & Snot (1977), Exodus (1979-80), Jam 80 (1980), Tappi Tíkarrass (1981-83) (featured the documentary Rock in Reykjavik (1982)) and Kukl (1984-86). She then formed the pop group The Sugarcubes with Einar Örn Benediktsson and Sigtryggur Baldursson and eventually other members Þór Eldon (with whom she had a son in 1986), Margrét Örnólfsdóttir and Bragi Ólafsson. The band released its first single in 1986 and its first album, "Life's Too Good", in 1988, and discovered international success, especially in UK. While touring in the US with the Sugarcubes, Björk met Boris Acosta, a music connoisseur and now a film producer and director, who told her she would be very successful in the years to come. She was shocked to hear that and gracefully thanked him for his sweet words. During her Sugarcubes years, Björk also collaborated with the Icelandic jazz group Gudmundar Ingólfssonar Trio for the album "Gling-Glo" in 1990, and featured 808 State's "Ooops", which was the start of her electronic music interest. The Sugarcubes eventually split after a few albums in 1992 and in 1993. Björk released her first solo album, "Debut", in collaboration with producer Nellee Hooper. The worldwide success of the album (nearly 3 million copies sold) made possible her second album, "Post", in 1995, also with help of not only Nellee Hooper but techno gurus Graham Massey (from 808 State), Howie B. and Tricky, followed by the remix album "Telegram" the year after. After some problems in the UK, where she lived, she decided to go to Spain to record her third album, "Homogenic", released in 1997. Her main collaborators were the 'Icelandic String Octet', Mark Bell (from LFO), Mark Stent and again Howie B, and the album may be her most electronic. After Danish director Lars von Trier discovered her in the music video of "It's Oh So Quiet", he asked her to play the main role and to compose the music for his new movie Dancer in the Dark (2000). She won the Best Actress Prize in the Cannes Festival, and said that it would be her only cinema performance (although she'd already acted in the Icelandic movie The Juniper Tree (1990)) because it was too painful for her and because she considered herself a music artist and not a cinema artist. The original soundtrack was re-worked by her before being released as an album under the title "Selmasongs" in September 2000 (including a new version of the duet song "I've Seen it All" with Thom Yorke). Her fourth album, probably the most quiet, "Vespertine", featured a chamber orchestra, an Icelandic choir and harpist Zeena Parkins, and was also a successful collaboration with Matmos. She then successively released a book of photos and texts, series of DVD, a Greatest Hits album and two special boxes ("Family Tree" and "Björk Box"). She also took time to marry artist Matthew Barney, with whom she had a daughter in 2002. In August 2004 she composed and sang "Oceania" for the Opening Ceremony of the Olympic Games in Athens. This song was featured on her fifth album, "Medúlla", released about two weeks after the ceremony. It is mostly made with vocals and some titles are close to experimental music, featuring choirs, Inuit singer Tanya Tagaq, Japanese artist Dokaka, Robert Wyatt, Rahzel and Mike Patton, but also collaborating again with programmers Matmos, Mark Bell and Mark "Spike" Stent.- Producer
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Iman was born on 25 July 1955 in Mogadishu, Somalia. She is a producer and actress, known for Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), L.A. Story (1991) and No Way Out (1987). She was previously married to David Bowie, Spencer Haywood and Hassan ?.- Music Artist
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Mario is an American R&B singer who since his mid-teens has developed a convincingly strong career. Born and raised in Baltimore and now living in New Jersey, he was signed to the New York label 3rd Street/J Records, working with producer Clive Davis. After contributing to the soundtrack of Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001), Mario released his self-titled debut album in July 2002 while he was still 15, preceded by the single "Just A Friend 2002" based on a hit by Biz Markie.
After touring America with other young artists Mario returned with the "Turning Point" album in December 2004, at the age of 18. The first single, "Let Me Love You", became Mario's first US number one and an international hit, and the album's fresh sounds and often surprising lyrics introduced him to a wider audience.
With a range of creative music videos, plans of attending college and a part in the coming-of-age drama Destination Fame (2012) as the beginning of what he hopes to be an extensive acting career, Mario is an already well-established star even before the end of his teens.- Actor
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Cantinflas, born Mario Moreno as the son of a Mexican postal employee, was a prolific and productive Mexican comedian/producer/writer/singer who also knew a fair bit about agriculture and medicine. He was married to Valentina Ivanova from 1936 until her death. He appeared in more than 55 films, including (as Passepartout) Around the World in 80 Days (1956).- Actress
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Lalaine Vergara-Paras, or simply Lalaine, is best known for her role as Lizzie's (Hilary Duff) best friend Miranda Sanchez in the hit TV series Lizzie McGuire (2001), and she has confirmed that she will appear in the reboot. Lalaine released her music album "Inside Story" in 2003. She currently resides in Los Angeles, California.- Actress
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Romina was born in Coral Gables, Florida and although not large in stature, this actress, producer, writer, poet and singer is casting a broad shadow across Hollywood.
Romina's love of acting began at age 13 when she took her first drama class while attending Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart. She has appeared in films such as "Wild Child", "The Insomniac", "Stealing Roses", "Pretty Rosebud", "Unknowns", "You", "Joshua Tree", "Why Am I Doing This?", etc. She is a series regular on the web series "BYRDwatch" and has also co-starred on various television shows like "J.O.N.A.S.", "90210", and "Saving Grace".
She has written award winning poetry and is a published author with "The Freedom of My Eyes", and a children's novel, "Ika Zingly & the Peaklet Cave." She has also studied classical voice in Spoleto, Italy and her accomplished lyric soprano voice can range over opera, standards and contemporary music.
Romina is not only enveloped in the world of film, but she is also involved in the technology community being the creator of Xachi Pet, a robot pet soon to be on the market that connects wirelessly with mobile devices. It's being released through Taptic Toys, Inc, a robot company she co-founded. This venture has also lead her to become the spokesperson for Double, a telepresence robot created by Double Robotics.
All this regardless of the fact that she has Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Romina has found ways to overcome and cope with her ADD to allow her to pursue her dreams. She regularly addresses ways in which people with ADD can lead a productive and fulfilling life through her public speaking engagements as a motivational speaker.
Romina credits her looks to her Cuban-American heritage. She comes from a talented family, the only child of actor and fine arts painter Manuel Espinosa, who has appeared in a variety of films like "Warrior" and multiple TV series like "Miami Vice."- Music Artist
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Nas, born Nasir bin Olu Dara Jones on September 14, 1973, is the son of Olu Dara, an unconventional jazz musician. At age nine he was a member of the Devastatin' Seven in the mid-1980s, the fruits of which can be heard on his 1994 debut, "Illmatic," which was released on Columbia/SME later that year. It attracted attention for its depiction of ghetto life and Nas' refusal to include the misogyny and violence evident in some hip-hop. Nas's first appearance on record was on Main Source's classic "Live at the Barbecue." However, his big break came when former 3rd Bass member 'MC Serch' included his verse in "Halftime" on the soundtrack of Zebrahead (1992), which led to a management deal with Serch's management company, Serchlight Productions. Nas's follow-up albums are "It Was Written," "I Am...," "Nastradamus," "Stillmatic," "From Illmatic to Stillmatic," "The Lost Tapes Vol. 1," and "God's Son."- Actor
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Fabio was born on 15 March 1959 in Milan, Lombardy, Italy. He is an actor, known for Bubble Boy (2001), Dude, Where's My Car? (2000) and Dumbbells (2014).- Actress
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Twiggy is a top model of the late 1960s, who made skinny an "inny," along with other famous skinny models such as Jean Shrimpton ("The Shrimp"), Veruschka von Lehndorff, and Penelope Tree ("The Tree"). She was born Leslie Hornby on September 19, 1949, in Twickenham, Middlesex, England, one of three daughters of Nell Hornby (née Nellie Lydia Reeman), a factory worker, and Norman Hornby, a master carpenter and joiner. By blending pop art with fashion, the doe-eyed, pouty-lipped gamine with the angelic puss and boyish crop took the industry by storm at age 17 defining the age of "flower power." She originally was nicknamed "Sticks" because of her reed-thin figure, but then switched it to "Twigs" and, finally, "Twiggy." A model for a scant four years, she had never even walked the runways by the time she exploded onto the scene. Educated at the Kilburn High School for Girls, her look and image was an instant globular sensation. She was even imitated by Mattel when they issued a "Twiggy Barbie" in 1967 and by Milton Bradley who created a board game out of her. Lunch boxes, false eye lashes, tights, sweaters, tote bags and paper dolls -- all these bore her famous moniker. In her prime she graced the covers of Vogue and Tatler, and even had her own American publication "Her Mod, Mod Teen World." The "psychedelic '60s" would not have been the same without her.
In 1970, Twiggy was able to parlay her incredible success into a respectable career in film and TV and on the musical theater stage. It was the iconoclastic director Ken Russell who instilled in her the ambition to move away from modeling and study acting, voice and dance. An extra in his movie The Devils (1971), Russell ushered her front-and-center with the jazz-age musical The Boy Friend (1971), his homage to the Busby Berkeley Hollywood musicals. Taking on the role originated on stage by Julie Andrews, Twiggy was awarded a Golden Globe for her efforts.
Her second feature, the thriller W (1974) cast her with future husband Michael Witney, who was nearly two decades her senior. They married in 1977 and later appeared together in There Goes the Bride (1980). She also cameoed in The Blues Brothers (1980) with Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi. Following Witney's untimely death in 1983, she appeared in The Doctor and the Devils (1985) and the comedy Club Paradise (1986) with Robin Williams before meeting her second husband, actor Leigh Lawson, while filming Madame Sousatzka (1988) in which she played a singer.
Though Twiggy has worked from time to time on TV, her exposure has been somewhat limited. She hosted a couple of self-titled shows in England and co-starred in the very short-lived sitcom Princesses (1991) here in America, but not too much else. The singing stage is a different story. She made her West End debut as "Cinderella" in 1974 and played Eliza Doolittle in a legit performance of "Pygmalion" in 1981. In 1983 she reunited with her "Boy Friend" co-star Tommy Tune and together dazzled Broadway audiences as a tapping twosome with "My One and Only," a warm, nostalgic revamping of the Gershwin classic "Funny Face." The charming waif went on to appear in a 1997 London revival of Noël Coward's "Blithe Spirit," then played star Gertrude Lawrence alongside Harry Groener's Coward in the song-and-sketch musical "Noel and Gertie" (later retitled "If Love Were All"), which focused on the close "blendship" between the two icons all to the accompaniment of 20 Coward songs.
Back to her modeling ways, Twiggy came out of retirement to be photographed by the likes of John Fwanel and Annie Liebovitz in the 90s and has recently joined the professional elite of judges led by Tyra Banks on the reality show America's Next Top Model (2003), her warmer, more unassuming demeanor filling in for the aggressive, vitriolic Janice Dickinson.- Actor
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Xzibit was born in Detroit, where he lived until his mother passed away when he was only nine years old. At the age of ten, he began to rap, very personally because of the loss of his mother. At the age of 14, he got into trouble and was removed from his home for two years after his father refused to have him there. Xzibit was released from the state on his own recognizance as an adult at 17. He did a little slangin' to get some money together and jumped into his jeep and headed toward LA, California. In 1992, Xzibit met with producer Broadway, through the group, Madcap. His first songs were "Freestyle Ghetto" on "King Tee IV Life", and after that he got on the Liks' "Coast ][ Coast" on the joints, "Hit and Run". He points to his mother, who was a writer, as his source of creativity. Xzibit's rhymes resonate because he speaks from the heart as an individual, rather than trying to portray a phony hip hop persona. He has lived through many dramatic times in his life, so he raps primarily about his own life experiences, and is not afraid to reveal himself on a track. Xzibit eventually found himself working with Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre, and helped on Dre's 2001. Through that work he became good friends with Dre, Snoop, Eminem, and others on the Aftermath staff. He is now a father, too.- Composer
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Richard Melville Hall was born September 11, 1965, in the Manhattan, New York City, in the Harlem neighborhood to Elizabeth McBride (née Warner) and James Frederick Hall. His mother was a medical secretary and his father a professor of chemistry. The nickname Moby was assigned by his father, and was a reference to the book "Moby-Dick". Moby claims that Herman Melville, the author of "Moby-Dick" is his Great-Great-Great-Uncle. Moby's father died in a car accident when he was two years old after which his mother moved them first to San Francisco in 1969, and then between the Connecticut towns of Darien and Stratford.
At the age of nine, Moby began to play classical guitar and piano and then studied jazz, music theory, and percussion. In 1983, he joined the punk band the Vatican Commandos as a guitarist. Moby formed AWOL, known as a post punk group, and released a self-titled EP where he is credited as Moby Hall. Moby studied philosophy at the University of Connecticut and began to move from classical instruments toward electronic music, starting as a DJ for the college radio station WHUS. He transferred to State University of New York at Purchase, continuing to study philosophy and gaining interest in photography, but dropped out of college completely to pursue a DJ career.
In addition to music, Moby also started "Little Idiot Collective", a combination clothing store, comics store, and animation studio, a raw and vegan restaurant called "TeaNY" and his last venture, Little Pine, is a vegan restaurant in Los Angeles from which all profits are donated to animal welfare causes.
Today, Moby is known as an electronic music pioneer, vegan, and activist championing causes to bring awareness to animal welfare and climate change.- Actor
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Kreskin was born on 12 January 1935 in Montclair, New Jersey, USA. He is an actor and director, known for The Amazing Kreskin: On Ultimate Fear, Wake-Up Callz (2008) and Catch of the Day 2: You Die at Dawn! (2020).- Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Costume Designer
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Born Roy Frowick Halston on April 23, 1932 in Des Moines, Iowa, Halston was a product of America's heartland. He led a classic Iowa childhood playing in soap box derby races, fishing, visiting farms, and the like. Halston took an interest in sewing from his mother, and from an early age he showed a special interest in making hats. Halston would make his own for his mother and sister (his first hat appeared on the cover of Harper's Bazaar in 1960). Halston attended Indiana University in 1952 for one semester. The family moved to Chicago in late 1952 where Halston enrolled in a night course at the Chicago Art Institute and took a day job as a window dresser. Halston continued to design hats and finally obtained his break when a small story on his fashionable creations appeared in the Chicago Daily News. It was at this time that his middle name Halston, would become his professional moniker. His hat sales took off and he began designing for a celebrity and show biz clientele. In 1957, Halston opened his first major shop, the Boulevard Salon, on the second floor of 900 Michigan Avenue. In 1959 Halston left Chicago for NYC to work for the famed French milliner Lilly Daché, where he proved to be a hardworking and dedicated employee. He was named co-designer at Daché after only one year. Following that Halston accepted a position at Bergdorf Goodman, a fashionable New York department store, where he charmed his clients and made a grand name for himself. After two-years at Bergdorf he succeeded in becoming the store's first designer to have his name placed in the hats he designed. He became adept at courting and manipulating the press at Bergdorf's. In 1962 he designed the famous pill box hat worn by Jackie Kennedy at the President's Inaugural making the Halston name a household word. Later that year he was bestowed the Coty's Fashion Critics Award. In 1966 Halston designed his first ready to wear collection for Bergdorf Goodman and while there Halston continued creating magic with his hat creations. Women's Wear Daily heralded him as "New York's Top Milliner". He opened his own salon in 1968 and became the toast of New York's fashion society. His close circle of friends and clients would come to include some of the most alluring and fascinating men and women in the world, among them Liza Minnelli, Barbara Walter, Martha Graham, Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Andy Warhol and Elizabeth Taylor. Halston's career sky-rocketed during the 1970's and his designs set the standard for American designers. He was the undisputed high priest of fashion. The Halston name became synonymous with classically cut, simple, spare and elegant designs, a phenomenally successful fragrance line Halston by Halston for women X12 and Z14 for men, and the fabric known as "Ultra suede". His designs became ubiquitous as we went on to design and license his name on thirty-one different licensing products including a range of home linen, uniforms for Braniff International Airlines and a line of luggage for Hartmann. Throughout most of the seventies he epitomized the glamour, as well as the decadence of the era, becoming a central figure in the nightlife scene of New York's Studio 54 disco.- Music Artist
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Michael Peter Balzary was born on the sixteenth of October 1962, in Melbourne, Australia. When he was four, his parents divorced and Michael, his sister Karen and his mother Patricia headed for New York; they didn't stay long and soon ended up in L.A. (in 1972), where his step-father, a jazz musician named Walter Urban Jr., intended to start a career. Flea would often sit in on weekly jam sessions with his stepfather and the constant flow of musicians who trucked through. High school was not always an easy road for young Michael. He was a misfit because of his unusual musical taste. While most of the kids were into disco and dance music, Flea preferred jazz artists like Miles Davis and Dizzy Gillespie. Flea's first musical instrument was the drums, but soon he also began playing the trumpet. After school he would race home to listen to his Gillespie records and play along with his idol. He counts as his greatest childhood memory the time his mother got him back-stage to meet Gillespie after one of his concerts. He also played with the Los Angeles Junior Philarmonic Orchestra. Influenced by some of his friends from school who shared the same passion for music - among them, Jack Irons and Hillel Slovak, who would later play in the Red Hot Chili Peppers with him - his musical interests then diversified: he discovered funk music, and Jimi Hendrix became his new idol. At the end of 1977, he met Anthony Kiedis. For some reason, Michael was holding a young schoolmate named Tony Sherr in a headlock, when Kiedis, who was Tony's best friend at the time, came to rescue him; they almost had a fight. After this meeting, they soon became aware they were made to be friends, and have been inseparable since. The two became known for their mischievous antics, which often got them into trouble. This is also when he gained the nickname Flea, while he was joking with some friends about calling each other a cartoon name. Around 1979, due to Flea's obvious musical talent, he was sought out as a recruit for a band formed by his school-mates, Anthym, with Jack Irons (drums), Hillel Slovak (guitar) and Alain Johannes (vocals and guitar) as members. Flea picked up the bass, which he had never played before, and became so good that within a few months he had forged his very own style, which later would make him one of the most famous and talented bass players in the world. After a shaky start the band got a few club gigs but no major breaks. Anthony Kiedis, who was always there to support them, became the presenter of their shows which he opened with a few jokes or improvised poems of his own. In 1982, Flea joined the L.A. punk band Fear. He also landed a small role in the Penelope Spheeris film Suburbia (1984). John Lydon of PIL asked Flea to join his band when he left Fear in 1984, but Flea instead decided to rejoin his friends. With Kiedis, Slovak and Irons, they started another band together, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, which soon earned a good reputation in the Los Angeles underground music scene. Flea was married in 1985 to Loesha Zeviar, whose first name he got tattooed above his left nipple - close to his heart. They have since divorced, but still share daughter Clara, born on September 16, 1988. Clara sometimes goes on the road with her dad, and has done artwork for the Chili Peppers' t-shirts and promotional material. In 2001, along with friends Pete Weiss and Keith Barry, Flea founded the Silverlake Conservatory Of Music, an organization whose aim is to provide affordable music lessons to everyone and to encourage children's musical education.- Music Artist
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Talented. Beautiful. Modest. These three words described R&B singer-turned-actress Aaliyah perfectly.
Aaliyah Dana Haughton was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Diane (Hankerson) and Michael Haughton. Her uncle was music manager Barry Hankerson and her brother is director Rashad Haughton. Aaliyah was raised in Detroit. She got her first major exposure appearing on the syndicated television series Star Search (1983), where she awed the audience with her amazing voice and talent, singing "My Funny Valentine", a song which her mother had sung years earlier. At age 11, she sang with Gladys Knight in a five-night stint in Las Vegas. Withdrawing from the celebrity scene for a few years, Aaliyah lived the life of a normal teenage girl, attending Detroit's Performing Arts High School, where she majored in dance. It was around this same time that Aaliyah met singer/composer R. Kelly. Kelly assisted Aaliyah with the production of her debut album "Age Ain't Nothing But A number", which scored several number hits, specifically "Back and Forth." The album's title was a brief reference to her short-lived marriage to R. Kelly (she was 15 years of age at the time, and he was in his 20s). Thir marriage was annulled due to her status as a minor.
During her senior year, Aaliyah went on to record "One In A Million", which featured the songwriting talents of major R&B producers/writers Missy Elliott and Timbaland. The album was a major success and sealed Aaliyah's fame forever.
Aaliyah recorded the single 'Journey to the past' for the Anastasia (1997) soundtrack. After seeing her at an awards show and in the video for her hit song "Are You that Somebody?" (from the Eddie Murphy film Doctor Dolittle (1998)), film producer Joel Silver (producer of The Matrix (1999) and other major actor films) asked Aaliyah to audition for a role in an romance/action film, Romeo Must Die (2000). With her determination and sex appeal, Aaliyah won Silver over and was cast in her first major film role. Romeo Must Die (2000) was a hit at the box office. This film led to her being cast as one of the stars of the film based on Anne Rice's Queen of the Damned (2002), and in the two sequels to the major box office hit, The Matrix (1999), The Matrix Reloaded (2003) and The Matrix Revolutions (2003).
During the busy schedule of her film career, Aaliyah took time to record her third album, the self-titled "Aaliyah". July 2001 was a busy time for Aaliyah. After the success of her song "Try Again", for which she was nominated for a Grammy Award and won several MTV Video Awards, Aaliyah finally released her "Aaliyah" album. Debuting at number two on the Billboard charts, "Aaliyah" was a sales success, despite some lackluster reviews.
In August 2001, Aaliyah took time off from her busy album promotional tour to fly to the Bahamas to film a video for the song "Rock the Boat". The video, filmed on Abaco Island, was directed by Hype Williams, a major music video director known for his style and wit.
On August 25, 2001, after filming the video, Aaliyah and about 9-11 of her entourage took off from Marsh Harbour airport at 6:50pm EDT in a small Cessna 404 en route to Opa-Locka, Florida. A few minutes after take-off, the plane crashed about 200 feet from the runaway, killing Aaliyah and many others instantly. Four passengers were pulled alive from the wreckage, and one later died at a hospital in Nassau. Aaliyah was only 22 years old. Her funeral was held on Friday August 31st in New York, and 22 white doves were flown to celebrate each year of her life. Soon after her death, the hit singles 'More Than a woman' and 'Rock The Boat' were released, from her third album. In 2002, the film Queen of the Damned (2002) was released, in which Aaliyah played Queen Akasha. She was nominated for best Villain at the MTV Movie Awards 2002.
Aaliyah's short-lived, but brilliant career, was a true success story for a young African-American woman who went against all odds to be herself in an industry where originality is scarce. Truly missed by her family, friends, and fans, her music and film contributions will live forever. It's no wonder that her name means 'Highest, most ex-halted one; the best' in Hebrew. She had achieved so much in her twenty-two years.- Actor
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Originally born Harris Glen Milstead just after the end of WWII, Baltimore's most outrageous resident eventually became the international icon of bad taste cinema, as the always shocking and highly entertaining transvestite performer, Divine.
Milstead met maverick film director & good friend, John Waters, at high school in Baltimore, and the two combined to star in and direct several ultra low budget, taboo breaking cult films of the early 1970s. Their first efforts included Roman Candles (1967), Eat Your Makeup (1968) and Mondo Trasho (1969)....however, their most infamous work together was the amazing Pink Flamingos (1972), in which Divine starred as "Babs Johnson", the "filthiest person alive" living in a pink trailer with her egg-eating grandmother, chicken-loving son and voyeuristic daughter.
Divine also starred as career criminal Dawn Davenport in Female Trouble (1974), as bored housewife Francine Fishpaw in Polyester (1981), as outlaw gal Rosie Velez in Lust in the Dust (1984) and in Waters' loving (but still slightly bizarre) salute to teen dance TV shows as Ricki Lake's mother in the superb Hairspray (1988).
Milstead's health deteriorated due to to his obese frame, and he passed away in his sleep from a combination of heart attack and apnea in 1988.- Music Department
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With over 17 million records sold worldwide, Grammy award-winning and multi-platinum recording artist Coolio is an artist known around the world as a musical and cooking master of extraordinary reinvention. Growing up during the time of tremendous change in Compton, Calif., Coolio fed on struggle and used it as a launching pad of continual reinvention that led to selling over 17 million records globally and a long list of concerts to adoring fans in Africa, Israel, Russia, Japan, Thailand, Brazil, Australia, Turkey, the United States and throughout Europe. He gave back to the community by serving as the spokesman for the Asthma and Allergies Foundation. Coolio initially took over the world rap scene through the "Gangsta's Paradise" release, which won a Grammy Award in 1996 for Best Rap Performance, Solo. "Gangsta's Paradise" would also be featured on the "Dangerous Minds" soundtrack and movie. "Gangsta's Paradise," also featuring LV on vocals, was also nominated for a Grammy for Best Song of the Year and it sold over six million copies and was Billboard Magazine's number one single in 1995. The world recognition led to his music being featured Coolio for several major motion pictures including: Space Jam, Clueless, The Big Payback, Panther, New Jersey Drive, The Jerk Boys, Eddie, Half Baked and many more. He also composed the theme song for the popular kids TV series Kenan and Kel on Nickelodeon. The awards for his hard-hitting style are many. Coolio has won an American Music award, three MTV awards, two Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards and a World Music award. He has received six Grammy award nominations (1994, 1995 and 1996), two Billboard Music awards (1994 and 1996), two ASCAP awards (1996, 1997), three MTV video awards (1996 and 1997), four American Online awards (1996) and was the Playboy Music Poll winner in 1997. Coolio successfully made the transition from performer to actor during the 90s. He co-stared in the motion picture Retirement with Bill Cobb, Peter Falk, Charlie Murphy and Rip Torn. The film featured music from Coolio's "Return of the Gangsta" album. Coolio has also starred in several HBO films and series as well as making cameos in Bateman Dare Devil. His television accomplishments have included the reality TV show on the Oxygen network, "Coolio's Rules," and the ghetto funk cooking web series, "Cooking with Coolio," which logged over four million hits on the web. Television appearances included programs like Celebrity Cook Off and Celebrity Chopped. His musical collaborations continued with "From the Bottom to the Top." Coolio changed his style and opened up to working with many European and International disc jockeys such as Benny Benassi, Ives la rock, and Paul Oakenfold just to name a few. He also got the aide of his son A.I., who was a featured artist on the album. The first single is collaboration with Coolio and the Oscar-winning "Ennio Morricone," one of the most famous soundtrack composers of the last 50 years. Coolio's Album "El Cool Magnigico" was released in Europe on Jan 15, 2003. Featured artists on that album included hip-hop performer Miss Toi, country legend Kenny Rogers, Krazye Bone from Bone thugs n Harmony, B-real of Cypress Hill and Daz Dillinger. Associated Press stated that, "Coolio returns to Hip-Hop with El Cool Magnifico, and every track on the disc is a winner." The New York Post praised the album and wrote, "El Cool Magnifico is excellent from top to bottom". The album sold over 1.8 million copies worldwide. No stranger to the world of cartoons, Coolio recorded the single and music video "Dexter" (what's his name) for "Dexter's Laboratory: Home Boy Genius - The Hip-Hop Experiment." This was a creative and fun album featuring big name hip-hop artists such as De La Soul and Will I Am. "The Hip-Hop Experiment" album features original songs inspired by Dexter's Laboratory, the top rated, Emmy nominated Cartoon Network series. An ingenious chameleon, Coolio launched his book, "Cookin' with Coolio: 5 Star Meals at a 1 Star Price," in 2009, which would become a New York Times bestseller. This move expanded his audience base from the stage to kitchens across the globe. Branding himself as the "ghetto gourmet," Coolio used his creativity and the inspiration of his mother to refine old-school recipes into accessible, fresh options. Coolio's interest in cooking started as a youngster. After a failed grilled cheese, his mother chose to make him pay her back for the charred mess by helping out in the kitchen. Rather than hate every minute of cleaning and scrubbing, Coolio fell in love with cooking. Later in life, when his mother passed, the love of cooking turned into an obsession with rediscovering and reinventing all her old recipes. He interviewed aunts, friends and relatives until he found her lost secrets. Then, Coolio took the lessons of his elders and morphed the recipes into healthier options that remained affordable. The secret ingredient of Coolio's recipes is his unconventional approach to culinary instruction. His style is brash and in your face for which he doesn't apologize. "People learn better when they're entertained. Cooking isn't just for the starched-stiff elite. Everyone should know how to cook something," said the ghetto gourmet. Performing and touring worldwide as a musical artist, Coolio is also working on a new cookbook with his best friend and band mate, hip hop jazz saxophonist Jarez. The recipes will continue on the theme of insane deliciousness that anyone can recreate. The recipes are designed to be accessible with easy to assemble ingredients that everyone will recognize. From the tang of balsamic vinegar to the freshness of chopped peppers, the new cookbook is something that everyone needs in their kitchen.- Music Artist
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Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas is an African-American R&B singer and actress from Glen Cove, New York. She acted in films and shows such as The Muppets' Wizard of Oz, Resident Evil: Extinction, Coach Carter, John Tucker Must Die, Bride and Prejudice, Malcolm X and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She has released six albums.- Art Department
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Banksy is known for Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010), Velvet Buzzsaw (2019) and History of the Wall (2017).- Music Artist
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Ciara Princess Harris was born on October 25, 1985 in Fort Hood, Texas to Jackie Harris (née Smith) & Carlton Clay Harris. Due to her father being in the United States Army, she grew up on army bases in Germany, New York, Utah, California, Arizona & Nevada. During her teens, Ciara and her family settled in Atlanta. Ciara said that watching Destiny's Child perform on a television program, while staying home from school, inspired her to pursue a career in music. Later on, Ciara would join a girl group called Hear'Say and worked on her songwriting. The group recorded demos, but began to have differences. Eventually, she left the group, got a publishing deal and found a "musical soul mate" when she met producer, Jazze Pha. Ciara graduated from Riverdale High School in Riverdale, Georgia in 2003 and was signed by LaFace Records executive, L.A. Reid with the help of Jazze Pha. She then began production on her debut album, Goodies. Ciara co-wrote a demo with songwriter Sean Garrett, who was co-writer of Usher's international hit, Yeah!.- Actress
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Vanity was a glamorous Canadian model and lead singer of the all-girl group "Vanity 6." She specialized in playing sultry female characters often in trouble with the law.
Vanity was born Denise Katherine Matthews in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada, the daughter of Helga Senyk and James Levia Matthews. She was of African and German descent. Vanity first appeared on screen in the biographical tale of writer Jack London titled Klondike Fever (1979), before venturing into more gritty territory such as the slasher film Terror Train (1980), the very odd chick flick Tanya's Island (1980), a B-grade martial arts film entitled The Last Dragon (1985) and the totally weird Never Too Young to Die (1986).
However, her best two performances were as the naive stripper assisting blackmail victim Roy Scheider in the under-rated thriller 52 Pick-Up (1986) and as a seductive, smart-talking nightclub singer teaming up with cop Carl Weathers to defeat murderous car tycoon Craig T. Nelson in the violent Action Jackson (1988).
Unfortunately, the remainder of Vanity's film work was of the "straight-to-video" variety and she only scored minor roles in several low-budget thrillers such as Neon City (1991) and Da Vinci's War (1993). In late 1995, Vanity turned her back on Hollywood and the entertainment industry, and dedicated her life to the Christian faith.
Vanity, who suffered from sclerosis encapsulating peritonitis, died on February 15, 2016 in Fremont, California.- Actress
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Tiffany was born on 2 October 1971 in Norwalk, California, USA. She is an actress and composer, known for Mega Python vs. Gatoroid (2011), Jetsons: The Movie (1990) and Ted (2012). She was previously married to Ben George and Bulmaro Garcia.- Actor
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Sinbad was born in Benton Harbor, Michigan to two parents, Louise and the Baptist Rev. Dr. Donald Beckley Adkins and was then known as David Adkins. He is primarily known as an actor and somewhat a writer and proved his comedic acting style in House Guest (1994), Jingle All the Way (1996), First Kid (1996) and Good Burger (1997). He has been married to Meredith Adkins since 2002 with two children. He was previously married to Meredith Fuller.- Music Artist
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His Nigerian mother and Brazilian-born father were still studying when Seal was born. They were barely able to stay afloat with odd jobs. Shortly after his birth, Seal was sent to a foster family, where he grew up in sheltered conditions until he was four years old. In 1967, his mother Adebisi fought back for custody of him. She now had an orderly life, worked as a wig maker and had divorced Seal's father. For the next two years, Seal lived with his mother in London with his five siblings until she left him to his father in 1969. Life with his father was marked by domestic violence and abuse.
In addition to his father's violence, he also had to deal with the worst kind of teasing at school. The skin disease lupus erythematosus, which affected him as a child, left extensive scars on his face. At the age of 15, he ran away from home and dropped out of school. From then on he kept himself afloat with various odd jobs, but always kept an eye on his passion for music and sang in various pubs and bars. In the mid-1980s, Seal joined the British funk band Push. A tour took him to Japan and Thailand, where he briefly joined a blues band. Fascinated by Asia, he went on an exploratory trip to India. In 1990 he returned to London and met the producer Adamski there. With him Seal recorded "Killer", which immediately reached number one in the British charts.
In 1991 he recorded his first album entitled "Seal" with Trevor Horn, who was a producer for Grace Jones, among others. The single "Crazy" was particularly successful. In 1994 he released his second album, which he also simply titled "Seal". He celebrated an absolute worldwide success with the title song for the movie "Batman Forever". "Kiss From A Rose" went multi-platinum, went number one in the US and stayed on the charts for a total of 45 weeks. Seal was also nominated for three Grammys for "Kiss From A Rose." His participation in the soundtrack to the 1996 film "Space Jam" entitled "Fly Like An Eagle" also received wide attention. Two years later, in 1998, Seal's third album "Human Nature" followed, but could not match the great success of its predecessors. In the following years things became a little quieter for the soul star.
Seal lived in Los Angeles and stayed away from the public most of the time. However, media interest quickly returned when it was revealed that he was in a relationship with top German model Heidi Klum. He moved to London to live with her and recorded the album "Seal IV" (2003), again with Trevor Horn, who accompanied him on all his albums. The success was unimaginably great, especially the single "Love's Divine" became a worldwide megahit and was listed in the top ten around the world. At the end of 2004 a best-of album followed with the title "Best 1991 - 2004". On May 10, 2005, Seal and Heidi Klum married. They lived alternately in London and New York. Together they became parents to two sons in 2005 and 2006; Their daughter was born in 2009. Another of Klum's daughters, from a previous relationship, was adopted by Seal.
At the beginning of 2007 he contributed the song "A Father's Way" to the film "The Pursuit of Happiness". In February of the same year, Seal was defeated in a legal dispute with his former manager in a London appeal court, whereupon he had to pay John Wadlow $922,000 in commissions from the proceeds of his first two albums. At the end of 2009, Klum subsequently adopted Seal's surname Samuel. In October 2011, a private appearance at Chechen President Ramzan Kadyrov's birthday party led to criticism because he was accused of serious human rights violations. On January 22, 2012, the couple announced their separation.- Music Artist
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Sade was born on 16 January 1959 in Ibadan, Nigeria. She is a music artist and composer, known for A Wrinkle in Time (2018), True Lies (1994) and Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010). She was previously married to Carlos Scola.- Music Artist
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Nelly went to Spain with his father, Air Force Man Cornall Haynes Sr., until he was 3 years old, then moved to St. Louis. Nelly's folks struggled financially and split up when he was 7. As the youngest child in the neighborhood he grew up getting into trouble with the big kids. As a result he ended up moving around to live with various family members. He dreamed of playing pro baseball. In high school he formed a group called the St. Lunatics. The group consisted of him and some of his friends (Kyjuan, Murphy Lee, Slo Down, City Spud, and Ali) from high school. Nelly began listening to artists like Rakim, LL Cool J, Run-DMC, OutKast, Goodie Mob, and Jay-Z. He became convinced that his gift for rap could be parlayed into a career. He has his own style of rap which he likes to describe as a jazz form of hip-hop. The first song that Nelly and the St. Lunatics made was Gimmie What You Got. The song "Gimmie What You Got" sold 7,000 units regionally and dominated airwaves, rising to the number one spot on St. Louis' number one hip-hop station. After that song the St. Lunatics encouraged Nelly to go solo and he did. He signed a record deal with Universal Records.- Actor
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Topol was born on 9 September 1935 in Tel Aviv, Palestine [now Israel]. He was an actor and producer, known for Fiddler on the Roof (1971), Flash Gordon (1980) and For Your Eyes Only (1981). He was married to Galia Topol. He died on 8 March 2023 in Tel Aviv, Israel.- Actress
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Mo'Nique received a standing ovation when she stepped on stage for the first time in her hometown of Baltimore, Maryland, giving her confidence to pursue a career as a stand-up comedian. After numerous stand-up performances, she took a leap forward with one of the starring roles in The Parkers (1999).
Mo'Nique's huge international breakthrough came with her performance in the independent feature film Precious (2009), for which she won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and over 30 other major awards for best acting including the most important ones like the Golden Globe, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, the New York Film Critics Circle Award, the Chicago Film Critics Association Award, the Independent Spirit Award, the Screen Actors Guild Award, the National Society of Film Critics Award, the BAFTA Film Award and Sundance Film Festival's Special Jury Prize.- Music Artist
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Ke$ha was born on March 1, 1987, in Los Angeles, California. Her big break came from cameo on rapper Flo Rida's 2009 No. 1 hit "Flo Rida Feat. Ke$ha: Right Round (2009)." Soon after, she landed a record contact with RCA and released her first single, Ke$ha: TiK ToK (2009). The party anthem developed quite a following. Her debut album, Animal, reached the top of the charts after its release in January 2010. Her second album, Warrior, was released in 2012. Ke$ha was exposed to music at an early age through her mother Pebe Sebert, a songwriter.The first few years of Ke$ha's life were a struggle for her family. Her mother had difficulty earning enough to support Ke$ha and her older brother. "We were on welfare and food stamps," the artist explained on her website. "One of my first memories is my mom telling me, 'If you want something, just take it.'" When she was 4, Ke$ha moved to Nashville with her family, where her mother had landed a songwriting contract. Sometimes tagging along with her mother, Ke$ha spent a lot of time in recording studios during her early adolescence. Her mother encouraged her interest in singing, allowing Ke$ha to work on some of her song demos. Ke$ha also went to a music school, where she learned about songwriting. Deep in the heart of the country music scene, she was inspired by the likes of Johnny Cash and Patsy Cline. At 17, Ke$ha left high school to pursue a music career. She changed her name to Ke$ha and moved to Los Angeles to work with producer Dr. Luke, who had worked on hit singles for Katy Perry and Kelly Clarkson among others. Ke$ha was determined to break into the business. According to one story, she paid off a gardener to get inside music legend Prince's house to leave one of her demos for him. She landed a few gigs as a back-up vocalist as well, performing on songs by Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. Soon after her work with Flo Rida, Ke$ha landed a record contact with RCA. She released her first single, "Ke$ha: TiK ToK (2009)" later that year. The party anthem developed quite a following, soon becoming one of the most downloaded songs in America, and then reaching the top of the Billboard pop charts in January 2010. Her debut album, Animal, reached the top of the charts after its release in January 2010. In addition to [ink=tt6942460], Ke$ha scored two more Top 10 hits: "Ke$ha: Blah Blah Blah (Feat. 3Oh!3) (2010)" and "Ke$ha: Your Love Is My Drug (2010)". Accompany this work was the extended play release Cannibal. She followed up her initial success with 2012's Warrior, which featured the single "Ke$ha: Die Young (2012)." A companion extended work, Deconstructed, was released in 2013.- Music Artist
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Elmer Figueroa de Arce, better known as Chayanne, was born in Puerto Rico, the third of five siblings. He is married to Venezuelan Mariana Elizabeth "Marilisa" Maronesa de Figueroa, with whom he has a son, Lorenzo Valentino and a daughter, Isadora Sofia. Chayanne debuted as a singer at ten years of age, becoming a part of a Menudo-type group "Los Chicos." His recording career includes 14 albums/CDs, 5 of these with Los Chicos and 9 others as a solo performer; all in Spanish. As an actor for television he worked on the popular soap opera "Pobre Juventad, " he was also the star of "Tormento," "Sombras del Pasado," "Provocame" and "Gabriel". As an actor in films he was featured in the Jacobo Morales film Linda Sara, opposite ex-Miss Universe Dayanara Torres. "Dance With Me" was his first English acting job where his undeniable charm and expertise on the dance floor served him well. Additionally, he guest-starred in various episodes of "Ally McBeal."- Music Department
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Donovan Philips Leitch was born May 10, 1946, in Glasgow, Scotland. Music was always part of his home life, with both traditional Scottish/Irish songs at family and local celebrations, and popular music through radio and live performances. When Donovan was ten his family moved south to England, resettling in Hatfield. Before starting college in his teens, the young man had run away from home more than once; on one outing at fourteen, he found an old guitar in a trash can, still good enough to learn the basics on.
Though interested in rock-n-roll through artists like Buddy Holly and The Everly Brothers, Donovan embraced the folk-music boom that swept both England and America in the early 1960s, and also the Beat Generation writers and poets. Donovan settled into the St. Albans music scene, north of London, but traveled to different parts of the country, frequently with longtime friend "Gypsy Dave", who played kazoo and passed the hat while Donovan played guitar and harmonica and sang, for their keep. Their songs included traditional and recent folk music, songs by their friends (like Mick Softley) and the beginnings of Donovan's own writing, about what he'd seen and experienced away from home.
On a beach trip to Southend with members of the St. Albans circle, Donovan played and sang between performances by an R&B group called the Cops and Robbers, and so impressed the group's managers that they expressed interest in signing him up as a performer. Beginning with taping some publishers' demos for other songwriters, Donovan was soon demoing his own material, and the tapes found their way to the ears of Elkan Allan, producer of Britain's popular rock show Ready, Steady, Go! (1963). Donovan's first appearance (in cap and denim) led to a short residency on the show, which in turn led to a recording contract with England's Pye Records. His first singles were respectable UK hits in 1965, and made a minor impact on the American market that year.
Promoted first as mainly a folk performer and a kind of British rival to Bob Dylan, evidence of Donovan's own blossoming style as writer and musician was undeniable as early as his second album, with its hints at jazz and a different kind of pop sense from Dylan's. When Dylan toured England in 1965, the two met for a well-publicized "summit" at his hotel suite; after an hour's private talk, they emerged smiling arm-in-arm to a waiting press conference. Press headlines announced "DYLAN DIGS DONOVAN!" and he joined Dylan and Joan Baez on the road, though he didn't perform with them onstage. (Donovan can be seen keeping Dylan and Baez company in Dylan's Bob Dylan: Dont Look Back (1967)). Donovan went on to the 1965 Newport Folk Festival, where he was welcomed.
After his first two mostly-folk albums in England (distributed in the US by Hickory Records), produced by his managers, Donovan immersed himself in the pop sounds of the "British Invasion" bands, and both his writing and choices in the studio reflected this. In 1966 Mickie Most became Donovan's new producer, and his sidemen began to include future Led Zeppelin members John Paul Jones (who arranged several Donovan tunes, augmenting the sound they were aiming for) and Jimmy Page. (John Carr usually played drums at Donovan's sessions, although John Bonham was also sometimes around.) Epic Records in the US expressed an interest in picking Donovan up for the American market, with Clive Davis offering a contract, and Allen Klein was also interested in taking over Donovan's management. New and bigger deals offered led to lawsuits, and Donovan vanished from the record market for a few months while matters were being settled.
Emerging with new management and production teams, Donovan followed up his first US #1 single, "Sunshine Superman" (dedicated to John Lennon and Paul McCartney), with his signature hit "Mellow Yellow", which reached #2 on the US charts late in 1966. Working with Most, Donovan enjoyed hits on both sides of the Atlantic through the end of the decade. As a pop performer, he made frequent guest appearances on television in the UK and US; most notably in America on The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour (1967). He also contributed to the stage and film worlds, writing the title song for the movie Poor Cow (1967) and adapting William Shakespeare's "Under The Greenwood Tree" for Britain's National Theatre. Later he would contribute the title song for the 1969 comedy If It's Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium (1969) (also appearing onstage in the movie), and star in The Pied Piper (1972). Donovan brought his parents along on tour, with his father Donald introducing him to the audience.
Offstage, Donovan was a frequent guest collaborator and companion to other celebrities of the time; he contributed lyrics to The Beatles's song "Yellow Submarine" and dated George Harrison's sister-in-law Jenny Boyd (later to marry Mick Fleetwood). In turn, Donovan's recording sessions sometimes included members of The Beatles, Paul Samwell-Smith and The Rolling Stones and their circle of musician friends, as guest performers. When former Stones member Brian Jones died in 1969, Donovan married his widow Linda Lawrence, raising Jones' son Julian and having two daughters of their own. (Donovan also fathered son Donovan Leitch Jr. and Ione Skye by Enid Karl; family information is sparse at best.)
An arrest for drug possession late in 1966 was a moving experience for him, as was his noticing that the flirtation his generation had had with marijuana and LSD was getting ugly, and many young people were turning to harder drugs and destroying themselves. In the notes for his 1967 album "A Gift From A Flower To A Garden", he called for all drug use to stop and for young people to find other ways to expand their consciousness, and peace from within, as they became the parents of the next generation. He set an example by studying meditation with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and later embraced many Eastern lifestyle changes, including a vegetarian diet and studies in Hindu and Buddhist philosophy.
Though not a major player in popular music since the end of the 1960s, Donovan continues to tour and perform, and recall the experiences and friendships of his heyday for the media. His music (recorded and live) appears frequently in programs about the Sixties era, and has reached the newer generations through its use in TV commercials. In late 2005, he published an autobiography, "The Hurdy Gurdy Man."- Music Artist
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Born in Medellin, Colombia on January 28, 1994, he is a pop, reggaeton and Latin trap singer, who in his childhood was a soccer fan, a sport he played for eight years as a member of the lower divisions of two Colombian teams. He always had a passion for music and won his first singing contest in high school with "Tengo ganas" by Andrés Cepeda. It was hard for him to decide between soccer and music, but he did, and in his last year of high school he decided to take the plunge into stardom. In 2011, he rose to fame in his country and thanks to his popularity, in 2011 he signed a contract with Sony Music. In 2013, he was nominated for a Latin Grammy as best new artist. In 2015, he entered Billboard's Top Latin Albums Chart with his album Pretty Boy, Dirty Boy. He participated in Univision's Premios Lo Nuestro ceremony in 2016, where he performed "Pa' Mayté" with J Balvin in tribute to Carlos Vives. In 2017 he performed and was a judge at Festival Viña del Mar. He is considered one of the urban music artists with the greatest impact in Latin America.- Composer
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Madeon was born on 30 May 1994 in Nantes, France. He is a composer and director, known for The 5th Wave (2016), The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021) and Madeon: Good Faith Live - Tokyo 2020 (2020).- Writer
- Art Department
Born under the name Georges Remi on May 22, 1907 in Brussels, Belgium. As a child, Herge had a gift for drawing but never had any formal training in the visual arts. He attended both school and the boy scouts during the World War 1 and post-World War 1 Era. After he finished school Herge published his first ever cartoon: "The Adventures of Totor" for Le Boy-Scout Belge (a scouting magazine).
In 1928, he became in charge of the producing material for Le Petit Vingtieme (The Little Twentieth) a youth supplement newspaper. He began illustrating "The Adventures of Flup", "Nenesse", "Poussette", "Cochonnet", etc. January 10, 1929, Herge introduced a cartoon about a traveling Belgium reporter (Tintin) accompanied by his fox terrier (Snowy) traveling the Soviet Union. By 1930, Herge published the very first Tintin book: "Tintin in the Land of the Soviets". Tintin soon became Herge's "ligne claire" (French for clear line) legacy.
The later adventures of Tintin involved other locations of the world from China all the way to America. Within the next 50 years Tintin became one of the most popular European comics of the 20th century, due to its well-researched plots, appealing characters, humor, political thrillers, & real world settings. After completing 23 books, Herge passed away on March 3, 1983, leaving "Tintin and Alph-Art" (the 24th book) unfinished. Despite Herge not being able to give his Tintin series the proper end, all of his works along with Tintin will continue to inspire artists and enchant readers from the years to come.- Hector Hugh Munro was born on 18 December 1870 in Akyab, Burma [now Myanmar]. He was a writer, known for Great Ghost Tales (1961), Tales of the Unexpected (1979) and The Addends. He died on 13 November 1916 in Beaumont-Hamel, Somme, France.Known mononymously as Saki
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Starhawk was born as Miriam Simos in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Both her parents were the children of Jewish immigrants from Russia. In 1973, while she was a film student at UCLA, Starhawk won the Samuel Goldwyn Award for her novel, "A Weight of Gold", a story about Venice, California, where she then lived.
Starhawk lives in San Francisco, where she works with Reclaiming, a tradition of Witchcraft that she co-founded in the late 1970s. She is internationally known as a trainer in nonviolence and direct action, and as an activist within the Peace Movement, Women's Movement, Environmental Movement, and Anti-Globalization Movement.
Starhawk has authored 10 books, which have have been translated into over 11 languages. Her essays are reprinted across the world, and have been included in numerous anthologies. Her book "Truth or Dare: Encounters with Power, Authority, and Mystery" won the Media Alliance Meritorious Achievement Award for non-fiction in 1988. Her first novel, "The Fifth Sacred Thing", won the Lambda Award for best Gay and Lesbian Science Fiction in 1994. Her non-fiction book "Webs of Power" won a 2003 Nautilus Award.
Starhawk appeared in and consulted on to the popular trio of films known as the Women's Spirituality Series, directed by Donna Read for the National Film Board of Canada: "Goddess Remembered" (1989), "The Burning Times" (1990), and "Full Circle" (1993). Starhawk and Donna Read recently formed their own film company, Belili Productions. Their first release was "Signs Out of Time" in 2004, a documentary on the life of archaeologist Marija Gimbutas. They released their second film "Permaculture: The Growing Edge" in 2010.
Starhawk has also made several short documentaries which can be found on YouTube: "The Spiral Dance Ritual", "Reclaiming's Spiral Dance: Three Decades of Magic", "Permaculture in the City" and "Permaculture: Principles at Work."- Actress
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Dalida was a French-Italian singer, born to Italian parents in Egypt. She moved to France in her 30's, where she enjoyed the most successful part of her career. She was born on January 17, 1933 in Cairo, Egypt as Yolande Christina Gigliotti. She was married to Lucien Morisse. She died on May 3, 1987 in Paris, France.- Actor
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At the age of three, André Zacharie Raimbourg and his family moved to a town in the region of Normandy called Bourville. He finished school at the age of 15 and began to work as a baker. He was already playing harmonica, mandoline and cornet when he engaged himself in a village band. In the beginning of 1940 while in the army making music-hall show for the troops, he changed his name into Andrel like his idol Fernandel from whom he was singing the songs. He began to write his own songs, making a name by himself, and so in 1942 took a new name, further from "Fernandel": Bourvil(le). He was recognized as a stand-up comic, dressed as a farmer grown too fast for the shirt he wears, hair coming down on his forehead, a simple minded but crafty naive. At the end of the war the radio extended his fame. His first parts on the screen were based only on this character. It's only in 1956 with The Crossing of Paris (1956) of Claude Autant-Lara that he really began to give his real potential as an actor on the screen. His greatest popular successes will come under the direction of Gérard Oury.- Actor
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The apocryphal biography of Fernand Contandin tells the invention of his artistic name Fernandel by his sister-in-law ("Voici le Fernand d'elles"). At the beginning of the thirties he became a typical actor of the comedy genre: popular, common, likable and with a concealed grain of drama. Marc Allégret was the director of his first successful film La meilleure bobonne (1931). He tried to work as director twice during World War II but was unsuccessful.- Actor
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Andrex was born on 23 January 1907 in Marseille, Bouches-du-Rhône, France. He was an actor, known for Manon (1949), Hotel du Nord (1938) and Madame et son flirt (1946). He was married to Ginette Baudin. He died on 9 July 1989 in Paris, France.- Actor
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Orson Welles once called beloved French character star Raimu (né Jules Auguste Cesar Muraire) "the greatest actor who ever lived." It is hard to argue the compliment of one genius to another.
The jowly, cigar-chomping comedian was born in Toulon, France on December 17, 1883 of very humble means, his father making ends meet as an upholsterer. Raimu began his stage career at age 16 as a music hall extra imitating famous French comic idols. Using the stage name of Raimut (he later dropped the "t"), he eventually gained a following in dance halls, cafe concerts, nightclubs and pubs as an entertainer but cemented his reputation on the Parisian comedy stages. Around this time, he also began to appear in minor roles in silent film shorts (1911-1917), but nothing much came from them and he left the screen.
Continuing to thrive on the live stage, Raimu's serious intentions as an actor were solidified with the 1929 stage production of the Marcel Pagnol play "Marius," which told story of a wanderlust sailor, his wife Fanny and father César. Raimu transferred the role of César brilliantly to the film trilogy Marius (1931), Fanny (1932) and César (1936) all co-starring Pierre Fresnay as Marius and Orane Demazis as Fanny. He went on to work with Pagnol quite frequently.
Closely identifying himself with the iron-willed working class, Raimu swayed quite effectively from humor to great pathos in characters that reminded one in looks and flavor of a grubby, weary-looking Honoré de Balzac. Immortalized in Pagnol's trilogy, arguably celebrated as the greatest series ever put together, Raimu continued to charm in primarily 1930's social comedies. His star role with leads in Le blanc et le noir (1931), La petite chocolatière (1932), Mam'zelle Nitouche (1931), Théodore et Cie (1933), the title roles in Charlemagne (1933) and Tartarin de Tarascon (1934), The King (1936), Let's Make a Dream (1936), Confessions of a Newlywed (1937), Heroes of the Marne (1938), Monsieur Brotonneau (1939) and Noix de coco (1939). For his superb work in both Julien Duvivier's Life Dances On (1937) and Pagnol's The Baker's Wife (1938), he won the National Board of Review award.
Along the way Raimu worked with a host of legendary directors including Marc Allégret, Henri Decoin, Alexander Esway and Sacha Guitry. His film popularity continued to soar into the war years with roles in Pagnol's The Well-Digger's Daughter (1940), as well as The Man Who Seeks the Truth (1940), Strangers in the House (1942), Midnight in Paris (1942), Little Nothings (1941), The Heart of a Nation (1943) and the title role in Balzac's Le colonel Chabert (1943). He also returned to the theatre in such productions as "The Bourgeois Gentleman" and "The Imaginary Invalid."
Raimu returned to filming following the war with Hoboes in Paradise (1946) co-starring Fernandel. In March of 1946, while shooting his next post-war film The Eternal Husband (1946), he was involved in a car accident that would require some surgery. The 62-year-old actor died of a heart attack on September 20th following an allergic reaction to anesthesia while on the table for a minor leg operation. The outpouring of grief felt by his native country was monumental.
Survived by wife (from 1936) Esther Metayer (1905-1977) and daughter, Paulette Brun (1925-1992). Raimu was laid to rest in a cemetery in the town where he was born. In 1961, the French government placed his image on an honorary postage stamp.- Actress
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Before Arlette-Leonie Bathiat went to the movies she was a secretary and had posed several times as a model for different painters and photographers. In 1920 she debuted on stage at a theatre. She only began to work in movies after 1930. After World War II she was condemned to prison for having been the lover of a German official during the ocupation of France. In 1963 she had an accident which left her almost blind. Her most important movies were filmed and directed by Marcel Carné ("Hotel du Nord (1938)" or "Enfants du Paradis, Les (1945)").- Actress
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Mistinguett was born on 3 April 1875 in Enghien-les-Bains, Val-d'Oise, France. She was an actress and writer, known for La Vie En Rose (2007), Chignon d'or (1916) and Rigolboche (1936). She died on 5 January 1956 in Bougival, Yvelines, France.- Actress
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Fréhel was born on 13 July 1891 in Paris, France. She was an actress, known for Pépé le Moko (1937), Amélie (2001) and Lilac (1932). She was married to Georges Boettgen and Édouard Hollard. She died on 3 February 1951 in Paris, France.- Actress
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Damia was born on 5 December 1889 in Paris, France. She was an actress, known for A Very Long Engagement (2004), La Vie En Rose (2007) and A Man's Head (1933). She died on 30 January 1978 in La Celle-Saint-Cloud, Yvelines, France.- Composer
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Kygo was born on 11 September 1991 in Singapore. He is a composer and actor, known for Pokémon: Detective Pikachu (2019), Disobedience (2017) and Fifty Shades Darker (2017).- Music Artist
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Beck David Hansen is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He rose to fame in the early 1990s with his experimental and Lo-Fi style, and became known for creating musical collages of wide-ranging genres. He has musically encompassed folk, funk, soul, hip hop, electronic, alternative rock, country, and psychedelia. He has released 14 studio albums (three of which were released on indie labels), as well as several non-album singles and a book of sheet music.