Appeared as a Judge
List activity
103 views
• 2 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
32 people
- Music Artist
- Producer
- Actress
Jennifer Lynn Lopez was born on July 24, 1969 in The Bronx, New York City, New York to teacher Lupe López and computer specialist David López. The two Puerto Ricans were brought to the continental United States during their childhoods and eventually met while living in New York City. Their daughters would have a stable, middle-class upbringing.
Jennifer always dreamed of being a multi-tasking superstar. As a child, she enjoyed a variety of musical genres, mainly Afro-Caribbean rhythms like salsa, merengue, and bachata, and mainstream music like pop, hip-hop, and R&B. Although she loved music, the film industry also intrigued her. Her biggest influence was the Rita Moreno musical, West Side Story (1961). At 5, Jennifer began taking singing and dancing lessons. Aside from being a budding entertainer, Jennifer was also a Catholic schoolgirl, attending eight years at a Catholic elementary school named Holy Family, located in The Bronx, before graduating from all-girls prep school Preston High School after a four-year stay. At school, Jennifer was an amazing athlete and participated in track and field and tennis. She spent most of her upbringing in a two-story house in the Castle Hill neighborhood.
At 18, Jennifer moved out of her parents' home. After high school, she briefly worked in a law office and took dance classes at night. During this time, she continued dance classes at night. Her big break came when she was offered a job as a fly girl on Fox's hit comedy In Living Color (1990). After a two-year stay at In Living Color (1990) where actress Rosie Perez served as choreographer, Lopez then went on to dance for famed singer-actress Janet Jackson. Her first major film was Gregory Nava's My Family/Mi familia (1995), and her career went into overdrive when she portrayed late Tejana singer Selena in Selena (1997).- Actor
- Music Department
- Producer
Joseph Harry Fowler Connick, Jr. was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. He is the son of Anita Frances (Levy), a lawyer and judge, and Harry Connick, Sr. (Joseph Harry Fowler Connick), who served as District Attorney of New Orleans from 1973 to 2003. His father is of Irish, English, and German ancestry, and his maternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Vienna, Austria and Minsk, Belarus. Harry, Jr.'s mother died of ovarian cancer when he was 13.
His parents owned a record store and encouraged their son's interest in music - piano at age three, with a New Orleans jazz band aged ten. He won piano competitions while playing French Quarter clubs and attending the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts. At eighteen, he studied at New York's Hunter College and later on at the Manhatan School of Music. At nineteen, he released his first album for Columbia Records and began an extended run performing at the Algonquin's Oak Room, followed a year later by his second album. He wrote the score and sang several songs for Rob Reiner's When Harry Met Sally... (1989), the soundtrack for which went multi-platinum. So far, while bringing back swing and big band music, he has earned one gold, four platinum and three multi-platinum albums, plus two Grammies. His film acting debut was as B-17 tail-gunner Clay Busby in Memphis Belle (1990). He played mass-murderer Daryll Lee Cullum in the Sigourney Weaver and Holly Hunter film Copycat (1995) and Captain Jimmy Wilder ("Let's kick the tires and light the fires, big daddy!") in Independence Day (1996).
Harry lives in Connecticut, is married to the former model Jill Goodacre, and has three daughters, Georgia Tatom, Sara Kate and Charlotte.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Grammy-winning band Maroon 5's frontman Adam Noah Levine was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He is the son of Patsy (Noah), an admissions counselor, and Fredric Levine, who founded the retail chain M. Fredric. Adam's father's family is Jewish, while Adam's mother is of half Jewish (her own father) and half German and Scottish (her own mother) ancestry. His uncle, Timothy Noah, is a journalist. Adam began playing music with his junior-high friends guitarist, rather than the keyboardist (for which he is known in the band Maroon 5) Jesse Carmichael and bassist Mickey Madden. Their first gig was at a school dance and Levine was terribly shy so he played with his back to the audience. Ryan Dusick joined the band as drummer and the alternative rock band Kara's Flowers were born (1994). They released an album called "The Fourth World" (1997). Then, he headed to New York City with Carmichael to study music at Five Towns College on Long Island. While they were there, he was surrounded by new music scenes and influences which give him whole new perspective on songwriting and singing. He dropped out of school after a semester and headed back to California with Carmichael to reunite with their pals and develop their band. He began writing a bunch of songs that were inspired by his recently failed relationship. After adding in new guitarist James Valentine (moving Carmichael over to keyboards) Maroon 5 was officially born. The band released their debut album "Songs About Jane", which included international hits "This Love", "Sunday Morning" and "She Will Be Loved" (2002).- Music Artist
- Actress
- Composer
Christina Maria Aguilera was born on December 18, 1980 in Staten Island, New York City, New York to musician Shelly Loraine Fidler Kearns and U.S. Army sergeant Fausto Wagner Xavier Aguilera Monge. Her father is Ecuadorian and her mother, who is American-born, has Welsh, Dutch and German ancestry. Her parents divorced when she was young and she lived with her mother, although they moved around a lot. Her goal almost since birth was to be a singer, and at age 12 she was invited to audition for The All New Mickey Mouse Club (1989). She won the part and stayed until the show ended. In 1999 she had her breakthrough hit, "Genie in a Bottle." Since then she's made millions of fans, sold millions of records, and won many awards, including a Grammy for Best New Female Artist. She has even made a Latin album and released a Christmas album.
Aguilera is a bilingual singer. She has received many honors including Grammy Nominations and a win for Best New Artist. 2 MTV Video Music Awards, a Radio Music Awards, 2 VH1 Awards, and a Teen Choice Award with 'Lil' Kim', Mya and Pink and the smash hit "Lady Maramalade". She was on The All New Mickey Mouse Club (1989) with *NSYNC's Justin Timberlake and JC Chasez, Britney Spears, Ryan Gosling, and Keri Russell. Her musical influences include Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, and Janet Jackson.- Music Artist
- Producer
- Actress
Kelly Brianne Clarkson was born on April 24, 1982 in Fort Worth, Texas and raised in Burleson, Texas to Jeanne Ann Taylor (née Rose), an English teacher & Stephen Michael Clarkson, an engineer. She was the first winner of the series American Idol in 2002. Kelly is also a strong believer in God.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Music Department
Nick Jonas is best known as one of the Jonas Brothers, a band formed with his brothers Kevin and Joe. He has appeared in films such as Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian (2009) and Careful What You Wish For (2015). He has also appeared television series Last Man Standing (2011) and Hawaii Five-0 (2010). Jonas starred in Jonas (2009), a Disney Channel original series. In 2014, Jonas began work as Demi Lovato's musical and creative director.
Nick was born in Dallas, Texas, to Denise (née Miller), a teacher and singer, and Paul Kevin Jonas, a musician and former ordained minister. He has German, English, Scottish, Irish, Italian/Sicilian (from a great-grandfather), and French-Canadian ancestry.- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Producer
Paula Abdul grew up in the San Fernando Valley, California. She began taking dance lessons when she was eight. She attended Van Nuys High School, where she was senior class president and head cheerleader. After graduating in 1980, she started college at Cal State-Northridge, majoring in TV and radio. After joining the L.A. Lakers cheerleaders, she became head cheerleader/choreographer after only a few months, eventually dropping out of college to dance and choreograph full-time. She was recruited by The Jacksons to choreograph their 1984 "Torture" video, the first in a long list of videos and movies she would choreograph. She branched out into singing with her first CD, "Forever Your Girl", which had lackluster sales until the single "Straight Up" exploded onto the charts in December 1988 and she has been a popular singer/dancer ever since, enhanced by her stint as a judge on the hit series American Idol (2002).- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
One of four sisters, Jenny McCarthy was born in Evergreen Park, Illinois, a Chicago suburb, the second oldest daughter of Linda (Loheit), a courtroom custodian, and Daniel McCarthy, a steel mill foreman. She has Irish (father) and Croatian, German, and Polish (mother) ancestry. She was educated at Mother McAuley Liberal Arts High School, before going on to Southern Illinois University to study nursing and psychology. However, a lack of funds meant she had to drop out. To earn some money, McCarthy landed a chance to model for Playboy magazine and was Miss October 1993. She was eventually named 1994 Playmate of the Year. Following a relocation to Los Angeles, California, McCarthy landed some television host roles and also began picking up acting parts. Roles followed in various projects, including BASEketball (1998), Scream 3 (2000), Scary Movie 3 (2003), The Drew Carey Show (1995) and her own sitcom, Jenny (1997). She also continued modeling.
McCarthy has one son, Evan Joseph, from her marriage to John Asher. In 2005, Evan was diagnosed with autism. She is also an author, writing successful books on pregnancy, motherhood and more.
After one year as co-host of The View (1997), McCarthy can now be found hosting her own daily talk radio show, on Sirius XM, called "Dirty, Sexy, Funny" and can be found touring the country with her entourage of female comediennes, with a show by the same name. A 1-hour special, with her comediennes and comedy vignettes, can be found on Netflix by searching Jenny McCarthy's Dirty Sexy Funny (2014).- Producer
- Actor
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
Carson Lee Kressley was born on 11 November 1969 in Allentown, Pennsylvania, USA. Growing up, he was very interested in horses and owned his first pony (named Sparky) when he was five years old. Carson still loves horses and is now a world champion equestrian. In 1987, he graduated high school and went on to study at Gettysburg College from which he graduated in 1991 (magna cum laude and phi beta kappa) with degrees in Finance and Fine Arts. Following his college graduation, Carson worked as a stylist for Ralph Lauren for many years before auditioning for Queer Eye (2003).
In 2004, after Carson's first year with "Queer Eye", the show won an Emmy for "outstanding reality program". Post "Queer Eye" Carson appeared as the critically acclaimed host of "How to Look Good Naked" and a fan favorite contestant on Dancing with the Stars 13th season. In April 2012 Shop NBC launched Carson's collection of affordable glamour wear, "Love, Carson".- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Producer
Carrie Ann Inaba was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. She is of Japanese, Chinese, and Irish ancestry, and is the youngest of two children. Carrie Ann grew up dancing the hula (native Hawaiian dance) and other dance forms. She also played the piano and violin and sang in the choir. She attended Hanahaouli School and then Punahou School. Carrie Ann played volleyball for a little while but found her true love in performing.
At the age of 16, she and her closest friend Tina Horii won the Hawaii statewide competition, "Search for Talent", dancing a piece that they had choreographed together. While still sixteen, Carrie Ann was scouted to go to Japan to become a "Teen Idol".
However, she waited until she finished high school and then left Hawaii to pursue her career as a musical artist in Japan. During her time in Japan, Carrie Ann released three singles with Pony Canyon Records while attending Sophia University, a Jesuit university in Tokyo. In the two-year period spent living in Tokyo, Japan, she learned a great deal about the entertainment industry, performing, as well as the Japanese language. She also made great friends from all over the world, which later became a theme in her life as a documentarian.
After realizing that the Tokyo lifestyle wasn't for her at the time, Carrie Ann returned to the United States, relocating to California. She began to study choreography at the University of California, Irvine. It wasn't long till she got the bug to dance in Los Angeles and moved up to study with Alex Magno at the Debbie Reynolds Studios in North Hollywood, California. One day in dance class, Carrie Ann was approached by a producer who asked her to be in a music video for an artist named Terry Lin. She met the choreographer and booked the job. She was ready to start working.
One of her first jobs was as a dancer for the Emmy Award-winning television show, In Living Color (1990). Her next big gig was performing with Madonna, being featured as the "Pole Girl" on The Girlie Show tour. For this tour, Carrie Ann had to shave her head and also train with circus trainers and a stripper. She later went on to dance with Ricky Martin, David Copperfield, Chayanne, and did a lot of appearances on shows such as The Creative Arts Emmys, The SAG Awards, The NAACP Awards, The MTV Awards, The Oprah Winfrey Show (1986), and so much more. To this day, she still loves to dance. In her heart of hearts, it is the movement and the music that will always inspire her as an artist. In fact, even as an actress, she likes to incorporate dance and movement.
When Carrie Ann began her acting career, her main interest was in action roles. She studied tae kwon do with Billy Blanks, the creator Taebo, and continues her education in martial arts. She also practices hatha yoga. Carrie Ann always looks for ways to include her background in movement (choreography and martial arts) into her career.
Besides performing, Carrie Ann has many credits behind the scenes as well. Besides her choreography, she opened up her own digital video production company, EnterMediArts, Inc., which produced two of her documentaries and her short film. She hopes that EnterMediArts, Inc. will soon produce more reality/education television programming, behind-the-scenes DVD productions as well as lower-end film projects. She is the president and CEO for the company and has directed and edited most of her own projects. She loves the entertainment industry and loves the accessibility that DV (Digital Video) provides. She invested in a few edit bays and a few cameras and produces projects for fellow artists and "creatives." As her company's name implies, Carrie Ann likes to break down barriers and combine elements, creating hybrids just like she, herself, is a combination of cultures. Her production company, EnterMediArts, Inc., gets its name from Entertainment, Media, and the Arts -- all rolled into one.
Carrie Ann has also modeled here and there and has been on the cover of European magazines and Japanese magazines. She was the national spokesmodel for an AT&T Asian Campaign and has been in many commercials throughout her career.
At the time of this writing, Carrie Ann is in the limelight once more for her participation in the hit show, Dancing with the Stars (2005) and Dance War: Bruno vs. Carrie Ann (2008).- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Kristin Lee Davis was born on February 23, 1965 in Boulder, Colorado. An only child, her parents divorced when she was a baby. She was adopted by her stepfather, psychology professor Keith Davis, after he married her mother, Dorothy, a university data analyst, in 1968. Early in her childhood, Kristin and her parents moved to Columbia, South Carolina, where her stepfather was transferred to a university. She lived in South Carolina until she graduated high school in 1983. She then moved to New Jersey, where she attended Rutgers University. After graduation, she moved to New York and waited tables before opening a yoga studio with a friend. In 1995, she got her big break when she landed the role of Brooke Armstrong Campbell on Melrose Place (1992). She left the show after one year when producers found that audience members hated her bitchy character. In 1998, Kristin was cast as Charlotte York in Sex and the City (1998), of which she remained an integral cast member until the series ended in 2004. Kristin Davis resides in Los Angeles.- Actor
- Composer
- Music Department
Robin Thicke was born on 10 March 1977 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Agent Cody Banks (2003), The Rules of Attraction (2002) and Fighting (2009). He was previously married to Paula Patton.- Actor
- Producer
- Director
It took a summer of acting in a children's theater group to convince Matthew Morrison that he wanted to become an actor. He auditioned and attended Orange County High School of the Arts, and followed that with NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, although he didn't enjoy his college foray. Despite a regulation that students couldn't audition in the first two years at NYU, he got himself an agent and dropped out from NYU. His musical debut was in the musical version of Footloose (1984), which was then followed by "The Rocky Horror Picture Show." His big break, however, was in "Hairspray" when he landed the part of "Link Larkin." It was after this role that he made a debut into the television and film world, with small roles in Sex and the City (1998), Hack (2002), Encino Man (1992), and others. His self-proclaimed favorite role he did in television was in Once Upon a Mattress (2005), a musical for TV that starred Carol Burnett. He was nominated for a Tony for his role in "The Light in the Piazza" and eventually left the show in late 2005. He dabbled some more in roles among the television, film, and theater world. After starring in the Lincoln Center production of "South Pacific" as "Lieutenant Cable" in 2008, he took on the role of "Will Schuester" in the upcoming Fox series Glee (2009), which premiers in fall 2009.- Actress
- Producer
- Editor
Leah Marie Remini was born on June 15,1970 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York & was raised in Los Angeles, California. Leah was born to Vicki Julia Marshall, & George Anthony Remini, who owned an asbestos removal company. She has an older sister named Nicole and 4 half-sisters named Christine, Stephanie (died of cancer in 2013), Elizabeth & Shannon. She starred as Carrie Heffernan on the long-running CBS comedy series The King of Queens (1998-2007) and later co-hosted The Talk in 2010-11. Since 2016 she has created, hosted and executive produced co-produced the Emmy Award-winning A&E documentary series Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath. Since 2020 Remini is producing and co-hosting the iHeart radio podcast Scientology: Fair Game
She was baptized Roman Catholic. When she was 8 years old, her mother joined the Church of Scientology, and Remini was thereafter raised as a Scientologist. Remini and sister Nicole were then taken to join Scientology's Paramilitary organization called the Sea Organization, where they were forced to sign billion-year contracts and work for their room and board. Sea Org children do not live with their parents and children of the Sea Org are treated as adults and work around the clock. Remini's mother decided to take her children out of the Sea Org and return to civilian Scientology life when Remini was thirteen years old. Remini moved to Los Angeles, California, with her mother and sisters, where she spent the remainder of her teenage years working to pay off their debt to Scientology called a Freeloader's Debt. Remini and family worked regular jobs to pay for Scientology services.
Remini and husband Angelo Pagán, baptized their daughter Sofia as a Catholic.
Remini left the organization in 2013. Two years later, Remini released her book, Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology, her memoir became number one on The New York Times Best Sellers List. In 2016, she followed up her memoir with the two-time Emmy Award-winning documentary television series on the A&E network, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, where she created a platform for victims and survivors of Scientology. The Documentary Series received many awards in its three seasons; two Emmy Awards, 2019 Critics' Choice Real TV Impact Award, 2017 Television Critics Association Award for Outstanding Achievement in Reality Programming, 2018 Producers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Producer of Non-Fiction Television, 2018 NATPE Unscripted Breakthrough Awards for Best Innovation, 2019 IDA Truth to Power Award, CHILD USA 2019 Barbara Blaine Trailblazer Award, The Gracie Awards presented by the Alliance for Women in Media Foundation for On-Air Talent - Lifestyle and Entertainment and another Gracie Award for Non-Fiction Entertainment.
Remini reunited with her co-star Kevin James in CBS's Kevin Can Wait, as Vanessa Cellucci.
One of Remini's early television roles was on Who's the Boss? as Charlie Briscoe, which led to a spin-off series entitled Living Dolls, in which Remini starred with Halle Berry. The show premiered in late 1989 and ran for 12 episodes.
In 1991, Remini had a supporting role on the short-lived ABC comedy The Man in the Family. She then had recurring roles on Saved by the Bell, where she played Stacey Carosi, and on Evening Shade as Daisy, the girlfriend of Taylor Newton (Jay R. Ferguson). Remini then appeared in two more short-lived series, First Time Out (1995) and Fired Up (1997-98). In 1993, she appeared on Cheers as Serafina, the daughter of Carla and Nick Tortelli (Rhea Perlman and Dan Hedaya). In 1994, Remini auditioned for the role of Monica Geller on Friends, but the role went to Courteney Cox. Remini later appeared in the 1995 Friends episode "The One with the Birth" in which she played a pregnant woman. In 1998, Remini landed the role of Carrie Heffernan on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens. The series was successful, and ran for nine seasons from September 21, 1998, to May 14, 2007.
Remini had a supporting role in the comedy film Old School (2003). Remini also starred in her own reality show, Inside Out: Leah Remini, which was a documentary that aired on VH1 about Remini's wedding. Following the success of the wedding special, VH-1 documented the next phase of their lives with the birth of her daughter Sofia Bella. Remini has starred in nine-episode webisodes of In the Motherhood, along with Chelsea Handler and Jenny McCarthy.
In October 2011, Remini signed a talent development deal at ABC and ABC Studios that required the network and the studio to develop a comedy project for Remini to star in and produce.
Remini competed on season 17 of Dancing with the Stars, in which she was partnered with professional dancer Tony Dovolani. The couple made it to the 10th week of competition and reached 5th place. Remini later returned in season 19 as a guest co-host on week 6. She returned as guest co-host on season 21 during weeks 6 and 7.
In 2013, Remini joined the cast of the TV Land comedy The Exes, filling a recurring role starting in season three.
Remini created, produced, and starred in a reality television series titled Leah Remini: It's All Relative. The show focuses on Remini's family life. It premiered on TLC on July 10, 2014.
In August 2013, it was disclosed that Remini had filed a missing person report with the Los Angeles Police Department concerning Shelly Miscavige, the wife of Scientology leader David Miscavige, who had not been seen in public since 2007. After the report was filed, the Los Angeles Police Department investigated the matter, met, and spoke with her before closing the investigation and stating Remini's report was "unfounded". The Church said in a statement that the whole affair was simply harassment and a publicity stunt for Remini.
In 2020 Remini & her production company, "No, Seriously Productions" signed a production deal with Critical Content and continues to create content that is both entertaining and continuing to speak truth to power.
Remini released her memoir Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology on November 3, 2015. In a 2015 interview with People magazine, Remini stated that she was embracing Catholicism and found comfort in the religion's practices, contrasting her experiences with Scientology.- Actress
- Music Department
- Producer
Joelle Joanie "JoJo" Siwa was born on May 19, 2003 in Omaha, Nebraska. JoJo Siwa is a YouTube sensation, pop star, dancer, entrepreneur, social media influencer and The New York Times bestselling author. Siwa connects with her fans through many channels: via social media she has over 10 million subscribers with over 2.4 billion views on YouTube, she has over 8.6 million followers on Instagram, over 436,000 Twitter followers, over 17.3 million followers on TikTok (formerly Musical.ly), and over 566,000 followers on Facebook; through her SIWANATORZ club, which stands against negativity and bullying; through her global reach of consumer products including her signature bows, accessories, apparel, arts and crafts, cosmetics, home goods and party supplies; and with her hugely popular singles, "Boomerang," which has been viewed over 732 million times and RIAA certified platinum, "Kid in a Candy Store," which is RIAA certified gold, "Hold The Drama", and D.R.E.A.M.
Siwa is currently in the middle of her first-ever live concert tour, Nickelodeon's Jojo Siwa D.R.E.A.M. The Tour. Produced by Nickelodeon and AEG Presents and presented by Party City, the 80 city North American tour kicked off on May 17th in Phoenix, AZ and will continue thru October. Siwa will also take the tour to the UK and Ireland this fall. Visit JoJoDREAMTour.com for tickets, the full tour schedule and more information.
Siwa recently took the stage at this year's Nickelodeon SlimeFest - a two-day family-friendly music festival held in Chicago, Ill., at Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island on June 8 and 9 - along with Pitbull, Bebe Rexha and T-Pain. Siwa helped kick off Nickelodeon's inaugural U.S. SlimeFest last year, where she performed in front of over 24,000 fans. She also performed at Nickelodeon's second inaugural SlimeFest UK.
Siwa recently won her third Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award for "Favorite Social Music Star." Her previous Choice Awards include "Favorite Viral Music Artist" in 2017 and "Favorite Musical YouTube Creator" in 2018. She also performed a medley of hits at 2018 Kids' Choice Awards and 2018 Kids' Choice Mexico.
In November, Siwa released her first EP, D.R.E.A.M. The Music, featuring four new songs: "D.R.E.A.M," "My Story," "Everyday Popstars" and "Only Getting Better." The music video for "D.R.E.A.M." was released on Siwa's YouTube channel and to date has garnered over 61 million views. Due to the success of D.R.E.A.M. The Music, Siwa released a second EP, Celebrate, in April featuring an additional four new songs: "It's Time To Celebrate," "#1U," "Worldwide Party," and "Bop!" The accompanying music videos for "Bop!" and "Worldwide Party" have accumulated over 10 million views and 2.2 million views respectively on her YouTube channel.
In 2016, Nickelodeon and Siwa entered an exclusive licensing partnership to develop a line of consumer products inspired by Siwa. Categories span toys, apparel, accessories, consumer electronics, Halloween costumes and more. To date, over 50 million JoJo Bows have been sold. Siwa's consumer products are available internationally, including the UK, Canada, Australia and Mexico.
Siwa launched her first animated shorts series, The JoJo & BowBow Show Show starring Siwa and her furry best friend BowBow. She also worked alongside Nick Cannon in Nickelodeon's hit competition series Lip Sync Battle Shorties. She has appeared on various Nickelodeon live-action series including School of Rock and The Thundermans.- Mary Murphy was born in Lancaster, Ohio, the only daughter in a family of four children. Her father worked as an elementary school teacher and her mother, originally from Ireland, remained at home, looking after the family. Life with three brothers led Mary to see herself not as the only daughter in the Murphy household, but as the fourth brother. Keeping up with her siblings left Mary with little affinity for typically feminine pastimes, and she spent most of her free time after school and on weekends participating in athletics such as track and field, basketball, volleyball, and football.
After high school, Mary went to Ohio University for the express purpose of graduating with a degree in Physical Education. In addition to her Bachelor's Degree in physical education, Mary, having developed a love of modern dance over the course of her college education, also minored in modern dance. With no idea she had a professional ballroom dance career ahead of her, Mary saw herself using the combined benefits of her degrees to pursue a career as a specialist in physical education for children with learning disabilities, helping them to connect the mind and the body through repetitive movement and creative dance.
Shortly after graduating, Mary moved to Washington, DC, where, looking for a summer job, she answered an ad in the newspaper; a local studio was recruiting trainees to become instructors. Although her background in modern dance allowed her to transition from trainee to instructor in only a week's time, the studio's limited resources and basic social dancing did not make a favorable first impression on Mary, leaving her feeling dispassionately about ballroom dancing and with no belief that her future would lie therein.
The turning point came when the owner of the dance studio invited her to attend the United States Ballroom Championships in New York City. Upon entering the ballroom of the Waldorf-Astoria, Mary's senses were overwhelmed. As she watched the couples whirling across the floor, their bodies seamlessly executing complicated patterns in perfect synchronization, their elegant movements in harmony with the music, it dawned on her that ballroom dancing was much more than what she had been exposed to in the small studio in Washington, DC, more than the blinding glitter and glamor of the fancy dresses and tail suits -- this was a sport in the truest sense of the word, and the athleticism, the sheer artistry of the dancers was astounding. At that moment Mary realized that ballroom dancing was more than just job for her -- she no longer felt the desire to spend the rest of her life as a modern dancer, performing alone.
Mary returned to Washington, DC, determined to become part of the magic she had witnessed, and immediately launched herself into the world of competitive ballroom dance, never looking back. While continuing to teach for the studio, she sought out the best instructors in the area and began her competitive dance training.
After only a year in Washington, familial circumstances demanded that Mary move back to Ohio, and she found herself in a small town with no dance studio an hour and a half outside of Columbus. Mary made the drive to Columbus daily, where she intensified her training in the American Rhythm, American Smooth, and International Latin styles of dance.
As Mary's dancing improved, she focused more on the International Standard style of dance and began searching for a partner with which she would be able to compete. Her search for a suitable dance partner lead her across the country to Southern California. Although the partnership ultimately did not prove to be viable, she decided to make California her home.
Mary resumed work as a dance instructor in San Diego, but remained dedicated to finding a competitive dance partner who would help her realize her goals -- to make the national final in any given category.
That year Mary went to Blackpool, England for the UK Open Championships, where she met Manfred Siglitz and her search for a partner finally reached its end. After a precursory tryout the pair agreed that, though separated by a not inconsiderable distance, Mary living in California and Manfred in England, they would immediately form a partnership and compete in International Ten Dance. Mary and Manfred spent the next two years commuting between Manfred's home in England and Mary's home in California, and touring the world in competition. The couple became Austrian National Champions in 1990 and 1991 and enjoyed considerable success, representing Austria in the World Championships, and making the World Cup final.
In April of 1990, Mary opened the doors to Champion Ballroom Academy in the heart of downtown San Diego. Her vision, partly driven by her own needs as a competitor in training, was to provide the very best facility for competitive dance education, while at the same time creating a school where students and teachers alike would feel a sense of comfort and community as they sought to improve their dancing skills.
Over the course of time, the strains of commuting took their toll, and Mary was put under pressure to leave her studio and life in California behind and move to England. Ultimately, the distance proved too great an obstacle for the partnership to overcome, and despite the promise of placing in the top six in the world, they were forced to part ways.
Although the partnership with Manfred was at an end, Mary's competitive career was long from over. During the five years following the breakup, she went on to build an impressive list of accomplishments with various partners including the Southwest Regional Dance Tournament, the Saint Louis Star Ball, and the International Grand Ball. With partner Bill Milner Mary made the U.S. Open Standard final in an unprecedented six months' time. Finally, in 1996, Mary Murphy and partner Jim Desmond made the final of the U.S. Open American Smooth and won the U.S. Open American Nine Dance.
Her competitive goals realized many times over, Mary immediately retired from competition and shifted her focus toward her ballroom, devoting herself to bringing the joys of dance to all of her students and to those in the community who have not yet discovered the intoxicating, liberating feeling one gets when one steps out onto the dance floor. Mary feels comfortable with her decision to retire, and feels extremely fulfilled managing her business and watching her studio blossom.
Not one to lose herself entirely to the necessary details of managing a ballroom, Mary's desire to share her love for the art and sport of dance with others has led her to remain active as an instructor, coaching and choreographing for many U.S. Amateur and Junior Champions.
Mary has also done her share in bringing ballroom to the screen, acting as a dance double for Julia Roberts in the movie Something to Talk About (1995), appearing in Dance with Me (1998), starring Vanessa Williams, and most recently was part of the Fox television series, So You Think You Can Dance (2005), as a judge and choreographer.
Also, Mary is a partner in and organizer one of the largest U.S. dance competitions, The Holiday Dance Classic, held in Las Vegas each December. She frequently serves as a judge in some of ballroom's most reputable competitions, including the U.S. National Ballroom Championships, and can still be found on Champion Ballroom Academy's expansive floor passing on her infectious enthusiasm and unsurpassable love of dance to her students. - Producer
- Actor
- Writer
He was born in Montgomery, Alabama. He got his nickname, as a child, from popping and ticking, when he couldn't sit still.
In 2000, he graduated from Lee High School in Montgomery, Alabama. He went on to study Dance Performance at Southern Union State Community College in Wadley, Alabama and Chapman University.
In 2003, he was a semifinalist on MTV's The Wade Robson Project (2003). He was also a runner-up on the television talent competition, Star Search (2003).
He has choreographed for South Korean pop/R&B singer, Se7en.
In December 2009, he debuted on the comedy collective, TheKommune.com, in several sketch-series videos.
He has taught dance classes and held workshops all over the world.
In season 3 of So You Think You Can Dance (2005), tWitch was beat out by Hokuto 'Hok' Konishi and didn't make the top 20. He returned the following season and not only made it into the top 20, but was a runner-up in the Finals. He went on to tour with the top 10 finalists, where he performed, with Katee Shean, the Emmy-nominated piece, "Mercy", choreographed by Mia Michaels. In 2010, he was chosen as one of the 10 All-Star dancers for SYTYCD's season 7.
He is a comic book fan, especially the Superman comics. He named his dog, a Jack Russel mix, "Krypto". His clothing line, tWitch Boss Clothing, first only offering t-shirts online, had the "T" within the Superman symbol on one of the t-shirts.
He was a member of the dance troupes, "Breed OCLA" and "Chill Factor Crew".
On December 13, 2022, Boss's wife, Allison Hokler, told the LAPD that he had left their home without his car. Some time later, the police received a call about a shooting in an L.A. hotel, where they found Boss dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Director
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Curtis Stone began cooking at The Savoy Hotel, in his hometown of Melbourne Australia, at the age of 18. After completing his qualifications as a Chef, he took on his next challenge and set off to Europe seeing what Italy, France and Spain had to offer before finally arriving in London. In London, he started cooking alongside Marco Pierre White, who was the youngest man in the world to be awarded 3 Michelin stars. Curtis started the same afternoon at Marco's restaurant, The Grill Room, Café Royal.
Curtis then went on to work at the Mirabelle as Sous Chef and assisted in creating the "Mirabelle Cookbook". He worked there for an additional year and, during his time there, the restaurant was awarded a Michelin Star. He eventually became head chef at Marco's Quo Vadis, receiving critical acclaim for his work.
Curtis was included in a book about London's finest chefs titled "London on a Plate". The book led to Curtis getting an agent and a number of opportunities within the media. The acknowledgment helped the restaurant, as well, increasing the length of the waiting list.
Curtis has been based in Los Angeles, California hosting Take Home Chef (2005) for the Discovery Networks' "TLC" (The Learning Channel). Previously, Curtis filmed his first major TV series in Australia in 2003 called "Surfing the Menu", he went on to film three series, altogether. In 2004, Curtis hosted a major Channel 7 restaurant reality series in Australia titled, "My Restaurant Rules". He's also hosted a number of shows including "Dinner in a Box", "Good Food Live" and "Saturday Kitchen".
Curtis has appeared twice on NBC's The Today (1952) Show. He has also recently appeared on Martha Stewart's show, Martha Stewart Living (1996) (where he announced he was single), preparing two of his signature dishes. He also appeared on Stacy London's talk show Fashionably Late with Stacy London (2007), as well as The Ellen DeGeneres Show (2003), the Fox Morning Show and Entertainment Tonight (1981).- Actress
Cat Cora was raised in a small Greek community in Jackson, Mississippi, by a family who held strongly to their Greek and Southern heritage. Both her grandfather, father, and godfather were restaurateurs and, by the time she was fifteen, she had already presented a business plan to them for her very own restaurant. During college, she cooked at an Italian bistro and a private dining club, preparing classical French cuisine. After graduating from college, Cat backpacked through Europe for four months, in search of good food and wine.
Leaving Mississippi for New York with a Bachelor of Science degree in exercise physiology and biology under her belt, Cat got the education of her dreams at The Culinary Institute of America, in Hyde Park. While in New York, she apprenticed with and then worked for Chef Anne Rozenweig at Arcadia and worked at the Beekman tavern under Chef Larry Forgione, (father of Marc Forgione and Bryan Forgione), of "An American Place". Her culinary education continued in Europe with apprenticeships with two of France's three-star Michelin chefs: Georges Blanc and Roger Verge.
After returning to New York, Cat worked as a sous chef at The Old Chatham Shepherding Company, under Chef Melissa Kelly, before heading west to Northern California. She was offered the position of Chef de Cuisine in Napa Valley's Bistro Don Giovanni.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Producer
From his early days in Nashville as a songwriter to his current status as one of country music's reigning superstars, Luke Bryan's career has been populated by songs that have had a lasting impact. Country Aircheck declared him the Most Heard Artist of the Last Decade, an honor he earned with such No. 1 hits as "Rain is a Good Thing," "Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye," "Crash My Party," "That's My Kind of Night," "Strip it Down," "Most People Are Good," "Fast," "One Margarita," "Down To One" and many more. Hailing from Leesburg, Georgia, the American Idol judge has been named Entertainer of the Year five times, with three wins by the Academy of Country Music and two wins by the Country Music Association. Luke has been named as a CMT Artist of the Year six times. He's won over 40 major music awards and has performed for nearly 12 million fans in the last decade while headlining seven major tours, including 36 stadium concerts, 11 Farm Tours, six years of Spring Break shows and six sold-out Crash My Playa events. Since his debut, Bryan has amassed 26 No. 1 hits and more RIAA certified digital singles than any other country artist with 68.5 million. Bryan has sold 12.5 million albums and scored 15.6 billion streams. At the close of 2019, Bryan became the first-ever recipient of the ACM Album of the Decade Award for his 2013 Crash My Party album and was also named the Most Heard Artist of the Decade by Country Aircheck. Bryan was most recently named Billboard's Top Country Artist of the 2010s. Based on their charts, he ranks at the top by placing 11 #1s on the weekly Hot Country Songs chart and nine #1s on the Top Country Albums chart during the last decade. This year, the Country Radio Broadcasters honored Bryan as the 2021 Artist Humanitarian Award recipient for his ongoing philanthropic endeavors.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Producer
Blake Shelton was born on 18 June 1976 in Ada, Oklahoma, USA. He is a music artist and actor, known for The Ridiculous 6 (2015), The Do-Over (2016) and Footloose (2011). He has been married to Gwen Stefani since 3 July 2021. He was previously married to Miranda Lambert and Kaynette Gern.- Producer
- Actor
- Additional Crew
Randy Jackson was born on 23 June 1956 in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA. He is a producer and actor, known for The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996), Cool Runnings (1993) and American Idol (2002). He was previously married to Erika Jackson and Elizabeth.- Music Department
- Producer
- Actor
Born June 7, 1967 to James Raul 'Mike' Navarro and Constance Colleen Hopkins. His paternal grandparents immigrated from Mexico; his mother, Constance, was a model and worked on Let's Make a Deal (1963). After his parents divorced when he was seven, Dave moved with his mother to Bel Air, and lived with her until she was murdered in March 1983 by her boyfriend. Her murderer was eventually caught thanks to the help of America's Most Wanted: America Fights Back (1988). While at a skating park, Dave heard a Jimi Hendrix song, and decided to become a professional guitar player. After stints in both Jane's Addiction and Red Hot Chili Peppers (during his time with the latter group, Dave caused a sensation when he smooched band mate Flea on the cover of "Guitar" magazine) and turning down offers to join Guns N' Roses, he started his own band, "Spread", and released a solo album, "Trust No One".- Writer
- Producer
- Actress
Judy Sheindlin (born under the name Judith Susan Blum) is an American court show arbitrator and television producer from Brooklyn, New York City. She is also a former prosecutor and family court judge. She presided over the long-running court show "Judge Judy" (1996-2021), which "adjudicated real-life small-claims disputes within a simulated courtroom set". It was the highest Nielsen-rated court show for 25 years. She subsequently presided over "Judy Justice" (2021-), the first standard courtroom series to broadcast new episodes exclusively through a streaming service.
In 1942, Sheindlin was born in Brooklyn to a Jewish family. Her ancestors were primarily German Jews and Russian Jews. Her father was the dentist Murray Blum. Her mother, Ethel, worked as an office manager. Sheindlin received her secondary education at the James Madison High School, an elite public high school located in the Madison subsection of the Sheepshead Bay neighborhood of Brooklyn. The high school offers students an education in the workings of American legal institutions. Sheindlin graduated in 1960.
Sheindlin started her college education at the American University, a private research university which was located in Washington, D.C. The university has been affiliated with the United Methodist Church since its foundation, but religious affiliation is not a criterion for admission. Sheindlin graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree, majoring in government.
Sheindlin finished her law school education at the New York Law School, a private law school located in Tribeca, New York City. She earned her Juris Doctor degree in 1965, and passed the New York state bar examination within the same year. She was soon hired as as a corporate lawyer by a cosmetics firm. She worked for them until 1967.
In 1964, Sheindlin had married her first husband Ronald Levy. Levy later became a prosecutor in juvenile court. They had two children within the first years of their marriage. In 1967, Sheindlin resigned from her job to focus for a while in the upbringing of her young children. This marriage lasted until 1976, and ended in a divorce.
In 1972, Sheindlin became a prosecutor in the New York family court system. In her role as a lawyer, Sheindlin prosecuted child abuse cases, domestic violence and juvenile crime. She acquired a reputation for her "no-nonsense" attitude. In 1977, she married the judge Jerry Sheindlin. She helped raise her three stepchildren, two of which pursued legal careers of their own.
In 1982, Sheindlin was appointed as a criminal court judge by Ed Koch, the Mayor of New York City (1924-2013, term 1978-1989). In 1986, she was promoted to the rank of the supervising judge in the family court's Manhattan division. She acquired a reputation for toughness and harshness in her new role. In 1993, Sheindlin was the subject of an article in the "Los Angeles Times". This helped her gain celebrity status. She was soon featured in a segment on "60 Minutes". She started work on her first book: "Don't Pee on My Leg and Tell Me It's Raining" (1996).
Sheindlin retired as a judge in 1996. She had reportedly heard more than 20,000 cases in her career. She accepted an offer to preside in a new reality courtroom series, which became the ratings hit "Judge Judy". Her viewers reportedly liked to see "wrongdoers publicly humiliated by a strong authority figure". Sheindlin won several awards and honors over the following two decades. In 2006, she received her own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In March 2011, Sheindlin was hospitalized after suffering a a mini-stroke. This did not prevent her from renewing her contract, or from negotiating an annual salary increase. She signed her new contract in May 2011. In August 2017, she renewed her contract for "Judge Judy" for the final time. By 2020, Sheindlin had decided that she would end her show at the time of its 25th season anniversary. The decision was motivated in part by her increasingly poor relationship with the conglomerate ViacomCBS, and by legal disputes with the talent agency Rebel Entertainment.
"Judge Judy" broadcast its final episode in July 2021. By that time, Sheindlin had started work in the production of her new show, "Judy Justice". Its first episode was broadcast in November 2021. The program aired its first-run episodes through the streaming service Amazon Freevee. Sheindlin credited her young adult granddaughter with providing input for this show's format. A second season was scheduled to appear in November 2022.
By 2022, Sheindlin was 80-years-old. Though she has considered retirement from television at various point, she has been reluctant to follow through with her retirement plans. She has admitted in past interviews that she feels engaged by her work, and that she considers herself able to still reach an audience. After a show business career of 26 years, she has become one of the most acclaimed figures in American television.- Music Artist
- Actress
- Composer
Mariah Carey was born in Long Island, New York on March 27, 1969. Her parents are Patricia Hickey (Irish-American) and Alfred Roy Carey (African-American/Venezuelan). Mariah attended Greenlawn's Harborfields High School. In June 1990, Mariah made her debut with her self-titled album, Mariah Carey which entered at #73, but on August 4, 1990 it reached #1. Her 1990 self-titled debut album went multi-platinum and spawned an extraordinary four consecutive #1 singles: "Vision of Love," "Love Takes Time," "Someday" and "I Don't Wanna Cry," and led to Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Vocalist. Her 1993 album titled Music Box went ten-times platinum. On September 30, 1995, she made music history. Her single "Fantasy" from her 1995 Daydream album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the first female artist to accomplish a number one debut in the U.S. Her other Daydream's single "One Sweet Day" remained for 16 weeks at the top of the charts. She is the only artist since The Beatles to have so many #1 singles and albums. With "Heartbreaker", the first single from her 1999 album Rainbow and also her 14 #1 single, she became the only artist to top the charts in each year of the 1990s, and with "Heartbreaker" at its 60th week atop the Billboard's charts, she pushed ahead of The Beatles's 59-week record as the only artist with the most cumulative weeks spent atop Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart.
Following "Heartbreaker," her second single "Thank God I Found You" also from her Rainbow album became her 15th #1. "We Belong Together" from her 2005 album The Emancipation of Mimi became her 16th #1 single and was also her first #1 without any guest artists since her song "My All" (also a #1 single) captured the top spot in May 1998. The single "Don't Forget About Us" also from her 2005 album Emancipation of Mimi became her 17th #1 single, tying her with Elvis Presley's 17 #1 singles. Three more Grammy Awards were gained from The Emancipation of Mimi album. She is the most successful selling female artist in music history and is the only female artist to have the most #1 singles and albums and also holds the record for straight #1 singles and albums each year. Along with numerous awards and incredible vocal range, she also composes all of her own material, with the exception of song covers.
In April 2008, the single "Touch My Body" became her 18th #1 single, pushing her ahead of Elvis Presley's 17 #1 singles. Now she is the only artist since The Beatles to have as many number one singles and the only singer alive likely to succeed them.- Music Artist
- Actress
- Composer
Nicki Minaj was born Onika Tanya Maraj on December 8, 1982 in St. James, Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago and raised in Queens, New York City, New York. She grew up in a troubled family with a father that was a drug addict who later changed after he checked into rehab and started going to church. Minaj went to LaGaurdia High School and studied singing and acting.
She was first spotted by the CEO of Young Money, and was later recruited for The Carter Edition of Young Money's own "The Come Up" DVD series. Her rapping skills caught the eyes of Lil Wayne who later worked with her for many collaborations with his mixtapes.
In April 2007, Minaj released her first mixtape "Playtime Is Over". One year later she made another mixtape "Sucka Free" which made her Female Artist of the Year at the Underground Music Awards. In 2009 she made her third mixtape "Beam Me Up Scotty" which got positive reviews from BET and MTV.
To date, Nicki has released 3 platinum selling studio albums, Pink Friday, Pink Friday: Roman Reloaded, and the most recent The Pinkprint- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Gina Gallego was born on 30 October 1955 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress, known for Mr. Deeds (2002), Erin Brockovich (2000) and Minority Report (2002). She has been married to Joel Bailey since 2 July 1983. They have one child.- Actor
- Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Costume Designer
Michael Kors was born on 9 August 1959 in Long Island, New York, USA. He is an actor and costume designer, known for My Super Ex-Girlfriend (2006), Mercenaries (2014) and Fashiontrance (2002). He has been married to Lance LePere since 16 August 2011.- Producer
- Actress
- Additional Crew
Nina Garcia was born on 3 May 1965 in Barranquilla, Colombia. She is a producer and actress, known for Web Therapy (2008), Web Therapy (2011) and Literato (2023). She is married to David Conrod. They have two children.- Producer
- Actress
- Writer
Elaine Welteroth is known for Grown-ish (2018), Insecure (2016) and Black-ish (2014). She has been married to Jonathan Singletary since May 2020.- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Multi-platinum artist Michael Bublé grew up near Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. He was introduced to swing music and old standards by his grandfather, who offered his services for free as a professional plumber to musicians who were willing to let Michael sing a couple of songs with them on stage.
He got his big break in show business after former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney discovered his music. At 10 years of struggling, the discovery came at a time when distraught Michael was considering giving up a career in music and getting a job in media. His performance at a corporate gig in summer 2000 impressed Michael McSweeney, speech writer/right hand man to Brian Mulroney, and told Mcsweeney to feel free to use his independent CD as a coaster if he didn't like it. Mcsweeney gave the CD to Brian & Mila Mulroney, which led to an invitation to sing at their daughter's wedding, where he was introduced to music producer David Foster, who took him under his wing.
His self-titled debut album came out February 12, 2003 and has since won several music awards and incredible worldwide success.
He also well known for his support of feminism.