Monday, February 06, 2006

My Babes List (#82)


#82 Mari Morrow

posted by 2-7-79 @ 1:09 PM  0 comments

Wednesday, February 01, 2006

My Babes List (#81)

#81 Sanaa Lathan


Sanaa McCoy Lathan (born September 19, 1971 in New York City, New York) is an African-American actress.

Lathan first caught the attention of critics and audiences alike in a series of '90s films about the lives of young African-Americans. Featured prominently in such ensemble films as The Best Man and The Wood, both in 1999. Lathan won her first starring role in Gina Prince-Bythewood's Love & Basketball in 2000, starring as a talented basketball player who finds her professional dreams complicated by her relationship with her boyfriend and her own expectations of herself. She also starred that same year in Prince-Bythewood's HBO movie Disappearing Acts.

Biography

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Early life and career

Lathan, whose first name is Swahili for "Work of Art", was the second oldest of five children born to Broadway actress and dancer Eleanor McCoy and director/producer Stan Lathan. Surrounded by show business since birth, Lathan began training in dance and gymnastics at an early age. Following her parents' divorce, she grew up shuttling between her mother's home in New York City and Los Angeles, California, where her father lived. During her undergraduate education at the University of California, Berkeley, where she majored in English and toyed with the idea of becoming a lawyer, Lathan became involved with the Black Theater Workshop. Thanks in part to her stage experiences with the Workshop, she was encouraged to try out for the Yale School of Drama, where she was ultimately accepted.

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Hollywood career

Following her training at Yale, where she performed in a number of Shakespeare's plays, Lathan earned acclaim both off-Broadway and on the Los Angeles stage. Encouraged by her father to make Los Angeles her professional base, the young actress found early television roles on episodes of such shows as In the House, Family Matters, NYPD Blue, and Moesha. During that same period, she won raves and a Best Actress nod from the Los Angeles NAACP Theatrical Award Committee for her performance in To Take Arms.

In 1998, Lathan earned a degree of recognition with her role as the mother of Wesley Snipes' title character in Blade. She followed this the subsequent year with back-to-back turns in The Best Man, The Wood, and Brown Sugar. The Best Man was a comedic ensemble film, starring Taye Diggs, Nia Long and Morris Chestnut, and featured Lathan as Diggs' girlfriend. The Wood, another ensemble film starring Diggs and Omar Epps, cast her as the love interest of Epps, who also happened to be her real-life boyfriend.

Lathan and Epps were reunited onscreen in Prince-Bythewood's Love & Basketball, this time playing a couple as passionate about basketball as they are about each other. The film served as a break-out role for Lathan, who was finally able to play a leading character instead of the girlfriend of one. Her work in Love & Basketball earned her Best Actress nominations for both the NAACP Image Award and the Independent Spirit Award. That same year, Lathan earned additional acclaim for her work in the multicultural comedy Catfish in Black Bean Sauce and for her second collaboration with Prince-Bythewood, Disappearing Acts. Based on a novel by Terry McMillan, the HBO movie cast Lathan as an aspiring singer/songwriter in love with a carpenter, played by her Blade co-star Wesley Snipes. For her work in the film, Lathan earned an Essence Award for Best Actress, as well as the added assurance of a very busy work schedule.

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Filmography

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Awards & nominations

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Trivia

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External links

posted by 2-7-79 @ 9:58 PM  0 comments

My Babes List (#80)

#80 Rachel Stevens

Rachel Lauren Stevens (born April 9, 1978) is a British singer and actress from London. Formerly with the pop group S Club 7, she has now launched a successful solo career.

Early life

Stevens was born in Southgate, London to a Jewish family. Her now-estranged father, Michael Stevens, is notable for producing a guide to the best places to solicit prostitutes in London.[1] Her mother is Linda Stevens. Rachel attended Ashmole School, Southgate, London.

From a very early age, Stevens was drawn to entertaining people. At the age of five she began taking acting lessons at a drama school near London, but as time went on she seemed to be more interested in fashion than acting. At the age of fifteen her first big break when she beat out 4999 competitors in a modeling competition sponsored by Just 17 Magazine. Following her first modeling gig Stevens attended the London School of Fashion and after graduation worked in fashion PR, but began to lose interest and started to seek out a career in music instead.

Then, at the age of twenty, Stevens accompanied her brother to an audition in London for a new pop group, which was being put together by Simon Fuller, the one-time manager of the Spice Girls. Whilst waiting for her brother to audition, she was approached by the judges. After many calls and auditions she was chosen as a member of the new band S Club 7 , along with Tina Barrett, Paul Cattermole, Jon Lee, Bradley McIntosh, Jo O'Meara and Hannah Spearritt.

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S Club 7

Stevens and S Club 7 quickly rose to fame, with their debut single "Bring It All Back" at number one on the UK Singles Chart in June 1999. The band's follow-up "S Club Party" was also a hit, the bands self-titled debut album also sold well. The success of their debut album landed the band their own TV show, S Club 7 in Miami. Major success in the United States followed.

Stevens probably enjoyed more success then the rest of the band members, as she received the most media attention and was a fan favourite. Despite the negative press the male members of the band had been receiving, Stevens was not affected by it and in 2000 was voted the second sexiest woman on the planet by men's magazine FHM.

Soon after 2000 the band began to lose steam and they could not live up to past success with both record sales and television ratings down. The band was able to release a successful film in 2003 called S Club Seeing Double but after a UK tour, the members of S Club 7 decided to break up.

Funky Dory


After S Club 7 broke up, Stevens signed a £1.5 million solo four-album deal with Polydor Records and re-signed with S Club 7 manager, Simon Fuller.

Her first solo single, written by Cathy Dennis (who has also written for Britney Spears and Kylie Minogue) and produced by Bloodshy & Avant, was "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex", released in September 2003. The single was a hit, debuting at number two on the UK singles chart, holding off the Black Eyed Peas and their international hit single "Where Is The Love?. The single was also a hit worldwide peaking in the top ten in multiple countries including Ireland and Sweden. Stevens' debut solo album Funky Dory was released later that month and was a minor hit, reaching number nine of the UK albums chart and quickly fading away in subsequent weeks almost without a trace.

That December, the album's title track, "Funky Dory" was released as the second single. The song was hailed as being sophisticated and sexy, like its predecessor, and featured a sample of the David Bowie song ""Andy Warhol" from his album Hunky Dory. Hopes were high that the single would be able to match the success of "Sweet Dreams My LA Ex", but like her album the single made a low showing on the charts, peaking at number twenty six and then quickly disappearing.

In July 2004, Stevens released a brand new single, "Some Girls" which was produced by Richard X. The single became a hit across Europe, and reached number two in the UK. All profits from the single went to the BBC Sport Relief charity.

Due to the success of "Some Girls", Funky Dory was re-released to include "Some Girls" and another new track, a cover of Andrea True Connection's "More More More". On its single release, "More More More" peaked at number three in the UK, giving Stevens her third top ten solo single in the UK.

That November, Stevens was nominated for seven awards at the Smash Hits Poll Winners Party. She took home two awards, Most Fanciable Female and Best Dressed Star.

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Come And Get It


In late 2004, Stevens began working on her second solo album with producers and songwriters Richard X, Alexis Strum and Xenomania. The following March she released the first single from her upcoming album, "Negotiate With Love". The song was a success reaching the top ten in the UK. "Negotiate with Love" was followed-up by the song "So Good", which was released in July and peaked at number ten as well in the UK.

The singles were followed by Stevens' second full length studio album, Come And Get It in October 2005. The album was, like her previous effort, a minor success peaking at number twenty eight in the UK. The album sold only 20,000 copies in Britain in its first month and has been deemed a commercial failure, even though British pop critics hailed it as a great pop album. The last single released from the album was "I Said Never Again (But Here We Are)", released in October 2005 the song peaked at number twelve in the UK. Due to the low charting of the album and its singles no further singles were released, although multiple rumors stated that "Nothing Good About This Goodbye" and the Richard X produced "Crazy Boys" were going to be released as singles. In early January 2006, rumors surfaced that Stevens was dropped from Polydor Records. However, a statement arose from the Polydor executives stating that she is still with Polydor. They also may release another single from Come and Get It (possibly "Crazy Boys", "Nothing Good About This Goodbye", or "Dumb Dumb").

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Future In Music

Many critics have stated that Stevens should leave the music business for good and "jump before she's pushed", calling her a "more expensive Lisa Scott-Lee" (failed British singer), and that her managers "forgot to give her a personality". However, Stevens will continue her music career, and will begin recording her third album in early to mid-2006 and as stated by her label, which will most likely be released at the end of the year. Also, she has a planned "UK return" with a new single in April 2006.

On the fan forum rachelstevensonline, a "reliable source" from Steven's management has repeatedly stated that in the summer of 2006, Stevens will release her debut US single. However, no plans have been released, making forum-goers skeptical.

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Awareness campaigns


Although 2005 did not bring the commercial success of earlier years, Stevens made headlines when she followed in the footsteps of fellow British popstar Robbie Williams to front the Everyman Testicular Cancer Awareness campaign. Stevens' role was notable as she was the first woman to front the campaign. Her television commercial raised eyebrows with its suggestive content that included her telling men to "put one hand down their trousers and give their testicles a good feel". On the commercial, Stevens commented, "Sometimes men need a little encouragement to think about their health. This is a funny way of raising awareness about a serious subject."[2]

In 2005 Stevens also took part in the Make Poverty History campaign, which aims to eliminate poverty in third world countries by supplying aid to them through food, money and other resources that these countries do not have. Stevens donated an undisclosed amount of money to the campaign, and also starred in television and magazine advertisments supporting the cause. Her official website also displayed the campaigns official online banner.[3]

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Personal life

On Valentines Day in 2001, Stevens made headline when she became engaged to her longtime boyfriend, actor Jeremy Edwards. The engagement would not last long though, the couple broke up in early 2004 after they had been dating for over three years. Stevens made headlines in March 2004 when she was dumped by her rumoured boyfriend, businessman Simon Brodin. The couple were rumoured to have dated for two months after Stevens broke-up with Edwards. The relationship was never confirmed by either side.[4] Six months later Stevens again was in the tabloids as she started dating Gavin Dein, son of Arsenal vice-chairman David Dein, the relationship would not last long with the couple splitting up in August 2005. Since then she has been linked to Arsenal midfielder Freddie Ljungberg after taking interest in him because she wanted him to star as her boyfriend in an upcoming music video. Stevens' commented on the rumors by telling Neil Sean of Sky Showbiz Gossip "all top secret but my dream is to have the lovely Freddie in the video for the song as my boyfriend. I'd like that in real life too, but I’ll start with the video."

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Acting career

During her times with S Club 7, she was able to act in all S Club series like Hollywood 7, S Club in Miami, Viva S Club and all of it got high ratings worldwide. Before their break up, they were able to release an S Club movie entitled Seeing Double which was a huge success.

In her solo career, Stevens was offered/and auditioned for many acting projects. She auditioned for a role in the Jude Law movie Alfie, but lost the role to Sienna Miller. She also secretly auditioned for a role as the leading lady in the re-make of the hit series Doctor Who, but also lost the part to Billie Piper. Stevens appeared in a minor role in Deuce Bigalow: European Gigolo. She has also been called numbers of times to star in the Dr. Who spin-off Torchwood, and has been called for a meeting to sit with the show's producers. She has recently stated to New! magazine that she would like to attend drama school to receive proper training. She has previously announced that she would love to act with Oscar nominees such as Clive Owen and Hollywood heartthrob Brad Pitt.

Stevens is currently spending time in Los Angeles in preparation for launching an acting career. According to Stevens, she is working with the William Morris Agency, one of the largest acting agencies in the world.

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Discography

For complete discography and chart information see: Rachel Stevens discography

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Albums

  1. Funky Dory (2003)
  2. Funky Dory (re-release) (2004)
  3. Come And Get It (2005)
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Hit singles

Single UK IR Sales
"Sweet Dreams My LA Ex" (2003) 2 3 225,000
"Some Girls" (2004) 2 13 130,000
"More More More" (2004) 3 5 68,000
"Do They Know It's Christmas?" (2004) 1 1 -
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See also

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Notes

  1. ^ Rachel Stevens 1. Rachel Stevens Online. 2006. Retrieved Jan. 28, 2006.
  2. ^ Rachel Stevens 2. Everyman. 2005. Retrieved Jan. 29, 2006.
  3. ^ Rachel Stevens 3. RSO: Make Poverty History. 2005. Retrieved Jan. 29, 2006.
  4. ^ Rachel Stevens 4. Rachel Stevens Online. 2006. Retrieved Jan. 29, 2006.
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References

  • Rachel Stevens Online. link Jan. 28, 2006. Retrieved Jan. 28, 2006. - Biography, trivia and discography.
  • Rachel Stevens Official Website. link Jan. 23, 2006. Retrieved Jan. 28, 2006. - Biography and discography.
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External links

posted by 2-7-79 @ 9:39 PM  0 comments

My Babes List (#79)


#79 Kate Beckinsale

Kate Beckinsale (born July 26, 1973 in London, England) is an English actress.

Early life

Beckinsale is the daughter of Judy Loe (a stage actress) and the late Richard Beckinsale, a well-known television actor who died in 1979, at the age of 31. Kate's paternal great-grandfather was Burmese, and Beckinsale claims that she was "very oriental looking" as a child [1].

Beckinsale won first prizes in several young writing competitions. After completing school in London, she followed in the footsteps of her parents and began her acting career. Her first role was in One Against the Wind, a television film about World War II that was first aired in 1991. Beckinsale then began studying German, French and Russian at New College, Oxford University, though she did not complete her studies (although she speaks these languages fluently). She felt that a general university background would be better for her than attending a school of performing arts.

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Film career

During her first year at Oxford, Beckinsale was offered a part in Kenneth Branagh's big-screen film, Much Ado About Nothing, adapted from the Shakespeare play. She spent her last year of studies in Paris, after which she decided to quit university and concentrate on her acting career. She subsequently appeared in a few notable but low-profile films, including Cold Comfort Farm (in 1995), Shooting Fish and The Last Days of Disco (both in 1998). During this time, Beckinsale also appeared in television films and in stage roles.

Her first major American film, Brokedown Palace (1999), was not a commercial success. Soon after, Beckinsale was cast in the 2001 film Pearl Harbor, which was one of the highest grossing films of its year. In the years following, she appeared in a series of American films that were high-profile but were given a somewhat poor critical reception, including Serendipity (2001), Underworld (2003) and Van Helsing (2004). Notably, she appeared as Ava Gardner in The Aviator, a role for which she gained 20 pounds.

In 2005, Beckinsale was placed at #85 in FHM magazine's "100 Sexiest Women in the World" [2]. Previously, she had also been placed at #16 in Maxim magazine's "HOT 100" (2003), #63 in Stuff Magazine's "100 Sexiest Women in the World" (2002) [3], and was chosen by Hello magazine as "England’s #1 Beauty", also in 2002.

In January 2006, Beckinsale starred in Underworld: Evolution, a sequel to her 2003 film, Underworld, again directed by her husband, Len Wiseman. The film opened at the #1 spot at the box office, grossing over $26 million in its first weekend of release [4].

On January 24, 2006, Beckinsale was featured on the MTV series, Punk'd. The set-up for the segment took place at the Avalon Hotel in Los Angeles.

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Private life

Beckinsale and Welsh actor Michael Sheen have a daughter, Lily (born 31 January 1999), but they are no longer together. In June 2003, she became engaged to the director of Underworld, Len Wiseman, and the two were wed on 9 May 2004 in Bel-Air, California.

Beckinsale suffers from stomach ulcers and was anorexic as a child [5]. She has stated that she hates wearing knickers [6].

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Selected Filmography

Year Title Role Other notes
2008 Underworld 3 Selene announced
2006 Click Donna Newman post-production
2006 Underworld: Evolution Selene
2004 The Aviator Ava Gardner
2004 Van Helsing Anna Valerious
2003 Underworld Selene
2003 Laurel Canyon Alex
2001 Serendipity Sara Thomas
2001 Pearl Harbor Nurse Lt. Evelyn Johnson
2001 The Golden Bowl Maggie Verver
1999 Brokedown Palace Darlene Davis
1998 The Last Days of Disco Charlotte Pingress
1998 Shooting Fish Georgie
1995 Cold Comfort Farm Flora Poste
1993 Much Ado About Nothing Hero
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Interviews

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External links

posted by 2-7-79 @ 9:34 PM  0 comments

My Babes List (#78)

#78 Charlize Theron

Charlize Theron (born August 7, 1975 in Benoni, South Africa) is an Academy Award winning South African actress.

Early life

Her father, Charles, was a construction company owner of French Huguenot descent; her mother, Gerda, is of German descent and took over her husband's business after his death. Theron's first language is Afrikaans, and her second is English. "Theron" is a French surname pronounced in Afrikaans as "Tronn", although she has stated that she prefers the pronunciation "Thrown" [1].

She grew up as the only child on her parents' farm near Johannesburg and was sent to a boarding school at the age of thirteen. At the age of fifteen, Theron witnessed the death of her father; he was an abusive alcoholic, and her mother shot him in self defense when he attacked her. No charges were pressed.

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Career

At the age of sixteen, Theron travelled to Milan, Italy on a one-year modelling contract after winning a local competition. Her contract ended while she was in New York City. She decided to remain there and attended the Joffrey Ballet, where she trained as a ballet dancer and performed in productions of both Swan Lake and The Nutcracker. A knee injury ended this career path at the age of 18. Unable to dance, she bought a ticket to Los Angeles. After eight months in the city she got her first film part, a non-speaking role in the direct-to-video film Children of the Corn III. She followed this with larger roles in widely released films, and her career skyrocketed with box office successes like The Devil's Advocate, The Cider House Rules, and Mighty Joe Young.

In 1999, she posed nude for the May issue of Playboy magazine.

After appearing in a few notable films, Theron starred as serial killer Aileen Wuornos in the film Monster (2003). Receiving praise for her performance (film critic Roger Ebert called it "one of the greatest performances in the history of the cinema" [2]), Theron won the Best Actress Oscar at the 76th Academy Awards in February 2004, as well as the SAG Award and the Golden Globe Award. She is the first South African to win an Oscar for Best Actress.

On September 30, 2005 she received her own bronze star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. In the same year, she starred in the film Æon Flux and was given positive reviews, as well as a Best Actress Golden Globe nomination, for her lead performance in North Country.

Theron also portrayed Rita, Michael Bluth's (Jason Bateman) love interest on the third season of FOX's critically acclaimed sitcom Arrested Development.

Having signed a deal with John Galliano on 2004, Charlize replaced model Carmen Kass in the J'ADORE by Christian Dior ads.

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Personal life

Theron is the current spokeswoman for Dior perfume. She resides in Los Angeles with her long-term boyfriend, Stuart Townsend, with whom she starred in the 2004 film, "Head in the Clouds"; she has said that she will not marry him until same-sex couples are able to have their marriages recognized. Theron is also involved in women's rights organizations [3].

Dated lead singer of Third Eye Blind, Stephan Jenkins from January 1998 to July 2001. Jenkins broke up with her after failing to take her requests of marriage seriously [4].

While filming Æon Flux in Berlin, Germany, she had surgery on a herniated cervical disc in her neck, the result of an injury incurred on the set during a stunt.

Her mother, Gerda, recently married in California, but the media thought Charlize was the one getting married (to Irish boyfriend Stuart Townsend) and the paparazzi got as close as they could for the photos.

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Selected filmography

Year Title Role Other notes
2005 Aeon Flux Aeon Flux
2005 North Country Josey Aimes Academy Award nomination - "Best Actress"
2004 Head in the Clouds Gilda Bessé
2003 Monster Aileen Wuornos Academy Award Winner - "Best Actress"
2003 The Italian Job Stella Bridger
2002 Waking Up in Reno Candy Kirkendall
2002 Trapped Karen Jennings
2001 15 Minutes Rose Hearn
2001 Sweet November Sara Deever
2000 The Legend of Bagger Vance Adele Invergordon
2000 The Yards Erica Stoltz
2000 Reindeer Games Ashley Mercer
1999 The Cider House Rules Candy Kendall
1999 The Astronaut's Wife Jillian Armacost
1998 Mighty Joe Young Jill Young
1998 Celebrity Supermodel
1997 The Devil's Advocate Mary Ann Lomax
1997 Trial and Error Billie Tyler
1996 2 Days in the Valley Helga Svelgen
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External links

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posted by 2-7-79 @ 9:29 PM  0 comments

My Babes List (#77)


#77 Sumi Das

Sumi Das is the former co-host of TechTV's Fresh Gear. After leaving just before the merger of TechTV and G4, Das dropped off the professional media scene. She has appeared reporting for MSNBC and CNN.

As of 2005, she has filed reports from parts of Mississippi ravaged by Hurricane Katrina for various local stations, including the Miami, Florida, television station, WSVN.

Sumi Das is Indian. Her family is from the Indian state of Assam.

Sumi Das is a national correspondent for CNN Newsource based in Washington, D.C. She files feature stories and breaking news reports as well as providing custom live reports for approximately 800 CNN Newsource affiliates. Das reported from Biloxi, Miss., and New Orleans on the destruction and aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in September 2005.

Das joined CNN Newsource from cable news channel, MSNBC, where she was a correspondent responsible for covering live breaking news for the network. Das reported from Modesto, Calif. during the Scott Peterson trial. Prior to that, Das was a producer and host of Fresh Gear, a weekly program focusing on new technology trends for Tech TV.

Das earned a bachelor of arts in psychology from the University of California at Berkeley.

posted by 2-7-79 @ 9:24 PM  0 comments