Aishwarya Rai

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Born November 1, 1973 is an Indian actress. Before starting her career as an actress, she worked as a model, and gained fame after winning the Miss World contest in 1994.

Often touted as the most beautiful woman in the world, Rai made her movie debut in Mani Ratnam's Tamil film, Iruvar (1997). She had her first critical and commercial success in the Hindi movie, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), which was directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali. She successfully performed again in Bhansali's Devdas (2002). Since then, she has acted in nearly forty movies in Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, and English, including the international movies, Bride & Prejudice (2003) and The Last Legion (2007) in English.Rai was born in Mangalore as the daughter of Krishnaraj Rai, a marine biologist, and Vrinda Rai, a writer. Her family belongs to the Bunt community of Mangalore. She has one elder brother, Aditya Rai, who is an engineer in the merchant navy and also co-produced one of Rai's movies, Dil Ka Rishta (2003).

After she was born, her parents moved to Mumbai (Bombay) where she attended the Arya Vidya Mandir high school in Santacruz. Rai then entered Jai Hind College at Churchgate for one year, and then moved to Ruparel College in Matunga to finish her "HSC" studies. She did well in school and planned to become an architect.While pursuing her studies in architecture, Rai began modeling on the side.

In the 1994 Miss India contest, she won the second place (behind Sushmita Sen), and went on to win the Miss World title the same year where she also won the Miss Photogenic award. She abandoned her studies after winning the pageant and spent one year reigning as Miss World in London. Rai then started working as a professional model and then moved on to her current profession as an actress.Rai is married to Indian actor Abhishek Bachchan, who is the son of Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan. The marriage took place on April 20, 2007.

Making her debut with Mani Ratnam's Tamil film, Iruvar (1997) with Mohanlal,she was introduced to Bollywood in the film, Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya opposite Bobby Deol, which also released that year; the film didn't do well at the box office. However, her third project, S. Shankar's Tamil film, Jeans (1998) was a critical and commercial success, earning her the Filmfare Best Actress Award South.She went on to appear in many Bollywood films; a few successful films of her career include Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), which earned the actress her first Filmfare Best Actress Award and Taal (1999), which gave her another nomination for Best Actress at the Filmfare; her performances in both the films were lauded. In 2000, she played a supporting role in the hit films Mohabbatein and Josh.

Later that year, she also starred in the Tamil film Kandukondain Kandukondain, which won her positive reviews.In 2002, Rai appeared with superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit in Sanjay Leela Bansali's lavishly produced Devdas. The film attracted overseas attention as well, receiving a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival. It was during this time that she garnered the attention of the West as an Indian actress and went on to appear in a few Hollywood projects. Devdas went on to become the highest grossing film of the year both in India and overseas, earning her the actress her second Filmfare Best Actress Award.

As her name gained popularity overseas, she was chosen by Time magazine in 2004 as one of the World's "100 Most Influential People", and appeared on the cover of Time magazine, Asia Edition (TIMEasia) in 2003. She was the subject of a 60 Minutes profile on January 2. A month later she appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman. She also featured on Oprah's "Women Across the Globe" segment.

In 2003, she acted in the critically acclaimed and commercial success Bengali film, Chokher Bali, an adaptation of one of Rabindranath Tagore's novels by the same name.Rai has been a regular at the Cannes Film Festival since 2002, and was a member of the Jury at Cannes in the year 2003. In October 2004, a wax figure of Rai became on display in London's Madame Tussaud's wax museum.The same month, her first foreign film, Bride and Prejudice released. The film was an Indian version of Jane Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice. Her next overseas venture was The Mistress of Spices.

She then appeared at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, as part of a performance showcasing Indian art, on behalf of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, to be held in New Delhi. In between her overseas acting stints, she appeared in the Indian film Bunty Aur Babli in a hugely popular seven minute dance sequence for the song "Kajra Re".

In 2005, Rai signed a three-year contract with L'Or�al, as a spokesmodel for the cosmetics company.At the end of the year 2006, she had two releases: Umrao Jaan and Dhoom 2. The former did poorly in India but her role in the latter, which was a sequel to the 2004 hit movie Dhoom brought her great attention. While it was a hit commercially,it also sparked a controversy for a scene containing a kiss between her and Hrithik Roshan, which made audiences uncomfortable; a court case is currently pending in India.

2007 saw the release of Mani Ratnam's Guru which premiered in Toronto. The film, based on the life of Indian businessman Dhirubhai Ambani, was critically acclaimed and did well at the box offic.Her most recent film, Provoked, based on the book "Circle of Light" where she portrays a real life character, was released on April 6, 2007 in India and the UK. At the end of April 2007, her first American film, The Last Legion released in Russia and the Netherlands and later opened in North American theaters in August 2007 disappointingly.

Julia Roberts

Name: Julia Fiona Roberts

Born: October 28, 1967

Sign: Scorpio

Birth Place: Atlanta, Georgia, USA (Raised in Smyrna, Georgia)

Lives: House in Malibu, CA, apartment in New York City.

Also owns a ranch near Taos, New Mexico.

Family: Husband Danny Moder, twins Hazel and Phinnaeus (born November 28, 2004).

Mother Betty Lou, siblings Eric, Lisa & Nancy

Pets: A number of dogs and horses, eg. the dogs, Diego & Louie

Hidden talen:Julia knitts and does needlepoint.

Needless knowledge: Julia is lefthanded, and when she's nervous, she tears out of her left eye.

Famous misconception: That her real name is Julie. (A nickname from school, one she never fancied herself.)

Julia Fiona Roberts first saw daylight on the 28th of october, 1967. She was born in Atlanta, Georgia, but grew up in the small town Smyrna, Georgia, USA, along with her mother Betty-Lou, an actress and a church secretary, her father Walter who worked as a vacuum cleaner salesman, writer and an actor. She was the youngest of three siblings, with older brother Eric and sister Lisa. Julia had a tragic childhood.

When she was only four years old, her parents got divorced because of financial difficulties. Betty-Lou stayed in Smyrna with her two daughters, while Walter decided to move back to Atlanta together with sixteen year old Eric.. When Julia was ten years old, March 1978, her father died of cancer. In school, the children teased her because of her thick glasses and her big mouth. At first she took it pretty hard but then she decided to take advantage of her looks. She accepted her big mouth and instead made it her trademark.

She showed her beautiful, hazel eyes by using contact lenses instead of hiding them behind thick glasses. She had never tried to hide the fact that she was tall, her height only made her more grand.Early-on, Julia had planned on becoming a veterinarian and had little interest in acting. After graduating from Campbell High School in Smyrna, Julia joined her sister Lisa and brother Eric in New York to go to theater school. Before she got into acting she worked at Baskin-Robbins and at Athlete's Foot. Later on, she signed with the modeling agency "Click" and she stayed with them until her brother Eric who was already into acting, landed her her first film role in the movie "Blood Red". The movie didn't go well at all but people started talking about her in Hollywood.

In 1988 she played a pizza waitress in "Mystic Pizza" and then she co-starred with Liam Neeson in "Satisfaction". Things started to get hot behind the camera as well between Julia and Liam. One year later she starred in "Steel Magnolias" opposite her fianc� at that time, Dylan McDermott. Just before "Steel Magnolias" Julia got sick and she was still recovering from her illness when the shooting started. This didn't stop the director Herbert Ross from saying bad things about her acting, mostly in front of people, but he got quiet when Julia was Oscar-nominated for her part. The year after, Julia became a huge star basically over night when she became the whole world's "Pretty Woman".

Suddenly, everybody wanted her. The papers wrote about her every day and the whole world talked about her. She couldn't leave the house without reporters and photographers throwing themselves at her. This was very hard on her, she got thinner and the rumors spread that she was doing drugs and had anorexia.The rescue came when she met Kiefer Sutherland, her co-star in "Flatliners" from 1990. He left his wife and children and moved in with Julia. The scandal was a fact and the relationship of the year started.

In August 1990, Julia and Kiefer announced their engagement and in October he gave Julia a tattoo for her birthday, a chinese symbol for "Eternal love" on her left shoulder. Julia and Kiefers wedding was set to June 14th 1991. The dream was torn apart when Julia found out that Kiefer had had an affair with the stripper Amanda Rice. The wedding was cancelled and Julia sought comfort in Ireland. Meanwhile, "Sleeping with the enemy" had opened in the movie-theatres in USA with great success.

In 1991, Julia decided to take a break. For two long years she totally disappeared from the big screen with a small exception and "The Player" (1992), and everybody was asking, where did Pretty Woman go? In 1993, she came back with a bang, this time in the thriller "The Pelican Brief", based on the book by John Grisham which he wrote with Julia in mind as the main character Darby Shaw. The movie was a comeback for Julia and it went well in the cinemas. During filming of the movie (June '93), Julia surprised the world by marrying ten year older country singer, Lyle Lovett. After only have known each other for a few weeks they went to the preacher and said "I do". Julia was barefoot and without makeup.Two years later, in March 1995, the couple announced that they were separating. After 21 months of marriage they were getting a divorce but they were still very good friends.

Over the next few years, a huge hit was not to be found amongst Julia's movies and rumours started circulating that Julia's career was over. There was talk about a "new Julia Roberts" and amongst the candidates were Sandra Bullock, Julia Ormond and Julianne Moore. But in the summer of 1997, Julia shut everyone up and showed that she was still box office material with "Conspiracy Theory" and "My Best Friend's Wedding". She was back the way the public wanted her, with big hair and that smile on her face. For the Christmas '98 premiere of "Stepmom", Julia showed up with a new man on her arm. Television actor Benjamin Bratt from "Law and Order". Julia gushed like never before and went on Oprah saying she was "drunk with joy" all the time.

Talk of marriage and babies was consistent during their four years of dating, but Julia said she was content the way they were, she didn't want to rush anything. In 2000, Julia started her filmmaking love affair with Steven Soderbergh in "Erin Brockovich". It was to be her first in a line of four movies with the director. (Erin Brockovich, Full Frontal, Ocean's 11 and Ocean's 12). In her acceptance speech after winning the Golden Globe in 2001 (for Erin B), she honored Soderbergh by clamining he was so genius that she would read the phonebook to him if he asked her to.

A month later, Benjamin Bratt was by her side for the last time at the Academy Awards when she accepted her first Oscar for "Erin Brockovich". In her speech, which lasted over five minutes she thanked everyone she'd ever met in her life and shouted "I love it up here!" from the stage. She ended her speech with "I love the world, I'm so happy, thank you!" In late June 2001, Julia and Ben announced they were breaking up. ''It's come to a kind and tender-hearted end,'' she said of their relationship. She had only complimentary words for Ben. ''OK, here's the thing: I love Benjamin. He's a good man; he's a fine man.

He is, to the exultation of the female single population, not my man anymore,'' she said.After the Oscar win, Julia slowed down, taking smaller roles in films like "Full Frontal" and "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind" while instead focusing on her personal life. During the filming of "The Mexican" she had met cameraman Daniel Moder and they had become close friends. There had been speculation of a romance for a long time, and at the afterparty of the premiere of "Ocean's 11" in December 2001, the first official photo was taken of the couple. Julia looked radiant and happy, with a new blond look. The couple married in a midnight ceremony on Independence day, July 4, 2002 at Julia's ranch in New Mexico. The world was stunned. In her first interview after the wedding, she spoke of Danny as " a man among men, unselfish and all-encompassing". In June 2004, after two years of marriage, Julia and Danny announced that they were expecting their first children.

The twins are due to arrive early 2005. After the birth of her children, Julia isn't planning anything. She currently has two movies on the slate, set for release in December: "Closer," directed by Mike Nichols and also starring Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen, and "Ocean's 12," the Steven Soderbergh-directed sequel to 2001's star-studded heist caper. After that, it's all about family."I'm not planning anything. I can't imagine how big I'm going to get in the next three months, but ... you just kind of play it as it comes," Roberts tells Newsweek magazine. "I'm allowed to do that, aren't I?"

Filmography

�2008 The Friday Night Knitting Club

�2008 Fireflies in the Garden

�2007 Charlie Wilson's War

�2006 Charlotte's Web

�2006 Ant Bully 2004 Ocean's Twelve

� 2004 Closer

� 2003 Mona Lisa Smile

� 2002 Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

� 2002 Full Frontal

� 2001 Ocean's Eleven

� 2001 America's Sweethearts

� 2001 The Mexican

� 2000 Erin Brockovich

� 1999 Runaway Bride

� 1999 Notting Hill

� 1998 Stepmom

� 1997 Conspiracy Theory

� 1997 My Best Friend's Wedding

� 1996 Everyone Says I Love You

� 1996 Michael Collins

� 1996 Mary Reilly

� 1995 Something to Talk About

� 1994 Ready to Wear

� 1994 I Love Trouble

� 1993 The Pelican Brief

� 1992 The Player

� 1991 Hook

� 1991 Dying Young

� 1991 Sleeping with the Enemy

� 1990 Flatliners

� 1990 Pretty Woman

� 1989 Steel Magnolias

� 1989 Blood Red

� 1988 Mystic Pizza

� 1988 Baja Oklahoma

� 1988 Satisfaction

� 1987 Firehouse

Angelina Jolie

• Date of Birth 4 June 1975, Los Angeles, California, USA
  Birth Name Angelina Jolie Voight
  Nickname Angie ,Catwoman ,Ange ,AJ
  Height 5' 8" (1.73 m)
  
  Growing up in Los Angeles, Jolie was no stranger to the film industry, being the daughter of Academy Award-winning actor Jon Voight. She later trained and performed at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, where she was seen in several stage productions.
  
  She worked as a professional model in London, New York and Los Angeles, and has also appeared in music videos for such artists as 'Meatloaf', Lenny Kravitz, Antonello Venditti and The Lemonheads. In addition, she has acted in five student films for the USC School of Cinema, all directed by her brother, James Haven.
  Angelina Jolie is an Oscar-winning actress who has become popular by taking on the title role in the "Lara Croft" series of blockbuster movies. Off-screen, Jolie has become prominently involved in international charity projects, especially those involving refugees. She often appears on many "most beautiful women" lists, and she has a personal life that is avidly covered by the tabloid press.
  
  In her earliest years, Angelina began absorbing the acting craft from her parents at home - her father is the Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight and her mother Marcheline Bertrand, who had studied with Lee Strasberg. At age 11, Angelina began studying at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute. She undertook some film studies at New York University and later joined the renowned Met Theatre Group in Los Angeles. At age 16, she took up a career in modeling and appeared in some music videos. Her exotic good looks may derive from her mixed ancestry which is Czech, French-Canadian, Iroquois and English.
  
  In the mid-1990s, Jolie appeared in various small films where she got good notices, including Hackers (1995) and Foxfire (1996). Her critical acclaim increased when she played strong roles in the made-for-TV movies True Women (1997) (TV), and in George Wallace (1997) (TV) which won her a Golden Globe award and an Emmy nomination. Jolie's acclaim increased even further when she played the lead role in the HBO production Gia (1998) (TV). This was the true life story of supermodel Gia Carangi, a sensitive wild child who was both brazen and needy and who had a difficult time handling professional success and the deaths of people who were close to her. Carangi became involved with drugs and because of her needle-using habits she became, at the tender age of 26, one of the first celebrities to die of AIDS. Jolie's performance in Gia (1998) (TV) again garnered a Golden Globe award and another Emmy nomination, and she additionally earned a SAG Award.
  
  Angelina got a major break in 1999 when she won a leading role in the successful feature The Bone Collector (1999), starring alongside Denzel Washington. In that same year, Jolie gave a tour de force performance in Girl, Interrupted (1999) playing opposite Winona Ryder. The movie was a true story of women who spent time in a psychiatric hospital. Jolie's role was reminiscent of Jack Nicholson's character in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), the role which won Nicholson his first Oscar. Unlike "Cuckoo", "Girl" was a small film that received mixed reviews and barely made money at the box office. But when it came time to give out awards, Jolie won the triple crown -- "Girl" propelled her to win the Golden Globe, the SAG Award and the Academy Award for best leading actress in a supporting role.
  
  With her new-found prominence, Jolie began to get in-depth attention from the press. Numerous aspects of her controversial personal life became news. Jolie divorced her Hackers (1995) co-star Jonny Lee Miller and, in 2000, she married her Pushing Tin (1999) co-star Billy Bob Thornton. Jolie had now become the fifth wife of a man twenty years her senior. At her wedding to Miller, she had displayed her husband's name on the back of her shirt painted in her own blood. During her marriage to Thornton, the spouses each wore a vial of the other's blood around their necks. In addition, Jolie was estranged from her famous father.
  
  In 2000, Jolie was asked to star in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001). At first, she expressed disinterest but then decided that the required training for the athletic role was intriguing. The Croft character was drawn from a popular video game. Lara Croft was a female cross between Indiana Jones and James Bond. When the film was released, critics were unimpressed with the final product, but critical acclaim wasn't the point of the movie. The public paid $275 million for theater tickets to see a buffed up Jolie portray the adventuresome Lara Croft.
  
  Jolie's father Jon Voight appeared in "Croft", and during filming there was a brief rapprochement between father and daughter.
  
  One of the Croft movie's filming locations was Cambodia. While there, Jolie witnessed the natural beauty, culture and poverty of that country. She considered this an eye opening experience, and so began the humanitarian chapter of her life. Jolie began visiting refugee camps around the world and came to be formally appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Some of her experiences were written and published in her popular book "Notes from My Travels" whose profits go to UNHCR.
  
  Jolie has stated that she now plans to spend most of her time in humanitarian efforts, to be financed by her actress salary. She devotes one third of her income to savings, one third to living expenses and one third to charity. In 2002, Angelina adopted a Cambodian refugee boy named "Maddox" and, in 2005, she adopted an Ethiopian refugee girl named "Zahara". Jolie's dramatic feature film Beyond Borders (2003) parallels some of her real life humanitarian experiences although, despite the inclusion of a romance between two westerners, many of the movie's images were too depressingly realistic -- the film was not popular among critics or at the box office.
  
  In 2004, Jolie began filming Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) with co-star Brad Pitt. The film became a major box office success. Jolie's marriage to Billy Bob Thornton had come apart in 2002, and there were rumors that Pitt and Jolie had an affair while filming "Smith". Jolie insisted that because her mother had been hurt by adultery, she herself could never participate in an affair with a married man, therefore there had been no affair with Pitt at that time. Nonetheless, Pitt separated from his wife Jennifer Aniston in January 2005 and, in the months that followed, he was frequently seen in public with Jolie, apparently as a couple. Pitt's divorce was finalized later in 2005.
  
  Jolie and Pitt announced in early 2006 that they would have a child together, and Jolie gave birth to daughter "Shiloh" that May. They said that they wish to adopt another child as well. The couple continues to pursue movie and humanitarian projects.
  
  Spouse
  Billy Bob Thornton (5 May 2000 - 27 May 2003) (divorced)
  Jonny Lee Miller (28 March 1996 - 3 February 1999) (divorced)
  
  Trivia
  Niece of Chip Taylor.
  One of People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People." [2000]
  She is extremely close to and protective of her brother James Haven. He often accompanies her to awards shows, and she used his name, or at least his memory, as inspiration in the "Where's Jamie?!" scene in Girl, Interrupted (1999).
  Has the letter "H" tattooed on the inside of her left wrist, which is a reference to two people she is close to who have this letter in their names: her brother, James Haven, and Timothy Hutton. She got the tattoo when she was dating Timothy but since their break up she now says it's only for James.
  Has a tattoo of the Tennessee Williams quote, "A prayer for the wild at heart, kept in cages." on her left forearm.
  Was married to Jonny Lee Miller in a black leather pants and a white shirt. On the white shirt she painted her husband's name in her own blood (across the back).
  Tattoos include the Japanese sign for death, two pointy black American Indian symbols, a dragon, and a large black cross.
  Mother is Marcheline Bertrand.
  Father is Jon Voight.
  Majored in film at New York University.
  Collects knives and has an interest in mortuary science.
  Angelina and her brother, to whom she is very close, publicly spoke out to deny false rumors that the two were having an incestuous love affair. [2000]
  Had childhood dream of becoming a funeral director.
  Named the world's sexiest woman in Swedish magazine Café.
  "Jolie" means "pretty" in French.
  Goddaughter of actress Jacqueline Bisset.
  Graduated from Beverly Hills High School at age 16.
  Has the Latin phrase "Quod me nutrit me destruit" ("What nourishes me also destroys me") tattooed across her stomach.
  Appointed Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland after her visits to Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Pakistan. [27 August 2001]
  Born at 9:09 AM PDT
  "Introducing Angelina Jolie" in opening credits of Love Is All There Is (1996) suggests delayed release as Jolie already had at least two major screen roles by 1996.
  She is of Czech and American descent on her father's side and French and Haudenosaunee (Iroquian Indian) heritage on her mother's side.
  She and Billy Bob Thornton adopted a Cambodian baby boy, named Maddox. Jolie took custody of the baby in Africa, where she is shooting Beyond Borders (2003). [10 March 2002]
  Performed her own stunts in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) and received cuts from the chandelier scene as a result.
  Ranked #87 in Premiere's 2002 annual "Power 100" list.
  In role as goodwill ambassador, visited Tham Hin refugee camp in Thailand, May 2002, to check on conditions of 9,000 refugees from bordering Myanmar.
  July 2002 - confirms break up with actor Billy Bob Thornton.
  Measurements(before pregnancy): 36C-27-36.
  Announced in late 2002 that she is "in talks" to portray the late porn star Linda Lovelace. Eventually, she lost the role to Courtney Love.
  Goddaughter of actor Maximilian Schell.
  Voted the 3rd Sexiest Female Movie Star in the Australian Empire Magazine September 2002.
  Her adopted son, Maddox Chivan Thornton Jolie, was born on August 5th, 2001.
  Her favorite Disney character is Dumbo the flying elephant, she has said that she cried when he was able to fly.
  She is the woman most American males would like to date on New Year's Eve, according to a survey by movie rental chain Blockbuster Inc. Results of the survey showed her in the top spot with 35 percent of respondents saying she would be their number one pick for a hypothetical New Year's Eve candle-lit dinner. Rival star Catherine Zeta-Jones gained second spot in the online survey conducted by Blockbuster November 11-24, 2003. The survey had 31,969 responses.
  Started modelling at the age of 14.
  Was named "The sexiest woman alive" by the Swedish evening newspaper "Aftonbladet." [2003]
  She was voted the ninth sexiest woman in FHM UK's top 100 sexiest in 2004.
  
  Is planning to give up her acting career to settle in England with her son Maddox and become a full time mum. She says she wants to "Quit movies, be a great mum to Maddox and join the Parents and Teachers Association".
  
  Favorite music: Madonna, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, The Clash, Matchbox 20.
  
  Favorite TV shows: "King of the Hill" (1997), the Game Show Network and Animal Planet.
  Voted as #6 on the "Top 100 Sexiest Women" 2004 in FHM [DK].
  She was voted #2 on VH1's "100 Hottest Hotties."
  Attended same high school as Lenny Kravitz.
  She and Egyptian actor Adel Imam are goodwill ambassadors for the UNHCR.
  Went to High School with Michael Klesic and Bahar Soomekh.
  Ranked #6 in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women in the World." [2002]
  Has said that she speaks "very little French".
  Voted #1 star most men would like to kiss under the mistletoe in a poll for Sky Movies.
  Used to own a pet rat snake. Therefore had no problem shooting the snake scene in Alexander (2004).
  Went to elementary school at William O. Schaefer School in Tappan, New York.
  Her father starred with her godmother Jacqueline Bisset in Richter und sein Henker, Der (1975), which was directed by her godfather Maximilian Schell.
  Voted Hollywood's Sexiest Single Mother, in a poll for website Date.com.
  Consulted with real-life FBI profiler Robert K. Ressler for her role in Taking Lives (2004).
  In 2003 was first recipient of the Citizen of the World Award from the UN's Correspondents' Association for her work as a goodwill ambassador with the UNHCR.
  In 2004 was made an honorary citizen of Cambodia by the Prime Minister of Cambodia for her humanitarian work there.
  July 6th 2005: she adopted a newborn baby girl from Ethiopia who was thought to be orphaned by AIDS. But it was later revealed that the child's mother did not have the money to care for her. She named the girl Zahara Marley Jolie.
  She ranked #2 in 2000 on Mr. Blackwell's Worst Dress List.
  Named Esquire Magazine's Sexiest Woman Alive in 2004.
  Named Most Beautiful Woman in People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People 2005 issue. More than 500,000 readers were polled.
  In August, 2005 was made an official citizen of Cambodia by the King for her ongoing efforts to help the environment there.
  The King of Cambodia has signed legal papers giving her Cambodian Citizenship (August 2005)
  Was nominated for Worst Actress at the Razzie Awards for four straight years from 2002 to 2005, but each time was beaten by another of her fellow nominees. She has still yet to "win" an award.
  When filming Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), she set fire to her silk pajamas on the chandelier while she was doing her "bungee jumps" in the house. She was taken to a hospital with minor burns but resumed filming the next day.
  Her adopted daughter, Zahara Marley Jolie, was born on January 8th, 2005
  Named #7 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2005 list.
  Ranked #1 in E! Television's 2006 101 Sexiest Celebrity Bodies
  Gave her Oscar Statuette, Golden Globes, SAG Awards, and Critic Choice Award to her mother. She felt she didn't need to hang on to awards.
  Her godfather Maximilian Schell always gave her a doll as a birthday present, from her first to sixteenth. Sometimes it was a modern doll, made of plastic, sometimes it was an old and precious one, made of wood or porcelain.
  Gave her mother the nickname "Great Lady".
  One of the first actresses to win 3 consecutive Golden Globes in 3 different categories: "Best Supporting Actress in a Mini Series": George Wallace (1997) (TV), "Best Actress in a TV Movie or Mini Series": Gia (1998) (TV), "Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture": Girl, Interrupted (1999). Coincidentally, all her roles were based on real people.
  She graduated from El Rodeo elementary school in 1989.
  Ranked and Voted #3 by AskMen.com's Top 99 Most Desirable Women of 2006
  The adoptive father of her children Maddox and Zahara is Brad Pitt
  Topped People magazine`s "100 most beautiful people" list in 2006 (28 April 2006).
  Named #1 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005" special supplement. (2005)
  She and Brad Pitt welcomed daughter Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt on May 27, 2006 in Namibia, Africa.
  The government in Namibia is offering citizenship to her new daughter.
  Has tattoos of the coordinates representing the locations where she adopted Maddox and Zahara on her left arm, which cover up the Billy Bob Thornton tattoo (June 2006).
  Holds a Private Pilot Certificate with and Airplane, Single Engine Land rating.
  Has a fondness for Liverpool Football Club because her son Maddox "only wants to play for Liverpool".
  She donated many items to Rocky Stone to be given to less fortunate kids as part of the Toy Mountain Campaign.
  Was the cover girl for the much anticipated issue of Forbes Magazine, in which appeared the infamous Celebrity 100 list [June 2006]
  Named #4 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2006 list.
  Flys a Cessna 208B (N48JA) registered to Chivan Productions, Inc. Has sold her SR22 (N805MX) back to Cirrus Aircraft.
  Became the third actress to join the coveted $20 Million Club (after Julia Roberts and 'Cameron Diaz), when she signed to do Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005) for that amount.
  Fan of author Ayn Rand.
  Named #2 in FHM magazine's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006" supplement. (2006).
  Is left-handed and therefore had to have guns specially made so that she could reload them easily for Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001).
  Her mother Marcheline Bertrand died from ovarian cancer in Los Angeles after a 7 1/2 year battle (27 January 2007).
  Purchased new Cirrus SR-22, N808MX to replace N805MX. Also registered to Chivan Productions.
  She and Brad Pitt adopted a three-year-old Vietnamese boy, Pax Thien Jolie (born in 2003), who was initially named Pham Quang Sang (15 March 2007).
  Chosen the greatest sex symbol of all time in the British television show "The 100 Greatest Sex Symbols" (February 2007).
  Was on the "Time 100", a list of the world's 100 most influential people in the world by "Time" magazine,in 2006.
  Ranked #12 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2007 list.
  U.N. ambassador.
  Is an alumni of the Lee Strasberg Institute as are Frank Miranda, Harvey Kietel, Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Sally Field.
  2007 - Ranked #33 on EW's The 50 Smartest People in Hollywood.
  

Monica Bellucci

Name :Monica Bellucci

Birth Date : September 30, 1968

Birth Place : Citta di Castello, Perugia, Italy

Height : 5' 9

Education : Drop-out of law schoolUniversity of Perugia in Italy

Nationality : Italian

Profession : Actress, model

Claim to fame : as Nat la gitane in Dobermann (1997)

Fan Mail : Nick Styne - Creative Artists Agency

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Monica Bellucci was born on September 30th, 1968, in the village of Citta di Castello, in Umbria, Italy. Initially pursuing a career as a lawyer, Monica decided to start modeling in order to help pay for her tuition while at the University of Perugia. But of course, the glamorous life of a model -- which includes travel and a sweet income -- tempted Monica away from her law studies.

In 1988, Monica moved to one of Europe's fashion centers -- Milan. There, she signed with Elite Model Management and found plenty of modeling work. By 1989, Monica was making it big in Paris and across the Atlantic, in New York. But although she had achieved huge success in so little time as a model (posing for Dolce & Gabbana and French Elle), Monica thrived for more.Monica's classic and elegant good looks are matched only by an equally sophisticated and refined fashion sense.

She made her film debut in 1990, with roles in Vita coi figli and Briganti (a.k.a Bandits: Love and Liberty). The following year, Monica starred as Francesca in the film La Riffa, and made her American film debut with the role of Dracula's Bride in 1992's Bram Stoker's Dracula, co-starring Gary Oldman and Winona Ryder. Roles began to pour in for the Italian beauty. After a role in Ostinato destino, she appeared in I Mitici (a.k.a. The Heroes) in 1994, and Palla di neve in 1995. She also starred as the Pharaoh's wife in the made-for-TV movie, Joseph. But it was her role in the 1996 film, L'Appartement, that earned Monica her acting accolades.

In 1997, Bellucci was cast in Come mi vuoi (a.k.a As You Want Me), Dobermann and Mauvais genre. After roles in more European films such as 1998's L'Ultimo capodanno, A los que aman, and Compromis, she starred in 1999's Comme un poisson hors de l'eau (a.k.a. Like a Fish Out of Water). But it was the critical success of the Italian film Malena (2000), in which Monica starred in the title role, that really catapulted her to fame.

In 2001, Bellucci starred in Brotherhood of the Wolf (co-starring her husband Cassel) and as Cleopatra in Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatre. The following year she starred in Tears of the Sun, with Bruce Willis, and of course, as Persephone in the highly anticipated sequels to 1999's The Matrix. In 2004, Monica Bellucci was seen as Magdalene in Mel Gibson's controversial blockbuster, The Passion of the Christ, and returned to French film with Agents secrets. She can also add 2004's The Brothers Grimm (with Matt Damon and Heath Ledger), Spike Lee's She Hate Me, and 2005's Lord of War (with Nicolas Cage) to her filmography.With over 20 movies to her credit she isn't a novice to film, unfortunately her fame comes from Italian cinema.

Monica has not benefited from the Hollywood marketing machine that movie studios are capable of. Although the model-turned-actress has reached incredible heights in both streams of her career, she still dreams of working with the legendary Robert De Niro. Critics are quick to compare Monica Bellucci to previous Italian beauties, but she has her own brand of sensual style. With roles as a topless vampire in "Dracula", and her recent role as a sci-fi vixen in the Matrix sequels, Monica has proven to be a bold blend of a seductive actress and a talented star.

Filmography

The Passion of The Christ ( 2004 ) Remember Me, My Love ( 2004 ) She Hate Me ( 2004 ) Irreversible ( 2003 ) The Matrix Revolutions ( 2003 ) The Matrix Reloaded ( 2003 ) Tears of the Sun ( 2003 ) The Brotherhood of the Wolf (Le Pacte des loups) ( 2002 ) Maléna ( 2000 ) Under Suspicion ( 2000 ) Like a Fish Out of Water ( 1999 )

Kamasutra, A good start