Sexy Pictures

Ashlee Simpson

2008-11-22T00:16:00.000-08:00

Ashlee Simpson

Ashlee Simpson

Ashlee Nicole Wentz (born October 3, 1984 as Ashley Nicole Simpson), now professionally known as Ashlee Simpson-Wentz is an American pop rock singer-songwriter, and occasional actress. Simpson-Wentz, who is the younger sister of pop singer Jessica Simpson, rose to prominence in mid-2004 through the success of her number-one début album Autobiography and the accompanying reality series The Ashlee Simpson Show. Simpson received widespread criticism when she used a pre-recorded vocal track on Saturday Night Live in October 2004. Following a North American concert tour and a film appearance, Simpson released a second number-one album, I Am Me, in October 2005. Her third album, Bittersweet World, was released in April 2008. The following month, she married fellow musician Pete Wentz and announced that they were expecting a child. On November 20, 2008, Simpson gave birth to their son, Bronx Mowgli Wentz.^[2]

Early life

Simpson was born in Waco, Texas,^[1] and raised in Richardson, Texas. She is the daughter of Joe Truett Simpson (a former Baptist youth minister who is now her manager) and Tina Ann Drew.

Ashlee attended Prairie Creek Elementary.^[3] An accomplished dancer, Simpson began studying classical ballet at the age of three, and was admitted to the School of American Ballet in New York City at the age of eleven.^[4] Around that time, she suffered from an eating disorder; the condition lasted about six months, and she dropped to about 31 kg (70 pounds) at 159 cm (5 ft 2 in), but her parents then stepped in and got her to eat more.^[5] After her sister Jessica Simpson landed a record deal, the Simpson family decided to move to Los Angeles, California, where Ashlee began appearing in television commercials.^[6]

Career

Early years

When Jessica became a star after releasing her first album, Ashlee became one of her backup dancers. Later, Ashlee began appearing in films and television series, including an episode of the sitcom Malcolm in the Middle in 2001, a minor role in the 2002 film The Hot Chick and a recurring role, 39 episodes from 2002-2004, on the family drama series 7th Heaven.^[7]

Ashlee recorded a song called "Christmas Past, Present and Future" in 2002 for the holiday album School's Out! Christmas, later to be re-released on Radio Disney Jingle Jams in 2004 and 2005. In the summer of 2003 she released a song titled "Just Let Me Cry" for the soundtrack of the film Freaky Friday. Eventually, Simpson signed a record deal with Geffen Records.

Debut album and reality television (2004)

See also: Autobiography (Ashlee Simpson album)

Simpson-Wentz's first album, Autobiography, debuted at number one in the U.S. in July 2004 with first week sales numbering around 398,000 copies. The album was certified triple platinum in September 2004. Simpson co-wrote all of the album's tracks and described it as "very true to my emotions" in one interview,^[8] but critical reviews were mixed.^[9] Rolling Stone magazine's Peter Relic characterised Autobiography as a "mundane melange of Avril-ish brat pop and Sheryl Crow cod rock".^[10] E! Online wrote "Even if it doesn't wow you, Autobiography may surprise you."^[11] The single that preceded the album, "Pieces of Me," was one of the biggest hits of the summer in the U.S. and sold well elsewhere. However, the follow-up singles "Shadow" and "La La" were less successful.

Audio samples:

"Pieces of Me" (2004)

Ashlee Simpson's debut single and her most successful single to date.

"Shadow" (2004)

The second single from Ashlee Simpson's debut album.
Problems listening to the files? See media help.

Simpson occasionally appeared on Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, a reality show about the married life of Jessica and her then-husband Nick Lachey. To accompany the beginning of her own music career, she got her own MTV reality show entitled The Ashlee Simpson Show, which aired in a subsequent time slot to Newlyweds. It ran in the U.S. for eight weekly episodes over the summer of 2004, and a second season of ten episodes aired from January to March 2005. The show dealt with the process of writing, recording, and performing Simpson-Wentz's music as well as aspects of her personal life.

When appearing for live performances, Simpson performs live with a backing band. During the period from 2004 to 2006, the band consisted of Ray Brady (guitar), Braxton Olita (guitar), Joey Kaimana (bass guitar—from 2004 to 2005 Zach Kennedy filled this role), Chris Megert (keyboards and vocals—from late 2004 to 2005 Lucy Walsh filled this role), and Chris Fox (drums).

In addition to her own first album, Simpson sang a duet of the Christmas song "Little Drummer Boy" with her sister Jessica for the album Rejoyce, which they had sung together during the ABC variety hour special Nick & Jessica's Family Christmas.^[12]^[13]

At the Teen Choice Awards on August 8, 2004, Simpson received the "Song of the Summer" Teen Choice Award for "Pieces of Me," as well as the "Fresh Face" award.^[14] In addition, she won a Billboard Award for New Female Artist of the Year in December,^[15] and in the same month she was named one of Entertainment Weekly's Breakout Stars of 2004.^[16] Simpson also co-hosted Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve along with Regis Philbin (in Dick Clark's absence) at the end of the year, hosting the West Coast portion of the show and performing three songs.

The Saturday Night Live incident

Simpson crying due to vocal difficulties after a rehearsal for her controversial Saturday Night Live appearance in 2004.

Simpson appeared as a musical guest on Episode 568 of Saturday Night Live (October 23–24, 2004), and as is customary for the show's format, she was scheduled to perform two songs. Her first song, "Pieces of Me", was performed without problems. However, when she began her second song, "Autobiography", the vocals for the song "Pieces of Me" were heard again—before she had raised the microphone to her mouth. Simpson began to dance and then left the stage, while the band (not a recording) continued playing. During the closing of the show Simpson appeared with the guest host Jude Law, and said "I'm so sorry. My band started playing the wrong song, and I didn't know what to do, so I thought I'd do a hoe down."

On October 25, Simpson called in to the music video show Total Request Live and explained that due to complications arising from "severe" acid reflux (which had previously been seen in The Ashlee Simpson Show) she had completely lost her voice and her doctor had advised her not to sing. She said that because of the acid reflux, her father wanted her to use a vocal guide track for the performance. She said of the incident, "I made a complete fool of myself." According to Simpson-Wentz, the drummer hit the wrong button, which caused the wrong track to be played.^[17] During the October 25 Radio Music Awards broadcast, Simpson pretended, as a joke, to make the same mistake as she did in the SNL incident, but then began to perform "Autobiography" without using a pre-recorded vocal track as she had done during the prior SNL performance. On October 31, the CBS news program 60 Minutes aired footage from Simpson-Wentz's rehearsals before the SNL performance in which Simpson is shown to be disturbed by voice trouble.

The incident was spoofed in the episode Brian Goes Back to College in the animated series Family Guy. Wentz is about to start miming a song when the song changes to Ol' Man River.

Jeannette Walls compared the impact of the SNL incident to the 1990 Milli Vanilli incident in which their guide track skipped during a live MTV performance, revealing that they were lip-synching.^[18]

The New York Times said the much-viewed clip of Simpson-Wentz's SNL appearance "may just be this year's best music video," but dismissed its significance: "one of 2004's most popular new stars had been exposed as ... As what, exactly?"^[19]

Orange Bowl performance and first tour (early 2005)

Simpson's Orange Bowl performance.

On January 4, 2005, Simpson performed "La La" at the halftime show for the 2005 Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida; after her performance, many of the 72,000-plus spectators booed. Others note that Kelly Clarkson had performed before Simpson in the show to a far more positive reaction, and assert that Simpson-Wentz's performance was poor and very off-key.^[20]^[21]^[22]^[23] Following her Orange Bowl performance, an Internet petition at PetitionOnline.com asking Simpson to stop producing music became one of the most active of the site's petitions.^[24] Simpson later said: "That's cool. You don't always have to be a fan of everybody's music", also citing the support she had received from her fans.^[25] Around the time of the petition, Cosmopolitan magazine chose Simpson to be on the cover of the February 2005 issue, naming her the "Fun Fearless Female of the Year".^[26]

Simpson's first U.S. headlining tour (with two dates in Canada as well) ran from mid-February to late April 2005, and its opening acts were Pepper's Ghost and The Click Five.^[27] In addition to material from Autobiography, Simpson performed her own unreleased song "Hollywood", The Pretenders' "Brass in Pocket", Blondie's "Call Me", and Madonna's "Burning Up". She said that the tour would be "stripped down", without pyrotechnics, and that "it's going to be me and my band getting out there and having fun".^[28] In March 2005, Simpson said that The Ashlee Simpson Show would conclude at the end of its second season,^[29] the last episode of which aired at the end of the month.

Film, second album, and theater (2005–2006)

See also: I Am Me

Simpson had a supporting role as an aspiring actress named Clea in Undiscovered (originally titled Wannabe), an independent film that was released in theaters in August 2005. Simpson filmed her scenes in late 2004. While Simpson's performance was met with acceptable reviews,^[30]^[31] the film itself was trashed by critics^[32] and placed outside of the top ten in its opening weekend,^[33] earning just $676,048. Her performance in the film earned her a Razzie nomination for Worst Supporting Actress.

Audio samples:

"Boyfriend" (2005)

The lead single of Ashlee Simpson's second album I Am Me.

"L.O.V.E." (2005)

The second single of Ashlee Simpson's second album I Am Me.

"Invisible" (2006)

Her supposed to be third single from her second album.
Problems listening to the files? See media help.

Simpson-Wentz's second album, I Am Me, was released in the U.S. on October 18, 2005. Simpson said that she had wanted to incorporate the feel of music from the 1980s on the album, and that unlike her debut it would focus less on relationships and more on herself.^[29] I Am Me debuted at number one with roughly 220,000 copies sold,^[34] but sales quickly deteriorated; by April 2006, it had sold a little less than 900,000 copies.^[35] Its first single, "Boyfriend", became a top twenty hit on the Billboard Hot 100 and performed similarly elsewhere. The second single, "L.O.V.E.", reached the U.S. top twenty-five, its success aided by a remix by R&B/hip-hop producer Missy Elliott and MTV's heavy rotation of the single's music video (it has been her most successful video to date on Total Request Live).

Simpson performing in October 2005.

Simpson began a concert tour in late September in Portland, Oregon and appeared on the October 8, 2005 episode of SNL to promote the album. The first of Simpson's two performances on the show was of the ballad "Catch Me When I Fall", which was written about her previous SNL experience, and she thanked the crowd after her second performance. In mid-December, Simpson collapsed after performing in Japan, possibly due to exhaustion. She was briefly hospitalized, and consequently cancelled an appearance at the Radio Music Awards.^[36]

Simpson and her sister Jessica were scheduled to appear in Rolling Stone magazine in a shoot shot by photographer David LaChapelle in 2005. Upon hearing the concept, both sisters were said to be uncomfortable with LaChapelle's raunchy ideas and cancelled, outraging the photographer. He ranted to the press in early 2006, calling them "everything that's wrong with music." Furthering his statement, LaChapelle said he was just trying to "make the Simpsons look cool. I realize now that is an impossible task." LaChapelle planned to have the sisters "down and dirty" and appearing with snakes.^[37]

Simpson appeared on the December 2005/January 2006 cover of Teen People with her sister Jessica,^[38] and could also be seen on the December 2005 issue of Blender,^[39] Cosmopolitan magazine's January 2006 edition, the March 2006 issues of Seventeen and Elle, the April 2006 issue of Jane, the June/July 2006 issue of Teen People (in which she was named one of its "25 hottest stars under twenty-five"), the July 2006 issue of Marie Claire and the September 2006 issue of CosmoGirl.

Simpson won a Kelly Slater/MTV celebrity surfing invitational competition, which also featured celebrities such as Meagan Good, Jack Osbourne (her main competitor during the competition), Ashley Parker Angel and Tony Hawk, as part of an MTV-sponsored 'Spring Break' Special in March 2006. On April 12, 2006 she hosted and performed at the MTV Australia Video Music Awards, where she won "Best Female Artist" and "Best Pop Video" (for "Boyfriend").^[40] A new single, "Invisible", was released in mid-2006 and reached the top 25 on the Billboard Hot 100. Initially it was said that the song would appear on a re-released version of I Am Me, but this never occurred. Simpson began a summer tour on June 5, 2006 with Ashley Parker Angel as an opening act;^[41] initially The Veronicas also opened but quit the tour after the first few shows due to a problem with one of their singers' vocal cords.^[42]

Simpson said that after this tour, which ended in late July, she would be going on vacation, that she would take her time making her third album, and that she would look at movie scripts and continue her acting career.^[43]

Simpson played the role of Roxie Hart in the London stage production of Chicago to rave reviews, from September 25 to October 28, 2006.^[44] One reviewer called Simpson's performance in the show "dazzling and near flawless".^[45]

Bittersweet World (2007–2008)

See also: Bittersweet World

In November 2006, Simpson said that she was going to meet with record executives soon and begin working on her third album.^[46] During 2007, Simpson worked on the album, which was eventually given the title Bittersweet World,^[47] with producers Timbaland, Kenna, and Chad Hugo.^[48] She said that it would have a more "soulful" sound and more emphasis on beats than guitars.

Geffen chairman Ron Fair said in December 2006 that working on Simpson's next album would be "very tricky" because of press scrutiny and "prejudices", but that Geffen would work with her to overcome that, "because she deserves to be heard and she deserves a shot."^[49] A March 2007 interview with EW.com suggested she was working with a variety of musicians for her new album.^[50]

In October, the album's release was delayed to the first quarter of 2008.^[51] The album's first single, the Timbaland-produced "Outta My Head (Ay Ya Ya)", was released as a digital download in December 2007.^[52]

In an interview with Cosmogirl for its December 2007/January 2008 issue (for which she was the cover girl), Simpson said that she had a "stronger vision" for this album and that she challenged herself by "working with new sounds and new people". She described the result as a "fun party album" with a "silly and quirky" side. Regarding her future plans, she said that she wanted to take some small movie roles and eventually move into bigger roles. She also said she would like to do theater again and to someday have a clothing line.^[53]

Simpson has described the album as having some influences from '80s music while still incorporating some pop/rock. She intends to go on tour to support the album.^[52] Its second single, "Little Miss Obsessive", was released in March 2008.^[54]

Bittersweet World was released in the U.S. on April 22, 2008. Reviews for the album were characterized as mixed.^[55] A collection of tops designed by Simpson was launched by the clothing retailer Wet Seal on April 22, in connection with the album's release.^[56]

Simpson began appearing in commercials for Canadian retailer Zellers to promote their independent clothing line, Request, in mid-2008. ^[57]

Voice

Simpson cites her childhood as being the time when she began to sing, and admits that she dreamed of being on Broadway and didn't expect to break into the pop music scene.^[58] Simpson's voice is described as being a Lyric Alto.^[59] The highest note Simpson has shown capabilities of hitting is an E5 (in her songs "Invisible" and "La La"), and the lowest note she has shown capabilities of hitting is an E3 (in her songs "Catch Me When I Fall" and "Shadow") – about a 2 octave range. On Simpson's voice, producer Ron Fair has said it has a "gritty tone", and in a review of her album Autobiography, a critic said "Simpson has a singing ability much like a harder-rocking Alanis Morissette, with the sassy aspect of Avril Lavigne, and the poise of such singers as Sheryl Crow".^[60] The New York Times has described Simpson's voice as "rather breathy, and mannered". Simpson trains with a vocal coach, and studies old Etta James and Aretha Franklin albums for vocal inspiration.^[61] In one interview, Simpson pointed to Joan Jett, Pat Benatar, and Chrissie Hynde as musical influences.^[62]

Image and personal life

When Simpson first broke onto the music scene in 2004, she was set apart from her sister's already established image by a different musical style, different fashion choices, and a more assertive personality. Simpson's songs have been characterized by rock elements absent from her sister's music, and, particularly during the time of her initial stardom, Simpson would often wear outfits highlighting a more rock or punk-influenced sense of style. Her fingernails and toenails have often been painted black. Over time, Simpson has moved toward more typically feminine styles. In March 2008, she said that "I like to get dressed up now, and that's something I've never been into before" and "I like to be feminine and sexy." According to Simpson, in her sense of style she tends to "mix and match".^[63]

Previously blonde like Jessica, she dyed her hair dark during the recording of the MTV reality show after she finished filming for the 7th Heaven television series. In November 2004, she debuted a shorter haircut with the same dark color. Following the end of her Autobiography tour, in early May 2005 she moved back to a blonde color;^[64] she remained blonde until January 2008, when she appeared with a red hair color.^[65]

She has seven tattoos:^[63] a star on one wrist, two cherries on her ankle, the word "love" on her other wrist,^[66]^[67] the number "3" added to one wrist in 2007,^[68] and a large peony flower on one wrist in early March 2008.^[69]

Simpson and her sister were tied for third on oft-quoted celebrity-fashion critic Richard Blackwell's list of the worst-dressed celebrities of 2004. Blackwell quipped that "from gaudy to grim to downright frenetic these two prove that bad taste is positively genetic."

Simpson's relationship with actor Josh Henderson lasted for nearly two years and was shown ending in the first episode of The Ashlee Simpson Show. Soon after, she began dating fellow musician Ryan Cabrera. That relationship was also featured on the show, and Simpson appeared as Cabrera's love interest in the music video for his song "On the Way Down". The two were reported to have split in August 2004 due to their hectic schedules, but they resumed their relationship for a while afterward, before ending it again in early 2005. Simpson said afterward that they were still friends, although rumors suggested that Simpson did not like the fact that Ryan had moved on to Lisa Origliasso of The Veronicas.

At the beginning of her music career, Simpson said that she would not discuss her sex life, in contrast with her sister, who had openly stated her intention to practice sexual abstinence until marriage. "I decided that I didn't want to talk about that because it's super personal," Simpson said of the situation.^[70]

In 2005, rumors began circulating that Simpson was in a relationship with Wilmer Valderrama, who previously was involved with Lindsay Lohan. Simpson's single "Boyfriend" was reported to be about the situation, but she said that the song "is about [how] every girl out there sometimes thinks you stole her boyfriend. It's just making fun of that."^[71] Valderrama subsequently said on Howard Stern's radio program that he had sex with Simpson, but claimed the incident was unrelated to his break-up with Lohan. Later that year, rumours arose that Simpson was secretly dating another Joe Simpson-managed actor, Viva La Bam's Chris Raab. In February 2006, she told Seventeen magazine that she was dating bandmate Braxton Olita and went on a 10-day vacation with him to Hawaii.^[72]

In November 2005, eTalk broadcast a video of a late-night visit made by Simpson to a McDonald's fast-food restaurant in Toronto, Canada. Simpson appeared to be intoxicated in the video, and was shown arguing with an employee, as well as rejecting a customer's attempt to get an autograph from her because he wouldn't kiss her feet. According to Simpson in a 2006 Elle interview, she was "a little tipsy", and the customer had first called her "gross" before he had realized who she was, at which point he asked her for an autograph.^[72] She said that she told herself to "grow up" after the incident.

In February 2006, Simpson was honored by MTV's Total Request Live (TRL), as the "Bounce-Back" artist. The award was given to her for being able to recover from the negative moments of her career and release another #1 platinum album.

Simpson reportedly had a nose job in April 2006. When asked about it in an interview in May, Simpson neither confirmed nor denied it.^[73] In the May 2007 issue of Harper's Bazaar, she said that she was not insecure about her appearance and had not been beforehand. She said that plastic surgery was a "personal choice" that one should only decide to do for oneself and not for others.^[74] Joe Simpson said of the surgery in a September 2007 interview that "there was a real problem with her breathing and that was cured".^[75] In March 2008, she said that "as long as people have two eyes" they could determine whether she had a nose job.^[63]

In the June 2007 edition of Cosmopolitan, Simpson said that she hasn't lip synched since her Saturday Night Live incident, that she has "a little crush on Christian Slater", feels sexiest in bed, and that you can and can't have a good relationship without amazing sex.^[76]

Simpson was ranked as one of the "Hottest Women in Pop/R&B" by Blender in January 2007.^[77] She was later voted as number 16 in Maxim's 2007 Hot 100 list.^[78]

In June 2006, it was reported that Simpson seriously considered^[79] but later turned down a $4 million offer to pose nude for Playboy.^[80]

In early September 2006, Us Weekly reported that Simpson and Braxton Olita had split up. Simpson's rep said that the couple "broke up about a week ago. They have decided to take a break."

Marriage

Simpson married Fall Out Boy bassist Pete Wentz on May 17, 2008.^[81]^[82] The two were first seen together in late 2006; initially they denied being in a relationship, although there was much speculation about this. In an interview for OK! magazine in late 2006, Simpson denied the speculation,^[83] while in an interview with Pete Wentz on Ryan Seacrest's American Top 40 live, Seacrest asked if Wentz and Simpson were "on" or "off", and Wentz laughed and said "off". In a Rolling Stone photo shoot, however, Wentz and Simpson took a picture together for the opening of Wentz' bar, Angels & Kings, and were labeled as a "couple".

Eventually the two began to acknowledge the relationship. In mid-2007 Wentz spoke about their relationship to InTouch magazine, saying of Simpson that "I have never met somebody who makes me feel the way she makes me feel", although he denied rumors of engagement.^[84] Simpson has since discussed their relationship in a number of magazine interviews, including the September 2007 issue of Seventeen magazine^[68] and the December 2007/January 2008 issue of CosmoGIRL!.^[53] In March 2008, Simpson and Wentz presented the award for Favorite Reality Show at the 2008 Kids' Choice Awards.

The couple announced that they were engaged on April 9, 2008.^[85] Simpson had previously been wearing what she described as a "promise ring" from Wentz for several months.^[85] On April 14, Us Weekly and OK! magazine reported that Simpson is pregnant. Wentz promptly denied this in an e-mail to MTV News,^[86] although Simpson, in an interview the next day, chose not to confirm or deny the report, saying that it was something to "keep personal",^[87]^[88] and on TRL she noted that rumors claiming she was pregnant had been appearing for so long that, if they were all true, she "would have had a baby by now".^[88]^[89]^[90] Due to the marriage, Ashlee has legally changed her name from Simpson to Wentz with her stage name changing to "Wentz". Simpson says:

"I think that that's something that a woman should do when they're marrying a man. It's a tradition that I think is a great tradition."

On May 28, 2008, Simpson and Pete Wentz announced on Fall Out Boy's official website that they are expecting their first child.:^[91] "While many have speculated about this, we wanted to wait until the press was gone to have our first child. This is truly the most joyous time in our lives and we are excited to share the happy news and start our family."^[92] On November 20, 2008, Simpson gave birth to their son, Bronx Mowgli Wentz.^[93]

Criticism

Jenny Eliscu of Rolling Stone magazine criticized Simpson as being a "manufactured" artist with little singing talent.^[94] Simpson's critics cite incidents like the SNL episode and the Orange Bowl performance as evidence for their claims.

In mid-2006, Simpson gave an interview to Marie Claire magazine, in which she was said to have "had it with Hollywood's twisted view of feminine beauty" and was photographed painting a pro-female mural with a group of underprivileged girls from Los Angeles's Green Dot Public School.^[95] By the time the magazine hit newsstands, Simpson had already had her nose job, and some Marie Claire readers complained about this as being hypocritical. The magazine received over 1,000 angry letters and the magazine's new editor expanded the letters section of the September issue of the magazine to give readers a chance to vent their frustrations.^[96]^[97]

Sarah Palin

2008-11-22T00:06:00.000-08:00

Sarah Palin Sarah Lingerie

Sarah Louise Heath Palin (pronounced /ˈpeɪlɪn/; born February 11, 1964) is the governor of the U.S. state of Alaska.

Palin was a member of the Wasilla, Alaska, city council from 1992 to 1996 and the city's mayor from 1996 to 2002. After an unsuccessful campaign for lieutenant governor of Alaska in 2002, she chaired the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission from 2003 to 2004. She was elected governor of Alaska in November 2006 by defeating Frank Murkowski, the incumbent governor, in the Republican primary, and then defeating Tony Knowles, a former two-term Democratic governor, in the general election. She is the first female governor of Alaska and the youngest person elected governor.

Palin was the Republican Party's vice-presidential nominee for the 2008 United States presidential election together with Senator John McCain. The election was won by Democratic candidates Barack Obama and Joe Biden. Palin was the second female candidate and the first Alaskan candidate of either major party, as well as the first female vice-presidential nominee of the Republican Party.

Palin was born in Sandpoint, Idaho, the third of four children of Sarah Heath (née Sheeran), a school secretary, and Charles R. Heath, a science teacher and track coach.^[6]^[7] The family moved to Alaska when she was an infant. As a child, she sometimes went moose hunting with her father before school. The family regularly ran 5 km and 10 km races.^[8]

Palin attended Wasilla High School in Wasilla, located 44 miles (71 km) north of Anchorage.^[9] She was the head of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter at the school and the point guard and captain of the school's girls' basketball team that won the Alaska state championship in 1982.

Sarah Palin Sarah Palin Feet Sarah Palin Legs Sarah Palin skirt

In 1982, she enrolled at Hawaii Pacific College, but left after her first semester. She transferred to North Idaho community college, where she spent two semesters as a general studies major. From there, she transferred to the University of Idaho for two semesters.^[11]^[12] During this time Palin won the Miss Wasilla Pageant,^[13]^[14] then finished third in the 1984 Miss Alaska pageant,^[15]^[16] at which she won a college scholarship and the "Miss Congeniality" award.^[8] Afterwards, Palin attended the Matanuska-Susitna community college in Alaska for one term. The next year she returned to the University of Idaho where she spent three semesters completing her Bachelor of Science degree in communications-journalism, graduating in 1987.^[11]^[12]

In 1988, she worked as a sports reporter for KTUU-TV and KTVA-TV in Anchorage, Alaska,^[17] and for the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman as a sports reporter.^[18] She also helped in her husband’s commercial fishing family business.

Sarah Palin Bikini

Palin was elected twice to the city council of Wasilla, in 1992 and 1995. Wasilla city councillors serve three-year terms.^[20] Palin says she entered politics because she was concerned that revenue from a new Wasilla sales tax would not be spent wisely.^[21]

Palin's first foray into politics was in 1992, when the 28-year-old ran for Wasilla city council against John Hartrick, a local telephone company worker.^[22]^[23] She won 530 votes to John Hartrick’s 310.^[22] On the council, she successfully opposed a measure to curtail the hours at Wasilla's bars by two hours, which surprised Hartrick because she was then a member of a church that advocated abstinence from alcohol.^[22] After serving on the city council for three years, she ran for reelection against R’nita Rogers in 1995, winning 413 votes to Rogers' 185.^[24]

According to Laura Chase of Wasilla, and former Wasilla mayor John Stein, Palin as city councilwoman mentioned to her colleagues in 1995 that she saw the book Daddy's Roommate in the public library and did not think that it belonged there. Chase later became Palin's campaign manager for mayor in 1996, when Palin defeated John Stein, but the two had a falling out and Chase is now a vocal critic of Palin.^[25] City of Wasilla Library records indicate that there was never a request for the library to remove the book and that no books were ever censored or banned.^[26] The McCain-Palin campaign says that Palin was not advocating censorship.^[27]

Palin did not complete her second term on the city council because she ran for mayor in 1996. Throughout her tenure on the city council and the rest of her career, Palin has been a registered Republican.^[28]

Mayor of Wasilla

Main article: Mayoralty of Sarah Palin

Palin served two three-year terms^[29] (1996–2002) as the mayor of Wasilla. At the conclusion of Palin's tenure as mayor in 2002, the town had about 6,300 residents.^[30] In 1996, Palin defeated three-term incumbent mayor John Stein,^[31] on a platform targeting wasteful spending and high taxes.^[8] Stein says that she introduced abortion, gun rights, and term limits as campaign issues.^[32] Although the election was a nonpartisan blanket primary, the state Republican Party ran advertisements on her behalf.^[32]

First term

Wasilla City Hall

Location of Wasilla, Alaska

Shortly after taking office in October 1996, Palin consolidated the position of museum director and asked for updated resumes and resignation letters from some top officials, including the police chief, public works director, finance director, and librarian.^[33] Palin stated this request was to find out their intentions and whether they supported her.^[33] She temporarily required department heads to get her approval before talking to reporters, saying that they first needed to become acquainted with her administration's policies.^[33] She created the position of city administrator,^[32] and reduced her own $68,000 salary by 10%, although by mid-1998 this was reversed by the city council.^[34]

According to Wasilla librarian Mary Ellen Emmons, Palin inquired two or three times in October 1996 as to how Emmons would handle any request to remove books from the library.^[35]^[36]^[37] John Stein, the former mayor of Wasilla and Palin's 1996 political opponent, said in September 2008 that Palin's "religious beliefs," and the concerns of some voters about language in the books, motivated her inquiries.^[38] In December 1996, Palin said she had no books or other material in mind for removal.^[37] No books were removed from the library,^[35]^[39] and Palin stated in 2006 that she would not allow her personal religious beliefs to dictate her political positions.^[40]

Palin fired Emmons and Police Chief Irl Stambaugh in January 1997, stating that she did not feel they fully supported her efforts to govern the city.^[41] The next day, following expressions of public support for Emmons and a personal meeting, Palin rescinded the firing of Emmons, ^[35] stating that her concerns had been alleviated, and adding that Emmons agreed to support Palin's plan to merge the town's library and museum operations.^[41] Stambaugh, who along with Emmons had supported Palin's opponent in the election,^[39] filed a lawsuit alleging wrongful termination, violation of his contract, and gender discrimination. In the trial, the defense further alleged political reasons;^[42] Stambaugh said that he had opposed a bill in the state legislature that Palin supported.^[43] The bill, SB 177, would have permitted concealed weapons in banks, bars, colleges, and other public places.^[44]^[45] Governor Tony Knowles' Senate Journal entry announcing his veto of SB 177 mentioned the opposition of, among other parties, the City of Wasilla.^[46] The federal judge who heard the case said in the decision that the police chief serves at the discretion of the mayor, and can be terminated for nearly any reason, even a political one, and dismissed Stambaugh's lawsuit^[47] ordering Stambaugh to pay Palin's legal fees.^[43]

Palin appointed^[48] Charles Fannon to replace Stambaugh as police chief. Fannon later opposed a state law preventing police departments from billing rape victims or their health insurance for evidence collection kits.^[49] Fannon said that the Wasilla police had sometimes billed victims' health insurance in the past; Stambaugh said that under his tenure the city had paid.^[50] An investigation by the St. Petersburg Times found no evidence that Palin had ever commented on the policy at all.^[51]

During her first year in office, Palin kept a jar with the names of Wasilla residents on her desk, and once a week she pulled a name from it and picked up the phone; she would ask: "How's the city doing?"^[39] Using income generated by a 2% sales tax that was enacted before she was elected to the city council,^[52] Palin cut property taxes by 75% and eliminated personal property and business inventory taxes.^[53]^[31] Tapping municipal bonds, she made improvements to the roads and sewers, and increased funding to the Police Department.^[32] She also oversaw new bike paths and procured funding for storm-water treatment to protect freshwater resources.^[31] At the same time, she reduced spending on the town museum and blocked construction of a new library and city hall.^[31] Palin ran for re-election against Stein in 1999 and won, with 74% of the vote.^[54] She was also elected president of the Alaska Conference of Mayors.^[55]

Second term

During her second term as mayor, Palin introduced a ballot measure proposing the construction of a municipal sports center to be financed by a 0.5% sales tax increase.^[56] The $14.7 million Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex was built on time and under budget, but the city spent an additional $1.3 million because of an eminent domain lawsuit caused by the failure to obtain clear title to the property before beginning construction.^[56] The city's long-term debt grew from about $1 million to $25 million through voter-approved indebtedness of $15 million for the sports complex, $5.5 million for street projects, and $3 million for water improvement projects. A city council member defended the spending increases as being caused by the city's growth during that time.^[57]

Palin also joined with nearby communities in jointly hiring the Anchorage-based lobbying firm of Robertson, Monagle & Eastaugh to lobby for federal funds. The firm secured nearly $8 million in earmarked funds for the Wasilla city government, and another $19 million for other public and private entities in the Wasilla valley area.^[58] Earmarks included $500,000 for a youth shelter, $1.9 million for a transportation hub, $900,000 for sewer repairs, and $15 million for a rail project linking Wasilla and the ski resort community of Girdwood.^[59] Term limits prevented Palin from running for a third term as mayor in 2002.^[29]

Post-mayoral years

In 2002, Palin ran for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor, coming in second to Loren Leman in a five-way Republican primary.^[60] The Republican ticket of U.S. Senator Frank Murkowski and Leman won the November 2002 election. When Murkowski resigned from his long-held U.S. Senate seat in December 2002 to become governor, he considered appointing Palin to replace him in the Senate, but chose his daughter, Lisa Murkowski, who was then an Alaskan state representative.^[61]

Governor Murkowski appointed Palin to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.^[62] She chaired the Commission beginning in 2003, serving as Ethics Supervisor.^[63] Palin resigned in January 2004, protesting what she called the "lack of ethics" of fellow Republican members.^[8]^[64]

After resigning, Palin filed a formal complaint against Oil and Gas Conservation Commissioner Randy Ruedrich, also the chair of the state Republican Party,^[65] accusing him of doing work for the party on public time and of working closely with a company he was supposed to be regulating. She also joined with Democratic legislator Eric Croft^[66] to file a complaint against Gregg Renkes, a former Alaskan Attorney General,^[67] accusing him of having a financial conflict of interest in negotiating a coal exporting trade agreement,^[68] while Renkes was the subject of investigation and after records suggesting a possible conflict of interest had been released to the public.^[69] Ruedrich and Renkes both resigned and Ruedrich paid a record $12,000 fine.^[63]^[8]

From 2003 to June 2005, Palin served as one of three directors of "Ted Stevens Excellence in Public Service, Inc.," a 527 group designed to provide political training for Republican women in Alaska.^[70] In 2004, Palin told the Anchorage Daily News that she had decided not to run for the U.S. Senate that year, against the Republican incumbent, Lisa Murkowski, because her teenage son opposed it. Palin said, "How could I be the team mom if I was a U.S. Senator?"^[71]

Governor of Alaska

Main article: Governorship of Sarah Palin

Palin visits soldiers of the Alaska National Guard, July 24, 2007.

In 2006, running on a clean-government platform, Palin defeated incumbent Governor Frank Murkowski in the Republican gubernatorial primary.^[72] Her running mate was State Senator Sean Parnell.

Despite being outspent by her Democratic opponent, she won the gubernatorial election in November, defeating former governor Tony Knowles by a margin of 48.3% to 40.9%.^[8] Palin became Alaska's first female governor, and at the age of 42, the youngest governor in Alaskan history.^[73] She is the state's first governor to have been born after Alaska achieved U.S. statehood, and the first not to be inaugurated in Juneau; she chose to have the ceremony held in Fairbanks instead. She took office on December 4, 2006, and has been very popular with Alaska voters. Polls taken in 2007 early in her term showed her with a 93% and 89% popularity among all voters,^[74] which led some media outlets to call her "the most popular governor in America."^[66]^[74] A poll taken in late September 2008 after Palin was named to the national Republican ticket showed her popularity in Alaska at 68%.^[75]

Palin declared that top priorities of her administration would be resource development, education and workforce development, public health and safety, and transportation and infrastructure development.^[73] She had championed ethics reform throughout her election campaign. Her first legislative action after taking office was to push for a bipartisan ethics reform bill. She signed the resulting legislation in July 2007, calling it a "first step", and declaring that she remained determined to clean up Alaska politics.^[76]

Palin tries out the Engagement Skills Trainer, July 24, 2007.

Palin has sometimes broken with the state Republican establishment. For example, she endorsed Sean Parnell's bid to unseat the state's longtime at-large U.S. Representative, Don Young.^[77] Palin has publicly challenged Senator Ted Stevens to come clean about the ongoing federal investigation into his financial dealings. Shortly before his July 2008 indictment, she held a joint news conference with Stevens, described by The Washington Post as needed "to make clear she had not abandoned him politically."^[70]

Palin promoted oil and natural gas resource development in Alaska, including in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). Proposals to drill for oil in ANWR have been the subject of a national debate.^[78]

In 2006, Palin obtained a passport^[79] and in 2007 traveled for the first time outside of North America on a trip to Kuwait. There she visited the Khabari Alawazem Crossing at the Kuwait–Iraq border and met with members of the Alaska National Guard at several bases.^[80] On her return trip to the U.S., she visited injured soldiers in Germany.^[81]

Budget, spending, and federal funds

Governor Palin in Germany, July 2007

In June 2007, Palin signed a record $6.6 billion operating budget into law.^[82] At the same time, she used her veto power to make the second-largest cuts of the construction budget in state history. The $237 million in cuts represented over 300 local projects, and reduced the construction budget to $1.6 billion.^[83] In 2008, Palin vetoed $286 million, cutting or reducing funding for 350 projects from the FY09 capital budget.^[84]

Palin followed through on a campaign promise to sell the Westwind II jet, a purchase made by the Murkowski administration for $2.7 million in 2005 against the wishes of the legislature.^[85] In August 2007, the jet was listed on eBay, but the sale fell through, and the plane was later sold for $2.1 million through a private brokerage firm.^[86]

Expense reimbursements

Palin lives in Juneau during the legislative session and lives in Wasilla and works out of offices in Anchorage the rest of the year. Since the office in Anchorage is far from Juneau, while she works there, state officials say she is legally entitled to a $58 per diem travel allowance, which she has taken (a total of $16,951), and to reimbursement for hotels, which she has not, choosing instead to drive about 50 miles to her home in Wasilla.^[87] She also chose not to use the former governor's private chef.^[88] Democrats criticized Palin for taking the per diem and $43,490 in travel expenses for the times her family accompanied her on state business.^[89] In response, the governor's staffers said that these practices were in line with state policy, that Palin's gubernatorial expenses are 80% below those of her predecessor, Frank Murkowski,^[89] and that "many of the hundreds of invitations Palin receives include requests for her to bring her family, placing the definition of 'state business' with the party extending the invitation."^[87]

Federal funding

In her State of the State Address on January 17, 2008, Palin declared that the people of Alaska "can and must continue to develop our economy, because we cannot and must not rely so heavily on federal government [funding]."^[90] Alaska's federal congressional representatives cut back on pork-barrel project requests during Palin's time as governor; despite this, in 2008 Alaska was still the largest per-capita recipient of federal earmarks, requesting nearly $750 million in special federal spending over a period of two years.^[91]

While there is no sales tax or income tax in Alaska, state revenues doubled to $10 billion in 2008. For the 2009 budget, Palin gave a list of 31 proposed federal earmarks or requests for funding, totaling $197 million, to Alaska Senator Ted Stevens.^[92] Palin’s decreasing support for federal funding has been a leading source of friction between herself and the state's congressional delegation; Palin has requested less in federal funding each year than her predecessor Frank Murkowski requested in his last year.^[93]

Bridge to Nowhere and Knik Arm Bridge

See also: Gravina Island Bridge and Knik Arm Bridge

See also: Use of "Bridge to Nowhere" in 2008 campaign

In 2005, before Palin was elected governor, Congress passed a $442-million earmark for constructing two Alaska bridges as part of an omnibus spending bill. The Gravina Island Bridge was proposed to connect Ketchikan to sparsely populated Gravina Island where an international airport serves over 200,000 passengers per year and the existing ferry carries 400,000 passengers per year.^[94] The Knik Arm Bridge (also known as "Don Young's Way" after Alaska's Congressman Don Young) was to provide an alternate link between heavily-populated Anchorage and Wasilla, 44 miles away.^[95] The Gravina Island Bridge proposal became nicknamed the "Bridge to Nowhere" because of the island's population of fifty people.^[94] More rarely, the term "Bridges to Nowhere" has been applied to both bridge proposals.^[96] Critics of the two bridge proposals gave them national attention as symbols of pork-barrel spending, and Congress responded to the intense criticism by stripping the earmark from the bill before final passage in November 2005 and instead giving the $442 million to Alaska as transportation money with no strings attached.^[94]

Sarah Palin holds up a t-shirt reading "Nowhere Alaska 99901" while visiting Ketchikan during her Gubernatorial campaign in 2006; the zip code for the area is 99901.

In 2006, Palin ran for governor with a "build-the-bridge" plank in her platform,^[97] saying she would "not allow the spinmeisters to turn this project [...] into something that's so negative."^[98] Palin criticized the use of the word "nowhere" as insulting to local residents^[97]^[99] and urged speedy work on building the infrastructure "while our congressional delegation is in a strong position to assist."^[99]

As governor Palin canceled the Gravina Island Bridge in September 2007, saying that Congress had "little interest in spending any more money" due to what she called "inaccurate portrayals of the projects."^[100] She opted not to return the $442 million in federal transportation funds.^[101] Palin maintained her support for a controversial highway on the bridgeless Gravina Island, committing $25 million in federal funds to the project saying through her spokesperson that it would open territory for development. Alaska state officials said if the money were not used for the road it would have had to have been returned to the federal government.^[97] She also directed state officials to explore other ways to provide access to the island.^[100]

Later, as a vice-presidential candidate, Palin characterized her position as having told Congress "thanks, but no thanks, on that bridge to nowhere." This angered some Alaskans in Ketchikan, who said that the claim was false and a betrayal of Palin's previous support for their community.^[101] Meanwhile, some critics complained that this statement was misleading, since she had repeatedly expressed support for the spending project and even kept the Federal money after the project was canceled.^[102] Palin continues to support the Knik Arm project.^[95]

Gas pipeline

See also: Alaska Gas Pipeline

In August 2008, Palin signed a bill authorizing the State of Alaska to award TransCanada Pipelines — the sole bidder to meet the state's requirements — a license to build and operate a pipeline to transport natural gas from the North Slope to the Continental United States through Canada.^[103] The governor also pledged $500 million in seed money to support the project.^[104] It is estimated that the project will cost $26 billion.^[103] Newsweek described the project as "the principal achievement of Sarah Palin's term as Alaska's governor,"^[105] but it faces legal challenges from Canadian First Nations (aboriginal peoples).^[105]

Predator control

Main article: Palin's Predator control policy

In 2007, Palin supported a 2003 Alaska Department of Fish and Game policy allowing the hunting of wolves from the air as part of a predator control program intended to increase moose and caribou populations for subsistence-food gatherers and other hunters.^[106]^[107] In March 2007, Palin's office announced that a bounty of $150 per wolf would be paid to the 180 volunteer pilots and gunners, to offset fuel costs. Wildlife activists sued the state, and a state judge declared the bounty illegal on the basis that a bounty would have to be offered by the Board of Game and not by the Department of Fish and Game.^[106]^[108]

Public Safety Commissioner dismissal

Main article: Alaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissal

Palin dismissed Public Safety Commissioner Walt Monegan on July 11, 2008, citing performance-related issues, such as not being "a team player on budgeting issues."^[109] Monegan said that he had resisted persistent pressure from the Governor, her husband, and her staff, including State Attorney General Talis Colberg, to fire Palin’s ex-brother-in-law, state trooper Mike Wooten; Wooten was involved in a child custody battle with Palin’s sister that included an alleged death threat against Palin's father.^[110]^[111] Monegan stated he learned an internal investigation had found all but two of the allegations to be unsubstantiated, and Wooten had been disciplined for the others—an illegal moose killing and the tasering of an 11-year-old.^[111] He told the Palins that there was nothing he could do because the matter was closed.^[112] When contacted by the press for comment, Monegan first acknowledged pressure to fire Wooten but said that he could not be certain that his own firing was connected to that issue;^[111] he later asserted that the dispute over Wooten was a major reason for his firing.^[113] Palin stated on July 17 that Monegan was not pressured to fire Wooten, nor dismissed for not doing so.^[109]^[112] Monegan's replacement resigned on July 25, amid charges of sexual harassment in his previous job.^[114]

Legislative investigation

On August 1, the Republican-dominated^[115] Alaska Legislature hired an investigator, Stephen Branchflower, to review the Monegan dismissal. Legislators stated that Palin had the legal authority to fire Monegan, but they wanted to know whether her action had been motivated by anger at Monegan for not firing Wooten.^[116]^[117] The atmosphere was bipartisan and Palin pledged to cooperate.^[116]^[117]^[118] After she ordered her own internal investigation, Palin stated on August 13 that "pressure could have been perceived to exist, although I have only now become aware of it."^[119] Palin announced that officials had contacted Monegan or his staff about two dozen times regarding Wooten,^[112] that she had only known about some of those contacts, that many of those contacts were appropriate, and that she had not fired Monegan because of Wooten,^[120] who remained employed as a state trooper.^[121] She placed an aide on paid leave due to one tape-recorded phone conversation that she deemed improper, in which the aide appeared to be acting on her behalf and complained to a trooper that Wooten had not been fired.^[122]

Several weeks after the start of what the media referred to as "troopergate", Palin was chosen as John McCain's running mate.^[117] In a news story published on September 2, the state senator running the investigation complained that Palin's hiring of private lawyers hampered the investigation, and suggested that the results of the investigation were "likely to be damaging to the Governor's administration."^[123] On September 1, Palin asked the legislature to drop its investigation, saying that the state Personnel Board had jurisdiction over ethics issues.^[124] The Personnel Board's three members were first appointed by Palin’s predecessor, and Palin reappointed one member in 2008.^[125] On September 19, the Governor's husband and several state employees refused to honor subpoenas, the validity of which were disputed by Talis Colberg, Palin's appointee as Alaska's Attorney General.^[126] On October 2, a court rejected Colberg's challenge to the subpoenas,^[127] and seven of the witnesses, not including Sarah and Todd Palin, eventually testified.^[128]

Branchflower Report

Main article: Branchflower Report

On October 10, 2008, the Alaska Legislative Council unanimously voted to release, without endorsing,^[129] the Branchflower Report, in which Stephen Branchflower found that firing Monegan "was a proper and lawful exercise of her constitutional and statutory authority," but that Palin abused her power as governor and violated the state's Executive Branch Ethics Act when her office pressured Monegan to fire Wooten .^[130] The report stated that "Governor Palin knowingly permitted a situation to continue where impermissible pressure was placed on several subordinates in order to advance a personal agenda, to wit: to get Trooper Michael Wooten fired."^[131] The report also said that Palin "permitted Todd Palin to use the Governor's office [...] to continue to contact subordinate state employees in an effort to find some way to get Trooper Wooten fired."^[131]^[132]

On October 11, Palin's attorneys responded, condemning the Branchflower Report as "misleading and wrong on the law";^[133] one, Thomas Van Flein, said that it was an attempt to "smear the governor by innuendo."^[134] Van Flein further argues that Branchflower's findings are flawed because Palin received "no monetary benefit" from her actions.

Palin said that she was "very very pleased to be cleared of any legal wrongdoing, any hint of any kind of unethical activity there".^[135] Among the commentators disputing her interpretation was a columnist for The Washington Post:

"Whether or not the Branchflower report -- which was launched by a bipartisan committee -- was a partisan smear job is debatable. What is not debatable is that the report clearly states that she violated the State Ethics Act. Palin has reasonable grounds for arguing that the report cleared her of 'legal wrongdoing,' since she did have the authority to fire Monegan. But it is the reverse of the truth to claim that she was cleared of "any hint of any kind of unethical activity."^[134]

Another view was expressed in McClatchy's Kansascity.com, The Kansas City Star: "It’s just Steve Branchflower’s opinion that he thinks Governor Palin had, at worst, mixed motives for an action that even Branchflower admits she unquestionably had both the complete right to perform and other very good reasons to perform."^[136]

State Personnel Board investigation

The State Personnel Board (SPB) reviewed the matter at Palin's request.^[137] On September 15, the Anchorage law firm of Clapp, Peterson, Van Flein, Tiemessen & Thorsness filed arguments of "no probable cause" with the SPB on behalf of Palin.^[138]^[139] The SPB hired independent counsel Timothy Petumenos as an investigator. Mr. Petumenos describes himself as a "loyal Democrat" according to the Washington Post. ^[140] On October 24, Palin gave three hours of depositions with the Board in St. Louis, Missouri.^[141] On November 3, Petumenos found that there was no probable cause to believe Palin or any other state official had violated state ethical standards, which contradicted the Legislature's conclusion in the Branchflower Report.^[142]^[143]^[144]^[145]

2008 vice-presidential campaign

Main article: John McCain presidential campaign, 2008

See also: Republican Party (United States) vice presidential candidates, 2008

Palin addresses the 2008 Republican National Convention

On August 29, 2008, in Dayton, Ohio, Republican presidential candidate John McCain announced that he had chosen Palin as his running mate.^[146] According to Jill Hazelbaker, a spokeswoman for John McCain, he first met Palin at the National Governors Association meeting in Washington in February 2008 and came away "extraordinarily impressed."^[147] He called Palin on August 24 to discuss the possibility of having her join him on the ticket.^[148] On August 27, she visited McCain's vacation home near Sedona, Arizona, where she was offered the position of vice-presidential candidate.^[149] Palin was the only prospective running mate who had a face-to-face interview with McCain to discuss joining the ticket that week.^[148] Nonetheless, Palin's selection was a surprise to many as speculation had centered on other candidates, such as Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, United States Senator Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, and former Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge.^[146]

Palin is the first Alaskan and the second woman to run on a major U.S. party ticket. The first woman was Geraldine Ferraro, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee in 1984, who ran with former vice-president Walter Mondale.^[146] On September 3, 2008, Palin delivered a 40-minute acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention that was well-received and watched by more than 40 million viewers.^[150]

Several conservative commentators met Palin in the summer of 2007 when they sailed on cruises that docked in Juneau.^[151] Some of them, such as Bill Kristol, urged McCain to pick Palin, arguing that her presence on the ticket would provide a boost in enthusiasm among the religious right wing of the Republican party, while her status as an unknown on the national scene would also be a positive factor for McCain's campaign.^[152]

Since Palin was largely unknown outside Alaska before her selection by McCain, her personal life, positions, and political record drew intense media attention and scrutiny.^[153] Some Republicans felt that Palin was being subjected to unreasonable media coverage, a sentiment Palin noted in her acceptance speech.^[154] A poll taken immediately after the Republican convention found that slightly more than half of Americans believed that the media was "trying to hurt" Palin with negative coverage.^[155]

The Palins and McCains in Fairfax, Virginia, September 2008.

During the campaign, controversy erupted over alleged differences between Palin's positions as a gubernatorial candidate and her position as a vice-presidential candidate. While campaigning for vice-president, Palin touted her stance on "the bridge to nowhere" as an example of her opposition to pork barrel spending.^[97] In her nomination acceptance speech and on the campaign trail, Palin has often said, "I told the Congress 'thanks, but no thanks,' on that Bridge to Nowhere."^[156] Although Palin was originally a main proponent of the Gravina Island Bridge, McCain-Palin television advertisements assert that Palin "stopped the Bridge to Nowhere."^[157] These statements have been widely questioned or described as misleading or exaggerations^[158] by many media groups in the U.S.^[159] Newsweek remarked, "Now she talks as if she always opposed the funding."^[160]

Palin signing an autograph at a campaign rally in O'Fallon, Missouri

After McCain announced Palin as his running mate, Newsweek and Time put Palin on their magazine covers,^[161] as some of the media alleged that McCain's campaign was restricting press access to Palin by allowing only three one-on-one interviews and no press conferences with her.^[162] Among the news organizations that criticized the restrictions were Palin's first major interview, with Charles Gibson of ABC News, met with mixed reviews.^[163] Her interview five days later with Fox News's Sean Hannity focused on many of the same questions from Gibson's interview.^[164] However, Palin's performance in her third interview, with Katie Couric of CBS News, was widely criticized, prompting a decline in her poll numbers, concern among Republicans that she was becoming a political liability, and calls from some conservative commentators for Palin to resign from the Presidential ticket.^[164]^[165] Other conservatives remained ardent in their support for Palin, accusing the columnists of elitism.^[166] Following this interview, some Republicans, including Mitt Romney and Bill Kristol, questioned the McCain campaign's strategy of sheltering Palin from unscripted encounters with the press.^[167]

Palin was reported to have prepared intensively for the October 2 vice-presidential debate with Democratic vice-presidential nominee Joe Biden at Washington University in St. Louis. Some Republicans suggested that Palin's performance in the interviews would improve public perceptions of her debate performance by lowering expectations.^[168]^[164]^[169] Polling from CNN, Fox and CBS found that while Palin exceeded most voters' expectations, they felt that Biden had won the debate.^[170]^[171]

Upon returning to the campaign trail after her debate preparation, Palin stepped up her attacks on the Democratic candidate for President, Senator Barack Obama. At a fundraising event, Palin explained her new aggressiveness, saying, "There does come a time when you have to take the gloves off and that time is right now." In a series of campaign rallies, Palin returned to the vice presidential candidate's traditional role of attack dog, lashing out at and criticizing the Democratic ticket.

Palin appeared on the television show Saturday Night Live on October 18. Prior to her appearance on the show, she had been parodied several times by Tina Fey, who was noted for her physical resemblance to the candidate.^[172] In the weeks leading up to the election, Palin had also been the subject of numerous other parodies.^[173]

The election took place on November 4, and Obama was projected as the winner at 11:00 PM Eastern Standard Time.^[174] In his concession speech McCain thanked Palin, calling her "one of the best campaigners I've ever seen, and an impressive new voice in our party for reform and the principles that have always been our greatest strength."^[174]

Personal life

In 1988, she eloped with her childhood sweetheart Todd Palin. According to her mother, she believed that her parents "couldn't afford a big white wedding."^[175] Todd Palin works for the London-based oil company BP as an oil-field production operator and owns a commercial fishing business.^[73]^[21] The Palins have an estimated combined net worth of over $1 million.^[176]

Palin family members at the announcement of her vice-presidential selection, August 29, 2008. From left to right: Todd, Piper, Willow, Bristol and Trig.

Palin describes herself as a hockey mom. The Palins have five children: sons Track (b. 1989)^[177] and Trig (b. 2008), and daughters Bristol (b. 1990), Willow (b. 1995), and Piper (b. 2001).^[178] Track enlisted in the U.S. Army on September 11, 2007,^[179] and was subsequently assigned to an infantry brigade. He and his unit deployed to Iraq in September 2008 for 12 months.^[180] On September 1, 2008, Palin announced that Bristol was five months pregnant and that she intends to keep the baby and marry Levi Johnston, the father of the child.^[181] Palin's youngest child, Trig, was prenatally diagnosed with Down syndrome.^[182]

Palin was born into a Roman Catholic family.^[183] Later, her family joined the Wasilla Assembly of God, a Pentecostal church,^[184] which she attended until 2002. Palin then switched to the Wasilla Bible Church because, she said, she preferred the children's ministries offered there.^[185] When in Juneau, she attends the Juneau Christian Center.^[186] Her current home church is the Wasilla Bible Church, an independent congregation.^[187] Palin described herself in an interview as a "Bible-believing Christian."^[183] After the Republican National Convention, a spokesperson for the McCain campaign told CNN that Palin "doesn't consider herself Pentecostal" and has "deep religious convictions."^[40]

Political positions

Main article: Political positions of Sarah Palin

Palin has been a registered Republican since 1982, and has described the Republican Party platform as "the right agenda for America".^[4] She is an ardent social conservative, and her deep religious convictions guide her politics. According to Mary Glazier, an ordained minister who helped bring together the prayer networks in Alaska, Palin was an active member of Glazier's prayer group in Wasilla when God "began to speak" to her about going into politics.^[188] In a 2006 gubernatorial debate, responding to a question asking the candidates whether they would support teaching creationism in public schools, Palin stated that she supported teaching both creationism and evolution. Shortly after that debate, however, Palin said in an interview that she had only meant to say she supports allowing the discussion of creationism in public schools, but says it does not have to be part of the curriculum.^[189] She supports sex education in public schools that encourages abstinence but also discusses birth control.^[190]^[191]

Palin opposes same-sex marriage and supported a non-binding referendum for an Alaskan constitutional amendment to deny state health benefits to same-sex couples; however, early in her gubernatorial term she vetoed such a bill, citing its current unconstitutionality.^[110]^[192] Palin has called herself "as pro-life as any candidate can be"^[192] and has called abortion an "atrocity."^[190] Palin has stated that abortion should be banned in nearly all cases, including rape and incest, except if the life of the mother is endangered.^[193]^[194] Palin has stated that she does not support embryonic stem cell research.^[195] A lifetime member of the National Rifle Association (NRA), she believes the right to bear arms includes handgun possession, and is against a ban on semi-automatic assault weapons.^[195] She has supported gun safety education for youth.^[196] She supports capital punishment.^[197]

Palin has promoted oil and natural gas resource exploration in Alaska, including in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.^[78] She brought suit to overturn the listing of polar bears under the federal Endangered Species Act,^[198] and also opposed strengthening protections for beluga whales in Alaska’s Cook Inlet.^[199] The official Alaska press release stated that she had "asked [the National Marine Fisheries Service] to work with the state and other scientists to finalize and implement a conservation plan for the Cook Inlet stock of belugas."^[200]

On global warming, Palin said that "a changing environment will affect Alaska more than any other state, because of our location. I'm not one though who would attribute it to being man-made."^[201] She later said that "man's activities certainly can be contributing to the issue" and that "John McCain and I agree that we gotta do something about it."^[202]

Regarding foreign policy, Palin supports the Bush Administration's policies in Iraq, but is concerned that "dependence on foreign energy" may be obstructing efforts to "have an exit plan in place".^[203]^[204] Palin supports preemptive military action in the face of an imminent threat, and supports U.S. military operations in Pakistan. She declined to give a yes or no answer regarding whether U.S. military forces should make cross-border attacks into Pakistan without the approval of the Pakistani government.^[205] She supports NATO membership for Ukraine and Georgia,^[205] and affirms that if Russia invaded a NATO member, the United States should meet its treaty obligations.^[206]

Public image

Main article: Public image and reception of Sarah Palin

Before the Republican National Convention (RNC), a Gallup poll found that Palin had "the lowest rating any running mate has had since then-Indiana Senator Dan Quayle was selected in 1988 to join George H.W. Bush's team."^[207] Over half of the poll respondents had never heard of her.^[208] Following the RNC, Palin's image came under close media scrutiny,^[209]^[210] particularly regarding her socially conservative political preferences. Her perceived lack of experience in foreign and domestic politics came under fire^[211] from conservative^[212]^[213] columnists Charles Krauthammer,^[214] Kathleen Parker^[215] and George Will,^[216] and Republicans such as former Bush speechwriter David Frum.^[217] Former Secretary of State General Colin Powell gave her inexperience in foreign and domestic policy as one reason for his endorsement of Obama.^[218]^[219]

In contrast, William Kristol of the Weekly Standard wrote: "There she is: a working woman who's a proud wife and mother; a traditionalist in important matters who's broken through all kinds of barriers; a reformer who's a Republican; a challenger of a corrupt good-old-boy establishment who's a conservative; a successful woman whose life is unapologetically grounded in religious belief; a lady who's a leader."^[220]

During the 2008 elections, some media outlets repeated Palin's statement that she "stood up to Big Oil" when she resigned after just 11 months as the head of the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission because of abuses she witnessed involving other Republican commissioners and their ties to energy companies and energy lobbyists, and again when she raised taxes on oil companies as governor.^[221]^[222] In turn, others have said that she is a "friend of Big Oil" due to her fervent advocacy of oil exploitation, including her push to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling and an effort to de-list the polar bear as an endangered species, since this could hinder oil searching.^[221]^[222] The National Organization for Women, which endorsed Obama, made clear that it would not support Palin simply for being a woman, and made its support for her opponent publicly known.^[223]^[211] The National Rifle Association said nothing specific about Palin's position on gun legislation, but concluded that she would be "one of the most pro-gun vice-presidents in American history."^[224]

Julianne Hough

2008-11-21T23:58:00.000-08:00

Julianne Hough

Julianne Hough (pronounced "huff") (born July 20, 1988) is an American professional ballroom dancer and country music singer. She is most-widely known for her repeated appearances on ABC's program, Dancing with the Stars, which she won twice. She earned a Creative Arts Primetime Emmy nomination in 2007 for her choreography. ABC's 20/20 called her one of the "very best dancers on the planet."^[1] Julianne's brother, Derek Hough, is also on Dancing with the Stars. Hough was signed to Mercury Nashville Records in December 2007. Her self-titled debut album was released May 20, 2008, debuting at #1 on the Billboard Country Album chart and #3 on the Billboard 200. This season Hough was partnered with Cody Linley.

[hide]

[edit] Early life

Hough grew up one of five^[2]^[3] children from an LDS (Mormon) family in Salt Lake City. Her brother Derek Hough is also a professional dancer. She has three sisters named Sharee, Marabeth, and Katherine. All four of her grandparents were dancers, and her parents met while on a ballroom dancing team in college in Idaho.

Her formal training began at the Center Stage Performing Arts Studio in Orem, Utah, where she danced with Josh Murillo, among others, in Latin Ballroom; she began dancing competitively at nine. Her parents sent her and her brother to London for a year later to live and study with their coaches, Corky and Shirley Ballas, and to spare them the strife of divorce.^[4] The Ballas' helped tutor the two Hough children alongside their own son, Mark, while schooling them at the Italia Conti Academy. They received training in song, theatre, gymnastics and many forms of dance, including jazz, ballet, and tap.^[5]^[4] The three children formed their own pop music trio 2B1G ("2 Boys, 1 Girl") when Julianne was twelve,^[6] performed at dance competitions in the U.K. and the U.S., and showcased in a UK television show.^[7] At fifteen, Julianne Hough became the youngest dancer, and only American, to win both Junior World Latin Champion and International Latin Youth Champion at the Blackpool Dance Festival.

After five years in London, Hough returned to the U.S., first living with her mother for a year and attending Las Vegas Academy then returning to Utah to live with her father and graduating from Alta High.^[8] She then moved on her own to Los Angeles to begin her career.

[edit] Dancing career

One of her earliest professional experiences was as an assistant choreographer on Gwen Stefani's Wind It Up music video.^{[citation needed]} She was also featured in two television commercials and was an extra in an episode of Cold Case. She was also one of the "Million Dollar Dancers" in the short-lived network television game show Show Me the Money.

Hough's big break was when she appeared in the fourth season of the U.S. version of Dancing with the Stars, a televised ballroom dance competition. In her first season, she won with her partner, Olympic gold medal-winning speed skater Apolo Anton Ohno, making Hough the youngest professional dancer to win on the program. On November 27, 2007, Hough and her partner, two-time Indianapolis 500 champion Hélio Castroneves, became the winners of Season 5. Hough returned for season 6 with radio host/comedian Adam Carolla, but they were eliminated in the fourth week. In July 2008, Hough was nominated at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards in the category of "Outstanding Choreography" for her Mambo "Para Los Rumberos" (performed with partner Hélio Castroneves) on Dancing with the Stars,^[9] but lost to choreographer Wade Robson.

On August 25, 2008, the cast of Dancing with the Stars (U.S. season 7) was announced, and Hough was partnered with Hannah Montana actor Cody Linley.^[10] She was feeling stomach pains during her jitterbug performance and was immediately rushed to a hospital following the encore performance of her jitterbug with Cody. She subsequently had surgery to have her appendix removed on October 28, and now Linley and Hough "turned the time over to" Edyta Śliwińska. Hough hoped for a quick recovery so she could begin dancing again. She began training Cody again, but they were ultimately eliminated in the Semifinals Competition. She also appeared on the November 12 results show dancing the jive to Great Balls of Fire with her brother, Derek Hough, for the "Design-A-Dance" contest. Julianne and Derek were selected the favorite pros on the show by an online vote at ABC.com and won the honor of doing this special audience designed dance.

On November 20, 2008, Julianne told Ryan Seacrest on his radio show she would not be returning for the foreseeable future to Dancing with the Stars in order to further her country music career.^[11]

[edit] Music career

Hough's first country music single "Will You Dance With Me" was released to iTunes and Wal-Mart in May 2007 to raise money for the American Red Cross. The song peaked at #100 on the Billboard Pop 100 chart.^[12] She later signed with Universal Music Group Nashville.

Her self-titled debut album was recorded in Nashville and produced by David Malloy, who has worked with Reba McEntire, Eddie Rabbitt, among others. Hough's album, which met with mixed reviews,^[13]^[14] debuted at #1 on the Top Country Albums chart on May 31, and also peaked at #3 on the Billboard 200.^[15] Hough's second single, and the first to be released to country radio, "That Song in My Head" debuted on the Country charts in March.

Hough joined Brad Paisley's 2008 Tour, along with Jewel and Chuck Wicks. Hough, Paisley and Willie Nelson appear in the video for the Snoop Dogg song "My Medicine".^[16]

Later in 2008, Hough released an EP of Christmas music entitled Sounds of the Season: The Julianne Hough Holiday Collection, which is available exclusively at Target stores.

On November 18, she performed her second single "My Hallelujah Song" at Dancing With the Stars, with her brother,Derek Hough, Mark Ballas and Lacey Schwimmer dancing. She also was eliminated off the show, being in 4th place.

[edit] Personal life

Hough was previously engaged to dancer Zach Wilson; they ended their engagement in May 2007.^[17] Despite various rumors linking her romantically with various Dancing With the Stars partners,^[18] and public courting by Kevin Connolly of Entourage fame,^[19] Hough's first public relationship after Wilson was with country singer Chuck Wicks.^[20]

Julianne Hough was diagnosed with endometriosis, which is a common condition in which tissue from the uterus lining grows outside the uterus. It often causes painful cysts and possiblly infertility. Hough, 20, had to undergo an appendectomy in the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on October 28, 2008 to remove her appendix, a cyst on her ovary, and scar tissue that had formed on her bladder and fallopian tubes.^[21]

Hayden Panettiere

2008-07-15T16:18:00.000-07:00

Hayden Leslie Panettiere (born August 21, 1989)^[1] is an American actress, singer, and Grammy Award nominee. Hayden plays the character Claire Bennet on the NBC television program Heroes. The advertising campaign and slogan for the program known as "Save the Cheerleader, Save the World" has helped make Panettiere famous.

Biography

Early life

Born in Palisades, New York, Panettiere is the daughter of Lesley R. Vogel, a former soap opera actress, and Alan L. "Skip" Panettiere, a fire department lieutenant.^[2]^[3] She has one younger brother, fellow actor Jansen Panettiere.^[4]

Panettiere attended South Orangetown Middle School in New York but following seventh grade, finished her high-school education via home schooling^[5] and has postponed higher education in favor of an acting career, although she has expressed an interest in "continuing to learn."^[6]

Career

Actress

Panettiere began modeling at the age of five months. She then began appearing in commercials at 11 months, first appearing in an advertisement for Playskool.^[7] She landed a role as Sarah Roberts on the ABC soap opera One Life to Live (1994- 1997) and later as Lizzie Spaulding on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light when she was seven years old (1996 - 2000). While on Guiding Light, Panettiere's character Lizzie battled leukemia. The show received a Special Recognition Award from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society for bringing national awareness of the disease to the attention of daytime viewers.^[8]

Panettiere appears as Claire Bennet in the NBC series Heroes as a high school cheerleader with regenerative healing powers. Due to her role on Heroes, she became a regular on the science fiction convention circuit, invited to attend conventions around the world in 2007, including New York Comic-Con and Fan Ex po Canada. In regards to the roles she has played, Panettiere admitted that options are sometimes limited because "people look at [her] as either the 'popular cheerleader' type or just 'the blonde'."^[9]

She has appeared in over a dozen full-length feature films, as well as several made-for-TV movies. She provided the voice for Dot in the Pixar CGI animated movie A Bug's Life.^[10] She also played the role of Coach Yoast's daughter, Sheryl, in the 2000 Disney film Remember The Titans. In addition, she appeared as the voice of Kairi in the Kingdom Hearts series of video games for the Playstation 2. Panettiere appeared on FOX's Ally McBeal as Ally McBeal's daughter, and had a recurring guest role on Malcolm in the Middle and guest starred in Law & Order: SVU. She starred in Bring It On: All or Nothing as a cheerleader and had a supporting role as Adelaide Bourbon in the recently released independent film Shanghai Kiss. She also appeared in the Disney Channel Original Movie Tiger Cruise playing the main role of a Navy brat.

She appeared in the drama film Fireflies in the Garden as a younger version of Emily Watson's character, Jane Lawrence. In June 2007, she signed with the William Morris Agency, after previously being represented by United Talent Agency.^[11] Forbes estimated that she earned $2 million in 2007.^[12]

In early 2007, Panettiere appeared on the syndicated Ashton Kutcher-produced show, Punk'd. The appearance was engineered by her mother and involved a male "fan" discussing her work with her, instigating a jealous reaction from the man's spouse.

Singer

Panettiere was nominated for a Grammy in 1999 for Best Spoken Word Album for Children for A Bug's Life Read-Along [2000].^[13] Panettiere is featured on the soundtrack to Bring It On: All or Nothing alongside her co-star Solange Kno wles. She recorded a song called "My Hero Is You" with a video for the Disney Channel movie she starred in, Tiger Cruise. She recorded a song titled "I Fly" for the Disney movie Ice Princess she co-starred in. She recorded a song for the compilation Girlnext and another song for Girlnext 2. She also recorded a cover for Disneymania 5. She recorded a song titled "Try" for the 2007 Bridge to Terabithia soundtrack and a ballad called "I Still Believe" for Cinderella III: A Twist in Time.

Panettiere's yet-untitled album will be released in 2009 by Hollywood Records with additional promotion provided by the clothing brand Candie's. Panettiere's first single, "Wake Up Call", will be digitally released on August 5 with Candie's premiering an ad campaign for the single in late July. Candie's will also provide additional promotion for the soon to be released single with a television advertisement and a music video.^[14]

Endorsement

In late 2006, Neutrogena made Panettiere the cover girl for their new worldwide ad campaign;^[15] following in the footsteps of actresses Kristin Kreuk, Josie Bissett, Jennifer Love Hewitt, Mandy Moore, Mischa Barton, Gabrielle Union and Jennifer Freeman.

In September 2007, Panettiere appeared in a Heroes-themed Got Milk? ad photographed by Annie Leibovitz.^[16]

In February 2008, Kohl's announced that Panettiere would be their next Candie's spokesperson. She will be following the likes of Fergie and Hilary Duff.^[17]

Personal life

In 2006, Panettiere began dating Stephen Colletti, the former Laguna Beach: The Real Orange County, star.^[18] The couple broke up in September 2007.^[19] In December 2007, it was widely reported that she was dating her Heroes costar Milo Ventimiglia,^[20]^[21] though Panettiere denied these reports in an interview with GQ.^[22] These reports continued through the early part of 2008,^[23]^[24] and several sources had reported that she asked Ventimiglia to move in with her.^[25]^[26]^[27]. In April 2008, during an interview on the BBC's The Chris Moyles Show to promote the second season of Heroes, Ventimiglia confirmed that he is indeed dating Panettiere.^[28]

Activism

On October 31, 2007, Panettiere participated in the activity of Sea Shepherd to try to disrupt the annual dolphin hunt in Taiji, Wakayama, Japan. She was involved in a confrontation between Japanese fishermen and five other surfers from Australia and the United States (including former Home and Away star Isabel Lucas) of the group. The confrontation lasted more than ten minutes before the surfers were forced to return to the beach, after which they left the country.^[29] The fishermen consider the condemnation as an attack on their culture.^[30]

Panettiere told E! News that an arrest warrant has been issued in Japan for her interference in the dolphin hunt.^[31] In November 2007, she was awarded the "Compassion in Action Award" from the animal rights group PETA for her efforts to stop the dolphin hunt in Japan.^[32] She is also a vegetarian.^[33]^[34]

On January 28, 2008, Panettiere handed a letter of protest to the Norwegian ambassador in the United States arguing that Norway should stop its hunt for whales. She also delivered a letter to the Japanese ambassador calling for the end of Japan's hunting of whales.

In 2007, Panettiere became an official supporter of Ronald McDonald House Charities and is a member of their celebrity board, called the Friends of RMHC.^[35]

In May 2008, Panettiere was involved in an eBay auction to benefit SaveTheWhalesAgain.com. The auction included tickets to a fundraising dinner hosted at the Hollywood restaurant Beso, owned by Eva Longoria Parker, and a whale watching tour, with Panettiere, off the coast of Santa Barbara.

Maria Menounos

2008-07-14T22:01:00.000-07:00

Maria Menounos (Μαρία Μενούνος in Greek) (born June 8, 1978) is an American actress, journalist, and television presenter.

Early life & beauty pageants

Menounos, a Greek American, was born in Medford, Massachusetts. Menounos attended the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church in Danielson, CT. In 1995, Menounos began to compete in beauty pageants. The following year, she won the title of Miss Massachusetts Teen USA and competed at Miss Teen USA where she failed to place in the top 10. Menounos did however place in the top 15, receiving an honorary mention, during the preliminary competition; Menounos placed 13th in preliminaries. The pageant was won by Christie Lee Woods. Maria would go on to compete for the title of Miss Massachusetts USA 2000; she placed as the 1st runner up.

Film and television career

Later Menounos attended Boston's Emerson College where she participated in the NOW award winning organization, Emerson Independent Video. During her senior year, she was hired as a reporter for Channel One News. Her work for Channel One's 10-minute segments included traveling to El Salvador to report on the earthquake of 2001 and interviewing President George W. Bush.

Entertainment Tonight hired Menounos as a correspondent in 2002, where she reported on movies, music and fashion. ET executives offered her a hosting gig for ET on MTV & VH1; she left the program in 2005 to focus on her acting career, though she would eventually be joining rival program Access Hollywood later that Fall as a special correspondent. She went on to co-host a few episodes of the Today Show in the late summer and fall of 2006 as well as in April 2007.

In 2003, Menounos appeared on the November 30 episode of Punk'd where she was one of many celebrities caught in the awkward and embarrassing "Red Carpet Interviews".

In the summer of 2005, she a

ppeared in the comic book film Fantastic Four, where she played a nurse who is romanced by the "Human Torch", played by Chris Evans. Her likeness and voice was featured in the 2005 Electronic Arts video game, From Russia with Love as Eva Adara, Red Grant's henchwoman, which stars Sean Connery as James Bond. She is also the spokesperson for Pantene hair products.

Menounos presented the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest (along with Greek singer Sakis Rouvas) that took place in Athens.

Menounos is a correspondent for The Today Show as well as Access Hollywood in an overall deal with NBC Universal to act in films and television shows. She also has recurring roles on CBS' Without a Trace and as Jules in the second season of The CW's One Tree Hill (during its run on The WB).

Menounos also appeared on the Scrubs episode "My Extra Mile", which aired in May 2006 where she is attracted to John Dorian because she likes his hair.

In 2006, Menounos appeared in the music video for "A Public Affair" by Jessica Simpson.

In April 27 2007, Maria sta

red in Kickin' It Old Skool. In 2007, Menounos continued in her run as international spokesperson doing print and television commercials for Pantene hair products as well as print ads for N

ew York & Company.

On December 17 - December

0 2007, Menounos hosted the reality game show miniseries Clash of the Choirs.

In 2008, she became the host of "Hollywood Green" on the "Planet Green" network. "Maria Menounos brings glamour to green living as the hostess of Hollywood Green. Both as the special correspondent for daily entertainment newsmagazine "Access Hollywood," and on Hollywood Green, Maria provides TV viewers with comprehensive coverage of entertainment and news personalities."

In 2008, she became the first journalist to interview the entire Obama family as a whole. She is represented by Creative Artists Agency.^[1]

On July 13th, 2008, Maria also starred in the celebrity softball game at Yankee Stadium in New York.

Production

At the age of 17, Menounos produced In the Land of Merry Misfits, an independent film fairy tale. The 35mm feature film was produced by Menounos while attending Emerson College with director Keven Undergaro, then head writer for MTV's Singled Out. The negative of the film was stolen and the film was never completed but her work on the film, and the film's director, helped her land her reporting job at Channel One News and at MTV (ET on MTV). Menounos, however, never forgot the film or the film's director. In 2005, Menounos personally funded the recovery and restoration of the film, which was narrated by John Waters and starred an eclectic group in the Waters vein - including former WWE champion Bob Backlund, actress Josie Davis from the TV show "Charles in Charge" and B-movie icon Randal Malone. The film premiered at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival.

Menounos also directed Longtime Listener starring Wilmer Valderrama. The film is an official selection of the Tribeca Film Festival 2006.

Popular awards

Menounos appeared in FHM magazine and in People magazine in 2004 as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People." In another poll conducted by askmen.com, Menounos was voted one of the top five girls a guy would most want to marry, along with Angelina Jolie, Charlize Theron and Jessica Alba. She has also beaten Jessica Alba and Charlize Theron for "Cyber Vixen of the Year" on Spike TV's video game awards.

Charity work

Menounos founded the charity "Take Action Hollywood!" after her trip to South Africa. Reporting on the devastating effects of the AIDS crisis she was inspired to create TAH!, a charity that utilizes the power of the entertainment industry and the medium of film to affect for positive social change. Maria also created the Cosmo Girl Cup, a national, annual competition and award given to the group of teens who do the most in their communities to affect for positive social change.

Vanessa Hudgens

2008-07-14T21:57:00.000-07:00

Vanessa Anne Hudgens (born December 14, 1988), is an American actress and singer. She made her debut in 2003 appearing in the Hollywood films Thirteen and Thunderbirds, before reaching fame in 2006 after appearing in the Disney Channel film High School Musical hit series. Hudgens began a music career and released her debut album, V, in 2006. Her sophomore album, Identified, was released July 1, 2008.

Early life

Hudgens was born in Salinas, California, the daughter of Gina (née Guangco) and Greg Hudgens.^[2]^[3] She has a younger sister, Stella Hudgens. Hudgens's father is an American of Irish and Native American descent, and her mother, who grew up in Manila, is a Filipino-born of Filipino, Spanish, and Chinese descent.^[4]^[3] Hudgens has been home-schooled since after her seventh-grade year at the Orange Coun ty High School of the Arts.^[3]

Starting at the age of eight, Hudgens performed in musical theater as a singer, and appeared in local productions of Carousel, The Wizard of Oz, The King and I, The Music Man, and Cinderella, among others.^[5]

Acting career

Film and television

Hudgens debuted in Thirteen as Noel and appeared in the 2004 film Thunderbirds as Tintin and appearances include guest roles on Quintuplets, Still Standing, The Brothers Garcia and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, as Corrie. Hudgens also appeared on Drake & Josh, playing Drake's girlfriend, Rebecca.

Hudgens' largest role among teenage audiences has been starring in the Disney Channel movie High School Musical, High School Musical 2 and will reprise her role in High School Musical 3: Senior Year starring as the shy, intelligent student Gabriella Montez. Hudgens and Efron had won "Best Chemistry" award at the Teen Choice Awards for their roles.^[6] The first High School Musical spawned a hit soundtrack, a worldwide concert tour, a show at Walt Disney World, and even a book series that helped Hudgens land in Forbes magazine's list of top-earning stars under 21." In the list, the 18-year-old Hudgens was No. 7 with estimated earnings of $2 million.^[7]

On January 11, 2008, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Hudgens would star in the comedy, Will (now Rock On), alongside Gaelan Connell, Alyson Michalka, and Lisa Kudrow. Hudgens will play 15-year old Sam. Hudgens was also to have starred in Prom Night but turned down the offer to work on her music. Brittany Snow was offered the role instead.^[8]

Music career

V (2006-2007)

Hudgens' debut album, entitled V, was released in early September 2006. She is signed with Hollywood Records, a Disney-owned record label. A music video for her first single, "Come Back To Me", debuted after the world premiere of The Cheetah Girls 2 in late August. The official music video for her second single, "Say OK", was first shown following the premiere of Disney's Jump In!.

In August 2007 at the 2007 Teen Choice Awards, Hudgens was named the Choice Breakout Singer - Female.^[9]

Identified (2008)

Hudgens new album is titled Identified. The first single from her new album, titled, "Sneakernight", premiered on Radio Disney on April 11, 2008.

Personal life

Hudgens confirmed, in an interview with Teen Magazine as of October 2007, that she is dating her High School Musical series co-star Zac Efron .^[10]^[11] In an interview, Hudgens' publicist stated that her music video for "Say OK" was their official "come-out" as a couple. Although a few years back She dated screen star Drake Bell

Nude photo controversy

On September 6, 2007, controversy erupted after provocative photos of Hudgens surfaced online. Two showed her posing in suggestive lingerie, and another showed her nude. A statement from her publicist claims that the photo was taken privately and it was "unfortunate" that they were released on the Internet.^[12] Hudgens later apologized, saying that she was "embarrassed over the situation" and regretted having "taken [those] photos."^[13] Disney Channel spokeswoman Patti McTeague indicated that Disney will still be working with Hudgens, stating, "Vanessa has apologized for what was obviously a lapse in judgment. We hope she's learned a valuable lesson."[

Angelina Jolie

2008-07-14T21:39:00.000-07:00

Angelina Jolie (born Angelina Jolie Voight on June 4, 1975) is an American film actor and a Goodwill Ambassador for the UN Refugee Agency. She has been cited as one of the world's most beautiful women and her off-screen life is widely reported.^[1] Jolie has received three Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and an Academy Award.

Though she made her screen debut as a child alongside her father Jon Voight in the 1982 film Lookin' to Get Out, Jolie's acting career began in earnest a decade later with the low budget production Cyborg 2 (1993). Her first leading role in a major film was in Hackers (1995). She starred in the critically acclaimed biographical films George Wallace (1997) and Gia (1998), and won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the drama Girl, Interrupted (1999). Jolie achieved international fame as a result of her portrayal of videogame heroine Lara Croft in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), and since then has established herself as one of the best-known and highest-paid actresses in Hollywood.^[2] She had her biggest commercial success with the action-comedy Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005).^[3]

Divorced from actors Jonny Lee Miller and Billy Bob Thornton, Jolie currently lives with actor Brad Pitt, in a relationship that has attracted worldwide media attention.^[4] Jolie and Pitt have three adopted children, Maddox, Pax, and Zahara, as well as three biological children, Shiloh, Knox Leon, and Vivienne Marcheline. Jolie has promoted humanitarian causes throughout the world, and is noted for her work with refugees through UNHCR.

Early life and family

Born in Los Angeles, California, Jolie is the daughter of actors Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand. Jolie is the niece of Chip Taylor, sister of James Haven and the god-daughter of Jacqueline Bisset and Maximilian Schell. On her father's side, she is of Slovak and German descent,^[5]^[6] and on her mother's side she is French Canadian and is said to be part Iroquois,^[7]^[8] although Voight once claimed Bertrand is "not seriously Iroquois," and they merely said it to enhance his ex-wife's exotic background.^[9]

After her parents' separation in 1976, Jolie and her brother were raised by their mother, who abandoned her acting ambitions and moved with them to Palisades, New York.^[10] As a child Jolie regularly saw movies with her mother and later explained that this had inspired her interest in acting; she had not been influenced by her father.^[11] When she was 11, the family moved back to Los Angeles and Jolie decided she wanted to act and enrolled at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, where she trained for two years and appeared in several stage productions. She later recalled her time as a student at Beverly Hills High School (later Moreno High School), and her feeling of isolation among the children of some of the area's more affluent families. Jolie's mother survived on a more modest income, and Jolie often wore second-hand clothes. She was teased by other students who also targeted her for her distinctive features, for being extremely thin, and for wearing glasses and braces.^[11] Her self-esteem was further diminished when her initial attempts at modeling proved unsuccessful. She started to cut herself; later commenting, "I collected knives and always had certain things around. For some reason, the ritual of having cut myself and feeling the pain, maybe feeling alive, feeling some kind of release, it was somehow therapeutic to me."^[12] At 14, she dropped out of her acting classes and dreamed of becoming a funeral director.^[13] During this period, she wore black, dyed her hair purple and went out moshing with her live-in boyfriend.^[11] Two years later, after the relationship had ended, she rented an apartment above a garage a few blocks from her mother's home.^[10] She returned to theatre studies and graduated from high school, though in recent times she has referred to this period with the observation, "I am still at heart — and always will be — just a punk kid with tattoos".^[14]

Jolie has been long estranged from her father, though he appeared with her in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider. In 2002, Jolie changed her name to "Angelina Jolie", dropping Voight as her surname.^[15] In August 2002, Voight claimed that his daughter had "serious emotional problems" on Access Hollywood. Jolie later indicated that she no longer desired a relationship with him, and said, "My father and I don’t speak. I don’t hold any anger toward him. I don’t believe that somebody’s family becomes their blood. Because my son’s adopted, and families are earned." She stated that she did not wish to publicize her reasons for the estrangement, but because she had adopted her son, she did not think it was healthy for her to associate with Voight.^[16]

Early work, 1993–1997

Jolie began working as a fashion model at 14. She was signed with Finesse Model Management and modeled in both the United States and Europe, working mainly in Los Angeles, New York and London. At that time she also appeared in numerous music videos, including those of Meat Loaf ("Rock & Roll Dreams Come Through"), Antonello Venditti ("Alta Marea"), Lenny Kravitz ("Stand by My Woman"), and The Lemonheads ("It's About Time"). At the age of 16, Jolie returned to theatre, and played her first role as a German dominatrix. She began to learn from her father, as she noticed his method of observing people to become like them. Their relationship during this time was less strained, with Jolie realizing that they were both "drama queens".^[11]

Jolie appeared in five of her brother's student films, made while he attended the USC School of Cinematic Arts, but her professional movie career began in 1993, when she played her first leading role in the low budget film Cyborg 2, as Casella "Cash" Reese, a near-human robot, designed to seduce her way into a rival manufacturer's headquarters and then self-detonate. Following several undistinguished projects she starred as Kate "Acid Burn" Libby in her first Hollywood picture, Hackers (1995), where she met her first husband Jonny Lee Miller. The New York Times wrote, "Kate (Angelina Jolie) stands out. That's because she scowls even more sourly than [her co-stars] and is that rare female hacker who sits intently at her keyboard in a see-through top. Despite her sullen posturing, which is all this role requires, Ms. Jolie has the sweetly cherubic looks of her father, Jon Voight."^[17] The movie failed to make a profit at the box-office, but developed a cult following after its video release.^[18]

She appeared as Gina Malacici in the 1996 comedy Love Is All There Is, a modern-day loose adaptation of Romeo and Juliet set among two rival Italian family restaurant owners in the Bronx, New York. In the road movie Mojave Moon she was a youngster, named Eleanor Rigby, who falls for Danny Aiello, while he takes a shine to her mother, Anne Archer. In 1996, she also played Margret "Legs" Sadovsky, one of five teenage girls who form an unlikely bond in the film Foxfire after they beat up a teacher who has sexually harassed them. The Los Angeles Times wrote about Jolie's performance, "It took a lot of hogwash to develop this character, but Jolie, Jon Voight's knockout daughter, has the presence to overcome the stereotype. Though the story is narrated by Maddy, Legs is the subject and the catalyst."^[19]

In 1997, Jolie starred with David Duchovny in the thriller Playing God, a film portraying a surgeon who is stripped of his medical license and is lured deep into the criminal world where he meets Jolie’s character, Claire. The movie was not received well by critics and Roger Ebert noted that "Angelina Jolie finds a certain warmth in a kind of role that is usually hard and aggressive; she seems too nice to be [a criminal's] girlfriend, and maybe she is."^[20] She then appeared in the TV movie True Women, a historical romantic drama set in the West, and based on the book by Janice Woods Windle. That year she also played a stripper who leaves mid-performance to wander New York City in the Rolling Stones music video for the song "Anybod y Seen My Baby?".

Breakthrough, 1997–2000

Jolie's career prospects began to improve after her performance as Cornelia Wallace in the 1997 biopic George Wallace for which she won a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Emmy. The film was highly praised by critics and, among other awards, received the Golden Globe for Best Miniseries/Motion Picture made for TV. She played the second wife of the segregationist Governor of Alabama who was shot and paralyzed while running for President. The film starred Gary Sinise and was directed by John Frankenheimer.

In 1998, Jolie starred in HBO's Gia as supermodel Gia Carangi. The film depicted a world of sex, drugs and emotional drama, and chronicled the destruction of Carangi's life and career as a result of her drug addiction, and her decline and death from AIDS. Vanessa Vance from Reel.com noted, "Angelina Jolie gained wide recognition for her role as the titular Gia, and it's easy to see why. Jolie is fierce in her portrayal — filling the part with nerve, charm, and desperation — and her role in this film is quite possibly the most beautiful train wreck ever filmed."^[21] For the second consecutive year, Jolie won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Emmy. She also won her first Screen Actors Guild Award. In accordance with Lee Strasberg's method acting Jolie reportedly preferred to stay in character in between scenes during many of her early films, and as a result had gained a reputation for being difficult to deal with. While shooting Gia, she told her then-husband Jonny Lee Miller that she wouldn't be able to phone him. "I'd tell him: 'I'm alone; I'm dying; I'm gay; I'm not going to see you for weeks.'"^[22]

Following Gia, Jolie moved to New York and stopped acting for a short period of time, because she felt that she had "nothing else to give". She enrolled at New York University to study filmmaking and attended writing classes. She described it as "just good for me to collect myself" on Inside the Actors Studio.^[23]

Jolie returned to film as Gloria McNeary in the 1998 gangster movie Hell's Kitchen, and later that year appeared in Playing by Heart, part of an ensemble cast that included Sean Connery, Gillian Anderson, Ryan Phillippe and Jon Stewart. The film received predominantly positive reviews and Jolie was praised in particular. The San Francisco Chronicle wrote, "Jolie, working through an overwritten part, is a sensation as the desperate club crawler learning truths about what she's willing to gamble."^[24] Jolie won the Breakthrough Performance Award by the National Board of Review.

In 1999, she starred in Mike Newell's comedy-drama Pushing Tin, co-starring John Cusack, Billy Bob Thornton, and Cate Blanchett. Jolie played Thornton's seductive wife. The film received a lukewarm reception from critics and Jolie's character was particularly criticized. The Washington Post wrote, "Mary (Angelina Jolie), a completely ludicrous writer's creation of a free-spirited woman who weeps over hibiscus plants that die, wears lots of turquoise rings and gets real lonely when Russell spends entire nights away from home."^[25] She then worked with Denzel Washington in The Bone Collector, an adapted crime novel written by Jeffery Deaver. Jolie played Amelia Donaghy, a police officer haunted by her cop father's suicide, who reluctantly helps Washington track down a serial killer. The movie grossed $151 million worldwide,^[3] but was a critical failure; the Detroit Free Press concluded, "Jolie, while always delicious to look at, is simply and woefully miscast."^[26]

Jolie next took the supporting role of the sociopathic Lisa Rowe in Girl, Interrupted (1999), a film that tells the story of mental patient Susanna Kaysen, and which was adapted from Kaysen's original memoir Girl, Interrupted. While Winona Ryder played the main character in what was hoped to be a comeback for her, the film instead became the "welcome-to-Hollywood coronation" for Jolie.^[27] Jolie won her third Golden Globe, her second Screen Actors Guild Award and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Variety noted, "Jolie is excellent as the flamboyant, irresponsible girl who turns out to be far more instrumental than the doctors in Susanna's rehabilitation"^[28] and Roger Ebert wrote about her performance:

“

Jolie is emerging as one of the great wild spirits of current movies, a loose cannon who somehow has deadly aim.^[29]

”

In 2000, Jolie appeared in her first summer blockbuster, Gone In 60 Seconds, in which she played Sarah "Sway" Wayland, ex-girlfriend of car-thief Nicolas Cage. The role was small, and the Washington Post criticized that "all she does in this movie is stand around, cooling down, modeling those fleshy, pulsating muscle-tubes that nest so provocatively around her teeth."^[30] She later explained that the film was a welcome relief after the heavy role of Lisa Rowe, and it became her highest grossing movie up until then, earning $237 million internationally.^[3]

International success, 2001–present

Although highly regarded for her acting abilities, Jolie's films to date had often not appealed to a wide audience, but Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) made her an international superstar. An adaptation of the popular Tomb Raider videogame, Jolie was required to master a British accent and undergo extensive martial arts training to play the title role of Lara Croft. She was generally praised for her physical performance, but the movie generated mostly negative reviews. Slant Magazine commented, "Angelina Jolie was born to play Lara Croft but [director] Simon West makes her journey into a game of Frogger."^[31] The movie was a huge international success nonetheless, earning $275 million worldwide,^[3] and launched her global reputation as a female action star.

Jolie then starred alongside Antonio Banderas as the mail-order bride Julia Russell in Original Sin, a thriller based on the novel Waltz into Darkness by Cornell Woolrich. The film was a major critical failure, with The New York Times noting, "The story plunges more precipitously than Ms. Jolie's neckline."^[32] In 2002, she played Lanie Kerrigan in Life or Something Like It, a film about an ambitious TV reporter who is told that she will die in a week. The film was poorly received by critics, though Jolie's performance received positive reviews. CNN's Paul Clinton wrote, "Jolie is excellent in her role. Despite some of the ludicrous plot points in the middle of the film, this Academy Award-winning actress is exceedingly believable in her journey towards self-discovery and the true meaning of fulfilling life."^[33]

Jolie reprised her role as Lara Croft in Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life in 2003. The sequel, while not as lucrative as the original, earned $156 million at the international box-office.^[3] Later that year Jolie starred in Beyond Borders, a film about aid workers in Africa. Although reflecting Jolie's real-life interest in promoting humanitarian relief, the film was critically and financially unsuccessful. The Los Angeles Times wrote, "Jolie, as she did in her Oscar-winning role in Girl, Interrupted, can bring electricity and believability to roles that have a reality she can understand. She can also, witness the Lara Croft films, do acknowledged cartoons. But the limbo of a hybrid character, a badly written cardboard person in a fly-infested, blood-and-guts world, completely defeats her."^[34]

In 2004, Jolie starred alongside Ethan Hawke in the thriller Taking Lives, as Illeana Scott, an FBI profiler summoned to help Montreal law enforcement hunt down a serial killer. The movie received mixed reviews and The Hollywood Reporter concluded, "Angelina Jolie plays a role that definitely feels like something she has already done, but she does add an unmistakable dash of excitement and glamour."^[35] She also provided the voice of Lola, an angelfish in the animated DreamWorks movie Shark Tale; the cast included Will Smith, Martin Scorsese, Renée Zellweger, Jack Black and Robert De Niro. Also in 2004, Jolie had a brief appearance in Kerry Conran's Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, a science fiction adventure film shot with actors entirely in front of a bluescreen. Jolie then played Olympias in Alexander (2004), Oliver Stone's biopic about the life of Alexander the Great. The film failed domestically, with Stone attributing its poor reception to disapproval of the depiction of Alexander’s bisexuality,^[36] but it succeeded internationally, with revenue of $139 million outside the United States.^[3]

Jolie's only movie of 2005, the action-comedy Mr. & Mrs. Smith, is also her biggest commercial success to date. The film, directed by Doug Liman, tells the story of a bored married couple who find out that they are both secret assassins. Jolie starred as Jane Smith alongside Brad Pitt. The film was well received and was generally lauded for the chemistry between the two leads. The Star Tribune noted, "While the story feels haphazard, the movie gets by on gregarious charm, galloping energy and the stars' thermonuclear screen chemistry."^[37] The movie earned over $478 million worldwide, one of the biggest hits of 2005.^[3]

Jolie next appeared in Robert De Niro's The Good Shepherd (2006), a film about the early history of the CIA, as seen through the eyes of Edward Wilson, played by Matt Damon. Jolie co-starred as Margaret Russell, Wilson's neglected wife. According to the Chicago Tribune, "Jolie ages convincingly throughout, and is blithely unconcerned with how her brittle character is coming off in terms of audience sympathy."^[38]

In 2007, Jolie made her directorial debut with the documentary A Place in Time, which captures the life in 27 locations around the globe during a single week and features fellow actors such as Jude Law, Hilary Swank, Colin Farrell and Jonny Lee Miller. The film is intended to be distributed through the National Education Association, mainly in high schools.^[39] Jolie starred as Mariane Pearl in Michael Winterbottom's documentary-style drama A Mighty Heart (2007), about the kidnap and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in Pakistan. The picture is based on Mariane Pearl's memoirs A Mighty Heart and had its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. The Hollywood Reporter described Jolie's performance as "well-measured and moving", played "with respect and a firm grasp on a difficult accent."^[40] The film earned her a fourth Golden Globe and her third Screen Actors Guild Award nomination. Jolie also played Grendel's mother in Robert Zemeckis' animated epic Beowulf (2007) which was created through the motion capture technique.

Jolie appeared in the action film Wanted, an adaptation of a graphic novel by Mark Millar, as well as the DreamWorks animated movie Kung Fu Panda, both released in mid 2008.^[41] She was also cast as the lead in Clint Eastwood's upcoming drama, Changeling, which wrapped principal photography in December 2007.^[42]

Humanitarian work

Jolie first became personally aware of worldwide humanitarian crises while filming Tomb Raider in poverty-stricken and widely mined Cambodia. She eventually turned to UNHCR for more information on international trouble spots. In the following months she agreed to visit different refugee camps around the world to learn more about the situation and the conditions in these areas. In February 2001, Jolie went on her first field visit, an 18-day mission to Sierra Leone and Tanzania; she later expressed her shock at what she had witnessed.^[43] In the coming months she returned to Cambodia for two weeks and later met with Afghan refugees in Pakistan where she donated $1 million for Afghan refugees in response to an international UNHCR emergency appeal.^[44] She insisted on covering all costs related to her missions and shared the same rudimentary working and living conditions as UNHCR field staff on all of her visits.^[43]

Impressed by her interest and devotion in the subject, UNHCR named her a Goodwill Ambassador on August 27, 2001 at UNHCR headquarters in Geneva.^[45] In a press conference Jolie explained her motives for joining the refugee agency:

“

We cannot close ourselves off to information and ignore the fact that millions of people are out there suffering. I honestly want to help. I don't believe I feel differently from other people. I think we all want justice and equality, a chance for a life with meaning. All of us would like to believe that if we were in a bad situation someone would help us.^[43]

”

During her first three years as Goodwill Ambassador, Jolie concentrated her efforts on field missions, visiting refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs) all around the world. Asked what she hoped to accomplish, she stated, “Awareness of the plight of these people. I think they should be commended for what they have survived, not looked down upon.”^[46] In 2002, Jolie visited Tham Hin refugee camp in Thailand and Colombian refugees in Ecuador to take a closer look at the “Western Hemisphere's most severe humanitarian crisis”.^[47] Jolie later went to various UNHCR facilities in Kosovo and paid a visit to Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya with refugees mainly from Sudan. She also met with Angolan refugees while filming Beyond Borders in Namibia.

In 2003, Jolie embarked on a six-day mission to Tanzania where she traveled to western border camps, hosting Congolese refugees and she paid a week-long visit to Sri Lanka. She later concluded a four-day mission to Russia as she traveled to North Caucasus. Concurrently with the release of her movie Beyond Borders in October 2003 she published Notes from My Travels, a collection of journal entries that chronicle her early field missions (2001-2002). During a private stay in Jordan in December 2003 she asked to visit Iraqi refugees in Jordan's remote eastern desert and later that month she went to Egypt to meet Sudanese refugees.

On her first U.N. trip within the United States, Jolie went to Arizona in 2004, visiting detained asylum seekers at three facilities and the Southwest Key Program, a facility for unaccompanied children in Phoenix. With the humanitarian situation in Sudan worsening, she flew to Chad in June 2004, paying a visit to border sites and camps for refugees who had fled fighting in western Sudan's Darfur region. Four months later she returned to the region, this time going directly into West Darfur. Also in 2004, Jolie met with Afghan refugees in Thailand and on a private stay to Lebanon during the Christmas holidays, she visited UNHCR's regional office in Beirut, as well as some young refugees and cancer patients in the Lebanese capital.

In 2005, Jolie visited Pakistani camps containing Afghan refugees, and she also met with Pakistan's President Pervez Musharraf and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz; she returned to Pakistan with Brad Pitt during the Thanksgiving weekend in November to see the impact of the October 8 Kashmir earthquake. In 2006, Jolie and Pitt flew to Haiti and visited a school supported by Yéle Haïti, a charity founded by Haitian-born hip hop musician Wyclef Jean, and while filming A Mighty Heart in India, Jolie met with Afghan and Burmese refugees in New Delhi. She spent Christmas Day 2006 with Colombian refugees in San José, Costa Rica where she handed out presents. In 2007, Jolie returned to Chad for a two-day mission to assess the deteriorating security situation for refugees from Darfur; Jolie and Pitt subsequently donated $1 million to three relief organizations in Chad and Darfur.^[48] Jolie also made her first visit to Syria and Iraq, where she met with Iraqi refugees as well as multi-national forces and U.S. troops.

Day 2005

With increasing experience, Jolie became more involved in promoting humanitarian causes on a political level. She regularly attends World Refugee Day in Washington, D.C., and she was an invited speaker at the World Economic Forum in Davos in 2005 and 2006. Jolie also began lobbying humanitarian interests in the U.S. capital, where she met with congressmen and senators at least 20 times from 2003.^[45] She explained in Forbes:

“

As much as I would love to never have to visit Washington, that's the way to move the ball.^[45]

”

In 2005, Jolie took part at a National Press Club luncheon, where she announced the founding of the National Center for Refugee and Immigrant Children, an organization that provides free legal-aid to asylum-seeking children with no legal representation which Jolie personally funded with a donation of $500,000 for its first two years.^[49] Jolie also pushed for several bills to aid refugees and vulnerable children in the Third World.^[45] In addition to her political involvement, Jolie began using her public profile to promote humanitarian causes through the mass media. She filmed a MTV special, The Diary Of Angelina Jolie & Dr. Jeffrey Sachs in Africa, portraying her and noted economist Dr. Jeffrey Sachs on a trip to a remote group of villages in Western Kenya. There, Sachs's United Nations Millennium Project team is working with locals to end poverty, hunger and disease. In 2006, Jolie announced the founding of the Jolie/Pitt Foundation which made initial donations to Global Action for Children and Doctors Without Borders of $1 million each.^[50] Jolie also co-chairs the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict, founded at the Clinton Global Initiative in 2006, which helps fund education programs for children affected by conflict.

Jolie has received wide recognition for her humanitarian work. In 2003, she was the first recipient of the newly created Citizen of the World Award by the United Nations Correspondents Association, and in 2005, she was awarded the Global Humanitarian Award by the UNA-USA.^[51] Cambodia's King Norodom Sihamoni awarded Jolie Cambodian citizenship for her conservation work in the country on August 12, 2005; she has pledged $5 million to set up a wildlife sanctuary in the north-western province of Battambang and owns property there.^[52] In 2007, Jolie became a member of the Council on Foreign Relations,^[53] and she received the Freedom Award by the International Rescue Committee.^[54]

Relationships

On March 28, 1996, Jolie married British actor Jonny Lee Miller, her co-star in the film Hackers. She attended her wedding in black leather pants and a white shirt, upon which she had written the groom's name in her blood.^[41] Jolie and Miller separated the following year and subsequently divorced on February 3, 1999. They remained on good terms and Jolie later explained, "It comes down to timing. I think he's the greatest husband a girl could ask for. I'll always love him, we were simply too young."^[22]

She then married American actor Billy Bob Thornton, whom she had met on the set of Pushing Tin, on May 5, 2000. As a result of their frequent public declarations of passion and gestures of love (most famously wearing one another's blood in vials around their necks), their relationship became a favorite topic of the entertainment media.^[41] Jolie and Thornton divorced on May 27, 2003. Asked in Vogue about the sudden dissolution of their marriage, Jolie stated, "It took me by surprise, too, because overnight, we totally changed. I think one day we had just nothing in common. And it's scary but... I think it can happen when you get involved and you don't know yourself yet."^[55]

Jolie has said in interviews that she is bisexual and has long acknowledged that she had a sexual relationship with her Foxfire co-star Jenny Shimizu, "I would probably have married Jenny if I hadn't married my husband. I fell in love with her the first second I saw her."^[56] In 2003, asked if she was bisexual, Jolie responded, "Of course. If I fell in love with a woman tomorrow, would I feel that it's okay to want to kiss and touch her? If I fell in love with her? Absolutely! Yes!"^[57]

In early 2005, Jolie was involved in a well-publicized Hollywood scandal when she was accused of being the "other woman" in the divorce of actors Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston. The allegation was that she and Pitt had started an affair during filming of Mr. & Mrs. Smith; however, she has denied this in several interviews. In an interview in 2005, she explained, "To be intimate with a married man, when my own father cheated on my mother, is not something I could forgive. I could not look at myself in the morning if I did that. I wouldn't be attracted to a man who would cheat on his wife."^[57]

While Jolie and Pitt never publicly commented on the nature of their relationship, speculations continued throughout 2005. The first intimate paparazzi photos emerged in April, one month after Aniston had filed for divorce; they showed Pitt, Jolie and her son Maddox at a beach in Kenya. During the summer Jolie and Pitt were seen together with increasing frequency and most of the entertainment media considered them a couple, dubbing them "Brangelina". On January 11, 2006 Jolie confirmed to People that she was pregnant with Pitt's child and thereby confirmed their relationship for the first time in public.^[41]

Children

On March 10, 2002, Jolie adopted her first child, seven-month-old Maddox Chivan Jolie-Pitt (originally Maddox Chivan Thornton Jolie).^[15] He was born on August 5, 2001 as Rath Vibol in Cambodia, and he initially lived in a local orphanage in Battambang. Jolie decided to apply for adoption after she had visited Cambodia twice, while filming Tomb Raider and on a UNHCR field trip in 2001. After her divorce from her second husband, Billy Bob Thornton, Jolie received sole custody of Maddox. Like Jolie's other children, Maddox has gained considerable celebrity status and appears regularly in the tabloid media.^[58]

Jolie adopted a six-month-old girl from Ethiopia, Zahara Marley Jolie-Pitt (originally Zahara Marley Jolie), on July 6, 2005. Zahara was born on January 8, 2005; her original name has been reported as either Tena Adam^[59] or Yemsrach.^[60] Jolie picked her up at a Wide Horizons For Children orphanage in Addis Ababa. Shortly after they returned to the United States, Zahara was hospitalized for dehydration and malnutrition. In 2007, media outlets reported Zahara's biological mother, Mentewabe Dawit, was still alive and wanted her daughter back, but she later denied these reports, saying she thought Zahara was "very fortunate" to be adopted by Jolie.^[60]

Brad Pitt was reportedly present when Jolie signed the adoption papers and collected her daughter;^[41] later Jolie indicated that she and Pitt made the decision to adopt Zahara together.^[61] In December 2005 it was confirmed that Pitt was seeking to legally adopt Jolie's two children, and on January 19, 2006, a judge in California approved this request. The children's legal surnames were formally changed to "Jolie-Pitt".^[62]

Jolie gave birth to a daughter, Shiloh Nouvel Jolie-Pitt, in Swakopmund, Namibia by a scheduled caesarean section, on May 27, 2006. Pitt confirmed that their newly-born daughter will have a Namibian passport,^[63] and Jolie decided to offer the first pictures of Shiloh through the distributor Getty Images herself, rather than allowing paparazzi to make these extremely valuable snapshots. People paid more than $4.1 million for the North American rights, while British magazine Hello! obtained the international rights for roughly $3.5 million; the total rights sale earned up to $10 million worldwide – the most expensive celebrity image of all time.^[64] All profits were donated to an undisclosed charity by Jolie and Pitt. Madame Tussauds in New York unveiled a wax figure of two-month-old Shiloh; it was the first infant re-created in wax by Madame Tussauds.^[65]

On March 15, 2007, Jolie adopted a three-year-old boy from Vietnam, Pax Thien Jolie-Pitt (originally Pax Thien Jolie),^[66] who was born on November 29, 2003 and abandoned at birth at a local hospital, where he was initially named Pham Quang Sang.^[67] Jolie adopted the boy from the Tam Binh orphanage in Ho Chi Minh City.^[68] She revealed that his first name, Pax, was suggested by her mother before her death.^[69]

Jolie gave birth to twins, a boy named Knox Léon Jolie-Pitt and a girl named Vivienne Marcheline Jolie-Pitt, by a scheduled caesarean section at the Lenval hospital in Nice, France, on July 12, 2008.^[70]

Jolie in the media

Jolie appeared in the media from an early age due to her famous father Jon Voight. At seven she had a small part in Lookin' to Get Out, a movie co-written by and starring her father, and in 1986 and 1988 she attended the Academy Awards as a teenager with him. However, when she started her acting career, Jolie decided not to use “Voight” as a stage name, because she wished to establish her own identity as an actress.^[41] Jolie was never shy about controversy and integrated her teenage "wild girl" image into her public persona in the first years of her career. During her acceptance speech at the 2000 Academy Awards, Jolie declared, "I'm so in love with my brother right now", which, combined with her affectionate behavior towards him that night, sparked speculation in the tabloid media of an incestuous relationship with her brother James Haven. She has denied those rumors vehemently, and Jolie and Haven later explained in interviews that after their parents' divorce they relied on one another and because of that they hold on to each other as a means of emotional support.^[41]

Jolie is noted as "the one A-list celebrity without a publicist",^[57] and she quickly became a tabloid's favorite, since she presented herself as very outspoken in interviews, discussing her love life and her interest in BDSM openly,^[8] and once claiming to be "most likely to sleep with a female fan".^[57] As one of her most distinctive physical features, Jolie's lips have attracted notable media attention and she has been described as "the current gold standard of beauty in the West" among women seeking cosmetic surgery.^[71] She also created headlines with her much publicized marriage to Billy Bob Thornton and her subsequent change into an advocate for global humanitarian problems. As she took on the role of UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador she started to use her celebrity to highlight humanitarian causes worldwide. Jolie has been taking flying lessons since 2004 and she has a private pilot license with an instrument rating and owns a Cirrus SR22 airplane.^[72] The media speculated that Jolie is a Buddhist, but she said that she teaches Buddhism to her son Maddox because she considers it part of his culture. Jolie has not stated definitively whether or not she believes in God. When asked in 2000 if there was a God, she said, "For the people who believe in it, I hope so. There doesn't need to be a God for me."^[73]

Starting in 2005, her relationship with Brad Pitt became one of the most reported celebrity stories worldwide. After Jolie confirmed her pregnancy in early 2006, the unprecedented media hype surrounding them "reached the point of insanity" as Reuters described it in their story "The Brangelina fever".^[4] Trying to avoid the media attention, the couple went to Namibia for the birth of “the most anticipated baby since Jesus Christ”, as it had been described.^[74]

Today, Jolie is one of the best known celebrities around the world. According to the Q Score, in 2000, subsequent to her Oscar win, 31 % of respondents in the United States said Jolie was familiar to them, by 2006 she was familiar to 81 % of Americans.^[45] In a 2006 global industry survey by ACNielsen in 42 international markets Jolie, together with Brad Pitt, was found to be the favorite celebrity endorser for brands and products worldwide.^[75] Jolie was among the Time 100, a list of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time, in 2006^[76] and 2008.^[77] She was described as the world's most beautiful woman in the "100 Most Beautiful" issue of People in 2006.^[78] On Forbes' annual Celebrity 100 list, Jolie was ranked at No. 35 in 2006,^[79] No. 14 in 2007,^[80] and she became the highest listed actor at No. 3 in 2008.^[81] In February 2007, she was voted the greatest sex symbol of all time in the British Channel 4 television show The 100 Greatest Sex Symbols.

Denise Richards

2008-07-13T14:58:00.000-07:00

Denise Lee Richards (born on February 17, 1971 [1]) is an American actress and former fashion model. She became famous in the late 1990s, after a string of films that highlighted her sex appeal, including Starship Troopers, Wild Things, and The World Is Not Enough.

Early life and career
Richards was born in Downers Grove, Illinois,[2] the daughter of Joni, a coffee shop owner, and Irv Richards, a telephone engineer. She has one sister, Michelle, and grew up in both Mokena, Illinois and Downers Grove, Illinois. She graduated from El Camino High School in 1989, Oceanside, California. As a child, she was a 'tomboy', the only 'girl on the baseball team.'[3]
Before she was an actress, Richards was a fashion model. Richards spent the majority of the 1990s appearing in lower-budget films and TV shows like Saved by the Bell, television movies, and guest starring in episodes of several television shows. Her first starring role in a wide theatrical release was Starship Troopers in 1997, which was followed by her role in the moderately successful cult film Wild Things in 1998.
Richards was cast as the geo-physicist Christmas Jones in the 1999 James Bond film The World Is Not Enough (1999), which had a high box office gross. Though she considered her role "brainy", "athletic", and having depth of character,[4] she was criticised as not credible in it.[5][6] Her outfit, which often comprised a tank top and shorts, elicited comments.[7] She was ranked as the worst Bond girl of all time by Entertainment Weekly in 2008,[8] and was chosen as "Worst Supporting Actress" at the 1999 Razzie Awards for the role.[9] In addition to her film work, Richards made regular appearances in the situation comedies Spin City, Two and a Half Men, Friends and Seinfeld. She also starred in the short-lived UPN series Sex, Love & Secrets in 2005. Throughout the early 2000s, Richards appeared in several film roles which both parodied and utilized her image as a sex symbol, including Valentine, Undercover Brother and Scary Movie 3. In December 2004, she posed for a nude pictorial in Playboy magazine. Richards also posed semi-nude for the July 2006 issue of Jane magazine to raise money for the Clothes Off Our Back Foundation. In 1999 she ranked 9 in Maxim's 50 Sexiest Women and in 2001 she was voted 2nd in FHM's USA 100 Sexiest Women, 5th in FHM 100 Sexiest Women and 19 in AskMen.com 50 Most Beautiful Women.

Personal life
In 2002, she married actor Charlie Sheen, with whom she appeared in Scary Movie 3, in which she played his character's wife who was pinned to the tree in a car accident. The couple had two daughters: Sam J and Lola Rose.[10] Richards was named the Sexiest Mom of 2005 by In Touch Weekly magazine.
In March 2005, Richards filed for divorce from Sheen.[11] The couple briefly reconciled and were seeking marriage counseling to mend their relationship. However, on January 4, 2006, Richards' representative announced that she was continuing with the divorce, and she later sought a restraining order against Sheen, citing his alleged death threats against her.[12] Richards briefly dated Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora shortly after their respective separations from Sheen and Heather Locklear, ending what Locklear had considered to be a close friendship. Richards once dated actor Patrick Muldoon;[13] she has also been linked to actor John Stamos, whom she dated during her teenage years.[14]
On April 19, 2006, Richards filed formal legal papers asking for divorce from Sheen under the laws of the state of California.[15] In her court filing, Richards alleged that Sheen's behavior was increasingly erratic, making their marriage impossible, and that she feared for her safety and the safety of their daughters.
Richards claimed that Sheen was physically and verbally abusive and threatened to kill her or have her killed, and that despite having accidentally shot his previous fiancée, Kelly Preston, he wanted to place firearms under their coffee table to protect them. Richards claimed that Sheen had become paranoid and obsessive, citing his belief in 9/11 conspiracy theories, a belief that baby formula caused brain damage, a desire to purchase gas masks, and an "abnormal fascination" with Nicole Simpson's death.
Further, Richards alleged that Sheen visited prostitutes and was addicted to gambling, prescription drugs (which he bought over the Internet), and pornography. Richards also alleged that Sheen posted a picture of his erect penis on his online profile of a "sex-search type" website and that he frequently viewed pornography featuring "very young girls," and websites "involving gay pornography also involving very young men who also did not look like adults."[16] Based on these allegations, Richards sought and received a restraining order against Sheen.[17]
Sheen denied the allegations. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, he described Richards' actions as a "smear campaign" and insisted that he was a responsible father who would "give his life for his children." He added that Richards is "the only one entirely culpable for putting these radical allegations out for public consumption... my children included."[18]
On 8 November 2006, officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) were called to the River Rock Casino in Richmond, B.C., where Richards was making a movie. After seeing two photographers taking her picture from a nearby balcony, she confronted them, and threw their two Laptop computers over the balcony. One laptop struck an 80-year-old woman in a wheelchair. The other laptop grazed the arm of a 91-year-old woman. Neither woman suffered serious injury, and no charges were pressed against Richards.[19][20][21]
On 1 December 2007, it was announced that Richards' mother, Joni, died from cancer.
In 2008, Richards decided to include her two daughters with Charlie Sheen in her confessional reality program on E!, Denise Richards: It's Complicated, which premiered on 26 May 2008. He deemed her plans "greedy, vain and exploitative".[22] On January 25, 2008, Richards won a court case against Sheen so that she can include her daughters in the show.[23] When a judge rejected Sheen's request to block it,[24] the latter urged fans to boycott it.[25]
An agreement was reached between Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards regarding the custody of the children

Miley Cyrus

2008-07-13T14:53:00.000-07:00

Miley Ray Cyrus[1] (born Destiny Hope Cyrus; November 23, 1992)[2][3] is an American child actress, singer, and songwriter. She is known for starring as Miley Stewart, "Hannah Montana" on the Disney Channel series Hannah Montana.
Cyrus became an overnight sensation after Hannah Montana debuted in March 2006. Following the success of the show, in October 2006, a soundtrack CD was released in which she sang eight songs from the show. In December 2007, she was ranked #17 in the list of Forbes Top twenty earners under 25 with an annual earning of US$3.5 million.[4] As of December 2007, she is working on a movie spin-off of Hannah Montana, titled Hannah Montana: The Movie which is due to be released on May 1, 2009.[5][6]

Early life
Cyrus was born in Franklin, Tennessee,[2] the daughter of Leticia "Tish" (née Finley) and country singer Billy Ray Cyrus,[2] and the granddaughter of the late Ron Cyrus. She has two older half-brothers — Christopher Cody and Trace, the latter being the vocalist and guitarist of an electronic rock band, Metro Station in California.[7] She also has an older half-sister, Brandi, a younger brother, Braison, and a younger sister, Noah, who is also an actress.[8] She was named Destiny Hope because her parents believed that she would accomplish great things.[2] Cyrus gained her nickname "Miley" because she kept smiling ("Smiley") as a youngster.[2]
Cyrus attended Heritage Middle School,[9]and now goes to school at a place called Options For Youth.[10] She also has a private tutor on set.[11] She grew up on her parents' farm outside of Nashville.[12]

Acting career

Cyrus playing in a concert
Cyrus became interested in acting at age nine when the family briefly lived in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Her first acting role was as a guest star on her father's television series Doc, in which she played a girl named Kylie.[13][3] In 2003, she played "Young Ruthie" in Tim Burton's Big Fish and was credited as Destiny Cyrus. She was also featured in Rhonda Vincent's music video for "If Heartaches Have Wings", and appeared on Colgate Country Showdown with her father, who was hosting the program.
Disney career
Cyrus was twelve years old when she originally auditioned for Disney for the lead role of Miley Stewart/Hannah Montana, as well as the show's "best friend" roles,[14] but Disney Channel executives judged her to be too small. Cyrus was persistent in her desire to be part of Hannah Montana, however, so Disney called her back for further auditions. According to Disney Channel Executive Vice President Gary Marsh, Cyrus was chosen for the show because of her energetic and lively performance and was seen as a person who "loves every minute of life",[15] with the "everyday relatability of Hilary Duff and the stage presence of Shania Twain".[12] She spent several years to get rid of her Southern accent, but in the end Disney wanted her to revive it. Later in an unusual twist, Cyrus had to audition her own father, Billy Ray Cyrus, to see if he would fit the role as Hannah's dad.[16] Cyrus currently stars in Hannah Montana as the lead character Miley Stewart, whose alter ego is the pop music sensation Hannah Montana. Cyrus also performs in character as Hannah Montana for albums and concerts. Cyrus also appeared in the Disney Channel Hannah Montana promotion, "Hannah Montana's Backstage Secrets", in which she portrays Hannah Montana in a fictional interview set in the show's canon.
Cyrus had a brief cameo in the 2007 television movie High School Musical 2 credited as "Girl at Pool", where she danced before the end credits in front of the pool wearing a yellow baby doll top and denim Bermuda shorts. Cyrus also guest-starred as Yatta on Disney Channel's The Emperor's New School.
While attending the Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix premiere, Cyrus stated that they are working on ideas for a Hannah Montana movie. The feature-length film is to be produced by Cyrus's both on and off-screen dad, Billy Ray Cyrus.[17] Hannah Montana: The Movie is scheduled for a May 1, 2009 release.[18]
Cyrus was invited to present the song "That's How You Know" from the film Enchanted at the 80th Academy Awards. She also hosted the 2008 CMT Music Awards with her father in April.[19] On April 9, 2008, Miley Cyrus appeared on the American Idol fundraiser show Idol Gives Back, and she told the audience that it has always been one of her dreams to appear on American Idol. In June 2008, it was announced that Miley will host and perform at the Teen Choice Awards.[citation needed]

Music career

Studio albums
Walt Disney Records released Cyrus's first soundtrack, Hannah Montana, on October 24, 2006. The soundtrack included eight of the songs that Cyrus performed as Hannah Montana. Cyrus also signed a four-album major record deal with Hollywood Records for her own albums. The album was later re-released twice - a Holiday Edition featuring Cyrus's cover of "Rockin' around the Christmas Tree" and a Special Edition featuring "Nobody's Perfect". Cyrus also opened for The Cheetah Girls in 2006, performing on 20 dates of their 39-city tour.[20]
On June 26, 2007, exactly eight months after the release of the first soundtrack, Cyrus released a double album, Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus. The first disc served as the second Hannah Montana soundtrack, while the second disc was Cyrus's debut album as herself. She wrote eight of the ten songs, credited by her birth name Destiny Hope Cyrus.
As of April 2008, Cyrus has been recording her second studio album.[21] In an episode of her web cast show, The Miley and Mandy Show, Cyrus announced she was working on her new album titled Breakout . Cyrus also performed two new songs, "Fly on the Wall" and "Breakout" at the 2008 Disney Channel Games concert. Breakout is expected to be released on July 22, 2008.[22]

Touring
Cyrus performed both as herself and in character as Hannah Montana on a North American Best of Both Worlds Tour that started on October 18, 2007 in St. Louis, Missouri; the tour was extended, due to high demand, until January 31, 2008, with 69 total dates, 14 more than previously planned. The Jonas Brothers were the opening act for most of the tour.[23] Tour tickets for each date sold out in record time after they went on sale, disappointing large numbers of fans.[24] The tour was recorded and released to cinemas in Disney Digital 3-D. The concert film brought in $8,651,758 on its opening day, and continued on to gross $31,117,834 to finish off the weekend, making it the highest-grossing opening weekend for a film to be released under 1000 screens.[25] Though its initial run in theaters was due to last just a week, Disney extended the film's run indefinitely because of the demand.[26]

Entrepreneurship
Cyrus became a spokesperson for Daisy Rock Guitars in 2004, when she was presented with her first Daisy Rock guitar - the Stardust Series Acoustic Electric Pink Sparkle. It was given to her by her parents from her father's Country Music Television fan meet-and-greet when she was twelve years old.[27]
Disney released a Hannah Montana clothing collection in late summer 2007. Cyrus helped to design some of the pieces from the collection. "It's not a costume. A tween girl isn't doing dress-up, they want to look like they could be Hannah Montana's friend. This is a fashion line."[28]
In April 2008, Cyrus announced plans to write a book about her life and career. The Disney Book Group bought the rights to the book for a reported 7 figures to be published by their imprint Disney-Hyperion Books for a scheduled release spring 2009. An initial printing run of one million copies is planned.[29]
In December 2007, she was ranked #17 in the list of Forbes Top twenty earners under 25 with an annual earning of US$3.5 million.[4] In April 2008, Parade and Us Weekly reported that Cyrus earned $18.2 million in 2007. Cyrus was ranked #35 on the "2008 Forbes Celebrity 100" with an estimated earnings of $25 million during June 2007 to June 2008.[30] A wax figure of Miley Cyrus was unveiled at Madame Tussauds in New York City.[31]

Personal life
Cyrus is good friends with fellow Hannah Montana co-stars Emily Osment and Mitchel Musso, often texting and conference calling each other during busy days.[11] Miley Cyrus also taught Emily Osment how to play the guitar and Osment taught Cyrus how to knit. She is also friends with the stars of the highly successful TV movie High School Musical, including Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron, and The Suite Life of Zack and Cody stars including Brenda Song.[32] and Ashley Tisdale.[33]
In an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, she stated that she looks up to Hilary Duff as her role model.[33] She also has many pets, including horses, dogs, cats, fish, and chickens.[34] On January 29, 2008 Miley Cyrus announced her intent to officially change her name to "Miley Ray Cyrus," her middle name reflecting that of her father's.[35][36] The name change became official May 1, 2008.[1]
In an interview with USA Today, Cyrus was quoted as saying her faith is "the main thing" and is the reason why she works in Hollywood.[37] When interviewed by Parade, she added that she attends church regularly with her family.[16] In an interview to Christianity Today, Billy Ray said, "Being Christian, we believe in heaven," and "We also had a great church, and when you give up your church, your pastor, and the community you are involved in, you're making a big sacrifice. Let's face it, Hollywood is a completely different environment than Franklin, Tennessee."[38]
Beginning in February 2008, Cyrus and her friend Mandy Jiroux (who is also a backup dancer for Cyrus) have been creating videos on YouTube called The Miley and Mandy Show. The show, described as a "YouTube hit", is said to be filmed for fun by Cyrus and Jiroux and to be entirely their work, with Cyrus and Jiroux editing the footage together. It is mostly filmed in Cyrus's bedroom.[39] A particularly popular video was posted on April 13, featuring a dance-off "battle" pitting Cyrus and Jiroux against Jon Chu and Adam Sevani of Step Up 2. In 2007, Cyrus made a large contribution to the City of Hope (she gave $1 for every HM concert ticket sold) "The cool thing about being a part of City of Hope is that they are a cancer research center. They're not only helping kids that are there, but also finding out how they can heal them by figuring out what exactly is going on, which is amazing."[40]

Controversies

Pregnancy hoax
On September 24, 2007, rumors began circulating that Cyrus was pregnant.[41] The cause of the rumor was an image of a page of J-14 Magazine circulating on the Internet entitled "Miley's Meltdown" and saying, among other things, "Miley herself confirmed the pregnancy rumors during a J-14 interview".[42] J-14 immediately responded saying that, "Someone doctored the "This Just In" article that appeared on page 16 of J-14's July 2007 issue" and that "this story is completely fabricated!"[43][44] The real story on J-14's Page 16 magazine was about 'Miley's Gross Habits' told by her co-stars on the set of Hannah Montana.

Seat belts
In her movie, Hannah Montana & Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds Concert, there is a scene where she and her dad did not put their seatbelts on, causing her to be labeled by some newspapers as a "bad role model".[45] Billy Ray Cyrus later apologized for this, and said
"We got caught up in the moment of filming, and we made a mistake and forgot to buckle our seat belts ... Seat belt safety is extremely important."[46]

Vanity Fair photos
On April 25, 2008, the televised entertainment program Entertainment Tonight reported that Cyrus had posed topless for a photo shoot with Vanity Fair.[47] The photo, and subsequently released behind-the-scenes photos, show Cyrus with her bare back exposed but her front covered with a bedsheet. The photo shoot was taken by photographer Annie Leibovitz.[48] The full photograph was published with an accompanying story on The New York Times' website on April 27, 2008. On April 29, 2008, The New York Times clarified that though the pictures left an impression that she was bare-breasted, Cyrus was wrapped in a bedsheet and was actually not topless.[49] Some parents expressed outrage at the nature of the photograph, which a Disney spokesperson described as "a situation [that] was created to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old in order to sell magazines."[49]
In response to the internet circulation of the photo and ensuing media attention, Cyrus released a statement of apology on April 27:
"I took part in a photo shoot that was supposed to be ‘artistic’ and now, seeing the photographs and reading the story, I feel so embarrassed. I never intended for any of this to happen and I apologize to my fans who I care so deeply about."[49]
The photographer Annie Leibovitz also released a statement:
"I'm sorry that my portrait of Miley has been misinterpreted. The photograph is a simple, classic portrait, shot with very little makeup, and I think it is very beautiful."[50][49]
On April 28, 2008, Vanity Fair published their full interview and photo shoot with Cyrus and her father Billy Ray Cyrus, as well as the behind-the-scenes photographs, on their website.[51] According to the interview, Cyrus' parents and/or minders were present during the entire duration of the photo shoot. The idea to pose with the sheets on was suggested by Annie Liebovitz. When asked if she were "anxious" about the pose, Cyrus stated to interviewer Bruce Handy:
“No, I mean I had a big blanket on. And I thought, This looks pretty, and really natural. I think it’s really artsy. It wasn’t in a skanky way.… And you can’t say no to Annie. She’s so cute. She gets this puppy-dog look and you’re like, okay.”[

"Pieces of Me" (2004)

Ashlee Simpson's debut single and her most successful single to date.

"Shadow" (2004)

The second single from Ashlee Simpson's debut album.

"Boyfriend" (2005)

The lead single of Ashlee Simpson's second album I Am Me.

"L.O.V.E." (2005)

The second single of Ashlee Simpson's second album I Am Me.

"Invisible" (2006)

Her supposed to be third single from her second album.

Sexy Pictures

Ashlee Simpson

Early life

Career

Early years

Debut album and reality television (2004)

The Saturday Night Live incident

Orange Bowl performance and first tour (early 2005)

Film, second album, and theater (2005–2006)

Bittersweet World (2007–2008)

Voice

Image and personal life

Marriage

Criticism

Sarah Palin

Mayor of Wasilla

First term

Second term

Post-mayoral years

Governor of Alaska

Budget, spending, and federal funds

Expense reimbursements

Federal funding

Bridge to Nowhere and Knik Arm Bridge

Gas pipeline

Predator control

Public Safety Commissioner dismissal

Legislative investigation

Branchflower Report

State Personnel Board investigation

2008 vice-presidential campaign

Personal life

Political positions

Public image

Julianne Hough

Julianne Hough

Contents

[edit] Early life

[edit] Dancing career

[edit] Music career

[edit] Personal life

Hayden Panettiere

Early life

Career

Actress

Singer

Endorsement

Personal life

Activism

Maria Menounos

Early life & beauty pageants

Film and television career

Production

Popular awards

Charity work

Vanessa Hudgens

Acting career

Film and television

Music career

V (2006-2007)

Identified (2008)

Personal life

Nude photo controversy

Angelina Jolie

Early work, 1993–1997

Breakthrough, 1997–2000

International success, 2001–present

Humanitarian work

Relationships

Children

Jolie in the media

Denise Richards

Miley Cyrus