Famous birthplaces
Benjamin Geza Affleck was born on August 15, 1972 in Berkeley, California, USA but raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. He was born to parents Tim Affleck, a social worker, who is now divorced from Ben's mother Chris Affleck (nee' Boldt) a school teacher. Ben also has a younger brother, actor Casey Affleck, who was born in 1975. Ben wanted to be an actor ever since he could remember and his first acting experience was for a Burger King commercial, when he was on the PBS mini-series "The Voyage of the Mimi" (1984). It was also at that age when Ben met his lifelong friend and fellow actor, Matt Damon. They played little league together and took drama classes together. Ben's teen years consisted of mainly TV movies and small television appearances including Hands of a Stranger (1987) (TV) and "The Second Voyage of the Mimi" (1988). He made his big introduction into feature films in 1993 when he was cast in Dazed and Confused (1993). After that, he did mostly independent films like Kevin Smith's Mallrats (1995) and Chasing Amy (1997) which were great for Ben's career, receiving renowned appreciation for his works at the Sundance film festival. But the success he was having in independent films didn't last much longer and things got a little shaky for Ben. He was living in an apartment with his brother Casey and friend Matt, getting tired of being turned down for the big roles in films and being given the forgettable supporting ones. Since Matt was having the same trouble, they decided to write their own script, where they could call all the shots. So, after finishing the script for Good Will Hunting (1997), they gave it to their agent Patrick Whitesell, who showed it to a few Hollywood studios, finally being accepted by Castlerock. It was great news for the two but Castlerock wasn't willing to give Ben and Matt the control over the project they were hoping for. It was friend Kevin Smith who took it to the head of Miramax who bought the script giving Ben and Matt the control they wanted and, in December of 1997, Good Will Hunting (1997) was released, making the two unknown actors famous. The film was nominated for 9 Academy Awards and won two, including Best Original Screenplay for Ben and Matt. The film marked Ben's breakthrough role, in which he was given for the first time the chance to choose roles instead of having to go through grueling auditions constantly. He chose such roles in the blockbusters Armageddon (1998/I), Shakespeare in Love (1998) and Pearl Harbor (2001). With these hits to his credit, Hollywood can't seem to get enough of Ben, with directors wanting him in their movies and companies wanting his screenplays. The actor, who won an Oscar for co-writing a film, always seems to represent Boston, but he's originally from the opposite side of the country
Writer and African American activist Maya Angelou was born on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. Maya Angelou's five autobiographical novels were met with critical and popular success. Her volume of poetry, Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Die was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize. In 1993, Angelou wrote a poem for Clinton's inauguration. In 2008, she earned a NAACP Award.
Writer, dancer, African-American activist. Born Marguerite Johnson on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. Angelou spent her difficult formative years moving back and forth between her mother's and grandmother's. At age eight, she was raped by her mother's boyfriend, who was subsequently killed by her uncles. The event caused the young girl to go mute for nearly six years, and her teens and early twenties were spent as a dancer, filled with isolation and experimentation.
At 16 she gave birth to a son, Guy, after which she toured Europe and Africa in the musical Porgy and Bess. On returning to New York City in the 1960s, she joined the Harlem Writers Guild and became involved in black activism. She then spent several years in Ghana as editor of African Review, where she began to take her life, her activism and her writing more seriously.
Maya Angelou's five-volume autobiography commenced with I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings in 1970. The memoirs chronicle different eras of her life and were met with critical and popular success. Later books include All God's Children Need Traveling Shoes (1986) and My Painted House, My Friendly Chicken and Me (1994). She has published several volumes of verse, including And Still I Rise (1987) and Complete Collected Poems of Maya Angelou (1995). Her volume of poetry, Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water 'Fore I Die (1971), was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize.
In 1993, Angelou read 'On the Pulse of Morning' at Bill Clinton's Presidential inauguration, a poem written at his request. It was only the second time a poet had been asked to read at an inauguration, the first being Robert Frost at the inauguration of John F. Kennedy. In 2006, Angelou agreed to host a weekly radio show on XM Satellite Radio's Oprah & Friends channel. She also teaches at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, where she has a lifetime position as the Reynolds professor of American studies.
Drawing from her own life experiences, Angelou published Letter to My Daughter in 2008. She wrote the work for the daughter she never had, sharing anecdotes and offering advice. Well received, the book earned several honors, including a NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work-Non-Fiction. This well-known poet is recognized all over the world for her work, but she has humble beginnings in the Midwest.
Businessman and investor Warren Buffett was born on August 30,1930, in Omaha, Nebraska. Investing by age 11, Buffett was running a small business at 13. Buffett later started the firm Buffett Partnership in Omaha, with huge success. In 2006, Buffett announced that he would give his entire fortune away to charity (est. $62 bil.), the largest act of charitable giving in United States history.usinessman and investor. Born Warren Edward Buffett on August 30,1930, in Omaha, Nebraska. Buffett's father Howard worked as stockbroker and served as U.S. Congressman. His mother, Leila Stahl Buffett, was a homemaker. Buffett was the second of three children and the only boy.
Buffett demonstrated a knack for financial and business matters early on in his childhood. Friends and acquaintances have said the young boy was a mathematical prodigy, and was able to add large columns of numbers in his head-a talent he still occasionally shows off to friends and business associates.
Warren often visited his father's stockbrokerage shop as a child, and chalked in the stock prices on the blackboard in the office. At 11 years old he made his first investment; he bought three shares of Cities Service Preferred at $38 per share. The stock quickly dropped to only $27, but Buffett held on tenaciously until they reached $40. He sold his shares at a small profit, but regretted the decision when Cities Service shot up to nearly $200 a share. He later cited this experience as an early lesson in patience in investing. Known as one of the richest men in the world, Buffett has several other nicknames from the city where he was born.
Stephen Colbert is a political satirist, writer and television host. After earning a degree in theatre from Northwestern, he joined the Second City comedy improv troupe in Chicago. In 1997, he started at The Daily Show, gaining fame for portraying a correspondent in news parodies. In 2005, he became the host of The Colbert Report, taking on the guise of a self-important conservative commentator.(born May 13, 1964, Washington, D.C., U.S.) American actor and comedian, who was perhaps best known as the host of The Colbert Report, an ironic send-up of television news programs.
After graduating with a theatre degree (1986) from Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., Colbert joined the Second City comedy improv troupe in Chicago. There he met Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello, with whom he created the award-winning sketch show Exit 57 (1995–96) and the bizarre sitcom Strangers with Candy (1999–2000), both on the Comedy Central cable network. Colbert worked on several other television projects before joining in 1997 Comedy Central's The Daily Show, which was hosted by Jon Stewart. For eight years he was a correspondent and writer on the news parody, where he became a fan favourite for such segments as “This Week in God,” a look at religious issues in the news, and “Even Stephven,” a mock debate between Colbert and fellow correspondent Steve Carell.
In 2005 Colbert became the host of his own spin-off show, The Colbert Report, and took on the guise of a self-important conservative commentator, a persona meant to parody certain cable-news personalities, most notably Bill O'Reilly. During his first show Colbert coined the word truthiness to express a kind of unchanging “truth” derived from a gut feeling rather than from any known facts. (Truthiness was named the Word of the Year in 2005 by the American Dialect Society.) The neologism became the organizing principle for the show, where Colbert's rants about political and cultural issues and his expressions of personal idiosyncrasies (such as an unyielding hatred of bears) were treated with the same amount of seriousness. The Colbert Report earned various honours, including Emmy Awards (2008 and 2010) for outstanding writing and a Peabody Award (2008).
In April 2006 Colbert blurred the line between entertainment and political critique in a very public forum when he was the featured speaker at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner—an annual event that traditionally featured good-natured ribbing between the president and the press. He performed in character, lampooning George W. Bush's administration and the mainstream media with a degree of harshness (or candor, depending on one's political leanings) not common to the event. The resulting publicity raised Colbert's national profile and helped turn him into something of a political tastemaker for many young liberals. The host of a popular show pokes fun at hot topics from all over the world, but most of his material covers the town he came from
Ann Curry is an American television journalist. She grew up as an army brat, moving every few years, eventually graduating from the University of Oregon's School of Journalism in 1978. After interning, she became the first female news reporter for KGW in Portland. Curry started with NBC in 1990, moving up to anchor Dateline NBC. In 2011, she began co-anhoring NBC's Today program.Television journalist. Born November 19, 1956 in the U.S. Territory of Guam. Ann Curry??s father was an American of predominantly French and Scots-Irish descent who met her Japanese mother during the U.S. occupation of Japan following World War II. Her childhood followed her father??s military career, and she was raised in San Diego and Alameda, California, Japan, Virginia Beach, Virginia, and Ashland, Oregon. She graduated from the University of Oregon School of Journalism and Communication in 1978.
In 1978, Ann Curry took an internship at KTVL in Medford, Oregon, eventually becoming the station's first female news reporter. In 1981, she took a three-year post as a reporter and anchor at KGW in Portland. She then moved to Los Angeles, where she was a reporter for KCBS-TV from 1984 to 1990. While there, she won two Emmy Awards.
In 1990, Ann Curry signed on with NBC news, first working as the network??s Chicago correspondent and then anchoring NBC News at Sunrise from 1991 to 1996. She also served as a replacement anchor and newsreader for the Today show. In 2005, she joined Stone Phillips as co-host of Dateline NBC, while continuing as news anchor at Today. Curry has earned a reputation for her coverage of global humanitarian crises from such hot spots as Baghdad, Sri Lanka, Rwanda, Albania and Darfur.
Throughout her career, Ann Curry has landed several exclusive interviews, including Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and Chadian President Idrsiss Deby. She also conducted the first exclusive interview with General Tommy Franks before the outbreak of the war in Iraq. Other notable interviews include Liberia's Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, the first female elected President of an African nation; Thomas Hamill, the Halliburton truck driver who escaped captivity in Iraq; and accused spy Wen Ho Lee after he was cleared of all charges of espionage against the United States.
Ann Curry is married to software executive Brian Ross. The couple lives in New York City with their two children, McKenzie and Walker.As one of the longest serving anchors on "Today," Curry started her journey in smaller markets on the West Coast, but she's originally from another country.
Born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, on July 3rd, 1962, in Syracuse, New York, Tom Cruise became interested in acting when he won the lead in a high school production of Guys and Dolls. His role in 1981's Taps, his second film, caught critics' attention, and he eventually went on to star in many box office hits. He is currently married to his third wife, Katie Holmes, with whom he has a daughter, Suri.Actor. Born Thomas Cruise Mapother IV, on July 3rd, 1962, in Syracuse, New York, to Mary and Thomas Mapother. Cruise's mother was an amateur actress and schoolteacher, and his father was an electrical engineer. His family moved around a great deal when Cruise was a child in order to accommodate his father's career.
Cruise's parents divorced when he was 11, and the children moved with their mother to Louisville, Kentucky, and then to Glen Ridge, New Jersey, after her remarriage. Like his mother and three sisters, Cruise suffered from dyslexia, which made academic success difficult for him. He excelled in athletics, however, and considered pursuing a career in professional wrestling until a knee injury sidelined him during high school.
At age 14, Cruise enrolled in a Franciscan seminary with thoughts of becoming a priest, but he left after a year. When he was 16, a teacher encouraged him to participate in the school's production of the musical Guys and Dolls. After Cruise won the lead of Nathan Detroit, he found himself surprisingly at home on the stage, and a career was born. The Hollywood megastar spent some of his childhood in Canada, but he was born about 200 miles away from the area.
Starting with $8000 raised from investors, Hugh Hefner transformed the adult entertainment industry with his ground breaking publication, Playboy. From the first issue featuring Marylin Monroe in 1953, Playboy has expanded into a multimillion dollar enterprise consisting of publication, internet and television ventures mirroring the personal life of its founder, considered a rebel in his own right.Magazine Publisher, Entrepreneur. Born April 9, 1926, in Chicago, Illinois. Hugh Marston Hefner was the elder of two sons born to Grace and Glenn Hefner, strict Methodists with deep Midwestern roots. Hefner went to Sayre Elementary School and then to Steinmetz High School on the west side of Chicago where, reportedly, his IQ was 152. His teachers, however, described him as "unenthusiastic." While in high school he founded a school newspaper, showing early signs of his journalistic talents.
Hefner served two years in the U.S. Army toward the end of World War II, and was discharged in 1946. He studied at the Chicago Art Institute for two years before enrolling at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he majored in psychology. In 1949, while in college, he met his first wife Mildred Williams. Hefner earned his bachelor's degree in 1950.
In the early 1950s, Hefner was leading a life typical of many of his peers. He was fresh out of college, young and ambitious, and in an entry-level job with a major corporation at the Chicago office of Esquire magazine. Esquire was a racy publication for men that had transformed itself into a refined periodical, featuring articles on everything from men's fashion to literary works by such writers as Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald. It also featured illustrations from pinup artists such as George Petty and Alberto Vargas. Hefner worked for Esquire as a promotional copywriter until 1953, when he left the magazine because he was denied a $5 raise. The founder of Playboy magazine has been living a wild life in his popular Los Angeles mansion, but he got his start in his Midwest hometown..
Professional basketball player Michael Jordan was born February 17, 1963, in Brooklyn. Jordan left college after his junior year to join the NBA. Drafted by the Chicago Bulls, he helped the team make it to the playoffs. For his efforts there, he received the NBA Rookie of the Year Award. With five regular-season MVPs and three All-Professional basketball player, Olympic athlete, businessperson, actor. Born on February 17, 1963, in Brooklyn, New York. Considered one of the best basketball players ever, Michael Jordan dominated the sport from the mid-1980s to the late 1990s. He led the Chicago Bulls to six national championships as well as earned the National Basketball Association's (NBA) Most Valuable Player Award five times.
Growing up in Wilmington, North Carolina, Jordan developed a competitive edge at an early age. He wanted to win every game he played. As his father James later noted, "What he does have is a competition problem. He was born with that...The person he tries to outdo most of the time is himself."
Jordan enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1981 and soon became an important member of the school's basketball team. His team won the NCAA Division I championships in 1982 with Jordan scoring the final basket needed to defeat Georgetown University. He was also singled out as the NCAA College Player of the Year in 1983 and in 1984. During the summer of 1984, Jordan made his first appearance in the Olympics as a member of the U.S. basketball team, which won the gold at the games held in Los Angeles. Later Jordan helped the United States bring home the gold at the 1992 Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain. The NBA living legend is known for his playing days with the Chicago Bulls – and his college alma mater – but he was born on the East Coast.
Longtime WWE darling Stacy Keibler began entertaining wrestling fans in 1999 after winning a contest held by the now-defunct World Championship Wrestling's dance troupe, the Nitro Girls. Standing 5 feet 11 inches tall, however, lent itself to a different medium within the wrestling world; namely, inside of the ring. Nicknamed "Legs," Keibler was tall enough to step over the middle of the three ropes enclosing the ring. She went on to complete this rare feat many times throughout the course of her career with the WWE, more than occasionally to wrestle with a fellow WWE Diva (her competitors, among others, included Trish_Stratus, Lita, Molly Holly, and Victoria). Keibler's roots in dancing helped keep her in the spotlight after her contract with the WWE expired in 2006; ABC's popular Dancing With the Stars featured Keibler in its second season. Though she didn't win -- that honor went to Drew_Lachey and Cheryl_Burke -- she was undoubtedly one of the show's most talented contestants, and earned a rare perfect score from the judges for her samba early in the competition. Lately, the former WWE star has been seen on the red carpet with her Hollywood beau, but she stays connected to her birthplace.
The granddaughter of famed producer Dino De Laurentiis, Giada De Laurentiis was born on August 22, 1970, in Rome, Italy. She moved to the United States at the age of 7. Inheriting a passion for cooking, De Laurentiis studied at Le Cordon Bleu. She worked as a caterer before landing her first cooking show, Everyday Italian. Today she is a best-selling author and well-known culinary personality.Giada De Laurentiis comes from a show business family. Her mother, Veronica De Laurentiis, is an actress, and her father, Alex De Benedetti, is an actor and producer. Her grandfather, Dino De Laurentiis, was a famous film producer and her grandmother, Silvana Mangano, was a popular Italian movie star.
At the age of 7, De Laurentiis moved to the United States. She and her family soon settled in Los Angeles. De Laurentiis did not receive the warmest of welcomes in her new country. She "didn't speak a word of English, so the kids at school tormented me," she later explained. "It was horrifying the names they called me, and the teachers never really did a thing to stop it."
De Laurentiis found comfort in her family, and their shared passion for food. Her great-grandfather sold pasta in Italy, and nearly every Sunday her family gathered at her grandfather's house for lunch. There, De Laurentiis helped prepare the meal, sometimes handling the dessert course for the gathering. She also often visited her grandfather's restaurant, DDL Foodshow. The TV food chef seems to make cooking look simple (find her recipes), which could be a result of her Italian roots.
Every football fan in America probably believes that Eli Manning is already established as a household name. New Yorkers are not an exception to these numbers. With more than 3,330 pass yards as his career stats so far, Eli Manning has made 23 touchdown passes ever since he debuted in the NFL in 2004 as the first draft pick during the first round.
Aside from being the quarterback for the New York Giants, who really is Eli Manning? For those football fanatics out there who are curious about the man behind jersey number 10, read on and learn some tidbits and facts about one of the most popular quarterbacks of the decade.
Eli was born Elisha Nelson Williams Manning on January 3, 1981 in New Orleans, Louisiana. His parents are Archie and Olivia, and he has two older brothers, Peyton and Cooper. It was said that football truly ran in the family, like it was in their blood. Their proud dad, Archie, already established his football career in his college at the University of Mississippi in the 1960’s. After being the quarterback for his college team, Archie was drafted into the NFL under the New Orleans Saints in the year 1971.
Even as children, Eli and his brothers already had exposure to football, although their dad gave them no pressure to pursue it. Peyton and Cooper, being more mature, went on to be popular football stars in their high school of Isidore Newman in New Orleans, Louisiana. Later on, the young Eli also showed promise as an athlete of the same caliber as his brothers.
When Eli went on to college at Ole Miss, which was the same alma mater as his father and older brother Cooper, he continued to pursue his love for the game. In 1998 Eli expressed his desire to be part of the Ole Miss Rebels by attending a football camp. From there on, the rest was history. By the year 2004, Eli was the number one draft pick in the first round, and he was welcomed by his first pro-team, the San Diego Chargers. During this draft, Eli was traded to the New York Giants in place of Philip Rivers from South Carolina State University.
New Yorkers and Giants fans from all over would never forget that February day at Super Bowl XLII when Eli and his team beat the New England Patriots 17 to 14. The New York Giants were welcomed by lavish celebrations, and even a visit to President Bush at the White House. In more recent news, Eli finally married his fiancée and long-term college girlfriend Abby McGrew in April of 2008. Their Mexican beach wedding was well publicized, with photos shown on many celebrity gossip shows. The two-time Super Bowl champ plays for the New York Giants, but he's well-known for being a Southern boy.
Lea Michele was born August 29, 1986 in Bronx, New York. Her career-making turn occurred in 2006 with Spring Awakening, a rock musical, but left the cast in 2008. Moving out to Los Angeles,Michele sought out movie and television roles. One of her aspirations at the time was to get a guest spot on the medical drama Grey's Anatomy. Michele ended up getting a much more substantial role on Glee.Actress. Born Lea Michele Sarfati on August 29, 1986, in Bronx, New York. Sarfati discovered her passion for performing at an early age. Growing up in Tenafly, New Jersey, she was drawn to nearby New York City's vibrant theater scene. At the age of 8, Michele landed the role of young Cosette in the Broadway production of Les Miserables. She sang a song from Phantom of the Opera, the only musical she knew at the time, at her audition. Michele had gone to the audition to support a friend, but ended up landing the part herself.
The daughter of a deli owner and a nurse, Michele moved on to another Broadway production, Ragtime, in 1995. She played the Little Girl, the quiet daughter of a Jewish immigrant. The cast included such well-known Broadway talents as Audra McDonald and Brian Stokes Mitchell. She landed another break in 2004 with a role in a revival of Fiddler on the Roof starring Alfred Molina. Accepted to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts that same year, Michele decided to forgo college to pursue her career.
Despite her success on the stage, Michele did not fit in easily at her high school. "I am an unconventional beauty. I grew up in a high school where if you didn't have a nose job and money and if you weren't thin, you weren't cool, popular, beautiful," she told USA Today. The "Glee" star and Broadway veteran didn't have to travel far to pursue her dreams of performing on the stage
Nicki Minaj, born Onika Tanya Maraj in 1984, grew up with an abusive, drug-addicted father. After attending La Guardia High School for the Arts, she was introduced to rapper Lil Wayne, who launched her career. Her 2010 debut album, Pink Friday, and her single "Your Love" topped Billboard's charts. A frequent "cameo" singer, Minaj's voice was featured in seven songs on Billboard's Hot 100 in 2010.Hip-hop artist, singer. Born Onika Tanya Maraj on December 8, 1984, in Queens, New York. Minaj's father was a severe drug addict with a long history of violence. At one point, he set fire to the family's home in a failed attempt to kill Minaj's mother. Those early struggles, Minaj has said, helped fuel her drive to rise above the life her parents knew. "I've always had this female-empowerment thing in the back of my mind," she told Details magazine, "because I wanted my mother to be stronger, and she couldn't be. I thought, 'If I'm successful, I can change her life.'"
To reach that point, however, the young Minaj developed personas for herself that would allow her to be a "new person." An early incarnation was someone she called "Cookie," then came "Harajuku Barbie," before finally settling on Nicki Minaj. "Fantasy was my reality," she has said. Minaj clearly had a knack for performance. At the age of 12 she authored her first rap, then went on to delve into acting at La Guardia High School of Music and Art, the school that inspired the movie Fame.
Determined to make it in the music business, Minaj took on backup singing roles for local New York City rappers. Soon, she began writing her own material. She was eventually discovered by Dirty Money CEO Fendi, who came across Minaj's MySpace page, loved what he heard, and immediately signed her to his label.
That connection led Minaj to Lil Wayne, who collaborated with her on a series of mix tapes, the first of which, Playtime is Over, was released in April 2007. The recording, and subsequent mixed tapes, showcased Minaj's female swagger and out-front style.
By early 2010, considerable anticipation had built up around Minaj's much discussed, much covered debut album, which was scheduled for release that fall. In April of that year, she released her first single, "Massive Attack." Two months later she won Best Hip-Hop Female at the annual BET Awards. She dedicated the award to Lil Wayne. The rapper known for her unique style grew up in a New York borough, but came from an island in the Caribbean.
Born on January 9, 1978 in Miami, Florida, Chad Ochocinco is the wide receiver for the Cincinnati Bengals of the National Football League, after playing college football for Oregon State. He has been selected to the Pro Bowl a total of six times, and All-Pro three times. He is also quite well known for his end zone celebrations. He legally changed his last name from Johnson to Ochocinco before the 2008 season kicked off to reflect the two number son his Bengals uniform (85). He is one of the contestants on the tenth season of Dancing with the Stars. Growing up, Ochocinco graduated from Miami Beach Senior High School in 1996. He then attended Langston University in Oklahoma but did not play football. He transferred to Santa Monica College a year later where he became teammates with future Carolina Panthers star wide receiver Steve Smith. He finally moved to Oregon State in 2000 after being intensely recruited. During his stint at Oregon State, he broke a school record for the longest touchdown reception with a 97-yard reception in a match against Stanford. Ochocinco was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the second round of the 2001 NFL Draft. As a rookie, he saw moderate playing time, catching 28 passes for 329 yards and one touchdown. In 2003, he recorded 1,355 receiving yards, a Bengals franchise record. In 2006, he signed on to extend his contract through 2011. An injury, however, had him sidelined for the first half of the 2006 season, catching only two touchdown passes and 483 yards. He had a breakout game, however, against the San Diego Chambers where he amassed 260 receiving yards and two touch downs. Outside statistics, he was also a fan favorite, finishing first in votes for wide receivers in the 2006 Pro Bowl. The NFL star played college football on the West Coast, but was born and raised in a busy city across the country
Born in Jerusalem on June 9, 1981, Natalie (Hershlag) Portman grew up on Long Island and began modeling at age 11. Her acclaimed movie debut was in The Professional (1994), and she was cast as Queen Amidala in the Star Wars prequels. While continuing her career,Portman earned a degree in psychology from Harvard. She won the 2010 Best Actress Oscar for playing a troubled dancer in Black Swan.Actress, model. Born on June 9, 1981 in Jerusalem, Israel. While she was a toddler, Portman's parents immigrated to the United States. Initially they resided in Washington D.C., and finally settled in Long Island, New York, where Natalie attended Syosset High School.
While at a local pizza parlor, Portman was discovered by a representative of Revlon cosmetics, who encouraged the 11-year-old to pursue a modeling career. However, Portman found modeling mundane, and decided to direct her efforts toward acting. Shortly after, she began working with the Usdan Theatre Arts Camp, where she appeared in a number of local productions.
Portman made her film debut in Luc Besson's memorable 1994 feature, The Professional. The demanding role, which featured her as hitman's apprentice, caught the attention of critics and audiences. The following year, she sustained her popularity with a brief but captivating performance as Al Pacino's troubled daughter in Heat (1995). The Oscar-winning actress moved around as a child, but has said her heart is in the religious city where she was born
The physically stunning actress Emma Stone first made her mark among American audiences as an ingenue, via her involvement in the massively successful comedy Superbad (2007). The actress's combination of deadpan comic timing and undeniable beauty made her an instant hot property in Hollywood, and she was soon appearing in comic fare like The House Bunny and Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, as well as the hugely successful horror comedy Zombieland (2009). By 2010, Stone had earned top billing status, and was starring in her own comedy -- a hilarious modern take on the Scarlet Letter called Easy A. The following year found Sone's star rising even further in the realm of comedy with roles in Friends with Benefits and Crazy, Stupid, Love, but it also proved to be the year in which the young actress branched more full force into drama, starring in the much anticipated adaptation of the Kathryn Stockett nove Known for her roles in "The Help" and "Superbad," Stone left her hometown at the age of 15 in order to chase her acting dream
Journalist Barbara Walters was born September 25, 1929, in Boston, Massachusetts. In the early 1950s, Walters wrote for the CBS's Morning Show. Throughout the 1960's and 1970's she developed her trademark interviewing style though long-standing jobs on NBC's Today show and ABC's 20/20. In 1997, Barbara Walters premiered a since popular talk show called The View.Journalist, writer. Born Barbara Jill Walters on September 25, 1929, in Boston, Massachusetts. She was the daughter of Dena Seletsky Walters and nightclub impresario Lou Walters. She had two siblings: older sister Jacqueline, who was born developmentally disabled and died in 1985, and brother Burton, who died of pneumonia in 1932. Walters was born Jewish, though her parents weren't practicing Jews.
In 1937, Lou Walters opened a chain of nightclubs that expanded his business from Boston, Massachusetts, to Miami Beach, Florida. As a result, Barbara attended Fieldston and Birch Wathen private schools in New York City, and graduated from Miami Beach High School in 1947. Barbara was surrounded by celebrities from an early age, which has been said to account for her relaxed manner when interviewing famous people.
Walters attended Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, graduating in 1953 with a bachelor's degree in English. After a brief stint as a secretary, she landed her first job in journalism as the assistant to publicity director and Republican activist Tex McCary of WRCA-TV. After sharpening her writing and producing skills at the NBC affiliate, Walters moved to CBS, where she wrote material for the network's Morning Show . In 1955, she married business executive Robert Henry Katz. They divorced in 1958. The longtime journalist and co-host of "The View" has interviewed many world leaders, and she was born in one of the oldest US cities.
Kanye Omari West was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 8, 1977. He left college to pursue a musical career, producing tracks for Jay-Z while polishing his demo. He released "The College Dropout" in 2002. It sold 2.6 million copies and won Best Rap Album. His follow-up releases have been equally successful and West has become a celebrity famous for his outrageous and entertaining statements.Rapper, record producer and singer. Kanye Omari West was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on June 8, 1977. His parents divorced when he was three. He was raised on Chicago's South Side by his mother, an English professor, and spent summers with his father, an award-winning photographer who became a church counselor.
West graduated from Polaris High School and completed one year of art school at Chicago State University. After spending time rapping and working with local artists, West moved to New York in 2001 to pursue his music career full time. Respected rapper Jay-Z hired him to produce songs for his album The Blueprint, which sold more than 420,000 copies in the first week alone. West went on to produce for a handful of stars including rapper Ludacris and singer Beyonce.
While serving as producer to the stars, West cut his own demo and began shopping it around. He signed a deal with Roc-A-Fella Records, Jay-Z's label, in 2002 and began recording in the studio.
On the way home from a session in Los Angeles, West fell asleep at the wheel and was involved in a head-on car collision that left him with a fractured jaw. The Grammy-winning rapper often refers to Chicago as his hometown, but he was actually born in a Southern city.
