Post by bob on Jul 4, 2009 10:39:54 GMT -5
I'm still petrified that Chyna got a vote....although she did pose for Playboy
just thought I'd let you all know that in all likelihood most of these will be posted tomorrow since my brother is visiting for a few hours today and it's the 4th of July too
anyways....
tied at 34 are 7 hotties
Eva Mendes
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e8/Eva-Mendes-Live_%21.JPG)
![](http://i726.photobucket.com/albums/ww262/nime2407/eva_mendes.jpg)
Eva Mendes (born March 5, 1974) is an American actress. She began acting in the late 1990s, and became known after a series of roles in several major Hollywood films, including 2 Fast 2 Furious, Hitch, Training Day, We Own the Night and The Spirit.
One day Mendes caught the eye of an agent who convinced her to pursue acting more steadily. She worked her way up through commercials to music videos, including an appearance in Will Smith's video "Miami" and the Pet Shop Boys music video for "Se a vida é (That’s the way life is)" in 1996 and Aerosmith's video "Hole in My Soul" in 1997, to guest roles in soap operas and supporting film roles. Her first film appearance was in the direct-to-video Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror.
Mendes received her first big-screen break when she appeared in the award-winning and critically-acclaimed Training Day. That performance led to roles in Stuck on You, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and as the female lead in the comedy Hitch opposite Will Smith. Her role in Once Upon a Time in Mexico also gave her a nomination at the Teen Choice Awards. Mendes has also been in commercials for Gushers, Revlon, and Levi's. Mendes costarred in Ghost Rider with Nicolas Cage, and most recently starred alongside Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, and Robert Duvall in the film We Own the Night, and Gabriel Macht, Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson in The Spirit.
Along with acting, Mendes is employed by Revlon Cosmetics as an international spokeswoman. She joins such elite actresses and models as Julianne Moore, Halle Berry and Cindy Crawford, who appear in Revlon's television and print ads. She is also a passionate supporter and active participant in Revlon's fight against breast cancer.
"Maxim" ranked Mendes #7 in its 2007 Hot 100 issue. She also made her second Maxim cover in the November 2007 issue.
Mendes, despite resisting offers from Playboy, appeared naked in Flaunt Magazine. Although her breasts weren't exposed, readers did get to see her bare back and buttocks. Mendes said about the shoot, "I actually did a little nude shot. You won't see anything. I was covering myself... but I love 'Flaunt.' I think their artwork is some of the best artwork out there as far as photography is concerned, so I took it off. I felt really comfortable, it was fun. There's something really liberating about it." She also appeared nude in an ad for Calvin Klein's Secret Obsession perfume.
In December 2007, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) used a nude photo of Mendes for their anti-fur campaign alongside the tagline "Fur? I'd rather go naked." Mendes is also a spokesmodel for the 2008 Calendar of Campari, inspired in fairy tales, by photographer Marino Parisotto.[6]
In 2008, Mendes starred in The Women, a comedy ensemble film featuring Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Debra Messing. The film, which was produced by Victoria Pearman and Mick Jagger of Jagged Films, Bill Johnson of Inferno Productions, and English, is being released by Picturehouse, a joint venture of HBO and New Line Cinema.
Mendes was voted as No. 4 in the 2008 and No. 1 in the 2009 edition of AskMen.com's Top 99 Most Desirable Women.
Mendes posed topless with her breasts exposed for "Vogue Italy" in May, 2008.[8]
Mendes was announced as the international face of Australia's 30 Days of Fashion & Beauty event in July 2008. She will make guest appearances in that country at the month-long festival in September.[9]
On September 4, 2008, Mendes announced she was launching a line of bed linens that will hit Macy's stores later in the month.[10] In October, she toured various Harrod's stores across Europe to promote Calvin Klein's Seductive Comfort line of lingerie.[11]
Mendes was announced as the international face of Australia's 30 Days of Fashion & Beauty event in July 2008. She will make guest appearances in that country at the month-long festival in September.[9]
On September 4, 2008, Mendes announced she was launching a line of bed linens that will hit Macy's stores later in the month.[10] In October, she toured various Harrod's stores across Europe to promote Calvin Klein's Seductive Comfort line of lingerie.[11]
Mendes is in negotiations to star in the American remake of acclaimed Mexican film Y Tu Mamá También. She is also starring in Last Night with Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington and Guillaume Canet.[12]
Mendes also appeared in the music video The End Has No End by the Strokes.
So Cal Val
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Valerie_Wyndham_2.jpg)
Valerie Elizabeth Wyndham[1] (born March 27, 1986) is an American professional wrestling valet, better known by her ring name, SoCal Val. She is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
Valerie Wyndham was approached by a promoter at a wrestling show and offered the possibility of being a manager.[2] She debuted in March 2002 for the Golden State Championship Wrestling independent promotion in Anaheim, California.[1] She acted as the manager of Pinoy Boy. She promptly betrayed him by berating him after he was defeated by Scott Lost and then leaving with Lost. From the age of fifteen, she acted as a manager, ring girl, and timekeeper.[1] She appeared for several other promotions in Southern California before her family moved across the country to Orlando, Florida when she was sixteen. Wyndham developed the character of SoCal Val, a wealthy, petulant, ruthless villain, who was based on Stephanie McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment, whom Wyndham admired.[1][2]
In addition to working for multiple independent promotions, Wyndham appeared with World Wrestling Entertainment in early 2005 on SmackDown! as part of a vignette featuring Luther Reigns.[1] She regularly appears with the Orlando based promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, working variously as a ring girl and merchandise model beginning in June 2005.[1] She appeared at TNA's No Surrender pay-per-view on July 17, 2005 alongside ring announcer Jeremy Borash and used to be an interviewer on the now defunct TNA Global Impact!.
As a part of Women's Extreme Wrestling (WEW), Wyndham started out as an "executive" under Francine Fournier.[1] Wyndham later wrestled Francine in a Kiss My Foot match, which Wyndham lost.[1] She later became the General Manager of WEW.In 2007 she starred in RingDivas second feature film, Girls of War.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/02/We_want_hogan_val.jpg)
In August 2006, SoCal Val officially signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). On August 18, SoCal Val got kicked out by the Women's Extreme Wrestling promotion at their PPV taping event Twisted Steel and Sex Appeal. On the December 14, 2006 episode of Impact!, Kurt Angle dragged her in the ring and threatened to break her ankle until Jim Cornette talked him into letting her go. On the March 8, 2007 episode of Impact!, SoCal Val got injured after receiving the Black Hole Slam from Abyss.
In 2008, Val entered into an on-screen relationship with Jay Lethal with signs of Sonjay Dutt also showing affection for Val. Lethal lost his X Division championship to Petey Williams after a Canadian Destroyer on the April 17 episode of Impact!. As part of the storyline, at Slammiversary, Val was scheduled to marry Lethal, but their wedding was ruined when Sonjay Dutt claimed he should marry Val and attacked Lethal. At No Surrender, she became a heel by giving Lethal a low blow, allowing Dutt to get the victory. In the following weeks, Val's actions were explained by transitioning her character into a gold digger, claiming that Dutt's father was the richest man in India. In 2009, Dutt was released thus ending the storyline.
She returned to her previous role as a ring girl on the April 2, 2009 edition of Impact!. She began working as a backstage interviewer beginning on the Sacrifice pre-show.
In July 2006, Valerie was contacted by Playboy about doing a spread for the magazine. She commented about it on her MySpace blog, saying: "It's a very serious thing to consider and the jury is still out on how I am going to handle this one. I've spoken to the people in my life whose opinions I value most, and each has been very supportive. For that I am grateful....but this is one I'm going to have to decide all on my own." She ended up declining the offer.[3] She has also been in advertisements for Morphoplex.[1] In 2009, Valerie appeared in a video promo for the F.E.A.R. 2 game, dressed as an Armacham FEAR AWAY nurse. [4]
other hotness tied at this spot
Jennifer Love Hewitt
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Jennifer_Love_Hewitt_LF2.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/JenniferLoveHewitt.jpg)
Jennifer Love Hewitt (born February 21, 1979) is an American actress, voice actress, and singer-songwriter. Hewitt began her acting career as a child by appearing in television commercials and the Disney Channel series Kids Incorporated. She rose to fame in teenage popular culture via her roles in the Fox series Party of Five, as Sarah Reeves, and the films I Know What You Did Last Summer and its sequel, as Julie James.
As a singer, Hewitt has been signed by Atlantic Records and Jive Records.[2] She is primarily known for her recordings in the pop genre and has a contralto vocal range. To date, her most successful single on the Billboard Hot 100 is the 1999 release "How Do I Deal," which peaked at #59.[3] In addition, she has contributed music to the promotion or soundtracks of acting projects.[4]
Hewitt's physical appearance has been the subject of much media attention throughout her career. Named the sexiest woman in the world in 1999[5] and the sexiest woman on television in 2008,[6] she has been repeatedly honored by publications such as Maxim, TV Guide, FHM, and numerous readers of these periodicals. In 2007, paparazzi photos of Hewitt on a beach led to a much-publicized matter in which she defended her weight, and was supported by other celebrities. These incidents received coverage from People magazine.[7]
In addition to acting, Hewitt has also served as a producer on certain film or television projects.[8] She can be seen on the CBS television program Ghost Whisperer as Melinda Gordon, a young woman who can communicate with ghosts. She won a Saturn Award in 2007 and 2008 for Best Actress on Television.
Jessica Biel
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/JessicaBielstealthpremiere.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Josh_Lucas_and_Jessica_Biel_2005_050716-N-0902H-032.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Biel-040618.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/58/Jessicabielgfdl.jpg)
Jessica Claire Biel (born March 3, 1982)[1] is an American actress and former model, who has appeared in several Hollywood films, including Summer Catch, the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Illusionist and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. She is also known for her television role as Mary Camden in the long-running family-drama series 7th Heaven.
At age 14, after auditioning for several television pilots, Biel was cast as the oldest daughter in the family drama, 7th Heaven. The show was originally scheduled to air on FOX, but was picked up by The WB Television Network instead. 7th Heaven would go on to last for 11 seasons, making it the longest-running family drama in U.S. television history, and also became the highest-rated show on The WB.
Biel landed her first feature film role, playing Peter Fonda's granddaughter in the critically-acclaimed drama Ulee's Gold, released in 1997. Her performance earned her a Young Artist Award.
In spring 1998, during a break from filming 7th Heaven, Biel starred in the holiday movie I'll Be Home for Christmas, playing opposite Jonathan Taylor Thomas.
In 2000, during the fourth season of 7th Heaven, Biel commented that she grew tired of playing the wholesome preacher's kid, and blamed the show for giving her a squeaky-clean image, which caused her to lose out on a role in American Beauty (the part went to Thora Birch). In a last ditch attempt to be let out of her contract, she posed semi-nude for the cover of Gear magazine. Fans and producers of 7th Heaven were outraged, and the shoot also sparked a lot of controversy, as Biel was still a minor at the time, but Aaron Spelling made it clear that Biel would be staying with the show until her contract was due to expire (although, she appeared in minimal episodes in season five, due to her attending college out of state). She has now claimed that she regrets the Gear shoot, but considers it a learning experience.[4]
In 2001, Biel played the love interest of Freddie Prinze, Jr. in the baseball themed movie, Summer Catch. The next year, she starred as promiscuous college student Lara in the ensemble, The Rules of Attraction, a film adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel of the same name.
After leaving 7th Heaven at the end of the sixth season, Biel was cast as the lead heroine in the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The film was met with mixed reviews, but became a box office success, scoring the number one spot in its opening week.
In fall 2003, Biel began working on the third installment of the Blade film series, Blade: Trinity. Almost immediately after finishing Blade Trinity in 2004, she headed to Australia to shoot the action/thriller Stealth. Part of the film was shot aboard USS Abraham Lincoln. Both movies were critical and box office failures. Stealth had a budget of $130 million, but grossed just $76 million worldwide. Biel also made a notable cameo appearance in the 2004 film Cellular, which starred her then real-life boyfriend Chris Evans.
Biel went on to audition for the role of Claire Colburn in the romantic comedy Elizabethtown, but the role was eventually given to Kirsten Dunst. Biel was instead cast as Ellen Kishmore, a smaller role. She then played in the indie flick London, opposite then-boyfriend Chris Evans.
Biel's film career blossomed when she played a turn-of-the-century duchess in the period piece, The Illusionist, co-starring Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti. The movie received mostly-positive reviews, and was a turning point for Biel, who had previously played more contemporary roles. She was awarded the Rising Star Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and won an Achievement Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival for her performance.
Biel played an Iraq War veteran in the 2006 film Home of the Brave, a drama about soldiers struggling to adjust back into society after facing the hardships of war. Her performance was well-received, but the movie was a commercial failure. After being pulled from theaters twice, it eventually went straight to DVD in late 2007. Biel and Home of the Brave co-star Samuel L. Jackson were nominated for Prism Awards for their performances.
Meanwhile, after a three-year absence, Biel surprised fans by returning for what was to be the series finale of 7th Heaven (the show was later unexpectedly renewed at the last minute by The CW Television Network). The episode had already been initially shot, but producer and creator Brenda Hampton was determined to have Biel featured in the episode, so Biel agreed to shoot her scenes during a break from filming her upcoming 2007 movie Next.
In Next, Biel played alongside Nicolas Cage and Julianne Moore. She then played in the summer comedy, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, co-starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James. Like her earlier film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Chuck and Larry received mixed reviews, but opened its first week at number one at the box office. She also produced and starred in a short film titled Hole in the Paper Sky, which was released in 2008.
Biel was invited to announce nominations at both the Golden Globe Awards (with Rosario Dawson and Matthew Perry) and the Academy Awards in 2007.
In late 2007, Biel signed on to play a stripper in Powder Blue, alongside Forest Whitaker (who also produced the film) Ray Liotta and Patrick Swayze. This is her first film in which she appears nude.[citation needed]
At the start of 2008, Biel flew to England to shoot Easy Virtue, an adaptation of the play by Noël Coward. Like the play, the movie is set in the 1920s and Biel plays divorcee Larita, who marries John Whittaker in a spur-of-the-moment in France, but must face her disapproving in-laws when they return to England. The film premiered in September 2008 at the Toronto International Film Festival.[5] The film opened to great reviews with the Hollywood Reporter describing her performance as "an irresistible force of nature — a kind, witty, supremely intelligent and beautiful woman who ... is capable of rejoinders that thoroughly undercut her opponent's withering criticism."[6]
In April 2008, Biel began working on the political satire Nailed, with Jake Gyllenhaal. The movie centers around a woman who accidentally gets a nail lodged in her head causing her to become a nymphomaniac. Filming wrapped up in late-June after several production shut downs. The movie is due to be released in 2009.
Biel has a few other movies in the pipeline, including the animated sci-fi Planet 51, to which Biel is lending her voice. She is also co-producing and starring in Die a Little, a contemporary adaptation of the novel by Megan Abbott. A start date for filming has not yet been set.
In 2009 Biel presented the Academy Scientific and Technical Awards ceremony.[7]
another lady of wrestling appears at this spot
Joy Giovanni
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Joy_Giovanni.jpg)
Joy Giovanni (born January 20, 1978) she is of italian heritage. Giovanni is an American actress, glamour model a host on blog talk radio, and former WWE Diva. She is best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment, working on its SmackDown! brand. Joy was released from WWE in the year of 2005. You can now catch Joy Giovanni every Tuesday on a blogtalkradio show called Fuchsia, the link should appear in the external links section but if not it is blogtalkradio.com/Fuchsia-. Be sure to tune in and check it out as you will not be disappointed. Joy Giovanni is said to be good friends with the likes of Candice Michelle, the two are said to be close and personal. Giovanni enjoys kick boxing and dates with ruuning machines, as she enjoys keeping up her fittness. Giovanni has also studied massage therapy and has played field hockey and was a cheerleader.
Giovanni won the 2001 L.A. Model Expo.[1] She competed in the 2004 and 2005 Lingerie Bowl events. Giovanni was in the Avenged Sevenfold music video for "Beast and the Harlot".[citation needed] She was also a panelist for the G4 show Video Game Vixens.[1] In 2004 and 2005, respectively, she appeared in two films: Instinct vs. Reason and When All Else Fails.[1] Giovanni has also confirmed that she will be starring in an up coming film and filming starts soon, name of the film is still unknown but it should be a great film so keep an eye out for it.
Giovanni participated in 2004 Diva Search, though after finishing third place in the competition, WWE signed her to a contract just a few days after her elimination.[2] Joy debuted on SmackDown! as a massage therapist,[1] and she began a feud with Amy Weber. The two became involved in Big Show's feud with JBL, with Giovanni as the on-screen girlfriend of Big Show. The feud included a part where Joy was kidnapped and discovered, bound and gagged in JBL's limo trunk, as well as a backstage catfight between Amy and herself. After Weber's departure from WWE, Joy won the 2005 Rookie Diva of the Year contest at No Way Out.[1] After this win, she occasionally appeared on SmackDown! during backstage segments with other Divas or occasional bikini and lingerie contests before she was released from her contract in the summer of 2005.[1]
Giovanni made a one-off appearance during the 25 Divas Battle Royal to determnine Miss Wrestlemania at WWE's WrestleMania XXV alongside various other past WWE Divas.[3] Giovanni was eliminated early on in the contest.
Alicia Keys
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5c/Alicia_Keys_at_the_Summer_Sonic_Festival_on_piano_crop.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Alicia_Keys_at_the_Summer_Sonic_Festival_crop.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c1/Alicia_performing1.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Alicia_Keys.jpg)
Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American recording artist, musician and actress. She was raised in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York by her single mother, where Keys made a television appearance on The Cosby Show at the age of four. She attended Professional Performing Arts School and graduated at 16. She later attended Columbia University before dropping out to pursue her music career. Keys released her debut album with J Records, having had previous record deals first with Columbia and then Arista Records.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/11/Alicia_Keys%2C_Lisboa_08_c.jpg)
Keys' debut album, Songs in A Minor, was a commercial success, selling over 12 million copies worldwide. She became the best-selling new artist and best-selling R&B artist of 2001. The album earned Keys five Grammy Awards in 2002, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for "Fallin'". Her second studio album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, was released in 2003 and was also another success worldwide, selling eight million copies. The album garnered her an additional four Grammy Awards in 2005. Later that year, she released her first live album, Unplugged, which debuted at number one in the United States. She became the first female to have an MTV Unplugged album to debut at number one and the highest since Nirvana in 1994.
Keys made guest appearances in several television series in the following years. She made her film debut in Smokin' Aces and went on to appear in The Nanny Diaries in 2007. Her third studio album, As I Am, was released in the same year and sold six million copies worldwide, earning Keys an additional three Grammy Awards. The following year, she appeared in The Secret Life of Bees, which earned her a nomination at the NAACP Image Awards. Throughout her career, Keys has won numerous awards and has sold over 30 million albums worldwide, establishing herself as one of the best-selling artists of her time.
Keys was born Alicia Augello Cook on January 25, 1981, in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan, in New York City, New York.[1][2] She is the daughter and only child of Irish-Italian mother Teresa Augello, a paralegal and part-time actress, and Jamaican father Craig Cook, a flight attendant.[3][4][5][6] She expressed that she was comfortable with her biracial heritage because she felt she was able to "relate to different cultures".[2][7] Her parents separated when she was two and she was subsequently raised by her mother during her formative years in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan.[8] In 1985, Keys made an appearance on The Cosby Show at the age of four, where she and a group of girls played the parts of Rudy Huxtable's sleepover guests in the episode "Slumber Party".[9][10] Throughout her childhood, Keys was sent to music and dance classes by her mother.[11] She began playing the piano when she was seven and learned classical music by composers such as Beethoven, Mozart and Chopin.[3] She enrolled in the Professional Performing Arts School at the age of 12, where she majored in choir and began writing songs at the age of 14.[4][12] She graduated in three years as valedictorian at the age of 16.[13] She was accepted to Columbia University and had a recording contract with Columbia Records; she attempted to manage both, but dropped out of college after four weeks to pursue her musical career.[13][14]
Keys signed a demo deal with Jermaine Dupri and So So Def Recordings, where she appeared on the label's Christmas album performing "The Little Drummer Girl". She also co-wrote and recorded a song entitled "Dah Dee Dah (Sexy Thing)", which appeared on the soundtrack to the 1997 film, Men in Black.[14] The song was Keys' first professional recording; however, it was never released as a single and her record contract with Columbia ended after a dispute with the label. Keys called Clive Davis, who sensed a "special, unique" artist from her performance and signed her to Arista Records, which later disbanded.[1][2] Keys almost chose Wilde as her stage name until her manager suggested the name Keys after a dream he had. Keys felt that name represented her both as a performer and person.[15] Following Davis to his newly formed J Records label, she recorded the songs "Rock wit U" and "Rear View Mirror", which were featured on the soundtracks to the films Shaft (2000) and Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001), respectively.[16][17]
Keys released her first studio album, Songs in A Minor, in June 2001. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 236,000 copies in its first week.[19] The album sold six million copies in the United States,[20] where it was certified six times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[21] It went on to sell over 12 million copies worldwide,[22] establishing Keys' popularity both inside and outside the United States, where she became the best-selling new artist and best-selling R&B artist of 2001.[23] The album's lead single, "Fallin'", spent six weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.[24] The album's second single, "A Woman's Worth", peaked at number three on the same chart.[25] The following year, the album was reissued as Remixed & Unplugged in A Minor, which included eight remixes and seven unplugged versions of the songs from the original.
Songs in A Minor led Keys to win five awards at the 2002 Grammy Awards: Song of the Year, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, and Best R&B Song for "Fallin'", Best New Artist, and Best R&B Album; "Fallin'" was also nominated for Record of the Year. Keys became the second female solo artist to win five Grammy Awards in a single night, following Lauryn Hill at the 41st Grammy Awards.[26] That same year, she collaborated with Christina Aguilera for the latter's upcoming album Stripped on a song entitled "Impossible", which Keys wrote, co-produced, and provided with background vocals.[27] During the early 2000s, Keys also made small cameos in television series Charmed and American Dreams.[3]
Keys followed up her debut with The Diary of Alicia Keys, which was released in December 2003. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling over 618,000 copies its first week of release, becoming the largest first week sales for a female artist in 2003.[28] It sold 4.4 million copies in the United States and was certified four times Platinum by the RIAA.[21][29] It sold eight million copies worldwide,[30] becoming the sixth biggest-selling album by a female artist and the second biggest-selling album by a female R&B artist.[31] The singles "You Don't Know My Name" and "If I Ain't Got You" both reached the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and the third single, "Diary", entered the top ten.[32][33][34] The fourth single, "Karma", was less successful on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 20.[35] "If I Ain't Got You" became the first single by a female artist to remain on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for over a year.[36]
Keys won Best R&B Video for "If I Ain't Got You" at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards; she performed the song and "Higher Ground" with Lenny Kravitz and Stevie Wonder.[37][38] Later that year, Keys released her novel Tears for Water: Songbook of Poems and Lyrics, a collection of unreleased poems from her journals and lyrics. The title derived from one of her poems, "Love and Chains" from the line: "I don't mind drinking my tears for water."[39] She said the title is the foundation of her writing because "everything I have ever written has stemmed from my tears of joy, of pain, of sorrow, of depression, even of question".[40] The book sold over $500,000 and Keys made The New York Times bestseller list in 2005.[41][42] The following year, she won a second consecutive award for Best R&B Video at the MTV Video Music Awards for the video "Karma".[43] Keys performed "If I Ain't Got You" and then joined Jamie Foxx and Quincy Jones in a rendition of "Georgia on My Mind", the Hoagy Carmichael song made famous by Ray Charles in 1960 at the 2005 Grammy Awards.[44] That evening, she won four Grammy Awards: Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "If I Ain't Got You", Best R&B Song for "You Don't Know My Name", Best R&B Album for The Diary of Alicia Keys, and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals" for "My Boo" with Usher.[45]
Keys performed and taped her installment of the MTV Unplugged series in July 2005 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.[46] During this session, Keys added new arrangements to her original songs and performed a few choice covers.[47] The session was released on CD and DVD in October 2005. Simply titled Unplugged, the album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart with 196,000 units sold in its first week of release.[48] The album sold one million copies in the United States, where it was certified Platinum by the RIAA, and two million copies worldwide.[3][21][49] The debut of Keys' Unplugged was the highest for an MTV Unplugged album since Nirvana's 1994 MTV Unplugged in New York and the first Unplugged by a female artist to debut at number one.[23] The album's first single, "Unbreakable", peaked at number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number four on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[50] It remained at number one on the Billboard Hot Adult R&B Airplay for 11 weeks.[51]
Keys opened a recording studio in Long Island, New York, called The Oven Studios, which she co-owns with her production and songwriting partner Kerry "Krucial" Brothers.[52] The studio was designed by renowned studio architect John Storyk of WSDG, designer of Jimi Hendrix' Electric Lady Studios. Keys and Brothers are the co-founders of KrucialKeys Enterprises, a production and songwriting team who assisted Keys in creating her albums as well as create music for other artists.[53]
In 2006, Keys won three NAACP Image Awards, including Outstanding Female Artist and Outstanding Song for "Unbreakable".[54] She also received the Starlight Award by the Songwriters Hall of Fame.[55] In October 2006, she played the voice of Mommy Martian in the "Mission to Mars" episode of the children's television series The Backyardigans, in which she sang an original song, "Almost Everything Is Boinga Here".[56] That same year, Keys nearly suffered a breakdown. Her grandmother had died and her family was heavily dependent on her. She felt she needed to "escape" and went to Egypt for three weeks. She explained: "That trip was definitely the most crucial thing I've ever done for myself in my life to date. It was a very difficult time that I was dealing with, and it just came to the point where I really needed to—basically, I just needed to run away, honestly. And I needed to get as far away as possible."[57][58]
Keys made her film debut in early 2007 in the crime film Smokin' Aces, co-starring as an assassin named Georgia Sykes opposite Ben Affleck and Andy García. Keys received much praise from her co-stars in the film; Reynolds said that Keys was "so natural" and that she would "blow everybody away".[59][60] In the same year, Keys earned further praise for her second film, The Nanny Diaries, based on the 2002 novel of the same name, where she co-starred alongside Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans.[61] She also guest starred as herself in the "One Man Is an Island" episode of the drama series Cane.[62]
Keys released her third studio album, As I Am, in November 2007; it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 742,000 copies in its first week. It gained Keys her largest first week sales of her career and became her fourth consecutive number one album, tying her with Britney Spears for the most consecutive number-one debuts on the Billboard 200 by a female artist.[63][64] The week became the second largest sales week of 2007 and the largest sales week for a female solo artist since singer Norah Jones' album Feels like Home in 2004.[65] The album has sold nearly four million copies in the United States and has been certified three times Platinum by the RIAA.[66][67] It has sold nearly six million copies worldwide.[68] Keys received five nominations for As I Am at the 2008 American Music Award and ultimately won two.[69] The album's lead single, "No One", peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, becoming Keys' third and fifth number-one single on each chart, respectively.[70]. The album's second single, "Like You'll Never See Me Again", was released in late 2007 and peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[71] The album's third single, "Teenage Love Affair", peaked at number three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[71] She released the fourth single, "Superwoman", which peaked at number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 12 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[71][72]
"No One" earned Keys the awards for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song at the 2008 Grammy Awards.[73] Keys opened the ceremony singing Frank Sinatra's 1950s song "Learnin' the Blues" as a "duet" with archival footage of Sinatra in video and "No One" with John Mayer later in the show.[74] Keys also won Best Female R&B Artist during the show.[75] She starred in "Fresh Takes", a commercial micro-series created by Dove Go Fresh, which premiered during The Hills on MTV from March to April 2008. The premiere celebrated the launch of new Dove Go Fresh.[76] She also signed a deal as spokesperson with Glacéau's VitaminWater to endorse the product,[77] and was in an American Express commercial for the "Are you a Cardmember?" campaign.[78] Keys, along with The White Stripes' guitarist and lead vocalist Jack White, recorded a theme song to Quantum of Solace, the first duet in Bond soundtrack history.[79] In 2008, Keys was ranked in at number 80 the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists.[80] She also starred in The Secret Life of Bees, a film adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd's acclaimed 2003 bestseller novel of the same name alongside Jennifer Hudson and Queen Latifah, released in October 2008 via Fox Searchlight.[81] Her role earned her a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture at the NAACP Image Awards.[82] She also received three nominations at the 2009 Grammy Awards and won Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Superwoman".[83]
In an interview with Blender magazine, Keys allegedly said "'Gangsta rap' was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other, 'gangsta rap' didn't exist" and went on to say that it was created by "the government". The magazine also claimed she said that Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. were "essentially assassinated, their beefs stoked by the government and the media, to stop another great black leader from existing".[12] Keys later wrote a statement clarifying the issues and saying her words were misinterpreted.[84] Later that year, Keys was criticized by anti-smoking campaigners after billboard posters for her forthcoming concerts in Indonesia featured a logo for the A Mild cigarette brand sponsored by tobacco firm Philip Morris. She apologized after discovering that the concert was sponsored by the firm and asked for "corrective actions". In response, the company withdrew its sponsorship.[85]
Keys and manager Jeff Robinson signed a film production deal to develop live-action and animated projects with Disney. Their first film will be a remake of the 1958 comedy Bell, Book and Candle and will star Keys as a witch who casts a love spell to lure a rival's fiancé.[86] Keys and Robinson also formed a television production company called Big Pita.[87] Keys and Robinson will develop live-action and animated projects from their company, Big Pita and Little Pita, with Keys as producer, thespian, banner spearheading soundtrack and music supervision.[88]
Keys is expected to play a 1940s biracial piano child prodigy, Philippa Schuyler, in an upcoming film entitled Compositions in Black and White. It is based on a 1995 biographical book of the same name by Kathryn Talalay.[89] "The challenge, in order to actually be able to play classical piano as a woman of mixed race, was by far more than I could ever imagine", Keys said, "That's what intrigued me about that role." The biopic will tell the difficult tale of Schuyler's controversial career, love-hate relationship with her mother, and the black community, her second career as a writer, and her eventual death in a helicopter accident. "Her story is very deep, even up to the point where the relationship between her and her mother gets very strained and she chooses to go to Europe and pass as a Spanish woman in order to be able to play, in order to be able to live a more normal life", Keys said, adding that she and Halle Berry hoped to start shooting in early 2008, but has not been filmed to date. "As of right now, we're still in the first, second draft of the script", she said, "So a little bit of time—at least a year."[90]
It has been reported that Keys will release her fourth studio album in late 2009. As part of the promotional drive for the album, she will be performing at the Cayman Island Jazz Festival on December 5, the final night of the three day festival which will be broadcast on BET.[91] In June 2009, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers honored Keys with the Golden Note Award, an award given to artists "who have achieved extraordinary career milestones".[92]
FINALLY the last lady tied at the 34th spot
Natalie Portman
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/48/Natalie_Portman.jpg)
![](http://www.lahiguera.net/cinemania/actores/natalie_portman/fotos/1449/natalie_portman.jpg)
![](http://pub.tv2.no/multimedia/na/archive/00108/Natalie_Portman_108899a.JPG)
![](http://www.annuaire-web-france.com/wallpaper/cinema/Star-Wars/Star-Wars-image-natalie-portman-025.jpg)
![](http://www.celebwallpaper.org/data/media/608/Natalie-Portman-97.JPG)
Natalie Portman (Hebrew: נטלי פורטמן; born Natalie Hershlag June 9, 1981) is an Israeli American actress. Her first role came in the 1994 independent film Léon (known in the United States as The Professional). She became very widely known when she was cast as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Portman, who stated that she would "...rather be smart than be a movie star," completed a bachelor's degree in psychology at Harvard College while she was working on the Star Wars films.
In 2001, Portman opened in New York City's Public Theater production of Chekhov's The Seagull, alongside Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.[1] In 2005, Portman received a Golden Globe Award as Best Supporting Actress in the drama Closer. In May 2008, she served as the youngest member of the 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival jury.[4] Portman's directorial debut, Eve, opened the 65th Venice International Film Festival's shorts competition in 2008.[5]
Portman was born Natalie Hershlag in Jerusalem, Israel.[6][7] Her father, Avner Hershlag, is an Israeli doctor specializing in fertility and reproduction (reproductive endocrinology).[8][9] Her mother, Shelley Stevens, is an American homemaker who now works as her agent.[8] Portman's maternal ancestors were Jews from Austria and Russia and her paternal ancestors were Jews who immigrated to Israel from Poland and Romania. Her paternal grandfather's parents died in Auschwitz and her Romanian-born great-grandmother was a spy for the British during World War II.[10]Portman's parents met at a Jewish student center at Ohio State University where her mother was selling tickets. Her father returned to Israel, but the two corresponded and were married when her mother visited Israel a few years later. In 1984, when Portman was three years old, the family moved from Israel to the United States, where her father pursued his medical training. The family first lived in Washington, D.C., where she attended Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, but relocated to Connecticut in 1988, and then settled permanently in Long Island, New York, in 1990.[1] Portman has said that although she "really love the States... my heart's in Jerusalem. That's where I feel at home."[10] She is an only child and very close to her parents,[1] who are often seen with her at her film premieres.
Although she says her family was not religious,[11] Portman attended a Jewish elementary school, the Solomon Schechter Day School of Glen Cove, New York. She graduated from a public high school, Syosset High School.[1] Portman skipped the premiere of Star Wars: Episode I so she could study for her high school final exams.[12]
In June 2003, Portman graduated from Harvard College with a bachelor's degree in psychology. At Harvard, Portman was Alan Dershowitz's research assistant (he thanks her in The Case for Israel) in a psychology lab. While attending Harvard, she was a resident of Lowell House[13] and wrote a letter to the Harvard Crimson in response to an anti-Israeli essay.[14]
Portman pursued graduate studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the spring of 2004.[11] In March 2006, she appeared as a guest lecturer at a Columbia University course in terrorism and counterterrorism, where she spoke about her film V for Vendetta.[15]
In addition to being bilingual in Hebrew[16] and English, Portman has studied[17] French,[18] Japanese,[18] German,[19] and Arabic.[20]
As a student, Portman co-authored two research papers that were published in professional scientific journals. Her 1998 high school paper on the "Enzymatic Production of Hydrogen" was entered in the Intel Science Talent Search.[21] In 2002, she contributed to a study on memory called "Frontal Lobe Activation During Object Permanence" during her psychology studies at Harvard.[22] Due to her scientific publications, Portman is among a very small number of professional actors with a defined Erdős–Bacon number.[23][22][24][25][26][27][28]
Portman started dancing lessons at the age of four[1] and she performed in local troupes. At the age of ten, a Revlon agent asked her to become a child model,[29][1] but she turned down the offer, to focus on acting. In a magazine interview, Portman said that she was "...different from the other kids. I was more ambitious, I knew what I liked and what I wanted, and I worked very hard. I was a very serious kid."[30] Portman spent her school holidays attending theater camps. When she was ten, she auditioned for Ruthless!, a play about a girl who is prepared to commit murder to get the lead in a school play, and she was chosen as the understudy for Laura Bell Bundy.[11] In 1994, she auditioned for the role of a child who befriends a middle-aged hitman in Luc Besson's film Léon (aka The Professional). Soon after getting the part, she took her grandmother's maiden name "Portman" as her stage name, in the interest of privacy;[1] in the director's cut of the film on DVD she is credited as Natalie Hershlag. Léon opened on November 18, 1994, marking her feature film debut at age 13. That same year she appeared in the short film Developing, which aired on television.
During the mid-1990s, Portman had roles in the films Heat, Everyone Says I Love You, and Mars Attacks!, as well as a major role in Beautiful Girls.[1] She was also the first choice to play Juliet in William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, but producers felt her age wasn't suitable enough.[29] In 1997, Portman played the role of Anne Frank in a Broadway adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank. She initially turned down the lead role in the film Anywhere but Here, after learning it would involve a sex scene, but director Wayne Wang and actress Susan Sarandon demanded a rewrite of the script; Portman was shown a new draft, and she joined the project.[1] The film opened in late 1999, and she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Ann August.[31] Critic Mary Elizabeth Williams of Salon called Portman "astonishing", and noted that "nlike any number of actresses her age, she's neither too maudlin nor too plucky."[32] In the late 1990s, Portman was cast as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. The first part, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, opened in early 1999, and the popularity of the film made Portman well known to audiences.[1] She then signed on to play the lead role of a persevering teenaged mother in Where the Heart Is.
After filming Where the Heart Is, Portman moved into the dorms of Harvard University to pursue her bachelor's degree in psychology.[1] She said in a 1999 interview that, with the exception of the Star Wars prequels, she would not act for the next four years in order to concentrate on studying.[33] During the summer break, from June to September 2000, Portman filmed Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones in Sydney, including additional production in London. In July 2001, Portman opened in New York City's Public Theater production of Chekhov's The Seagull, directed by Mike Nichols, playing the role of Nina alongside Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.[1] The play opened at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.[34] That same year, she was one of many celebrities who made cameo appearances in the comedy Zoolander. In 2002, the film opened around the world. Portman was cast in a small role in the film Cold Mountain alongside Jude Law and Nicole Kidman.[1]
In 2004, Portman appeared in the independent movies Garden State and Closer.[1] Garden State was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival, and won Best First Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards. Her performance as Alice in Closer saw Portman win a Supporting Actress Golden Globe as well as a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination.[35][36]
2005 saw the worldwide release of the final Star Wars prequel, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith on May 19. The film was the highest grossing film of the year, and was voted Favorite Motion Picture at the People's Choice Awards. Shortly before the film's opening, Portman shaved her head for her role in the film adaptation of Alan Moore's graphic novel V for Vendetta, released in March 2006. Her shaved head was first seen publicly at the Revenge of the Sith premieres. "Making a dramatic change that isn't reversible is always a worthy experience", she said of the drastically different hairstyle, "and that sort of gave me the courage to do it."[37] She kept her hair short for most of 2005, had a fauxhawk, and briefly sported a full mohawk in late August, saying that it was "kind of wonderful to throw vanity away for a bit".[38] Also in 2005, Portman filmed Free Zone and director Miloš Forman's Goya's Ghosts. Forman had not seen any of her work, but thought she looked like a Goya painting so he requested a meeting.[39]
Portman appeared on Saturday Night Live on March 4, 2006,[40] hosting the show with musical guest Fall Out Boy and special guest star Dennis Haysbert. In a SNL Digital Short,[41] she portrays herself as an angry gangsta rapper (with Andy Samberg as her Flavor Flav-esque partner in Viking garb) during a faux-interview with Chris Parnell, saying she cheated at Harvard University while high on pot and cocaine.[42] The song, titled "Natalie's Rap", was released - alongside other sketches from the show - in 2009 on Incredibad, an album by the Lonely Island.[43] In another sketch, she portrays a student named Rebecca Hershlag (her actual surname) attending a Bar Mitzvah, and in an installment of the recurring sketch The Needlers (also known as Sally and Dan, The Couple That Should Be Divorced), plays a fertility specialist (her father's profession).
V for Vendetta opened in early 2006. Portman portrayed Evey Hammond, a young woman who is saved from the secret police by the main character, V. Portman worked with a voice coach for the role, learning to speak with an English accent, and had her head shaved.[44] Maxim magazine named Portman #33 on its annual Hot 100 list, citing her V for Vendetta hairstyle as a huge accomplishment proving "you don't need hair to be hot."[45]
Portman has commented on V for Vendetta's political relevance, and mentioned that her character, who joins an underground anti-government group, is "often bad and does things that you don't like" and that "Being from Israel was a reason I wanted to do this because terrorism and violence are such a daily part of my conversations since I was little." She said the film "doesn't make clear good or bad statements. It respects the audience enough to take away their own opinion".[46] Both Goya's Ghosts and Free Zone received limited releases in 2006. Portman starred in the children's film Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, which began filming in April 2006 and was released in November 2007; she has said that she was "excited to do a kids' movie."[44] In late 2006, Portman filmed The Other Boleyn Girl, a historical drama in which she plays Anne Boleyn; Eric Bana and Scarlett Johansson co-starred in the film. She was also named one of the hottest women of film and TV by Blender Magazine.[47]
In 2006, she filmed Wong Kar-wai's road movie My Blueberry Nights. She won acclaim for her role as gambler Leslie, because "[f]or once she's not playing a waif or a child princess but a mature, full-bodied woman,...but she's not coasting on her looks;...She uses her appeal to simultaneously flirt with and taunt the gambler across the table".[48] Portman voiced Bart Simpson's girlfriend Darcy in the episode "Little Big Girl" of The Simpsons' 18th season.[49] She also appears in Paul McCartney's music video "Dance Tonight" from his 2007 album Memory Almost Full, directed by Michel Gondry.[50] Portman co-starred in the Wes Anderson short film Hotel Chevalier, opposite Jason Schwartzman, in which she performed her first nude scene.[51] She is scheduled to star opposite Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal in the drama film Brothers, a remake of the 2004 Danish film of the same name.[52] In May 2008, Portman served as the youngest member of the 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival jury.[4]
Portman has been a vegetarian since childhood[53] and is an advocate for animal rights. She does not eat animal products or wear fur, feathers, or leather. "All of my shoes are from Target and Stella McCartney," she has said.[54] It has been reported that she will appear alongside actress Elissa Sursara in a PETA PSA to support the group's anti-fur campaign at some point throughout 2009.[55] In 2007, Natalie Portman traveled to Rwanda with Jack Hanna, to film a documentary titled Gorillas on the Brink. Later, at a naming ceremony, Portman named a baby gorilla Gukina, which means "to play."[56] In 2007, she launched her own brand of vegan footwear.[57] Portman has been an advocate of environmental causes since childhood, when she joined an environmental song and dance troupe known as World Patrol Kids.[58] She is also a member of the One Voice movement.[59]
Portman was involved with the 2004 presidential campaign of Democratic candidate John Kerry and has supported antipoverty activities. In 2004 and 2005, she traveled to Uganda, Guatemala, and Ecuador as the Ambassador of Hope for FINCA International, an organization that promotes micro-lending to help finance women-owned businesses in poor countries.[60] In an interview conducted backstage at the Live 8 concert in Philadelphia and appearing on the PBS program Foreign Exchange with Fareed Zakaria, she discussed microfinance.[61] Host Fareed Zakaria said that he was "generally wary of celebrities with fashionable causes", but included the segment with Portman because "she really knew her stuff."[62] In the "Voices" segment of the April 29, 2007, episode of the ABC Sunday Morning Program This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Portman discussed her work with FINCA and how it can benefit women and children in Third World countries.[63] In fall 2007, Portman visited several university campuses, including Harvard, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Stanford, Princeton, New York University, and Columbia, to inspire students with the power of microfinance and to encourage them to join the Village Banking Campaign to help families and communities lift themselves out of poverty.[64]
Portman has had romantic links with actors including Gael García Bernal and Jake Gyllenhaal.[68] In the May 2002 issue of Vogue, Portman called actor/musician Lukas Haas and musician Moby her close friends.[69] She was linked to Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, but he claims they are friends.[70] She reportedly dated Nat Rothschild, of the famous multi-billionaire banking family.[71] After starring in the video for his song "Carmensita," she began dating Venezuelan folk singer Devendra Banhart.[72] They broke up in September 2008. [73]
just thought I'd let you all know that in all likelihood most of these will be posted tomorrow since my brother is visiting for a few hours today and it's the 4th of July too
anyways....
tied at 34 are 7 hotties
Eva Mendes
![](http://i726.photobucket.com/albums/ww262/nime2407/eva_mendes.jpg)
Eva Mendes (born March 5, 1974) is an American actress. She began acting in the late 1990s, and became known after a series of roles in several major Hollywood films, including 2 Fast 2 Furious, Hitch, Training Day, We Own the Night and The Spirit.
One day Mendes caught the eye of an agent who convinced her to pursue acting more steadily. She worked her way up through commercials to music videos, including an appearance in Will Smith's video "Miami" and the Pet Shop Boys music video for "Se a vida é (That’s the way life is)" in 1996 and Aerosmith's video "Hole in My Soul" in 1997, to guest roles in soap operas and supporting film roles. Her first film appearance was in the direct-to-video Children of the Corn V: Fields of Terror.
Mendes received her first big-screen break when she appeared in the award-winning and critically-acclaimed Training Day. That performance led to roles in Stuck on You, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, and as the female lead in the comedy Hitch opposite Will Smith. Her role in Once Upon a Time in Mexico also gave her a nomination at the Teen Choice Awards. Mendes has also been in commercials for Gushers, Revlon, and Levi's. Mendes costarred in Ghost Rider with Nicolas Cage, and most recently starred alongside Joaquin Phoenix, Mark Wahlberg, and Robert Duvall in the film We Own the Night, and Gabriel Macht, Samuel L. Jackson and Scarlett Johansson in The Spirit.
Along with acting, Mendes is employed by Revlon Cosmetics as an international spokeswoman. She joins such elite actresses and models as Julianne Moore, Halle Berry and Cindy Crawford, who appear in Revlon's television and print ads. She is also a passionate supporter and active participant in Revlon's fight against breast cancer.
"Maxim" ranked Mendes #7 in its 2007 Hot 100 issue. She also made her second Maxim cover in the November 2007 issue.
Mendes, despite resisting offers from Playboy, appeared naked in Flaunt Magazine. Although her breasts weren't exposed, readers did get to see her bare back and buttocks. Mendes said about the shoot, "I actually did a little nude shot. You won't see anything. I was covering myself... but I love 'Flaunt.' I think their artwork is some of the best artwork out there as far as photography is concerned, so I took it off. I felt really comfortable, it was fun. There's something really liberating about it." She also appeared nude in an ad for Calvin Klein's Secret Obsession perfume.
In December 2007, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) used a nude photo of Mendes for their anti-fur campaign alongside the tagline "Fur? I'd rather go naked." Mendes is also a spokesmodel for the 2008 Calendar of Campari, inspired in fairy tales, by photographer Marino Parisotto.[6]
In 2008, Mendes starred in The Women, a comedy ensemble film featuring Meg Ryan, Annette Bening, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Debra Messing. The film, which was produced by Victoria Pearman and Mick Jagger of Jagged Films, Bill Johnson of Inferno Productions, and English, is being released by Picturehouse, a joint venture of HBO and New Line Cinema.
Mendes was voted as No. 4 in the 2008 and No. 1 in the 2009 edition of AskMen.com's Top 99 Most Desirable Women.
Mendes posed topless with her breasts exposed for "Vogue Italy" in May, 2008.[8]
Mendes was announced as the international face of Australia's 30 Days of Fashion & Beauty event in July 2008. She will make guest appearances in that country at the month-long festival in September.[9]
On September 4, 2008, Mendes announced she was launching a line of bed linens that will hit Macy's stores later in the month.[10] In October, she toured various Harrod's stores across Europe to promote Calvin Klein's Seductive Comfort line of lingerie.[11]
Mendes was announced as the international face of Australia's 30 Days of Fashion & Beauty event in July 2008. She will make guest appearances in that country at the month-long festival in September.[9]
On September 4, 2008, Mendes announced she was launching a line of bed linens that will hit Macy's stores later in the month.[10] In October, she toured various Harrod's stores across Europe to promote Calvin Klein's Seductive Comfort line of lingerie.[11]
Mendes is in negotiations to star in the American remake of acclaimed Mexican film Y Tu Mamá También. She is also starring in Last Night with Keira Knightley, Sam Worthington and Guillaume Canet.[12]
Mendes also appeared in the music video The End Has No End by the Strokes.
So Cal Val
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Valerie_Wyndham_2.jpg)
Valerie Elizabeth Wyndham[1] (born March 27, 1986) is an American professional wrestling valet, better known by her ring name, SoCal Val. She is currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
Valerie Wyndham was approached by a promoter at a wrestling show and offered the possibility of being a manager.[2] She debuted in March 2002 for the Golden State Championship Wrestling independent promotion in Anaheim, California.[1] She acted as the manager of Pinoy Boy. She promptly betrayed him by berating him after he was defeated by Scott Lost and then leaving with Lost. From the age of fifteen, she acted as a manager, ring girl, and timekeeper.[1] She appeared for several other promotions in Southern California before her family moved across the country to Orlando, Florida when she was sixteen. Wyndham developed the character of SoCal Val, a wealthy, petulant, ruthless villain, who was based on Stephanie McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment, whom Wyndham admired.[1][2]
In addition to working for multiple independent promotions, Wyndham appeared with World Wrestling Entertainment in early 2005 on SmackDown! as part of a vignette featuring Luther Reigns.[1] She regularly appears with the Orlando based promotion Total Nonstop Action Wrestling, working variously as a ring girl and merchandise model beginning in June 2005.[1] She appeared at TNA's No Surrender pay-per-view on July 17, 2005 alongside ring announcer Jeremy Borash and used to be an interviewer on the now defunct TNA Global Impact!.
As a part of Women's Extreme Wrestling (WEW), Wyndham started out as an "executive" under Francine Fournier.[1] Wyndham later wrestled Francine in a Kiss My Foot match, which Wyndham lost.[1] She later became the General Manager of WEW.In 2007 she starred in RingDivas second feature film, Girls of War.
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/0/02/We_want_hogan_val.jpg)
In August 2006, SoCal Val officially signed with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA). On August 18, SoCal Val got kicked out by the Women's Extreme Wrestling promotion at their PPV taping event Twisted Steel and Sex Appeal. On the December 14, 2006 episode of Impact!, Kurt Angle dragged her in the ring and threatened to break her ankle until Jim Cornette talked him into letting her go. On the March 8, 2007 episode of Impact!, SoCal Val got injured after receiving the Black Hole Slam from Abyss.
In 2008, Val entered into an on-screen relationship with Jay Lethal with signs of Sonjay Dutt also showing affection for Val. Lethal lost his X Division championship to Petey Williams after a Canadian Destroyer on the April 17 episode of Impact!. As part of the storyline, at Slammiversary, Val was scheduled to marry Lethal, but their wedding was ruined when Sonjay Dutt claimed he should marry Val and attacked Lethal. At No Surrender, she became a heel by giving Lethal a low blow, allowing Dutt to get the victory. In the following weeks, Val's actions were explained by transitioning her character into a gold digger, claiming that Dutt's father was the richest man in India. In 2009, Dutt was released thus ending the storyline.
She returned to her previous role as a ring girl on the April 2, 2009 edition of Impact!. She began working as a backstage interviewer beginning on the Sacrifice pre-show.
In July 2006, Valerie was contacted by Playboy about doing a spread for the magazine. She commented about it on her MySpace blog, saying: "It's a very serious thing to consider and the jury is still out on how I am going to handle this one. I've spoken to the people in my life whose opinions I value most, and each has been very supportive. For that I am grateful....but this is one I'm going to have to decide all on my own." She ended up declining the offer.[3] She has also been in advertisements for Morphoplex.[1] In 2009, Valerie appeared in a video promo for the F.E.A.R. 2 game, dressed as an Armacham FEAR AWAY nurse. [4]
other hotness tied at this spot
Jennifer Love Hewitt
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Jennifer_Love_Hewitt_LF2.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/cb/JenniferLoveHewitt.jpg)
Jennifer Love Hewitt (born February 21, 1979) is an American actress, voice actress, and singer-songwriter. Hewitt began her acting career as a child by appearing in television commercials and the Disney Channel series Kids Incorporated. She rose to fame in teenage popular culture via her roles in the Fox series Party of Five, as Sarah Reeves, and the films I Know What You Did Last Summer and its sequel, as Julie James.
As a singer, Hewitt has been signed by Atlantic Records and Jive Records.[2] She is primarily known for her recordings in the pop genre and has a contralto vocal range. To date, her most successful single on the Billboard Hot 100 is the 1999 release "How Do I Deal," which peaked at #59.[3] In addition, she has contributed music to the promotion or soundtracks of acting projects.[4]
Hewitt's physical appearance has been the subject of much media attention throughout her career. Named the sexiest woman in the world in 1999[5] and the sexiest woman on television in 2008,[6] she has been repeatedly honored by publications such as Maxim, TV Guide, FHM, and numerous readers of these periodicals. In 2007, paparazzi photos of Hewitt on a beach led to a much-publicized matter in which she defended her weight, and was supported by other celebrities. These incidents received coverage from People magazine.[7]
In addition to acting, Hewitt has also served as a producer on certain film or television projects.[8] She can be seen on the CBS television program Ghost Whisperer as Melinda Gordon, a young woman who can communicate with ghosts. She won a Saturn Award in 2007 and 2008 for Best Actress on Television.
Jessica Biel
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/JessicaBielstealthpremiere.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/Josh_Lucas_and_Jessica_Biel_2005_050716-N-0902H-032.jpg)
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Jessica Claire Biel (born March 3, 1982)[1] is an American actress and former model, who has appeared in several Hollywood films, including Summer Catch, the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Illusionist and I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. She is also known for her television role as Mary Camden in the long-running family-drama series 7th Heaven.
At age 14, after auditioning for several television pilots, Biel was cast as the oldest daughter in the family drama, 7th Heaven. The show was originally scheduled to air on FOX, but was picked up by The WB Television Network instead. 7th Heaven would go on to last for 11 seasons, making it the longest-running family drama in U.S. television history, and also became the highest-rated show on The WB.
Biel landed her first feature film role, playing Peter Fonda's granddaughter in the critically-acclaimed drama Ulee's Gold, released in 1997. Her performance earned her a Young Artist Award.
In spring 1998, during a break from filming 7th Heaven, Biel starred in the holiday movie I'll Be Home for Christmas, playing opposite Jonathan Taylor Thomas.
In 2000, during the fourth season of 7th Heaven, Biel commented that she grew tired of playing the wholesome preacher's kid, and blamed the show for giving her a squeaky-clean image, which caused her to lose out on a role in American Beauty (the part went to Thora Birch). In a last ditch attempt to be let out of her contract, she posed semi-nude for the cover of Gear magazine. Fans and producers of 7th Heaven were outraged, and the shoot also sparked a lot of controversy, as Biel was still a minor at the time, but Aaron Spelling made it clear that Biel would be staying with the show until her contract was due to expire (although, she appeared in minimal episodes in season five, due to her attending college out of state). She has now claimed that she regrets the Gear shoot, but considers it a learning experience.[4]
In 2001, Biel played the love interest of Freddie Prinze, Jr. in the baseball themed movie, Summer Catch. The next year, she starred as promiscuous college student Lara in the ensemble, The Rules of Attraction, a film adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel of the same name.
After leaving 7th Heaven at the end of the sixth season, Biel was cast as the lead heroine in the remake of The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The film was met with mixed reviews, but became a box office success, scoring the number one spot in its opening week.
In fall 2003, Biel began working on the third installment of the Blade film series, Blade: Trinity. Almost immediately after finishing Blade Trinity in 2004, she headed to Australia to shoot the action/thriller Stealth. Part of the film was shot aboard USS Abraham Lincoln. Both movies were critical and box office failures. Stealth had a budget of $130 million, but grossed just $76 million worldwide. Biel also made a notable cameo appearance in the 2004 film Cellular, which starred her then real-life boyfriend Chris Evans.
Biel went on to audition for the role of Claire Colburn in the romantic comedy Elizabethtown, but the role was eventually given to Kirsten Dunst. Biel was instead cast as Ellen Kishmore, a smaller role. She then played in the indie flick London, opposite then-boyfriend Chris Evans.
Biel's film career blossomed when she played a turn-of-the-century duchess in the period piece, The Illusionist, co-starring Edward Norton and Paul Giamatti. The movie received mostly-positive reviews, and was a turning point for Biel, who had previously played more contemporary roles. She was awarded the Rising Star Award at the Palm Springs International Film Festival and won an Achievement Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival for her performance.
Biel played an Iraq War veteran in the 2006 film Home of the Brave, a drama about soldiers struggling to adjust back into society after facing the hardships of war. Her performance was well-received, but the movie was a commercial failure. After being pulled from theaters twice, it eventually went straight to DVD in late 2007. Biel and Home of the Brave co-star Samuel L. Jackson were nominated for Prism Awards for their performances.
Meanwhile, after a three-year absence, Biel surprised fans by returning for what was to be the series finale of 7th Heaven (the show was later unexpectedly renewed at the last minute by The CW Television Network). The episode had already been initially shot, but producer and creator Brenda Hampton was determined to have Biel featured in the episode, so Biel agreed to shoot her scenes during a break from filming her upcoming 2007 movie Next.
In Next, Biel played alongside Nicolas Cage and Julianne Moore. She then played in the summer comedy, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, co-starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James. Like her earlier film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Chuck and Larry received mixed reviews, but opened its first week at number one at the box office. She also produced and starred in a short film titled Hole in the Paper Sky, which was released in 2008.
Biel was invited to announce nominations at both the Golden Globe Awards (with Rosario Dawson and Matthew Perry) and the Academy Awards in 2007.
In late 2007, Biel signed on to play a stripper in Powder Blue, alongside Forest Whitaker (who also produced the film) Ray Liotta and Patrick Swayze. This is her first film in which she appears nude.[citation needed]
At the start of 2008, Biel flew to England to shoot Easy Virtue, an adaptation of the play by Noël Coward. Like the play, the movie is set in the 1920s and Biel plays divorcee Larita, who marries John Whittaker in a spur-of-the-moment in France, but must face her disapproving in-laws when they return to England. The film premiered in September 2008 at the Toronto International Film Festival.[5] The film opened to great reviews with the Hollywood Reporter describing her performance as "an irresistible force of nature — a kind, witty, supremely intelligent and beautiful woman who ... is capable of rejoinders that thoroughly undercut her opponent's withering criticism."[6]
In April 2008, Biel began working on the political satire Nailed, with Jake Gyllenhaal. The movie centers around a woman who accidentally gets a nail lodged in her head causing her to become a nymphomaniac. Filming wrapped up in late-June after several production shut downs. The movie is due to be released in 2009.
Biel has a few other movies in the pipeline, including the animated sci-fi Planet 51, to which Biel is lending her voice. She is also co-producing and starring in Die a Little, a contemporary adaptation of the novel by Megan Abbott. A start date for filming has not yet been set.
In 2009 Biel presented the Academy Scientific and Technical Awards ceremony.[7]
another lady of wrestling appears at this spot
Joy Giovanni
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Joy Giovanni (born January 20, 1978) she is of italian heritage. Giovanni is an American actress, glamour model a host on blog talk radio, and former WWE Diva. She is best known for her time with World Wrestling Entertainment, working on its SmackDown! brand. Joy was released from WWE in the year of 2005. You can now catch Joy Giovanni every Tuesday on a blogtalkradio show called Fuchsia, the link should appear in the external links section but if not it is blogtalkradio.com/Fuchsia-. Be sure to tune in and check it out as you will not be disappointed. Joy Giovanni is said to be good friends with the likes of Candice Michelle, the two are said to be close and personal. Giovanni enjoys kick boxing and dates with ruuning machines, as she enjoys keeping up her fittness. Giovanni has also studied massage therapy and has played field hockey and was a cheerleader.
Giovanni won the 2001 L.A. Model Expo.[1] She competed in the 2004 and 2005 Lingerie Bowl events. Giovanni was in the Avenged Sevenfold music video for "Beast and the Harlot".[citation needed] She was also a panelist for the G4 show Video Game Vixens.[1] In 2004 and 2005, respectively, she appeared in two films: Instinct vs. Reason and When All Else Fails.[1] Giovanni has also confirmed that she will be starring in an up coming film and filming starts soon, name of the film is still unknown but it should be a great film so keep an eye out for it.
Giovanni participated in 2004 Diva Search, though after finishing third place in the competition, WWE signed her to a contract just a few days after her elimination.[2] Joy debuted on SmackDown! as a massage therapist,[1] and she began a feud with Amy Weber. The two became involved in Big Show's feud with JBL, with Giovanni as the on-screen girlfriend of Big Show. The feud included a part where Joy was kidnapped and discovered, bound and gagged in JBL's limo trunk, as well as a backstage catfight between Amy and herself. After Weber's departure from WWE, Joy won the 2005 Rookie Diva of the Year contest at No Way Out.[1] After this win, she occasionally appeared on SmackDown! during backstage segments with other Divas or occasional bikini and lingerie contests before she was released from her contract in the summer of 2005.[1]
Giovanni made a one-off appearance during the 25 Divas Battle Royal to determnine Miss Wrestlemania at WWE's WrestleMania XXV alongside various other past WWE Divas.[3] Giovanni was eliminated early on in the contest.
Alicia Keys
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Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), better known by her stage name Alicia Keys, is an American recording artist, musician and actress. She was raised in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan in New York by her single mother, where Keys made a television appearance on The Cosby Show at the age of four. She attended Professional Performing Arts School and graduated at 16. She later attended Columbia University before dropping out to pursue her music career. Keys released her debut album with J Records, having had previous record deals first with Columbia and then Arista Records.
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Keys' debut album, Songs in A Minor, was a commercial success, selling over 12 million copies worldwide. She became the best-selling new artist and best-selling R&B artist of 2001. The album earned Keys five Grammy Awards in 2002, including Best New Artist and Song of the Year for "Fallin'". Her second studio album, The Diary of Alicia Keys, was released in 2003 and was also another success worldwide, selling eight million copies. The album garnered her an additional four Grammy Awards in 2005. Later that year, she released her first live album, Unplugged, which debuted at number one in the United States. She became the first female to have an MTV Unplugged album to debut at number one and the highest since Nirvana in 1994.
Keys made guest appearances in several television series in the following years. She made her film debut in Smokin' Aces and went on to appear in The Nanny Diaries in 2007. Her third studio album, As I Am, was released in the same year and sold six million copies worldwide, earning Keys an additional three Grammy Awards. The following year, she appeared in The Secret Life of Bees, which earned her a nomination at the NAACP Image Awards. Throughout her career, Keys has won numerous awards and has sold over 30 million albums worldwide, establishing herself as one of the best-selling artists of her time.
Keys was born Alicia Augello Cook on January 25, 1981, in the Hell's Kitchen area of Manhattan, in New York City, New York.[1][2] She is the daughter and only child of Irish-Italian mother Teresa Augello, a paralegal and part-time actress, and Jamaican father Craig Cook, a flight attendant.[3][4][5][6] She expressed that she was comfortable with her biracial heritage because she felt she was able to "relate to different cultures".[2][7] Her parents separated when she was two and she was subsequently raised by her mother during her formative years in Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan.[8] In 1985, Keys made an appearance on The Cosby Show at the age of four, where she and a group of girls played the parts of Rudy Huxtable's sleepover guests in the episode "Slumber Party".[9][10] Throughout her childhood, Keys was sent to music and dance classes by her mother.[11] She began playing the piano when she was seven and learned classical music by composers such as Beethoven, Mozart and Chopin.[3] She enrolled in the Professional Performing Arts School at the age of 12, where she majored in choir and began writing songs at the age of 14.[4][12] She graduated in three years as valedictorian at the age of 16.[13] She was accepted to Columbia University and had a recording contract with Columbia Records; she attempted to manage both, but dropped out of college after four weeks to pursue her musical career.[13][14]
Keys signed a demo deal with Jermaine Dupri and So So Def Recordings, where she appeared on the label's Christmas album performing "The Little Drummer Girl". She also co-wrote and recorded a song entitled "Dah Dee Dah (Sexy Thing)", which appeared on the soundtrack to the 1997 film, Men in Black.[14] The song was Keys' first professional recording; however, it was never released as a single and her record contract with Columbia ended after a dispute with the label. Keys called Clive Davis, who sensed a "special, unique" artist from her performance and signed her to Arista Records, which later disbanded.[1][2] Keys almost chose Wilde as her stage name until her manager suggested the name Keys after a dream he had. Keys felt that name represented her both as a performer and person.[15] Following Davis to his newly formed J Records label, she recorded the songs "Rock wit U" and "Rear View Mirror", which were featured on the soundtracks to the films Shaft (2000) and Dr. Dolittle 2 (2001), respectively.[16][17]
Keys released her first studio album, Songs in A Minor, in June 2001. It debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold 236,000 copies in its first week.[19] The album sold six million copies in the United States,[20] where it was certified six times Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[21] It went on to sell over 12 million copies worldwide,[22] establishing Keys' popularity both inside and outside the United States, where she became the best-selling new artist and best-selling R&B artist of 2001.[23] The album's lead single, "Fallin'", spent six weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100.[24] The album's second single, "A Woman's Worth", peaked at number three on the same chart.[25] The following year, the album was reissued as Remixed & Unplugged in A Minor, which included eight remixes and seven unplugged versions of the songs from the original.
Songs in A Minor led Keys to win five awards at the 2002 Grammy Awards: Song of the Year, Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, and Best R&B Song for "Fallin'", Best New Artist, and Best R&B Album; "Fallin'" was also nominated for Record of the Year. Keys became the second female solo artist to win five Grammy Awards in a single night, following Lauryn Hill at the 41st Grammy Awards.[26] That same year, she collaborated with Christina Aguilera for the latter's upcoming album Stripped on a song entitled "Impossible", which Keys wrote, co-produced, and provided with background vocals.[27] During the early 2000s, Keys also made small cameos in television series Charmed and American Dreams.[3]
Keys followed up her debut with The Diary of Alicia Keys, which was released in December 2003. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling over 618,000 copies its first week of release, becoming the largest first week sales for a female artist in 2003.[28] It sold 4.4 million copies in the United States and was certified four times Platinum by the RIAA.[21][29] It sold eight million copies worldwide,[30] becoming the sixth biggest-selling album by a female artist and the second biggest-selling album by a female R&B artist.[31] The singles "You Don't Know My Name" and "If I Ain't Got You" both reached the top five of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and the third single, "Diary", entered the top ten.[32][33][34] The fourth single, "Karma", was less successful on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 20.[35] "If I Ain't Got You" became the first single by a female artist to remain on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart for over a year.[36]
Keys won Best R&B Video for "If I Ain't Got You" at the 2004 MTV Video Music Awards; she performed the song and "Higher Ground" with Lenny Kravitz and Stevie Wonder.[37][38] Later that year, Keys released her novel Tears for Water: Songbook of Poems and Lyrics, a collection of unreleased poems from her journals and lyrics. The title derived from one of her poems, "Love and Chains" from the line: "I don't mind drinking my tears for water."[39] She said the title is the foundation of her writing because "everything I have ever written has stemmed from my tears of joy, of pain, of sorrow, of depression, even of question".[40] The book sold over $500,000 and Keys made The New York Times bestseller list in 2005.[41][42] The following year, she won a second consecutive award for Best R&B Video at the MTV Video Music Awards for the video "Karma".[43] Keys performed "If I Ain't Got You" and then joined Jamie Foxx and Quincy Jones in a rendition of "Georgia on My Mind", the Hoagy Carmichael song made famous by Ray Charles in 1960 at the 2005 Grammy Awards.[44] That evening, she won four Grammy Awards: Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "If I Ain't Got You", Best R&B Song for "You Don't Know My Name", Best R&B Album for The Diary of Alicia Keys, and Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals" for "My Boo" with Usher.[45]
Keys performed and taped her installment of the MTV Unplugged series in July 2005 at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.[46] During this session, Keys added new arrangements to her original songs and performed a few choice covers.[47] The session was released on CD and DVD in October 2005. Simply titled Unplugged, the album debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart with 196,000 units sold in its first week of release.[48] The album sold one million copies in the United States, where it was certified Platinum by the RIAA, and two million copies worldwide.[3][21][49] The debut of Keys' Unplugged was the highest for an MTV Unplugged album since Nirvana's 1994 MTV Unplugged in New York and the first Unplugged by a female artist to debut at number one.[23] The album's first single, "Unbreakable", peaked at number 34 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number four on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[50] It remained at number one on the Billboard Hot Adult R&B Airplay for 11 weeks.[51]
Keys opened a recording studio in Long Island, New York, called The Oven Studios, which she co-owns with her production and songwriting partner Kerry "Krucial" Brothers.[52] The studio was designed by renowned studio architect John Storyk of WSDG, designer of Jimi Hendrix' Electric Lady Studios. Keys and Brothers are the co-founders of KrucialKeys Enterprises, a production and songwriting team who assisted Keys in creating her albums as well as create music for other artists.[53]
In 2006, Keys won three NAACP Image Awards, including Outstanding Female Artist and Outstanding Song for "Unbreakable".[54] She also received the Starlight Award by the Songwriters Hall of Fame.[55] In October 2006, she played the voice of Mommy Martian in the "Mission to Mars" episode of the children's television series The Backyardigans, in which she sang an original song, "Almost Everything Is Boinga Here".[56] That same year, Keys nearly suffered a breakdown. Her grandmother had died and her family was heavily dependent on her. She felt she needed to "escape" and went to Egypt for three weeks. She explained: "That trip was definitely the most crucial thing I've ever done for myself in my life to date. It was a very difficult time that I was dealing with, and it just came to the point where I really needed to—basically, I just needed to run away, honestly. And I needed to get as far away as possible."[57][58]
Keys made her film debut in early 2007 in the crime film Smokin' Aces, co-starring as an assassin named Georgia Sykes opposite Ben Affleck and Andy García. Keys received much praise from her co-stars in the film; Reynolds said that Keys was "so natural" and that she would "blow everybody away".[59][60] In the same year, Keys earned further praise for her second film, The Nanny Diaries, based on the 2002 novel of the same name, where she co-starred alongside Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans.[61] She also guest starred as herself in the "One Man Is an Island" episode of the drama series Cane.[62]
Keys released her third studio album, As I Am, in November 2007; it debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling 742,000 copies in its first week. It gained Keys her largest first week sales of her career and became her fourth consecutive number one album, tying her with Britney Spears for the most consecutive number-one debuts on the Billboard 200 by a female artist.[63][64] The week became the second largest sales week of 2007 and the largest sales week for a female solo artist since singer Norah Jones' album Feels like Home in 2004.[65] The album has sold nearly four million copies in the United States and has been certified three times Platinum by the RIAA.[66][67] It has sold nearly six million copies worldwide.[68] Keys received five nominations for As I Am at the 2008 American Music Award and ultimately won two.[69] The album's lead single, "No One", peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, becoming Keys' third and fifth number-one single on each chart, respectively.[70]. The album's second single, "Like You'll Never See Me Again", was released in late 2007 and peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number one on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[71] The album's third single, "Teenage Love Affair", peaked at number three on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.[71] She released the fourth single, "Superwoman", which peaked at number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 12 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.[71][72]
"No One" earned Keys the awards for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance and Best R&B Song at the 2008 Grammy Awards.[73] Keys opened the ceremony singing Frank Sinatra's 1950s song "Learnin' the Blues" as a "duet" with archival footage of Sinatra in video and "No One" with John Mayer later in the show.[74] Keys also won Best Female R&B Artist during the show.[75] She starred in "Fresh Takes", a commercial micro-series created by Dove Go Fresh, which premiered during The Hills on MTV from March to April 2008. The premiere celebrated the launch of new Dove Go Fresh.[76] She also signed a deal as spokesperson with Glacéau's VitaminWater to endorse the product,[77] and was in an American Express commercial for the "Are you a Cardmember?" campaign.[78] Keys, along with The White Stripes' guitarist and lead vocalist Jack White, recorded a theme song to Quantum of Solace, the first duet in Bond soundtrack history.[79] In 2008, Keys was ranked in at number 80 the Billboard Hot 100 All-Time Top Artists.[80] She also starred in The Secret Life of Bees, a film adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd's acclaimed 2003 bestseller novel of the same name alongside Jennifer Hudson and Queen Latifah, released in October 2008 via Fox Searchlight.[81] Her role earned her a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture at the NAACP Image Awards.[82] She also received three nominations at the 2009 Grammy Awards and won Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Superwoman".[83]
In an interview with Blender magazine, Keys allegedly said "'Gangsta rap' was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other, 'gangsta rap' didn't exist" and went on to say that it was created by "the government". The magazine also claimed she said that Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. were "essentially assassinated, their beefs stoked by the government and the media, to stop another great black leader from existing".[12] Keys later wrote a statement clarifying the issues and saying her words were misinterpreted.[84] Later that year, Keys was criticized by anti-smoking campaigners after billboard posters for her forthcoming concerts in Indonesia featured a logo for the A Mild cigarette brand sponsored by tobacco firm Philip Morris. She apologized after discovering that the concert was sponsored by the firm and asked for "corrective actions". In response, the company withdrew its sponsorship.[85]
Keys and manager Jeff Robinson signed a film production deal to develop live-action and animated projects with Disney. Their first film will be a remake of the 1958 comedy Bell, Book and Candle and will star Keys as a witch who casts a love spell to lure a rival's fiancé.[86] Keys and Robinson also formed a television production company called Big Pita.[87] Keys and Robinson will develop live-action and animated projects from their company, Big Pita and Little Pita, with Keys as producer, thespian, banner spearheading soundtrack and music supervision.[88]
Keys is expected to play a 1940s biracial piano child prodigy, Philippa Schuyler, in an upcoming film entitled Compositions in Black and White. It is based on a 1995 biographical book of the same name by Kathryn Talalay.[89] "The challenge, in order to actually be able to play classical piano as a woman of mixed race, was by far more than I could ever imagine", Keys said, "That's what intrigued me about that role." The biopic will tell the difficult tale of Schuyler's controversial career, love-hate relationship with her mother, and the black community, her second career as a writer, and her eventual death in a helicopter accident. "Her story is very deep, even up to the point where the relationship between her and her mother gets very strained and she chooses to go to Europe and pass as a Spanish woman in order to be able to play, in order to be able to live a more normal life", Keys said, adding that she and Halle Berry hoped to start shooting in early 2008, but has not been filmed to date. "As of right now, we're still in the first, second draft of the script", she said, "So a little bit of time—at least a year."[90]
It has been reported that Keys will release her fourth studio album in late 2009. As part of the promotional drive for the album, she will be performing at the Cayman Island Jazz Festival on December 5, the final night of the three day festival which will be broadcast on BET.[91] In June 2009, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers honored Keys with the Golden Note Award, an award given to artists "who have achieved extraordinary career milestones".[92]
FINALLY the last lady tied at the 34th spot
Natalie Portman
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Natalie Portman (Hebrew: נטלי פורטמן; born Natalie Hershlag June 9, 1981) is an Israeli American actress. Her first role came in the 1994 independent film Léon (known in the United States as The Professional). She became very widely known when she was cast as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. Portman, who stated that she would "...rather be smart than be a movie star," completed a bachelor's degree in psychology at Harvard College while she was working on the Star Wars films.
In 2001, Portman opened in New York City's Public Theater production of Chekhov's The Seagull, alongside Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.[1] In 2005, Portman received a Golden Globe Award as Best Supporting Actress in the drama Closer. In May 2008, she served as the youngest member of the 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival jury.[4] Portman's directorial debut, Eve, opened the 65th Venice International Film Festival's shorts competition in 2008.[5]
Portman was born Natalie Hershlag in Jerusalem, Israel.[6][7] Her father, Avner Hershlag, is an Israeli doctor specializing in fertility and reproduction (reproductive endocrinology).[8][9] Her mother, Shelley Stevens, is an American homemaker who now works as her agent.[8] Portman's maternal ancestors were Jews from Austria and Russia and her paternal ancestors were Jews who immigrated to Israel from Poland and Romania. Her paternal grandfather's parents died in Auschwitz and her Romanian-born great-grandmother was a spy for the British during World War II.[10]Portman's parents met at a Jewish student center at Ohio State University where her mother was selling tickets. Her father returned to Israel, but the two corresponded and were married when her mother visited Israel a few years later. In 1984, when Portman was three years old, the family moved from Israel to the United States, where her father pursued his medical training. The family first lived in Washington, D.C., where she attended Charles E. Smith Jewish Day School, but relocated to Connecticut in 1988, and then settled permanently in Long Island, New York, in 1990.[1] Portman has said that although she "really love
Although she says her family was not religious,[11] Portman attended a Jewish elementary school, the Solomon Schechter Day School of Glen Cove, New York. She graduated from a public high school, Syosset High School.[1] Portman skipped the premiere of Star Wars: Episode I so she could study for her high school final exams.[12]
In June 2003, Portman graduated from Harvard College with a bachelor's degree in psychology. At Harvard, Portman was Alan Dershowitz's research assistant (he thanks her in The Case for Israel) in a psychology lab. While attending Harvard, she was a resident of Lowell House[13] and wrote a letter to the Harvard Crimson in response to an anti-Israeli essay.[14]
Portman pursued graduate studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in the spring of 2004.[11] In March 2006, she appeared as a guest lecturer at a Columbia University course in terrorism and counterterrorism, where she spoke about her film V for Vendetta.[15]
In addition to being bilingual in Hebrew[16] and English, Portman has studied[17] French,[18] Japanese,[18] German,[19] and Arabic.[20]
As a student, Portman co-authored two research papers that were published in professional scientific journals. Her 1998 high school paper on the "Enzymatic Production of Hydrogen" was entered in the Intel Science Talent Search.[21] In 2002, she contributed to a study on memory called "Frontal Lobe Activation During Object Permanence" during her psychology studies at Harvard.[22] Due to her scientific publications, Portman is among a very small number of professional actors with a defined Erdős–Bacon number.[23][22][24][25][26][27][28]
Portman started dancing lessons at the age of four[1] and she performed in local troupes. At the age of ten, a Revlon agent asked her to become a child model,[29][1] but she turned down the offer, to focus on acting. In a magazine interview, Portman said that she was "...different from the other kids. I was more ambitious, I knew what I liked and what I wanted, and I worked very hard. I was a very serious kid."[30] Portman spent her school holidays attending theater camps. When she was ten, she auditioned for Ruthless!, a play about a girl who is prepared to commit murder to get the lead in a school play, and she was chosen as the understudy for Laura Bell Bundy.[11] In 1994, she auditioned for the role of a child who befriends a middle-aged hitman in Luc Besson's film Léon (aka The Professional). Soon after getting the part, she took her grandmother's maiden name "Portman" as her stage name, in the interest of privacy;[1] in the director's cut of the film on DVD she is credited as Natalie Hershlag. Léon opened on November 18, 1994, marking her feature film debut at age 13. That same year she appeared in the short film Developing, which aired on television.
During the mid-1990s, Portman had roles in the films Heat, Everyone Says I Love You, and Mars Attacks!, as well as a major role in Beautiful Girls.[1] She was also the first choice to play Juliet in William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, but producers felt her age wasn't suitable enough.[29] In 1997, Portman played the role of Anne Frank in a Broadway adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank. She initially turned down the lead role in the film Anywhere but Here, after learning it would involve a sex scene, but director Wayne Wang and actress Susan Sarandon demanded a rewrite of the script; Portman was shown a new draft, and she joined the project.[1] The film opened in late 1999, and she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Ann August.[31] Critic Mary Elizabeth Williams of Salon called Portman "astonishing", and noted that "nlike any number of actresses her age, she's neither too maudlin nor too plucky."[32] In the late 1990s, Portman was cast as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel trilogy. The first part, Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace, opened in early 1999, and the popularity of the film made Portman well known to audiences.[1] She then signed on to play the lead role of a persevering teenaged mother in Where the Heart Is.
After filming Where the Heart Is, Portman moved into the dorms of Harvard University to pursue her bachelor's degree in psychology.[1] She said in a 1999 interview that, with the exception of the Star Wars prequels, she would not act for the next four years in order to concentrate on studying.[33] During the summer break, from June to September 2000, Portman filmed Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones in Sydney, including additional production in London. In July 2001, Portman opened in New York City's Public Theater production of Chekhov's The Seagull, directed by Mike Nichols, playing the role of Nina alongside Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.[1] The play opened at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park.[34] That same year, she was one of many celebrities who made cameo appearances in the comedy Zoolander. In 2002, the film opened around the world. Portman was cast in a small role in the film Cold Mountain alongside Jude Law and Nicole Kidman.[1]
In 2004, Portman appeared in the independent movies Garden State and Closer.[1] Garden State was an official selection of the Sundance Film Festival, and won Best First Feature at the Independent Spirit Awards. Her performance as Alice in Closer saw Portman win a Supporting Actress Golden Globe as well as a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination.[35][36]
2005 saw the worldwide release of the final Star Wars prequel, Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith on May 19. The film was the highest grossing film of the year, and was voted Favorite Motion Picture at the People's Choice Awards. Shortly before the film's opening, Portman shaved her head for her role in the film adaptation of Alan Moore's graphic novel V for Vendetta, released in March 2006. Her shaved head was first seen publicly at the Revenge of the Sith premieres. "Making a dramatic change that isn't reversible is always a worthy experience", she said of the drastically different hairstyle, "and that sort of gave me the courage to do it."[37] She kept her hair short for most of 2005, had a fauxhawk, and briefly sported a full mohawk in late August, saying that it was "kind of wonderful to throw vanity away for a bit".[38] Also in 2005, Portman filmed Free Zone and director Miloš Forman's Goya's Ghosts. Forman had not seen any of her work, but thought she looked like a Goya painting so he requested a meeting.[39]
Portman appeared on Saturday Night Live on March 4, 2006,[40] hosting the show with musical guest Fall Out Boy and special guest star Dennis Haysbert. In a SNL Digital Short,[41] she portrays herself as an angry gangsta rapper (with Andy Samberg as her Flavor Flav-esque partner in Viking garb) during a faux-interview with Chris Parnell, saying she cheated at Harvard University while high on pot and cocaine.[42] The song, titled "Natalie's Rap", was released - alongside other sketches from the show - in 2009 on Incredibad, an album by the Lonely Island.[43] In another sketch, she portrays a student named Rebecca Hershlag (her actual surname) attending a Bar Mitzvah, and in an installment of the recurring sketch The Needlers (also known as Sally and Dan, The Couple That Should Be Divorced), plays a fertility specialist (her father's profession).
V for Vendetta opened in early 2006. Portman portrayed Evey Hammond, a young woman who is saved from the secret police by the main character, V. Portman worked with a voice coach for the role, learning to speak with an English accent, and had her head shaved.[44] Maxim magazine named Portman #33 on its annual Hot 100 list, citing her V for Vendetta hairstyle as a huge accomplishment proving "you don't need hair to be hot."[45]
Portman has commented on V for Vendetta's political relevance, and mentioned that her character, who joins an underground anti-government group, is "often bad and does things that you don't like" and that "Being from Israel was a reason I wanted to do this because terrorism and violence are such a daily part of my conversations since I was little." She said the film "doesn't make clear good or bad statements. It respects the audience enough to take away their own opinion".[46] Both Goya's Ghosts and Free Zone received limited releases in 2006. Portman starred in the children's film Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium, which began filming in April 2006 and was released in November 2007; she has said that she was "excited to do a kids' movie."[44] In late 2006, Portman filmed The Other Boleyn Girl, a historical drama in which she plays Anne Boleyn; Eric Bana and Scarlett Johansson co-starred in the film. She was also named one of the hottest women of film and TV by Blender Magazine.[47]
In 2006, she filmed Wong Kar-wai's road movie My Blueberry Nights. She won acclaim for her role as gambler Leslie, because "[f]or once she's not playing a waif or a child princess but a mature, full-bodied woman,...but she's not coasting on her looks;...She uses her appeal to simultaneously flirt with and taunt the gambler across the table".[48] Portman voiced Bart Simpson's girlfriend Darcy in the episode "Little Big Girl" of The Simpsons' 18th season.[49] She also appears in Paul McCartney's music video "Dance Tonight" from his 2007 album Memory Almost Full, directed by Michel Gondry.[50] Portman co-starred in the Wes Anderson short film Hotel Chevalier, opposite Jason Schwartzman, in which she performed her first nude scene.[51] She is scheduled to star opposite Tobey Maguire and Jake Gyllenhaal in the drama film Brothers, a remake of the 2004 Danish film of the same name.[52] In May 2008, Portman served as the youngest member of the 61st Annual Cannes Film Festival jury.[4]
Portman has been a vegetarian since childhood[53] and is an advocate for animal rights. She does not eat animal products or wear fur, feathers, or leather. "All of my shoes are from Target and Stella McCartney," she has said.[54] It has been reported that she will appear alongside actress Elissa Sursara in a PETA PSA to support the group's anti-fur campaign at some point throughout 2009.[55] In 2007, Natalie Portman traveled to Rwanda with Jack Hanna, to film a documentary titled Gorillas on the Brink. Later, at a naming ceremony, Portman named a baby gorilla Gukina, which means "to play."[56] In 2007, she launched her own brand of vegan footwear.[57] Portman has been an advocate of environmental causes since childhood, when she joined an environmental song and dance troupe known as World Patrol Kids.[58] She is also a member of the One Voice movement.[59]
Portman was involved with the 2004 presidential campaign of Democratic candidate John Kerry and has supported antipoverty activities. In 2004 and 2005, she traveled to Uganda, Guatemala, and Ecuador as the Ambassador of Hope for FINCA International, an organization that promotes micro-lending to help finance women-owned businesses in poor countries.[60] In an interview conducted backstage at the Live 8 concert in Philadelphia and appearing on the PBS program Foreign Exchange with Fareed Zakaria, she discussed microfinance.[61] Host Fareed Zakaria said that he was "generally wary of celebrities with fashionable causes", but included the segment with Portman because "she really knew her stuff."[62] In the "Voices" segment of the April 29, 2007, episode of the ABC Sunday Morning Program This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Portman discussed her work with FINCA and how it can benefit women and children in Third World countries.[63] In fall 2007, Portman visited several university campuses, including Harvard, UCLA, UC Berkeley, Stanford, Princeton, New York University, and Columbia, to inspire students with the power of microfinance and to encourage them to join the Village Banking Campaign to help families and communities lift themselves out of poverty.[64]
Portman has had romantic links with actors including Gael García Bernal and Jake Gyllenhaal.[68] In the May 2002 issue of Vogue, Portman called actor/musician Lukas Haas and musician Moby her close friends.[69] She was linked to Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, but he claims they are friends.[70] She reportedly dated Nat Rothschild, of the famous multi-billionaire banking family.[71] After starring in the video for his song "Carmensita," she began dating Venezuelan folk singer Devendra Banhart.[72] They broke up in September 2008. [73]