top 30 hot women countdown (RESULTS)

[Mr. Emoticon Man]

Jul 4, 2009 17:09:44 GMT -5 The Raven said:

I knew of her from X-Men Evolution. That was a hell of an underrated cartoon.

That was indeed a great cartoon.

But her work on Beast Wars as Black Arachnea will forever be the role I think of first when reading her name.

[bob]

Mr. Emoticon Man



the only person who could get a Transformers refernce into a hot women countdown

[bob]

I'm doing fantastic

1
2 Amy Jo Johson (18)
3
4
5
6
7 Eva Mendes (34)
8
9
10 Danica Patrick (63)

[Mr. Emoticon Man]

Jul 4, 2009 17:19:57 GMT -5 bob said:

Mr. Emoticon Man



the only person who could get a Transformers refernce into a hot women countdown

Well, shoot... just look at her. She'd be hot even if she wasn't the voice of my favorite female Transformer.

And now I need to think of something else before I start re-enacting her scenes using my Silverbolt and Black Arachnea toys.

[bob]

3-way tie at the 15th position

Gillian Anderson







Gillian Leigh Anderson (born August 9, 1968) is an American actress, best known for her roles as FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the American TV series The X-Files, Moro in the English dub of Princess Mononoke and Lady Dedlock in the BBC TV series Bleak House.

Anderson moved to New York when she was 20 years old. To support herself when she started her career, Anderson worked as a waitress. She began her career in Alan Ayckbourn's play, Absent Friends at the Manhattan Theatre Club alongside Brenda Blethyn; she won the 1990-91 Theatre World "Newcomer" Award for her role. Her next theatrical role was in Christopher Hampton's The Philanthropist at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut.

Anderson moved to Los Angeles in 1992, spending a year auditioning. Although she had once vowed she would never do TV, being out of work for a year changed her mind. Anderson did Home Fires Burning for a cable station, as well as the audio book version of Exit to Eden. She broke into mainstream television in 1993, with a guest appearance on the collegiate drama, Class of '96, on the fledgling Fox Network.

As a result of her guest appearance in Class of 96, Anderson was sent the script for The X Files at the age of 24. She decided to audition because "for the first time in a long time, the script involved a strong, independent, intelligent woman as a lead character." Producer Chris Carter wanted to employ her, but Fox wanted someone with previous TV exposure and greater sex appeal.[4] Fox sent in more actresses, but Carter stood by Anderson, and she was eventually cast as Special Agent Dana Scully. Anderson got the part assuming it would run for 13 episodes, the standard minimum order for American TV networks. Filmed in Vancouver and then in Los Angeles, the series would run for nine seasons, and included two films, released in 1998 and 2008. During her time on The X Files, Anderson won several awards for her portrayal of Special Agent Scully, including an Emmy Award, Golden Globe and two Screen Actors Guild awards for "Best Actress in a Drama Series." While filming, Anderson met assistant art director Clyde Klotz, whom she would eventually marry.

Anderson had roles in a handful of films during the run of The X-Files and starred in The House of Mirth, an adaptation of the Edith Wharton novel of the same name.

In 1999, Anderson had a supporting role in the English-language release of Hayao Miyazaki's Princess Mononoke, where she voiced the character of Moro. Anderson is a proclaimed lover of Miyazaki's work. She also took part in Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues.

When The X-Files ended, Anderson performed in several stage productions and worked on various film projects. She has participated in narrative work for documentaries on scientific topics. In 2005, she appeared as Lady Dedlock in the BBC television adaptation of Charles Dickens' novel Bleak House, had a starring role in the Irish film The Mighty Celt (for which she won an IFTA award for Best International Actress) and performed in A Cock and Bull Story, a film version of the novel Tristram Shandy.

In 2006, Anderson was nominated for a British Academy Television Award (BAFTA) for Best Actress and won the Broadcasting Press Guild Television and Radio Award for Best Actress for her role in Bleak House. Anderson also received an Emmy nomination for "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie" for her performance as Lady Dedlock. Furthermore, she was nominated for a Golden Satellite Award and Golden Globe for her performance in Bleak House and came in second place in the Best Actress category of the 2005 BBC Drama website poll for her performance as Lady Dedlock (Billie Piper came in first and Anna Maxwell Martin came in third).

During 2006 and 2007, Anderson appeared in two British films: The Last King of Scotland (2006) and Straightheads (2007).

In December 2007, it was announced that Anderson will host PBS' Masterpiece Theatre during the Jane Austen series.

On December 10, 2007, Anderson began filming for The X-Files: I Want to Believe. Filming concluded on March 11, 2008. The movie was released on July 25, 2008, with a DVD release to follow on December 2, 2008.

Gillian will portray Nora in Ibsen's A Doll's House at the Donmar Warehouse in London's West End for a limited engagement running from May 14, 2009 until July 18, 2009.


Kate Beckinsale






During her first year at Oxford, Beckinsale was offered a part in Kenneth Branagh's big-screen film, Much Ado About Nothing, adapted from the Shakespeare play. She spent her last year of studies in Paris, after which she decided to leave the university and concentrate on her acting career.[5] In 1994, Beckinsale had a supporting role in Prince of Jutland, which she worked with actor Christian Bale, whom would later reunite in 2002 drama Laurel Canyon. Kate starred in Haunted (1995) with Aidan Quinn and John Gielgud in which she appeared topless and in the 1996 TV film adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma. She subsequently appeared in a few low-profile films, including Shooting Fish and The Last Days of Disco, both in 1998. During this time, Beckinsale also appeared in television films and in stage roles, including the well-received Cold Comfort Farm, opposite British film and television notables Ian McKellan, Rufus Sewell, Eileen Atkins, Joanna Lumley and Stephen Fry.

Beckinsale's first major American film, Brokedown Palace (1999), was not a commercial success. Soon after, Beckinsale was cast in the 2001 film Pearl Harbor as the female lead, after actress Charlize Theron turned down the part. The film was one of the highest grossing films of its year. In the years following, she appeared in a series of American films that were high-profile, but were given a somewhat poor critical reception, including Serendipity (2001), Underworld (2003) and Van Helsing (2004). In 2005, she portrayed Ava Gardner in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator, a role for which she gained 20 pounds.

In 2006, Beckinsale was placed at #23 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World", after being #71 in 2005. She has also been placed at #16 in Maxim's "HOT 100" (2003), #63 in Stuff's "100 Sexiest Women in the World" (2002), and was chosen by the English magazine Hello! as "England’s #1 Beauty", also in 2002.

In January 2006, Beckinsale reprised her role as a vampire in the movie Underworld: Evolution, a sequel to her 2003 film, Underworld, again directed by her husband, Len Wiseman. The film opened at the #1 spot at the box office, grossing over $26 million in its first weekend of release.[6] On 24 January 2006, Beckinsale was featured on the MTV series, Punk'd. The set-up for the segment took place at the Avalon Hotel in Los Angeles.

Also in 2006, Beckinsale appeared in the comedy Click, starring Adam Sandler, which opened on 23 June. Next, Beckinsale replaced Sarah Jessica Parker[7] in the film Vacancy, released in 2007. Her next role was in Snow Angels, which was released in 2008.

At Comic-Con 2007, Beckinsale expressed interest in playing Catwoman in the current Christopher Nolan-directed Batman films. In April 2007, during an interview promoting Vacancy, Beckinsale claimed no knowledge of the rumors linking her to a remake of Barbarella. "I was told on the set yesterday, someone said, 'Oh I hear you're doing Barbarella,' one of the grips. So that's the most official it's become. Every woman would consider Barbarella for a moment, but I don't know."[8]

and finally.....



























Melina Perez








Perez began her career as a model. She won a Miss California beauty contest and also modeled athletic wear for Nike.[9] She decided to become a professional wrestler after talking to Empire Wrestling Federation (EWF) superstar Mike Henderson in 2000.[3][11] Perez started training at Jesse Hernandez's School of Hard Knocks in San Bernardino, California and made her professional debut in April 2002.[5][12] Many EWF officials stated that she had the most natural ability of any woman who came through their school.[13] In late 2002 Perez auditioned for World Wrestling Entertainment's reality show Tough Enough III, making it through to the final twenty-one before being eliminated from the competition in the final cut of the first episode.[1][13][14][15] After she was eliminated from the contest, trainer Al Snow pulled Perez aside and encouraged her to keep trying to pursue her dream as a wrestler.[16]

Perez debuted in WWE's developmental territory Ohio Valley Wrestling (OVW) in March 2004, being placed in an angle as John Hennigan's ex-girlfriend. The storyline had Matt Cappotelli introduce her to the ring as a way to taunt Hennigan.[2] Melina, however, turned on Cappotelli and aligned herself with Hennigan, who later changed his ring name to Johnny Nitro.[2] Soon after, Melina and Nitro began teaming with Joey Matthews, later known as Joey Mercury.[2] The trio became known as MNM and on November 10, Melina managed Mercury and Nitro to win the OVW Southern Tag Team Championship.[17] During her time in OVW, Melina, Nitro, and Steven Adkins came up with Melina's trademark split ring entrance.[18]

Melina made her first Raw appearance on November 29, 2004, when Randy Orton was the guest General Manager and hosted a diva lingerie fashion show.[19] She made another Raw appearance in December, participating in a limbo contest when Chris Jericho was General Manager for the night.[20]

MNM made their debut in WWE as a villainous tag team on the April 14, 2005, edition of SmackDown!.[21] The team interrupted the first ever Carlito's Cabana interview segment, where one half of the WWE Tag Team Champions, Rey Mysterio, was a guest.[21] Melina insulted Mysterio and had Mercury and Nitro attack him, leading to MNM's in-ring debut the next week on SmackDown! in a title match. The team was booked to win the match against Mysterio and Eddie Guerrero, starting their first WWE Tag Team Title reign.[22][23]

While managing the Tag Team Champions, Melina's character was developed to be more egotistical as she declared herself "the most-dominant Diva in WWE."[1] She made her official WWE in-ring debut on June 30 against Michelle McCool and had her first pay-per-view match (a Bra and Panties match) at The Great American Bash against Torrie Wilson, winning both matches.[24][25] Also at The Great American Bash, MNM dropped their championship to the Legion of Doom, prompting a new storyline where Melina hired Jillian Hall, a "fixer", to assist them.[25][26] MNM regained the title on October 28 in a Fatal Four-Way tag team match.[27] On the Eddie Guerrero Tribute Show Melina won an interpromotional Divas battle royal by eliminating Women's Champion Trish Stratus.[28] The next week, MNM kayfabe kidnapped Stratus and Melina challenged her to a match for the Women's Championship.[29] The two fought at Survivor Series, with Melina losing to Stratus after interference from Mickie James.[30]

During this time, MNM was booked to defend their title against Rey Mysterio and the World Heavyweight Champion Batista. Melina was placed in an angle with her trying to make Batista call off the match by visiting him in his locker room and attempting to seduce him. The storyline had the two engage in sexual acts, after which he simply thanked her for the "warm-up" before leaving to take part in the match, where he and Mysterio defeated MNM for the title.[31] The storyline played over to the next episode of SmackDown! when, before MNM envoked their rematch clause, Melina held a press conference in the ring where she claimed that Batista had sexually harassed her. During the tag team match, Mark Henry aided MNM in winning back the WWE Tag Team Championship.[32] The angle with Henry continued into the next year. On the first SmackDown! of 2006, Melina announced that Henry was her personal protection against Batista. He accompanied her and aided the other members of MNM in matches against Batista and Mysterio.[33]

At Judgment Day on May 21, 2006, MNM were booked to lose their Tag Team Championship to Paul London and Brian Kendrick.[34] After the match, Melina and Nitro, as part of the storyline, attacked Mercury, blaming him for the loss.[34] Later that night, Melina lost a singles match against Jillian Hall and after slapping General Manager Theodore Long in anger, she and Nitro were kayfabe fired from the SmackDown! brand.[35] Off-screen, Nitro and Mercury did not get along, and WWE management decided to split the tag team and send Nitro and Melina to the Raw brand.[36] Melina and Nitro made their way to Raw on May 29, with Nitro losing to WWE Champion John Cena.[37][38] The following week, Melina faked a sprained ankle, allowing Nitro to roll-up Charlie Haas for his first Raw victory.[39] Melina continued to manage Nitro during his successful hunt for the WWE Intercontinental Championship, while being involved in another storyline with Trish Stratus.[40][41] The angle turned into a tag team feud when Carlito joined forces with Stratus to take on Melina and Nitro.[42] At Saturday Night's Main Event on July 15, Melina and Nitro lost to Carlito and Stratus in a mixed tag team match.[43]

After Melina's arrival on Raw, Mick Foley began to mention her in promos, playing on their real friendship mentioned in his WWE.com columns, and they soon formed an on-screen friendship.[44][45] At SummerSlam, Melina was involved in Foley's "I Quit" match against Ric Flair when Flair threatened to hit her with a barbed wire baseball bat, causing Foley to quit the match to save her.[46] The next night on Raw, the storyline had Vince McMahon order Foley to join the Kiss My Ass club. Foley did not care about saving his own career, but joined after Vince threatened Melina's.[47] After begging Foley not to go through with it, Foley "joined the club" to save Melina's job, only to have her suddenly turn on him by delivering a low blow and kayfabe firing him at the behest of McMahon.[47] This storyline was concocted by Foley to refresh the idea of the Kiss My Ass club.[47][48][49] It was also around this time that Melina added another characteristic to her gimmick: screaming loudly at ringside while managing or in tag team action, which became known as the "primal scream."[50]

On January 29, 2007, Melina became the number one contender for the WWE Women's Championship, and introduced her finisher from the independent circuit, the Kyrapractor, to WWE under the new name California Dream.[51] On February 5, Melina lost a title match against Mickie James.[52] The following week on Raw, Melina pinned James in a mixed tag team match and then challenged James again for the title.[53] On February 19, as part of her first major singles push, Melina successfully pinned James to win the WWE Women's Championship. This made Melina the first woman of Mexican heritage to win the WWE Women's Championship. She then retained the title in a rematch during the first ever Women's Falls Count Anywhere match in WWE history.[54][55]

In March, Melina was placed in an angle where she became jealous of SmackDown! Diva Ashley Massaro, who was receiving attention because of her appearance in Playboy.[56] The angle had Melina claim in her blogs that no Playboy cover models were capable of fighting her.[57] This resulted in scheduled matches against former Playboy cover girls Torrie Wilson and Candice Michelle, with both women losing to Melina.[58][59] The storyline came to a close at WrestleMania 23, where Melina pinned Ashley in a Lumberjill match to retain her Women's Championship.[60] After WrestleMania, Melina organized a photo op with the Women's Title belt in the ring but was interrupted by Mickie James, resulting in another storyline feud between the two Divas.[61] On April 24, at a house show in Paris, France, Melina lost the Women's Championship in a Triple Threat match to James when James pinned Victoria, but on the orders of Jonathan Coachman she was entitled to a rematch on the same night, where she pinned James by putting her hands on the ropes to regain the title and become a two-time WWE Women's Champion.[62]

On May 7, Melina was defeated in a tag team match when she was pinned by Candice Michelle.[63] Melina was scripted to lose to Candice in various tag team matches, as well as in non-title bouts over the next few weeks.[64][65][66] At Vengeance, Melina dropped the Women's Championship to Candice and failed to recapture the title at The Great American Bash.

Melina, along with then-ally Beth Phoenix, defeated Maria and Ashley at WrestleMania XXIV.[69] After Phoenix lost the Women's Championship to Mickie James, she began a feud with Phoenix after Perez accidentally hit Phoenix with her boot in a lumberjack match against James.[70] The following week on Raw, Phoenix walked out on Melina during a tag match against James and Maria when Melina accidentally bumped Phoenix off the apron. Melina was then attacked by Phoenix during a backstage segment following the match, leading to her turning face for the first time in her WWE career.[71] At One Night Stand, Melina competed in a losing effort against Phoenix in the first ever Women's "I Quit" match.[72] On June 23, 2008, Perez injured her heel after falling from the turnbuckles during a tag team match with Mickie James against Natalya and Victoria.[73]

Perez made her in-ring return, ahead of schedule, at the November 13 Florida Championship Wrestling television taping, teaming with Gabe Tuft to defeat Jack Gabriel and Alicia Fox in a mixed tag team match.[74] Perez returned to WWE television on the November 24 edition of Raw as a face, teaming with former rivals Mickie James and Candice Michelle to defeat Phoenix, Jillian Hall, and Katie Lea Burchill, when Perez pinned Burchill. [75] She then made her in-ring singles return against Jillian the following week, and defeated her with her new The Last Call finisher. After the match however, Melina had stated her intentions to take the WWE Women's Championship away from Beth Phoenix.[76]

On December 29, 2008, Melina won a six-woman battle royal, to become the number one contender to the Women's Championship. After the match, Melina and Phoenix engaged in a confrontation over a fan of Phoenix's named Rosa Mendes, who had pushed Melina.[77] A On January 25, 2009, Melina won her third WWE Women's Championship at the Royal Rumble by defeating Phoenix.[78]

On the April 13 episode of Raw, Melina was drafted to SmackDown in the 2009 WWE Draft making the WWE Women's Championship exclusive to the SmackDown brand. Melina then made her in-ring debut on SmackDown one month later, teaming with Gail Kim to defeat Michelle McCool and Alicia Fox, in which she pinned Michelle. After Michelle was named the new # 1 Contender for the Women's Championship, they began their rivalry.[79] Melina would lose the Women's Championship to McCool at The Bash on June 28, after an interference from Alicia Fox.

[The Chilly]

Jul 4, 2009 16:59:30 GMT -5 The Raven said:

Jul 4, 2009 16:12:52 GMT -5 HurriKaty said:

Oooh, I know who's list Krissy was on!

.. Fudge it, we all know who's list Krissy was on.

Pretty safe bet that he was the one that also put Kari Byron on his list too.

...can't really blame him.

Guilty.

...but I forgot Christy Hemme.

[khali]

What a three-way that is.

[The Raven]

10. Eva Mendes
9. Kate Beckinsale
8. Hayden Panettiere
7. Diane Lane
6. Shania Twain
5. Selma Hayek
4. Natalie Portman
3.
2. Gillian Anderson
1.

Well f***.

[The Raven]

The two I got left are wrestling related.

[bob]

Coming in at number 14 is our first woman not to be tied with anyone. This diva is in her own stratusphere.







Trish Stratus










Patricia Anne Stratigias[6][11] (born December 18, 1975, pronounced /str©¡tɨˈdʒi¢°əs/), better known as Trish Stratus, is a former fitness model, former professional wrestler and television personality from Canada.

After beginning her career as a fitness model, Stratus began working for the World Wrestling Federation (WWF), which was later renamed World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE), in March 2000. Early in her career, she was involved in sexually themed storylines, such as managing the team T & A and an affair with Vince McMahon. As Stratus spent more time in the ring, her wrestling skills and popularity strengthened. Because of this, she was a one-time WWE Hardcore Champion, three-time "WWE Babe of the Year" and was proclaimed "Diva of the Decade".[3][12] After nearly seven years in the business, Stratus retired from wrestling on September 17, 2006 after winning her seventh WWE Women's Championship, the most in WWE history.[13]

Aside from professional wrestling, Stratus modeled for and appeared on numerous magazine covers and has been involved in charity work. She has also been the host of several award and television shows, including Stratusphere in 2008.
Stratigias made her debut on the March 19, 2000 episode of Sunday Night Heat, under the ring name Trish Stratus.[2] She appeared on stage to scout WWF Superstars, in particular Test and Prince Albert. The next night on Raw Stratus began her first role in the company, managing Test and Albert in the tag team T & A.[2][14] It was during her stint managing T & A that Stratus took her first major bump in the ring, being driven through a table by the Dudley Boyz at Backlash after she had been taunting Bubba Ray Dudley for several weeks.[15] She also began managing Val Venis to win the Intercontinental Championship but their partnership ended at SummerSlam after Venis lost the title.[4]

Stratus made her in-ring debut on the June 20 taping of SmackDown!, winning a tag team match with T & A against the Hardy Boyz and Lita. A storyline feud between Stratus and Lita developed after the match with Stratus attacking Lita on episodes of Raw and SmackDown!, leading to an Indian Strap match on the July 24 edition of Raw which Stratus won with help from Stephanie McMahon.[1] She finished the year competing unsuccessfully for the WWF Women's Championship numerous times, and leaving Test and Albert when the team disbanded.[16]

In early 2001, Stratus became involved in an angle with WWF Chairman Vince McMahon, during a time when Vince's wife Linda was kayfabe institutionalized following a demand Vince had made for a divorce during an episode of SmackDown! on December 7, 2000.[4][17] Vince and Stratus' relationship increasingly angered the boss' daughter, Stephanie McMahon.[2][7] At No Way Out on February 25, Stratus and Stephanie squared off, with Stephanie scoring the victory after a run-in by William Regal.[18] In the midst of a tag team match that pitted Vince and Stratus against Regal and Stephanie the next night on Raw, Stratus was the victim of a set-up by Vince, Stephanie and Regal. Regal executed his finisher, the Regal Cutter, on Stratus and Stephanie then dumped sewage over Stratus' body. Vince stood over Stratus, and he told her she was a toy with which he had grown tired of playing and that it was over.[19] The angle continued the next week on Raw with Vince forcing Stratus to strip down to her underwear then started humping her in the ring and bark like a dog.[20] The storyline came to an end at WrestleMania X-Seven when Stratus slapped Vince during his match against his son Shane,[2] becoming a fan favorite in the process.[4][21][22]

Stratus then began wrestling full-time. She won a Bra and Panties tag team match with Lita against Stacy Keibler and Torrie Wilson at InVasion.[7] After suffering an ankle injury in the summer, however, she was sidelined for three months.[23] As she rehabilitated, she kept herself visible by co-hosting Excess on TNN.[7] After returning in autumn, Stratus appeared at Survivor Series where she won the WWF Women's Championship for the first time in a six-pack challenge.[2][24][25] Stratus was next involved in a feud with Jazz over the Women's Championship, where she was booked to retain the title at the Royal Rumble but being booked to lose the belt to Jazz two weeks later on the February 4, 2002 edition of Raw.[26][27][28] Stratus then went after the title for several months, even competing in a Triple Threat match at WrestleMania X8 against Lita and Jazz in her hometown of Toronto, Canada but failed to win the match.[9][29] While chasing after the Women's title, Stratus won the WWE Hardcore Championship on May 6, pinning Crash Holly after Bubba Ray Dudley hit him over the head with a trash can.[4][24] She, however, lost the title to Steven Richards soon afterward due to the stipulation that the belt was defended 24/7 as long as there was a referee present.[4][24] One week later, she regained the Women's Title in a tag team match with Bubba Ray Dudley.[30] During this time, Stratus began wrestling solely on the Raw brand after being drafted in the WWF Brand Extension.[31]

Stratus' second reign as champion came to an end on June 23 when she was defeated at King of the Ring by Molly Holly.[32] The two Divas continued their storyline feud for the next three months. After a failed attempt to win the title in July, Stratus won back the championship at Unforgiven.[33][34] While feuding with Holly, Stratus was also involved in an angle with new Diva Victoria who held a storyline grudge against Stratus, claiming she was betrayed by Stratus when they worked as fitness models.[4] The two competed in several title matches, with Stratus retaining until Survivor Series where Victoria won the belt in a Hardcore match.[35][36] On March 17, 2003, Victoria and Steven Richards defeated Jazz and Stratus in tag team competition. After the match, Jeff Hardy saved Stratus from an attack by both Victoria and Richards.[37] In the following weeks, Stratus and Hardy were shown talking backstage and fighting as tag team partners.[38] The storyline, however, was dropped when Hardy was released from WWE.[4]

At WrestleMania XIX Stratus defeated Victoria and Jazz to capture her fourth Women's Championship, equaling the record previously set by The Fabulous Moolah, only to lose the title to Jazz at the following pay-per-view, Backlash.[39] In the following months, Stratus was placed into an alliance with Gail Kim. It was short-lived, though, as Kim turned on Stratus and teamed with Molly Holly, putting the women in a storyline feud.[4] The duo defeated Stratus and several tag team partners until Stratus began to partner with a returning Lita.[40][41][42] The team defeated Kim and Holly in several matches, including a match at Unforgiven.[43]

Stratus began a romance with Chris Jericho during the November 10 edition of Raw when she agreed to go on a date with him.[44][45] Subsequently, they participated in an intergender tag team match as partners on December 1. After the match, Stratus overheard Jericho talking to Christian, who was involved in an on-screen romance with Lita at the time, about who could sleep with their respective woman first.[46] One week later, Stratus and Lita confronted the men about their actions, leading to a feud between the two men and women which resulted in a "Battle of the Sexes" match at Armageddon, which the women lost.[47] A rematch the next night ended in a no contest.[48] Her relationship with Jericho continued into the next year with a new angle of Jericho developing feelings for Stratus. During a match at WrestleMania XX, however, she became a villain by betraying Jericho and siding with Christian, Stratus claimed her reasons for siding with Christian were that he was a real man and Jericho was a love sick puppy.[7][49] The duo feuded with Jericho for several months and competed in a Handicap match at Backlash.[50] The team of Stratus and Christian were joined by "problem solver" Tyson Tomko the next night on Raw.[51]

Stratus was booked to win the WWE Women's Championship for a fifth time at Bad Blood on June 13.[52] She defended the title until she suffered a legitimate broken hand in July that caused her to be out of action for approximately a month.[53][54] Upon her return, she continued to defend the title against numerous challengers before losing the championship to Lita on December 6 when both women wrestled in the main event of Raw for the championship.[7] Stratus recaptured the gold a month later at New Year's Revolution after Lita suffered a legitimate injury during the match.[55] A new angle was then developed between Stratus and 2004 Raw Diva Search winner Christy Hemme over jealousy of Hemme's Playboy magazine exposure, with Stratus attacking Hemme and spray painting the word "slut" across her back.[56] Stratus was challenged by Hemme, who later revealed she was being trained by Lita, for a title match at WrestleMania 21 and was successful in retaining the title.[56]

In May 2005 Stratus was sidelined with the Women's Championship after suffering a herniated disc, with the explanation that Viscera had injured her at Backlash after she berated him for losing to Lita's then-husband Kane.[7][23] She returned to Raw in September, once again portraying her face persona by siding with Ashley Massaro against Vince's Devils.[57] The feud also involved the debuting Diva Mickie James who introduced herself as Stratus' biggest fan.[7] On the Eddie Guerrero Tribute Show, Stratus took part in an interpromotional Diva battle royal that was won by SmackDown! Diva Melina.[58] The next week, MNM kidnapped Stratus for Melina, who challenged a tied up and gagged Stratus to a match for the Women's Championship.[59] The two fought at Survivor Series, with Stratus defeating Melina after interference from Mickie James.[60] Stratus and James continued teaming together in late 2005 while James' character became increasingly obsessed with Stratus.[61] On the December 26 episode of Raw, the storyline between Stratus and James developed into a lesbian one when James initiated an intimate kiss with Stratus under a sprig of mistletoe, causing a surprised Stratus to flee the locker room.[62]

The odd relationship between Stratus and James continued into 2006, with the two Divas competing against each other in a title match at New Year's Revolution, where Stratus emerged victorious.[63] Despite the defeat, James continued to be enamored of Stratus which made her feel uncomfortable.[64] On March 6, 2006 Stratus confronted James, telling her that she needed space.[65] The duo briefly reconciled on the March 18 edition of Saturday Night's Main Event, teaming together to defeat Candice Michelle and Victoria. James, however, turned on Stratus after the match and began to attack her.[66] A match at WrestleMania 22 saw Stratus lose the Women's Championship to James.[67] During a rematch at Backlash Stratus suffered a legitimate dislocated shoulder after taking a bump to the outside of the ring.[68] While she was rehabilitating for six weeks she continued to appear on-screen.[4][69]

Stratus returned to the ring on June 26 and started a romantic angle with Carlito after he saved her from a double team attack by Melina and Johnny Nitro.[70] They competed as a team and won a mixed tag team match against Melina and Nitro at Saturday Night's Main Event on July 15.[71] As a couple, Stratus and Carlito briefly feuded with WWE Champion Edge and Lita after the pair interrupted Stratus' title match with Mickie James. The two couples competed in several tag team matches, with Stratus and Carlito jobbing to Edge and Lita each time.[72][73] In late August, Lita stated that Stratus would retire following Unforgiven, which was later confirmed by Stratus.[74] At the pay-per-view on September 17, in her hometown of Toronto,[75] Stratus defeated Lita with fellow Canadian Bret Hart's signature submission maneuver, the Sharpshooter, to win a record seventh Women's Championship and retire as champion.[76][77][78]


Stratus made a special appearance on December 10, 2007 during Raw's 15th Anniversary special along with Lita, interrupting Jillian Hall as she sang by attacking her and then celebrating with Lita.[79] Stratus made another special appearance on the May 5, 2008 episode of Raw, as the event took place from her hometown, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She took part in a backstage segment involving Ron Simmons and Trevor Murdoch.[80] Stratus wrestled her first match in over two years on the December 22, 2008 episode of Raw, which also took place in Toronto. She and John Cena defeated Santino Marella and Beth Phoenix in a tag team match.

[khali]

Yeah, I voted for her alright.

Not above Melina though.

[bob]

The (Un)Great Khali...thanks for lettting me steal your sig for Melinas

that pic you have in outstanding

[bob]

Although Rachael Rey didn't make it too far in this countdown this is too good not to include in this thread.

[bob]

continuing with the countdown we have 3 lovely ladies tied with 15 points each


Megan Fox










Megan Denise Fox (born May 16, 1986) is an American actress and model.

After a successful career as a model, Fox launched her acting career in 2001 with a supporting role as Brianna Wallace in Holiday in the Sun, starring opposite Mary Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen. Fox then guest-starred in various television series, including What I Like About You, Two and a Half Men, The Help, and Ocean Ave. She also played a recurring role as Sydney Shanowski on Hope and Faith.

In 2004, Fox began her film career starring opposite Lindsay Lohan in Confessions Of A Teenage Drama Queen. Her other films include Crimes Of Fashion (2004, TV), How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008) and Whore (2008). Fox's breakout role was as Mikaela Banes, Shia LaBeouf's character's love interest in the 2007 blockbuster film Transformers, a role for which Fox was nominated and won various Teen Choice Awards.[1] She appeared in the sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Her upcoming films include Jennifer's Body,[2] Jonah Hex, and The Crossing.[3][4][5]

At 16, Fox made her acting debut in the 2001 film Holiday in the Sun, as the spoiled heiress Brianna Wallace and rival of Alex Stewart (Ashley Olsen). The film was released Direct-to-DVD on November 20, 2001. She made her television debut on the television series Ocean Ave. as Ione Star. The series, however, was quickly canceled after two seasons, from 2002-2003. She also served as an uncredited extra in Bad Boys 2 in 2003.[17] That same year, she guest-starred on What I Like About You, appearing in the episode "Like a Virgin (Kinda)."

In 2004, Fox guest-starred on Two and a Half Men in the episode "Camel Filters and Pheromones".[18] That same year she made her film debut in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen co-starring opposite Lindsay Lohan. In the film Fox plays a supporting role in the film, Carla Santi, a rival of Lola (Lindsay Lohan). She was then cast on the failed television comedy The Help appearing in only three episodes. The show focused on the hard-lucked life of a beauty school dropout, Fox portrayed the part of Cassandra Ridgeway, a spoiled daughter. She also appeared in the television film Crimes Of Fashion as Candace. The movie premiered on July 25, 2004 on ABC Family. After the cancellation of the television series The Help, Fox joined the cast on the ABC sitcom Hope & Faith as a recurring role, in which she portrayed Sydney Shanowski, replacing Nicole Paggi in the role. In 2006 the television show was canceled due to poor ratings. Fox appeared in 36 episodes from seasons 2 to 3.[19]
In 2007, Fox won the lead female role of Mikaela Banes in the 2007 live-action film Transformers, based on the toy and cartoon saga of the same name. Fox played the love interest of Shia LaBeouf's character Sam Witwicky. Fox was nominated for an MTV Movie Award and was also nominated for three Teen Choice Awards. Fox has signed on for two more Transformers sequels.[19][20][21]

In 2008, Fox appeared in How to Lose Friends & Alienate People, starring alongside Jeff Bridges, Simon Pegg and Kirsten Dunst. The film premiered on October 3, 2008, the film was a box-office failure.[22] Also in 2008, Fox appeared in Whore. The film was released October 20, 2008. Fox starred alongside Rumer Willis.[23]

Fox reprised her role as Mikaela Banes in the Transformers sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. There was some controversy surrounding Fox's appearance while filming the sequel of Transformers when Michael Bay, the movie's director, ordered the actress to gain 10 pounds.[24] Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was released worldwide on June 24, 2009.[25]

Fox is set to have her first lead role in a film, playing the title character in Jennifer's Body. The film is set to be released on September 18, 2009. Fox will star alongside Adam Brody in the Academy Award-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody's second feature film. In April 2009, Fox began filming Jonah Hex. Fox will portray Leila, a gun-wielding beauty and Jonah Hex's (Josh Brolin) love interest. The film is set to be released on August 10, 2010. In addition to Brolin, Fox will star alongside Will Arnett.[26] In early 2009, Fox signed on to star the lead female role in the up-coming 2011 film The Crossing. The plot centers around "a young couple gets caught up in a drug trafficking scheme during their vacation to Mexico."[4][5]

Fox was rumored to have been cast as the replacement for Angelina Jolie in the third Lara Croft: Tomb Raider franchise movie, but Fox herself has denied that she was taking the role.[27]


Scarlett Johansson








Johansson began acting during childhood, after her mother began taking her to auditions.[4] She made her film debut in 1994's North. After appearing in several films during the late 1990s, including a very brief appearance in the Mandy Moore video for her single "Candy", Johansson garnered praise and widespread attention for her performance in 1998's The Horse Whisperer and 2001's Ghost World.

She won the "Upstream Prize" for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival for her performance in 2003's Lost in Translation. The same year, she was nominated for two Best Actress awards at the Golden Globes, one for drama (Girl with a Pearl Earring) and one for comedy (Lost in Translation). She was nominated for Best Actress for both films at the BAFTAs, and won Best Actress for Lost in Translation.
Johansson was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in June 2004.[9] In the same year, she starred in the films The Perfect Score, In Good Company and A Love Song for Bobby Long, the last of which earned her a third Golden Globe Award nomination. Johansson was involved for a short time with the film Mission: Impossible III, but was not officially cast because of scheduling conflicts, although a falling out with the film's star, Tom Cruise, had been both widely reported and publicly denied.[10] She was replaced by Keri Russell.

In July 2005, Johansson starred with Ewan McGregor in Michael Bay's The Island, making her debut as a female lead in a mainstream action film. In the same year, she starred in the Woody Allen-directed drama Match Point, which opened in December. Johansson received her fourth Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress for the role, but lost to Rachel Weisz.

Johansson's next film, Scoop, another collaboration with Allen, was released on July 28, 2006. The same year, she appeared in Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia, a film noir shot in Los Angeles and Bulgaria. Johansson has noted that she was a De Palma fan and had wanted to work with him on the film, even though she thought that she was "physically wrong" for the part.[11] Her reviews were mixed: CNN.com noted that Johansson "takes to the pulpy period atmosphere as if it were oxygen,"[12] whereas the Kalamazoo Gazette referred to Johansson as "miscast."[13]

On January 14, 2006, Johansson hosted Saturday Night Live. In the same year she also starred in a short film directed by Bennett Miller and set to Bob Dylan's "When the Deal Goes Down...", released to promote Dylan's album, Modern Times.[14] Johansson appeared in the Christopher Nolan thriller The Prestige, which opened on October 20, 2006. She made a return appearance on Saturday Night Live on April 21, 2007, during which she dueted with Andy Samberg for a version of Bonnie Raitt's "Something to Talk About."

Johansson next appeared in 2007's The Nanny Diaries, starring alongside Laura Linney, and 2008's The Other Boleyn Girl, opposite Natalie Portman and Eric Bana.[15] She filmed her third Woody Allen film, Vicky Cristina Barcelona, in Spain.[16]

Johansson played femme fatale Silken Floss in Frank Miller's film noir comedy adaptation of The Spirit. The film was released in US theaters on December 25, 2008. In 2009, she had a role as a yoga instructor in He's Just Not That Into You.

Johansson will portray Mary, Queen of Scots in a film.[17][18] In March 2009 she signed on to play Black Widow in both Iron Man 2 and The Avengers.[19]

rounding out the 15th spot in the countdown the ultra hor Shannon Elizabeth










Born Shannon Elizabeth Fadal, Elizabeth's father is Syrian and her mother is of Irish, English, German and Cherokee ancestry. She was born in Houston, Texas and raised in Waco, Texas.[1] In high school, she was very much interested in tennis and at one point even considered a professional tennis career. She worked as a model before she began a career in film.[2]

Elizabeth appeared in several films, including the horror film Jack Frost and Dish Dogs, before being cast in 1999's American Pie, which was a major box office success. Elizabeth subsequently appeared in several Hollywood films, including Scary Movie, Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back, and Tomcats. Elizabeth starred in the UPN series Cuts until the show was canceled in May 2006. Cuts and its parent show, One on One, were two of the many shows not to be picked up by The CW.

In August 1999, she posed for a nude pictorial in Playboy. In 2000 and 2003, she was featured in Maxim.[3] In June 2008 she was Maxim's cover girl.

She provided the likeness and voice for Serena St. Germaine in the 2004 video game, James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing.[4]

Elizabeth was one of the celebrities on an episode of NBC's Thank God You're Here along with Tom Green, Chelsea Handler, and George Takei.{{cn{{

Elizabeth was among the cast of the sixth season of Dancing with the Stars, partnered with Derek Hough. Elizabeth was the seventh star eliminated from the competition. The elimination came one week after she and Hough criticized the judges for marking them down for a lack of hip action while couples with "heel leads", "feet coming off the floor", and "horrific, demented lines" received higher scores.

Elizabeth describes poker as her "second career" and has been called "one of the leading celebrity poker players."[9] She visits Las Vegas up to three times each month to participate in poker games with the top players of the United States. Elizabeth played in the Main Event of the 2005 World Series of Poker and won a special tournament celebrating the opening of a new poker room at Caesars Palace hotel in January 2006, beating out 83 celebrities and poker professionals to win $55,000. She has also cashed four times in the World Series of Poker in 2006 and 2007,[10] but again busted out of the Main Event early. In 2007, she advanced to the semi-finals of the NBC National Heads-Up Poker Championship in a field consisting of the top poker professionals before losing to eventual champion Paul Wasicka. Among the four opponents she defeated were three World Series of Poker multiple bracelet winners: Jeff Madsen, Barry Greenstein, and Humberto Brenes.

[bob]

this next lady is hot.....like super hot...she is bootlicious













with a total of 16 points Beyonce Knowles!!!!






thesuperficial.com/2007/11/19/1120_beyonce_AMA_00-thumb.jpg[/img





[imghttp://www.lossip.com/wp-content/uploads/beyonce19.jpg[/img]





Knowles was born in Houston, Texas, the daughter of Mathew Knowles, a successful record manager, and Tina Beyincé, a costume designer and hair stylist. Knowles' father is African American and her mother is of Creole (African American, Native American, and French) descent.[9] Knowles was baptized after her mother's maiden name, as a tribute to her mother and to prevent the name from becoming obsolete, since only a few of the Beyincé males carry the name.[9] Her maternal grandparents, Lumis Albert Beyincé and Agnéz Deréon, were French-speaking Louisiana Creoles.[9] She is the elder sister of Solange, a singer-songwriter and actress.

Knowles was schooled at St. Mary's Elementary School in Texas, where she enrolled in dance classes, including ballet and jazz. Her talent in singing was discovered when her dance instructor began humming a song and she finished it, hitting the high-pitched notes.[10] Although a shy girl, as her mother considered her, Knowles' interest in music and performing began unexpectedly after participating in a school talent show. Once she had a moment on the stage, she overcame her shyness and wanted to become a singer and performer.[11] By age seven, Knowles had entered her first talent show, singing John Lennon's "Imagine". She won the contest and was honored with a standing ovation.[12][13] At the same age, Knowles started gaining attention from the press, having mentioned in Houston Chronicle as a nominee for the local performing arts award The Sammy.[14]

In the fall of 1990, Knowles enrolled in Parker Elementary School, a music magnet school in Houston, where she would perform onstage with the school's choir.[10] She also attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Houston[15] and later went to Alief Elsik High School, located in the Houston neighborhood of Alief.[9][16] Knowles was a soloist in the choir of her church, in St. John's United Methodist Church.[10] She only lasted in the choir for two years, however, because she was preoccupied with her newfound career.[17]

At the age of eight, Knowles met LaTavia Roberson while in an audition for a girl group.[18] They, along with Knowles' friend Kelly Rowland, were placed into a group that performed rapping and dancing. Originally named Girl's Tyme,[12] they were eventually cut down to six members.[10] With Knowles and Rowland, Girl's Tyme attracted audience nationally. West coast R&B producer, Arne Frager, flew into Houston to see them. He eventually brought them to his studio - The Plant Recording Studios - in Northern California, with Knowles' vocals being featured because Frager thought she had personality and the ability to sing.[10] As part of efforts to sign Girl's Tyme to a major label record deal, Frager's strategy was to debut them in Star Search,[11] the biggest talent show on national TV that time.[10] Girl's Tyme participated in the competition but lost it because the song they performed was not good, Knowles herself admitted.[19][20] Knowles had her first "professional setback" after that defeat, but regained confidence after learning that pop stars Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake had also the same experience.[10]

To manage the group, Knowles' father (who was at that time a medical-equipment salesman) resigned in 1995 from his job.[21] He dedicated his time and established a "boot camp" for their training.[11] The move reduced Knowles' family's income by half and her parents separated because of the pressure.[9] Not long after the inclusion of Rowland, Mathew cut the original lineup to four,[10] with LeToya Luckett joining in 1993.[18] Rehearsing in Tina's Headliners Salon and their backyards, the group continued performing as an opening act for other established R&B girl groups of the time;[18] Tina contributed to the cause by designing their costumes, which she continued to do throughout the Destiny's Child era. With the continued support of Mathew, they auditioned before record labels and were finally signed to Elektra Records, only to be dropped months later before they could release an album.


Taking inspiration from a passage in the Book of Isaiah, the group changed its name to Destiny's Child in 1993.[18] Together, they performed in local events and, after four years on the road, the group was signed to Columbia Records in late 1997. That same year, Destiny's Child recorded its major label debut song, "Killing Time", for the soundtrack to the 1997 film, Men in Black.[18][20]

The following year, the group released its self-titled debut album,[19] scoring their first major hit "No, No, No". That album established the group as a viable act in the music industry, amassing moderate sales and winning the group three Soul Train Lady of Soul Awards for "Best R&B/Soul Single" for "No, No, No", "Best R&B/Soul Album of the Year" and "Best R&B/Soul or Rap New Artist".[18] However, the group rose to bona fide stardom after releasing their multi-platinum sophomore album The Writing's on the Wall in 1999. The record features some of the group's most widely known songs such as "Bills, Bills, Bills", the group's first number-one single, Jumpin' Jumpin'", and "Say My Name", which became their most-successful song at the time, and would remain one of their signature songs. "Say My Name" won the Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and the Best R&B Song at the 2001 Grammy Awards.[18] The Writing's on the Wall sold more than seven million copies,[19] essentially becoming their breakthrough album
Along with their commercial successes, the group became entangled in much-publicized turmoil involving the filing of a lawsuit by Luckett and Roberson for breach of contract. The issue was heightened after Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin appeared on the video of "Say My Name", implying that Luckett and Roberson had already been replaced.[18] Eventually, Luckett and Roberson left the group. Franklin would eventually fade from the group after five months,[19] as evidenced by her absences during promotional appearances and concerts. She attributed her departure to negative vibes in the group resulting from the strife.[18]

After settling on their final lineup, the trio recorded "Independent Women Part I", which appeared on the soundtrack to the 2000 film, Charlie's Angels. It became their best-charting single, topping the official U.S. singles chart for eleven consecutive weeks.[18][22] The success cemented the new lineup and skyrocketed them to fame.[12] Later that year, Luckett and Roberson withdrew their case against their now-former band mates, while maintaining the suit against Mathew, which ended in both sides agreeing to stop public disparaging.[18] Destiny's Child's third album, Survivor, channels the turmoil they underwent, spawning its eponymous lead single, which was a response to the experience.[24] The themes of "Survivor", however, caused Luckett and Roberson to refile their lawsuit, believing that the songs were aimed at them.[18] However, the proceedings were eventually settled in June 2002.[23] Meanwhile, the album was released in May 2001, debuting at number one on U.S. Billboard 200 with 663,000 units sold.[25] To date, Survivor has sold over ten million copies worldwide, over forty percent of which were sold in the U.S. alone.[26] The album spawned other number-one hits—"Bootylicious" and the title track, "Survivor", the latter of which earned the group a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals. After releasing their holiday album, 8 Days of Christmas, the group announced a hiatus to pursue solo projects.[18]

In 2000, Knowles signed a three-album deal with Columbia Records.[27] While Knowles was with Destiny's Child, she made solo appearances. She made a duet with label mate Marc Nelson on the song "After All Is Said and Done" for the soundtrack to the 1999 film The Best Man, and featured on the 2000 single "I Got That" by rapper Amil.[27] In early 2001, while Destiny's Child was completing Survivor, Knowles landed a major role in the MTV made-for-television film, Carmen: A Hip Hopera, starring alongside American actor Mekhi Phifer. Set in Philadelphia, the film is a modern interpretation of the 19th century opera Carmen by French composer Georges Bizet.[28]

In 2002, Knowles co-starred in the comedy film Austin Powers in Goldmember, playing Foxxy Cleopatra opposite Mike Myers.[29] The movie topped the box office, gaining $73.1 million on its first weekend.[12] Knowles recorded her first solo single, "Work It Out", for the film's soundtrack.[30] The following year, Knowles starred opposite Cuba Gooding, Jr. in the romantic comedy film The Fighting Temptations, and recorded "Fighting Temptation", alongside female rappers Missy Elliott, MC Lyte, and Free for its soundtrack.[31][32]

That same year, Knowles was featured on her then-boyfriend Jay-Z's hit single "'03 Bonnie & Clyde".[12] She also recorded a version of 50 Cent's "In Da Club" and released it in March 2003.[33] Luther Vandross and Knowles remade the duet "The Closer I Get to You", which was originally recorded by Roberta Flack and Donny Hathaway in 1977.[34] Their version won a Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals the following year, and Vandross' "Dance with My Father", which also features Knowles, won for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.[35][36]
After Williams and Rowland released their solo efforts, Knowles released her debut solo album, Dangerously in Love, in June 2003.[34] Featuring many musical collaborators, the album contains a combination of uptempo and slow jam songs. The album debuted on the Billboard 200 at number one, selling 317,000 copies in its first week.[25] Certified 4x platinum on August 5, 2004 by the Recording Industry Association of America,[37] the album has sold 4.2 million copies to date in the United States.[38]

The album yielded two number one singles. "Crazy in Love", featuring a guest rap verse from Jay-Z, was released as the album's lead single remained on the Billboard Hot 100 for eight consecutive weeks[39] and topping many charts worldwide. Knowles also successfully dominated the United Kingdom, simultaneously topping the singles and album charts there.[40][41] The album's second single, "Baby Boy", which features dancehall singer Sean Paul, also became one of the biggest hits of 2003, dominating U.S. radio airplay and spending nine weeks at number one on the Billboard Hot 100—one week longer than "Crazy in Love".[42][43] Unlike "Crazy in Love", the final three singles attained more immediate commercial successes, propelling the album to the top of the charts and going a long way toward it being certified multi-platinum.[44]

Knowles won five awards at the 2004 Grammy Awards for her solo effort, which included the Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "Dangerously in Love 2", Best R&B Song for "Crazy in Love", and the Best Contemporary R&B Album. She shares this distinction with four other female artists: Lauryn Hill (1999), Alicia Keys (2002) Norah Jones (2003) and Amy Winehouse (2008).[22][45] In 2004, she won a BRIT Award for International Female Solo Artist.[46]


In 2004, Knowles planned to release a follow-up to Dangerously in Love, which would feature some of the left-over recordings. However, her musical aspirations were put on hiatus due to conflicting schedules, including her recording with Destiny's Child for what would be their final album.[47] Early in that year, Knowles performed the U.S. national anthem at Super Bowl XXXVIII at Reliant Stadium in Houston; she admitted it fulfilled a childhood dream.[48]

After a three-year journey that involved concentration on individual solo projects, Knowles rejoined Rowland and Williams for Destiny Fulfilled, released in November 2004.[18] The album hit number two on the Billboard 200, and spawned thre top forty hits including "Lose My Breath", "Soldier".[49] In support of the album, Destiny's Child embarked on the 2005 Destiny Fulfilled ... And Lovin' It world tour, which started in April and ran through September. On the Barcelona, Spain visit, the group announced their disbandment after the end of their final North American leg.[18][50] In October 2005, the group released a compilation album, entitled #1's, including all of Destiny's Child's number-one hits and most of their well-known songs. The greatest hits collection also includes three new tracks, including "Stand Up for Love". Destiny's Child was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in March 2006.[48] They were also recognized as the world's best-selling female group of all time.[51][52]

Continuing her film career, Knowles co-starred in the film The Pink Panther, playing the role of Xania, an international pop star, opposite Steve Martin, who plays Inspector Clouseau.[53][54] The film was released on February 10, 2006, and debuted at number one at the box office, doing $21.7 million in ticket sales in its first week.[12] Knowles recorded "Check on It" for the soundtrack to the film, featuring Slim Thug, and reached the top spot on the Billboard Hot 100.[53]

In late 2005, Knowles again put her second album on hold after she landed a role in Dreamgirls, the film adaptation of the 1981 hit Broadway musical about a 1960s singing group loosely based on Motown all-female group The Supremes. In the film, she portrays the Diana Ross-based character Deena Jones.[53][55] Knowles told Billboard magazine: "I'm not going to write for the album until I finish doing the movie."[38] Released in December 2006, Dreamgirls stars Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, and Jennifer Hudson. Knowles recorded several songs for the film's soundtrack, including the original song "Listen".[56] On December 14, 2006, Knowles was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards for the film: Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy and Best Original Song for "Listen".[57]
Inspired by her role in Dreamgirls, Knowles worked on her second album without any specific plan, telling MTV News, "[When filming ended] I had so many things bottled up, so many emotions, so many ideas".[58] Knowles worked with previous musical collaborators, including Rich Harrison, Rodney Jerkins and Sean Garrett, at the Sony Music Studios in New York City. She co-wrote and co-produced nearly all songs included in the album, which was completed in three weeks.[59]

B'Day was released worldwide on September 4, 2006 and on September 5, 2006 in the United States to coincide with the celebration of her twenty-fifth birthday. The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200, selling more than 541,000 copies in the first week, her highest first-week sales mark as a solo artist.[60] The album has been certified three-times platinum in the United States by the Recording Industry Association of America.[37] The album spawned the UK number-one single "Déjà Vu", the album's lead single, featuring Jay-Z." "Irreplaceable" was released in October 2006 as the album's second single worldwide and third single in the U.S. "Irreplaceable" topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 10 consecutive weeks, giving Knowles her longest-running single to date.[61] Although it was a commercial success, the relatively short-spanned production of the album was the subject of critical scrutiny.[62][63][64]

Knowles re-released B'Day on April 3, 2007 as a deluxe edition,[65] featuring five new tracks and Spanish-language versions of "Irreplaceable", and "Listen".[66] Simultaneously, the B'Day Anthology was released featuring 10 music videos.[66][67] In support of the album, Knowles embarked on her lengthy The Beyoncé Experience concert tour, visiting over ninety venues worldwide, which was made into the concert DVD The Beyoncé Experience Live!.[68] At the 2007 Grammy Awards, B'Day earned Knowles the award for Best Contemporary R&B Album.[69] Knowles made history at the 35th Annual American Music Awards for being the first woman to win an International Artist Award.


Knowles released her third studio album, I Am… Sasha Fierce, on November 18, 2008.[70] Knowles says that the name Sasha Fierce is the name of the persona she adopts when she performs onstage.[71] "I have someone else that takes over when it's time for me to work and when I'm on stage, this alter ego that I've created that kind of protects me and who I really am."[71] In an interview with producer Rodney Jerkins, he said that the style of the album kept switching and was inspired by the musical biopic film, Cadillac Records,[72] in which Knowles had been cast to play famed blues singer Etta James.[73] Her performance in the film has received praise from critics.[74] Knowles also starred opposite Ali Larter and Idris Elba in a thriller film called Obsessed, which was in production since May 2008. The film received a poor critical response and has a rotten rank of 18% on Rotten Tomatoes. However, the film has so far proved to be a commercial success and was released in the United States on April 24, 2009, the film grossed $11.1 million on its first day of release[75] and ended its opening weekend at number one, with a total of $28.6 million.[75]

"If I Were a Boy" and "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", the first and second singles off I Am… Sasha Fierce, were released to radio on October 8, 2008, preceding the album's release on November 18, 2008.[76][77] While "If I Were a Boy" topped numerous charts worldwide, mostly in European countries, "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" went on to top the Billboard Hot 100 chart, for four non-consecutive weeks, giving Knowles her fifth number one single in the United States. "Halo", the fourth single off I Am... Sasha Fierce, went on to peak at number five, becoming Knowles' 12th Top 10 single on the Hot 100 as a solo artist. This made Knowles the female artist with the most top tens on the Hot 100 this decade.[6][7] Knowles embarked on her third world tour, I Am… Tour, starting in the Spring of 2009, visiting venues all over the world from the America's, Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania.

Knowles won the Outstanding Female Artist at the 2009 NAACP Image Awards.[78] Knowles performed on January 18, 2009 at the Lincoln Memorial festivities in honor of the inauguration of Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States. Knowles also sang her cover of the R&B classic most famously sang by Etta James, "At Last", as President Obama and his wife Michelle had their first dance as President and First lady of America, on January 20, 2009 at the Neighborhood Inaugural Ball.

Knowles, a mezzo-soprano,[79] has always been identified as the centerpiece of Destiny's Child.[80] Jon Pareles of The New York Times commented that she has the voice that defines the group, writing that her voice is "velvety yet tart, with an insistent flutter and reserves of soul belting."[81] James Anthony of The Guardian called her voice distinctive and fast, with almost hiccuping vocal technique.[23] Other critics praise her range and power. In reviewing her second album B'Day, Jody Rosen of Entertainment Weekly writes "Beyoncé Knowles is a storm system disguised as a singer. On her second solo album, B'Day, the songs arrive in huge gusts of rhythm and emotion, with Beyoncé's voice rippling over clattery beats; you'd have to search far and wide — perhaps in the halls of the Metropolitan Opera — to find a vocalist who sings with more sheer force...No one — not R. Kelly, not Usher, to say nothing of her rival pop divas — can match Beyoncé's genius for dragging her vocal lines against a hip-hop beat."[82] Chris Richards of the Washington Post writes, "Even when she's coasting, she soars above her imitators. It's all in her voice— a superhuman instrument capable of punctuating any beat with goose-bump-inducing whispers or full-bore diva-roars. Smitten, scorned, amorous, antagonistic— Beyoncé sings from all of these vantage points with undeniable virtuosity."[83] The Cove magazine ranked Knowles seventh on their list of "The 100 Outstanding Pop Vocalists", giving her 48 out of 50 points based on several criteria ranging from her vocal ability to range to harmony.[84][85]

Knowles' music is predominantly considered contemporary R&B, but has also included genres of dance-pop, funk, pop and soul. While she almost exclusively releases English songs, Knowles did record several Spanish records for the re-release of B'Day. Destiny's Child had already recorded a Spanish song and received favorable responses from their Latin fans. Knowles took Spanish in school when she was young, but can now only speak a few words of the language. Prior to recording the Spanish titles on the re-released version of B'Day, she was coached phonetically by American record producer Rudy Perez.[
Since Destiny's Child, Knowles has been artistically involved in her career.[18] She co-wrote most of the songs recorded by the group, as well as her solo efforts. Known for writing personally driven and female-empowerment themed compositions, she has stated that having Jay-Z in her life has changed a few of her thoughts about how men and women relate to one another.[86] Some of her songs are autobiographical, which she has admitted are taken from personal experiences, as well as her friends'.[87]

Knowles has co-produced most of the records in which she has been involved, especially during her solo efforts. Although she does not formulate beats herself, she typically comes up with melodies and ideas during production, sharing them with producers.[88] Knowles was recognized as a songwriter during the run of Destiny's Child in the 1990s and early to mid-2000s. She won the Songwriter of the Year award at the 2001 American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers Pop Music Awards,[22] becoming the first African-American female and second female songwriter of all time to accomplish the feat.[9][87] Knowles received three songwriting credits in a single year for co-writing "Irreplaceable", "Grillz" and "Check on It", the only woman to achieve since Carole King in 1971 and Mariah Carey in 1991. In terms of credits, she is tied with Diane Warren at third with nine number-one singles.[89]

Despite her songwriter credits since Destiny's Child, her involvement was a subject of media scrutiny. An issue of Vanity Fair magazine, which happened to feature Knowles on its cover, fueled issues regarding her songwriting credits. In the magazine, she says, "I had written ... seven, eight number one songs with Destiny's Child, in a row."[90] Roger Friedman of FOX News questioned the veracity of her statement. One argument of Friedman involved the credit given to Knowles on her hit "Crazy in Love". He pointed out that the song was written by Eugene Record of the The Chi-Lites and was only sampled by Rich Harrison, who produced the track.[90] In a 2004 MTV news report, it was stated, "... Harrison stepped up and wrote the verses and the hook, leaving the bridge for Beyoncé."[91] Friedman also cited songs from Destiny's Child and her solo recordings in his arguments. Another issue spread after Knowles' name was discredited for a nomination given to "Listen" at the 2007 Academy Awards. The Academy's ruling explained that only three major contributors should be recognized during the awards process, and Knowles was the least among the four.[92]


Early into her career, Knowles developed an alter ego Sasha Fierce that represents the more aggressive, sexual and confident side of the singer. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly magazine, Knowles noted that her alter-ego is "strictly for the stage."[93] Knowles wears a "roboglove" in public to compliment Sasha Fierce.

In 2006, Knowles introduced her all-female tour band Suga Mama, which includes bassists, drummers, guitarists, horn players, keyboardists and percussionists.[94] They debuted at the 2006 BET Awards and they re-appeared in the music video for "Irreplaceable" and "Green Light".[67] The band has supported Knowles in live performances, and on her 2007 The Beyoncé Experience world concert tour, and her 2009 I Am... Tour.

In an article entitled "Born to Entertain", Knowles, alongside classic and contemporary entertainers, received praise for her stage performances.[95] In reviewing her 2009 I Am... Tour, Alice Jones of The Independent writes, "Watching Beyoncé sing and strut her stuff can feel at best overawing, at worst, alienating. She takes her role as entertainer so seriously she's almost too good."[96] The New York Times writes, "there is a breathtaking elegance in her acute desire to entertain".[97] Renee Michelle Harris of the South Florida Times writes, Knowles "owns the stage with her trademark swagger and intensity... showcasing her powerful vocals without missing a note, often while engaged in vigorous, perfectly executed dance moves...no one, not Britney, not Ciara and not Rihanna can offer what she does— a complete package of voice, moves and presence."[98] This was echoed by Lorraine Schwartz of The Examiner, who wrote, "In less than a year, I've seen Madonna, Britney and Beyoncé... [Beyoncé] was by far the best of all three."[99]

Reviewers also praise her live vocal performances. In reviewing one of her performances, Jim Farber of The Daily News writes "Beyoncé showed off pipes of steely power. As the song's signature horn riff pumped away, she soared over the melody with athletic ease. The way Beyoncé used her body intensified the sense of triumph. With her hair teased into Medusa-like tresses, a pelvis in perpetual churn and legs long enough to make Tina Turner proud, Beyoncé's presence punctuated her singing like an exclamation point."[100] Stephanie Classen of the Star Phoenix declares "Beyonce is no ordinary performer... from note one, the 27-year-old powerhouse rose above all the gimmicks, mastering the show like a sexy alien overlord princess. Nothing but extraterrestrial origins could explain that voice....[Beyonce] could perform circles around any other pop star today."[101] Newsday writes, "she proves that hot choreography and strong vocals don't have to be mutually exclusive... No worries of lip-synching here."[102]

Beyonce has also been criticized for her suggestive choreography. Her performance at the former U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant's tomb on July 4, 2003 was cited as lasciviously choreographed; Grant's descendants in attendance had mixed reaction to it.[103]


Knowles has become known as a sex symbol.[104][105] According to her, "I like to dress sexy and I carry myself like a lady," but she has said that the way she dresses on stage is "absolutely for the stage".[106] As someone who is fond of fashion, Knowles combines its artistic elements with her music videos and performances. According to Italian fashion designer Roberto Cavalli, she uses different styles and tries to harmonize it with the music while performing.[107] The B'Day Anthology showed many instances of fashion-oriented footage, depicting classic to contemporary wardrobe styles.[108] People magazine recognized Knowles as the best-dressed celebrity in 2007.[109] Knowles' mother wrote a 2002-published book, titled Destiny's Style: Bootylicious Fashion, Beauty and Lifestyle Secrets From Destiny's Child, an account of how fashion had an impact on Destiny's Child's success.[110]

As one of the most media-exposed black artists in the United States, Knowles has often received criticism that some believe is due to racism and sexism.[111] A fan of hers points out, "[Knowles] portrays herself as a sex symbol rather than an artist."[112] Toure of the Rolling Stone stated that since the release of Dangerously in Love, "[Beyoncé] has become a crossover sex symbol a la Halle Berry ..."[113] Her appearance in Vanity Fair magazine has also provoked speculations that her skin tone was digitally altered.[13]

In 2007, Knowles was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, the first non-model and non-athlete woman to pose on the issue and the second African American model after Tyra Banks.[48] In the same year, Knowles appeared on billboards and newspapers across the United States showing her holding an antiquated cigarette holder. Taken from the back cover of B'Day, the image provoked response from an anti-smoking group, stating that she did not need to add the cigarette holder "to make herself appear more sophisticated".[114]

On April 24, 2009 Knowles appeared on Larry King Live where she gave herself a more political image talking about everything from singing at President Barack Obama's inauguration on January 20, 2009 to racism that she has faced as being an African-American. She said that Michelle Obama is "so chic" and even stated that her performance of "At Last" was the highlight of her career.[115]
Knowles has cited various artists who have influenced her musical style. She grew up listening to songs of Anita Baker and Luther Vandross, the latter whom she eventually collaborated with. She was exposed to the jazz music of Rachelle Ferrell, after singing Ferrell's songs during her voice lessons.[116] Knowles cites influences from American artists Prince, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Selena, Michael Jackson, Mary J. Blige, Diana Ross, Donna Summer, Mariah Carey, Tina Turner and the Colombian singer Shakira.[117][118]

Knowles also has influenced various contemporary artists. Pop singer Rihanna has been compared to her when the columnist for The Guardian Amina Taylor called her "Bajan Beyoncé",[119] pop-R&B. The Canadian singer of the same genre, Keshia Chanté, had also an influence from Knowles.[120] In addition, American Idol winner Jordin Sparks' first single, "Tattoo", and debut album have been described as very "Beyoncé-ish";[121] some critics said that "Tattoo" might be "a blatant rip-off" off Knowles' hit single "Irreplaceable".[122]

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic found American pop singer Katharine McPhee's songs on her debut album of the same name to have heavy influences from Knowles' music.[123] Rowland was inspired by Knowles’ voice while recording the former's second album, Ms. Kelly.[124]

Knowles became the first female to ever be awarded the International Artist Award at the American Music Awards. At the 2008 World Music Awards, Knowles was honored the legend award for Outstanding Contribution To The Arts.[125] Knowles was the lead vocalist of one of the world's best selling female groups of all time Destiny's Child..[126][4][127] To many, she is recognized one of the world's most known pop icons.[128][129] Her debut album was listed as one of the top 200 Definitive albums in music history by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. She was one of a few artist of her generation to be mentioned on that list.[130] Knowles has many different wax figures but her most known firgure is at Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum.[131] She is also one of a few African American females to have had three or more Golden Globe nominations.






www.nicewallpapers.info/pics/music/beyonce/beyonce_007.jpg[/img

[bob]

this will resume momentarily

[bob]

6th place in this most wonderful of countdowns goes to another beauty. She gained a total of 17 votes.
















Jennifer Connelly






Jennifer Lynn Connelly (born December 12, 1970) is an American film actress and former child model. Although she has been working in the film industry since she was a teenager and catapulted to fame on the basis of her appearances in films like Labyrinth and Career Opportunities, she gained a new level of acclaim and exposure following her work in the 2000 drama Requiem for a Dream, and the 2001 biopic A Beautiful Mind, for which she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, as well as the BAFTA and Golden Globe awards.

Connelly was born in the Catskill Mountains of New York, the daughter of Ilene, an antiques dealer, and Gerard Connelly, a clothing manufacturer who worked in the garment industry.[1][2] Connelly's paternal grandparents were of Irish Catholic and Norwegian descent, respectively, while her maternal grandparents were Jewish, their families having come from Russia and Poland[3][4] (Connelly's mother was schooled in a yeshiva).[5] Connelly was raised in Brooklyn Heights, near the Brooklyn Bridge, and attended St. Ann's School, except for four years the family spent living in Woodstock, New York.[6] One of her father's friends was an advertising executive, who suggested that she audition at a modeling agency.

At the age of ten, Connelly's career started in newspaper and magazine ads, then moved to television commercials. These led to movie auditions and her first film role was as "young Deborah Gelly", a supporting role in Sergio Leone's 1984 gangster epic, Once Upon a Time in America, filmed mostly in 1982 when she was eleven.[7] She next starred in Italian horror-director Dario Argento's Phenomena (1985) and in the coming-of-age movie Seven Minutes in Heaven
Connelly became a star with her next picture, the fantasy Labyrinth (1986), playing Sarah, a teenager who wishes her baby brother into the world of goblins ruled by goblin king Jareth (David Bowie). The film disappointed at the box office, but gained a following among fantasy fans. Connelly starred in several obscure films, such as Etoile (1988) and Some Girls (1988). The Dennis Hopper-directed The Hot Spot (1990) was not a success, either critically or commercially. Another film, Career Opportunities, was more successful and is considered a teen cult classic. It and Hot Spot threatened to typecast her in the "sexpot" stereotype with both films emphasizing her voluptuous figure, particularly Hot Spot, which contained her first topless scene. It would be the first of seven movies in which she appeared nude. Connelly was featured on the cover of Esquire in August 1991, as part of the "Women We Love" feature.[8] She appeared alongside Jason Priestley in the Roy Orbison music video for "I Drove All Night" in 1992. Connelly began studying English at Yale, and two years later transferred to Stanford.

The big-budget Disney film The Rocketeer (1991) similarly failed to ignite Connelly's career; after its failure, she took some time off from acting. The 1996 independent film Far Harbor played her against type and hinted at a much broader range than she had previously shown. Connelly began to appear in smaller but well-regarded films, such as 1997's Inventing the Abbotts and 2000's Waking the Dead. She played a collegiate lesbian in John Singleton's 1995 ensemble drama, Higher Learning. The critically favored 1998 science fiction film Dark City afforded her the chance to work with such actors as Rufus Sewell, William Hurt, Ian Richardson, and Kiefer Sutherland. Connelly revisited her ingenue image, although in a more understated way, for the 2000 biopic Pollock, in which she played Jackson Pollock's mistress.

Connelly's big breakthrough was the 2000 film Requiem for a Dream. Connelly starred alongside Jared Leto and Marlon Wayans as drug addicts on the edge of a breakdown. The film firmly established her as a serious actress. Connelly next starred in Ron Howard's film A Beautiful Mind (2001), essaying the role of Alicia Nash, the long-suffering wife of the brilliant, schizophrenic mathematician John Forbes Nash, Jr. (played by Russell Crowe). The film was a critical and commercial success and earned Connelly a Golden Globe and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her appearance in A Beautiful Mind led to a featured article in Time magazine.[9]

Connelly starred in two films in 2003: Hulk and House of Sand and Fog. Hulk was something of a box office disappointment, but afforded Connelly the chance to work with noted director Ang Lee. House of Sand and Fog, based on the novel by Andre Dubus III, was reminiscent of much of her independent film work of the late 1990s. Connelly appeared in the 2005 horror film Dark Water, which was based on a Japanese film. In 2006, Connelly appeared in two films, both of which were nominated for multiple Academy Awards. She played a major role in an adaptation of the novel Little Children alongside Kate Winslet. Although her role as Kathy Adamson is very important in the novel, director Todd Field gave her character less screen time, instead focusing on the characters played by Winslet and Patrick Wilson. She also played a journalist in Blood Diamond opposite Leonardo DiCaprio. She next appeared in Reservation Road with Joaquin Phoenix, which was given a limited release in the fall of 2007.

Connelly next appeared alongside Keanu Reeves in the 2008 remake of the 1951 sci-fi classic The Day The Earth Stood Still. Her 2009 roles include a small independent thriller with her husband Paul Bettany, and a co-starring role opposite Jennifer Aniston and Ginnifer Goodwin in He's Just Not That Into You.

In 2008, she was named the face of Balenciaga's ads,[10] as well as the new face for Revlon cosmetics.[11]

[Mr. Emoticon Man]

Jennifer Connelly... the SUPERIOR Betty Ross.

[bob]

Jul 5, 2009 10:11:30 GMT -5 Mr. Emoticon Man said:

Jennifer Connelly... the SUPERIOR Betty Ross.

that's one of the most unique ways I've heard her described

[bob]

At fourth place is our last tie for this week. One is a porn star while the other is an actoress. They're both hot and if you've been some DVDs you maybe have seen them both topless.






Coming it at number 4 Bianca Beauchamp






Bianca Beauchamp was born in Montreal, Quebec to a French Canadian father and an Italian mother. She was named after Bianca Jagger.[1]

At age 18 she met and began to model for Martin Perreault, a photography student and waiter. While continuing her modelling, she studied French Literature and Teaching at CEGEP. She began a teaching internship at her former high school. One of the teachers discovered her website and she was pressured into closing the site during her internship, but she re-opened it afterwards. The move caused further controversy, but Beauchamp refused to back down and left school in favour of her modelling career.[3]

Beauchamp underwent two breast augmentation surgeries to increase her cup size to a 32DD. She dismisses criticism about the implants, deeming it hypocritical to applaud people for improving their intellects while condemning them for improving their bodies.[4]

Beauchamp has become successful in latex fetish modelling, appearing on the covers of publications. Beauchamp also writes a column for Bizarre and, in January 2007, became the first model to have appeared on its cover for six issues[5][6]. Her photos have also been in several Playboy Special Editions and on the cover of Book of Lingerie. She has also been on the cover of Playboy's Girls of Canada calendar twice. In partnership with her website and Ritual Entertainment, she portrayed the character Elexis Sinclaire for the video game, SiN Episodes.


In 2006, Beauchamp announced the release of a Bianca Beauchamp - Fetish Sex Symbol which focuses on her modelling career as a latex fetish model.[3]

In 2007, she agreed to team up with Hype Energy to represent the brand on Canadian F1 Grand Prix in Montreal.[7][8]

In 2007, she released her film Bianca Beauchamp: All Access, a reality-documentary directed and edited by her partner Martin Perreault. The 85 minute film was Premiered at Fantasia Film Festival in July 2007 and issued as a 2-disc Special Edition DVD in September 2007. [9][10] The film was acquired by distributor HALO 8 Entertainment at the Fantasia Festival and is slated for a wide release in North America on January 29, 2008.[11]

In August 2008, Beauchamp premiered her new film Bianca Beauchamp All Access 2:Rubberized at the Montreal Fetish Weekend, with full red carpet treatment and a sold out theater.[12] [13] [14] The DVD was released the same day.

In January 2009, Beauchamp makes a return on the Askmen.com Top 99 Women of the Year, a popular Hot List for celebrities, where she ranks 24th. [15] The previous year, she had ranked 31st.[16] January 2009, she appears on the cover of Bizarre magazine, her 9th cover for the UK magazine, confirming her lead as the model who appeared the most times on Bizarre.


Also tied at this position Halle Barry




www.paparazziwallpapers.com/data/media/28/halle_berry_60.jpg[.img]





Halle Berry (pronounced /ˈhæli ˈbɛri/; born August 14, 1966[1]) is an American actress, former fashion model, and beauty queen. Berry has received Emmy and Golden Globe awards for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge[2] and an Academy Award for Best Actress in 2001 for her performance in Monster's Ball, becoming the first and, as of 2009, only woman of African American descent to have won the award for Best Actress. She is one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood and also a Revlon spokeswoman.[3][4] She has also been involved in the production side of several of her films.

Before becoming an actress, Berry entered several beauty contests, finishing runner-up in the Miss USA (1986), and winning the Miss USA World 1986 title.[2] Her breakthrough feature film role was in the 1991 Jungle Fever. This led to roles in The Flintstones (1994), Bulworth (1998), X-Men (2000) and its sequels, and as Bond Girl Jinx in Die Another Day (2002). She also won a worst actress Razzie Award in 2005 for Catwoman and accepted the award in person.[5]

Divorced from baseball player David Justice and musician Eric Benét, Berry has been dating French-Canadian model Gabriel Aubry since November 2005. Their first child, a girl named Nahla Ariela Aubry,[6] was born on March 16, 2008.


Halle Berry (pronounced /ˈhæli ˈbɛri/; born August 14, 1966[1]) is an American actress, former fashion model, and beauty queen. Berry has received Emmy and Golden Globe awards for Introducing Dorothy Dandridge[2] and an Academy Award for Best Actress in 2001 for her performance in Monster's Ball, becoming the first and, as of 2009, only woman of African American descent to have won the award for Best Actress. She is one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood and also a Revlon spokeswoman.[3][4] She has also been involved in the production side of several of her films.

Before becoming an actress, Berry entered several beauty contests, finishing runner-up in the Miss USA (1986), and winning the Miss USA World 1986 title.[2] Her breakthrough feature film role was in the 1991 Jungle Fever. This led to roles in The Flintstones (1994), Bulworth (1998), X-Men (2000) and its sequels, and as Bond Girl Jinx in Die Another Day (2002). She also won a worst actress Razzie Award in 2005 for Catwoman and accepted the award in person.[5]

Divorced from baseball player David Justice and musician Eric Benét, Berry has been dating French-Canadian model Gabriel Aubry since November 2005. Their first child, a girl named Nahla Ariela Aubry,[6] was born on March 16, 2008.


Berry was born Maria Halle Berry, though her name was legally changed to Halle Maria Berry in 1971.[7] Berry's parents selected her middle name from Halle's Department Store, which was then a local landmark in her birthplace of Cleveland, Ohio.[8] Her mother, Judith Ann (née Hawkins),[9][10] who is Caucasian, was a psychiatric nurse. Her father, Jerome Jesse Berry, was an African-American hospital attendant in the same psychiatric ward where her mother worked; he later became a bus driver.[8][11] Berry's maternal grandmother, Nellie Dicken, was born in Sawley, Derbyshire, England, while her maternal grandfather, Earl Ellsworth Hawkins, was born in Ohio.[12] Berry's parents divorced when she was four years old; she was raised exclusively by her mother.[8] Berry has said in published reports that she has been estranged from her father since her childhood.[8][13]

Berry graduated from Bedford High School, afterwards working in the children's department at Higbee's Department store. She then studied at Cuyahoga Community College. In the 1980s, she entered several beauty contests, winning Miss Teen All-American in 1985 and Miss Ohio USA in 1986.[2] She was the 1986 Miss USA first runner-up to Christy Fichtner of Texas. In the Miss USA 1986 pageant interview competition, she said she hoped to become an entertainer or to have something to do with the media. Her interview was awarded the highest score by the judges.[14] She was the first African-American Miss World entrant in 1986, where she finished sixth and Trinidad and Tobago's Giselle Laronde was crowned Miss World.[15]

In 1989, during the taping of the short-lived television series Living Dolls, Berry lapsed into a coma and was diagnosed with diabetes mellitus type 1.[8][16]

In the late 1980s, Berry went to Illinois to pursue a modeling career as well as acting. One of her first acting projects was a television series for local cable by Gordon Lake Productions called Chicago Force. In 1989, Berry landed the role of Emily Franklin in the short-lived ABC television series Living Dolls (a spin-off of Who's the Boss?). She went on to have a recurring role on the long running serial Knots Landing. In 1992, Berry was cast as the love interest in the video for R. Kelly's seminal single, "Honey Love".[17]

Her breakthrough feature film role was in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever, in which she played a drug addict named Vivian.[8] Her first co-starring role was in the 1991 film Strictly Business. In 1992, Berry portrayed a career woman who falls for Eddie Murphy in the romantic comedy Boomerang. That same year, she caught the public's attention as a headstrong biracial slave in the TV adaptation of Queen: The Story of an American Family, based on the book by Alex Haley. Berry was in the live-action Flintstones movie as "Sharon Stone", the sultry secretary who seduced Fred Flintstone.[18]

Playing a former drug addict struggling to regain custody of her son in Losing Isaiah (1995), Berry tackled a more serious role, starring opposite co-star Jessica Lange. She portrayed Sandra Beecher in Race the Sun (1996), which was based on a true story, and co-starred alongside Kurt Russell in Executive Decision. From 1996 onwards, she was a Revlon spokeswoman for seven years and renewed her contract in 2004.[4][19]

In 1998, Berry received praise for her role in Bulworth as an intelligent woman raised by activists who gives a politician (Warren Beatty) a new lease on life. The same year, she played the singer Zola Taylor, one of the three wives of pop singer Frankie Lymon, in the biopic Why Do Fools Fall in Love. In the 1999 HBO biopic Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, she portrayed the first black woman to be nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award.[8] Berry's performance was recognized with several awards, including an Emmy and a Golden Globe.[2][20]

In 2001, Berry appeared as Leticia Musgrove, the wife of an executed murderer, in the film Monster's Ball. Her performance was awarded the National Board of Review and the Screen Actors Guild prizes, and in a pleasant irony she became the first African-American woman to receive a Best Leading Actress Academy Award (earlier in her career she portrayed Dorothy Dandridge, the first African-American woman to be nominated for Best Actress).[21] the NAACP issued the statement "Congratulations to Halle Berry and Denzel Washington for giving us hope and making us proud. If this is a sign that Hollywood is finally ready to give opportunity and judge performance based on skill and not on skin color then it is a good thing."[22] Her role also generated controversy. Berry's graphic, nude love scene with a racist character played by co-star Billy Bob Thornton, was the subject of much media chatter and discussion among African-Americans. Many in the African-American community were critical of Berry for taking the part.[23] Berry responded: "I don't really see a reason to ever go that far again. That was a unique movie. That scene was special and pivotal and needed to be there, and it would be a really special script that would require something like that again."[23]
Berry asked for a higher fee for Revlon advertisements after winning the Academy Award, and Ron Perelman, the cosmetics firms chief congratulated her, saying how happy he was that she modeled for his company. She replied: "Of course, you'll have to pay me more." Perelman stalked off with rage.[24] Her win at the Academy Awards led to two famous "Oscar moments." In accepting her award, she gave an acceptance speech honoring previous black actresses who had never had the opportunity. she said "This moment is so much bigger than me. This is for every nameless, faceless woman of colour who now has a chance tonight because this door has been opened."[25] One year later, as she presented the Best Actor award, winner Adrien Brody ran on stage and, instead of giving her the standard peck on the cheek, planted a long kiss on Berry.

Berry portrayed the mutant superhero Storm in the film adaptation of the comic book series X-Men (2000) and its sequels, X2: X-Men United (2003) and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). In 2001, Berry appeared in the film Swordfish, which featured her first on-screen nude scene.[26] At first, she refused to be filmed topless in a sunbathing scene, but she changed her mind when Warner Brothers raised her fee substantially.[27] The brief flash of her breasts added $500,000 to her fee.[28] Berry considered these stories to be rumors and was quick to deny them.[26] After turning down numerous roles that required nudity, she said she decided to make Swordfish because her husband, Benét, supported her and encouraged her to take risks.[23]

As Bond girl Giacinta 'Jinx' Johnson in the 2002 blockbuster Die Another Day, Berry recreated a scene from Dr. No, bursting from the surf to be greeted by James Bond as Ursula Andress had 40 years earlier.[29] Lindy Hemming insisted that she wear a bikini and knife as an homage.[30] Berry has said of the scene: "It's splashy", "exciting", "sexy", "provocative" and "it will keep me still out there after winning an Oscar."[23] The bikini scene was shot in Cadiz, the location was reportedly cold and windy, and footage has been released of Berry wrapped in thick towels in between takes to avoid catching a chill.[31] According to a ITV news poll, Jinx was voted the fourth toughest girl on screen of all time.[32] Berry was hurt during filming when debris from a smoke grenade flew into her eye. It was removed in a 30-minute operation.[33]

Because of winning the Academy Award, rewrites were commissioned to give Berry more screentime for X2.[34] Berry stated during interviews for X2 that she would not return as Storm unless the character had a significant presence comparable to the comic-book version.

In late 2003, she starred in the psychological thriller Gothika opposite Robert Downey Jr., during which she broke her arm. Downey was supposed to grab her arm and twist but twisted too hard. Production was halted for eight weeks.[35] It was a moderate hit at the United States box office, taking in $60 million; it earned another $80 million abroad.[36] Berry appeared in the Limp Bizkit music video for "Behind Blue Eyes" for the motion picture soundtrack for the film. The same year, she was named #1 in FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World poll.[37] In 2004 Berry was voted fourth of Empire magazine's 100 sexiest film stars of all time poll.[38]

Berry received $12.5 million for the title role in the film Catwoman,[36] a $100 million movie; it grossed $17 million on its first weekend.[39] She was awarded a "worst actress" Razzie award in 2005. She appeared at the ceremony to accept the award in person (making her the third person, and second actor, to ever do so)[40] with a sense of humor, considering it an experience of the "rock bottom" in order to be "at the top".[5] Holding the Academy Award in one hand and the Razzie in the other she said, "I never in my life thought that I would be here, winning a Razzie. It's not like I ever aspired to be here, but thank you. When I was a kid, my mother told me that if you could not be a good loser, then there's no way you could be a good winner."[21] The Fund for Animals praised Berry's compassion towards cats and for squelching rumors that she was keeping a Bengal tiger from the sets of Catwoman as a "pet."[41]

Berry next appeared in the Oprah Winfrey-produced ABC TV movie Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005), an adaptation of Zora Neale Hurston's novel, in which Berry portrayed Janie Crawford, a free-spirited woman whose unconventional sexual mores upset her 1920s contemporaries in her small community. Meanwhile, she voiced the character of Cappy, one of the many mechanical beings in the animated feature Robots (2005).[42]

In 2006, Berry, Pierce Brosnan, Cindy Crawford, Jane Seymour, Dick Van Dyke, Tea Leoni, and Daryl Hannah successfully fought the Cabrillo Port Liquefied Natural Gas facility that was proposed off the coast of Malibu.[43] Berry said "I care about the air we breathe, I care about the marine life and the ecosystem of the ocean."[44] In May 2007, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the facility.[45] Hasty Pudding Theatricals gave her its 2006 Woman of The Year award.[46]

Berry is involved in production of films and television. She served as executive producer on Introducing Dorothy Dandridge in 1999, and Lackawanna Blues in 2005. Berry produces as well as stars in the thriller Perfect Stranger with Bruce Willis and Things We Lost in the Fire with Benicio del Toro and Class Act, based on the real life story of a teacher whose students helped her run for political office. She will produce and star in the 2009 film Tulia, which will reunite her with Monster's Ball costar Billy Bob Thornton.

Berry is one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood, earning $10 million per film.[3] In July 2007, she topped In Touch magazine's list of the world's most fabulous 40-something celebrities. On April 3, 2007, she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in front of the Kodak Theatre at 6801 Hollywood Boulevard for her contributions to the film industry.[47][48]

Berry has served many years as the face of Revlon cosmetics and also served as the face of Versace. The Coty Inc. fragrance company signed Berry to market her debut fragrance in March 2008. Berry was delighted, saying that she had created her own fragrances at home by mixing scents.[49] She was paid $3–5 million with a royalty of about 5%.[50]