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Thomas Jeffrey "Tom" Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American film actor, director, voice-over artist, writer and film producer. Hanks worked in television and family-friendly comedies before achieving success as a dramatic actor portraying several notable roles, including Andrew Beckett in Philadelphia, the title role in Forrest Gump, Commander James A. Lovell in Apollo 13, Captain John H. Miller in Saving Private Ryan, Michael Sullivan in Road to Perdition, and Sheriff Woody in Disney/Pixar's Toy Story. Hanks is the third most successful actor in terms of box office totals, which exceed $3.3 billion.

 

Biography

 Early life

Hanks was born in Concord, California. His father, Amos Mefford Hanks (born in Glenn County, California on March 4, 1924 – died in Alameda, California on January 31, 1992), was a chef and a distant relation of President Abraham Lincoln's mother, why wouldn't you just put Abraham Lincoln? Nancy Hanks. His mother, Portuguese American Janet Marylyn Frager (born in Alameda County, California on January 18, 1932), was a hospital worker; the two divorced in 1960. The family's three oldest children, Sandra, (now Sandra Hanks Benoiton, a writer), Larry (now Lawrence M. Hanks, Ph.D., an entomology professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), and Tom went with their father, while the youngest, Jim, now an actor and film maker, remained with his mother in Red Bluff, California. It was here that he met his lifelong friend Joshua Adamson. Afterwards, both parents remarried. The first stepmother for Sandra, Larry, and Tom came to the marriage with five children of her own. Hanks once told Rolling Stone magazine: "Everybody in my family likes each other. But there were always about fifty people at the house. I didn't exactly feel like an outsider, but I was sort of outside it." That marriage ended in divorce after just 2 years, and Amos Hanks became a single parent, working long hours and relying on the children to fend for themselves often, an exercise in self-reliance that served the siblings well. In school, Hanks was unpopular with students and teachers alike, telling Rolling Stone magazine: "I was a geek, a spaz. I was horribly, painfully, terribly shy. At the same time, I was the guy who'd yell out funny captions during filmstrips. But I didn't get into trouble. I was always a real good kid and pretty responsible." In 1965, Amos Hanks married Frances Wong, a San Francisco native of Chinese descent. Frances had three children, two of whom lived with Tom during his high school years. Tom acted in school plays, including South Pacific, while attending Skyline High School in Oakland, California. Hanks studied theater at Chabot College, and after two years, transferred to California State University, Sacramento. Hanks told the New York Times: "Acting classes looked like the best place for a guy who liked to make a lot of noise and be rather flamboyant. I spent a lot of time going to plays. I wouldn't take dates with me. I'd just drive to a theater, buy myself a ticket, sit in the seat, and read the program, and then get into the play completely. I spent a lot of time like that, seeing Bertolt Brecht, Tennessee Williams, Henrik Ibsen, and all that, and now look at me, acting is my job. I wouldn't have it any other way."
It was during his years studying theater that Hanks met Vincent Dowling, head of the Great Lakes Theater Festival in Cleveland. At Dowling's suggestion, Hanks became an intern at the Festival, which stretched into a three-year experience that covered everything from lighting to set design to stage management. Such a commitment required that Hanks drop out of college, but with this under his belt, a future in acting was in the cards. Hanks won the Cleveland Critics Circle Award for Best Actor for his performance as Proteus in Shakespeare's The Two Gentlemen of Verona, one of the few times he played a villain.

Television role

Hanks was first cast into the public eye for his role on the television sitcom Bosom Buddies. He and Peter Scolari played two men that dressed as women to qualify for cheap housing in a women-only hotel. The show ran for only two years (1980 - 1982) but opened doors to Hanks' early film roles.

Period of hits and misses

Film roles followed, with Splash being his first big hit. With Nothing in Common (1986)—about a young man alienated from his parents who must re-establish a relationship with his father, played by Jackie Gleaso—Hanks began to establish the credentials of not only a comic actor but of someone who could carry a serious role. "It changed my desires about working in movies", Hanks told Rolling Stone. "Part of it was the nature of the material, what we were trying to say. But besides that, it focused on people's relationships. The story was about a guy and his father, unlike, say, The Money Pit (1986), where the story is really about a guy and his house."
After three more flops, Hanks succeeded with the fantasy Big (1988), both at the box office and within the industry, establishing Hanks as a major Hollywood talent. It was followed later that year by Punchline, in which he and Sally Field co-star as a pair of struggling stand-up comedians. Hanks's character, Steven Gold, a failing medical student trying to break into stand-up, was somewhat edgy and complex, offering a glimpse of the far more dramatic roles Hanks would master in films to come. Hanks's next project was the 1989 movie Turner and Hooch. In a 1993 issue of Disney Adventures, Hanks said, "I saw Turner and Hooch the other day in the SAC store and couldn't help but be reminiscent. I cried like a babe." He did admit to making a couple of "bum tickers," however, and blamed his "...deductive reasoning and decision making skills."
Hanks had another pile of box-office failures: The 'Burbs (1989), Joe Versus the Volcano (1990), and The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990), as a greedy Wall Street type who gets enmeshed in a hit-and-run accident.

Progression into dramatic roles

Hanks again climbed back to the top with his portrayal of an unsuccessful baseball manager in A League of Their Own (1992). Hanks admits that his acting in earlier roles was not great and that he has improved. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Hanks notes his "modern era of moviemaking ... because enough self-discovery has gone on.... My work has become less 'pretentiously fake and over the top." This "modern era" welcomed in a spectacular 1993 for Hanks, first with Sleepless in Seattle and then with Philadelphia. The former was a blockbuster success about a widower who finds true love (in the character of Meg Ryan) over the airwaves. Richard Schickel of Time called his performance "charming", and most critics agreed that his portrayal ensured him a place among the premiere romantic-comedy stars of his generation, making him bankable.
In Philadelphia, Hanks played a gay lawyer with AIDS who sues his firm for discrimination (Hanks lost thirty-five pounds and thinned his hair in order to appear sickly for the role). In a review for People, Leah Rozen stated "Above all, credit for "Philadelphia's" success belongs to Hanks, who makes sure that he plays a character, not a saint. He is flat-out terrific, giving a deeply felt, carefully nuanced performance that deserves an Oscar." Hanks won the 1993 Academy Award for Best Actor for his role in Philadelphia. During his acceptance speech he revealed that his high school drama teacher Rawley Farnsworth and former classmate John Gilkerson were gay. The revelation inspired the 1997 film In & Out, starring Kevin Kline as an English Literature teacher who is outed by a former student in a similar way.
Hanks followed Philadelphia with the 1994 summer hit Forrest Gump, and stated: "When I read the script for Gump, I saw it as one of those kind of grand, hopeful movies that the audience can go to and feel ... some hope for their lot and their position in life... I got that from the movies a hundred million times when I was a kid. I still do." Hanks won his second Best Actor Academy Award for his role in Forrest Gump, becoming only the second actor to have accomplished the feat of winning back-to-back Best Actor Oscars. (Spencer Tracy was the first, winning in 1937-38. Hanks and Tracy were the same age at the time they received their Academy Awards: 37 for the first and 38 for the second.)

Directing, producing and acting

Hanks turned to directing and producing with his next movie That Thing You Do! about a 1960s pop group, also playing the role of a music producer. Hanks and producer Gary Goetzman went on to create Playtone, a record and film production company named for the record company in the film.
Hanks executive produced, co-wrote, and co-directed the HBO docudrama From the Earth to the Moon. The twelve-part series chronicles the space program from its inception, through the familiar flights of Neil Armstrong and Jim Lovell, to the personal feelings surrounding the reality of moon landings. The Emmy Award-winning US$68 million project was one of the most expensive ventures taken for television. Hanks' next project was no less expensive.
For Saving Private Ryan he teamed up with Steven Spielberg to make a film about D-Day, the landing at Omaha Beach, and a quest through war-torn France to bring back a soldier who has a ticket home. It earned the praise and respect of the film community, critics, and the general public; it was labeled one of the finest war films ever made, earning Spielberg his second Academy Award for direction and Hanks a Best Actor nomination. Later in 1998, Hanks re-teamed with his Sleepless in Seattle co-star Meg Ryan for another romantic comedy, You've Got Mail, a remake of 1940's The Shop Around the Corner, which starred Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan.
In 1999, Hanks starred in an adaptation of Stephen King's novel The Green Mile. He also returned as the voice of Woody in Toy Story 2. The following year he won a Golden Globe for Best Actor and an Academy nomination for his portrayal of a marooned FedEx systems analyst in Robert Zemeckis's Cast Away. In 2001, Hanks helped direct and produce the acclaimed HBO mini-series Band of Brothers. He also appeared in the September 11 television special America: A Tribute to Heroes and the documentary Rescued From the Closet.
Next he teamed up with American Beauty director Sam Mendes for the adaptation of Max Allan Collins's and Richard Piers Rayner's graphic novel Road to Perdition, in which he played an anti-hero role as a hitman on the run with his son. That same year, Hanks collaborated with director Spielberg again, starring opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in the hit crime comedy Catch Me if You Can, based on the true story of Frank Abagnale, Jr. The same year, he and wife Rita Wilson produced the hit movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding. In August 2007, he along with co-producers Rita Wilson and Gary Goetzman, and writer and star Nia Vardalos, initiated a legal action against the production company Gold Circle Films for their share of profits from the movie. At the age of 45, he became the youngest ever recipient of the American Film Institutes's Life Achievement Award on June 12, 2002.
Hanks was absent from the screen in 2003; in 2004, he appeared in three films: The Coen Brothers' The Ladykillers, another Spielberg helmed film, The Terminal, and The Polar Express, a family film from Robert Zemeckis. In a USA Weekend interview, Hanks talked about how he chooses projects: "[Since] A League of Their Own, it can't be just another movie for me. It has to get me going somehow.... There has to be some all-encompassing desire or feeling about wanting to do that particular movie. I'd like to assume that I'm willing to go down any avenue in order to do it right". In August 2005, Hanks was voted in as vice president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Hanks next starred in the highly anticipated film The Da Vinci Code, based on the bestselling novel by Dan Brown. The film was released May 19, 2006 in the US and grossed over US$750 million worldwide. In Ken Burns's 2007 documentary "The War", Hanks did voice work, reading excerpts from World War II-era columns by Al McIntosh. In 2006, Hanks topped a 1,500-strong list of 'most trusted celebrities' compiled by Forbes magazine. Hanks next appeared in a cameo role as himself in The Simpsons Movie, in which he appears in an advertisement claiming that the US government has lost its credibility and is hence buying some of his. He also makes an appearance in the credits, stating that he wishes to be left alone when he is out in public.
In 2007, Hanks starred in Mike Nichols' film Charlie Wilson's War (written by acclaimed screenwriter Aaron Sorkin) in which he plays Democratic Texas Congressman Charles Wilson. The film opened on December 21, 2007 and Hanks got a Golden Globe nomination for his acting.
In a play on the expression "art imitating life", Hanks will play an on screen dad to a young man (Hanks' real-life son, Colin Hanks) who chooses to follow in the footsteps of a fading magician (John Malkovich) in The Great Buck Howard. Hanks' character is less than thrilled about his son's career decision. A film adaptation of Angels & Demons, the prequel to The Da Vinci Code, has been announced, and on April 11, 2007 it was revealed that Hanks would reprise his role as Robert Langdon and that he reportedly will receive the highest salary ever for an actor.

Other activities

A fan of NASA's manned space program, Hanks said that he originally wanted to be an astronaut but "didn't have the math." Hanks is a member of the National Space Society, serving on the Board of Governors of the nonprofit educational space advocacy organization founded by Dr. Wernher Von Braun and was the producer of the HBO miniseries From the Earth to the Moon about the Apollo program to send astronauts to the moon. In addition, Hanks co-wrote and co-produced Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D, an IMAX film about the moon landings. Hanks also provided the voice over for the first new planetarium show following the opening of the new Rose Center for Earth & Space in the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.
In June 2006 Hanks was inducted as an honorary member of the United States Army Rangers Hall of Fame for his accurate portrayal of a Captain in the movie Saving Private Ryan; Hanks, who was unable to attend the induction ceremony, was the first actor to receive such an honor. In addition to his role in Saving Private Ryan, Hanks was cited for serving as the national spokesperson for the World War II Memorial Campaign, for being the honorary chairperson of the D-Day Museum Capital Campaign, and for his role in writing and helping to produce the Emmy Award-winning miniseries, Band of Brothers.
While he gives money to many Democratic politicians, Hanks usually keeps his opinions about politics to himself, though he has been open about his support for environmental causes and alternative fuels (Hanks was an owner of the electric car before it was recalled, as chronicled in the documentary Who killed the Electric Car?). Hanks, however, has made public his candidate choice in the 2008 election, when he uploaded a video to his MySpace in which he announced his endorsement of Senator Barack Obama.
Hanks is one of several celebrities who frequently participate in planned comedy bits on Late Night with Conan O'Brien while they are guests. On one visit, Hanks asked Conan to join his run for president on the "Bad Haircut Party" ticket, with confetti and balloons and a hand held sign with the slogan "You'd be stupid to vote for us". On another, O'Brien, noting that Hanks was missing Christmas on his promotional tour, brought the season to him, including a gift (the skeleton of Hooch), and a mass of snow burying them both. On yet another episode, Conan gave Hanks a painting he had commissioned reflecting two of his interests: Astronauts landing on the beach at Normandy.
On March 10, 2008, Tom Hanks was on hand at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame to induct sixties sensation The Dave Clark Five. He praised the group for both the joy of their music and for never signing away their publishing rights. During the speech he also mentioned his boyhood hero Marshal J whom he grew up watching on local San Francisco television station KGO. "Time is not told by watches or clocks but by whatever is on TV. After Marshal J and the cartoons you go to school."

Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra (born November 19, 1961), professionally known as Meg Ryan, is a Golden Globe-nominated American film actress whose lead roles in four 1990s romantic comedies - When Harry Met Sally..., Sleepless in Seattle, French Kiss and You've Got Mail - grossed over $670 million worldwide.

Early years

Ryan was born Margaret Mary Emily Anne Hyra in Fairfield, Connecticut, the daughter of Susan Hyra Jordan (née Ryan), a former actress, casting director, and English-teacher, and Harry Hyra, a math teacher. She has two sisters, Dana and Annie, and a brother musician, Andrew Hyra, of Billy Pilgrim. The main relatives of the Hyra family are in Canada.
Ryan was raised a Roman Catholic and graduated from Saint Pius X Elementary School in Fairfield, where her mother taught the sixth grade. There, Ryan was confirmed into the Catholic Church, choosing Anne as her confirmation name. Ryan's mother had appeared in one television commercial and later worked briefly as an assistant casting director in New York City. She supported and encouraged her young daughter's study of acting.
She graduated from Bethel High School in 1979. She went on to study journalism at the University of Connecticut and then at New York University, while acting in television commercials to earn extra money. Her success as an actress led her to drop out of college only a semester shy of graduating.

Early career

At age 18, through her mother's connections, Ryan booked her first television commercial, doing chin-ups and giggling to promote "Tickle" deodorant.
After a role in Rich and Famous, Ryan played Betsy Stewart in the daytime drama As the World Turns from 1982 to 1984; she was featured in a popular romantic story arc. Several TV film and smaller movie roles followed, including Amityville 3-D and Promised Land; for her role in the latter she received her first Independent Spirit Award nomination.
In 1986, she played Carole Bradshaw (wife of naval aviator Nick "Goose" Bradshaw; played by Anthony Edwards) in Top Gun, and appeared in several scenes. Ryan played Lydia Maxwell in the movie Innerspace, which also starred Dennis Quaid. Ryan then appeared in a film-noir remake (D.O.A.) and an action film (The Presidio).

Hit films

Her first full-blown hit in a leading role was the romantic comedy When Harry Met Sally... (1989) which paired her with comedic leading man Billy Crystal. Her portrayal of Sally Albright, which earned her a Golden Globe nomination, is memorable for her depiction of a theatrical faked orgasm in a Manhattan delicatessen.
The film would be the first of three successful Nora Ephron films in which Ryan would be cast as a bubbly, feisty, incurable romantic.
Ryan then starred in The Doors, and Prelude to a Kiss. Both films were moderately successful. 1993 saw the release of the hugely successful romantic comedy Sleepless in Seattle, which paired Ryan with leading man Tom Hanks for the second of three times. (The first was in Joe Versus the Volcano, which earned a cult following but was a critical and commercial disappointment.)
She made several attempts to break away from the romantic comedy ingenue stereotype, and garnered critical acclaim for her work in When a Man Loves a Woman in which she played an alcoholic and Courage Under Fire, portraying a captain in the Gulf War. Both films were substantial successes at the box office. Many of her films of the 1990s were hits not only in North America, but also abroad. In 1994 Ryan won the Harvard Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year. That same year, People Magazine dubbed her one of "The 50 most beautiful people in the world." In 1995, critic Richard Corliss called her the "the current soul of romantic comedy." That same year, she appeared opposite Kevin Kline in Lawrence Kasdan's French Kiss, a romantic comedy that catered to her America's Sweetheart persona. The film was a huge success worldwide, grossing slightly over $101 million.
In 1997, Ryan voiced the lead role in the animated film Anastasia, which garnered good reviews and enjoyed box office success. In 1998 Ryan starred in two films. The first, City of Angels, drew negative reviews, but became a huge financial success, topping nearly $200 million worldwide. You've Got Mail, which once again paired Ryan with Tom Hanks, earned her a third Golden Globe nomination and made over $250 million worldwide.
In 2000, Ryan starred in the action thriller Proof of Life opposite Russell Crowe. She also received a paycheck of $15 million, establishing her as one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood. The film was a critical and commercial flop.
That same year, Ryan starred opposite Diane Keaton in the comedy Hanging Up, which received poor reviews, but grossed over $51 million. A year later, she once again returned to her romantic comedy roots in the film Kate & Leopold. The film was well-received by some critics, but failed to find an audience. In 2003, she broke away from her usual roles, starring in Jane Campion's In the Cut, an erotic crime thriller. In the film, Ryan agreed to appear nude in a lengthy and rather graphic love scene for the first time in her career. While her decision earned Ryan much media attention, the movie still proved to be a failure with both critics and audiences, grossing only $23 million in theaters. In October 2003, while in the UK to promote In the Cut, Ryan had a controversial interview with Michael Parkinson on the long-running television talk show Parkinson, which resulted in some negative publicity in the British press.
Ryan talked with Oprah Winfrey (March 1, 2006, The Oprah Winfrey Show) about her work with CARE in India and empowering women in poor countries.

Recent projects

Ryan's most recent project, George Gallo's My Mom's New Boyfriend, was shot in the fall of 2006 in Shreveport, Louisiana and is due to be released in 2008. The romantic comedy stars Ryan opposite Antonio Banderas. Ryan is joined by former co-star Tom Hanks's son, Colin, who plays her son in the film. In 2007 she played the role of Sarah, in In the Land of Women, co-starring Adam Brody, and won over critics and the public.
Ryan's next project was a remake of the 1939 film The Women, and began filming in New York City in August 2007. The $18 million remake of the George Cukor classic was directed by Murphy Brown creator Diane English and produced by Mick Jagger, and released in 2008. Ryan played the central character, Mary Haines, a wealthy woman who is one of the last to find out that her husband is cheating on her with a shop girl. The leading role was originally made famous by actress Norma Shearer. Annette Bening, Eva Mendes and Candice Bergen also starred in the remake.

Marriage and children

Ryan married actor Dennis Quaid on St. Valentine's Day, February 14, 1991, after starring in two films with him. Ryan agreed to marry him only after he kicked his cocaine addiction. Quaid and Ryan had one child together, Jack Henry, born April 24, 1992. The couple separated in 2000 and their divorce became final on July 16, 2001. In September 2008 Ryan revealed Quaid had been unfaithful to her for a long time while they were married.
Meg Ryan had a relationship with actor Russell Crowe for a few months in 2000; however, the relationship did not last.
In January 2006, Ryan adopted a 14-month-old girl from China named Daisy True.

Political involvement

Ryan tends to support the U.S. Democratic Party, especially its environmental protection programs and initiatives. In 2003, she supported Wesley Clark's campaign for U.S. president. She supported John Kerry during the 2004 presidential elections.

Julia Fiona Roberts (born October 28, 1967) is an American - Academy Award winning film actress and former fashion model. She became well known during the early 1990s after starring in the romantic comedy Pretty Woman opposite Richard Gere, which grossed US $463 million worldwide. She won the Best Actress Academy Award in 2000 for her critically acclaimed turn as the title character in Erin Brockovich and earned Oscar nominations as Best Supporting Actress for Steel Magnolias (1989) and Best Actress for Pretty Woman (1990). Her films, which also include romantic comedies such as My Best Friend's Wedding, Mystic Pizza, Notting Hill, Runaway Bride, and crime films such as The Pelican Brief and Ocean's Eleven, have collectively earned box office receipts of over US$2 billion, making her the most successful actress in terms of box office receipts.
Roberts had become one of the highest-paid actresses in the world, topping the Hollywood Reporter's annual "power list" of top-earning female stars from 2002 to 2005, until 2006, when Nicole Kidman won the top spot. Her fee for 1990's Pretty Woman was $300,000; in 2003, she was paid an unprecedented $25 million for her role in Mona Lisa Smile. As of 2007, Roberts's net worth was estimated to be US$140 million.
Roberts was the first actress to appear on the cover of Vogue and the first woman to land the cover of GQ. She has been named one of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People in the World" eleven times, tied with Halle Berry. In 2001 Ladies Home Journal ranked her as the 11th most powerful woman in America, beating out then national security advisor Condoleezza Rice and first lady Laura Bush. Roberts has a production company called Red Om Films ("Moder" spelled backwards; formerly Shoelace Productions).

Early life

Roberts was born in Atlanta, Georgia at Crawford Long Hospital. Her father, Walter Grady Roberts, was a vacuum cleaner salesman, and her Minneapolis, Minnesota-born mother, Betty Lou Motes (née Bredemus), was a one-time church secretary and real estate agent. Her parents, one-time actors and playwrights, met while performing theatrical productions for the armed forces and later co-founded the Atlanta Actors and Writers Workshop in Atlanta, Georgia off Juniper Street in Midtown; the two divorced in 1971. Her mother later married Michael Motes and had another daughter, named Nancy Motes who was born in 1976. Roberts's father died of cancer when she was ten. Her older brother and sister, Eric Roberts (from whom she was once estranged but reconciled since 2004) and Lisa Roberts Gillan, are also actors.
Roberts moved to Smyrna, Georgia (a suburb of Atlanta) in 1972, where she attended Fitzhugh Lee Elementary School, Griffin Middle School and Campbell High School.  She played clarinet in the band. Roberts wanted to be a veterinarian as a child, but soon after graduating from Smyrna's Campbell High School, she headed to New York to join her sister Lisa Roberts Gillan and pursue a career in acting. Once there, she signed with the Click modeling agency and enrolled in acting classes. She reverted to her original name "Julia Roberts" when she discovered that a "Julie Roberts" was already registered with the Screen Actors Guild. Her niece, Emma Roberts, whom Julia used to take to movie sets when she was a young girl, has joined her father and aunts in the acting business.

Career

1986–1989

Roberts made her film debut playing a supporting role opposite her brother, Eric, in Blood Red (she has just two words of dialogue), which, although completed in 1986, was not released until 1989. Her first television appearance was as a juvenile rape victim in the initial season of the series Crime Story with Dennis Farina, in the episode titled "The Survivor", broadcast on February 13, 1987. She also once appeared on Sesame Street opposite the character Elmo, demonstrating her ability to change emotions. Roberts first caught the attention of moviegoers with her performance in the independent film Mystic Pizza in 1988; that same year, she had a role in the fourth season finale of Miami Vice. The following year, she was featured in Steel Magnolias as a young bride battling diabetes and garnered her first Oscar nomination (as Best Supporting Actress) for her performance.

1990–2000

Roberts become known to worldwide audiences when she co-starred with Richard Gere in the Cinderella/Pygmalionesque story Pretty Woman in 1990. Roberts won the role after the first two choices for the part, Molly Ringwald and Meg Ryan both turned it down. The role also earned her a second Oscar nod, this time as Best Actress. Her next box office success was the thriller Sleeping with the Enemy, playing a battered wife who escapes her demented husband, Patrick Bergin, and begins a new life in Iowa. She played Tinkerbell in Steven Spielberg's Hook in 1991, and also played a Nurse in the 1991 film Dying Young; which was followed by a two-year hiatus, during which she made no films other than a cameo appearance in Robert Altman's The Player (1992). In early 1993, she was the subject of a People magazine cover story asking, "What Happened to Julia Roberts?"
In 1993, she co-starred with Denzel Washington in the successful The Pelican Brief, based on the John Grisham novel. She also starred alongside Liam Neeson in the 1996 film Michael Collins. Over the next few years, she starred in a series of films that were critical and commercial failures, primarily because she was cast in roles that strayed too far from her film persona, such as Stephen Frears' Mary Reilly (1996) for which earned a Razzie Worst Actress nomination. She broke her losing streak with the hugely popular comedy My Best Friend's Wedding (1997), and eventually regained her earlier reputation as an actress who could open a movie and guarantee box office success. She starred with Hugh Grant in the popular 1999 film Notting Hill. That same year, she also starred in Runaway Bride, the second film with the Julia Roberts-Richard Gere duo. Roberts was a guest star on the Law & Order television series in an episode broadcast on May 5, 1999 entitled "Empire", with series regular Benjamin Bratt (at that time her boyfriend).

2001–2005

In 2001, Roberts received the Best Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Erin Brockovich, who helped wage a successful lawsuit against energy giant Pacific Gas & Electric. Whilst presenting the Best Actor Award to Denzel Washington the following year, she made a gaff when she said she was glad that Tom Conti wasn't there. She meant the conductor Bill Conti, who had tried to hasten the conclusion of her Oscar speech the previous year, but instead named the Scottish actor. Roberts would team up with Erin Brockovich director Steven Soderbergh for three more films: Ocean's Eleven (2001), Full Frontal (2002), and Ocean's Twelve (2004). Later in 2001 she starred in the road gangster comedy The Mexican giving her a chance to work with long time friend Brad Pitt. In 2005, she was featured in the music video for the hit single "Dreamgirl" by the Dave Matthews Band.

2006–present

Roberts's two films released in 2006, The Ant Bully and Charlotte's Web, were both animated features for which she provided only voice acting. Her next film was Charlie Wilson's War, with Tom Hanks and Philip Seymour Hoffman, directed by Mike Nichols and based on the book by former CBS journalist George Crile; it was released on December 21, 2007. Fireflies in the Garden, also starring Ryan Reynolds and Willem Dafoe is currently in post-production, with release set for 2008. It has also been announced that Roberts will star in The Friday Night Knitting Club, based on the novel of the same name by Kate Jacobs. Her niece, Emma Roberts, is said to be considered for the role of her daughter.

Broadway debut

Roberts made her Broadway debut on April 19, 2006 as Nan in a revival of Richard Greenberg's 1997 play Three Days of Rain opposite Bradley Cooper and Paul Rudd. Although the play grossed nearly US$1 million dollars in ticket sales during its first week and was a commercial success throughout its limited run, most critics heavily criticized Roberts' performance. The New York Times' critic Ben Brantly, a self-proclaimed 'Juliaholic,' described her as being fraught with "self-consciousness (especially in the first act) [and] only glancingly acquainted with the two characters she plays." Brantley also criticized the production of “Greenberg's slender, elegant play,” writing that “it's almost impossible to discern its artistic virtues from this wooden and splintered interpretation, directed by Joe Mantello.” Three Days of Rain received two Tony Award nominations in stage design categories, but took home neither prize. Roberts did, however, receive a Broadway.com audience award (a minor theatrical prize) for her performance.

American Girl Films

Julia Roberts has brought to life some of the books from American Girlas movies and serves as Executive Producer, along with her sister Lisa. The company's product lines and services are focused on pre-teen-girl characters from various periods of American history, who are embodied as dolls and featured in narratives including books and movies. Its flagship line is a collection of historical 18-inch dolls that have books and

Directors

Directors Robert Altman, Mike Nichols, Joel Schumacher, Steven Soderbergh, and Garry Marshall have repeatedly cast Roberts in their films. But Steven Spielberg, after directing her in Hook (1991) for which she earned a Razzie Worst Supporting Actress nomination, never worked with her again. In a 1993 interview with Barbara Walters, Roberts said that she was confused by Spielberg's recollection of working with her, as she only has positive memories of working on his film. In 1993, The New York Times wrote that Herbert Ross, the director of Steel Magnolias, criticized that Julia's acting was one-dimensional, despite the fact that she received her first Academy Award nomination for it. Although, Roberts eventually called for a truce, they two never worked together again.

Influence

As of February 2007, Roberts's films have grossed $2,204,631,930 at the American box office making her the biggest female movie star in history and achieving this feat with only 31 films to her name. She was also placed at the pinnacle of the Ulmer Scale, a comprehensive guide to the global star power of actors and directors in independent and studio films created by James Ulmer, ahead of such other luminaries as Tom Cruise and Tom Hanks. This was partly owing to her ability to attract filmgoers solely on the basis of her name's appearance above the title and without the support of a male co-star, something few other actresses have been able to do.

Personal life

Relationships

Roberts's personal life has often been in the spotlight. She has had widely reported romantic relationships with numerous famous men, including Liam Neeson, Dylan McDermott, Kiefer Sutherland, Lyle Lovett, Matthew Perry, and Benjamin Bratt. She was briefly engaged to McDermott, her Steel Magnolias co-star. She met Sutherland in 1990, when he was her co-star in Flatliners; he left his wife and children to move in with Roberts. In August 1990, Roberts and Sutherland announced their engagement, with an elaborate studio-planned wedding scheduled for June 14, 1991. Roberts broke the engagement three days before the wedding when she discovered Sutherland had been meeting with a stripper named Amanda Rice. Roberts subsequently went to Ireland with Jason Patric, a friend of Sutherland's. On June 27, 1993, she married country singer Lyle Lovett; the couple had met only three weeks earlier. The wedding took place on 72-hours' notice and was held in Marion, Indiana, near where Lovett was appearing on tour with his band. Less than two years later, in March 1995, the couple announced their separation. They subsequently divorced.
In 1998, Roberts began dating Law & Order star Benjamin Bratt, who was her escort for the March 25, 2001 Academy Awards ceremony at which she won her Oscar. Three months later, in June 2001, Roberts and Bratt announced that they were no longer a couple. "It's come to a kind and tenderhearted end," she said of their relationship.Roberts met her current husband, cameraman Daniel Moder, on the set of her movie The Mexican in 2000 and they began an affair. Though at the time, Moder was married to Vera Steinberg Moder, he filed for divorce a little over a year later, and after it was finalized, he and Roberts wed on Fourth of July 2002, at her ranch in Taos, New Mexico.On November 28, 2004, they became the parents of fraternal twins, daughter Hazel Patricia and son Phinnaeus "Finn" Walter. Their third child, son Henry Daniel Moder, was born on June 18, 2007 in Los Angeles.

Charities

Roberts has given her time and resources to UNICEF as well as to other charitable organizations. In Spring 1995, Roberts, an enthusiastic supporter of UNICEF, asked if she could meet some of the relief agency's neediest recipients. On May 10, she arrived in Port-au-Prince, as she said, "to educate myself". The poverty she found was overwhelming. "My heart is just bursting", she said. UNICEF officials hoped that her six-day visit would trigger an outburst of giving: $10 million in aid was sought at the time.
In 2000, Roberts narrated Silent Angels, a documentary about Rett syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder, which was shot in Los Angeles, Baltimore and New York. The documentary was designed to help raise public awareness about the disease. In July 2006, Earth Biofuels announced Roberts as a spokeswoman for the company and as chair of the company's newly formed Advisory Board promoting the use of renewable fuels.

Milla Jovovich (pronounced /ˈjɔvɔvitɕ/; Serbian: Milica Jovović/Милица Јововић; Russian: Милла Йовович; Ukrainian: Мiлла Йовович; born as Milica Jovović, on December 17, 1975) is a Serbian-Russian-Ukrainian model, actress, musician, and fashion designer. Over her career, she has appeared in a number of science fiction and action themed films, for which music channel VH1 has referred to her as the "reigning queen of kick-butt".
Jovovich began modeling at eleven, when Richard Avedon featured her in Revlon's "Most Unforgettable Women in the World" advertisements, and she continued her career with other notable campaigns for L'Oreal cosmetics, Banana Republic, Christian Dior, Donna Karan and Versace. In 1988, she had her first professional acting role in the television film The Night Train to Kathmandu, and later that year she appeared in her first feature film, Two Moon Junction. Following more small television and film roles, she gained notoriety with the romance film Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991), the sequel to The Blue Lagoon. Jovovich then acted alongside Bruce Willis in the science fiction film The Fifth Element (1997), and later played the title role in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999). In 2002, she starred in the video game adaptation, Resident Evil, which has gone on to spawn two sequels: Resident Evil: Apocalypse (2004) and Resident Evil: Extinction (2007).
In addition to her modeling and acting career, Jovovich released a critically acclaimed musical album, The Divine Comedy in 1994. She continues to release demos for other songs on her official website and contributes to film soundtracks as well; Jovovich has yet to release another album. In 2003, she and model Carmen Hawk created the clothing line Jovovich-Hawk. The line ceased operations in early 2008.  Jovovich also has her own production company, Creature Entertainment.

Early life and family

Jovovich was born in Kiev, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union, (now Ukraine), the daughter of Bogdan Bogdanović Jovović, a Yugoslav pediatrician of Serbian extraction and Galina Loginova, a Soviet stage actress of ethnic Ukrainian-Russian descent.
Jovovich's paternal family's estate was at Metohija in Zlopek near Peć. Her paternal great-grandfather, Bogić Camić Jovović, was a flag-bearer of the Serbian Vasojevići clan and an officer in the guard of the King Nicholas I of Montenegro; his wife's name was Milena. Her paternal grandfather, Bogdan Jovović, was a commander in the Priština military area, and later investigated finances in the military areas of Skopje and Sarajevo, where he uncovered massive gold embezzlement. He was punished for refusing to convict a friend of the crime. Later, the government briefly imprisoned him in Goli Otok for refusing to testify. When he feared that he could be arrested again, he escaped to Albania and later moved to Kiev. A different version of the story claims that he was the one who took the gold. Bogich later joined Bodgan in Kiev, where he and his sister graduated in medicine. In 2000, her grandfather, Bogdan Jovović, died in Kiev.
In 1981, when Jovovich was five years old, her family left the Soviet Union for political reasons and moved to London. They subsequently lived in Sacramento, California before settling in Los Angeles, California seven months later; Jovovich's parents divorced soon after.
In 1988, as a result of her father's relationship with an Argentinan woman, Jovovich's half-brother Marco Jovovich, was born. Jovovich's mother attempted to support the family with acting jobs, but found little success, and eventually resorted to cleaning houses to earn money. Both her father and mother provided house cleaning services for director Brian de Palma. Jovovich's father was incarcerated for most of her childhood for partaking in an illegal operation with medical insurance; he was given a twenty year sentence in 1994, but was released in 1999 after serving five years in an American prison. Jovovich has stated that "Prison was good for him. He's become a much better person. It gave him a chance to stop and think."
Jovovich attended public schools shortly after arriving in the United States, and learned fluent English in three months. During school, many of the students had teased her because she had immigrated from the Soviet Union during the Cold War. Jovovich said, "I was called a Commie and a Russian spy. I was never, ever, ever accepted into the crowd". At age twelve in seventh grade, Jovovich left school to focus on her growing career. As a young teenager, she claimed to be rebellious, engaging in drug use, shopping mall vandalism, and credit-card fraud.

Modeling career

At the age of nine, Jovovich began going to modeling auditions, and was signed by Prima modeling agency. At eleven, Jovovich was noticed by the photographer Richard Avedon. Avedon was head of marketing at Revlon at the time, and chose Jovovich to appear with models Alexa Singer and Sandra Zatezalo in Revlon's "Most Unforgettable Women in the World" advertisements. In 1987, photographers Gene Lemuel and Peter Duke took polaroids of the twelve year old Jovovich, and Lemuel later showed the photographs to Herb Ritts. Impressed, Ritts re-shot the polaroids for the October 1987 cover of the Italian fashion magazine Lei; this was the first of her many cover shoots. In 1988, she made her first professional model contract. Jovovich was among other models who gained controversy for becoming involved in the industry at a young age.
Later Jovovich made it to the cover of The Face, which led to new contracts and covers of Vogue and Cosmopolitan. Since then, she has graced over one hundred magazine covers, including Seventeen, Mademoiselle, Glamour, Harper's Bazaar and In Style. Her modeling career has included various campaigns for Banana Republic, Christian Dior, Damiani, Donna Karan, Gap, Versace, Calvin Klein, DKNY, Coach, Giorgio Armani, H&M, and Revlon. Since 1998, Jovovich has been an "international spokesmodel" for L'Oreal cosmetics. She also appeared in the Pirelli calendar in 1998 and had a minor cameo in Bret Easton Ellis's novel Glamorama, a satire of society's obsession with celebrities and beauty.
In an article published in 2002, Jovovich was said to be Miuccia Prada's muse and in an article published in 2003, Harpers & Queen magazine claimed Jovovich was Gianni Versace's "favourite supermodel". In 2004, Jovovich topped Forbes magazine's "Richest Supermodels of the World" list, earning a reported $10.5 million. In 2006, Jovovich was picked up by Spanish clothing line Mango as their new spokesmodel and is currently featured in their ad campaigns; she can also be seen in ads for Etro. She has noted that "Modeling was never a priority" and it instead enables her "to be selective about the creative decisions [she] make[s]".

Acting career

Early work (1985-1993)

Jovovich's mother had "raised [her] to be a movie star" and in 1985, enrolled Jovovich to the Professional Actors school in California. In 1988, she appeared in her first professional role in the made for television film The Night Train to Kathmandu as Lily McLeod. Later that year she made her debut in a theatrically released picture with a small role, as Samantha Delongpre, in the romantic thriller Two Moon Junction. Following roles on the television series Paradise (1988) and Parker Lewis Can't Lose (1990), Jovovich was cast as the lead as Lilli Hargrave in Return to the Blue Lagoon (1991). This sequel to The Blue Lagoon (1980) placed her opposite Brian Krause. Return to the Blue Lagoon lead to comparisons between her and child model-turned-actress, Brooke Shields (who had starred in the original) – Jovovich was often called by press the "Slavic Brooke Shields". The role also gained her controversy, much like Shields gained in The Blue Lagoon, for appearing nude at a young age. For her portrayal of Lili, Jovovich was nominated for both "Best Young Actress Starring in a Motion Picture" in the 1991 Young Artist Awards, and "Worst New Star" in the 1991 Golden Raspberry Awards.
In 1992, Jovovich co-starred with Christian Slater in the comedy Kuffs. Later that year, she portrayed Mildred Harris in the Charlie Chaplin biographical film Chaplin. 1993 saw Jovovich in the Richard Linklater cult film Dazed and Confused, in which she played Michelle Burroughs, on screen girlfriend to Pickford (played by her then real life boyfriend Shawn Andrews). Jovovich was heavily featured in the promotional material for the film, however, upon the film's release, she was upset to find her role was considerably trimmed from the original script. The bulk of Jovovich's role was to be shot on the last day of filming, however, she was misinformed of the date, and ultimately had one line in the film, "No", in addition to singing a line from "The Alien Song" from her album, The Divine Comedy. Discouraged, she took a hiatus from acting roles, during which time she moved to Europe and began focusing on a music career.

Breakthrough (1997-2001)

Jovovich returned to acting in 1997 with a lead in the Luc Besson directed science fiction action film The Fifth Element, alongside Bruce Willis and Gary Oldman. She portrayed Leeloo, an alien who was the "perfect being". Jovovich said she "worked like hell: no band practice, no clubs, no pot, nothing" to acquire the role and impress Besson, whom she later married on December 14, 1997, but divorced in 1999. She took part in eight months of acting classes and karate practice prior to filming. Jovovich also co-created and mastered an over 800-word alien language for her role. She wore a costume that came to be known as the "ACE-bandage" costume, a revealing body suit made of medical bandages designed by Jean-Paul Gaultier. The Fifth Element was selected as the opening film for the 1997 Cannes Film Festival and its worldwide box office gross was over $263 million, more than three times its budget of $80 million. The Fifth Element was often praised for its visual style and unique costumes, and film reviewer James Berardinelli, explained "Jovovich makes an impression, although her effectiveness has little to do with acting and less to do with dialogue". Jovovich was nominated for "Favorite Female Newcomer" at the Blockbuster Entertainment Awards and "Best Fight" at the MTV Movie Awards. However, she was also nominated for "Worst Supporting Actress" at the Razzie Awards. Jovovich's portrayal of Leeloo garnered a video game and a planned action figure, but the figure was never released due to licensing problems. In a 2003 interview, Jovovich said Leeloo was her favorite role to portray.
In 1998, Jovovich had a role in the Spike Lee drama He Got Game as abused prostitute Dakota Burns, appearing with Denzel Washington and Ray Allen. In 1999, she appeared in the music video for the song If You Can't Say No by Lenny Kravitz. In 1999, Jovovich returned to the action genre playing the title role in The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc, re-uniting her with director Luc Besson. She was featured in armor throughout several extensive battle scenes, and cut her hair to a short length for the role. Jovovich received generally good reviews for her performance, although she also received a Razzie Award nomination for "Worst Actress". The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc did moderately well at the box office, gaining $66 million world wide. Afterwards, In 2000, Jovovich appeared as the troubled Eloise in The Million Dollar Hotel, a film based on a concept story by Bono of the band U2 and Nicholas Klein. Directed by Wim Wenders, Jovovich starred along side Jeremy Davies and Mel Gibson, in addition to providing vocals on the film's soundtrack. Afterwards, she portrayed bar owner, Lucia, in the British western film The Claim (2000), and the evil Katinka in the celebrity cameo laced comedy Zoolander (2001).

International success (2002-2006)

In 2002, Jovovich starred in the horror/action film Resident Evil, released in the United States on March 15, 2002. Based on the CAPCOM video game series of same name, she portrayed Alice, the film's hero who fights a legion of zombies created by the evil Umbrella Corporation. Jovovich had accepted the role of Alice because she and her brother had been fans of the video game franchise, saying "it was exciting for me just watching him play, I could sit for 5 hours and we would sit all day and play this game". Jovovich had performed all the stunts required in the film, save for a scene that would involve her jumping to a cement platform, which her management deemed too dangerous, and had trained in karate, kick-boxing and combat-training. The film was commercially successful, grossing $17 million on its opening weekend, and gaining $40 million domestically and $102 million worldwide. Later, she portrayed the manipulative gang wife Erin in No Good Deed (2002), Nadine in the romantic comedy You Stupid Man (2002), punk rocker Fangora ("Fanny") in Dummy (2003), and provided a guest voice on the television series King of the Hill. The role of Fangora in Dummy, allowed Jovovich to act in film with Oscar-winning Adrien Brody, who was a friend prior to filming. Jovovich found it easy to identify with this role because she felt Fangora, as opposed to previous characters, possessed similar qualities to the actress's own life.
In 2004, Jovovich reprised the role of Alice in the sequel to Resident Evil, Resident Evil: Apocalypse. The role required her to do fight training for three hours a day, in addition to the three months prior to filming in which she had "gun training, martial arts, everything". Apocalypse received even more negative reactions from the critics than the first film. Following the release of the film, Jovovich was unhappy with the results and director Alexander Witt's effort. She noted during an interview that year that her large action films take care of the commercial part of her career, while she acts in "independent little films that never come out" to appease her artistic side, and "It's a good balance". The following year, she was featured in Gore Vidal's faux trailer remake of Caligula, as Drusilla. In 2006, Jovovich's film, the science fiction/action thriller Ultraviolet, was released on March 3. She played the title role of Violet Song jat Shariff, a role that also involved heavily choreographed fight sequences and Gun Kata, a fictional martial art combining statistical analysis and gunplay. It was not screened for critics, but when reviewed, it was critically panned, grossing $31 million world wide. That year Jovovich also starred in , as Kat, the revenge driven wife of a drug dealer.

Recent and future roles (2007-present)

In 2007, Jovovich reprised her role as Alice in Resident Evil: Extinction, the third of the Resident Evil series. The film grossed an estimated US$24 million in 2,828 theaters on its opening weekend, topping the box office gross for that week. It opened stronger than its predecessor, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, which opened with $23 million in 3,284 theaters (over 450 more theaters than Extinction). In a March 2006 interview, Jovovich said that she would not appear in another action film "for a long time", expressing a desire to portray more diverse roles, but she added that talks of another sequel in the Resident Evil franchise were a "real possibility".
Jovovich was set to portray Amalia Bezhetskaya in Azazel in 2007, however, with the announcement of her pregnancy early that year, the film was postponed until Summer of 2008. Also in 2008 Milla will star in David Twohy's A Perfect Getaway with Kiele Sanchez, Timothy Olyphant, and Steve Zahn. The film is a thriller about a newlywed couple (Milla and Zahn) on their honeymoon in Hawaii who run into two hikers who turn out to be vicious killers. Filming is scheduled to begin Spring 2008

Music career

Jovovich had begun working on a music album as early as 1988, when she was signed by SBK Records after the company heard a demo she recorded. In August 1990, she asserted in an interview that the then-forthcoming album would be "a mix between Kate Bush, Sinéad O'Connor, This Mortal Coil and the Cocteau Twins." After it was initially presented by SBK strictly as a pop album, Jovovich protested, insisting on using her personal poetry for lyrics and recording her own instrumental material. Jovovich had written the songs when she was fifteen, with the exception of a Ukrainian folk song, "In a Glade", that she covered. In April 1994, billed under her first name, she released The Divine Comedy, a title that was a reference to the epic poem by Dante Alighieri of the same name. Jovovich had chosen the title after seeing Russian artist Alexis Steele's proposed cover artwork sketch for the then untitled album. Jovovich found that the sketch had "all the struggle that I'm singing about. It IS the divine comedy". The Divine Comedy was well received by critics, and featured pop-infused traditional Ukrainian folk songs that led to comparisons with musicians Tori Amos and Kate Bush. John McAlley of Rolling Stone called the album "remarkable", "strikingly mature and rich in invention" and as featuring "angst-laced poetry with vivid melodies and arrangements that find a common spirit in synth pop, European folk and psychedelic dream rock". Jovovich released the track "Gentleman Who Fell", with an accompanying music video, as the sole single from the album. The music video was originally directed by Lisa Bonet and featured Harry Dean Stanton, but Jovovich was unsatisfied with the results and decided to film another version. The second version of "Gentleman Who Fell", a homage to Maya Deren's short film Meshes of the Afternoon (1943), was subsequently played on MTV. Jovovich toured the United States during most of 1994 to promote the album, opening for Toad the Wet Sprocket and Crash Test Dummies, as well as playing smaller acoustic sets. Jovovich had opted to perform in smaller and more intimate settings, turning down a musical appearance on Saturday Night Live. Following The Divine Comedy, she expressed interest in releasing a second album, having had ten songs ready for a future recording that was intended for a Summer 1996 release. However, Jovovich has yet to release a second album.
1998 saw the release of The Peopletree Sessions, a recording originally issued on David Turin's Peopletree label only to end up on Cherry Red records after Jovovich and Turin fell out over its issuance. Jovovich claims that "she does not stand behind ... in any way, shape or form." She had met The Peopletree Sessions producer David Turin through his wife, fashion photographer Kate Garner who had shot Jovovich for various magazines. Turnin had approached Jovovich to collaborate on songs with Jane's Addiction's Perry Farrell & Stephen Perkins, and producer duo the Dust Brothers, and she agreed, then recording music with Turnin. Afterwards, Jovovich received a CD from Turnin of 13 tracks, with cover art photographed by Garner, which Jovovich assumed to be for her own personal use. Turnin then released the album as Jovovich's second album, to which Jovovich attempted to stop the sale of. She has taken legal action against Turnin and Garner. The album was given 4 out of 5 stars in The Guardian and has retained a cult following.
Formed in May 1999, Jovovich led a band called Plastic Has Memory, in which she sang and played guitar. The band was "[m]uch heavier and darker than the vaguely Ukrainian folk-sounding elements of her first album" and had a similar sound to a grunge and trip hop Portishead. Plastic Has Memory played about a dozen shows in Los Angeles and New York City for a potential Virgin Records album release, one of which Mick Jagger had attended. Though Plastic Has Memory was featured on Hollywood Goes Wild, a benefit celebrity compilation album, the group never formally released a record and is no longer together.
Jovovich has contributed tracks to several of her film soundtracks, including The Million Dollar Hotel (2000) and Dummy (2002), and has also provided songs for film soundtracks in which she has not acted such as Underworld (2003). In 2001, Jovovich was one of many celebrities whose vocals were featured in a cover of "We are Family" to raise money for the American Red Cross. She has appeared as guest vocalist on the song "Former Lover" on Deepak Chopra's album, A Gift of Love II: Oceans of Ecstasy (2002) and Legion of Boom (2004) by The Crystal Method.
Since 2003, Jovovich has worked with musician Maynard James Keenan, of Tool and A Perfect Circle, on his side project Puscifer, contributing vocals to the track "REV 22:20", which was featured on various film soundtracks in its original or a remixed form.
Jovovich continues to write songs which she refers to as "demos", and which are provided for free in mp3 format on her official website. She provides license to freely download and remix the tracks, but reserves the right to sell and issue them.

Fashion design

Jovovich and fellow model Carmen Hawk launched a line of clothing called Jovovich-Hawk in 2003. The pair opened a showroom in New York City's Greenwich Village on September 13, 2005, and the line is currently in its third season. The atelier is based in Los Angeles, but pieces can be found at Fred Segal in Los Angeles, Harvey Nichols, and over 50 stores around the world. Vogue has praised the line for its "girl-about-town cult status most designers spend years trying to achieve."
In April 2006, Jovovich and Hawk launched the Jovovich-Hawk clothing range at Harvey Nichols in London. In November 2006, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) and US Vogue nominated Jovovich-Hawk as for the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award, an award founded in 2003, and underwritten by Vogue, Barneys New York, Coach, Juicy Couture, Kellwood Co., Nordstrom and Theory, with additional support from Gucci. The winner receives $200,000 as well as a year of industry guidance and support. Jovovich-Hawk was nominated as a finalist, although Doo-Ri Chung took the top prize.
In 2007, Jovovich and Hawk designed the costume for Jovovich's character in Resident Evil: Extinction. The shorts Alice, her character, wears are a variation on the 'Alice Star' Shorts from the Spring 2007 collection. In late 2007, Jovovich-Hawk signed a deal to design a diffusion collection for Target's Go International campaign, following in the footsteps of Luella, Paul & Joe and Proenza Schouler. The collection debuted on March 2, 2008.

Media personality

Jovovich has been noted for her careers as a model, singer and actress. Music channel VH1 has referred to her as the "reigning queen of kick-butt" for her roles in various sci-fi and action films and Rebecca Flint Marx of Allmovie said that despite the negative critical response for the Resident Evil films, the franchise has turned Jovovich into an "A-list action star". Her action roles have given her a "geek" following for which MTV said she was "Every Geek's Dream Girl".
In 2004, Jovovich was ranked #69 on Maxim magazine's "Top 100 Hot List" and ranked #82 in 2005. Maxim also named her #11 on their list of "Hottest Nerd Crushes". In 2008, she was ranked #90 on Ask Men's Top 99 Women of 2008 List.

Personal life

Jovovich currently resides in homes in Los Angeles and New York with her fiancé, film writer and director Paul W. S. Anderson. The two met while working on Resident Evil in which Anderson wrote and directed, and Jovovich starred. Anderson proposed to Jovovich in 2003, but the two separated for a period of time before becoming a couple again. The couple has stated that they "would love to [get married], but maybe after the baby." On November 3, 2007, Jovovich gave birth to her and Anderson's first child, a daughter, Ever Gabo Anderson. The child was born at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California, one day before Jovovich's due date of November 4th. Ever, a male Scottish name, was given to reflect Anderson's Scottish heritage, while the middle name of Gabo (pronounced "Gabeau") was a combination of Jovovich's parent's names — the first two letters of mother Galina and the first two letters of father Bogie's. Wim Wenders, who directed Jovovich's film The Million Dollar Hotel, is the baby's godfather. Jovovich has stated that she would like to have three children, saying through means of adoption as well. She has two miniature Maltese dogs, Bubbles and Madness.
Prior to her relationship with Anderson, Jovovich married on-screen boyfriend Shawn Andrews in 1992 while filming Dazed and Confused together. Andrews was 21, while Jovovich was 16; the marriage was annulled by her mother two months later. Shortly after the annulment, Jovovich moved to Europe and lived with her then boyfriend, Jamiroquai ex-bassist Stuart Zender, in London from 1994 to 1996. From 1996 to 1997, she dated photographer Mario Sorrenti. In a ceremony in Las Vegas, she married The Fifth Element director Luc Besson in 1997; they divorced in 1999. Later in 1999, during the filming of The Million Dollar Hotel, Jovovich dated co-star Jeremy Davies from May until the end of the year. Jovovich also dated her "idol", Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist John Frusciante, for seven months in 2000.
In 2006, Jovovich mentioned her interest in publishing her private diaries as an autobiography. She had kept a diary since childhood, writing about the locations she has traveled and "all the mad things that [she's] done". Jovovich has stated that she views publication as a way to "get it all into a book—like an autobiography", and it would have a "diary feel to it". However, she also commented that she was "…not sure how interested anyone would be in publishing it, or reading it, for that matter."
In addition to being a smoker, Jovovich has advocated the legalization of cannabis and appeared in a spread and on the cover for High Times. In an article published in 1994, she admitted that her only vices were cigarettes and cannabis. She practices yoga and meditates often in attempts to live a healthy lifestyle; although not affiliating with a certain religion, she prays and considers herself a "spiritual person". She avoids junk foods and prefers to cook for herself. She practices Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu in addition to other varieties of martial arts. Jovovich also enjoys playing the guitar, writing in a diary, and writing poems and lyrics for songs.
Jovovich is multilingual—she can speak English, French, her maternal Russian and her paternal Serbian.

Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and director. He has garnered much critical acclaim for his work in film since the 1990s, including for his portrayals of real-life figures, such as Steve Biko, Malcolm X, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, Melvin B. Tolson, Frank Lucas and Herman Boone.
Washington has been awarded three Golden Globe awards and two Academy Awards for his work. He is notable as the second Black American man (after Sidney Poitier) to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, which he received for his role in the 2001 film Training Day.

Early life

Denzel Washington was born in Mt. Vernon, New York. His mother, Lennis "Lynne", was a beauty parlor-owner and operator born in Georgia and raised in Harlem. His father, Reverend Denzel Washington, Sr., was an ordained Pentecostal minister and also worked for the Water Department and at a local department store, "S. Klein". When Washington was fourteen his parents' marriage took a turn for the worse and he and his older sister were sent away to boarding school so that they would not be exposed to their parents' eventual divorce.
Washington was interested in attending Texas Tech University: "I grew up in the Boys Club in Mount Vernon, and we were the Red Raiders. So when I was in high school, I wanted to go to Texas Tech in Lubbock just because they were called the Red Raiders and their uniforms looked like ours." Nevertheless, Washington earned a B.A. in Drama and Journalism from Fordham University in 1977. At Fordham, he played collegiate basketball as a Freshman guard under coach P. J. Carlesimo. After a period of bouncing from major to major and briefly dropping out of school for a semester, Washington worked as a counselor at an overnight summer camp called Camp Sloan YMCA in Lakeville CT. After participating in a staff talent show for the campers, a colleague suggested he try acting. Returning to Fordham that fall with a renewed purpose and focus, he enrolled at the Lincoln Center campus to study acting, snagging the title character in both Eugene O'Neill's The Emperor Jones, and William Shakespeare's Othello, where he earned rave reviews. Upon graduation, he was given a scholarship to attend graduate school at the prestigious American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, where he stayed for one year before deciding to return to New York to begin a professional acting career.

Career

 Early career

Shortly after graduating from Fordham, Washington made his professional acting debut in the 1977 made-for-television movie Wilma. He made his film debut in the 1981 film Carbon Copy. His big break came when he starred in the popular television hospital drama, St. Elsewhere from 1982 to 1988. He was one of a few actors to appear on the series for its entire six-year run. In 1987, after appearing in several minor television, film and stage roles, Washington starred as South African Anti-Apartheid political activist Steve Biko in Richard Attenborough's Cry Freedom, a role for which he received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. In 1989, Washington won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for playing a defiant, self-possessed ex-slave in the film Glory. Also that same year, he gave a powerful performance as the conflicted and disillusioned Reuben James, a Caribbean-born British soldier who, despite a distinguished military career abroad, turns to a life of vigilantism and violence upon his return to civilian life in For Queen and Country.

1990s

In the Summer of 1990 he starred in a movie called Mississippi Masala where he played the character Demetrius Williams. Washington played one of his most critically acclaimed roles in 1992's Malcolm X, directed by Spike Lee. His performance as the Black Nationalist leader earned him an Oscar nomination. Both the influential film critic Roger Ebert and the highly acclaimed film director Martin Scorsese called the movie one of the ten best films made during the 1990s.
Malcolm X transformed Washington's career, turning him, practically overnight, into one of Hollywood's most respected actors. He turned down several similar roles, such as an offer to play Martin Luther King, Jr., because he wanted to avoid being typecast. The next year, in 1993, he took another risk in his career by playing Joe Miller, the homophobic lawyer of a homosexual man with AIDS in the movie Philadelphia starring Tom Hanks. During the early and mid 1990s, Washington became a renowned Hollywood leading man, starring in several successful thrillers, including The Pelican Brief and Crimson Tide, as well as comedies (Much Ado About Nothing) and romantic dramas (The Preacher's Wife).
While filming the 1995 film Virtuosity, Washington refused to kiss his white female co-star, Kelly Lynch, during a romantic scene between their characters. During an interview, Lynch stated that while she wanted to, "Denzel felt very strongly about it. I felt there is no problem with interracial romance. But Denzel felt strongly that the white males, who were the target audience of this movie, would not want to see him kiss a white woman." Lynch further stated, "That's a shame. I feel badly about it. I keep thinking that the world's changed, but it hasn't changed quick enough." A similar situation also occurred during the filming of The Pelican Brief when Julia Roberts expressed in an interview her desire to have her character in the film engaged in a romantic relationship with Washington's character. And an additional occurrence was in the 1989 film The Mighty Quinn where Washington's Quinn character did not kiss Mimi Rogers' alluring Hadley character. However, in 1998, Washington starred in a scene of a sexual nature with actress Milla Jovovich, in Spike Lee's He Got Game.
In 1999, Washington starred in The Hurricane, a movie about boxer Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter, whose conviction for triple murder was overturned after he had spent almost 20 years in prison. Various newspaper articles have suggested that the controversy over the film's accuracy may have cost Washington an Oscar for which he was nominated. Washington did receive a Golden Globe Award in 2000 and a 'Silberner Bär' (Silver Berlin Bear) at the Berlin International Film Festival for the role.
He also presented the Arthur Ashe ESPY Award to Loretta Claiborne for her courage. He appeared as himself in the end of The Loretta Claiborne Story movie. Washington is often cited as an example of human physical attractiveness due to the symmetry of his facial features.

2000s

In 2000, Washington appeared in the crowd-pleasing Disney film, Remember the Titans, which grossed over $100 million at the United States box office. He was nominated and won an Oscar for Best Actor for his next film, the 2001 cop thriller, Training Day, as Det. Alonzo Harris, a rogue LAPD cop with questionable law-enforcement tactics. The role was a much-acclaimed change-of-pace for the actor, who was known for playing many heroic leads. Washington was the second African-American performer ever to win an Academy Award in the category of Best Actor (for Training Day), the first being Sidney Poitier, who happened to receive an Honorary Academy Award the same night that Washington won for Best Actor. Washington holds the record for most Oscar nominations by an actor of African descent; so far he has earned five.
After appearing in 2002's box office success, the health care-themed John Q., Washington directed his first film, a well-reviewed drama called Antwone Fisher, in which he also co-starred.
Between 2003 and 2004, Washington appeared in a series of thrillers that performed generally well at the box office, including Out of Time, Man on Fire, and The Manchurian Candidate. In 2006 he starred in Inside Man, a Spike Lee-directed bank heist thriller co-starring Jodie Foster and Clive Owen, and Déjà Vu released in November 2006. Next, he co-starred with Russell Crowe in American Gangster and directed and starred in The Great Debaters with Forest Whitaker.

Return to theater

In 2005, after a 15-year hiatus (he was last seen in the summer of 1990 in the title role of the Public Theater's production of Shakespeare's Richard III) , Washington appeared onstage again in another Shakespeare play as Marcus Brutus in Julius Caesar on Broadway. The production's limited run was a consistent sell-out, averaging over 100% attendance capacity nightly despite receiving universally terrible reviews.

Personal life

In 1983, Washington married actress Pauletta Pearson (now Pauletta Washington), whom he met on the set of his first screen role, Wilma. The couple have four children: John David (b. July 28, 1984), who signed a football contract with the St. Louis Rams in May 2006 after playing college football at Morehouse; Katia (b. November 1987), who is attending Yale University, and twins Olivia and Malcolm (named in honor of Malcolm X)(b. April 10, 1991). In 1995, the couple renewed their wedding vows in South Africa with Archbishop Desmond Tutu officiating.
Washington and his family visited soldiers at the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas. He later made a sizable donation to the Fisher Houses, small hotels that provide rooms for soldiers' families while the soldiers are hospitalized. In October 2006, he published a bestseller entitled Hand to Guide Me, featuring actors, politicians, athletes, and other public figures recalling their childhood mentors. The book was published in commemoration of the Boys and Girls Club of America's centennial anniversary, because Washington had participated in the club as a child.
Washington is a devout Christian.
The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia named Washington as one of three people (the others being directors Oliver Stone and Michael Moore) with whom they were willing to negotiate for the release of three defense contractors that the group had held captive from 2003 to 2008.
On May 18, 1991, Washington was awarded an honorary doctorate from his alma mater, Fordham University, for "impressively succeeded in exploring the edge of his multifaceted talent". He also was awarded an honorary doctorate of humanities from Morehouse College on May 20, 2007.
Washington is also a fan of the "Monk" series on USA. He has worked with Ted Levine (in American Gangster) and Tony Shalhoub (in The Siege) because he is a fan of the show.

Upcoming projects

Washington will next star as New York subway security chief Zach "Z" Garber in The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3, a remake of the 70's thriller, The Taking of Pelham One, Two Three, opposite John Travolta and directed by Tony Scott, opening in July 2009. He is also attached to star as CIA intelligence officer Brandon Scofield in the film adaptation of Robert Ludlum's Cold War spy thriller The Matarese Circle, and in January 2009 will begin filming The Book of Eli, a post-Apocalyptic drama set in the near future.