Britney Jean Spears

Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American pop music singer, songwriter, dancer, actress, and author. She is one of the most famous women of all time. Spears has sold over 83 million records worldwide according to Zomba Label Group, and has sold over 75 million albums worldwide. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) ranks her as the eighth best-selling female artist in American music history, having sold 31 million albums in the U.S.

Spears is best known for her studio albums, music videos, and songs, such as "...Baby One More Time", "Oops!... I Did It Again", "I'm a Slave 4 U", "Toxic", for which she won a Grammy Award, and "Gimme More". In January 1999, Spears released her first studio album ...Baby One More Time, followed closely by the 2000 studio album Oops!... I Did It Again. Her third album Britney was released in November 2001, followed by a fourth album In The Zone in November 2003. The collection Greatest Hits: My Prerogative was released in November 2004. Her fifth album entitled Blackout is scheduled to be released worldwide on October 30, 2007.

Spears's fame in the music industry has led her to experiment with other forms of media, including film and reality television. As an actress, she is most noted for her starring role in the 2002 movie Crossroads. Spears has also made guest appearances in various other movies and television programs. Her success as a singer led her to several high-profile advertising deals and endorsements including her own perfume line.

Spears's personal life has gained much attention from the media. In particular, her marriage to back-up dancer Kevin Federline and the birth of their two children, Sean Preston and Jayden James. The couple's divorce in November 2006 was highly publicized and has been followed by a legal battle for custody of their sons.

Avril Lavigne

Avril Lavigne on Animax Music Station

Avril Lavigne on Animax Music Station

Name: Avril Ramona Lavigne
Birth date: September 27, 1984
Birth place: Belleville, Ontario, Canada
Height: 5′ 2″
Family: Parents, a brother and a sister
Husband: Deryck Whibley
Profession: Singer and song writer

Avril Lavigne Whibley, better known by her birth name of Avril Lavigne, (born September 27, 1984) is a Canadian rock/punk-pop singer, musician and actress. In 2006, Canadian Business Magazine ranked her the seventh most powerful Canadian in Hollywood, and in 2007 she won ninth place in the Jabra Music Contest for the Best Band in the World, based on fan votes from around the world.

Lavigne's birth surname is usually pronounced in an anglicized way as /ˈævrəl ləˈviːn/"La-Veen" (in French it is commonly pronounced /aˈvʁil laˈviːɲ/ (help·info)). Avril is French for "April", while la vigne means "the vine" or "the vineyard".

Lavigne's debut album, Let Go, was released in 2002, and went on to sell over 18 million copies worldwide. And was certified six times platinum in the United States. Her second and third albums, Under My Skin (2004) and The Best Damn Thing (2007), respectively, reached number one on the U.S. Billboard 200. Lavigne has scored five number one songs worldwide to date and a total of eleven top ten hits, including "Complicated", "Sk8er Boi", "I'm with You", "My Happy Ending", and "Girlfriend". She ranked # 50 on VH1's "50 Greatest Women Of The Video Era" show list.

Avril Lavigne was born in Belleville, Ontario to a devout Christian family. Lavigne's musical talent was first spotted at the age of two when her mother says Lavigne began singing along with her on church songs. The family moved to Napanee, Ontario, when Lavigne was five years old.

In 1998, Lavigne won a competition to sing with fellow Canadian singer Shania Twain on her first major concert tour. She appeared alongside Twain at her concert in Ottawa, appearing on stage to sing "What Made You Say That".

She was discovered by her first professional manager, Cliff Fabri, while singing country covers at a Chapters bookstore in Kingston, Ontario. During a performance with the Lennox Community Theatre, Lavigne was spotted by local folk singer Steve Medd (a relation of the influential Canadian journalist, Ben Medd), who invited her to sing on his song "Touch the Sky" for his 1999 album Quinte Spirit. She also sang on "Temple of Life" and "Two Rivers" for his follow up album, My Window to You, in 2000.

At the age of sixteen she was signed by Ken Krongard, the artists-and-repertoire (A&R) representative of Arista Records, who invited the head of Arista, Antonio "L.A." Reid, to hear her sing at the New York City studio of producer Peter Zizzo. She then completed work on her first album, Let Go. The Matrix, who worked extensively with Lavigne on the album, commented on her songwriting, saying, "We conceived the ideas on guitar and piano. Avril would come in and sing a few melodies, change a word here or there."

Ariel Lin Yi Chen

Name: Ariel Lin Yi Chen (Lin I Cheng, Lam Yi San)
Chinese name: 林依晨
Birth date: October 29, 1982
Birth place: Taiwan
Height: 160cm
Blood type: A
Education: National ChengChi University, NCCU (Korean study)
Profession: Actress and singer

Hobbies: Acting, swimming, reading, singing, music, food, and travel
Favorite colors: Black, silver, and white
Favorite foods: Mum’s cooking, chocolate, pasta, Mongolian BBQ, and fruits
Favorite fruits: Strawberries, mango, apple, and grapes
Favorite movies: LOTR trilogy, and Harry Porter series

Ariel Lin Yi Chen Biography

Ariel Lin was given major role since her debut in 2002 drama, “True Love.” Ariel continued to star in “Secret Garden” and “Seventh Grade,” and steadily building her fame and popularity.

Ariel Lin still continued her university study while making all the dramas and managed to graduate from NCCU.

Ariel Lin co-starred Mike He in “Love Contract” (2004) and with Joseph Zheng in “It Started With a Kiss” (2005). Both the melodramas were a hit, and Ariel become one of the most popular TV actresses in Taiwan.

Ariel Lin then starred in popular dramas “Fairy from Wonderland” and acclaimed drama “Tokyo Juliet” in 2006. Fairy from Wonderland was hugely popular in China and Ariel is getting more famous in Asia region.

Ariel Lin also starred in 2 movies and sang a few songs in the dramas’ OST, but her singing venture is not as successful as her TV acting career.

Ariel Lin is currently filming the sequel for for ISWAK; she is also supposed to be filming “The Legend of Condor Heroes” in China but the filming was postphoned because the leading actor (Hu Ge) is recovering from a car accident.

Kim Tae Hee

Name: Kim Tae-hee (Kim Tae-hui, Gim Tae-hui)
Korean name: 김태희
Chinese name: 金泰熙 (金泰希)
Birthdate: March 29, 1980
Birthplace: Ulsan, South Korea
Height: 165cm
Blood type: O
Family: Parents, an elder sister and a younger brother
Religion: Christian (Roman Catholic)
Education: Seoul National University (fashion design, graduated)
Profession: Actress and model

Kim Tae Hee (born March 29, 1980) is a South Korean actress from Ulsan. Kim, who is bachelor of medical science at the Seoul National University, rose to stardom via her portrayal of the evil stepsister in the popular SBS TV series Stairway to Heaven. Her recent TV projects include the supernatural KBS series Forbidden Love and the SBS campus romance Love Story in Harvard. Both series were successful. For her performance in Forbidden Love, Kim was honored with the Best Female Newcomer award. Her younger brother is Lee Wan, who is quietly making a name for himself as well in the entertainment industry.

Kim Tae-hee started her entertainment career in modeling, and began acting in 1998.
Tae-hee’s noticable acting role only came in 2002 with TV sitcom “Let’s Go.” Then in 2003 Tae-hee began to gain real popularity with the evil sister character in “Stairway to Heaven,” co-starring Kwon Sang-woo and Choi Ji-woo.

Kim Tae-hee became one of Korean most popular actress after starring in 2004 popular romance “Love Story in Harvard,” starring alongside actor Kim Rae-won. In 2006 Tae-hee made her movie debut with “Restless,” which was not a huge success by her popularity. Kim Tae-hee has just started filming her latest TV drama recently, namely “Angel” or “Lobbyist.”

Cecilia Cheung

Cheung was born in Hong Kong to a Chinese father and an Eurasian mother. Her father is an active member of a local gang. [citation needed] Her parents divorced when she was just a child after which she was sent to Australia to live with her aunt at the age of fourteen. Cheung has an elder half-sister Dai Pek Chi (an airline pilot), two younger brothers, Cheung Ho Long (張浩龍) and Cheung Pak Man (張柏文) and also a younger half-brother from her father's side. She is also the daughter-in-law of Patrick Tse (謝賢) and Deborah Li, and wife of Nicholas Tse (謝霆鋒), mother of Lucas Tse.

In 1998, while helping a hair salon friend at a catwalk show, she was noticed and offered to appear in a TV commercial advertising lemon tea. Later, Cheung made her film debut as a young nightclub hostess in Stephen Chow's The King of Comedy (1999), followed soon after by Fly Me to Polaris (1999). The latter role earned her the award for Best Newcomer at the Hong Kong Film Awards. In the same year, Cheung launched her singing career with her first Cantopop album Any Weather (1999).

For Derek Yee's romantic drama Lost in Time (2003), Cheung won Best Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards. She played a young woman who lost her fiance to a traffic accident which left her as a grieving single mother struggling to make ends meet.

Cheung speaks Cantonese, English and Mandarin (with a strong Canton accent).

Cheung first dated Hong Kong actor and singer, Nicholas Tse in early 2002 but was then dumped by Tse late that year, when Tse got back with his ex-girlfriend, singer Faye Wong. Later she was rumored to have dated a younger Siyuan Lu before the relationship ended in 2003. Cheung suffered serious depression and eating disorder after the break up. Cheung also dated a Dutch expat named Jeroen for a brief period.

Cheung and Tse were first reported "getting back together" in early 2006 and on July 31, 2006, Tse officially admitted dating Cheung in an interview with Hong Kong commercial radio station 881/903.

In September 2006, Tse showed off his wedding ring at the Hong Kong International Airport, announcing he and Cheung were married in a secret wedding ceremony in the Philippines.

On the January 8, 2007 episode of TVB's Entertainment Scoop (東張西望), Cheung was publicly confirmed by Nicholas' father, Patrick Tse to be approximately three months pregnant with the couple's first child

Around March 2007 on the episode of TVB's Entertainment Scoop (東張西望)it is said that their child is due in August (N.B which is the same month as Tse's birthday). It is confirmed by Cheung's husband Nicholas Tse that she is expecting a baby boy.

On August 2, 2007, it was reported that Cecilia Cheung and her husband were both in the maternity ward awaiting for their child to be born. However no specific photo was enclosed with such report. The very next day, Cecilia gave birth to a 6.5lb baby named Lucas.

Nanako Matsushima

Nanako Matsushima (松嶋 菜々子, Matsushima Nanako?, born October 13, 1973 in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan) is a Japanese actress and model. She is known outside Japan for her role in the horror film Ring. She became the highest-paid actress in Japan due to Great Teacher Onizuka and all her following dramas becoming big hits. She was also a main character in A Story of Love.

On February 21, 2001, she married Takashi Sorimachi who co-starred with her in Great Teacher Onizuka. They had a daughter together on May 31, 2004.

Matsushima Nanako started modeling at 18 as swimsuit model for various commercial advertisements, and featured in some budget TV shows.

Nanako’s breakthrough was in 1996 when she got the chance to star in NHK production “Himawari” (Sunflower); in the same year that she also starred in Asia hit movie “Ringu,” which was adapted by Hollywood movie “The Ring” years later.

Nanako’s popularity was ever rising since then, leading in loads of popular Japanese TV series and movies, and TV commercials.

Some of Nanako’s popular TV dramas include “Great Teacher Onizuka (GTO),” “Kyumei Byoto 24 Ji,” “Majo no Jouken,” “Koori no sekai,” “Hyakunen no Monogatari,” “Yamato Nadeshiko” and “Hana Yori Dango” etc.

Not only that Nanako have the elegance and beauty, her acting was very much praised and won her numerous awards.

Matsushima Nanako met actor husband Sorimachi Takashi when starring in the popular TV drama GTO; the celebrity couple married in 2001 and Nanako gave birth to their daughter in 2004.

Matsushima Nanako was considered one of the most popular actresses in Japan and across Asia. Lots of her TV series and movies were well received by Japanese and Asian fans, with high ratings and successful box office.

Matsushima Nanako took a break after her marriage and birth to her daughter, and just started starring in some drama last year. Her popularity is not as great as before, but she will be remembered as one of the greatest Japanese actress for the last decade.

Fukatsu Eri

Name: 深津絵里 / Fukatsu Eri Profession: Actress Date of Birth: 11 January 1973 Height: 155cm Weight: 41kg Star Sign: Capricorn Blood Type: O Birthplace: Oita perfecture Talent Agency: Amuse

Notable dramas she was in: Saiyuuki (2006) Slow Dance (2005) Suekko chounan ane san nin (2003) Sora Kara Furu Ichioku no Hoshi (2002) Koi no Chikara (2002) Chuushingura 1/47 Kabachitare (2001)

Scouted when she was only fifteen, Fukatsu Eri is a talented actress who is great in dramas, yet is super funny in comedies. Regarded as one of Japan’s top actresses. Her acting awards are countless.

Fukatsu Eri starred at Saiyuuki

Here are some of the synopsis for Saiyuuki

Buddhist monk Sanzo Hoshi heads to Tenjiku to deliver a sutra that has powers to bring peace to the world. On the first day of her journey, she comes across Sagojo, on the second day she meets Chohakkai, and on the third day, she encounters Son Goku. With very different personalities, the four constantly quarrel. But through their journey together, they learn to help one another overcome many difficulties.

After days of not eating anything, they finally reach a town, but the place is burned to ashes. Just when they are trying to find out what happened, a beautiful girl in a wedding gown comes their way, followed by a young man, and then the bride's father.

Fukatsu Eri also starred in Slow Dance

Here are some synopsis for Slow Dance

A man who constantly applies the brake in his life, a woman who could do with a brake in her life They have their careers but they are both failures in love Afraid to face each other directly, Instead of focusing on feelings, they choose to focus on their positions, Meeting each other, falling in love!? They are already adults but still have some way to go when it comes to putting their foot on the ground. This summer, a feel-good love story...

Synopsis for Suekko Chounan Ane Sannin

Haruko Takanashi (Fukatsu Eri) is 30. She works at a radio station. She is approaching middle management where good looks alone aren't enough. She isn't very romantic so she devotes herself to work and play and suddenly finds herself alone. Just when she has given up on romance she meets a man. She meets him at a party to which she was taken by a subordinate at work. He is 25-year-old Ichiro Kashiwakura (Okada Junichi) and is nothing out of the ordinary. They start a relationship. One day, out of the blue, Ichiro ardently proposes to Haruko. Realizing that he really loves her, Haruko says yes and they get married. But she still hasn't told him her real age.

Sawajiri Erika

Sawajiri Erika is a Japanese actress, model, and musician. Her alias in her music career was Kaoru Amane, but she has recently started her own project under the name Erika. She is currently affiliated with Sony for her record label as formerly Kaoru Amane and later Erika, and Stardust Promotion for her talent agency as her real name, Erika Sawajiri, and became popular after playing a girl who suffered from an intractable disease called spinocerebellar degeneration (SCD) in the nonfiction drama "1 Litre of Tears".

Sawajiri Erika passed the Stardust audition in 1999 after graduating from elementary school. The following year she became part of the idol unit “ANGEL EYES ” and began modelling for junior fashion magazines like CUTiE and nicola. In 2001 she won the Grand Prize for that year’s Seikore and became a regular on the BS news program Harajuku Launchers.

In 2002 Erika began taking on more tasks as an actress and gravure idol. She was one of Fuji TV’s Visual Queens for the year (along with Ichikawa Yui, Karina, and Yarita Ayano), and also had a part in the film Mondai no nai Watashitachi. She became a regular of the NTV music variety show THE YORU mo Hit Parade from April to late June, and shortly before leaving the program was on the CX News program Chou VIP Fortune no Tobira from mid-June to late August. In November she was on the CBC variety show Bijou Dokyuu and also on the TBS show B-1.

Erika continued her work into 2003, this time getting roles in PVs. She also began acting in various dramas, including a small role in the popular drama HOTMAN . In 2004 Erika continued to act in dramas, but it can be said she earned the most attention in 2005 for her portrayal of Ikeuchi Aya in the drama 1 Litre no Namida, a young girl with a degenerating brain disease that affects one’s motor skills. It was also in 2005 that she starred in the film PACCHIGI !.

2006 has proved to be yet another busy year for Erika, as she starred in two films and is currently starring in the drama adaptation of Taiyou no Uta.

Park Chae-rim

Park Chae-rim(박채림) (born March 28, 1979) is a South Korean actress. She was noted for her role in the MBC drama All About Eve. Park made her debut in the drama Kaist. She is widely known and addressed as "Chae Rim" to many of her fans as well as fan propaganda magazines. Park married singer Lee Seung-hwan (14 years her senior) on May 24th, 2003. On March 31st, 2006, Lee's agency "Cloud Fish" released news of the couple's divorce. The reason stated was because of the couple personality differences, which caused the couple to separate since early December 2005.

Chae Rim (originally Park Chae Rim) is referred to as "Korea's Sweet Sister," and entered the entertainment world through a beauty test in 1994. Ever since her premier TV series "Hot River," Chae has mostly portrayed gentle characters, and her pleasing appearance and sweet smile has won the hearts of many viewers. Among her well-known works are the MBC series All About Eve (2000) and Four Sisters (2001). In 2000 Chae was also honored with SBS' Most Popular Artist award for her role in Cheers for Women. Chae's primary focus has been on television roles, and in recent years she has even been able to break into the Chinese TV market. In 2003 and 2004, she appeared in the Taiwanese TV series Love of the Aegean Sea a.k.a. Romance at the Aegean Sea and the Mainland China TV series Warriors of The Yang Clan. Furthering her crossover success, she signed up for the 2005 Hong Kong TV series "Princess Sheng Ping" (temporary title). After marrying singer Lee Seung Hwan in 2003, Chae continued her Korean TV series career in 2004 with Oh! Pil-Seung Bong Soon, in which she co-starred with An Jae Wook. The drama earned record-breaking viewing rates, once more confirming Chae's top TV star status.

Park Eun-Hye

Park Eun-Hye (박은혜) (born February 21, 1978 in South Korea) is a South Korean actress. She starred in the famous drama, Dae Jang Geum in 2003, as Jang Geum's best friend, Lee Yeun-seng. As a participant of the Korean Wave, she also starred in the Taiwan drama "Silence" with Vic Zhou, a member of F4, the popular Taiwanese music group.

In Dae Jang Geum, Park's character eventually wins the favor of the king and becomes pregnant with his child. After being pressured by the queen and the king's mother to inform them of Jang Geum's plans, Yeun-seng goes into a difficult labor. With Jang Geum's help, she gives birth to a baby princess.

Park Eun-Hye's character in Silence is mute. She meets her childhood love again and helps him realize the most precious things can not be bought with money. He finds out that he has liver cancer and tries to live life to its fulliest before his time is up.

Park is also known for having strikingly similar features to Han Hye-jin, another Korean actress.

Dramas

Exhibition of Fireworks (MBC, 2006)
Silence (CTV, 2006)
18 vs. 29 (KBS2, 2005)
Little Women (SBS, 2004)
What Happened on Island (SBS, 2004)
Dae Jang Geum (MBC, 2003-2004)
Everyday With You (2001)
Time Machine (2001)

Movies

Daddy-Long-Legs (2005)
Dream of a Warrior (2001)
Rec (2000)
Zzang (1998)

Kim Hee Sun

Birthday: August 11, 1977
Birthplace: Seoul, South Korea
Height: 168 cm
Weight: 45 kg
Blood Type: A
Talent: Playing the Piano, Ping Pong, Billiards, Modern Dance
Hobbies: Scuba, Singing

Kim Hee-sun (born 25 February 1977, Seoul) is a South Korean actress who has been acting in Korean TV dramas and films for over a decade.

Kim Hee Sun debuted on TV as a year 11 student and later majored in Drama at Chung-Ang University. Since then Kim Hee Sun has acted in many TV dramas, becoming well known in South Korea.

In recent years, Kim Hee Sun has also gradually build up a career in film, beginning in 1997 with Repechage opposite Jang Dong-gun. Director Lee Kwang-hoon subsequently put her in his next film, Ghost in Love in 1999. Kim Hee Sun's most high-profile role to date has been in the big-budget martial arts fantasy Bichunmoo, shot in China and released in the summer of 2000. Kim Hee Sun played the daughter of a Mongolian general in love with her childhood sweetheart. Although criticised for her acting in the film, it gave her more local and international exposure than any of her other films. The film cemented Kim Hee Sun's position as one of Korea's leading actress not only in her home country, but also in mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and throughout South-east Asia.

In late 2001, Kim Hee Sun took on a completely different kind of role, cutting her hair short and starring as an animator in Wanee and Junah. Although Kim Hee Sun isacting in this film drew a favorable response from critics, the film itself was a flop at the box office. Kim Hee-sun is currently living in Seoul and is still popular as a model and presenter. Kim Hee Sun is renowned within the industry for her longevity as an actress. In 2003 she will co-star with Shin Ha-kyun in the film A Letter From Mars by Kim Jung-kwon, the director of Ditto. She is popularly known as the "first beauty of South Korea".

Through acting and promotional work (such as for Samsung), Kim Hee-sun now has an income of some USD 7 million. It is rumoured that her next move will be to try to break into the Japanese market.

Bae Doo-na

Bae Doo-na (whose name means "beautiful star") was born on October 11, 1979. In 1998 she was walking along the streets of Apkujong, Seoul when a recruiter approached her about a job in modeling. She soon branched out from modeling into TV dramas (her debut was the KBS drama School), and in 1999 she had her first film appearance as the psychic girl/ghost in The Ring Virus, Korea's remake of the Japanese film Ring.

In 2000 Bae continued to act in TV dramas and also expanded her presence on the screen, starring in the critically-acclaimed Barking Dogs Never Bite and later in Plum Blossom, a well-received film about adolescence and sex. At the time she concurrently studied in Hanyang University's department of Film and Drama.

Bae's 2001 film Take Care of My Cat was highly acclaimed by critics and screened in many festivals including Rotterdam and Berlin. She also starred in Park Chan-wook's grim followup to JSA, the acclaimed Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. Her next features were more light in tone: Saving My Hubby, about a mother who straps her baby onto her back and goes out to rescue her husband from a band of gangsters, subway action film Tube, and Spring Bears Love, a melodrama by debut director Yong Yi. She also appeared in multiple TV dramas. To date, however, Bae has yet to star in a solid box office hit.

Bae's next film will be a Japanese film by Nobuhiro Yamashita titled Linda Linda Linda, in which she plays a Korean exchange student who joins an all-girl rock band. She is also rumored to have a part in Bong Joon-ho's creature movie The Host.

Excerpt from an interview with Bong Joon-ho (Barking Dogs Never Bite):

Bae Doo-na is a very beautiful young woman. But in the film you make her look very mundane, dishevelled, with no make-up... "You're right (laughs). Many actresses in Korea hate to act without make up, they want to look shiny! But Doo-na was great because she had no desire to show off, rather she really threw herself into the character. I was really happy with her."

Lee Young Ae

* Name: 이영애 (李英爱) / Lee Young Ae
* Profession: Actress and model
* Birthdate: 1971-Jan-31
* Birthplace: Seoul, South Korea
* Height: 165cm
* Weight: 48kg
* Blood type: AB
* Star Sign: Aquarius
* Family: Parents and two older brothers

Lee Young-Ae (born January 31, 1971 in Seoul) is a famous South Korean actress who has a great fan base in numerous countries, particularly in the East and Southeast Asian countries which have been hit by the Korean Wave. She earned a title as 'Oxygen Lady' when she made her debut as TV model. Recently years, she captured the hearts of many fans as a sweetheart of Asia due to her cherubic beauty.

Her popularity among East Asian countries has grown in an exponential manner due to her poignant performance in the popular Korean drama Dae Jang Geum. The drama was such a success that several countries had re-runs of the drama shortly after the last episode had ended. In Hong Kong, the last episode had almost half of the Hong Kong population staying at home just to watch it. In China, hundreds of million viewers watched the drama even it was shown at late nights.

Since then, Lee Young-Ae has been invited to visit Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, China and Japan. The fan crowds were phenomenal; in the first time in 12 years, NHK had to use NHK Hall to host the show. Her recent trip was the 2007 Harbin International Ice and Snow Sculpture Festival in China as an Image Ambassador. Many fans came from around the world and spent hours waiting for her under the temperature of -20 degrees Celsius. She flew in an Asiana airplane with four of her Dae Jang Geum portraits painted on the side of the plane.

Beside her acting career, she is also involved in many charity events. In 1997 she went to Ethiopia as a NGO Goodwill Ambassador and experienced the poverty and illness of African children. She went to Thar Desert in 1999 doing a TV show of the lowest caste people in India (see 1999 KBS2 Journey to Thar Desert in exterior link below). Later in 2001, she published these experiences in her autobiography “A Most Special Love” (partial English translation can be seen here) and donated all the income from the sale of the book to charity.

She was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador in 2004 by UNICEF and held several charity functions from that time on. She made many donations to schools and hospitals, which include an elementary school in China such that the school was renamed Lee Young-Ae Elementary School and the Chosun First Middle School in Harbin.

From her 2006 autobiography “Young-Ae’s Vow” (partial English translation can be seen here), she talked about how she became an actress. She recalled what made her go into show business was working with Andy Lau in a 1991 chocolate advertisement. In 1995, she made a decision to go to graduate school to learn theory of acting. Since then, she has not changed to challenge various kinds of acting roles, like that in Dae Jang Geum and later a very different role in Sympathy For Lady Vengeance. One thing she never wants to lose it, she said, is to act from her heart.

She was awarded Best Actress awards in the Blue Dragon Film Festival (青龍電影節)[12] in 2005 and Baeksang Art Awards (百想藝術大賞)[13] in 2006 for the film Sympathy For Lady Vengeance. In 2007, she received Medal of Culture Merit for her contribution to Korean Wave from the South Korean government.

Lee Young-ae has become very popular in CF’s (commercial films) of advertisements since her first debut. Her beauty in CF’s is loved by many fans around the world and a compiled CF’s shot before 2006 can be seen here[14]. In 2007, she was voted the most trustable product spokesperson in Korea[15].

Her major contract in 2006 and 2007 is with LG Group, a large South Korean conglomerate. She became the spokesmodel (Pan-Asia) for all LG Electronics' products. In January of 2007, she received a gratitude frame from LG Electronics for her successful promotion of their products.

Lee Hyori

Lee Hyori (Korean: 이효리, also Romanized as Lee Hyolee and officially E Hyo-lee), born on May 10, 1979, is a popular South Korean singer and actress. She started off as part of the successful K-pop girl group Fin.K.L, but has since become a solo artist. Her first album was very successful, winning many "Daesangs" (a Korean award equivalent to "Artist of the Year") for that album. She has since become the highest-paid female singer in South Korea.

Lee started her career as part of the Korean pop girl group Fin.K.L. Lee Hyori, who would become the group leader as she was the oldest member, was discovered while taking sticker pictures with her friends and was actually the last to join the group, just before their launch in January 1998. Fin.K.L. debuted officially on May 22, 1998 with their first single "Blue Rain." It was received quite well, but it was not until their second release from their first album: To My Boyfriend, that Fin. K.L. truly proved their popularity. "To My Boyfriend" became the first of their numerous number one hits. Fin K.L. became one of the most popular and successful Korean groups of all-time and rivaled with fellow popular girl group S.E.S

Although Lee has done many endorsements for various companies (including Dole), her most prominent commercials were made for Samsung Anycall. In late 2004, Lee signed an advertising contract with Samsung, for which she would make three musical commercials and songs for their Anycall cell phones. The first commercial and song, "Anymotion", were released in early 2005, featuring Eric Mun from K-pop group Shinhwa. In early 2006, the followup commercial "Anyclub" was released in two parts; this also featured Eric Mun in addition to Korean actor Kwon Sang Woo. The song "Anyclub," however, did featured neither Eric Mun nor Kwon Sang Woo. Instead, Park Teddy of 1TYM was featured. The songs from the commercials served as singles for Lee in between her albums. The final commercial was released in December 2006, titled "Anystar". The commercial differed from the first two in that it featured mostly dialogue. The commercial starred Korean actor and singer Lee Jun Ki and also YG Family trainee Park Bom.

Lee Hyori finished her contract with Biotherm early February 2007. Lee is no longer a Biotherm representative. She was recently chosen as first ever Asian-wide model for Calvin Klein Jeans, modeling for the "Pure Calvin" Collection.

Sora Aoi

Sora Aoi also known as Sola Aoi, born November 11, 1983) is a Japanese AV idol, or porn star, and nude model from Tokyo, Japan. She made her debut as a nude model in November 2001 and gained popularity for her young-looking face and voluptuous figure. Although she is better known for her hardcore movies, she has done at least a few all-nude movies over the years, such as Blue, Full Nude, and Full Nude 2. In May 2002, she made her debut as an AV idol (pornstar) in the film Happy Go Lucky, filmed with the two adult film studios Samansa and Alice Japan. Even though she was criticised for faking sex, possible by the Japanese censorship laws, she gained significant popularity. At one point, she was in the top 10 Internet searches on Google and Yahoo! Japan.


While in her third year in high school, Aoi was scouted in Shibuya by a talent agency for gravure modelling. When asked how her stage name was chosen, Aoi explained, "My agency asked what color I liked. I said blue ("ao" in Japanese). He also asked what I like in general. I said sky ("Sora" in Japanese). So, he chose Sora Aoi (means "Blue Sky" in Japanese)."

Aoi made her debut as a nude model in November 2001. Her "big eyes, cute smile," "young girl's face and... large breasts" quickly made her a popular magazine model.Her bust was at first reported as a metric F-cup, but had become a G-cup within a year of her acting debut.

Prior to signing with the Kuki AV company (which includes the Samantha, and Alice Japan labels), Sora made two adult movies, Summer Break and Twinkle Twinkle. They supposedly aired on a subscription porn TV service, although details have not been confirmed yet.

Paris Hilton

Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American celebutante, businesswoman, singer, model, actress, and television personality. She was an heiress to a share of both the Hilton Hotel fortune and the real estate fortune of her father Richard Hilton. Paris Hilton is no longer an heiress to the Hilton estate, due to her grandfather Barron being disgusted by her behavior.

As an actress, she has appeared in several minor roles, most notably in the horror film House of Wax (2005). Some of her more recognizable screen work has been alongside friend Nicole Richie in The Simple Life. In 2006, she released her debut self-titled album Paris. Hilton has since garnered notoriety as a result of several legal incidents, the repercussions of which have caused Hilton to serve time in a correctional institution in 2007.

Hilton began modeling as a child, appearing first in charity events. At 19, she signed with Donald Trump's modeling agency, T Management. Hilton has worked with modeling agencies such as Ford Models in New York, Models 1 Agency in London, Nous Model Management in Los Angeles, and Premier Model Management in London. She has appeared in numerous advertising campaigns, including Iceberg Vodka, GUESS, Tommy Hilfiger, Christian Dior, and Marciano. In 2001, Hilton began to develop a reputation as a 19-year-old socialite, being identified as "New York's leading It Girl" whose fame was beginning to "extend beyond the New York tabloids".

Paris Hilton has a knack for attracting attention and always seems to be at the center of things. Sure, some people might feel that this isn't much of a virtue, but Paris is a born self-promoter -- despite her occasional protests to the contrary.

"Paris the Heiress" is first-born in the latest generation of the Hilton family, of swanky hotel fame. Fat trust fund aside, she is also known for being a high-society party girl, part-time model, and quasi-actress.

If America was a shocking pink luxury car parked behind a fast food joint, then Paris Hilton would be the gold plated ornament on its hood. Long before the celebutant hit the small screen with Nicole Richie in the rich-girls-do-real-work reality show, The Simple Life, Hilton was already famous for her wealth, party-hearty lifestyle and a home sex tape that launched a million plain brown mailing wrappers.

Her ever-evolving feuds with other Hollywood party pack stars, ever-changing taste in pets and men and endless string of mishaps – having her sidekick hacked and her warehoused possessions displayed online – naturally make her every gossip magazine's dream. But love her or hate her, it's impossible to ignore Hilton.

Rimi Sen

Rimi Sen (Bengali: রিমি সেন) (b. on September 21, 1981 in Kolkata, India) is an Indian actress working in the Bollywood film industry. In an interview with journalist Vickey Lalwani, Sen revealed that she does not use her real name, Shoumitra Sen, "because it is so unusual."

Sen moved to Mumbai to become a film actress. She was first noticed when she auditioned for a Coca-Cola advertisement, impressing Priyadarshan, the director of the ad. Priyadarshan cast her in his hit film Hungama, establishing her in Bollywood.

She then played Amitabh Bachchan's and Hema Malini's granddaughter in the hit film Baghban. Her next big hit was the Yashraj produced Dhoom. Her next releases Phir Hera Pheri and Golmaal have been successful at the box office. Her latest release Dhoom 2, released on November 24, 2006, is another big hit, though she has very little presence in the film.

Rimi is now going by the screen name Rimii. She explains the name change as a career move: there are many other Sens working in Bollywood right now, and a single name may help her stand out from the crowd and stay apart from others.

Glamsham.com interviewed Sen in July 2006 about her work in the movie Golmaal. In the interview Sen said, "I play a sweet and beautiful girl in the film. The best thing that I like about the film is that though it has four heroes, I am the only heroine. Rohit Shetty is amazing as a director. He can make even a black African look pretty."

* Ligali, an African British group, condemned her statements and said it showed "how normalized anti-African ideology is within Bollywood and its audiences. It would be unlikely that her racist comments will hinder her career or that of the journalist and media organisation that published this anti-African statement."

* Jaspreet Pandohar, Bollywood film critic for BBC Movies Online, said that Sen's comments were "shameful but not entirely surprising. It not only reflects her ignorance of other cultures and belief that black people can’t be naturally beautiful, but also illustrates India and Bollywood’s long-running obsession with fair skin. The sad thing is Rimi probably doesn’t even realise her comments can be construed as offensive and maybe sometimes even racist . It would be practically unheard of a British actor making these kinds of racist comments in the open and to the media. She's currently still in Indian Cinema."

Sonali Bendre

Sonali Bendre (Marathi:सोनाली बेंद्रे, born 1 January 1975) is an Indian actress and model. She has starred in Bollywood films mostly but has acted in a few Marathi, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada films.

Sonali studied in Bangalore and Mumbai in Kendriya Vidyalaya.

Sonali Bendre started out as a model before being selected for the "Star Dust Talent Search".

Her first role was in Aag (1994) opposite Govinda. Though she initially struggled to be a successful actress, she was eventually given critical acclaim for her performances in films like Bhai (1997)Sarfarosh (1999), Zakhm, Duplicate, Hum Saath-Saath Hain: We Stand United (1999), Dil Hi Dil Mein (2000), Tera Mera Saath Rahey and Anaahat (2003) among many others.

In 1995 she won the Filmfare Lux New Face Award. In 2001 she also won the Star Screen Award Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai where she co-starred with Anil Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai. She was the only cast member who was nominated and won the award. She was appreciated for her comic performances in films like Love Ke Liye Kuchh Bhi Karega

Next to her well-received performances, she was also recognized as a graceful dancer through films like Bombay, Lajja and Major Saab to name a few. She is frequently listed as one of the top most beautiful Bollywood actress.

On November 12, 2002 she married film producer/director Goldie Behl. She also hosted the 50th Filmfare Awards with Saif Ali Khan and Farida Jalal on February 26, 2005. On August 9, 2005 she gave birth to a son, Ranvir, at Breach Candy Hospital.

Bendre is set to star in the theatre in a play called, Aap Ki Soniya.

Katrina Kaif

Katrina Kaif is a model turned actress and has a voluptuous figure which makes her very popular amongst the bollywood fans. She was born on 16 July, 1984. She made her debut in the movie “Boom” in which she was hardly given any clothes to be worn, which in turn helped to push her career in the industry. She has been dating Salman Khan and can be seen having Coffee at Coffee Café Day – Bandar (Bandstand) a place very popular amongst the love birds. Katrina is a cross breed – Half Indian / Half English. Her father is and NRI and her mother is English, which makes her poor at Hindi. She has already done few movies down south and seems to be a popular face already.

Not many have gained the fans and popularity as a new entrant as Katrina has done. Katrina promises a lot to her fans and has lots left to be proven.

Filmmaker Kaizad Gustad discovered Katrina in London and gave her a part in his film Boom. Kaif soon moved permanently to Mumbai and was offered a number of modeling assignments. However, filmmakers were at first hesitant to sign her because of her linguistic shortcomings, such as her inability to speak Hindi. Films that did feature her usually had her voice dubbed over by a native speaker of the film's language. This changed with the film, Namastey London,along side Akshay Kumar & later Apne, in which she dubbed her own lines.

Juhi Chawla

First Name: Juhi
Last Name: Chawla
Nick Name:
Birthdate: 3rd November, 1967
Star Sign Scorpio.
Eye Colour: Black
Height: 5 ' 4"
Profession: Modeling & Acting
Visited:
Titles Won: Best Actress Award


Miss India 1984, Best Costumes Award in the Miss Universe contest 1984, Filmfare Best Actress Award 1994 for Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke, NY Bollywood Awards 1999 Most sensational Performance Female for Duplicate.

From beauty contests, she moved into film - with her movie debut being Sultanat in 1986. She then starred in the Kannada film Premaloka which was a super-hit. She also featured in "Goonj" with Kumar Gaurav. Her first big hit in Bollywood was Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak in 1988, in which she starred with Aamir Khan. Following films did not do as well.

Chawla made a special appearance in the film Chandni (1989) produced by Yash Raj Films. She was later cast in the critically accliamed Aaina (1993) opposite Jackie Shroff, and then in one of her biggest hits Darr (1993) with Sunny Deol and Shahrukh Khan.

She won the Filmfare Best Actress Award in 1993 for Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke. Her pairing with Aamir Khan has been repeatedly successful with Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1989), Hum Hain Rahi Pyar Ke (1993) and later on Ishq (1997) becoming hits.

She has teamed up successfully with Shahrukh Khan too, delivering his first big hit Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman (1992)and then later on with Darr (1993) and Yes Boss (1997).

Juhi later turned producer and became the co-owner of a production company called Dreamz Unlimited with Shahrukh Khan and director Aziz Mirza. Unfortunately the first two films produced by the production company - Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani and Asoka failed at the box office. Their third film, Chalte Chalte was the first success for the company.

Juhi has recently appeared in the critically acclaimed films - 3 Deewarein, 7½ Phere [13] and My Brother Nikhil for which Taran Adarsh went as far as saying that her performance was amongst the finest in her career . She won a Star Screen Award Best Supporting Actress for 3 Deewarein.

She was recently seen in Nikhil Advani's Salaam-e-Ishq: A Tribute To Love for which she got good reviews for her performance. She also starred with fellow superstar Urmila Matondkar in Bas Ek Pal (2006) and with Manoj Bajpai in 'Swami'. Juhi's forthcoming releases include Ravi Chopra's Bhoothnath with Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan and another film called Krazy 4 with Irfan Khan and Arshad Warsi.

Reon Kadena

Reon Kadena (かでなれおん, Kadena Reon?) (born February 19, 1986), also known as Kadena Leon or Minamo Kusano, is a Japanese model and actress. Kadena is a female Japanese idol whose photobooks and films largely feature her in revealing costumes, underwear and bikinis. She used to do naked photography and videos, but as she became well-known, she stopped it.

Two reasons spring to mind: Reon’s lovely lady lumps and tiny tapered waist are proof that nothing grows in the shade.

Whether you know her as Reon Kadena, Minamo Kusano or Yurika, there’s no debating that this buxom beauty is one of Japan’s sexiest exports. In addition to being an eye-popping pinup, Reon has also starred in eight tantalizing films.

Angela Aki

Angela Aki (アンジェラ・アキ Anjera Aki), born on 15 September 1977 in Itano, Tokushima Prefecture, Shikoku, Japan, to a Japanese father and an Italian-American mother, is a Japanese singer-songwriter. Her former Japanese real name is 安芸 聖世美 (Aki Kiyomi)

Angela Aki is completely bilingual in English and Japanese as she was raised in Japan, but moved to Hawaii at the age of fifteen where she graduated from 'Iolani School. From there she moved on to George Washington University where she graduated with majors in politics and music.

She originally released an indie album in the United States in 2000, called These Words, which received much critical acclaim. In 2002 she composed two tracks for "Let It Fall" by Dianne Eclar, a teenage pop singer from the Philippines. In 2005 in Japan, she released an indie mini-album under Virgo Music entitled One, which alerted Nobuo Uematsu to her music. Angela Aki is now signed under Sony Japan. In 2005 she was announced as the singer of the Final Fantasy XII theme song, "Kiss Me Good-Bye."

On March 9, 2007, she revealed in her official blog that she is married to a music director who has been supporting her before her debut. She also revealed that while she was in Washington D.C., she had married once before but the marriage ended in a divorce.

She is good friends with JPOP star Yuna Ito. Both singers attended the same Japanese language school.

Angela Aki is the daughter of Kiyoshi Aki, the owner/co-founder of AEON Institute of Language Education. This is one of the "Big Four" Eikaiwa (English conversation) schools in Japan.

EARLY LIFE

Angela Aki was born in Tokushima, Japan. Her heritage is extremely mixed: her mother is half Italian and half American, and her father is Japanese. Her father, Aki Kiyoshi (安藝清), is the founder/president of Aeon, a large Eikaiwa (English conversation) company in Japan. She also has a sister, Kyla Aki, who is one year younger than her.

Aki was a very musical child. Apparently when she was small she shocked her mother when she was very young by humming a tune that her mother had just sung in perfect tune. She began by learning classical piano at three years old, but also learned how to play the violin, guitar later and drums later on. In late 1992 when Aki was 15, she moved away from Japan and set up residence in Hawaii, where she went to high school. She adopted the name Angela and relegated Kiyomi to be her middle-name. Aki won a $2,500US scholarship from her high school (Iolani School) in 1996.

Aki went on to study at George Washington University, Washington, D.C., and combined International Affairs and Jazz Studies as some of her subjects. After watching Sarah McLachlan in concert, Aki was inspired to become a singer-songwriter like her. While studying she was musically active, frequently performing at a coffee house called Jam'n Java. It was here that music producer Tony Alany worked, and collaborated with Aki by producing and recording an indies album entitled These Words that was released in January 2000. The album is comprised of all English songs, and features much more guitar than her later works. Alany and Aki eventually got married after his production work.

During her stay in Washington, Aki was the opening act for artists such as Ricky Martin, Judy Collins and Sixpence None the Richer. She even performed at Al Gore's Christmas party. Angela Aki graduated from George Washington in May 2000.

Aki held her showcase live at the Luna Park Grille in Arlington, Virginia, on 2001.11.29 and was officially credited as 'Angela Aki and her band'. Later on in 2001, she also held a live in Washington D.C., and happened to be overheard by a Japanese CM producer K, who asked her if she were able to sing for a commercial. She accepted, and in early 2002 released a cover of Jimmy Scott's song New Day for the Yakult 400 CM.

Isoyama Sayaka

Name: 磯山さやか
Name (romaji): Isoyama Sayaka
Nickname: Isocchi (いそっち)
Profession: Actress, singer, and gravure idol
Birthdate: 1983-Oct-23
Birthplace: Hokota, Ibaraki, Japan
Height: 155cm
Weight: 44kg

Star sign: Scorpio
Blood type: A
Talent agency: HORI AGENCY

Sayaka Isoyama 磯山 さやか is a sexy Japanese bikini model and actress from Ibaraki prefecture who was the main character in last year’s TV drama 2nd House 2ndハウス. She had also previously also appeared in the Tokusatsu series Chouseishin Gransazer as Saotome Ran/Sazer Visuel.

Although she started as a gravure idol in 2001 having made 26 DVD’s including last years Asian Mermaid, she seems to have successfully made the move into TV appearing in more TV variety shows and TV commercials.

BoA (Kwon Boa)

Boa Kwon (born November 5, 1986 in Guri, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea) is a South Korean singer, commonly known by her stage name BoA, and the letters of her first name have been backronymed to Beat of Angel. She has been active in both South Korea and Japan. Aside from Korean, she also speaks Japanese and conversational English.

At the age of thirteen, after two years of training, BoA released her debut album ID; Peace B on August 25, 2000. The album received positive reviews and climbed into the top ten chart, going on to sell 218,114 copies. Meanwhile, her Korean record label SM Entertainment made arrangements with Japanese company Avex Trax to launch her music career in Japan.

In early 2001, the singer released her first mini-album Jumping into the World. After this album was released, she took a hiatus from the Korean music industry to focus on the Japanese market. During this time she struggled to solidify her skills in Japanese.

BoA entered into the Japanese music industry soon after signing with Avex Trax. In 2001 she debuted with a Japanese version of ID; Peace B. The single reached #20 on the Oricon chart. ID; Peace B was followed by subsequent singles Amazing Kiss (#23), 気持ちはつたわる (Kimochi wa Tsutawaru) (#15), and Listen to My Heart (#5). The single Listen to My Heart became her first major success in Japan and went on to sell over 180,000 copies.

Her Japanese debut album, Listen To My Heart, was released on March 13, 2002. The album debuted at #1 on the Oricon chart in which the album charted for 91 weeks. It sold over 932,000 copies domestically and over 1,300,000 copies worldwide. A breakthrough in her career, her album was one of the few albums by Korean artists to enter the top five, and performed well despite the disputes and tensions between Japan and South Korea due to the 2002 FIFA World Cup. On the same day as the album's release, BoA's fifth single Every Heart-ミンナノキモチ- (minna no kimochi, everybody's feelings) was released. The song was the ending theme for the hit anime series InuYasha; the single peaked at #10 on the charts.

A month later, BoA released her second full studio Korean album, No.1. This album is her most successful Korean album to date, selling over 572,000 copies. The album peaked at #15 on the Japanese charts. In September of the same year her second mini album Miracle became another commercial success selling 327,000 copies. Later in the year she became the youngest artist ever to receive a "Artist of the Year" in South Korea.

Shu Qi

Shu Qi Profile

Name: Shu Qi (Hsu Chi, Xu-Kei, Shuqi, Qi Shu, Fanny Hsu)
Birth name: Ling Li-Hui
Birth date: April 16, 1976
Birth place: Taipei, Taiwan
Height: 168cm
Profession: Actress

Shu Qi Biography

Shu Qi started her entertainment career in rather controversial manner, she posed nude for magazines and booklets at age of 18.

Shu Qi’s effort somehow paid off as her sexy image was a huge success and her earlier nude magazines are still one of the most sought after collection in Taiwan and Hong Kong.

Shu Qi potential was noticed by Hong Kong filmmaker Manfred Wong, who gave her the chance to star in her debut movie, “Sex and Zen 2″ in 1996.

It was in the same year that Shu Qi starred in award winning director, Derek Yee’s SX-rated movie, “Viva Erotica” alongside the now deceased Leslie Cheung. Shu Qi’s performance in the movie successfully attracted people’s attention to her acting talent other than her hottie appearance.

Viva Erotica swept the 1997 Honk Kong Film Awards with 8 nominations, 2 with Shu Qi for Best New Performer and Best Supporting Actress… Shu Qi won both of the awards.

Shu Qi could have made it to international stardom in 2000, when she’s actually the first choice as leading actress for Lee Ang’s acclaimed movie “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” but she couldn’t fit into the filming schedule. Zhang Ziyi took her role then and rises to international star hood.

Shu Qi starred in more than 40 movies, including her first English film, “The Transporter” in 2002 that gained her international popularity.

In November 2005, Shu Qi won the prestigious 42nd Golden Horse Best Actress Award in Taiwan for her acting in “Three Times.”

Other than her great acting career, Shu Qi was also noticeable for her on and off relationship rumors with Hong Kong pop-singer/actor Leon Lai. The relationship (or perhaps just rumors) was ended in 2006 when Leon officially introduced his current girlfriend to the public.

Shu Qi is also famous for her Taiwanese slang when speaking Cantonese, which somehow become surprisingly popular in Hong Kong.

Namie Amuro

Namie Amuro born September 20, 1977 is a Japanese pop singer and occasional songwriter. In the Japanese press she was referred to as the "Queen of J-pop" before Ayumi Hamasaki eclipsed her popularity in the mainstream pop scene. She is still considered the Queen of J-pop, but with Hamasaki as the Empress of J-pop. She was noted in her early years for her Westernized dance music and popularized fashion whose followers came to be nicknamed Amurā (Amurer in English).

Debuting in 1992 as part of the quintet, Super Monkey's, she later debuted solo in 1995 to phenomenal success with producer Tetsuya Komuro. Severing her ties with Komuro in 2001, Amuro has reestablished herself as a R&B artist. Her latest album, PLAY (2007) debuted at #1. She has nine #1 singles, five of which have sold over a million copies.

Her parents divorced while she was only a toddler, leaving her mother responsible for bringing up Namie and her 3 siblings all alone. The low funds of the family didn’t prevent Namie from chasing her dreams to be a star. She was attending Okinawa Actors School successfully, despite her having to walk everyday for 2 hours to go and return from the school - her family couldn’t afford public transportation.

At her fifteen, she formed a girl group with some classmates of hers, called “SUPER MONKEY’S”, under TOSHIBA EMI label. At first, their sales were pretty decent but after the 5th single “TRY ME” (01/25/1995), the group started having proper recognition at the charts, getting into the top 10 and being invited at 紅白歌合戦 (Kouhaku Uta Gassen), a big annual music show. During that period, the group had already moved in Tokyo and changed its name to “Namie Amuro with SUPER MONKEY’S” with Namie taking the upper hand and the lead role of the group. The two following singles made big success as well, resulting to Avex, through the superstars’ producer Tetsuya Komuro, noticing the band, offering a solo career contract for Namie. The rest of the members regrouped with the name Musical Active eXperience or, simply, MAX.

Utada Hikaru

Japanese-American Hikaru Utada is a popular pop singer in Japan, but she was actually born in New York City. Not only was her mother a popular Japanese singer, but for you trivia fans, her favorite author is Edgar Allan Poe, who she was born on the same day as! How’s that for weird? Well, when it comes to Poe, everything’s weird. Anyways, here’s the cute as a button Hikaru!

She has been hailed as one of the most successful, influential and acclaimed musicians in Japanese music history. With the release of her seven studio albums, including one compilation and two all-English, 24 solo singles (18 Japanese and 6 English) and several VHS/DVD releases, she has sold a combined estimated total of some 36,000,000 records in Japan as of 2007, making her the 9th most successful musical act ever in Japan. Her worldwide total sales of albums, singles and VHS/DVDs to date is well past 40,000,000 units. Her unusual success has been, in large part, because of her fluent bilingual skills in English and Japanese, having been raised in New York City and Tokyo.

Utada became an unprecedented musical icon in Japan after her debut, First Love, began shattering a number of records in 1999, and has shown extremely consistent and strong sales of albums, singles and chart presence since. She has won the Nihon Golden Disk (Japan's most-esteemed musical award) "Song of the Year" award for thirteen of her singles since 2000, a record for a solo or group artist. In addition, she has won the Golden Disc "Pop/Rock Album of the Year" award for all four of her Japanese studio albums. Utada is also the only solo or group artist in Japanese, and possibly world, music history to hold the #1 position five times on a Year-End chart in a territory (four albums and one single from 1999-2004)

In 2003, HMV Japan announced that Utada Hikaru is the #24 Japanese pop artist in its survey of "Top 100 Japanese pop artists" of all time, making her the youngest artist with the highest rank in that survey. In 2006, Utada Hikaru also ranked #10 in HMV's "Top 30 Best Japanese Singers of All Time". And in July 2007, it was announced by her label EMI records that Utada's 18th Japanese-language (23rd overall) single Flavor of Life had sold the most digital units to date of any song release worldwide.

Jennifer Aniston

Jennifer Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an Emmy- and Golden Globe Award-winning American film and television actress, best known for her role as Rachel Green in the popular television sitcom Friends. Since Friends she has starred in several successful Hollywood films, including Bruce Almighty, Along Came Polly and The Break-Up.

Aniston moved to Hollywood and was cast in her first television roles in 1990, starring as a regular on the short-lived series Molloy and in the TV movie Camp Cucamonga. She also co-starred in Ferris Bueller, a television adaptation of the 1986 hit movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, the same year; the series, however, was quickly canceled. Aniston then appeared in two more failed television comedy shows, The Edge and Muddling Through, and guest-starred on Quantum Leap, Herman's Head, Burke's Law, on South Park in episode Rainforest Schmainforest. After the string of cancelled shows, along with her appearance in the critically derided 1993 horror film, Leprechaun, Aniston considered giving up acting.

Aniston's plans changed, however, after auditioning for Friends, a sitcom that was set to debut on NBC's 1994-1995 fall line-up. The producers of the show originally wanted Aniston to audition for the role of Monica Geller, but she persuaded them that she was better suited for the role of Rachel Green. She was cast in the role and played the character from 1994 until the show ended in 2004.

The program was hugely successful and Aniston, along with her co-stars, gained wide renown among television viewers. Her hairstyle at the time, which became known as the "Rachel", was widely copied. Aniston received a salary of one million dollars per episode for the last two seasons of Friends, as well as five Emmy nominations, including a win for "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series".

According to the Guinness World Book of Records (2005), Aniston (along with her female costars) became the highest paid TV actress of all time with her $1 million-per-episode paycheck for the tenth season of Friends.

Aniston has starred in several theatrical films, including the cult hit Office Space and Picture Perfect (1997) .

She gained the most critical acclaim for her role in the low-budget 2002 film, The Good Girl, directed by Miguel Arteta, playing an unglamorous cashier in a small town. The film opened in relatively few theaters - under 700 in total - taking $14M in the U.S. box office.

Jennifer's biggest box office success was her appearance in 2003's Bruce Almighty, in which she played the girlfriend of title character (Jim Carrey); the film grossed $243M at the United States box office and almost twice that worldwide. Aniston's 2004 film, Along Came Polly (opposite Ben Stiller), also did well at the box office after opening at the #1 spot.

In late 2005, Aniston headlined two major studio films, Derailed and Rumor Has It, both of which performed fairly at the box office, grossing over $36 million each despite little support from critics.

In 2006, Aniston appeared in the low-budget drama, Friends with Money, which was first shown at the Cannes Film Festival, received a limited release, and grossed over $13 million. Aniston's next film, The Break-Up, which was released on June 2, grossed approximately $39.17 million during its opening weekend, despite lukewarm reviews. It has currently grossed over $118 million at the U.S. box office and over $203 million worldwide.

In addition to acting, Aniston has also directed a hospital emergency room-set short film named Room 10, starring Robin Wright Penn and Kris Kristofferson; Aniston has noted that she was inspired to direct by actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who directed a short film in 2006.

Forbes listed Aniston as the 10th richest woman in the entertainment industry for the year 2007. She is behind such powerhouses as Oprah Winfrey, J. K. Rowling, Madonna and Jennifer Lopez and is ahead of Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera and the Olsen twins. Aniston's net worth is approximately $110 million. Aniston was also included in the annual Star Salary Top 10 of trade magazine The Hollywood Reporter for 2006. Aniston has been signed to play a role in the up-coming thriller Wanted along with Meryl Streep and Martin Hernandez.

Teri Lynn Hatcher

Teri Lynn Hatcher (born December 8, 1964) is an Emmy-nominated and Golden Globe Award-winning American actress and author as well. She gained attention for her role as Lois Lane in the television series Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman co-starring with Dean Cain. Hatcher is also well-known for portraying Susan Mayer, in Desperate Housewives, an accident-prone divorcee. She is also a "Bond Girl", having played Paris Carver in Tomorrow Never Dies in 1997.

Hatcher began her performing career as a young girl taking ballet lessons at the San Juan Girls' Ballet Studio in downtown Los Altos, California. She later studied acting at the American Conservatory Theater. One of her early jobs (in 1984) was as a cheerleader with the San Francisco 49ers. During this time she also appeared as one of the mermaids on the show The Love Boat in its final season.

Hatcher landed a co-starring role in 1993, opposite Dean Cain, in Lois and Clark. Her role proved to be the best move to gain the attention of audiences, and the one role she had most fallen in love with. While probably most noted for playing Lois Lane in the TV series Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman (1993-1997), Hatcher has also appeared in such feature films as Spy Kids (2001), the 1997 James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies, Dead in the Water (1991), 2 Days in the Valley (1996), The Cool Surface (1994) and Heaven's Prisoners (1996). The last two films featured Hatcher's only on-screen nude scenes, but neither did well at the box office. The ABC had cancelled Lois & Clark in 1997, and Hatcher was very disappointed about the show's demise. She was also desperate in looking for work. She has made a guest appearance in Star Trek: The Next Generation and had a recurring role on MacGyver as Penny Parker, a naïve, high-strung, young woman who always seemed to get into trouble.

he also had a guest appearance in an episode of Seinfeld, in which her character, Sidra, broke up with Jerry because she found out Jerry was trying to have Elaine surreptitiously determine whether Sidra had breast implants. In one of the more memorable lines in the show, she declared, "Oh, and by the way: they're real, and they're spectacular." Hatcher has also appeared in a series of popular Radio Shack television commercials alongside NFL Hall of Famer Howie Long. The pair remain close friends, and together have bought farm land on the outside of Los Angeles, with the intent of eventually raising endangered species. Hatcher said her plan to do so came about after reading an article featuring the world's top 25 endangered species.

She hosted Saturday Night Live in 1996. Hatcher beat out four other actresses for the lead role on ABC's Desperate Housewives, on which she stars as single mother Susan Mayer, a role for which she won the Best Actress in a Musical or Comedy Golden Globe Award in January 2005. In 2005, Hatcher also won the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) award in the same category. In July 2005, she was nominated for an Emmy Award as Best Actress in a Comedy Series for the same role, along with co-stars Marcia Cross and Felicity Huffman, who won the award.

As of April 2006, Hatcher is one of the highest paid television actresses in the United States. She reportedly earns $285,000 per episode of Desperate Housewives. In May 2006, she released her first book, Burnt Toast: And Other Philosophies of Life. In conjunction with the book, she has also launched a line of apparel and merchandise. Furthermore she is prominently featured in an international campaign for Repeat Cashmere.

Teri Lynn Hatcher On Desperate Housewives

Teri Hatcher News:

If you watched the 'Desperate Housewives' season premiere you know exactly what we're about gonna talk about. If not pay attention!

The writer's of Desperate Housewives have pissed off the Philippine government and they are seeking an apology.

During the show, Teri Hatcher (Susan Mayer) used a racial slur against Filipino medics and they are requiring an apology according to the Philippine Daily Inquirer.

During a medical examination Susan Mayer asked, "Can I check those diplomas because I want to make sure that they're not from some med school in the Philippines."

Naturally, that comment pissed off some people.

Filipino consul in Los Angeles Mary Jo Bernardo Aragon was so pissed that she wrote a letter to ABC networks stating that their comment was not true because Filipino medical workers were in demand all over the world.

"The US recognizes the students of Philippine medical and nursing schools and in general, does not require additional schooling in the US for Filipino healthcare professionals," she added.

The funny thing is I watched the episode on Sunday and after hearing that comment, I instantly knew it would piss off a lot of people. Didn't the writers of the show have the common knowledge to figure it would tick people off? Either they didn't have the common knowledge or they just didn't care.

Megan Fox

Born in Tennessee on May 16, 1986, Megan Denise Fox started taking drama and dance lessons at the age of five and thrived from the very beginning. Despite a move to Florida when she was 10, Megan's parents did not let their youngest daughter forego her talent, and so the future actress continued her training.

By age 13, her dancing led to modeling opportunities and Fox excelled in this new arena. In 1999, she won several awards at the American Modeling and Talent Convention in Hilton Head, South Carolina. With this new credit, Fox began venturing into acting, and after she moved to Los Angeles, a future career in showbiz looked probable.Fox made her acting debut in 2001, appearing in the straight-to-video release Holiday in the Sun, a Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen film. She then garnered a recurring role in the low-key soap opera Ocean Ave. and appeared in an episode of the Amanda Bynes series What I Like About You. 2004 was the year Fox joined the legion of female teens overtaking Hollywood, as she appeared alongside Lindsay Lohan in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, did the TV movie Crimes of Fashion and secured a spot on the Kelly Ripa-led sitcom Hope & Faith.

As Hollywood began to take notice of this budding star, Megan started joining the ranks of her fellow female actresses by posing in photo spreads, like her 2005 shoot for FHM. The following year, the magazine named her No. 68 on their 100 Sexiest Women of 2006 list. And in 2007, she continued her lasting relationship with the magazine for another spread in their March issue.

Megan's biggest break, however, came in 2007 when she was cast as the lead actress in the highly anticipated Transformers movie, in which she plays Shia LaBoeuf's love interest.

Fox made her film debut in the 2001 film Holiday in the Sun as the spoiled heiress and rival of Ashley Olsen. She then landed guest appearances on Ocean Ave., What I Like About You, Two and a Half Men and The Help from 2003 to 2004. In 2004, Fox starred in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen alongside Lindsay Lohan. She was subsequently cast in her first recurring role in a television series on Hope & Faith, in which she portrayed Sydney Shanowski from 2004 until 2006.

Fox won the role of female lead, Mikaela Banes, in the film Transformers, where she plays the love interest of Shia LaBeouf's character Sam Witwicky. In June 2007, Fox was reportedly cast in How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, also starring Jeff Bridges and Kirsten Dunst. Ironically, the character Fox will portray is that of a young Hollywood starlet getting her first taste of fame.

Fox has appeared in a five page spread for the November 2005 issue of the popular men's magazine FHM and was ranked number sixty-eight on the FHM 100 Sexiest Women of 2006. She also posed for the March 2007 issue of FHM, the June 2007 issue of GQ and the July 2007 issue of Maxim.

Fox is represented by The Gersh Agency.

Perhaps one of Fox's best known characteristics is her array of tattoos on her body:

* "There once was a little girl who never knew love until a boy broke her HEART." (left section of torso)
* "We will all laugh at gilded butterflies." (back, near right shoulder)
* Marilyn Monroe portrait (right forearm)
* Tribal waves symbol (left wrist)
* Star and crescent moon (inner right leg above ankle)
* Brian (right upper groin)

Haller Maria Berry

Halle Maria Berry (born August 14, 1966) is an American actress. Berry has received Emmy and Golden Globe awards, and received an Academy Award for Best Actress in 2002 for her performance in Monster's Ball. She is the only woman of African American descent to have won the award for Best Actress.

In the late 1980s, she went to Chicago 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 1992, Berry was cast as the love interest in the video for R. Kelly's seminal hit, "Honey Love". Berry auditioned for a role in an updated Charlie's Angels television series by producer Aaron Spelling. She impressed Spelling and he encouraged her to continue acting.

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?). Her breakthrough feature film role was in Spike Lee's Jungle Fever in which she played a drug addict named Vivian. 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 adaption of Queen: The Story of an American Family, based on the book by Alex Haley. Berry also played the sultry secretary whom Fred Flintstone was attracted to in the live action Flintstones movie as "Sharon Stone".

Playing a former drug addict struggling to regain custody of her son in Losing Isaiah (1995), Berry showed she could tackle more serious roles, holding her own opposite co-star Jessica Lange. She portrayed Sandra Beecher in Race the Sun (1996), which was based on a true story, and co-starred along side Kurt Russell in Executive Decision. In Bulworth, Berry received praise for her role as an intelligent woman raised by activists who gives politician Warren Beatty a new lease on life, and as the singer Zola Taylor, one of the three wives of pop singer Frankie Lymon, in the biopic Why Do Fools Fall in Love both in 1998.

In the 1999 film Introducing Dorothy Dandridge, Berry portrayed the first black woman to be nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award. In this HBO biopic, Berry's performance was recognized with several awards including an Emmy and a Golden Globe. (She was also one of the producers of the project.)

Berry portrayed the mutant Storm in the movie adaptation of the popular comic book series X-Men (2000) and its successful sequels X2: X-Men United (2003) and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). In 2001, Berry appeared in the movie Swordfish, which featured her first on-screen nude scene.

Later 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. The role earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress: she made history by becoming the first African American woman to earn a Best Actress Academy Award, but also received criticism for only accepting her reward as an African American instead of a Multi-Racial Women in so showing pride in all of her heritage.

As Bond Girl Jinx in the (2002) blockbuster Die Another Day she famously re-created the scene from Dr. No, bursting from the surf to be greeted by James Bond, as Ursula Andress had 40 years earlier. In late 2003, Berry starred in the psychological thriller Gothika opposite Robert Downey Jr. Her next lead role was in the film Catwoman, for which she was awarded a "worst actress" Razzie award in 2005, which she accepted in person with a sense of humor and recognition that "to be at the top, you must experience the rock bottom".

Berry next appeared in the Oprah Winfrey-produced ABC telepic Their Eyes Were Watching God (2005), an adaptation of Zora Neale Hurston's novel, in which Berry portrayed Janie Crawford, an iconoclastic, free-spirited woman whose unconventional mores regarding relationships 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). She has filmed the thriller Perfect Stranger with Bruce Willis and wrapped shooting Things We Lost in the Fire with Benicio del Toro. She is set to star in Class Act, based on the real life story of a teacher whose students helped her run for political office and "Tulia", which will reunite her with Monster's Ball costar Billy Bob Thornton.

Berry is making the transition to working on the production side of film and television. She is working with author Angela Nissel to executive produce a comedy series based on Nissel's two memoirs, The Broke Diaries and Mixed: My Life in Black and White.[8] Berry has served many years as the face of Revlon cosmetics, and was recently named the face of Versace. She is featured in Maxim magazine's Girls of Maxim gallery.

Berry is one of the highest-paid actresses in Hollywood, commanding $14 million each for Gothika and Catwoman. In July 2007 she topped In Touch magazine's list of the world's most fabulous 40-something celebrities.