Celine Dion Biography,Life and music career

Celine Dion

Birth name Céline Marie Claudette Dion.Born March 30, 1968 (1968-030).Origin Charlemagne, Quebec, Canada.Genres Pop, pop rock.Occupations Singer, songwriter, actress.Instruments Vocals.Years active 1980–present.

The youngest of fourteen children born to Adhémar Dion and Thérèse Tanguay, both of French Canadian descent, Céline Dion was raised a Roman Catholic in a poverty-stricken, but, by her own account, happy home in Charlemagne, Quebec, Canada. Music had always been a part of the family Dion was named after the song "Céline", recorded by French singer Hugues Aufray two years before her birth, as she grew up singing with her siblings in her parents' small piano bar called 'Le Vieux Baril.' From an early age Dion had dreamed of being a performer. In a 1994 interview with People magazine, she recalled, "I missed my family and my home, but I don't regret having lost my adolescence. I had one dream: I wanted to be a singer.
At age twelve, Dion collaborated with her mother and her brother Jacques to compose her first song, "Ce n'était qu'un rêve" ("It Was Only a Dream"). Her brother Michel Dondalinger Dion sent the recording to music manager René Angélil, whose name he discovered on the back of a Ginette Reno album. Angélil was moved to tears by Dion's voice, and decided to make her a star. He mortgaged his home to fund her first record, La voix du bon Dieu (a play on words "The Voice of God/The Way of God", 1981), which became a local number-one record and made Dion an instant star in Quebec. Her popularity spread to other parts of the world when she competed in the 1982 Yamaha World Popular Song Festival in Tokyo, Japan, and won the musician's award for "Top Performer" as well as the gold medal for "Best Song" with "Tellement j'ai d'amour pour toi" ("I Have So Much Love for You").
By 1983, in addition to becoming the first Canadian artist to receive a gold record in France for the single "D'amour ou d'amitié" ("Of Love or of Friendship"), Dion had also won several Félix Awards, including "Best Female performer" and "Discovery of the Year". Further success in Europe, Asia, and Australia came when Dion represented Switzerland in the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Ne partez pas sans moi" ("Don't Go Without Me") and won the contest by a close margin in Dublin, Ireland. However, American success was yet to come, partly because she was exclusively a Francophone artist. At eighteen, after seeing a Michael Jackson performance, Dion told Angélil that she wanted to be a star like Jackson. Though confident in her talent, Angélil realized that her image needed to be changed in order for her to be marketed worldwide. Dion receded from the spotlight for a number of months, during which she underwent dental surgery to improve her appearance, and was sent to the École Berlitz in 1989 to polish her English. This marked the start of her English-language music career.

Jennifer Lopez- Background information, Early life, Career, Music career

Jennifer Lopez

Birth name- Jennifer Lynn Lopez, Also known as- J.Lo,Born- July 24, 1969,Origin- The Bronx, New York City, New York, U.S.Occupations- Actress, singer-songwriter, record producer, dancer, fashion designer, television producer.Years active- 1987–present.Website- www.JenniferLopez.com

Jennifer Lopez was born and grew up in the South Bronx, New York to Puerto Rican parents Guadalupe Rodríguez, a kindergarten teacher, and David Lopez, a computer specialist. She has two siblings, Lynda and Leslie. Lopez spent her entire academic career in Catholic schools, finishing at the all-girls Preston High School, in the Bronx. She financed singing and dancing lessons for herself from the age of 19. After attending Baruch College for one semester, Lopez divided her time between working in a legal office, dance classes, and dance performances in Manhattan night clubs. She had a little part in the 1987 film My Little Girl. After months of auditioning for dance roles, Lopez was selected as a dancer for various rap music videos, a 1990 episode of Yo! MTV Raps, and as a backup dancer for the New Kids on the Block and their performance of their song Games for the American Music Awards in 1991. She gained her first regular high-profile job as a Fly Girl dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color in 1990. Soon after, Lopez became a backup dancer for Janet Jackson and made an appearance in her 1993 video Thats the Way Love Goes.

Lopez's first television job as an actress was on the Fox series South Central. Lopez also made a guest appearance Second Chances and Hotel Malibu. She then appeared in the made-for-television film Nurses on the Line: The Crash of Flight 7. Lopez's first serious screen role was in Gregory Nava's 1995 drama My Family, playing the character of Young Maria in the 1920s. After starring alongside Jimmy Smits and Edward James Olmos in My Family, Lopez starred in the action film Money Train opposite Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson. In 1996, she beat out Ashley Judd and Lauren Holly for the supporting role in Francis Ford Coppola's 1996 comedy Jack starring Robin Williams. She then starred opposite Jack Nicholson in Bob Rafelson's well-received noir thriller Blood and Wine.

Lopez's debut album On the 6, a reference to the 6 subway line she used to take growing up in Castle Hill was released on June 1, 1999, and reached the top ten of the Billboard 200. The album featured the Billboard Hot 100 number-one lead single, If You Had My Love, as well as the top ten hit Waiting for Tonight. The album also featured a Spanish language, Latin-flavored duet No Me Ames with Marc Anthony who later would become her husband. Though No Me Ames never had a commercial release, it reached number one on the U.S. Hot Latin Tracks. On the 6 featured guest artists such as Big Pun and Fat Joe on the track Feelin' So Good, which had moderate success on the Billboard Hot 100. Let's Get Loud, the final single, earned Lopez a Grammy Award nomination in the "Best Dance Recording" category in 2001 Grammy Awards. Waiting for Tonight was nominated for the same category the previous year. No Me Ames received two nominations at the 2000 Latin Grammy Awards — Best Pop Duo/Group with Vocal Performance and Best Music Video.

Peter Jackson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and awards news

Peter Jackson

Jackson, an only child, was born on 31 October 1961 in Pukerua Bay, a coastal town near Wellington, New Zealand. His parents — Joan, a factory worker and housewife, and William Jackson, an accountant — were both immigrants from England. As a child, Jackson was a keen film fan, growing up on Ray Harryhausen films as well as finding inspiration in the television series Thunderbirds and Monty Python's Flying Circus. After a family friend gave the Jacksons a Super 8 cine-camera with Peter in mind, he began making short films with his friends. Jackson has long cited King Kong as his favourite film and around the age of nine he attempted to remake it using his own stop-motion models.

Jackson has no formal training in film-making, but learned about editing, special effects and make-up largely through his own trial and error. As a teenager Jackson discovered the work of author J. R. R. Tolkien after watching The Lord of the Rings (1978), an animated film by Ralph Bakshi that was a part-adaptation of Tolkien's fantasy trilogy. After leaving school Jackson began working as a photoengraver at a newspaper company in Wellington, and shooting a feature-length vampire film that was later abandoned before completion.

Jackson won three Academy Awards for The Return of the King, including the Academy Award for Best Director. Jackson was appointed a Companion in the New Zealand Order of Merit, in the 2002 New Years Honou

Madonna Biography and pictures

Madonna

Birth name- Madonna Louise Ciccone. Also known as- Madonna Ciccone, Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone.Born- August 16, 1958 Bay City, Michigan,United States.Genres- Pop, rock, dance, electronic.Occupations- Singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer, film producer, film director, fashion designer, author, actress, entrepreneur.Instruments- Vocals, guitar, percussion.Years active 1979–present.Labels Sire (1982–1995) Maverick (1992–2004)Warner Bros. (1982–2009) Live Nation Artists (2008-)

Her parents' strict observation of the Catholic faith played a large role in Madonna's childhood. My mother was a religious zealot, Madonna explains. "There were always priests and nuns in my house growing up." Many elements of Catholic iconography-including her mother's statues of the Sacred Heart, the habits of the nuns at her Catholic elementary school, and the Catholic altar at which she and her family prayed daily-later became the subject of Madonna's most controversial works.

She fought especially hard against the rules imposed by her stepmother, Joan Gustafson, who met Madonna's father while working as the family housekeeper. Madonna says Gustafson often made her take care of the younger children in the household, a task she greatly resented. "I really saw myself as the quintessential Cinderella," Madonna later said. "I think that's when I really thought about how I wanted to do something else and get away from all that." She rebelled against her traditional upbringing by turning her conservative clothing into revealing outfits, frequenting underground gay nightclubs, and rejecting her religious background.

But Madonna balanced this insubordinate side of her personality with a drive for perfectionism and high-achievement. She was a straight-A student, cheerleader, and disciplined dancer who graduated from high school a semester earlier than her peers. In 1976, her hard work earned her the attentions of the University of Michigan, which offered her a full scholarship to their dance program.

Angelina Jolie - Biography and Pictures

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie Date of Birth 4 June 1975, Los Angeles, California, USA. Birth Name Angelina Jolie Voight,Nickname Angie Catwoman Ange AJ,Height 5' 8"

rowing up in Los Angeles, Jolie was no stranger to the film industry, being the daughter of Academy Award-winning actor Jon Voight. She later trained and performed at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, where she was seen in several stage productions.
She worked as a professional model in London, New York and Los Angeles, and has also appeared in music videos for such artists as Meat Loaf, Lenny Kravitz, Antonello Venditti and The Lemonheads. In addition, she has acted in five student films for the USC School of Cinema, all directed by her brother, James Haven.

Jolie had one of the hottest years on record. Not only did she appear weekly in the tabloids because of her relationship with Brad Pitt, new baby and exploits in Africa, but she helped bring in big bucks for "Mr. & Mrs. Smith." Her landmark deal with St. John's earned her a piece of the fashion company in exchange for endorsing the line. Next, the mother of three will play Grendel's mother in an animated version of "Beowulf."

Tiger Woods biography, information,and pictures

Tiger Woods

Full name Eldrick Tont Woods.Nickname Tiger.Born- December 30, 1975(1975-12-30) age 33 Cypress, California.Height- 6 ft 1 in. Weight 84 kg; Nationality- United States.Residence- Windermere, Florida.Spouse- Elin Nordegren (m.2004).Children- Sam Alexis (b.2007),Charlie Axel (b.2009)

Career, College - Stanford University (two years)Turned professional - 1996.Current tour(s) - PGA Tour (joined 1996) Professional wins - 97

Number of wins by tour,PGA Tour- 71 (3rd all time).European Tour- 38 (3rd all time).Japan Golf Tour- 2.Asian Tour- 1.PGA Tour of Australasia- 1.Other- 15.Best results in Major Championships(Wins: 14),The Masters- Won: 1997, 2001, 2002, 2005 U.S. Open- Won: 2000, 2002, 2008 Open Championship- Won: 2000, 2005, 2006 PGA Championship- Won: 1999, 2000, 2006, 2007 Achievements and awards, FedEx Cup Champion- 2007, 2009

Tom Cruise - Wikipedia and Photos News

Tom Cruise

Tom Cruise Date of Birth 3 July 1962, Syracuse, New York, USA.Birth Name Thomas Cruise Mapother IV.Height 5' 7".

In 1976, if you had told 14 year old Franciscan seminary student Thomas Cruise Mapother IV that one day in the not too distant future he would be considered one of the top 100 movie stars of all time, he would have probably grinned and told you that his ambition was to become a priest. Nonetheless, this sensitive, deeply religious youngster who was born in 1962 in Syracuse, New York, was destined to become Tom Cruise, one of the highest paid and most sought after actors in screen history. The only son among four children of nomadic parents young Tom spent his boyhood eternally on the move and by the time he was 14 he had attended 15 different schools in the US and Canada. He finally settled in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, with his mother and her new husband. While in high school, he developed an interest in acting and abandoned his plans of becoming a priest, dropped out of school, and at age 18 headed for New York and a possible acting career. The next 15 years of his life are the stuff of legends. He made his film debut with a small part in Endless Love (1981) and from the outset exhibited an undeniable box office appeal to both male and female audiences.
Though below average height and not particularly handsome in the traditional sense, within 5 years Tom Cruise was starring in some of the top grossing films of the 1980s including Top Gun (1986); The Color of Money (1986), Rain Man (1988) and Born on the Fourth of July (1989). By the 1990s he was one of the highest paid actors in the world earning an average 15 million dollars a picture in such blockbuster hits as Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994), Mission: Impossible (1996) and Jerry Maguire (1996) - for which he received an Academy Award Nomination for best actor. In 1990 he renounced his devout Catholic beliefs and embraced The Church Of Scientology claiming that Scientology teachings had cured him of the dyslexia that had plagued him all of his life. A kind and thoughful man well known for his compassion and generosity, Tom Cruise is one of the best liked members of the movie community. He was married to actress Nicole Kidman until 2001. Thomas Cruise Mapother IV has indeed come a long way from the lonely wanderings of his youth.


SpouseKatie Holmes (18 November 2006 - present) 1 child Nicole Kidman (24 December 1990 - 8 August 2001) (divorced) 2 (adopted) children Mimi Rogers (9 May 1987 - 4 February 1990) (divorced)