Kim Basinger Biography

Name:Kimila Ann "Kim  Basinger"

Date of Birth: December 8, 1953

Place of Birth: Athens, Georgia

Kimila Ann "Kim Basinger"is an American actress, singer, and former fashion model.

Kim  Basinger is known for her portrayals of Domino Petachi, the Bond girl in Never Say Never Again (1983), and Vicki Vale, the female lead in Batman (1989). Basinger received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture nomination for her work in The Natural (1984). Kim  Basinger won an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in L.A. Confidential (1997). Basinger also acted in the movies 9½ Weeks (1986) and 8 Mile (2002).

Early Life

Basinger was born in Athens, Georgia. Kim  Basinger father, Donald Wade Basinger, was a big band musician and loan manager who as a U.S. Army soldier landed in Normandy on D-Day (June 6, 1944). Kim  Basinger mother, Ann (née Cordell), was a model, an actress, and a swimmer who appeared in several Esther Williams films. The third of five children, she has two brothers, Mick and Skip, and two sisters, Ashley and Barbara. Basinger's ancestry includes German, Swedish, Irish and Native American, and she was raised a Methodist.

Kim  Basinger spent most of her childhood studying ballet from about the time she was three to her mid-teens. When Basinger was 16, she started modeling by winning the Athens Junior Miss contest. Kim  Basinger then won the title “Junior Miss Georgia”. Kim  Basinger competed in the national Junior Miss pageant and was offered a modeling contract with Ford Modeling Agency. Kim  Basinger turned it down in favor of singing and acting, but reconsidered and went to New York to become a Ford model.

Career 

Basinger at the 1990 Academy AwardsNot long after the Ford deal, Basinger was on the cover of magazines. Kim  Basinger appeared in hundreds of ads throughout the early 1970s, most notably as the Breck Shampoo girl. Kim  Basinger alternated between modeling and attending acting classes at the Neighborhood Playhouse as well as performing in Greenwich Village clubs.

In 1976, after five years as a cover girl, Basinger moved to Los Angeles to act. After guest roles on TV shows such as Starsky and Hutch and Charlie's Angels in 1976, and a starring role on the short-lived series Dog and Cat (1977), her first feature-length role was in a made-for-TV movie, Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold (1978) in which she played a smalltown young woman who goes to Hollywood to become an actress and winds up a famous centerfold for a men's magazine. Kim  Basinger was then cast as a prostitute in From Here to Eternity (1979), in which she starred alongside Natalie Wood. Basinger played the same character in a 13-episode TV spinoff in 1980. Kim  Basinger made her theatrical film debut in Hard Country (1981) with Jan Michael Vincent, followed by Mother Lode (1982) with Charlton Heston.

Basinger's breakout role was as Bond girl Domino Petachi in Never Say Never Again (1983), starring opposite Sean Connery. Kim  Basinger posed nude for Playboy to promote the film. Basinger said Playboy led to opportunities such as Barry Levinson's The Natural (1984), co-starring Robert Redford, for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination as Best Supporting Actress. Kim  Basinger starred opposite Mickey Rourke in the sexually provocative 9½ Weeks (1986). Oscar-winning writer-director Robert Benton cast her in the title role for the film Nadine (1987) with Jeff Bridges. Basinger played Vicki Vale in the 1989 blockbuster Batman, directed by Tim Burton.

Directors repeated her in their films, such as Blake Edwards for The Man Who Loved Women (1983) and Blind Date (1987), as well as Robert Altman for Fool for Love (1985) and Prêt-à-Porter (1994). In 1992, Basinger was guest vocalist on a re-recorded version of Was (Not Was)'s "Shake Your Head", which also featured Ozzy Osbourne on vocals, and reached the UK Top 5. In the video for Tom Petty's 1993 song "Mary Jane's Last Dance", Basinger played the unconscious woman whom Petty brings home from the morgue for dinner, dressing her in a wedding gown. Later, Petty is shown throwing her into the sea. In a macabre ending, she floats with her eyes open.

Basinger acted less in the 1990s to take care of her family. Kim  Basinger made a comeback in 1997 as the femme fatale in the neo-noir L.A. Confidential, co-starring Russell Crowe. This earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, as well as the Golden Globe and Screen Actor's Guild Award. The film's director, Curtis Hanson, cast her once more as Eminem's mother in 8 Mile (2002). Kim  Basinger appeared mostly in television and independent films such as While Kim  Basinger Was Out, The Burning Plain, and Lifetime's The Mermaid Chair. Kim  Basinger was also seen in the mainstream thrillers Cellular (2004) and The Sentinel (2006), and The Informers (2009).

Basinger played Zac Efron's mother in the 2010 film Charlie St. Cloud.

Personal Life

Relationships and Family 

Basinger with Alec Baldwin at the 1994 César Awards ceremony in Paris.Basinger lived with model, Dale Robinette, in the 1970's.

On October 12, 1980, Basinger married makeup artist, Ron Snyder-Britton (born 1938), who worked on the crew of her film, Hard Country. The marriage ended in divorce in 1988. He later wrote a memoir in 1998, Longer than Forever: The Story of Our Strange Marriage, about their time together, and her rumored affair with actor, Richard Gere, with whom she starred in No Mercy (1986) and Final Analysis (1992).

After the divorce Basinger dated casting director, Jon Peters, and singer, Prince.

Kim  Basinger met her second husband, Alec Baldwin, in 1990 when they played lovers in The Marrying Man. They married on August 19, 1993, and appeared in the remake of The Getaway (1994). They played themselves in a 1998 episode of The Simpsons (which includes Ron Howard), in which Basinger corrects Homer Simpson on the pronunciation of her last name and polishes her Oscar statuette. Basinger and Baldwin have a daughter, Ireland Eliesse Baldwin (born October 23, 1995).

They filed for divorce in January 2001, and it was finalized in February 2002. Since then the couple have been in a contentious custody battle over the daughter. Alec Baldwin's book A Promise To Ourselves chronicles the lengths to which Basinger has gone to deny Baldwin access to their daughter since separation.

Financial problems Some family members recommended Basinger buy the small town of Braselton, Georgia in 1989 for US$20 million, to establish as a tourist attraction with movie studios and film festival, but she met financial difficulties and started to sell parts off in 1995.The town is now owned by developer Wayne Mason. In a 1998 interview with Barbara Walters Basinger admitted that "nothing good came out of it" because a rift resulted within her family. Kim  Basinger financial difficulties were exacerbated when she pulled out of the controversial film Boxing Helena, resulting in the studio's winning an US$8.1 million judgment against her. Basinger filed for bankruptcy and appealed the jury's decision to a higher court, which sided with her. Kim  Basinger and the studio settled for $3.8 million instead.

Activism

Basinger is a vegan animal rights supporter. Kim  Basinger has posed for anti-fur advertisements by PETA.Kim  Basinger has written to fashion designers such as Yohji Yamamoto to ask that they stop using fur.

Filmography/Television

1981 Hard Country Jodie  

1982 Mother Lode Andrea Spalding  

1983 Never Say Never Again Domino Petachi  

The Man Who Loved Women Louise Carr  

1984 The Natural Memo Paris Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture 

1985 Fool for Love May  

1986 9½ Weeks Elizabeth  

No Mercy Michele Duval  

1987 Blind Date  

1988 My Stepmother Is an Alien Celeste Martin Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Actress 

1989 Batman Vicki Vale Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress 

1991 The Marrying Man Vicki Anderson  

1992 Final Analysis Heather Evans  

Cool World Holli Would  

The Real McCoy Karen McCoy  

1993 Wayne's World 2 Honey Horné  

Mary Jane's Last Dance The Unconscious Woman Music video for Tom Petty  

1994 A Century of Cinema Herself documentary 

The Getaway Carol McCoy  

Ready to Wear (Prêt-à-Porter) Kitty Potter National Board of Review Award for Best Cast 

1997 L.A. Confidential Lynn Bracken Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress

Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture

Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role – Motion Picture

Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress

Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role

Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture 

2000 I Dreamed of Africa Kuki Gallmann  

Bless the Child Maggie O'Connor  

2002 8 Mile Stephanie Smith  

People I Know Victoria Gray  

2004 The Door in the Floor Marion Cole  

Elvis Has Left the Building Harmony Jones  

Cellular Jessica Martin Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress 

2006 The Sentinel 1st Lady Sarah Ballentine  

The Mermaid Chair Jessie Sullivan  

2007 Even Money Carol Carver  

2008 While She Was Out Della Myers  

2009 The Informers Laura Sloan  

The Burning Plain Gina  

2010 Charlie St. Cloud Claire St. Cloud  

DiscographyYear Album Producer(s) Label 

1989 Hollywood Affair Prince Sabotage Records 

Television workCharlie's Angels (1976) (episode: Angels in Chains) 

Dog and Cat (1977) (TV) (canceled after six episodes) 

The Ghost of Flight 401 (1978) (TV) 

Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold (1978) (TV) 

From Here to Eternity (1979) (miniseries) 

From Here to Eternity (1980) (canceled after thirteen episodes) 

Killjoy (1981) (TV) 

Sean Connery, an Intimate Portrait (1997) (documentary) 

The Simpsons (1998: 13.17) – Herself 

The Mermaid Chair (2006) (TV) 

Kimberly Stewart Biography

Name:Kimberly Alana Stewart

Date of Birth:August 21, 1979

Place of Birth:Holmby Hills, Los Angeles
                      California, U.S

Kimberly Alana Stewart is an actress, model, and fashion designer. She is the daughter of Rod Stewart and Alana Stewart.

Early Life

Kimberly Stewart was born on August 21, 1979, in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California. She was the second of Rod Stewart′s eight children (the most recent was born in February 2011) and second of Alana Stewart′s three children. After graduating from Buckley school in Sherman Oaks, California,she spent several years studying acting with coaches Janet Alhanti and Ivana Chubbuck. Stewart studied in London with theatre coaches Barbara Houseman (Central School of Speech and Drama/Royal Shakespeare Company coach) and Penny Dyer (Rada and Central School of Speech & Drama coach) and with singing coach Mark Meylan, who works with The Royal National Theatre. It's been reported that Rod Stewart pays Kimberly £12,000 a month in living expenses.

Career

Stewart has worked as an actress and brand ambassador. Stewart's American television work includes a leading role in Going to California, written by Scott Rosenberg and directed by Ted Demme,and appearing in one episode of Judd Apatow's series, "Undeclared." Stewart′s first film was James Toback′s, Black and White, which also starred Robert Downey, Jr., and Jared Leto. As of 2011, Stewart is filming the movie Homecoming http://www.homecoming-film.com/, written and directed by Sean Hackett.

Fashion

Stewart has appeared on the covers for Tatler and German Vanity Fair, which Bryan Adams shot;and she has worked with fashion companies including Tommy Hilfiger,American Vogue, L’uomo Vogue, Elle, Italian Vogue, Vanity Fair, MaxMara, Richard Tyler, Catherine Malandrino, underwear line Ultimo (in a £100,000 deal), Tatler, InStyle,House of Field, and Chrome Hearts.

She realized an early ambition, at age 19, when she launched her own fashion collection - “Pinky Starfish.” Known for its dresses made from French vintage fabrics, the range was sold in Tracey Ross, Lisa Kline and Barney’s. She started her own clothing label, but it foundered because she couldn’t get the supply chain to work.

Stewart posed nude in 2008 in the British society magazine Tatler, along with Peaches Geldof, daughter of the Boomtown Rats′ Bob Geldof, and Leah Wood, daughter of the Rolling Stones′ Ronnie Wood. The photographer was Canadian rocker and photographer Bryan Adams. Stewart had previously posed nude with a crucifix in Italian Vogue, dismaying the Vatican.

Music

Stewart, who plays violin and the piano, was approached by a producer,[who?] in 2005; and, after doing some studio test-runs, Stewart has since begun taking singing lessons.[citation needed] To date nothing has happened with her potential music career.

Reality Show

Stewart has had her own reality show called Living with Kimberly Stewart. The show is based on Stewart looking for 2 flatmates with 13 contestants fighting through challengers to win the key of the Stewart house in London.

On September 9, 2008 the Atlanta-based band, "Elevation", released the music video for its single, “Razoreyes", starring Stewart, marking a first in her career.

Stewart had expressed in 2009 wanting to break into an acting career, but to no avail.

Personal Life

Stewart had breast augmentation surgery when she turned 18. She had her size-D implants removed in 2005. When friend and former beau Jack Osbourne, son of English heavy-metal singer-songwriter Ozzy Osbourne, joked that he would like the silicone implants as a memento, Stewart signed the pair and had them framed for Osborne; he put them on display in his bathroom.

In 2005, Stewart became engaged to one of the stars of the MTV reality show Laguna Beach, Talan Torriero, after knowing him just a few weeks. At the time, he was 19 and she was 26. The couple called off their engagement less than two weeks after announcing it.

On April 11, 2011, Benicio del Toro's publicist announced that Stewart was pregnant with his child, although the two were not a couple.Stewart gave birth to a daughter, Delilah Genoveva Stewart Del Toro, on August 21, 2011. The baby is Rod Stewart's first grandchild.

Humanitarian Work

Stewart participates in the charity ‘“Dirty Hands Caravan”, founded by actor Sean Penn, which encourages young people to stand up for the causes they feel most strongly about and to take action. Her work with them included the filming of a documentary which followed the charity in New Orleans. Featuring Stewart, the documentary was screened at film festivals around the world. Another of Stewart′s causes is the water charity Fresh 2o, which aims to raise awareness and much needed money for struggling communities in Third World countries that do not have access to clean drinking water. British actresses Keira Knightley and Lily Cole have been previously featured; Stewart′s campaign was shot by photographer Candice, with Stewart under water.

Keira Knightley Biography

Name:Keira Christina Knightley

Date of Birth:26 March 1985

Place of Birth:Teddington, London
                      England

Keira Christina Knightley is an English actress and model.  Keira Knightley began acting as a child and came to international notice in 2002 after co-starring in the film Bend It Like Beckham. From 2003 her appearances in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series took her to much greater prominence.

Knightley has appeared in several Hollywood films and earned nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her role as Elizabeth Bennet in Joe Wright's 2005 adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice. Two years later she again was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, as well as the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in Atonement.

In 2008, Forbes claimed Knightley to be the second highest paid actress in Hollywood, having reportedly earned $32 million in 2007, making her the only non-American on the list of highest paid actresses.

Early Life

Knightley was born in Teddington, London, England, the daughter of Sharman MacDonald, an award-winning playwright, and Will Knightley, a theatre and television actor. Keira Knightley  father is English and her Scottish mother is of half Welsh ancestry. Keira Knightley   has an elder brother, Caleb. Knightley, born Kiera, switched her name to Keira to make it easier for international audiences to pronounce.

Knightley lived in Richmond, attending Stanley Junior School, Teddington School and Esher College. Keira Knightley  was diagnosed with dyslexia at the age of six, but nevertheless was successful in school and was thus permitted to acquire a talent agent and pursue an acting career. Keira Knightley  requested an agent as early as the age of three and got one when she turned six, from her mother as a reward for studying hard. Knightley has noted that she was "single-minded about acting" during her childhood. Keira Knightley   performed in a number of local amateur productions, including After Juliet (written by her mother) and United States (written by her then drama teacher, Ian McShane, no relation to the actor of the same name). Keira Knightley  focused on art, history, and English literature while at Esher, but left after a year to focus on her acting and she also turned down her spot at the London Academy of Music and Drama.

Career 
1993–2004 

Knightley at the 2008 BAFTAs.After getting an agent at 6, she did work mostly on commercials and small TV roles. Keira Knightley first role was "Little Girl" in Royal Celebration, a 1993 TV movie. A year later, she had a small role in the movie A Village Affair. Keira Knightley later starred in 1995's Innocent Lies and 1998's Coming Home. Keira Knightley was a princess in the 1996 movie The Treasure Seekers.Later in 1999, she appeared as Rose in Oliver Twist.

Keira Knightley appeared in several television films in the mid to late 1990s—as well as ITV1's The Bill—before being cast as Sabé, Padmé Amidala's decoy, in the 1999 science fiction blockbuster Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Sabé's dialogue was dubbed over with Natalie Portman's voice. This was to hide the fact that the handmaiden Padmé (played by Natalie Portman) was actually disclosed as the real Queen Amidala at the end of the film. Knightley was cast in the role due to her close resemblance to Portman; even the two actresses' mothers had difficulty telling their daughters apart when the girls were in full makeup.

Knightley's first starring role followed in 2001, when she played the daughter of Robin Hood in the made-for-television Walt Disney Productions feature, Princess of Thieves. Keira Knightley  trained for several weeks in archery, sword fighting, and horse riding.During this time, Knightley also appeared in The Hole, a thriller that received a direct-to-video release in the United States. Keira Knightley appeared in a miniseries adaptation of Doctor Zhivago which first aired in 2002 to mixed reviews but high ratings. In the same year, she also was in the movie Pure, in which she portrays a pregnant teenager who is a heroin addict and had a child taken by social services.

Knightley's breakthrough role was in the football-themed film, Bend It Like Beckham, which was a success in its August 2002 UK release, grossing $18 million, and in its March 2003 U.S. release, grossing $32 million. After Bend It Like Beckham's UK release raised her profile, she was cast in the big budget action film, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (along with Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp) which was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and opened in July 2003 to positive reviews and high box office grosses, becoming one of the biggest hits of summer 2003 and cementing Knightley as the new "It" girl.

Knightley had a role in the British romantic comedy Love Actually, which opened in November 2003, which co-starred her childhood idol Emma Thompson. Keira Knightley  next film, King Arthur, opened in July 2004 to negative reviews, however in preparation for the role she took boxing, fighting, archery, and horseback-riding lessons for four days a week for three months. In the same month, Knightley was voted by readers of Hello! magazine as the film industry's most promising teen star.Additionally, TIME magazine noted in a 2004 feature that Knightley seemed dedicated to developing herself as a serious actress rather than a film star.

2005–2008 

Knightley at a London Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest premiere in July 2006.Keira Knightley appeared in three films in 2005, the first of which was The Jacket, alongside Adrien Brody. Keira Knightley next appeared in Tony Scott's Domino, an action film based on the life of bounty hunter Domino Harvey. The film has been Knightley's greatest critical flop to date. Knightley's critics often suggested she was nothing more than a pretty face, which led the young starlet to comment to Elle magazine, "I always feel like I’m the one with everything to prove."

Pride & Prejudice rounded out 2005. Knightley loved the book since she was seven, and she with her first acting paycheck she bought a dollhouse of the hero's mansion. Keira Knightley said of her character, "The beauty of Elizabeth is that every woman who ever reads the book seems to recognize herself, with all her faults and imperfections. If you give an actress who is even remotely good the chance to play a fantastic character like that, they are going to revel in it." Variety wrote about her portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet: "Looking every bit a star, Knightley, who's shown more spirit than acting smarts so far in her career, really steps up to the plate here, holding her own against the more classically trained Matthew Macfadyen, as well as vets like Brenda Blethyn, Donald Sutherland, Penelope Wilton, and Judi Dench with a luminous strength that recalls a young Audrey Hepburn. More than the older Jennifer Ehle in the TV series, she catches Elizabeth's essential skittishness and youthful braggadocio, making her final conversion all the more moving."The film grossed more than $100 million worldwide, and Knightley earned a Golden Globe nomination and an Oscar nomination (the Oscar ultimately went to Reese Witherspoon). The Academy Award nomination made her the third-youngest performer ever nominated. BAFTA's decision not to nominate her drew criticism from Pride & Prejudice producer Tim Bevan.

In 2006, Knightley was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Keira Knightley biggest financial hit thus far, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, was released in July 2006.

Knightley starred in three major films in 2007: Silk, an adaptation of the novel by Alessandro Baricco, Atonement, a feature film adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel of the same name (co-starring James McAvoy, Vanessa Redgrave, and Brenda Blethyn), and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, which was released in May 2007. For her performance in Atonement, Knightley was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the Best Dramatic Actress category for the role, as well as a BAFTA Award. Critic Richard Roeper was puzzled by both Knightley's and McAvoy's Academy Award snubs, stating "I thought McAvoy and Knightley were superb."

In the late spring of 2007, Knightley shot The Edge of Love with Cillian Murphy as her husband, Matthew Rhys as her childhood sweetheart Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, and Sienna Miller as Thomas' wife Caitlin Macnamara. Keira Knightley received positive reviews for her role. The 2008 release was penned by Knightley's mother, Sharman Macdonald, and directed by John Maybury. Keira Knightley then filmed The Duchess, based on the best-selling biography, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman, in which she played Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire; the film was released in cinemas on 5 September 2008 in the U.K.

2009–present

In 2009, Knightley made her West End debut in Martin Crimp's version of Molière's comedy, The Misanthrope, at the Comedy Theatre in London alongside Damian Lewis, Tara FitzGerald, and Dominic Rowan.in December 2009. Reviews for her portrayal of Jennifer in the play were generally positive. The Daily Telegraph described her performance as revealing "both power and poignancy" and The Independent called her performance "not only strikingly convincing but, at times, rather thrilling in its satiric aplomb" The Guardian, however, noted that due to the nature of the role "one could say that she is not unduly stretched" and The Daily Mail described her as "little better than adequate" and "dull" and the Daily Express stated that "Keira Knightley lack of stage experience is sometimes painfully evident." Knightley has been nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award as Best Supporting Actress as Jennifer in The Misanthrope, recognising her theatre debut. Knightley also received an Evening Standard Award nomination for the Natasha Richardson Award for Best Actress.

In 2010, Knightley appeared in the drama Last Night, in which she co-starred with Eva Mendes, Sam Worthington, and Guillaume Canet; it was directed by Massy Tadjedin. The same year, Knightley completed work on an adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's dystopian novel, Never Let Me Go with Andrew Garfield and Carey Mulligan. Filming took place in Norfolk and Clevedon in Somerset. Also in 2010, she starred in London Boulevard with Colin Farrell, written by William Monahan.

Knightley's only film of 2011 was David Cronenberg's historical drama A Dangerous Method, co-starring Viggo Mortensen, Michael Fassbender, and Vincent Cassel. Based on writer Christopher Hampton's 2002 stage play The Talking Cure and set on the eve of World War I, the film depicts the turbulent relationships between fledgling psychiatrist Carl Jung, his mentor Sigmund Freud, and Sabina Spielrein, played by Knightley, the troubled but beautiful young psychoanalyst who comes between them. The costume film premiered at the 68th Venice International Film Festival to a positive reception, while Knightley, who had almost backed out of the movie due to its explicit scenes, earned generally favorable reviews by critics, with Andrew O'Hehir of Salon.com noting her "the real star of this film."

Knightley is slated to appear in The Emperor's Children with Eric Bana and Richard Gere. The film, a dark comedy, will be directed by Noah Baumbach. In addition, she has reunited with director Joe Wright for the production of Anna Karenina (2012), in which she will star as the title character.

Media Attention 

Knightley attends the premiere of Atonement in Leicester Square, London, 2007As a result of her rapid rise to fame, Knightley has been the focus of significant media attention. Keira Knightley has been described by press reports as "famously open with media,"although Knightley herself has stated "I don't talk about my private life."

Knightley's look has often been described in publications as gamine.

Knightley has appeared many times in FHMs 100 Sexiest Women in the World list. Ranked No.79 in 2004 she climbed to No.18 in 2005, and was named "the sexiest woman in the world in 2006."In 2007 she was 12th, 10th in 2008 and came 36th in 2009. The US edition ranked her No.54 in 2004, No.11 in 2005, and No.5 in 2006. In May 2006, she was No.9 on Maxim's 2006 Hot 100. Keira Knightley was also named "the number one beauty icon of 2007" by a poll of 2500 people conducted by British high street chain Superdrug.Knightley appeared nude, along with Scarlett Johansson, on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine's March 2006 "Hollywood" issue.

Knightley was the celebrity face for the luxury goods brand Asprey, Shiatzy Chen as well as Lux haircare products in Japanese television commercials. In April 2006, she was confirmed as the new celebrity face of Chanel's perfume Coco Mademoiselle, though the first photo from the campaign was not released until May 2007.

Knightley's Valentino gown at the 2006 Golden Globe Awards won her much acclaim and even landed her the top spot on Steven Cojocaru's "Best Dressed List" on Entertainment Tonight, while the dress she wore to the 2006 Academy Awards was donated to the charity Oxfam, where it raised £4,300.

Knightley has warned children who dream of the celebrity life that it's not all what it seems to be. "It frightens me when kids go, 'I want to be famous.'" In a 2007 interview with the BBC Knightley said that she feels "de-humanised." Keira Knightley also said that when a person becomes a celebrity, the public doesn't care that the person's life is constantly watched.

While she has no current plans to leave the world of film, Knightley has said that she could not imagine subjecting a child to the media. Keira Knightley is quoted as saying, "I'm not planning to have children at the moment... everyone changes, and I'm sure there will be a time I will want to do something different. I could completely see myself moving away [from acting]."

Keira Knightley has expressed concern in the past about unsolicited attention from stalkers, and a 41-year-old man was charged with harassment in February 2010 after trying to contact the actress on several occasions outside the Comedy Theatre in London, where she appeared in the play The Misanthrope.The subsequent trial folded after the actress was unavailable to testify in court.

Charity work Knightley is the face of an Amnesty International campaign to support human rights, marking the 60th anniversary of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As part of the campaign, the star also made a short film. Knightley stated she wanted to help raise awareness of the UDHR and human rights abuses. Keira Knightley said "The UDHR is something that everyone should be aware of and be proud of as a statement of our common humanity."

Keira Knightley posed for photos for WaterAid in 2005 and also for the American Library Association's "Read" campaign (A promotional poster of Pride and Prejudice).

Knightley contributed her voice to a 2007 Robbie the Reindeer animation, all profits of which will be donated to Comic Relief. In 2004, she travelled to Ethiopia with a group that included Richard Curtis, who had directed her in Love, Actually, on behalf of that charity.

In April 2009, Knightley appeared in a video to raise awareness of domestic abuse entitled Cut. The video was directed by Joe Wright, who directed Knightley in Pride and Prejudice and Atonement, and shot for "Women's Aid," a British women and children aid group.The video has created controversy, with some sources calling it too graphic, while other groups support the video for showing a realistic depiction of domestic violence.

In November 2010, Knightley became patron of The SMA Trust, a British charity that funds medical research into the children's disease Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

In March 2011, she appeared briefly in the Smithy sketch for Red Nose Day 2011, alongside Sir Paul McCartney, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Davina McCall, Justin Bieber and JLS, amongst others.

Personal Life 

Knightley, who lives in London, had a relationship with actor Jamie Dornan. They were first seen together in 2003, and split up in 2005. Keira Knightley dated her Pride & Prejudice co-star Rupert Friend from 2005 until the couple split in December 2010. Keira Knightley has reportedly been dating James Righton since late February 2011.

Knightley has denied rumours she is anorexic, although she did say—after her appearance at the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest premiere led to media speculation that her extremely slender figure was due to an eating disorder—that her family has a history of anorexia. Knightley sued the Daily Mail after they claimed she lied about having anorexia; the article said that a teenage girl died from anorexia, indicating that Knightley's physical appearance may have influenced her in some way. Keira Knightley  was awarded a settlement.

In July 2006, Knightley said she has become a workaholic, detailing that "the last five years have blended into one. I can't tell you what was last year and what was the year before" and specifying that she was "working too much" and was "quite frightened that if I continue at this rate I will start to hate what I love,"suggesting that she would take a one-year break from acting to travel and focus on her personal life.

Filmography/Television

1995 Innocent Lies Young Celia  

1999 Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace Sabé (Decoy Queen)  

2001 Deflation Jogger  

2001 Princess of Thieves Gwyn  

2001 Hole, TheThe Hole Frances 'Frankie' Almond Smith Nominated – Empire Award for Best Debut 

2002 Thunderpants Music school student Uncredited 

2002 Pure Louise  

2002 Bend It Like Beckham Juliette "Jules" Paxton Golden Wave Award for Best Actress 

London Film Critics' Circle Award for Best Newcomer 

Nominated – Empire Award for Best British Actress 

Nominated – Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Breakthrough Performance 

 2002 New Year's Eve Leah  

2002 Seasons Alter, TheThe Seasons Alter Helena  

2003 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl Elizabeth Swann Audience Award for Best International Actress 

Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Chemistry (shared with Orlando Bloom) 

Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Liplock (shared with Orlando Bloom) 

Nominated – Empire Award for Best British Actress 

Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress 

Nominated – Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Breakout Performance on Screen 

Nominated – Visual Effects Society Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male or Female Actor in an Effects Film 

Nominated – Cinescape Genre Face of the Future Award 

Nominated – MTV Movie Award for Breakthrough Female Performance 

Nominated – Teen Choice Award for Choice Breakout Movie Star - Female 

2003 Love Actually Juliet Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Ensemble 

Nominated – Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Breakout Performance on Screen 

Nominated – Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble Acting 

2004 King Arthur Guinevere Audience Award for Best International Actress 

Nominated – Empire Award for Best British Actress 

Nominated – Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress Action Adventure/Thriller 

Nominated – Teen Choice Award for Choice Breakout Movie Star - Female 

2005 Jacket, TheThe Jacket Jackie  

2005 Domino Domino Harvey  

2005 Pride & Prejudice Elizabeth Bennet Character and Morality in Entertainment Award 

Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actress 

Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy 

Nominated – Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy 

Nominated – Empire Award for Best Actress 

Nominated – Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress 

Nominated – Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress 

Nominated – London Film Critics' Circle Award for British Actress of the Year 

Nominated – Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress 

Nominated – Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress 

Nominated – Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress Drama/Action Adventure 

2006 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest Elizabeth Swann People's Choice Award for Favorite On-Screen Match-Up (shared with Johnny Depp) 

Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Liplock (shared with Orlando Bloom) 

Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Scream 

Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Hissy Fit 

Nominated – Empire Awards for Best Actress 

Nominated – MTV Movie Award for Best Performance 

Nominated – Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress Drama/Action Adventure 

 2007 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End Elizabeth Swann People's Choice Award for Favorite Female Action Star 

Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress Action Adventure 

Nominated–National Movie Award for Best Performance by a Female 

Nominated–MTV Movie Award for Best Female Performance 

2007 Silk Hélène Joncour  

2007 Atonement Cecilia Tallis Empire Award for Best Actress 

Teen Choice Award for Choice Movie Actress Drama 

Rembrandt Award for Best International Actress 

Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role 

Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama 

Nominated – Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama 

Nominated – Audience Award for Best International Actress 

Nominated – London Film Critics' Circle Award for British Actress of the Year 

2008 Edge of Love, TheThe Edge of Love Vera Phillips  

2008 Duchess, TheThe Duchess Georgiana Cavendish Nominated – British Independent Film Award for Best Actress 

Nominated – People's Choice Award for Favorite Female Movie Star 

2009 The Continuing and Lamentable Saga of the Suicide Brothers Fairy, TheThe Fairy Short film 

2010 London Boulevard Charlotte  

2010 Steve Woman Short film 

2010 Never Let Me Go Ruth Nominated – Sarturn Award for Best Supporting Actress

Nominated – British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actress 

2010 Last Night Joanna Reed  

2011 Dangerous Method, AA Dangerous Method Sabina Spielrein  

2012 Seeking A Friend for the End of the World Penny filming 

2012 Anna Karenina Anna Karenina pre-production 

Television Appearances 

Year Title Role 

1993 Screen One Royal Celebration Little Girl 

1995 Village Affair, AA Village Affair Natasha Jordan 

1995 Bill, TheThe Bill Sheena Rose 

1996 Treasure Seekers, TheThe Treasure Seekers The Princess 

1998 Coming Home Young Judith Dunbar 

1999 Oliver Twist Rose Fleming 

2001 Princess of Thieves Gwyn (daughter of Robin Hood) 

2002 Doctor Zhivago Lara Antipova 

2003 Gaijin Kate 

2007 Robbie the Reindeer in Close Encounters of the Herd Kind Em 

2011 Neverland Tinker Bell 

Theatre appearancesYear Production Theatre Role Awards 

2009/2010 The Misanthrope Comedy Theatre, London Jennifer (Celimene) Nominated – Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role

Nominated – Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actress (The Natasha Richardson Award) 

2011 The Children's Hour Comedy Theatre, London Karen Wright 

Katie Holmes Biography

Name:Kate Noelle "Katie Holmes "

Date of Birth:December 18, 1978

Place of Birth:Toledo, Ohio, U.S

Kate Noelle "Katie Holmes " is an American actress who first achieved fame for her role as Joey Potter on The WB television teen drama Dawson's Creek from 1998 to 2003. Katie Holmes movie roles have included the blockbuster Batman Begins along with art house films such as The Ice Storm and thrillers including Abandon. Katie Holmes  has also played on Broadway in a production of Arthur Miller's All My Sons.

In early 2005, Holmes began a highly publicised relationship with actor Tom Cruise. In June, two months after they first met, Holmes and Cruise were engaged. Their relationship made Holmes the subject of international media attention.Holmes, who was brought up as a Roman Catholic, joined the Church of Scientology shortly after the couple began dating.In April 2006, Holmes gave birth to their daughter, Suri. On November 18, 2006, she and Cruise married in Italy.

Early Life

Holmes was born in Toledo, Ohio.Katie Holmes  is the youngest in a family of five children (four daughters, one son) born to Kathleen A. (née Stothers), a homemaker and a philanthropist, and Martin Joseph Holmes, Sr. (born 1945), an attorney specializing in divorces.Holmes' siblings are Tamera, Holly Ann, Martin Joseph, Jr., and Nancy Kay.

Holmes, baptized a Roman Catholic, attended Christ the King Church and parochial schools in Toledo. Katie Holmes  high school was the all-female Notre Dame Academy, her mother's alma mater, where Katie was a 4.0 student. At St. John's Jesuit, a nearby all-male high school, she appeared in school musicals, playing a waiter in Hello, Dolly! and Lola in Damn Yankees. Katie Holmes scored 1,310 out of 1,600 on her SAT and was accepted to Columbia University (and attended for a summer session);her father wanted her to be a doctor.

At age 14, she began classes at a modeling school in Toledo run by Margaret O'Brien, who took her to IMTA, the International Modeling and Talent Association Competition held in New York City in 1996. There she found an agent after performing a monologue from To Kill a Mockingbird. An audition tape was sent to the casting director for the 1997 film The Ice Storm, directed by Ang Lee. Katie Holmes was cast in the role of Libbets Casey, in the film which starred Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver.

Career

Early workIn January 1997, Holmes went to Los Angeles for pilot season,when producers cast and shoot new programs in the hopes of securing a spot on a network schedule. The Toledo Blade reported she was offered the lead in Buffy the Vampire Slayer but she turned it down. Columbia Tri-Star Television, producer of a new show created by screenwriter Kevin Williamson, asked her to come to Los Angeles to audition, but there was a conflict with her schedule. "I was doing my school play, Damn Yankees. And I was playing Lola. I even got to wear the feather boa. I thought, 'There is no way I'm not playing Lola to go audition for some network. I couldn't let my school down. We had already sold a lot of tickets. So I told Kevin and The WB, 'I'm sorry. I just can't meet with you this week. I've got other commitments.'"

The producers permitted her to audition on videotape. Holmes read for the part of Joey Potter, the tomboy best friend of the title character Dawson, on a videotape shot in her basement, her mother reading Dawson's lines. The Hollywood Reporter claimed the story of Holmes's audition "has become the stuff of legend" and "no one even thought that it was weird that one of the female leads would audition via Federal Express."

Holmes won the part. Paul Stupin, executive producer of the show, said his first reaction on seeing her audition tape was "That's Joey Potter!" Creator and executive producer Kevin Williamson said Holmes has a "unique combination of talent, beauty and skill that makes Hollywood come calling. But that's just the beginning. To meet her is to instantly fall under her spell." Williamson thought she had exactly the right look for Joey Potter. "Katie Holmes had those eyes, those eyes just stained with loneliness."

Dawson's CreekMain article: Dawson's Creek

"Joey Potter is a headstrong, vibrant, wily, sultry, and determined go-getter. And yet, in a gloriously contradictory manner, in spite of her tough-as-nails exterior demeanor, Joey's also a frail, sometimes uncertain, emotionally sensitive, in-need-of-love person", said the show's official book. Joey, named for Jo in Little Women, for years had been climbing in Dawson's bedroom window and platonically sharing his bed. Joey's mother had died from cancer when Joey was thirteen and her father, Mike (Gareth Williams), was in prison for "conspiracy to traffic in marijuana in excess of 10,000 pounds." Katie Holmes harried, unmarried, and very pregnant sister, Bessie (Nina Repeta), about ten years older than Joey,was raising her while running the Ice House restaurant, where Joey worked as a waitress. GQ described Joey as "kind of an uptight fussbudget—one who's always twisted up over doing the right thing and bungling-up ways to hook up with her crush and across the creek neighbor, Dawson."

"I'm a lot like Joey", said Holmes. "I think they saw that. I come from a small town. I was a tomboy. Joey tries to be articulate and deny that she doesn't have a lot of experience in life. Katie Holmes life parallels mine, which is all about new everything—relationships, personal perceptions—and about being guarded." Holmes filmed the pilot of Dawson's Creek in Wilmington, North Carolina, during spring break of her senior year of high school in 1997.

The 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) tall brunette enchanted the press, writers of both sexes commenting how Holmes was the sort of girl one wants to bring home to meet the parents and to marry."The Audrey Hepburn of her generation", was one typical comment. Time called her "impossibly lovely" and Entertainment Weekly said she was "next up for idolhood." Variety, reviewing the pilot, said Holmes "is a confident young performer who delivers her lines with slyness and conviction." Holmes made such an impression in Hollywood, The New York Times Magazine claimed everyone was seeking to cast a "Katie Holmes type", who, the reporter claimed, "is a throwback to the 1950s: she is a smart girl next door (as opposed to the babe-o-rama blondes)". But her "type" was no less attractive, Arena magazine declaring her "the most coquettishly sexy woman on television. Anywhere."

Holmes was soon on the covers of magazines such as Seventeen, TV Guide, and Rolling Stone. Jancee Dunn, an editor at Rolling Stone said she was chosen for the cover because "every time you mention Dawson's Creek you tend to get a lot of dolphin-like shrieks from teenage girls. The fact that she is drop-dead gorgeous didn't hurt either."

Reviews of Dawson's Creek were mixed. The Blade said the characters "just talk like they came from a planet ruled by Manhattan psychologists, one where small talk is punishable by death."Holmes herself needed help with the dialogue. "Sometimes before we read a script, I have to get my dictionary and call people to make sure I'm pronouncing some of the words correctly." The show brought her national attention and many fans back home; Toledo's Thanksgiving Day parade in November 1998 had record attendance when Holmes was named grand marshal.

Dawson's Creek ran from 1998 to 2003, and Holmes was the only actor to appear in all 128 episodes. "It was very difficult for me to leave Wilmington, to have my little glass bubble burst and move on. I hate change. On the other hand it was refreshing to play someone else", she said in 2004. Holmes confirmed that, as often happens on soaps, the character was a caricature of the actor:

“ I miss her spirit, and her spunk, and I miss her anxiety. Katie Holmes always had these long speeches about her fears and her future and love. It was a great tool for me personally because I got to get it all out. I was able to psychoanalyze all of it everyday [sic?] with her and then I wouldn't have to do it on my own. So much of me is in Joey and it really felt like I grew up on television.” 

"As Joey", said Life magazine, "Holmes has had seismic influences on teen life... Through it all, Joey has managed to hang on to her integrity... The show—and Katie's character in particular—has touched a nerve."

Film This article is missing information about reception of Holmes' performances in Go, Teaching Mrs Tingle, Phone Booth, The Singing Detective, The Extra Man, The Romantics, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark, The Son of No One. Please expand the primary text and the lead to include this information. (September 2011) 

In 2005, Holmes characterised her film career as being a string of "bombs." "Usually I'm not even in the top ten", she said, the highest grossing film of her career then being Phone Booth, in which she played a supporting role. Katie Holmes  lamented "It's not like I have a lot of stuff that's great just waiting for me to sign on to."

Katie Holmes first leading role came in Disturbing Behavior (1998), a Scream-era Stepford Wives-goes-to-high school thriller, where she was a loner from the wrong side of the tracks. Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote her character, Rachel, "dresses in black and likes to strike poses on the beds of pickup trucks and is a bad girl who is in great danger of becoming a very good one."The actress won a MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance for the role, though Holmes said the film was "just horrible.

Holmes played a disaffected supermarket clerk in Doug Liman's acclaimed ensemble piece Go (1999).

Katie Holmes had an uncredited cameo with Dawson's Creek co-star Joshua Jackson in Muppets from Space (1999), which was also filmed in Wilmington.

In Kevin Williamson's Teaching Mrs. Tingle (1999), which he wrote and directed, Holmes played a straight-A student whose vindictive teacher (Helen Mirren) threatens to keep her from a desperately needed scholarship.

In Wonder Boys (2000), directed by Curtis Hanson from the novel by Michael Chabon, Holmes had a small role (six and one-half minutes of screen time) but nevertheless attracted the attention of numerous film critics with her performance as Hannah Green, the talented student who lusts after Professor Grady Tripp (Michael Douglas), her creative writing instructor and landlord. Kenneth Turan of The Los Angeles Times said she was "just right as the beauty with kind of a crush on the old man."

In The Gift (2000), a Southern Gothic story directed by Sam Raimi and starring Cate Blanchett, she played the antithesis of Joey Potter: a promiscuous rich girl having affairs with everyone from a sociopathic wife-beater (Keanu Reeves) to the district attorney (Gary Cole), and is murdered by her fiancé (Greg Kinnear). Holmes did her first nude scene for the film, in a scene where her character was about to be murdered. Katie Holmes appearance was lamented by Variety's Steven Kotler. In Ohio, the scene met with disapproval from Russ Lemmon writing in The Blade.

In Abandon (2002), written by Oscar winner Stephen Gaghan, Holmes was a delusional, homicidal college student named "Katie." Todd McCarthy of Variety and Roger Ebert commended her performance, but other critics and audiences savaged it.The actress played the mistress of the public relations flack played by Colin Farrell in Phone Booth (2002) and Robert Downey, Jr.'s nurse in The Singing Detective (2003). Holmes's next starring role was in Pieces of April (2003), a gritty comedy about a dysfunctional family on Thanksgiving. Variety said it was "one of her best film performances." "Each actor shines", wrote Elvis Mitchell, "even Ms. Holmes, whose beauty seems to have fogged the minds of her previous directors" in playing "a brat who is slaving to find her inner decency and barely has the equipment for such an achievement, let alone to serve a meal whose salmonella potential could claim an entire borough. Yet it is her surliness, as well as her intransigent determination to make Thanksgiving work, that keeps the laughs coming."

In 2003, Holmes was a contender for the role of Christine Daaé in 2004's The Phantom of the Opera, but lost the role to Emmy Rossum.

Holmes played the President's daughter in First Daughter, which was originally to be released in January 2004 on the same day as Chasing Liberty, another film about a president's daughter, but was ultimately released in September 2004 to dismal reviews and ticket sales. First Daughter, directed by Forest Whitaker, also starred Michael Keaton as her father and Marc Blucas as her love interest. The Hollywood Reporter's Kirk Honeycutt called her character, Samantha Mackenzie, "a startling example of how a studio film can dumb down and neutralize the comic abilities of a lively young star." In the 2005 film Batman Begins, the most successful film of her career to date, she played Rachel Dawes, an attorney in the Gotham City district attorney's office and the childhood sweetheart of the title character. Variety was unenthusiastic. "Holmes is OK", was its critic's sole remark on her performance. Katie Holmes was nominated for a Golden Raspberry for "worst supporting actress" for the film.

In 2005, she appeared in the film version of Christopher Buckley's satirical novel Thank You for Smoking about a tobacco lobbyist played by Aaron Eckhart, whom Holmes's character, a Washington reporter, seduces. Variety wrote one of the film's "sole relatively weak notes [came] from Holmes, who lacks even a hint of the wiliness of a ruthless reporter" and The New York Times said the cast was "exceptionally fine" except for Holmes, who "strain[ed] credulity" in her role.

Holmes had agreed to play in Shame on You, a biopic about the country singer Spade Cooley written and directed by Dennis Quaid, as the wife whom Cooley (played by Quaid) stomps to death. But the picture, set to shoot in New Orleans, Louisiana, was delayed by Hurricane Katrina, and Holmes dropped out because of her pregnancy.

After speculation about Holmes reprising her role in The Dark Knight, the sequel to Batman Begins, it was finally confirmed that she would not appear. Katie Holmes role was later recast with Maggie Gyllenhaal in her place. Instead, Holmes decided to star in the comedy Mad Money, opposite Diane Keaton and Queen Latifah. The Canadian Press criticized Katie Holmes's performance "While Keaton has long done zany and giddy well, and she and Latifah have an interesting contrast of personalities, Holmes' presence feels like an afterthought." The New York Post, The New York Times and Variety also criticized Katie Holmes's performance in the film, and The New York Times called Holmes "the movie's weakest link." In early July 2009, Holmes began filming a remake of the 1970s ABC telemovie Don't Be Afraid of the Dark; the film was released in August 2011.

Holmes and Chace Crawford have been cast as the leads in the romantic comedy Responsible Adults, to begin shooting in Los Angeles in "fall 2011".

Stage 

Holmes made her Broadway debut in the revival of Arthur Miller's All My Sons in September 2008. Katie Holmes opened to mixed reviews. Ben Brantley of The New York Times claimed "the neophyte Ms. Holmes" is a "sad casualty" of director Simon McBurney's "high concept approach" to the play. He adds that "Ms. Holmes delivers most of her lines with meaningful asperity, italicising every word". Clive Barnes of the New York Post was similarly unimpressed by Holmes – and had few compliments for her co-stars. He wrote, "Lithgow starts in a sunny, benign fashion, but eventually finds himself screeching alongside Holmes, looking tough under a glossy wig." However, The New York Daily News' Joe Dziemianowicz was won over by the actress' first stint on stage, writing, "Holmes, a TV and film vet, makes a fine Broadway debut. Katie Holmes rather grand speech pattern takes getting used to, but she seems comfortable and adds a fitting glint of glamour." In 2009, Holmes appeared in the National Memorial Day Concert on the Mall in Washington, D.C. in a dialogue with Dianne Wiest celebrating the life of an American veteran seriously wounded in Iraq, José Pequeño.

TV work 

Holmes hosted Saturday Night Live on February 24, 2001, participating in a send-up of Dawson's Creek where she falls madly in love with Chris Kattan's Mr. Peepers character and singing "Big Spender" from Sweet Charity. On the November 9, 2003 episode, she was Punk'd by Ashton Kutcher and the next year she was the subject of an episode of the MTV program Diary.

In 2008 Holmes appeared in an episode of Eli Stone as Grace, a lawyer, and her singing and dancing was praised by Tim Stack of Entertainment Weekly.

In 2011, Katie Holmes played the role of Jackie Kennedy in The Kennedys. Linda Stasi felt that Holmes took a while to get into the role, but was ultimately convincing as Kennedy. Bob Owen felt that while Holmes resembled Kennedy, Holmes could not perform her accent correctly. Dorothy Rabinovitz felt that while Holmes had Kennedy's "whispery tone", that she could not pull off Kennedy's class.

In October 2011 she also played the role of the "Slutty Pumpkin" (Naomi), in the TV show How I Met Your Mother, episode "The Slutty Pumpkin Returns".

Other work Holmes was annually named by both the British and American editions of FHM magazine as one of the sexiest women in the world from 1999 forward. Katie Holmes was named one of People's "50 Most Beautiful People" in 2003; its sibling Teen People declared her one of the "25 Hottest Stars Under 25" that year; and in 2005, People said she was one of the ten best dressed stars that year. Katie Holmes has appeared in advertisements for Garnier Lumia haircolor, Coach leather goods, and clothing retailer The Gap.

On November 4, 2007 Holmes ran, and successfully completed, the New York Marathon in 5:29:58.

After much speculation, in late November 2008, it was confirmed that she would be the new face of the spring 2009 campaign for the high-end fashion line Miu Miu.

In 2008, Holmes started a high fashion clothing line called Holmes &Yang with longtime stylist Jeanne Yang.

In January 2011, she became the new face of Ann Taylor Spring 11 collection.In April 2011, she ranked 6th in People magazine's annual 100 Most Beautiful issue.

Personal Life 

Holmes with Tom Cruise in May 2009 Holmes dated her Dawson's Creek co-star Joshua Jackson early in the show's run. Holmes met actor Chris Klein in 2000. Klein and Holmes were engaged in late 2003, but in early 2005 she and Klein ended their relationship.

Weeks after her relationship with Klein ended, Holmes began dating actor Tom Cruise. Cruise proposed to Holmes in the early morning of June 17, 2005, on top of Paris' Eiffel Tower; she accepted. On November 18, 2006, Holmes and Cruise were married at the 15th-century Odescalchi Castle in Bracciano, Italy, in a Scientology ceremony attended by many Hollywood stars.The actors' publicist said the couple had "officialized" their marriage in Los Angeles the day before the Italian ceremony.

Holmes, who was raised a Roman Catholic, joined the Church of Scientology shortly after the couple began dating.

 zzzSuri CruiseOn April 18, 2006, Holmes gave birth to a baby girl named Suri. The Los Angeles Times summarized the written statement Cruise released on the birth, saying the name "is a word with origins in both Hebrew and Persian. In Hebrew, it means 'princess' and in Persian, 'red rose,' it was claimed in the release." Although some Hebrew linguists had never seen the word for "princess" spelled this way and its meaning, others said it was a Yiddish pronunciation of the Hebrew name "Sarah".

The first photographs of the Suri appeared in the October 2006 issue of Vanity Fair, shot by Annie Leibovitz.This issue of Vanity Fair became the publication's second best selling issue of all time, selling more than 700,000 copies.

2009–presentIn July 2009, Holmes, Nigel Lythgoe, Adam Shankman, and Carrie Ann Inaba announced the launch of a dance scholarship fund called the Dizzy Feet Foundation.

In early March 2011, Katie Holmes filed a $50 million libel lawsuit against the Star Magazine following a cover story which insinuated that she took drugs.The suit was settled on April 27, 2011 when Star wrote a public apology in the May 6, 2011 issue along with an undisclosed "substantial" donation to Katie's charity Dizzy Feet.

In June 2011, Holmes was honored by the Women in Film group.

Filmography

1997 Ice Storm, TheThe Ice Storm Libbets Casey First professional role 

1998 Disturbing Behavior Rachel Wagner  

2003 Dawson's Creek Joey Potter  

1999 Go Claire Montgomery  

1999 Muppets from Space Joey Potter Uncredited cameo with Joshua Jackson 

1999 Teaching Mrs. Tingle Leigh Ann Watson First lead role 

2000 Wonder Boys Hannah Green  

2000 Gift, TheThe Gift Jessica King  

2002 Abandon Katie Burke  

2003 Phone Booth Pamela McFadden  

2003 Singing Detective, TheThe Singing Detective Nurse Mills  

2003 Pieces of April April Burns  

2004 First Daughter Samantha Mackenzie  

2005 Batman Begins Rachel Dawes  

2005 Thank You for Smoking Heather Holloway  

2008 Mad Money Jackie Truman  

2008 Eli Stone Grace 1 episode, "Grace". 

2010 Extra Man, TheThe Extra Man Mary Powell  

2010 Romantics, TheThe Romantics Laura Liv Tyler was originally cast for this role. Holmes, who was also the film's executive producer, replaced her. This is her first producing credit.

2011 The Kennedys Jackie Kennedy  

2011 Don't Be Afraid of the Dark Kim  

2011 The Son of No One Kerry White  

2011 Jack & Jill Erin Sadelstein  

2011 How I Met Your Mother Slutty Pumpkin (Naomi) episode "The Slutty Pumpkin Returns" 

Katherine Heigl Biography

Name:Katherine Marie Heigl

Date of Birth:November 24, 1978

Place of Birth:Washington, D.C. U.S

Katherine Marie Heigl is an American actress and producer. Katherine Heigl is possibly best known for her role as Dr. Izzie Stevens on ABC's Grey's Anatomy from 2005 to 2010, for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Drama Series in 2007. Katherine Heigl has also starred in films such as Knocked Up, Zyzzyx Road, 27 Dresses, The Ugly Truth, Killers, and Life As We Know It.

Heigl started her career as a child model with Wilhelmina Models before she turned her attention to acting. Katherine Heigl made her debut in the coming-of-age film That Night. Heigl co-starred as Isabel Evans in the television series Roswell and movies including My Father the Hero before landing her break-out role in Grey's Anatomy. Heigl has established herself as a cover model appearing on numerous publications including Maxim, Vanity Fair and Cosmopolitan.

Heigl is married to singer Josh Kelley, with whom she has a daughter.

Early Llife and Family

Heigl was born in Washington, D.C., at Columbia Hospital for Women. Katherine Heigl is the daughter of Nancy (née Engelhardt), a personnel manager, and Paul Heigl, a financial executive and accountant. Heigl has German and Irish ancestry,and was raised in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Katherine Heigl is the youngest of four children (her siblings are Meg, Jason (deceased), and Holt). Heigl lived in Virginia and then Denver before her family settled in Connecticut, when they moved into a large, old Victorian-style farmhouse in the wealthy town of New Canaan, where she spent most of her childhood.

In 1986, her older brother Jason died of injuries suffered in a car accident, after being thrown from the back of a pickup truck while out for lunch with some of his high school classmates. Following his death, the family decided to donate his organs. Heigl was unnerved by this at the time but became a strong proponent of organ donation, working as a spokesperson for Donate Life America.After Jason Heigl's death, their parents converted to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (prior to that her mother was Lutheran and her father Catholic).

Career

Early work, 1986–1998 When Heigl was nine, an aunt visiting the family decided to take a number of photographs of her. After returning to her home in New York, her aunt sent the photos to a number of modeling agencies, with the permission of Heigl's parents. Within a few weeks, Heigl was signed with Wilhelmina Models as a child model. Soon after signing with the agency, a client slated Heigl for use in a magazine advertisement where she made her debut. At the time, she was earning $75 an hour posing for Sears and Lord & Taylor catalogs. Heigl appeared in her first national television spot for Cheerios cereal.

Katherine Heigl made her acting debut in the 1992 movie That Night. Heigl appeared as Christina Sebastian in Steven Soderbergh's Depression-era drama King of the Hill before being cast in her first leading role in the 1994 comedy My Father the Hero. During this time, Heigl continued to attend New Canaan High School, balancing her film and modeling work with her academic studies. Heigl dropped out of New Canaan High School after her sophomore year to pursue her career in Hollywood.

In 1995, she starred in the Steven Seagal action thriller Under Siege 2: Dark Territory. Heigl portrayed a 16-year-old travelling on a train across a mountain pass to visit the grave of her deceased father with uncle Casey Ryback (Seagal), an ex-SEAL counter-terrorist expert. The main plotline has the train hijacked by mercenaries in Colorado, keeping her as a hostage. Much of her work in the film was opposite Morris Chestnut, Sandra Taylor and Everett McGill.

Despite an increased focus on acting, she still modeled extensively, appearing regularly in magazines such as Seventeen. Katherine Heigl landed the lead role in Disney's made-for-television film Wish Upon a Star in 1996, portraying two body-swapping characters along with Danielle Harris. Also in 1996, Heigl's parents divorced and her mother was diagnosed with cancer. After her high school graduation in 1997, she moved with her mother into a four-bedroom house in Malibu Canyon, Los Angeles, and her mother became her manager.

In 1998, she co-starred with Peter Fonda in a re-working of the classic Shakespearian play The Tempest, set during the American Civil War. Later that year, she starred in the horror film Bride of Chucky.

Rise to fame, 1999–2004In 1999, Heigl turned her attention to television when she accepted the role of Isabel Evans on the science fiction TV drama Roswell, a role that was expanded in the show's second and third seasons. Heigl had auditioned for all three of the show's female leads (the other two roles eventually went to Shiri Appleby and Majandra Delfino) before she was finally cast as Isabel, an alien human hybrid.

Heigl was frequently featured in photo essays in magazines such as Life, TV Guide, and Teen as well as FHM. Katherine Heigl  appeared in the FHM and Maxim calendars, FHM's annual "100 Sexiest Women in the World", and was featured in the Girls of Maxim Gallery. In May 2006, Maxim awarded her #12 on their annual Hot 100List as well as voted the 19th "Sexiest Woman in the World" by readers of FHM magazine. While Roswell was in production, Heigl worked on several films, including 100 Girls, an independent 2001 film, and Valentine, a horror film starring David Boreanaz and Denise Richards.

Heigl accepted a role in Ground Zero, a television thriller scheduled to be telecast that fall which was based on the bestselling James Mills novel The Seventh Power, in the spring of 2001. Katherine Heigl co-starred as a brilliant and politically-concerned college student who helps to build a nuclear device to illustrate the need for a change in national priorities. The device ends up in the hands of a terrorist following betrayal by a fellow student. However, after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, the film was shelved when its plot was considered inappropriate. It reemerged in 2003 under the title Critical Assembly. After the attacks, Heigl recorded a public service announcement for the American Red Cross in an effort to help raise money for victims.

In 2003, Heigl appeared in three television movies. Katherine Heigl returned to the horror genre with Evil Never Dies, a modern-day variation on the Frankenstein story co-starring Thomas Gibson. Love Comes Softly, for Hallmark Entertainment, found Heigl starring as Marty Claridge, a young, pregnant newlywed traveling west. (Katherine Heigl reprised the role of Marty in the sequel Love's Enduring Promise the next year.) Heigl played Isabella Linton in MTV's modern revamp of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights. In October 2003, Heigl was cast opposite Johnny Knoxville in The Ringer, a Farrelly brothers comedy that was released in December 2005. Heigl starred as Romy in the 2005 television movie Romy and Michele: In the Beginning, a prequel to the 1997 film Romy and Michele's High School Reunion.

Breakthrough, 2005–present In 2005, Heigl was cast in what would become her most high-profile role to date, as medical intern Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens on Grey's Anatomy, an ABC medical drama. The show, originally introduced as a mid-season replacement, became a huge ratings success and is still one of the highest-rated television series on broadcast television. The same year, Heigl landed the starring role in the independent film, Side Effects, a romantic comedy about marketing and the pharmaceutical industry, where she was also executive producer. In late 2006, Heigl was nominated for a Golden Globe award in the category Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Mini-series, or Motion Picture Made for Television for her work on Grey's Anatomy. Also in 2006, she filmed Knocked Up, a comedy from writer/director Judd Apatow, starring opposite Seth Rogen, Paul Rudd, and Apatow's real life wife, Leslie Mann. Upon its June 2007 theatrical release, the film received largely positive reviews from critics, and proved to be a box office success. Despite her run of success, she also starred in the box office bomb Zyzzyx Road which despite being filmed in 2004, was not released until 2006. It has been cited as the lowest grossing film of all time. Katherine Heigl has been on FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World" list twice as of 2007.

Heigl at the 59th Annual Emmy Awards in 2007On September 16, 2007, Heigl won an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Izzie Stevens. In her acceptance speech she acknowledged that even her mother did not believe she would win, and when her name was called, she had to be censored vocally by the telecast's producers, due to her saying "Shit!" when she reacted to the win.Earlier, she had corrected telecast announcer Rebecca Riedy, who had been given an incorrect phonetic spelling of Heigl's name, when she mispronounced her name as Hi-jell before the presentation of the award with Kyle Chandler for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Movie. Katherine Heigl  starred in the film, 27 Dresses which was released in January 2008, playing alongside James Marsden. Heigl was announced the Most Desirable Woman of 2008, according to AskMen.com.

There was some speculation that Heigl might be leaving Grey's Anatomy after the end of the 2008–2009 season. This speculation revolved around her refusal to put her name in for Emmy Award consideration and the time she had devoted to producing a film version of Carolyn Jessop's book Escape. Grey's showrunner Shonda Rhimes said she was not insulted by Heigl's Emmy withdrawal, but also noted that Heigl's character Izzie had less to do during the season because Heigl asked for a light work schedule. However, despite Heigl's reported displeasure with the previous season as well as suggestions that her character had died, Heigl's return for the sixth season of Grey's has been confirmed by ABC.

In 2009, Heigl starred opposite Gerard Butler in The Ugly Truth, which opened July 24.

Heigl starred in the Lionsgate comedy-thriller Killers, opposite Ashton Kutcher, which was released June 4, 2010. Katherine Heigl next starred in and produced the big-screen drama Life As We Know It. The film revolved around a woman and a man whose respective best friends die in a car accident; following the tragedy, they are left to share in caring for the deceased's orphaned daughter. Everwood creator Greg Berlanti directed the film.

Whether or not Heigl would leave Grey's Anatomy remained to be seen for the bigger part of season six.However, on March 11, 2010, Heigl reportedly did not show up for work when she was supposed to, and she and Shonda Rhimes had apparently come to an agreement to release her from her contract immediately. Therefore, Heigl's last appearance on the January 21 episode of Grey's Anatomy is also her final appearance on the season. Heigl said that her departure was not about advancing her film career but that she wanted to focus more on her family.

Salary 

Heigl won greater financial success after Knocked Up (2007). The movie grossed $148,761,765 in the U.S., for which she earned a salary of $300,000 USD. Heigl got higher wages in the film 27 Dresses (2008), for which she received $6 million USD.; and for the films Killers (2010) and Life as We Know It (2010), for which she was paid $12 million each.

Animal welfare projects Heigl has worked with Best Friends Animal Society on several projects including their Pup My Ride program. The program transports small dogs from high-kill animal shelters to other parts of the US where there is a greater demand for such dogs. Katherine Heigl involvement in this led her to give Best Friends a grant which would fund a year of the program.

Heigl and her mother, Nancy, then started Heigl's Hounds of Hope which operates as part of the Jason Debus Heigl Foundation. The Foundation was created in honor of Katherine's brother, who was killed in a car accident in 1986 at the age of fifteen. Heigl's Hounds of Hope rescues larger dogs with behavior problems from shelters with a high kill rate and rehabilitates them through training and other adjustments to make them suitable for re-homing.

As of 2009, Heigl had six dogs of her own.

Personal Life

In June 2006, Heigl became engaged to singer Josh Kelley, whom she had met a year earlier on the set of his music video for "Only You". They chose not to live together before they were married, with Heigl later explaining, "I think I just wanted to save something for the actual marriage... I wanted there to be something to make the actual marriage different than the dating or the courtship." They were married on December 23, 2007 in Park City, Utah. In September 2009, Heigl and Kelley adopted a daughter, Nancy Leigh "Naleigh" Kelley (born November 23, 2008), from South Korea, the birthplace of Heigl's sister.

Filmography

1992 That Night Kathryn  

1993 King of the Hill Christina Sebastian  

1994 My Father the Hero Nicole Nominated—Young Artist Award – Best Performance by a Young Actress Starring in a Motion Picture 

1995 Under Siege 2: Dark Territory Sarah Ryback  

1997 Prince Valiant Princess Ilene  

1997 Stand-ins Taffy-Rita Hayworth's Stand-in  

1998 Bug Buster Shannon Griffin  

1998 Bride of Chucky Jade  

2000 100 Girls Arlene  

2001 Valentine Shelley Fisher  

2003 Descendant Ann Hedgerow/Emily Hedgerow  

2003 Critical Assembly Aizy Hayward  

2005 Side Effects Karly Hert Executive producer 

2005 Ringer, TheThe Ringer Lynn Sheridan  

2006 Zyzzyx Road Marissa  

2006 Caffeine Laura  

2007 Knocked Up Alison Scott Nominated—Empire Award – Best Actress

Nominated – MTV Movie Award for Best Performance

Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

Nominated—St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress

Nominated—Teen Choice Award – Choice Movie Actress: Comedy 

2008 27 Dresses Jane Nichols  

2009 Ugly Truth, TheThe Ugly Truth Abby Richter Executive producer

Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy

Nominated—Teen Choice Award – Choice Summer Movie Star: Female 

2010 Killers Jen Kornfeldt Aimes  

2010 Life as We Know It Holly Berenson Executive producer 

2011 New Year's Eve Laura Carrington 

2012 One for the Money Stephanie Plum  

2012 The Wedding Lyla Griffin  

Television

Television 1996 Wish Upon a Star Alexia Wheaton/Hayley Wheaton Television movie 

1998 Tempest, TheThe Tempest Miranda Prosper Television movie 

1999–2002 Roswell Isabel Evans 61 episodes

Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television

Nominated—Teen Choice Award – Choice Television Actress 

2001 Twilight Zone, TheThe Twilight Zone Andrea Collins Episode: "Cradle of Darkness" 

2003 Vegas Dick  Television movie 

2003 Love Comes Softly Marty Claridge Television movie

CAMIE Award 

2003 Wuthering Heights Isabel Linton Television movie 

2003 Evil Never Dies Eve Television movie 

2004 Love's Enduring Promise Marty Claridge Davis Television movie

CAMIE Award 

2005 Romy and Michele: In the Beginning Romy White Television movie 

2005–2010 Grey's Anatomy Dr. Isobel "Izzie" Stevens 109 episodes

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Drama Series (2007)

Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series

Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film (2007, 2008)

Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2006, 2008)

Nominated—Teen Choice Award – Choice Television Actress