Paris Hilton

Biography

Credited As: Paris Whitney HiltonBorn
Born: Paris Whitney Hilton on 02/17/1981
Job Titles: Actress
As the great granddaughter of famed hotelier Conrad Hilton and co-heir to the Hilton fortune, one would think that Paris Hilton had everything she could ever want. But instead of being satisfied with a position in life some would kill for, Hilton has stridently endeavored to make her own mark in the world--she and her younger sister Nicky were first among an increasing pack of young, hard partying socialites-turned-model/actresses that the media dubbed "celebutantes." In doing so, however, Hilton has regularly created a public spectacle of herself; and a few of her escapades have proved to be embarrassing. And while her name was bound to attract a certain degree of notoriety, the rabid partygoer and hyperactive socialite has in reality become famous for doing absolutely nothing of merit.

Hilton was born on February 17, 1981 and spent most of her youth growing up in the world famous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan, which Conrad bought during the Great Depression. Of course, Hilton grew up in other homes as well, most notably in the Hamptons and Beverly Hills. Upon graduating high school in 2000, Hilton immediately embarked on her quest for fame, first by modeling for such famed fashion designers as Tommy Hilfiger, Marc Bouwer and Catherine Malandrino. Hilton also posed for spreads in numerous magazines, including GQ, Vanity Fair and FHM. The heiress even tried to start her own modeling company and makeup line, but both ventures soon fizzled.

Hilton also received a lot of media attention because of who she may or may not have been dating—the paparazzi seemed to make up relationships based on who she was seen cavorting with. She was spotted with “Titanic” (1997) star Leonardo DiCaprio, which the press inflated into a full-blown romance when it was only a casual relationship. Hilton was also seen with “T2” (1991) star Edward Furlong, Welterweight boxing champ Oscar de la Hoya and Tommy Hilfiger model Jason Shaw, to whom she was engaged for a short time. However, Hilton wasn’t satisfied with getting in the news solely because of her love life. So together with her tamer sister Nicky, Hilton bounced from party to party in an effort to drum up as much attention as possible. At the after party for “30 Years to Life” (2000), for example, Hilton bullied her way past a line waiting for the bathroom. When confronted with her rudeness by a fellow partier, Hilton retorted that she was merely trying to get a look at herself in the mirror. She then expatiated about her accomplishments, much to the annoyance of those unfortunate enough to be within earshot.

Becoming known for her barely-there fashion victim outfits, glued-to-her-ear cell phone and penchant for dancing atop nightclub tables, Hilton did eventually segue into an actual acting career, though most of her appearances were cameos as herself or someone very similar. She made her film debut in “Zoolander” (2000), a Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson vehicle about an inept fashion model who goes undercover to stop a secret cartel of political assassins posing as models. Hilton was one of many cameos in the film that included Donald Trump, Lenny Kravitz and Garry Shandling. Her next cameo was in “Wonderland” (2003), a noir-like drama about a down-and out John Holmes, the ex-porn star who got caught up in a multiple murder case involving his former drug dealers. Another cameo was tacked on her resume when Hilton played a club-goer in the big budget “The Cat in the Hat” (2003), starring Mike Myers as the famous Dr. Suess character, and she had another don't-blink moment in "Raising Helen" (2004).

Hilton went from movies to television with a starring role in a reality show with life-long friend, Nicole Richie, daughter of pop singer Lionel Richie. In “The Simple Life” (Fox, 2003- ), Hilton and Richie ditched the glamorous Manhattan social scene and donned overalls and work boots to milk cows and bail hay on an Arkansas farm. Though completely out of her element, Hilton managed to survive the experience. Meanwhile, Hilton grabbed more headlines and inches in the gossip columns and US Weekly for her various alleged social misadventures: she reportedly went topless in a popular Manhattan club, though Hilton later denied the rumor; and she was also seen locking lips with the notorious Ingrid Casares.

Hilton's biggest headline came in late 2003 when rumors popped up about a videotape of Hilton having sex with ex-boyfriend, Rick Salomon, ex-husband of Shannen Doherty (with whom Hilton has reportedly had public rows). Though the heiress and her lawyers initially denied the existence of such a tape, Hilton finally acknowledged her participation once a three minute teaser was spread far and wide across the Internet. The Hilton family’s p.r. team and lawyers went so far as to imply that their client may have been drugged—a move that later spurred Salomon to file a $10 million slander suit. There were also allegations that Salomon or someone in his circle may have purposely leaked the video, which was the subject of much public disussion and levity despite the heiress' continued failure to display any serious talent beyond an ability to pose. Hilton, meanwhile, was embarrassed to the point where she found herself retreating from the limelight, including having to cancel a promotional interview with David Letterman, who joined other late night comedians eviscerating her in their monolgues and stand-up routines.

Such was the price of fame--but as a result of the flare-up of notoriety "The Simple Life" pulled in big ratings numbers, so perhaps Hilton knew what she was doing all along. A second season of the "The Simple Life," with Paris and Nicole traveling across country, was quickly scheduled and shot, and a third season cast the duo as interns at various businesses. And each season seemed to arrive with another public Paris mishap: in 2004 one her "co-stars," her tiny Chihuahua Tinkerbelle, turned up missing and caused a media furor, but the dog was ultimately discovered and returned to her mistress unharmed; in 2005 hackers cracked open the contents of the heiress' Sidekick device and posted much of the material on the Internet, including cell phone numbers and email addresses for celebrity cohorts such as Lindsay Lohan and topless digital camera shots of Hilton passionately kissing a female Latin MTV personality.

In 2005 Hilton appeared in her first major film role--though still in support of star Elisha Cuthbert--in the warmed-over horror remake "House of Wax," playing Paige, an insecure, possibly pregnant student who joins her friends on a road trip only to be stalked by a pair of killers who make their home in an isolated town's wax museum. Although the character didn't tote a chihuahua or wear predominantly pink fashions, she did doff her clothes and seemed ready to make a sexy video, so the part wasn't exactly a stretch, and the film wasn't exactly a critic's favorite. At the same time, Hilton announced that her friendship with Richie had reached an impasse, and she expected to replace her on "The Simple Life" with another pampered gal pal, Kimberly Stewart (the daughter of rock star Rod Stewart and TV personality Alanna Hamilton). However, after several months of speculation, Fox announced that both heiresses would return for a new season together...and then later indicated that there was "no room" on its 2005-2006 schedule for "The Simple Life," and released the series to be shopped to other networks. E! Entertainment picked up fourth season, set to debut in spring 2006, featuring the celebutantes taking turns running a household.

Hilton stoked controversy again with a 2005 TV spot for Carl's Jr.'s Spicy BBQ Six-Dollar Burger in which she seductively washes a Bentley, clad only in a skimpy bathing suit and stiletto heels, while a version of Cole Porter's "I Love Paris" plays in the background. The Los Angeles-based Parents Television Council deemed the ad unsuitable for family viewing, calling it little more than "soft core porn," protesting the campaign and considering petitioning the FCC for a ruling on whether the spot violates decency standards. Her personal life was equally tumultuous: she split from her fortuitously named fiance, Greek shipping heir Paris Latsis, whom she had known since childhood, after a four-month engagement and within weeks was involved with another Greek shipping heir (and male model) Stavros Niarchos; and she was ordered by California authorities to surrender her latest pet, a kinkajou named Baby Luv, or move to another state where exotic animals are legal, even was she was criticized by People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals for treating her pets as fashion accessories. Back to work, she had a starring role in (and a producer credit on) "National Lampoon's Pledge This!" (2005), playing the president of an elitist sorority at South Beach U presiding over a group of unlikely freshman girls who are trying to gain entrance and acceptance into the sorority.

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Paris Hilton and "Mr. Bentley" Derek Watkins




Paris Hilton on filming new ad for the Spicy BBQ Six Dollar Burger.


Paris Hilton in Hous Of Wax Film


Paris Hilton and Her Sister Nicky

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Tom Cruise

Biography

Engagingly sexy with a wall of perfect teeth and a grin to defrost the coldest of hearts, Tom Cruise exploded onto screens during the mid-1980s in a series of teen roles that made the most of his athleticism and revealed the boyishly handsome star's charisma. The actor quickly graduated to adult superstar status and by decade's end had held his own opposite both Paul Newman and Dustin Hoffman as each garnered Best Actor Oscars in his company. By the mid-90s, he was indisputably the most powerful movie star of his generation, only bested by the relatively grizzled Harrison Ford as the world box-office champ, and by the end of the millennium he had surpassed even Ford, becoming Hollywood's most bankable star with five consecutive films grossing in excess of $100 million prior to the release of the hotly anticipated "Eyes Wide Shut" (1999), Stanley Kubrick's directorial swan song. Cruise had managed this feat without developing an insufferable movie star ego, perhaps his greatest accomplishment of all--and yet in 2005 his public behavior veered far from his usual genial image, even though his career was still flying high.

A peripatetic childhood saw him attend a dozen schools by age 12, and when a knee injury derailed his wrestling ambitions, Cruise turned to acting, landing the role of Nathan Detroit in his high school production of "Guys and Dolls" and dropping out in his senior year (school had long been a problem for the dyslexic Cruise) to pursue the dream full-time. By 1981, Cruise was in Los Angeles where he met Paula Wagner, then an agent at Creative Artists Agency, who would subsequently guide his film career. After making his feature debut in a small role in Franco Zeffirelli's notorious Brooke Shields-starrer "Endless Love", he gained attention in a showy supporting role as an increasingly lunatic gung-ho cadet in "Taps" (both 1981). He next landed his first starring role opposite "older woman" Shelly Long in "Losin' It" (1983), a middling teen coming-of-age comedy. Prospects brightened when he persuaded Francis Ford Coppola to cast him in a small role as a tough guy in "The Outsiders" (1983), though he failed to stand out amidst teen heartthrobs like Matt Dillon, Patrick Swayze, Rob Lowe, C Thomas Howell and Ralph Macchio.

Cruise gained celebrity in the superior teen sex satire "Risky Business" (also 1983) as an anxious, affluent, suburban teen poised precariously on the brink of young adulthood, creating a resonant protagonist for young Reagan-era audiences. He even put on some extra pounds to emphasize the softness and vulnerability of the character who flirts with illicit capitalism. In a star-making scene, Cruise, clad in a button-down Oxford shirt, Jockey briefs, and cool shades, played air guitar and danced wildly to Bob Seger's anthem, "Old Time Rock'n'Roll." This celebrated sequence provided a key to the actor's subsequent mega-success: he was an attractive but fairly regular guy to whom audiences could easily relate. Intriguingly, the part also showcased Cruise's magnetic sexual appeal much more effectively than many subsequent screen roles.

Cruise performed well in a more naturalistic mode in "All the Right Moves" (1983), a sober high school football drama which pitted him against hot-headed coach Craig T Nelson that fared modestly at the box office. He next grew his hair long and made the wrong move donning green tights for Ridley Scott's colossal fantasy flop, "Legend" (1985). Cruise, however, solidified his star status and established his onscreen persona with one of the signature hits of the 80s, "Top Gun" (1986). Defiantly politically incorrect, with flying sequences edited to the rhythms of pop tunes, the film functioned as both Navy recruiting ad and glossy romantic adventure. No longer the engaging boy-next-door, Cruise's Maverick was a prototype for roles to come, a cocky loner who plays by his own rules, confronts a crisis, then is triumphantly transformed.

Not content to be a matinee idol, Cruise crafted his career carefully, teaming with talented directors and co-stars for "The Color of Money" (1986) and "Rain Man" (1988). The former, Martin Scorsese's sharply made, nicely textured sequel to 1961's "The Hustler", cast him as a talented but arrogant small-time pool hotshot, a younger, greener version of Paul Newman's Fast Eddie Felsen. They made an eclectic pair, Cruise's boisterous All-American boy versus Newman's seasoned con man, and though the old stud picked up the Best Actor Oscar, he was clearly passing the mantle to the new stud, and not just on the screen. The time spent talking with the politically-active Newman had a profound consciousness-raising effect on Cruise who would later choose Oliver Stone's extremely anti-war "Born on the Fourth of July" (1989) to counter his contribution to the jingoistic "Top Gun". He broadened his serious dramatic credentials in his work with director Barry Levinson on "Rain Man", playing another self-centered hotshot whose relationship with his autistic brother (Dustin Hoffman) changes his life. Hoffman shone as the idiot savant and took home Oscar, but Cruise was equally important to the Oscar-winning Best Picture equation.

For Stone's "Born on the Fourth of July,” he did not have to share the spotlight (with anybody but the man at the helm who snared the Best Director Oscar for his efforts) and earned his first Best Actor Oscar nomination for a hard-hitting portrayal of paraplegic, anti-war activist Ron Kovic. Cruise then stumbled a bit with his next two projects. Though "Days of Thunder" introduced him to love of his life Nicole Kidman and inaugurated a long-term association with screenwriter Robert Towne, it suffered from an inordinately short editing period, causing Cruise (who also received a "from story" credit) to remark: "My regret is making a movie to meet a release date like that. Big mistake. I won't do it again." Scalded by critics, it still raked in $166 million worldwide, but there was no saving "Far and Away" (1992), a goofy period romance co-starring Kidman ("The honeymoon project, that's what we call it. I loved making that movie. It's a picture I look forward to showing to our kids in a few years"). He returned to box office clover after that critical and commercial disappointment, successfully confronting an iconic Jack Nicholson in Rob Reiner's highly popular court-martial drama, "A Few Good Men" (1992).

Cruise's hotshot lawyer bent on toppling his corrupt bosses in "The Firm" (1993) could have been a brother to his character in "A Few Good Men.” Despite a stellar supporting cast (i.e., Gene Hackman, Hal Holbrook, Holly Hunter and Wilfred Brimley, among many others), he shouldered carried the smooth adaptation of John Grisham's giant bestseller, tackling the deceptively difficult character with a vibrancy that guaranteed a successful box office for his first thriller. Director Sydney Pollack (rebounding from the disastrous "Havana" 1990) and his outstanding team of scriptwriters (Towne, David Rabe, David Rayfiel) brought a few extra plot twists and added some dramatic and ethical complexity to the attractive and entertaining tale.

Cruise then raised eyebrows—and more than a few hackles—by accepting the central role of the vampire Lestat in David Geffen's lavish production of Neil Jordan's "Interview With the Vampire" (1994). Many balked at the idea of the All-American go-getter playing the decadent, ambisexual European predator of Anne Rice's novel. Rice herself was the harshest critic as she traveled about the country trashing the casting decision while on a book tour. Sporting blond locks and blue contact lenses (his eyes are naturally green), Cruise eventually won Rice's approval and generally positive (if hardly enthusiastic) notices. The film was also notable for teaming the superstar with less familiar heartthrobs Brad Pitt, Christian Slater and Antonio Banderas. Although Cruise was only 32 at the time, there was a peculiar sense of his passing on the baton. (Ironically, Pitt was only a year younger.) In any event, the film earned mixed reviews while doing brisk business.

Cruise was all but omnipresent in the media as he aggressively promoted his feature producing debut, the post-Cold War espionage movie "Mission: Impossible" (1996). Based on the fondly remembered 60s TV show, the project had languished in various development hells before Cruise got involved. This marked the inaugural project for Cruise/Wagner Productions, the company the actor formed with his one-time agent in 1992. Rumors abounded about his clashing with director Brian De Palma over budgetary and story matters. Nonetheless, despite international location shooting, high-tech stunts, computer-generated visual effects and last-minute re-writes by a stellar assortment of writers (including his buddy Towne again), "Mission: Impossible" came in on time and under budget at approximately $67 million (Cruise deferred his $20 million actor's salary). Though many critics deemed it an extravagant but cold vanity production with a confused storyline, most admired the cinematic technique, and the mixed reviews didn't inhibit ticket buyers, proving the actor could attract crowds to a movie that didn't entirely make sense.

The sweetly offbeat romantic comedy "Jerry Maguire" (1996), in which he played the eponymous, shallow, back-stabbing sports agent, provided a sort of mid-career breakthrough for Cruise. For years he had portrayed irresistible smoothies, turning the world on with his smile while piloting fighter jets and driving race cars. Though it was a classic Cruise performance, bursting with the usual cocky charm and boyish charisma, there was an added dimension of desperation and a new maturity to his screen persona. He had played characters who had been up against the ropes before but perhaps never for so long or so convincingly. Here was a slickster whose powers had failed him, exposing a seldom seen vulnerability which made his eventual comeback that much sweeter. This time, the critics and moviegoers reached consensus, and Cruise garnered his second Best Actor Academy Award nomination. Three years would pass before he returned to the screen, though he and Wagner would produce "Without Limits" (1998), Towne's biopic about fabled long distance runner Steve Prefontaine.

Cruise took himself out of the game at the height of his career to work with Kubrick on "Eyes Wide Shut,” starring opposite Kidman for the first time since "Far and Away". Far from feeling hostage to the famous perfectionist's obsessive vision, the pair relished their brush with genius, diving in to share the adventure with eyes wide open. "For me it was no sacrifice. He became a dear friend and a mentor. Sometimes I'd look at him and think, This guy made '2001'! I'll carry the experience the rest of my life." The director gained the couple's trust as only a true friend could. When he filmed Cruise and Kidman in the nude scene that opens the film, Kubrick closed the set and operated the camera himself, intensifying the intimacy among the three of them. Sex and violence have long resonated as twin bogeymen in the rhetoric of the moral majority, but sex that is not degrading or a joke has been curiously absent from commercial cinema for some time. Though time will tell if Kubrick's swan song can revive the erotic impulse and its consequences as viable mainstream fodder, "Eyes Wide Shut" is a significant notch in Cruise's artistic belt, one well worth the tens of millions of dollars he gave up as the 18-week shoot ballooned to 52 weeks over 15 months.

Following the arduous shoot with Kubrick and the mixed critical and box office reaction to "Eyes Wide Shut", Cruise took on a pivotal role in Paul Thomas Anderson's ensemble drama "Magnolia" (1999). Playing a cocky sex guru who runs seminars designed to empower men, the actor offered a charismatic turn that was alternately chilling and humorous. Having taken a role in an ensemble piece, Cruise reminded audiences and reviewers alike of his capabilities as a dramatic actor and earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination. He segued back to leading parts in more high profile mainstream work reprising his role as Ethan Hunt in the big-budget, special effects laden "M:I-2" ("Mission: Impossible 2" 2000), directed by John Woo. For a variety of reasons, the film's shooting schedule fell behind forcing the release date to be moved back several months and for Cruise to postpone his long-awaited teaming with director Steven Spielberg on the futuristic thriller "Minority Report."

Before tackling that film, Cruise reunited with his "Jerry Maguire" helmer Cameron Crowe for an American remake of the perception-bending 1997 Spanish film "Abre los ojos" aka "Open Your Eyes." During the making of that film, titled "Vanilla Sky" Cruise endured a very public and acrimonious split from his Kidman, and while the reasons were never revealed he clearly laid the blame at her door, even as he entered into a relationship with his "Vanilla Sky" co-star Penelope Cruz (Cruise and Kidman later amicably worked out their divorce battles for their children's sake in the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001). "Vanilla Sky" (2001) opened to mixed reviews, seen as a competent and often compelling puzzle with a somewhat unsatisfying endgame, and Cruise's performance as David Aames, a successful publisher finds his life taking a turn for the surreal after a car accident with a obsessive lover, was seen as appropriately intense but perhaps a little over-the-top in his efforts to subvert his pretty boy looks with Hollywood-made scars. The actor was finally given the opportunity to work with Spielberg on "Minority Report" (2002), a crackerjack collaboration filled with skillful action sequences and a thought-provoking expansion of sci-fi author Phillip K. Dick's premise of a future where police use precognitives to prevent murders before they happen. Playing Detective John Anderton, the head of the special unit who finds himself the subject of a manhunt after the psychics predict that he will commit a murder, Cruise is in top heroic form on the run from his own officers.

Up next Cruise turned in one of his more nuanced performances for director Ed Zwick in "The Last Samurai" (2003), playing Capt. Nathan Algren, an alcoholic veteran of Custer's battles with Native Americans who travels to Japan to help Westernize the Imperial army, only to be captured by a rebellious samurai leader (Ken Watanabe) and embrace the ways of the bushido code, finding his lost honor along the way. Although the film follows the slightly patronizing white-man-embraces-and-improves-indigenous culture template of movies such as "Dances With Wolves," Cruise's initial anguish and his subsequent reclaiming of his own soul were skillfully and subtlety conveyed by the actor, earning him a Golden Globe nomination. The actor's hot streak continued unabated with another of his best roles, the cold-hearted assassin Vincent who high-jacks a good-hearted L.A. cabbie (Jamie Foxx) to drive him on his deadly rounds in director Michael Mann's "Collateral" (2004). Wearing a gray wig and beard stubble, Cruise used his trademark intensity to his advantage in a rare villainous role, while his inherent charm also gave the character a compelling quality.

Cruise's personal life overshadowed his professional career in 2005 when, after just a few weeks of dating, he and actress Katie Holmes—who was at 26 was 16 years younger than Cruise—announced their romance to the world just weeks before both of them had major summer movies heading to theaters (Cruise, the Steven Spielberg-directed "War of the Worlds"; Holmes, the franchise re-starting "Batman Begins"). The media instantly speculated that the romance was a massive publicity stunt, and the couple's often unconvincing interaction and their relentless media onslaught added fuel to the fire: within just a few weeks of the announcement, Cruise made a bizarre fist-pumping appearance on Oprah Winfrey's talk show to proclaim his love for Holmes, jumping on the host's set furniture and dragging a seemingly reluctant Holmes before the cameras; Holmes presented Cruise with a career achievement award on the MTV Movie Awards; Holmes, who had been quoted years earlier that as a girl she dreamed of marrying Cruise, denied even thinking about their age (or height) difference; and both appeared separately before David Letterman to further spin their love story.

Cruise had long been a proponent of the often mysterious, Hollywood-centered Church of Scientology founded by science fiction author L. Ron Hubbard (he credited his studies there with "curing" him of the dyslexia that plagued him since his youth, among other benefits; rumors abounded that his faith contributed to his split with Nicole Kidman) and the actor took an active role in promoting the religion around the globe. At the onset of the Holmes romance, he also was reportedly instrumental in opening up the very secretive church and inviting journalists to sample its practices (Holmes also began taking Scientology courses, and dumped her Hollywood handlers in favor of his). The couple's apparent happy ending came just days later, when they announced their engagement in Paris (Cruise proposed atop the Eiffel Tower). However, he also launched into a uncharacteristic war of words with his former "Endless Love" co-star Brooke Shields after she described taking antidepressants to relieve her post-partum depression in her book Down Came the Rain, with Cruise criticizing Shields for being "irresponsible," claiming her career was over and suggesting that vitamins would have been a better alternative treatment. Also, rumors ran rampant that Paramount was waffling over proceeding with "Mission Impossible 3" due to concerns about Cruise, but the studio ultimately moved forward on the film. And there were more curious on-camera incidents, including a sharply worded exchange with "Today Show" co-host Matt Lauer in which Cruise aggressively derided psychiatry as a "pseudo-science," provoking a formal rebuke from the American Psychiatric Association. Nearly lost in all of Cruise's public appearances was his film "War of the Worlds" itself, which was another mostly masterful exercise in cinematic suspense and terror, buoyed by a strong performance by Cruise as Ray Ferrier, a working class deadbeat dad who must suddenly protect his two children during a horrific alien invasion.

Meanwhile, the tabloid fun continued when Cruise announced in October 2005 that Holmes was pregnant with his child. Then in November 2005, Cruise fired publicist Lee Anne DeVette—also his sister—who some considered responsible for his bizarre behavior on Oprah and insane ramblings against psychology and pharmaceuticals. He then hired Paul Bloch, a veteran publicist known for protecting the public images of Eddie Murphy and John Travolta, and for a spell Cruise’s outlandishness seemed quelled. He spent the winter months relatively subdued until an episode of the subversive animated series, “South Park” (Comedy Central, 1997- ), depicted Scientology in a negative light and made not-so-veiled jokes that questioned his sexuality—a persistent rumor that dogged him ever since he successfully sued a tabloid that published a story about a gay porn star claiming to have had an affair with the actor. Cruise retaliated against “South Park” in public by reaffirming his faith in scientology. Comedy Central subsequently yanked the episode after its only airing, leading some to speculate that Cruise exerted his star power behind the scenes—an assertion that was publicly denied.

After months of fawning and speculation—and a spattering of ridicule—Cruise and Homes—dubbed “TomKat” by a smug media—had a 7 pound, 7 ounce baby girl named Suri in an undisclosed location in Los Angeles. It was announced prior to having the baby that Holmes would follow Scientology’s tenets of silent birth, a procedure that dictates everyone in the delivery room be silent as to not cause stress for the mother and child. Meanwhile, Cruise began making the media rounds in anticipation of his next film, “Mission: Impossible 3” (2006), including a highly-publicized chat with celebrity interviewer, Diane Sawyer, who riddled him with tough questions and the latest rumors. She asked, for example, if he was joking about eating the placenta after birth—referring to a comment he made in a magazine article; if Holmes’ family—particularly her father—were rebelling against their daughter’s conversion to Scientology; if he and Holmes were actually splitting up after rumors she had moved to another room in their home. Cruise denied every accusation, claiming that all was well. After the birth of his first biological child (even that wasn’t immune to tabloid speculation), Cruise continued his publicity for “Mission: Impossible,” the third installment to the franchise that depicted a retired Ethan Hunt (Cruise) living a slower-paced life while training new IMF agents. But he’s called back to action to due battle with Owen Davian (Philip Seymour Hoffman), an international weapons dealer who may turn out to be Hunt’s toughest adversary yet.

Also Credited As: Thomas Cruise Mapother, Thomas Cruise Mapother IVBorn: Thomas Cruise Mapother on 07/03/1962 in Syracuse, New YorkJob Titles: Actor, Producer, Director

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Tom Cruise and Dakota Fanning


Tom Cruise and Penelope Cruz


Tom Cruise and ex-wife Nicole kidman


Tom Cruise and Cameron Diaz


Tom Cruise and Michelle Monaghan


Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes

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Nicole Kidman

Biography

A statuesque Australian redhead with creamy alabaster skin and blue eyes that cast a slightly mischievous air, Nicole Kidman had become established in her native land as a rising talent before she ventured to the USA where she met her future husband Tom Cruise during the filming of 1990's "Days of Thunder". Born in Hawaii to a biochemist and psychologist father and an activist nursing instructor mother, Kidman spent her first years living in the Washington, DC, area. By the time she was three, she and her parents had returned to Australia and settled in conservative, upper-middle-class suburb of Sydney. As a toddler, she was enrolled in ballet classes and at age four got a taste of theatrical life by stealing her school's Christmas pageant, garnering laughs as a sheep who upstaged the Nativity scene.

By the age of 10, Kidman had been enrolled in drama school and four years later made her first real impression as a frizzy-haired teen in the Australian holiday perennial "Bush Christmas" (1983). By that time, she had become a regular on the TV series "Five Mile Creek", appearing in the show's final 12 episodes. Her profile rose even higher after an award-winning performance in the miniseries 1985 "Vietnam" which first teamed her with director John Duigan. She continued her rise in the comedy "Emerald City" (1988), delivering a nice turn as the girlfriend of a script supervisor (Chris Hayward) who catches the attention of a screenwriter (John Hargreaves).

That film was followed by a terrific portrayal of a young woman who is duped into becoming a drug smuggler, gets caught and is imprisoned in the gripping TV drama "Bangkok Hilton" (1989). That same year, Kidman broke through to international art-house audiences offering one of her finest performances as the traumatized young wife of a middle-aged doctor (Sam Neill) coping with the accidental death of their only child by embarking on a yachting trip that turns threatening when they rescue a stranger (Billy Zane) in the superb thriller "Dead Calm".

The actress reteamed with director John Duigan for his excellent "Flirting" (1990) to essay a snooty schoolgirl. By the time the film reached US shores in 1991, though, Kidman had already become known as the actress who snared superstar Tom Cruise after co-starring with him in the race-car drama "Days of Thunder" (1990). Their whirlwind courtship and subsequent marriage proved fodder for the gossip columns and surprised many. In an effort to distance herself a bit from the label of "Mrs. Tom Cruise", Kidman accepted the part of a society girl who gets mixed up with gangsters in the Robert Benton-directed period drama "Billy Bathgate" (1991), holding her own opposite Dustin Hoffman. Unfortunately, the film failed to appeal to audiences and was a box-office failure.

A reteaming with her husband in the Ron Howard-directed would-be epic "Far and Away" (1992) was also a commercial disappointment. Kidman had her moments as a headstrong Irish lass who determines to follow a penniless worker to America in the mid-19th Century, but the film's muddled screenplay undercut her efforts. Although she went on to appear as a wife desperate to have a child in "Malice" and the supportive spouse of a dying man in "My Life" (both 1993), neither did much to raise her profile or challenge her as an actor. Making a clearly economic decision, Kidman was cast as the love interest to Val Kilmer's Bruce Wayne/Batman in the overblown "Batman Forever" (1995).

Later that year, though, she finally had a chance to prove her mettle to US audiences with a brilliantly comic turn as an ambitious weather girl who'll do anything to succeed in the satirical "To Die For". Her excellent delineation of self-absorption in the face of ambition was one of the year's finest performances, but surprisingly the expected Oscar nomination never materialized. One theory floated on why the Academy overlooked her is that no one who saw the film could tell where the character ended and the actress began. It also didn't help that the tabloids and gossip pages tried to paint Kidman as relentless. Such a gender-biased discriminatory approach wasn't lost on her. As she pointed out, "Tom [Cruise]'s determination is called intensity. My determination is called ambitious to the point of ruthlessness."

Jane Campion had once offered her the role of Isabel Archer in a film version of Henry James' novel "The Portrait of a Lady", claiming that she couldn't imagine any other actress in the part. Still, after Kidman's string of less than spectacular movies, Campion made the actress audition for the 1996 film. Kidman tore into the role, finding the depth and nuance in the character of an idealistic American who marries into European aristocracy for wealth rather than love. Although some of the directorial flourishes tended to undercut the story, the acting shone through, but once again few gave Kidman the credit she deserved.

Perhaps in a further effort to improve her bankability, she co-starred with George Clooney in the action thriller "The Peacemaker" (1997) and teamed with Sandra Bullock in "Practical Magic" (1998). In an effort to completely overhaul her image and improve her standing in the entertainment business, Kidman returned to the stage, starring opposite Iain Glen in the David Hare play "The Blue Room", first in London and then on Broadway. A loose adaptation of "La Ronde", the play had only the two actors and earned acclaim, but it also generated a bit of controversy over brief nudity.

Before she undertook the stage role, Kidman had signed on with Cruise to play a couple facing difficulties in their marriage in Stanley Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut" (1999). Filmed over a 14-month period from November 1996 to January 1998, "Eyes Wide Shut" was an erotic-tinged fever dream. After the wife (Kidman) confesses to having a sexual fantasy about another man, the husband (Cruise) embarks on a journey that takes him from one charged situation to another, culminating in an orgy. Kubrick died just after completion of the film, but critics greeted it as they had most of his work -- with mixed feelings. Neither Kidman nor Cruise were used to particularly good effect in the film, although she had moments where her skill and grace shone through.

Having earned the tag of "serious actress" after working with Kubrick and on stage, Kidman went to work on back-to-back projects that fully demonstrated her range. In Baz Luhrmann's hyperkinetic "Moulin Rouge!" (2001), Kidman was cast as Satine, a singing and dancing courtesan who falls in love with a penniless writer she at first mistook for a wealthy patron. While her dancing was adequate (perhaps the numerous injuries she sustained from broken ribs to torn cartilage in her knee hindered her), she displayed a pleasant singing voice. Certainly, she and co-star Ewan McGregor had a terrific chemistry that helped compensate for the uneven screenplay. While "Moulin Rouge!" allowed the actress to cut loose, "The Others" (also 2001) required her to portray a high-strung mother living in isolation during WWII. Deftly underplaying the implicit hysteria while also injecting vulnerability in the character, Kidman painted a portrait of a controlling yet all too human woman. "Moulin Rouge!" allowed her to drop the icy reserve that had undercut her work in other roles while "The Others" exploited it, allowing her to craft an emotionally layered performance.

2001 was seemingly Kidman's year to triumph (she was selected by Entertainment Weekly as Entertainer of the Year and she had placed two songs on recording charts around the world, "Come What May", a duet with Ewan McGregor from the "Moulin Rouge!" soundtrack, and "Somethin' Stupid", a remake of the Frank and Nancy Sinatra hit recorded with Robbie Williams), but just as she was ascending professional heights, her personal life appeared to be falling apart. Just after the couple's tenth anniversary. Tom Cruise filed for divorce and a month later Kidman was reported to have suffered a miscarriage. The break with Cruise was shocking, although there were signs of trouble as early as January when the pair arrived separately for the telecast of the Golden Globe awards. Still, the split kept the tabloids and gossip press busy for much of the year, with speculation fueled by Cruise' cryptic statement, "Nic knows exactly why we are getting the divorce."

By year's end, the marriage had been dissolved and the assets distributed. Professionally, Kidman continued on a roll. "Birthday Girl", in which she was cast as a Russian mail-order bride was screened at film festivals in Venice, London and Toronto in 2001 to acclaim and opened theatrically in 2002, just prior to the announcement of the Academy Award nominations, which found her competing in the Best Actress category for "Moulin Rouge!" That same year, Kidman was seen (although was scarecely recognizeable under sparse make-up, mousy brown hair and a prosthetic nose) as British author Virginia Woolf in the film adaptation of the award-winning novel "The Hours" (2002), in which she turned in an understated, absorbing and completely convincing performance as the emotionally troubled writer. Her deft acting and chameleon-like transformation resulted in an Academy Award for Best Actress, as well as a Best Actress win at the Golden Globes (her second trophy in as many years).

She then reunited with "Billy Bathgate" helmer Robert Benton in "The Human Stain" (2003), as the once-abused uneducated janitor Faunia who embarks on a secret love affair with the scholarly Coleman (Anthony Hopkins), a man of mixed race passing as white. The film provided yet another showcase for the both the actress' range and her willingness to bare her body in service of her character. But that role was overshadowed by another, more critically acclaimed 2003 project, director Anthony Minghella's star-crossed Civil War romance "Cold Mountain" in which Kidman played Ada Monroe, a once-sheltered Southern belle who with the help of earthy Ruby (Renee Zellweger) must learn to fend for herself on her farm after her father dies and her beloved Inman (Jude Law) desperately deserts the Confederate army to make his way back to her. Her performance, in which she convincingly matures from helplessness to self-sufficience, put her again at the top of awards nominations lists, though she was surprisingly omitted from Oscar contention.

Kidman's first release of 2004 was the Lars von Trier-helmed "Dogville," which she had filmed prior to "The Human Stain" and "Cold Mountain." The film, which was unrepentantly anti-American in plot and tone--despite von Trier having never visited the country due to a fear of flying--focused on the arrival of the mysterious fugitive from gangsters Grace (Kidman) in the small Rocky Mountain community of Dogville during the Depression, where she is giving a two-week sanctuary before eventually being viewed and victimized as the "property" of the citizenry. The film had a polarizing effect on critics and audiences, most of which were put of by von Trier's extreme anti-American sentiments. Nevertheless, Kidman delivered yet another performance that pushed the boundaries of her dramatic abilities and on-screen sexuality.

After several heavy films in a row, Kidman lightened up with a role in director Frank Oz's satrical 2004 remake of the cult classic horror film "The Stepford Wives," with the Aussie actress as Joanna Ebhart, a corporate ladder climber who moves to Stepford, CT, with her husband (Matthew Broderick) and discovers the community's all-too-perfect wives are the product of a sinister secret. Following rumors of behind-the-scenes dissent on the film, Kidman distanced herself from the project and, following lukewarm critical reception the film failed to catch on with audiences. Next Kidman continued her perchant for finding unorthodox, smaller-scale projects to test her acting range, this time with "Birth" (2004), a brooding, melancholy film in which she played a widowed woman about to remarry who, ten years after her husband's death, encounters a young boy claiming to be the reincarnation of her first husband, pleading with her not to marry her fiance. The film focused more on the psychological aspects than the supernatural, and Kidman, who bobbed and darkened her tradmark tresses to more fully emphasize the subleties of her face, was praised for her complex, spellbinding performance.

In 2005 Kidman, more and more frequently blonde on screen and off, starred in the Sydney Pollack-directed thriller "The Interpreter" as an African-born U.N. translator who alleges that she has overheard a death threat against an African head of state, spoken in a rare dialect few people other than she can understand, but the federal agent (Sean Penn) assigned to protect her suspects there may be something more sinister behind her story. A few months later Kidman headlined the big-screen remake of TV's "Bewitched" opposite Will Ferrell, Shirley MacLaine and Michael Caine--director and co-writer Nora Ephron creatively reconceived the magical '60s TV sitcom, casting Kidman as Isabel Bigelow, a reluctant real-life witch who gets cast as the lead Samantha in a Hollywood remake of the beloved series, and by playing the comedy relatively straight she held her own against co-stars, veteran scene-stealers all.

Also Credited As: Nicole Mary KidmanBorn: on 06/20/1967 in Honolulu, HawaiiJob Titles: Actor, SingerFamily
Daughter: Isabella Jane Kidman Cruise. born on December 22, 1992 in Florida; adopted by Kidman and Cruise in January 1993
Father: Antony Kidman. Australian; involved with labor movement and progressive causes
Mother: Janelle Kidman. Australian; edits her husband's books; involved with feminist causes; was diagnosed with breast cancer in 1984
Sister: Antonia Kidman Hawley. born c. 1971
Son: Connor Anthony Cruise. African-American; born on January 17, 1995 in Florida; adopted with Cruise on February 5, 2001

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Nicole Kidman and her ex-husband, Tom Cruise

Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor

Nicole Kidman and adrien Brody

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Angelina Jolie

Biography

Birth name
Angelina Jolie Voight

Nickname
Angie
Catwoman
Ange
AJ

Height
5' 8" (1.73 m)

Growing 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 'Meatloaf', 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.

Spouse
Billy Bob Thornton (5 May 2000 - 27 May 2003) (divorced)
Jonny Lee Miller (28 March 1996 - 3 February 1999) (divorced)

Trade mark
Husky voice
Her full lips

Trivia
Niece of Chip Taylor.
One of People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People." [2000]
She is extremely close to and protective of her brother James Haven. He often accompanies her to awards shows, and she used his name, or at least his memory, as inspiration in the "Where's Jamie?!" scene in Girl, Interrupted (1999).
Has the letter "H" tattooed on the inside of her left wrist, which is a reference to two people she is close to who have this letter in their names: her brother, James Haven, and Timothy Hutton. She got the tattoo when she was dating Timothy but since their break up she now says it's only for James.
Has a tattoo of the Tennessee Williams quote, "A prayer for the wild at heart, kept in cages." on her left forearm.
Jolie is actually her middle name.
Was married to Jonny Lee Miller in a black leather pants and a white shirt. On the white shirt she painted her husband's name in her own blood (across the back).
Tattoos include the Japanese sign for death, two pointy black American Indian symbols, a dragon, and a large black cross.
Mother is Marcheline Bertrand.
Father is Jon Voight.
Majored in film at New York University.
Collects knives and has an interest in mortuary science.
Angelina and her brother, to whom she is very close, publicly spoke out to deny false rumors that the two were having an incestuous love affair. [2000]
Had childhood dream of becoming a funeral director.
Named the world's sexiest woman in Swedish magazine Café.
"Jolie" means "pretty" in French.
Goddaughter of actress Jacqueline Bisset.
Graduated from Beverly Hills High School at age 16.
Has the Latin phrase "Quod me nutrit me destruit" ("What nourishes me also destroys me") tattooed across her stomach.
Appointed Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Geneva, Switzerland after her visits to Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Pakistan. [27 August 2001]
Born at 9:09 AM PST
"Introducing Angelina Jolie" in opening credits of Love Is All There Is (1996) suggests delayed release as Jolie already had at least two major screen roles by 1996.
She is of Czech and American descent on her father's side and French and Haudenosaunee (Iroquian Indian) heritage on her mother's side.
She and Billy Bob Thornton adopted a Cambodian baby boy, named Maddox. Jolie took custody of the baby in Africa, where she is shooting Beyond Borders (2003). [10 March 2002]
Performed her own stunts in Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001) and received cuts from the chandelier scene as a result.
Ranked #87 in Premiere's 2002 annual "Power 100" list.
In role as goodwill ambassador, visited Tham Hin refugee camp in Thailand, May 2002, to check on conditions of 9,000 refugees from bordering Myanmar.
July 2002 - confirms break up with actor Billy Bob Thornton.
Measurements: 36C-27-36.
Announced in late 2002 that she is "in talks" to portray the late porn star Linda Lovelace. Eventually, she lost the role to Courtney Love.
Goddaughter of actor Maximilian Schell.
Voted the 3rd Sexiest Female Movie Star in the Australian Empire Magazine September 2002.
Her adopted son, Maddox Chivan Thornton Jolie, was born on August 5th, 2001.
Her favorite Disney character is Dumbo the flying elephant, she has said that she cried when he was able to fly.
She is the woman most American males would like to date on New Year's Eve, according to a survey by movie rental chain Blockbuster Inc. Results of the survey showed her in the top spot with 35 percent of respondents saying she would be their number one pick for a hypothetical New Year's Eve candle-lit dinner. Rival star Catherine Zeta-Jones gained second spot in the online survey conducted by Blockbuster November 11-24, 2003. The survey had 31,969 responses.
Started modelling at the age of 14.
Was named "The sexiest woman alive" by the Swedish evening newspaper "Aftonbladet." [2003]
She was voted the ninth sexiest woman in FHM UK's top 100 sexiest in 2004.
Is planning to give up her acting career to settle in England with her son Maddox and become a full time mum. She says she wants to "Quit movies, be a great mum to Maddox and join the Parents and Teachers Association".
Favorite music: Madonna, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, The Clash, Matchbox 20.
Favorite TV shows: "King of the Hill" (1997), the Game Show Network and Animal Planet.
Voted as #6 on the "Top 100 Sexiest Women" 2004 in FHM [DK].
She was voted #2 on VH1's "100 Hottest Hotties."
Attended same high school as Lenny Kravitz.
She and Egyptian actor Adel Imam are goodwill ambassadors for the UNHCR.
Went to High School with Michael Klesic.
Has a tattoo of a blue window on her lowerback. She claims it's because no matter where she was at any point in her life she always found herself looking out a window wishing to be elsewhere.
Ranked #6 in Stuff magazine's "102 Sexiest Women in the World." [2002]
Speaks French.
Voted #1 star most men would like to kiss under the mistletoe in a poll for Sky Movies.
Used to own a pet rat snake. Therefore had no problem shooting the snake scene in Alexander (2004).
Went to elementary school at William O. Schaefer School in Tappan, New York.
Her father starred with her godmother Jacqueline Bisset in Richter und sein Henker, Der (1975), which was directed by her godfather Maximilian Schell.
Voted Hollywood's Sexiest Single Mother, in a poll for website Date.com.
Consulted with real-life FBI profiler Robert K. Ressler for her role in Taking Lives (2004).
In 2003 was first recipient of the Citizen of the World Award from the UN's Correspondents' Association for her work as a goodwill ambassador with the UNHCR.
In 2004 was made an honorary citizen of Cambodia by the Prime Minister of Cambodia for her humanitarian work there.
July 6th 2005: she adopted a newborn baby girl from Ethiopia who was thought to be orphaned by AIDS. But it was later revealed that the child's mother did not have the money to care for her. She named the girl Zahara Marley Jolie.
She ranked #2 in 2000 on Mr. Blackwell's Worst Dress List.
Named Esquire Magazine's Sexiest Woman Alive in 2004.
Named Most Beautiful Woman in People Magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People 2005 issue. More than 500,000 readers were polled.
In August, 2005 was made an official citizen of Cambodia by the King for her ongoing efforts to help the environment there.
The King of Cambodia has signed legal papers giving her Cambodian Citizenship (August 2005)
Was nominated for Worst Actress at the Razzie Awards for four straight years from 2002 to 2005, but each time was beaten by another of her fellow nominees. She has still yet to "win" an award.
When filming Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001), she set fire to her silk pajamas on the chandelier while she was doing her "bungee jumps" in the house. She was taken to a hospital with minor burns but resumed filming the next day.
Her adopted daughter, Zahara Marley Jolie, was born on January 8th, 2005
Named #7 on the Maxim magazine Hot 100 of 2005 list.
She and Brad Pitt has a girl child
Ranked #1 in E! Television's 2006 101 Sexiest Celebrity Bodies
Gave her Oscar Statuette, Golden Globes, SAG Awards, and Critic Choice Award to her mother. She felt she didn't need to hang on to awards.
Her godfather Maximilian Schell always gave her a doll as a birthday present, from her first to sixteenth. Sometimes it was a modern doll, made of plastic, sometimes it was an old and precious one, made of wood or porcelain.
Gave her mother the nickname "Great Lady".
One of the first actresses to win 3 consecutive Golden Globes in 3 different categories: "Best Supporting Actress in a Mini Series": George Wallace (1997) (TV), "Best Actress in a TV Movie or Mini Series": Gia (1998) (TV), "Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture": Girl, Interrupted (1999). Coincidentally, all her roles were based on real people.
She graduated from El Rodeo elementary school in 1989.
Ranked and Voted #3 by AskMen.com's Top 99 Most Desirable Women of 2006
The adoptive father of her children Maddox and Zahara is Brad Pitt
Topped People magazine`s "100 most beautiful people" list in 2006 (28 April 2006).
Named #1 in FHM's "100 Sexiest Women in the World 2005" special supplement. (2005)

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Angelina and Brad Pitt

Anglina and Billy Bob Thornton

Anglina and Will Smith

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