Monday 9 September 2013

Gemma Chan



Biography for

Gemma Chan  TMBWomenITW »

Date of Birth

29 November 1982, London, England, UK

Height

5' 9" (1.75 m) 


Height
5' 9" (1.75 m) 

Sunday 8 September 2013

Ana de la Reguera


Biography for

Ana de la Reguera  TMBWomenITW »


Date of Birth
8 April 1977, Veracruz, Veracruz, Mexico

Birth Name
Anabell Gardoqui De La Reguera

Height
5' 3" (1.60 m)

Mini Biography
De la Reguera grew up in the tropical state of Veracruz, on the Gulf Coast of Mexico. She began her performance arts studies in the Cultural Institute of Veracruz, then left the southern state for Televisa's Center for Artistic Education (CEA) and TV Aztecas's artistic institute (CEFAC) in Mexico City, later taking study with Lisa Robertson and Aaron Spicer in Los Angeles and acting coach Juan Carlos Corzza in Spain. In theatre she participated in El Cartero (Il Postino) for which she received two awards: one for "Best Actress" from the Association of Theatre Journalists in Mexico and the other for the year's "Most Promising Actress" from the Association of Theatre Critics and Journalists.

De la Reguera's professional career began with her role in the telenovela Azul (1996) followed by Pueblo Chico, Infierno Grande (1997) for which she received the Heraldo Award for "Best Breakout Female Actress," and Desencuentro which was her third telenovela under the direction of the internationally recognized Ernesto Alonso. Tentaciones (1998) marked her beginning with power house Argos Comunicación. She was immediately offered roles in Destino and Todo Por Amor, for which she received "The Golden Palm Award." After that, it was non-stop work for de la Reguera. In 2002, she starred in Cara o Cruz, which was the first telenovela co-produced between Argos Comunicación and Telemundo, made exclusively for the Hispanic audience living in the United States. The following year she played María in the telenovela Por tí for TV Azteca and the mini-series that followed up on Pedro El Escamoso, Como Pedro Por Su Casa which was a co-production between Caracol from Colombia and Telemundo. Additionally, de la Reguera also had the lead role in the Peruvian soap opera Luciana y Nicolas (2003).

De la Reguera's introduction into film began with Por La Libre (2000) which earned her two nominations: "El Heraldo de la Revelación Femenina" (Best New Actress) and "Eres Mejor Actriz" (Best Actress). Later she acted in the film Un Secreto de Esperanza (2002) with Oscar nominee Kathy Jurado. In 2003 de la Reguera stared in the highly acclaimed comedy Ladies Night, alongside Ana Claudia Talancón. The movie became the box office success of the year and won her three major awards: "the Latin America MTV's Favorite Actress Award," the Mexico's movie industry Award for Best Actress of the year, "CANACINE," and the "Diosa de Plata (Silver Godess) Award" for Best Supporting Actress (2003). In 2005, she played the starring role in Gitanas which aired on Telemundo in the United States and now is being seen as far away as Ucrania, Spain, and Argentina. In 2006, de la Reguera starred in the powerful film Así del Precipicio which earned her her second "Diosa de Plata (Silver Goddess) Award" for best actress. Additionally, she also starred in Paraiso Travel, playing the role of Milagros, singing and dancing for the first time in a movie. John Leguizamo and Colombian top actress Margarita Rosa de Francisco were also part of the film, presented at the Tribeca Film Festival and later released throughout the United States and Latin America.That same year de la Reguera received her first big break into American cinema when she landed the role of Sister Encarnación in the Hollywood film Nacho Libre. The film by Jared Hess, director of Napoleon Dynamite and co-starring Jack Black, gave her the opportunity to be seen around the world.

In 2008 de la Reguera became the new face for CoverGirl world-wide, alongside celebrities like Drew Barrymore, Queen Latiffa, Ellen DeGeneres, and singer Rihianna. From there her career spring boarded into many other impressive endorsements including campaigns with Pantene, Special K and Flip, Macy's, Coca-Cola (Ciel), Pepsi (Be Light) and Caress, among many others. De la Reguera began 2010 with a worldwide publicity campaign for Lipton Tea alongside actor Hugh Jackman. Most recently, she did an international campaign with Kahlúa benefiting her hometown of Veracruz, Mexico, left demolished after the resent destruction of Huricaine Karl.

In the action-thriller film Sultanes del Sur (2007), filmed mainly in Argentina, de la Reguera plays Monica Silvari, a mean and sophisticated bank robber alongside Spanish actors Jordi Molla and Tony Dalton. In the spring of 2008 de la Reguera began filming Capadocia, the HBO mega-production television show about the chaotic and miserable life in a women's prison in Mexico. The show aired with record-breaking ratings in Mexico and Latin America, and was released in the US in the fall of 2008 for HBO OLE. Three of the most recognized directors in Latin America participated in this HBO original production, including Epigmenio Ibarra, Jorge Aragón and Luis Peraza. The successful HBO series got 3 International Emmy nominations for its first season, and this fall marked the opening of Capadocia's second season. De la Reguera filmed Di Di Hollywood in 2009, the latest movie from famed Jamón, Jamón director Bigas Luna.

In 2009, de la Reguera went back to the theatre for 6 months where she played "Desdemona" in Shakespeare's Othelo. The play was hugely successful in Mexico's renowned Juan Ruiz de Alarcón play house and de la Reguera was named "Best Actress" by the Journalist Theatre Association, at the annual Bravo Awards, and by the ACTP. Later that year she filmed the extremely moving Mexican film Backyard, in which de la Reguera plays a cop in an outlaw border city controlled by drug traffickers and killers. Directed by Carlos Carrera (The Crime of Father Amaro, nominated for an Oscar for "Best Foreign Film"), the film was chosen to represent Mexico in the 2010 Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Film category, earned de la Reguera the "Best Actress Award" at the Imagen Awards and the CANACINE Awards, and won the "Silver Plaque" in the Chicago Film Festival. The beginning of 2010 brought the opening of her film Hollywood film Cop Out co-starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan, and directed by Kevin Smith. De la Reguera played Gabriela, a strong-willed woman with a very picante and colorful language, who gets rescued by Bruce and Tracy's characters---and puts them in trouble in the process. 2010 additionally brought the release of her Mexican film Hidalgo/Moliere about the controversial life of Mexico's independence hero, the priest Miguel Hidalgo. She plays Hidalgo's second wife and shares credits with Demian Bichir (Weeds, Ché).

In the United States, de la Reguera also had a recurring role on the USA Network's Royal Pains, and currently stars on the critically-acclaimed Will Farrell produced HBO comedy Eastbound & Down co-starring Danny McBride as down-and-out baseball player and love interest "Kenny Powers." Additionally, de la Reguera will be next seen in the highly-anticipated, Jon Favreau directed Cowboys & Aliens starring Harrison Ford, Daniel Craig, and Sam Rockwell and produced by Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, and Brian Grazer. The film crosses the classic Western with the alien-invasion movie in a blazingly original way-where a lone cowboy leads an uprising against terror from beyond our world. The film is set for a wide-release at the end of this month. As if her busy acting career isn't enough, de la Reguera is also heavily involved with charity work. Most recently, she uploaded a video to YouTube in order to help raise awareness for Veracruz, her home state, affected by heavy rains and a devastating Hurricane Karl. In the video, de la Reguera advises on the various options to support, and offers methods to make donations. The viral campaign went all over Twitter and other online sites, raising much needed money for the victims of the hurricane. De la Reguera also founded the organization VeracruzANA AC which is a philanthropic organization whose mission is to raise funds and finally build a touristic boulevard of Antigua- something that has been promised by political organizations for years. Antigua is one of the most important and historical communities in Veracruz, and the most damaged by the hurricane. This June marked the culmination of her hard work and the Grand Opening ceremony for the touristic boulevard.

Nicole Scherzinger


Biography for

Nicole Scherzinger  TMBWomenITW »

Date of Birth
29 June 1978, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

Birth Name
Nicole Elikolani Valiente Prescovia Scherzinger

Nickname
Cola
Elikolani
The Lead Pussycat
Nikki

Height
5' 5" (1.65 m)

Mini Biography
Nicole Scherzinger was born on June 29 in Honolulu, and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. While attending a performing arts high school, she won the Coca-Cola Classic Talent Contest and performed in many plays at The Actors Theatre of Louisville. She then furthered her studies majoring in theater arts at Wright State University before entering the premiere season of the WB's television show, "Popstars" (2000/I), where she earned the role of lead vocalist in the female pop group, "Eden's Crush".

Outside of her work with The Pussycat Dolls, Nicole recently performed with Japanese superstar, Yoshiki Hayashi, at the Tokyo International Forum of Japan and had guest appearances on "My Wife and Kids" (2001) and "Wanda at Large" (2003). Nicole also has a single, "Breakfast in Bed", out on Adam Sandler's 50 First Dates (2004) soundtrack.

Deepika Padukone


Biography for

Deepika Padukone  TMBWomenITW »


Date of Birth
5 January 1986, Copenhagen, Denmark

Height
5' 8½" (1.74 m)

Mini Biography
Deepika Padukone,born 5 January 1986 in Copenhagen, Denmark, is an Indian model & Actress. She is the daughter of former badminton Champion Prakash Padukone. Her mother tongue is Konkani. Deepika has a younger sister named Anisha.

She has been modeling appearances in print and television advertising campaigns for Liril, Close-Up toothpaste and Limca, receiving many prestigious modeling offers, including brand ambassadorship of the Jewels of India, an annual jewelery exhibition. She hit the international scene when Maybelline made her their new international cover-girl face.

At the fifth annual Kingfisher Fashion Awards, for Indian models and designers, she wasawarded the title of Model of the Year. Shortly after wards, she was chosen as one of the models for the Kingfisher Swimsuit Calendar for 2006, thus cementing her reputation as a supermodel. She also bagged two trophies at the Idea Zee F Awards in 2006 - female Model of the year (Commercial Assignments) and Fresh Face of the year.

Katrina Kaif


Biography for

Katrina Kaif  TMBWomenITW »


Date of Birth
16 July 1984Hong Kong 

Nickname
Kat 

Height
5' 8½" (1.74 m) 

Mini Biography
Katrina Kaif is one of eight siblings, all girls, from a mother who is a Caucasian of British Nationality, and a father who was formerly from Kashmir, India, but who has since acquired British citizenship. Her mother is now re-settled in Chennai (formerly known as Madras), the Capital of the state of Tamil Nadu in India.

She spent subsequent years in Hawaii, and then in London, Britain, She started modeling accidentally when she was in Hawaii at the tender age of 14, when she was approached for a jewelry campaign. Thereafter she continued modeling in London.

Continuing to model was the reason she got her break in a Bollywood movie 'Boom' offered by none other than film-maker Kaizad Gustad.

She was flooded with modeling assignments the minute she set her foot on Indian soil, especially with her innocent expressive face, hour-glass figure, and drop-dead gorgeous looks.

Professionally she started off as a model with photographer Atul Kasbekar, and upon being accepted, she received offers from LG, Cola, Fevicol, Lakme, & Veet. It was the Lakme commercial that got her noticed. She retained Matrix as her Manager to accept work on her behalf and at the price she deserved.

Moving to different culture and country was not much of a culture shock for her, as she states that no matter where you come from, the bottom line is that everyone wants to be loved, respected, and cared for.

Despite of her positive attitude, she had been stereotyped as "Indian" by extreme right-wingers in Britain who made it clear that she did not quite fit-in with their "Blonde" Caucasian culture; while on the other hand in India itself she had been ranked as an 'outsider' very much like Sonia Gandhi.

Unlike other artistes from foreign lands, Katrina did not experience any difficulties in getting a visa nor of getting it extended in India.

Although linguistically challenged, Katrina puts on a bold face and states that other Bollywood artistes like Sridevi, who did not know Hindi, did get offers from Bollywood film-makers, and she is no different. She has taken Hindi and dancing lessons to fit in with the Bollywood culture. She likes to display a picture of her learning Kathak dancing where she used to dance 7 hours a day non-stop.

Adorned with soft gorgeous looks, she is not easily intimidated, but admits that she is very emotional, sensitive, and concerned about her privacy, Almost an incurable romantic, she prefers to wear comfortable non-revealing clothes when at home, hates to do her hair, and above all dislikes make-up. Admitting to being lonely in the beginning, but now has several friends who she can hang out with.

Although her first movie 'Boom' was panned by the critics and shunned by the audiences, two other Telugu movies 'Malliswari' and 'Pidugu' did get her noticed. She grossed 70 Lakh Rupees for 'Malliswari' - making her top the list of the highest paid actresses during a South Indian moviedebut.

Not done with South Indian movies, she has been signed in a Tamil movie 'Bheema' opposite National Award Winner Vikram.

She has received decent reviews for her part in "Maine Pyar Kyon Kiya", as well as a brief appearance in 'Sarkar'.

Katrina had made Mumbai her base, didn't mind singing and dancing around trees and as a result is now one of the biggest mega-stars, perhaps one of the highest paid female-lead actresses in Bollywood, and a crowd-puller whenever she makes an appearance for a live song and dance number.

Saturday 7 September 2013

Kareena Kapoor


Biography for

Kareena Kapoor TMBWomenITW »


Date of Birth
21 September 1980, Mumbai, Maharahstra, India

Birth Name
Kareena Randhir Kapoor

Nickname
Bebo

Height
5' 4" (1.63 m)

Mini Biography
Kareena was born to Sindhi-speaking Babita (nee Shivdasani) and Punjabi-speaking Randhir Kapoor in Bombay, India. She has an elder sister, Karisma.

She is born in a family that have been actors for generations, including her paternal great-grandfather, Prithviraj Kapoor; her grandfather, Raj Kapoor; her paternal uncles, Shammi, Shashi, Rishi, and Rajiv; as well as aunt, Neetu Singh, & Jennifer Kendall, the wives of Rishi and Shashi respectively. On her maternal side, her grandfather, Hari Shivdasani, and aunt, Sadhana, have been actors in their own rights.

As a child she studied in Jamnabai Narsee School in Juhu, Bombay, and thereafter was enrolled in Dehra Dun's prestigious Welham Girls' Boarding School. Then she re-located to Harvard for approximately 3 months to take a course in Information Technology and Microcomputers. Upon her return to India, she joined the Government Law College in Churchgate, Bombay, but left it after one year, to enroll in the Kishore Namit Kapoor Acting School.

Her dad, Randhir is very protective towards his daughters and wanted both of them to keep away from acting, get married, and settle down, as per the Kapoor family tradition. This led to irreconcilable differences between her parents, ultimately leading to a divorce, with both sisters leaving their dad to live with their mom.

Her film debut was in the year 2000 with 'Refugee' along with the debut of Amitabh Bachchan's son, Abhishek. She went on to appear in 31 other Hindi movies, and has thus far won four awards for her performances in 'Refugee', 'Chameli', 'Dev', and 'Omkara'.

She is one of the most sought-after actresses in Bollywood, considered bankable, with an enviable A-listing and as of June 2007 is to appear in 'Tashan', 'Lajjo', 'Kismat Talkies' amongst others.

Taylor Col


Biography for

Taylor Cole TMBWomenITW »

Date of Birth
29 April 1984, Arlington, Texas, USA

Birth Name
Taylor Quinn Cole

Height
5' 8½" (1.74 m)

Mini Biography
Born and raised in Arlington, Texas, Taylor Cole had a fulfilling high school experience. Proving to be a gifted athlete, she played on her high school's volleyball team and traveled around the country with the Junior Olympics squad.

Her stunning good looks also allowed her to travel around the world as a professional model doing photo shoots in Italy, France, Germany, Australia among many other countries.

Taylor had recently relocated to New York City to pursue her modeling career further when the opportunity to guest-star in the pilot of"Summerland" (2004) arose.

She was visiting her mother and step-dad (Shawn Christian) in Los Angeles when she landed an audition with the "Summerland" (2004) producers. She won them over and the recurring part became a regular role.

Sophie Ellis-Bextor


Biography for

Sophie Ellis-Bextor TMBWomenITW »

Date of Birth
10 April 1979, London, England, UK

Birth Name
Sophie Michelle Ellis-Bextor

Height
5' 9" (1.75 m)

Spouse
Richard Jones(25 June 2005 - present) 3 children

Thursday 5 September 2013

Preity Zinta

Biography for

Preity Zinta TMBWomenITW »

Date of Birth
31 January 1975Simla, India 

Height
5' 4" (1.63 m) 

Mini Biography
Preity Zinta shot to fame as the refreshing, cool, wet model in the Liril commercial. She also modeled for Perk and her dimpled smile won the hearts of millions. Preity never thought she would be an actress. Kapoor saw her in the Liril commercial and liked her so much that he instantly decided that the next film he would announce would have her in the lead. However, 'Tara Rum Pum' never got made and is still pending since the director got very busy with his other projects.

But another offer soon came by, Kundan Shah's Kya Kehna (2000). Though the film was the first, Preity had actually begun shooting for her first release which was Mani Ratnam's Dil Se.. (1998). The film was a hit which won Preity accolades. Later Abbas-Mustan's Soldier (1998/I) that too was a hit at the box-office confirmed she was here to stay. Though Kya Kehna (2000) was her first film, but it released in 2000 and was the surprise hit of 2000.

Her role in Dil Chahta Hai (2001) and Dil Hai Tumhaara (2002) was appreciated and liked by all and that has made her an actress to reckon with in Bollywood. Her screen presence, charm and down to earth nature has made her the favorite actress of almost all the directors and producers. With banners and films like Rakesh Roshan's Koi... Mil Gaya (2003) with 'Hrithik Roshan', Nikhil Advani's Kal Ho Naa Ho (2003) starring Shah Rukh Khan, Saif Ali Khan, and Jaya Bhaduri, Farhan Akhtar's Lakshya (2004) with Hrithik Roshan and Amitabh Bachchan, Atul Agnihotri's Dil Ne Jise Apna Kaha (2004) starring Salman Khan and Bhoomika Chawla, Yash Chopra's Veer-Zaara (2004) with Shah Rukh Khan and Rani Mukerji, Siddharth Anand's Salaam Namaste (2005) with Saif Ali Khan, and Karan Johar's Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna (2006) with Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan and Rani Mukerji, Preity has already made her place in the hearts of the public and also in Bollywood.

Cheryl Cole

Biography for

Cheryl Cole  TMBWomenITW »

Date of Birth
30 June 1983, Newcastle Upon Tyne, England, UK

Birth Name
Cheryl Ann Tweedy

Nickname
Chez
Chezza

Height
5' 3" (1.60 m) 

Eva Mendes


Biography for

Eva Mendes TMBWomenITW »


Date of Birth
5 March 1974USA 

Height
5' 6" (1.68 m) 

Mini Biography
Eva Mendes was born in Miami, Florida but raised in Los Angeles, California of Cuban-American heritage. In college, she began acting, studying underneath acting coach Ivana Chubbuck. This led to her desire to appear in feature films. Though taking many smaller roles in movies, she was little known until playing the girlfriend of Denzel Washington's character in Training Day (2001). Since then, she has been featured in a wider range of roles, from comedic to dramatic. These gave her the ability to work with many highly regarded directors, such as Robert Rodriguez (Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)), Carl Franklin (Out of Time (2003/I)), John Singleton (2 Fast 2 Furious (2003)), Antoine Fuqua(Training Day (2001)) and the Farrelly Bros. (Stuck on You (2003)). Eva has co-starred in an independent film, The Wendell Baker Story (2005) with Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson andWill Ferrell, with Luke Wilson directing. Before that, her biggest movie was Hitch (2005/I), a romantic comedy that had her playing opposite Will Smith.

Along with acting, Eva is employed by Revlon Cosmetics as an international spokeswoman. She joins such elite actresses and models asJulianne Moore, Halle Berry and Cindy Crawford, who appear in Revlon's television and print ads. She is also a passionate supporter and active participant in Revlon's fight against breast cancer. Eva's goals are to improve her acting skills by working with such contemporary directors asSteven Soderbergh, Spike Jonze and Pedro Almodóvar, and learning from such renowned directors as Federico Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni.

Tulisa Contostavlos


Biography for

Tulisa Contostavlos TMBWomenITW »


Date of Birth
13 July 1988, Camden Town, London, England, UK

Birth Name
Tula Paulina Contostavlous

Nickname
The Female Boss
T
Tula
TT

Height
5' 5¾" (1.67 m) 

Jennifer Lawrence


Biography for

Jennifer Lawrence  TMBWomenITW »

Date of Birth
15 August 1990, Louisville, Kentucky, USA

Birth Name
Jennifer Shrader Lawrence

Nickname
Jen
JLaw

Height
5' 7¾" (1.72 m)

Mini Biography
Actress Jennifer Lawrence, best-known for playing Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games (2012), was born in Louisville, Kentucky on August 15, 1990. Her career began when she spent a Summer in Manhattan at the age of 14. During that time, she scored some small commercial and film roles, and shortly thereafter her family moved to Los Angeles so she could further pursue her dream. She was cast in the TBS sitcom "The Bill Engvall Show" (2007), and in smaller movies like The Poker House (2008) and The Burning Plain (2008).

Her big break came when she played Ree in Winter's Bone (2010), which landed her Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. Shortly thereafter, she secured the role of Mystique in franchise reboot X-Men: First Class (2011), which went on to be a hit in Summer 2011. Around this time, Lawrence scored the role of a lifetime when she was cast as Katniss Everdeen in the big-screen adaptation of literary sensation The Hunger Games (2012). That went on to become one of the highest-grossing movies ever with over $407 million at the domestic box office, and instantly propelled Lawrence to the A-list among young actors/actresses. Three Hunger Games sequels are currently scheduled for release in November 2013, 2014, and 2015, with Lawrence reprising her role at least for the first one (The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013)).

Lawrence can also be seen in The Beaver (2011), Like Crazy (2011), House at the End of the Street (2012) and Silver Linings Playbook (2012).

Freida Pinto

Biography for

Freida Pinto TMBWomenITW »


Date of Birth
18 October 1984, Bombay, Maharashtra, India [now Mumbai, Maharashtra, India]

Nickname
Fro

Height
5' 5½" (1.66 m)

Mini Biography
Freida Pinto traversed the modeling circuit in Mumbai [represented by Elite Model Management India] for two years before gaining her big break when director Danny Boylepicked her out in the audition process to play the female lead, Latika, for his projectSlumdog Millionaire (2008). In a promo interview, Boyle likened spotting her to his discovery of Kelly Macdonald for Trainspotting.

Surprisingly, Freida, who studied at Mumbai's St. Xaviers College, only began taking acting classes [she has done amateur theatre before] after completing her debut film - when she attended a three-month workshop by Barry John, the veteran theatre guru.

Between 2006-07, she anchored 'Full Circle', a travel show which was telecast on Zee International Asia Pacific. She went on assignments to Afghanistan, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, and Fiji among other countries.