Heidi Montag Has “Star Quality”, Says Producer
Heidi Montag Has “Star Quality”, Says Producer
Yesterday, Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt were spotted on their way out of southern California via LAX International Airport. And as usual, they were more than happy to humor the swarming paparazzi with a few poses.
Showing off her Louis Vuitton collection (she had the sunglasses, belt, wallet, and garment bag!), Heidi looked cute in a sleeveless beige top and light khaki trousers, while her beau went for a blue button-up shirt and a pair of jeans.
And according to Montag’s producer RedOne, this peroxide princess has plenty to look forward to in her up-and-coming music career.
Of her new single “Fashion,” he told press, “It sounds amazing. The song is all about fashion and all about her - shopping, clothes, her whole aura. She’s really taken it to the next level…. We are working on more [songs], and it’s crazy, shocking stuff that will surprise everybody.”
He continued, “I’m writing and producing her whole album. We are going to do it big. She finally found someone she connected with — me. It’s all about the connection. When it doesn’t work with an artist, it doesn’t work. With her, it’s perfect. You can tell in the music that we connect.”
“I definitely think she’s a star. She has a star quality — a powerful personality with no limits. She can do anything and make it sound credible. She’s a born star.”
Kelly Clarkson Biography
Ready to invade Australia with her remarkable voice by early November 2005, Kelly Clarkson has revealed her intention to continue her “Hazel Eyes Tour” around U.S. after she previously was forced to put some delays due to a lingering case of bronchitis. Starting on December 7 in Hidalgo, Texas, the tour has added a number of new stops in Texas and California, not to mention that of New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom. Unquestionably busy preparing the rescheduled shows, she amazingly managed to grab three American Music Awards nominations for Favorite Female Artist in the Pop/Rock and Adult Contemporary plus the Favorite Album in the Pop/Rock through “Breakaway.” All of these merely exhibit the star quality she possesses within, making her brilliantly shines through as a true American idol.
American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson was born Kelly Brianne Clarkson on April 24, 1982, in Fort Worth, Texas, and later moved to Burleson, Texas. This Greek descent’s family consists of mother named Jeanne; step father named Jimmy Taylor; one brother Jason (b. 1973); and one sister Alyssa (b. 1976).
When Kelly was still 13 years old, she was approached by a teacher in her middle school, Pauline Hughes Middle School, about joining the choir; after she was heard singing in the hallway. Nobody had ever really realized her talent or even given her such chance until she got there, that her teacher really supported her to improve her singing skill. From that point, her participation in choral and musical activities had approvingly spurred her interest in a recording career.
As an attempt to reach her dream, following her high school graduation, Kelly relocated to Los Angeles, California. There she worked as an extra on television, appearing on the WB’s “Sabrina the Teenage Witch” and worked briefly with songwriter Gerry Goffin. After that works, her Los Angeles apartment burned down, and she reluctantly moved back to Texas in desperation, but still intent on a career in show business. Arriving in Texas, Kelly began her life from nothing, managed some odd jobs, including worked as a cocktail waitress; a promo girl for Red Bull; at a movie theater, where the premiere of her movie “From Justin to Kelly” was later held; in a pharmacy; at Chili’s, the Fort Worth Zoo; as a telemarketer, sold Kirby vacuum cleaners door to door for a day, and did other jobs as well.
In the middle of her desperation, one of her friends, Jessica, encouraged her to stand still and suggested her to try out for Fox’s new show “American Idol,” the search for a superstar. And so in 2001, along with ten thousand others, Kelly auditioned for the American Idol, for which she said to know nothing about it and tried it out just for fun. Chosen as one of the finalists, she performed live every week for ten weeks with an estimated 25 million viewers, sang such songs as “Respect,” “Natural Woman,” and “Without You”. As fate would have it, she was chosen a favorite among voters, mainly because of her powerful voice and sweet personality. And when the final show came, that was on September 4, 2002, Kelly performed “A Moment Like This,” a song written especially for American Idol.
Kelly, the only contestant to have never landed in the bottom three, was at the end revealed as the winner, became the first “American Idol” with 58 percent of the votes in the final contest against Justin Guarini. Becoming the newly crowned “American Idol,” she automatically received the show’s prize of a one million dollar recording contract with RCA Records and also signed a deal with Creative Artists Agency. In succession, Kelly then went on the seven week national American Idol Tour, and on September 11, 2002, she sang the National Anthem in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC.
Two weeks after winning the title ‘American Idol,’ Kelly released her first single “A Moment Like This,” which quickly reached number one on the Billboard charts in just one week after its release. By and by, this single set an American record, rising on October 5, 2002, from No. 52 to No. 1 on the Billboard charts, a record previously held by The Beatles with “Can’t Buy Me Love”. Despite the fact that she’s becoming a superstar, Kelly decided not to move to L.A. or New York. Rather, she remained in Texas.
On April 15, 2003, she had her first full-length album “Thankful” released by RCA Records and was certified as “double platinum,” signifying over two million sales in the US by the RIAA. Along with this attainment, many critics pointed to Kelly’s much success as could be accredited to the commerciality of her music, yet “Thankful” still garnered good reviews. Aside from various critics dedicated to her, Kelly’s first single “Miss Independent,” also received wide notice and acclaim. Furthermore, in April the same year, the singer debuted in her first film with Idol runner-up, Justin Guarini. The movie entitled “From Justin to Kelly” is a musical about two teens, Justin and Kelly, who fall in love while on Spring Break in Miami. The character’s romance gets sidetracked when their friends get in the way. Unfortunately, the film received weak reviews and was a box office disaster.
Although the movie was not a blockbuster success, Kelly still remains a respected and known artist. As an evidence, in 2004 she received a Grammy Nomination for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for her Top 10 hit single “Miss Independent.” Moreover, she also embarked on the 30 cities Independent Tour with fellow American Idol contestant, Clay Aiken (2004), and that same year she released “Breakaway” her sophomore album, which was debuted at #3. Though her first album debuted at #1 and sold a few thousand more copies in its first week, industry experts noted this was not too bad of a sophomore slump. To date, “Breakaway” has sold over 2 million copies, got double platinum and remained in the Billboard Top 10, selling about 90,000 copies per week, while her singles “Breakaway” and “Since U Been Gone” have both garnered widespread airplay and made it into the U.S. Top 10.
Beyond her music career, Kelly has also appeared on NBC’s “American Dreams” as Brenda Lee and as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live on February 12, 2005. In addition, on Billboard’s Hot 100 Chart, dated March 31, 2005, Kelly was placed at #2 with “Since U Been Gone.” This is the highest peak of a pop song since Ashlee Simpson peaked at #5 with “Pieces of Me” in 2004. Last but not least, in 2005 Kelly was ranked #92 in FHM’s 100 Sexiest Women in the World. Her dominance in pop music was still clearly visible as she won four categories of Best Female Artist, Best Album for “Breakaway,†Best Single for “Since U Been Gone,” and Best Summer Single for “Behind These Hazel Eyes” at the 2005 Teen Choice Awards held in August 16. It was quickly followed with her achievement to take home two MTV Video Music Awards for Best Female Video and Best Pop Video through “Since U Been Gone.” Known also as a caring person, she participated in ReAct Now: Music & Relief, a live broadcast which aimed to collect fund for the American Red Cross and the victims of Hurricane Katrina by September 10.
Was one among the many winners of the 33rd annual prestigious American Music Awards held November 22, 2005 at the Shrine Auditorium, Kelly furthermore also scored nominations at that year Billboard Music Awards, including that of Artist of the Year and Hot 100 Song of the Year categories. Kept honing her singing skills, she at last picked the fruit of her hard work when she surprisingly won the 48th annual Grammys. Picked the awards of Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for “Since U Been Gone” and Best Pop Vocal Album for “Breakaway,” she automatically becomes the first contestant from “American Idol” to win at the prestigious event.
Kate Beckinsale Biography
Petite and pretty, with dark hair, pale skin and flashing eyes, Kate Beckinsale made a strong film debut as the virginal Hero in Kenneth Branagh’s sun-dappled adaptation of “Much Ado About Nothing” (1993). Although she was a screen novice, the actress projected the requisite intelligence and star quality that deemed her one to watch. As the daughter of comic Richard Beckinsale (who died when she was five years old) and actress Judy Loe, it was perhaps inevitable that she would eventually find her way to the limelight. Beckinsale, however, spent a good portion of her teen years struggling with an eating disorder (of which she has spoken frankly in interviews) before she decided to try her hand at acting. After a bit part in the BBC mystery “Devices and Desires” (1991), she landed the pivotal role of the rebellious daughter of a British woman (Judy Davis) involved with the French Resistance during WWII in “One Against the Wind” (CBS, 1991). Once she had become established as an ingenue with “Much Ado About Nothing”, Beckinsale carefully crafted a career path that would not find her typecast.
Simultaneous to pursuing her education at Oxford, Beckinsale continued to find challenging roles. In “Royal Deceit/The Prince of Jutland” (1994), which was based on the Danish prince whose life inspired Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, she starred opposite Christian Bale. A lighter, more charming side to the actress was displayed in “Marie-Louise, or The Leave” (1995), in which she played a young woman searching for her lover in a crowded train station. Beckinsale delivered a strong turn as the meddlesome orphan taken in by eccentric relatives in the brittle comedy “Cold Comfort Farm” (also 1995). As Flora Poste, she anchored the film and managed to make a busybody character seem charming, and in some ways it was a warm-up for her tackling “Jane Austen’s Emma” (BBC/AE, 1996). Although Douglas McGrath’s feature version starring Gwyneth Paltrow had opened on American screens first, this version found its partisans who felt it was more faithful to the spirit of Austen.
Capitalizing on the sass and intelligence she had projected in both “Cold Comfort Farm” and “Jane Austen’s Emma”, Beckinsale shone as an aristocratic med student who falls in with two charming con men (Dan Futterman and Stuart Townsend) in the underrated caper flick “Shooting Fish” (1997). Adopting a flawless American accent, the actress next registered as the bitchy junior publishing executive seeking fun and perhaps Mr. Right in Whit Stillman’s “The Last Days of Disco” (1998). The following year, Beckinsale retained the Americanisms to portray a mousy tourist in Thailand who falls for a slick Australian, dragging herself and her traveling companion (Claire Danes) into accusations of drug smuggling in “Brokedown Palace”. After time out for motherhood, she returned to the big screen as Nick Nolte’s daughter in the Merchant Ivory adaptation of Henry James’ “The Golden Bowl” (2000).
The attractive actress finally had a shot at more mainstream success with two high profile leading roles in 2001. In the big-budget epic “Pearl Harbor”, she was cast as a US Navy nurse who falls in love with a dashing pilot (Ben Affleck) but when news of his death arrives turns to his best friend (Josh Hartnett) for comfort. And Beckinsale was cast opposite John Cusack in the mildly engaging romantic comedy “Serendipity”, playing a woman who believes more in fate than love at first sight and faces a long but seemingly inevitable road to romance. The actress surfaced again in 2003 in the arty indie “Laurel Canyon” as the icy fiancee of an L.A. native (Christian Bale) who returns to his eclectic mother’s home in Laurel Canyon, where Beckinsale’s character slowly becomes seduced by the sultry Los Angeles lifestyle.
Her highest profile role to date came in “Underworld” (2003), a glossy supernatural thriller with Romeo-and-Juliet overtones, in which Beckinsale played Selene, a vampire emobroiled in her kind’s long feud with a werewolf clan who falls in love with one of her blood enemies (Scott Speedman). Beckinsale followed up with another action-packed supernatural thriller, teaming with Hugh Jackman for “Van Helsing” (2004), in which she played Anna Valerious, a vampire slayer from a long line committed to ending the reign of Count Dracula who teams with the count’s longtime human foe. The actress was better served by her next project, director Martin Scorses’s Howard Hughes glamorous and visually arresting biopic “The Aviator” (2004), in which the actress provided a sultry spark as the firey film icon Ava Gardner, Hughes’ (Leonardo DiCaprio) most challenging, yet sympathetic, paramour.
- Born:on 07/26/73 in London, England
- Job Titles:Actor, Waitress
Family
- Daughter: Lily Sheen. born on January 31, 1999; father, Michael Sheen
- Father: Richard Beckinsale. born in 1947; died of a heart attack in 1979
- Half-sister: Samantha Beckinsale. older
- Mother: Judy Loe. born c. 1948
- Step-siblings: has five
Significant Others
- Companion: Edmund Moriarty. dated while at Cambridge
- Companion: Michael Sheen. born on February 5, 1969; acted together on stage in “The Seagull” (1995); no longer together as of January 2003
Education
- New College, Oxford University, Oxford, England, French and Russian, 1991-94
Milestones
- 1991 Co-starred in CBS TV-movie “One Against the Wind”, playing the rebellious daughter of Judy Davis
- 1991 Played small role in British TV-miniseries “Devices and Desires” (shown on PBS’ “Mystery!” in USA)
- 1993 Acted opposite Christian Bale in “The Prince of Jutland/Royal Deceit”, purportedly the real-life story of the Danish prince upon which “Hamlet” is based; played character of Ethel who is the Ophelia figure
- 1993 Made feature film debut as Hero in Kenneth Branagh’s film version of “Much Ado About Nothing”
- 1994 Played female lead in “Marie-Louise or The Leave”
- 1995 Made stage acting debut in “The Seagull” in Chester, England
- 1995 Portrayed the orphan Flora Poste who goes to live with her relatives at “Cold Comfort Farm” (shot in 1994 for BBC; released theatrically in USA in 1996)
- 1996 Appeared in London stage productions “Sweethearts” and “Clocks”
- 1997 Co-starred with Stuart Townsend and Dan Futterman in “Shooting Fish”
- 1997 Had lead in British TV version of Jane Austen’s “Emma” (aired in Great Britain on ITV; shown in USA on A&E)
- 1998 Appeared in Whit Stillman’s ensemble drama “The Last Days of Disco”
- 1998 Played Alice in British TV production of “Alice Through the Looking Glass”
- 1999 Co-starred with Clare Danes in the prison drama “Brokedown Palace”
- 2000 Portrayed Nick Nolte’s daughter in the Merchant-Ivory adaptation of Henry James’ “The Golden Bowl”
- 2001 Acted with John Cusack in the romantic comedy “Serendipity”
- 2001 Portrayed a 1940s army nurse who becomes involved in a love triangle with two pilots in “Pearl Harbor”
- 2003 Cast as Christian Bale’s love interest in “Laurel Canyon”
- 2004 Cast as Anna opposite Hugh Jackman in horror thriller “Van Helsing”
- 2004 Cast as Ava Gardner opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese’s “Aviator”
- Became anorexic as a teenager; underwent four years of five-day-per-week analysis
- Will play the romantic lead opposite Adam Sandler in the comedy “Click” (lensed 2005)