Posts

Showing posts with the label Featured Icons

Virna Lisi - Italian Actress and Celebrity

Image
Virna Pieralisi (pronounced [ˈvirna pjeraˈliːzi]; 8 November 1936 – 18 December 2014), better known as Virna Lisi [ˈvirna ˈliːzi], was an Italian actress.  Early career  Ancona-born Lisi began her film career in her teens. Discovered in Paris by two Neapolitan producers, Antonio Ferrigno and Ettore Pesce, she debuted in La corda d'acciaio (The Steel Rope, 1953). Initially, she did musical films, like E Napoli canta (Napoli Sings, 1953) and the successful Questa è la vita (Of Life and Love, 1954, with the popular Totò). Nonetheless, her beauty was more valued than her talent, as seen in Le diciottenni (Eighteen Year Olds) and Lo scapolo (The Bachelor) films of 1955. Yet she filled demanding roles, particularly in La donna del giorno (1956), Eva (1962), and the spectacle Romolo e Remo (1961). In the late 1950s, Lisi did theater at Piccolo Teatro di Milano in I giacobini by Federico Zardi under the direction of Giorgio Strehler. During the 1960s, Lisi did comedies and partic...

101 Icons and Hollywood Legends

Image
  Over the course of our blog posting history, we have featured a host of female (and 1 male) Hollywood Icons and Legends that span the entire era of movie, music and television making history. Here is a complete list of those featured on our site so far, listed by month and date of birth. January Gypsy Rose Lee – January 8 Penelope Ann Miller – January 13 Eartha Kitt – January 17 Stacey Dash – January 20 _______________________________ February Mamie Van Doren – February 6 Lana Turner – February 8 Kim Novak – February 13 Vera Ellen – February 16 Elizabeth Taylor – February 27 Tempest Storm – February 29 _______________________________ March Jean Harlow – March 3 Teena Marie – March 5 Ursula Andress – March 19 Mariah Carey – March 27 Talisa Soto – March 27 Xuxa – March 27 Lucy Lawless - March 29 Lady Gaga – March 28 _______________________________ April    Joi Lansing – April 6 Jayne Mansfield – April 12 Sarah Michelle Gel...

Featured Icon: Meena Kumari – Indian movie actress and poetess

Image
Meena Kumari (August 1, 1932 – March 31, 1972), born Mahjabeen Bano, was an Indian movie actress and poetess. She is regarded as one of the most prominent actresses to have appeared on the screens of Hindi Cinema. During a career spanning 30 years from her childhood to her death, she starred in more than ninety films, many of which have achieved classic and cult status today. Kumari gained a reputation for playing grief-stricken and tragic roles, and her performances have been praised and reminisced throughout the years. Like one of her best-known roles, Chhoti Bahu, in Sahib Bibi Aur Ghulam (1962), Kumari became addicted to alcohol. Her life and prosperous career were marred by heavy drinking, troubled relationships, an ensuing deteriorating health, and her death from liver cirrhosis in 1972. Kumari is often cited by media and literary sources as "The Tragedy Queen", both for her frequent portrayal of sorrowful and dramatic roles in her films and her real-life story. Mee...

Featured Icon: Penelope Ann Miller

Image
Penelope Ann Miller (born January 13, 1964 as Penelope Andrea Miller), sometimes credited as Penelope Miller, is an American actress. She began her career on Broadway, and starred in several major Hollywood films, particularly in the early 1990s, and has continued appearing in supporting roles in both film and television. Her Broadway theatre break came in 1985 when she was cast in the lead (opposite Matthew Broderick) in the Neil Simon play Biloxi Blues. (She would also star with Broderick in the 1988 film version of that play.) Miller's film debut came in 1987 in Adventures in Babysitting. She took a role in one episode ("Death and the Lady") of the television series Miami Vice (which aired on October 16, 1987), and accepted several other small roles in film and television work. She then returned to Broadway in a revival of Our Town; her portrayal of Emily garnered her a Tony award nomination. She then appeared as Pee-wee Herman's (Paul Reubens) fiancée, Winnie...

Featured Icon: Claudine Auger

Image
Claudine Auger (born Claudine Oger on 26 April 1941) is a French actress best known for her role as Bond girl Dominique "Domino" Derval in the James Bond film Thunderball (1965). She earned the title of Miss France Monde and was also the first runner-up in the 1958 Miss World contest. Born in Paris, France, she attended St. Joan of Arc College and later Paris Drama Conservatory, where she performed dramatic roles. She made her film debut when she was still at school. Jean Cocteau cast her in an uncredited role as a tall ballerina in The Testament of Orpheus (1960). When she was 18, she married the 41-year-old writer-director Pierre Gaspard-Huit, and he cast her in several films, including The Iron Mask (1962) and The Vengeance of Kali (1963). Read More : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claudine_Auger ===========================================

Featured Icon: Barbara Stanwyck 1907-1990

Image
Barbara Stanwyck (July 16, 1907 – January 20, 1990) was an American actress. She was a film and television star, known during her 60-year career as a consummate and versatile professional with a strong screen presence, and a favorite of directors including Cecil B. DeMille, Fritz Lang and Frank Capra. After a short but notable career as a stage actress in the late 1920s, she made 85 films in 38 years in Hollywood, before turning to television. Stanwyck was nominated for the Academy Award four times, and won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe. She was the recipient of honorary lifetime awards from the Motion Picture Academy, the Film Society of Lincoln Center, the Golden Globes, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and the Screen Actors Guild, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and is ranked as the eleventh greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute. Stanwyck's first sound film was The Locked Door (1929), followed by Mexicali Rose in 1929. Neither...

Featured Icon: Lady Gaga

Image
Lady Gaga (Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (/ˈstɛfəniː dʒʌrməˈnɑːtə/; born March 28, 1986), is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to focus on her musical career. She began performing in the rock music scene of Manhattan's Lower East Side, and by the end of 2007, was signed with Streamline Records. Employed as a songwriter for the record company, her vocal abilities captured the attention of recording artist Akon, who signed her to his label Kon Live Distribution. Lady Gaga came to prominence as a recording artist following the release of her debut album The Fame (2008), which was a critical and commercial success that topped charts around the world and included the international number-one singles "Just Dance" and "Poker Face". After embarking on the Fame Ball Tour, she followe...

Featured Icon: Mariah Carey

Image
Mariah Carey (born March 27, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut in 1990 under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, and released her self-titled debut studio album, Mariah Carey. The album went multi-platinum and spawned four consecutive number one singles, on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart. After the success of the album, she won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1991. Following her marriage to Mottola in 1993, a series of hit records established her position as Columbia's highest-selling act. Music Box (1993), was certified diamond and became one of the best-selling albums of all time and Merry Christmas (1994), eventually became the most sucessful holiday album. Daydream (1995), made music history when the lead single "Fantasy" debuted at number one on the Billboard charts, making her the first female artist to accomplish a number one debut in the U.S. The second single, "...

Featured Icon: Stevie Nicks

Image
Stephanie Lynn "Stevie" Nicks (born May 26, 1948) is an American singer-songwriter, best known for her work with Fleetwood Mac and an extensive solo career, which collectively have produced over forty Top 50 hits and sold over 140 million albums. She has been noted for her ethereal visual style and symbolic lyrics. Nicks joined Fleetwood Mac on December 31, 1974, along with her then-boyfriend Lindsey Buckingham. Fleetwood Mac's second album after the incorporation of Nicks and Buckingham, 1977's Rumours, produced four US Top 10 singles (including Nicks's song "Dreams", which was the band's first and only US number one) and remained at No.1 on the American albums chart for 31 weeks, as well as reaching the top spot in various countries around the world. To date the album has sold over 40 million copies worldwide, making it the tenth highest selling album of all time. Nicks began her solo career in 1981 with the 8 million selling album Bella Donna, ...

Featured Icon: Michelle Pfeiffer

Image
Michelle Marie Pfeiffer ( /ˈfaɪfər/; born April 29, 1958) is an American actress. She made her film debut in 1980 in The Hollywood Knights, but first garnered mainstream attention with her performance in Brian De Palma's Scarface (1983). Pfeiffer has won numerous awards for her work. She received six consecutive Golden Globe Award nominations, winning the Best Actress in a Motion Picture Drama award in 1990 for The Fabulous Baker Boys. She also won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Dangerous Liaisons, and the Silver Bear for Best Actress for Love Field, and has been nominated for three Academy Awards for the same films. Pfeiffer rose to prominence in the late 1980s and early 1990s with critically acclaimed performances in the films Dangerous Liaisons (1988), Married to the Mob (1988), The Fabulous Baker Boys (1989), The Russia House (1990), Frankie and Johnny (1991), Love Field (1992), Batman Returns (1992), and The Age of Innocence (1993). She received a...

Featured Icon: Kylie Minogue

Image
Kylie Ann Minogue , OBE ( /ˈkaɪliː mɨˈnoʊɡ/; born 28 May 1968) - often known simply as Kylie - is an Australian singer, recording artist, songwriter, showgirl, and actress. After beginning her career as a child actress on Australian television, she achieved recognition through her role in the television soap opera Neighbours, before commencing her career as a recording artist in 1987. Her first single, "Locomotion", spent seven weeks at number one on the Australian singles chart and became the highest selling single of the decade. This led to a contract with songwriters and producers Stock, Aitken & Waterman. Her debut album, Kylie (1988), and the single "I Should Be So Lucky", each reached number one in the United Kingdom, and over the next two years, her first 13 singles reached the British top ten. Her debut film, The Delinquents (1989) was a box-office hit in Australia and the UK despite negative reviews. Initially presented as a "girl next door",...

Featured Icon: Demi Moore

Image
Demi Moore (born November 11, 1962 as Demi Gene Guynes) is an American actress. After minor roles in film and a role in the soap opera General Hospital, Moore established her career in films such as St. Elmo's Fire (1985), and in the early 1990s, became one of the highest paid actresses in Hollywood with her successes in Ghost (1990), A Few Good Men (1992), Indecent Proposal (1993), and Disclosure (1994). Moore took her professional name from her first husband, musician Freddy Moore, and is the mother of three daughters from her second marriage to actor Bruce Willis. She married her third husband, actor Ashton Kutcher, in 2005, and separated from him in 2011. After training with John Casablancas, the founder of Elite Model Management and posing as a cover model for Oui magazine, Moore made her film debut with a small supporting role in the 1981 deaf-teen drama Choices, directed by Silvio Narizzano. She joined the ensemble of the 1982 3-D science fiction/horror film Parasite aft...

Featured Icon: Lucy Lawless

Image
Lucy Lawless , MNZM (born Lucille Frances Ryan March 29, 1968) is a New Zealander actress and singer best known for playing the title character of the internationally successful television series Xena: Warrior Princess. She is also known for her role on the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica. Most recently she appeared on the television series Spartacus: Blood and Sand and its prequel Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, playing the major character Lucretia. In 1994, Lawless appeared in "Hercules and the Amazon Women," a Pacific Renaissance Pictures made-for-television film that became the television pilot for Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. In that episode, she played a man-hating Amazon named Lysia. She went on to play another character, Lyla, in the first season episode "As Darkness Falls." She received her best-known role when she was asked to play a villainous warrior woman named Xena in the episode "The Warrior Princess", which aired in March 1995 (R. J...

Featured Icon: Vivien Leigh

Image
Vivien Leigh, Lady Olivier (November 5, 1913 – July 8, 1967) was an English actress. She won the Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), a role she also played on stage in London's West End, as well as for her portrayal of the southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, alongside Clark Gable, in the epic American Civil War drama Gone with the Wind. She was a prolific stage performer, frequently in collaboration with her then-husband, Laurence Olivier, who directed her in several of her roles. During her 30-year stage career, she played roles ranging from the heroines of Noël Coward and George Bernard Shaw comedies to classic Shakespearean characters such as Ophelia, Cleopatra, Juliet and Lady Macbeth. Lauded for her beauty, Leigh felt that it sometimes prevented her from being taken seriously as an actress. However, ill health proved to be her greatest obstacle. For much of her adult life Leigh suffered from bipolar disorder. Sh...

Featured Icon: Lynda Carter

Image
Lynda Jean Carter (born July 24, 1951) is an American actress and singer, best known for being Miss World USA and as the star of the 1970s television series The New Original Wonder Woman (1975–77) and The New Adventures of Wonder Woman (1977–79). Carter's acting career took off when she landed the starring role in The New Adventures of Wonder Woman as Wonder Woman and her alter ego Diana Prince. The savings her parents had set aside for her to pursue acting in Los Angeles was almost depleted, and she was close to returning to Arizona when her manager informed her that she had won the part. Her earnest performance endeared her to fans and critics, and the series lasted three seasons. Thirty years after first taking on the role, Carter continues to be closely identified with Wonder Woman. As the program was winding down, Carter told US magazine: "I never meant to be a sexual object for anyone but my husband. I never thought a picture of my body would be tacked up in men...

Featured Icon: Jennifer Connelly

Image
Jennifer Lynn Connelly (born December 12, 1970) is an American film actress, who began her career as a child model. She appeared in magazine, newspaper and television advertising, before making her motion picture debut in the 1984 crime film Once Upon a Time in America. Connelly continued modeling and acting, starring in films such as the 1986 Labyrinth and the 1991 Career Opportunities. She gained critical acclaim for her work in the 1998 science fiction film Dark City and for her portrayal of Marion Silver in the 2000 drama Requiem for a Dream. In 2002, Connelly won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award and a BAFTA Award for her supporting role as Alicia Nash in Ron Howard's 2001 biopic A Beautiful Mind. Her later credits include the 2003 Marvel superhero film Hulk, the 2005 thriller Dark Water, the 2006 drama Blood Diamond, the 2008 science fiction remake The Day the Earth Stood Still and the 2009 romantic comedy He's Just Not That Into You. Connelly was named Amnesty In...

Featured Icon: Jeanne Crain (1925 – 2003)

Image
Jeanne Elizabeth Crain (May 25, 1925 – December 14, 2003) was an American actress. In 1944 Crain starred in Home in Indiana and In the Meantime, Darling. Her acting was critically panned, but she gained nationwide attention. It resulted in landing the leading role in The Shocking Miss Pilgrim in October 1944, a musical film which was eventually shelved and made with Betty Grable. Crain first received critical acclaim when she starred in Winged Victory (1944). She co-starred in 1945 with Dana Andrews in the musical film State Fair, in which Louanne Hogan dubbed Crain's singing numbers. After that, Crain often had singing parts in films, and they were invariably dubbed, in most cases by Hogan. Also in 1945, Crain starred in Leave Her to Heaven with Gene Tierney. In 1949, Crain appeared in three films — A Letter to Three Wives, The Fan and Pinky, the latter earning her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Pinky was controversial, since it told the story of a light-skinne...

Featured Icon: Kim Basinger

Image
Kimila Ann "Kim" Basinger (born December 8, 1953) is an American actress and former fashion model. She is known for her portrayals of Domino Petachi , the Bond girl in Never Say Never Again (1983), and Vicki Vale , the female lead in Batman (1989). Basinger received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture nomination for her work in The Natural (1984). She won an Academy Award, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in L.A. Confidential (1997). Basinger also acted in the movies 9½ Weeks (1986) and 8 Mile (2002). In 1976, after five years as a cover girl, Basinger moved to Los Angeles to act. After guest roles on TV shows such as Starsky and Hutch and Charlie's Angels in 1976, and a starring role on the short-lived series Dog and Cat (1977), her first feature-length role was in a made-for-TV movie, Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold (1978) in which she played a smalltown young woman who g...

Featured Icon: Joan Jett

Image
Joan Jett (born Joan Marie Larkin; September 22, 1958) is an American rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, producer and actress. She is best known for her work with Joan Jett & the Blackhearts including their hit cover "I Love Rock 'n' Roll", which was #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 from March 20 to May 1, 1982, as well as for their other popular recordings including "Crimson and Clover", "I Hate Myself for Loving You", "Do You Want to Touch Me", "Light of Day", "Love Is All Around", "Bad Reputation", and "Little Liar". Her musical and songwriting approach is heavily influenced by the hard-edged, hard beat-driven rhythms common to many rock bands of her native Philadelphia, often featuring lyrics surrounding themes of lost love, criticisms of insincerity, the quest for authenticity, as well as the struggles and resolutions of the American middle class. She has three albums that have been certified...