John Legend

John Roger Stephens (born December 28, 1978), known professionally as John Legend, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist, and record producer. He began his musical career by working behind the scenes, playing piano on Lauryn Hill's "Everything Is Everything", and making uncredited guest appearances on Jay-Z's "Encore" and Alicia Keys's "You Don't Know My Name". He then signed to Kanye West's GOOD Music and released his debut album Get Lifted (2004), which reached the top ten on the Billboard 200 and was certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. Legend received nine nominations at the 48th Annual Grammy Awards, including nominations for the singles "So High" with Lauryn Hill and "Ordinary People", with the latter song winning for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. The album also earned him awards for Best New Artist and Best R&B Album. His second studio album Once Again (2006), spawned the single "Save Room", and became his second top ten album on the Billboard 200 chart. The lead single from his third album Evolver (2008), "Green Light" featuring André 3000, reached the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was certified platinum by the RIAA. In June 2008, he released the live album John Legend: Live from Philadelphia. Legend would later collaborate with The Roots on the album Wake Up! (2010). His fourth studio album, Love in the Future (2013), spawned the single "All of Me". The song peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and has attained Diamond status, being certified 14× platinum by the RIAA. In 2015, he was featured on the single "Like I'm Gonna Lose You" by Meghan Trainor, which reached the top ten in the U.S. 

Legend has since released the albums Darkness and Light (2016), A Legendary Christmas (2018). In 2020 Legend published his seventh studio album Bigger Love, which won the Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, and in 2022 the double album Legend. In 2007, Legend received the Hal David Starlight Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame.[2] Legend won the Academy Award for Best Original Song and Golden Globe Award in 2015 for co-writing the song "Glory" from the film Selma. He has received a total of twelve Grammy Awards. In 2017, Legend won a Tony Award for co-producing Jitney for the Broadway stage.[3] In 2018, Legend portrayed Jesus Christ in NBC's adaptation of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. He received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for his acting role, and won for his role as a producer of the show, making him the first black man and second youngest person to have won all four of the major American entertainment awards: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony (EGOT).[4][5] Legend is also the recipient of the NAACP's President's Award.[6] From 2019 to 2022, Legend was featured as a coach on The Voice. John Roger Stephens was born on December 28, 1978, in Springfield, Ohio.[7] He is the eldest of four children[8] of Phyllis Elaine (née Lloyd), a seamstress, and Ronald Lamar Stephens, a factory worker at International Harvester (which also has a factory in Springfield, Ohio and is now Navistar).[9][10][11][12] His father was a drummer, while "his mother sang and directed the church choir, and his grandmother was the church organist."[13] In 2004, Legend stated that his parents were divorced for 12 years before reuniting.[14] Legend was homeschooled by his mother.[15] He began playing the piano at age 4. At the age of 7, he performed with his church choir.[16] Because of his academic talent, he skipped two grades.[13]

At the age of 12, Legend attended North High School in Springfield, Ohio, from which he graduated as salutatorian of his class four years later.[13] At the age of 15, Legend won a Black History Month essay competition run by McDonalds, following the prompt "How do you intend to make Black history?" with an essay about how he intended to be a successful musician, according to an interview on the Carlos Watson Show.[17] Legend was offered admission to Harvard University and scholarships to Georgetown University and Morehouse College;[18] he ultimately decided to attend the University of Pennsylvania. At college, Legend served as the president and musical director of the co-ed jazz and pop a cappella group the Counterparts. His lead vocals on the group's recording of Joan Osborne's "One of Us" (written by fellow Penn alum Eric Bazilian of the Hooters) received critical acclaim, landing the song on the track list of the 1998 Best of Collegiate a Cappella compilation CD.[19] Legend was also a member of the Sphinx Senior Society and Onyx Senior Honor Society. While in college, Legend was introduced to Lauryn Hill by a friend. Hill hired him to play piano on "Everything Is Everything", a song from her album The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill.[18] He graduated magna cum laude with a bachelor's degree in English with an emphasis on  After graduating from college, Legend worked as a management consultant at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and began producing, writing, and recording his own music.[13] He released two albums independently: his self-titled demo (2000) and Live at Jimmy's Uptown (2001), which he sold at his shows. He subsequently began working on his demo and began sending his work to various record labels.[15][14] In 2001, Devo Springsteen introduced Legend to Kanye West, then an up-and-coming hip-hop artist; Legend was hired to sing during the hooks of West's music. After signing to West's label, he chose his stage name from an idea that was given to him by poet J. Ivy, due to what he perceived as an "old-school sound". J. Ivy stated, "I heard your music and it reminds me of that music from the old school. You sound like one of the legends. As a matter of fact, that's what I'm going to call you from now on! I'm going to call you John Legend." After J. Ivy continued to call him by the new moniker "John Legend", others quickly caught on, including Kanye West. Despite Stephens' reluctance to adopt a stage name, he eventually announced his new artist name as John Legend.[18][22]

2004–2007: Breakthrough success Legend released his debut album, Get Lifted, on GOOD Music in December 2004. It featured production by Kanye West, Dave Tozer, and will.i.am, and debuted at number 7 on the US Billboard 200, selling 116,000 copies in its first week.[23] It went on to sell 540,300 copies in the United States and was certified gold by the RIAA.[24][25] An international success, Get Lifted also reached number one on the Norwegian Albums Chart and peaked within the top ten in the Netherlands and Sweden, resulting in worldwide sales of 850,000 copies.[18] Critically acclaimed, it won the 2006 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, and earned Legend another two nominal awards for Best New Artist and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. Altogether, the album produced four singles, including debut single "Used to Love U", which entered the top 30 of the New Zealand and UK Singles Chart, and Grammy Award-winning "Ordinary People" which peaked at 24 on the Billboard Hot 100. Legend also co-wrote Janet Jackson's "I Want You", which was certified platinum and received a nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards.[26]2004–2007: Breakthrough success Legend released his debut album, Get Lifted, on GOOD Music in December 2004. It featured production by Kanye West, Dave Tozer, and will.i.am, and debuted at number 7 on the US Billboard 200, selling 116,000 copies in its first week.[23] It went on to sell 540,300 copies in the United States and was certified gold by the RIAA.[24][25] An international success, Get Lifted also reached number one on the Norwegian Albums Chart and peaked within the top ten in the Netherlands and Sweden, resulting in worldwide sales of 850,000 copies.[18] Critically acclaimed, it won the 2006 Grammy Award for Best R&B Album, and earned Legend another two nominal awards for Best New Artist and Best Male R&B Vocal Performance. Altogether, the album produced four singles, including debut single "Used to Love U", which entered the top 30 of the New Zealand and UK Singles Chart, and Grammy Award-winning "Ordinary People" which peaked at 24 on the Billboard Hot 100. Legend also co-wrote Janet Jackson's "I Want You", which was certified platinum and received a nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance at the 47th Annual Grammy Awards.[26]

A highly sought after collaborator, Legend was featured on several records in the following years. He appeared on albums by Fort Minor, Sérgio Mendes, Jay-Z, Mary J. Blige, the Black Eyed Peas, Stephen Colbert, Rich Boy, J'Dillian MSTRKRFT, Chemistry, and Fergie, among others. Legend also tentatively worked with Michael Jackson on a future album for which he had written one song.[27] In August 2006, Legend appeared in an episode of Sesame Street. He performed a song entitled "It Feels Good When You Sing a Song", a duet with Hoots the Owl.[28] He also performed during the pregame show of Super Bowl XL in Detroit and the halftime show at the 2006 NBA All-Star Game.[29][30] In October 2006, Legend's second album, Once Again, was released. Legend co-wrote and co-produced the bulk of the album, which saw him reteaming with West and will.i.am but also spawned production from Raphael Saadiq, Craig Street, Sa-Ra, Eric Hudson, Devo Springsteen, Dave Tozer and Avenue.[31] Released to major commercial success, it reached number three on the Billboard 200 and debuted on top of the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. It was eventually certified platinum by the RIAA, and reached gold status in Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. At the 2007 Grammy Awards ceremony, the song "Heaven" was awarded the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance, while lead single "Save Room" received a nod in the Best Male Pop Vocal category. Legend won a second Grammy that year for "Family Affair", a collaboration with Sly & the Family Stone, Joss Stone and Van Hunt, for the former's Different Strokes by Different Folks album.[citation needed]

 Amanda Seyfried

Amanda Michelle Seyfried (/ˈsaɪfrɛd/ SY-fred;[1] born December 3, 1985) is an American actress. Born and raised in Allentown, Pennsylvania, she began modeling at age 11 and ventured into acting at 15, with recurring roles as Lucy Montgomery on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns (1999–2001) and Joni Stafford on the ABC soap opera All My Children (2003). She came to prominence for her feature film debut in the teen comedy Mean Girls (2004), and her recurring roles as Lilly Kane on the CW/Hulu television series Veronica Mars (2004–2006) and Sarah Henrickson on the HBO drama series Big Love (2006–2011). Seyfried has appeared in a number of films, including Mamma Mia! (2008) and its sequel Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again (2018), Jennifer's Body (2009), Dear John (2010), Letters to Juliet (2010), Red Riding Hood (2011), In Time (2011), Les Misérables (2012), A Million Ways to Die in the West (2014), Ted 2 (2015), and First Reformed (2017). She received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Marion Davies in David Fincher's biopic Mank (2020), earning nominations for the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. For her starring role as Elizabeth Holmes in the drama miniseries The Dropout (2022), she won a Golden Globe and Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress. Time named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2022.[2] Amanda Michelle Seyfried was born on December 3, 1985, in Allentown, Pennsylvania.[3][4] Her mother, Ann Seyfried (née Sander) is an occupational therapist, and her father, Jack Seyfried, is a pharmacist.[4][5] She is of mostly German descent with smaller amounts of English, Scots-Irish, and Welsh ancestry.[6] She has an older sister, Jennifer Seyfried, who is a musician in the Philadelphia rock band Love City.

Seyfried attended William Allen High School in Allentown, graduating in 2003.[7] She subsequently enrolled at Fordham University in New York City in the fall of 2003, but chose not to attend after being offered a role in the 2004 film Mean Girls.[8] While attending William Allen High School in Allentown, Pennsylvania, Seyfried began modeling. She appeared in several print ads for clothing companies, including Limited Too with Leighton Meester, and was featured on three covers of the Sweet Valley High novel series.[4][9] At age 17 she stopped modeling[4] and started a job as a waitress in a retirement community.[10] While still a teen, she took vocal lessons, studied opera, trained with a Broadway coach, and began her acting career as an extra in Guiding Light, a daytime television drama.[11] From 2000 to 2001 she played the recurring character Lucy Montgomery on the CBS soap opera As the World Turns[11] and, from 2002 to 2003, Joni Stafford on the ABC soap All My Children.Following Big Love, Seyfried played a supporting role, as Zoe, in the 2008 horror drama film Solstice and co-starred with Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia!, a romantic comedy film adaptation of the 1999 musical of the same name. Mamma Mia!, which was Seyfried's first leading role, was the fifth highest-grossing film of 2008,[16] and, as of February 2021, the 159th highest-grossing film of all time.[17] Five songs from her musical performance in Mamma Mia! were released on the film's soundtrack.[18] As part of promotion for both the film and its soundtrack, Seyfried recorded a music video of the song "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)".

In March 2008, Seyfried was cast in the comedy horror film Jennifer's Body as Anita "Needy" Lesnicki, the title character's best friend.[19] The film, which premiered at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival and was released to theaters on September 18, 2009,[20] received mixed reviews from critics.[21] The same year she was cast in the comedy drama independent film Boogie Woogie. She played Paige Oppenheimer, one of the lead roles in the ensemble movie. The movie was originally shown on June 26, 2009, at Edinburgh International Film Festival, and was shown in US theaters April 25, 2010. On February 22, 2009, Seyfried presented an award and performed at the 81st Academy Awards ceremony. In early March 2009, director Zack Snyder had tapped Seyfried to portray the lead role, Baby Doll, in Sucker Punch,[22] but Seyfried had to drop out of the film due to scheduling conflicts with Big Love.[4][23] Seyfried starred alongside Channing Tatum in Dear John, the film adaptation of the novel of the same name that was written by Nicholas Sparks.[24] The film, which was released February 5, 2010, received generally negative reviews.[24] Seyfried wrote and recorded "Little House", a song on one of the soundtracks of Dear John.[25] Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Seyfried gives the character and her relationship all she's got, but she can't do all the heavy lifting. The romance is too one-sided, and frankly, you can't blame her for steering her life into another channel."[26] Despite the negative reviews, Dear John became the first film to break up Avatar's box office reign at number one at the United States box office, grossing $80 million in the U.S. theatrically and $115 million worldwide.

In 2003, Seyfried auditioned to play Regina George in Mean Girls, but the role eventually went to Rachel McAdams. While she was initially considered for the lead role of Cady Heron, ultimately played by Lindsay Lohan, the film's producers decided that Seyfried should play Karen Smith, Regina's dim-witted "plastic" friend and sidekick.[11] The film was a box office success, grossing over $130 million in its theatrical run.[12] Seyfried's performance in the film earned her, along with Lohan, Lacey Chabert, and McAdams, an MTV Movie Award in the category of "Best On-Screen Team".Following Big Love, Seyfried played a supporting role, as Zoe, in the 2008 horror drama film Solstice and co-starred with Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia!, a romantic comedy film adaptation of the 1999 musical of the same name. Mamma Mia!, which was Seyfried's first leading role, was the fifth highest-grossing film of 2008,[16] and, as of February 2021, the 159th highest-grossing film of all time.[17] Five songs from her musical performance in Mamma Mia! were released on the film's soundtrack.[18] As part of promotion for both the film and its soundtrack, Seyfried recorded a music video of the song "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)".

Seyfried then auditioned to play the title character on UPN's television series Veronica Mars.[11] The role eventually went to Kristen Bell, and Seyfried portrayed Veronica's murdered best friend Lilly Kane.[11] Her character was only shown in flashbacks.[11] In 2005, she played the lead character Samantha, a role written by director Rodrigo García specifically for her, in one of the nine parts of the film Nine Lives, composed of nine short films with different themes and an ensemble cast.[13] For her performance, Seyfried, along with the film's other female leads, won the role Best Actress at the Locarno International Film Festival. That year, she played the supporting character Mouse in the independent film American Gun. In 2006, she appeared in five episodes of Wildfire as Rebecca and played the lead role Chrissy in the short film Gypsies, Tramps & Thieves, written and directed by Andrea Janakas. She also contributed in a minor role as Julie Beckley in Alpha Dog. From 2004 to 2006, she made multiple guest appearances on several television series, including House, Justice, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, American Dad! and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.[11] With her role in the HBO drama television series Big Love, Seyfried's profile as an actress grew substantially; the series centered on a fictional fundamentalist Mormon family in which Seyfried plays Sarah Henrickson, Bill and Barb's first daughter, who struggles with her family's polygamous faith.[14] Big Love premiered in the United States on March 12, 2006. In December 2009, HBO confirmed that Seyfried would return for the show's fourth season, but that it would be her last since she wished to begin concentrating on her film career and other upcoming projects.

Seyfried next appeared as the title character in the erotic thriller Chloe, released by Sony Pictures Classics on March 26, 2010.[29] Chloe premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2009.[30] In the film, Seyfried's character is an escort who is hired to test a husband's faithfulness after his wife concludes that his fidelity could not be trusted.[30] Chloe enjoyed commercial success and became director Atom Egoyan's highest-grossing film.[31] Seyfried's performance in the film received favorable reviews from critics, helping her gain industry acclaim and additional opportunities to play varied roles.[32] Later in 2010, Seyfried starred in the romantic-comedy film Letters to Juliet, based on the book by Lise and Ceil Friedman. Letters to Juliet was released to mixed reviews but was a box office success, grossing $80 million worldwide. For her performance, Seyfried was awarded "Showest Breakthrough Female Star of The Year".[33] She also won the "Scared-As-S**T" award for her performance in Jennifer's Body and was nominated for Best Female Performance for her movie Dear John, at the 2010 MTV Movie Awards.[34][35] Also in 2010, Seyfried was named to Forbes' "17 Stars To Watch" list,[36][37] and received three Teen Choice Award nominations, including for Choice Movie Actress Drama and Choice Movie Chemistry with her co-star Channing Tatum for roles in Dear John. Seyfried was also nominated for Choice Movie Actress Romantic Comedy for Letters to Juliet.

 Keanu Reeves

Keanu Charles Reeves (/kiˈɑːnuː/ kee-AH-noo;[4][5][6] born September 2, 1964) is a Canadian[b] actor. Born in Beirut and raised in Toronto, Reeves began acting in theatre productions and in television films before making his feature film debut in Youngblood (1986). He had his breakthrough role in the science fiction comedy Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989), and he reprised his role in its sequels. He gained praise for playing a hustler in the independent drama My Own Private Idaho (1991) and established himself as an action hero with leading roles in Point Break (1991) and Speed (1994). Following several box office failures, Reeves's performance in the horror film The Devil's Advocate (1997) was well received. Greater stardom came for playing Neo in the science fiction series The Matrix, beginning in 1999. He played John Constantine in Constantine (2005) and starred in the romantic drama The Lake House (2006), the science fiction thriller The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008), and the crime thriller Street Kings (2008). Following another commercially down period, Reeves made a successful comeback by playing the titular assassin in the John Wick film series, beginning in 2014. In addition to acting, Reeves has directed the film Man of Tai Chi (2013). He has played bass guitar for the band Dogstar and pursued other endeavours such as writing and philanthropy. Keanu Charles Reeves was born in Beirut, Lebanon, on September 2, 1964, the son of Patricia (née Taylor), a costume designer and performer, and Samuel Nowlin Reeves Jr. His mother is English, originating from Essex.[9] His American father is from Hawaii, and is of Native Hawaiian, Chinese, English, Irish, and Portuguese descent.[5][10][11] His grandmother from his father's side is Chinese Hawaiian.[12] His mother was working in Beirut when she met his father,[13] who abandoned his wife and family when Reeves was three years old. Reeves last met his father on the Hawaiian island of Kauai when he was 13.

After his parents divorced in 1966, his mother moved the family to Sydney,[14] and then to New York City, where she married Paul Aaron, a Broadway and Hollywood director, in 1970.[14] The couple moved to Toronto, Canada, and divorced in 1971. When Reeves was nine, he took part in a theatre production of Damn Yankees.[15] Aaron remained close to Reeves, offering him advice and recommending him a job at the Hedgerow Theater in Pennsylvania, United States.[14] Reeves' mother married Robert Miller, a rock music promoter, in 1976; the couple divorced in 1980. She subsequently married her fourth husband, a hairdresser named Jack Bond; the marriage lasted until 1994. Reeves and his sisters grew up primarily in the Yorkville neighbourhood of Toronto, with a nanny caring for them frequently.[14][16] Because of his grandmother's ethnicity, he grew up with Chinese art, furniture, and cuisine.[17] Reeves watched British comedy shows such as The Two Ronnies, and his mother imparted English manners that he has maintained into adulthood.[18]After his parents divorced in 1966, his mother moved the family to Sydney,[14] and then to New York City, where she married Paul Aaron, a Broadway and Hollywood director, in 1970.[14] The couple moved to Toronto, Canada, and divorced in 1971. When Reeves was nine, he took part in a theatre production of Damn Yankees.[15] Aaron remained close to Reeves, offering him advice and recommending him a job at the Hedgerow Theater in Pennsylvania, United States.[14] Reeves' mother married Robert Miller, a rock music promoter, in 1976; the couple divorced in 1980. She subsequently married her fourth husband, a hairdresser named Jack Bond; the marriage lasted until 1994. Reeves and his sisters grew up primarily in the Yorkville neighbourhood of Toronto, with a nanny caring for them frequently.[14][16] Because of his grandmother's ethnicity, he grew up with Chinese art, furniture, and cuisine.[17] Reeves watched British comedy shows such as The Two Ronnies, and his mother imparted English manners that he has maintained into adulthood.

Reeves made a foray into television films in 1986, including NBC's Babes in Toyland, Act of Vengeance and Brotherhood of Justice. He made his first motion picture appearances in Peter Markle's Youngblood (1986), in which he played a goalkeeper, and in the low-budget romantic drama, Flying. He was cast as Matt in River's Edge, a crime drama about a group of high school friends dealing with a murder case, loosely based on the 1981 murder of Marcy Renee Conrad. The film premiered in 1986 at the Toronto International Film Festival to a largely positive response. Janet Maslin of The New York Times describes the performances of the young cast as "natural and credible", with Reeves being described as "affecting and sympathetic".[29] Towards the end of the 1980s, Reeves starred in several dramas aimed at teen audiences, including as the lead in The Night Before (1988), a comedy starring opposite Lori Loughlin, The Prince of Pennsylvania (1988) and Permanent Record (1988). Although the latter received mixed reviews, Variety magazine praised Reeves' performance, "which opens up nicely as the drama progresses".[30] His other acting efforts included a supporting role in Dangerous Liaisons (1988), which earned seven nominations at the 61st Academy Awards, winning three: Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Costume Design, and Best Production Design.[31] This was followed by Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989), in which he portrays a slacker who travels through time with a friend (portrayed by Alex Winter), to assemble historical figures for a school presentation. The film was generally well received by critics and grossed $40.5 million at the worldwide box office.[32] Film review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 79% approval rating with the critical consensus: "Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter are just charming, goofy, and silly enough to make this fluffy time-travel Adventure work".[33] In 1989, Reeves starred in the comedy-drama Parenthood directed by Ron Howard. Nick Hilditch of the BBC gave the film three out of five stars, calling it a "feelgood movie" with an "extensive and entertaining ensemble cast".[34] In 1990, Reeves had two acting performances in films. He portrayed an incompetent hitman in the black comedy I Love You to Death, and played the role of Martin, a radio station employee in the comedy Tune in Tomorrow. He also appeared in Paula Abdul's music video for Rush Rush which featured a Rebel Without a Cause motif, with him in the James Dean role.[35]

Describing himself as a "private kid",[19] Reeves attended four different high schools, including the Etobicoke School of the Arts, from which he was expelled. Reeves said he was expelled because he was "just a little too rambunctious and shot my mouth off once too often... I was not generally the most well-oiled machine in the school".[20] At De La Salle College, he was a successful ice hockey goalkeeper. Reeves had aspirations to become a professional ice hockey player for the Canadian Olympic team but decided to become an actor when he was 15.[21] After leaving De La Salle College, he attended Avondale Secondary Alternative School, which allowed him to get an education while working as an actor. He dropped out of high school when he was 17.[22] He obtained a green card through his American stepfather and moved to Los Angeles, United States three years later.[14] Reeves holds only Canadian citizenship.[7][8] In 1984, Reeves was a correspondent for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) youth television program Going Great.[23] That same year, he made his acting debut in an episode of the television series, called Hangin' In.[24] In 1985, he played Mercutio in a stage production of Romeo and Juliet at the Leah Posluns Theatre in North York, Ontario.[25][26] He made further appearances on stage, including Brad Fraser's cult hit Wolfboy in Toronto. He also appeared in a Coca-Cola commercial in 1983,[27] and in the National Film Board of Canada (NFB) coming-of-age, short film One Step Away.[28]In 1991, Reeves starred in Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey, a sequel to Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, with his co-star Alex Winter. Michael Wilmington of the Los Angeles Times wrote that the sequel was "more imaginative, more opulent, wilder and freer, more excitingly visualized", praising the actors for their "fuller" performances.[36] Film critic Roger Ebert thought it was "a riot of visual invention and weird humour that works on its chosen sub-moronic level [...] It's the kind of movie where you start out snickering in spite of yourself, and end up actually admiring the originality that went into creating this hallucinatory slapstick".[37] The rest of 1991 marked a significant transition for Reeves' career as he undertook adult roles. He co-starred with River Phoenix as a street hustler in the adventure My Own Private Idaho, the characters embark on a journey of personal discovery. The story was written by Gus Van Sant and is loosely based on Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1, Henry IV, Part 2, and Henry V. The film premiered at the 48th Venice International Film Festival,[38] followed by a theatrical release in the United States on September 29, 1991. The film earned $6.4 million at the box office.[39] My Own Private Idaho was positively received, with Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly describing the film as "a postmodern road movie with a mood of free-floating, trance-like despair [...] a rich, audacious experience".[40] The New York Times complimented Reeves and Phoenix saying they had insightful performances.[41]

Reeves starred alongside Patrick Swayze, Lori Petty and Gary Busey in the action thriller Point Break (1991), directed by Kathryn Bigelow. He plays an undercover FBI agent tasked with investigating the identities of a group of bank robbers. To prepare for the film, Reeves and his co-stars took surfing lessons with professional surfer Dennis Jarvis in Hawaii; Reeves had never surfed before.[42] After its release Point Break was generally well-received, and a commercial success, earning $83.5 million at the box office.[43] Reeves' performance was praised by The New York Times for "considerable discipline and range", adding, "He moves easily between the buttoned-down demeanour that suits a police procedural story and the loose-jointed manner of his comic roles".[44] Writing for The Washington Post, Hal Hinson called Reeves the "perfect choice" and praised the surfing scenes, but said that "the filmmakers have their characters make the most ludicrously illogical choices imaginable".[45] At the 1992 MTV Movie Awards, Reeves won the Most Desirable Male award.[46] n 1991, Reeves developed an interest in a music career; he formed an alternative rock band called Dogstar, consisting of members Robert Mailhouse, Gregg Miller and Bret Domrose. Reeves played the bass guitar. A year later, he played Jonathan Harker in Francis Ford Coppola's Gothic horror Bram Stoker's Dracula, based on Stoker's 1897 novel Dracula. Starring alongside Gary Oldman, Winona Ryder and Anthony Hopkins, the film was critically and commercially successful. It grossed $215.8 million worldwide.[47] For his role Reeves was required to speak with an English accent, which drew some ridicule; "Overly posh and entirely ridiculous, Reeves's performance is as painful as it is hilarious", wrote Limara Salt of Virgin Media.[48] In a retrospective interview in 2015, director Coppola said, "[Reeves] tried so hard [...] He wanted to do it perfectly and in trying to do it perfectly it came off as stilted".[49] Bram Stoker's Dracula was nominated for four Academy Awards, winning three in Best Costume Design, Best Sound Editing and Best Makeup.[50] The film also received four nominations at the British Academy Film Awards.[51]

Axl Rose

W. Axl Rose (born William Bruce Rose Jr.; born February 6, 1962)[3] is an American musician. He is best known for being the lead vocalist and lyricist of the hard rock band Guns N' Roses, and has been the band's sole constant member since its inception in 1985.[4] Possessing a distinctive and powerful wide-ranging voice,[5] Rose has been named one of the greatest singers of all time by various media outlets, including Rolling Stone and NME.[6][7] Born and raised in Lafayette, Indiana, Rose moved in the early 1980s to Los Angeles, where he became active in the local hard rock scene and joined several bands, including Hollywood Rose and L.A. Guns. In 1985, he co-founded Guns N' Roses, with whom he had great success and recognition in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Their first album, Appetite for Destruction (1987), has sold in excess of 30 million copies worldwide[8][9] and is the best-selling debut album of all time in the U.S. with 18 million units sold.[10] Its full-length follow-ups, the twin albums Use Your Illusion I and Use Your Illusion II (1991), were also widely successful; they respectively debuted at No. 2 and No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and have sold a combined 35 million copies worldwide.[11]At the age of 17, while going through insurance papers in his parents' home, Rose learned of his biological father's existence, and he unofficially readopted his birth name.[16][20] However, he referred to himself only as W. Rose, because he did not want to share a first name with his biological father.[16][20] Following the discovery of his true family origins, Rose became a local juvenile delinquent in Lafayette; he was arrested more than twenty times on charges such as public intoxication and battery, and served jail terms up to three months.[16][30] After Lafayette authorities threatened to charge him as a habitual criminal,[25] Rose moved to Los Angeles, California, in December 1982.[30] After moving to Los Angeles, he became so engrossed in his band AXL that his friends suggested he call himself Axl Rose.[16][31] He legally changed his name to W. Axl Rose prior to signing his contract with Geffen Records in March 1986.[26][30][32]

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After 1994, following the conclusion of their two-and-a-half-year Use Your Illusion Tour, Rose disappeared from public life for several years, while the band disintegrated due to personal and musical differences. As its sole remaining original member, he was able to continue working under the Guns N' Roses banner because he had legally obtained the band name. In 2001, he resurfaced with a new line-up of Guns N' Roses at Rock in Rio 3, and subsequently played periodic concert tours to promote the long-delayed Chinese Democracy (2008), which undersold the music industry's commercial expectations despite positive reviews upon its release.[12] In 2012, Rose was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Guns N' Roses, though he declined to attend the event and requested exclusion from the Hall. In 2016, the same year as he toured with AC/DC, Rose partially reunited the "classic" lineup of Guns N' Roses and has since toured the world as part of the Not in This Lifetime... Tour.At the age of 17, while going through insurance papers in his parents' home, Rose learned of his biological father's existence, and he unofficially readopted his birth name.[16][20] However, he referred to himself only as W. Rose, because he did not want to share a first name with his biological father.[16][20] Following the discovery of his true family origins, Rose became a local juvenile delinquent in Lafayette; he was arrested more than twenty times on charges such as public intoxication and battery, and served jail terms up to three months.[16][30] After Lafayette authorities threatened to charge him as a habitual criminal,[25] Rose moved to Los Angeles, California, in December 1982.[30] After moving to Los Angeles, he became so engrossed in his band AXL that his friends suggested he call himself Axl Rose.[16][31] He legally changed his name to W. Axl Rose prior to signing his contract with Geffen Records in March 1986.[26][30]

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The Bailey household was very religious; Rose and his family attended a Pentecostal church, where he was required to attend services three to eight times per week and even taught Sunday school.[23] Rose later recalled an oppressive upbringing, stating, "We'd have televisions one week, then my stepdad would throw them out because they were Satanic. I wasn't allowed to listen to music. Women were evil. Everything was evil."[23] He accused his stepfather of physically abusing him and his siblings and sexually abusing his sister.[15][20] Rose found solace in music from an early age. He sang in the church choir from the age of five, and performed at services with his brother and sister under the name the Bailey Trio.[24] At Jefferson High School, he participated in the school chorus and studied piano.[25] A second baritone,[26] Rose began developing "different voices" during chorus practice to confuse his teacher.[24][26][27] He eventually formed a band with his friends, one of whom was Jeff Isbell, later known as Izzy Stradlin.[28] He also befriended a girl called Anna Hoon, who would later introduce him to her little brother, Shannon.[29]At the age of 17, while going through insurance papers in his parents' home, Rose learned of his biological father's existence, and he unofficially readopted his birth name.[16][20] However, he referred to himself only as W. Rose, because he did not want to share a first name with his biological father.[16][20] Following the discovery of his true family origins, Rose became a local juvenile delinquent in Lafayette; he was arrested more than twenty times on charges such as public intoxication and battery, and served jail terms up to three months.[16][30] After Lafayette authorities threatened to charge him as a habitual criminal,[25] Rose moved to Los Angeles, California, in December 1982.[30] After moving to Los Angeles, he became so engrossed in his band AXL that his friends suggested he call himself Axl Rose.[16][31] He legally changed his name to W. Axl Rose prior to signing his contract with Geffen Records in March 1986.[26][30][32]

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Axl Rose was born William Bruce Rose Jr. in Lafayette, Indiana, the oldest child of Sharon Elizabeth (née Lintner), then 16 years old and still in high school,[13] and William Bruce Rose, then 20 years old.[14][15] His father has been described as "a troubled and charismatic local delinquent," and the pregnancy was unplanned.[13] His parents separated when Rose was approximately two years old, prompting his father to abduct and allegedly molest him before disappearing from Lafayette.[13] His mother remarried Stephen L. Bailey, and changed her son's name to William Bruce Bailey.[15][16] He has two younger siblings—a sister, Amy, and a half-brother, Stuart.[17][18] As young children, both Rose and his siblings were regularly beaten.[19] Until the age of 17, Rose believed Bailey was his natural father.[20] He never met his biological father as an adult; William Rose Sr. was murdered in Marion, Illinois, in 1984 by a criminal acquaintance who was convicted even though the body was never recovered.[21] Rose did not learn about the murder until years later.[22]At the age of 17, while going through insurance papers in his parents' home, Rose learned of his biological father's existence, and he unofficially readopted his birth name.[16][20] However, he referred to himself only as W. Rose, because he did not want to share a first name with his biological father.[16][20] Following the discovery of his true family origins, Rose became a local juvenile delinquent in Lafayette; he was arrested more than twenty times on charges such as public intoxication and battery, and served jail terms up to three months.[16][30] After Lafayette authorities threatened to charge him as a habitual criminal,[25] Rose moved to Los Angeles, California, in December 1982.[30] After moving to Los Angeles, he became so engrossed in his band AXL that his friends suggested he call himself Axl Rose.[16][31] He legally changed his name to W. Axl Rose prior to signing his contract with Geffen Records in March 1986.[26][30][32]

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Shortly after his arrival in Los Angeles, Rose met guitarist Kevin Lawrence outside The Troubadour in West Hollywood in March 1983 and joined his band Rapidfire. They recorded a five-song demo in May 1983 at Telstar Studios in Burbank,[33] which, after years of legal action, was released as an EP, Ready to Rumble, in 2014.[34][35][36] After parting ways with Lawrence, he formed the band Hollywood Rose with his childhood friend Izzy Stradlin,[37] who had moved to Los Angeles in 1980,[28] and 16-year-old guitarist Chris Weber.[38] In January 1984, the band recorded a five-song demo featuring the tracks "Anything Goes", "Rocker", "Shadow of Your Love", and "Reckless Life", which was released in 2004 as The Roots of Guns N' Roses.[39] Guitarist Slash and drummer Steven Adler, future members of Guns N' Roses, joined Hollywood Rose before the band's dissolution.[40] Rose then joined L.A. Guns.[41] While struggling to make an impact on the Hollywood music scene, Rose held down a variety of jobs, including the position of night manager at the Tower Records/Video location on Sunset Boulevard. Rose and Stradlin also smoked cigarettes for a scientific study at UCLA for the reported wages of $8 per hour (equivalent to $21 in 2021). In March 1985, encouraged by their manager Raz Cue,[42] Rose and his former L.A. Guns bandmate Tracii Guns formed Guns N' Roses by merging their respective bands Hollywood Rose and L.A. Guns with Stradlin, drummer Rob Gardner and bassist Ole Beich.[43] By June, after several line-up changes, the band consisted of Rose, lead guitarist Slash, rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin, bassist Duff McKagan, and drummer Steven Adler. The line-up debuted at The Troubadour and proceeded to play the L.A. club circuit, eventually building a devoted fan following.[43] The band attracted the attention of several major record labels,[43] before signing with Geffen Records in March 1986.[25] The following December, they released the four-song EP Live ?!*@ Like a Suicide on the Geffen imprint UZI Suicide.

 Paris Hilton

Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981)[1][2] is an American media personality, businesswoman, socialite, model, and entertainer. Born in New York City, and raised there and in Beverly Hills, California, she is a great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton, the founder of Hilton Hotels. Hilton first attracted tabloid attention in the late 1990s, when she became a fixture in NYC's social scene, and ventured into modeling at age 19, signing with Donald Trump's agency Trump Model Management. After David LaChapelle photographed her and sister Nicky for the September 2000 issue of Vanity Fair, Hilton was proclaimed "New York's leading It Girl" in 2001.[1] The reality television series The Simple Life (2003–2007), in which she starred with her friend Nicole Richie, and a leaked 2003 sex tape with her then-boyfriend Rick Salomon, later released as 1 Night in Paris (2004), catapulted her into global fame.Hilton's breakout came in 2003, when she starred with her childhood friend and socialite counterpart Nicole Richie in the Fox reality series The Simple Life, in which they lived for a month with a family in the rural community of Altus, Arkansas. The series premiered on December 2, 2003, shortly after the leak of Hilton's sex tape,[44] and was a ratings success. Its first episode attracted 13 million viewers, increasing Fox's adult 18–49 rating by 79 percent.[45] The high viewership was attributed to the exposure Hilton received for the homemade tape,[46] while she became known for her onscreen dumb blonde persona.[47][48] By 2004, she had taken on a number of supporting and guest-starring roles in films and scripted television series such as Raising Helen and The O.C., released an autobiography co-written by Merle Ginsberg, Confessions of an Heiress: A Tongue-in-Chic Peek Behind the Pose,[49][50] which was seventh on The New York Times Best Seller list,[51] and introduced a lifestyle brand with a purse collection for the Japanese label Samantha Thavasa, a jewelry line sold on Amazon.com[52][53] as well as a perfume line by Parlux Fragrances. Originally planned for a small release, high demand for her first fragrance led to increased availability by December 2004. Its introduction was followed by a 47-percent increase in Parlux sales, primarily of the Hilton-branded perfume.[54] After this success, Parlux has released numerous more perfumes with her name, including fragrances for men.

A polarizing and often derided celebrity, Hilton is credited with influencing the revival of the "famous for being famous" phenomenon throughout the 2000s,[6] and was, for a number of years, one of the world's most ubiquitous public figures. Critics indeed suggest that she exemplifies the celebutante—a household name not through talent or work, but through inherited wealth and lavish lifestyle. Forbes included her in its Celebrity 100 in 2004, 2005, and 2006, and ranked her as the most "overexposed" celebrity in 2006 and 2008. Hilton has parlayed her media fame into numerous business endeavours. Under her company, she has produced content for broadcast media, launched a variety of product lines, and opened a chain of self-branded boutiques worldwide as well as an urban beach club in the Philippines. Her perfume line alone has brought in over US$2.5 billion in revenue to date.[7][8][9] Hilton was born on February 17, 1981, in New York City, to Richard Hilton, a businessman, and Kathy Hilton, a socialite and former child actress.[10][11] The oldest of four children, she has one sister, Nicky Hilton (born 1983), and two brothers, Barron Hilton II (born 1989) and Conrad Hughes Hilton (born 1994). Her paternal great-grandfather was Conrad Hilton, who founded Hilton Hotels, while her maternal aunts are television personalities Kim and Kyle Richards. Hilton has Norwegian, German, Italian, English, Irish, and Scottish ancestry.[12][13][14] The family followed the Catholic faith.[15][16]Hilton's breakout came in 2003, when she starred with her childhood friend and socialite counterpart Nicole Richie in the Fox reality series The Simple Life, in which they lived for a month with a family in the rural community of Altus, Arkansas. The series premiered on December 2, 2003, shortly after the leak of Hilton's sex tape,[44] and was a ratings success. Its first episode attracted 13 million viewers, increasing Fox's adult 18–49 rating by 79 percent.[45] The high viewership was attributed to the exposure Hilton received for the homemade tape,[46] while she became known for her onscreen dumb blonde persona.[47][48] By 2004, she had taken on a number of supporting and guest-starring roles in films and scripted television series such as Raising Helen and The O.C., released an autobiography co-written by Merle Ginsberg, Confessions of an Heiress: A Tongue-in-Chic Peek Behind the Pose,[49][50] which was seventh on The New York Times Best Seller list,[51] and introduced a lifestyle brand with a purse collection for the Japanese label Samantha Thavasa, a jewelry line sold on Amazon.com[52][53] as well as a perfume line by Parlux Fragrances. Originally planned for a small release, high demand for her first fragrance led to increased availability by December 2004. Its introduction was followed by a 47-percent increase in Parlux sales, primarily of the Hilton-branded perfume.[54] After this success, Parlux has released numerous more perfumes with her name, including fragrances for men.

Hilton published her debut book, Confessions of an Heiress (2004), which became a New York Times Best Seller, landed her first major film role in the horror remake House of Wax (2005), and released her eponymous debut studio album, Paris (2006), which reached number six on the Billboard 200 and respectively produced the successful single "Stars Are Blind". She has since starred in further films and television series, recorded a line of standalone singles, and performed as a disc jockey.[3] Her media ventures include the reality television series Paris Hilton's My New BFF (2008–2009), The World According to Paris (2011), Hollywood Love Story (2018), Cooking with Paris (2021), and Paris in Love (2021–2022); the documentaries Paris, Not France (2008), The American Meme (2018), and This Is Paris (2020); as well as her podcast, This Is Paris (2021–present), on iHeartRadio.[4][5]In New York City, Hilton had a rebellious youth, regularly skipping classes and sneaking out to parties. On this period, Kathy, who used to contact the New York Post to locate her daughter's whereabouts,[22] remarked: "Let's put it this way —it got very out of control and I was scared for her. And my husband was very scared for her. And, you know, those nightclubs go on all night."[23] Her parents eventually sent her, then 16, to a series of boarding schools for emotionally troubled teens, including Provo Canyon School, where she says that she was mentally and physically abused by the staff. In her documentary This Is Paris, Hilton and other former students from Provo Canyon School recall the abuses they faced, including solitary confinement, forced medication, restraint, battery and strangulation. She attended Provo for 11 months and was released in 1999 when she turned 18.[24][25][26][27] She then attended the Dwight School before dropping out a few months later. "She knew no one at [Dwight]", said her mother in an interview, while a classmate described her as "sort of more sophisticated. She was different from everybody else".[19] She later earned a GED certification.[28][29] With mother Kathy and sister Nicky, Hilton originally modeled as a child at charity events,[30] and made an uncredited appearance in the fantasy film Wishman (1992). After relocating to NYC in 1996, Hilton's growing presence at nightclubs and high-profile events led her to develop a reputation as a socialite. She has recalled getting offers to show up in nightclubs as early as she was 16,[31][32][33] when she obtained a counterfeited identity document in order to gain access to events. Her antics and late-night persona soon started attracting the spotlight from local tabloids. After becoming familiar with Paris and Nicky's social circle, Jason Binn, publisher of Hamptons magazine, stated: "They're little stars. They've become names. To them it's like a job. I believe they wake up every morning and say, 'O.K., where am I supposed to be tonight?'."[34] That lifestyle conflicted with her family's conservative background and proved too "rebellious" for the young Paris, whose parents sent her to a series of boarding schools until she turned 18. Hilton resumed public appearances shortly afterwards, with a New Yorker profile by Bob Morris, published in October 1999, describing her and sister Nicky as "the littlest socialites in town [...] Without even a smile, they can breeze past the velvet ropes at Moomba or get a seat at Le Bilboquet".[35] Businessman George J. Maloof Jr., for instance, flew Hilton in his private jet and paid her to attend, in a dress made from US$1 million in poker chips, the Palms Casino Resort opening in Las Vegas in November.

Hilton moved frequently in her youth, living in Beverly Hills, the Hamptons, and a suite in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan. Her relatives have described her as "very much a tomboy" who dreamed about becoming a veterinarian. Her mother recalled her saving money to buy monkeys, snakes, and goats, and once leaving "the snake out the cage [...] at the Waldorf".[17] Hilton was raised in a very "sheltered, conservative" atmosphere; her parents were particularly strict and she was not allowed to date, wear make-up or certain types of clothes, or go to school dances. Her mother enrolled her in etiquette classes with the idea of introducing her as a debutante, which Hilton was at first reluctant to do, as she did not find it to be "real" or "natural". She described it as "very proper, very prim, almost like a Stepford wife".[17] The family's social circle included figures such as Lionel Richie, Donald Trump, and Michael Jackson.[18][19] Growing up in Los Angeles, Hilton attended the Buckley School and St. Paul the Apostle School, finishing elementary school in 1995.[20] Her freshman year of high school (1995–96) was spent at the Marywood-Palm Valley School in Rancho Mirage, California. In 1996, Hilton and her family left California for the East Coast.[21] At 15, she attended Professional Children's School.[19] She skated and played ice hockey while in high school.

Inspired by designers Patricia Field and Betsey Johnson, Hilton decided to pursue modeling, signing with Donald Trump's agency, T Management, at age 19.[30] She modeled for Catherine Malandrino and Marc Bouwer, and posed alongside her sister for David LaChapelle[40] in a shoot that was featured in the September 2000 issue of Vanity Fair. On her persona, LaChapelle stated: "Paris had a charisma back then that you couldn't take your eyes off. She would giggle and laugh and be effervescent and take up a room".[41] By 2001, Hilton had become "one of the biggest stars, off and on the catwalk," at New York Fashion Week, graced an advertising campaign for Italian label Iceberg, and appeared on magazines such as Vogue and FHM.[42] In addition to modeling, Hilton ventured into screen acting, playing an ill-fated character in the independent teen thriller Sweetie Pie (2000),[19] and filming a cameo appearance as herself in the comedy Zoolander (2001), with Ben Stiller. In 2002, she appeared in Vincent Gallo's "Honey Bunny" video,[43] played a "strung-out supermodel" in the 5-minute short QIK2JDG, and starred as a socialite in the straight-to-DVD horror film Nine Lives.

 Sarah Jessica Parker

Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer.[1][2] She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including six Golden Globe Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards. Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2022.[3] She is known for her role as Carrie Bradshaw on the HBO television series Sex and the City (1998–2004), for which she won two Emmy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress in a Comedy Series and three Screen Actors Guild Awards. The character was widely popular during the airing of the series and was later recognized as one of the greatest female characters in American television. She later reprised the role in films Sex and the City (2008) and Sex and the City 2 (2010), as well as the revival seasons of And Just Like That... (2021–present). Parker made her Broadway debut at the age of 11 in the 1976 revival of The Innocents, before going on to star in the title role of the Broadway musical Annie in 1979. She made her first major film appearances in the 1984 dramas Footloose and Firstborn. Her other film roles include L.A. Story (1991), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), Hocus Pocus (1993), Ed Wood (1994), The First Wives Club (1996), The Family Stone (2005), Failure to Launch (2006), Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009), and New Year's Eve (2011).

In 2012, Parker returned to television for the first time since Sex and the City, portraying Isabelle Wright in three episodes of the FOX series Glee. She starred as Frances Dufresne in the HBO series Divorce (2016–2019), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. Since 2005, she has run her own production company, Pretty Matches, which has been creating content for HBO and other channels. Sarah Jessica Parker was born in Nelsonville, Ohio, the daughter of Barbara Parker (née Keck), a nursery-school operator and teacher, and Stephen Parker, an entrepreneur and journalist.[4][5] She was one of a total of eight children from her parents' marriage and her mother's second marriage; her full siblings include actors Timothy Britten Parker and Pippin Parker. Parker's parents divorced when she was 3+1⁄2 years old, and her mother married Paul Forste, a truck driver and account executive.[6] Stephen, a native of Brooklyn, is Jewish (from a family from Eastern Europe)[7][8][9][10] and his family's original surname was "Bar-Kahn" ("son of Kohen").[5][11] Barbara is of German, and some English, descent.[5][12] Parker has identified culturally with her father's faith, Judaism, although she has had no religious training.[11] Parker's parents struggled to support their large family – oftentimes the electricity could be shut off, or the family would have to forgo Christmases and birthdays for lack of money.[6] Nonetheless, she has stated: "I wouldn't change any of it, for anything ... for the most part, we had everything we needed. Not always, but for the most part."[13] Parker's mother immersed her children in culture and extracurricular activities. She often took them to free public institutions like the ballet and the theater in Cincinnati, so that they lived "full, rich lives," emulating the New York artistic scene.[11][13]

As a young girl, Parker trained in singing and ballet, and was soon cast in the Broadway revival of William Archibald's play The Innocents.[14] Her family moved to Cincinnati and then to Dobbs Ferry, New York, near New York City, so that she could get specialized training. There, her mother and stepfather helped Parker develop her career as a child actress. In 1977, the family moved to the newly opened planned community on Roosevelt Island, in the East River between Manhattan and Queens, and later to Manhattan. The family later moved to Englewood, New Jersey, where Parker attended Dwight Morrow High School.[15] Parker attended the School of American Ballet in New York City,[16] the New York Professional Children's School,[16] the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati,[17] and Hollywood High School in Los Angeles.[18] Parker and four siblings appeared in a production of The Sound of Music at the outdoor Municipal Theatre (Muny) in St. Louis, Missouri.[19] She was selected for a role in the new 1977–81 Broadway musical Annie: first in the small role of "July" and then succeeding Andrea McArdle and Shelley Bruce in the lead role of the Depression-era orphan, beginning March 1979.

 Parker held the role for a year. In 1982, Parker obtained the lead role of the CBS sitcom Square Pegs, which lasted just one season. Her performance as a shy teen who showed hidden depths, nevertheless, was acclaimed by critics. In the three years that followed, Parker was cast in four films: the most significant being Footloose (1984) and Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985), with Helen Hunt. In 1986, Parker appeared in Flight of the Navigator, a Disney science fiction film.[20 In the romantic comedy L.A. Story (1991), Parker took on the role of a ditzy aspiring spokesmodel meeting a television meteorologist; both the film and her performance garnered positive reviews.[14] She would star with Nicolas Cage, as the girlfriend of a commitment-phobe man, in the film Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), and play one in a villainous trio of witches in the Disney fantasy family comedy Hocus Pocus (1993), alongside Bette Midler and Kathy Najimy. Honeymoon in Vegas was a critical success, earning US$35m while Hocus Pocus rated average with reviewers and made US$39 million in the US,[21][22] but became a cult film due to strong DVD sales and large television following.[23][24] In 1993, she also starred as a police diver opposite Bruce Willis in the film Striking Distance, and in 1994, she appeared opposite Johnny Depp in the critically acclaimed biographical drama Ed Wood[14] as the titular character's girlfriend, Dolores Fuller. She headlined the romantic comedy Miami Rhapsody (1995), playing a woman who has some misgivings about her fiancée and starred in the off-Broadway play Sylvia, alongside future husband Matthew Broderick. Parker attended the School of American Ballet in New York City,[16] the New York Professional Children's School,[16] the School for Creative and Performing Arts in Cincinnati,[17] and Hollywood High School in Los Angeles.[18] Parker and four siblings appeared in a production of The Sound of Music at the outdoor Municipal Theatre (Muny) in St. Louis, Missouri.[19] She was selected for a role in the new 1977–81 Broadway musical Annie: first in the small role of "July" and then succeeding Andrea McArdle and Shelley Bruce in the lead role of the Depression-era orphan, beginning March 1979.

In 1996, she appeared in another Tim Burton-directed movie, Mars Attacks!, in which she made part of a large ensemble cast consisting of Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Pierce Brosnan, among others, portraying a chat-show host whose head is transposed with that of her chihuahua by the invading aliens. The romantic comedy The First Wives Club saw Parker take on the role of a dim-witted but manipulative fiancée, and also reunite with Hocus Pocus collaborator Bette Midler. The film was a critical darling and a major commercial success, grossing US$105 million at the North American box office,[25] and it developed a cult following among middle-aged women.[26][27] Her other 1996 release was The Substance of Fire, in which she reprised her 1991 stage role. In 1997, Parker appeared as a washed-up former child actress in the little seen comedy 'Til There Was You. The script for the HBO dramedy series Sex and the City was sent to Parker. Set in New York City and based on Candace Bushnell's 1997 book of the same name, the show follows the lives of a group of four women—three in their mid-thirties and one in her forties—who, despite their different natures and ever-changing sex lives, remain inseparable and confide in each other. Its creator Darren Star wanted her for the project, and despite some doubts about being cast in a long-term television series, Parker agreed to star. Her role was that of Carrie Bradshaw, the narrator and main protagonist, with each episode structured around her train of thought while writing her weekly column "Sex and the City" for the fictitious paper, the New York Star. Response towards her performance was positive during the show's run and in the years immediately thereafter. Her character was widely popular during the airing of the series and was later recognized as one of the greatest female characters in American television.[29][30][31][32] In 2009, The Guardian named Bradshaw as an icon of the decade, saying "Carrie Bradshaw did as much to shift the culture around certain women's issues as real-life female groundbreakers."[33] Parker received two Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards for her performance.