Date of Birth

16 May 1986, Rockwood, Tennessee, USA

Birth Name

Megan Denise Fox

Nickname

Mega Fox
Foxy Megan

Height

5' 6" (1.68 m)

Mini Biography

Megan Fox was born May 16, 1986 in Tennessee. She has one older sister. Megan began her training in drama and dance at the age of 5 and, at the age of 10, moved to Florida where she continued her training and finished school. She now lives in Los Angeles. Megan began acting and modeling at the age of 13 after winning several awards at the 1999 American Modeling and Talent Convention in Hilton Head, South Carolina. Megan made her film debut as "Brianna Wallace" in the Mary-Kate Olsen and Ashley Olsen movie, Holiday in the Sun (2001) (V).

Lives with fiancée Brian Austin Green.

2. JESSICA ALBA

Date of Birth

28 April 1981, Pomona, California, USA .

Birth Name

Jessica Marie Alba

Nickname

Sky Angel
Albz

Height

5' 6½" (1.69 m)

Jessica Marie Alba (born April 28, 1981) is an American television and film actress. She has received many awards for her acting and physical appearance.

Alba's began her TV and movie appearances as a child actor in Camp Nowhere and The Secret World of Alex Mack (1994). Alba rose to prominence with the television series Dark Angel (2000–2002), then expanding her résumé to film, predominantly within the confines of action and comedy. Alba later appeared in various films including Honey (2003), Sin City (2005), Fantastic Four (2005), Into the Blue (2005), Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007) and Good Luck Chuck of the same year.

Alba appears frequently on the "Hot 100" section of Maxim and was voted AskMen.com's number one on their list of "99 Most Desirable Women" in 2006, as well as "Sexiest Woman in the World" by FHM in 2007. She also appeared on the cover of Playboy, which was followed by a lawsuit that was later dropped. Alba has won various awards for her acting, including the Choice Actress Teen Choice Award and Saturn Award for Best Actress (TV) for her acting in the series Dark Angel.

3. KEELEY HAZELL

Keeley Rebecca Hazell (born on 18 September 1986) is an English Page 3 Girl and glamour model noted for her large, natural breasts (UK bra size 32E)

4. ELISHA CUTHBERT

Date of Birth

30 November 1982, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Birth Name

Elisha Ann Cuthbert

Nickname

Leesh

Height

5' 2½" (1.59 m)

Trivia

While trotting the globe as a correspondent for the award-winning series "Popular Mechanics for Kids" (1997), she caught the eye of First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and was invited to Washington for a meeting with her.

Was born in Calgary, Alberta, Canada but later moved and grew up in the Greenfield Park district, in Longueuil (south shore of Montreal), Quebec, Canada.

Is a former foot model.

Speaks French as a result of growing up in Montreal.

Dislikes flying so much that she has certain rituals she must do: like always board the plane with her right foot first. (From an April 2004 appearance on Conan O'Brien.)

[June 2004] Engaged to longtime boyfriend Trace Ayala, best friend and personal assistant to Justin Timberlake. Broke off her engagement to Trace Ayala in November 2005.

Shares a birthday with the following celebrities: Ben Stiller, singer Clay Aiken, "8 Simple Rules... for Dating My Teenage Daughter" (2002) star Kaley Cuoco, 80s punk rocker Billy Idol and Dick Clark.

5. HAYDEN PANETTIERE

Date of Birth

21 August 1989, Palisades, New York, USA

Birth Name

Hayden Leslie Panettiere

Nickname

Mushroom
Hayd

Height

5' 1" (1.55 m)

Mini Biography

Hayden Leslie Panettiere was born on 21st August 1989 in Palisades, New York. She still lives in New York with her parents, Lesley and Skip Panettiere, and younger brother Jansen Panettiere. Her mom got her started in the business by doing commercials when she was just 11 months old. Then, at only 4 1/2, she was cast on the soap opera "One Life to Live", where she remained until 1997. Since then, she has gone on to appear in many feature films and TV movies. But she is probably best known in the United States for her role as "Claire" on the hit TV show "Heroes" (2006/II).

As for movies, Hayden starred in Remember the Titans (2000) with Denzel Washington and Joe Somebody (2001) with Tim Allen. When Hayden isn't working, she enjoys singing, dancing, horseback riding, gymnastics, taking piano lessons, and swimming.

She has been involved with many animated movies, beginning with A Bug's Life (1998) as "Dot", later to follow was Dinosaur (2000), the video game Kingdom Hearts (2002) (VG), and The Mark of Kri (2002) (VG). Her next movie is Racing Stripes (2005), a partly animated film, but Hayden will star in the human role; other cast members include the voices of Whoopi Goldberg, Dustin Hoffman, Joshua Jackson and Mandy Moore.

In 2003, she joined the likes of Jessica Lange, Tom Wilkinson, and Clancy Brown in Jane Anderson's Normal (2003) (TV) a film about a Midwestern husband and father who announces his plans to have a sex-change operation. In July of the same year, Hayden appeared in a John Guare play, "Landscape of the Body", for the Williamstown theater festival in Williamstown, Massachusetts.

6. SCARLETT JOHANSSON

Date of Birth

22 November 1984, New York, New York, USA

Birth Name

Scarlett I. Johansson

Height

5' 4" (1.63 m)

Mini Biography

Johansson's performance as Grace in The Horse Whisperer (1998) earned her a Hollywood Reporter Young Star award. And previously her Manny & Lo (1996) role received a nod by the Independent Spirit Awards. Scarlett has an older brother and sister and a twin brother. She divides her time between New York with her dad, and Los Angeles with her mother. Her acting career was launched in the off-Broadway production of 'Sophistry' with Ethan Hawke.

7. CHERYL COLE

Cheryl Ann Cole (née Tweedy; born 30 June 1983) is an English singer and member of the girl group Girls Aloud. She is the wife of Chelsea and England footballer Ashley Cole.

8. HILARY DUFF

Date of Birth

28 September 1987, Houston, Texas, USA

Birth Name

Hilary Erhard Duff

Height

5' 2" (1.57 m)

Biography

Hilary Erhard Duff was born on September 28th, 1987, in Houston, Texas, to Bob and Susan Duff. When Hilary was six, she had been traveling in the Cechetti Ballet with her sister Haylie Duff but decided she wanted to fulfill her dream of acting. Her first part was in the mini-series True Women (1997) (TV), but her first starring role was as "Ellie" in The Soul Collector (1999) (TV), for which she won a Best Performance in a TV Movie or Pilot (Supporting Young Actress) Young Artist Award. Hilary also starred in Casper Meets Wendy (1998) (TV) in 1998, in which she played the young witch "Wendy".

Success came again as she took the role of the starring title character "Lizzie McGuire" in the #1 hit Disney Channel series "Lizzie McGuire" (2001). "Lizzie" was extremely successful and spawned The Lizzie McGuire Movie (2003). In 2002, she made the Disney Channel movie Cadet Kelly (2002) (TV). Hilary continues her upward spiral, guest-starring on TV shows, filming movies, recording albums and doing television concerts.

9. ANGELINA JOLIE

Date of Birth

4 June 1975, Los Angeles, California, USA

Birth Name

Angelina Jolie Voight

Nickname

Height

Mini Biography

Growing up in Los Angeles, Jolie was no stranger to the film industry, being the daughter of Academy Award-winning actor Jon Voight. She later trained and performed at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute, where she was seen in several stage productions.

She worked as a professional model in London, New York and Los Angeles, and has also appeared in music videos for such artists as Meat Loaf, Lenny Kravitz, Antonello Venditti and The Lemonheads. In addition, she has acted in five student films for the USC School of Cinema, all directed by her brother, James Haven.

10. KEIRA KNIGHTLEY

1980s - 1990s: Supermodel Era

In the early 1980s, fashion designers began advertising on television and billboards. Models became more familiar to the masses. They were no longer nameless individuals. Catwalk regulars like Carol Alt and Paulina Porizkova began to endorse products with their names as well as their faces, getting in front of everything from Diet Pepsi to Ford Trucks. Elle Macpherson, who became known as "The Body", sold more pin-up posters than any actress in Hollywood. As the Models began to embrace old-style glamour, they were starting to replace movie stars as symbols of luxury and wealth. In this regard, many viewed supermodels not so much as individuals but as images.

By the 1990s, supermodels became prominent in the media. Earning the title "supermodel" meant that the model was a superstar, winning fame simply for being a "personality". They did talk shows. They were cited in gossip columns. They partied at the trendiest nightspots. They landed movie roles. They inspired franchises. They dated or married movie stars. And, of course, they made millions. "We don't wake up for less than $10,000 a day." uttered by supermodel Linda Evangelista has become the most famous quote in modeling history.

Fame allowed them to take control of their careers, market themselves, and earn higher fees. In 1991, Christy Turlington signed a contract with Maybelline that paid her $800,000 for twelve days' work each year. Four years later, Claudia Schiffer reportedly earned $12 million for her various modeling assignments. Authorities ranging from Karl Lagerfeld to Time magazine had declared the supermodels more glamorous than movie stars. Although many models were referred to as supermodels during this time, only 6, also known as the "Big Six" were officially recognized and accepted by the fashion world as supermodels, namely Claudia Schiffer, Cindy Crawford, Kate Moss, Linda Evangelista, Naomi Campbell and Christy Turlington. They were the most sought after models, dominating over magazine covers, fashion runways and advertisements. Excluding Moss, they are known as the "original supermodels".

Late 1990s - present: Decline of the Supermodel

In the late 1990s, models were slowly being replaced by actresses, pop singers, or other celebrities on the covers of fashion magazines and ad campaigns. The rise of celebrity culture relegated many models to anonymity. A popular "conspiracy theory" explaining the supermodel's disappearance is that designers and fashion editors were sick of their "I won't get out of bed for less than $10,000 a day" attitude and made sure a small group of models would never again have the power of the Big Six. However, Charles Gandee, associate editor at Vogue, said, high prices and poor attitudes contributed less to the decline of the supermodel. As clothes became less flashy, designers turned to models who were less glamorous, so they wouldn't overpower the clothing.

The majority of models come from non-English speaking countries and cultures, making the cross over to mainstream spokesperson and cover star difficult. The opportunities for super stardom were waning in the modeling world. On September 2007, Claudia Schiffer stated, "Supermodels, like we once were, don't exist any more." and reckons that Gisele Bündchen is the only one who comes close to earning the supermodel title. However, the term is now being used more loosely by the popular media, naming models as supermodels even though the model has no extensive background in high fashion couture and/or has not attained worldwide recognition.

The most famous models of the late 1990's and 2000's include Karolina Kurkova, Natalia Vodianova, Laetitia Casta, Amber Valletta, Carmen Kass, Alek Wek, Alessandra Ambrosio, Liya Kebede, Angela Lindvall, Karen Elson, Julia Stegner, Bridget Hall, and Eva Herzigova with Gisele Bündchen, Adriana Lima, Tyra Banks and Heidi Klum as the most prominent ones.

Check out the Spotlight picture gallery for your Supermodel favourites

]]>Audrey HepburnMovie StarsWomenhttp://www.wonfifty.com/spotlight/2007/10/28/audrey-hepburn.htmlNS2007-10-28T10:56:51Z2007-10-28T10:56:51Z

Raised under Nazi rule in Arnhem (The Netherlands) during World War II, Hepburn trained extensively to become a ballerina before deciding to pursue acting. She first gained notice for her starring role in the Broadway production of Gigi (1951). She was then cast in Roman Holiday (1953) as Princess Ann, the role for which she won an Academy Award.

She was one of the leading Hollywood actresses during the 1950s and 1960s and received four more Academy Award nominations including one for her iconic performance as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961).

In 1964 she played Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady, the critically acclaimed film adaptation of the musical. From 1988 until her death in 1993 she served as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and was honoured with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for her work. In 1999 she was ranked as the third greatest female star of all time by the American Film Institute.

See more pictures of Audrey Hepburn in the Spotlight Gallery

]]>PAULINA PORIZKOVAhttp://www.wonfifty.com/spotlight/2007/10/15/paulina-porizkovaone-of-the-first-supermodels.htmlNS2007-10-15T08:32:36Z2007-10-15T08:32:36Z

Early life

Born in Prostějov, Czechoslovakia, she was still a toddler when her father and mother left Czechoslovakia, fleeing the Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia in 1968, and moved to Lund in southern Sweden. They left Paulina under the care of their grandmother, believing that their daughter could be brought out later.

However, the Czechoslovak authorities would not allow this, and the ensuing battle for Paulina was widely publicized in the Swedish press, making her a cause célèbre. After a failed rescue attempt, in which her mother was detained by the national police, international political pressure led by Olof Palme caused the communist government to allow the Pořizková family to be reunited after seven years. The reunion was soon ended when the husband left, and the couple filed for divorce. Father and daughter have been estranged since.

This left Paulina's mother to fund her own medical education and Paulina and her brother Jachym (who was born in Czechoslovakia during her mother's house arrest) to look after themselves, including having to steal bread to have something to eat. Paulina hated her time in Sweden, as she was harassed by her peers for her poverty-stricken political refugee status.

Career

Modelling

A photographer friend took pictures of Porizkova and sent them to the Elite modeling agency in 1980. At 5 feet 10 1/2 inches (180 cm), she was the perfect height for a fashion model. Elite head John Casablancas noticed Porizkova's attractiveness and potential, and offered her a ticket to Paris. It was an extremely tempting offer for a teenager who was eager to get out of Sweden and to support herself.

She quickly rose to become a top model in Paris during the early 1980s, and her fame spread to the United States when she posed in swimwear for Sports Illustrated magazine. She appeared on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue in 1984 and again in 1985. (Her first appearance as a model in the magazine was in 1983.) A third consecutive run as the S.I. covergirl supposedly was dashed when she appeared on the cover of Life magazine in a swimsuit.

Porizkova appeared on the cover of Playboy magazine in August 1987 to preview her new (non-nude) swimsuit calendar. A few years earlier she had appeared in a nude spread in GQ magazine, which had left her feeling dissatisfied.]]>

ELVIShttp://www.wonfifty.com/spotlight/2007/9/22/elvis.htmlNS2007-09-22T14:42:48Z2007-09-22T14:42:48Z

Early life

Presley was born in a two-room house, built by his father, in Tupelo, Mississippi. He was the second of identical twins - his brother was stillborn and given the names Jesse Garon. He grew up as an only child and "was, everyone agreed, unusually close to his mother." The family lived just above the poverty line in East Tupelo and attended the Assembly of God church. In 1938, Presley's father, seen by some as unambitious and lazy, was convicted and jailed for an eight-dollar check forgery. He was released after serving eight months, but this event deeply influenced the life of the young family. During her husband's absence, Gladys lost the family home.

At school, Presley was teased by his fellow classmates; they threw "things at him - rotten fruit and stuff - because he was different, because he was quiet and he stuttered and he was a mama's boy.

Aged ten, he made his first public performance in a singing contest at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show. Dressed as a cowboy, the young Elvis had to stand on a chair to reach the microphone and sang Red Foley's "Old Shep". He won second prize.

In 1946, Presley was taken to Tupelo Hardware where he was bought a guitar - a $7.90 birthday present (He had wanted a rifle). Two years later, the Presleys moved to Memphis, allegedly because Vernon - as well as needing work - had to escape the law for transporting 'bootlegger' liquor. In 1949, they lived at Lauderdale Courts - a public housing development - in one of Memphis, Tennessee's poorer sections. Presley practiced guitar playing in the basement laundry room and also played in a five-piece band with other tenants.Another resident, Johnny Burnette, recalled: "Wherever Elvis went he'd have his guitar slung across his back... He used to go down to the fire station and sing to the boys there... [H]e'd go in to one of the cafes or bars... Then some folks would say: 'Let's hear you sing, boy,'"

]]>

Marilyn Monroehttp://www.wonfifty.com/spotlight/2007/7/26/marilyn-monroea-legend.htmlNS2007-07-26T16:57:53Z2007-07-26T16:57:53Z

Marilyn Monroe (born Norma Jeane Mortenson on June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962), was a Golden Globe Award-winning American actress, singer, model and pop icon. She was known for her comedic skills and screen presence, going on to become one of the most popular movie stars of the 1950s and early 1960s. At the later stages of her career, she worked towards serious roles with a measure of success. However, she faced disappointments in her career and personal life during her later years. Her death has been subject to speculation and conspiracy theories.

Marilyn Monroe was born under the name of Norma Jeane Mortenson in the charity ward of the Los Angeles County Hospital. Monroe's maternal grandparents were Otis Elmer Monroe and Della Mae Hogan. Her mother Gladys Pearl Monroe was born in Porfirio Diaz, Mexico, on May 27, 1902.

Unable to persuade Della to take Norma Jeane, Gladys placed her with foster parents Albert and Ida Bolender of Hawthorne, California, where she lived until she was seven.

Gladys visited Norma Jeane every Saturday. One day, she announced that she had bought a house. A few months after they had moved in, Gladys suffered a breakdown. In My Story, Monroe recalls her mother "screaming and laughing" as she was forcibly removed to the State Hospital in Norwalk. According to My Sister Marilyn, Gladys's brother, Marion, hanged himself upon his release from an asylum, and Della's father did the same in a fit of depression.

Norma Jeane was declared a ward of state, and Gladys's best friend, Grace McKee (later Goddard) became her guardian. After McKee married in 1935, Norma Jeane was sent to the Los Angeles Orphans Home (later renamed Hollygrove), and then to a succession of foster homes.

The Goddards were about to move to the east coast and could not take her. Grace approached the mother of James Dougherty about the possibility of her son marrying the girl. They married two weeks after she turned 16, so that Norma Jeane would not have to return to an orphanage or foster care.

While her husband was in the Merchant Marine during World War II, Norma Jeane Dougherty moved in with her mother-in-law, and started to work in the Radioplane Company factory (owned by Hollywood actor Reginald Denny), spraying airplane parts with fire retardant and inspecting parachutes. Army photographer David Conover was scouting local factories, taking photos for a YANK magazine article about women contributing to the war effort. He saw her potential as a model and she was soon signed by The Blue Book modeling agency.Shortly after signing with the agency, Monroe had her hair cut, straightened, and lightened to golden blonde.

Burlesque as a sensation was brought to America from Britain in the late 1860s by Lydia Thompson and her British Blondes, a troupe who spoofed traditional theatrical productions and featured ladies performing men’s roles, in costumes considered revealing for the time period. Since that time it has assimilated vaudeville, minstrel shows, striptease, comedy and cabaret to evolve into the follies of the twenties and thirties to the girlie shows of the 40s and 50s, which eventually gave way to the modern strip club. Burlesque, in its various forms, is a unique traditional American Folk Art.

A new generation nostalgic for the spectacle and perceived glamour of the old times determined to bring burlesque back. This revival was pioneered independently in the mid 1990s by Ami Goodheart’s “Dutch Weismanns’ Follies” revue in New York and Michelle Carr’s “The Velvet Hammer Burlesque” troupe in Los Angeles. In addition, and throughout the country, many individual performers were incorporating aspects of burlesque in their acts. These productions, inspired by the likes of Sally Rand, Tempest Storm, Gypsy Rose Lee, Dixie Evans and Lily St. Cyr have themselves gone on to inspire a new generation of performers.

Today New Burlesque has taken many forms, but all have the common trait of honoring one or more of burlesque’s previous incarnations, with acts including striptease, expensive costumes, bawdy humor, cabaret and more. There are modern burlesque performers and shows all over the world, and annual conventions such as Tease-O-Rama, Yard Dogs Road Show , New York Burlesque Festival, The Great Boston Burlesque Exposition, and the Miss Exotic World Pageant.

Today's Burlesque revival has found a home in New York City, where select nightlife venues have been inspired by the trend. Several notable troops include Pinchbottom Burlesque, Starshine Burlesque, and, during the summer, Coney Island's Burlesque at the Beach.

New Burlesque tends to put the emphasis on style and tend to be sexy rather than sexual, often involving humor. Unlike modern strippers, who dance in stripclubs to make a living, burlesque performers often perform for fun and spend more money on costumes, rehearsal, and props than they are compensated. Performers rarely strip to less than pasties and g-strings.

Dita Von Teese
Hope Talmon AKA Cyrelle St. James
The World Famous Pontani Sisters
Kitten de Ville
Erochica Bamboo
Dirty Martini
Kalani Kokonut
Miss Immodesty Blaize
The World Famous BOB
Julie Atlas Muz
Michelle L'amour
Miss Sneaky Kiki