Showing posts with label Actress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Actress. Show all posts

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Jordana Brewster


Jordana Brewster (born April 26, 1980)

Early life
Brewster was born in Panama City, Panama, the daughter of Maria João (née Leal de Sousa), a former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model from Brazil, and Alden Brewster, an American investment banker. Her paternal grandfather, Kingman Brewster, Jr., was an educator, diplomat, and president of Yale University. Brewster left Panama when she was 2 months old, relocating to London where she would spend 6 years before moving to her mother's native Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She left Brazil at the age of 10, settling in Manhattan, New York, where she would live for the next 15 years. Brewster studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in New York and graduated from the Professional Children's School in New York. She then enrolled at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, graduating in 2003.


Career
Brewster made her debut in daytime soap operas, with a one-time appearance on All My Children as Anita Santos, followed by a recurring role on As the World Turns as Nikki Munson from 1995 to 1998. Her first film role was in Robert Rodriguez's 1998 film, The Faculty.

One of Brewster's most notable film roles to date is Mia Toretto from The Fast and the Furious (2001), which she will reprise in Fast and Furious (2009). Subsequent film work has included roles in Win a Date with Tad Hamilton! (scenes deleted), as criminal mastermind Lucy Diamond in D.E.B.S., and as Chrissie in The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning.

Her television work includes the NBC miniseries The 60's, as Sarah Weinstock, a college student and radical activist, and a pilot for a followup to the film Mr & Mrs. Smith, playing the role depicted in the film by Angelina Jolie. She is also appearing on Chuck, as the title character's former girlfriend in a multi-episode stint during the second season.

In 2002, Stuff magazine named her the 96th hottest woman in their "102 Sexiest Women in the World". In 2005 Maxim magazine named her the 54th sexiest woman in the world in their annual Hot 100. In 2006 Maxim ranked her at #59 on their Hot 100. She placed 8th on afterellen.com's "100 Hottest Women" list in 2007 and 22nd in 2008.


Personal life
Brewster dated Mark Wahlberg from 2000 to June 2001 and dated Derek Jeter in 2001. She has also dated Mark McGrath from 2003 to 2004. She has a cat named after her movie character in The Faculty, as well as 2 Labradors. A "yellow" one named Ella and a "white" one named Hendry.

After she dated him for a year, Brewster became engaged to Andrew Form (who worked as a producer on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning) on November 4, 2006. She married Form in a private ceremony in the Bahamas, May 6, 2007.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Taraji P. Henson


Taraji Penda Henson (born September 11, 1970) is an Academy Award-nominated American actress. She is best known for her roles as Yvette in Baby Boy (2001), Shug in Hustle and Flow (2005) and Queenie in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008).

Henson was born in Southeast Washington, DC, the daughter of Bernice, a manager at Woodward & Lothrop, and Boris Henson, a janitor. She is the great granddaughter of Matthew Henson, one of the explorers who discovered the Geographic North Pole. Her first and middle name are of Swahili origin with her first name meaning "hope" and her middle name meaning "love."

Henson attended Oxon Hill High School in Oxon Hill, MD. She first attended NC A&T, where she started a major in Electrical Engineering. She later transferred to Howard University. She worked two jobs—in the morning as a secretary at the Pentagon and in the night as a singing and dancing waitress on a dinner cruise ship- The Spirit of Washington- to pay for Howard University. She graduated with a degree in Theater Arts. Her son Marcel was born in 1995; his father, M.J. was murdered in 1997. Taraji's father died in 2006.

Henson has said in an interview that her philosophy in life is: "Love as often as you can. Dance like nobody's watching. Travel. Eat. Try new foods because, like my character says, you never know what's coming for you and when it's time to let go, you got to let go."

Ms. Henson has appeared in the films Four Brothers (2005), Talk To Me (2007), Smokin' Aces (2007), Tyler Perry's The Family That Preys (2008), and Not Easily Broken (2009). In late 2008, she starred opposite Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Henson plays the role of Queenie, Benjamin's mother, in a performance which has garnered critical acclaim and an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. She noted in an interview that, "Queenie is the embodiment of unconditional love."

Henson has also been a cast member on several television shows, including Lifetime Television's The Division and ABC's Boston Legal for one season. Her recurring appearances in television include the character Angela Scott on the ABC television show "Eli Stone" in December 2008. She has guest-starred on several television shows, such as The WB show Smart Guy playing the role of Monique (1997–1998), the Fox Television show House in 2005 and the CBS Television show CSI in 2006.

Henson made her singing debut in Hustle & Flow; she provided the vocals for the Three 6 Mafia track "It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp". The song won an Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2006, giving Three 6 the distinction of becoming the first Black hip-hop act to win in the category. Henson performed the song at the Oscars on March 5, 2006 with the group.

Henson has made several appearances on music videos. Henson appeared in the rapper Common's music video called Testify in 2005 as the wife of a soon to be convicted murderer. On December 5, 2008, Jamie Foxx premiered his new music video "Just Like Me" on TBS featuring Henson and T.I.




I love her!!! I remember first seeing her on the old tv show " Smart Guy ". When I saw her in a bigger role was of course in " BabyBoy ". She has come a looooong way from those " Smart Guy " days. I mean she's playing Brad Pitts mother in one of the biggest movies of the year!!! Keep on rockin it out momma!!!