Justin Timberlake Biography

Name: Justin Timberlake
Profession: Singer, Actor
Birth Date: January 31, 1981
Height: 6' 2 ¾"

Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is a two-time Grammy Award-winning American pop/R&B singer and actor. He came to fame as the frontman of pop boy band 'N Sync. In 2002, he released his debut solo album, Justified, which went on to sell over seven million copies worldwide. Timberlake's second solo release, FutureSex/LoveSounds, was released on September 12, 2006, including the hit songs "Sexyback" and "My Love."

Timberlake was born in Memphis, Tennessee to Randall Timberlake and Lynn Bomar. His paternal grandfather, Charles L. Timberlake, was a Baptist minister. His parents are now divorced and both have re-married; his mother, who now runs an entertainment company called JustinTime Entertainment, has re-married to Paul Harless, a banker, while his father, a choir director at a Baptist church, has two children, Jonathan and Stephen, from his second marriage.

Timberlake grew up in Millington, a small town just north of Memphis. In 1993, He got his first taste of fame when he joined the ranks of The Mickey Mouse Club. There he met future girlfriend and pop superstar Britney Spears, future tourmate Christina Aguilera, and perhaps most importantly, future bandmate JC Chasez. When the show ended in 1995, Timberlake recruited Chasez to be in a new all-male singing group he was forming with friend Chris Kirkpatrick. The group would come to be known as 'N Sync. In 1999 Justin acted as Jason Sharpe in the made-for-TV movie Model Behaviour.

Timberlake's biggest inspiration is The King of Pop, Michael Jackson, which is noticeable in his dance and singing style.

Career
Timberlake was a member of the popular 1990s boy band, 'N Sync, and was considered a teen idol. The group formed in 1995 and started their career 1996, hitting it big in the States a few years later with the album, No Strings Attached in 2000. In 2002, after the completion of their Celebrity Tour and release of "Girlfriend," the third single from their 2001 album Celebrity, the group decided to take time off, at which point Timberlake began working on his first solo album. He hoped the album would shed him of his squeaky-clean boyband image in favor of a sexier, more mature look and sound. Around this same time, in March of 2002, Timberlake split from long-time girlfriend and fellow popstar Britney Spears. The break-up heavily influenced Timberlake's writing for his upcoming album, as many songs touched on the topic, most notably the hit single "Cry Me A River."

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Jennifer Lopez Biography

Name: Jennifer Lopez
Profession: Actress, Singer, Producer
Birth Date: July 24, 1969
Height: 5' 6"

Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969) is a well-known American actress, pop/latin/R&B singer, fashion designer, and dancer. She is married to singer Marc Anthony. She is also commonly nicknamed J-Lo or J.Lo.

Lopez was born in the Bronx, New York to Puerto Rican parents Guadalupe Rodríguez and David López. She has two sisters, Lynda and Leslie. Though López's parents were born in the same Puerto Rican town, they did not meet until they both had moved to Castle Hill. They were strict with their children and instilled a strong work ethic in them — no one in the family was allowed to miss a day of school, work, or church (the family was devoutly Roman Catholic). "Our parents had a strong work ethic — there wasn't really any other way," Lynda López told Rolling Stone. Lopez's parents also stressed assimilation, especially the need to speak English. López spent much of what she called "the boyfriend years" sneaking around to meet up with first-love David Cruz, whom she remained with from the time she was 16 until she was 25. "I was always climbing out windows, jumping off roofs, and he was sneaking up," she said. "It was crazy." She spent her entire academic career in Catholic school and acknowledges that she still prays regularly. She was a driven student and natural athlete. She went out for the track team, though she had no experience. Her father feared that, new to the sport, she would be outclassed, but Lopez rose to the challenge and ended up competing nationally. "Basically, anything she wants to do, she'll be as successful as you can at it," sister Lynda Lopez said. "That's the kind of person she is."

Lopez financed singing and dancing lessons from the age of 16. After she dropped out of college after one semester, Lopez pursued dancing full-time. She split her time between her job at a law office, taking dance classes, and dancing in Manhattan clubs at night. Though she did not, and still does not, drink alcohol, her parents disapproved of her working nights so far from home and feared she was associating with a dangerous crowd. She moved out of the house in protest of her parents and literally lived on the floor of the dance studio for many years until she could pay rent with occasional work as a dancer. After months and months of auditioning for dance gigs, she got her first spot and started out in television as a video girl for rap artist MC Hammer, as well as a guest spot on the American Music Awards. Her first regular high profile gig was as a "fly girl" dancer on the television comedy program In Living Color in 1990 after being twice rejected. She then left the show after the second season due to friction with another dancer.

Lopez had a small role in a short-lived television program South Central. She also found television work in Second Chances and Hotel Malibu and the made-for-TV movie Nurses on the Line: The Crash of Flight 7. She danced for Janet Jackson on tour and in Jackson's video for the song "That's The Way Love Goes" in 1993. Lopez broke onto the big screen in 1995, in the drama My Family/Mi Familia and opposite Wesley Snipes in the action film Money Train. She appeared in Francis Ford Coppola's 1996 comedy Jack opposite Robin Williams, and the 1997 thriller Blood and Wine with Jack Nicholson.

After a nationwide search of tens of thousands of women, Lopez was chosen to play the lead role in the film Selena. In 1998, the Golden Globe Awards organization nominated her for the Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture-Musical or Comedy for her performance.

Music
Lopez's debut album, On The 6, a reference to the subway line she used to take growing up in Castle Hill, was released on June 1, 1999 and reached the top ten of the Billboard 200. The album featured the multi-week No. 1 lead single, "If You Had My Love", as well as the top-ten hit "Waiting For Tonight." It also contained the Spanish-language, Latin-flavored duet "No Me Ames" with Marc Anthony, which was an international dance hit, though the song was never released as a single in the U.S. Despite this, the video received moderate airplay on the U.S. music channels VH1 and The Box as a novelty. The album also spawned another international hit in "Feelin' So Good," a hip-hop track which contained guest raps by Big Pun and Fat Joe; it failed to make the top 50 of the Billboard Hot 100. "Let's Get Loud" was also released as a single, and became a minor dance hit.

Her sophomore effort, J. Lo, was released in January 2001 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200. The lead single, "Love Don't Cost A Thing" was her first UK No. 1 single, and, along with its follow-up, "Play" (which was written by rising teen star, Christina Milian) became a top-five hit during the year the album was released. The album's next two singles, "I'm Real" and "Ain't It Funny," ended up becoming her biggest hits ever, with both spending several weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. However, to capitalize on this, Lopez asked Murder Inc. to remix both songs, completely changing the lyrics and melodies and adding raps from Ja Rule in both songs, and from Caddillac Tah to "Ain't It Funny (Murder Remix)." The "I'm Real" and "Ain't It Funny" remixes were two of the biggest pop and rap hits in late 2001 and early 2002, respectively, and their more hip-hop sound gave J. Lo street credibility and brought her music to a whole new group of fans. She re-released the CD on her 32nd birthday, July 24, 2001, including Ja Rule's remixed version of "I'm Real."

The original version of "I'm Real" sparked controversy when it came to light that it contained a sample of Yellow Light Orchestra's Firecracker, originally planned to be used for Mariah Carey's single "Loverboy." Rumors suggested that this was the doing of Tommy Mottola, Carey's ex-husband. Carey was forced to scrap the sample, instead using a sample of the Cameo's song "Candy."

Following the successes of the remix, Lopez decided to devote an entire album to the effort; the result, J To Tha L-O!: The Remixes, appeared on February 5, 2002. This album, too, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, marking the first remix album in history to enter at the top on the chart. This time around, she got 50 Cent and Nas to write lyrics for two remixes of her next single, "I'm Gonna Be Alright," which ended up becoming another top-ten hit. The album also included rarer dance and hip-hop remixes of her past singles, and a new song - a ballad called "Alive" - which was included in Lopez's movie Enough.

On November 26, 2002, Lopez released her third studio album, This Is Me... Then, which reached No. 2 on the Billboard 200 and spawned two very popular singles; the top-five "Jenny From The Block" (sampling the track from the song "Watch Out Now" by the Beatnuts, and including raps from Jadakiss and Styles P) and the multi-week No. 1 "All I Have," featuring LL Cool J. Another single, "I'm Glad," was also released, but only managed to go Top 40, a rather low result considering Lopez's usual chart success. Another song from the album was a cover of Carly Simon's "You Belong To Me."

In 2004, Lopez once again participated in duets with Marc Anthony, this time on his albums Amar Sin Mentiras and Valio La Pena.

After a considerable amount of time away from the music scene, Lopez finally released her fourth studio album, Rebirth, on March 1, 2005. Debuting at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 to initially decent sales success, the album quickly fell off the charts. Despite that, the album did spawn the hit "Get Right," which reached the Top 20. However, it was criticized as a rip-off of Usher's unreleased song "Ride." Even so, "Get Right" was a huge hit in the UK, becoming her second No. 1 single there. The second single, "Hold You Down," which featured Fat Joe, made it into the top 75 in the U.S., peaking at No. 64. It reached No. 17 in Australia with little to no promotion and managed a peak of No. 6 in the UK. Later in 2005, it was certified Platinum in the U.S. by RIAA. To date, Rebirth has sold 4 million copies worldwide.

In late 2006, Jennifer Lopez is to release her first Spanish album titled Como Ama Una Mujer, as well as an English album rumored to be titled Abstract. She's also to make her first summer tour, which will include countries such as UAE, Bulgaria, India and Turkey.

Fashion
Lopez owns a clothing line called "JLO by Jennifer Lopez," whose brand has been licensed for a term by Warnaco Group. Her line is the most successful of any artists' in history and includes many different types of clothing for young women, including jeans, tees, coats, belts, purses, sexy lingerie and many other products. Furthermore, she is planning to launch a jewelry line and more in the future.

Lopez has also dabbled in the perfume industry, with her debut "Glow by J.Lo" breaking numerous records in sales. In October 2003, Lopez introduced a perfume called "Still." "Still" came with a detachable ring for customers, meant to perhaps mirror her infamous pink engagement ring from fiancé Ben Affleck. Before launching a completely new fragrance, she revisited 2002's "Glow," creating a spin-off "Miami Glow by J.Lo" - an homage to her adopted hometown of Miami. The fragrance was a limited edition which came with a braided type bracelet that the customer could wear - reminiscent of the "J.Lo" logo necklace that came with the "Glow by J.Lo." Around the same time, Jennifer concocted the concept of a "Glow" body line which was launched, featuring different body creams and bronzers. For the Christmas season of 2005, she launched yet another new fragrance "Live by Jennifer Lopez." Most recently, for Valentine's Day 2006, "Miami Glow" was replaced by yet another "Glow" spinoff - "Love At First Glow by J.Lo." The bottle remained the same shape as "Glow" and "Miami Glow" but is pink and comes with a "J.Lo" logo cell phone charm.

In November of 2005, Lopez also launched a new clothing line called "Sweetface."

Lopez's frequent use of fur in her clothing lines and personal wardrobe has brought the scorn of people concerned with animal rights. At the Los Angeles premiere of Monster-in-Law, more than one hundred protestors from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals ("PETA") held a demonstration to highlight their concerns. Lopez told a radio DJ that she was open to being educated on the topic.

She has also done a photoshoot to represent the Louis Vuitton Winter 2003 campaign, in which the pictures would be seen all over the world through TV commercials, billboards, ads, newspapers, magazines and more.

Other merchandise includes a clothing and cologne line for men due for release sometime in 2006.

Lopez has now said that she is going to start producing clothes for dogs.

J. Lo Inc.
Lopez owns a production company Nuyorican Productions, in which she is expected to produce some of her upcoming movies. Some of the projects for the company include Carmen, Dirty Girls Social Club (featuring Jeffrey Wilkinson as Dirty Girl #4) and The Hector Lavoe Project. The company was founded together with her former manager, Benny Medina, whom she filed a lawsuit against because of alleged fraud in July 2003.

Currently, the company produces the television series South Beach for UPN.

The company produced the commercially-successful movies The Cell, The Wedding Planner and Maid in Manhattan. These three movies put together made more than $350 million at the box office worldwide.

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Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson Biography

Name: Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson
Profession: Singer, Actor, Producer
Birth Date: July 6, 1975
Height: 6'

Curtis James Jackson III (born July 6, 1975), commonly known by his rap name 50 Cent, is an African-American gangsta rapper who rose to fame following the success of his albums Get Rich or Die Tryin' and The Massacre. 50 Cent achieved multi-platinum success with both albums, selling nearly 22 million albums worldwide. 50 Cent is known for his gangsta image, and prides himself on having been shot at nine times and surviving the ordeal.

50 Cent grew up in the South Jamaica, Queens, New York in poverty-stricken circumstances. When he was eight years old, his mother was murdered in her home in a drug deal, and 50 Cent moved in with his grandparents. He soon became immersed in the drug trade, hustling around his native neighborhood by the name of "Boo Boo." By embracing that reputation, 50 Cent built a large following in New York well before he ever signed a major record deal.

Career
50 Cent met up with Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC and was signed to his label to write all of his music. After leaving Jam Master Jay, he teamed up with the hip-hop production duo Track Masters. 50 Cent was signed to Columbia Records in 1999. The controversial single "How to Rob," an ode to robbing a slew of industry rappers, was a hit on the radio. The next single, "Ghetto Qu'ran," started a feud with the drug kingpin Kenneth "Supreme" McGriff who was the leader of the New York gang called the "Supreme Team." In the song he says, "'Preme was the business man and prince (Supreme's cousin) was the killer." His debut album Power of the Dollar was shelved, and subsequently 50 Cent left Columbia Records shortly after being shot in 2000.

Eminem first heard 50 Cent on one of his mix tapes, which he brought to Dr. Dre's attention. Eminem expressed interest in the rapper on MTV and soon thereafter 50 Cent was officially signed to Interscope Records. The rapper was also the first to sign onto a joint effort between Eminem's Shady Records and Dr. Dre's Aftermath Entertainment. Interscope marketed 50 Cent as the "real deal," and his appearance on the 8 Mile Soundtrack ("Wanksta") immediately went into heavy rotation on BET, MTV, and radio stations across the country.

In its first week of release, his debut Get Rich Or Die Tryin' sold 872,000 copies. The album was certified gold in its first week and platinum the next, and it broke the record for first-week sales of any major label debut in the entire Soundscan era. On April 12, 2004, Get Rich or Die Tryin' was certified six times platinum by the RIAA.

In 2003, 50 Cent and other members of G-Unit released their first mix tape, with DJ Whoo Kid. The mix tape featured remixes to songs released already, as well as multiple underground/unreleased tracks. Rapper Snoop Dogg was featured on many of the tracks, as well as on the cover art work. Since that initial release, G-Unit artists have released 20 other mix tapes with DJ Whoo Kid.

In 2005, 50 Cent released his sophomore album, The Massacre. It was originally entitled St. Valentine's Day Massacre, but the title changed when the album release date was set back. He scored a hit with the album's first two singles, "Disco Inferno" and "Candy Shop." The third single, "Just A Lil' Bit" peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Interscope then granted 50 Cent his own label, G-Unit Records. 50 Cent appointed his manager Sha Money XL as the president. The label signed on Lloyd Banks, Tony Yayo and Young Buck as the established members of G-Unit. In 2004, Dr. Dre and 50 Cent had signed The Game under a joint venture. 50 Cent also signed Olivia and Mobb Deep to G-Unit Records in 2005. The rapper is also reportedly planning to sign Spider Loc, M.O.P., and Mase from Bad Boy Records. 50 Cent has expressed interest in working with other rappers outside of G-Unit, such as Freeway of Roc-A-Fella Records.

50 Cent has used his fame to advance his career beyond just music. After the release of Beg For Mercy from his group G-Unit, he teamed up with Reebok to release his own G-Unit Sneakers. He also invested in the drink Vitamin Water and his own clothing line. 50 Cent also appeared on an episode of The Simpsons entitled "Pranksta Rap" in February 2005.

In addition, a video game starring 50 Cent, called "50 Cent: Bulletproof," is available on PlayStation 2, Xbox and PlayStation Portable.

50 Cent also starred in the semi-autobiographical 2005 film Get Rich or Die Tryin' directed by Jim Sheridan, and co-starring Joy Bryant and Terrence Howard. He also released a memoir about his life up to his success entitled From Pieces to Weight: Once Upon a Time in Southside Queens. The book was released on August 9, 2005. He has other books planned for release in 2007.

Controversy
Before even signing to Eminem and Dr. Dre's label, 50 Cent was engaged in a well-publicized dispute with rival rapper Ja Rule and his label Murder Inc. Records. The rappers engaged in numerous mix tape "disses," but have since ended the conflict. The conflict stemmed from the rapper's alleged robbery of Ja Rule's jewelry, which led to a confrontation and 50 Cent's stabbing.

Before the release of Get Rich Or Die Tryin, Murder, Inc alongside The Source began a smear campaign against the rapper. A restraining order document was floating around the Internet stating that 50 Cent had placed label CEO Irv Gotti and rapper Black Child in the document, forging a belief that 50 Cent is a "snitch" or a police informant. Although 50 Cent dismissed the claims of not talking to police, the bad publicity continues to be a tool used by various rappers who have rivalries with G-Unit.

This was one of the most well known feuds in hip-hop history. 50 Cent accused Ja Rule of "singing" instead of rapping. Ja Rule retaliated, accusing him of insulting other rappers to gain fame. Ja Rule eventually tried to squash the beef with 50 Cent by using Louis Farrakhan in a televised interview. Ja Rule soon lost credibility when the interview was done a day before his album Blood In My Eye was released, leading 50 Cent to dismiss the interview as a blatant publicity stunt. 50 Cent has not commented much on Ja Rule's and Irv Gotti's situation.

50 Cent also has a rivalry with Shyne, Nas, Joe Budden, Fat Joe, Jadakiss and D-Block. He claimed that Nas had made disparaging comments about him and his G-Unit camp while performing at a New York concert. The rapper has denounced Nas as a traitor over the allying himself with Ja Rule and Irv Gotti. 50 Cent points out that Jadakiss and Fat Joe had painted a target on themselves for partnering up with Ja Rule while filming a video in which the rapper took shots at him. He recorded the track "Piggy Bank" and attacked Jadakiss and Fat Joe for their association with Ja Rule. Shyne was named as an enemy of 50 Cent. Shyne had Irv Gotti produce his album, and 50 Cent also attacked him for this association. Even though things cooled down, Fat Joe made a disparaging comment about G-Unit during a performance at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards. 50 Cent and G-Unit retaliated on set by shouting obscenities toward Fat Joe and Terror Squad.

On the song "Love Me" off the 8 Mile soundtrack, 50 Cent criticizes Lil' Kim for having breast implants and discusses why he refused her request to be in a video clip for her single "Magic Stick," which he refused to record with her, citing that the song was originally entitled to Miami rapper Trina. He also has a long-standing dispute with former friends Bang 'Em Smurf and Domination over internal conflicts.

50 Cent also had a feud with Jay-Z over 50 Cent's mention of him on "How to Rob" and Jay-Z responded with a line in his song "It's Hot." 50 Cent responded with "Be a Gentleman." The track was never heard by many due to the rapper's departure from Columbia Records. 50 Cent and Jay-Z eventually settled their "beef."

50 Cent currently has an escalating feud with The Game. The Game, who was previously signed to G-Unit, was booted by 50 Cent. Fans mostly believed that 50 Cent and The Game were bonding at the time of The Documentary's release. The Game's major debut album was surrounded by controversy. Right after its release, 50 Cent felt that the rapper was disloyal for saying he wanted to work with artists G-Unit were feuding with and he formally dismissed the rapper.

 

50 Cent also claimed that he was not getting proper credit for the debut of the album. During that dispute, a member of The Game's entourage was shot after a confrontation outside the Hot 97 radio station. As the situation escalated, 50 Cent and The Game decided to hold a press conference to announce their reconciliation. Many fans felt that the supposed feud, and particularly the incident at the radio station was a publicity stunt designed to boost the sales of the two albums the pair had just released. Nevertheless, even after the situation had apparently deflated, 50 Cent and G-Unit continued to feud with The Game, denouncing his street credibility in the media and claiming that without their support, he will not score a hit from his second album. The Game during a performance at the Summer Jam launched a boycott called "G-Unot."

After the performance at Summer Jam, The Game responded with a rough song "300 Bars And Runnin,'" which directly addresses 50 Cent and G-Unit. 50 Cent had mixed feelings towards the insulting record, but nevertheless responded through his "Piggybank" video, which features The Game dressed as a Mr. Potato Head and parodies many other rivals. After numerous songs aimed at G-Unit, 50 Cent had responded to the The Game's rebuttals with an insulting song titled "Not Rich, Still Lyin.'" The song imitates The Game and attacks his credibility and his recent feud with his brother, Big Fase 100. This was the first of many feuds where two rappers from the same label were involved against each other.

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Sean "Diddy" Combs Biography

Name: Sean "Diddy"Combs
Profession: Singer, Actor, Producer, Director
Birth Date: November 4, 1969
Height: 5' 11"
Sean "Diddy" Combs was born in Harlem but spent much of his childhood in nearby Mt. Vernon, N.Y.  When Combs was three, his father was shot to death, but he would pick up business early on thanks to his successful paper routes.
After completing his private secondary education at Mount Saint Michael Academy in 1987, Combs enrolled at Howard University in Washington, D.C. It was then that he convinced his childhood friend, Heavy D, to sign him up as an intern at his label — Uptown Records. Combs would eventually drop out of college as he made a name for himself at the label, helping to develop the likes of Father MC and Mary J. Blige. Perhaps becoming too much of a star in his own right, Combs was soon fired from the label.
Following his exit, Combs went on to establish Bad Boy Records in 1993. He would go on to sign his first two artists — former EPMD roadie Craig Mack and the Notorious B.I.G. By the following year, Mack was striking gold with a remix of his "Flava in Ya Ear" single, which featured LL Cool J, Busta Rhymes, Rampage, and the Notorious B.I.G.. The track hit the top 10 and became the first platinum record for the new label. The Notorious B.I.G. soon followed with his own hit single, as "Big Poppa" also reached the top 10. Mack's album, "Project: Funk da World," would eventually go gold while Biggie’s "Ready to Die" became certified double platinum.
With momentum building, Combs went about signing new acts, including Faith Evans, Total, 112 and Mase. He also kept a busy schedule producing artists outside of the label, including Mariah Carey, Lil' Kim, TLC, Boyz II Men, SWV and Aretha Franklin. A rivalry would soon develop with the West Coast's Death Row Records. Combs and B.I.G. became embroiled in a feud with Death Row's head, Suge Knight, and the label's star artist, Tupac Shakur. Shakur, who believed Combs was involved in his 1994 shooting, threatened Combs and B.I.G in the lyrics to his hit song "Hit 'Em Up." He also mocked  B.I.G. by saying he had slept with Evans, who was his wife. In 1996, Shakur was shot and killed by unknown assailants. B.I.G. would be killed in a similar manner just six months later.
After taking a break, Combs made his solo debut in the mid-1997 with the track "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down." The single was an immediate success and stayed at the top of the charts for nearly two months. His tribute single to B.I.G., "I'll Be Missing You," quickly followed and became another monster hit. The songs helped his album, "No Way Out," go certified platinum several times over. It won Best Rap Album honors at the 1998 Grammy Awards, while "I'll Be Missing You" won for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group.
Having firmly established himself as one of the top names in the music industry, Combs would start to branch out as an actor, clothing designer and full-fledged entrepreneur.

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Beyonce Knowles Biography

Name: Beyoncé Knowles
Profession: Singer, Actress, Producer
Birth Date: September 4, 1981
Height: 5’ 6”
Raised in Houston, Texas, Beyoncé Knowles enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child.
In 1997, her band, Destiny’s Child, was signed to Columbia Records, setting the wheels in motion on the fast track to the top. In the ensuing year, the group released its self-titled debut album and scored their first major hit with “No, No, No.” Two years later, Destiny’s Child would shoot to stardom behind their multi-platinum sophomore album "The Writing's on the Wall," which featured such hit tracks as "Jumpin' Jumpin'," "Bills, Bills, Bills," and "Say My Name."
By 2002, Destiny’s Child had sold more than 33 million albums worldwide and appeared unstoppable, but the group would soon split and Beyoncé released her debut solo album, “Dangerously in Love,” in 2003. The effort made her a legitimate star on her own, as she captured five Grammy Awards, including best contemporary R&B album and best female R&B performance.
Beyoncé also proved to be a talent on screen as well after getting her start in the 2001 television movie "Carmen: A Hip Hopera." She appeared in such films as 2002’s "Austin Powers: Goldmember" and 2006’s "The Pink Panther," before establishing herself in the film adaption of "Dreamgirls." The 2006 musical earned Beyoncé a Golden Globe nod and further added to her status as a star to be reckoned with.

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Oprah Winfrey Biography

Name: Oprah Winfrey
Profession: Media Personality, Actress, Producer
Birth Date: January 29, 1954
Height: 5' 6½"
Oprah Winfrey was born in Koscuisko, Miss. and endured a difficult childhood. Winfrey's father and mother, Vernon and Vernita, were never married and she spent her early childhood living with her grandmother in rural Mississippi.
In the 1960s, Winfrey began living with either her mother in Milwaukee, Wisc. or her father in Nashville, Tenn. While in Milwaukee, Winfrey was raped and abused by family members.  She became pregnant at 14 and went to live with her father permanently.  After her week-old baby died, Oprah's father provided her with the love, discipline and stability that she needed to rebuild her life.
In 1971, Winfrey was crowned Miss Black Tennessee and started attending Tennessee State University.  She was later hired by Nashville radio station WVOL to read the news on the air. Two years later, Winfrey became Nashville's first African-American TV correspondent and the youngest person to co-anchor the news for WTVF-TV.
In 1976, Winfrey moved to Baltimore, Md. to co-anchor the evening news at WJZ-TV.  Two years later, she began co-hosting a local talk show called "People Are Talking."
In 1984, Winfrey relocated to Chicago to begin hosting WLS-TV’s morning talk show, "A.M. Chicago." Within the first month, it was the top-rated talk show in the market. The following year, the show was renamed the "The Oprah Winfrey Show." In addition, Winfrey made her feature film debut as "Sophia" in Steven Spielberg's "The Color Purple." Winfrey's performance earned her Golden Globe and Oscar nods for Best Supporting Actress.
In 1986, Winfrey formed her own production company Harpo, Inc. (Oprah spelled backwards) and her "Oprah Winfrey Show" entered syndication. A year later, she won the first of many Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Talk Show Host.
In 1988, Winfrey launched Harpo Productions, Inc. Two years later, she opened Harpo Studios in Chicago and continued to grow her media empire by establishing Harpo Films.
In 1996, Winfrey launched the hugely-successful "Oprah’s Book Club." She also debuted another business venture, O, the Oprah Magazine, in 2000.
In 2002, Harpo Productions, Inc. created and launched "Dr. Phil," a new syndicated talk-show. That same year, Winfrey was inducted in the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame. She then became the first African-American woman named to the Forbes magazine billionaire list in 2003.
As she turned 50 in 2004, Winfrey was named one of Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World, an honor that she would continue to receive for years to come.
In addition to her countless business achievements, the media mogul is also well-known for her humanitarian efforts. Among Winfrey’s many honors for her charity efforts are the United Nations Association of the United Stated States of America’s Global Humanitarian Action Award in 2004 and the Elle Wiesel Foundation for Humanity’s Humanitarian Award in 2007.

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