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- Jerry Douglas was born on 12 November 1932 in Chelsea, Massachusetts, USA. He was an actor, known for The Young and the Restless (1973), JFK (1991) and Good Guys Wear Black (1978). He was married to Kym Douglas and Arlene Martel. He died on 9 November 2021 in Brentwood, Los Angeles, California, USA.
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Brooke Bundy was born on 8 August 1943 in New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master (1988) and Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987). She was previously married to Peter Helm.- Actress
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Paget Brewster is an American actress. Her career started in the early 1990s, but her breakthrough was portraying FBI agent Emily Prentiss in the long-running police procedural series "Criminal Minds" (2005-2020, 2022-). Prentiss was introduced as the replacement to the character of Elle Greenaway (played by Lola Glaudini) who resigned in the 2nd season. Brewster portrayed the character regularly from 2006 to 2012, and again since 2016.
Brewster is also a prominent voice actress in animation. Her most prominent voice roles so far were portraying the reporter Audrey Timmonds in "Godzilla: The Series" (1998-2000), the super-heroine Birdgirl/Judy Ken Sebben in "Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law" (2000-2018) and the sequel series "Birdgirl" (2021-2022), bounty hunter Rona Vipra in "Duck Dodgers" (2003-2005). Lana Lang in "Batman: The Dark Knight Returns" (2012), Lois Lane in "Justice League: Gods and Monsters" (2015), Poison Ivy in "Batman and Harley Quinn" (2017) , and the adventurer Della Duck in "DuckTales" (2017-2021). Della was depicted as the twin sister of Della Duck. The character of Della was created for the "Donald Duck" comic strip in 1937, but had been limited to minor appearances until her re-introduction in "DuckTales" .
In 1969, Brewser was born in Concord, Massachusetts, to Galen Brewster and his wife Hathaway Tew. Both of her parents worked as school administrators at Middlesex School, a non-sectarian high school located in Concord. Brewster spend most of her early life in Massachusetts. She moved to New York City for her college education, as a design student at the Parsons School of Design. During her first year there, she took some acting roles. She eventually decided to drop out of the design school, and to pursue acting as a full-time career.
In the mid-1990s, Brewster moved to San Francisco, in order to take acting classes. In 1995, she became the host of the late-night talk show "The Paget Show" at KPIX-TV. Her first notable acting role in television was portraying the recurring role of the actress Kathy in the fourth season of the sitcom "Friends". She appeared in the series from 1997 to 1998. Kathy was depicted as a love interest to both Joey Tribbiani (played by Matt LeBlanc) and Chandler Bing (played by Matthew Perry). The love triangle caused some problems in the relationship of the two men. Kathy was written out of the series when she left Chandler for another man. Following this role, Brewster started appearing regularly in various films.- Actress
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Colleen is best known for her multi-season arc as Inara on the ABC/Shondaland series STATION 19. Her nuanced performance as a survivor of domestic violence, a fiery protector of her Deaf son, and her heartwarming romance with firefighter Jack Gibson made her a fan favorite. Her body of work includes dozens of prime time guest starring performances, most recently on CHICAGO MED, THE ROOKIE, and a recurring role on QUANTUM LEAP.
In 2007, she made her feature film debut in the Academy Award winning film THERE WILL BE BLOOD, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson and starring Daniel Day-Lewis.
Colleen originated the role of Lindsay in QUID PRO QUO at the Kennedy Center and understudied the role of Laura in THE GLASS MENAGERIE at the Mark Taper Forum. She spent a year touring the country as Alice in ALICE IN WONDERLAND with the National Theatre of the Deaf, as the only hearing member of the Company. Colleen has been fluent in American Sign Language for 25 years and is a strong ally to the Deaf community.- Actress
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Cheryl Ruth Hines was born on September 21, 1965 in Miami Beach, Florida, to Rosemary (Graham) and James Hines, and grew up in Tallahassee, Florida. She went to West Virginia University, Florida State University and graduated from the University of Central Florida. She studied theater and television production, but it was not until she moved to Los Angeles and studied at the Groundlings Theater that she felt she had really learned anything about comedy. Her first teacher there was Lisa Kudrow. She learned to improvise and write comedy sketches. This experience helped her prepare for the role of Larry David's wife on HBO's Curb Your Enthusiasm (2000). The dialogue on the situation comedy is improvised, so she feels right at home. She still performs at the Groundlings Theater when she has a chance.- Actress
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From her role as Dr. Lisa Cuddy on the hit Fox series "House" to her starring role as Abby McCarthy in Bravo's first scripted series "Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce," Lisa Edelstein's range of roles are as diverse as her talent. Set for a Summer 2018 Season 5 premiere, "Girlfriends' Guide" is a dramedy following a best-selling author of a self-help series who separates from her husband and must navigate big career changes and the dating world as a newly single mother. Created by Marti Noxon, the show not only gave Edelstein the opportunity to be the series lead playing everything from heartfelt drama to physical comedy, she also had the chance to expand creatively by being a writer, producer and director on the show.
Edelstein is developing a dramedy pilot with Universal Cable based on the book Confessions of a Sociopath by M.E. Thomas. She is co-writing the script with Carol Barbee, will star in the lead role and executive produce along with Phoenix Pictures. She is also shooting a recurring role in the new Netflix series "The Kominsky Method," starring Michael Douglas and Alan Arkin and created by Chuck Lorre. Edelstein plays Phoebe, the drug-addled hot mess daughter of Arkin's character. The show will premiere later this year. In addition, she took the helm this year by writing, directing, and starring in the short film "Unzipping." Based on the short story by Etgar Keret, Edelstein produced the film with Jane Hollen and Kate Cohen of Straight Up Films. James Le Gros and Jason Lewis co-star.
No stranger to fearless and even some iconic television roles, Edelstein was the risotto-loving Karen on "Seinfeld," Rob Lowe's call-girl girlfriend Laurie on "West Wing," the transsexual Cindy on "Ally McBeal," and Rhonda Roth, the first out-lesbian on network TV in Jason Katim's "Relativity." Other guest and recurring appearances include "Scandal," "The Good Wife," and "House of Lies." She co-starred for seven seasons on the medical drama "House," which became the most watched show in the world and garnered Edelstein the People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Actress.
Edelstein's feature credits include "Keeping The Faith," starring Ben Stiller and directed by Edward Norton, Mel Gibson's "What Women Want," "Daddy Day Care" with Eddie Murphy, "As Good As It Gets," the dramatic Showtime feature "Fathers and Sons," "Joshy," and "Dr. Bird's Advice to Sad Poets." She also works in the realm of animation voiceover in such shows as "American Dad," "King of the Hill," "Airbender: Legend of Korra," as well as the character Mercy Graves in the "Superman" and "Justice League" series.
While honing her craft at the prestigious NYU Tisch School of the Arts, Edelstein appeared in numerous off-Broadway productions and then authored, composed and performed the AIDS-related musical "Positive Me" at Ellen Stuart's La Mama in Manhattan. It was one of the first productions in any medium about the crisis and New York's Common Ground bestowed to her a Humanitarian Award for her efforts to further awareness.
Edelstein resides in Los Angeles in a century old home with her husband artist Robert Russell, two step-sons, and several rescue dogs. She volunteers her time with a variety of charity organizations including Best Friends Animal Sanctuary, The Anti-Defamation League, Planned Parenthood and The Center for Reproductive Rights.- Lisa James was born on 13 October 1942 in New York, USA. She is an actress, known for A Force of One (1979), Coronet Blue (1967) and A Different Story (1978). She is married to Gregg Henry. She was previously married to Reni Santoni and John Napier.
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Aisling Bea is an actor, stand-up comedian, and writer from Ireland. In 2020 she won a BAFTA for Breakthrough Talent for her television series This Way Up, in which she also starred. In 2014 she won the British Comedy Award for Best Female TV Comedian. She trained at LAMDA (The London Academy for Music and Dramatic Art). In 2012 she won the Gilded Balloon So You Think You're Funny? stand-up competition; she was the first woman to win it in 20 years.- Actress
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Born in Asheville, North Carolina, Bellamy is a graduate of Yale University. She also studied at Oxford University in England. In New York, she starred on Broadway as Mary in Cy Coleman's "The Life" and also as Meg in the revival of Stephen Sondheim's "Merrily We Roll Along". Other notable theater credits include Margaret in the world premiere of Randy Newman's "Faust" and LouAnn in the world premiere of Lanford Wilson's "Book of Days".- Actress
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Vibrant, increasingly lovely teen fave Shelley Fabares withstood the test of time by transitioning successfully into adult parts unlike many of her 1960s "teen queen" peers who faded quickly into the memory books. She was born Michele Marie Fabares on January 19, 1944, in sunny Santa Monica, California, the daughter of Elsa Rose (Eyler) and James Alan Fabares. As the niece of singer/comedienne Nanette Fabray, she was indoctrinated early into the show biz life. Tap dancing from age three, she also modeled during her elementary school and began appearing on such TV shows as Captain Midnight (1954) and Annie Oakley (1954) (the latter a recurring role). At age 12, she made her professional film debut in the Rock Hudson/Cornell Borchers tearjerker Never Say Goodbye (1956) as Hudson's daughter, and went on to play kid sister roles in the rock 'n' roll-themed Rock, Pretty Baby! (1956) and its sequel Summer Love (1958) both starring John Saxon.
Teen-idol status came with her coming-of-age role as the ever-wholesome daughter "Mary Stone" on The Donna Reed Show (1958), a part she played for five seasons before embarking on a more grown-up film career. During the run of the classic sitcom, she and TV "brother" Paul Petersen grew so popular that they sprinted to adjoining pop singing celebrity, although both admitted that their vocal talents were limited. Shelley especially enjoyed a #1 Billboard hit with the breathy, sultry-edged "Johnny Angel." The character of "Mary Stone" was gently phased out of the show as her character "left for college."
By this time, Shelley had turned into quite a curvaceous stunner. Her acting mettle hardly tested, she managed to become part of the bikini-clad blonde set with top femme parts in such fun-and-frolic fare as Ride the Wild Surf (1964), Hold On! (1966), which was a vehicle for British singing sensation Peter Noone of Herman's Hermits, and three of Elvis Presley's less-acclaimed vehicles of the later 1960s: Girl Happy (1965), Spinout (1966) and Clambake (1967).
A serious Vietnam-era stream of consciousness began to pervade film audiences in the late 1960s and Shelley's perky innocence that found so much favor during the Camelot years had lost its appeal. After a notoriously dry spell, she bounced back as the altruistic wife of a dying footballer "Brian Piccolo" in Brian's Song (1971), opposite James Caan, and settled comfortably again on the small screen with bright co-star roles on the series The Little People (1972), The Practice (1976), and Highcliffe Manor (1979). A more prickly character than usual, however, reared its head in the late-night soap spoof Forever Fernwood (1977), and this led to the equally malicious, vainglorious role of Bonnie Franklin's business competitor on the already-established hit sitcom One Day at a Time (1975). The show also featured her aunt Nanette Fabray as Franklin's meddling mom. In the late 1980s, Shelley found a fleshier character as Craig T. Nelson's resourceful mate on Coach (1989), earning steady work for eight seasons and two Emmy nominations in the process. A return to film stardom, however, would eclipse her.
Married and separated from record producer Lou Adler during her fun-in-the-sun years of the mid 1960s (they eventually divorced in 1980 after a separation of almost 14 years), Shelley found marital stability with actor/activist Mike Farrell of M*A*S*H (1972) fame, and became stepmother to his two children from a prior marriage. Following her recovery from a home accident that broke several ribs in 1998, Shelley was tested and diagnosed with severe auto-immune hepatitis, which resulted in a liver transplant in 2000. Thankfully, she survived the near-fatal ordeal and has been more heard than seen in recent years. She supplied the voice of "Martha Kent" on the Superman: The Animated Series (1996) animated series but has done little else in the ensuing years.- Actor
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Charles Napier was born in the tiny community of Mt. Union, near Scottsville, Allen County, Kentucky, to Linus Pitts Napier, a tobacco farmer and postman, and his wife, Sara, on April 12, 1936. He attended public school in Scottsville. After graduating high school, he enlisted in the Army in 1954. He rose to the rank of E-5 (Sgt.) while serving as company clerk with Company A 511th Airborne Infantry, 11th Airborne Division. He was a lively character actor who usually played edgy military types and menacing bad guys. His film debut was in Russ Meyer's Cherry, Harry & Raquel! (1969).
Napier went on appearing in other Meyer movies, including the homicidal Harry Sledge in Supervixens (1975) and also became a regular playing smaller roles for Jonathan Demme. His memorable portrayals of tough guys included the scheming intelligence officer in Rambo: First Blood Part II (1985) and the short-tempered front man in The Blues Brothers (1980).- Barbara Werle was born on 6 October 1928 in Mount Vernon, New York, USA. She was an actress, known for Battle of the Bulge (1965), Seconds (1966) and Charro! (1969). She was married to Jerry Max Waters, Paul Gerard Griesgraber and John Ralph Branca. She died on 1 January 2013 in Carlsbad, California, USA.
- Traci Bingham was born on 13 January 1968 in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. She is an actress, known for Tales from the Crypt: Demon Knight (1995), East of Hollywood (2015) and Baywatch (1989).
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After growing up in Chamblee, Georgia, a suburb of Atlanta, GA, Susan moved to New York when she was 18. She started acting classes as well as modeling for Elite, and landed several commercials while auditioning. Within a year, Susan was cast on "Loving", a daytime drama for ABC. As soon as her contract ended, she did her first film and then moved to Los Angeles to begin a career in prime time television as well as film.- Actress
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Natalie Portman is the first person born in the 1980s to have won the Academy Award for Best Actress (for Black Swan (2010)).
Natalie was born Natalie Hershlag on June 9, 1981, in Jerusalem, Israel. She is the only child of Avner Hershlag, an Israeli-born doctor, and Shelley Stevens, an American-born artist (from Cincinnati, Ohio), who also acts as Natalie's agent. Her parents are both of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. Natalie's family left Israel for Washington, D.C., when she was still very young. After a few more moves, her family finally settled in New York, where she still lives to this day. She graduated with honors, and her academic achievements allowed her to attend Harvard University. She was discovered by an agent in a pizza parlor at the age of 11. She was pushed towards a career in modeling but she decided that she would rather pursue a career in acting. She was featured in many live performances, but she made her powerful film debut in the movie Léon: The Professional (1994) (aka "Léon"). Following this role Natalie won roles in such films as Heat (1995), Beautiful Girls (1996), and Mars Attacks! (1996).
It was not until 1999 that Natalie received worldwide fame as Queen Amidala in the highly anticipated US$431 million-grossing prequel Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999). She then she starred in two critically acclaimed comedy dramas, Anywhere But Here (1999) and Where the Heart Is (2000), followed by Closer (2004), for which she received an Oscar nomination. She reprised her role as Padme Amidala in the last two episodes of the Star Wars prequel trilogy: Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005). She received an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in Black Swan (2010).
She received a second nomination for Best Actress, for playing Jacqueline Kennedy in Jackie (2016).- Actress
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Margot Elise Robbie was born on July 2, 1990 in Dalby, Queensland, Australia to Scottish parents. Her mother, Sarie Kessler, is a physiotherapist, and her father, is Doug Robbie. She comes from a family of four children, having two brothers and one sister. She graduated from Somerset College in Mudgeeraba, Queensland, Australia, a suburb in the Gold Coast hinterland of South East Queensland, where she and her siblings were raised by their mother and spent much of her time at the farm belonging to her grandparents. In her late teens, she moved to Melbourne, Victoria, Australia to pursue an acting career.
From 2008-2010, Robbie played the character of Donna Freedman in the long-running Australian soap opera, Neighbours (1985), for which she was nominated for two Logie Awards. She set off to pursue Hollywood opportunities, quickly landing the role of Laura Cameron on the short-lived ABC series, Pan Am (2011). She made her big screen debut in the film, About Time (2013).
Robbie rose to fame co-starring alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, portraying the role of Naomi Lapaglia in Martin Scorsese's Oscar nominated film, The Wolf of Wall Street (2013). She was nominated for a Breakthrough Performance MTV Movie Award, and numerous other awards.
In 2014, Robbie founded her own production company, LuckyChap Entertainment. She also appeared in the World War II romantic-drama film, Suite Française (2014). She starred in Focus (2015) and Z for Zachariah (2015), and made a cameo in The Big Short (2015).
In 2016, she married Tom Ackerley in Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia.
She starred as Jane Porter in The Legend of Tarzan (2016), Tanya Vanderpoel in Whiskey Tango Foxtrot (2016) and as DC comics villain Harley Quinn in Suicide Squad (2016), for which she was nominated for a Teen Choice Award, and many other awards.
She portrayed figure skater Tonya Harding in the biographical film I, Tonya (2017), receiving critical acclaim and a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress - Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.- Actor
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George O'Hanlon was born on 23 November 1912 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA. He was an actor and writer, known for Rocky (1976), So You Want a Television Set (1953) and So Your Wife Wants to Work (1956). He was married to Nancy Owens, Martha Stewart and Inez Yvonne Witt. He died on 11 February 1989 in Los Angeles, California, USA.- Actor
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Smiley worked on a local radio station and in Vaudeville after high school. Always interested in music, he was friends with Gene Autry and worked with him on the radio show "The National Barn Dance". When Westerns became a big draw with sound, the studios were always on the lookout for singing cowboys. In 1934, both Gene and Smiley made their debuts in In Old Santa Fe (1934). Smiley became well known as Gene's plump sidekick Frog Milhouse, and they worked together in over 80 Westerns. After Gene, Smiley provided the comic relief for other cowboy stars at Republic such as Sunset Carson and Charles Starrett (The Durango Kid). He also provided a lot of the music as he wrote over 300 western songs and sang quite a few in the films. Smiley was the first supporting actor to regularly appear on the Top Ten Western money-maker list. He became well known for his white horse with the black circle around one eye. When he used a team of white horses, as when he was 'Spec Specialist' Smiley Burnette, each white horse had one black circle around one eye. When the 'B' movie Western reign ended in 1953, Smiley retired from the screen. He made occasional appearances on television including being a regular on the music show "Ozark Jubilee (1959)". His last performance was as railroad engineer Charlie Pratt on Petticoat Junction (1963) from 1963-67.- Actress
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Simmone Mackinnon was born on 19 March 1973 in Mount Isa, Queensland, Australia. She is an actress and producer, known for McLeod's Daughters (2001), Attila (2001) and Dark Waters (2003).- Suzie Plakson (born June 3, 1958) is an American actress, singer, writer and artist. Born in Buffalo, New York, she grew up in Kingston, Pennsylvania and went to college at Northwestern University. She began her career on the stage/theater, and played four characters opposite Anthony Newley in a revival tour of "Stop the World, I Want to Get Off". She also played "Marquise Theresa Du Parc" in the Broadway incarnation of the play "La Bête".
Plakson has played a wide range of characters throughout her career. Her regular role in a television series was playing hard-bitten sportswriter "Meg Tynan" in the sitcom Love & War (1992); she did several voices on Dinosaurs (1991) and ultimately played four characters on various "Star Trek" series. There were other guest spots and recurring roles in sitcoms such as Mad About You (1992) and Everybody Loves Raymond (1996), while she was also acting in movies such as Disclosure (1994), Red Eye (2005) and Wag the Dog (1997). She wrote and performed an allegorical solo show, "An Evening with Eve".
As a singer/songwriter, Plakson released the alternative country rock album "DidnWannaDoIt!" produced by Jay Ferguson. She also sculpts and writes -- samples of both are viewable and readable on her website. - Actress
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BACKGROUND: Brava was born into a Fennoswede family and culture in which music formed a vital part of life. Her father, Börje Lampenius, is a former theater director, actor, singer and also a composer of musicals and operettas. Her mother, Ulla Eklund, is a former actress and singer. Both of them worked primarily at the Swedish Theatre, but also on TV and films. Brava grew up in Eira, a wealthy district in Helsinki, the capital of Finland, and in a family country house in Lappträsk. She attended Svenska normallyceum in Helsinki. After leaving Finland in 1997, Brava has resided in Los Angeles and London. Since 2002, she has lived in Stockholm. Brava is married to Martin Cullberg, a Swedish criminal defence lawyer.
MUSICAL CAREER: Brava has performed around the world since the age of eight playing in and with many European orchestras, pianists and other artists. Brava has done innumerable public concerts in addition to her head of state and royal concert appearances. As a musician, Brava has performed and been interviewed on various television and radio channels from the BBC, CNN and Classic FM to CBS and Rai Uno as well as featured in broadsheets, magazines and tabloids from the The Times to The Gramophone, Playboy and The Sun.
CLASSICAL MUSIC EDUCATION: Brava started her music studies as a three-year-old in a musical kindergarten and played the piano. At the age of five, she started to play the violin with Géza Szilvay at the East Helsinki Music Institute. By the age of ten, Brava had already been granted a scholarship by the notable Swedish Cultural Foundation for being such a promising young violinist. Brava was then accepted to the world-renowned university level music school Sibelius Academy (qualifies as being among the top music schools in the world) even before earning her Matriculation examination. Brava studied at the Academy from 1985 to 1996. During the years, Brava was the concertmistress of the Sibelius Academy Symphony Orchestra on several occasions and led Sibelius Academy Conducting Class Orchestra (Jorma Panula and Eri Klas served as professors of conducting) for seven years as well as did some broadcast performances for the Finnish Broadcasting Company. Brava also played in Ofelia, a string quartet, and participated in masterclass with the Amadeus Quartet. Ofelia was then chosen to perform at final concert of the masterclass. From 1990 to 1996, Brava worked for some of the best orchestras in Finland, like the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and the Finnish National Opera Orchestra, performing also as a soloist - for example, Brava opened Sibeliuspäivät (The Sibelius Days, named after Jean Sibelius) in Finland in 1995. Later on, Brava was guided by professor Mauricio Fuks, Jacobs School of Music, and Eduard Schmieder in the USA. Lajos Garam, Doctor of Music and former leader of The Sibelius Academy's Department of Soloists, has said that Brava "is a sensitive artistic type and very skillful and experienced as a musician. Her playing is high-quality and full-blooded". Moreover, for the respected Finnish conductor Atso Almila "it was self-evident that she was going to be one of the most notable Finnish violinists." Päivyt (Rajamäki) Meller, who herself has studied with Josef Gingold and is a notable violinist and teacher, has stated that "Linda is very multiply gifted. She has aberrantly lots of capability of expression, strength and artistry and her playing is technically on quite a high level". In a recent interview with a Finnish newspaper, Ari Angervo, a well-known violinist and conductor in Finland as well as a teacher in the Sibelius Academy, said that Brava "just wanted to learn to play as well as possible, to go as deep as possible into music. To my mind she has succeeded in that. Linda is top talented as a violinist."
CLASSICAL MUSIC: Brava started to play the violin at the age of five and was made a member and soloist of the prestigious Helsinki Strings Orchestra three years later. As a child prodigy on the violin, Brava also played on Finnish television countless times as part of Viuluviikarit musiikkimaassa (Minifiddlers in Musicland) TV series presenting the Colourstrings method, which was created by her first violin teacher Géza Szilvay, now also used at the Royal Academy of Music, among other music schools. Brava made her solo orchestral appearance debut with The Radio Symphony Orchestra of Finland at the age of eleven, led the Helsinki Strings at thirteen, and, from 1978 to 1993, she toured as a soloist, concertmistress and member with many orchestras in Europe, North America and Asia. Brava also served as a board member of the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra after she was elected to the Helsinki City Council for a four-year term in 1996. Brava is foremost a chamber musician, performing mainly with an accompanist, but she has also made many solo orchestral appearances after her solo career fully started in 1996. Brava has played as a soloist, for example, with many Finnish city orchestras, Stockholm Sinfonietta and the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. She has also played with pianists like John Lenehan and Laura Mikkola. In addition to playing in public concerts, Brava has also performed, for example, for the president of Finland, Prince of Monaco (Brava was accompanied by Milan's La Scala Philharmonic Orchestra), the Swedish Royal Family and some of the Nobel Prize winners. Brava was offered a record deal by EMI in 1997, and her classical album, "Linda Brava", which was made up of lyrical violin classics, was released worldwide by EMI Classics in 1999. Positive reviews were given by classical music magazines like The Gramophone, and Classic FM Magazine dedicated its cover story for "Linda Brava, Finland's violin sensation". The magazine also wrote that she plays "with a pleasant, honeyed tone - making the most of her golden-voiced 1781 Galliano violin - and an unaffected grace that will surely win her many friends". American Record Guide's critic went on saying that the "interpretations are all very sensible and well paced. Indeed, from the standpoint of structural clarity, this is one of the better Grieg Sonatas I've heard". The album made its way on the UK classical chart at number 14, and sold around three thousand copies in Finland during the first months after the release - a remarkable number for a classical recording. With the classical release, Brava toured and played all around Europe and the Far East appearing on various television and radio shows including popular British morning shows Big Breakfast and This Morning as well as ITV's hit chat show Friday Night's All Wright. During the album release, Brava was also seen on a poster on the back of a red double decker bus driving on Oxford Street in London. The UK's Classic FM aired music from the album daily for several weeks, and Brava's music video for "Ave Maria" can still be seen on Classic FM TV. The video is also featured on the first edition of Classic FM [2003] DVD. Brava has also been featured in music magazines like Andante, Classic CD, Q and Muso. The Times has stated her to be "the gifted Finnish classical violinist", who is "brilliant" and "acclaimed by critics", while The Sunday Times has said "she plays like Nigel Kennedy". Brava has also been called "a striking Finnish blonde with impeccable musical credentials" by the Los Angeles Daily News and "Finnish Phenom" by the New York Post. After taking some time of her own, and years spent in Los Angeles and London, Brava moved to Stockholm in 2002. In 2004, Kalle Moraeus, a former violinist of the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and one of the most sought-after artists in Sweden, invited Brava to join his 25-city spring tour across Sweden as a guest soloist. The outcome was successful as critics raved Brava's talent and she managed to break into the Swedish music scene. "She has been described as a super violinist with Playboy attraction. When Linda Lampenius takes the stage in light blue coverings it is completely without prima donna behaviour. With total stage presence and a bewitched violin she enchants the ears already from the start and there seems to be no end to the applause after the entrance performance" wrote Dalarnas Tidningar while Göteborgs-Posten told how Brava's "music potpourri became a display in virtuoso violin playing" and that "she is undeniably a gifted musician with dazzling technique and a big amount of charm". Brava also played on another 25-city concert tour in Sweden in 2004. It was Sweden's official Christmas show, which was presented in concert halls and arenas all around the country. During her years in Sweden, Brava has performed many times for the members and friends of the Swedish Royal Court, but she has also done lots of public concerts and television and radio appearances. With her classical repertoire, Brava has appeared in venues such as the Stockholm Concert Hall, but also in rock events. She has also performed around Scandinavia for various corporate events, played for the NATO troops in Kosovo, in Unicef's gala in Switzerland, in "Rhapsody in Rock" show in London's Royal Albert Hall, at 2007 Cannes Film Festival and she even made a concert appearance in Irkutsk's Drama Theater in Siberia in 2006. In the summer of 2008, Brava made exclusive outdoor classical music concerts at Swedish castles with tenor Paul Potts and a Prague symphony orchestra, which was formed by musicians from two of the biggest orchestras in Prague. Brava also performed the Triple Concerto by Beethoven at The Malar International Music Festival as part of its Beethoven evening with the Swedish pianist Patrik Jablonski, the British cellist Gemma Rosefield and the Västerås Sinfonietta, one of the oldest orchestras in Sweden. Peter Jablonski served as a conductor. Brava's instrument is a 1781 Gagliano violin. She has also used some electric violins when playing other than classical music.
POP AND ROCK MUSIC: Brava released her first pop single, "Violator"/"Toccata & Fugue", in 1996. "Pammi lookalike's great on her Bach" stated The Mirror and Daily Record wrote that "just when interest in violin music was toning down - along comes Linda Lampenius -- the fiddling Finn has taken a major bow. With her long blonde hair, pouting lips and gorgeous figure, she is already a sensation with her version of Bach's Toccata and Fugue". Also The Sunday Times reported how Brava "has enjoyed huge success in Scandinavia with an up-tempo version of Bach's Toccata and Fugue". Brava's self-titled pop album, "Linda Lampenius", was released in 1997, and it hit the Finnish Top Album Chart peaking at number 8 as it was only released in Finland. It went gold the following year. Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber reportedly saw a documentary about Brava on Channel 4 and was amazed at her ability to play the violin. He then invited Brava to take a lead within "Metal Philhamonic", an Andrew Lloyd Webber and Jim Steinman composition, which Brava performed with a band, orchestra, choir and group of dancers at Lloyd Webber's private musical festival at his home in Sydmonton Court, Hampshire in the summer of 1997. Brava also gave a concert of her own at the festival, and the collaboration between Brava and Lloyd Webber brought her the cover story of The Sunday Times (culture supplement) and many headlines across Europe while she became known as a blonde violin sensation, the Bach Babe. Brava has since done some pop appearances on American television, the BBC and Rai Uno as well as in Globen, Sporting Club and the Royal Albert Hall, to name a few. Brava has had her own pop/rock band, The Violators, with whom she performed music from her first album. While living in London, Brava also played and recorded with musicians from Page & Plant's on-tour band and producer Craig Leon. Unreleased recordings from the sessions include perhaps the last recording of Ofra Haza who died soon after. In 2002, Brava was given a lead role in a variety show called Fantastix, which ran in Stockholm in 2003. In the show, Brava played the violin, acted, danced and she was also seen on stage as a fire eater. Brava has performed many times in the "Rhapsody in Rock" show, which was created by pianist and composer Robert Wells, who has also written music for Celine Dion and the 2008 Summer Olympic Games. "Rhapsody in Rock" combines classical and popular music, and the show has been touring all around the world and seen by hundreds of millions of people since the 1990s. Brava has performed as a soloist of the show, among other places, in Circus and the Royal Albert Hall. She was also one of the soloists of the show's 10th anniversary tour in Sweden in 2008. Aftonbladet, the largest daily newspaper in Nordic countries, rated Brava, who "awes as usual", as the best artist of the show. Brava has also made many guest appearances with pop and rock artists, e.g. Mustasch, Takida, Leningrad Cowboys and Magnus Bäcklund (Brava was featured on Bäcklund's single, "Burn", which hit the Swedish Top Singles Chart peaking at number 4 in 2007). Brava is also playing the violin in "Fade Away" on Celine Dion's album Taking Chances released in November 2007.
FOLK, CELTIC AND JAZZ MUSIC: In 2005, Brava's "Nordic Light", which presents Nordic folk melodies, was released with acclaim in the North. The album was re-released in the spring of 2008 and it peaked at number 12 on the Swedish Top Album Chart. Anúna, an Irish choral group, asked Brava to participate in their upcoming "Celtic Origins" project in 2006. For the PBS music special, the choir and Brava performed in three concerts held at the Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland, the USA in January 2007. Live CD and DVD were also done that time. PBS then aired the show called Anúna: Celtic Origins on over 220 TV stations in the USA in August/September 2007. Following the television special, Anúna and Brava embarked on a 9-week and around 40-city tour in concert halls all around the States. The "Celtic Origins" stage show was seen in New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, Boston, San Francisco, Denver, Detroit, Cleveland, Minneapolis, Charlotte, Nashville, Knoxville, Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Toronto, Atlanta, Phoenix and others. Anúna's "Celtic Origins" CD and DVD releases, in which Brava is also featured in as a special guest violinist, were released during the summer and fall of 2007. The album was North America's bestselling World Music CD for weeks according to Nielsen SoundScan, and it was also the bestselling CD in all categories at Borders for the entire month of August. In a 2007 interview with a Finnish newspaper, Michael McGlynn, the founder and leader of Anúna, said that "Linda seemed to be exactly what the forthcoming Anúna show needs to get more classical delicacy to the performance -- Her playing is beautiful, profound and insightful". Ronan Hardiman, the Irish composer, was also quoted in the article as he has been working with Brava on different projects and stated Brava to be "a splendid classical violinist, a magnificent artist who has an incomprehensible ability to transfer her feelings strongly into the music. She is very creative. It is easy to work with her. In addition, she has charisma the like of which you rarely meet". Brava has also made a few public jazz performances during her career. The first one took part in a Los Angeles club called Lucky Seven in 1998, when Brava played with Jeff Goldblum, an Academy Award-nominated American actor and an excellent jazz pianist, and his band. The other one was with Irish singer Owen Brady in a jazz club in Stockholm at the end of the year 2007.
DISCOGRAPHY: SOLOIST: Linda Lampenius (Audiovox Records, 1997) - Finnish Top Album Chart: 8 Linda Brava (EMI Classics, 1999) - UK classical chart: 14 Nordic Light (Ladybird, 2005/re-released 2008) - Swedish Top Album Chart: 12 GUEST: Paul Oxley's Unit, The Magic (Sony Music Entertainment Finland, 1996) (violin) Anúna, Celtic Origins (Elevation, 2007) (guest violin soloist) - Nielsen SoundScan: 1 Celine Dion, Taking Chances (Sony, 2007) (strings) - United World Chart: 2 Sofia Källgren, Cinema Paradiso (2008) (duet with Sofia)
SINGLES: SOLOIST: Violator/Toccata & Fugue in D minor (Audiovox Records, 1996) Ave Maria/Salut d'Amour (EMI Classics, 1999) GUEST: Magnus Bäcklund, Burn (UNI, 2007) (featured artist) - Swedish Top Singles Chart: 4 Emilia de Poret, Pick me up (2008)
DVDs: VARIOUS ARTISTS: Classic FM [2003] DVD (BMG Music Programming, 2003) Anúna, Celtic Origins (Elevation, 2007) (guest violin soloist)
UNRELEASED EMI RECORDINGS: According to the official website of Dave Gregory, the former lead guitarist of XTC, Brava recorded various songs with him and two other musicians loaned from Page & Plant's on-tour band for EMI in 1999. According to the official website of Chris Blackwell, one of the two musicians, the recordings also include perhaps the last recording of Ofra Haza who died soon after. The songs, which were produced by Craig Leon, have not been released yet. Traclisting according to Gregory's website: Frankenstein Inna Gadda Da Vida Violator Let's Get Down Get Real Turkish/Middle Eastern tune Running Up That Hill Aquamarine
OTHER CAREERS: Not only has Brava an impressive musical career, but she has also worked as a model, actress, part-time politico, rally/co-driver, entrepreneur and author. [edit]Modelling Brava was the spokesperson and model for Björn Borg's range of underwear and bathing suits in the North from 1996 to 1999. She appeared in print ads and on catwalks playing music from her pop album. In 2000, Brava was a model for Laxroix watches in England performing in their PR events and appearing in print ads. Because of her status as a blond violin sensation in Europe, Brava was offered a contract to become the celebrity cover girl of Playboy magazine. Brava agreed, and the Brahms Bombshell was featured in and on the cover of Playboy's Sex & Music issue of 1998; the first classical artist to be on the cover; the only one along Marilyn Monroe to be on the special cover without any additional headlines. Brava was then chosen to be one of Playboy's "Sexiest Stars of 1998", among such celebrities as Cindy Crawford and Kate Winslet, for the magazine's December issue of 1998. Brava has also modelled, for example, for Café, Classic FM, Details (named Brava the best newcomer in sex and music categories), Elle, Esquire, GQ, Hello!, Maxim and Vogue magazines.
ACTING: Brava's film debut took place in 1970. Her mother played a lead in a notable Finnish film classic, Akseli ja Elina (Akseli and Elina), and Brava potrayed her infant daughter. Brava made her theater debut in a play called Hard Times in Svenska Teatern at the age of three, and she was also touring with the theater company in Sweden and Norway the following year. Brava has also done some acting on Finnish and Swedish TV and has been a guest actress for one episode each of American TV series Fame L.A. and Baywatch.
POLITICS: Brava represented the Swedish People's Party and was elected to the Helsinki City Council for a four-year term in 1996. At the time, she also served as a board member of the Helsinki Philharmonic. In 1997, Brava was chosen to be "Finland's Tourist Envoy in Sweden".
RACE RALLYING AND OTHER SPORTS: Brava has driven Sports 2000 series cars and worked as a co-driver in rally in Finland. She has also had her own go-cart team. Brava danced classical ballet for a while as a child, and learnt ballroom dances when participating in TV4's Let's Dance (a Swedish version of Dancing with the Stars) in 2008. Brava and her dance partner won several rounds of the competition, but, after an injury, they came 6th out of 12. Brava has also went in for alpine skiing, scuba-diving, boxing and archery over the years. In 2008, Brava trained Muay Thai at Fairtex Bangplee in Bangkok, and the training center made a PR video with her. The video can be seen on YouTube. During the years, Brava has also performed in various sports events. She has played in national basketball, football and ice hockey matches in Finland and Sweden, in the Honda Challenge ATP Senior Tour event at the Royal Albert Hall, for Formula 1 people in Monaco and Monza and opened up the 2008 GE Galan and different K-1 galas in the Stockholm Globe Arena. Brava also recorded the official song for the Swedish national ice hockey team during the Ice Hockey World Championships in Prague in 2004.
ENTREPRENEUR: Brava has had her own cider, which sold millions of litres in the North between 1997 and 2000, and she has also had her own calendar in Finland for the year 1998.
AUTHOR: Brava's autobiography, Linda, was published by WSOY in Finland in 2003. Some diary entries and a short story of hers have also been published in Finnish newspapers.
NOW: Brava has worked on her next album in Ireland and New York, but no release date has been given yet. She's also working on another album in Stockholm. Brava is one of the leading soloists of Sweden's official 2008 Christmas show. The tour includes 30 concerts in 20 cities.- Kristina Wayborn was born Britt-Inger Johansson in Nybro, Sweden. After being elected Miss Sweden in 1970 she was a semi-finalist in the Miss Universe pageant. The same year she was also elected Miss Scandinavia.
Wayborn portrayed screen legend Greta Garbo in The Silent Lovers (1980) which brought her to the attention of the producers of the James Bond films.
She was cast as Magda in the James Bond film Octopussy (1983). During a fight scene in the film, the act went wrong and Wayborn suffered several broken toes. Despite the accident, she became well known for her fight scenes in Octopussy, in an era predating the big female action heroines of the box office. Her character Magda beat up many of Kamal Khan's guards, showing a surprising agility and acumen for martial arts.
She subsequently appeared in a number of American television series such as The Love Boat (1982-1986), Airwolf (1986), MacGyver (1986), Dallas (1986), General Hospital (1987), Designing Women (1991), Baywatch (1993-1999) and That '70s Show (2000) in which she was re-united with her Octopussy co-star Maud Adams.
In the 1990's, Kristina appeared in the Swedish television series Vänner och Fiender (1996-2000), one of the longest running series ever in Sweden. (Another Swedish Bond girl, Mary Stavin, also appeared in the series.)
In 2010, she appeared in the horror film The Frankenstein Syndrome. - Actress
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Patrice Donnelly was born on 30 April 1950 in San Diego County, California, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for Personal Best (1982), American Anthem (1986) and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1985).- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Ever since she was a child growing up in South Jersey, Katrina Law had more energy than she knew what to do with. Her mother (being the brilliant mother that she is) recognized this at an early age and enrolled Katrina in a variety of activities ranging from dance and gym classes to karate lessons, soccer practice, and voice coaching. You name the activity and Katrina's mother probably had her try it at least once. When she graduated high school her yearbook was filled with photos of her on the Varsity Track team, Varsity Soccer Team, Varsity Cheerleading Squad, and even the Varsity Weightlifting Team. She was also a member of the National Honor Society and won the title of Miss New Jersey Teen USA, where she went on to represent the state at finals on national television.
This eccentric collection of interests and activities, combined with her exotic physical appearance usually means that the first question people ask her is, "What are you?"
What she is, to answer their question, is a typical small-town American Girl. Her parents met during the Vietnam War; her father being a Catholic of German and Italian decent serving in the U.S. armed forces and her mother a Buddhist living in Taiwan, working as a bartender. This combination of cultures learning to live in harmony under one roof taught Katrina tolerance, patience, understanding, and humor as a child and still guides her to this day.
After graduating with a theater degree from the Richard Stockton College of NJ, Katrina's acting education continued on in the big cities of Philadelphia and New York. There she not only deepened her understanding of acting as an art form, but she also sharpened her teeth on the business of acting. In New York City she earned her SAG eligibility on the set of Lucky Numbers (2000) with Nora Ephron and John Travolta, and finally joined SAG when she booked a guest star role on NY's Third Watch (1999). Since then, she has gone on to act in many exciting projects, including a three-episode arc as the Mord'Sith Garen in Legend of the Seeker (2008) and as the series regular Mira in the hit show Spartacus (2010).