Actors/Celebrities You May Not Realize Have Hispanic or Latino Ancestry
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Jessica Michelle Chastain was born in Sacramento, California, and was raised in a middle-class household in a Northern California suburb. Her mother, Jerri Chastain, is a vegan chef whose family is originally from Kansas, and her stepfather is a fireman. She discovered dance at the age of nine and was in a dance troupe by age thirteen. She began performing in Shakespearean productions all over the Bay area.
An actor in a production of "Romeo & Juliet" encouraged her to audition for Juilliard as a drama major. She became a member of "Crew 32" with the help of a scholarship from one of the school's famous alumni, Robin Williams.
In her last year at Juilliard, she was offered a holding deal with TV writer/producer John Wells and she eventually worked in three of his TV shows. Jessica continues to do theatre, having played in "The Cherry Orchard", "Rodney's Wife", "Salome" and "Othello". She spends her time between New York and Los Angeles, working in theater, film and TV.
In 2011, she had a prolific year in film. She was nominated for and won a number of awards, including a 2012 Oscar nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for The Help (2011).Paternal grandfather was Spanish and Basque- Actor
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Jason 'Wee Man' Acuña was born on 16 May 1973 in Pisa, Tuscany, Italy. He is an actor and writer, known for Jackass 3D (2010), Elf-Man (2011) and Jackass Number Two (2006).Father was Mexican (some sources say he was Spanish); mother is German- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Producer
The only son of Green Acres (1965) star Eddie Albert and Mexican actress/dancer Margo, Edward Laurence Albert managed to come out from under his father's strong shadow and make a gallant showing of his own as a gifted thespian. Born in Los Angeles on February 20, 1951, Edward's multi-cultural heritage and talented gene pool allowed him to become a man of many talents: songwriter, drummer, singer, photographer and, most importantly, activist.
Growing up, he inherited an early interest in music and the performing arts. He made an auspicious film debut at the age of 14 in The Fool Killer (1965) co-starring as a young runaway who teams up with a tormented Civil War veteran (Anthony Perkins), a teaming that leads to murder. A strong, mature role for such a youngster, his next film appearance wouldn't come about until seven years later. In the meantime Edward attended Oxford University and was studying psychology at UCLA when offered the breakthrough of a lifetime.
Signed up to play the difficult role of blind Don Baker--played on Broadway by Keir Dullea--who yearns for freedom away from his domineering mom (Oscar winner Eileen Heckart) and finds it in the arms of a liberated lass named Jill (Goldie Hawn) in Butterflies Are Free (1972), Edward easily captured the hearts of millions with his tender, life-affirming performance. Edward walked home with the cinema's Golden Globe Award as "Male Newcomer of the Year." A confident, intelligent actor with a serene handsomeness and 1000-watt smile who just happened to possess the most magnetic pale eyes this side of Meg Foster, Edward was on a seemingly strong path to film stardom. Although he never found a comparable success to "Butterfly," he did follow it up with another theater comedy favorite, 40 Carats (1973), in which he had a dalliance with older actress Liv Ullmann. He also played Charlton Heston's military son in Midway (1976), followed by highly visible roles in The Domino Principle (1977) and The Greek Tycoon (1978).
When film stardom did not pan out, Edward saw TV as a welcoming medium and made up for his sudden lack of star power with wonderful turns in major TV minimovies, notably The Last Convertible (1979). By the 1980s he had started making the rounds in formula low-budget action films and usually fared best when his flashy villainous side came into view. While such obvious movie titles as The House Where Evil Dwells (1982), Fist Fighter (1988), Demon Keeper (1994) and Stageghost (2000) pointed out the lack of quality in his offerings, it did provide a steady income and visibility. He also made frequent guest appearances on such shows as Falcon Crest (1981), L.A. Law (1986), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) and Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman (1993) that kept him in the public eye. A solid regular as both good guy and bad guy on series TV, he gave his life (and, it seems, his paycheck) to the Beast after three seasons on Beauty and the Beast (1987) and, in contrast, played the dastardly Dr. Bennett Devlin on the daytime soap Port Charles (1997) for its first three seasons. Edward also used his vocal talents in animation involving such superhero icons as The Fantastic Four (1978), Spider-Man: The Animated Series (1994) and "The Power Rangers".
From his father and mother Edward developed a deep love and appreciation for the land and the diversity of cultures. As such, he divided his time between acting work and activism just as his father had done. Having owned a ranch in Malibu for over 30 years, he was a strong, positive influence and passionate spokesperson when it came to environmental and cultural affairs. In recent years he served on the California Coastal Commission and California Native American Heritage Commission.
Long married to lovely British-born actress Katherine Woodville, the couple's daughter, Thais, continued the family musical tradition as a singer/songwriter for the rock group Sugar in Wartime. Following his mother's passing from brain cancer in 1985, Edward became a selfless caregiver to his aging father, who began to develop early signs of Alzheimer's disease in the 1990s. His father lived for more than a decade in declining health, dying in May 2005. In early 2005, Edward discovered he too was seriously ill after being diagnosed with lung cancer. He died surrounded by family on September 22, 2006, at the relatively young age of 55.Mother was Mexican actress Margo; father was American actor Eddie Albert
DIED September 22, 2006, age 55, of lung cancer- Actor
- Producer
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Chosen as one of Variety's "Top Ten Actors to Watch" and part of the new breed of leading men in Hollywood, Laz Alonso is starring in Amazon Prime's series THE BOYS. He can also be seen playing opposite Gabrielle Union and Jessica Alba in their new series LA'S FINEST. He previously starred opposite Debra Messing and Josh Lucas in NBC's THE MYSTERIES OF LAURA. Laz's extensive television credits also include leading roles in NBC's DECEPTION and A&E's BREAKOUT KINGS.
Theatrically, Laz recently played Carlos Jones in Guy Ritche's CASH TRUCK, opposite Jason Statham, Josh Hartnett and Holt McCallany. Previously he portrayed Congressman John Conyers, in the Annapurna critically acclaimed film DETROIT, directed by Kathryn Bigelow. He also starred opposite Paula Patton and Omar Epps in the independent Thriller TRAFFIK. Alonso previously starred opposite Patton in the hit romantic comedy JUMPING THE BROOM for Columbia Pictures, for which he received a NAACP IMAGE AWARD for Outstanding Actor In A Motion Picture . He has also been nominated for a BET Best Actor Award. Prior to that, he played the heroic role of "Tsu'Tey" in the highest grossing film of all time, James Cameron's AVATAR. Laz played the lead villain role of "Fenix Calderon" in Universal's FAST AND FURIOUS, which reunited the original cast and relaunched the successful franchise. His past movie credits include lead roles in the Sony/Screen Gems' hits STOMP THE YARD and THIS CHRISTMAS, a co-starring role in Sam Mendes' hit JARHEAD, for Universal Pictures opposite Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx, Jake Gyllenhaal and Peter Sarsgaard, and a supporting role in Rod Lurie's remake of the Sam Peckinpah classic STRAW DOGS. Laz also starred in Spike Lee's MIRACLE AT ST. ANNA, in which he played "Hector Negron", based on a true story of a black and Puerto Rican WWII Buffalo Soldier that witnessed something that he carried inside for over 30 years until his past meets him again.
Laz has also executive produced and starred opposite Danny Glover in Alan Jacobs' DOWN FOR LIFE, which ended up with a much-coveted position in the Toronto Film Festival, where it received critical acclaim. He has directed a mini documentary that premiered at Art Basel titled I AM, which highlighted a Washington DC artist who paints homeless people in prestigious settings.
Born and raised in Washington DC, Laz always knew he wanted to be an actor. He graduated from the prestigious Howard University School of Business, earning a Bachelors Degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing. After college, he worked on Wall Street as an investment banker at MERRILL LYNCH and began his acting career simultaneously, doing NY off-Broadway theater. He credits his ability to tackle so many different types of roles by his theater training. He now splits his time between Los Angeles and New York City.
WINNER BEST ACTOR NAACP IMAGE AWARDSIs Cuban- Actor
- Soundtrack
David Rodman Annable was born on September 15, 1979, in Suffern, New York, to Tammi and Rodman John Annable. He has one sister named Rebecca and a half-sister named Stacy. His mother is Jewish and his father has English, German, Irish and French ancestry. Dave grew up in Walden, a small town in upstate New York.
Growing up, he enjoyed playing baseball, rugby and hockey. Dave even played for the local Plattsburgh team. He is also a big fan of the New York Giants, New York Mets and the New Jersey Devils. While he was still in New York, he attended SUNY Plattsburgh. Dave participated in the student-run Plattsburgh State Television, both acting and behind the camera. Among the shows that he hosted were "Late Night with Dave Annable", "Cardinal Sports", "Stay Tuned", "Cardinal Hockey", "On Campus Live" and "The Roommate Game".
Dave had a semester of college left and often commuted for commercial auditions, which took 8 hours from Plattsburgh by bus. Dave then decided to tell his parents that he considered dropping out of college to become a full-time actor. Although his parents did not approve of his decision at that time because college was very important in their family, they still gave Dave the support he needed.
He eventually attended the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City, generally associated with the Meisner technique of Sanford Meisner. There, he studied acting with Richárd Pintér. The 5'9" star appeared in a number of commercials which included "Reebok", 'Wendy's", "Starbust" and "Pepsi". He was also a featured actor in a "Mountain Dew" commercial with former NASCAR Rookie of the year, Kasey Kahne.
Dave first gained attention from the public when he played the role of "Aaron Lewis" on the short-lived television series, Reunion (2005), which aired on Fox in 2005. "Reunion" was a teen drama/murder mystery series which explored occurrences in the lives of twenty former high school friends from 1986 through 2005, and recounted events leading up to the murder of one of the major characters. Before starring in "Reunion", Dave already had guest roles on Third Watch (1999), Other People's Business (2003) and Spellbound (2002) as well as Little Black Book (2004).
He received his breakout role in 2006, when he was offered a regular starring role on the ABC family drama, Brothers & Sisters (2006). The show was about the trials and travails of the Walker family, with every family secret unveiled. He was among the first actors cast on the show before they began signing bigger names such as Calista Flockhart, Sally Field and Rob Lowe.
Dave played the role of "Justin Walker", a psychologically damaged Afghan war veteran suffering with drug problems. In fact, Dave mentioned in an interview that he had to lose 11 kg. to play the role because they needed someone skinny to portray his character's addiction problem. Dave also won a Prism Award for Best Performance in a Drama Series Multi-Episode Storyline for his role in Brothers & Sisters (2006).
In a recent interview, Dave mentioned that he has actually promised his mother that he would graduate after watching his younger sister graduate from Cornell University. Dave is taking online classes in Communications and will be graduating in May 2009. He also mentioned that he will be giving the commencement speech on his graduation day.
Despite all of his accomplishments in the showbiz industry, Dave is in fact still very humble. He enjoys spending time with his family and making people laugh.Paternal grandmother was Puerto Rican; is married to actress Odette Annable- Actress
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Odette Annable was born Odette Juliette Yustman on 10 May, 1985, in Los Angeles, California. Her mother, Lydia (Nodarse), is Cuban. Odette's father, Victor Oscar Yustman, was born in Bogotá, Colombia, of Italian and Polish Jewish descent. Odette started her career with a minor role in the movie Kindergarten Cop (1990) as "Rosa."
After graduating from Woodcrest Christian High School in Riverside, California, where she was the homecoming queen, she turned to modeling with a few roles through the years. Some of her credits include Danielle Steel's Remembrance (1996) and Dear God (1996) with a few guest appearances in Quintuplets (2004). In 2006, Odette was cast in Jennifer Lopez's South Beach (2006) where she played "Arielle Casta". She was then cast in the drama October Road (2007) as "Aubrey," which has received its second season. She has since been seen in the action monster movie Cloverfield (2008) as "Beth McIntyre".Mother is Cuban; father is Ashkenazi Jewish and Italian born in Colombia
Birth name was Odette Juliette Yustman; married to actor Dave Annable- Actress
- Soundtrack
Charlotte Ayanna was born on 25 September 1976 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. She is an actress, known for Training Day (2001), Love the Hard Way (2001) and Kate & Leopold (2001).Is Puerto Rican; birth name was Charlotte Lopez- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Sebastian Arcelus was born on 5 November 1976 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for Split (2016), House of Cards (2013) and Madam Secretary (2014). He has been married to Stephanie J. Block since 25 October 2007. They have one child.Father is Uruguayan; mother is Italian, Russian, German, and Serbian
Speaks fluent Spanish; married to actress Stephanie Block- Actor
- Composer
- Editor
In 2008, more than 30 million television viewers fell in love with David Archuleta; with his angelic voice, bashful sweetness, and megawatt smile, over 44 million votes made him the first runner-up in Season 7 of American Idol - and a star at age 16.
Shortly after "Idol," David's first single, "Crush," debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. The track sold more than 2 million digital copies to become double platinum. Three months later, his self-titled album, David Archuleta, sold more than 900,000 copies worldwide.
With a faithful social media following (3.5 million Facebook followers, 1.1 million on Twitter, and almost 1 million followers on TikTok), David has toured all over the U.S., Canada, Asia, and even in the Middle East. In 2017, he relocated to Nashville and released his seventh album Postcards in the Sky featuring all original songs that he had a hand in writing.
The game-changer though was David's 2020 album, Therapy Sessions, which featured an inside look into his internal struggle with himself - a battle he has experienced for most of his life. He carried a heavy burden by trying to be something he was not while knowing that who he really was would put him at odds with the church he grew up in. "I was going through therapy, and trying to apply the steps it took to escape the barriers I had created for myself," he explains. "Music has always been healing for me and I hoped that what I created on that album would help people who were also struggling with who they were."
In 2021, David came out as queer to the LGBTQ community and continues to navigate his identity. During this time, he also had vocal cord surgery, which left him unable to speak much for 3 months, resulting in a period of self-reflection.
In the summer of 2022, David shared his powerful coming-out journey at the Love Loud Festival, which left both the audience and David in tears. David then made his professional musical theater debut as "Joseph" in the acclaimed Andrew Lloyd Weber/Tim Rice musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. "Performing in Joseph really helped me connect with audiences in a way I hadn't before. I was more reserved and unsure as a performer, and doing the show was part of the process of unlocking things within me."
In the fall of 2022, David revealed to Good Morning America that he was experiencing a faith crisis and stepping away from the Church of Latter-Day Saints, having been a Mormon his whole life. He then rounded out 2022 with the release of "Faith in Me," his first song since having vocal cord surgery and, by far, one of his more personal songs. "It's about being OK with who you are and moving forward. Not caring about what anyone thinks, just letting go of baggage, forging your own path and finding joy." says David. "We actually re-wrote the song to accommodate where I was personally at the time of the recording."
2023 is shaping up to be the Year of Archuleta, not the least of which is because of his return to television. The Masked Singer saw David spread his wings (and end up a finalist) as the Macaw, a bird known for its exuberant personality. An audience favorite, David rose to the top against other heavyweight vocalists such as Pentatonix, Michael Bolton and Sara Evans. "Being the Macaw was exciting because it was like becoming a new person. Even though people couldn't see me in the costume, it allowed me to show a lot more of myself. I could be a lot louder with my personality and really let loose and spread my wings. I was able to show the colors I was too afraid to show and tap deeper emotionally in my performances." said David
David's also gone 'home' to American Idol, where he's a mentor to up-and-comers like he once was. "It has been a beautiful experience. I have watched the show from the first season and then competed in the 7th season of the show, which was already full circle for me. It was an honor to be asked back as a 'seasoned professional' to work with the contestants. It was fun, and it felt good be able to help others develop their talent, and have people say I was an inspiration," he says. "Looking back to when I first watched, I can't believe I would be there for people like Kelly Clarkson and Tamyra Gray were for me."
David's latest single is "Up," and while not a continuation of "Faith in Me," it's similar in its optimism. "Faith in Me" was about me learning to have fun, and not take everything so seriously. "Up" is more of a reflective song. It's looking at my journey and seeing how far I've come," he says. "I hit rock bottom. I thought I wouldn't get through it, but here I am. I thought I was hopeless and that I'd failed, but here I am. Even when you're at your lowest, you need to realize you can only go UP. You need to hold on to that glimmer of hope and say, I am going to turn any type of hate and negativity into positivity and love. It's a song about finding the strength you didn't know you had in you. And replacing any fear and hate with love. Especially self-love."
"Up" will be part of a bigger project David's working on, with a plan to record more music later this year for an album. "I am ready to share this new chapter and be comfortable with who I am as a performer. I'd like to go on tour when I figure myself out a little more, you know? My music was always formed around my beliefs, so I want to work out what I should put my faith in now. I can say that for the first time, I felt like I've taken my power back after having given it away for so long. That's a huge step."Mother is Honduran; father is Basque, Danish, and German- Music Department
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Fereydun Robert Armisen is an American actor, comedian, and writer. After having begun his career as a musician for groups such as Trenchmouth and the Blue Man Group, he would get his big break as a comedy actor when he joined the cast of Saturday Night Live (1975) in 2002, having remained with the show until 2013. This lead to Armisen collaborating with fellow SNL alum Bill Hader and Seth Meyers on the television series Documentary Now! (2015) for IFC, and would also collaborate with Carrie Brownstein on Portlandia (2011) for the same network. He is also known for his roles in various films and shows such as Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004), Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny (2006), and Easy A (2010), alongside voice roles in The Looney Tunes Show (2011), The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021), The Lego Ninjago Movie (2017), and Final Space (2018), among others.Mother is Venezuelan; father was German and Korean- Actor
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Jake T. Austin was born Jake Austin Szymanski in New York City, to Giny Rodriguez Toranzo and Joe Szymanski. His middle initial is taken from his mother's name Toranzo. He has a younger sister, Ava. His father has Polish, English, and Irish ancestry, and his mother is of Puerto Rican, Argentinian, and Spanish descent. Jake started acting at age of seven in commercials. His first credited role was in a comedy sketch "Kid 1698". Jake starred in many animated movies, but he is mostly famous for his role as Max Russo on the series Wizards of Waverly Place (2007), the voice of Diego on Dora the Explorer (2000) and Go, Diego! Go! (2005), and Jesus Foster on the family/teen drama series The Fosters (2013).
He speaks English and Spanish fluently. Jake is living in L.A. but he often visits his family in New York.Mother is Puerto Rican, Spanish, and Argentinian; father has Polish, Englsh, and Irish ancestry
Birth name was Jake Austin Szymanski- Actress
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Catherine Bach is an American actress. She is known for playing Daisy Duke in the television series The Dukes of Hazzard and Margo Dutton in African Skies. In 2012, she joined the cast of the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless as Anita Lawson.Mother is Mexican; father is German- Music Department
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Joan Baez is the middle daughter of Albert Baez and Joan Baez Sr.. At age 10, her father took a job (and the family) to Baghdad, Iraq. A year later they moved to Palo Alto, CA, home of Stanford University. In 1956, she bought her first guitar and heard Martin Luther King, Jr.'s lecture on nonviolence; the following year, she heard Ira Sandperl, a Gandhian scholar, who also influenced her strongly. She graduated from Palo Alto High School in 1958, failed with a demo album, and move the next year to Massachusetts where her father had taken a teaching position at MIT. She performed at Club 47, a folk music club in Cambridge, and participated in the album "Folksingers 'Round Harvard Square". The same year, she met Odetta and Bob Gibson while she was performing at Chicago's "Gate of Horn". Bob invited her to perform July 11 at the Newport Folk Festival, which launched her fame as a folksinger. Her first album for Vanguard, "Joan Baez" (1960), was a huge success. The following year, she met Bob Dylan and released her second very successful album, followed the year later by many southern civil-rights performances and Grammy nominated "Joan Baez in Concert". She launched a tax revolt as part of her protest of the Vietnam war, protested Pete Seeger's exclusion by ABC-TV, and joined in the Free Speech Movement at Berkeley and the civil rights march in Selma AL. In 1967, she spent two brief periods in jail for anti-war protests. In 1969, she gave birth to Gabriel Harris while his father, David Harris, was serving 20 months of a three year sentence for draft resistance. In 1971, her songs were featured in the films Sacco & Vanzetti (1971) and Celebration at Big Sur (1971). A 1974 world tour included Japan, Australia, Israel, Lebanon, Tunisia and Argentina. The 1978 film Renaldo and Clara (1978) featured her performances in Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder tours. In 1980, Antioch University and Rutgers University awarded her the honorary Doctor of Humane Letters for her music and her activism. Next year, PBS aired the documentary "There But For Fortune: Joan Baez in Latin America". The albums, causes and concerts continue, far too numerous to list here.Father was Mexican; mother had English and Scottish ancestry- Actor
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Mark Ballas was born on 24 May 1986 in Houston, Texas, USA. He is an actor, known for Samantha Who? (2007), Dancing with the Stars (2005) and Steppin' Out with Katherine Jenkins (2012). He has been married to B.C. Jean since 25 November 2016.Father is half Mexican and half Greek; mother is English and Irish- Actress
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Ariela Barer was born on 14 October 1998 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for How to Blow Up a Pipeline (2022), Runaways (2017) and Oddities (2023).Maternal grandmother is Mexican; also has Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry- Actor
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Steven Bauer (born Esteban Ernesto Echevarría Samson) is a Cuban-born American actor. Bauer began his career on PBS, portraying Joe Peña, the son of Cuban immigrants on Qué Pasa, USA (1977-1980) and is perhaps most famous for his role as the Cuban drug lord Manny Rivera in the 1983 crime drama Scarface, in which he starred alongside Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer. He also played the drug cartel leader Eladio Vuente in Breaking Bad and in Better Call Saul and as the retired Mossad agent Avi Rudin in Ray Donovan (2013-2020).Is Cuban; birth name was Esteban Ernesto Echevarria
Surname Bauer is from his maternal grandfather who was German Jewish; formerly married to actress Melanie Griffith- Actress
- Cinematographer
Actress Bérénice Bejo was born in Buenos Aires, the daughter of Silvia De Paoli, a lawyer, and Miguel Bejo, a filmmaker. When she was three, Bejo's family relocated to Paris, France. She embarked on a successful acting career in the 1990s, with various roles in French television and film productions. She made her American film debut as Christiana in A Knight's Tale (2001), but came to major international recognition with her role as Peppy Miller in the critical and popular hit, The Artist (2011), which was written and directed by her husband, Michel Hazanavicius. The film garnered many major awards and nominations. Bejo herself was nominated as Best Supporting Actress of the year at the Golden Globes, the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Oscars. She was also nominated as Best Leading Actress at the BAFTA Awards.Father is Argentinian; mother is Italian
Oscar, Golden Globe, and BAFTA nominee for her role in "The Artist"- Actress
- Producer
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Brie Bella was born Brianna Monique Garcia-Colace on November 21, 1983 in San Diego, California & raised in Scottsdale, Arizona. On June 2007, she signed with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) & was assigned to developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) alongside her twin sister Nikki, forming the duo The Bella Twins. She made her debut at SmackDown on November 2008. Brie is also a one-time WWE Divas Champion.Father is Mexican; mother is Italian; birth name was Brianna Monique Garcia-Colace; twin sister of Nikki Bella- Actress
- Producer
Nikki Bella was born Stephanie Nicole Garcia-Colace on November 21, 1983 in San Diego, California & raised in Scottsdale, Arizona. On June 2007, she signed with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) & was assigned to developmental territory Florida Championship Wrestling (FCW) alongside her twin sister Brie, forming the duo The Bella Twins. She made her debut at SmackDown on November 2008. Nikki is a two-time WWE Divas Champion and holds the record for the longest reign with that title.Father is Mexican; mother is Italian; birth name was Stephanie Nicole Garcia-Colace; twin sister of Brie Bella- Actor
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Daytime Emmy Award winning Actor Maurice Benard joined the cast of General Hospital in the role of Sonny Corinthos in August 1993. He briefly left the show for a year-long hiatus in December 1998. For his portrayal, Mr. Benard received the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in 2003. He was also nominated in 1996, 1997, 2004, 2006 and 2011.
Mr. Benard's multi-cultural upbringing began in San Francisco, where he was born to parents from Nicaragua and San Salvador. Uninspired by the traditional education route, he gleaned an education in the open job market after high school. He began modeling in his early twenties. Following that, Mr. Benard took up acting in numerous theatrical productions in the Bay area.
After auditioning for a role on the ABC drama All My Children, Mr. Benard was cast as Nico Kelly. Two years later, he struck out to find new challenges and moved to Los Angeles, where he was cast as the lead in the much-publicized TV movie, Lucy and Desi: Before the Laughter. He later added a pivotal role in the feature film Ruby to several other prominent film and television credits.
Mr. Benard has been a popular voice in the battle against bipolar disorder. He has been very open about his personal battle with the illness, appearing on television programs such as The View, Entertainment Tonight, and Oprah. He has been featured in People and LA Life Magazines. He also began working with the National Mental Health Association (NMHA) on the "Bipolar Disorder: Do You Know It?" campaign to help educate Americans about the importance of recognizing the signs and symptoms of bipolar disorder.Father was Salvadorean; mother was Nicaraguan; birth name was Mauricio José Morales- Astrid Bergès-Frisbey was born the 26th May of 1986 in Barcelona, Spain to a Spanish Father and a French-American Mother of English descent. She is fluent in French, Spanish, and Catalan. Astrid Bergès-Frisbey made her acting debut in 2007 on French television. In 2008, she made her feature debut in the French film Un barrage contre le Pacifique (2008) and since then has made other French films. In 2011, Bergès-Frisbey made her English debut as the beautiful mermaid Syrena in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011). She was personally picked by director Rob Marshall and producer Jerry Bruckheimer after a whirlwind of auditions in France, Hollywood, and the UK.Father is Spanish; mother has English and French ancestry
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Hailey Rhode Bieber (née Baldwin; born November 22, 1996) is an American model and television personality. She is the daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin.
Baldwin was born in Tucson, Arizona, the daughter of actor Stephen Baldwin, the youngest of the Baldwin brothers, and graphic designer Kennya Deodato Baldwin. Her mother is a Brazilian of Italian and Portuguese descent and her father is of English, Irish, Scottish, French and German descent. Baldwin's maternal grandfather is the Brazilian musician Eumir Deodato.
The first modeling agency Baldwin signed with was New York agency Ford Models. She initially appeared in magazines such as Tatler, LOVE, V and i-D. Her first commercial campaign was for the clothing brand French Connection in the winter of 2014. In October 2014 Baldwin made her runway debut walking for Topshop and French fashion designer Sonia Rykiel. In December 2014 she was involved in a photo-session for Love magazine, which also produced a short movie shot by photographer Daniel Jackson and released on the magazine's official YouTube channel.
In January 2015, Baldwin was photographed for American Vogue and in March for Teen Vogue. In April she was involved in a shot for her first magazine cover for Jalouse Magazine alongside male model Lucky Blue Smith. In the same month she also was involved in two other cover-shoots, for the Dutch edition of L'Officiel and the American edition of Wonderland Magazine and was pictured in editorials for Miss Vogue and W magazines. In July 2015 she was featured in Ralph Lauren advertising alongside Australian singer Cody Simpson, and in October returned to the runway for Tommy Hilfiger and Philipp Plein.
In January 2016, Baldwin appeared in a Ralph Lauren campaign and shot an editorial for the Korean edition of Vogue. After walking again for Tommy Hilfiger in February, Baldwin featured in spring/summer campaigns for Philipp Plein and Tommy Hilfiger. In the same period she was also shot for Self Magazine and filmed for a commercial of clothing brand H&M, which fell in the Coachella Music Festival period. In March 2016, Baldwin signed a contract with IMG Models high-profile New York modeling agency and in May appeared on the cover of Marie Claire, who gave her the title of a "fresh face". The American cover was also the same as the July issue of the Dutch edition of the magazine. In June, Baldwin walked for Moschino with high-profile supermodels as Miranda Kerr, Alessandra Ambrosio, Jourdan Dunn and Chanel Iman and in the same month she also debuts as a model for a Guess advertising.
Afterwards, Baldwin was photographed and filmed for an UGG footwear campaign, alongside supermodel Rosie Huntington-Whiteley. Along with Joan Smalls, Baldwin was also the face of Karl Lagerfeld's limited-edition clothing line available in North America entitled "Love From Paris". Baldwin also appeared in editorials for Glamour Magazine and Italian Vogue. In September, she took part at the New York Fashion Week, walking for Tommy Hilfiger, Prabal Gurung, Jeremy Scott, Tory Burch and Matty Bovan. She afterwards flew to London, where she hosted pre-London Fashion Week Party at Stradivarius an walked for a Julien Macdonald fashion show, then in Milan, walking for Dolce & Gabbana, and in Paris too, walking for Elie Saab. Baldwin also appeared in advertising for Prabal Gurung's sportive clothing collection. She later featured in campaigns for Guess' holiday collection and Australian label Sass & bide. In November, Baldwin was on the cover of the Australian edition of Harper's Bazaar, and featured in a French Elle editorial.
In 2005, aged 9, Baldwin appeared by the side of her family in the television documentary Livin It: Unusual Suspects and in 2009 she made an appearance in an episode of the TV show Saturday Night Live by the side of her uncle Alec Baldwin. In 2011, she appeared as Australian singer Cody Simpson's love interest in the music video of the song "On My Mind" as part of her early work and several years later, in 2016, she had role in a second music video, "Love To Love You Baby" by French model and singer Baptiste Giabiconi, a cover of the homonymous song by Donna Summer released in 1975.
On October 25, 2015, Baldwin worked as a TV host at the 2015 MTV Europe Music Awards in Milan, Italy, revealing by the side of Italian supermodel Bianca Balti and English rapper Tinie Tempah the winner of the Best Music Video Award, won by Macklemore and Ryan Lewis for the video of their song "Downtown".
On June 19, 2016, she co-hosted with model Gigi Hadid announcing a live exhibition by Shawn Mendes at the 2016 iHeartRadio Much Music Video Awards in Toronto, Canada.
Starting May 2, 2017, she began hosting a new TBS show Drop the Mic with rapper Method Man, which features 4 celebrities facing off in a series of rap-battles.
In 2017, Baldwin featured on the cover of Spanish Harper's Bazaar alongside male model Jon Kortajarena and the American, British and Japanese editions of Elle.
On November 23, 2018, it was confirmed that Baldwin was married to Canadian singer-songwriter Justin Bieber. The couple had been engaged since July 7, 2018. They had briefly dated from December 2015 to January 2016 before splitting, then reconciled in May 2018. Baldwin changed her name to Hailey Bieber on social media and requested a trademark license to use the name "Hailey Bieber" for commercial purposes.Mother is Brazilian with Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian ancestry; father is American actor Stephen Baldwin, who has English, Irish, French-Canadian, and German ancestry
Is married to singer Justin Bieber- Actor
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- Music Department
Aloe Blacc was born on 7 January 1979 in Laguna Hills, California, USA. He is an actor and composer, known for Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw (2019), Killers (2010) and Need for Speed (2014). He has been married to Maya Jupiter since 29 September 2010. They have two children.Both parents are Afro-Panamanian; birth name was Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III
Is married to rapper Maya Jupiter- Actress
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Rebecca Black is best known for her song "Friday" which became an Internet sensation in March 2011. According to Billboard.com, she is just one of the pop stars coming from a production company called Ark Music Factory.Mother is Mexican; father is English, Polish, and Italian- Producer
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- Writer
David Blaine was born on 4 April 1973 in Brooklyn, New York, USA. He is a producer and actor, known for The Great Buck Howard (2008), Mister Lonely (2007) and David Blaine: Real or Magic (2013).Father is half Puerto Rican and half Italian; mother is Russian Jewish; birth name was David Blaine White- Actor
- Music Department
- Editorial Department
Stony Blyden was born in Reykjavík, Iceland. He is an actor, known for How I Met Your Father (2022), Dude (2018) and Bluff City Law (2019).Mother is Afro-Cuban; father is Icelandic; birth name was Thorsteinn Sindri Baldvinsson Blyden; was born in Reykjavik, Iceland- Actor
- Writer
- Producer
Douglas John Booth is an English actor. Booth was born in London, England, the son of Vivien (De Cala), an artist, and Simon Booth, who works in shipping for Citigroup. He has appeared on English television as (Christopher and His Kind (2011), Great Expectations (2011)), starred in the film Romeo & Juliet (2013), and played Shem, one of the sons of Noah, in Noah (2014). More recently, he played Harry Villiers in The Riot Club (2014) and Titus Abrasax in Jupiter Ascending (2015). Booth was educated at at Solefield School, a boys independent school in Sevenoaks, Kent, followed by Bennett Memorial Diocesan School, and Lingfield Notre Dame School, an independent school in Lingfield, Surrey.
His mother is of half Spanish and half Dutch ancestry, and his father is of English descent.Mother is half Spanish and half Dutch; father is English- Producer
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- Additional Crew
Anthony Bourdain was born in New York City, to Gladys (Sacksman), an NYT staff editor, and Pierre Bourdain, a Columbia Records executive. He attended The Englewood School for Boys in New Jersey and Vassar College (for two years), and was a graduate of The Culinary Institute of America. He began his career in the food industry as a dishwasher, gradually working his way up through preparation, to line cook, sous chef, and chef. He was executive chef of Manhattan's Brasserie Les Halles, which meant, in his words, that he got to "swan around the kitchen, taking credit for others' work." Bourdain lived in New York City, and had a daughter Ariane, with his wife Ottavia.Father was French and Spanish; mother is Ashkenazi Jewish with ancestry from Ukraine and Austria
DIED June 8, 2018, age 61; committed suicide by hanging himself- Actor
- Producer
Lillo Brancato was born on 30 March 1976 in Bogotá, Colombia. He is an actor and producer, known for A Bronx Tale (1993), Crimson Tide (1995) and Renaissance Man (1994).Is Colombian; was adopted by Italian-American parents- Actor
- Additional Crew
Miko C. Brando was born on 26 February 1961 in Los Angeles, California, USA. He is an actor, known for Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star (2003), Inchon (1981) and This Is It (2009).Mother was Mexican actress Movita Castenada; father was iconic American actor Marlon Brando, who had English, Irish, German, and Dutch ancestry; birth name was Miko Castenada Brando- Actor
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The middle of five children, Bratt hails from a close-knit family. His mother, an indigenous Quechua Peruvian from Lima, moved to the U.S. at age 14. He grew up in San Francisco. He is known for his roles in the films Traffic (2000), Miss Congeniality (2000), and Despicable Me 2 (2013). He is married to actress Talisa Soto.Mother is Peruvian; father is German and English- Raven-haired beauty Jordana Brewster was born on April 26, 1980 in Panama City, Panama. Her mother, Maria João Leal de Sousa, is a Brazilian-born model who appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1978. Her father, Alden Brewster, is an American-born investment banker, who has English, Scottish, and Irish ancestry. Her paternal grandfather, Mayflower descendant Kingman Brewster, Jr., was president of Yale University from 1963 to 1977. Jordana was raised in London, England up until the age of six. At this time, her family decided to move back to her mother's native Rio de Janeiro. Here, they would stay for the next 4 years. Jordana learned to speak fluent Portuguese during her 4 year stay in Rio de Janeiro. At the age of ten, Jordana's family decided to move again, only this time they would relocate to Manhattan. It was here where Jordana studied at Sacred Heart, an all-girl Catholic school before moving on to the New York Professional Children's School. It was in her teens that Jordana began to make a name for herself by appearing in two of daytime television's longest-running soap operas, All My Children (1970) and in 1996 As the World Turns (1956), where she played the role of "Nikki Munson" for three years. Jordana also went on to co-star in the NBC mini-series The '60s (1999). The year 1998 marked her big-screen debut as "Delilah Profitt" in the teen-driven film, The Faculty (1998). However, it was her role as "Mia Toretto" in the blockbuster hit The Fast and the Furious (2001) that led her to reach Hollywood stardom. Despite her success, Jordana continued to attend Yale University, in the class of 2003. She played the lead in the prequel The Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Beginning (2006), and reprised her role, Mia, in the sequels Fast & Furious (2009), Fast Five (2011), Fast & Furious 6 (2013), and Furious 7 (2015).
Brewster was married to producer Andrew Form in 2007, and they have two sons.Mother is Brazilian; father has English, Scottish, and Irish ancestry; Jordana was born in Panama - Chloe Bridges (born December 27, 1991) is an American actress known for her roles as Zoey Moreno in the sitcom Freddie (2005) (2005-2006) and as Dana Turner in the Disney Channel original film Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010). She has starred in the films Forget Me Not (2009), Family Weekend (2013), Mantervention (2014), The Final Girls (2015), and Nightlight (2015). She has also portrayed Donna LaDonna in The Carrie Diaries (2013), Sydney in Pretty Little Liars (2010), and Kibby in Daytime Divas (2017). From 2005 until 2006, Bridges portrayed the role of Zoey Moreno in the ABC sitcom Freddie (2005), starring alongside Freddie Prinze Jr.. For this role, she was credited under her birth name, Chloe Suazo. In 2006, she guest-starred as the character in an episode of George Lopez (2002). Bridges originally auditioned for the role of Mitchie Torres in the first Camp Rock (2008) film, but it ultimately went to Demi Lovato. She also appeared in the 2009 films Legally Blondes (2009) and Forget Me Not (2009). She secured the role of Dana Turner in the sequel, Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam (2010), which aired on Disney Channel in 2010. In March 2012, Bridges was cast as Donna LaDonna in The CW's Sex and the City (1998) prequel, titled The Carrie Diaries (2013), which aired from 2013 to 2014 over two seasons. In April 2014, she landed a recurring role in the fifth season of the ABC Family teen drama series Pretty Little Liars (2010) as Sydney Driscoll.Bridges portrayed the supporting role of Paula in the horror comedy film The Final Girls (2015), and starred as Nia in the supernatural thriller film Nightlight (2015). The film, was released on March 27, 2015. In August 2016, Bridges was cast as Kibby, a former child star and recovering addict, in VH1's scripted drama series Daytime Divas (2017)which premiered on June 5, 2017.Father is Honduran; mother is English; birth name was Chloe Suazo
- Actress
- Music Department
- Composer
Ally Brooke was born on 7 July 1993 in San Antonio, Texas, USA. She is an actress and composer, known for High Expectations (2022), Fifth Harmony feat. Ty Dolla Sign: Work from Home (2016) and Fifth Harmony Feat. Kid Ink: Worth It (2015).Is Mexican; birth name was Allyson Brooke Hernandez- Actress
- Producer
- Additional Crew
Sabrina Bryan was born on 16 September 1984 in Yorba Linda, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for The Cheetah Girls 2 (2005), The Cheetah Girls (2003) and Sydney White (2007). She has been married to Jordan Lundberg since 6 October 2018. They have two children.Father is Mexican; birth name was Reba Sabrina Hinojos- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Daniel Brühl was born in Barcelona, Spain. His father was German TV director Hanno Brühl (1937-2010), who was born in São Paulo, Brazil. His Spanish mother was a teacher. He also has a brother and a sister, Oliver and Miriam. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to Cologne, Germany, where he grew up and attended the Dreikönigsgymnasium. Brought up in a fully multilingual home, he speaks fluent German, English, Portuguese, Spanish, French and Catalan.Mother is Spanish; father is German; birth name was Daniel César Martín Brühl González Domingo; was born in Spain- Music Department
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- Actor
Jeff Buckley was born on 17 November 1966 in Anaheim, California, USA. He was a composer and actor, known for Vanilla Sky (2001), Tell No One (2006) and Jeff Buckley: Everybody Here Wants You (2002). He died on 29 May 1997 in Memphis, Tennessee, USA.Maternal grandmother was Panamanian and Greek
DIED May 29, 1997, age 30, of accidental drowning- Actor
- Cinematographer
- Additional Crew
Danny Burstein was born on 16 June 1964 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and cinematographer, known for Blackhat (2015), Transamerica (2005) and Deception (2008). He was previously married to Rebecca Luker and Laura Debra Toma.Mother is Costa Rican; Burstein is the last name of his stepfather, who raised him- Sadie began performing in musical theatre when she was seven. Favorite past roles include Alice in "Alice In Wonderland" (2008) at the El Portal, Belle in "Beauty And The Beast" (2008) at The Barnsdall Theatre, Sharpay in "High School Musical" (2009) and Tallulah in "Bugsy Malone" (2011) both at the Madrid Theatre and Christina in Crown City Theatre's four week run of "A Chicago Christmas Carol" (2010). Her professional career began with a guest star appearance on Chris Elliot's Eagleheart in the summer of 2010, followed by a co-star role on NCIS as William Devane's kidnapped granddaughter for which she received a YAA best actress nomination. Sadie made her big screen debut as Leonardo DiCaprio's niece in the Clint Eastwood bio-epic "J. Edgar." Other credits include a couple of pilots, guest star appearances on "Kickin' It" and "Crash & Bernstein" and a recurring role on "Melissa & Joey." Sadie still spends her summers at Stagedoor Manor, the acclaimed New York theatre intensive whose alumni include Jon Cryer, Natalie Portman, and Shawn Levy. Sadie is also the National Spokesperson for Bags4Kids, an organization that provides comfort items and support for distressed foster children. Sadie is dedicated to developing her craft and also to her academic education. Sadie also studies ballet, jazz, voice, and was formerly a competitive gymnast, taking home the gold medal in floor in July 2009 at the 2010 California State Games in San Diego. Sadie is most well known for her role as Violet, Anna Faris' teenage daughter in the new Chuck Lorre comedy, "Mom" (2013) on CBS. Sadie lives Los Angeles, California with her mother, father, Piper, her cat and her adorable dog, Benji. Calvano is represented by Paradigm and Silver Linings Entertainment.Father is half Mexican
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Christian Camargo was born on 7 July 1971 in New York City, New York, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for The Hurt Locker (2008), The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 (2012) and Europa Report (2013).Grandfather was Mexican; birth name was Christian Minnick- Actor
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- Producer
In both career and in real life, Bobby Cannavale tends to choose the unconventional way of doing things. In the beginning, his decisions may have cost the dark, swarthily good-looking actor some acting roles and/or good-paying parts but, in the end, his strong work ethic and sense of self, despite a lack of formal training, allowed him to take a successful path off the crowded acting trail. From character goofball and cut-up, he has broken into the leading man ranks with his recent starring role as a reincarnated matchmaker in the TV series Cupid (2009).
Born Roberto M. Cannavale on May 3, 1971, in Union City, New Jersey, to an Italian-American father, Sal, and a Cuban mother, Isabel, he was involved in various activities at his Union City Catholic school, St. Michaels, while growing up. An altar boy, choir boy and lector, he also appeared in the church school's various musicals including his very first, "Guys and Dolls", in which he showed up as one of the gangsters, and "The Music Man", appearing as the lisping, scene-stealing tyke, "Winthrop".
Bobby's parents divorced when he was five years old and his mother moved the family to Puerto Rico for a couple of years. Eventually, they returned to the States and settled in Coconut Creek, Florida, where he attended high school. Restless and uncomfortable in any sort of regimented setting, he often got suspended for playing the class clown. Graduating in the late 1980s, and bitten by the acting bug, Bobby chose to return to the New York/New Jersey area in order to jump start an acting career. Working in bars to support himself, he again avoided the confines of an acting school and, instead, gained experience as a "reader" on occasion with the Naked Angels theatre company. During this time (1994), he met and married Jenny Lumet, the actress-daughter of director Sidney Lumet. They had son, Jake, the following year. The couple divorced in 2003.
Spotted by playwright Lanford Wilson while performing in an East Village production of Larry Kramer's "The Normal Heart", Bobby was invited to join Wilson's prestigious Circle Repertory Theatre. As a "reader" for the company, he eventually earned stage parts in "Chilean Holidays" (1996) and in Wilson's "Virgil Is Still the Frog Boy." He also went on to serve as understudy to Mark Linn-Baker in a 1998 production of "A Flea in Her Ear" and later replaced him. A noticeable role in the company's play, "The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told" by Paul Rudnick led to Bobby's being cast in the recurring role of a tugboat operator in the TV series Trinity (1998). Having only appeared in bit parts thus far in such movies as Night Falls on Manhattan (1996), directed by Lumet, and I'm Not Rappaport (1996), it was "Trinity" creator John Wells who caught Bobby's stage performance and handed him this career-making break on camera.
Bobby's "nice-guy" aura and blue-collar charm proved invaluable, if a bit restrictive. Once the "Trinity" series ended, Wells cast the 6'3" lug with the trademark caterpillar brows and crooked smile as lovelorn paramedic "Bobby Caffey" in his series Third Watch (1999). The character became quite popular but Bobby, again feeling restricted and wishing to broaden his horizon as an actor, asked to be released from the show -- but "in a big way". Creator Wells obliged and had the paramedic fatally shot in the chest and then experience a "beyond the grave" union with his character's deceased, ne'er-do-well dad.
Bobby next joined the cast of father-in-law Sidney Lumet's acclaimed TV courtroom drama 100 Centre Street (2001), starring Alan Arkin, cast against type as a brazenly opportunistic prosecutor. He subsequently earned recurring roles on Ally McBeal (1997) (in 2002) and Six Feet Under (2001) (in 2004). As for films, Bobby was featured in Gloria (1999), The Bone Collector (1999), Washington Heights (2002) and The Guru (2002) by the time he scored as the gregarious food truck driver in the critically-hailed indie film The Station Agent (2003), which paired him intriguingly opposite the diminutive actor Peter Dinklage.
Unwilling to shirk away from more controversial roles such as his gay drug dealer who has the hots for a fellow prisoner in the acclaimed series Oz (1997) or his closeted dancing neophyte in the film comedy Shall We Dance? (2004) starring Richard Gere, Bobby continued to elevate his status seesawing between film (Shortcut to Happiness (2003), Happy Endings (2005), Romance & Cigarettes (2005)) and TV assignments (the miniseries Kingpin (2003)). He earned big viewer points and an Emmy Award for his recurring portrayal of Will's dour cop/boyfriend on the hit sitcom Will & Grace (1998) in 2004. Elsewhere, on stage, he merited attention in such productions as "Hurlyburly" and earned a Tony Award nomination for his 2007 Broadway debut in "Mauritius."
After five consecutive failed pilots, Bobby has come front-and-center with his quirky starring role in the ABC series Cupid (2009), plus recurring roles in Cold Case (2003) and Nurse Jackie (2009), and his second Emmy-winning part in Boardwalk Empire (2010). He continues to rake up credits on the big screen with (The Merry Gentleman (2008), Diminished Capacity (2008), The Take (2007), 100 Feet (2008), Roadie (2011), Blue Jasmine (2013), link=tt2883512], Ant-Man (2015), I, Tonya (2017), Boundaries (2018) and The Irishman (2019), and with fascinating continuing/regular roles on such TV series as Cupid (2009), Cold Case (2003), Boardwalk Empire (2010), Nurse Jackie (2009), Vinyl (2016), Mr. Robot (2015) and Homecoming (2018), this dark, brutish character has plenty of staying power in both comedy and drama.Mother is Cuban; father is Italian; birth name was Roberto Cannavale- Music Artist
- Actress
- Composer
Mariah Carey was born in Long Island, New York on March 27, 1969. Her parents are Patricia Hickey (Irish-American) and Alfred Roy Carey (African-American/Venezuelan). Mariah attended Greenlawn's Harborfields High School. In June 1990, Mariah made her debut with her self-titled album, Mariah Carey which entered at #73, but on August 4, 1990 it reached #1. Her 1990 self-titled debut album went multi-platinum and spawned an extraordinary four consecutive #1 singles: "Vision of Love," "Love Takes Time," "Someday" and "I Don't Wanna Cry," and led to Grammy Awards for Best New Artist and Best Female Vocalist. Her 1993 album titled Music Box went ten-times platinum. On September 30, 1995, she made music history. Her single "Fantasy" from her 1995 Daydream album debuted at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, making her the first female artist to accomplish a number one debut in the U.S. Her other Daydream's single "One Sweet Day" remained for 16 weeks at the top of the charts. She is the only artist since The Beatles to have so many #1 singles and albums. With "Heartbreaker", the first single from her 1999 album Rainbow and also her 14 #1 single, she became the only artist to top the charts in each year of the 1990s, and with "Heartbreaker" at its 60th week atop the Billboard's charts, she pushed ahead of The Beatles's 59-week record as the only artist with the most cumulative weeks spent atop Billboard's Hot 100 Singles chart.
Following "Heartbreaker," her second single "Thank God I Found You" also from her Rainbow album became her 15th #1. "We Belong Together" from her 2005 album The Emancipation of Mimi became her 16th #1 single and was also her first #1 without any guest artists since her song "My All" (also a #1 single) captured the top spot in May 1998. The single "Don't Forget About Us" also from her 2005 album Emancipation of Mimi became her 17th #1 single, tying her with Elvis Presley's 17 #1 singles. Three more Grammy Awards were gained from The Emancipation of Mimi album. She is the most successful selling female artist in music history and is the only female artist to have the most #1 singles and albums and also holds the record for straight #1 singles and albums each year. Along with numerous awards and incredible vocal range, she also composes all of her own material, with the exception of song covers.
In April 2008, the single "Touch My Body" became her 18th #1 single, pushing her ahead of Elvis Presley's 17 #1 singles. Now she is the only artist since The Beatles to have as many number one singles and the only singer alive likely to succeed them.Father was African-American and Venezuelan; mother is White with Irish ancestry- Actress
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Charisma Carpenter first made her television debut with a guest spot on Baywatch (1989), before receiving a call from legendary producer Aaron Spelling and subsequently being cast on the prime time soap opera, Malibu Shores (1996). But her big break - and the one that would forever change the trajectory of her life - came shortly thereafter when she was cast as Cordelia Chase on Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997), a role she would portray for three seasons before migrating to its spin-off series, Angel (1999), and continuing on for four more seasons. In total, Carpenter portrayed Cordelia in 140 episodes across both franchises. The former series has been ranked by Time, The Hollywood Reporter, TV Guide, Rolling Stone, and Entertainment Weekly among their lists of greatest television series' of all time.
Carpenter went on to recur on Charmed (1998) as the demon Kyra and on Veronica Mars (2004) as gold digging stepmother Kendall Casablanacas as well as Greek (2007) and, most recently, CW's Pandora (2019). While working as a series regular on ABC Family's The Lying Game (2011), Carpenter subsequently served as host and producer of Investigation Discovery's Surviving Evil (2013), a series featuring survivors who fought back against their attackers. Additional guest starring roles include CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (2000), Burn Notice (2007), Supernatural (2005), Blue Bloods (2010), Sons of Anarchy (2008), Scream Queens (2015), Chicago P.D. (2014), Lucifer (2016), and 9-1-1 (2018).
Carpenter has also segued into movies, with a supporting role as Lacey in The Expendables (2010) and its sequel, The Expendables 2 (2012), as well as roles in over 12 made for television movies for Lifetime, Syfy and more.
Offscreen, Carpenter is the proud founder of MyCon, a platform intended to lift the spirits of socially isolated fans throughout the pandemic by connecting them with their favorite actors. Additionally, she works closely with the Thirst Project, an international water charity bringing safe, clean drinking water to the most vulnerable people around the world, as well as The Ronan Thompson Foundation, which is dedicated to researching pediatric cancer. In addition to her first love, that of a devoted mother, Carpenter spends much of her time working as a philanthropist, political activist, and social justice advocate. So passionate about these causes, she recently completed a course on administrative justice.Mother is Spanish- Actress
- Soundtrack
Vikki Carr is one of the best-loved and most accomplished entertainers in the United States, Latin America and Europe. She is celebrating her fifth decade of a career in which she has won four Grammy Awards and has released over 60 best-selling recordings. Her concert tours of 2006-2007 sold out shows in the U.S., Mexico and South America. She has performed for the Queen of England, five United States Presidents, wartime soldiers in Vietnam and sold-out audiences around the world. She has worked in radio, television, film and theater. Her music embraces two languages and she is among the first artists to bridge the cultures of the United States and Latin America, paving the way for many performers today.
In 2008, Vikki Carr was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Grammy from the Latin Recording Academy.
In 2008, Vikki filmed a TV special Fiesta Mexicana (2008) for PBS TV.
EMI-Gold released a 3-disc set, "Vikki Carr: The Ultimate Collection" to rave reviews. Recordings made in the very early years of Vikki's career debut on this compilation. Along with many of her well known hits such as "It Must Be Him" (in English, Italian and Spanish), "With Pen In Hand", "He's A Rebel" and concert staple including "Can't Take My Eyes Off You". In April 2007, EMI-Gold released "Vikki Carr: Ways to Love a Man/Nashville by Carr" a 2 on 1 CD that allowed fans to hear a very emotional delivery of classics like "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down", "Singing My Song" and "A Dissatisfied Man". Sony Mexico just released a CD/DVD collection titled "Las Numero 1" featuring 20 of Vikki's top Spanish hits on CD along with 10 of her television performances on DVD.
In 2002, Vikki starred in the Reprise production of Stephen Sondheim's beloved musical "Follies" in Los Angeles. She garnered glowing reviews for her performance from the LA Times, Hollywood Reporter and Variety. Her latest recording projects include "The Vikki Carr Christmas Album", released on Delta, which features Christmas Classics in both English and Spanish. Another recording, the PBS special "Vikki Carr: Memories, Memorias", is a salute to the English-language hits of the 1940's and 1950's, which were originally composed by Latinos. Produced by KCET/Hollywood, the program recreates the elegant setting of Hollywood supper clubs and theaters where popular artists of the era performed. The show, which features Jack Jones, Pepe Aguilar and Arturo Sandoval, was first released on video and CD through the national PBS pledge campaigns.
The diversity of her rich voice is impressive. She can belt out the blues or touch the heart with a soft romantic ballad. Frank Sinatra said, "She possesses my kind of voice", Dean Martin called her "the best girl singer in the business" and Bing Crosby and Ella Fitzgerald named her among their three favorite female singers of all time. Elvis Presley was also very fond of her and even remarked on stage in Las Vegas many times that Vikki Carr was one of his favorite singers and that he liked her because "she sang from the gut" and introduced her at many of his personal appearances in which she attended. Born in El Paso, Texas, and raised in the San Gabriel Valley of California, Vikki Carr, the eldest of seven children, began performing at the tender age of four singing Adeste Fidelis in Latin at a Christmas program. She was signed to a contract with Liberty Records in 1961. She recorded "He's A Rebel", which first became a hit in Australia. That title was soon followed by the unforgettable release, "It Must Be Him", which charged up the charts in England. One year later, the single was released in the United States and earned Carr four Grammy Award nominations. The international hit emerged again when she and the song were featured in the storyline of the Academy Award winning movie Moonstruck (1987). After "It Must Be Him" came a string of hits including "With Pen In Hand", for which she received her fourth Grammy Award nomination, "The Lesson", "Can't Take My Eyes Off of You", "For Once in My Life" and "Eternity".
In the States, Vikki became a darling of the White House, performing regularly at State Dinners and at President Richard Nixon's 1973 Inaugural celebration. President Gerald Ford called her his "favorite Mexican dish". She also performed for Presidents' Ronald Reagan, George Bush and at the 1992 Presidential Summit hosted by President Bill Clinton. A frequent guest-star on major network variety shows, including Dean Martin, Ed Sullivan, Perry Como, Jimmy Dean and Carol Burnett, Vikki also taped six specials for London Weekend TV. Vikki was the first female to regularly guest host for Johnny Carson on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (1962). She was also a visitor and guest host on Michael Jackson's ABC radio show.
Vikki made her acting debut on The Bing Crosby Show (1964). She has had several guest roles in numerous television series ranging from Mod Squad (1968) to Fantasy Island (1977), and has co-hosted the nationally syndicated Mrs. America and Mrs. Woman of the World Pageants. Carr also made two guest appearances on the popular series Baywatch (1989) and, most recently, in the motion picture Puerto Vallarta Squeeze (2004). Vikki's music has been featured in movies such as The Silencers (1966), Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002), Walt Disney's "Oliver & Company" in Spanish, HBO thriller "Mrs. Harris" and, recently, in John Turturro's Romance & Cigarettes (2005).
The critics praised Vikki for her stage performances in "South Pacific" at the Starlight Theatre in Kansas City and in "The Unsinkable Molly Brown", with the John Kenley Players in Ohio. In 1983, her starring performance in "I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road" broke house records at the Westport Playhouse in St. Louis. Columbia Records signed Vikki Carr in 1970, releasing such favorites as "Love Story", "Live at the Greek" and "One Hell of a Woman", and "Ms. America", which was so ahead of its time.
Proud of her Mexican heritage, Vikki Carr has always shared her birth name with her concert audiences and held a deep desire to one day record an album in Spanish. In 1972, she went to the head of Columbia Records for permission to do so and, while her request was initially met with resistance, Carr had a solution to every argument. "My Anglo audience has asked me to do this", she responded firmly. Several months later, she released her first Spanish language album, "Vikki Carr En Espanol". Somos Novios, Grande, Grande Grande and Se Acabo became momentous successes and Vikki was established as one of the most popular and loved recording artists in the Latin World.
Since making her first personal appearance in Mexico in 1972, the country has had a love affair with Vikki Carr. She is the first non-National named Mexico's "Visiting Entertainer of the Year". Playing nightly to standing ovations and appearing on numerous TV programs, her two-hour special broke ratings records, attracting more than half of the viewers in Mexico. In 1980, because of the enormous success of her first Spanish language album, Columbia Records in Mexico offered her a contract and beginning with Vikki Carr y El Amor, her triumphs were unbridled, especially in Latin America. Songs like Total, Disculpame, Esos Hombres, Mala Suerte earned her Gold and Platinum albums in the United States, Mexico, Chile, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, Costa Rica, Colombia and Ecuador. Carr followed with Grammy Award nominees Simplemente Mujer in 1986, Cosas del Amor in 1992, Brindo a la Vida, al Bolero y a Ti in 1993, Recuerdo a Javier Solis in 1995, and Emociones in 1997 taking three of the five awards. In 2008, Vikki Carr was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Grammy from the Latin Recording Academy. She marked the occasion with an appearance on the Latin Grammy telecast in which she performed "Cosas del Amor" with Olga Tangan and Jenni Rivera.
She has received prestigious awards, which include the 2005 National Hispanic Media Coalition Impact Lifetime Achievement Award, 2003 Latino Spirit Award, 2003 Tito Guizar Award, 2002 Trefoil Award, 2000 Inductee, Latino Legends Hall of Fame, 1998 Imagen Foundation "Humanitarian Award", 1996 Hispanic Heritage Award, 1988 Nosotros Golden Eagle Award, 1984 Hispanic Woman of the Year, 1981 Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, 1974 Doctorate in Law from San Diego University and Doctorate in Fine Arts from St. Edwards University, 1972 American Guild of Variety Artist's "Entertainer of the Year", and the Los Angeles Times' highly respected "Woman of the Year" for 1970.
She earned the career achievement award of the Association of Hispanic Critics, Chicago's Ovation Award, the YWCA Silver Achievement Award and was honored in 1990 by the City of Hope with the Founder of Hope Award. In 1991, she was presented the Girl Scouts of America Award.
Respected as both an artist and a humanitarian, she devotes time to many charities including The United Way, The American Lung Association, Cancer Therapy and Research Center, The Muscular Dystrophy Association and St Jude's Hospital. For 22 years, she held benefit concerts to support Holy Cross High School in San Antonio. In 1971, Vikki established the Vikki Carr Scholarship Foundation, dedicated to offering college scholarships to Latino students in California and Texas. To date, the Foundation has awarded more than 280 scholarships totaling over a quarter of a million dollars.
Juggling engagements, recording sessions, charity events and family, the pace is frantic, but she remains calm. Smart, successful, warm and engaging, Vikki Carr's energy and style are as radiant and irresistible as her extraordinary voice.Both parents were Mexican; birth name was Florencia Bisenta de Casillas Martinez Cardona- Actress
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Barbara Carrera was born Barbara Kingsbury on December 31, 1945 in Bluefields, Nicaragua. This stunning former model became best known for her screen performances playing a sinister femme fatale. In doing so, she has achieved minor cult status and has quite a loyal fanbase. The tall and tanned Carrera first cropped up in minor roles taking advantage of her exotic features in The Master Gunfighter (1975), Embryo (1976) and The Island of Dr. Moreau (1977). She broke through with mainstream North American audiences playing Clay Basket in the miniseries Centennial (1978), and Lucia Flavius Silva's mistress in the miniseries Masada (1981).
She sizzled on screen with Armand Assante as the sexy yet evil doctor in I, the Jury (1982), was the love interest of Texas Ranger Chuck Norris in Lone Wolf McQuade (1983), and gave her best role to date as assassin Fatima Blush opposite Sean Connery in Never Say Never Again (1983), and then as Emma Forsayth in the miniseries Emma: Queen of the South Seas (1988). In 1985-86, she played the role of business executive turned serial killer Angelica Nero on the primetime soap opera Dallas (1978). Carrera has most recently been seen guest starring on the popular television series That '70s Show (1998) and Judging Amy (1999).Mother was Nicaraguan; father was White; birth name was Barbara Kingsbury; Carrera was her mother's maiden name- Actress
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Sofía Daccarett Char was born on April 10, 1993 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. The daughter of José F. Daccarett and Colombian-American Laura Char Carson. Through her mother, Sofia is related to the Char family of Colombian politicians. She attended St. Hugh School and graduated from Carrollton School of the Sacred Heart in Miami. After graduation, Sofia went on to attend the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where she majored in communications with a minor in French. A career in entertainment took root as early as teenage years when Sofia attended the In Motion Dance Studio, where she was part of the IMPAC Youth Ensemble program. She became a singer-songwriter in 2012 after signing with Broadcast Music, Inc. Her television career began 2 years later in 2014, appearing in an episode of Austin & Ally (2011), followed by work on the series Faking It (2014). She made her feature length debut as 'Evie' in the comedic fantasy television film Descendants (2015). It would be a role she would reprise in the animated spin-off Descendants: Wicked World (2015) from 2015-2016 as the voice of her live-action character. She appeared in following sequels including Descendants 2: It's Going Down (2017) and Descendants 2 (2017). She lent her voice as 'Keemia' AKA 'Sand Girl' in the 2017 incarnation of the Marvel Comic superhero series Spider-Man (2017). In 2018, Sofia made her debut in her first film drama Asbury Park, starring with Ron Perlman and Dominique Swain.
In 2015, Sofia cut her first album with Walt Disney Records for Descendants. The following year in 2016, she released her next second album with WaterTower Music. In 2017, she released her third album with Walt Disney Records.Mother is Colombian; father is Syrian and Lebanese
Birth name was Sofia Daccarett Char- Actress
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Helena Bonham Carter is an actress of great versatility, one of the UK's finest and most successful.
Bonham Carter was born May 26, 1966 in Golders Green, London, England, the youngest of three children of Elena (née Propper de Callejón), a psychotherapist, and Raymond Bonham Carter, a merchant banker. Through her father, she is the great-granddaughter of former Prime Minister Herbert H. Asquith, and her blue-blooded family tree also contains Barons and Baronesses, diplomats, and a director, Bonham Carter's great-uncle Anthony Asquith, who made Pygmalion (1938) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1952), among others. Cousin Crispin Bonham-Carter is also an actor. Her maternal grandfather, Eduardo Propper de Callejón, was a Spanish diplomat who was awarded the honorific Righteous Among the Nations, by Israel, for helping save Jews during World War II (Eduardo's own father was a Czech Jew). Helena's maternal grandmother, Hélène Fould-Springer, was from an upper-class Jewish family from France, Austria, and Germany, and later converted to her husband's Catholic faith.
Bonham Carter experienced family dramas during her childhood, including her father's stroke - which left him wheelchair-bound. She attended South Hampstead High School and Westminster School in London, and subsequently devoted herself to an acting career. That trajectory actually began in 1979 when, at age thirteen, she entered a national poetry writing competition and used her second place winnings to place her photo in the casting directory "Spotlight." She soon had her first agent and her first acting job, in a commercial, at age sixteen. She then landed a role in the made-for-TV movie A Pattern of Roses (1983), which subsequently led to her casting in the Merchant Ivory films A Room with a View (1985), director James Ivory's tasteful adaptation of E.M. Forster's novel, and Lady Jane (1986), giving a strong performance as the uncrowned Queen of England. She had roles in three other productions under the Merchant-Ivory banner (director Ivory, producer Ismail Merchant, and screenwriter Ruth Prawer Jhabvala): an uncredited appearance in Maurice (1987), and large roles in Where Angels Fear to Tread (1991) and Howards End (1992).
Often referred to as the "corset queen" or "English rose" because of her early work, Bonham Carter continued to surprise audiences with magnificent performances in a variety of roles from her more traditional corset-clad character in The Wings of the Dove (1997) and Shakespearian damsels to the dark and neurotic anti-heroines of Fight Club (1999). Her acclaimed performance in The Wings of the Dove (1997) earned her a Best Actress Academy Award nomination, a Golden Globe Best Actress nomination, a BAFTA Best Actress nomination, and a SAG Awards Best Actress nomination. It also won her a Best Actress Award from the National Board of Review, the Los Angeles Film Critics, the Boston Society Film Critics, the Broadcast Film Critics Association, the Texas Society of Film Critics, and the Southeastern Film Critics Association.
In the late 1990s, Bonham Carter embarked on the next phase of her career, moving from capable actress to compelling star. Audiences and critics had long been enchanted by her delicate beauty, evocative of another time and place. Her late '90s and early and mid 2000s roles included Mick Jackson's Live from Baghdad (2002), alongside Michael Keaton, receiving a nomination for both an Emmy and a Golden Globe; Paul Greengrass' The Theory of Flight (1998), in which she played a victim of motor neurone disease; Trevor Nunn's Twelfth Night (1996), in which she played Olivia; opposite Woody Allen in his Mighty Aphrodite (1995); Mort Ransen's Margaret's Museum (1995); Kenneth Branagh's Frankenstein (1994); and Franco Zeffirelli's Hamlet (1990).
Other notable credits include her appearance with Steve Martin in Novocaine (2001), Tim Burton's remake of Planet of the Apes, in which she played an ape, Thaddeus O'Sullivan's The Heart of Me (2002), opposite Paul Bettany, and Big Fish (2003), her second effort with Tim Burton, in which she appeared as a witch.
In between her films, Helena has managed a few television appearances, which include her portrayal of Jacqui Jackson in Magnificent 7 (2005), the tale of a mother struggling to raise seven children - three daughters and four autistic boys; as Anne Boleyn in the two-parter biopic of Henry VIII starring Ray Winstone; and as Morgan Le Fey, alongside Sam Neill and Miranda Richardson, in Merlin. Earlier television appearances include Michael Mann's Miami Vice (1984) as Don Johnson's junkie fiancée, and as a stripper who wins Rik Mayall's heart in Dancing Queen (1993). Helena has also appeared on stage, in productions of Trelawney of the Wells, The Barber of Seville, House of Bernarda Alba, The Chalk Garden, and Woman in White.
Bonham Carter was nominated for a Golden Globe for the fifth time for her role in partner Tim Burton's film adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), for which Burton and co-star Johnny Depp were also nominated. For the role, she was awarded Best Actress at the Evening Standard British Film Awards 2008. Other 2000s work includes playing Mrs Bucket in Tim Burton's massive hit Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), providing the voices for the aristocratic Lady Campanula Tottington in Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit (2005) and for the eponymous dead heroine in Tim Burton's spooky Corpse Bride (2005), and co-starring in Conversations with Other Women (2005) opposite Aaron Eckhart.
After their meeting while filming Planet of the Apes (2001), Bonham Carter and Tim Burton made seven films together. They lived in adjoining residences in London, shared a connecting hallway, and have two children: Billy Ray Burton, born in 2003, and Nell Burton, who was born in 2007. Ironically, a mutual love of Sweeney Todd was part of the initial attraction for the pair. Bonham Carter has said in numerous interviews that her audition process for the role of Mrs. Lovett was the most grueling of her career and that, ultimately, it was Sondheim who she had to convince that she was right for the role.Maternal grandfather was Spanish- Actress
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Lynda Jean Cordova Carter is an American actress, singer, and beauty pageant titleholder who was crowned Miss World USA 1972 and finished in the top 15 at the Miss World 1972 pageant. Carter is best known as the star of the live-action television series Wonder Woman, in the role of Diana Prince / Wonder Woman. The role was based on the DC comic book fictional superhero character of the same name, and aired on ABC and later on CBS from 1975 to 1979.Mother is Mexican; father was English, German, and Irish
Lynda's birth name was Linda Jean Cordova Carter- Actor
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Born in Dayton, Ohio, Damian (who's of Mexican, Italian, Irish and Native American descent) grew up as the second eldest of 5 children; 2 brothers and 2 sisters. His father,Rico Chapa, owned a bar across the street, in Columbus, OH, from a go-go bar, owned by someone he knew; Larry Flynt, who'd soon go on to publish Hustler Magazine.
As a teen, Damian sold aluminum siding, and ran a go-go joint when he wast 17, for his Uncle Johnny. Johnny was shot several times, and was considered a "gangster". Chapa's other uncle, Enrique was a 'hired hit man' in Texas.
In his early 20's, Chapa developed a serious alcohol and substance abuse problem due to his difficult childhood. One day, he decided; 'enough was enough', and built up the courage and strength to seek help through meetings. Chapa denied to take the artistic path instead of the troubled path in front of him. Chapa has since been successfully sober for over 25 years.
Damian served in the U.S. Navy for 3 years, traveling the world on 3 different ships Including the U.S.S. Henry B. Wilson Guided missile destroyer.
After serving in the military, Damian decided to follow in the footsteps of his favorite actor, Montgomery Cliff, and began a career in acting.
Chapa who left for New York at a very early age to Brooklyn decided to stay in the Big Apple to follow his dream of acting: He had his first. acting job in New York as a stand-in for Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach" music video. This was his first step, and soon shot 2 films. His first starring role was In Blood In, Blood Out (1993), as Miklo Velka (for which he achieved worldwide notice and legions of fans, particularly within the Latino community, As well as having gone on to become the highest-grossing Latin film in history), followed by Undersiege with Tommy Lee Jones and Steven Seagull (1992). Chapa Followed up starring along side Chris Tucker in Money talks and then Playing the lead as Lyle Menendez in Menendez A killing in Beverly Hills with Beverly D'Angelo and Edward James Olmos.
Damian attended the 18th Street Theater in New York for many years, and was coached by master director Robert Easton at one time. Robert Easton said that (at the time) Chapa was one of the best young actors of our time.
Damian has also worked behind the camera. Damian opened a production company, and named it in honor of his eldest brother, Rico ('Rico Films'), who tragically had died of cancer at the age of 30, He later changed the name to New York International Pictures.
In 1995, both Damian Chapa and Leonardo DiCaprio were in the running to do competing James Dean biopics. The James Dean Foundation, who held rights for the project, endorsed Chapa over DiCaprio.
Unfortunately, the project came to a screeching halt, when all its producers were murdered at a street light in Culver City, California, as outlined in the book Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by Rod Lurie
In 2011, whilst filming a scene for his film, Brando Unauthorized, Damian was involved in a motorcycle accident, which nearly killed him. He suffered several injuries,including a broken hand and facial bruising. As a result, the production was temporarily delayed, however, after 8 hours he got back on his feet and resumed filming. A clip of the accident can be seen in the film, during the acid trip scene.
Damian subsequently won Best Director and Best Feature awards at the New York International Independent Film and Video Festival for his film Brando Unauthorized (2011).
Damian had 4 children. His eldest son - Ricco Chapa - is also an actor, and he gave another son - Luke Chapa - the middle name "Scorsese" after his favorite film director, Martin Scorsese. Damian's youngest son Gabriel Chapa is also starting a very young acting career.
Amongst the actors Damian's,directed are Stacy Keach and Rachel Hunter in 4 films, Robert Wagner and Joe Estevez in 3 films, and Faye Dunaway, David Carradine, Brad Dourif and Gary Busey in 2 films. Robert Davi and Danny Trejo more recent.
Last year Damian's starred in a film he directed; Streets of East LA. The film features, Angus Macfadyen, and Damian Chapa.
Damian's manager is Chuck Binder whose long-time clients have included Sharon Stone and the late David Carradine. Chapa is also represented in Europe by Beatriz Oliete who landed Chapa a role in the New Woody Allen film.Father was Mexican and Italian; mother is German- Actress
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Oona Chaplin is a Spanish actress. Her mother is Geraldine Chaplin. She is also the granddaughter of English film actor Charlie Chaplin, and great-granddaughter of American playwright Eugene O'Neill. She is best known for playing Talisa Maegyr in the HBO TV series Game of Thrones and Zilpha Geary in Taboo.
She was named after her maternal grandmother, Oona O'Neill Chaplin.
Her acting debut was in the TV Series Spooks.Father is Chilean; mother is actress Geraldine Chaplin; Oona was born in Spain
Is the granddaughter of legendary actor Charlie Chaplin and great-granddaughter of Pulitzer prize-winning playwright Eugene O'Neill- Actress
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As a child Helena Christensen was more interested in becoming a musician, but as fate would have it began modeling at the age of 9. After leaving school, she moved to Paris, France to model for the french magazine 'Elle', and in 1986 she competed in the Miss Universe contest as Miss Denmark, but unfortunately did not receive a placing. Her big break came in June of 1989 when she was discovered by photographer Friedemann Hauss, who instinctively knew that Helena was a 'natural' in terms of modeling ability. Since then her career has taken off, and she is now one of the top international catwalk queens. Helena has since taken on the movie industry, starring in a British TV movie Inferno (1980) and following it up with a cameo role in Robert Altman's Ready to Wear (1994).Mother is Peruvian; father is Danish- Linda Christian was born Blanca Rosa Welter, to a Dutch father, Gerardus Jacob Welter, and a Mexican-born mother, Blanca Rosa Vorhauer. Her Father was an executive with Royal Dutch Shell and Christian traveled extensively as a result living in South Africa, Romania, Germany, France, Switzerland, England, and Palestine at various times during her childhood This was beneficial in that the little girl - a very good pupil at school - eventually was able to speak seven languages. She also turned into a shapely young lady who won a beauty contest. She started studying medicine in Palestine but had to be repatriated to the USA due to the international situation. She landed in Los Angeles and naturally considered a movie career there. She studied drama but got only minor parts for years. She really became famous when she married Tyrone Power, and her career somewhat improved. But it is scandal more than her film roles that long made her a favorite of the celebrity press rather than of specialized movie magazines.Mother was Spanish, German, and French born in Mexico; father was Dutch
Was the first "Bond Girl," appearing on TV in "Casino Royale"; birth name was Blanca Rosa Henrietta Stella Welter Vorhauer
DIED July 22, 2011, age 87, of colon cancer - Eddie Cibrian was born on 16 June 1973 in Burbank, California, USA. He is an actor, known for The Cave (2005), The Best Man Holiday (2013) and Sunset Beach (1997). He has been married to LeAnn Rimes since 22 April 2011. He was previously married to Brandi Glanville.Is Cuban; married to actress/singer LeAnn Rimes
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Louis C.K. was born on 12 September 1967 in Washington, District of Columbia, USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Louie (2010), American Hustle (2013) and Horace and Pete (2016). He was previously married to Alix Bailey.Paternal grandmother was Mexican; paternal grandfather was Hungarian Jewish Lived in Mexico City until age 7; Spanish is his first language; birth name was Louis Czekely- Actress
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This remarkable, one-of-a-kind actress has, since the early 1990s, intrigued film and TV audiences with her glowing, yet careworn eccentricity and old world-styled glamour. Very much in demand these days as a character player, Patricia Clarkson nevertheless continues to avoid the temptation of money-making mainstream filming while reaping kudos and acting awards in out-of-the-way projects.
The New Orleans born-and-bred performer with the given name of Patricia Davies Clarkson was born on December 29, 1959, the daughter of Arthur ("Buzz") Clarkson, a school administrator, and Jackie Clarkson, a local city politician and councilwoman. Patricia demonstrated an early interest in acting and managed to appear in a few junior high and high school-level plays while growing up. She took her basic college studies at Louisiana State University, studying speech for two years, before transferring to New York's Fordham University and graduating with honors in theatre arts.
Accepted into the prestigious Yale School of Drama graduate program, she earned her Master of Fine Arts after gracing a wide range of productions including "Electra," "Pericles," "Twelfth Night", "The Lower Depths," "The Misanthrope," "Pacific Overtures" and "La Ronde". From there she took on New York City where she attracted strong East Coast notice in 1986 for her portrayal of Corrina in "The House of Blue Leaves" and in such other plays as "Eastern Standard" (1988) and "Wolf-Man" (1989).
Known for her organic approach to acting, the flaxen-maned actress decided to try out her trademark whiskey voice in Hollywood at age 28, making her movie debut as Mrs. Eliot Ness in Brian De Palma's The Untouchables (1987) starring Kevin Costner. The following years she gained attention for playing Samantha Walker in The Dead Pool (1988) where she starred opposite Clint Eastwood's popular "Dirty Harry" character. Playing supportive, wifely types at the onset, she became a strong contender for character stardom by the mid-to-late 1990s, not only on stage but in the independent film arena.
On stage Patricia received impressive notices for her contributions to the plays "Raised in Captivity," "The Ride Down Mt. Morgan," "Three Days of Rain" and, in particular, "The Maiden's Prayer," which nabbed her both Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Award nominations. In 2004, she finally enacted the classic part she seemed born to play, that of Southern belle Blanche DuBois in the Kennedy Center production of "A Streetcar Named Desire". She earned glowing notices.
On camera she was offered roles of marked diversity. From the heavier dramatics of a film like Pharaoh's Army (1995), she could move deftly into light comedy, courtesy of Neil Simon in the TV-movie London Suite (1996). It was, however, her bleak, convulsive portrayal of Greta, a strung-out, heroin-happy German has-been actress, opposite a resurgent Ally Sheedy in the acclaimed art film High Art (1998) that truly put Patricia on the indie map. From this she was handed a silver plate's worth of excitingly offbeat roles. In 2003 alone, Patricia received a special acting prize at the Sundance Film Festival for her superb work in three films: as a somber, grieving artist in The Station Agent (2003), a cold-hearted cancer victim in Pieces of April (2003), and a jokey, get-with-it mom in All the Real Girls (2003). She was nominated for a "Best Supporting Actress" Oscar for the second film mentioned.
On TV Patricia received two Emmys for her recurring guest part as Frances Conroy's free-spirited sister in the acclaimed black comedy series Six Feet Under (2001). She also received the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics awards for her supporting work in the gorgeous, 1950s-styled melodrama Far from Heaven (2002), as a prim and proper Stepford-wife and deceptive friend to Julianne Moore.
No matter the size, such as her extended cameos in The Green Mile (1999), All the Real Girls (2003), Miracle (2004) and Elegy (2008), Patricia manages to make the most of whatever screen time she has, often stealing scenes effortlessly. Working for director/actor Woody Allen in a small but notable role in Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), he was impressed enough to promote her with a lead in a subsequent film Whatever Works (2009).
More recent work includes leads and supports in the films Vincent in Brixton (2003), Legendary (2010), Friends with Benefits (2011), Learning to Drive (2014), The Bookshop (2017), Delirium (2018), Out of Blue (2018), Almost Love (2019) and as the antagonist Ava Paige in the sci-fi thrillers The Maze Runner (2014), Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) and Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018). On TV, the never-married Patricia earned a supporting Golden Globe for her fine work in the mini-series Sharp Objects (2018) and had a strong recurring role on the political series House of Cards (2013).Maternal grandmother was half Basque- Actress
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Imogene Coca is best remembered for playing opposite Sid Caesar in the live 90-minute Your Show of Shows (1950), which ran every Saturday night in regular season on NBC from February 1950 to June 1954. Their repertoire of comedy acts included the very memorable, hilarious, timeless and irreconcilable married couple Charlie and Doris Hickenlooper. Coca, however, did not begin her career in comedy. Her father, who was the conductor at a small Philadelphia opera house, and her mother, who performed in vaudeville, certainly instilled in her a desire to perform, but nurtured that desire with piano lessons, vocal training and dance. "I began as one of those horrible little children who sing with no voice," Coca said of her early training. By the time she was 13, she found herself tap dancing, somersaulting (along with various other acrobatics), dancing ballet and otherwise committed full-time as a serious vaudeville trouper. She left Philadelphia at 15 for New York, where she plied her trade as a dancer. She debuted in the chorus of "When You Smile." For the next 30 years music and dance were her staple. She could be found in the troupes of musical revues and doing her own acts in Manhattan clubs, such as the Rainbow Room, the Silver Slipper and Cafe Society Uptown. Her first husband, Robert Burton (who died in 1955), arranged music for many of her performances. Comedy and pantomime filtered into her routines quite by accident. In the production of "New Faces of 1934" Leonard Sillman, the choreographer for the show, loaned her his coat to keep her warm in what was a very cold theater. To augment what warmth she was getting from the oversized coat, Coca, along with three male dancers in the chorus began jumping up and down and improvising dance steps. Stillman noticed them and immediately recognized the comedic affect. He encouraged them to repeat the routine in the show, coat and all, which they did. Although coolly received by the audience at first, eventually the bit had the audience in stitches. Even the critics laughed, crediting Coca with great comedic talent. To hone her skills in what would become her forte in show business, Coca did the next four summers in the Poconos working with Danny Kaye, Carol Channing and the like.
It wasn't until near the end of WWII that she found much work in her new field and it wasn't until January 1949 that she was paired with Caesar in NBC's The Admiral Broadway Revue (1949), a show that aired only until that summer. In the fall of 1950 "Your Show of Shows" was launched on NBC. Coca won an Emmy the following year for her contributions to the program. She and Ceasar left the show in 1954 to pursue individual routes. They did not, however, match the success they enjoyed in "Your Show of Shows." Coca attempted a solo with The Imogene Coca Show (1954), but it lasted only one season. In 1958 Caesar and she paired again on Sid Caesar Invites You (1958); still, it was not the same. Only in 1967 did some of that same magic again occur when the original cast from "Your Show of Shows" reunited on CBS in _The Sid Caesar, Imogene Coca, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris Special (1967) (TV)_; it won an Emmy for outstanding variety special.
Coca starred in two single-season sitcoms in the 1960s: NBC's 1963-64 Grindl (1963) and CBS' 1966-67 It's About Time (1966). In the 1970s she could be found visiting on Dick Cavett's talk show and making guest appearances on The Carol Burnett Show (1967). Thereafter, she appeared only sporadically on TV and in the movies--her most notable appearance was as Aunt Edna in Vacation (1983) with Chevy Chase. Coca and Caesar re-visited some of their old sketches and put together the 1991 show "Together Again", which they toured throughout the country on stage. In her later years Coca and her second husband, actor King Donovan (who died in 1987), lived in Connecticut and Manhattan, staying close to her roots in vaudeville, theatre and "Your Show of Shows."Father was Spanish violinist and orchestra conductor Joseph Fernandez Coca
DIED June 2, 2001, age 92, of Alzheimer's disease- Actor
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An acting chameleon who can easily lose himself in the life of his film and television characters, Clifton Collins Jr. is a native Angeleno who grew up destined to become a part of the Latino entertainment industry. His great-grandparents on his mother's side were a Mexican trumpet player and Spanish dancer who formed a traveling family act, and his grandfather was well-known character actor Pedro Gonzalez Gonzalez, most famous for his humorous sidekick roles in 1950s/1960s John Wayne westerns (he played the excitable hotel keeper in Rio Bravo (1959)) and in sitcoms. His uncle and aunt dabbled in the business at one point as well. While his famous grandfather was unable to break out of the old unflattering Latino stereotypes, Collins Jr. has done Pedro proud in the new millennium. Playing everything from policemen to boxers to serial killers, he has managed to transcend the typical racial trappings of his grandfather's era and play flesh-and-blood, three-dimensional characters. It was not always that way.
Born short, lean and mean on June 16, 1970, he started his career in 1988 using his real name of Collins, but two years later began billing himself as "Clifton Gonzales-Gonzales" as a tribute to his aged grandfather and his early accomplishments. Pedro, who died in 2006, lived long enough to witness his grandson's achievements. Toiling in typical "barrio" roles at the beginning of his career, Collins Jr. found himself stuck in bit parts either as a struggling blue-collar worker or urban thug. In the mid-1990s, he began to search out and wing standout roles that enabled him to break the confines of the Latino stereotype. He slowly moved up in billing, even in mediocre material such as the futuristic prison film Fortress (1992) and the mindless 1970s rock-era comedy The Stöned Age (1994). His breakout role as Cesar, the vicious student and gangbanger in One Eight Seven (1997) opposite Los Angeles substitute teacher Samuel L. Jackson, set him on the right path. This led to a mesmerizing collection of other portrayals, both good-guy and bad-guy, in such films as The Replacement Killers (1998), The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit (1998) and Tigerland (2000). His versatility finally tested, he played everything from a gay Mexican hitman in the critically acclaimed Traffic (2000) to a psychological profiler for the FBI in the mainstream actioner Mindhunters (2004). A number of top guest appearances came his way on such series as NYPD Blue (1993) and The Twilight Zone (2002) and he had recurring roles on Resurrection Blvd. (2000) and Alias (2001).
A monumental shift forward in his career happened recently with his hypnotic portrayal of killer Perry Smith, the object of writer Truman Capote's obsession, in the art-house favorite Capote (2005). Decades ago, Robert Blake played the same part in the gripping Capote book-to-film In Cold Blood (1967). This heralded achievement has enabled Collins to move into the co-producer's chair of late, notably for Rampage: The Hillside Strangler Murders (2006), in which he inhabits the role of serial killer Kenneth Bianchi. Obviously, there is plenty more in the works for this major talent.
More recent millennium work includes potent performances in Road Dogz (2002); Tom Cool (2009), which he produced; Dirty (2005); For Your Own Good (1996), which he co-produced; Star Trek (2009); Freeloaders (2012); The Vault (2017); and the Oscar-winning Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019).Mother is Mexican; father is German; maternal grandfather was actor and comedian Pedro Gonzalez-Gonzalez
Is married to actress Francesca Eastwood, daughter of actor-director Clint Eastwood and actress Frances Fisher- Producer
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Anderson Cooper was born on 3 June 1967 in New York City, New York, USA. He is a producer and writer, known for Chappie (2015), Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016) and Anderson Cooper 360° (2003).Great-great grandmother was Chilean and Spanish; mother was heiress and fashion designer Gloria Vanderbilt- Actress
- Casting Department
- Additional Crew
Emayatzy Corinealdi was born on 14 January 1980 in Fort Knox, Kentucky, USA. She is an actress, known for Middle of Nowhere (2012), The Invitation (2015) and Roots (2016).Father is Panamanian; mother is African-American- Actor
- Producer
- Director
A native of the Bronx, New York, Kevin Corrigan has been acting and writing since the age of 15. He made his film debut in Lost Angels (1989) and around that time, when he was just 17, his original play "The Boiler Room" was produced by the Young Playwrights Festival of New York. He has gone on to star in countless independent films and has made quite an impression. Corrigan is also an experienced guitarist and has played in several New York City bands.Mother is Puerto Rican; father is Irish- Actress
- Producer
- Music Department
Miranda Taylor Cosgrove was born May 14, 1993 in Los Angeles, California, to Christina (Casey) and Tom Cosgrove, who owns a dry-cleaning business. She was discovered at a young age singing and dancing around a table in a restaurant, where an agent saw her talent and quickly signed her. Miranda's career started with commercials for Burger King, McDonalds and more as she auditioned for many roles and finally won her first role as the band's manager in the movie, School of Rock (2003).
While filming School of Rock (2003) in New York, she was informed that her pilot Drake & Josh (2004) had been picked up. She co-starred as Drake and Josh's little sister, while making brief appearances on other Nickelodeon shows, before landing in her own show for the network, iCarly (2007). Her iCarly (2007) popularity helped her launch a singing career, and she was named an MTV Pop Rookie for 2009. Her debut album, "Sparks Fly", was released in 2010 and reached #8 on the Billboard 200 chart, along with two EPs: "About You Now" in 2009, and "High Maintenance" in 2011.
While continuing her singing career, Miranda has expanded upon her voice-over work for the children's movies, including Here Comes Peter Cottontail: The Movie (2005), and the Despicable Me (2010) films and related shorts, as well as expanding her film work with Yours, Mine & Ours (2005), Keeping Up with the Steins (2006) and The Wild Stallion (2009). Her TV reach has extended beyond Nickelodeon, with an appearance on the CBS legal drama The Good Wife (2009) during the show's second season. She has served as a spokesperson for Neutrogena skin care products since 2010.
She lives in Los Angeles with her family.Maternal great-grandmother was Mexican- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Aulii Cravalho is an American actress and singer who made her acting debut as the voice of the titular character in the 2016 Disney 3D computer-animated musical feature film Moana. She went on to star in the NBC drama series Rise (2018), the Netflix drama film All Together Now (2020) and the Hulu romantic comedy Crush (2022).Father is Puerto Rican and 1/4 Portuguese; mother is Native Hawaiian, Portuguese and Chinese
Was born in Oahu, Hawaii- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Certainly idiosyncratic as a writer, Cameron Crowe has created a series of scripts that, while liked by the critics, were considered offbeat and difficult to market.
Cameron Bruce Crowe was born in Palm Springs, California, to Alice Marie Crowe (née George), a teacher and activist, and James A. Crowe, a real estate/telephone business owner. Cameron began his writing career as a 15-year-old high-school student, with articles on music submitted to Rolling Stone magazine, and only a few years later had his first script, for Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). This movie was important for more than his career - his future wife Nancy Wilson had a small role in the film. Music remained important to him, with the rock band Pearl Jam playing a bit role in Singles (1992) well before they were "discovered". His next movie, Jerry Maguire (1996), took over five years to develop - a chance photograph of a football player and his agent was the initial inspiration. It took some 20 drafts and near terminal discouragement that he would ever get it right before the film finally made it to the screen. And this time his wife composed the music.Mother is half Spanish and half Greek; father had English and Scottish ancestry- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi, known professionally as Kid Cudi, is an American rapper, singer, record producer, and actor. He has widely been recognized as an influence on several contemporary hip hop and alternative acts.His lyrics are often autobiographical and describe his childhood hardships of depression, loneliness and alienation, his struggle with alcohol and drugs into adulthood, as well as themes of spirituality, heartbreak, dissipation and celebration. Cudi began to gain major recognition following the release of his first official full-length project, a mix-tape titled A Kid Named Cudi (2008), which would go on to catch the attention of high-profile music producer Kanye West, who subsequently signed Cudi to his Good Music label imprint by late 2008.Father was Mexican and African-American (some sources say he was full Mexican); birth name was Scott Ramon Seguro Mescudi- Actor
- Music Department
- Composer
Born in Spain, Xavier Cugat's family moved to Havana, Cuba, when he was three. Always musically inclined, he packed up and moved to Los Angeles, where he worked as a cartoonist for the Los Angeles Times newspaper during the day and labored to put together a band at night. After a few years of playing smaller clubs in the L.A. area, Cugat finally got his break when he and his band secured a job at the prestigious Coconut Grove nightclub in 1928. His style of music caught on, and Cugat was instrumental in bringing Latin music to the attention of the US public. In the '30s and '40s he was nicknamed "The Rumba King" because of his popularization of that Latin dance. In Cugat's film appearances he usually played himself, even if the character had a name other than Xavier Cugat, and he and his band appeared in several memorable MGM musicals in the '40s. After suffering a stroke in 1971, Xavier Cugat retired.Both parents were Spanish; they immigrated to Cuba when he was 3 years old; Cugat was born in Girona, Spain
Birth name was Francisco de Asís Javier Cugat Mingall de Bru y Deulofeu
DIED October 27, 1990, age 90, of heart failure- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Henry Ian Cusick is a Peruvian actor and director. He is best known for his role as Desmond Hume in the U.S. television series Lost (2004), for which he received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination. He also starred as Stephen Finch in the ABC drama Scandal (2012), as Marcus Kane in the CW drama The 100 (2014), as Dr. Jonas Lear in the Fox drama The Passage (2019), and as Russ Taylor in the CBS drama MacGyver (2016). Cusick was born in Trujillo, Peru, to a Peruvian mother, Esperanza Rodriguez Chávez, and a Scottish father, Henry Joseph Cusick. When he was two, his family moved to Madrid, Spain, before moving to Trinidad and Tobago, where they lived for 10 years. There, Cusick attended Presentation College, San Fernando. He is fluent in both English and Spanish. Cusick's first leading roles on stage were at Citizens Theatre in Glasgow, Scotland. They included Dorian Gray in 'The Picture of Dorian Gray' with Rupert Everett, Hamlet in 'The Marovitz Hamlet,' and Horner in 'The Country Wife.' His 1994 performances as Torquato Tasso in the Edinburgh International Festival production of 'Torquato Tasso' and as Creon in the Citizens Theatre production of 'Oedipus' earned him a special commendation at the 1995 Ian Charleson Awards for outstanding performance by a young actor in a classical theatre role. After appearing in recurring roles in television series such as Casualty (1986) and The Book Group (2002), he starred as Jesus Christ in the 2003 film The Gospel of John (2003). His largest role to date came in 2005, when he was cast as Desmond Hume in the ABC series Lost (2004). Cusick won the role when, while staying at the home of his friend Brian Cox, he met Cox's next-door neighbor, Carlton Cuse, the executive producer of Lost (2004). Cusick stated he believes "a seed (was) planted, because they had been looking for either a Scottish or Irish character." Cusick also directed a short film dress (2013), which won the Best Short Film award at the 2013 Hawaii International Film Festival.Mother is Peruvian; father is Scottish; Henry was born in Peru- Actor
- Stunts
- Director
Mark Dacascos is an actor, director, martial artist, and television personality. Whether seen on the big screen or small, playing the good guy or the bad, Mark has been making audience stand up and take notice for many years.
This May, Mark will be seen in highly anticipated film John Wick: Chapter 3-Parabellum playing the lethal assassin, Zero, opposite Keanu Reeves, Halle Berry, Asia Kate Dillon, and Laurence Fishburne.
Later this summer Mark can be seen in Roger Avary's film Lucky Day in the scene stealing role of Louis opposite Nina Dobrev and Crispin Glover and the new Netflix series Wu Assassins opposite Katheryn Winnick.
Dacascos has appeared in over 40 feature films including the haunting French film and box office success, Brotherhood of the Wolf, nemesis to Jett Li in Cradle to the Grave, and cult classic action film, Drive. He has also reprised the iconic role of Wo Fat in the hit CBS series Hawaii 5-0, Mr. Giyera on the hit television show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., as well as the star of the series The Crow. Mark has appeared in numerous television shows such as Chicago P.D., Lucifer, and the hugely popular Hallmark franchise, The Perfect Bride and it's follow up The Perfect Bride: Wedding Bells.
Mark's turn as The Chairman on the Food Network's hit show, Iron Chef America launched him into pop icon status with over 200 episodes and counting on the Food Network. He also took his turn on the dance floor transforming his martial arts moves into dancing magic on ABC's hit show, Dancing With the Stars. Many millions have also enjoyed watching Mark in the hugely popular and uber successful web series Mortal Kombat Legacy and the international web series The Way.
Besides starring in television and films, Mark achieved a career milestone by directing his first feature film titled Showdown in Manilla starring Casper Van Dien and Tia Carrere.
The darkly exotic, multi-lingual, multi-skilled Dacascos is a mix of Japanese, Filipino, Spanish, Irish, and Chinese heritages. He was born in Hawaii and attended school in Germany. He is married and the proud father of 3 children.Father is Filipino, Spanish and Chinese; mother is Chinese and Irish- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Cameron Alexander Dallas is an American film actor and social media sensation. He began his social media journey on September 10th, 2013. From there he has become one of the most talked about social media personalities. Cameron is just starting out his career by starring in some small films. Cameron is one of the top ten users on Vine with over 6.3 million followers. Cameron loves to create, produce, write and act in the videos he makes not only for Vine, but also his Youtube account. Since he started making content he has grown in popularity across all social media platforms, and has gained a fan base all over the world. In only 7 short months, he managed to gain over 9 million followers combined. Cameron incorporates his unique personality into everything he does. He loves to collaborate with his friends and family on the videos he creates. Cameron recently signed with AwesomenessTV in order to create more content for his fans.Mother is half Mexican, half German- Linda Dano was born on 12 May 1943 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress, known for Another World (1964), Days of Our Lives (1965) and All My Children (1970). She was previously married to Frank Attardi, Salvatore Jack Giordano and Larry Larue Peck.Maternal great-grandfather was Cuban; birth name was Linda Rae Wildermuth
- Actor
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
In the late 1960s, Henry Darrow was THE ultimate Latin heartthrob on television. With a smooth, ingratiating style and a killer smile that brightened up the small screen, he also hit a cultural acting landmark as the first Hispanic actor to portray Zorro on television.
He was born Enrique Tomás Delgado in New York City, on September 15, 1933, the first son of Puerto Rican parents Enrique St. and Gloria Delgado. He made his debut at age 8 in a school play, which piqued his interest. The father moved his family (which included younger brother Dennis) back to his homeland out of prospective business concerns. While there Henry was elected president of his class at high school and attended the University of Rio Piedras as a political science and theater major. His fluency in two languages helped earn him supplementary income as an interpreter.
Henry returned to the United States on scholarships received from the Little Theater of Puerto Rico and the University of Puerto Rico, and eventually received his Bachelor of Arts degree. He initially trained at the Pasadena Playhouse (1954), in the Los Angeles area, where he met and later married first wife, Lucy, an aspiring actress. They went on to have two children, Denise (Dee-Dee) and Tom. He began seeking employment in movies and television, making his big screen debut unbilled in the light comedy Holiday for Lovers (1959).
However, Henry found steadier work on television and appeared in a number rugged series, primarily westerns, including Wagon Train (1957), Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea (1964), Bonanza (1959), Gunsmoke (1955) and Daniel Boone (1964). On stage, he continued to hone his craft in such plays as "The Alchemist" (1963) and "Dark of the Moon" (1966). While appearing in the 1965 stage production of "The Wonderful Ice Cream Suit" at the Coronet Theatre in Los Angeles, the by-now television veteran was spotted by producer David Dortort. Dortort later remembered Henry (who was then going by the name Henry Delgado) and thought him perfect for his upcoming western series The High Chaparral (1967).
Billed now as Henry Darrow, the actor stole women's hearts and much of the proceedings as the roguish ladies' man Manolito Montoya, who would rather make love than war. He reached his television peak in the western program, which also starred Leif Erickson, Cameron Mitchell and Linda Cristal, who played his sister. The series ran for four seasons.
Following this peak, Henry went on to earn a daytime Emmy for his role on Santa Barbara (1984) after joining the cast in 1989. Although he never found a strong footing in movies, his better supporting work has been seen in Badge 373 (1973) and Walk Proud (1979). television movies have included Night Games (1974), Aloha Means Goodbye (1974), Centennial (1978) and Attica (1980). As for his enduring relationship with the famous Zorro character, Darrow was not only the first Latino Zorro on television, but also provided the title voice for two 1980s animated series. In the early 1990s, Henry replaced Efrem Zimbalist Jr. as Zorro's father in yet another cable reincarnation of the series. This series was shot in Spain.
Henry continued to perform on the stage with opportunities ranging from the role Iago in "Othello" to a (still-running) one-man show entitled "That Certain Cervantes", which made its premiere in 2001. A founder of "Nosotros", an organization that gears Hispanic actors toward non-stereotyped roles, Darrow was the inaugural winner of the Ricardo Montalban/Nosotros Award for his contributions to improving the image of Latinos.
Millennium credits included elderly roles in the movies Runaway Jury (2003), Angels with Angles (2005), Primo (2008) and Soda Springs (2012). On television, Henry enjoyed a recurring role on The Bold and the Beautiful (1987) in 2001, while also guest starring on such series as Family Law (1999), The Lot (1999), Diagnosis Murder (1993), The Brothers Garcia (2000), Just Shoot Me! (1997) and One Tree Hill (2003).
In 1972, Darrow co-founded the Screen Actors Guild Ethnic Minority Committee with actors Ricardo Montalban, Carmen Zapata and Edith Diaz. Until his death on March 14, 2021, he resided in Wilmington, North Carolina with his second wife of many years, Lauren Levinson (aka Lauren Levian). She is an actress/screenwriter/producer who guest starred on her husband's "Zorro" series.Was Puerto Rican; birth name was Enrique Tomas Delgado
DIED March 14, 2021, age 87, of natural causes- Stacey Dash was born in the Bronx, New York. Stacy knew that she wanted to act, and from an early age began to act professionally. She made regular appearances on The Cosby Show (1984), The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (1990), and also St. Elsewhere (1982). At 21 she made her feature film debut in Enemy Territory (1987), which was quickly followed by Moving (1988), in which she played Richard Pryor's teenage daughter. Four years later she was in Mo' Money (1992), with Damon Wayans. In 1994 she starred with Mark Wahlberg in Renaissance Man (1994). In 1995 she did the provocative erotic thriller Illegal in Blue (1995) and later that year got her big break when was cast as Dionne in the hit comedy Clueless (1995). She went on to star in the UPN sitcom Clueless (1996) that was based on the movie, and which lasted for two years. During that time she completed Oliver Stone's Cold Around the Heart (1997) and also the independent film Personals (1999). After leaving "Clueless" in 1999, Stacey seems to be moving along nicely. She has recently appeared in The Painting (2001) and Paper Soldiers (2002).Mother is Mexican; father is African-American and Barbadian
- Actress
- Producer
- Writer
Elyssa Davalos was born on 30 May 1957 in New York City, New York, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for MacGyver (1985), Tycus (1999) and Diagnosis Murder (1993). She was previously married to Jeffrey Rian Dunas.Father was Spanish and Finnish; mother was Dutch and Asian; mother of actress Alexa Davalos- Alexa most recently starred as "Special Agent Gaines" on FBI: MOST WANTED on CBS, alongside Dylan McDermott. She also starred in Amazon's Emmy-award winning drama series, THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE. Her other television work includes Marvel's THE PUNISHER and Frank Darabont's MOB CITY.
Alexa's film work includes supporting roles in DEFIANCE alongside Daniel Craig, THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK opposite Vin Diesel and Judi Dench, FEAST OF LOVE opposite Morgan Freeman, THE MIST with Marcia Gay Harden, and CLASH OF THE TITANS opposite Sam Worthington, Liam Neeson, and Ralph Fiennes.Mother is actress Elyssa Davalos, who is Spanish, Finnish, Dutch, and Asian; father is Ashkenazi Jewish with Russian and Lithuanian ancestry - Actor
- Producer
- Director
Sammy Davis Jr. was often billed as the "greatest living entertainer in the world".
He was born in Harlem, Manhattan, the son of dancer Elvera Davis (née Sanchez) and vaudeville star Sammy Davis Sr.. His father was African-American and his mother was of Cuban and African-American ancestry. Davis Jr. was known as someone who could do it all, sing, dance, play instruments, act, do stand-up and he was known for his self-deprecating humor; he once heard someone complaining about discrimination, and he said, "You got it easy. I'm a short, ugly, one-eyed, black Jew. What do you think it's like for me?" (he had converted to Judaism).
A short stint in the army opened his eyes to the evils of racism. A slight man, he was often beaten up by bigger white soldiers and given the dirtiest and most dangerous assignments by white officers simply because he was black. He helped break down racial barriers in show business in the 1950s and 1960s, especially in Las Vegas, where he often performed; when he started there in the early 1950s, he was not allowed to stay in the hotels he played in, as they refused to take blacks as customers. He also stirred up a large amount of controversy in the 1960s by openly dating, and ultimately marrying, blonde, blue-eyed, Swedish-born actress May Britt.
He starred in the Broadway musical "Golden Boy" in the 1960s. Initially a success, internal tensions, production problems and bad reviews--many of them directed at Davis for playing a role originally written for a white man resulted in its closing fairly quickly. His film and nightclub career were in full swing, however, and he became even more famous as one of the "Rat Pack", a group of free-wheeling entertainers that included Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra, Joey Bishop and Peter Lawford.
A chain smoker, Davis died from throat cancer at the age of 64. When he died, he was in debt. To pay for Davis' funeral, most of his memorabilia was sold off.Mother was Spanish, Afro-Cuban, and African-American
DIED May 16, 1990, age 64, of throat cancer- Actress
- Producer
- Director
This stunning and resourceful actress has been primarily a film player thus far. Only recently has she been opening herself up more to doing television (the series Gemini Division (2008), which she executive-produced), and animated voice-overs. Dawson's powerhouse talent stands out the most in edgy, urban filming that dates back to 1995 when she was only sixteen.
A rags-to-riches article entitled "Rosario Dawson: From Tenement to Tinseltown" probably says it all. Rosario was born on May 9, 1979 in New York City. Her mother, Isabel Celeste, of Puerto Rican and Afro-Cuban descent, is a singer, and her stepfather, who raised her, Greg Dawson, of Irish descent, is a construction laborer. Her parents, who married when both were teenagers, eventually divorced. Rosario and her younger brother, Clay Dawson, had it hard while growing up, and were cared for by family members, most of whom were poverty-stricken, and some of whom were HIV-positive.
Her career actually started as a child when she made a minor showing on the children's show, Sesame Street (1969). As the story goes, she was "discovered" as an adolescent on her front porch step by two photographers. One of them, Harmony Korine, was an aspiring screenwriter who thought the inexperienced sixteen-year-old was ideal for the controversial cult film Kids (1995), in which she would portray a sexually active adolescent. It took time for Rosario's film career to kick in after that, but by the late 1990s, she had nabbed several independent films. Since then, she has moved into main-stream hits (and misses) and has surprised viewers with her earthy, provocative, uninhibited approach to her roles.
Reflecting New York's tougher, tawdrier side as assorted streetwalkers, homeless mothers, drug addicts, etc., her film highlights have included Light It Up (1999), Edward Burns' Sidewalks of New York (2001), Spike Lee's 25th Hour (2002) and Shattered Glass (2003). For Oliver Stone, she portrayed the duped bride of Colin Farrell's famed B.C. Macedonian warrior, Alexander (2004) (as in "...the Great"), which featured a notoriously violent-tinged nude/sex scene.
Expanding her horizons beyond film, she has always expressed interest in singing. She hooked up with Prince for the re-release of his 1980s hit "1999" and appeared in The Chemical Brothers' video for the song "Out of Control" from the album "Surrender". She is also featured on the Outkast track, "She Lives in My Lap". On stage, she co-starred as Julia in a revival of "Two Gentlemen of Verona" at the Public Theater's "Shakespeare in the Park" and appeared in "The Vagina Monologues".
She lucked into and got to show off her singing chops in the film adaptation of the hit New York musical Rent (2005), when Daphne Rubin-Vega, the original Mimi, became pregnant and was unable to reprise her exotic dancer role. Rosario also appeared as a prostitute in the adaptation of the graphic novel Sin City (2005). Of late, she has turned to producing. One of those, Descent (2007), had her playing a college coed who is brutally attacked and raped by a fellow student. Her more popular ventures have thus far included the role of Valerie Brown in the live-action version of the comic strip Josie and the Pussycats (2001), the Will Smith starrer Men in Black II (2002), Eagle Eye (2008) with Shia LaBeouf and Seven Pounds (2008), again with Smith, in which she offered one of her more tender-hearted performances as a woman with a potentially fatal heart condition.
More recent millennium films opposite some of Hollywood's top leading movie men include the tense actioneer Unstoppable (2010) with Denzel Washington and Chris Pine; the comedy/fantasy Zookeeper (2011) opposite Dalekmania (1995); romantic dramedy 10 Years (2011) with Channing Tatum; crime drama Fire with Fire (2012) with Bruce Willis; romantic comedy Top Five (2014) with Chris Rock; and action adventure Zombieland: Double Tap (2019) with Woody Harrelson. She has also top-lined independent films with her own feisty characters such as the thriller Unforgettable (2017) and the title role in the dramedy Krystal (2017).
Focusing also on TV projects, Rosario has graced such action series/mini-series as Daredevil (2015), Iron Fist (2017) and The Defenders (2017), as well as the comedy Jane the Virgin (2014) and animated cartoon series The Last Kids on Earth (2019).
Off-camera, the still-single Dawson is highly active in political, social and environmental causes and has been involved with such organizations/charities/campaigns as the Lower East Side Girls Club, Global Cool, the O.N.E. Campaign, Oxfam, Amnesty International, Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, Control Arms, International Rescue Committee, Voto Latino (which she founded), Conservation International, Doctors Without Borders, National Geographic Society, The Nature Conservancy and Save the Children. In October 2008, she lent her voice to the RESPECT! Campaign, a movement aimed at preventing domestic violence.Mother is Afro-Cuban and Puerto Rican; father is Irish- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Majandra Delfino rose to fame in her role as Maria DeLuca on Roswell. Born in Caracas, Venezuela to a Cuban mother and Venezuelan father, Majandra lived between Caracas and Miami before permanently moving to Los Angeles in her late teens.
At 4 years old Majandra's parents reached a fork in the road when they discovered she could read music from a beat-up Schubert book yet practiced multiplication drills with just a rudimentary understanding of math. Majandra's parents chose the scholastic side and enrolled her in an academically focused school. Still, between the ages of 4 to 13 Majandra danced with the Miami Ballet, with acceptance to the junior company by age 9, while studying classical piano throughout. Majandra's parents hoped this would be enough. Only, by age 11, Majandra and her best friend Alana Chirino (daughter of famed Cuban salsa singer Willy Chirino) snuck out of the house to be two of the four hundred girls auditioning for an all-girls pop group. They, along with Alana's sister Nicole and good friend Samantha Gibb (daughter of Bee Gees Maurice Gibb) ended up getting chosen - forming the music group 'China Dolls' a soul-styled pop group under the Sony label. After opening for the Bee Gees at a benefit concert and other local shows, the girls enjoyed small success, resulting in an audition for Columbia Pictures' The Baby-Sitters Club. Of the 800 plus cattle call of young girls, Majandra was among the few to get a callback. Fueled by this encouragement, Majandra decided to pursue an acting career in addition to her music responsibilities - again, doing so by sneaking out of the house. Dismayed by her daughter's latest "non-academic" aspiration, Majandra's parents gave her a 6-month deadline to succeed. Within 2 months she was cast as a lead in MGM's major motion picture Zeus & Roxanne - and within three months she landed the coveted role of Tony Dana's daughter on NBC straight to series multi-camera sitcom The Tony Danza Show. But it wasn't until Roswell's breakout success that Majandra rose to fan-magazine fame. Her role as the sarcastic Maria DeLuca has sparked many fans all around the world and its cult following continues to grow today. While on her second season of Roswell Majandra was cast as Vanessa in Steven Soderbergh's Traffic for which she won an Alma Award. Despite her successes as an actor, Majandra stayed true to her musical roots, releasing The Sicks and TARTE, two self-produced albums in which she wrote, performed, produced and engineered. Other notable credits include the Warner Bros feature Life As We Know It and the critically acclaimed drama Don't Come Knocking, directed by Wim Wenders. Starring in a string of comedies from State of Georgia where Majandra played the Laverne to Raven Simone's Shirley, then The Office spin-off The Farm, where Majandra played the third of the trio entrusted to run the family business, as Rainn Wilson and Thomas Middleditch's little sister, to CBS' multi-cam comedy Friends with Better Lives that found Majandra playing a pregnant wife and friend to Kevin Connolly, Brooklyn Decker and Zoe Lister-Jones, Delfino found herself back on the comedy side of things. Under a development deal for two self-scribed shows, Majandra Delfino continues to produce and create her own material, only this time for the screen and not just music. Delfino is married to actor David Walton with whom she has two small children, Cecilia Delphine and Louis Augustus. Majandra will next be seen in the directorial debut of Zoe Lister-Jones' self-scribed Sundance contender, Band-Aid. Rumors of a third album continue to abound but there has been no concrete word from Majandra or her representation yet.Mother is Cuban; father is Venezuelan and Italian- Costume and Wardrobe Department
- Costume Designer
- Executive
Oscar de la Renta was born on 22 July 1932 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He was a costume designer and executive, known for Ugly Betty (2006), Great Performances: Dance in America (1976) and Beautopia (1998). He was married to Annette Reed and Françoise de Langlade. He died on 20 October 2014 in Kent, Connecticut, USA.Mother was Dominican; father was Puerto Rican; birth name was Oscar Arístides Renta Fiallo
DIED October 20, 2014, age 82, of cancer- Actress
- Writer
- Director
Nathalie Delon was born on 1 August 1941 in Oujda, French Protectorate Morocco [now Morocco]. She was an actress and writer, known for The Samurai (1967), They Call It an Accident (1982) and The French Dispatch (2021). She was married to Alain Delon and Guy Barthelemy. She died on 21 January 2021 in Paris, France.Mother was Spanish; father was purported to be Italian; birth name was Francine Canovas; was the ex-wife of French actor Alain Delon
DIED January 21, 2021, age 79, of pancreatic cancer- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Howard Dwaine "Howie D" Dorough was born in Orlando, Florida, as the fifth and youngest child of Paula Flores and Hoke Dwaine Dorough. His older siblings include Pollyanna, who is herself an aspiring singer, and Caroline Dorough-Cochran, who unfortunately passed away from Lupus at the age of 38 in 1998. His mother is Puerto Rican and his father had Irish and English ancestry. Although known for his humanitarian efforts with the Dorough Lupus Foundation, created in honor of his late sister, and for his work in producing up incoming stars such as George Nozuka, Howie is best known as being one-fifth of the Backstreet Boys. In 1992, at the age of 19, as Howie was struggling to find work as an actor, he kept running into two younger men on the audition circuit. These young men were Alexander James "A.J." Mclean, and Nickolas Gene "Nick" Carter. The three young men came up with the idea to join together and form a singing group, but decided that they needed at least one more member. It was through auditions that the boys found Kevin Scott Richardson, who was working in Orlando at the time, who would become the oldest member of the Backstreet Boys. Kevin made the suggestion of adding his cousin Brian Thomas Littrell to the group, as Brian himself was a phenomenal singer. In 1993, the group known as the Backstreet Boys was born.Mother is Puerto Rican- Nikita Dragun is known for Escape the Night (2016), Saucy Santana Feat. Latto: Booty (2022) and Kim Petras: Malibu (At Home Edition) (2020).Mother is Mexican; father is Vietnamese; birth name was Nicholas Nguyen
- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Griffin Dunne was born on June 8, 1955 in New York City, the oldest child of Dominick Dunne, a producer, actor, and writer, and Ellen Beatriz (Griffin) Dunne, an activist. His sister was actress Dominique Dunne. He grew up mainly in Los Angeles, California and attended school in Colorado before moving back to New York in the late 1970s. As an actor, Dunne has the distinction of having starred in two 1980s cult favorites. First came the John Landis monster movie An American Werewolf in London (1981), then the Martin Scorsese black comedy After Hours (1985). After Hours is also among the movies that Dunne has produced with partner Amy Robinson through their company Double Play Productions. Other Double Play productions include Running on Empty (1988), White Palace (1990) and Once Around (1991). Dunne has continued to appear on both sides of the camera, taking supporting roles as an actor in films like My Girl (1991) and I Like It Like That (1994). He made his directorial debut with a short film, Duke of Groove (1995), which was nominated for an Oscar.
Dunne then made the leap to feature films with Addicted to Love (1997), Practical Magic (1998), Lisa Picard Is Famous (2000) and Fierce People (2005). Dunne produced and starred in the film Game 6 (2005), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005.
Griffin's ancestry is Irish (from his father) and Irish, English, German, Mexican, and Swedish (from his mother).Maternal great-grandfather was Mexican; is the son of writer, producer, and TV host Dominick Dunne; brother of actress Dominique Dunne- Music Artist
- Actor
- Composer
Gerald Earl Gillum (born May 24, 1989), known professionally as G-Eazy, is an American rapper and philanthropist from Oakland, California. His first major-label album, These Things Happen, was released on June 23, 2014 and peaked at number 3 on the US Billboard 200. His second studio album, When It's Dark Out, was released on December 4, 2015. It featured the single "Me, Myself & I", which reached the top 10 of the US Billboard Hot 100. His third and most recent studio album, The Beautiful & Damned, was released on December 15, 2017.
When Gillum was in the first grade, his mother left his father (who is an associate professor of art at CSU Fresno). Gillum moved in with his grandparents in Berkeley, California. They later moved to North Oakland, although Gillum continued to attend school in Berkeley. Gillum attended Loyola University and graduated in 2011.
Starting out as a record producer, G-Eazy began working on numerous singles while he was still a student at the Loyola University at New Orleans with his producer Christoph Andersson who also was a student there. He then gained some recognition for being a part of the new hip hop scene back in the East Bay Area, joining with such artists as Lil B, Crohn and The Cataracs. During his early years, he became a member of a local hip hop group, called "The Bay Boyz", who had released several songs on their official Myspace page. In 2010, G-Eazy started gaining popularity when he was given an opportunity to open for some well-known artists, most notably Lil Wayne and Snoop Dogg.Paternal grandmother is Mexican; birth name was Gerald Earl Gillum- Actor
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Anthony Edwards was born in Santa Barbara, California, on July 19, 1962, to a well-blended family. He is the youngest of five children, and the son of Erika Kem (Weber), a landscape painter and artist, and Peter Edwards, an architect. His mother was of German descent, and his father was of English, Irish, Scottish, and Spanish-Mexican ancestry.
Edwards's parents encouraged him to act at age 16, which eventually led him to attending a summer workshop in London before graduating from high school. Returning to the United States, Edwards worked in commercials, jobs that helped him pay his education at The University of Southern California, where he studied acting. However, he dropped out of college and, in that same year, he had a small role in the movie Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), starring Sean Penn. The movie was a box office smash and Edwards was looking forward to doing more films. His first movie role was that of teen-aged "John Muldowney" in Heart Like a Wheel (1983) and his first starring role as nerdy "Gilbert Lowell", in Revenge of the Nerds (1984).
Edwards didn't need to worry about being typecast as a socially-challenged loser. After starring in The Sure Thing (1985) and Gotcha! (1985), he landed another big-time successful movie Top Gun (1986), in which he played Tom Cruise's ill-fated easy-going navigator/best friend, Lt. Nick "Goose" Bradshaw. As Cruise rode Top Gun (1986) into the Hollywood stratosphere, Edwards also found his flight to stardom, at the same time. After Top Gun (1986), he reprised his role as Gilbert in the movie Revenge of the Nerds II: Nerds in Paradise (1987), before he starred in Summer Heat (1987). He also starred in Mr. North (1988), and Miracle Mile (1988), although they weren't too successful.
Edwards began working in TV movies and continued to star in more box office movies such as Hawks (1988), How I Got Into College (1989), Downtown (1990), Pet Sematary II (1992), Landslide (1992) and Delta Heat (1992). The '90s won Edwards his best reviews for his recurring role of the quirky "bubble man" Mike Monroe on the popular television series Northern Exposure (1990). He was nominated for a Cable Ace Award in HBO's Sexual Healing (1993), and the following year, he starred in Charlie's Ghost Story (1995), before he played law clerk "Clint Von Hooser" in the John Grisham movie The Client (1994). This led to his most prominent role, as easy-going charismatic physician "Dr. Mark Greene" on the very popular TV series ER (1994).
For his work on ER (1994), he was nominated for an Emmy Award four times For Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, but has never won. However, he has won a Golden Globe Award For Best Performance by an Actor-in-a-TV-Series, and was nominated four times, and also has two Screen Actor's Guild Awards. Prior to playing Dr. Greene, he also played bank breaker turned cold-blooded killer, "Dick Hickock" in the TV movie remake of Truman Capote's In Cold Blood (1996), which was the best TV movie of the 1996-97 season. During Edwards' hiatus on ER (1994), he went back to the box office circuit to star and to produce the movie Don't Go Breaking My Heart (1999), a complex movie which wasn't a big hit. Edwards, once again, returned to the set of ER (1994), and this time, he signed up for a salary that almost no actor could be paid, so his decision was to stay on the show for 3 more years and possibly to save the money in order to spend a lot of family time and to work on directing later.
His first big roles after ER (1994) were that of "Brains" in the movie Thunderbirds (2004), and as "Jim Paretta" in The Forgotten (2004). In the many years that he starred on ER (1994), that show gave him more success in working on and off the set. Also, it gave him a spiritual blessing that so many popular actors have had over the years.Great-grandmother was Mexican- Eisley was born on October 29, 1993, in Los Angeles, California, to musician David Glen Eisley and actress Olivia Hussey. Her grandfather was actor Anthony Eisley. Eisley and her mother appeared together in the movie Headspace (2005). After small roles in various independent films, Eisley gained a major role in The Secret Life of the American Teenager (2008). She played Ashley Juergens, younger sister of teen mother Amy Juergens.
Eisley starred as Sawa in the action film Kite (2014), opposite Samuel L. Jackson. At the end of 2014, she filmed Social Suicide (2015), a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet. At the beginning of 2015, she also filmed the dark fantasy film The Curse of Sleeping Beauty (2016) as Briar Rose. Eisley also appears in the film adaptation of V.C. Andrews' book My Sweet Audrina (2016) in the title role of Audrina.Grandfather was Argentinian singer Andres Osuna, also known as Osvaldo Ribo; is the daughter of actress Olivia Hussey; half-sister of actor Alexander Martin - Actor
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Eman Esfandi was born on 27 September 1994 in Laredo, Texas, USA. He is an actor and director, known for King Richard (2021), 120 (2018) and The Inspection (2022).Mother is Ecuadorian; father is Iranian- Actor
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Emilio Estevez was born on May 12, 1962, in New York City. He is the eldest son of actor Martin Sheen, who at the time was just breaking into the business. His mother, Janet Sheen (née Templeton), was a former New York art student who had met Emilio's father right after he had moved to Manhattan. Martin and Janet had three other children, Charlie Sheen, Renée Estevez, and Ramon Estevez, all of whom became actors. His father is of half Spanish and half Irish descent, and his mother, whose family is from Kentucky, has English and Scottish ancestry.
He lived on Manhattan's Upper West Side until his family relocated to Malibu in 1968. Before graduating from Santa Monica High School in 1980, Estevez had already had a small role as a messenger boy in Apocalypse Now (1979), that was ultimately cut from the film.
Though his father had opted to use the stage name "Sheen" over his more ethnic birth name "Estevez," Emilio chose to retain the family name, hoping to avoid riding his father's coattails. He also thought the double "E" set of initials was "pretty."
He appeared in a few TV movies, the first of which was 17 Going on Nowhere (1980), before making his big-screen debut opposite Matt Dillon in 1982's Tex (1982). A part in The Outsiders (1983) followed, and Estevez made his first big splash as the punk rocker Otto in the cult classic Repo Man (1984).
Originally cast as Bender (The Criminal) in the seminal John Hughes flick The Breakfast Club (1985), Estevez took the part of Andrew (The Athlete) instead after Hughes could find no one else to fill the role. Another ensemble film, St. Elmo's Fire (1985) came next. Then Estevez made his screen-writing debut with That Was Then... This Is Now (1985), a film in which he also starred.
He then starred in the Stephen King thriller and cult hit Maximum Overdrive (1986), . The ambitious young actor added directing to his palette with Wisdom (1986) in 1986. Estevez went on to write, direct and star in the film Men at Work , Men at Work (1990) alongside his brother Charlie Sheen in 1989 . Originally written as an environmental comedy that follows two slacker garbage men who find a dead politician in a trash barrel,''Men at Work'' went on to be a moderate success and enjoys a "cult" status.
Estevez jumped back into making studio films with hits like Stakeout (1987) and Young Guns (1988), as well as their subsequent sequels.
In 1992, Emilio took on one of his most iconic and famous roles as Coach Gordon Bombay in The Mighty Ducks (1992). The enormously popular Disney film spawned two sequels and an NHL hockey team of the same name, but Estevez was interested in making more dramatic films.
In 1995, he agreed to make a brief appearance in D3: The Mighty Ducks (1996) in exchange for Disney helping him finance and distribute another effort as actor-director, The War at Home (1996). Though smiled on by critics, The War at Home (1996) received a very limited distribution by Disney and thus went largely unseen. The War at Home, filmed in Austin, Texas, is an exploration of the effects of PTSD on a Vietnam veteran who has returned to his Texas family's home in 1972. The film co-stars Oscar winner, Kathy Bates, Estevez ' s father Martin Sheen and Kimberly Williams . The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 1996 as an Official Selection. Estevez continued to work in films, both behind and in front of the camera, including a fourth effort as director and star, Rated X (2000), which co-starred brother Charlie Sheen and was a selection at the Sundance Film Festival in 2000.
In 2006, Emilio made the motion picture Bobby. Bobby (2006), a "day in the life" film. Robert F. Kennedy Estevez wrote, directed, and acted in the picture, which, follows 22 characters in the Ambassador Hotel on June 4th, 1968 on the day Senator Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated following his win in the California primary. The film remains one of the starriest ensemble cast ever assembled with Anthony Hopkins, Sharon Stone, William H. Macy, Demi Moore, Ashton Kutcher, Laurence Fishburne, Harry Belafonte, Lindsay Lohan, Helen Hunt, Martin Sheen and many others in the cast. Distributed by The Weinstein Company, "Bobby" went on to be nominated for two Golden Globes, Best Original Song and Best Picture (Drama), as well as a Screen Actors Guild Best Ensemble nomination in 2006. He won a Hollywood Film Best Ensemble Award and received a 7-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival following his nomination for the prestigious Golden Lion for directing the film . The film had its North American premiere at the Toronto Film Festival where it was an Official Selection.
In 2009 Estevez filmed a new project which he wrote, produced and directed called, The Way, in Spain starring his father, Martin Sheen, in a story about a man who decides to make the Camino de Santiago after the death of his son in the French Pyrénées. It was released in the United States on October 7, 2011, following the premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in 2010.
In 2019, Estevez released another feature film, The Public, starring Alec Baldwin, Christian Slater, Jena Malone, Jeffrey Wright, Taylor Shilling, Michael K. Williams and Estevez himself, which he also wrote, directed and produced. The movie was shot entirely inside the downtown Cincinnati Public Library during the winter of 2017. Once again, The Public enjoyed it's world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival in 2018. The film was released in 2019 by Greenwich Entertainment and Universal Pictures.
In 2021, Emilio returns as Coach Gordon Bombay in the new Disney + series, The Mighty Ducks: Gamechangers.Paternal grandfather was Spanish; son of actor Martin Sheen and brother of actor Charlie Sheen; ex-husband of singer and dancer Paula Abdul- Actress
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Paloma Faith was born Paloma Faith Blomfield on July 21, 1981 in Hackney, London, England to Pamela "Pam" Oakes-Ash & Jose Ramon Blomfield.
Faith is known for her retro and eccentric style. The singer met her managers Jamie Binns and Christian Wåhlberg in 2007. Her debut album, Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful? was released in 2009 and has been certified double platinum in the UK. The album contains the singles "Stone Cold Sober", "New York" and "Upside Down", and earned Faith her first BRIT Award nomination in 2010. In 2012, Faith released her second studio album, Fall to Grace, which debuted at number two on the UK Albums Chart. The album was critically well received and surpassed the success of her debut, earning her numerous award nominations in 2013 and earning a double platinum certification in the UK. The album produced her first top ten single, "Picking Up the Pieces", the top twenty cover version of INXS's "Never Tear Us Apart" and earned her two BRIT Award nominations for Best British Female and British Album of the Year. Faith released her third album, A Perfect Contradiction in 2014, which stands as her most successful album to date. The album spawned the two UK top ten singles "Can't Rely on You" and "Only Love Can Hurt Like This", with the latter topping the charts in Australia. Faith won Best British Female Solo Artist at the BRIT Awards in 2015. Her fourth studio album, The Architect was released in 2017, and debuted at number one in the UK, becoming Faith's first number one album.
In addition to her solo work, Faith has also collaborated with the duo Sigma on the 2014 track "Changing", which charted at number one in the UK, and DJ Sigala on "Lullaby" which reached the top ten in 2018. Furthermore, she has also made feature film appearances in The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Dread, the 2007 remake of St Trinian's and Youth. In 2016, Faith appeared as a judge on the fifth series of The Voice UK.Father is Spanish; mother is English; birth name was Paloma Faith Blomfield- Actress
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Born in Philadelphia in 1942, Lola Falana left home as a teenager to seek her fortune in entertainment. She often slept in subway stations before finding work. She studied African dance, and her big break came when she appeared opposite Sammy Davis Jr. in "Golden Boy" on Broadway in 1964. She then toured Italy and won fame there in two Italian movies. She toured with the Tavares Brothers in the 1970s and married Feliciano "Butch" Tavares. In 1979 she became the highest-paid entertainer in Las Vegas, thus earning her the title "First Lady of Las Vegas".Father was Afro-Cuban; mother was African-American- Actress
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Jennifer Lynn "Jenni" Farley was born on February 27, 1985 in East Greenbush, New York. She is best known as JWoww on Jersey Shore and its spin-off series Snooki & JWoww. Before "Jersey Shore", she attended Columbia High School and New York Institute of Technology. She then worked as a nanny or with small children. She has two children, Meilani and Greyson Mathews.Is Spanish and Irish- Actor
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A tall, lanky and twinkle-eyed African-American actor with wonderful onscreen charisma, Antonio Fargas has been appearing on stage and screen for nearly 60 years as of 2021. His film debut was in Shirley Clarke's The Cool World (1963), a gritty, uncompromising tale about African-American youth growing up in Harlem, New York. He then made his acting presence felt in many "blaxploitation" films of the early 1970s, including the classic Shaft (1971), the Mafia flick Across 110th Street (1972), the ultra-violent Pam Grier vehicle Foxy Brown (1974) and the classic tale of Huckleberry Finn (1975).
Around this time ABC-TV executives were looking for a capable actor to play the role of golden-hearted street informant "Huggy Bear" on Starsky and Hutch (1975), and Fargas scored the role with which he is most closely identified. His career continued to flourish after "Starsky and Hutch" wrapped up after four years, and he has appeared in over 50 movies to date, many TV shows and numerous stage productions. He has played a 90-year-old witch doctor in "The Great White Hope", was in Melvin Van Peebles' "Ain't Supposed to Die a Natural Death", and appeared in productions of "The Rainmaker", "The Emperor Jones" and "Dream on Monkey Mountain". A strong advocate of the strength and diversity of African-American culture, Fargas holds positions on the boards of Rhode Island's Langston Hughes Center for the Arts and The Martin Luther King Center of Newport.Father was Puerto Rican; mother was from Trinidad and Tobago- Actor
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Freddy Fender was born on 4 June 1937 in San Benito, Texas, USA. He was an actor and composer, known for The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005), Hancock (2008) and The Forever Purge (2021). He was married to Evangelina (Vangie) Muniz. He died on 14 October 2006 in Corpus Christi, Texas, USA.Was Mexican; birth name was Baldemar Garza Huerta
DIED October 4, 2006, age 69, of lung cancer- Actor
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José Ferrer was a Puerto Rican actor and film director. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for playing the title character in Cyrano de Bergerac (1950). Ferrer was the first Puerto Rican actor to win an Academy Award, and also the first Hispanic actor to win an Academy Award.
In 1912, Ferrer was born is San Juan, the capital city of Puerto Rico. Established as a Spanish colonial city in 1521, San Juan is the third oldest European-established capital city in the Americas, following Santo Domingo (established in 1496) and Panama City (established in 1521). Ferrer's father was Rafael Ferrer, a lawyer and author who was born and raised in San Juan. Ferrer's mother was María Providencia Cintrón, a native of the coastal town of Yabucoa. Ferrer's paternal grandfather was Dr. Gabriel Ferrer Hernández, who had campaigned for Puerto Rican independence from the Spanish Empire.
The Ferrer family moved to New York City in 1914, when José was 2-years-old. As a school student, Ferrer was educated abroad at the Institut Le Rosey, a prestigious boarding school located in Rolle, Switzerland. In 1933, Ferrer was enrolled at Princeton University, located in Princeton, New Jersey. He studied architecture, and wrote a senior thesis about French Naturalism and the literary works of Spanish naturalist writer Emilia Pardo Bazán (1851-1921). In 1934, Ferrer transferred to Columbia University, where he studied Romance languages.
In 1934, while still a college student, Ferrer made his theatrical debut in Long Island-based theatre. In 1935, he was hired as the stage manager at the Suffern Country Playhouse. Later in 1935, Ferrer made his Broadway debut in the comedy play "A Slight Case of Murder" by Damon Runyon (1880-1946) and Howard Lindsay (1889-1968). This stage production of the play ran for 69 performances, with Ferrer appearing in all of them.
Ferrer's major success as a Broadway actor was performing in the play "Brother Rat" by John Monks Jr. (1910-2004) and Fred F. Finklehoffe (1910-1977). The play had a ran of 577 performances from 1936 to 1938. Among his subsequent theatrical appearances, the most successful were staged productions of Mamba's Daughters (1938), which ran for 163 performances, and "Charley's Aunt" (1940-1941), which ran for 233 performances. His role in "Charley's Aunt" required him to perform in drag, for the first time in his career.
Ferrer had one of the greatest theatrical successes of his career when playing the villainous Iago in a Broadway production of "Othello' by William Shakespeare. The production had a ran of 296 performances, lasting from 1943 to 1944. Ferrer played his most famous role as the historical figure of Cyrano de Bergerac (1619-1655) in the 1946-1947 Broadway season. For this role, Ferrer won the 1947 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.
Ferrer made his film debut in the Technicolor epic "Joan of Arc" (1948). He played the historical monarch Charles VII of France (1403-1461, reigned 1422-1461), the ruler who Joan of Arc served during the Hundred Years' War. For his debut role, Ferrer was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The Award was instead won by rival actor Walter Huston (1883-1950).
Ferrer's success as a film actor, helped him gain more film roles in Hollywood-produced films. He played the "smooth-talking hypnotist David Korvo" in the film noir "Whirlpool" (1949), and dictator Raoul Farrago in the film noir "Crisis". He had a career highlight with a film adaptation of the play "Cyrano de Bergerac", where he played the title role. For this role, he won the Academy Award for Best Actor.
His next critically successful role was that of artist Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1864-1901) in the historical drama "Moulin Rouge" (1952). For this role, Ferrer was again nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. The award was instead won by rival actor Gary Cooper (1901-1961). The film also marked a financial success for Ferrer, who received 40% of the film's profits.
Ferrer also appeared in other box office hits of the 1950s, such as the musical "Miss Sadie Thompson" (1953), the Navy-themed drama "The Caine Mutiny" (1954), and the biographical film "Deep in My Heart" (1954). Ferrer was also interested in becoming a film director. He made his directing debut with the film noir "The Shrike" (1955). His subsequent directing efforts included war film "The Cockleshell Heroes" (1955), the film noir "The Great Man" (1956), the biographical film I Accuse! (1958), and the comedy film "The High Cost of Loving" (1958). While still critically well-received, several of these films were box office flops. He took a hiatus from films productions.
Ferrer attempted a comeback as a film director with the sequel film "Return to Peyton Place" (1961) and the musical film "State Fair" (1962). Both films were box office flops. As an actor, Ferrer had a supporting role as a Turkish Bey in the historical drama "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962). While a relatively minor role, Ferrer considered the finest role of his film career.
In television, Ferrer gained a notable role as the narrator in the pilot episode of the hit sitcom "Bewitched" (1964-1972). In films, Ferrer started playing mostly supporting roles. He briefly returned to the role of Cyrano de Bergerac in the French adventure film "Cyrano and d'Artagnan". He had another notable role as a historical monarch, playing Herod Antipas, Tetrarch of Galilee and Perea (reigned 4 BC-39 AD) in the Biblical epic "The Greatest Story Ever Told" (1965).
Ferrer had his first notable role as a voice actor, playing the villain Ben Haramed in the Rankin/Bass Christmas "The Little Drummer Boy" (1968). But at this time, he started having legal troubles. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) accused Ferrer of still owing unpaid taxes since 1962.
Ferrer had many film roles in the 1970s, but no outstanding highlights. As a voice actor, he voiced Cyrano de Bergerac in an episode of "The ABC Afterschool Special". In the 1980s, Ferrer played a monarch again, playing Padishah Emperor Shaddam IV in the science fiction film "Dune". The film was an adaptation of the 1965 novel "Dune" by Frank Herbert (1920-1986), and Shaddam was one of the film's villains. This was among the last notable roles of Ferrer's long career.
Ferred retired from acting entirely in 1991, due to increasing health problems. His last theatrical performance was a production of the generation-gap drama "Conversations with My Father". Ferrer died in 1992, due to colorectal cancer. He was 80-years-old. He died in Coral Gables, Florida, but was buried in the Santa María Magdalena de Pazzis Cemetery of Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Several of his children had acting careers of their own.Was Puerto Rican; birth name José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón
Was the first Hispanic actor to win an Academy Award; father of actor Miguel Ferrer
DIED January 26, 1992, age 80, of colorectal cancer- Actor
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Miguel Ferrer was an American actor known for playing Morton from RoboCop, Shan Yu from Mulan, Martian Manhunter from Justice League: The New Frontier, Slade Wilson from Teen Titans: The Judas Contract, Death from Adventure Time, Sesa Refumee from Halo 2 and Vice President Rodriguez from Iron Man 3. He passed away in January 2017 due to throat cancer. He is survived by his wife and three children.Father was legendary Puerto Rican actor Jose Ferrer and mother was American actress Rosemary Clooney; was the first cousin of actor George Clooney
DIED January 19, 2017, age 61, of throat cancer- Actress
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Tessa Ferrer was born on 30 March 1986 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress and producer, known for Insidious: The Last Key (2018), The Passing Parade (2018) and Excision (2008).Paternal grandfather was actor and director Jose Ferrer, who was Puerto Rican; mother is singer Debby Boone, daughter of singer and actor Pat Boone
Granddaughter of singer Pat Boone; niece of actor Miguel Ferrer; cousin of actor George Clooney- Actor
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Actor/director/producer Mel Ferrer was born Melchor Gaston Ferrer on August 25, 1917, in Elberon, New Jersey. The son of a Cuban-born surgeon and a Manhattan socialite, he went to prep school and attended Princeton University. From the age of 15 he worked in summer stock. After Princeton he became an editor on a small Vermont newspaper and wrote a children's book, "Tito's Hats." He became a chorus dancer on Broadway in 1938 in two musicals and made his New York debut as an actor two years later. After a bout with polio he started in radio as a disc jockey in Texas and Arkansas and rose to producer-director of top-rated shows for NBC in New York. He made a modest debut as a director at Columbia with the low-budget The Girl of the Limberlost (1945), then returned to acting on Broadway to star in Lillian Smith's "Strange Fruit." He was John Ford's assistant on The Fugitive (1947).
Ferrer made his screen acting debut in Lost Boundaries (1949). He is best remembered for the role of the lame puppeteer in Lili (1953) and as Prince Andrei in War and Peace (1956). He directed Claudette Colbert in The Secret Fury (1950) and Audrey Hepburn - his wife at the time - in Green Mansions (1959). Ferrer produced the hit Wait Until Dark (1967), also with Hepburn. In the following year, the couple separated and ultimately divorced. Since 1960 had been producing and acting mainly in Europe.Father was Cuban; not related to actors Jose Ferrer and Miguel Ferrer
DIED June 8, 2008, age 90, of heart failure- Actress
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Amanda Fuller was born on 27 August 1984 in Sacramento, California, USA. She is an actress and director, known for Last Man Standing (2011), Red White & Blue (2010) and Grey's Anatomy (2005). She has been married to Matthew Bryan Feld since 2018. They have one child.Maternal grandmother was half-Mexican; paternal great-grandfather was half-Mexican- Actor
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Edward Walter Furlong was born in Glendale, California. His mother, Eleanor (Tafoya), is from a Mexican family, and worked at a youth center. Furlong had no acting ambitions until he was approached by casting agent Mali Finn, who was looking for a young actor to play the role of John Connor in what turned out to be one of the the biggest box-office hits of the 1990s, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991). Finn instantly recognized his ability, and suggested him for the part, feeling that he could hold his own playing opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton.
For his career-starting role, Furlong earned an MTV movie award for best breakthrough role, and a Saturn Sci-Fi award for best young actor. From there, he took an unconventional route through Hollywood, which led to his working with some of the top people in the business, in both studio and independent films. His work has included starring opposite Jeff Bridges in American Heart (1992) for which he was nominated for an IFP Spirit award for best supporting actor. He has also starred in A Home of Our Own (1993) with Kathy Bates, Little Odessa (1994) with Tim Roth, The Grass Harp (1995) with Walter Matthau and Barbet Schroeder's Before and After (1996).
He also starred opposite Edward Norton in Tony Kaye's controversial and gripping drama American History X (1998) and in the hit comedy Pecker (1998). More recently, Furlong has been opposite Willem Dafoe in the prison drama Animal Factory (2000), directed by Steve Buscemi. He recently starred in Pupi Avati's 13th-century tale, The Knights of the Quest (2001).Mother is Mexican- Actress
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Seychelle Gabriel is from Burbank, CA and has been acting professionally for over a decade. She began doing background work when she was a child and moved into principle roles towards her later high school years, after performing in the Frank Miller film, The Spirit. She has since then performed in a handful of feature films, in regular roles on television shows such as TNT's Falling Skies and lending her voice in The Legend of Korra, and in recurring roles on shows such as Weeds, Revenge, and Sleepy Hollow. She has attended a semester at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, and is also a singer and musician.Father is Mexican and French; mother is Italian- Actor
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Peter Gadiot was born in Haywards Heath, in the United Kingdom. He grew up in East Grinstead, West Sussex, England.
He trained at the prestigious Drama Centre London.
In addition to acting on stage and screen he has written and directed several short films and is an active campaigner against human trafficking, actually rowing the Atlantic Ocean in support of his cause.Mother is Mexican; father is Dutch- Actor
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David Lee Gallagher was born on February 9, 1985 in College Point, New York, to Elena (Lopez) and Darren James Gallagher. His stepfather is Vincent Casey. David is of Irish (father) and Cuban (mother) descent. At not even two years old, he landed his first print ad job and he has since done commercials for corporations such as Walt Disney World, Burger King, Panasonic, Hanes, Betty Crocker and Tyson Foods. At the age of 8, David made his film debut with a lead role in the surprise hit Look Who's Talking Now (1993). Several television appearances and made-for-television movies followed until another big-screen success in Phenomenon (1996), with John Travolta. That same year he landed his most famous role to date, Simon Camden, in the WB hit 7th Heaven (1996).
Angels in the Endzone (1997) and Richie Rich's Christmas Wish (1998) were barely enough to show off his talents and most of his acting depth is shown off on the television series, which covers such serious issues as drugs, abuse and suicide.
After achieving fan-magazine fame and teen-idol status, David co-starred in the film _Kart Racer (2003). He graduated from Chaminade High School in 2003. David enjoys swimming and basketball.Mother is Cuban; father is Irish