Beyonce

Add another day of celebration to your calendar: September 4th, Beyonce's birthday. Born in 1981 to a loving family in Houston, Texas, Beyonce (rhymes with fiance) Giselle Knowles showed an aptitude for music before she could even talk. 

As a young girl, she would drown out everyone, including the church choir, on Sundays at church. Every weekend, she tuned her voice by doing soulful hymns with the congregation and then moved on to opera classes, in which she was classically trained. 

A normal childhood was not in the books for Beyonce. At 8 years old, she met LaTavia Robertson while auditioning for a girls musical group and Matthew Knowles, Beyonce's manager and father, later paired the two with LeToya Luckett. In 1992, cousin Kelly Rowland joined the group, and they performed together on Star Search.

Kate Beckinsale

Petite and pretty, with dark hair, pale skin and flashing eyes, Kate Beckinsale made a strong film debut as the virginal Hero in Kenneth Branagh's sun-dappled adaptation of "Much Ado About Nothing" (1993). Although she was a screen novice, the actress projected the requisite intelligence and star quality that deemed her one to watch. As the daughter of comic Richard Beckinsale (who died when she was five years old) and actress Judy Loe, it was perhaps inevitable that she would eventually find her way to the limelight. Beckinsale, however, spent a good portion of her teen years struggling with an eating disorder (of which she has spoken frankly in interviews) before she decided to try her hand at acting. After a bit part in the BBC mystery "Devices and Desires" (1991), she landed the pivotal role of the rebellious daughter of a British woman (Judy Davis) involved with the French Resistance during WWII in "One Against the Wind" (CBS, 1991). Once she had become established as an ingenue with "Much Ado About Nothing", Beckinsale carefully crafted a career path that would not find her typecast. 

Simultaneous to pursuing her education at Oxford, Beckinsale continued to find challenging roles. In "Royal Deceit/The Prince of Jutland" (1994), which was based on the Danish prince whose life inspired Shakespeare's "Hamlet", she starred opposite Christian Bale. A lighter, more charming side to the actress was displayed in "Marie-Louise, or The Leave" (1995), in which she played a young woman searching for her lover in a crowded train station. Beckinsale delivered a strong turn as the meddlesome orphan taken in by eccentric relatives in the brittle comedy "Cold Comfort Farm" (also 1995). As Flora Poste, she anchored the film and managed to make a busybody character seem charming, and in some ways it was a warm-up for her tackling "Jane Austen's Emma" (BBC/AE, 1996). Although Douglas McGrath's feature version starring Gwyneth Paltrow had opened on American screens first, this version found its partisans who felt it was more faithful to the spirit of Austen. 

Capitalizing on the sass and intelligence she had projected in both "Cold Comfort Farm" and "Jane Austen's Emma", Beckinsale shone as an aristocratic med student who falls in with two charming con men (Dan Futterman and Stuart Townsend) in the underrated caper flick "Shooting Fish" (1997). Adopting a flawless American accent, the actress next registered as the bitchy junior publishing executive seeking fun and perhaps Mr. Right in Whit Stillman's "The Last Days of Disco" (1998). The following year, Beckinsale retained the Americanisms to portray a mousy tourist in Thailand who falls for a slick Australian, dragging herself and her traveling companion (Claire Danes) into accusations of drug smuggling in "Brokedown Palace". After time out for motherhood, she returned to the big screen as Nick Nolte's daughter in the Merchant Ivory adaptation of Henry James' "The Golden Bowl" (2000). 

The attractive actress finally had a shot at more mainstream success with two high profile leading roles in 2001. Beckinsale was cast opposite John Cusack in the romantic comedy "Serendipity", playing a woman who believed more in fate than love at first sight. In the big-budget epic "Pearl Harbor", she was cast as a US Navy nurse who falls in love with a dashing pilot (Ben Affleck) but when news of his death arrives turns to his best friend (Josh Hartnett) for comfort. 

Kate separated from Michael Sheen- father of her 4 year old daughter, Lily Sheen- in 2003 and is now engaged to "Underworld" director Len Wiseman. Sheen is still an important part of her life- as the actress reports. 

Underworld opened September 19, 2003. Beckinsale is wearing a black skin-tight suit, in her words: "I felt like I was wearing this huge condom with sleeves, but at least it kept me warm." 

Katrina Kaif

Katrina grew up in Hawaii, but was brought up in London, UK. She started modeling accidentally when Katrina grew up in Hawaii, but was brought up in London, UK. She started modeling accidentally when she was in Hawaii at the tender age of 14, when she was approached for a jewelery campaign. Thereafter she continued modeling in London. 
she was in Hawaii at the tender age of 14, when she was approached for a jewelery campaign. Thereafter she continued modeling in London. 



On screen appearances 

Continuing to model was the reason she got her break in a Bollywood movie "Boom" offered by none other than film-maker Kaizad Gustad.

She was flooded with modeling assignments the minute she set her foot on Indian soil, especially with her innocent expressive face, hour-glass figure, and drop-dead gorgeous looks.

Professionally she started off as a model with photographer Atul Kasbekar, and upon being accepted, she received offers from LG, Cola, Fevicol, Lakme, & Veet. It was the Lakme commercial that got her noticed. She retained Matrix as her Manager to accept work on her behalf and at the price she deserved.

Moving to different culture and country was not much of a culture shock for her, as she states that no matter where you come from, the bottom line is that everyone wants to be loved, respected, and cared for.

Unlike other artistes from foreign lands, Katrina did not experience any difficulties in getting a visa nor of getting it extended in India.

Although linguistically challenged, Katrina puts on a bold face and states that other Bollywood artistes like Sridevi, who did not know Hindi, did get offers from Bollywood film-makers, and she is no different. She is taking Hindi and dancing lessons to fit in with the Bollywood culture. She likes to display a picture of her learning Kathak dancing where she used to dance 7 hours a day non-stop.

Despite of her soft gorgeous looks, she is not easily intimidated, but admits that she is very emotional, almost an incurable romantic, wears comfortable non-revealing clothes when at home, hates to do her hair, and above all dislikes make-up. Admitting to being lonely in the beginning, but now has several nice friends who she can hang out with.

Although her first movie "Boom" was panned by the critics and shunned by the audiences, two other Telegu movies "Malliswari" and "Pidugu" did get her noticed. She grossed Rs.70 lakhs for Malliswari - making her top the list of the highest paid actresses during a South Indian movie debut.

Not done with South Indian movies, she has been signed in a Tamil movie "Bheema" opposite National Award Winner Vikram.

She has received decent reviews for her part in "Maine Pyar Kyon Kiya", as well as a brief appearance in "Sarrkar".

Katrina has now made Bombay her base, and doesn't mind singing and dancing around trees while she's at it, and is determined to make it big in Bollywood. IMDb Mini Biography By: rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)

Trivia

Is half British and half Indian.

Indian supermodel

Has 8 sisters.

Was born in Hong Kong and then moved to Hawaii till she was about 14, then she moved to London. Presently, she lives in Mumbai.

Unlike other artistes from foreign lands, Katrina did not experience any difficulties in getting a visa nor of getting it extended in India.

She was discovered at age 14 as a model for a jewelry campaign.

When moving to India, she worked for photographer Atul Kasbekar and did commercials for Fevicol, Lakme and Veet among others.

She is very particular about her clothes which she wears a bold outfit on screen or for ads, but she feels more comfortable in not-so-revealing clothes in personal life. And the one thing she hates is make up.

She refuses to speak about her personal life in the media.

Besides walking the ramp for several top designers and being on magazine covers, Katrina has also been the stunning face of Estelle jewelery, Lakme, Pantene, Veet, Kodak cameras, L'Oreal, Samsung, LG etc.

She doesn't do ramp shows anymore.

She was chosen as the face of the year for the Lakme India Fashion Week (2005).

Her favorite Indian designers are Rina Dhaka, Tarun Tahiliani, Rocky S.

Her favorite international designers are Armani, Versace, Miu Miu.

Personal Quotes 

"It's not my style to either wear minimum clothes, to strip or to even be comfortable with a sex-symbol label. I just want to do good work instead of sporting such meaningless tags. Sex sells, but to a small extent, not always. And this is what filmmakers have to accept. The exposure has to be relevant to the film and its characters and not forced for the sake of titillation. On the contrary, some of the greatest Indian films have been devoid of all these sexual trappings. I know my comfort zone in today's Indian culture and society."

Her thoughts on Bollywood accepting her, being an outsider British girl, into Indian cinema: "I have no complaints. I think I'm especially lucky. As you said, I've come from outside and I'm not even anywhere closely connected. But I have absolutely no problem here. People have been more than welcoming, even before I was ready. There was a time when I felt that I need to take time to understand more about the industry, the workings of it. I was doing my modeling, which I really wanted to do at the time. So that's why even my entry into films was later than people expected." (Stardust magazine, July 2006)

"I've been very blessed, I think, or what do you call it... mmm... lucky to get at this stage what I have. It's not like I've come from acting school and done work at an academy or something. I feel I've been given a very huge chance and opportunity." (Stardust magazine, July 2006)

SCARLETT JOHANSSON

Scarlett Johansson, born on the 22nd of November, 1984, in New York City, has an older brother and sister and a twin brother. She divides her time between New York with her father, a building contractor and Los Angeles with her mother, who looks out for her interests there. She's the only actor in the family, something she's wanted to be since she was three. Her acting career began when she was eight in the off-Broadway production of Sophistry with Ethan Hawke at New York's Playwrights Horizons. 

Scarlett has been in seven movies, the first was North. For her role as Manny in Manny & Lo she was nominated as Best Actress by the Independent Spirit Awards (1997).

She attained worldwide recognition for her performance as Grace MacLean, the teen traumatized in a riding accident in Robert Redford's hit feature The Horse Whisperer, a role for which she won a YoungStar award and was nominated for a Blockbuster Entertainment Award. She has most recently been spotlighted for her performances in the acclaimed films Ghost World, An American Rhapsody and the Coen Brothers film The Man Who Wasn't There. Johansson's additional credits include Rob Reiner's comedy North, the role of Sean Connery's daughter in Just Cause, as well as notable appearances in If Lucy Fell and Home Alone 3. She is currently lensing Brian Robbins' The Perfect Score for Paramount Pictures.

Eva Mendes

After a talent manager sees her photo in a friend's portfolio, Miami-born, L.A.-bred Mendes, a marketing major at California State Northridge, drops out of school to go on auditions. "I never did drama in high school or anything," she tells the Toronto Sun in 2003. "When you grow up in L.A., everybody is either a wannabe director or a producer or has a friend – so I got a lot of, 'Your look is interesting, you should be a model or act,' and it never caught my attention."

Penelope Cruz

Penelope Cruz was born on April 28, 1974 to Eduardo, a merchant and a hairdresser in Madrid, Spain. Penelope was one of three children, brother Eduardo an dsister M�nica. She was named in memory of a Joan Manuel Serrat song. 

Penelope attended High School, but didn't finish, choosing to concentrate more on ballet and jazz. She had ten years of classic ballet and three years of Spanish ballet. Her studies took her to four years of Theatre at Cristina Rota's school in New York.

She broke into acting in 1992. That year, she had starring roles in Jam�n Jam�n and Belle Epoque. Jam�n Jam�n (Ham Ham is the English title) cast her as the desperately poor daughter of a village prostitute, while Belle Epoque featured her as one of four lusty daughters of a wealthy man in pre-Franco Spain. Belle Epoque was a critical smash, winning nine Goya Awards, which is essentially the Spanish equivelant of the Oscars, and it did win an Oscar for Best Foreign Film. The success of this film thrust Cruz into the International spotlight, proving to be a huge stepping stone towards success.

It wasn't until 1998, however, that Cruz had her first starring role in an English language film. She played the Mexican-American love interest in Stephen Frears' The Hi-Lo Country. Cruz donated her entire salary from this film to Mother Theresa's charity. Later in the year, she had another English film in the romantic comedy Twice Upon a Yesterday.

She returned to Spain in 1999, to work again with Almodovar on Todo Sobre Mi Madre (All About My Mother), a critically acclaimed film that landed in Cannes that year. She also began work on her biggest project to date, All the Pretty Horses, which costars Matt Damon. The movie debuted in the year 2000.

Kim Kardashian

Dark haired beauty Kim Kardashian became an unexpected star after the first airing of her hit E! Entertainment reality series "Keeping up with the Kardashians." The show follows the exploits of the Kardashian/Jenner family, which includes father Bruce Jenner, momKris Jenner, Kim, Kourtney, Khloe and Rob Kardashian and Kendall and Kylie Jenner, in their Calabasas home. The shows fourth season concluded on February 21, 2010 delivering over 4.8 million total viewers marking E!'s most-watched telecast ever.

Cheryl Tweedy

A hella sexy beauty from the UK girl band Girls Aloud, Cheryl Tweedy became part of the group after winning on the reality show Popstars: The Rivals. Not only is she sexy and a talented singer, she can also breakdance like a superstar and can be seen doing so in will.i.am’s video “Heartbreaker.”

Angelina Jolie

Angelina Jolie could have 60 children tomorrow and it still wouldn’t stop her from being ultra sexy. As a matter of fact, her having all those children and embracing her pregnant body likely makes her even hotter than usual. Throw in Brad Pitt and how could you not consider Angelina Jolie one of the absolute sexiest women on earth? And if none of that satisfies you, take a look at her in her new movie Wanted, that ought to convince you.

Jessica Alba

Although she’s added “mom” to her list of accomplishments, Jessica Alba has the body and face that most women would kill for. After the paparazzi got pictures of Alba on all fours from the back, revealing what could only be described as the perfect , it was obvious that Jessica would remain in the hearts and minds of all of us as one the sexiest women in the world.