Liv Tyler
Liv Rundgren Tyler is an American actress and former model. She portrayed Arwen Undómiel in the Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Tyler began a career in modeling at age 14, she decided to focus on acting, made her film debut in Silent Fall. She went on to achieve critical recognition with roles in Heavy, Empire Records, That Thing You Do!, Stealing Beauty. She appeared in films such as Inventing the Abbotts, Cookie's Fortune, Onegin, Dr. T & the Women, One Night at McCool's. Following the success of Lord of the Rings, Tyler has appeared in a variety of roles, including the films Jersey Girl, Lonesome Jim, Reign Over Me, The Strangers, The Incredible Hulk, Space Station 76, Wildling. Outside of film, she played the part of Meg Abbott on HBO's The Leftovers, has since starred in the BBC series Gunpowder, the ITV/Hulu series Harlots. Tyler has served as a United Nations Children's Fund Goodwill Ambassador for the United States since 2003, as a spokesperson for Givenchy's line of perfume and cosmetics.
She is the daughter of Bebe Buell. She has three children. Tyler was born Liv Rundgren on July 1977 at Mount Sinai Hospital in East Harlem, New York, she is the only daughter of Bebe Buell, a model and former Playboy Playmate, Steven Tyler, the lead singer of Aerosmith. Her mother named her after Norwegian actress Liv Ullmann, after seeing Ullmann on the cover of the March 5, 1977 issue of TV Guide, her ancestry includes Italian, German and English. On the show Who Do You Think You Are?, Tyler discovered that her paternal great-great-great-great-grandfather was part African American. Tyler has three half-siblings: Mia Tyler, Chelsea Anna Tallarico, Taj Monroe Tallarico, her maternal grandmother, Dorothea Johnson, founded the Protocol School of Washington. From 1972 to 1979, Buell lived with rock musician Todd Rundgren. In 1976, Buell became unexpectedly pregnant from a brief relationship with Steven Tyler. Buell gave birth on July 1, 1977, naming the daughter Liv Rundgren and claiming that Todd Rundgren was the biological father.
By Rundgren and Buell had ended their romantic relationship, but Rundgren signed the birth certificate and acted as a father figure to Liv, including paying for her education. At age ten or eleven Liv met Steven Tyler and figured out he was her father; when she asked her mother, the secret was revealed. The truth about Tyler's paternity did not become public until 1991, when she changed her surname from Rundgren to Tyler, but kept the former as a middle name. Buell's stated reason for claiming that Rundgren was Liv's father was that Steven Tyler was too addicted to drugs at the time of Liv's birth. Since learning the truth about her paternity and Steven have developed a close relationship, they have worked together professionally, once when she appeared in Aerosmith's music video for "Crazy" in 1993, again when Aerosmith performed many of the songs in the film Armageddon, in which Tyler starred. Tyler maintains a close relationship with Rundgren. "I'm so grateful to him, I have so much love for him.
You know. And he's protective and strong."Tyler attended the Congressional Schools of Virginia, Breakwater School, Waynflete School in Portland, before returning to New York City with her mother at age 12. She went to York Preparatory in New York City for junior high and high school after her mother researched the school to accommodate Tyler's ADHD, she attended, for a time, the Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences in Santa Monica, California. She left to continue her acting career; when asked about the way she spent her youth, Tyler said: "For me, I didn't get much of a childhood in my teen years because I've been working since I was 14. But that kept me out of trouble; when everybody was doing acid and partying like crazy, I was at work on a movie in Tuscany... having my own fun, of course, but it was a different kind of thing. I have no regrets. I love the way my life has gone." Tyler received her first modeling job at 14 with the assistance of Paulina Porizkova, who took pictures of her that ended up in Interview magazine.
She starred in television commercials. She became bored with her modeling career less than a year after it started and decided to go into acting, although she never took acting lessons. Tyler first became known to television audiences when she starred alongside Alicia Silverstone in the music video for Aerosmith's 1993 song "Crazy". Tyler made her feature film debut in Silent Fall in 1994, where she played the elder sister of a boy with autism. In 1995, she starred in the comedy-drama Empire Records. Tyler has described Empire Records as "one of the best experiences" she has had. Soon after, she landed a supporting role in James Mangold's 1996 drama Heavy as Callie, a naive young waitress; the film received favorable reviews. The film received mixed reviews, but Tyler's performance was regarded favorably by the critics. Variety wrote: "Tyler is the perfect accomplice. At times sweetly awkward, at others composed and serene, the actress appears to respond effortlessly and
Guess (clothing)
Guess is an American clothing brand and retailer. In addition to clothing for both men and women, Guess markets other fashion accessories such as watches, jewelry and shoes. Guess began in 1981 as a book of styles by Georges Marciano. Maurice, Georges' brother, was first sought by Georges to help with product development. Armand and Paul Georges' brothers, were in charge of distribution and advertising, respectively. Armand ran distribution. Paul created all of it in-house. Georges designed the clothes, burnishing Guess' signature style: stonewashed denim, lighter in color and more form-fitting than the competitors; this initial chain of command led to the earlier break-up of the brothers' cooperation with Georges selling his share of the Guess company to his other brothers due to a disagreement in a choice of product distribution strategy. Georges wanted to keep Guess such as Bloomingdales; the remaining brothers in the disagreement wanted a larger distribution in KMart. Georges hated the idea. Different camps formed within the company, with each pledging allegiance to either Georges or the other three.
Georges gave in and sold his stake to his brothers in September, 1993 for $214.2 million. To finance the purchase, they had to borrow $210 million, $105 million was still outstanding three years later. To raise money, the brothers decided to take Guess public. Paul was the only remaining brother to lead Guess on his own; when Georges Marciano and his brothers were much younger, they opened a series of stores in France under the name MGA before launching Guess in America in 1981, after Georges Marciano first came to America in 1977. Their top seller: unisex jeans. Georges Marciano and his brothers moved to Los Angeles to see if they could pull off a similar feat, borrowing a mottled wash Georges had noticed on jeans in an Italian laundromat he had taken note of; the founder, Georges Marciano, his brothers moved to Los Angeles in 1981 and opened the first store in upscale Beverly Hills area. Armand and Paul joined his brother in California. Georges came up with the company name after driving past a McDonald's billboard asking drivers to "guess" which eatery had the biggest cheeseburger.
Maurice Marciano said, "Georges said, ` I think I found our name. Guess.' " Maurice Marciano tossed up ideas until he got exasperated, his brother, clarified himself. The Guess name was born. Guess, with its red triangle patch, stonewashed denim and signature zipper sliding up each ankle, was launched in late 1981. In just one year, sales through Bloomingdale's and Guess's Beverly Hills store hit $6 million. Guess soon began advertising, in 1985, introduced some black-and-white ads; the ads have won numerous Clio Awards. Their fashion models have included a number of supermodels, many of whom, such as Claudia Schiffer, Anna Nicole Smith, Eva Herzigova, Valeria Mazza, Kate Upton, Julia Lescova, Laetitia Casta, first achieved prominence via these ad campaigns. In the 1985 Robert Zemeckis movie, Back to the Future, Marty McFly wore distinctive Guess denim clothing, designed for the film. During the 1980s, Guess was one of the most popular brands of denim jeans; the company was one of the first companies to create designer jeans.
While the first jeans were for women, a men's line debuted in 1983. In 1984, Guess introduced its new line of watches known as "Guess", "Guess Steel", the "Guess Collection"; the watch line is still in existence today and has been joined by a number of other accessory sidelines. In 1984, they introduced a line of baby's clothes, called "Baby Guess"; the line is now incorporated with clothing for kids called GUESS kids. In the 1990s, Milica and Milos had a division called Guess Home, which featured youthful, upscale bedding collections as well as a number of towel collections. By the end of the decade, sales Guess discontinued their home division. In the 2000s, the controversy that surrounded the company during the nineties was forgotten; the clothing and accessories company has redesigned itself, offering several new aspects. Since Guess was looking to make its impact once again on the fashion market, the Marciano brothers called upon random celebrity Paris Hilton to feature in a new series of ads back in 2009.
On January 26, 2001, Guess Inc. restated previous results for fiscal 2000 after deciding to write down impaired inventory. In 2004, Guess celebrated the 20th anniversary of its watch collection, issuing a special-edition Guess watch; the accessories department was greatly expanded and several stores across the United States were redesigned. Guess created a lower priced collection sold through its outlet locations. Guess introduced its first brand extension, the up-scale female line of clothing and accessories, named Marciano. In 2005, Guess began marketing perfume; the company introduced Guess for Women in the spring of 2005. Guess introduced the Guess for Men line in the spring of 2006. Guess has continued its Guess Kids clothing line into the 2000s, in 2006, Guess began promoting the clothing line for girls and boys through its factory retail stores. Guess continued to be guided as co-chairmen and co-CEOs. Maurice Marciano has overseen the design and its sales growth, while Paul managed the image and ad
Matthew McConaughey
Matthew David McConaughey is an American actor and producer. He first gained notice for his breakout role in the coming-of-age comedy Dazed and Confused, before going on to appear in the film Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, A Time to Kill, the comedy film Larger than Life, Steven Spielberg's historical drama Amistad, the science fiction drama Contact, the comedy EDtv, the war film U-571. In the 2000s, McConaughey became best known for starring in romantic comedies, including The Wedding Planner, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Failure to Launch, Fool's Gold, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. Since 2011, he has preferred dramatic roles, including The Lincoln Lawyer, Killer Joe, The Paperboy, Magic Mike, The Wolf of Wall Street, Dallas Buyers Club, The Sea of Trees, Free State of Jones. McConaughey achieved critical success in 2013 and 2014. In 2013, McConaughey portrayed Ron Woodroof, a cowboy diagnosed with AIDS in the biographical film Dallas Buyers Club, which earned him the Academy Award, Critics' Choice Movie Award, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award, all for Best Actor, among other awards and nominations.
In 2014, he starred as Rust Cohle in the first season of HBO's crime drama anthology series True Detective, for which he won the Critics' Choice Television Award and TCA Award, was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, Screen Actors Guild Award. Matthew David McConaughey was born on November 1969, in Uvalde, Texas, his mother, Mary Kathleen "Kay"/"KMac", is a former kindergarten teacher and published author who taught McConaughey. She was from Trenton, New Jersey, his father, James Donald "Jim" McConaughey, was born in Mississippi in 1922 and raised in Louisiana, where he ran an oil pipe supply business. In 1953, Jim was drafted in the 27th round by the NFL's Green Bay Packers, he was released before the season began and never played an official league game in the NFL. McConaughey's mother and late father married each other three times, having divorced each other twice, he has two older brothers and Patrick. Michael, nicknamed "Rooster", is a self-made millionaire who stars in the CNBC docu-series West Texas Investors Club, as of 2018 stars in the A&E reality show Rooster & Butch with Wayne Gilliam.
McConaughey's ancestry includes English, Irish and Swedish, with some of his Irish roots being from the Cavan/Monaghan area. He is a relative of Confederate brigadier general Dandridge McRae, he had a Methodist upbringing. McConaughey moved to Texas, in 1980, where he attended Longview High School, he lived in Australia for a year, in Warnervale, New South Wales, as a Rotary exchange student in 1988. He attended the University of Texas at Austin, he began in the fall of 1989 and graduated in the spring of 1993 with a Bachelor of Science in Radio-Television-Film. His original plan had changed as he wanted to attend Southern Methodist University until one of his brothers told him that private school tuition would have been a burden on the family's finances, he had planned to attend law school after graduation from college, but he realized he was not interested in becoming a lawyer. McConaughey began working in television commercials, including one for the Austin, Texas daily newspaper, the Austin American-Statesman, credited as his first speaking role.
The line, "How else am I gonna keep up with my'Horns?" – a reference to his beloved Texas Longhorns sports teams – gave the local community a look at the young actor before he was cast in Richard Linklater's film Dazed and Confused. In 1992, he was cast as "Joe" in Trisha Yearwood's music video "Walkaway Joe". After some smaller roles in Angels in the Outfield, Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation, Boys on the Side, the television series Unsolved Mysteries, McConaughey's big break came as the lawyer Jake Brigance in the film A Time to Kill, based on the John Grisham novel of the same name. In the late 1990s, McConaughey was cast in leading roles in more movies, including Contact, The Newton Boys, EDtv and U-571. By the early 2000s, he was cast in romantic comedies, including The Wedding Planner and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, both of which were successful at the box office. During this period, he appeared as a firefighter in the low-budget film Tiptoes, with Kate Beckinsale, in Two for the Money as a protégé to Al Pacino's gambling mogul, in Frailty with Bill Paxton, who directed.
McConaughey starred in the 2005 feature film Sahara, along with Penélope Cruz. Prior to the release of the film, he promoted it by sailing down the Amazon River and trekking to Mali; that same year, McConaughey was named People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" for 2005. In 2006, he co-starred with Sarah Jessica Parker in the romantic comedy Failure to Launch and as Marshall head football coach Jack Lengyel in We Are Marshall. McConaughey provided voice work in an ad campaign for the Peace Corps in late 2006, he replaced Owen Wilson in Ben Stiller's Tropic Thunder after Wilson's suicide attempt. On January 21, 2008, McConaughey became the new spokesman for the national radio campaign, "Beef: It's What's for Dinner", replacing Sam Elliott. McConaughey recognized that his "lifestyle, living on the beach, running with my shirt off, doing romantic comedies" had caused him to be typecast for certain roles, he sought dramatic work with other themes, he said: In 2012, McConaughey starr
Richard Gere
Richard Tiffany Gere is an American actor. He began in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in Looking for Mr. Goodbar and a starring role in Days of Heaven, he came to prominence with his role in the film American Gigolo, which established him as a leading man and a sex symbol. He went on to star in many well-received films, including An Officer and a Gentleman, The Cotton Club, Pretty Woman, Primal Fear, Runaway Bride, I'm Not There and Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer. For portraying Billy Flynn in the Academy Award-winning musical Chicago, he won a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award as part of the cast. Gere was born in Pennsylvania, his mother, Doris Ann, was a housewife. His father, Homer George Gere, was an insurance agent for the Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company and had intended to become a minister. Gere is second child, his paternal great-grandfather had changed the spelling of the surname from "Geer". Both of his parents were Mayflower descendants.
In 1967, Gere graduated from North Syracuse Central High School, where he excelled at gymnastics and music, played the trumpet. He attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst on a gymnastics scholarship, majoring in philosophy. Gere first worked professionally at the Seattle Repertory Theatre and the Provincetown Playhouse on Cape Cod in 1969, where he starred in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, his first major acting role was in the original London stage version of Grease, in 1973. Gere was one of the first notable Hollywood actors to play a homosexual character, starring as a gay Holocaust victim in the 1979 Broadway production of Bent, he began appearing in Hollywood films in the mid-1970s. Cast in a starring role in The Lords of Flatbush, he was replaced after fighting with another star of the film, Sylvester Stallone, he played a small but memorable part in Looking for Mr. Goodbar and starred in director Terrence Malick's well-reviewed drama Days of Heaven; the crime drama American Gigolo boosted his profile and the romantic drama An Officer and a Gentleman cemented Gere's ascent to stardom, grossing $130 million and winning two Academy Awards out of six nominations.
For the remainder of the 1980s, Gere appeared in films of varying commercial reception. His career rebounded with the releases of Internal Affairs and Pretty Woman, the latter of which earned him his second Golden Globe Award nomination; the 1990s saw Gere star in successful films including Primal Fear and Runaway Bride. He took a leading role in the action thriller The Jackal, playing former IRA militant Declan Mulqueen. Gere was named People magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1999. Not long thereafter, all in the same year, he appeared in the hit films The Mothman Prophecies and the Academy Award-winning musical film adaptation Chicago, for which he won his first Golden Globe Award. Gere's ballroom dancing drama Shall We Dance? was a solid performer that grossed $170 million worldwide. His next film, the book-to-screen adaptation Bee Season, was a commercial failure. Gere went on to co-star with Jesse Eisenberg and Terrence Howard in The Hunting Party, a thriller in which he played a journalist in Bosnia.
He next appeared with Christian Bale, Heath Ledger and Cate Blanchett in Todd Haynes' semi-biographical film about Bob Dylan, I'm Not There. Gere co-starred with Diane Lane in the romantic drama Nights in Rodanthe; the film was panned by critics, but grossed over $84 million worldwide. The film is Gere's most recent to have been produced by a major film studio. Gere has expressed belief that his politics regarding Tibet and China, the latter an important financial resource for major studios, have made him persona non grata within Hollywood. Gere embraced his apparent exile from Hollywood, appearing in independent features that garnered some of the best reviews of his career, he was notably singled out for portraying businessman Robert Miller in Arbitrage, earning his fourth Golden Globe Award nomination. Among many positive reviews, Peter Travers of Rolling Stone cited Gere's performance as "too good to ignore" and "an implosive tour de force". Lou Lumenick of the New York Post further wrote "Richard Gere gives the best performance of his career".
In 2012, Gere received the Golden Starfish Award for Lifetime Achievement from the Hamptons International Film Festival and the Career Achievement Award from the Hollywood Film Awards. He had earlier received an award from the 34th Cairo International Film Festival in December 2010. Gere made a notable departure from his traditional screen persona with Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer; the political drama saw him portray Norman Oppenheimer, a "small time Jewish'fixer
Johnny Depp
John Christopher Depp II is an American actor and musician. He has been nominated for ten Golden Globe Awards, winning one for Best Actor for his performance of the title role in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and has been nominated for three Academy Awards for Best Actor, among other accolades. Depp rose to prominence on the 1980s television series 21 Jump Street, he is regarded as one of the world's biggest film stars. He has gained praise from reviewers for his portrayals of screenwriter-director Ed Wood in Ed Wood, undercover FBI agent Joseph D. Pistone in Donnie Brasco, author J. M. Barrie in Finding Neverland, Boston gangster Whitey Bulger in Black Mass. Depp is the third highest-grossing actor worldwide, as films featuring Depp have grossed over US$3.7 billion at the United States box office and over US$10 billion worldwide. He has been listed in the 2012 Guinness World Records as the world's highest-paid actor, with earnings of US$75 million, his most commercially successful films are the Pirates of the Caribbean series, which grossed US$4.5 billion, the Fantastic Beasts film series, which grossed US$1.3 billion, Alice in Wonderland, which grossed US$1 billion and the Chocolate Factory, which grossed US$474 million, The Tourist, which grossed US$278 million.
Depp had a supporting role in Oliver Stone's 1986 Vietnam War film Platoon and played the title character in the 1990 romantic dark fantasy Edward Scissorhands. He found box office success in the adventure film Sleepy Hollow, the swashbuckler film series Pirates of the Caribbean, the fantasy films Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderland, the animated comedy western Rango, most Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald. Depp has collaborated on nine films with director and friend Tim Burton. Depp was inducted as a Disney Legend in 2015, he has performed in numerous musical groups, including forming the rock supergroup Hollywood Vampires along with Alice Cooper and Joe Perry. Depp was born in Owensboro, the youngest of four children of Betty Sue Palmer, a waitress, John Christopher Depp, a civil engineer. Depp is of English ancestry, with some Dutch and French, he is descended from a French Huguenot immigrant and from colonial freedom fighter Elizabeth Key Grinstead, daughter of a British nobleman and an indentured African woman.
Depp moved during his childhood. He and his siblings lived in more than 20 different places settling in Miramar, Florida in 1970. Depp's parents divorced in 1978 when he was 15, his mother married Robert Palmer, whom Depp has called "an inspiration to me."With the gift of a guitar from his mother when he was 12, Depp began playing in various garage bands. A year after his parents' divorce, he dropped out of Miramar High School to become a rock musician, he attempted to go back to school two weeks but the principal told him to follow his dream of being a musician. He played with a band that enjoyed modest local success; the Kids set out together for Los Angeles in pursuit of a record deal, changing their name to Six Gun Method, but the group split up before signing a record deal. Depp subsequently collaborated with the band Rock City Angels and co-wrote their song "Mary", which appeared on Rock City Angels' debut Geffen Records album Young Man's Blues. On December 20, 1983, Depp married Lori Anne Allison, the sister of his band's bass player and singer.
During their marriage she worked as a makeup artist while he worked a variety of odd jobs, including a telemarketer for pens. His wife introduced him to actor Nicolas Cage. Depp and Allison divorced in 1985. Depp's first film role was in the horror film A Nightmare on Elm Street, in which he played the boyfriend of heroine Nancy Thompson and one of Freddy Krueger's victims. After a starring role in the comedy Private Resort, Depp was cast in the lead role of the skating drama Thrashin' by the film's director, but the decision was overridden by its producer. Instead, Depp appeared in a minor supporting role as a Vietnamese-speaking private in Oliver Stone's Vietnam War drama Platoon. Depp became a popular teen idol during the late 1980s, when he starred as a police officer who goes on an undercover operation in a high school in the Fox television series 21 Jump Street, which premiered in 1987, he accepted this role to work with actor Frederic Forrest. Despite his success, Depp felt that the series "forced into the role of product."
He subsequently decided to appear only in films. In 1990, Depp played the title character in Tim Burton's film Edward Scissorhands, in which he starred opposite Dianne Wiest and Winona Ryder; the film was a critical and commercial success that established him as a leading Hollywood actor and began his long association with Burton. Producer Scott Rudin has stated that "basically Johnny Depp is playing Tim Burton in all his movies". In his introduction to Burton on Burton, a book of interviews with the director, Depp called Burton "... a brother, a friend... and brave soul". Depp's first film release in 1990 was a musical comedy set in the 1950s. Although it was not a box office success upon its initial release, over the years it has gained cult classic status. Depp had no film releases in the following two years, with the exception of a brief cameo in Freddy's Dead: The Final Nightmare, the sixth install
Victoria's Secret
Victoria's Secret is an American designer and marketer of women's lingerie and beauty products. Founded in 1977 as a response to packaged underwear, which the company's founder considered to be "ugly, floral-print nylon nightgowns", the company is now the largest American retailer of women's lingerie. Victoria's Secret was founded by Roy Raymond, his wife Gaye Raymond, in San Francisco, California, on June 12, 1977. Eight years prior to founding Victoria's Secret, in the late 1960s, Raymond was embarrassed when purchasing lingerie for his wife at a department store. Newsweek reported him looking back on the incident from the vantage of 1981: "When I tried to buy lingerie for my wife," he recalls, "I was faced with racks of terry-cloth robes and ugly floral-print nylon nightgowns, I always had the feeling the department store saleswomen thought I was an unwelcome intruder." Raymond spent the next eight years studying the lingerie market. At the time when Raymond founded Victoria's Secret, most women in America purchased "dowdy", "pragmatic", "foundation garments" by Fruit of the Loom and Jockey in packs of three from department stores and saved "fancier items" for "special occasions" like honeymoons.
"Lacy thongs and padded push-up bras" were niche products during this period found "alongside feathered boas and provocative pirate costumes at Frederick's of Hollywood" outside of the mainstream product offerings available at department stores. In 1977, Raymond borrowed $40,000 from his parents and $40,000 from a bank to establish Victoria's Secret: a store in which men could feel comfortable buying lingerie; the company's first store was located in Stanford Shopping Center in California. Raymond picked the name "Victoria" after Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom to associate with the refinement of the Victorian era; the "Secret" was. The "angels" comes from his wife being in Pi Beta Phi, where their mascot was an angel. Victoria's Secret grossed $500,000 in its first year of business, enough to finance the expansion from a headquarters and warehouse to four new store locations and a mail-order operation. By 1982, the fourth store was added at 395 Sutter Street. Victoria's Secret stayed at that location until 1990, when it moved to the larger Powell Street frontage of the Westin St. Francis.
In April 1982, Raymond sent out his 12th catalog. Catalog sales accounted for 55% of the company's $7 million annual sales in 1982; the Victoria's Secret stores at this time were "a niche player" in the underwear market. The business was described as "more burlesque than Main Street." In 1982, Victoria's Secret had grown to five stores, a 40-page catalog, was grossing $6 million annually. Raymond sold Victoria's Secret Inc. to Leslie Wexner, creator of Limited Stores Inc of Columbus, for $1 million. In 1983, Wexner revamped, he discarded the money-losing model of selling lingerie to male customers and replaced it with one that focused on female customers. Victoria's Secret transformed from "more burlesque than Main Street" to a mainstay that sold broadly accepted underwear; the "new colors and styles that promised sexiness packaged in a tasteful, glamorous way and with the snob appeal of European luxury" meant to appeal to female buyers. To further this image, the Victoria's Secret catalog continued the practice that Raymond began: listing the company's headquarters on catalogs at a fake London address, with the real headquarters in Columbus, Ohio.
The stores were redesigned to evoke 19th century England. Howard Gross took over as president from his position as vice-president in 1985. In October of that year, the Los Angeles Times reported that Victoria's Secret was stealing market share from department stores; the New York Times reported on Victoria's Secret's rapid expansion from four stores in 1982 to 100 in 1986, analysts' expectations that it could expand to 400 by 1988. In 1987, Victoria's Secret was among the "best-selling catalogs". In 1990, analysts estimated that sales had quadrupled in four years, making it one of the fastest growing mail-order businesses; the New York Times described it as a "highly visible leader", saying it used "unabashedly sexy high-fashion photography to sell middle-priced underwear." Victoria's Secret released their own line of fragrances in 1992. By the early 1990s, Victoria's Secret faced a gap in management that led the company to be "plagued by persistent quality problems". Howard Gross, who had grown the company since Wexner's 1982 purchase, was moved to the poorly performing L Brands subsidiary Limited Stores.
Business Week reported that "both divisions have suffered". Grace Nichols, who became President and CEO beginning in 1992, worked to resolve the quality problems. Victoria's Secret introduced the Miracle Bra selling two million within the first year, but faced competition from Sara Lee's WonderBra a year later; the company responded with a TV campaign. By 1998, Victoria's Secret's market share of the intimate apparel market was 14 percent; that year Victoria's Secret entered the $3.5 billion cosmetic market. In 1999, the company aimed to increase its coverage with the Body by Victoria brand. In May 2000, Wexner installed Sharen Jester Turney of Neiman Marcus Direct, as the new chief executive of Victoria's Secret Direct to turn around catalog sales that were lagging behind other divisions. Forbes reported Turney stating, as she flipped through a Victoria's Secret catalog, "We need to quit focusing on all that cleavage." In 2000, Turney
True Blue (Madonna album)
True Blue is the third studio album by American singer and songwriter Madonna, released on June 30, 1986, by Sire Records. She co-produced the entire album with Stephen Bray and Patrick Leonard. True Blue deals with her visions of love, dreams as well as disappointments, was inspired by her husband Sean Penn, to whom Madonna dedicated the album. Musically, the songs on the album took a different direction from her previous endeavours, incorporating classical music in order to engage an older audience, skeptical of her music; the album features instrumentation from acoustic guitars, drums and Cuban musical instruments. The topic for the songs range from love, in the case of "Papa Don't Preach", social issues like teenage pregnancy. After its release, True Blue received critical acclaim, with music critics who complimented the album as the archetype of the late 1980s and early 1990s pop albums, they praised the fact that Madonna's voice sounded stronger than it did on her previous efforts, while commending Madonna's skills as a singer and entertainer.
True Blue was an immediate global success, reaching number one in record-breaking 28 countries across the world, including Australia, France, the United Kingdom and the United States. It spent 34 consecutive weeks at the top of the European Top 100 Albums chart, longer than any other album in history, it became the world's top-selling album of 1986, as well as the best-selling album of the 1980s by a female artist. With estimated sales of over 25 million copies worldwide, True Blue remains one of the best-selling albums of all time. All five singles released from the album reached the top five on the Billboard Hot 100, with "Live to Tell", "Papa Don't Preach", "Open Your Heart" peaking at number one; the album was promoted on Madonna's second concert tour, the Who's That Girl World Tour, which visited cities of North America and Asia in 1987. True Blue is credited as being the album which established Madonna's position as the biggest female artist of the 1980s, rivaling male musicians like Michael Jackson and Prince.
The album's singles and their accompanying music videos have sparked debates among scholars and social groups. She became the first female artist to receive the Video Vanguard Award at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards in recognition of her impact on popular culture; the album gave her first appearance on the Guinness Book of World Records. On March 6, 1986, at the Kensington Roof Gardens in London, during a press conference for Shanghai Surprise, Madonna confirmed that she was working on a new album named Live to Tell, which would be changed to True Blue, she collaborated with Stephen Bray, who had worked on the preceding Like a Virgin, with The Virgin Tour's musical director Patrick Leonard. "I was down in the basement with these idiot muso friends, working on a tune," Leonard recalled in 1992. "She liked it. And that ended up being one of the tracks on True Blue." Madonna wrote or co-wrote every song, although her involvement on ones such as "Papa Don't Preach" and "Open Your Heart" was limited to adding lyrics.
She was credited with co-producing every track. The album was recorded from December 1985 to April 1986, during the first year of Madonna's marriage to American actor Sean Penn, she dedicated the album to Penn, "The coolest guy in the universe." By experimenting with her image, adopting a more'traditional' look, incorporating classical music in her songs, Madonna tried to appeal to an older audience, sceptical of her music. Deemed Madonna's most girlish album yet, True Blue deals with Madonna's view of love and dreams as well as disappointments. According to Madonna, the title was from a favorite expression of her husband Penn and his pure vision of love; the album was her "unabashed valentine" for Penn. Most of its songs reflect this idea; the first track, "Papa Don't Preach", was written by Brian Elliot, who described it as "a love song, maybe framed a little bit differently". The song is based on teenage gossip Elliot heard outside his studio, which had a large front window that doubled as a mirror where schoolgirls from the North Hollywood High School in Los Angeles stopped to fix their hair and chat."Open Your Heart" was the first cut recorded for the album, as early as December 1985 and made it to the final released tracklist.
The third track "White Heat" was dedicated to actor James Cagney and named after the film of the same name from 1949. Two quotes from the original soundtrack were included in the song; the fourth track "Live to Tell" was written by Patrick Leonard for the soundtrack of Paramount's romantic drama film Fire with Fire but, after the company declined it, Leonard showed the song to Madonna. She decided to use it. Madonna made a demo of the song. True Blue was the first album where Madonna included Spanish themes as evident in the song "La Isla Bonita"; the song was written for Michael Jackson's Bad album. While working with Leonard, Madonna accepted it in Jackson's place and re-wrote the lyrics, earning herself a co-writing credit. Madonna described it as her tribute to the "beauty and mystery of Latin American people". Intended as the first single, "Love Makes the World Go Round" – first performed at Live Aid a year earlier, in July 1985 – closes the album; the song recalled the antiwar music of the sixties.
Musically True Blue was a different direction for Madonna. Her previous efforts had her singing in a high pi
