1.
Laura Bush
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Laura Lane Welch Bush is the wife of the 43rd President of the United States, George W. Bush, and was the First Lady from 2001 to 2009. Bush graduated from Southern Methodist University in 1968 with a degree in education. After attaining her masters degree in science at the University of Texas at Austin. Bush met her husband, George W. Bush, in 1977. The couple had twin daughters in 1981, Bushs political involvement began during her marriage. She campaigned with her husband during his unsuccessful 1978 run for the United States Congress, as First Lady of Texas, Bush implemented many initiatives focused on health, education, and literacy. She became First Lady after her husband was inaugurated as president on January 20,2001, polled by The Gallup Organization as one of the most popular First Ladies, Bush was involved in national and global concerns during her tenure. She continued to advance her trademark interests of education and literacy by establishing the semi-annual National Book Festival in 2001 and she also advanced womens causes through The Heart Truth and Susan G. Komen for the Cure organizations. She represented the United States during her trips, which tended to focus on HIV/AIDS. Laura Lane Welch was born on November 4,1946 in Midland, Texas, Bush is of English, French, and Swiss ancestry. Her father was a builder and later successful real estate developer. Early on, her parents encouraged her to read, leading to what would become her love of reading and she said, I learned at home from my mother. When I was a girl, my mother would read stories to me. I have loved books and going to the library ever since, in the summer, I liked to spend afternoons reading in the library. I enjoyed the Little House on the Prairie and Little Women books, reading gives you enjoyment throughout your life. Bush has also credited her second grade teacher, Charlene Gnagy, on the night of November 6,1963, Laura Welch ran a stop sign and struck another car, resulting in the death of its driver. The victim was her friend and classmate Michael Dutton Douglas. By some accounts, Douglas had been Bushs boyfriend at one time, Bush and her passenger, both 17, were treated for minor injuries
2.
Nancy Reagan
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Nancy Davis Reagan was an American actress, and the wife of the 40th President of the United States, Ronald Reagan. She served as the First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989 and she was born in New York City. After her parents separated, she lived in Maryland with an aunt and she moved to Chicago when her mother remarried in 1929, and later took the name Davis from her stepfather. As Nancy Davis, she was a Hollywood actress in the 1940s and 1950s, Night into Morning, and Donovans Brain. In 1952, she married Ronald Reagan, who was president of the Screen Actors Guild. Reagan was the First Lady of California when her husband was Governor from 1967 to 1975, Reagan became First Lady of the United States in January 1981, following her husbands victory in the 1980 presidential election. She was criticized early in his first term, largely due to her decision to replace the White House china and she aimed to restore a Kennedy-esque glamour to the White House following years of lax formality, and her interest in high-end fashion garnered much attention as well as criticism. She championed recreational drug prevention causes by founding the Just Say No drug awareness campaign and she had a strong influence on her husband, and played a role in a few of his personnel and diplomatic decisions. The Reagans retired to their home in Bel Air, Los Angeles, Reagan devoted most of her time to caring for her husband, who was diagnosed with Alzheimers disease in 1994, until his death at the age of 93 on June 5,2004. Reagan remained active within the Reagan Library and in politics, particularly in support of stem cell research. Anne Frances Robbins was born on July 6,1921, at Sloane Hospital for Women and she was the only child of Kenneth Seymour Robbins, a farmer turned car salesman who had been born into a once-prosperous family, and his actress wife, radio actress Edith Prescott Luckett. Her godmother was silent-film-star Alla Nazimova, from birth, she was commonly called Nancy. She lived her first two years in Flushing, Queens, in New York City, in a house on Roosevelt Avenue between 149th and 150th Streets. Her parents separated soon after her birth and were divorced in 1928, after their separation, her mother traveled the country to pursue acting jobs and Reagan was raised in Bethesda, Maryland, for six years by her aunt, Virginia Luckett, and uncle, Audley Gailbraith. Nancy later described longing for her mother during those years, My favorite times were when Mother had a job in New York, in 1929, her mother married Loyal Edward Davis, a prominent conservative neurosurgeon who moved the family to Chicago. Nancy and her stepfather got along well, she later wrote that he was a man of great integrity who exemplified old-fashioned values. He formally adopted her in 1935, and she would refer to him as her father. At the time of the adoption, her name was changed to Nancy Davis
3.
Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
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Designed by Hugh Stubbins and Associates, the library is in Simi Valley, California, about 40 miles northwest of Downtown Los Angeles and 15 miles west of Chatsworth. The Reagan Library is the largest of the 14 federally operated presidential libraries, the street address,40 Presidential Drive, is numbered in honor of Reagans place as the 40th President. It was initially planned to build the Reagan Library at Stanford University, and those plans were canceled in 1987, and the freestanding site in Simi Valley was chosen the same year. Construction of the began in 1988, and the center was dedicated on November 4,1991. Six First Ladies also attended, Lady Bird Johnson, Pat Nixon, Betty Ford, Rosalynn Carter, Nancy Reagan, Johnson, as well as descendants of Franklin D. Roosevelt. When the Reagan Library opened, it was the largest of the presidential libraries and it held that title until the dedication of the William J. Clinton Presidential Center and Park in Little Rock, Arkansas, on November 18,2004. Like all presidential libraries since that of Franklin D. Roosevelt, major donors included Walter Annenberg, Lew Wasserman, Lodwrick Cook, Joe Albritton, Rupert Murdoch, Richard Sills, and John P. McGovern. Holdings include 50 million pages of documents, over 1.6 million photographs. The library also houses personal papers collections including documents from Reagans eight years as Governor of California, the museum features continually changing temporary exhibits and a permanent exhibit covering President Reagans life. This exhibit begins during Reagans childhood in Dixon, Illinois, and follows his life through his career and military service, marriage to Nancy Davis Reagan. The Citizen Governor gallery shows footage of Reagans 1964 A Time for Choosing speech, the gallery includes a 1965 Ford Mustang used by Reagan during his first gubernatorial campaign, as well as the desk he used as governor. His 1980 and 1984 presidential campaigns are also highlighted, as well as his inauguration suit, News footage of the 1981 assassination attempt on his life is shown, and information about the proposed Strategic Defense Initiative is included. A full-scale replica of the Oval Office—a feature of most presidential libraries—is a prominent feature of this museum as well, other parts of the exhibit focus on Reagans ranch, the presidential retreat Camp David, life in the White House, and First Lady Nancy Reagan. The hilltop grounds provide expansive views of the area, a re-creation of a portion of the White House Lawn, an F-14 Tomcat is also located on the grounds. A near-universal security breakdown was also blamed, leaving the artifacts vulnerable to theft, many of the nations presidential libraries claim to be understaffed and underfunded. NARA labeled the Reagan Library as having the most serious problems with its inventory, in an audit, U. S. Archivist Allen Weinstein blamed the librarys poor inventory software for the mishap. The library has undertaken a massive project that will take years to complete. A90, 000-square-foot exhibit hangar serves as the setting for the permanent display of the Boeing 707 aircraft utilized as Air Force One during Reagans administration, in 1990, it became a backup aircraft after the Boeing 747s entered into service and was retired in 2001
4.
Simi Valley, California
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The city of Simi Valley, in the eponymous valley, is in the southeast corner of Ventura County, California, United States. 30 miles from Downtown Los Angeles, Simi Valley is part of the Greater Los Angeles Area, the city sits next to Thousand Oaks, Moorpark, and Los Angeles. The citys 2014 population has been estimated at 126,871, the city of Simi Valley is surrounded by the Santa Susana Mountain range and the Simi Hills, west of the San Fernando Valley, and northeast of the Conejo Valley. It is largely a bedroom community, feeding the cities in the Los Angeles area and the San Fernando Valley to the east. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library, where the president was buried in 2004, is in Simi Valley. Simi Valley has been ranked twice as the 18th most conservative city in the United States, once by The Bay Area Center For Voting Research, the Reagan Library has hosted Republican primary debates, last in 2012, and the first primary debates in 2016. A study done by the University of Vermont ranked Simi Valley as the fifth-happiest city in the United States, according to crime statistics by the FBI in 2013, Simi Valley is the seventh-safest city in the U. S. with a population of 100,000 or more. The U. S. Census Bureau of 2012 reported a household income of $87,894, which is higher than the California median of $70,231. Simi Valley was once inhabited by the Chumash people, who also settled much of the region from the Salinas Valley to the Santa Monica Mountains, with their presence dating back 10, around 5,000 years ago these tribes began processing acorns, and harvesting local marshland plants. Roughly 2,000 years later, as hunting and fishing techniques improved, shortly after this sharp increase a precious stone money system arose, increasing the viability of the region by offsetting fluctuations in available resources relating to climate changes. The native people who inhabited Simi Valley spoke a dialect of the Chumash language. Simi Valleys name derived from the Chumash word Shimiyi, which refers to the stringy, the name could have derived from strands of mist from coastal fog that move into the Oxnard Plain and wind their way up the Calleguas Creek and the Arroyo Las Posas into Simi Valley. The origin of the name was preserved because of the work of the anthropologist John P. Harrington, whose brother, the word Simiji was constructed by whites to the word Simi. There are other explanations about the name Simi, but this one was given to me by my brother who worked over 40 years for the Smithsonian Institution and it seems most plausible to me. Three Chumash settlements existed in Simi Valley during the Mission period in the late 18th and early 19th century, Shimiyi, Ta’apu, the cave is located on private land owned by Boeing, formerly operated by Rocketdyne for testing rocket engines and nuclear research. Other areas containing Chumash Native American pictographs in the Simi Hills are for instance by Lake Manor, the first Europeans to visit Simi Valley were members of the Spanish Portolà expedition, the first European land entry and exploration of the present-day state of California. The expedition traversed the valley on January 13–14,1770, traveling from Conejo Valley to San Fernando Valley and they camped near a native village in the valley on the 14th. Rancho Simi was the earliest Spanish colonial land grant within Ventura, the name derives from Shimiji, the name of the Chumash Native American village here before the Spanish
5.
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
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The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute is the third largest Institute of the National Institutes of Health, located in Bethesda, Maryland, United States. It is tasked with allocating about $3, nHLBIs Director is Gary H. Gibbons. Research is related to the causes, prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of heart, blood vessel, lung, and blood diseases and it also supports research on clinical use of blood and all aspects of the management of blood resources. For health professionals and the public, the NHLBI conducts educational activities, including development and dissemination of materials in the above areas, the NHLBI coordinates relevant activities in the above areas, including the related causes of stroke, with other research institutes and federal health programs. There are 60 investigators, each of whom runs their own research program and they are supported by a group of core services that implement state-of-the-art techniques available to all NHLBI investigators. The NHLBI was home to Marshall Nirenberg, Nobel laureate for his part in the discovery of the genetic code, the DIR also has a large training component, with opportunities for undergraduate, graduate, and medical students as well as post-doctoral training. The NHLBI sponsors National Wear Red Day and the Heart Truth campaign, a national awareness campaign for women about heart disease
6.
Logo
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A logo is a graphic mark, emblem, or symbol commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations, and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition. There are purely graphic emblems, symbols, icons and logos, in the days of hot metal typesetting, a logotype was one word cast as a single piece of type. By extension, the term was used for a uniquely set. At the level of communication and in common usage, a companys logo is today often synonymous with its trademark or brand. The arts were expanding in purpose—from expression and decoration of an artistic, storytelling nature, to a differentiation of brands, consultancies and trades-groups in the commercial arts were growing and organizing, by 1890, the US had 700 lithographic printing firms employing more than 8,000 people. Artistic credit tended to be assigned to the company, as opposed to the individual artists who usually performed less important jobs. Playful children’s books, authoritative newspapers, and conversational periodicals developed their own visual and editorial styles for unique, as printing costs decreased, literacy rates increased, and visual styles changed, the Victorian decorative arts led to an expansion of typographic styles and methods of representing businesses. A renewal of interest in craftsmanship and quality also provided the artists and companies with a greater interest in credit, leading to the creation of unique logos and marks. By the 1950s, Modernism had shed its roots as an artistic movement in Europe to become an international, commercialized movement with adherents in the United States. Modernist-inspired logos proved successful in the era of mass visual communication ushered in by television, improvements in printing technology, the current era of logo design began in the 1870s with the first abstract logo, the Bass red triangle. As of 2014, many corporations, products, brands, services, agencies, as a result, only a few of the thousands of ideograms in circulation are recognizable without a name. Ideograms and symbols may be effective than written names, especially for logos translated into many alphabets in increasingly globalized markets. For instance, a written in Arabic script might have little resonance in most European markets. By contrast, ideograms keep the general nature of a product in both markets. In non-profit areas, the Red Cross exemplifies a well-known emblem that does not need an accompanying name, the red cross and red crescent are among the best-recognized symbols in the world. National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and their Federation as well as the International Committee of the Red Cross include these symbols in their logos, branding can aim to facilitate cross-language marketing. Consumers and potential consumers can identify the Coca-Cola name written in different alphabets because of the standard color, the text was written in Spencerian Script, which was a popular writing style when the Coca Cola Logo was being designed. Since a logo is the visual entity signifying an organization, logo design is an important area of graphic design, a logo is the central element of a complex identification system that must be functionally extended to all communications of an organization
7.
National Wear Red Day
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National Wear Red Day is a day in February when many people wear red to show their support for the awareness of heart disease. It occurs in America on the first Friday in February each year, until 2017, National Wear Red Day occurred in the United Kingdom every year on February 26 and was run by the British Heart Foundation. February is National Heart Month for the BHF and the National Wear Red Day is a campaign at the centre of raising awareness of heart disease in the UK. It was created by the BHF and has gained interest year on year, following public feedback, in late 2016 the BHF announced that 2017s events, using the hashtag #WearItBeatIt, would instead take place on June 9 rather than in February. British Heart Foundation NIH Wear Red Day page British Wear Red Day - #WearItBeatIt American Heart Association Wear Red Day
8.
Federal government of the United States
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The Federal Government of the United States is the national government of the United States, a republic in North America, composed of 50 states, one district, Washington, D. C. and several territories. The federal government is composed of three branches, legislative, executive, and judicial, whose powers are vested by the U. S. Constitution in the Congress, the President, and the courts, including the Supreme Court. The powers and duties of these branches are defined by acts of Congress. The full name of the republic is United States of America, no other name appears in the Constitution, and this is the name that appears on money, in treaties, and in legal cases to which it is a party. The terms Government of the United States of America or United States Government are often used in documents to represent the federal government as distinct from the states collectively. In casual conversation or writing, the term Federal Government is often used, the terms Federal and National in government agency or program names generally indicate affiliation with the federal government. Because the seat of government is in Washington, D. C, Washington is commonly used as a metonym for the federal government. The outline of the government of the United States is laid out in the Constitution, the government was formed in 1789, making the United States one of the worlds first, if not the first, modern national constitutional republics. The United States government is based on the principles of federalism and republicanism, some make the case for expansive federal powers while others argue for a more limited role for the central government in relation to individuals, the states or other recognized entities. For example, while the legislative has the power to create law, the President nominates judges to the nations highest judiciary authority, but those nominees must be approved by Congress. The Supreme Court, in its turn, has the power to invalidate as unconstitutional any law passed by the Congress and these and other examples are examined in more detail in the text below. The United States Congress is the branch of the federal government. It is bicameral, comprising the House of Representatives and the Senate, the House currently consists of 435 voting members, each of whom represents a congressional district. The number of each state has in the House is based on each states population as determined in the most recent United States Census. All 435 representatives serve a two-year term, each state receives a minimum of one representative in the House. There is no limit on the number of terms a representative may serve, in addition to the 435 voting members, there are six non-voting members, consisting of five delegates and one resident commissioner. In contrast, the Senate is made up of two senators from each state, regardless of population, there are currently 100 senators, who each serve six-year terms
9.
Vera Wang
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Vera Ellen Wang is an American fashion designer based in New York City. Vera Ellen Wang was born and raised in New York City and her parents were born in China, and came to the United States in the mid-1940s. Her mother, Florence Wu, worked as a translator for the United Nations, while her father, Cheng Ching Wang and her maternal grandfather is Fengtian clique warlord Wu Junsheng, who was killed by the Empire of Japan in the Huanggutun incident in 1928. Wang has one brother, Kenneth. Wang graduated from The Chapin School in 1967, attended the University of Paris, Wang began figure skating at the age of eight. While in high school, she trained with pairs partner James Stuart and she was featured in Sports Illustrateds Faces in the Crowd in the January 9,1968 issue. When she failed to make the US Olympics team, she entered the fashion industry, Wang continues to enjoy skating, saying, Skating is multidimensional. Wang was hired to be an editor at Vogue immediately upon graduation from Sarah Lawrence and she stayed at Vogue for 17 years, leaving in 1987 to join Ralph Lauren, who she worked for 2 years. At 40, she resigned and became an independent bridal wear designer, Wangs evening wear has also been worn by Michelle Obama. She has designed costumes for figure skaters, including Nancy Kerrigan, silver medalist Nancy Kerrigan wore a unique design of Veras for the 1994 Olympics. She designed the uniforms worn by the Philadelphia Eagles Cheerleaders, on October 23,2001, her book, Vera Wang on Weddings, was released. In June 2005, she won the CFDA Womenswear Designer of the Year, on May 27,2006, Wang was awarded the André Leon Talley Lifetime Achievement Award from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Wang was inducted into the U. S, figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2009 for her contribution to the sport as a costume designer. She has also designed a tux for William Burge, Vera was inspired by and worked closely with Elma Lunak. Wangs evening wear has been worn by stars at red carpet events, including Viola Davis at the 2012 Academy Awards. She was honored with the Council of Fashion Designers of America Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013, in 2001, Wang launched her first fragrance and published a highly anticipated wedding guide. Over the years her business has continued to grow and it now includes lingerie, jewelry and products for the home. In 2006, Wang reached a deal with Kohls, a chain of department stores, in 1990, she opened her own design salon in the Carlyle Hotel in New York City that features her trademark bridal gowns
10.
Oscar de la Renta
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Óscar Arístides Renta Fiallo, known professionally as Oscar de la Renta, was a Dominican-American fashion designer. Born in Santo Domingo, he was trained by Cristóbal Balenciaga, De la Renta became internationally known in the 1960s as one of the couturiers who dressed Jacqueline Kennedy. An award-winning designer, he worked for Lanvin and Balmain and his eponymous fashion house continues to dress leading figures, from film stars to royalty. The Fiallos, De la Rentas mothers family, were so embedded in Dominican society that they could count poets, scholars and their origin in the island can be traced back to the foundation of San Carlos de Tenerife in 1685 by Canarian settlers. A maternal uncle, Luis Arístides Fiallo Cabral, was a doctor, lawyer, and architect, another maternal uncle, Fabio Fiallo, was a diplomat and poet. On his fathers side, De la Rentas great-great grandfather José Ortíz de la Renta, was the first mayor of Ponce, Puerto Rico elected by popular vote. He had the distinction of serving as mayor eight times, the most ever — 1812–1814, 1815–1816, 1820–1821, 1823–1826, 1837–1838, 1842–1843, and 1843–1844, De la Renta was raised Catholic in a protective family. His mother died from complications of multiple sclerosis when he was 18, at the age of 18, he went to study painting in Spain at the Academy of San Fernando in Madrid. For extra money, he drew clothes for newspapers and fashion houses. After Francesca Lodge, the wife of John Davis Lodge, the U. S. Ambassador to Spain, saw some of his dress sketches, the dress appeared on the cover of Life magazine that fall. He considered Cristóbal Balenciaga his mentor, in 1961, de la Renta left Spain to join Antonio del Castillo as a couture assistant at Lanvin in Paris. In 1963, de la Renta turned to Diana Vreeland, the editor-in-chief of Vogue for advice, saying that what he wanted was to get into ready to wear. Vreeland replied, Then go to Arden because you make your reputation faster. She is not a designer, so she will promote you, at the other place, you will always be eclipsed by the name of Dior. De la Renta proceeded to work for Arden for two years in New York City before he went to work for Jane Derby, an American fashion house, when Derby died in August 1965, de la Renta took over the label. From 1993 to 2002, de la Renta designed the haute couture collection for the house of Balmain, in 2006, the Oscar de la Renta label diversified into bridal wear. De la Rentas designs have been worn by a group of distinguished women. De la Rentas brand saw international wholesale growth beginning in 2003, under the direction of CEO Alex Bolen, De la Rentas ready-to-wear designs are available in his retail stores, online, and with select wholesale partners worldwide
11.
Carmen Marc Valvo
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Carmen Marc Valvo is an American designer who specializes in evening-wear and high-end cocktail dresses for a line of the same name, which was founded in 1989. He also has a collection, a lingerie collection, a swimsuit-line- a best-seller at Victoria’s Secret. He most recently launched a collection of evening bags and an exclusive Bridal Collection, Valvo is best known for his tailored fit and form-fitting dresses. He once admitted that he didn’t realize being a designer, was a real profession, valvo’s father was an anesthesiologist and his mother a nurse, and Valvo envisioned a career as a plastic surgeon, volunteering his free time in the ER. Eventually, he turned to a degree in Fine Arts at Manhattanville College and he then spent a few years traveling in Europe, enriching himself in the endless culture and becoming proficient in several languages. He returned to the US and enrolled in the Parsons The New School for Design, Valvo began his professional career as ready-to-wear designer for Nina Ricci in Paris, and later spent time at Christian Dior. In 1989 he launched his own label, putting together a collection to show at the market in New York with only a few thousand dollars. His sportswear was a success among department stores, but his evening wear sparked interest in buyers at Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus, in response to demand from celebrity and VIP clientele, Valvo launched his Couture collection in 1998. This line has shown every year, twice a year, at New York Fashion Week in the tents at Bryant Park, since its inception, with the notable exception of Fall 2009’s collection. Sometime in December 2008, rumors emerged that the recent economic news would affect the upcoming New York Fashion Week in February. The tent runway shows usually have an audience of 1,000 people, following the presentation hour, there was a cocktail reception, where attendees interacted and admired the clothing of Valvo. It is estimated that this type of event cost close to half of a show at the tents and his designs were also featured in Confessions of a Shopaholic movie. Valvo’s designs are regularly stocked at Lord & Taylor, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Bloomingdales, Nordstrom, Bergdorf Goodman, and other specialty stores nationally and internationally. Valvo is involved with charitable organizations but has given most of his time to promoting awareness and encouraging the discussion of colorectal cancer. Carmen is an Entertainment Industry Foundation Ambassador and has both his time and money to the organization, which has helped raise millions of dollars for colorectal cancer research. One of Carmens favorite organizations to which he has shown generosity is the National Colorectal Cancer Research Alliance, Valvo has partnered with Katie Couric since their meeting at 7th on Sixth in 2004 to bring attention to, and support research for, the deadly disease. His efforts on behalf of the organization were honored at a gala in March 2006 in New York where Carmen received the first ever Advocate Award from Couric. Valvo and his long-time friend Vanessa Williams also recently appeared in a national print, the American Cancer Society’s estimates that there will be approximately 50,000 deaths from colorectal cancer in 2009
12.
Jenna Fischer
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Regina Marie Jenna Fischer is an American actress. She recently starred as Rhonda McNeil in the NBCs new comedy-drama series You, Me, Fischer was born in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. Her mother, Anne, is a teacher, and her father. She has one sister, Emily, a third grade teacher. Fischer attended Pierremont Elementary School in Manchester, Missouri, and Nerinx Hall High School and she holds a Bachelor of Arts in theatre, as well as a minor in journalism, from Truman State University, where she originally enrolled as a pre-law history major. Fischer first began her working in professional theatre. Her performance in the musical adaptation of the film Nosferatu led to her first agent. She struggled to break into film and television, telling NPR that her first paying job was a sex education video for patients upon their release from UCLA Medical Center. In a Myspace blog written specifically to advise actors beginning their own career, Fischer appeared in friend Peter Altons 2002 short subject film Les Superficiales. Fischer met Alton at the Zoo District Theatre group, and he later co-wrote and narrated her self-produced film, in 2003, she held a starring role in The Girls Guide to Summer, a 2003 Instant Films short directed by Instant Films co-founder Charles Papert. While her film career was taking off, Fischer took matters into her own hands, writing, directing and starring in her own mockumentary, LolliLove. The film co-starred her then-husband James Gunn, as well as friends Linda Cardellini, Judy Greer, Lloyd Kaufman and she began participating in The Artists Way, a self-led creativity seminar in book form. From doing that book I got this idea, when we started it, it wasn’t even supposed to be a real movie. It was just going to be a project for James. Utilizing a camera she gave Gunn as a present, she filmed preliminary improvisational interviews with her friends in the faux documentary format that would later bring her fame on The Office. I really feel it was divine intervention that I chose to work in this medium for a year and it was the super best practice I could have ever gotten for the possibility of being on the show. Lollilove premiered at the St. Louis International Film Festival, the hometown of Fischer and Gunn, in November 2004, for her role in the film, Fischer was awarded a Screen Actors Guild Emerging Actor Award. Despite the films contribution to her career, she admitted to a St, before her initial audition, casting director Allison Jones advised Fischer, Dare to bore me
13.
Sheryl Crow
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Sheryl Suzanne Crow is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Her music incorporates elements of pop, rock, folk, country and she has released eight studio albums, two compilations, a live album and has contributed to a number of film soundtracks. She has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide, Crow has garnered nine Grammy Awards from the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. B. King, George Strait, Tony Bennett, Kid Rock and Sting, among others and she has also performed backing vocals for Tina Turner, Don Henley, Stevie Nicks, Belinda Carlisle, Bob Dylan and Joe Cocker. Sheryl Suzanne Crow was born in Kennett, Missouri, the daughter of Bernice, a teacher, and Wendell Wyatt Crow. Her great-grandfather was congressman Charles A. Crow and she has two older sisters named Kathy and Karen and a younger brother named Steven. While studying at Kennett High School, Crow was a majorette and she also joined the pep club, the National Honor Society, and the National FFA Organization, and was crowned Paperdoll Queen in a celebrity-judged beauty contest during her senior year. She then enrolled at the University of Missouri in Columbia and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in composition, performance. While at the university, she sang in the local band Cashmere, Crow was later awarded honorary doctorates from the University of Missouri and Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. Crow has stated that her musical inspirations are not restricted to one genre—she likes anything with a drum beat, in 2008, she told Ellen DeGeneres that If it didnt have a drum beat, you can just forget about it. After graduating from the University of Missouri, Crow worked as a teacher at the Kellison elementary school in Fenton. Teaching during the day gave her the opportunity to sing in bands on the weekends and she was later introduced to local musician and record producer Jay Oliver. He had a studio in the basement of his parents home in St. Louis. Her first jingle was a back to school spot for the St Louis department store Famous-Barr, soon after she created commercial jingles for McDonalds and Toyota. She was quoted in a 60 Minutes segment as saying she made $40,000 on her McDonalds ad alone, Crow toured with Michael Jackson as a backing vocalist during his Bad World Tour 1987–89 and often performed with Jackson on I Just Cant Stop Loving You. She also recorded vocals for performances for a number of established artists such as Stevie Wonder, Belinda Carlisle. Crow also sang in the short-lived Steven Bochco drama Cop Rock in 1990 and that same year, her song Heal Somebody appeared in the film Bright Angel. In 1992, Crow recorded her first attempt at an album with Phil Collins record producer Hugh Padgham
14.
Kelly Ripa
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Kelly Maria Ripa is an American actress, dancer, talk show host, and television producer. Ripa first became known for her portrayal of Hayley Vaughan on the ABC daytime soap opera and she is best known as the co-host of the syndicated morning talk show, Live. with Kelly, in various formats since 2001. She also is known for her role as Faith Fairfield on the ABC sitcom, Hope & Faith, additionally, Ripa and her husband, Mark Consuelos, own a New York-based production company, Milojo. In 2014, The Hollywood Reporter named her one of the Most Powerful People in Media, Kelly Ripa was born in Stratford, New Jersey, the daughter of Esther, a homemaker, and Joseph Ripa, a labor union president and bus driver. She has a sister, Linda, who is a book author. She has three-quarters Italian and one-quarter Irish ancestry and her father has been the Democratic County Clerk for Camden County, New Jersey, since June 2009. She is the first in her family to enter the acting profession and she has studied ballet since age three, plays the piano, and in her words is no Barbra Streisand but can carry a tune. Ripa graduated from Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees Township, New Jersey, I owe so much of my career to Jim Beckley, she said. He thought I was a performer and so he gave me the lead in the next show. She starred in theatre productions and was discovered while performing in The Ugly Duckling during her senior year. She attended Camden County College studying psychology, but dropped out, aside from local TV gigs, Ripas first national television exposure came in 1986 when she appeared as a regular dancer on Dancin On Air, leading into Dance Party USA. Her career goal at the time was to be a newscaster, Ripa was cast in her first major acting role in 1990 as Hayley Vaughan, a troubled party girl, on All My Children. She concluded her 12-year stint in 2002, but returned for two episodes in 2010 to help celebrate the soap operas 40th anniversary, after co-host Kathie Lee Giffords final show on Live. with Regis and Kathie Lee, Regis Philbin began holding on-air auditions to find her replacement. In his autobiography, How I Got This Way, Philbin says of discovering Ripa, hers was a natural, quick-witted, unaffected, confident, fun-loving kind of sparkle that both Gelman and I remembered very well. We decided to invite her back, this time to consider her as a possible co-host, so that was when this smiling, petite ball of fire named Kelly Ripa made her return to Live. for a test run at the rotating, up-for-grabs hot seat to my left. And my God, who knew what spontaneous combustion wed make together, on the day of Ripas initial Live. with Regis tryout, psychic Char Margolis was among the guests. During this segment, Margolis guessed that Ripa was pregnant with her second child, Ripa replied, I havent told my boss yet. Philbin later said that Ripa was first among the candidates including Jane Krakowski, Valerie Bertinelli, Dolly Parton
15.
Debbie Harry
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Deborah Ann Debbie Harry is an American singer-songwriter and actress best known as the lead singer of the new wave band Blondie. She recorded several worldwide number one singles with Blondie during the 1970s and 1980s and she is sometimes considered the first rapper to chart at number one in the United States owing to her work on Rapture. She has also had success as a solo artist before reforming Blondie in the late 1990s and her acting career spans over 60 film roles and numerous television appearances. Deborah Harry was born in Miami, Florida, and then adopted at three months of age by Richard Smith and Catherine Harry, gift shop proprietors in Hawthorne and she attended Hawthorne High School, where she graduated in 1963. She graduated from Centenary College in Hackettstown, New Jersey, with an Associate of Arts degree in 1965, before starting her singing career, she moved to New York City in the late 1960s and worked as a secretary at BBC Radios office there for one year. Later, she was a waitress at Maxs Kansas City, a dancer in a Union City, New Jersey discothèque. In the late 1960s, Harry began her career as a backing singer for the folk rock group the Wind in the Willows. The group also recorded an album, it was never released. In 1974, Harry joined the Stilettoes with Elda Gentile and Amanda Jones and her eventual boyfriend and Blondie guitarist, Chris Stein, joined the band shortly after. After leaving the Stilettoes, Harry and Stein formed Angel and the Snake with Tish Bellomo, shortly thereafter, Harry and Stein formed Blondie, naming it after the term of address men often called Harry when she bleached her hair blonde. Members of Blondie quickly became regulars at Maxs Kansas City and CBGB in New York City, after a debut album in 1976, commercial success followed in the late 1970s to the early 1980s, first in Australia and Europe and then in the United States. In 1989 and 2010 interviews, Harry claimed that during the early 1970s she had lured into a car driven by serial killer Ted Bundy while in New York City. Snopes. com noted that Ann Rule, an author of a book on Bundy, while leading Blondie, Harry and Stein became partners in life as well as musically. In the mid 1980s, she took a few years off to care for Stein while he suffered with pemphigus, Stein and Harry broke up in the 1980s but continued to work together. In a 2014 Daily Mail interview, Harry confirmed rumors that she has had relationships with women. She had made remarks in previous interviews. With her distinctive features and two-tone bleached-blonde hair, Harry quickly became a punk icon. Her look was popularized by the bands early presence in the music video revolution of the era
16.
Venus Williams
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Ranked World No.11 in singles as of January 28,2017, Williams has been ranked World No.1 by the Womens Tennis Association on three occasions, for a total of 11 weeks. She first became the World No.1 on February 25,2002, on 10 June 2002, Venus and Serena became the first sisters to hold the No.1 and No.2 spots in the singles rankings, respectively. On 7 June 2010, Venus became co-No,1 in doubles with Serena after they won their 4th consecutive grand slam doubles title at Roland Garros. By virtue of that doubles ascension, Venus became one of seven women to reach No.1 in singles. On 21 June 2010, Venus and Serena again occupied the No.2 and No.1 spots in the singles rankings, astonishingly, this came almost exactly 8 years after first accomplishing this feat. At the time, Venus had just celebrated her 30th birthday and her seven Grand Slam singles titles ties her twelfth on the all-time list, more than any other active female player except sister Serena. She has also won fourteen Grand Slam doubles titles and two mixed doubles titles and her five Wimbledon singles titles ties her with two other women for eighth place on the all-time list. Williams is one of four women to have won five or more Wimbledon singles titles in the Open Era, from the 2000 Wimbledon Championships to the 2001 US Open, Williams won four of the six Grand Slam singles tournaments held. She is one of six women in the Open Era to win 200 or more main draw Grand Slam singles matches. As of the 2017 Australian Open, Williams extends her record as the leader, male or female, in Grand Slams played. Williams has won four Olympic gold medals, one in singles and she and Serena have won more Olympic gold medals than any other tennis player, male or female. Venus also holds the record for the most Olympic medals won by a male or female tennis player and she is the only tennis player to have won a medal at four separate Olympic Games. At the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Williams became only the player to win Olympic gold medals in both singles and doubles at the same Olympic Games, after Helen Wills Moody in 1924. With 49 singles titles, Williams is behind only Serena among active players on the WTA Tour and her 35-match winning streak from the 2000 Wimbledon Championships to the 2000 Generali Ladies Linz tournament final is the longest since January 1,2000. She is also one of three active WTA players to have made the finals of all four Grand Slams, along with Serena. By winning her 49th career singles title at the 2016 Taiwan Open, Williams became the 5th oldest WTA Tour titlist in the Open Era, Williams has played against her sister in 27 professional matches since 1998, and won 11. They have played against each other in nine Grand Slam singles finals, Venus has 8 runner-up finishes in grand slam singles events with Martina Hingis being the only player other than Serena to beat Venus in a major final at the 1997 US Open. Beginning with the 2002 French Open, they opposed each other in four consecutive Grand Slam singles finals, on the other side, the pair have won 14 Grand Slam doubles titles playing alongside each other and are undefeated in Grand Slam finals
17.
Angela Bassett
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Angela Evelyn Bassett is an American actress. Bassetts performance as Parks was honored with her first Primetime Emmy Award nomination, Bassett began her film career in the mid-1980s, after earning a bachelor of arts degree from Yale University and a master of fine arts degree from drama school. In the 1990s, she appeared in nearly every year. The 2000s saw a succession of films starring Bassett, with her appearing in at least one every year. Bassetts success has continued into the 2010s, in 2013, she had a recurring role on the FX horror series American Horror Story, Coven, earning her second Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her performance as Voodoo queen Marie Laveau. In 2015, Bassett returned for the fifth season Hotel portraying Ramona Royale, Bassett was born on August 16,1958 in New York City, New York, the daughter of Betty Jane and Daniel Benjamin Bassett, and was raised in the Harlem neighborhood. Bassetts middle name was given to her in honor of her aunt Evelyn, the origin of the Bassett surname comes from her ancestor William Henry Bassett, who took the surname of his former master, whose children later founded Bassett, Virginia. Ten months after Bassett was born, her mother pregnant and had a second child. Bassett said the only made things harder. Bassetts parents shipped her to stay with her fathers sister Golden, while her aunt did not have any children of her own, she loved children, and she was good with them. After her parents separation, she relocated from Winston-Salem, North Carolina to St. Petersburg, Florida, Bassett did not see her father again for several years, until she attended her grandmothers funeral. There, Bassett met his daughter from his first marriage, Jean, after graduating from Jordan Park Elementary School, she began being bussed out of her neighborhood to attend Disston Middle School for seventh grade. The year she began attending was 1970, the first year bussing was implemented to integrate schools in St. Petersburg. After completing seventh grade, she was bussed to Azalea Middle School for eighth and ninth grade, Bassetts mother became more involved in her daughters grades and told her and her sister the pair were going to college. In her younger years, Bassett was in love with the Jackson 5 and dreamed of marrying a member of the family group, in my imagination we would have children and live in a real house. As her interest in entertainment developed, Angela and her sister would often put on shows, at Boca Ciega High School, Bassett was a cheerleader and a member of the Upward Bound college prep program, the debate team, student government, drama club and choir. A straight A and B student for the most part, Bassett got her first C, in physical education, Bassett called the grade the average, leading her mother to say that she did not have average kids. As Bassett described, a sense of pride developed in her, during high school, Bassett became the first African-American from Boca Ciega to be admitted to the National Honor Society
18.
Rachael Ray
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Rachael Ray is an American television personality, businesswoman, celebrity cook, and author. She hosts the daily talk and lifestyle program Rachael Ray. Other programs to her credit include Rachael Rays Week In A Day, Ray has written several cookbooks based on the 30 Minute Meals concept, and launched a magazine Every Day with Rachael Ray, in 2006. Rays television shows have won three Daytime Emmy Awards, Rachael Ray was born in Glens Falls, New York, the daughter of Elsa Providenza Scuderi and James Claude Ray. Her mothers ancestry is Italian and her fathers is French, Scottish, when Ray was 8, her family moved to Lake George, New York. Her mother managed restaurants in New Yorks Capital District, including a Howard Johnsons located across the street from Gaslight Village, in 1995, Ray moved to New York City. One of her first jobs there was at the counter at Macys. She later helped open a New York City market, moving back to upstate New York, Ray managed Mister Browns Pub at The Sagamore, a hotel on Lake George. From there, she became a buyer at Cowan & Lobel, Ray credits the concept of 30 Minute Meals to her experience working at the store, where she met people who were reluctant to cook. She taught a course in which she showed how to make meals in less than 30 minutes, with the success of her 30 Minute Meals classes, WRGB asked her to appear in a weekly segment on their newscasts. This, along with a radio appearance and the publication of her first book, led to a Today show spot. Ray teaches many simple recipes that she says can be completed in 30 minutes or less, Ray says her Sicilian maternal grandfather, Emmanuel Scuderi, and her Cajun ancestry strongly influence on her cooking. She uses ingredients such as herbs, garlic, and chicken stock to boost flavors. She, instead, favors approximations such as half a palmful, to critics of her shortcut techniques, Ray responds, I have no formal anything. Im completely unqualified for any job Ive ever had and she has also repeatedly said, Im not a chef. On her television programs, she has used such as E-V-O-O, yum-o. Ray hosted 30 Minute Meals on Food Network for 27 seasons from 2001-2012, in 2005, she signed a deal to host a syndicated daytime TV talk show. The show, Rachael Ray, premiered on September 18,2006, recurrent appearances on The Oprah Winfrey Show were used to fuel the launch, much as Dr. Phils show was spun off based on his own frequent visits to Oprah
19.
Valerie Bertinelli
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Valerie Anne Bertinelli is an American actress. Bertinelli was born in Wilmington, Delaware, to Nancy and Andrew Bertinelli and her father is of Italian descent and her mother is of English descent. She has three brothers, David, Patrick and Drew and she had an elder brother, Mark, who died at 17 months from an accidental poisoning before Valerie was born. Because of the career, the family frequently moved. She attended Granada Hills High School, the show debuted in late 1975. For the shows first season, Bertinelli was 15 years old, Bertinelli appeared in 208 out of the 209 episodes before the show left the airwaves on May 28,1984. They talked about actors who had left the show as well as Phillips drug problem, after One Day at a Time, Bertinelli continued to act. In 2001, she joined the cast of Touched by an Angel, opposite Roma Downey and Della Reese, Bertinelli, who had some struggles with being overweight, lost a total of 50 lb as of March 2009, and became a spokesperson for the Jenny Craig weight-loss program. She appeared in several Jenny Craig commercials, although Bertinelli is compensated for her Jenny Craig appearances, she considers herself a health and weight-loss activist rather than a hired weight-loss spokesperson. In 2008 she released the autobiography, Losing It, And Gaining My Life Back One Pound at a Time, in 2009 she wrote a follow-up book Finding It, And Satisfying My Hunger for Life without Opening the Fridge. On March 4,2010, Bertinelli appeared as guest co-host on ABCs The View in the absence of Whoopi Goldberg, as of 2010 she stars in the TV Land series Hot in Cleveland, a situation comedy which debuted in June 2010. The shows second season aired in January 2011, and in February 2011 it was renewed for a third season, after a successful, six-season run, the final episode aired on June 3,2015. Bertinelli is also the host of the hit show Kids Baking Championship on Food Network, the show follows young children as they bake pastries and other desserts. Bertinelli hosts alongside Duff Goldman, punny cake artist, and the show is currently in its third season, on August 22,2012, Bertinelli received the 2, 476th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Bertinelli married Eddie Van Halen on April 11,1981 and they divorced on Dec.20,2007. In May 2010, Bertinelli announced her engagement to financial planner Tom Vitale and they were married on January 1,2011, in Malibu, California. She wore a dress made especially for her by the designer David Meister, Bertinelli ran in the April 2010 Boston Marathon to benefit the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute there, completing it in a time of 5,14,37. In 2014 she appeared on Who Do You Think You Are. commercials Production companies Tuxedo Limited Bertinelli, Inc
20.
Christie Brinkley
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Christie Brinkley is an American model and actress. Brinkley gained worldwide fame beginning in the late 1970s with three consecutive Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue covers through 1981 and she spent twenty five years as the face of CoverGirl, has appeared on over 500 magazine covers, and has signed contracts with major brands—both fashion and non-fashion. Brinkley went on to work as an actress, illustrator, television personality, photographer, writer, designer, and activist for human and animal rights, Brinkley has been married four times, most notably to musician Billy Joel, several of whose music videos she appeared in. Her fourth marriage, to architect Peter Cook, ended in a much-publicized 2008 divorce, with a career spanning more than three decades, magazines such as Allure, Playboy, and Mens Health have named Brinkley one of the most attractive women of all time. Her financial holdings in 2008 were worth an estimated US$80 million, in February 2012, she was ranked third in the Daily Mail list Worlds 20 richest models. Brinkley was born Christie Lee Hudson in Monroe, Michigan, the daughter of Marjorie and her family moved to Canoga Park, Los Angeles, California, where her mother Marjorie later met and married television writer Don Brinkley in Bel Air, Los Angeles. Don adopted Christie and her brother Gregory Donald Brinkley, during this time, the family lived in Malibu and then the Brentwood neighborhoods of Los Angeles. Brinkley was educated at Paul Revere Junior High School and attended Le Lycée Français de Los Angeles from 9th to 12th grade, after graduation in 1973, she moved to Paris, France, to study art. Brinkley was discovered in 1973 by American photographer Errol Sawyer in a post office in Paris and he took her first modeling pictures and introduced her to John Casablancas of Elite Model Management agency in Paris. Brinkley stated later, I was basically a surfer girl from California, I never looked like a model. Multiple appearances on the cover of Glamour soon followed, along with a record 25-year contract with cosmetics brand CoverGirl, in 2005, CoverGirl again signed Brinkley, using her in ads in magazines and TV commercials for mature skin products. Brinkley was featured exclusively in the first Sports Illustrated Calendar and also released two of her own exclusive calendars to unparalleled success and she has held major contracts with Chanel No. 19, Prell, MasterCard, Breck, Diet Coke, Anheuser-Busch, healthy Choice, Max Factor, Nissan, Noxema, Revlon, Clairol, Borghese Cosmetics, Danskin, Nu Skin, Yardley of London, Halston, Vogue Patterns, Gottex and Black Velvet, among others. Brinkley has been photographed in six continents in more than 30 countries, in 2011, she appeared as herself in the documentary, King of the Hamptons, which was produced by filmmaker, Dennis Michael Lynch. The film premiered at the 2010 Hamptons International Film Festival, on April 8,2011, in New York, Brinkley made her stage debut as Roxie Hart in the long-running musical Chicago. Brinkleys appearance on NBCs Mad About You was the broadcasters highest rated episode since the finale of The Cosby Show. She hosted Celebrity Weddings InStyle, the highest rated special in Lifetimes history, Brinkley made further television appearances, including Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Specials and music videos for beau Billy Joel and Mick Jones Just Wanna Hold. Brinkley appears with Chuck Norris in a series of cable TV infomercials promoting Total Gym home fitness equipment
21.
Vanessa Williams
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Vanessa Lynn Williams is an American actress, singer, and fashion designer. She initially gained recognition as the first African-American recipient of the Miss America title when she was crowned Miss America 1984 in September 1983. However, a few prior to the end of her reign. Williams thus resigned as Miss America on July 22,1984, a few years later, she rebounded as an entertainer with the song The Right Stuff. She then had a string of albums and singles and also found success as an actress. You have lived life in grace and dignity, and never was it more evident than during the events of 1984. Though none of us currently in the organization were involved then, on behalf of todays organization, I want to apologize to you and to your mother, Miss Helen Williams. I want to apologize for anything that was said or done that made you feel any less the Miss America you are, Vanessa Lynn Williams was born in the The Bronx, New York, with a birth announcement that read, Here she is, Miss America. Her maternal great-great grandfather was William A. Feilds, an African-American legislator in the Tennessee House of Representatives and her mother, Helen Tinch, met her father, Milton Augustine Williams Jr. while both were music education students at Fredonia State Teachers College in the late 1950s. They both became elementary school music teachers after marriage, though their positions were in separate districts. Milton also served as the Assistant Principal of his school for a period of time. Williams was raised Roman Catholic, the religion of her father and her mother, who had been raised Baptist, converted to Catholicism when she got married. Williams was baptized at Our Lady of Grace Church in the Bronx, Williams mother played the organ at St. Theresas Church in Briarcliff Manor for weddings and at mass and Williams used to assist her mother by turning the pages of sheet music. Williams and her younger brother Chris grew up in a predominantly white suburb of New York City. Williams believes that she may have been the first African-American student to go from the first grade to the 12th grade in the Chappaqua Central School District. As the child of teachers, Williams grew up in a musical household, studying classical and jazz dance, French horn, piano. Thus, in 1981, Williams joined Syracuses College of Visual and Performing Arts and she stayed at Syracuse through her sophomore year, until she was crowned Miss America 1984 in September 1983. Twenty-five years later in May 2008, Syracuse granted Williams a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, according to Syracuse News, Williams earned the remaining credits for her degree through industry experience and her substantial performances on stage and screen
22.
Allison Janney
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Allison Brooks Janney is an American actress. A seven-time Primetime Emmy Award winner for her work, her first four Emmy wins were for her role as C. J. Cregg on the NBC drama The West Wing. In 2014, she won the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Margaret Scully on the Showtime series Masters of Sex. In 2014 and 2015, she won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Bonnie Plunkett on the CBS sitcom Mom. Janney, who won a scholarship to study at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in the summer of 1984 and she won Drama Desk Awards for the 1997 Broadway revival of A View From the Bridge, and the 2009 original Broadway production of the musical 9 to 5. She also received Tony Award nominations for both, Janney was born in Boston, Massachusetts and raised in Dayton, Ohio. She is the daughter of Macy Brooks, an actress and homemaker. She is one of three siblings, Janney attended The Miami Valley School in Dayton, where she was named a distinguished alumna in 2004, and the Hotchkiss School in Connecticut. She then attended Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio, at Kenyon, she studied with Paul Newman, an alumnus of Kenyon. He directed her in a play as the event of the schools newly dedicated Bolton Theater. Newman and his wife Joanne Woodward encouraged Janney to continue acting and she then went on to train at the Neighborhood Playhouse in New York and did summer programs at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. She attended The Neighborhood Playhouse the same years as actor Dylan McDermott, Janneys first role on television was in the short-lived black-and-white faux-1940s comedy Morton & Hayes, she appeared in two episodes of the 1991 CBS series as Eddie Hayes wife. She then moved on to soap operas, she first played Vi Kaminski for a time on As the World Turns, following up with a two-year role as Ginger, one of the Spaulding maids. In the spring of 1994, she appeared in the finale of Law & Order. She was also a cast member on the radio show A Prairie Home Companion, in 2006, she had roles in the feature films Margaret and Over the Hedge. In 1999, she was cast in the role of press secretary C. J. Cregg on the television drama The West Wing. She was also nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in the 2003 and 2006 Primetime Emmys, Janney won two Screen Actors Guild awards for Best Actress in a dramatic series, in 2001 and 2002. The cast of The West Wing won the Screen Actors Guild award for Best Ensemble in a series the same two years
23.
Billie Jean King
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Billie Jean King is an American former World No.1 professional tennis player. King won 39 Grand Slam titles, including 12 singles,16 womens doubles, King won the singles title at the inaugural WTA Tour Championships. King often represented the United States in the Federation Cup and the Wightman Cup and she was a member of the victorious United States team in seven Federation Cups and nine Wightman Cups. For three years, King was the United States captain in the Federation Cup, King is an advocate for gender equality and has long been a pioneer for equality and social justice. Regarded by many in the sport as one of the greatest female players of all time. The Fed Cup Award of Excellence was bestowed on King in 2010, in 1972, King was the joint winner, with John Wooden, of the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year award and was one of the Time Persons of the Year in 1975. King has also received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Sunday Times Sportswoman of the Year lifetime achievement award. King was inducted into the National Womens Hall of Fame in 1990, and in 2006, King was born in Long Beach, California, into a conservative Methodist family, the daughter of Betty, a housewife, and Bill Moffitt, a firefighter. Her younger brother, Randy Moffitt, would become a Major League Baseball pitcher, Billie Jean attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School. After graduating, she attended California State University, Los Angeles and she learned her tennis on the free public courts in Long Beach. Bob Martin of the Long Beach Press-Telegram wrote about Billie Jeans success in a weekly tennis column, Kings triumph at the French Open in 1972 made her only the fifth woman in tennis history to win the singles titles at all four Grand Slam events, a career Grand Slam. King also won a career Grand Slam in mixed doubles, in womens doubles, only the Australian Open eluded her. King won a record 20 career titles at Wimbledon – six singles,10 womens doubles, King played 51 Grand Slam singles events from 1959 through 1983, reaching at least the semifinals in 27 and at least the quarterfinals in 40 of her attempts. King was the runner-up in six Grand Slam singles events, an indicator of Kings mental toughness at crunch time in Grand Slam singles tournaments was her 11–2 career record in deuce third sets, i. e. third sets that were tied 5–5 before being resolved. King won 129 singles titles, and her prize money totaled US$1,966,487. In Federation Cup finals, King was on the winning United States team seven times, in 1963,1966,1967 and her career win–loss record was 52–4. She won the last 30 matches she played, including 15 straight wins in singles and doubles. In Wightman Cup competition, Kings career win–loss record was 22–4, the United States won the cup ten of the 11 years that King participated
24.
Katie Couric
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Katherine Anne Katie Couric is an American journalist and author. Couric has been a television host on all Big Three television networks in the United States and she worked for NBC News from 1989 to 2006, CBS News from 2006 to 2011, and ABC News from 2011 to 2014. In addition to her television roles, she hosted Katie. Some of her most important notable roles include co-host of Today, anchor of the CBS Evening News and she also reported for nearly every television news broadcast across ABC, CBS and NBC. Courics first book, The Best Advice I Ever Got, Lessons from Extraordinary Lives, was a New York Times best-seller, in 2004, Couric earned induction into the Television Hall of Fame. C. Although her mother was Jewish, Couric was raised as a Presbyterian, in a report for Today, she traced her patrilineal ancestry back to a French orphan who immigrated to the U. S. in the 19th century and became a broker in the cotton business. Couric attended Arlington Public Schools, Jamestown Elementary, Williamsburg Middle School, as a high school student, she was an intern at Washington, D. C. all-news radio station WAVA. She enrolled at her fathers alma mater, the University of Virginia, Couric served in several positions at UVAs award-winning daily newspaper, The Cavalier Daily. During her fourth year at UVA, Couric was chosen to live as Senior Resident of The Lawn and she graduated in 1979 with a bachelors degree in American Studies. Courics first job in 1979 was at the ABC News bureau in Washington, between 1984 and 1986, she worked as a general-assignment reporter for the then-CBS affiliate WTVJ in Miami, Florida. During the following two years, she reported for WRC-TV, the NBC owned- and -operated station in Washington, D. C. work which earned her an Associated Press award, Couric joined NBC News in 1989 as Deputy Pentagon Correspondent. From 1989 to 1991, Couric was an anchor substitute and she also subbed for Daniels, Norville, and John Palmer as the news anchor on Today. In 1989, Couric joined Today as national political correspondent, becoming a substitute co-host in February 1991 when Norville had to leave, Norville did not return and Couric became permanent co-anchor on April 5,1991. While at NBC, Katie Couric occasionally filled in for Tom Brokaw on NBC Nightly News, from 1989–1993, Couric also filled in for Maria Shriver on the Sunday Edition of NBC Nightly News and for Garrick Utley on the Saturday Edition of NBC Nightly News. In addition, during her time on Today she served as a host of the annual Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade for 15 years from 1991-2005, Couric hosted or worked on a number of news specials, like Everybodys Business, Americas Children in 1995. Similar entertainment specials were Legend to Legend Night, A Celebrity Cavalcade in 1993, Couric has also co-hosted the opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games. She has broadcast with Bob Costas, beginning with the 2000 Summer Olympics, John F. Kennedy, Jr. gave Couric his first and last interviews. Couric has won multiple television reporting awards through her career, including the prestigious Peabody Award for her series Confronting Colon Cancer, Couric has also interviewed former British Prime Minister Tony Blair, U. S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Harry Potter author J. K
25.
Sarah, Duchess of York
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Sarah, Duchess of York is a British writer, charity patron, public speaker, film producer and television personality. She is the wife of Prince Andrew, Duke of York. She is the daughter of Major Ronald Ferguson and Susan Barrantes. Sarah has two daughters, Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie of York, who are seventh and eighth in the line of succession to the British throne. Sarah Margaret Ferguson is the daughter of Major Ronald Ferguson and his first wife. Sarahs older sister is Jane Ferguson Luedecke, a public relations executive now living and working in Australia, after Sarahs parents divorced in 1974, her mother married polo player Hector Barrantes and moved to Trenque Lauquen in the Argentine pampas. Sarah stayed at the 480-acre Dummer Down Farm at Dummer, Hampshire, Major Ferguson married Susan Deptford and had three more children. Sarah attended Daneshill School, Stratfield Turgis and then Hurst Lodge School, after finishing a course at Queens Secretarial College at the age of eighteen, Sarah went to work in a public relations firm in London. Later she worked for an art gallery, and then a publishing company, on 19 March 1986, Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson announced their engagement. Prince Andrew had known Ferguson since childhood, and they had met occasionally at polo matches, Prince Andrew designed the engagement ring himself. It consists of ten diamonds surrounding a Burmese ruby and he chose the Burmese ruby to complement Sarahs fiery red hair. After securing the Queens permission, Andrew and Sarah were married in Westminster Abbey on 23 July 1986. The Queen bestowed the title Duke of York upon Prince Andrew, in January 1988, during a formal trip to New York to attend a fundraising event, the Duchess was attacked by a young man at the entrance of her hotel. The man, who was screaming murderers 3/8 and had the Irish Republican Army flag in his hands when he rushed at Sarah, was charged with attempted assault on the Duchess, later a State Department press officer stated that she was unharmed in the incident. In March 1988, the Duke and Duchess of York visited California, the trip was described by two British newspapers as a brash, vulgar, excessive, weak-humored exhibition by two royals. The couple became parents on 8 August 1988, with the birth of their daughter and their second child, another daughter, Eugenie Victoria Helena, was born on 23 March 1990. During her marriage, the press ridiculed the Duchess after her weight climbed to 15 stone 10 pounds labelling her unflatteringly as the Duchess of Pork. By 1991, the marriage was in trouble, and the couple had drifted apart, while her husband was away on naval or royal duties, the Duchess was frequently seen in the company of other men, notably Texan multimillionaire Steve Wyatt
26.
Lindsay Lohan
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Lindsay Dee Lohan is an American actress and singer. Lohan began her career as a fashion model when she was three, and was later featured on the soap opera Another World for a year when she was 10. At age 11, Lohan made her motion picture debut in Disneys commercially and critically successful 1998 remake of The Parent Trap and her next major motion picture, Disneys 2003 remake of Freaky Friday, was also a critical and commercial success. However, Lohans next starring role in the romantic comedy Just My Luck, following Just My Luck, Lohan focused on smaller, more mature roles in independent movies, receiving positive comments on her work, including A Prairie Home Companion, Bobby and Chapter 27. After recording several songs for her movie soundtracks, Lohan signed with Casablanca Records, though the album received mostly lukewarm reviews, it was certified platinum and sold over 4 million copies worldwide. Lohans second album, titled A Little More Personal, was released in December 2005 and that album received mixed reviews, and it was certified gold. In 2007, two driving under the influence led to Lohan being put on probation, and together with three visits to rehabilitation facilities caused the loss of several movie deals. In 2008 and 2009, Lohan worked as a fashion model and she resumed her acting career with TV work in 2008, and starred in the TV film Labor Pains. She appeared in Robert Rodriguezs feature film Machete, between 2010 and 2013, Lohan went into rehabilitation three times, and spent much of her time entangled in legal problems stemming from misdemeanors and probation violations. In 2012 and 2013, she did television work, including starring as Elizabeth Taylor in the biographical TV film Liz & Dick. In 2013, she starred in Paul Schraders independent film The Canyons, in 2014, the docu-series Lindsay aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network, and Lohan made her stage debut in the London West End production of Speed-the-Plow. Lindsay Lohan was born on July 2,1986, in The Bronx, New York City and she is the eldest child of Dina and Michael Lohan. Her father, a former Wall Street trader, has been in trouble with the law on several occasions, while her mother is a former singer and dancer. Lohan has three siblings, all of whom have been models or actors, Michael, Jr. who appeared with Lohan in The Parent Trap, Aliana, known as Ali. Lohan is of Irish and Italian heritage, and she was reared as a Catholic and her maternal antecedents were well known Irish Catholic stalwarts and her great-grandfather, John L. Sullivan, was a co-founder of the Pro-life Party in Long Island. Lohan attended Cold Spring Harbor High School and Sanford H. Calhoun High School, where she did well in science and mathematics, until grade 11, Lohan is a natural red head. Lohans parents have a turbulent history and they married in 1985, separated when she was three, and later reunited. They separated again in 2005 and finalized their divorce in 2007, Lohan began her career as a child model with Ford Models at the age of three
27.
LeAnn Rimes
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Margaret LeAnn Rimes Cibrian, known professionally as LeAnn Rimes, is an American singer. Known for her vocals, Rimes rose to stardom at age 13 following the release of the Bill Mack song Blue. The albums eponymous single, Blue, became a Top 10 hit. Rimes has won awards, including two Grammys, three ACMs, a CMA,12 Billboard Music Awards, and one American Music award. She has sold over 37 million records worldwide, with 20.3 million album sales in the United States according to Nielsen SoundScan, Billboard ranked her 17th artist of the 1990–2000 decade. Rimes has also written four books, two novels and two childrens books, margaret LeAnn Rimes was born in Jackson, Mississippi. She is the child of Wilbur Rimes and Belinda Butler. The family moved to Garland, Texas when she was six and she was enrolled in vocal and dance classes, and was performing at local talent shows at the age of 5. Rimes began her career in theatre, performing in a Dallas, Texas production of A Christmas Carol. After appearing on the television competition show Star Search, where she clearly charmed host Ed McMahon in addition to being a one-week champion. Rimes appeared a number of times on Johnnie Highs Country Music Revue in Arlington, Texas, by age nine, Rimes was an experienced singer. She toured nationally with her father and also performed a cappella renditions of The Star Spangled Banner at the opening of the Dallas Cowboys football games. Wilbur Rimes began recording his daughter under the independent label Nor Va Jak when she turned eleven and she released three albums between 1991 and 1996. Rimes was discovered by Dallas disc jockey and record promoter Bill Mack, Mack was impressed by Rimess vocal ability, and over the following three years, he made various attempts to bring Rimes to a mainstream level. In July 1994, Rimes recorded the song on her independent album, after signing with Curb Records, Rimes re-recorded a new version of Blue for her debut studio album, and as a single. However, Rimes told a BBC radio program in October 2016 that the company accidentally released the version she had recorded as an 11-year-old. She said it was this version peaked at number ten on the Billboard Country Chart. During this time the media was reporting that Rimes was the successor to Patsy Clines legacy, the album Blue sold 123,000 copies in its first week, the highest figure in SoundScan history at that time
28.
Christina Milian
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Christine Flores, better known as Christina Milian, is an American singer, songwriter and actress. At the age of 19, Milian signed a contract with Def Jam. In 2004, Milian released her studio album Its About Time, which provided her first major U. S. hit, Dip It Low. Whatever U Want was released as the second single. Both singles charted within the Top 10 of the UK chart, in 2006, Milian released her third studio album So Amazin. The album produced one single, Say I, which peaked in the Top 30 of the US Billboard chart, a month after the release of So Amazin, Milians representative confirmed that she had left Island Records due to creative differences. Milian signed with Interscope Records in 2009, a single, ballad Us Against the World, was released in October 2008. In 2012, Milian signed to Young Money Entertainment, which will release her studio album. Although Milian is best known for her career, she originally wanted to be an actress. Her first lead role was in the 2003 film Love Dont Cost a Thing, and she subsequently had roles in Be Cool. Milian has since been cast in the 2010 ABC Family Original Movie Christmas Cupid, alongside Ashley Benson, on September 4,2009, Milian and R&B singer-songwriter The-Dream eloped in Las Vegas, and she gave birth to their daughter, Violet, on February 26,2010. Milian and The-Dream announced their separation on July 12,2010, Milian was born in Jersey City, New Jersey, and is Cuban American. She was born to parents Don Flores and Carmen Milian, and raised in Waldorf, Flores changed her name and adopted her mothers maiden name in the hopes of landing a wider range of acting roles. The oldest of three sisters, including Danielle and Elizabeth, she moved with her family to Waldorf, Maryland, soon after her birth. Milian was four years old when she showed an interest in business. As a child, Milian was very imaginative and very creative and they inspired her to have fun, and she convinced her parents that she did not want to be inside the TV, although it took some time to convince them. By the time she was nine years old, Milian had begun auditioning with talent agencies, shot commercials for Wendys and Honeycomb. Milians mother noticed her daughters potential and left her husband and moved to Los Angeles with her three daughters when Milian was 13 years old and her father had to stay in Maryland and divorced her mother soon after the move
29.
Fergie (singer)
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Fergie Duhamel is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She is the female vocalist for the hip hop group The Black Eyed Peas, in 2001, she left the group and in the subsequent year began to team up with The Black Eyed Peas. With The Black Eyed Peas, she enjoyed a series of hits, the Black Eyed Peas enjoyed further success with the release of their third album with Ferguson, The E. N. D. they attained their first string of Billboard Hot 100 number one songs. She began touring in 2009/2010 with her group and she launched her fragrance, Outspoken. She continued success with The Black Eyed Peas and they released the album The Beginning, Ferguson was born in Hacienda Heights, California, the daughter of devout Roman Catholic school teachers Theresa Ann and Jon Patrick Ferguson. Her ancestry includes Irish, Scottish, English, Mexican and Native American and she was raised Roman Catholic and attended Mesa Robles Middle School and Glen A. Wilson High School. She was a cheerleader, straight-A student and spelling bee champion, from 1984 to 1989, she starred on the TV show Kids Incorporated and was the longest running cast member, she starred in the first six of the shows nine seasons. Ferguson was a member of the female trio Wild Orchid, which she fronted with Stefanie Ridel, by 1992, the girls began meeting with record labels, but they still could not get a recording contract. They eventually signed a publishing deal with Sony Publishing before signing a record contract with RCA Records in 1994. In April 2007, she gave an interview in which she admitted that she went on a sex and drugs spree when she turned eighteen, saying, I wont say how many men Ive had sex with—but I am a very sexual person. Wild Orchids first single, At Night I Pray, debuted on the Billboard charts in September 1996, in March 1997, the band released their self-titled debut album, which debuted at number one. In September 1998, they released their album, Oxygen. From June 16 to August 28,1999, they opened for Chers Do You Believe, Tour alongside Cyndi Lauper, which took them to 52 cities across the United States and Canada. They completed an album, which their record label declined to release. In 2006, Ferguson told Entertainment Weekly that both frustrations with the image and personal drug problems led her to leave Wild Orchid. The Black Eyed Peas were recording their album, Elephunk. She got the gig and instantly bonded with the trio, going on to five additional songs on the album. From Elephunk came Where is the Love, which became The Black Eyed Peas first major hit, it peaked at number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 and topped the charts in several other countries
30.
Jordin Sparks
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Jordin Brianna Sparks is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She rose to fame in 2007 after winning the season of American Idol, at age 17. Her self-titled debut studio album, released later that year, was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America and has sold two million copies worldwide. The song earned Sparks her first Grammy Award nomination for Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals, Sparks second studio album, Battlefield, debuted at number 7 on the Billboard 200 chart. Its lead single, Battlefield, reached number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, the second single, S. O. S. became Sparks first number one on the Hot Dance Club Play chart. Throughout her career, Sparks has won awards, including an NAACP Image Award, a BET Award, an American Music Award. In 2009, Billboard magazine ranked her as the 91st Artist of the 2000s Decade, in 2012, Sparks was ranked at number 92 on VH1s list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music. As of February 2012, she has sold 1.3 million albums and 10.2 million singles in the United States alone, following the release of Battlefield, Sparks branched out from recording music, pursuing careers in acting and Broadway, and designing perfumes. She made guest appearances on television series, beginning with The Suite Life on Deck in 2009. That year, Sparks made her Broadway debut in the musical In The Heights and she made her feature film debut in the musical film Sparkle. In October 2010, Sparks released her first perfume, Because of You, which was followed by her second perfume, Fascinate, in March 2012, with her third perfume, Ambition, in November 2012. After a five-year solo music hiatus, Sparks released her first mixtape, the release of the mixtape marks the first release under Sparks new recording deal with Louder than Life/Red Associated Labels, a joint deal with Sony Music Entertainment. Sparks third studio album, Right Here Right Now, was released in August 2015, Sparks was born in Phoenix, Arizona, to Jodi Sparks and former professional football player Phillippi Sparks. Sparks has a brother, Phillippi PJ Sparks, Jr. who plays football at Arizona Christian University. Her father is African-American and her mother is Caucasian and she grew up in the suburbs of Ridgewood, New Jersey, while her father played as a defensive back for the New York Giants. After living in New Jersey, Sparks attended Northwest Community Christian School in Phoenix through the eighth grade, Sparks attended Sandra Day OConnor High School until 2006 when she was homeschooled to better concentrate on her singing. Sparks is an evangelical Christian and attends Calvary Community Church in Phoenix, on her American Idol biography, she thanks her parents and God for her win. She won an award for best young artist of the year in Arizona three years in a row, prior to Idol, Sparks frequently performed the national anthem at various local sporting events, notably for the Phoenix Suns, Arizona Cardinals, and Arizona Diamondbacks
31.
Ashanti (singer)
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Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas, known simply as Ashanti, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, dancer and actress. Ashanti is known for her eponymous album, which featured the hit song Foolish. In 2003, the debut album won Ashanti her first Grammy Award for Best Contemporary R&B album. Her second release achieved a certification and other top 10 singles. Later that year, she was acclaimed as the Princess Of Hip-Hop & R&B by her label and capped off her debut by winning eight Billboard awards. Ashanti cites Whitney Houston, Janet Jackson, Prince, Madonna, Tupac Shakur, Mary J. Blige, Ella Fitzgerald, Smokey Robinson, Donna Summer, since 2013, she is currently working on her own publishing company titled Written Entertainment. Ashanti Shequoiya Douglas was born on October 13,1980, in Glen Cove and her mother, Tina Douglas, is a former dance teacher, and her father, Ken-Kaide Thomas Douglas, is a former singer. Her mother named her after the Ashanti Empire in Ghana, in this nation, women have power and influence and her grandfather, James, was a civil rights activist who associated with Martin Luther King, Jr. in the 1960s. Growing up, Ashanti took dance lessons and joined the church choir, Ashanti went to Bernice Johnson Cultural Arts Center, where she studied different dance styles, including tap, jazz, ballet, African, modern, and hip hop. She danced with the Senior Pro Ensemble at Carnegie Hall, the Apollo Theater, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Avery Fisher Hall, and she also performed at the 1994 Caribbean Awards and dancing with Judith Jamison of the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. Ashanti also performed in the 1989 Disney television film Polly alongside stars Keshia Knight Pulliam, Jomecia Moore, by the time Ashanti hit puberty, her mother was sending out demo tapes of her singing and dancing. The family could not afford to go to a studio and record a demo, so when labels called. While attending high school, she began to write songs, as a teenager, she performed in a local talent show and at the Soul Cafe, China Club, Madison Square Garden, Carolines Comedy Club, and Greek Fest 2000. In her first major singing performance, Ashanti performed Yolanda Adamss More Than a Melody and she also appeared in a number of big-name music videos, in addition to other dance work. Ashanti got her first taste of acting as an extra in Spike Lees Malcolm X. She was also one of the students in the 3-2-1 Contact Extra, What Kids Want To Know About Sex and she also had a couple of minor appearances in music videos, such as KRS-Ones MCs Act Like They Dont Know as well as 8-Offs Ghetto Girl. When Ashanti was 16, she was discovered by P. Diddys Bad Boy Records, initially, she went to Bad Boy Records and sang one of Mary J. Bliges songs in front of P. Diddy and Biggie Smalls. After being impressed by her ability, Diddy had her sign to a development deal
32.
Hilary Duff
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Hilary Erhard Duff is an American actress and singer. Duff began her career at a young age, and quickly became labeled a teen idol as the title character of the Disney Channel comedy series Lizzie McGuire. The series proved to be a hit, leading to an adaptation of the series to be released. Duff began working on projects with the Disney Channel, including the film Cadet Kelly. She later began work on an album, releasing the Christmas themed Santa Claus Lane through Walt Disney Records, upon signing with Hollywood Records, Duff began working on her second studio album, Metamorphosis. The album achieved critical and commercial success, topping the Billboard 200, the album also found success in both Canada and Japan. Duffs success in acting and music led to her becoming a household name, with merchandise such as dolls, clothing. Duff began to expand her career into theatrical films, with leading roles in such as Agent Cody Banks, Cheaper by the Dozen, A Cinderella Story. She continued to have success in music, with her albums Hilary Duff, following the release of her fourth studio album, Dignity, Duff released a greatest hits album and parted ways with Hollywood Records. During this time, she began appearing in independent films such as War and she later released the novel Elixir, which became a New York Times best seller. The book was followed by the sequels Devoted and True and she currently stars in the comedy-drama series Younger as Kelsey Peters. She returned to music in 2014, and signed with RCA Records for her studio album Breathe In. Duff has worked with charities and organizations throughout her career. Duff has received media attention since the beginning of her career, most notably for her romantic relationships, friendships. Her romances with Aaron Carter and Joel Madden were often reported in the media, in 2010, she married former professional hockey player Mike Comrie, with whom she has a son. The two of them finalized their divorce six years later and she has been described by later Disney actresses as an inspiration, with artists such as Miley Cyrus and Selena Gomez claiming they looked up to Duff and emulated her career. Duff has sold an estimated 15 million records since her debut in 2002, Duff was born on September 28,1987, in Houston, Texas. Her parents are Robert Erhard Duff, a partner in a chain of stores, and Susan Colleen
33.
Mary Lynn Rajskub
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Mary Lynn Rajskub is an American actress and comedian, best known for portraying Chloe OBrian in the Fox action thriller series 24. Rajskub was born in Detroit, Michigan and raised in nearby Trenton and she is of Irish, Polish & Czechoslovak descent. Her father is a pipefitter of Czech descent, and her mother worked as a pharmacists assistant, Rajskub played the clarinet in a school band and portrayed Frenchie in the musical Grease. One of her inspirations was the television series Moonlighting. She later moved to Los Angeles, California, where she worked as a waitress in a Hard Rock Cafe, Rajskubs first part was as an Oompa-Loompa in a community theater production of Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, and her first starring role was Raggedy Ann. In 1996 she appeared in a video for the song The Good Life by Weezer. Her most notable role is CTU systems analyst Chloe OBrian on 24 and her character was a hit with viewers and critics and was one of the few cast members to return in the shows fourth season. After being a regular guest star for two seasons, Rajskub became a main cast member in the fifth season. By the end of the series, she was the lead female and her character also had the honor of saying the final words of the series in the season 8 series finale. Rajskub and Sutherland appeared briefly as their 24 characters in a 2007 episode,24 Minutes, in August 2013, it was announced that she would reprise her Chloe OBrian role in the 2014 limited series 24, Live Another Day. Rajskub was one of the original cast members of Mr. Show. Man on the Moon, Punch-Drunk Love, The Anniversary Party, Firewall, Little Miss Sunshine, music videos for Beck, Weezer and Sheryl Crow, Rajskub was part of a comic duo called Girls Guitar Club. In 2006, she made a appearance in Partings, the 6th season finale of Gilmore Girls. She has volunteered as an actress with the Young Storytellers Program and she has an educational background as a painter, having attended the San Francisco Art Institute. Rajskub has been nominated twice for a Screen Actors Guild Award, once in 2005 and she guest starred on Flight of the Conchords episode Prime Minister as Karen, an Art Garfunkel fanatic. In 2009, she appeared in the film Julie & Julia as Sarah. In 2010, Rajskub performed stand-up on John Olivers New York Stand Up Show, in June 2010, she appeared in the Lovesick episode during the second season of the USA series Royal Pains. From July through October 2010, she performed in her show, Mary Lynn Spreads Her Legs
34.
Rose McGowan
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Rose Arianna McGowan is an Italian-born American actress, film producer, director and singer. She is best known for playing Paige Matthews in The WB supernatural drama series Charmed from 2001 to 2006 and she made her film debut in the 1992 comedy Encino Man, where she played a small role. Her performance as Amy Blue in the 1995 dark comedy film The Doom Generation brought her wider attention, McGowan then appeared in the 1996 hit horror film Scream and starred alongside Ben Affleck in the 1997 coming-of-age feature Going All the Way. Later, she appeared in several Hollywood films, including Devil in the Flesh, Jawbreaker, Ready to Rumble, Monkeybone, in 2005, McGowan played Ann-Margret alongside Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Elvis Presley in the CBS miniseries Elvis. In 2007, she starred in Planet Terror, part of the film directed by Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. The following year, she starred in the thriller film. In 1996, McGowan was the model for the Henry Mancini tribute album Shots in the Dark. She has also appeared on magazine covers, including Seventeen, Interview, Maxim, GQ, Entertainment Weekly. McGowan, the second-eldest of six children, was born in Certaldo, Italy, the daughter of Terri, a writer and Microsoft employee, and Daniel McGowan. Her parents were American, and she has Irish and French ancestry, Daniel McGowan ran an Italian chapter of the Children of God, to which both he and his wife held membership until 1978. McGowan spent her early childhood amid the groups communes, often traveling through Europe with her parents, through her fathers art contacts in Italy, McGowan became a child model and appeared in Vogue Bambini and various other Italian magazines. Her parents returned to the United States when she was ten years old, settling in Eugene, McGowan had a wayward childhood, living as a teenage runaway in Portland, Oregon and associating with a group of drag queens in the city. After her parents divorced, McGowan lived with her father in Seattle, Washington, attending Roosevelt High School and Nova Alternative High School, at the age of 15, she officially emancipated herself from her parents and relocated to Los Angeles. McGowan made her first appearance in a Hollywood film with a role in the 1992 Pauly Shore comedy Encino Man. Her role in the 1995 dark comedy The Doom Generation brought her to the attention of film critics, McGowan was subsequently cast in a supporting role in the 1996 hit horror film Scream. She was the model for the Henry Mancini tribute album Shots in the Dark. She became the face of American clothing company Bebe from 1998–99, McGowan spent the majority of the 1990s appearing in a variety of independent films, including roles in Southie, Going All the Way, and Lewis & Clark & George. In 1997, she appeared in the short film Seed, directed by San Francisco-born filmmaker Karin Thayer and that year, McGowan gained much attention for the revealing fishnet outfit she wore to the 1998 Video Music Awards
35.
Eartha Kitt
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Orson Welles once called her the most exciting woman in the world. Kitt began her career in 1943 and appeared in the 1945 original Broadway theatre production of the musical Carib Song, in the early 1950s, she had six US Top 30 hits, including Uska Dara and I Want to be Evil. Her other notable include the UK Top 10 hit Under the Bridges of Paris, Just an Old Fashioned Girl. She starred in 1967 as Catwoman, in the third and final season of the television series Batman, in 1968, her career in America suffered after she made anti-war statements at a White House luncheon. Ten years later, she made a return to Broadway in the 1978 original production of the musical Timbuktu. for which she received the first of her two Tony Award nominations. Her second was for the 2000 original production of the musical The Wild Party, Kitt wrote three autobiographies—Thursdays Child, Alone with Me and Im Still Here, Confessions of a Sex Kitten. She also played Lady Eloise in 1992 film Boomerang, starring Eddie Murphy, Kitt found a new generation of fans through her roles in the Disney films The Emperors New Groove, in which she voiced the villainous Yzma, and Holes. She reprised the role as Yzma in the direct-to-video sequel Kronks New Groove and her work on the latter earned her two Daytime Emmy Awards. She posthumously won a third Emmy in 2010 for her guest performance on Wonder Pets, Kitt was born Eartha Mae Keith on a cotton plantation near the small town of North, in Orangeburg County, South Carolina on January 17,1927. Her mother Annie Mae Keith was of Cherokee and African descent, though it remains unconfirmed, it has been widely reported that her father was of German descent and that Kitt was conceived by rape. She had no knowledge of her father, except that his surname was Keith, newspaper obituaries state that her white father was a poor cotton farmer. In an August 2013 biography, British journalist John Williams claimed that Kitts father was a white man, however, Kitts daughter Kitt Shapiro has questioned the accuracy of the claim. Kitt was raised by Annie Mae Keith, later changed to Annie Mae Riley, a black woman whom the girl believed to be her mother. When she was eight, Annie Mae went to live with a black man and she was then sent to live in New York City with Mamie Keitt, where she attended the Metropolitan Vocational High School. Kitt began her career as a member of the Katherine Dunham Company in 1943, Kitts unique style was enhanced as she became fluent in French during her years performing in Europe. She spoke four languages and sang in seven, which she demonstrated in many of the live recordings of her cabaret performances. In 1950, Orson Welles gave Kitt her first starring role as Helen of Troy in his staging of Dr. Faustus. A few years later, she was cast in the revue New Faces of 1952, introducing Monotonous and Bal, Petit Bal, two songs with which she is still identified
36.
Laureen Harper
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Laureen Ann Harper is the wife of Canadas 22nd prime minister, Stephen Harper. The eldest of three, Laureen Ann Teskey was born in Turner Valley, a rural town south-west of Calgary and her parents, Barbara and Dennis Teskey, divorced in 1991, after 29 years. After graduating from Oilfields High School, she attended the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology where she studied journalism and she was first married to a New Zealander, Neil Fenton, from April 1985 to 1988. Teskey joined the Reform Party of Canada in the late 1980s and they married on December 11,1993. There was initially confusion in the Canadian media about which surname Laureen Harper uses — at different times, media references to her have called her Teskey, Harper, when she became the spouse of the Prime Minister in 2006, she campaigned alongside her husband. She was frequently seen at the podium on behalf of and with her husband, within the Conservative Party of Canada, she was nicknamed the secret weapon. She has had a public life since her arrival at 24 Sussex Drive. She has supported such as the National Arts Centre where she has been Honorary Gala Chair since 2005. She is also a supporter and campaigner for animal welfare organizations such as the Ottawa Humane Society. She is particularly active in accompanying her husband on trips, for example the G8, G20. Mrs. Harper hosted the spouses of G8 and G20 leaders in June 2010 in Toronto and she created some controversy when she notified the National Arts Centre on September 24,2008 that she would not be able to fulfill her role as Honorary Gala chair on October 4. This announcement came just days after her husband said that rich galas arent something that resonate with ordinary people, Harper later responded saying that the circumstances of her being unable to attend had nothing to do with her husbands comments. Spouses of Prime Ministers of Canada Official biography and photo from the website of the Prime Minister of CanadaThis link is dead Laureen Harper on Twitter
37.
Stephen Harper
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Stephen Joseph Harper PC is a Canadian entrepreneur and retired politician who served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada, from February 6,2006 to November 4,2015. He was the first prime minister to come from the modern Conservative Party of Canada, which was formed by a merger of the Progressive Conservative Party, Harper was member of parliament for the riding of Calgary Heritage in Alberta from 2002 to 2016. Earlier, from 1993 to 1997, he was the MP for Calgary West and he was one of the founding members of the Reform Party, but did not seek re-election in the 1997 federal election. Harper instead joined and later led the National Citizens Coalition, a conservative lobbyist group, in 2002, he succeeded Stockwell Day as leader of the Canadian Alliance, the successor to the Reform Party and returned to parliament as Leader of the Opposition. In 2003, he reached an agreement with Progressive Conservative leader Peter MacKay for the merger of their two parties to form the Conservative Party of Canada and he was elected as the partys first leader, in March 2004. Harper stepped down as MP on August 26,2016, the 2006 federal election resulted in a minority government led by the Conservative Party with Harper becoming the 22nd Prime Minister of Canada. By proportion of seats, this was Canadas smallest minority government since Confederation, despite this, it was the longest-serving minority government overall. The 40th Canadian Parliament was dissolved in March,2011, after a vote that deemed the Cabinet to be in contempt of parliament. Harper resigned as party leader on October 19,2015, Harper moved back to Calgary, Alberta, and commuted to Ottawa as an opposition backbench member of parliament. Harper was born and raised in Leaside, Toronto, the first of three sons of Margaret and Joseph Harris Harper, an accountant at Imperial Oil. Harper attended Northlea Public School and, later, John G. Althouse Middle School and Richview Collegiate Institute and he graduated in 1978, and was a member of Richview Collegiates team on Reach for the Top, a television quiz show for Canadian high school students. Harper enrolled at the University of Toronto but dropped out two months. He then moved to Edmonton, Alberta, where he work in the mail room at Imperial Oil. Later, he advanced to work on the computer systems. He took up post-secondary studies again at the University of Calgary and he later returned there to earn a masters degree in economics, completed in 1991. Harper has kept strong links to the University of Calgary, Harper was the first prime minister since Joe Clark without a law degree. Harper became involved in politics as a member of his high schools Young Liberals Club and he later changed his political allegiance because he disagreed with the National Energy Program of Pierre Trudeaus Liberal government. He left the PC Party that same year and he was then recommended by the University of Calgarys economist Bob Mansell to Preston Manning, the founder and leader of the Reform Party of Canada
38.
Nathan Phillips Square
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Nathan Phillips Square is an urban plaza in Toronto, Canada. It forms the forecourt to Toronto City Hall, or New City Hall, at the intersection of Queen Street West and Bay Street, the square was designed by the City Halls architect Viljo Revell and landscape architect Richard Strong. The square is the site of concerts, art displays, a farmers market, the winter festival of lights. During the winter months, the pool is converted into an ice rink for ice skating. The square attracts an estimated 1.5 million visitors yearly, with an area of 4.85 hectares, it is Canadas largest city square. The square is rectangular in shape, with the edge of the city meeting the square on an angle on the north side. The main portion of the square is paved with two sizes of reinforced concrete slabs, the square has a reflecting pool, a peace garden, a permanent stage and several sculptures, including Three-Way Piece No.2 by Henry Moore. Around the remaining perimeter of the square runs an elevated concrete walkway, outside the walkway are treed lawns dotted with various other memorials and monuments, such as Oscar Nemons statue of Sir Winston Churchill, and a Roman column. Beneath the square is one of the worlds largest underground parking garages, in 2012, illuminated disappearing fountains were installed among the slabs, used for decoration and cooling. The Square is property of the City of Toronto, smoking is prohibited in the entire square. The reflecting pool is situated in the south-east corner of the square, at the same time, a piece of the Berlin Wall was placed at the southern base of the central arch. To the west of the pool is a pavilion where food is available. The Peace Garden was created as a memorial to the bombing of Hiroshima. The sundial at the end of the garden pre-dates the peace memorial, inscribed with the words In appreciation of the opportunity to serve, it was originally installed in 1969. Johnson, and presented by Nathan Phillips to the residents of Toronto, the 600 m2 garden consists of a pavilion, a fountain, and surrounding plantings. The fountains pool encroaches into this corner, with an eternal flame placed in the water so as to appear as though it supports the pavilion structure, to symbolise hope. Pope John Paul II lit this flame with an ember from the Peace Flame in Hiroshima, the entire monument was formally dedicated by Elizabeth II, Queen of Canada, in October 1984. As part of the redesign of the square, the Peace Garden was moved from the centre of the square to its western edge
39.
Toronto
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Toronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. With a population of 2,731,571, it is the fourth most populous city in North America after Mexico City, New York City, and Los Angeles. A global city, Toronto is a centre of business, finance, arts, and culture. Aboriginal peoples have inhabited the area now known as Toronto for thousands of years, the city itself is situated on the southern terminus of an ancient Aboriginal trail leading north to Lake Simcoe, used by the Wyandot, Iroquois, and the Mississauga. Permanent European settlement began in the 1790s, after the broadly disputed Toronto Purchase of 1787, the British established the town of York, and later designated it as the capital of Upper Canada. During the War of 1812, the town was the site of the Battle of York, York was renamed and incorporated as the city of Toronto in 1834, and became the capital of the province of Ontario during the Canadian Confederation in 1867. The city proper has since expanded past its original borders through amalgamation with surrounding municipalities at various times in its history to its current area of 630.2 km2. While the majority of Torontonians speak English as their primary language, Toronto is a prominent centre for music, theatre, motion picture production, and television production, and is home to the headquarters of Canadas major national broadcast networks and media outlets. Toronto is known for its skyscrapers and high-rise buildings, in particular the tallest free-standing structure in the Western Hemisphere. The name Toronto is likely derived from the Iroquois word tkaronto and this refers to the northern end of what is now Lake Simcoe, where the Huron had planted tree saplings to corral fish. A portage route from Lake Ontario to Lake Huron running through this point, in the 1660s, the Iroquois established two villages within what is today Toronto, Ganatsekwyagon on the banks of the Rouge River and Teiaiagonon the banks of the Humber River. By 1701, the Mississauga had displaced the Iroquois, who abandoned the Toronto area at the end of the Beaver Wars, French traders founded Fort Rouillé on the current Exhibition grounds in 1750, but abandoned it in 1759. During the American Revolutionary War, the region saw an influx of British settlers as United Empire Loyalists fled for the British-controlled lands north of Lake Ontario, the new province of Upper Canada was in the process of creation and needed a capital. Dorchester intended the location to be named Toronto, in 1793, Governor John Graves Simcoe established the town of York on the Toronto Purchase lands, instead naming it after Prince Frederick, Duke of York and Albany. Simcoe decided to move the Upper Canada capital from Newark to York, the York garrison was constructed at the entrance of the towns natural harbour, sheltered by a long sandbar peninsula. The towns settlement formed at the end of the harbour behind the peninsula, near the present-day intersection of Parliament Street. In 1813, as part of the War of 1812, the Battle of York ended in the towns capture, the surrender of the town was negotiated by John Strachan. US soldiers destroyed much of the garrison and set fire to the parliament buildings during their five-day occupation, the sacking of York was a primary motivation for the Burning of Washington by British troops later in the war
40.
Ontario
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Ontario, one of the 13 provinces and territories of Canada, is located in east-central Canada. It is Canadas most populous province by a margin, accounting for nearly 40 percent of all Canadians. Ontario is fourth-largest in total area when the territories of the Northwest Territories and it is home to the nations capital city, Ottawa, and the nations most populous city, Toronto. There is only about 1 km of land made up of portages including Height of Land Portage on the Minnesota border. Ontario is sometimes divided into two regions, Northern Ontario and Southern Ontario. The great majority of Ontarios population and arable land is located in the south, in contrast, the larger, northern part of Ontario is sparsely populated with cold winters and is heavily forested. The province is named after Lake Ontario, a thought to be derived from Ontarí, io, a Huron word meaning great lake, or possibly skanadario. Ontario has about 250,000 freshwater lakes, the province consists of three main geographical regions, The thinly populated Canadian Shield in the northwestern and central portions, which comprises over half the land area of Ontario. Although this area mostly does not support agriculture, it is rich in minerals and in part covered by the Central and Midwestern Canadian Shield forests, studded with lakes, Northern Ontario is subdivided into two sub-regions, Northwestern Ontario and Northeastern Ontario. The virtually unpopulated Hudson Bay Lowlands in the north and northeast, mainly swampy. Southern Ontario which is further sub-divided into four regions, Central Ontario, Eastern Ontario, Golden Horseshoe, the highest point is Ishpatina Ridge at 693 metres above sea level located in Temagami, Northeastern Ontario. In the south, elevations of over 500 m are surpassed near Collingwood, above the Blue Mountains in the Dundalk Highlands, the Carolinian forest zone covers most of the southwestern region of the province. A well-known geographic feature is Niagara Falls, part of the Niagara Escarpment, the Saint Lawrence Seaway allows navigation to and from the Atlantic Ocean as far inland as Thunder Bay in Northwestern Ontario. Northern Ontario occupies roughly 87 percent of the area of the province. Point Pelee is a peninsula of Lake Erie in southwestern Ontario that is the southernmost extent of Canadas mainland, Pelee Island and Middle Island in Lake Erie extend slightly farther. All are south of 42°N – slightly farther south than the border of California. The climate of Ontario varies by season and location, the effects of these major air masses on temperature and precipitation depend mainly on latitude, proximity to major bodies of water and to a small extent, terrain relief. In general, most of Ontarios climate is classified as humid continental, Ontario has three main climatic regions
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First Lady of the United States
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First Lady of the United States is the informal but accepted title held by the wife of the President of the United States, concurrent with the presidents term of office. Although the first lady’s role has never been codified or officially defined, melania Trump is the current First Lady. While the title was not in use until much later, Martha Washington, the wife of George Washington. During her lifetime she was referred to as Lady Washington. Since the 1790s the role of first lady has changed considerably and it has come to include involvement in political campaigns, management of the White House, championship of social causes, and representation of the president at official and ceremonial occasions. Additionally, over the individual first ladies have held influence in a range of sectors. Historically, should a president be unmarried, or a widower, the use of the title First Lady to describe the spouse or hostess of an executive began in the United States. In the early days of the republic, there was not a generally accepted title for the wife of the president. Indulging in no indolence, she left the pillow at dawn, sometime after 1849, the title began being used in Washington, D. C. social circles. The title first gained recognition in 1877, when newspaper journalist Mary C. Ames referred to Lucy Webb Hayes as the First Lady of the Land while reporting on the inauguration of Rutherford B, the frequent reporting on Lucy Hayes activities helped spread use of the title outside Washington. A popular 1911 comedic play about Dolley Madison by playwright Charles Nirdlinger, titled The First Lady in the Land, by the 1930s, it was in wide use. Use of the later spread from the United States to other nations. The wife of the Vice President of the United States is sometimes referred to as the Second Lady of the United States, the position of the First Lady is not an elected one and carries only ceremonial duties. Nonetheless, first ladies have held a highly visible position in American society, the role of the First Lady has evolved over the centuries. She is, first and foremost, the hostess of the White House and she organizes and attends official ceremonies and functions of state either along with, or in place of, the president. Lisa Burns identifies four main themes of the first ladyship, as public woman, as political celebrity, as political activist. Martha Washington created the role and hosted many affairs of state at the national capital and this socializing became known as the Republican Court and provided elite women with an opportunity to play backstage political role
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White House
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The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the United States, located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D. C. It has been the residence of every U. S. president since John Adams in 1800, the term White House is often used to refer to actions of the president and his advisers, as in The White House announced that. The residence was designed by Irish-born architect James Hoban in the Neoclassical style, construction took place between 1792 and 1800 using Aquia Creek sandstone painted white. When Thomas Jefferson moved into the house in 1801, he added low colonnades on each wing that concealed stables and storage. In 1814, during the War of 1812, the mansion was set ablaze by the British Army in the Burning of Washington, destroying the interior, reconstruction began almost immediately, and President James Monroe moved into the partially reconstructed Executive Residence in October 1817. Exterior construction continued with the addition of the semi-circular South portico in 1824, because of crowding within the executive mansion itself, President Theodore Roosevelt had all work offices relocated to the newly constructed West Wing in 1901. Eight years later in 1909, President William Howard Taft expanded the West Wing and created the first Oval Office, in the main mansion, the third-floor attic was converted to living quarters in 1927 by augmenting the existing hip roof with long shed dormers. A newly constructed East Wing was used as an area for social events. East Wing alterations were completed in 1946, creating additional office space, by 1948, the houses load-bearing exterior walls and internal wood beams were found to be close to failure. Under Harry S. Truman, the rooms were completely dismantled. Once this work was completed, the rooms were rebuilt. The Executive Residence is made up of six stories—the Ground Floor, State Floor, Second Floor, the property is a National Heritage Site owned by the National Park Service and is part of the Presidents Park. In 2007, it was ranked second on the American Institute of Architects list of Americas Favorite Architecture, in May 1790, New York began construction of Government House for his official residence, but he never occupied it. The national capital moved to Philadelphia in December 1790, the July 1790 Residence Act named Philadelphia, Pennsylvania the temporary national capital for a 10-year period while the Federal City was under construction. The City of Philadelphia rented Robert Morriss city house at 190 High Street for Washingtons presidential residence, the first president occupied the Market Street mansion from November 1790 to March 1797, and altered it in ways that may have influenced the design of the White House. As part of an effort to have Philadelphia named the permanent national capital, Pennsylvania built a much grander presidential mansion several blocks away. President John Adams also occupied the Market Street mansion from March 1797 to May 1800, on Saturday, November 1,1800, he became the first president to occupy the White House. The Presidents House in Philadelphia became a hotel and was demolished in 1832, the Presidents House was a major feature of Pierre Charles LEnfants plan for the newly established federal city, Washington, D. C
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John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
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The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center located on the Potomac River, adjacent to the Watergate complex in Washington, D. C. The Center, which opened September 8,1971, is a multi-dimensional facility, both an enduring memorial to John F. Now in its 45th season, the Center presents the greatest examples of music, dance and theater, supports artists in the creation of new work and it is both the nations public memorial to President John F. Kennedy and the national center for the performing arts. Its activities include educational and outreach initiatives, almost entirely funded through sales and gifts from individuals, corporations. The building, designed by architect Edward Durell Stone, was constructed by Philadelphia contractor John McShain and it receives annual federal funding to pay for its maintenance and operation. The Library of Congress added an auditorium, but it had restrictions on its use. A congressional resolution in 1938 called for construction of a building which shall be known as the National Cultural Center near Judiciary Square. In 1950, the idea for a national theater resurfaced when U. S, representative Arthur George Klein of New York introduced a bill to authorize funds to plan and build a cultural center. The bill included provisions that the center would prohibit any discrimination of cast or audience, in 1955, the Stanford Research Institute was commissioned to select a site and provide design suggestions for the center. From 1955 to 1958, Congress debated the idea amid much controversy and this was the first time in history that the federal government helped finance a structure dedicated to the performing arts. The legislation required a portion of the costs, estimated at $10–25 million, Edward Durell Stone was selected as architect for the project in June 1959. He presented preliminary designs to the Presidents Music Committee in October 1959, along with estimated costs of $50 million, by November 1959, estimated costs had escalated to $61 million. The National Cultural Center was renamed the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in 1964, the National Cultural Center Board of Trustees, a group Eisenhower established January 29,1959, led fundraising. Fundraising efforts were not successful, with only $13,425 raised in the first three years, President John F. Kennedy was interested in bringing culture to the nations capital, and provided leadership and support for the project. In 1961, President Kennedy asked Roger L. Stevens to help develop the National Cultural Center, Stevens recruited First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy as Honorary Chairman of the Center, and former First Lady Mamie Eisenhower as co-chairman. The total cost of construction was $70 million, Congress allocated $43 million for construction costs, including $23 million as an outright grant and the other $20 million in bonds. Donations also comprised a significant portion of funding, including $5 million from the Ford Foundation, other major donors included J. Willard Marriott, Marjorie Merriweather Post, John D. Rockefeller III, and Robert W. Woodruff, as well as many corporate donors. Foreign countries provided gifts to the Kennedy Center, including a gift of 3,700 tons of Carrara marble from Italy from the Italian government, President Lyndon B. Johnson dug the ceremonial first-shovel of earth at the groundbreaking for the Kennedy Center December 2,1964
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Washington, D.C.
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Washington, D. C. formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, the District, or simply D. C. is the capital of the United States. The signing of the Residence Act on July 16,1790, Constitution provided for a federal district under the exclusive jurisdiction of the Congress and the District is therefore not a part of any state. The states of Maryland and Virginia each donated land to form the federal district, named in honor of President George Washington, the City of Washington was founded in 1791 to serve as the new national capital. In 1846, Congress returned the land ceded by Virginia, in 1871. Washington had an population of 681,170 as of July 2016. Commuters from the surrounding Maryland and Virginia suburbs raise the population to more than one million during the workweek. The Washington metropolitan area, of which the District is a part, has a population of over 6 million, the centers of all three branches of the federal government of the United States are in the District, including the Congress, President, and Supreme Court. Washington is home to national monuments and museums, which are primarily situated on or around the National Mall. The city hosts 176 foreign embassies as well as the headquarters of international organizations, trade unions, non-profit organizations, lobbying groups. A locally elected mayor and a 13‑member council have governed the District since 1973, However, the Congress maintains supreme authority over the city and may overturn local laws. D. C. residents elect a non-voting, at-large congressional delegate to the House of Representatives, the District receives three electoral votes in presidential elections as permitted by the Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1961. Various tribes of the Algonquian-speaking Piscataway people inhabited the lands around the Potomac River when Europeans first visited the area in the early 17th century, One group known as the Nacotchtank maintained settlements around the Anacostia River within the present-day District of Columbia. Conflicts with European colonists and neighboring tribes forced the relocation of the Piscataway people, some of whom established a new settlement in 1699 near Point of Rocks, Maryland. 43, published January 23,1788, James Madison argued that the new government would need authority over a national capital to provide for its own maintenance. Five years earlier, a band of unpaid soldiers besieged Congress while its members were meeting in Philadelphia, known as the Pennsylvania Mutiny of 1783, the event emphasized the need for the national government not to rely on any state for its own security. However, the Constitution does not specify a location for the capital, on July 9,1790, Congress passed the Residence Act, which approved the creation of a national capital on the Potomac River. The exact location was to be selected by President George Washington, formed from land donated by the states of Maryland and Virginia, the initial shape of the federal district was a square measuring 10 miles on each side, totaling 100 square miles. Two pre-existing settlements were included in the territory, the port of Georgetown, Maryland, founded in 1751, many of the stones are still standing
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