Reiko Aylesworth Full Biography

About 

Reiko M. Aylesworth (born December 9, 1972) is an American film, television and stage actress, best known for her role on the television series 24 as Michelle Dessler. 

Career 

After joining her family in Seattle, Aylesworth attended the University of Washington and studied neuroscience with the intention of becoming a neurosurgeon. While attending the University of Washington, Aylesworth participated in several local theatre productions including Invisible Friends at the Seattle Children's Theatre[7] and the Intiman Theatre Company's production of Peter Pan where she played Wendy. 

Aylesworth's performance in Peter Pan brought her to the attention of talent scouts at ABC, leading to the beginning of her television and film career as Rebecca Lewis on the soap opera One Life to Live. After her character was written out of One Life to Live, she appeared in the independent film Childhood's End and the final episode of the HBO series Lifestories: Families in Crisis. During this time Aylesworth also appeared in at least three Off Broadway productions. 

Following a guest appearance on Law & Order and a supporting role in the miniseries A Will of Their Own, Aylesworth had minor appearances in the movies Random Hearts and You've Got Mail followed by a guest star role in the CBS series Now and Again. Soon after NBC cast Aylesworth as Becca Coltrane in the pilot for the series Sherman's March, however, it was not picked up and aired as a standalone television movie. 

Aylesworth continued her work on television with guest appearances in The West Wing, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Ed as well as being cast in a lead role in the supernatural hospital drama All Souls. When All Souls failed to be continued, Aylesworth joined the cast of The American Embassy in the second episode, although she was also credited in the pilot. 

Following the cancellation of The American Embassy, Aylesworth auditioned for the part of Nina Myers on Fox Network's 24 but the role went to Sarah Clarke. When casting began for 24's second season, Aylesworth again auditioned, this time for the part of Kate Warner, but the role went to Sarah Wynter. However, the producers were impressed with her and asked her to join the cast for a ten episode recurring role as Michelle Dessler, a CTU agent. Despite being credited as a guest star for the entire season, she appeared in all 24 episodes. 

Director Jon Cassar quickly noticed the "chemistry" between Aylesworth and her costar Carlos Bernard, which led to a decision allowing the actors to develop their characters' onscreen relationship. The relationship between Tony Almeida and Michelle quickly became popular with many fans and later would resurface as one of the driving forces in 24's seventh season. 

While on hiatus from 24 after season two, Aylesworth filmed an episode for the second season of The Dead Zone, playing a love interest for Anthony Michael Hall's Johnny Smith. By 24's third season, Aylesworth had become a main cast member with Tony and Michelle now married and holding leadership positions at CTU. However, when the season concluded, the writers announced only the characters of Jack Bauer, Chloe O'Brian and John Keeler would return, with the remainder of the cast being dropped. Upon being released from 24, Aylesworth was cast as Chandra Moore in CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, the lab's new DNA analyst, and while the role was intended to be recurring, it only lasted for the first episode of CSI's fifth season. 

During 24 season 4, it was decided some of the cast from previous seasons would return including Carlos Bernard, Dennis Haysbert, and Reiko Aylesworth. In the twelfth episode, Aylesworth returned, with Michelle Dessler now a high level bureaucrat within the CTU hierarchy. Michelle served as CTU Director for the remainder of the season and resigned shortly thereafter in order to remarry Tony Almeida. Aylesworth's time on 24 came to a conclusion in the opening episode of the fifth season when Michelle was killed by a car bomb. 

Following her departure from 24, Aylesworth has remained active in both television and movies as well as theatre. Her first leading role in a feature film was in the independent, romantic drama Crazylove where she worked alongside Bruno Campos and former 24 costar Paul Schulze. Crazylove tells the story of Letty Mayer, a school teacher who suffers a nervous breakdown and while institutionalized, meets Michael (Campos) and the two begin a dangerous and unpredictable romance. She partnered with her former 24 costar Xander Berkeley in the Sci Fi Channel made for television movie, Magma: Volcanic Disaster. In a guest start role on the short-lived series Conviction, she played a renowned attorney who killed her husband and then defended herself at the murder trial. When the cast was selected for the series 3 lbs, Aylesworth was chosen for the role of Dr. Adrienne Holland, but the pilot was rejected by CBS. The following season, CBS decided to buy the series for a late fall 2006 premiere, but the lead roles were recast, including Aylesworth's. It is unknown whether she declined the 3 lbs role or she was not offered it again. 

Soon after the conclusion of 24's fifth season, Aylesworth and her 24 costar D. B. Woodside filmed the short, First which was also written, produced, and directed by Woodside. Aylesworth's character, Angelina Marveau, was "a fallen French nun" who was fighting to choose between her religious beliefs and first love, a nihilistic, American professor, who was portrayed by Woodside. 

In 2006 Aylesworth filmed roles for two feature movie along with an independent production. In the Kevin Costner movie, Mr. Brooks, Aylesworth portrayed a divorce lawyer, Sheila, who was representing the husband of Demi Moore's character, Detective Tracy Atwood. Departing from her previous type of characters, Aylesworth played the femme fatale Audrey Levine in the Gideon Raff independent thriller, The Killing Floor. 

Aylesworth played one of the two lead roles in Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem (2007). Her character, Kelly O'Brien, an Army pilot and soldier returning home after being deployed overseas, arrives in Gunnison, Colorado the day before the Aliens and Predator invade the town. 

In January 2007, Aylesworth had a guest role in two episodes of the ABC comedy, The Knights of Prosperity, where she played the head of Mick Jagger's security company, Simone Cashwell. The Knights attempt to seduce her character in order to obtain the necessary security codes to access Mick Jagger's apartment and later trick Simone in order to get her thumbprint which is also needed to open the door. Soon after she filmed a supporting role in Hannah Davis and David Conolly's The Understudy where she played Police Chief Kinsky. While it has appeared at numerous film festivals, a DVD release date for The Understudy has not been announced. 

Aylesworth continued her work in independent productions, filming a small part for Steven Kampmann's independent movie, Buzzkill. It is not known when Buzzkill will be released as it has not been shown at any film festivals and the movie's website has not been updated since April, 2008. A month later, Aylesworth was cast in a recurring role on ER, playing hospital chaplain Julia Dupree. Originally, Dupree was to appear in 5 episodes with the purpose of attracting the lecherous attention of Dr. Gates (John Stamos). Her role was extended for two additional episodes, but concluded due to the suspension of filming resulting from the 2007-2008 WGA Strike. In May, 2008 Aylesworth filmed a supporting role in the Steve Morris, independent, comedy The Assistants,, which tells the story of a group of Hollywood assistants who are scheming to have their script turned into a feature film. 

Aylesworth has often said independent productions like these and past films such as No Deposit, No Return, are her preferred types of film. 

Since filming The Assistants, Aylesworth has focused on television work starting with a recurring role on the ABC series Lost. The character, Amy, was originally described as "a smart and successful professional woman with a love for the outdoors who is looking for the right man" and would appear in at least four episodes. However, the character would only be in three episodes, and was a married member of the Dharma Initiative, not a woman looking for a husband. 

Soon after her role on Lost concluded, it was announced that Aylesworth had joined the cast of Jerry Bruckheimer's new ABC crime drama, The Forgotten. When first made public, The Forgotten was to focus on a group of amateur detectives, The Identity Network, who are led by Linda Manning (Aylesworth), and focused on identifying murder victims after the police were unable to do so. After the official network upfronts, as well as previews and promotional pictures had been released by ABC, it was announced for reasons as yet unknown that ABC had decided to recast the series and replace the two lead characters, portrayed respectively by Rupert Penry-Jones and Aylesworth. 

Aylesworth is most recently known for her portrayal of the recurring character Dr. Malia Waincroft in CBS' Hawaii Five-0 in 2011. 

She has also appeared in Elementary as Miranda Molinari and in Person of Interest as Agent Vickers in 2012.

Sarah Clarke Biography

About 

Sarah Clarke (born February 16, 1972) is an American actress, best known for her role as Nina Myers on 24, and also for her roles as Renée Dwyer, Bella Swan's mother, in the 2008 film Twilight, Erin McGuire on the short-lived TV show Trust Me, and CIA Agent Lena Smith on the USA Network show Covert Affairs. 

Career 

Clarke began her acting career with an appearance in a 1999 award-winning commercial for Volkswagen. She followed this with a role in the 2000 short film Pas de deux and received an Outstanding Performance award at the Brooklyn Film Festival. Clarke's career soon blossomed with minor roles, including films All About George in 2000 and The Accident in 2001, as well as television shows such as Ed and Sex and the City. 

In 2001, Clarke auditioned for the role of CTU agent Nina Myers on 24. She won the role on the day that filming began. The wardrobe department didn't have time to fit her, so she had to wear her own outfit for the entire season of filming. In her three seasons with the show, Clarke was featured in a total of 36 episodes. Clarke won a Golden Satellite Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Drama Series for this role. Clarke also lent her voice to 24: The Game, as her 24 character, Nina Myers. 

She has guest-starred on House and Life. She played Renée Dwyer, Bella Swan's mother, in Twilight. She accepted a leading role on new TNT series entitled Trust Me, opposite Eric McCormack and Thomas Cavanagh. The series premiered on January 26, 2009 to positive reviews, though it was cancelled after one season due to declining ratings. In 2010, Clarke reprised her role as Renée Dwyer in Eclipse, the third movie in the Twilight series. In 2013, she was cast as Marla Jameson in the US version of The Tomorrow People.

Olivia Cooke Biography

About 

Olivia Cooke (born 27 December 1993) is an English actress. 

Career 

She currently co-stars as Emma Decody on the American television series Bates Motel airing on A&E. Prior to appearing in Bates Motel, she co-starred in the British miniseries Blackout and The Secret of Crickley Hall.

Taylor Lautner Full Biography

About 

Taylor Daniel Lautner (pronounced /ˈlaʊtnər/; born February 11, 1992) is an American actor, model, and martial artist. Lautner is best known for playing Jacob Black in The Twilight Saga film series based on the novels of the same name by Stephenie Meyer. 

As a child, Lautner took up martial arts in Holland, Michigan and was ranked number one in his category by the American Sports Karate Association. Lautner later began his acting career, appearing in bit roles in comedy series such as The Bernie Mac Show (2003) and My Wife and Kids (2004), before having voice roles in television series like What's New, Scooby-Doo? (2005) and Danny Phantom (2005). In 2005, he appeared in the film Cheaper by the Dozen 2 and starred in The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D. He also starred in the 2011 action film Abduction. 
The late 2000s saw Lautner become a teen idol and sex symbol, after extensively changing his physique to keep the role of Jacob Black in further Twilight installments, and generating media attention for his looks. In 2010, he was ranked second on Glamour's "The 50 Sexiest Men of 2010" list, and fourth on People's "Most Amazing Bodies" list. Also in the same year, Lautner was named the highest-paid teenage actor in Hollywood. 

Career 

In his first months after moving to Los Angeles, Lautner appeared in small television roles, small film roles, and ads and commercials. In 2001, Lautner first appeared in the made-for-television film, Shadow Fury. He then got a voice-over job in a commercial for Rugrats Go Wild. He then appeared in small television roles on The Bernie Mac Show, My Wife and Kids, and Summerland. Lautner then earned voice-over roles in animated series such as Danny Phantom, Duck Dodgers, and What's New, Scooby-Doo?. In 2005, he had a role as Elliot Murtaugh in the comedy film Cheaper by the Dozen 2. The same year, he earned his first breakout role, starring in the film, The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D. Lautner spent three months on location in Austin, Texas, to film the movie, which was received with negative reviews from critics, and was a minor international success. However, Lautner was nominated at the 2006 Young Artist Awards for Best Performance in a Feature Film by a Leading Actor. For the film, Lautner choreographed all of his fight scenes after director Robert Rodríguez learned of his extensive martial arts training. Months later, he was cast as Eliot Murtaugh in Cheaper by the Dozen 2, which was panned by critics, being named one of the "Worst Films of the 2000s" by Rotten Tomatoes. After returning from Canada filming the latter movie, Lautner said he realized his newfound fame, from Sharkboy and Lavagirl. In 2008 he appeared in the show Love Inc. and the TV special He's a Bully, Charlie Brown. Two years later, Lautner appeared in a lead role in the short-lived NBC drama, My Own Worst Enemy, portraying Christian Slater's son, Jack Spivey. Rolling Stone coined his early roles as either "the popular kid, jock, or bully." 

In 2007, filmmakers began a search for actors to portray Jacob Black, a Native American friend of lead character Bella Swan in Twilight, the first film in the The Twilight Saga film series.[ In January 2008, an open casting call was held in Portland, Oregon. Lautner had not heard of the Twilight series before, but was urged by his agent to audition. At his audition, he read lines with Kristen Stewart, who had already been cast as Bella, and they acted out scenes from The Twilight Saga: New Moon and The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. The film was a commercial success, earning $69 million its opening weekend, and has grossed $392 million worldwide. It received mixed reviews from critics, having a "Rotten" rating with a weighted average of 5.5/10. In describing the critical consensus, it stated: "Having lost much of its bite transitioning to the big screen, Twilight will please its devoted fans, but do little for the uninitiated." On Metacritic, which assigns a weighted mean rating out of 100 reviews from film critics, it has an average score of 56 from the 37 reviews.At the 2009 MTV Movie Awards, Lautner was nominated for Male Breakthrough Performance, which was won by co-star Robert Pattinson. 

Initially, director Chris Weitz wanted to recast the role of Jacob Black for Twilight's sequel, The Twilight Saga: New Moon, due to the major physical changes that occur in Black between the two novels, and have an actor that would accurately portray "the new, larger Jacob Black." Black's role in the novel also increases significantly, with him falling in love with Bella and becoming a werewolf, putting the actor in a starring role. Representatives for Weitz had stated that they were make a full effort to recast the "high-profile gig," and MTV News confirmed that Weitz was looking at Michael Copon to take on the role; however, Summit Entertainment said a decision had not been made. In an attempt to keep the role, Lautner weight-trained extensively and gained approximately 30 pounds of muscle. In January 2009, Weitz and Summit Entertainment announced that Lautner would continue to play the role of Jacob in the sequel. In an interview, fellow cast member Kristen Stewart talked about Lautner's transformation saying, "He's an entirely different person physically." Stewart later said, "He gets a lot of attention because he's buff, but I think as soon as the movie comes out, people are going to realize that's not why he got the job." Co-star Robert Pattinson said after seeing Lautner's body, "I saw him and thought 'Jesus, I'm going to get fired." In an interview with The Wrap, Weitz said Lautner deserved a lot of credit for the movie's box office, stating, "If you look at the movie, it should have been the weakest in the franchise, because Robert Pattinson doesn't play as big a role." Weitz said Lautner had to "pick up that slack, and if his character hadn't been emotionally, not just physically, appealing, the movie wouldn't have been as big a hit." The commercial performance of the film outpaced the first film, setting several box office records including the biggest midnight opening in the United States and Canada and the biggest single-day opening. The opening weekend of New Moon is the third highest opening weekend in domestic history with $142,839,137. The Twilight Saga: New Moon also has the sixth highest worldwide opening weekend with $274.9 million total. Critical reception was less favorable, with the movie getting a 4.6/10 average from Rotten Tomatoes, and a 44 on Metacritic. Lautner won Favorite Breakout Movie Actor at the 35th People's Choice Awards. 

Although it began after the release of the first film, upon release of New Moon, Lautner and his co-stars Stewart and Pattinson transitioned to teen idol status, with Lautner particularly admired by teens for his new physical characteristics, becoming a sex symbol. The trio appeared on many covers and televised appearances together. In between the second and third films in the Twilight series, Lautner was a part of the ensemble cast in the movie Valentine's Day as Willy Harrington, acting alongside his rumored girlfriend at the time, American country pop singer Taylor Swift. The duo was nominated at the 2010 MTV Movie Awards for Best Kiss. Although it received generally negative reviews, the film grossed $213 million and had the second biggest opening in the United States for a romantic comedy film. Lautner presented at the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards and the 82nd Academy Awards. Lautner hosted Saturday Night Live on December 12, 2009, making him one of the youngest celebrity hosts in the show's history.

Sarah Gadon Full Biography

About 

Sarah Gadon (born April 4, 1987) is a Canadian actress. She has had roles in David Cronenberg's A Dangerous Method and Cosmopolis. She has guest starred in a number of notable television series including Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Dark Oracle, Doc, In a Heartbeat, La Femme Nikita, Life with Derek, and Mutant X. She has voice-acted for Mattimeo, My Dad the Rock Star, Ruby Gloom, Total Drama, and Wayside. 

Career 

Gadon started acting at the age of 10; her first acting role was Julia in an episode of La Femme Nikita (1998). For the next few years, Sarah took episodic roles in various television series, including Monica in Are You Afraid of the Dark? (1999), Young Laura Burnham in Twice in a Lifetime (2000), Catherine Hartman in Mutant X (2002), Vicki in Life with Derek (2005), and Tasha Redford in Flashpoint (2008). 

She also has a number of television films to her credit. She was nominated for the Young Artist Award for Best Ensemble in a TV movie for her first film, The Other Me (2000), portraying Heather. Other roles include Samantha in What Girls Learn (2001), Amanda in Cadet Kelly (2002), Julia Norton in Code Breakers (2005,) and Celeste Mercier in The Cutting Edge 3 (2008). 

Sarah has had a recurring role in many television series: Zoe Kessler in The Border (2008-2009), Katie Atkins in Being Erica (2009), Georgia Bravin in Happy Town (2010) and Ruby Odgen in Murdoch Mysteries (2009-2011). She is also behind the voice of the title character in the animated series Ruby Gloom (2006-2007), Beth in Total Drama Island (2007) and Portia in Friends and Heroes (2007-2009). Sarah was nominated for a Gemini Award in 2008 for Best Individual or Ensemble Performance in an Animated Program or Series for her work in Ruby Gloom (2008). She shared in this nomination with Emily Hampshire. 

In 2005, she filmed for Where Love Reigns, a promotional film co-starring Douglas Henshall. 

Her filmography includes both feature length and short films. Her first feature film was Fast Food High (2003) where she portrayed Zoe. She portrayed Margaret in the dark comedy Siblings, Priscilla in Charlie Bartlett (2007) and Laura in Leslie, My Name is Evil (2009). Her short film work includes Haley in Burgeon and Fade (2007), Julia in Grange Avenue (2008) and Gabrielle in Spoliation (2008). Burgeon and Fade won the Special Jury Award at the WorldFest Houston Festival for original dramatic short film. 

She stars in the short indie film, The Origin of Teddy Bears, as Madison. 

She was also cast in the David Cronenberg film A Dangerous Method where she plays Emma Jung, Carl Jung's wife. She starred in Cronenberg's Cosmopolis, alongside Robert Pattinson, as his on-screen wife of 22 days, Elise Shifirin. She is cast in the television adaptation of Ken Follett’s global bestseller World Without End as an eight-hour event series. 

She featured in Brandon Cronenberg's debut feature, Antiviral (2011) as Hannah Geist, a mega-star in a sci-fi world where fans pay to be infected with the diseases of the rich and famous. 

Her next role is a Canadian short film, Yellow Fish, alongside J. Adam Brown. 

On May 23, 2012 in Cannes, Birks presented the first Birks Canadian Diamond award to Gadon and Emily Hampshire during Telefilm Canada's inaugural Tribute To Canadian Talent press event and reception. 

She is featured in Denis Villeneuve's An Enemy (2013), based on the José Saramago book, The Double (2002). In July 2013, Gadon joined the production of David Cronenberg's Maps to the Stars, which is described as dark comic look at Hollywood excess. 

She participated in the CBC "Canada Reads" competition in March 2014.

Zac Efron Full Biography

About 

Zachary David Alexander "Zac" Efron (born October 18, 1987) is an American actor and singer. He began acting professionally in the early 2000s, and became known as a teen idol after his lead roles in the Disney Channel Original Movie High School Musical, the WB series Summerland, and the 2007 film version of the Broadway musical Hairspray. Efron has since starred in the films 17 Again, Me and Orson Welles, Charlie St. Cloud, New Year's Eve, The Lucky One, That Awkward Moment, and The Lorax (voice only). 

Career 

In 2002, Efron began to appear in guest roles on several television series, including Firefly, ER, and The Guardian. He portrayed Cameron Bale on the now-cancelled WB series Summerland. Originally introduced as a recurring character, Efron became a regular cast member on the show in the second season in 2004, starring opposite the likes of Kay Panabaker, Lori Loughlin and Jesse McCartney. Since appearing in Summerland, he has also had guest roles on the shows CSI: Miami, NCIS, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and The Replacements. In 2003, Efron starred in the Lifetime original television movie Miracle Run. He played Steven Morgan, one of two autistic twins. For his performance, he was nominated for a Young Artist Award for Best Performance in a TV Movie, Mini-series or Special — Supporting Young Actor. In 2005, he played a main character in Hope Partlow's music video for her song "Sick Inside." Also in 2005, he played horse-loving Patrick McCardle in The Derby Stallion, where his character wants to beat the town bully at the steeple chase race. 

On April 7, 2007, Efron appeared in an episode of Punk'd. Efron also starred in the music video for Vanessa Hudgens's single "Say OK", in which he played her love interest. The video aired on March 16, 2007 on the Disney Channel. That year, he was named one of People magazine's 100 Most Beautiful People in 2007. A picture and short profile of him was in the section "Coming of Age". In it, he related how he was always the shortest kid in school (as of August 2007, he was 5'8") and was teased for the "huge gap" in his teeth. 

In 2006, Efron was cast as Link Larkin in a film version of Hairspray released on July 20, 2007. Efron performed all of his own vocals in the role, which was filmed in Toronto, Ontario, from September 5 to December 2, 2006. He cut and dyed his hair dark brown and gained about 15 pounds for the role. His performance and the film received positive reviews. Efron was not able to perform with his fellow castmates in High School Musical: The Concert because of commitments on the film Hairspray. Drew Seeley took over for him. 

High School Musical 2 aired in August 2007. At the time, Lycos reported searches for Efron surged by 81%. The film set a new record, becoming the most watched basic cable program in U.S. history, with 17.2 million viewers. Efron also appeared on the cover of the August 2007 edition of Rolling Stone. The article about him revealed that he hoped to someday play an action hero. Efron presented the 2007 Teen Choice Award for "Favorite Movie" along with Queen Latifah, and later that year, he co-hosted the Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards with The Veronicas on October 10 in Sydney. 

In early 2008, Efron was cast in the lead role in the film Me and Orson Welles. Based on Robert Kaplow's novel of the same name, the story, set in 1937 New York, tells of a teenager hired to star in Orson Welles' production of Julius Caesar, where he becomes attracted to a career-driven production assistant. The film was shot in the Isle of Man, London and New York, during February — April 2008. It was introduced to North America via the Toronto Film Festival on September 5, 6, and 11, 2008 and was released in 2009. Efron was also scheduled to star in Paramount's musical remake of the film Footloose, and has said that he would like to add his "own little bit of flair" to the role originated by Kevin Bacon. In March 2009, he dropped out of the film. Efron was quoted as saying that while it was a promising gig, he left the project because he "was looking for a new challenge, and this was another musical." 

Efron reprised his role in High School Musical 3: Senior Year, which was theatrically released on October 24, 2008. His next role was in 2009's 17 Again, a high school-set comedy-drama produced by Adam Shankman and based on a pitch by Jason Filardi; the plot involved an adult who is transformed into a 17-year old (played by Efron). 

On April 8, 2009, Efron's participation in a comedic short video entitled "Zac Efron's Pool Party" for the website Funny Or Die was released for public viewing. On April 11, 2009, Efron hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live. In early June 2009 it was confirmed that Efron would be making a guest appearance during the sixth season of HBO's comedy series Entourage. Efron starred in a series of advertisements, along with Kristen Bell and Sean Combs, promoting the 2010 MTV Movie Awards and the host, Aziz Ansari. In 2009, he signed on to play title character in the movie Charlie St. Cloud. The film was released on July 30, 2010. 

Efron was second on People's 2011 Most Beautiful list. That year, he appeared in Garry Marshall's New Year's Eve, which did well at the box-office, despite receiving many negative reviews from critics. In 2012, he voiced Teg Wiggins in The Lorax and starred in The Lucky One, a film adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' novel of the same name. The same year, he also appeared in three independent films: he played leading roles in The Paperboy, alongside Nicole Kidman and John Cusack, and At Any Price, with Dennis Quaid, and had a supporting part in director Josh Radnor's Liberal Arts. 

In 2014, Efron starred in the romantic comedy That Awkward Moment, alongside Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan.

Gwyneth Paltrow Full Biography

About 

Gwyneth Kate Paltrow (/ˈɡwɪnɨθ ˈpæltroʊ/; born September 27, 1972) is an American actress, singer, and food writer. She made her acting debut on stage in 1990 and started appearing in films in 1991. After appearing in several films throughout the decade, Paltrow gained early notice for her work in films such as Seven (1995) and Emma (1996) (in which she played the title role). 

Following the films Sliding Doors (1998) and A Perfect Murder (1998), Paltrow garnered worldwide recognition through her performance in Shakespeare in Love (1998), for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards, for Outstanding Lead Actress and as a member of the Outstanding Cast. She also won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 2011 for her role as Holly Holliday on the Fox hit TV show Glee in the episode "The Substitute". In April 2013, Gwyneth was named "Most Beautiful Woman" by People Magazine. 

Paltrow has portrayed supporting as well as lead roles in films such as The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001), Shallow Hal (2001), and Proof (2005), for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actress in Motion Picture Drama. Since 2008 she has portrayed Pepper Potts, the love interest of Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, in Iron Man (2008), Iron Man 2 (2010), The Avengers (2012), and Iron Man 3 (2013). Paltrow has been the face of Estée Lauder's Pleasures perfume since 2005. 

She was married to Chris Martin, the lead vocalist of Coldplay, with whom she has had two children, Apple and Moses. However, they announced their separation in March 2014.She is also the face of American fashion brand Coach, owner of the lifestyle company Goop.com and author of two cookbooks: My Father's Daughter: Delicious, Easy Recipes Celebrating Family & Togetherness, and It's All Good. 

Career 

Her acting debut was in High (1989), a TV film her father directed, and after spending several summers watching her mother perform at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts, Paltrow made her professional stage debut there in 1990. Her film debut followed with Shout (1991), starring John Travolta; and she was cast by Steven Spielberg in his film Hook (1991) as the young Wendy Darling. 

Paltrow's next roles were in the made-for-television movies Cruel Doubt (1992) and Deadly Relations (1993). Her first plum feature film role was in the noir drama Flesh and Bone (1993) as the much-younger girlfriend of James Caan. In 1995, she played Brad Pitt's wife in the hit thriller Se7en. Her performance earned her a Satellite Award nomination. Also in 1995, she appeared in Moonlight and Valentino and Jefferson in Paris. 

In 1996, Paltrow played the title character in Emma to critical acclaim, particularly in the United Kingdom, where her perfection of the English accent was appreciated. She had leading roles in several films throughout 1998, including Sliding Doors and the adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel Great Expectations with Ethan Hawke, Robert De Niro, Anne Bancroft and Chris Cooper. She also appeared in two thrillers, Hush opposite Jessica Lange and A Perfect Murder inspired by Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 film, Dial M for Murder. Paltrow appeared opposite Michael Douglas as Emily Taylor, based on Grace Kelly's character from the original film, though the film was met with mixed reviews. She was also considered for the role of Rose DeWitt Bukater in the 1997 film Titanic. 

In 1998, Paltrow starred in Shakespeare in Love, portraying the fictional lover of William Shakespeare, played by Joseph Fiennes. The film earned more than US$100 million in box office receipts in the United States, and Paltrow gained critical acclaim for her portrayal. Entertainment Weekly commented, "Best of all is Gwyneth Paltrow, who, at long last, has a movie to star in that's as radiant as she is." The New York Times summed up her turn as Viola as such: "Gwyneth Paltrow, in her first great, fully realized starring performance, makes a heroine so breathtaking that she seems utterly plausible as the playwright's guiding light." 

The award-winning Shakespeare in Love earned Paltrow the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role from the Screen Actors Guild, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress and the Academy Award for Best Actress, among other honors. Her Pink Ralph Lauren dress worn at the 71st Academy Awards in collecting her Oscar was extremely popular and was credited for bringing pink back into fashion.

In 1999, Paltrow co-starred alongside Jude Law, Matt Damon and Cate Blanchett in The Talented Mr. Ripley, which earned $80 million domestically and received positive reviews. She showcased her singing ability in 2000's Duets, which was directed by her father and co-starred singer Huey Lewis. The same year, Paltrow co-starred with Ben Affleck in the romantic drama Bounce as Abby Janello. In 2001, she played Margot Tenenbaum as part of an ensemble cast in the Wes Anderson film The Royal Tenenbaums and starred with Jack Black in the comedy Shallow Hal, where she had to wear a specially designed 25-pound fatsuit and heavy make-up. 

Since the Oscar for Shakespeare in Love, Paltrow's film success has been less noteworthy. She said she was unequipped for the pressure, leading to several bad movie choices, agreeing with peers who believe the win is, in some ways, a curse. During this time, Paltrow rarely appeared in films, having taken a hiatus to raise her 2 children.In The Guardian, she said she divided her career into movies for love and films for money: The Royal Tenenbaums, Proof, and Sylvia fell into the former category, while she did View from the Top and Shallow Hal for the latter. 

In 2004, she appeared in the science-fiction film Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow opposite Jude Law. The same year, she was recognized as an outstanding woman in entertainment by Women in Film Los Angeles with the Crystal Award. In 2005, she appeared in the film Proof as the depressed daughter of a brilliant, eccentric mathematician. The movie is based on the play of the same name, in which Paltrow also played the same character at London's Donmar Warehouse in 2002. For her performance Paltrow earned her second Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama. In 2006, she had small roles in Running With Scissors and Infamous, in which she sang Cole Porter's "What Is This Thing Called Love?". 

In 2008, she appeared in the superhero film Iron Man as Pepper Potts, Tony Stark's personal assistant, closest friend, and budding love interest. Iron Man was Paltrow's highest-grossing film to date, earning more than $585,000,000 worldwide, until she reprised her role as Potts in Joss Whedon's 2012 epic, The Avengers, which grossed more than $1 billion worldwide. Paltrow said she was hesitant to appear in a big-budget project but she was won over by Robert Downey, Jr., the film's lead, and director Jon Favreau. She recalled a conversation with Downey, saying: 

"Robert called me and he said, 'This is gonna be fun, and this is gonna be good.' And then he said to me, 'Don't you want to be in a movie that people see?' And I was like, 'Whoa! What would that feel like?' And he's right. Moviemaking is not supposed to be a masturbatory exercise; it's supposed to be shared by other people." 

In 2010, Paltrow reprised her role in the sequel to Iron Man, Iron Man 2. Later in 2010, she appeared in the musical Country Strong and recorded the song Country Strong for the film's soundtrack. The song was released to country radio in August 2010. At the 83rd Academy Awards, Paltrow performed another song from the movie, "Coming Home," which was nominated for Best Original Song. 

She also appeared in Fox's Glee, as substitute teacher Holly Holliday, who fills in for Matthew Morrison's character when he falls ill. In her first episode, "The Substitute," she sang "Nowadays" from the musical Chicago with Lea Michele, Cee Lo Green's "Forget You", and a mash-up of "Singin' In the Rain" and Rihanna's "Umbrella" with Morrison and the rest of the cast.She later performed "Forget You" with Cee Lo Green himself and several puppet characters provided by The Jim Henson Company at the 2011 Grammy Awards. She reprised her role twice more that season, performing "Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" by Gary Glitter, an acoustic version of "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac, "Kiss" by Prince, and Adele's "Turning Tables". 

In 2011, Paltrow appeared in the Steven Soderbergh thriller Contagion, in which she was part of an ensemble cast, including Kate Winslet, Marion Cotillard and her The Talented Mr. Ripley co-stars Matt Damon and Jude Law. The movie opened at number 1 at the US Box Office Weekend and received positive reviews. In 2012 she starred in the independent romantic comedy Thanks for Sharing with Mark Ruffalo and reprised her role as Pepper Potts in the film The Avengers, which broke records as the highest grossing U.S. opening weekend film of all time. It was confirmed that Paltrow will star as Dora Maar in Carlos Saura's Spanish film 33 días alongside Antonio Banderas as Pablo Picasso. The film began shooting in late 2012, for a 2013 release. 

In April 2013, Paltrow was named People magazine's annual "Most Beautiful Woman".