Keri Russell - 80th Annual Academy Awards

Keri Russell Profile

Name: Keri Russell

Birth Name: Keri Lynn Russell

Height: 5' 4''

Sex: F

Nationality: American

Birth Date: March 23, 1976

Birth Place: Fountain Valley, California, USA

Profession: actress, dancer

Education: Kino Junior High School
Highlands Ranch High School outside Denver, Colorado
Mesa Stars Dance and Drill Team
Mickey Mouse Club

Husband/Wife: Shane Deary (contractor; engaged in 2006; married on February 14, 2007)

Relationship: Scott Speedman (actor; born on September 1, 1975), Tony Lucca (actor, singer; born 1976; met when both appeared in the New Mickey Mouse Club; together 1991-1999)

Father: David Russell (Nissan executive)

Mother: Stephanie Stephens

Sister: Julie Russell (younger)

Brother: Todd Russell (older)

Son: River Russell Deary (born on June 9, 2007)

Claim to fame: as Felicity Porter in TV Series Felicity

Keri Russell Biography

Keri Lynn Russell (born March 23, 1976) is a Golden Globe-winning American actress and dancer. After appearing in a number of made-for-television films and series during the mid-1990s, she came to fame for portraying the title role of Felicity Porter on the series Felicity, which ran from 1998 to 2002. Russell has since appeared in several films, including We Were Soldiers, The Upside of Anger, Mission: Impossible III, Waitress, and August Rush.

Russell was born in Fountain Valley, California, the daughter of Stephanie (née Stephens), a homemaker, and David Russell, a Nissan Motors executive. She has an older brother, Todd, and a younger sister, Julie. Russell grew up in Dallas, Texas; Mesa, Arizona; and Denver, Colorado, moving frequently because of her father's job.

Russell first appeared on television as a cast member of the New Mickey Mouse Club variety show on the Disney Channel. She was on the show from 1991 to 1993 and co-starred with future pop stars Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, JC Chasez, and Justin Timberlake. In 1992, she appeared in Honey, I Blew Up the Kid alongside Rick Moranis and in 1993 had a role on the sitcom Boy Meets World as Mr. Feeny's niece. Russell subsequently starred in several film and television roles, including the 1996 made-for-television film The Babysitter's Seduction. She also had a role on the short-lived soap opera series Malibu Shores the same year. In 1994, she appeared in Bon Jovi's music video "Always" with Jack Noseworthy and on Married with Children.

From 1998 to 2002, Russell starred as the title character on the successful WB Network series Felicity; she won a Golden Globe for the role in 1999. Russell's long and curly hair was one of her character's defining characteristics, and a drastic hairstyle change at the beginning of the show's second season was considered to be the cause of a significant drop in the show's ratings. As a result, new policies were enacted at the network requiring hairstyle changes by cast to be approved by the network's executives. Felicity 's ratings drop also coincided with the show's move to a Sunday night time slot, so it is unclear exactly how much effect the hairstyle change actually had. During the show's run, Russell appeared in the films Eight Days a Week, The Curve and Mad About Mambo, all of which received only limited releases in North America. Her next role was in the Mel Gibson-starring film We Were Soldiers, playing the wife of an American serviceman. The film was released in March 2002, two months before the end of Felicity 's run.

Keri Russell - 80th Annual Academy Awards

Keri Russell Profile

Name: Keri Russell

Birth Name: Keri Lynn Russell

Height: 5' 4''

Sex: F

Nationality: American

Birth Date: March 23, 1976

Birth Place: Fountain Valley, California, USA

Profession: actress, dancer

Education: Kino Junior High School
Highlands Ranch High School outside Denver, Colorado
Mesa Stars Dance and Drill Team
Mickey Mouse Club

Husband/Wife: Shane Deary (contractor; engaged in 2006; married on February 14, 2007)

Relationship: Scott Speedman (actor; born on September 1, 1975), Tony Lucca (actor, singer; born 1976; met when both appeared in the New Mickey Mouse Club; together 1991-1999)

Father: David Russell (Nissan executive)

Mother: Stephanie Stephens

Sister: Julie Russell (younger)

Brother: Todd Russell (older)

Son: River Russell Deary (born on June 9, 2007)

Claim to fame: as Felicity Porter in TV Series Felicity

Keri Russell Biography

Keri Lynn Russell (born March 23, 1976) is a Golden Globe-winning American actress and dancer. After appearing in a number of made-for-television films and series during the mid-1990s, she came to fame for portraying the title role of Felicity Porter on the series Felicity, which ran from 1998 to 2002. Russell has since appeared in several films, including We Were Soldiers, The Upside of Anger, Mission: Impossible III, Waitress, and August Rush.

Russell was born in Fountain Valley, California, the daughter of Stephanie (née Stephens), a homemaker, and David Russell, a Nissan Motors executive. She has an older brother, Todd, and a younger sister, Julie. Russell grew up in Dallas, Texas; Mesa, Arizona; and Denver, Colorado, moving frequently because of her father's job.

Russell first appeared on television as a cast member of the New Mickey Mouse Club variety show on the Disney Channel. She was on the show from 1991 to 1993 and co-starred with future pop stars Christina Aguilera, Britney Spears, JC Chasez, and Justin Timberlake. In 1992, she appeared in Honey, I Blew Up the Kid alongside Rick Moranis and in 1993 had a role on the sitcom Boy Meets World as Mr. Feeny's niece. Russell subsequently starred in several film and television roles, including the 1996 made-for-television film The Babysitter's Seduction. She also had a role on the short-lived soap opera series Malibu Shores the same year. In 1994, she appeared in Bon Jovi's music video "Always" with Jack Noseworthy and on Married with Children.

From 1998 to 2002, Russell starred as the title character on the successful WB Network series Felicity; she won a Golden Globe for the role in 1999. Russell's long and curly hair was one of her character's defining characteristics, and a drastic hairstyle change at the beginning of the show's second season was considered to be the cause of a significant drop in the show's ratings. As a result, new policies were enacted at the network requiring hairstyle changes by cast to be approved by the network's executives. Felicity 's ratings drop also coincided with the show's move to a Sunday night time slot, so it is unclear exactly how much effect the hairstyle change actually had. During the show's run, Russell appeared in the films Eight Days a Week, The Curve and Mad About Mambo, all of which received only limited releases in North America. Her next role was in the Mel Gibson-starring film We Were Soldiers, playing the wife of an American serviceman. The film was released in March 2002, two months before the end of Felicity 's run.

Kristin Chenoweth - 80th Annual Academy Awards

Kristin Chenoweth Profile

Name: Kristin Chenoweth

Birth Name: Kristi Dawn Chenoweth

Height: 4' 11''

Sex: F

Nationality: American

Birth Date: July 24, 1968

Birth Place: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, USA

Profession: Actress, Producer, Musician

Education: Broken Arrow High School in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma (graduated in 1986)
Oklahoma City University in Oklahoma (graduated in 1995 with BFA in voice and MFA in opera performance)

Relationship: Marc Kudisch (actor; born September 22, 1966; engaged in 1998; separated in 2001)

Claim to fame: Won Broadway's 1999 Tony Award for her portrayal of Sally in a revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown

Kristin Chenoweth Biography

Kristin Chenoweth (born July 24, 1968) is an American singer and Tony Award-winning American musical theatre, film, and television actress.

Chenoweth has a distinctive speaking voice; in FHM's March 2006 issue, she compared her voice to that of Betty Boop. Chenoweth is a lyric coloratura soprano, and ably sings in both the chest and head registers. She can currently be seen on television, portraying Olive Snook on the ABC dramedy Pushing Daisies and is the current face of Jude Frances jewelry.

Chenoweth was born Kristi Dawn Chenoweth (she added an "n" in her first name later because she thought that "Kristin" was a more operatic name than "Kristi") in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and was adopted at birth. Chenoweth's ancestry includes one-quarter Cherokee lineage. After studying drama at Broken Arrow High School under JoJo Nichols, Chenoweth attended Oklahoma City University, where she was a member of Gamma Phi Beta (Beta Omicron) Sorority. Chenoweth earned a bachelor's degree in musical theater and a master's degree in opera performance, studying under Florence Birdwell who taught Miss America 1981 Susan Powell and two-time Tony nominee Kelli O'Hara. While at OCU, she won the title of "Miss OCU" and went on to win second runner-up in the Miss Oklahoma pageant in 1991. She performed at Opryland USA. She won a "most talented up-and-coming singer" award in the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions, which came with a full scholarship to Philadelphia's Academy of Vocal Arts. Two weeks before school started she went to New York City to help a friend move. While there she auditioned for the Paper Mill Playhouse's production of the musical "Animal Crackers" and got the role of Arabella Rittenhouse. She turned down the scholarship and moved to New York to do the show and pursue a career in musical theater.

Kristin Chenoweth made her Broadway debut in a production of Molière's Scapin starring Bill Irwin, followed in the spring of 1997 by the musical Steel Pier by John Kander and Fred Ebb, for which she won a Theatre World award. The following season, she appeared in the City Center Encores! production of the George and Ira Gershwin musical Strike Up the Band and the Lincoln Center Theater production of William Finn's A New Brain. She has performed several times on the radio program A Prairie Home Companion.

During the 1998–1999 season, she performed the role of Sally in the Broadway revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. The production won Chenoweth the Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards as the season's Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She then starred in the Broadway comedy Epic Proportions, followed by appearances in ABC's television adaptation of the musical Annie (as Lily St. Regis), and in the leading role of Daisy Gamble in the City Center Encores! production of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever.

Kristin Chenoweth - 80th Annual Academy Awards

Kristin Chenoweth Profile

Name: Kristin Chenoweth

Birth Name: Kristi Dawn Chenoweth

Height: 4' 11''

Sex: F

Nationality: American

Birth Date: July 24, 1968

Birth Place: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, USA

Profession: Actress, Producer, Musician

Education: Broken Arrow High School in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma (graduated in 1986)
Oklahoma City University in Oklahoma (graduated in 1995 with BFA in voice and MFA in opera performance)

Relationship: Marc Kudisch (actor; born September 22, 1966; engaged in 1998; separated in 2001)

Claim to fame: Won Broadway's 1999 Tony Award for her portrayal of Sally in a revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown

Kristin Chenoweth Biography

Kristin Chenoweth (born July 24, 1968) is an American singer and Tony Award-winning American musical theatre, film, and television actress.

Chenoweth has a distinctive speaking voice; in FHM's March 2006 issue, she compared her voice to that of Betty Boop. Chenoweth is a lyric coloratura soprano, and ably sings in both the chest and head registers. She can currently be seen on television, portraying Olive Snook on the ABC dramedy Pushing Daisies and is the current face of Jude Frances jewelry.

Chenoweth was born Kristi Dawn Chenoweth (she added an "n" in her first name later because she thought that "Kristin" was a more operatic name than "Kristi") in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma and was adopted at birth. Chenoweth's ancestry includes one-quarter Cherokee lineage. After studying drama at Broken Arrow High School under JoJo Nichols, Chenoweth attended Oklahoma City University, where she was a member of Gamma Phi Beta (Beta Omicron) Sorority. Chenoweth earned a bachelor's degree in musical theater and a master's degree in opera performance, studying under Florence Birdwell who taught Miss America 1981 Susan Powell and two-time Tony nominee Kelli O'Hara. While at OCU, she won the title of "Miss OCU" and went on to win second runner-up in the Miss Oklahoma pageant in 1991. She performed at Opryland USA. She won a "most talented up-and-coming singer" award in the Metropolitan Opera National Council auditions, which came with a full scholarship to Philadelphia's Academy of Vocal Arts. Two weeks before school started she went to New York City to help a friend move. While there she auditioned for the Paper Mill Playhouse's production of the musical "Animal Crackers" and got the role of Arabella Rittenhouse. She turned down the scholarship and moved to New York to do the show and pursue a career in musical theater.

Kristin Chenoweth made her Broadway debut in a production of Molière's Scapin starring Bill Irwin, followed in the spring of 1997 by the musical Steel Pier by John Kander and Fred Ebb, for which she won a Theatre World award. The following season, she appeared in the City Center Encores! production of the George and Ira Gershwin musical Strike Up the Band and the Lincoln Center Theater production of William Finn's A New Brain. She has performed several times on the radio program A Prairie Home Companion.

During the 1998–1999 season, she performed the role of Sally in the Broadway revival of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. The production won Chenoweth the Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards as the season's Best Featured Actress in a Musical. She then starred in the Broadway comedy Epic Proportions, followed by appearances in ABC's television adaptation of the musical Annie (as Lily St. Regis), and in the leading role of Daisy Gamble in the City Center Encores! production of On a Clear Day You Can See Forever.

Jessica Alba - 80th Annual Academy Awards

Jessica Alba Profile

Birth Name - Jessica Marie Alba

Birth Date - April 28, 1981

Birth Place - Pomona, California, USA

Height - 5' 6"

Nationality - American

Profession - Actress

Education - high school graduated, Atlantic Theater Company in New York, Began studying acting at age 11

Relationship - Cash Warren (assistant director; dated 2005 - July 2007), Michael Weatherly (actor; born on July 8, 1968; engaged in May 2001; broke up)

Father - Mark Alba (Spanish/Mexican-American; real estate owner, once joined US Air Force)

Mother - Cathy Alba (French/Danish; born in Montreal)

Brother - Joshua Alba (actor; born on July 8, 1982)

Claim to fame - as Max Guevara on TV Series Dark Angel (2000)

Jessica Alba Biography

Jessica Marie Alba (born April 28, 1981) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in Honey, Dark Angel, Sin City, Fantastic Four, Into the Blue and Idle Hands.

Alba was born in Pomona, California, to Mark Alba, who is Mexican American (though both of his parents were born in California), and Catherine (née Jensen), who has French and Danish ancestry; the two married while in their teenage years. Her maternal grandfather was a Marine NCO for 30 years, serving in the Pacific during WWII, and later as Asst. Drum Major for the United States Marine Band. Alba was raised in an Air Force family, along with her brother, Joshua (an actor who appeared with her in the season one finale of Dark Angel), and her grandparents, until she was seventeen years old. Her father's Air Force career took the family to Biloxi, Mississippi and Del Rio, Texas, before they settled back in California.

Alba's early life was marked by a multitude of physical maladies; she suffered collapsed lungs twice, had pneumonia 4-5 times a year, a burst appendix, and a cyst on her tonsils. This served to isolate her from other children at school because, as she claims, she was in the hospital so often that no one knew her well enough to befriend her.

She has also acknowledged suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder during childhood. Her health improved, however, when her family moved to California.

Alba had expressed interest in acting since the age of five. She took her first acting class at age twelve, and an acting agent signed her nine months later.

Her first appearance on film was a small role in the 1994 feature Camp Nowhere as Gail. She was originally hired for two weeks but her role turned into a two-month job when the actress in one of the prominent roles dropped out.

Alba appeared in two national TV commercials for Nintendo and J.C. Penney as a child; she was later featured in several independent films. She branched out into TV in 1994 with a recurring role as the vain Jessica in three episodes of the Nickelodeon comedy series The Secret World of Alex Mack. She then performed the role of Maya in the first two seasons of the TV series Flipper. Under the tutelage of her lifeguard mother, Alba learned to swim before she could walk, and she was a PADI-certified scuba diver, skills which were put to use on the show, which was filmed in Australia.

Jessica Alba - 80th Annual Academy Awards

Jessica Alba Profile

Birth Name - Jessica Marie Alba

Birth Date - April 28, 1981

Birth Place - Pomona, California, USA

Height - 5' 6"

Nationality - American

Profession - Actress

Education - high school graduated, Atlantic Theater Company in New York, Began studying acting at age 11

Relationship - Cash Warren (assistant director; dated 2005 - July 2007), Michael Weatherly (actor; born on July 8, 1968; engaged in May 2001; broke up)

Father - Mark Alba (Spanish/Mexican-American; real estate owner, once joined US Air Force)

Mother - Cathy Alba (French/Danish; born in Montreal)

Brother - Joshua Alba (actor; born on July 8, 1982)

Claim to fame - as Max Guevara on TV Series Dark Angel (2000)

Jessica Alba Biography

Jessica Marie Alba (born April 28, 1981) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in Honey, Dark Angel, Sin City, Fantastic Four, Into the Blue and Idle Hands.

Alba was born in Pomona, California, to Mark Alba, who is Mexican American (though both of his parents were born in California), and Catherine (née Jensen), who has French and Danish ancestry; the two married while in their teenage years. Her maternal grandfather was a Marine NCO for 30 years, serving in the Pacific during WWII, and later as Asst. Drum Major for the United States Marine Band. Alba was raised in an Air Force family, along with her brother, Joshua (an actor who appeared with her in the season one finale of Dark Angel), and her grandparents, until she was seventeen years old. Her father's Air Force career took the family to Biloxi, Mississippi and Del Rio, Texas, before they settled back in California.

Alba's early life was marked by a multitude of physical maladies; she suffered collapsed lungs twice, had pneumonia 4-5 times a year, a burst appendix, and a cyst on her tonsils. This served to isolate her from other children at school because, as she claims, she was in the hospital so often that no one knew her well enough to befriend her.

She has also acknowledged suffering from obsessive-compulsive disorder during childhood. Her health improved, however, when her family moved to California.

Alba had expressed interest in acting since the age of five. She took her first acting class at age twelve, and an acting agent signed her nine months later.

Her first appearance on film was a small role in the 1994 feature Camp Nowhere as Gail. She was originally hired for two weeks but her role turned into a two-month job when the actress in one of the prominent roles dropped out.

Alba appeared in two national TV commercials for Nintendo and J.C. Penney as a child; she was later featured in several independent films. She branched out into TV in 1994 with a recurring role as the vain Jessica in three episodes of the Nickelodeon comedy series The Secret World of Alex Mack. She then performed the role of Maya in the first two seasons of the TV series Flipper. Under the tutelage of her lifeguard mother, Alba learned to swim before she could walk, and she was a PADI-certified scuba diver, skills which were put to use on the show, which was filmed in Australia.

Penelope Cruz - 80th Annual Academy Awards

Penelope Cruz Profile

Name: Penelope Cruz

Birth Name - Penelope Cruz Sanchez

Born - April 28, 1974, Madrid, Spain

Height - 5' 5½''

Nationality - Spanish

Profession - Actress, Model

Relationship - Matthew McConaughey (actor; November 4, 1969; dating since summer 2004, met while filming Sahara; broke up in May 2006), Tom Cruise (actor; dated 2001-January 2004)

Father - Eduardo Cruz (auto mechanic)

Mother - Encarna Cruz (hairdresser, manager)

Sister - Monica Cruz (professional flamenco dancer; TV star; born in 1977)

Brother - Eduardo Jr (born in 1985)

Claim to fame - As Alejandra in All the Pretty Horses (2000)

Penelope Cruz Biography

Penelope Cruz Sanchez (born April 28, 1974, in Madrid), better known as Penelope Cruz, is a Golden Globe- and Academy Award-nominated Spanish actress. Originally a dancer, she soon moved into Spanish television, and since then she has appeared in a string of films in Spanish, English, French and Italian.

Cruz was born in San Sebastian de los Reyes, Madrid, Spain. Her parents are Eduardo Cruz, a retailer, and Encarna Sanchez, a hairdresser. As a toddler, she was already a compulsive performer, re-enacting TV commercials for her family's amusement, but she decided to focus her energies on dance.

After studying classical ballet for nine years at Spain's National Conservatory, she continued her training under a series of prominent dancers. At 15, however, she followed another calling after she bested more than 300 other girls at a talent agency audition.

She received three years of Spanish Ballet training with Angela Garrido. She also had jazz dance training with Raúl Caballero and she studied at Cristina Rota (mother of Juan Diego Botto) school in Madrid. She speaks Spanish, English, French, and Italian fluently.