It's a common complaint amongst actresses who started out as models or beauty queens that no one takes them seriously. They're seen, they believe, merely as eye candy, girlfriend material, lacking the talent to take on the meatier female roles. Many - the more bloody-minded among them - rebel against this stereotyping, work hard to widen their scope, and eventually succeed in earning their peers' respect. Michelle Pfeiffer was a glowing example of this, and the first four years of the new millennium saw two others follow her. First Halle Berry took the Best Actress Oscar for Monster's Ball then, two years later, Charlize Theron for Monster. Both movies were raw, disturbing and emotionally truthful, but of the two actresses it was Theron who went furthest. As the serial killer Aileen Wuornos, she left her looks behind entirely, wholly inhabited her character. When her performance was compared to that of Robert De Niro in Raging Bull, it could not be denied that this beauty was far more than just a looker.
Theron was born on the 7th of August, 1975, and grew up on a farm outside of Benoni, a town some 25 kilometres east of Johannesburg. She was named after her father, Charles. Charles was of French descent, while her mother Gerda hailed from German stock - both parents, though, were Afrikaans, born and raised in South Africa. Afrikaans would be Charlize's first language, English her second, and she'd pick up smatterings from the 26 ethnic groups that provided workers for the farm and the road construction business run by Gerda. It's testament to Theron's abilities that she would find worldwide success by mastering a third language - American.
bands Stars
The Rasmus
The four members of Helsinki's melodically rocking the Rasmus formed the band in 1995 while still in high school because Finland's English music scene -- in their own words -- "sucked." Their debut, Peep, rapidly went gold in their homeland, making the members rock stars at the age of 16. They quic
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Eagles
One of the most commercially successful bands of the past three decades, the Eagles had a modest beginning as a California studio band.
Gathered by producer John Boylan in 1970, Glenn Frey (guitar), Bernie Leadon (banjo, mandolin), Randy Meisner (bass) and Don Henley (drums) served as Linda Ronds
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Black Eyed Peas
They've transcended their vigilant hip-hop roots and have become a global phenomenon, the likes of which the music world has rarely seen. Ever-curious and ever-confident, that group is The Black Eyed Peas, and after energizing crowds 'round the globe with the monster-stomp of Elephunk, it's time for
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Queen
'This way Sir. We have a selection of midgets who'll be serving your cocaine on silver platters tonight while in the room marked 'Orgy' you can choose from an exotic array of women, er, and men from all over the globe. Mind that swimming pool full of raw liver though Sir. That's for the naked dancer
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Coldplay
Coldplay never intended to become England's favorite rock & roll sons when their signature rock melodies ruled the charts throughout 2000. The Brit-rock quartet -- composed of Chris Martin (vocals/piano), Jon Buckland (guitar), Will Champion (drums), and Guy Berryman (bass) -- yearned to mess around
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Pearl Jam
Pearl Jam was one of the most popular bands of the grunge music era in the early 1990s. Before their mainstream success as "Pearl Jam", certain members had recorded successfully as Mother Love Bone and Temple of the Dog.
Current Members
Jeff Ament - Bass Guitar
Matt Cameron - Drums
Stone
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Matchbox 20
Upon the release of their debut album, Yourself or Someone Like You, in the fall of 1996, Matchbox Twenty were pigeonholed as one of the legions of post-grunge guitar bands that roamed the American pop scene in the middle of the '90s. As their first single, "Push," climbed the charts, it was widely
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Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers were conceived in 1983 in a living room in Hollywood where four close buddies from Fairfax High School (Anthony Kiedis, Hillel Slovak, flea and Jack Irons) performed an acappella rehearsal for a performance to take place at the legendary Rhythm Lounge. The performance consisted
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INXS
INXS hailed from the pubs of Australia, which is part of the reason they never comfortably fit in with new wave. Even when the band branched out into synth pop on its early recordings, they were underpinned by a hard, Stonesy beat and lead singer Michael Hutchence's Jagger-esque strut. Ultimately, t
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AFI
The origins and history of AFI are as humble as they are passionate, beginning with the meaning and philosophy behind the acronym now known to an ever-growing legion of fans the world over: A Fire Inside.
Over 10 years on and counting, the same inner flame that fueled four teenagers making a prim
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