Maya Angelou Biography (1928-)

Writer, dancer, African-American activist. Born Marguerite Johnson on April 4, 1928 in St. Louis, Missouri. Angelou spent her difficult formative years moving back and forth between her mother’s and grandmother’s. At age eight, she was raped by her mother’s boyfriend, who was subsequently killed by her uncles. The event caused the young girl to go mute for nearly six…

Caroline Kennedy Biography (1957-)

Writer, editor, lawyer. Born Caroline Bouvier Kennedy on November 27, 1957, in New York, New York, to Jacqueline and John F. Kennedy. Caroline spent her early years living in the White House during her father’s term as president. His time in office is often referred to as the “Camelot Presidency” for the hope and optimism the young politician…

Lily Tomlin Biography (1939-)

Comedienne, actress, and writer. Born on September 1, 1939, in Detroit, Michigan. Over the years, Lily Tomlin made people laugh with her humorous characters from the child Edith Ann to the snarky operator Ernestine. Some of these wacky characters were showcased on the hit comedy series Laugh-In, which ran from 1969 to 1973. Her work on the series…

Giada De Laurentiis Biography (1970-)

Born in Rome, Giada grew up in a large Italian family where the culture of food was a staple in and of itself. As the granddaughter of film producer Dino De Laurentiis, Giada consistently found herself in the family’s kitchen and spent a great deal of time at her grandfather’s restaurant, DDL Foodshow. After graduating from the…

Chaz Bono Biography (1969-)

Chaz Bono is the only child of Sonny and Cher, a famous pop music duo of the 1960s who became TV stars in the 1970s. Born Chastity in 1969, Chaz was the cherubic daughter of the hippie-era couple who rose to fame with pop songs such as “I Got You Babe” and “The Beat Goes On.” In her…

Lisa Ann Walter Biography (1963-)

Edgy female comic Lisa Ann Walter may look like your wholesome, All-American former high-school prom queen, but don’t be fooled by appearances — she can work blue with the best of them. As a featured performer on the all-female standup special The Naughty Show, Walter brought down the house with her raucous stage presence. Of course, standup…

Lydia Cornell Biography (1962-)

Lydia Cornell, a Best Actress nominee at Method Fest for the indie film “Miss Supreme Queen”, is also an accomplished political writer, novelist and comedienne. She recently guest-starred with Larry David on HBO’s “Curb your Enthusiasm”; wrote and produced her own film Venus Conspiracy, and had leads in the feature films “Nooner” Erik Attias’ PBS play, and “Dean…

Audrey Landers Biography (1956-)

Audrey Landers is an accomplished actress, singer, writer, composer, and producer She is best known to fans all over the world for her memorable role as “Afton Cooper” for eight years on Dallas, her controversial Playboy pictorial (with her clothes on), and hundreds of television gigs in the 1980s and 1990s.

But Audrey Landers has been somewhat under the…

Vin Diesel Biography (1967-)

Actor, director, writer, producer. Born Mark Vincent on July 18, 1967, in New York City. Diesel managed to parley several self-produced, low-budget films into big-budget leading man status.

Born to a theater director and a psychologist (and sometimes astrologer), in interviews, Diesel has been guarded about his ethnic background. He started acting at the age of 7 at the…

Katherine Fugate Biography (1965-)

Screenwriter Katherine Fugate is probably best known as the writer of the hit film, “Valentine’s Day,” directed by Garry Marshall and starring an all-star cast.  Sold as an original pitch to New Line Cinema, “Valentine’s Day” broke several box office records.  Katherine also wrote the follow-up film, “New Year’s Eve,” which is currently in production and will be…

Patrick Stewart Biography (1940-)

Actor, writer, director, and producer. Born Patrick Hewes Stewart on July 13, 1940, in Mirfield, England. Widely known for his work on the popular science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation, Patrick Stewart is a versatile performer, equally at home playing comic book characters and legendary Shakespearean parts. He comes from a modest beginning. “I grew…