MSN Entertainment: Top Celebrities

Shia LaBeouf

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:47:35 GMT

Shia LaBeouf decided, during his preteen years, to launch himself as an actor, and stories abound concerning how far he carried his own drive to establish himself. According to People Weekly magazine, LaBeouf auditioned for Even Stevens (2000), the Disney Channel series that delivered him into the spotlight, and subsequently told each of the youngsters who were waiting to audition that he had the part -- thus eliminating the competition. Such determination, coupled with raw ability and charisma, doubtless... [more]

Angelina Jolie

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:47:35 GMT

Next to "Liv Tyler", "Angelina Jolie" is the only actress of her generation who can thank her famous father for the lips that have become her trademark. The actress was born Angelina Jolie Voight to the pillow-lipped "Jon Voight" and actress Marcheline Bertrand on June 4, 1975, in Los Angeles.

Raised mostly by her mother after her parents divorced while she was still a baby, Jolie moved around a lot with her mother and brother. She also did a fair amount of traveling as a professional model, living in such... [more]

Kate Hudson

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:47:35 GMT

The daughter of "Goldie Hawn", "Kate Hudson" bears more than a passing resemblance to her famous mother in both looks and onscreen vivacity. Born in Los Angeles on April 19, 1979, Hudson made her screen debut in 1998. She first earned notice for her work in "200 Cigarettes" (1999), an ensemble film that cast her as naive Cindy out on a date with caddish Jack (Jay Mohr). Although the film proved to be a substantial critical and commercial disappointment, Hudson's performance was singled out for some of the... [more]

Miley Cyrus

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:47:35 GMT

The daughter of country-music superstar Billy Ray Cyrus, Miley Cyrus got her start in the entertainment industry on an episode of her father's PAX TV medical series Doc before appearing in Tim Burton's fantastical 2003 adventure Big Fish. A fateful appearance as the character Hannah Montana in the Disney Channel series The Suite Life of Zack and Cody followed in 2006, and her character proved so popular that a spin-off series called Hannah Montana was launched shortly thereafter. In the series, Cyrus portrayed... [more]

Jessica Simpson

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:47:35 GMT

From contemporary Christian starlet to mainstream MTV darling, singer-turned-actress Jessica Simpson has seen her popularity spread like a firestorm following the success of her 1999 major-label debut, Sweet Kisses. In the years that followed, Simpson's fledgling career would continue to gain momentum with a series of television appearances including a recurring role in the popular sitcom That '70s Show. After starring alongside husband Nick Lachey in the popular MTV reality series Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica,... [more]

Christina Applegate

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:47:35 GMT

Originally famous as the bodacious, brain-challenged Bundy offspring Kelly on Fox's long-running dysfunctional family sitcom Married...With Children, "Christina Applegate" parlayed her comic talents and sexy image into a parallel movie career.

A natural blonde Hollywood baby, Applegate was raised by her actress mother, "Nancy Priddy", after Priddy split from Applegate's father, record executive Bobby Applegate. Making her acting debut as an infant with her mother on TV's Days of Our Lives, Applegate... [more]

Britney Spears

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:47:35 GMT

Best known for her sultry image as a pop superstar, "Britney Spears" actually began her youthful career as an actress -- the singing came later. Spears was born December 2, 1981, in Kentwood, LA. A mere eight years later, she was auditioning for The Mickey Mouse Club, although she wouldn't be added to the cast for another three years. She spent summers schooling at New York's Off-Broadway Dance Center and the Professional Performing Arts School, and earned a role on the off-Broadway play Ruthless in 1991. A... [more]

Nikki Blonsky

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:47:35 GMT

Great Neck, NY, teen Nikki Blonsky was still serving scoops at Cold Stone Creamery when she received the news that would change her life forever. An aspiring actress who was once deemed too young to portray dancing Baltimore teen Tracy Turnblad in the Broadway production of Hairspray, the 17-year-old New York Village High School student thought her shot at stardom had slipped away by the time a film version of the hit musical was announced. Instead, a keen-eyed New Line assistant brought Blonsky's audition... [more]

Brad Pitt

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:47:35 GMT

With looks that have inspired countless People magazine covers, Internet shrines, and paparazzi blitzkreigs, "Brad Pitt" is an actor whose very name inspires drooling platitudes, more about male beauty than about acting. Following his breakthrough as the wickedly charming drifter who seduces "Geena Davis" and then robs her blind in "Thelma & Louise" (1991), Pitt became one of Hollywood's hottest properties and spent most of the 1990s being lauded as everything from "Robert Redford"'s heir apparent to the... [more]

Kathy Griffin

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:47:35 GMT

The acerbic, razor-tongued, take-no-prisoners comedian Kathy Griffin has built a career for herself -- as an actress and a standup performer -- around the schtick of being permanently under-respected by everyone (as the title of her TV series, My Life on the D List, suggests), and fighting back with her claws extended. Griffin is notorious for mercilessly skewering and taking potshots at worthy targets (particularly fellow celebrities and comedians) through her comedy, and has built a considerable career out... [more]

Zac Efron

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:47:35 GMT

Actor Zac Efron's career began when he was just 11 years old, and his parents took note of his tremendous singing talent. They let him audition for a production of Gypsy, and he won a small roll. The show ran for 90 performances, and Efron took to the stage like a fish to water. He graduated to larger roles in other plays like Auntie Mame, The Music Man, and Little Shop of Horrors, before eventually making the transition to TV. Before long, he'd scored a recurring role on the hit series Summerland in 2004.... [more]

Lindsay Lohan

Thu, 07 Aug 2008 16:47:35 GMT

Child actress "Lindsay Lohan" was already an experienced performer when she made her feature debut in the 1998 remake of The Parent Trap. Born in New York City, Lohan began modeling at age three. After appearing in numerous TV commercials, Lohan moved to series TV with a role on the soap operaAnother World from 1996 to 1997. Cast as The Parent Trap's scheming twin sisters after a six month search for just the right girl, Lohan succeeded in filling "Hayley Mills"' shoes, winning over audiences with her pert... [more]