MSN Entertainment: Top Celebrities

Kim Kardashian

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:20:05 GMT

Kim Kardashian, the wealthy daughter of the high-powered defense attorney Robert Kardashian and Kris Kardashian (and the stepdaughter of Olympic athlete Bruce Jenner), grew up in Beverly Hills, CA, and attended an exclusive all-girls Catholic high school in the City of Angels. As a young woman, Kardashian worked at her father's music marketing firm, Movie Tunes, then parlayed her entrepreneurial instincts into a successful career as a wardrobe stylist for television programs, magazine photo layouts, and... [more]

Emma Watson

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:20:05 GMT

"Emma Watson" made her big-screen debut in 2001's box-office smash "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone", bringing to life Hermione Granger, friend to the famous protagonist Harry Potter of J.K. Rowling's children's novel. Born in Paris, where she lived for the first five years of her life, Watson acted only in school plays before breaking into Hollywood with this film, but her performance skills had been honed through dancing, singing, and poetry recitals, the latter of which she had already received... [more]

Patrick Swayze

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:20:05 GMT

An athlete practically from birth, Patrick Swayze was a football player in high school and then earned a gymnastics scholarship to pay for college. His father had been a dancer/choreographer, and Swayze began to study dance early on, eventually working with the prestigious Harkness and Joffrey Ballet companies. He made his professional debut as a dancer with the lead role of Prince Charming in a traveling company of Disney on Parade, but an old knee injury from his football days threatened to cut his... [more]

Anne Hathaway

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:20:05 GMT

An actress whose first big screen gig also proved to be her breakthrough, "Anne Hathaway" became a familiar face to millions of moviegoers thanks to her starring role in "Garry Marshall"'s 2001 hit The Princess Diaries. Cast as a clumsy high school girl who finds out she is the princess of a small country, Hathaway was able to prove her comedic timing opposite no less than "Julie Andrews".

Hailing from Brooklyn, where she was born November 12, 1982, Hathaway became involved in the theater at a young age,... [more]

Portia de Rossi

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:20:05 GMT

Luxuriantly tressed blonde "Portia de Rossi" combined her former interest in the law with her subsequent acting career and achieved TV fame when she joined the cast of the Fox TV hit Ally McBeal in 1998. Born Mandy Rogers in Melbourne, Australia, de Rossi acted in TV commercials as a teen and modeled, but entered college to become a lawyer. She changed professions, however, when she was cast as one of the titular beauties tempting the wife of stuffy "Hugh Grant" in "John Duigan"'s comedy "Sirens" (1994). de... [more]

Miley Cyrus

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:20:05 GMT

Young "Miley Cyrus" became an overnight sensation in 2006 as the star of the Disney Channel television series Hannah Montana, but fortunately her family has had some experience with that sort of thing -- her father, "Billy Ray Cyrus", went from obscurity to stardom in a few short months when the song "Achy Breaky Heart" hit the charts in 1992. The success of "Achy Breaky Heart" was hardly the only memorable event for "Billy Ray" that year -- on November 23, 1992, he and his wife welcomed their daughter Destiny... [more]

Jamie Lynn Spears

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:20:05 GMT

The younger sister (by ten years) of pop diva and glitterati icon Britney Spears -- to whom she bears more than a passing resemblance -- Jamie Lynn Spears first entered the national spotlight by joining her famous sibling on a Pepsi commercial and appearing in Britney Spears: Live from Las Vegas and Britney's movie Crossroads (2002). Jamie Lynn struck out on her own at age ten by trying out for the Nickelodeon channel's sketch comedy series All That; one particular characterization from that audition -- that... [more]

Tate Donovan

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:20:05 GMT

With his handsome, everyman looks and strong abilities on stage and screen, actor Tate Donovan has endured to become one of the most talented actors that no one recognizes. Not that this is necessarily a bad thing; with previous girlfriends such as Sandra Bullock and Jennifer Aniston and solid performances in Clean and Sober (1988) and Memphis Belle (1990), it's readily apparent that he has the charm to match his talent. A Tenafly, NJ, native who took up acting in his teens, Donovan's early screen appearances... [more]

Sarah Jessica Parker

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:20:05 GMT

A child performer who went on to become an adult actor in one of the more radical transformations in the history of the American entertainment industry, "Sarah Jessica Parker" has captained both a career and a public image that could be accurately classified under the heading Revenge of the Nerd. As a pubescent actor most famous for her roles in the acclaimed high school-set TV series Square Pegs and in the big screen's "Footloose" and "Girls Just Want to Have Fun", Parker played the skinny girl with frizzy... [more]

Dax Shepard

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:20:05 GMT

With a background in improvisational comedy and a reputation as a class clown, Dax Shepard seemed the obvious choice for the role of a Punk'd field agent -- and the opportunity to put one over on some of the biggest names in show business must have been impossible to resist. Though it wasn't his first onscreen role, Punk'd provided Shepard with the recognition needed to further his onscreen career, and just a year after debuting with Ashton Kutcher's merry band of pranksters, the up-and-coming comic actor was... [more]

Shar Jackson

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:20:05 GMT

Though many know the name Shar Jackson primarily because of her involvement with Kevin Federline, the actress has, in fact, had quite a successful run in her own right. She played the role of Niecy Jackson on the popular sitcom Moesha for several seasons, and also appeared in the Nickelodeon movie Good Burger as Monique. While her relationship with Federline as the father of two of her children did put her personal life in the public eye when he married (and subsequently divorced) Britney Spears in the early... [more]

Abbie Cornish

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 20:20:05 GMT

After a couple of minor ingenue roles in her native Australia, actress Abbie Cornish attained instant superstardom down under with a hypnotic, evocative, and multi-layered lead performance in director Cate Shortland's well-received psychological drama Somersault. That film -- about a fragile young woman who comes completely unhinged while trying to build a new life for herself in a snowy Australian town -- spoke volumes about Cornish's raw ability and foreshadowed a long and successful career for the young... [more]