MOVE or the MOVE Organization is a Philadelphia-based black liberation group founded by John Africa. MOVE was described by CNN as "a loose-knit, mostly black group whose members all adopted the surname Africa, advocated a "back-to-nature" lifestyle and preached against technology." The group lives communally and frequently engages in public demonstrations related to several issues.

Since the 1970s, their activities have drawn the attention of the Philadelphia Police Department. A major incident occurred in 1978, when the police raided their Powelton Village home. This raid resulted in the death of one police officer and the imprisonment of nine group members, now known as "The MOVE 9." After this, the group relocated further west to a house on Osage Ave.

In 1985, the group made national news after becoming involved in an armed stand-off with police. The incident ended when police dropped a bomb on the Osage house from a helicopter. The bombing resulted in 11 deaths, including five children and the group's leader, John Africa. Only two occupants survived, Ramona, an adult and Birdie, a child. In addition, 60 homes were destroyed in the resulting fires.

Origins and beliefs

MOVE was founded in 1972 as the "Christian Movement for Life" by John Africa, a charismatic leader who, though functionally illiterate, dictated a document describing his views known as ''The Guideline'' to graduate student Donald Glassey. Africa and his followers (the majority of them African-American), wore their hair in dreadlocks and advocated a radical form of green politics and a return to hunter-gatherer society while stating their opposition to science, medicine and technology. As John Africa himself had done, his devotees also changed their surnames to show reverence to Africa, which they regarded as their mother continent.

Activities prior to 1978

The MOVE members lived in a commune in a house owned by Donald Glassey in the Powelton Village section of West Philadelphia. MOVE members staged bullhorn-amplified, profanity-laced demonstrations against institutions which they opposed morally, such as zoos (MOVE had strong views on animal rights), and speakers whose views they opposed. MOVE made compost piles of garbage and human waste in their yards which attracted rats and cockroaches; they considered it morally wrong to kill the vermin with pest control. MOVE attracted much hostility from their neighbors. Their actions brought close scrutiny from the Philadelphia police. When police later attempted entry, Philadelphia police officer James J. Ramp was killed by a shot to the back of the head. The source of the bullet is controversial, as the scene of the crime was ultimately destroyed by further action from the police. MOVE representatives claim that he was facing the house at the time, which would therefore negate the notion that MOVE was responsible for his death. Seven other police officers, five firefighters, three MOVE members, and three bystanders were injured in an unrelated crossfire. As a result, nine MOVE members were found guilty of third-degree murder in the shooting death of a police officer. Seven of the nine became eligible for parole in the spring of 2008, and all seven were denied parole. Parole hearings now occur yearly.

1985 bombing

In 1981, MOVE relocated to a row house at 6221 Osage Avenue in the Cobbs Creek area of West Philadelphia. On May 13, 1985, responding to months of complaints by neighbors that MOVE members broadcast political messages by bullhorn at all hours and also about the health hazards posed by the piles of compost, as well as indictments of various MOVE members for various crimes, including parole violation, contempt of court, illegal possession of firearms, and making terrorist threats the police department attempted to clear the building and arrest the indicted MOVE members, which lead to an armed standoff with police. The police lobbed tear gas canisters at the building and the fire department battered the roof of the house with two water cannons. MOVE members fired on the police, and the police responded by returning fire. A police helicopter then dropped a four-pound bomb made of C-4 plastic explosive and Tovex, a dynamite substitute, onto the roof of the house.

The resulting explosion caused incendiary materials listed in the police indictment, and stored by MOVE in the house, to catch fire, thus causing the house to catch fire. The resulting fire ignited a massive blaze which eventually destroyed 65 houses. Eleven people, including John Africa, five other adults and five children, died in the resulting fire. The firefighters were stopped from putting out the fire based on allegations that firefighters were being shot at, a claim that was contested by the lone adult survivor Ramona Africa, who says that the firefighters had earlier battered the house with two deluge pumps when there was no fire. Ramona Africa and one child, Birdie Africa, were the only survivors.

Aftermath

Mayor W. Wilson Goode soon appointed an investigative commission called the PSIC or MOVE commission. It issued its report on March 6, 1986. The report denounced the actions of the city government, stating that "Dropping a bomb on an occupied row house was unconscionable." No one from the city government was charged criminally.

In a 1996 civil suit in US federal court, a jury ordered the City of Philadelphia to pay $1.5 million to a survivor and relatives of two people killed in the incident. The jury found that the city used excessive force and violated the members' constitutional protection against unreasonable search and seizure. Philadelphia was given the sobriquet "The City that Bombed Itself."

On the 25th Anniversary of the 1985 Police bombing, the Philadelphia Inquirer created a detailed multimedia site containing retrospective articles, archived articles, videos, interviews, photos, and a timeline of the events.

2002 murder of John Gilbride

After the death of John Africa, his widow, Alberta, married John Gilbride Jr and had a child, Zackary Africa, circa 1996. The couple divorced in 1999. After a custody battle, a court ruling granted Gilbride partial custody of Zackary, allowing him unsupervised visits with his son. Gilbride moved to Maple Shade, NJ. Prior to his first visitation date with Zackary, an unknown assailant shot Gilbride dead by automatic weapon fire as he sat in his car shortly after midnight on September 27 while parked outside his home in an execution-style slaying. The case remains unsolved. MOVE initially conjectured that the US government had assassinated Gilbride in order to frame MOVE. Alberta Africa, who initially acknowledged the murder, claimed in 2009 that Gilbride "is out hiding somewhere".

Current activities

Ramona Africa acts as a spokesperson for the group and has given numerous talks at leftist events throughout the US and in other countries. MOVE continues to advocate for the release of jailed MOVE sympathizer and former resident of Philadelphia, Mumia Abu-Jamal, convicted of the 1981 murder of police officer Daniel Faulkner. MOVE has also called for the release of imprisoned MOVE members, whom the group considers political prisoners.

References in music

"Old Guards, New Methods" by Verse

"Be Careful Tonight" by Beru Revue

"City of Soul" by Australia's Eurogliders

"Best I Can" by The Welfare Poets

"Operation M.O.V.E." by Leftöver Crack

"M.O.V.E." by Fifth Column

"Mumia's Song" by Anti-Flag

"No Justice, No Peace" by Aus-Rotten

"Philadelphia" by Atom and his Package

"Save a City..." by Mischief Brew

"Stonez of Christ" by Jedi Mind Tricks featuring Jus Allah

"Watermelon City" by Elizabeth Alexander on the DJ /rupture album ''Special Gunpowder''

"My Skin is My Sin" by Ice Cube

"Proper Propaganda" by Dilated People

"Rain of Terror" by The Last Poets

"The Human Element" by Talib Kweli

"Fire Pon Di Government" by Anthony B on ''That's Life''

"Black Survivors" by Anthony B

"Fistful of Steel" by Rage Against the Machine on ''Rage Against the Machine''

"Two Words" by Kanye West

"Sunset on 32nd" by Strike Anywhere (contains a reference to the MOVE bombing in the second verse)

"MOVE" by Pistol Monk

A novelty version of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" made reference to the 1985 incident with reference to "a new row house on Osage Avenue".

"MOVE" by The Micranots

See also

Anarcho-primitivism

David Shrager

Neo-Luddite

References

Further reading

John Anderson and Hilary Hevenor, ''Burning Down the House: MOVE and the tragedy of Philadelphia'', W.W. Norton & Co., 1987, ISBN 0-393-02460-1.

Robin Wagner-Pacifici, ''Discourse and Destruction: The City of Philadelphia versus MOVE'' (1994) University of Chicago Press

Johanna Saleh Dickson; ''Move: Sites of Trauma (Pamphlet Architecture 23)'' (2002) Princeton: Architectural Press

Toni Cade Bambara ''The Bombing of Osage Avenue'' Philadelphia: WHYY. DVD

Margot Harry, ''Attention Move! This is America'' (1987) Chicago: Banner Press, ISBN 0916650324

Michael Boyette & Randi Boyette, ''Let it Burn!'' (1989) Chicago: Contemporary Press, ISBN 0809245434

Ramona Africa (Contr. Author). "This Country Must Change: Essays on the Necessity of Revolution in the USA" (Arissa Media Group, 2009) ISBN 9780974288475

External links

Pro-MOVE

Official MOVE website

"John Africa's MOVE Organization" – collection of pro-MOVE documents

Anti-MOVE

Blog of MOVE critic and former member Tony Allen

Web archive of the now-defunct MoveOrganization.com, "Dedicated To Educating The Public About the Cult Known as the MOVE Organization"

News media

Mindfully.org's scan of a 1985 ''New York Times'' story on the bombing

A 1996 ''New York Times'' article recounting the story of the bombing and the ensuing trial

NPR: ''Philadelphia MOVE Bombing Still Haunts Survivors'' 2005 retrospective of 1985 incident.

E-library of documents concerning the group (registration required)

Philadelphia: 1980s, MOVE siege – 30 photos related to the 1985 incident from the Philadelphia Inquirer.

USA Today, "1985 bombing in Philadelphia still unsettled" May 11, 2005 – a Twenty year look back

25 Years Ago: Philadelphia Police Bombs MOVE Headquarters Killing 11, Destroying 65 Homes – video report by ''Democracy Now!''

Primary sources

Report of the Philadelphia Special Investigation Commission (AKA the "MOVE Commission")

Category:History of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania Category:Pennsylvania political activists Category:Philadelphia Police Department Category:Gun politics in the United States Category:Law enforcement in the United States Category:1985 in the United States Category:Explosions in the United States Category:Far-left politics in the United States Category:Green anarchism Category:Radical environmentalism Category:Animal rights movement Category:20th-century explosions Category:New religious movements Category:Riots and civil unrest in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

de:MOVE pt:MOVE

birth name	Mary Louise Streep
birth date	June 22, 1949
birth place	Summit, New Jersey, U.S.
alma mater	Vassar College;Yale School of Drama
spouse	Don Gummer(m. 1978–present; 4 children)
children	4 (including Mamie Gummer and Grace Gummer)
partner	John Cazale(1975–1978, his death)
occupation	Actress
years active	1971–present }}

Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television, and film. She is widely regarded as one of the most talented actors of all time.

Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's ''The Playboy of Seville'', before her screen debut in the television movie ''The Deadliest Season'' in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with ''Julia''. Both critical and commercial success came quickly with roles in ''The Deer Hunter'' (1978) and ''Kramer vs. Kramer'' (1979), the former giving Streep her first Oscar nomination and the latter her first win. She later won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performances in ''Sophie's Choice'' (1982) and ''The Iron Lady'' (2011).

Streep has received 17 Academy Award nominations, winning three, and 26 Golden Globe nominations, winning eight, more nominations than any other actor in the history of either award. Her work has also earned her two Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Cannes Film Festival award, five New York Film Critics Circle Awards, two BAFTA awards, an Australian Film Institute Award, five Grammy Award nominations, and a Tony Award nomination, amongst others. She was awarded the AFI Life Achievement Award in 2004 and the Kennedy Center Honor in 2009 for her contribution to American culture through performing arts, the youngest actress in each award's history.

Early life and background

Streep was born Mary Louise Streep in Summit, New Jersey. Her mother, Mary Wolf (née Wilkinson; 1915-2001), was a commercial artist and former art editor, and her father, Harry William Streep, Jr. (1910-2003), was a pharmaceutical executive. She has two brothers, Dana David and Harry William III. Her patrilineal ancestry originates in Loffenau, Germany, from where her second great-grandfather, Gottfried Streeb, emigrated to the United States, and where one of her ancestors served as mayor. Another line of her father's family was from Giswil in the canton of Obwalden, a small town in Switzerland. Her maternal ancestry originates in Pennsylvania and Rhode Island, and partly traces back to 17th century immigrants from England. Her eighth great-grandfather, Lawrence Wilkinson, was one of the first Europeans to settle Rhode Island. Streep is also a distant relative of William Penn, the founder of Pennsylvania, and records show that her family were among the first purchasers of land in the state.

She was raised a Presbyterian, and grew up in Bernardsville, New Jersey, where she attended Bernards High School. She had many school friends who were Catholic, and regularly attended Mass because she loved its rituals. She received her B.A., in Drama at Vassar College in 1971 (where she briefly received instruction from actress Jean Arthur), but also enrolled as an exchange student at Dartmouth College for a quarter before it became coeducational. She subsequently earned an M.F.A. from Yale School of Drama. While at Yale, she played a variety of roles onstage, from the glamorous Helena in ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' to an eighty-year old woman in a wheelchair in a comedy written by then-unknown playwrights Christopher Durang and Albert Innaurato.

Career

Early career

Streep performed in several theater productions in New York and New Jersey after graduating from Yale School of Drama, including the New York Shakespeare Festival productions of ''Henry V'', ''The Taming of the Shrew'' with Raúl Juliá, and ''Measure for Measure'' opposite Sam Waterston and John Cazale. She started a relationship with Cazale, and was to lived with him until his death three years later. She starred on Broadway in the Brecht/Weill musical ''Happy End'', and won an Obie for her performance in the all-sung off-Broadway production of ''Alice at the Palace''.

Streep began auditioning for film roles, and later recalled an unsuccessful audition for Dino De Laurentiis for the leading female role in ''King Kong''. De Laurentiis commented to his son in Italian, "She's ugly. Why did you bring me this thing?" and was shocked when Streep replied in fluent Italian. In New York City, she appeared in the 1976 Broadway double bill of Tennessee Williams' ''27 Wagons Full of Cotton'' and Arthur Miller's ''A Memory of Two Mondays''. For the former, she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play. Her other early Broadway credits include Anton Chekhov's ''The Cherry Orchard'' and the Bertolt Brecht-Kurt Weill musical ''Happy End'' in which she originally appeared off-Broadway at the Chelsea Theater Center. She received Drama Desk Award nominations for both productions.

Streep's first feature film was ''Julia'' (1977), in which she played a small but pivotal role during a flashback scene. Streep was living in New York City with Cazale, who had been diagnosed with bone cancer. He was cast in ''The Deer Hunter'' (1978), and Streep was delighted to secure a small role because it allowed her to remain with Cazale for the duration of filming. She was not specifically interested in the part, commenting, "They needed a girl between the two guys and I was it."

She played a leading role in the television miniseries ''Holocaust'' (1978) as a German woman married to a Jewish artist in Nazi era Germany. She later explained that she had considered the material to be "unrelentingly noble", and had taken the role only because she had needed money. Streep travelled to Germany and Austria for filming while Cazale remained in New York. Upon her return, Streep found that Cazale's illness had progressed, and she nursed him until his death on March 12, 1978. She spoke of her grief and her hope that work would provide a diversion; she accepted a role in ''The Seduction of Joe Tynan'' (1979) with Alan Alda, later commenting that she played it on "automatic pilot", and performed the role of Katherine in ''The Taming of the Shrew'' for Shakespeare in the Park. With an estimated audience of 109 million, ''Holocaust'' brought a degree of public recognition to Streep, who was described in August 1978 as "on the verge of national visibility". She won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie for her performance.

''The Deer Hunter'' (1978) was released a month later, and Streep was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance.

Streep played a supporting role in ''Manhattan'' (1979) for Woody Allen, later stating that she had not seen a complete script and was given only the six pages of her own scenes, and that she had not been permitted to improvise a word of her dialogue. Asked to comment on the script for ''Kramer vs. Kramer'' (1979), in a meeting with the producer Stan Jaffee, director Robert Benton and star Dustin Hoffman, Streep insisted that the female character was not representative of many real women who faced marriage breakdown and child custody battles, and was written as "too evil". Jaffee, Benton and Hoffman agreed with Streep, and the script was revised. In preparing for the part, Streep spoke to her own mother about her life as a mother and housewife with a career, and frequented the Upper East Side neighborhood in which the film was set. Benton allowed Streep to write her dialogue in two of her key scenes, despite some objection from Hoffman. Jaffee and Hoffman later spoke of Streep's tirelessness, with Hoffman commenting, "She's extraordinarily hardworking, to the extent that she's obsessive. I think that she thinks about nothing else but what she's doing."

Streep drew critical acclaim for her performance in each of her three films released in 1979: the romantic comedy ''Manhattan'', the political drama ''The Seduction of Joe Tynan'' and the family drama, ''Kramer vs. Kramer''. She was awarded the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress, National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress and National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress for her collective work in the three films. Among the awards won for ''Kramer vs. Kramer'' were the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress.

1980s

After prominent supporting roles in two of the 1970s' most successful films, the consecutive winners of the Academy Award for Best Picture, ''The Deer Hunter'' and ''Kramer vs. Kramer'', and praise for her versatility in several supporting roles, Streep progressed to leading roles. Her first was ''The French Lieutenant's Woman'' (1981). A story within a story drama, the film paired Streep with Jeremy Irons as contemporary actors, telling their modern story as well as the Victorian era drama they were performing. A ''New York Magazine'' article commented that, while many female stars of the past had cultivated a singular identity in their films, Streep was a "chameleon", willing to play any type of role. Streep was awarded a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her work.

Her next film, the psychological thriller, ''Still of the Night'' (1982) reunited her with Robert Benton, the director of ''Kramer vs. Kramer'', and co-starred Roy Scheider and Jessica Tandy. Vincent Canby, writing for ''The New York Times'', noted that the film was an homage to the works of Alfred Hitchcock, but that one of its main weaknesses was a lack of chemistry between Streep and Scheider, concluding that Streep "is stunning, but she's not on screen anywhere near long enough".

As the Polish holocaust survivor in ''Sophie's Choice'' (1982), Streep's emotional dramatic performance and her apparent mastery of a Polish accent drew praise. William Styron wrote the novel with Ursula Andress in mind for the part of Sophie, but Streep was very determined to get the role. After she obtained a pirated copy of the script, she went to Alan J. Pakula and threw herself on the ground begging him to give her the part. Streep filmed the "choice" scene in one take and refused to do it again, as she found shooting the scene extremely painful and emotionally exhausting. Among several notable acting awards, Streep won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance. Roger Ebert said of her performance, "Streep plays the Brooklyn scenes with an enchanting Polish-American accent (she has the first accent I've ever wanted to hug), and she plays the flashbacks in subtitled German and Polish. There is hardly an emotion that Streep doesn't touch in this movie, and yet we're never aware of her straining. This is one of the most astonishing and yet one of the most unaffected and natural performances I can imagine."

She followed this success with a biographical film, ''Silkwood'' (1983), in which she played her first real-life character, the union activist Karen Silkwood. She discussed her preparation for the role in an interview with Roger Ebert and said that she had met with people close to Silkwood to learn more about her, and in doing so realized that each person saw a different aspect of Silkwood. Streep concentrated on the events of Silkwood's life and concluded, "I didn't try to turn myself into Karen. I just tried to look at what she did. I put together every piece of information I could find about her... What I finally did was look at the events in her life, and try to understand her from the inside."

Her next films were a romantic drama, ''Falling in Love'' (1984) opposite Robert De Niro, and a British drama, ''Plenty'' (1985). Roger Ebert said of Streep's performance in ''Plenty'' that she conveyed "great subtlety; it is hard to play an unbalanced, neurotic, self-destructive woman, and do it with such gentleness and charm... Streep creates a whole character around a woman who could have simply been a catalogue of symptoms."

''Out of Africa'' (1985) starred Streep as the Danish writer Karen Blixen and co-starred Robert Redford. A significant critical success, the film received a 63% "fresh" rating from Rotten Tomatoes. Streep co-starred with Jack Nicholson in her next two films, the dramas ''Heartburn'' (1986) and ''Ironweed'' (1987), in which she sang onscreen for the first time since the television movie, ''Secret Service'', in 1977. In ''A Cry in the Dark'' (1988), she played the biographical role of Lindy Chamberlain, an Australian woman who had been convicted of the murder of her infant daughter in which Chamberlain claimed her baby had been taken by a dingo. Filmed in Australia, Streep won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, a Best Actress at the Cannes Film Festival, the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress and was nominated for several other awards for her portrayal of Chamberlain.

In ''She-Devil'' (1989), Streep played her first comedic film role, opposite Roseanne Barr. Richard Corliss, writing for ''Time,'' commented that Streep was the "one reason" to see the film and observed that it marked a departure from the type of role for which she had been known, saying, "Surprise! Inside the Greer Garson roles Streep usually plays, a vixenish Carole Lombard is screaming to be cut loose."

1990s

From 1984 to 1990, Streep won six People's Choice Awards for Favorite Motion Picture Actress and, in 1990, was named World Favorite.

In the 1990s, Streep continued to choose a great variety of roles, including a drug-addicted movie actress in a screen adaptation of Carrie Fisher's novel ''Postcards from the Edge'', with Dennis Quaid and Shirley MacLaine. Streep and Goldie Hawn had established a friendship and were interested in making a film together. After considering various projects, they decided upon ''Thelma and Louise'', until Streep's pregnancy coincided with the filming schedule, and the producers decided to proceed with Susan Sarandon and Geena Davis. They subsequently filmed the farcical black comedy, ''Death Becomes Her'', with Bruce Willis as their co-star. ''Time'''s Richard Corliss wrote approvingly of Streep's "wicked-witch routine" but dismissed the film as "''She-Devil'' with a make-over".

Biographer Karen Hollinger describes this period as a downturn in the popularity of Streep's films, which reached its nadir with the failure of ''Death Becomes Her'', attributing this partly to a critical perception that her comedies had been an attempt to convey a lighter image following several serious but commercially unsuccessful dramas, and more significantly to the lack of options available to an actress in her forties. Streep commented that she had limited her options by her preference to work in Los Angeles, close to her family, a situation that she had anticipated in a 1981 interview when she commented, "By the time an actress hits her mid-forties, no one's interested in her anymore. And if you want to fit a couple of babies into that schedule as well, you've got to pick your parts with great care."

In 1995, Streep played opposte Clint Eastwood in the love story ''The Bridges of Madison County'' (1995). Based on a best-selling novel by Robert James Waller, it relates the story of Robert Kincaid (Eastwood), a photographer working for ''National Geographic'', who has a love affair with a middle-aged Italian farm wife in Iowa named Francesca (Streep). Streep and Eastwood got along famously during production and such was their on-screen chemistry that a number of people believed that the two were having an affair off-camera, although this was denied by both. The film was a hit at the box office and grossed $70 million in the United States. The film, unlike the novel, surprised film critics and was warmly received. Janet Maslin of ''The New York Times'' wrote that Clint had managed to create "a moving, elegiac love story at the heart of Mr. Waller's self-congratulatory overkill", while Joe Morgenstern of the ''The Wall Street Journal'' described ''The Bridges of Madison County'' as "one of the most pleasurable films in recent memory".

In addition, Streep appeared with Glenn Close in the movie version of Isabel Allende's ''The House of the Spirits''; ''The River Wild''; ''Marvin's Room'' (with Diane Keaton and Leonardo DiCaprio); and ''One True Thing''.

2000s

Streep entered the 2000s with Steven Spielberg's ''A.I. Artificial Intelligence'', a science fiction film about a child-like android, played by Haley Joel Osment, uniquely programmed with the ability to love, voicing the Blue Fairy. The same year, Streep co-hosted the annual Nobel Peace Prize Concert concert with Liam Neeson which was held in Oslo, Norway on December 11, 2001 in honour of the Nobel Peace Prize laureate, the United Nations and Kofi Annan.

In 2002, Streep returned to the stage for the first time in more than twenty years, playing Arkadina in The Public Theater's revival of Anton Chekhov's ''The Seagull'', directed by Mike Nichols and co-starring Kevin Kline, Natalie Portman, and Philip Seymour Hoffman. The same year, she began work on Spike Jonze's comedy-drama ''Adaptation'' (2002), in which she portrayed real-life journalist Susan Orlean. Lauded by critics and viewers alike, the film won Streep her fourth Golden Globe in the Best Supporting Actress category. Also in 2002, Streep appeared alongside Nicole Kidman and Julianne Moore in Stephen Daldry's ''The Hours'', based on the 1999 novel by Michael Cunningham. Focusing on three women of different generations whose lives are interconnected by the novel ''Mrs. Dalloway'' by Virginia Woolf, the film was generally well-received and won all three leading actresses a Silver Bear for Best Actress the following year.

thumb|right|Streep in St. Petersburg, Russia in 2004. The following year, Streep had a cameo as herself in the Farrelly brothers comedy ''Stuck on You'' (2003) and reunited with Mike Nichols to star with Al Pacino and Emma Thompson in the HBO adaptation of Tony Kushner's six-hour play ''Angels in America'', the story of two couples whose relationships dissolve amidst the backdrop of Reagan Era politics. Streep, who was cast in four roles in the mini-series, received her second Emmy Award and fifth Golden Globe for her performance. In 2004, Streep was awarded the AFI Life Achievement Award by the Board of Directors of the American Film Institute,. She appeared in Jonathan Demme's moderately successful remake of ''The Manchurian Candidate'', co-starring Denzel Washington, playing the role of a woman who is both a U.S. senator and the manipulative, ruthless mother of a vice-presidential candidate. The same year, she played the supporting role of Aunt Josephine in ''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events'' alongside Jim Carrey, based on the first three novels in Snicket's book series. The black comedy received generally favorable reviews from critics, and won the Academy Award for Best Makeup.

Streep was next cast in the 2005 comedy ''Prime'', directed by Ben Younger. In the film, she played Lisa Metzger, the Jewish psychoanalyst of a divorced and lonesome business-woman, played by Uma Thurman, who enters a relationship with Metzger's 23-year-old son (Bryan Greenberg). A modest mainstream success, it eventually grossed US$67.9 million internationally. In August and September 2006, she starred onstage at The Public Theater's production of ''Mother Courage and Her Children'' at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park. The Public Theater production was a new translation by playwright Tony Kushner (''Angels in America''), with songs in the Weill/Brecht style written by composer Jeanine Tesori (''Caroline, or Change''); veteran director George C. Wolfe was at the helm. Streep starred alongside Kevin Kline and Austin Pendleton in this three-and-a-half-hour play in which she sang and appeared in almost every scene.

Also in 2006, Streep, along with Lily Tomlin, portrayed the last two members of what was once a popular family country music act in Robert Altman's final film ''A Prairie Home Companion''. A comedic ensemble piece featuring Tommy Lee Jones, Kevin Kline and Woody Harrelson, the film revolves around the behind-the-scenes activities at the long-running public radio show of the same name. The film grossed over US$26 million, the majority of which came from domestic markets. Commercially, Streep fared better with a role in ''The Devil Wears Prada'' (2006), a loose screen adaptation of Lauren Weisberger's 2003 novel of the same name. Streep portrayed the powerful and demanding Miranda Priestly, fashion magazine editor (and boss of a recent college graduate played by Anne Hathaway), and her performance drew rave reviews from critics and earned her many award nominations, including her record-setting 14th Oscar bid, as well as another Golden Globe. Upon its commercial release, the film became Streep's biggest commercial success yet, grossing more than US$326.5 million worldwide.

In 2007, Streep was cast in four films. She portrayed a wealthy university patron in Chen Shi-zheng's much-delayed feature drama ''Dark Matter'' (2007), a film about a Chinese science graduate student who becomes violent after dealing with academic politics at a U.S. university. Inspired by the events of the 1991 University of Iowa shooting, and initially scheduled for a 2007 release, producers and investors decided to shelve ''Dark Matter'' out of respect for the Virginia Tech massacre in April 2007. The drama received negative to mixed reviews upon its limited 2008 release. Streep played a U.S. government official who investigates an Egyptian foreign national suspected of terrorism in the political thriller ''Rendition'' (2007), directed by Gavin Hood. Keen to get involved in a thriller film, Streep welcomed the opportunity to star in a film genre for which she was not usually offered scripts and immediately signed on to the project. Upon its release, ''Rendition'' was less commercially successful, and received mixed reviews.

Also in 2007, Streep had a short role alongside Vanessa Redgrave, Glenn Close and her eldest daughter Mamie Gummer in Lajos Koltai's drama film ''Evening'', based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Susan Minot. Switching between the present and the past, it tells the story of a bedridden woman, who remembers her tumultuous life in the mid-1950s. The film was released to lukewarm reactions by critics, who called it "beautifully filmed, but decidedly dull [and] a colossal waste of a talented cast." Streep's last film of 2007 was Robert Redfords ''Lions for Lambs'', a film about the connection between a platoon of United States soldiers in Afghanistan, a U.S. senator, a reporter, and a California college professor.

In 2008, Streep found major commercial success when she starred in Phyllida Lloyd's ''Mamma Mia!'', a film adaptation of the musical of the same name, based on the songs of Swedish pop group ABBA. Co-starring Amanda Seyfried, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skarsgård and Colin Firth, Streep played a single mother and a former backing singer, whose daughter (Seyfried), a bride-to-be who never met her father, invites three likely paternal candidates to her wedding on an idyllic Greek island. An instant box office success, ''Mamma Mia!'' became Streep's highest-grossing film to date, with box office receipts of US$602.6 million, also ranking it first among the highest-grossing musical films of all-time. Nominated for another Golden Globe, Streep's performance was generally well-received by critics, with Wesley Morris of the ''Boston Globe'' commenting "the greatest actor in American movies has finally become a movie star." Streep's other film of 2008 was ''Doubt'' featuring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis. A drama revolving around the stern principal nun (Streep) of a Bronx Catholic school in 1964 who brings charges of pedophilia against a popular priest (Hoffman), the film became a moderate box office success, but was hailed by many critics as one of the best of 2008. The film received five Academy Awards nominations, for its four lead actors and for Shanley's script.

In 2009, Streep played chef Julia Child in Nora Ephron's ''Julie & Julia'', co-starring Amy Adams and Stanley Tucci. The first major motion picture based on a blog, it contrasts the life of Child in the early years of her culinary career with the life of young New Yorker Julie Powell (Adams), who aspires to cook all 524 recipes in Child's cookbook ''Mastering the Art of French Cooking'' in 365 days, a challenge she described on her popular blog, ''The Julie/Julia Project'', that would make her a published author. The same year, Streep also starred in Nancy Meyers' romantic comedy ''It's Complicated'', with Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. She also received nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for both of these films and won the award for the former. Streep later received her 16th Oscar nomination for ''Julie & Julia''. She also lent her voice to Mrs. Felicity Fox in the stop-motion film ''Fantastic Mr. Fox''.

2010s

Streep's first film of the 2010s was Phyllida Lloyd's ''The Iron Lady'' (2011), a British biographical film about Margaret Thatcher, which takes a look at the Prime Minister during the Falklands War and her years in retirement. Streep, who sat through a session at the House of Commons to observe British MPs in action in preparation for her role, called her cast "a daunting and exciting challenge," and further added: "I am trying to approach the role with as much zeal, fervour and attention to detail as the real Lady Thatcher possesses – I can only hope my stamina will begin to approach her own." While the film met with mixed critics, Streep's performance got rave reviews, earning her Best Actress awards at the Golden Globes and the BAFTAs as well as a third statuette at the Academy Awards.

In July 2010, it was announced that Streep will star in an upcoming comedy entitled ''Mommy & Me'' alongside Tina Fey who will play her daughter. The film is being directed by Stanley Tucci.

Accents and dialects

Streep is well known for her ability to imitate foreign and domestic accents, from Danish in ''Out of Africa'' (1985), to British RP in ''Plenty'' (also 1985), ''The French Lieutenant's Woman'' (1981) and ''The Iron Lady'' (2011), and from Italian in ''The Bridges of Madison County'' (1995), to a Minnesota accent in ''A Prairie Home Companion'' (2006). In ''A Cry in the Dark'' (1988), critics were impressed with Streep's ability to master an Australian accent with shades of New Zealand English. For her role in the film ''Sophie's Choice'' (1982), she took language courses to speak both English and German with a Polish accent. In ''The Iron Lady'', she reproduced the vocal style of Margaret Thatcher, from the time before she became Britain's Prime Minister, and after she had taken elocution lessons to change her pitch, pronunciation and delivery. Despite the accolades accorded to her, Streep has emphasised that adopting accents is an element she simply considers an obvious part of creating a character. When asked whether accents helped her get into character, she responded, "I'm always baffled by this question... How could I play that part and talk like me?" When questioned as to how she reproduces different accents, Streep replied, "I listen."

Music

After Streep appeared in ''Mamma Mia!'', her rendition of the song "Mamma Mia" rose to popularity in the Portuguese music charts, where it peaked at #8 in October 2008.

At the 35th People's Choice Awards, her version of ''Mamma Mia'' won an award for "Favorite Song From A Soundtrack". In 2008, Streep was nominated for a Grammy Award (her fifth nomination) for her work on the ''Mamma Mia!'' soundtrack.

Philanthropy

Streep is the spokesperson for the National Women's History Museum, to which she has donated a significant amount of money (including her fee for ''The Iron Lady'') and hosted numerous events.

Personal life

Streep lived with actor John Cazale for three years until his death in March 1978. Streep married sculptor Don Gummer on September 15, 1978. They have four children: Henry "Hank" Wolfe Gummer (born November 13, 1979), Mary Willa "Mamie" Gummer (born August 3, 1983), Grace Jane Gummer (born May 9, 1986), and Louisa Jacobson Gummer (born June 12, 1991). Both Mamie and Grace are actresses. Hank is a musician who performs under the name Henry Wolfe.

When asked if religion plays a part in her life, in an interview in 2009, Streep replied, "I follow no doctrine. I don't belong to a church or a temple or a synagogue or an ashram." Streep does not rule out the possibility that God exists, “I do have a sense of trying to make things better. Where does that come from?”

Awards and nominations

Streep holds the record for the most Academy Award nominations of any actor, having been nominated 17 times since her first nomination in 1979 for her performance in ''The Deer Hunter'' (fourteen for Best Actress and three for Best Supporting Actress) – five more than both Katharine Hepburn and Jack Nicholson, who are tied in second place. With her third Oscar win for her performance as Margaret Thatcher in ''The Iron Lady'' (2011) in 2012, Streep became the fifth performer to receive three Academy Awards: Nicholson, Ingrid Bergman and Walter Brennan all earned three, while Hepburn won four.

In 2009, Streep became the most-nominated performer in Golden Globe Awards history when her double lead actress nods for ''Doubt'' (2008) and ''Mamma Mia!'' (2008) gave her 23 in total, breaking the tie with Jack Lemmon who had received 22 lead nominations until his death in 2001. The following year, Streep surpassed Jack Nicholson and Angela Lansbury with six Golden Globe awards wins each after receiving her seventh Globe for her performance as Julia Child in ''Julie & Julia'' (2009). In 2012, she broke her own record when she garnered her 26th nomination and overall eighth win for ''The Iron Lady'' at the 69th Golden Globe Awards.

As with the both the Oscars and the Golden Globe Awards, Streep holds the BAFTA record for most nominations at 14 in total. She received her second Best Actress award for ''The Iron Lady'' at the 65th ceremony in February 2012, following her first win in 1981 for her performance in ''The French Lieutenant's Woman'' (1981).

In 1983, Yale University, from which Streep had graduated in 1975, was the first university to award her an honorary degree, a Doctorate of Fine Arts. In 1998, Women in Film awarded Streep with the Crystal Award, an honor for outstanding women who, through their endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry. The same year, Streep received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

In 2003, Streep was awarded an honorary César Award by the French Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma. In 2004, at the Moscow International Film Festival, Streep was honored with the Stanislavsky Award for the outstanding achievement in the career of acting and devotion to the principles of Stanislavsky's school. Also in 2004, Streep received the AFI Life Achievement Award. In 2008, Streep was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame. In 2009, she was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts by Princeton University. In 2010, she was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Arts degree by Harvard University.

On December 4, 2011 (program aired on CBS-TV on December 27, 2011), Streep received the 2011 Kennedy Center Honor (along with Neil Diamond, Yo-Yo Ma, Sonny Rollins, and Barbara Cook). On February 14, 2012, Streep received the Honorary Golden Bear at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival. She previously won the Berlinale Camera at the 49th Berlin International Film Festival in 1999.

Filmography

! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1978	''The Deer Hunter''	Linda
1979		Jill	Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for The Seduction of Joe Tynan and Kramer vs. Kramer)National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for The Seduction of Joe Tynan and Kramer vs. Kramer)National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for The Seduction of Joe Tynan and Kramer vs. Kramer)Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
1979	''Kramer vs. Kramer''	Joanna Kramer	Academy Award for Best Supporting ActressGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion PictureKansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActressLos Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for The Seduction of Joe Tynan and Manhattan)National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for Manhattan and The Seduction of Joe Tynan)National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for The Seduction of Joe Tynan and Manhattan)New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress (and also The Seduction of Joe Tynan)Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
1981		Sarah/Anna	BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture DramaLos Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - Academy Award for Best Actress
1982		Sophie Zawistowski	Academy Award for Best ActressBoston Society of Film Critics Award for Best ActressGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture DramaKansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActressLos Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNational Board of Review Award for Best ActressNational Society of Film Critics Award for Best ActressNew York Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActressNominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
1983	''Silkwood''	Karen Silkwood	Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActressNominated - Academy Award for Best ActressNominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleNominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
1985		Karen Blixen
1987		Helen Archer	Nominated - Academy Award for Best Actress
1988	''A Cry in the Dark''		Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleNew York Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActressBest Actress Award (Cannes Film Festival)Nominated - Academy Award for Best ActressNominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
1990		Suzanne Vale
1992	''Death Becomes Her ''	Madeline Ashton	Nominated - Saturn Award for Best ActressNominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
1995		Francesca Johnson	Nominated - Academy Award for Best ActressNominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture DramaNominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
1998	''One True Thing''	Kate Gulden	Nominated - Academy Award for Best ActressNominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture DramaNominated - Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion PictureNominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
1999	''Music of the Heart''	Roberta Guaspari	Nominated - Academy Award for Best ActressNominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture DramaNominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
2002		Susan Orlean	Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActressFlorida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting ActressGolden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion PictureSatellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion PictureSilver Bear for Best ActressSoutheastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated - Academy Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting RoleNominated - Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated - London Film Critics Circle Award for Actress of the YearNominated - Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated - Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated - Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best CastNominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2002		Clarissa Vaughan	Silver Bear for Best Actress in Berlin International Film Festival (with Julianne Moore and Nicole Kidman)Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleNominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture DramaNominated - Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting ActressNominated - Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best CastNominated - Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion PictureNominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2004		Eleanor Shaw	Nominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting RoleNominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion PictureNominated - Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
2006		Miranda Priestly	Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyLondon Film Critics Circle Award for Actress of the YearNational Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting ActressOnline Film Critics Society Award for Best ActressSatellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNominated - Academy Award for Best ActressNominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleNominated - Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - MTV Movie Award for Best VillainNominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
2008		Donna	Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActressPhoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best ActressWashington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyNominated - London Film Critics Circle Award for Actress of the Year
2008		Sister Aloysius Beauvier	Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressKansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActressNational Board of Review Award for Best CastPhoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best ActressScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading RoleWashington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - Academy Award for Best ActressNominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleNominated - Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best CastNominated - Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture DramaNominated - London Film Critics Circle Award for Actress of the YearNominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
2009	''Julie & Julia''	Julia Child	Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best ActressBroadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyKansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActressNew York Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActressPhoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best ActressSatellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or ComedySoutheastern Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - Academy Award for Best ActressNominated - BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleNominated - Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - London Film Critics Circle Award for Actress of the YearNominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
2009		Jane Adler	Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
2011		Margaret Thatcher	Academy Award for Best ActressAACTA International Award for Best ActressBAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleDenver Film Critics Society Award for Best ActressGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActressNew York Film Critics Online Award for Best ActressLondon Film Critics Circle Award for Actress of the Year Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressUK's Annual Regional Film Awards for Best Actress Nominated - Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Best ActressNominated - Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Actress Defying Age and AgeismNominated - Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Female Icon AwardNominated - Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress (runner-up) Nominated - Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best ActressNominated - Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best ActresNominated - Iowa Film Critics Awards for Best ActressNominated - Irish Film & Television Award for Best International ActressNominated - National Society of Film Critics Award for Best ActressNominated - Online Film Critics Society Award for Best ActressNominated - Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion PictureNominated - St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated - Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best ActressNominated - Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best ActressNominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role

See also

List of people from New Jersey

List of American actresses

List of actors with two or more Academy Awards in acting categories

References

Bibliography

Napoleon, Davi (1991). ''Chelsea on the Edge: The Adventures of an American Theater.'' Includes discussion of Streep's performance in Robert Kalfin's production of ''Happy End'' at the Chelsea Theater and on Broadway. Iowa State University Press. ISBN-0-8138-1713-7.

''Finding Herself: The Prime of Meryl Streep'' by Molly Haskell, ''Film Comment'', May/June 2008.

External links

Official web site

Meryl Streep at BAFTA forty-minute webcast, January 2009

Meryl Streep at Emmys.com

Category:1949 births Category:20th-century American people Category:20th-century women Category:21st-century American people Category:21st-century women Category:Actors from New Jersey Category:American film actors Category:American musical theatre actors Category:American people of English descent Category:American people of German descent Category:American people of Swiss descent Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:BAFTA winners (people) Category:Best Actress Academy Award winners Category:Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Category:Best Miniseries or Television Movie Actress Golden Globe winners Category:Best Supporting Actress Academy Award winners Category:Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (film) winners Category:César Award winners Category:Emmy Award winners Category:Living people Category:Obie Award recipients Category:Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from Bernardsville, New Jersey Category:People from Summit, New Jersey Category:Vassar College alumni Category:Yale School of Drama alumni Category:United States National Medal of Arts recipients

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Width	235px
Position	Small Forward
Height ft	6
Height in	8
Weight lb	250
Team	Miami Heat
Number	6
Nationality	American
Birth date	December 30, 1984
Birth place	Akron, Ohio, United States
Draft round	1
Draft pick	1
Draft year	2003
Draft team	Cleveland Cavaliers
Career start	2003
High school	St. Vincent – St. Mary High School
Profile	lebron_james
Team1	Cleveland Cavaliers |years1–
Team2	Miami Heat |years2–present
Highlights	2× NBA Most Valuable Player (–) NBA Rookie of the Year () 7× NBA All-Star (2005–2011) NBA Scoring Champion () 5× All-NBA First Team (, –) 2× All-NBA Second Team (, ) 3× All-Defensive First Team (–) NBA All-Rookie First Team () 2× NBA All-Star Game MVP (2006, 2008) Naismith Prep Player of the Year (2003)
Medaltemplates	}}

LeBron Raymone James (; born December 30, 1984) is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "King James", he was a three-time "Mr. Basketball" of Ohio in high school, and was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar while a sophomore at St. Vincent – St. Mary High School. He was selected with the number one pick in the 2003 NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers and signed a shoe contract with Nike before his professional debut. Listed as a small forward, James has set numerous youngest player records since joining the league. He was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2003–04, was named the NBA Most Valuable Player in 2008–09 and 2009–10, and has been both an All-NBA selection and an All-Star every season since 2005. In 2010, a much-publicized free agency process ended with James signing with the Miami Heat. He became the third reigning NBA MVP to change teams and the first since Moses Malone in 1982.

The focal point of the Cleveland offense, James led the team to consecutive playoff appearances from 2006 through 2010. In 2007, the Cavaliers advanced to the Conference Finals for the first time since 1992 and to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history, ultimately losing to the San Antonio Spurs. In 2011, James and the Miami Heat advanced to the NBA Finals but lost to the Dallas Mavericks in 6 games, 4–2. James has been a member of the USA national team, winning a bronze medal at the 2004 Olympics and gold at the 2008 Olympics.

High school career

James attended St. Vincent–St. Mary High School in Akron, where he became a starter during his freshman year for the Fighting Irish. He averaged 21 points and 6.2 rebounds, and led the team to a 23–1 record, en route to the Division III state title. Coach Keith Dambrot started working with James doing $1 clinics at a local recreation center. In his sophomore year, James averaged 25.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 3.8 steals. He led the team to a 26–1 record and a Division III state title for the second straight season. He was the first sophomore to be named Ohio's "Mr. Basketball" and became the first sophomore ever selected to the ''USA Today'' All-USA First Team.

In James' junior year his stats improved again. He averaged 29.0 points, 8.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 3.3 steals and was again named Mr. Basketball of Ohio. He earned a spot on the All-USA First Team, and was named the 2001–02 boys' basketball Gatorade National Player of the Year. It was at this time that his nickname "King James" became a household staple in Ohio.

James appeared in ''SLAM Magazine'', which began his nationwide exposure. The St. Vincent–St. Mary basketball team did not defend its state title when increased enrollment forced the team to move up to the more challenging Division II (Ohio high school basketball has four divisions based on annual enrollment figures) and lost to Roger Bacon High School. James considered declaring for the 2002 draft after the season ended by petitioning for an adjustment to the NBA's draft eligibility rules, which at the time required prospective players to have at least completed high school. The petition was unsuccessful, but it ensured him an unprecedented level of nation-wide attention as he entered his senior year. By then, James had already appeared on the covers of ''Sports Illustrated'' and ''ESPN The Magazine''. His popularity forced his team to move their practices from the school gym to the nearby James A. Rhodes Arena at the University of Akron. NBA stars such as Shaquille O'Neal attended the games, and a few of James' high school games were even televised nationally on ESPN2 and regionally on pay-per-view.

In 2003, James' mother, Gloria James, got approval for a loan to buy a Hummer H2 for her son's 18th birthday. The bank took her son's future earning power into consideration, prompting an investigation by the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA). Under the OHSAA guidelines, no amateur may accept any gift valued over $100 as a reward for athletic performance. When James later accepted two throwback jerseys of Wes Unseld and Gale Sayers worth $845 from NEXT, an urban clothing store in Shaker Square, in exchange for his posing for pictures to be displayed on the store's walls, OHSAA stripped him of his eligibility. James appealed and a judge blocked the ruling, reducing the penalty to a two-game suspension and allowing him to play the remainder of the season. James' team was forced to forfeit one of their wins as a result. That forfeit was the team's only official loss that season.

Despite the distractions, the Irish won a third state title, with James averaging 31.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 3.4 steals on the season. James was named to the All-USA First Team for an unprecedented third time, and was selected as Mr. Basketball of Ohio for the third year in a row. He earned MVP honors at the McDonald's All-American Game, the EA Sports Roundball Classic, and the Jordan Capital Classic. Although it was a foregone conclusion, by participating in more than two high school all-star events, James officially lost his NCAA eligibility. James finished his high school career with 2,657 points, 892 rebounds and 523 assists.

James also played football during his high school years at St.Vincent-St. Mary's. In his sophomore year he was named first-team all-state as a wide receiver, and in his junior year he led his team to the state semifinals. Sports analysts have speculated on whether he could have played in the NFL.

NBA career

Cleveland Cavaliers (2003–2010)

Rookie season

James was selected by the Cleveland Cavaliers with the first overall pick in the 2003 NBA Draft. Facing the Sacramento Kings in his first NBA game, James recorded 25 points, 9 assists, 6 rebounds, and 4 steals and shot 60% from the floor. After recording a season-high 41 points against the New Jersey Nets, James became the youngest player in league history to score at least 40 points in a game. He was scheduled to compete in the 2004 Slam Dunk Contest during the All-Star weekend, although due to an ankle injury he suffered in January 2004, he was unable to participate in the contest. James averaged 20.9 points, 5.9 assists, and 5.5 rebounds per game for the season, and was named 2003–04 NBA Rookie of the Year; becoming the first Cavalier and youngest NBA player to ever receive the award. He joined Oscar Robertson and Michael Jordan as the only players in NBA history to average at least 20 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists per game in their rookie season (Tyreke Evans has since joined this group). The Cavaliers improved by 18 wins and concluded the regular season with a 35–47 record, but failed to make the playoffs.

2004–05 season

In the 2004–05 season, James was selected to his first NBA All-Star Game and recorded 13 points, 6 assists, and 8 rebounds, as the Eastern All-Stars defeated the Western All-Stars 125–115. During the season, James became the youngest player in league history to record a triple-double and make the All-NBA Team. He averaged 27.2 points, 7.2 assists, 7.4 rebounds, and 2.2 steals per game. The Cavaliers failed to reach the playoffs again and finished with a 42–40 regular season record.

2005–06 season

In the 2005–06 season, James was elected to his second straight All-Star Game appearance and led the Eastern All-Stars to a 122–120 victory, with 29 points, 6 rebounds, and 2 assists. He became the youngest All-Star MVP at 21 years, 51 days. He was named ''NBA Player of the Week'' for an unprecedented three consecutive weeks and concluded the season with five honors. He scored 35 or more points in nine consecutive games, joining Jordan and Kobe Bryant as the only players since 1970 to accomplish the feat. For the season, James averaged 31.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game, and became the youngest player in NBA history to average at least 30 points. He became the fourth player in NBA history to average more than 30 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists in a single season. The Cavaliers made the playoffs for the first time since 1998, and improved from a record of 17–65 in 2002–03 to 50–32 in 2005–06.

Following the regular season, James was named as one of the candidates for the NBA Most Valuable Player Award. Although he finished second to Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns in MVP voting, he was awarded co-MVP honors with Nash by ''The Sporting News''; an award given by the publication that is based on the voting of thirty NBA general managers.

James made his playoff debut against the Washington Wizards in 2006. He recorded a triple-double with 32 points, 11 assists and 11 rebounds, as the Cavaliers defeated the Wizards 97–86. He joined Johnny McCarthy and Magic Johnson as the only players in NBA history to register a triple-double in their playoff debut. For the series, James averaged 35.7 points, as the Cavaliers defeated the Wizards in six games. In the process, James set a new record for turnovers in a 6-game series, with 34. In the second round of the playoffs, James and the Cavaliers lost in seven games to the defending Eastern Conference champion and divisional rival Detroit Pistons. James averaged 30.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 5.8 assists in the playoffs.

At the end of the season, James negotiated a three-year contract extension, with a player option for a fourth year. The contract was worth $60 million and began at the start of the 2007–08 season. Although it was for fewer years and less money than the maximum he could sign, it allowed him the option of seeking a new contract worth more money as an unrestricted free agent following the 2010 season. He had discussed this with fellow members of his 2003 draft class, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, who also re-signed with their respective teams while allowing them to be unrestricted agents in 2010.

2006–07 season

James was elected to his third consecutive All-Star game appearance during the 2006–07 season. He played a game high 32 minutes and finished with 28 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. In the regular season, the Cavaliers tied the previous season's record with 50 wins and clinched the second seed of the Eastern Conference on the last day of the season. For the season, James averaged 27.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. He joined Robertson as the only players in NBA history to average 27 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists per game for three consecutive years.

In the first round of the 2007 NBA Playoffs, James led the Cavaliers to their first sweep in franchise history over the Washington Wizards in four games. It was the first time the franchise had won consecutive road playoff games. For the series, James averaged 27.8 points, 7.5 assists, and 8.5 rebounds. In the second round of the playoffs, James led the Cavaliers to a 4–2 series victory over the New Jersey Nets. He averaged 25.0 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 8.6 assists in the series, as the Cavaliers advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals for the first time in 15 years.

In the Eastern Conference Finals, James led the Cavaliers from an 0–2 deficit against the Detroit Pistons to win the series in six games. His performance in Game 5 was especially memorable. James recorded a franchise-record 48 points on 54.5% field goal shooting, to go with 9 rebounds and 7 assists. In addition, James scored 29 of Cleveland's last 30 points, including the team's final 25 points in a double-overtime victory. He concluded the night with a game-winning lay-up with 2 seconds left. NBA analyst Marv Albert referred to James' performance as "one of the greatest moments in postseason history," while color commentator Steve Kerr called it "Jordan-esque."

In the 2007 NBA Finals, James averaged 22.0 points, 7.0 rebounds and 6.8 assists, as the Cavaliers were swept by the San Antonio Spurs, losing 4 consecutive games. For the postseason, James averaged 25.1 points, 8.0 assists and 8.1 rebounds per game. He set a franchise record for double-doubles in a playoff season with eight and became the first Cavalier and the first non-guard in NBA history to have at least seven assists in eight consecutive playoff games.

2007–08 season

In the 2007–08 season, James continued his dominant play, earning his fourth consecutive All-Star Game appearance and once again positioning himself as one of the front runners for the NBA Most Valuable Player Award. He won the 2008 All-Star Game MVP with 27 points, 8 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 blocks and 2 steals as the Eastern Conference All-Stars defeated their Western counterparts, 134–128.

On February 19, 2008, James recorded his fifth triple-double of the 2007–08 season by putting up 26 points, 13 rebounds and 11 assists against the Houston Rockets. It was the fifteenth triple-double of his career. He is the third youngest player to post 15 triple-doubles, behind Robertson and Johnson. He scored his sixth triple-double of the season and sixteenth of his career against the Indiana Pacers the very next game. It was the second time during the season that he had a triple-double in back-to-back games. The last player to accomplish that feat was Johnson in 1988. James finished the season with seven triple-doubles, breaking his personal and team records for triple-doubles in a season and 17 career triple-doubles broke his team record as well.

On February 27, 2008, against the Boston Celtics, James became the youngest person to score 10,000 points in his career at 23 years and 59 days, achieving the feat in style with a slam-dunk over 11-time All-Star Kevin Garnett, eclipsing the old mark by more than a year. James did so in 368 games, the ninth fastest in league history. On March 5, 2008, James scored 50 points with 8 rebounds and 10 assists on the New York Knicks, becoming only the third player since the ABA-NBA merger to record a 50-point 10-assist game. On March 21, 2008, James scored 29 points against the Toronto Raptors, taking him past Brad Daugherty's all-time Cavaliers scoring record of 10,389 points. Daugherty achieved this record over the course of 548 games, while James took only 380 games to score 10,414 points.

All told, James propelled Cleveland to a 45–37 record, good for second place in the Central Division and the 4th seed in the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Prior to Cleveland's first-round series versus the Washington Wizards, Wizards guard Deshawn Stevenson said James was "overrated," prompting James to say that he would not return the insult, as that would be "almost like Jay-Z [responding to a negative comment] made by Soulja Boy." In response, Soulja Boy himself made an appearance at Game 3 of the series (played in Washington) in support of the Wizards, and his music was played over the PA system. James would later say that he meant no disrespect to Soulja Boy with his comment, and that his young son is a big fan of the rapper. Jay-Z responded by producing a freestyle version of the Too Short single "Blow the Whistle", named "Playoff", in which he "disses" Stevenson and Soulja Boy on James' behalf. The Cavaliers won the series against the Wizards in 6 games (4–2). The Cavaliers were eliminated by the Boston Celtics in the next round (4–3). During the decisive seventh game, which was played in Boston, James scored 45 points, but opponent Paul Pierce's 41 led the Celtics to a narrow victory.

2008–09 season

In the 2008–09 season James continued to improve facets of his game while setting new career highs. He had 23 chase-down blocks (93 blocks in total, a career-high) and improved his free-throw shooting (78.0%, a career-high, with league-leading 594 free-throws made). He was the NBA Player of the Month four times, making him the second player in NBA history to do that after Kevin Garnett did so in his 2003–04 MVP season. In addition, he became the fourth player in NBA history to lead his team in all five major statistical categories (total points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks) in one season. After a win on March 25 against the New Jersey Nets the Cleveland Cavaliers improved their record to 58–13 exceeding their previous franchise best of 57–25 set in the 1988–89 and 1991–92 NBA seasons. They ended the regular season with a league best of 66–16 after losing their final home game to the Philadelphia 76ers in overtime. The Cavaliers had a chance to tie the 1985–86 Boston Celtics for the all-time best NBA home record but ended at 39–2 after home losses to the Los Angeles Lakers and 76ers. In the playoffs, the Cavaliers swept the Detroit Pistons in the first round of the 2009 NBA Playoffs. James averaged 32.0 points, 11.3 rebounds and 7.5 assists in the series and became just the third player in NBA history to average at least 30 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists in a postseason series. At the end of the last game, in which he tallied 36 points, 13 rebounds and 8 assists on 16–17 free throw shooting, there were MVP chants for him in The Palace of Auburn Hills. On May 4, he was announced as the NBA Most Valuable Player. He became the first Cavaliers player in history to win the award.

He was named to the NBA All-Defensive Team for the first time in his career.

In the next series in the playoffs, James once again led his team to a sweep against the Atlanta Hawks.

On May 22, during Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, the Orlando Magic's Hedo Türkoğlu shot a 12-foot jumper to give the Magic a 2-point lead with 1 second left. Following a Cleveland timeout, Williams inbounded the ball to James, but heavy defense by Türkoğlu denied James a chance at a tying layup. James then attempted and made a three-point shot over Türkoğlu, giving the Cavs a 96–95 victory to tie the series 1–1. Following a Game 3 loss, James attempted another game-winning, buzzer-beating three-pointer in Game 4, but this time from farther away; it missed, thus dropping the Cavaliers down 3–1 in the series. After a Game 5 home win, he scored a playoff low 25 points in Game 6 and Cleveland lost the series to Orlando. James' postgame behavior incited some controversy when he left the game floor without shaking hands with his opponents. James later told reporters: }}

2009–10 season

Before the 2009–10 season, Cleveland traded for four-time NBA champion Shaquille O'Neal to address an inside presence that was missing against Orlando. O'Neal's goal was to "Win a Ring for the King." James was selected to his sixth consecutive All-Star game appearance. He became the first player to earn at least 2.5 million votes three times. James recorded 25 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 4 steals as the Eastern Conference All-Stars defeated the Western Conference All-Stars 141–139. In a 118–116 loss to the Denver Nuggets, James tallied 43 points, 13 rebounds, 15 assists, two steals and four blocks in a game. He was the first player to have at least 40 points, 15 assists and 13 rebounds in a game since Robertson did so on February 13, 1962. All-Star Antawn Jamison was acquired by the Cavs on February 17, 2010. On March 13, 2010, James became the youngest player in NBA history to score 15,000 regular season points during a 92–85 win over the Chicago Bulls.

At the end of the regular season, Cleveland finished with the best regular season record for the second consecutive year. James won the Most Valuable Player for the second time in his career, becoming the tenth NBA player in history to do so. James received 116 of a possible 122 first-place votes to win.

In the playoffs, the Cavaliers beat the Chicago Bulls in the first round, but fell to the Boston Celtics in the Eastern Conference semifinals. James was criticized for not playing well, especially in Game 5 of the series, in which he shot only 3 for 14 and scored 15 points. He walked off the court in that game, his final home game as a Cavalier, "to a smattering of boos and rows of empty seats" and Cleveland lost 88–120 in their worst home playoff loss in team history. Cleveland was eliminated in Game 6, James' last playing for Cleveland, as he recorded 27 points, 19 rebounds, 10 assists, but also 9 turnovers.

2010 free agency

James became a free-agent at 12:01 am ET on July 1, 2010. He filed papers to formally change his jersey number 23 to 6 for the season. James was courted by several teams, including the Knicks, Nets, Heat, Bulls, Mavericks, Clippers, and his hometown Cavaliers.

On July 8, 2010, James announced on a live ESPN special, ''The Decision'', that he would be playing for the Miami Heat for the 2010–11 season and teaming with Miami's other All-Star free agent signees Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. ''The Decision'' was broadcast from the Boys and Girls Club of Greenwich, Connecticut.

|LeBron James}}

Wade had informed Heat President Pat Riley that James wanted to become less of a scorer and more of a distributor, and James looked forward to no longer carrying the offense night after night as he did playing with Cleveland. Riley sold to James that "LeBron would be Magic Johnson, Dwyane Wade would be Kobe Bryant, Chris would be Kevin Garnett." Relieved of the burden of scoring, James thought he could be the first player to average a triple-double in a season since Oscar Robertson.

The Cavaliers were informed of James' decision minutes before the show began. The television program drew high ratings as well as criticism for the prolonged wait until James' actual decision and the spectacle of the show itself.

In Cleveland, fans considered James' departure a betrayal that ranks second to Art Modell's efforts to relocate the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore. Cleveland Cavaliers majority owner Dan Gilbert almost immediately published an open letter to fans, denouncing James' decision as a "selfish", "heartless", "callous", and "cowardly betrayal", while guaranteeing that the Cavs would win an NBA title before the "self-declared former King." Gilbert's sports-memorabilia company Fathead also lowered the price of wall graphics depicting James from $99.99 to $17.41, the birth year of Benedict Arnold. William Rhoden of ''The New York Times'' defended James by stating that Gilbert's "venomous, face-saving personal attack", along with the ensuing "wrath of jersey-burning fans", only validated James’ decision to leave Cleveland. Reverend Jesse Jackson, American civil rights activist, said Gilbert's feelings "personify a slave master mentality", and he was treating James as "a runaway slave". J. A. Adande of ESPN said, however, that James chose to promote the drama of his decision in an hour-long television special instead of showing "common courtesy" to notify Cleveland and other teams of his plans. On July 12, 2010, NBA Commissioner David Stern fined Gilbert $100,000 for the letter's contents, while also criticizing the way James handled free agency. On July 14, James told J. R. Moehringer for a ''GQ'' article that there was "nothing at all" he would change about his handling of free agency.

Former NBA players criticized his decision to not stay with Cleveland and continuing to try to win a championship as "the guy". Michael Jordan stated that he would not have contacted his rivals from other teams like Magic Johnson and Larry Bird to play on one team together, as "I wanted to defeat those guys." Jordan added that "...things are different [now]. I can't say that's a bad thing. It's an opportunity these kids have today." Johnson echoed Jordan's sentiments on teaming with rivals.

On September 29, 2010, asked by Soledad O'Brien of CNN if race was a factor in the fallout from ''The Decision'', James said, "I think so, at times. There's always – you know, a race factor." James had previously stayed clear of racial issues. When the earlier controversy over his cover on ''Vogue'' became a national debate, James had no comment. Mike Freeman of CBSSports.com, said James suddenly bringing up race in this instance was "laughable." Jason Whitlock of Foxsports.com said James' usage of the race card was "an excuse to avoid dealing with his own bad (The) Decision." Adande, however, said James "didn't claim to be a victim of racial persecution" and "caused us to examine the bias that's always lurking".

Before a game against the Nets on October 31, his first game against one of his suitors, James reflected on his free agency: “If I had to go back on it, I probably would do it a little bit different,” James said. “But I’m happy with my decision.” He declined to be more specific.

Miami Heat (2010–present)

On July 9, James officially completed a sign-and-trade deal with the Miami Heat. On the same day, the Heat threw a welcome party and introduced James, Wade and Bosh to the 13,000 Heat fans at American Airlines Arena. The rock concert atmosphere featured the trio arriving to plumes of smoke with Bosh and Wade pointing to the crowd and James strutting around. Howard Beck of ''The New York Times'' described the national fan reaction to the party: "Everyone saw something: greatness, arrogance, self-indulgence, boldness, cowardice, pride, friendship, collusion, joy, cynicism, heroes, mercenaries."

On November 2, James had a game-high 12 assists in a 129–97 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. James was the primary ball handler for nearly the entire 33 minutes he played against the Wolves. He has been playing throughout the season the point guard role that Riley sold to him during free agency. "I don't want to be called a point guard, but I can't stop it," said James. Heat public relations announced that James's 12 assists was the highest in franchise history by a forward. On November 9 in a 116–114 loss to the Utah Jazz, James finished with 20 points, 14 assists and 11 rebounds, his first triple-double with the Heat. It was his 29th career triple-double, the seventh that came in a loss. On December 2, the Heat played in Cleveland in James' first game back since departing as a free agent. The crowd directed derisive chants and signs at James, who was booed every time he touched the ball. With tight security, the crowd was rowdy but not violent and there was only one arrest and four ejections. James scored a then-season-high 38 points and Miami won in a 118–90 blowout as the hostile crowd was quieted before halftime. In a well publicized arrival after spurning the franchise, LeBron James had his second triple double of the season with 32 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden in a blowout victory. In the Heat's 104–100 victory over the Orlando Magic on February 3, 2011, James scored 23 points in the first quarter, breaking Alonzo Mourning's single-game franchise record of 21 first-quarter points (March 29, 1996). James finished the game with 51 points, a season high, along with 11 rebounds and eight assists.

On March 29, in James' second game at Cleveland as a member of the Heat, he skipped his pregame player introduction, saying that he was using the bathroom, and entered the arena during the Cleveland Cavaliers player introductions. The Heat lost to the Cavaliers 102–90 despite James' 27 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds.

James finished second in the league in scoring with 26.7 points per game and Dwyane Wade finished fourth (25.5 points per game). They combined to score 4,052 points this season, most by a duo in franchise history.

In the 2011 NBA Finals James finished with averages of 17.8 points, 6.8 assists, and 7.1 rebounds, although the Miami Heat were beaten in 6 games by the Dallas Mavericks, 4–2. Throughout the postseason James averaged 23.6 points, 5.8 assists, and 8.3 rebounds. James's 17.8 points per game (down 8.9 points from 26.7) in the Finals was the largest drop off in points from a regular season to an NBA Finals in NBA history.

International career

After his rookie season, James played on the 2004 U.S. Olympic basketball team in Athens, where the US men's team won the bronze medal. It was the first time a U.S. Olympic team with NBA players failed to win the gold medal. Limited to 14.6 minutes per game, James averaged just 5.8 points and 2.6 rebounds per game.

Along with Kobe Bryant, he was one of the first two players to be publicly named to the 2006–2008 U.S. preliminary roster in 2006 by Jerry Colangelo. James competed in the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan and averaged 13.9 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. The team finished with an 8–1 record, and was again awarded the bronze medal. James was named as one of three captains for the 2006 USA Men's World Championship team, alongside Carmelo Anthony and Wade.

After failing to win the 2006 World Championships, the team competed at the 2007 Tournament of Americas Olympic qualifiers to qualify for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. During the gold medal game against Argentina, James recorded 31 points, the most by an American in an Olympic qualifier, as the United States captured gold medal honors. He averaged 18.1 points (on tournament-high field-goal percentage (76%) and three-point percentage (62.2%), 4.7 assists, 3.6 rebounds and 1.5 steals in 22.2 minutes per game.

James, along with the rest of Team USA reclaimed the gold medal in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, defeating Spain 118 to 107. He finished the gold medal game with 14 points along with 6 rebounds and 3 assists as the U.S. went unbeaten, winning their first gold medal since the 2000 Olympics. It was later reported that James' "immaturity and downright disrespectfulness" were a risk to his being included on the Beijing Olympic team as Team USA coach Mike Krzyzewski and managing director Jerry Colangelo believed that Bryant joining the national team would allow the team to win the gold medal with or without James.

Player profile

As of the 2010–11 season, James has averaged 27.7 points, 7.0 assists and 7.1 rebounds per game for his career in the regular season, and has recorded 34 triple-doubles in his career, with 28 in the regular season and six in the postseason. In the 2005–06 season, he led the league in completed traditional three point plays. He regularly ranks among the league leaders in rebounds for the small forward position. James' skills have led to many comparisons to NBA legends Robertson, Johnson, and Jordan. James was not named to the NBA All-Defensive Team until the 2008–09 season, when he finished second in voting for Defensive Player of the Year.

In March 2011, the New York Times wrote that James "has not mastered a reliable midrange jumper ... has not developed a go-to move in the post" and his options in a half-court set at the end of games "often are a long jump shot or a mad dash to the rim."

James started a petition saying that no one should be allowed to wear the No. 23 in the NBA to honor Jordan. On March 1, 2010, James filed an application to the NBA to wear the No. 6 starting the 2010–11 season.

Off the court

Personal life

James was born on December 30, 1984 in Akron, Ohio, to a 16-year-old mother, Gloria. His biological father, Anthony McClelland, was an ex-convict who left Gloria. Gloria then had to raise LeBron by herself.

James has two children with his high school sweetheart, Savannah Brinson. The first, LeBron James Jr., was born on October 6, 2004, and the second, Bryce Maximus James, on June 14, 2007. They currently reside in Coconut Grove, a Miami suburb, where James bought a three-story mansion overlooking Biscayne Bay for $9 million on November 12, 2010.

Endorsements

James has endorsement contracts with Nike, Sprite, Glacéau, Bubblicious, Upper Deck, McDonald's and State Farm. With Nike, James has released six signature shoe styles, and four additional shoes (20–5–5, Soldier, Soldier 2, Ambassador). He has acted in a 2007 series of commercials called "The LeBrons", as well as had his likeness voiced by Kenan Thompson in a 2009 commercial series titled "MVPuppets". In December 2007, James was ranked at No.1 in the ''Forbes'' Top 20 Earners Under 25 with annual earnings of $27 million.

James and Ice Cube have paired up to pitch a one-hour special to ABC based on James' life. James will act as executive producer if the show is greenlighted. James appeared on the cover of the February 2009 edition of ''GQ'' magazine. He stars in the Lions Gate film, ''More Than a Game'' (2009).

Following an agreement with Fenway Sports Group to become the sole marketer of his rights globally, in return as part of the deal James and his manager Maverick Carter became minority stakeholders in English Premier League giants Liverpool F.C.

On April 10, 2011 James became the new global brand ambassador for luxury Swiss watchmaker Audemars Piguet. He will in addition collaborate to produce his own limited-edition watch, for which he will donate the proceeds from any future auctions of these timepieces to his charity, the LeBron James Family Foundation.

Public image

During the 2007 NBA Playoffs, James drew criticism when he declined to sign a petition started by his teammate, Ira Newble, regarding the Chinese government's alleged involvement in the ongoing conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan, stating that he did not know enough about the issue. A year later, James did talk publicly about the issue, saying, "At the end of the day we're talking about human rights. And people should understand that human rights and people's lives are in jeopardy. We're not talking about contracts here. We're not talking about money. We're talking about people's lives being lost and that means a lot more to me than some money or a contract."

James received criticism from Cleveland fans and critics for attending Cleveland Indians games against the New York Yankees dressed in a Yankees hat. James said, "As individuals I want every Indian to succeed. I love all these fans for coming out and supporting us. But team-wise I want the Yankees to win." Despite residing in Ohio for all of his childhood, James added that he grew up as a Yankees fan, a Dallas Cowboys fan and a Chicago Bulls fan. In January 2008, Nike released the Air Zoom V LeBron shoe, which featured a Yankees-type motif and was made available only in New York City.

In March 2008, James became the first black man to appear on the cover of ''Vogue'', posing with Gisele Bündchen. He was the third man to appear on the cover of ''Vogue'', after Richard Gere and George Clooney. Some sports bloggers and columnist considered the cover offensive, describing the demeanor of James and his holding Bündchen as a reference to classic imagery of the movie monster King Kong, a dark savage capturing his light-skinned love interest.

In June 2008, James donated $20,000 to a committee to elect Barack Obama. On October 29, 2008, James gathered almost 20,000 people at the Quicken Loans Arena for a viewing of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama's 30-minute ''American Stories, American Solutions'' television advertisement. It was shown on a large screen above the stage, where Jay-Z later held a free concert.

On July 6, 2009, James courted controversy when he ordered organizers to confiscate CBS video tape of him being dunked on by Xavier University guard Jordan Crawford at the Nike LeBron James Skills Academy.

On July 23 in an interview for his upcoming book "Shooting Stars", James admitted to smoking marijuana at one point during his high school career to help cope with all the stress resulting from constant media attention he was receiving at the time.

James, with comedian Jimmy Kimmel, co-hosted the 2007 ESPY Awards. James himself was nominated for three ESPYs: Best Male Athlete, Best NBA Player (winner), and Best Record Breaking Performance. The performance for which he was nominated was when he scored 48 points in Game 5 of the 2007 NBA Eastern Conference Finals against the Detroit Pistons, including 29 of the last 30 points and all of the team's 25 points in overtime. In other comedic pursuits, James hosted the 33rd season premiere of ''Saturday Night Live''. The show's creator Lorne Michaels praised him for his versatility.

In April 2010, Forbes ranked James as the second most influential athlete behind Lance Armstrong.

In September 2010, ''The Q Score Company'' ranked James as the sixth most disliked sports personality behind Michael Vick, Tiger Woods, Terrell Owens, Chad Ochocinco and Kobe Bryant.

Salaries

{|class="wikitable sortable" |- !Season!!Team!!Salary |- |2003–04||Cleveland||$4,018,920 |- |2004–05||Cleveland||$4,320,360 |- |2005–06||Cleveland||$4,621,800 |- |2006–07||Cleveland||$5,828,090 |- |2007–08||Cleveland||$13,041,250 |- |2008–09||Cleveland||$14,410,581 |- |2009–10||Cleveland||$15,779,912 |- |2010–11||Miami||$14,500,000 |}

NBA career statistics

Regular season

|- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland |79||79||39.5||.417||.290||.754||5.5||5.9||1.6||.7||20.9 |- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland |80||80||42.4||.472||.351||.750||7.4||7.2||2.2||.6||27.2 |- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland |79||79||42.5||.480||.335||.738||7.0||6.6||1.6||.8||31.4 |- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland |78||78||40.9||.476||.319||.698||6.7||6.0||1.6||.7||27.3 |- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland |75||74||40.4||.484||.315||.712||7.9||7.2||1.8||1.1||30.0 |- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland |81||81||37.7||.489||.344||.780||7.6||7.2||1.7||1.1||28.4 |- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland |76||76||39.0||.503||.333||.767||7.3||8.6||1.6||1.0||29.7 |- |style="text-align:left;"| |style="text-align:left;"|Miami |79||79||38.8||.510||.330||.759||7.5||7.0||1.6||.6||26.7 |-class="sortbottom" |style="text-align:left;"|Career |style="text-align:left;"| |627||626||40.1||.479||.329||.759||7.1||7.0||1.7||.8||27.7 |-class="sortbottom" |style="text-align:left;"|All-Star |style="text-align:left;"| |7||7||30.9||.511||.326||.760||7.1||6.0||1.6||.3||24.4 |}

Playoffs

|- |style="text-align:left;"|2006 |style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland |13||13||46.5||.476||.333||.737||8.1||5.8||1.4||.7||30.8 |- |style="text-align:left;"|2007 |style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland |20||20||44.7||.416||.280||.755||8.1||8.0||1.7||.5||25.1 |- |style="text-align:left;"|2008 |style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland |13||13||42.5||.411||.257||.731||7.8||7.6||1.8||1.3||28.2 |- |style="text-align:left;"|2009 |style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland |14||14||41.4||.510||.333||.749||9.1||7.3||1.6||.9||35.3 |- |style="text-align:left;"|2010 |style="text-align:left;"|Cleveland |11||11||41.8||.502||.400||.733||9.3||7.6||1.7||1.8||29.1 |- |style="text-align:left;"|2011 |style="text-align:left;"|Miami |21||21||43.9||.466||.353||.763||8.4||5.9||1.7||1.2||23.7 |-class="sortbottom" |style="text-align:left;"|Career |style="text-align:left;"| |92||92||43.6||.460||.323||.746||8.4||7.0||1.6||1.0||28.0 |}

Awards and honors

2× NBA Most Valuable Player: 2009, 2010

NBA Rookie of the Year: 2004

NBA Scoring Champion: 2008

2× NBA All-Star Game MVP: 2006, 2008

7× NBA All-Star: 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

7× All-NBA:

*First Team: 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011

*Second Team: 2005, 2007

3× NBA All-Defensive:

*First Team: 2009, 2010, 2011

NBA All-Rookie First Team: 2004

'''Bronze medal with Team USA, 2004 Summer Olympic Games

'''Bronze medal with Team USA, 2006 FIBA World Championship

'''Gold medal with Team USA, 2007 FIBA Americas Championship

'''Gold medal with Team USA, 2008 Summer Olympic Games

See also

List of National Basketball Association career playoff free throw scoring leaders

References

Further reading

External links

Official website

U.S. National Team Bio

LeBron James: NBA.com Draft Profile

"LeBron James", on ''TIME''s list of "100 Olympic Athletes To Watch"

LeBron James: Monster Dunks – slideshow by ''Life magazine''

LeBron James on ESPN Video Archive

LeBron James on FoxSports Video Archive

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name	Cary Grant
birth name	Archibald Alexander Leach
birth date	January 18, 1904
birth place	Bristol, England, United Kingdom
death date	November 29, 1986
death place	Davenport, Iowa, United States
other names	Archie Leach
occupation	Actor
years active	1932–66
spouse	Virginia Cherrill (1934–1935)Barbara Hutton (1942–1945)Betsy Drake (1949–1962)Dyan Cannon (1965–1967)Barbara Harris (1981–1986)
partner	Maureen Donaldson (1973–1977)
children	Jennifer Grant, born on February 26, 1966
relations	Cary Benjamin Grant, born on August 12, 2008
Awards	Academy Honorary Award1970 For his unique mastery of the art of screen acting with the respect and affection of his colleagues. }}

Archibald Alexander Leach (January 18, 1904 – November 29, 1986), better known by his stage name Cary Grant, was an English actor who later took U.S. citizenship. Known for his transatlantic accent, debonair demeanor and "dashing good looks", Grant is considered one of classic Hollywood's definitive leading men.

He was named the second Greatest Male Star of All Time by the American Film Institute. Noted for his dramatic roles as well as screwball comedy, Grant's best-known films include ''Bringing Up Baby'' (1938), ''Gunga Din'' (1939), ''The Philadelphia Story'' (1940), ''Penny Serenade'' (1941), ''Arsenic and Old Lace'' (1944), ''None but the Lonely Heart'' (1944), ''Notorious'' (1946), ''To Catch A Thief'' (1955), ''An Affair to Remember'' (1957), and ''North by Northwest'' (1959).

Nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Actor and five times for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor, Grant was continually passed over, and in 1970 was given an Honorary Oscar at the 42nd Academy Awards. Frank Sinatra presented Grant with the award, "for his unique mastery of the art of screen acting with the respect and affection of his colleagues".

Early life and career

Archibald Alexander Leach was born in Horfield, Bristol, to Elsie Maria Kingdon (1877–1973) and Elias James Leach (1873–1935). An only child, Leach had an unhappy upbringing, attending Bishop Road Primary School. His mother had suffered from depression since the death of a previous child. Her husband placed her in a mental institution, and told his nine-year-old son only that she had gone away on a "long holiday"; it was not until he was 31 that Grant discovered her alive, in an institutionalized care facility.

He was expelled from the Fairfield Grammar School in Bristol in 1918. After joining the "Bob Pender stage troupe", Leach performed as a stilt walker and travelled with the group to the United States in 1920 at the age of 16, on a two-year tour of the country. He was processed at Ellis Island on July 28, 1920. When the troupe returned to the UK, he decided to stay in the U.S. and continue his stage career. During this time, he became a part of the vaudeville world and toured with Parker, Rand and Leach. Still using his birth name, he performed on the stage at The Muny in St. Louis, Missouri, in such shows as ''Irene'' (1931); ''Music in May'' (1931); ''Nina Rosa'' (1931); ''Rio Rita'' (1931); ''Street Singer'' (1931); ''The Three Musketeers'' (1931); and ''Wonderful Night'' (1931). Leach's experience on stage as a stilt walker, acrobat, juggler, and mime taught him "phenomenal physical grace and exquisite comic timing" and the value of teamwork, skills which would benefit him in Hollywood.

Hollywood stardom

After the light Broadway comedies, Grant went to Hollywood in 1931. When told to change his name, he proposed "Cary Lockwood," his character's name in a recent play called ''Nikki'', based upon the recent film ''The Last Flight''. He signed with Paramount Pictures, but while studio bosses were impressed with him, they were less than impressed with his adopted stage name. They decided that the name Cary was acceptable, but Lockwood had to go due to a similarity with another actor's name. It was after browsing through a list of the studio's preferred surnames that "Cary Grant" was born. Grant chose the name because the initials C and G had already proved lucky for Clark Gable and Gary Cooper, two of Hollywood's biggest movie stars. Already having appeared as leading man opposite Marlene Dietrich in ''Blonde Venus'' (1932), his stardom was given a further boost by Mae West when she chose him for her leading man in two of her most successful films, ''She Done Him Wrong'' and ''I'm No Angel'' (both 1933). ''I'm No Angel'' was a tremendous financial success and, along with ''She Done Him Wrong'', which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Picture, saved Paramount from bankruptcy. Paramount put Grant in a series of unsuccessful films until 1936, when he signed with Columbia Pictures. His first major comedy hit was when he was loaned to Hal Roach's studio for the 1937 ''Topper'' (which was distributed by MGM).

Under the tutelage of director Leo McCarey, his role in ''The Awful Truth'' (1937) with Irene Dunne was the pivotal film in the establishment of Grant's screen persona; as he later wrote, "I pretended to be somebody I wanted to be and I finally became that person. Or he became me. Or we met at some point." Grant's sophisticated light comedy persona first evident in ''The Awful Truth'' was largely concocted by McCarey, with Grant also copying many of McCarey's mannerisms. Along with the similarity in their names, McCarey and Cary Grant shared a close physical resemblance, making mimicking McCarey's intonations and expressions even easier for Grant. As writer/director Peter Bogdanovich notes, "After ''The Awful Truth'', when it came to light comedy, there was Cary Grant and then everyone else was an also-ran."

''The Awful Truth'' began "what would be the most spectacular run ever for an actor in American pictures"; during the next four years, Grant made the screwball comedy ''Bringing Up Baby'' and the romantic comedy ''Holiday'' (1938) with Katharine Hepburn; the adventures ''Gunga Din'' and ''Only Angels Have Wings'' (1939); ''His Girl Friday'' (1940) with Rosalind Russell; ''The Philadelphia Story'' (1940), with Hepburn and James Stewart; ''My Favorite Wife'' (1940) and ''Penny Serenade'' (1941) with Irene Dunne; and ''Suspicion'' (1941), the first of four with Alfred Hitchcock.

Grant remained one of Hollywood's top box-office attractions for almost 30 years. Howard Hawks said that Grant was "so far the best that there isn't anybody to be compared to him". David Thomson called him "the best and most important actor in the history of the cinema".

Grant was a favorite of Hitchcock, who called him "the only actor I ever loved in my whole life". Besides ''Suspicion'', Grant appeared in the Hitchcock classics ''Notorious'' (1946), ''To Catch a Thief'' (1955) and ''North by Northwest'' (1959). Biographer Patrick McGilligan wrote that, in 1965, Hitchcock asked Grant to star in ''Torn Curtain'' (1966), only to learn that Grant had decided to retire after making one more film, ''Walk, Don't Run'' (1966); Paul Newman was cast instead, opposite Julie Andrews.

In the mid-1950s, Grant formed his own production company, Granart Productions, and produced a number of movies distributed by Universal, such as ''Operation Petticoat'' (1959), ''Indiscreet'' (1958), ''That Touch of Mink'' (co-starring with Doris Day, 1962), and ''Father Goose'' (1964). In 1963, he appeared opposite Audrey Hepburn in ''Charade'' (1963). His last feature film was ''Walk, Don't Run'' with Samantha Eggar and Jim Hutton.

Grant was the first actor to "go independent" by not renewing his studio contract, effectively leaving the studio system, which almost completely controlled what an actor could or could not do. In this way, Grant was able to control every aspect of his career, at the risk of not working because no particular studio had an interest in his career long term. He decided which movies he was going to appear in, he often had personal choice of the directors and his co-stars and at times even negotiated a share of the gross, something uncommon at the time.

Grant was nominated for two Academy Awards in the 1940s, and received a special Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement in 1970. In 1981, he was accorded the Kennedy Center Honors. Never self-absorbed, Grant poked fun at himself with statements such as, "Everyone wants to be Cary Grant—even I want to be Cary Grant". After seeing a telegram from a magazine editor to his agent asking "HOW OLD CARY GRANT?", Grant reportedly responded with "OLD CARY GRANT FINE. HOW YOU?"

Retirement and death

Although Grant had retired from the screen, he remained active in other areas. In the late 1960s, he accepted a position on the board of directors at Fabergé. By all accounts this position was not honorary, as some had assumed, Grant regularly attended meetings and his mere appearance at a product launch would almost certainly guarantee its success. The position also permitted use of a private plane, which Grant could use to fly to see his daughter wherever her mother, Dyan Cannon, was working. He later joined the boards of Hollywood Park, The Academy of Magical Arts (The Magic Castle, Hollywood, CA) Western Airlines (now Delta Air Lines), and MGM.

In the last few years of his life, Grant undertook tours of the United States in a one-man show. It was called "A Conversation with Cary Grant", in which he would show clips from his films and answer audience questions. Grant was preparing for a performance at the Adler Theater in Davenport, Iowa on the afternoon of November 29, 1986 when he sustained a cerebral hemorrhage. He had previously suffered a stroke in October 1984. He died at 11:22 pm in St. Luke's Hospital at the age of 82.

In 2001 a statue of Grant was erected in Millennium Square, a regenerated area next to the harbour in his city of birth, Bristol, England.

In November 2005, Grant came in first in the "The 50 Greatest Movie Stars of All Time" list by ''Premiere Magazine''. Richard Schickel, the film critic, said about Grant: "He's the best star actor there ever was in the movies."

Personal life

Grant was married five times. He wed Virginia Cherrill on February 10, 1934. She divorced him on March 26, 1935, following charges that Grant had hit her. In 1942 he married Barbara Hutton, one of the wealthiest women in the world, and became a father figure to her son, Lance Reventlow. The couple was derisively nicknamed "Cash and Cary", although in an extensive prenuptial agreement Grant refused any financial settlement in the event of a divorce. After divorcing in 1945, they remained lifelong friends. Grant always bristled at the accusation that he married for money: "I may not have married for very sound reasons, but money was never one of them."

On December 25, 1949, Grant married Betsy Drake. He appeared with her in two films. This would prove to be his longest marriage, ending on August 14, 1962. Drake introduced Grant to LSD, and in the early 1960s he related how treatment with the hallucinogenic drug —legal at the time— at a prestigious California clinic had finally brought him inner peace after yoga, hypnotism, and mysticism had proved ineffective. (In 1932, Grant had also met the Indian spiritual teacher Meher Baba.) Grant and Drake divorced in 1962.

He eloped with Dyan Cannon on July 22, 1965, in Las Vegas. Their daughter, Jennifer Grant, was born prematurely on February 26, 1966. He frequently called her his "best production" and regretted that he had not had children sooner. The marriage was troubled from the beginning, and Cannon left him in December 1966, claiming that Grant flew into frequent rages and spanked her when she "disobeyed" him. The divorce, finalized in 1968, was bitter and public, and custody fights over their daughter went on for nearly ten years.

On April 11, 1981, Grant married long-time companion Barbara Harris, a British hotel public relations agent, who was 47 years his junior. They renewed their vows on their fifth wedding anniversary. (Fifteen years after Grant's death, Harris married former Kansas Jayhawks All-American quarterback David Jaynes in 2001.)

Some, including Hedda Hopper and screenwriter Arthur Laurents have said, that Grant was bisexual, the latter writing that Grant "told me he threw pebbles at my window one night but was luckless". Grant allegedly was involved with costume designer Orry-Kelly when he first moved to Manhattan, and lived with Randolph Scott off and on for twelve years. Richard Blackwell wrote that Grant and Scott were "deeply, madly in love", and alleged eyewitness accounts of their physical affection have been published. However, Grant did admit in an interview that his first two wives had accused him of being homosexual. Betsy Drake commented: "Why would I believe that Cary was homosexual when we were busy fucking?"

Politics

Grant did not think movie stars should publicly make political declarations. Grant described his politics and his reticence about them this way:

Throughout his life, Grant maintained personal friendships with colleagues of varying political stripes, and his few political activities seemed to be shaped by personal friendships. Repulsed by the human costs to many in Hollywood, Grant publicly condemned McCarthyism in 1953, and when his friend Charlie Chaplin, was blacklisted, Grant insisted that the actor's artistic value outweighed political concerns. Grant was also a friend of the Kennedy brothers and Robert Kennedy's press secretary Frank Mankiewicz. He hosted one of Robert Kennedy's first political fundraisers at his home. He made one of his rare statements on public issues following the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy, calling for gun control.

In 1976, after his retirement from movies, Grant made his one overtly partisan appearance, introducing his friend Betty Ford, the First Lady, at the Republican National Convention, but even in this he maintained some distance from partisanship, speaking of "your" party, rather than "ours" in his remarks.

Filmography

{|class="wikitable" |- ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Film ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" | Notes |- | rowspan=8|1932 | ''This Is the Night'' | Stephen | With Lili Damita, Charles Ruggles, and Thelma Todd |- | ''Sinners in the Sun'' | Ridgeway | With Carole Lombard and Chester Morris |- | ''Singapore Sue'' | First Sailor | Musical Comedy short subject |- | ''Merrily We Go to Hell'' | Charlie Baxter | UK title: ''Merrily We Go to _____'' With Sylvia Sidney and Fredric March |- | ''Devil and the Deep'' | Lieutenant Jaeckel | With Tallulah Bankhead and Gary Cooper |- | ''Blonde Venus'' | Nick Townsend | With Marlene Dietrich |- | ''Hot Saturday'' | Romer Sheffield | With Nancy Carroll and Edward Woods |- | ''Madame Butterfly'' | Lieutenant B.F. Pinkerton | With Sylvia Sidney and Charles Ruggles |- | rowspan=6|1933 | ''She Done Him Wrong'' | Capt. Cummings | With Mae West and Noah Beery, Sr. |- | ''The Woman Accused'' | Jeffrey Baxter | With Nancy Carroll |- | ''The Eagle and the Hawk'' | Henry Crocker | With Fredric March and Carole Lombard |- | ''Gambling Ship'' | Ace Corbin | With Jack La Rue and Glenda Farrell |- | ''I'm No Angel'' | Jack Clayton | With Mae West |- | ''Alice in Wonderland'' | The Mock Turtle | With W. C. Fields and Gary Cooper |- | rowspan=4|1934 | ''Thirty Day Princess'' | Porter Madison III | With Sylvia Sidney and Edward Arnold |- | ''Born to Be Bad'' | Malcolm Trevor | With Loretta Young (Heavily censored by the Hayes Office) |- | ''Kiss and Make-Up'' | Dr. Maurice Lamar | With Helen Mack and the WAMPAS Baby Stars of 1934 |- | ''Ladies Should Listen'' | Julian De Lussac | With Francis Drake and Edward Everett Horton |- | rowspan=4|1935 | ''Enter Madame'' | Gerald Fitzgerald | With top-billed Elissa Landi |- | ''Wings in the Dark'' | Ken Gordon | With Myrna Loy |- | ''The Last Outpost'' | Michael Andrews | With Claude Rains |- | ''Sylvia Scarlett'' | Jimmy Monkley | Directed by George Cukor With Katharine Hepburn |- | rowspan=4|1936 | ''Big Brown Eyes'' | Det. Sgt. Danny Barr | With Joan Bennett and Walter Pidgeon |- | ''Suzy'' | Andre | With Jean Harlow and Franchot Tone |- | ''The Amazing Quest of Ernest Bliss'' | Ernest Bliss | US title: ''Romance and Riches'' Alt title: ''The Amazing Adventure'' |- | ''Wedding Present'' | Charlie | With Joan Bennett |- | rowspan=4|1937 | ''When You're in Love'' | Jimmy Hudson | UK title: ''For You Alone'' With Grace Moore |- | ''Topper'' | George Kerby | With Constance Bennett |- | ''The Toast of New York'' | Nicholas "Nick" Boyd | With Edward Arnold and Jack Oakie |- | ''The Awful Truth'' | Jerry Warriner | Directed by Leo McCareyWith Irene DunneIntroduced the "Cary Grant persona" |- | rowspan=2|1938 | ''Bringing up Baby'' | Dr. David Huxley | Directed by Howard HawksWith Katharine Hepburn and Charles Ruggles |- | ''Holiday'' | John "Johnny" Case | Directed by George CukorWith Katharine HepburnUK title: ''Free to Live'' |- | rowspan=3|1939 | ''Gunga Din'' | Sgt. Archibald Cutter | Directed by George StevensWith Victor McLaglen and Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. |- | ''Only Angels Have Wings'' | Geoff Carter | Directed by Howard HawksWith Jean Arthur, Thomas Mitchell, and Rita Hayworth |- | ''In Name Only'' | Alec Walker | With Carole Lombard and Charles Coburn |- | rowspan=4|1940 | ''His Girl Friday'' | Walter Burns | Directed by Howard HawksRemake of ''The Front Page''With Rosalind Russell |- | ''My Favorite Wife'' | Nick | Co-written by Leo McCarey Directed by Garson KaninWith Irene Dunne and Gail Patrick |- | ''The Howards of Virginia'' | Matt Howard |UK title: ''The Tree of Liberty'' With Martha Scott |- | ''The Philadelphia Story'' | C.K. Dexter Haven | With Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart |- | rowspan=2|1941 | ''Penny Serenade'' | Roger Adams | Nominated – Academy Award for Best ActorDirected by George StevensWith Irene Dunne and Edgar Buchanan |- | ''Suspicion'' | Johnnie | Directed by Alfred HitchcockWith Joan Fontaine |- | rowspan=2|1942 | ''The Talk of the Town'' | Leopold Dilg ''aka'' Joseph | With Ronald Colman and Jean Arthur |- | ''Once Upon a Honeymoon'' | Patrick "Pat" O'Toole | Directed by Leo McCareyWith Ginger Rogers |- | rowspan=2|1943 | ''Mr. Lucky'' | Joe Adams/Joe Bascopolous | With Laraine Day and Charles Bickford |- | ''Destination Tokyo'' | Capt. Cassidy | With John Garfield and Dane Clark |- | rowspan=3|1944 | ''Once Upon a Time'' | Jerry Flynn | With Janet Blair |- | ''Arsenic and Old Lace'' | Mortimer Brewster | With Priscilla Lane and Peter Lorre |- | ''None But the Lonely Heart'' | Ernie Mott | Nominated – Academy Award for Best Actor Written and directed by Clifford OdetsWith Ethel Barrymore |- | rowspan=3|1946 | ''Without Reservations'' | Himself (cameo) | With Claudette Colbert and John Wayne |- | ''Night and Day'' | Cole Porter | Directed by Michael Curtiz |- | ''Notorious'' | T.R. Devlin |Directed by Alfred HitchcockWith Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains |- | rowspan=2|1947 | ''The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer'' | Dick | UK title: ''Bachelor Knight'' With Myrna Loy and Shirley Temple |- | ''The Bishop's Wife'' | Dudley | With Loretta Young and David Niven |- | rowspan=2|1948 | ''Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House'' | Jim Blandings | With Myrna Loy and Melvyn Douglas |- | ''Every Girl Should Be Married'' | Dr. Madison W. Brown | With Betsy Drake |- | 1949 | ''I Was a Male War Bride'' | Capt. Henri Rochard | UK title: ''You Can't Sleep Here''With Ann Sheridan |- | 1950 | ''Crisis'' | Dr. Eugene Norland Ferguson | With Jose Ferrer |- | 1951 | ''People Will Talk'' | Dr. Noah Praetorius | With Jeanne Crain |- | rowspan=2|1952 | ''Room for One More'' | George "Poppy" Rose | With Betsy Drake |- | ''Monkey Business'' | Dr. Barnaby Fulton | Directed by Howard HawksWith Ginger Rogers and Marilyn Monroe |- | 1953 | ''Dream Wife'' | Clemson Reade | With Deborah Kerr and Walter Pidgeon |- | 1955 | ''To Catch a Thief'' | John Robie |Directed by Alfred HitchcockWith Grace Kelly |- | rowspan=3|1957 | ''The Pride and the Passion'' | Anthony | With Frank Sinatra and Sophia Loren |- | ''An Affair to Remember'' | Nickie Ferrante |A same-script remake of ''Love Affair (1939 film)'', both directed by Leo McCarey With Deborah Kerr |- | ''Kiss Them for Me'' | Cmdr. Andy Crewson | Directed by Stanley DonenWith Jayne Mansfield and Suzy Parker |- | rowspan=2|1958 | ''Indiscreet'' | Philip Adams | Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyDirected by Stanley DonenWith Ingrid Bergman |- | ''Houseboat'' | Tom Winters | With Sophia Loren |- | rowspan=2|1959 | ''North by Northwest'' | Roger O. Thornhill |Directed by Alfred Hitchcock With Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, and Martin Landau |- | ''Operation Petticoat'' | Lt. Cmdr. Matt T. Sherman | Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyWith Dina Merrill and Arthur O'Connell |- | 1960 | ''The Grass Is Greener'' | Victor Rhyall, Earl | Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Directed by Stanley DonenWith Deborah Kerr, Robert Mitchum, and Jean Simmons |- | 1962 | ''That Touch of Mink'' | Philip Shayne | Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyDirected by Delbert MannWith Doris Day and Gig Young |- | 1963 | ''Charade'' | Peter Joshua / Carson Dyle / Alexander Dyle / Adam Canfield / Brian Cruikshank | Nominated – BAFTA Award for Best Foreign ActorNominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or ComedyDirected by Stanley DonenWith Audrey Hepburn, Walter Matthau, and James Coburn |- | 1964 | ''Father Goose'' | Walter Christopher Eckland | Directed by Ralph NelsonWith Leslie Caron and Trevor Howard |- | 1966 | ''Walk, Don't Run'' | Sir William Rutland | With Samantha Eggar Remake of ''The More the Merrier'' |}

References

Notes

Bibliography of cited references

Bogdanovich, Peter. ''Who the Hell's in It: Portraits and Conversations''. New York: A.A. Knopf, 2004. ISBN 0-37540-010-9.

Eliot, Marc. ''Cary Grant: The Biography''. New York: Aurum Press, 2005. ISBN 1-84513-073-1.

Higham, Charles and Roy Moseley. ''Cary Grant: The Lonely Heart''. London: Thompson Learning, 1997. ISBN 0-15115-787-1.

Johannson, Warren and William A. Percy. ''Outing: Shattering the Conspiracy of Silence.''. Kirkwood, New York: Harrington Park Press, 1994, pp. 146–147.

Kael, Pauline. "The Man from Dream City – Cary Grant" – ''The New Yorker'' – July 14, 1975 – (reprinted in: Pauline Kael: ''For Keeps – 30 Years at the Movies''. New York: Dutton, 1994.)

Laurents, Arthur. ''Original Story by: A Memoir of Broadway and Hollywood''. Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Hal Leonard Corp, 2001. ISBN 1-55783-467-9.

Mann, William J. ''Behind the Screen: How Gays and Lesbians Shaped Hollywood, 1910–1969''. New York: Viking, 2001. ISBN 0-67003-017-1.

McCann, Graham. ''Cary Grant: A Class Apart''. London: Fourth Estate, 1997. ISBN 1-85702-574-1.

McGilligan, Patrick. ''Alfred Hitchcock: A Life in Darkness and Light''. New York: Regan Books, 2003. ISBN 0-06039-322-X.

Morecambe, Gary; Sterling, Martin. ''Cary Grant: In Name Alone''. London: Robson Books, 2001. ISBN 1-86105-466-1.

Nelson, Nancy and Cary Grant. ''Evenings With Cary Grant: Recollections In His Own Words and By Those Who Loved Him Best''. Thorndike, Maine: Thorndike Press, 1992. ISBN 1-56054-342-6.

Russo, Vito. ''The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies'' [revised edition]. New York: Harrow & Row, 1987. ISBN 0-06096-132-5.

Wansell, Geoffrey. ''Cary Grant: Dark Angel''. London: Arcade, 1997. ISBN 1-55970-369-5.

External links

Becoming Cary Grant (in Atlantic Magazine)

Category:1904 births Category:1986 deaths Category:Academy Honorary Award recipients Category:American film actors Category:American people of English descent Category:Deaths from cerebral hemorrhage Category:Deaths from stroke Category:English film actors Category:English emigrants to the United States Category:Kennedy Center honorees Category:Naturalized citizens of the United States Category:Old Fairfieldians Category:People from Bristol Category:Stroke survivors Category:Vaudeville performers Category:20th-century actors Category:European families of English ancestry

ar:كاري غرانت an:Cary Grant bcl:Cary Grant bs:Cary Grant bg:Кари Грант ca:Cary Grant cs:Cary Grant co:Cary Grant da:Cary Grant de:Cary Grant et:Cary Grant el:Κάρι Γκραντ es:Cary Grant eo:Cary Grant eu:Cary Grant fa:کری گرانت fr:Cary Grant ga:Cary Grant gd:Cary Grant gl:Cary Grant ko:캐리 그랜트 hr:Cary Grant id:Cary Grant it:Cary Grant he:קרי גרנט sw:Cary Grant la:Cary Grant hu:Cary Grant mk:Кери Грант nl:Cary Grant ja:ケーリー・グラント no:Cary Grant pl:Cary Grant pt:Cary Grant ro:Cary Grant ru:Кэри Грант sq:Cary Grant simple:Cary Grant sr:Кери Грант sh:Cary Grant fi:Cary Grant sv:Cary Grant th:แครี แกรนต์ tr:Cary Grant uk:Кері Грант vi:Cary Grant zh:加里·格兰特

name	Jennifer Aniston
birth name	Jennifer Joanna Aniston
birth date	February 11, 1969
birth place	Sherman Oaks, California, U.S.
occupation	Actress
years active	1989–present
spouse	Brad Pitt (2000–2005)
| parents	John Aniston, Nancy Dow}}

Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress, film director, and producer. Aniston gained worldwide recognition in the 1990s for portraying Rachel Green on the television sitcom ''Friends'', a role which earned her an Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Aniston has also enjoyed a successful Hollywood film career. She gained critical acclaim for her performances in the independent films ''She's the One'' (1996), ''Office Space'' (1999), ''The Good Girl'' (2002) and ''Friends with Money'' (2006). She has had her greatest commercial successes with the films ''Bruce Almighty'' (2003), ''The Break-Up'' (2006), ''Marley & Me'' (2008), ''Just Go with It'' (2011) and ''Horrible Bosses'' (2011). Aniston was selected for a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012.

Early life

Jennifer Aniston was born in Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles to actors John Aniston and Nancy Dow. Her father is Greek and a native of Crete, while her mother was born in New York City. One of Aniston's maternal great-grandfathers was an Italian immigrant; her mother's other ancestry is Scottish, Irish, and a small amount of Greek. Aniston has two half-brothers, John Melick, her maternal older half-brother, and Alex Aniston, her younger paternal half-brother. Aniston's godfather was actor Telly Savalas, one of her father's best friends. As a child, Aniston lived in Greece for one year with her family. They later relocated to New York City. Aniston attended the Rudolf Steiner School in New York, and graduated from Manhattan's Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. She worked in Off Broadway productions such as ''For Dear Life'' and ''Dancing on Checker's Grave'', and supported herself with several part-time jobs, which included working as a telemarketer, waitress, and bike messenger. In 1989, Aniston moved back to Los Angeles.

Career

Television

Aniston was cast in her first television role in 1990, starring as a regular on the short-lived series ''Molloy'' and in the TV movie ''Camp Cucamonga''. She also co-starred in ''Ferris Bueller'', a television adaptation of the 1986 movie ''Ferris Bueller's Day Off''. The series, however, was quickly canceled. Aniston then appeared in two more failed television comedy series, ''The Edge'' and ''Muddling Through'', and guest-starred on ''Quantum Leap'', ''Herman's Head'', and ''Burke's Law''. After the string of canceled shows, along with her appearance in the critically derided 1992 horror film, ''Leprechaun'', Aniston reportedly considered giving up acting.

Aniston's plans changed, however, after auditioning for ''Friends'', a sitcom that was set to debut on NBC's 1994–1995 fall lineup. The producers of the show originally wanted Aniston to audition for the role of Monica Geller, but Courteney Cox was considered to be better suited to the role. Thus, Aniston was cast as Rachel Green. She was also offered a spot as a featured player on ''Saturday Night Live'', but turned it down to do ''Friends''. She played the character of Rachel from 1994 until the show ended in 2004.

The program was successful and Aniston, along with her co-stars, gained world-wide reputation among television viewers. Aniston received a salary of $1 million per episode for the last two seasons of ''Friends'', as well as five Emmy nominations (two for Supporting Actress, three for Lead Actress), including a win for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. According to the ''Guinness World Book of Records'' (2005), Aniston (along with her female costars) became the highest paid TV actress of all time with her $1 million-per-episode paycheck for the tenth season of ''Friends''.

In 2007, Aniston guest starred in an episode of Courteney Cox Arquette's series ''Dirt'', playing Arquette's rival, Tina Harrod. She appeared in the third episode of Season 3 of NBC's ''30 Rock'' playing Liz Lemon's old college roommate who stalks Jack Donaghy. On July 16, 2009, Aniston received an Emmy nomination in the category of Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on ''30 Rock''. Aniston was a guest star on the Season 2 premiere of ABC's sitcom ''Cougar Town'', playing a psychiatrist.

Film

While appearing on ''Friends'', Aniston also started segueing into film roles. She made her film debut in 1992's ''Leprechaun'', which was negatively reviewed by critics, but was commercially successful and gained a cult following. Following a four year hiatus from cinema, Aniston returned to film work in 1996, when she played supporting roles in the independent films ''Dream for an Insomniac'', and ''She's the One'', alongside Edward Burns and Cameron Diaz. Aniston's first starring vehicle was the film ''Picture Perfect'' (1997), in which she starred opposite Kevin Bacon and Jay Mohr. While the film received mixed reviews, Aniston's performance was more warmly received, with many critics suggesting that she had screen presence. During the second half of the 1990s she starred in several films such as the ensemble romantic film '''Til There Was You'' (1997) with Dylan McDermott and Sarah Jessica Parker, ''The Thin Pink Line'' (1998), the animated feature ''The Iron Giant'' (1999), and the critically acclaimed comedy ''Office Space'' (1999). She gained critical acclaim for her performances in ''The Object of My Affection'' (1998), a comedy-drama about a woman who falls for a gay man (played by Paul Rudd), and in the low-budget 2002 film ''The Good Girl'', playing an unglamorous cashier in a small town. The latter film opened in relatively few theaters—under 700 in total—taking $14M in the U.S. box office.

Aniston's biggest box office success to date was her appearance in 2003's ''Bruce Almighty'', in which she played the live-in girlfriend of Jim Carrey's title character. Aniston then starred in the 2004 film ''Along Came Polly'' opposite Ben Stiller. In late 2005, Aniston appeared in two major studio films, ''Derailed'' and ''Rumor Has It…''. In 2006, Aniston appeared in the low-budget drama ''Friends with Money'', which was first shown at the Sundance Film Festival and received a limited release. Aniston's next film, ''The Break-Up'', which was released on June 2, grossed approximately $39.17 million during its opening weekend, despite lukewarm reviews. In 2006, Aniston directed a hospital emergency room-set short film called ''Room 10'', starring Robin Wright Penn and Kris Kristofferson as part of ''Glamour'''s Reel Moments film series. Aniston noted that she was inspired to direct by actress Gwyneth Paltrow, who also directed a short film in 2006.

On December 25, 2008, ''Marley & Me'', in which Aniston starred alongside Owen Wilson, was released. It set a record for the largest Christmas Day box office ever with $14.75 million in ticket sales. It earned a total of $51.7 million over the four-day weekend and placed #1 at the box office, a position it maintained for two weeks. The total worldwide gross was $242,717,113. Her next film in wide release, ''He's Just Not That into You'', where she starred opposite Ben Affleck, opened in February 2009. The movie made $27.5 million, ranking #1 at the box office in its opening weekend. While the film received mixed reviews, Aniston, along with Affleck, Ginnifer Goodwin, and Jennifer Connelly, were often praised by critics as being the stand-outs in the film.

In March 2010, Aniston appeared in ''The Bounty Hunter'', which costarred Gerard Butler. While the film received scathing reviews from critics, it was a modest box office success, garnering over $130 million worldwide. A lukewarm box-office reception greeted her next film, ''The Switch'', in which she co-starred with Jason Bateman. The film's opening weekend drew what ''The Hollywood Reporter'' dubbed "a dispiriting $8.4 million". The film received generally mixed reviews, with review site Metacritic showing 13 out of 30 critics delivering a positive verdict.

By June 20, 2010, Aniston's movies had grossed more than $1 billion in the United States and over $1.7 billion worldwide. Aniston's ''Just Go with It'', with Adam Sandler, was released on Valentine's Day weekend in 2011. The story is about a plastic surgeon, played by Sandler, who asks his office manager, played by Aniston, to pose as his wife, to prove his honesty to his much younger girlfriend, played by Brooklyn Decker. Also in 2011, Aniston starred in the comedy movie ''Horrible Bosses'', with Colin Farrell, Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, and Jamie Foxx, directed by Seth Gordon. The film focuses on a trio of employees who plot to murder their titular tyrannical supervisors. Aniston played one of the bosses, a sexually aggressive dentist who harasses Charlie Day's character.

In 2012, Aniston appeared in ''Wanderlust'' with Paul Rudd, with whom she co-starred in the 1998 movie ''The Object of My Affection'' and also ''Friends''. The script, bought by Universal Pictures, was written by Rudd, Ken Marino, and David Wain, with the latter also directing the film, and was produced by Judd Apatow. The movie was about a married couple who join a commune after losing their money and deciding modern life is not for them.

Other work

Aniston has appeared in various commercials and music videos. In 1996, she was in Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers music video for "Walls". In 2001, Aniston was in Melissa Etheridge's music video for "I Want To Be In Love". She was cast in a Heineken commercial which was later banned in the U.S. due to branding issues. Aniston has also been in commercials for L'Oreal hair products. In 1995, Aniston and her ''Friends'' co-star Matthew Perry shot a 60-minute instructional video for the release of Microsoft's new operating system, Windows 95. Along with Brad Pitt and Brad Grey, CEO of Paramount Pictures, Aniston founded the film production company Plan B Entertainment in 2002, although she and Grey withdrew in 2005. In 2008, she and partner Kristin Hahn formed the production company Echo Films.

Aniston worked for over a year on a new perfume, which was released on July 21, 2010, at Harrods in London. Original plans called for the perfume to be named ''Lolavie by Jennifer Aniston'', but to avoid confusion with a similarly named perfume, the name was changed to simply ''Jennifer Aniston''. In an interview following the launch, Aniston said that she would also like to create a fragrance for men.

Since 2007, Aniston has worked in a publicity campaign for the drink SmartWater; on March 7, 2011, she released a YouTube video, titled "Jennifer Aniston Goes Viral", for SmartWater, tripling online interest in the product within 24 hours of the release.

Philanthropy

Aniston is a supporter of Friends of El Faro, a grassroots non-profit organization that helps raise money for Casa Hogar Sion, an orphanage in Tijuana, Mexico. She has appeared in many TV commercials for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, which she supports. She also hosted September 2008's Stand Up to Cancer show.

In the "It Can't Wait" campaign to free Burma, Aniston directed and starred in a video.

On April 14, 2007, Aniston received GLAAD's Vanguard Award for her contributions to increased visibility and understanding of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community. On Earth Day 2010, she joined Courteney Cox, Woody Harrelson, Ben Stiller and others in "The Cove PSA: My Friend is..." an effort to stop the slaughter of dolphins and protect the Japanese people from the toxic levels of mercury found in dolphin meat. Other charities that Aniston has supported include AmeriCares, Clothes Off Our Back, Feeding America, EB Medical Research Foundation, Project A.L.S., OmniPeace, and Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network.

Aniston donated $500,000 to Doctors Without Borders, Haitian health care provider Partners in Health and AmeriCares, and also participated in the megastar-studded Hope for Haiti Now telethon.

Personal life

Aniston dated her ''Ferris Bueller'' TV costar Charlie Schlatter in 1990, and briefly dated musician Adam Duritz in 1995. From 1995 to 1998, she was romantically involved with actor Tate Donovan and the couple were reportedly engaged.

In May 1998, she began dating actor Brad Pitt. They married on July 29, 2000, in a private wedding ceremony in Malibu. For a few years, their marriage was considered the rare Hollywood success. However, the couple announced their separation on January 6, 2005. Aniston, however, filed for divorce on March 25, 2005. It was finalized on October 2, 2005. During this period there was intense speculation in the media that Pitt had been unfaithful to Aniston with his ''Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' co-star, Angelina Jolie.

In the following months, the public's reaction towards the divorce was reported in the press. The story became the headline news of media shows such as ''Entertainment Tonight'' and ''Access Hollywood'', and made the front-pages of tabloid magazines for years, continuing till this day. 'Team Aniston' and 'Team Jolie' T-shirts appeared, with 'Team Aniston' shirts out-selling the 'Team Jolie' shirts 4:1. Aniston revealed that her divorce prompted her to reach out to her mother, Nancy, from whom she was estranged for nearly a decade. They initially became estranged when Nancy spoke about her daughter on a television show and later wrote a book entitled, ''From Mother and Daughter to Friends: A Memoir'' (1999). Aniston has also stated she was devastated by the death of her longtime therapist, whose work helped make her separation from Pitt easier. Aniston said her relationship with Pitt, which she does not regret, was "seven very intense years together" and that "it was a beautiful, complicated relationship."

After her divorce, Aniston began a relationship with actor Vince Vaughn, with whom she co-starred in ''The Break-Up''. Relationship troubles were reported in September 2006, followed by a confirmed split in December of that year. In February 2008, she began dating singer John Mayer.

Aniston has had two septoplasties to correct her deviated septum—one which was incorrectly done in 1994 and the second in January 2007.

Aniston is the godmother of Coco Riley Arquette, the daughter of her good friends, actors Courteney Cox and David Arquette.

In the media

In 2007, ''Forbes'' rated Aniston as one of the top 10 richest women in entertainment and estimated her net worth to be about $110 million. Aniston was also included in the annual Star Salary Top 10 of trade magazine ''The Hollywood Reporter'' for 2006. According to ''Forbes'', in October 2007, Aniston was the top-selling celebrity face of the entertainment industry. She was also Hollywood's most profitable actress. Aniston has been on the ''Forbes'' Celebrity 100 list, based on "earnings and fame", every year since 2001, topping the list in 2003. For the year of 2008, ''Forbes'' listed Aniston's earnings as $27 million.

In 2005, Aniston became the first-ever ''GQ'' Woman of the Year. She has appeared on ''People'''s annual list of The Most Beautiful every year since 1995, and came in at #1 in 2004. She also topped the magazine's Best Dressed List in 2006. She has been a regular on ''FHM''s 100 Sexiest Women list since 1996, ranking at #81 in 2010, #24 in 2009 and #27 in 2008. In 2011 ''The Telegraph'' reported the most sought after body parts of the rich and famous revealed by two Hollywood plastic surgeons who carried out a survey among their patients to build up the picture of what the perfect woman would look like. Under the category of the most sought after body shape Aniston was voted in the top three alongside Gisele Bundchen and Penelope Cruz. In the same year, readers of ''Men's Health'' magazine voted Aniston the "Sexiest Woman of All Time".

Although Aniston disliked the hairstyle she wore during her first two years on ''Friends'', "The Rachel" became and remains very popular among women.

Filmography

+ Film
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1993		Tory Reding
1996	''She's the One''	Renee Fitzpatrick
1996	''Dream for an Insomniac''	Allison
1997	'''Til There Was You''	Debbie
1997		Kate Mosley
1998	''''	Clove
1998	''Waiting for Woody''	Herself	Short film
1998	''The Object of My Affection''	Nina Borowski
1999	''Office Space''	Joanna	Cult hit
1999	''''	Annie Hughes	Voice only
2001		Emily Poule
2002	''''	Justine Last	Independent film
2003	''Bruce Almighty''	Grace Connelly
2003		Herself	Cameo appearance
2004	''Along Came Polly''	Polly Prince
2005		Lucinda Harris
2005	''Rumor Has It...''	Sarah Huttinger
2006	''Friends with Money''	Olivia	Independent film
2006	''''	Brooke Meyers
2008		Jenny Grogan
2009		Beth Murphy
2009		Sue Claussen	Independent film. Also Executive Producer
2009	''Love Happens''	Eloise Chandler
2009	''Journey to Sundance''	Herself	Documentary
2010	''''	Nicole Hurly
2010	''''	Kassie Larson	Also Executive Producer
2011	''Just Go with It''	Katherine Murphy
2011	''Horrible Bosses''	Dr. Julia Harris
2012		Linda

+ Television
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1990	''Molloy''	Courtney	Main role
1990	''Camp Cucamonga''	Ava Schector	Television movie
1990–1991		Jeannie Bueller
1992–1993	''''	Various characters	Main role
1994	''Muddling Through''	Madeline Drego Cooper	Main role
1994–2004	''Friends''	Rachel Green	236 episodes; one of the six main roles
2004		Herself – Hostess	Documentary

+ Television guest appearances
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1992		Kiki Wilson	"Nowhere to Run" (Season 5, Episode 4)
1992–1993	''Herman's Head''	Suzie Brooks	"Twisted Sister" (Season 1, Episode 25) "Jay Is for Jealousy" (Season 3, Episode 8)
1994	''Burke's Law''	Linda Campbell	"Who Killed the Beauty Queen?" (Season 1, Episode 4)
1995	''The Larry Sanders Show''	Herself	"Conflict of Interest" (Season 4, Episode 10)
1998		CPA Suzanne	"Follow the Clams?" (Season 1, Episode 17)
1998		Herself	"Ellen: A Hollywood Tribute: Part 2" (Season 5, Episode 20)
1998	''Disney's Hercules''	Galatea (Voice)	"Dream Date" (Season 1, Episode 27)
1999	''South Park''	Mrs. Stevens – Choir Teacher (Voice)	"Rainforest Shmainforest" (Season 3, Episode 1)
2003	''Freedom: A History of Us''	Jessie Benton	"Wake Up America " (Season 1, Episode 4)
2003	''King of the Hill''	Pepperoni Sue/Stephanie (Voice)
2007		Tina Harrod	"Ita Missa Est" (Season 1, Episode 13)
2008	''30 Rock''	Claire Harper	"The One with the Cast of Night Court" (Season 3, Episode 3)
2010	''Cougar Town''	Glenn
2011	''Kickin' It''	Laura	Recurring role (3 episodes)

+ Video games
! Year	! Title	! Role	Notes
1996	''Steven Spielberg's Director's Chair''	Laura	Voice

Director

! Year	! Title	Notes
2006	''Room 10''	Short Film
2011	''FIVE''	TV Movie

Producer

! Year	! Title	Notes
2008		Executive producer
2009	''Becoming Icizzle (Video Documentary)''	Executive producer
2010		Executive producer
2011	''FIVE (TV Movie)''	Executive producer

Awards and nominations

Aniston has won multiple awards during her career, and has been recognized for her work in both television and movie productions.

! Year	! Award	! Category	! Title of work	! Result
1996	American Comedy Awards	Funniest Supporting Female Performer in a TV Series	Friends
1996	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Friends
1997	Kid's Choice Awards	Favorite Television Actress	Friends
1999	American Comedy Awards	Funniest Supporting Female Performer in a TV Series	Friends
1999	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Friends
1999	Kid's Choice Awards	Favorite Television Actress	Friends
2000	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Friends
2000	Satellite Awards	Best Performance by an Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical	Friends
2000	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Friends
2000	TV Guide Awards	Editor's Choice
2000	Kid's Choice Awards	Favorite Television Actress	Friends
2001	American Comedy Awards	Funniest Supporting Female Performer in a TV Series	Friends
2001	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series	Friends
2001	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Friends
2001	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Female Television Performer	Friends
2001	Aftonbladet TV Prize, Sweden	Best Foreign TV Personality – Female	Friends
2002	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series	Friends
2002	Golden Globe Awards	Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television	Friends
2002	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Friends
2002	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series	Friends
2002	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Female Television Performer	Friends
2002	Hollywood Film Festival	Actress of the Year
2002	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actress – Comedy	Friends
2002	Aftonbladet TV Prize, Sweden	Best Foreign TV Personality – Female	Friends
2002	Kid's Choice Awards	Favorite Television Actress	Friends
2003	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series	Friends
2003	Golden Globe Awards	Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series – Musical or Comedy	Friends
2003	Satellite Awards	Best Performance by an Actress in a Series, Comedy or Musical	Friends
2003	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Friends
2003	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series	Friends
2003	Independent Spirit Awards	Best Female Lead	The Good Girl
2003	Satellite Awards	Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical	The Good Girl
2003	Online Film Critics Society	Best Actress	The Good Girl
2003	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Actress – Drama/Action Adventure	The Good Girl
2003	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Liplock	The Good Girl
2003	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Liar	The Good Girl
2003	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Actress – Comedy	Bruce Almighty
2003	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actress – Comedy	Friends
2003	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Female Television Performer	Friends
2003	Aftonbladet TV Prize, Sweden	Best Foreign TV Personality – Female	Friends
2003	Logie Awards	Most Popular Overseas TV Program	Friends
2003	Kid's Choice Awards	Favorite Television Actress	Friends
2004	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series	Friends
2004	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Friends
2004	Logie Awards	Most Popular Overseas Star	Friends
2004	Logie Awards	Most Popular Overseas TV Program	Friends
2004	MTV Movie Awards	Best Kiss	Bruce Almighty
2004	MTV Movie Awards	Best Dance Sequence	Along Came Polly
2004	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Female Television Performer	Friends
2004	Teen Choice Awards	Choice TV Actress – Comedy	Friends
2004	Aftonbladet TV Prize, Sweden	Best Foreign TV Personality – Female	Friends
2004	Kid's Choice Awards	Favorite Television Actress	Friends
2005	ShoWest Convention Awards	Female Star of the Year
2005	TV Land Awards	Little Screen/Big Screen Star
2006	TV Land Awards	Most Memorable Kiss	Friends
2006	TV Land Awards	Little Screen/Big Screen Star
2006	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Chemistry (shared with Vince Vaughn)	The Break-Up
2006	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Actress – Comedy	The Break-Up
2007	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Female Movie Star
2007	People's Choice Awards	Favorite On-Screen Match-Up	The Break-Up
2007	TV Land Awards	Little Screen/Big Screen Star
2007	TV Land Awards	Break Up That Was So Bad It Was Good	Friends
2007	GLAAD Media Awards	Vanguard Award
2007	CineVegas International Film Festival	Best Short Film	Room 10
2009	Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series	30 Rock
2009
2009	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Actress – Comedy	Marley & Me
2009	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Movie Actress – Comedy	He's Just Not That Into You
2009	Kid's Choice Awards	Favorite Movie Actress	Marley & Me
2010	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Movie Actress
2011	MTV Movie Awards	Best Female Performance	Just Go With It
2011	Spike Guys' Choice Awards	Decade of Hotness
2011	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Movie Actress	Just Go With It
2011	People's Choice Awards	Favorite Comedic Movie Actress	Just Go With It & Horrible Bosses
2012	Directors Guild of America Award	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television/Mini-Series	FIVE (TV Movie)

References

External links

Category:1969 births Category:20th-century actors Category:21st-century actors Category:Actors from Los Angeles, California Category:Actors from New York City Category:American people of Greek descent Category:American people of Italian descent Category:American people of Scottish descent Category:American film actors Category:American television actors Category:American voice actors Category:Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe (television) winners Category:Emmy Award winners Category:English-language film directors Category:Female film directors Category:Film directors from California Category:Film directors from New York City Category:Film producers from California Category:Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Category:GLAAD Media Award winners Category:Living people Category:Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners Category:People from Hollywood, Los Angeles Category:People from Manhattan Category:People from Sherman Oaks, Los Angeles Category:Waldorf school alumni

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