Nia Peeples

Nia Peeples

Virenia "Nia" Peeples (born December 10, 1961) is an American R&B and dance music singer and actress. Peeples is known for playing Nicole Chapman on the hit TV series Fame; Pam Fields on the drama Pretty Little Liars; Karen Taylor Winters on The Young and the Restless and Sydney Cooke on Walker, Texas Ranger. Her most recent television role was Grace's mom, Susan, on The Fosters.

Peeples was born December 10, 1961, in Hollywood, California,[1] the daughter of Elizabeth Joan (née Rubic), a flamenco dancer, and Robert Eugene Peeples.[2] She was raised in West Covina. Her maternal grandparents were immigrants from the Philippines.[2] Her father, who was originally from Mississippi, was of Scottish, English, and Irish ancestry.[2] Peeples attended UCLA during which time[when?] she performed as Liberace's opening act in Las Vegas on weekends. Peeples lives in Malibu, California, and has one son Christopher (b. 1989 with ex-husband Howard Hewett) and one daughter with her former husband, Lauro Chartrand.[citation needed.

She operates an internet based organization called Elements of Life, which promotes fitness, inspiration, healthy lifestyle changes and emotional well-being. She worked with business coach Amy Applebaum on its development. On August 11, 2015, Peeples filed for divorce from her surfer husband Sam George.[citation needed] Peeples filed in Los Angeles County, 20 days before the couple's eighth wedding anniversary. Peeples is seeking[needs update] to keep the couple's home, a Malibu manufactured home with an ocean view that's valued at $875,000. Also listed among the couple's community assets is a Las Vegas condo worth $91,000.

Peeples started her career as part of the performance group The Young Americans. In 1988 she hit #1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart with "Trouble",[4] which climbed to #35 on the Billboard Hot 100.[5] Her most successful pop single is "Street Of Dreams", which hit #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1991.[5] She made a music video in 1986 for "All You Can Dream", directed by Alan Bloom and conceptualized by Keith Williams, for the purposes of promoting the values of UCLA. On February 4, 2009, Peeples presented Debbie Allen with a Lifetime Achievement Award at The Carnival: Choreographer's Ball 10th anniversary show. Peeples also attends and performs at the annual live Fame Reunion concerts overseas.

Notably, Peeples portrayed performing arts student Nicole Chapman on the hit TV series Fame. In 1987, she was in the movie North Shore as Kiani. She also hosted the short-lived American version of Top of the Pops in 1987, a weeknight dance music program called The Party Machine with Nia Peeples (1991), and portrayed Texas Ranger Sydney Cooke in the CBS hit series Walker, Texas Ranger from 1999 to 2001. In 2004, she appeared in the Andromeda episode "The Spider's Stratagem", as arms smuggler and love-interest Rox Nava. Peeples joined the cast of The Young and the Restless in 2007, playing the role of Karen Taylor, and was released from the role in the spring of 2009. In 2010, she was cast in ABC Family's TV series Pretty Little Liars, based on the book series by Sara Shepard.[7] Peeples was featured on the July 7, 2013 episode of Celebrity Wife Swap, in which she traded places with singer Tiffany.

Cynthia Gibb

Cynthia Gibb

Cynthia Gibb (born December 14, 1963)[2] is an American actress and former model who has starred in film and on television. She began her career as a cast member on the musical television drama Fame, based on the movie of the same name. She also appeared in the films Youngblood (1986), Salvador (1986), Malone (1987), Short Circuit 2 (1988) and Death Warrant (1990). She received a Golden Globe nomination for her performance as Gypsy Rose Lee in the film Gypsy (1993).

Gibb grew up in Westport, Connecticut, and graduated from Staples High School. At the age of 14, she began assignments with the Ford Modeling Agency in New York City.[3] She was on the cover of Vogue and Young Miss magazines. She was cast for her first film role, a small part as a Young Fan in Woody Allen's 1980 film Stardust Memories. Gibb appeared in Youngblood starring Rob Lowe. She also played the role of Susan Martin Wyatt Carter on the soap opera Search for Tomorrow, appearing from 1981 to 1983. Gibb was a regular for three of the six seasons of the television series Fame, which aired from 1982 to 1987.

She appeared in the Diagnosis: Murder movies in 1992 as Dr. Amanda Bentley. In Salvador (1986), directed by Oliver Stone and starring James Woods, she portrayed an American lay missionary in El Salvador who was brutally raped and murdered. In the TV adaptation of Gypsy, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film; she played the adult Gypsy Rose Lee opposite Bette Midler as Madame Rose.[4][3] Gibb later starred in the NBC sitcom Madman of the People[5] (1994–95), and UPN series Deadly Games (1995–97).[6] She has also played in many TV movies, including the role of Karen Carpenter in The Karen Carpenter Story (1989). She played Mary Maloney opposite John Schneider in Mary Christmas.

Between the second and third seasons, she starred in the much praised Salvador (1986), as a lay worker (based on the real life Jean Donovan) who, along with four nuns, was murdered by an El Salvador death squad. Just before filming Malone (1987), Gibb finished Modern Girls (1986), in which she played, not surprisingly, a young actress. She appeared in the television movies, "Mary Christmas" (2002) (TV) played Mary Maloney opposite actor John Schneider. Cynthia has also appeared in many movies including "A Crime of Passion" (2003) (TV), "A Family Lost" (2007) (TV), "An Accidental Christmas" (2007) (TV) and "A Nanny For Christmas" (2010) with Emmanuelle Vaugier, 'Dean Cain (I)' and Sarah Thompson. She also starred in "Cinnamon" aka "My Dog's Christmas Miracle" (2011) (V) with Greg Evigan and Ashley Leggat.

Victoria Abril

Victoria Abril

Born in Malaga, Abril became widely known in Spain in 1976 when she appeared in the show Un, dos, tres... responda otra vez for two years. In addition to working in Spain, she has made films in France, Italy, and Iceland. She has been nominated eight times for Goya Awards in the Lead Actress category and has won once. She also won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 41st Berlin International Film Festival for her role in Amantes.[1] Two years later, she was awarded with the Berlinale Camera at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival.

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This Spanish actress started studying dancing. Her teacher encouraged her to participate in her first film Obsesión (1977). After that, she was chosen by the director Narciso Ibáñez Serrador to be one of the co-hostesses of the famous TV contest Un, dos, tres... responda otra vez (1972) becoming very well known all over Spain. Since 1975 she also made several films in France and Italy. In Spain, she had her first success with Girl with the Golden Panties (1980), directed by Vicente Aranda. She has won twice the Best Actress Award at the San Sebastial Film Festival for El Lute: Run for Your Life (1987) and for Nobody Will Speak of Us When We're Dead (1995). In 1991 she won the Silver Bear at Berlin Film Festival for her work in Lovers: A True Story (1991).

Victoria Abril (born Victoria Mérida Rojas; 4 July 1959) is a Spanish film actress and singer. She is best known to international audiences for her performance in the movie "¡Átame! (Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!)" by director Pedro Almodóvar. Born in Madrid, Abril became widely known in Spain in 1976 when she appeared for two years in the show "Un, dos, tres... responda otra vez". Besides working in Spain, she also made films in France, where she resides, Italy, and Iceland. She has been nominated eight times for Goya Awards in the Lead Actress category and has won once. She won the Silver Bear for Best Actress at the 41st Berlin International Film Festival for her role in "Amantes".

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Two years later, she was awarded with the Berlinale Camera at the 43rd Berlin International Film Festival. Victoria Abril performing on stage in 2006. She is also a singer. In 2005, she made her debut with a bossanova-jazz album called "PutchEros do Brasil". She also tried to represent Spain in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1979 with "Bang-Bang-Bang", but Betty Missiego was chosen instead. On 28 July 1977 Victoria Abril married Gustavo Laube, former footballer of the national team of Chile. The couple separated in early 1982. Victoria Abril has two sons with the French director Gérard de Battista.

She and Vicente Aranda have worked together 12 times: Tirante el Blanco (2006), Libertarias (1995), Intruso (1993), Amantes (1991), the miniseries Los jinetes del alba (1990), Si te dicen que caí (1989), El Lute (camina o revienta) (1987), Tiempo de silencio (1986), the TV-Movie El crimen del Capitán Sánchez (1985), Asesinato en el Comité Central (1982), La muchacha de las bragas de oro (1979) and Cambio de sexo (1976).

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Blanca Li

Blanca Li

She has created choreographies for the Paris Opera Ballet, The Berlin Ballet, the Metropolitan Opera, for filmmakers like Pedro Almodóvar and Michel Gondry or for musical artists like Beyoncé, Daft Punk ("Around the World" ), Paul McCartney, Kanye West and Coldplay, among others. Whether performance, opera, musical, museum installation, event, music video or feature film, she initiates and realizes a great number of projects : "I like to give life to all that’s in my brain". Never restricted to one style, she gets her inspiration from a broad spectrum of physical forms of expression (from flamenco to classical ballet and hip-hop).

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Blanca Li, originally Blanca María Gutiérrez Ortiz, was born in 1964 in Granada, in a nine-member family. She started to take Flamenco dance lessons during her childhood and participated in a contest to join the Spanish Rhythmic Gymnastics Team. She was accepted at the age of twelve, but she abandoned the team six months before the Olympics because of growth disorders. However, due to her need for physical activity, she decided to replace gymnastics with dance.

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She moved to New York at the age of seventeen, where she was trained for five years as a dancer and choreographer at Martha Graham’s School. She also studied with Alvin Ailey, Paul Sanasardo and Merce Cunningham.In New York she lived in Harlem, where she witnessed the birth of hip hop. Her first show took place in the East Village and it was a mix of different styles: classical, modern and hip hop dance. During those years, Blanca met Etienne Li, a mathematician who was also a Franco-Korean graffiti artist. He designed the pamphlets of her first show and would later become her partner.

She settles in Paris in 1993 to install her own contemporary dance company, with 14 major pieces at her repertory since. She opens up her own dance studios in Paris in 1998. Fusion between disciplines and a very Latin sense of humor are present in most of her creations. Macadam Macadam, a hip-hop piece commissioned by Suresnes Cite Danse Festival in 1999, becomes the reference of the genre, while touring worldwide, from Avignon Festival to Festival of Arts and Ideas in New Haven, Connecticut. In 2006, in a series performed at the Théâtre Mogador of Paris, Macadam Macadam receives the Globes de Cristal for Best Musical. She creates her first one-woman show Zap! Zap! Zap!, which is successfully performed at Théâtre national de Chaillot in Paris and at The Kitchen in New York City for the France Moves Festival (2001).

She draws inspiration from various sources, from Gnawa trance ceremonies in Morocco for Nana et Lila or Ancient Greek art for Le Songe du Minotaure. She stages the madness of our contemporary world in the wake of September 11 attacks in collaboration with plastic artists Jorge and Lucy Orta for Borderline (2002). Corazón Loco, playing with love fusion and disintegration, combines dancers with lyrical singers of the vocal ensemble Sequenza 9.3, directed by Catherine Simonpietri on a contemporary score by Édith Canat de Chizy; Poet in New York, inspired by the poems of Federico García Lorca in New York City and commissioned by Andalucia's Ministry of Culture, has gathered nearly 150 000 spectators during its performances at the summer festival in Granada, (two seasons), Théâtre national de Chaillot in Paris, and Teatros del Canal in Madrid.

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Penélope Cruz

Penélope Cruz

Penélope Cruz Sánchez (/kruːθ/; Spanish: [peˈnelope ˈkɾuθ ˈsantʃeθ];[1] born 28 April 1974) is a Spanish actress. Known for her roles in films of several genres, particularly those in the Spanish language, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award, four Golden Globe Awards, and five Screen Actors Guild Awards. She is the only Spanish actress to have won an Academy Award, as well as the only one to have received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

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Signed by an agent at the age of 15, Cruz made her acting debut on television at 16, and her feature film debut the following year in Jamón Jamón (1992). Her subsequent roles included Belle Époque (1992), Open Your Eyes (1997), Don Juan (1998), The Hi-Lo Country (1999), The Girl of Your Dreams (2000), and Woman on Top (2000). She is known for her frequent collaborations with Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar in Live Flesh (1997), All About My Mother (1999), Volver (2006), Broken Embraces (2009), I'm So Excited! (2013), Pain and Glory (2019), and Parallel Mothers (2021), as well as for her work with director Woody Allen in Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) and To Rome with Love (2012).

For her role in the romantic comedy-drama Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Cruz received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Her other Oscar-nominated roles include Volver (2006), Nine (2009), and Parallel Mothers (2021). Other notable films include All the Pretty Horses (2000), Vanilla Sky (2001), Blow (2001), Elegy (2008), Sahara (2005), Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011), The Counselor (2013), Murder on the Orient Express (2017), Everybody Knows (2018), and Official Competition (2022). For her role as Donatella Versace in the FX series The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (2018), she received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie.

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Since 2010, Cruz has been married to Spanish actor Javier Bardem. She has done modelling work for Mango, Ralph Lauren, and L'Oréal, and along with her younger sister Mónica Cruz, also designed clothing for Mango. She has been a house ambassador for Chanel since 2018. She has volunteered in Uganda and India, where she spent one week working with Mother Teresa; she donated her salary from The Hi-Lo Country to help fund the late nun's mission.

Cruz was born on 28 April 1974 in the town of Alcobendas, province of Madrid, Spain, to Encarna Sánchez, an Andalusian hairdresser and personal manager, and Eduardo Cruz, an Extremaduran retailer and car mechanic.[2] She has two siblings, Mónica, also an actress, and Eduardo, a singer. She also has a paternal half-sister, Salma. She was raised as a Roman Catholic.[7] Cruz grew up in Alcobendas, and spent long hours at her grandmother's apartment.[6][8] She said she had a happy childhood.[6] Cruz remembers "playing with some friends and being aware that I was acting as I was playing with them. I would think of a character and pretend to be someone else."

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Sofia Boutella

Sofia Boutella

Boutella was born in the Bab El Oued district of Algiers, Algeria,[7] to an architect mother and a jazz musician father, Safy Boutella.[8] Her brother, Seif, works as a visual effects artist in the entertainment industry.[9][10] Her surname means "the men of the mountains".[11] She was raised in a fairly secular household that cultivated artistic expression and creativity.[11] Boutella described her childhood as a happy one, stating that she was "blessed to be born into a family that allowed me to express myself, to be myself and let out all sorts of colours that were living in my imagination and in my heart."

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Growing up in Paris, Boutella was exposed to many more forms of dance, particularly hip hop and street-dance, which intrigued her for offering more "freedom" compared to the more disciplined styles of ballet and gymnastics.[11] She joined a group called the Vagabond Crew, which won the Battle of the Year in 2006, and participated in a spin-off group called "Chienne de Vie and Aphrodites". Her breakthrough as a dancer came in 2007, when she was picked for the Jamie King choreography for Nike Women's "Keep Up" campaign, serving as a role model of femininity and hip-hop.[16][11] This was a major boost to her career and led to more work alongside stars like Madonna, in her Confessions Tour, and Rihanna.[15][16] She credits her work with Madonna for helping her learn English.

Beginning at age 17, Boutella rehearsed with famed Spanish choreographer Blanca Li. She began dancing in film and television shows, as well as in commercials and concert tours. She played the lead character Eva in the drama film StreetDance 2 (2012),[20] the sequel to StreetDance 3D (2010). In 2014, after 12 years as a dancer, Boutella sought a career in acting.[3] Initially, she purposefully avoided auditioning for lead roles, wishing to play supporting characters so as to learn from more experienced actors.[3] In 2015, she appeared in her first major film, Kingsman: The Secret Service, which jump-started her career as an actress.[21] One year later, she appeared as the alien warrior Jaylah in Star Trek Beyond, released on 22 July 2016.

In 2017, she portrayed a French secret agent in the David Leitch film Atomic Blonde, which also featured Charlize Theron, James McAvoy, John Goodman and Toby Jones. The same year, she played the titular role in The Mummy, along with Tom Cruise, Russell Crowe and Annabelle Wallis. Beginning in 2018, Boutella's profile rose, and she began to appear in more central roles. That year, she appeared in the Gaspar Noé dark psychological horror film Climax, starred alongside Michael B. Jordan and Michael Shannon in the HBO drama film Fahrenheit 451,[23] and portrayed French contract killer 'Nice' in the near-future action crime thriller Hotel Artemis, alongside Jodie Foster, Jeff Goldblum, and Dave Bautista.

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In October 2019, she starred in episode 5 of the first season of Amazon Prime's Modern Love. In November 2021, Boutella was cast in the sci-fi adventure film Rebel Moon directed by Zack Snyder for Netflix. SAS: Rogue Heroes was released in 2022. Algeria is a country that is dear to me, because it's where I'm from, where my family is from, it's my home. That will never leave me. I feel very worldly. But leaving a place like that when you're so young doesn't come without missing a sense of identity and belonging to one place. I think I've been blessed with the ability to travel, because I'm fearless to go anywhere, but I miss a sense of home, which was originally Algeria. But I feel Algerian, I'm proud to be Algerian and I carry that with me wherever I go.

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Yaya DaCosta

Yaya DaCosta

Camara DaCosta Johnson (born November 15, 1982), better known as Yaya DaCosta, is an American actress and model. She was the runner-up in Cycle 3 of America's Next Top Model. DaCosta eventually went to star in ABC's daytime drama series All My Children (2008), ABC's comedy-drama Ugly Betty (2009), and NBC's medical drama Chicago Med (2015–2022). DaCosta starred in the Lifetime television film Whitney (2015) as singer Whitney Houston and received praise for her performance.

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DaCosta was born on November 15, 1982, in New York City and is of Brazilian and Black-American descent. She was raised in the Harlem neighborhood of New York City.[2][3] In addition to English, she speaks Portuguese, French, Spanish and conversational Japanese.[4] She attended the elite Northfield Mount Hermon School during high school before attending Brown University, where she majored in Africana studies and international relations. 

After finishing second on Cycle 3 of America's Next Top Model, DaCosta went on to have a successful career.[6] DaCosta only appeared once in the bottom two during the competition. She has appeared in advertisements for Garnier Fructis, Lincoln Townhouse, Oil of Olay, Radioshack, Seda, Sephora and Dr. Scholl's. She has graced the covers of numerous magazines, including W,[7] Hype Hair,[8] Splash and Global Modeling. In 2014, she landed a spot in Tom Ford’s Fall/Winter advertising campaign.[9] DaCosta began acting in 2005 after guest-starring in an episode of the UPN sitcom Eve.[10] She then starred opposite Rob Brown, Antonio Banderas and Alfre Woodard in the 2006 dance film Take the Lead.[11] DaCosta had supporting roles in the independent films Honeydripper (2007) and The Messenger (2009).

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She appeared in the ABC soap opera All My Children in 2008 as Cassandra Foster, the daughter of Angie Hubbard (Debbi Morgan).[12] According to an interview with All My Children's new head writer, Charles Pratt, Jr., DaCosta left the role some time in August 2008, less than four months after joining the show, to join the cast of The First Breeze of Summer on Broadway. The First Breeze of Summer was presented from 2008 to 2009 by the historic Negro Ensemble Company.[13] In 2009, she had a recurring role as Nico Slater, the daughter of Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams) in the fourth and final season of the ABC comedy-drama series Ugly Betty.

In 2010, DaCosta had supporting roles in the comedy-drama film The Kids Are All Right and the science fiction action-adventure film Tron: Legacy. Later, she appeared in the magazines, including on the cover of W (September 2010),[15] in L'Officiel (in November 2010),[16] and in Vogue (in January 2011 by Patrick Demarchelier).[17] In 2013, she also appeared as Carol in the historical drama film The Butler, starring Forest Whitaker and Oprah Winfrey. In 2015, it was announced in an interview with actress Angela Bassett on CNN that DaCosta would star as musical icon Whitney Houston in a Lifetime television film about her life, which was Bassett's directorial debut. DaCosta received high praise for her performance.[19] Also from 2015 to 2021, DaCosta has starred in the NBC medical drama Chicago Med as April Sexton, an ED nurse.[20] On May 14, 2021, DaCosta announced that she is leaving Chicago Med after six seasons and before her exit she has joined Fox's drama series Our Kind of People as Angela Vaughn.

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