MSN Entertainment: Top Celebrities

Madonna

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:10:07 GMT

Possessing one of the most distinctive voices in pop music and one of the most distressing résumés on the big screen, "Madonna" has proven that whatever the role -- screwball seductress, martyred Argentinian first lady, embittered single mom-cum-yoga instructrix -- her abilities as a performer will manage to undermine any production whose credits bear her name. Like "Elvis" before her, "Madonna" has proven that no matter how sterling a pop reputation an artist may have, success on the Billboard Top 100 does... [more]

Jennifer Aniston

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:10:07 GMT

Jennifer Aniston makes a good case for proving that acting talent can be absorbed by osmosis. From her father John Aniston's stardom on Days of Our Lives to her godfather Telly Savalas, the actress was surrounded by plenty of inspiration from an early age. As Aniston attended the Rudolph Steiner School as a child, she was interested in many forms of art and proved to be a talented painter, eventually having one of her pieces displayed at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art. Acting also appealed to her, and... [more]

Bernie Mac

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:10:08 GMT

An edgy comic who skyrocketed to comedy fame with his memorably side-splitting appearance in "Spike Lee"'s "The Original Kings of Comedy", "Bernie Mac" may have seemed an unlikely candidate for a television sitcom, but with the debut of The Bernie Mac Show, the inventive comedian began on a high note, leaving many pondering the apparent overnight success of the comedian who had ostensibly come from nowhere to become a ubiquitous presence.

Born Bernard Jeffrey McCullough in Chicago, IL, Mac was a member... [more]

Britney Spears

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:10:08 GMT

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

Ellen DeGeneres

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:10:08 GMT

From working on stage, "Ellen DeGeneres" has been able to translate her success with live performances into a television and a budding movie career. She was born in Metairie, LA, the daughter of two devoutly religious Christian Scientists. Her older brother, "Vince DeGeneres", is a screenwriter. Her parents split up when she was 13. Shortly after the divorce, she and her mother moved to New Orleans. It was while trying to ease her mother's depression that DeGeneres discovered a talent for funny business.... [more]

Angelina Jolie

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:10:09 GMT

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

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

Miley Cyrus

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:10:09 GMT

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

Portia de Rossi

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:10:10 GMT

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

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:10:10 GMT

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

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

Paris Hilton

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:10:11 GMT

At one point, it would have been hard to define Paris Hilton. "Career heiress" doesn't cut it; nor does "party girl" or "high-ranking socialite-cum-model-cum-actress," and "American royalty" was arguably too dramatic a label for a woman whose true breakout role cost less to film than a night in a budget room at the neighborhood Hilton hotel. Luckily, as lackluster economies are wont to do, the early 2000s looked toward the financial elite and borrowed heavily from Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous in hopes of... [more]

Zac Efron

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:10:11 GMT

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

Jessica Simpson

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:10:11 GMT

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