Biographies of Famous People

2009-02-01T12:28:00.000-08:00

Uncover secrets of the celebrities from their personal biography. Read their life story, including details of their childhood, their birthplace, their birthdate and other facts of their life. Discover your favorite celebrities in a way you have never known them before. Through our collection of celebrity videos, you can hear biographical information like where they were born, personal information like their birth date, as the stars themselves tell it.We have it all here on the Internets best celebrity bio website.

Biography of Caroline Kennedy

2009-01-23T01:36:00.000-08:00

Writer, editor, lawyer. Born Caroline Bouvier Kennedy on November 27, 1957, in New York, New York, to Jacqueline and John F. Kennedy. Caroline spent her early years living in the White House during her father's term as president. His time in office is often referred to as the "Camelot Presidency" for the hope and optimism the young politician brought to America. As a result, the Kennedy's were thrust into the spotlight as the ideal American family. Caroline was a frequent media darling; people couldn't get enough of the little girl who walked her father to the Oval Office each morning, and rode her pony on the White House lawn.
Not everything in the Kennedy household was idyllic, however, and the family suffered numerous tragedies. Among them was the loss of Caroline's eldest sister, who was stillborn 15 months before Caroline was born. Three years later, on August 7, 1963, her youngest brother, Patrick, was born prematurely. He died two days later from lung failure. But chief among the young Caroline's early losses came on November 22, 1963, when her father was assassinated by sniper fire. Caroline was not yet six years old at the time.
Kennedy grew extremely close to her younger brother John Jr. during her youth. Together, they endured a series of family tragedies, later dubbed "The Kennedy Curse." Among them were the assassination of their uncle and U.S. Senator, Robert F. Kennedy, and the death of a former campaign worker during a car accident involving their other uncle, U.S. Senator Edward "Ted" Kennedy. Ted survived, but the incident became a national scandal.
In 1968, Caroline's mother, Jacqueline, made headlines when she married Greek Shipping magnate, Aristotle Onassis. The Kennedy family moved to New York City to be with their stepfather, and Jacqueline began working as an editor for Viking Press. Caroline's mother tried hard to shield her children from the public eye, often keeping them away from their rebellious, scandal-making cousins. Read More..

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Biography of Muhammad Ali

2009-01-23T00:30:00.001-08:00

Boxer, born Cassius Marcellus Clay on January 17, 1942 in Louisville, Kentucky, USA. As an amateur boxer (1954–60), winning 100 of 108 matches, he became the 1960 Olympic light-heavyweight champion. Financed by a group of Louisville businessmen, he turned professional, and by 1963 had won his first 19 fights. He won the world heavyweight title in 1964, defeating the purportedly invincible Sonny Liston when he retired at the end of the sixth round.
At that time he joined the Black Muslims and adopted the name Muhammad Ali. After defending the championship nine times within two years, in 1967 he refused to be drafted into the army on religious grounds, and was stripped of his title and barred from the ring. Ali's action earned him both respect and anger from different quarters, but he did not box for three-and-a-half years; he took his case to the Supreme Court and had his boxing licence restored in 1970. In 1971 he was beaten by Joe Frazier, but beat him in 1974 in Zaire, and went on to meet George Foreman later that year, knocking him out in eight rounds to regain his title. He was beaten by Leon Spinks in a split decision (Feb 1978), but regained the title the same year - the first man to win the world heavyweight title three times. (Reference)

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Biography of Lil Wayne

2009-01-18T06:00:00.000-08:00

Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. (born September 27, 1982), better known by his stage name Lil Wayne, is an American rapper.Unquestionably Cash Money/Universal Motown Records recording artist, Lil Wayne will go down in history as the best rapper of his generation. Indeed he may go down as one of the best artists in hip-hop period. One look at Lil Wayne’s impeccable track record will convince even the most ardent skeptic that the New Orleans born lyricist is a strong contender for the crown of “Greatest of All Times.”
In the span of his 13-year career, Lil Wayne has sold over six million units, including his magnum opus, The Carter II (2005) which sold over 2.5 million units. He has been featured on numerous high profile singles including Fat Joe’s Grammy nominated single “Make It Rain,” and in the past two years, Lil Wayne has recorded over 1,000 songs and freestyles. According to MTV, Lil Wayne has released more music in the last two years than the legendary Tupac Shakur.
Now with his highly anticipated sixth and arguably his best album The Carter III, Lil Wayne’s career and legacy is set to climb to even greater heights. "I made The Carter III so that whatever song is on, it will stick with you forever,” says Wayne. “That’s why I took my time with it. I wanted it to be a classic.”
A classic it will truly be. With production by Alchemist, Cool & Dre, David Banner, Kanye West, and Jim Jonsin, to name a few, and guest appearances by some of today’s premiere recording artists including T-Pain (Got Money), Bobby Valentino (Mr. Officer), Babyface (Comfortable), Juelz Santana & Fabolous (Ain’t Got Nuthin) and a special guest appearance by the legendary R&B singer Ms. Betty Wright (Play With Fire), Tha Carter III is an eclectic collection of 15 songs that range from simply brilliant to sheer genius. Read More..

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Biography of Bill Gates

2009-01-18T05:27:00.000-08:00

Born William Henry Gates, III, on October 28, 1955, in Seattle, Washington. The son of a lawyer and a schoolteacher, Gates began to show an interest in computer programming at the age of 13 at the Lakeside School. Two years later, he created a device that could analyze traffic patterns with fellow student Paul Allen.
Bill Gates went to Harvard University in 1973. He had developed his first product while there—a program language for the first microcomputer called BASIC. Gates dropped out of Harvard in his junior year. He wanted to spend his time creating software, not in the classroom. In 1975, he founded Micro-Soft (later changed to Microsoft) with his longtime friend Paul Allen. Along with BASIC, Gates worked on the company's next big product called DOS, which is a basic operating system. Read More..

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Biography of Michael Jackson

2009-01-17T08:02:00.000-08:00

The Bio History of Michael Joseph Jackson began when he was born on the 29th of August 1958 in Gary, Indiana. He was the 7th of nine children. (brothers: Sigmund "Jackie", Toriano "Tito", Jermaine, Marlon, Steven "Randy", and sisters Rebbie, Janet and La-Toya JacksonMichael began his musical career at the age of 5 as the lead singer of the Jackson 5 who formed in 1964. In these early years the Jackson 5, Jackie, Jermaine,Tito,Marlon and lead singer Michael played local clubs and bars in Gary Indiana and moving further afield as there talents grew and they could compete in bigger competitions. From these early days Michael would be at the same clubs as big talented stars of there days, such as Jackie Wilson and would be learning from them even back then. In 1968 the Bobby Taylor and The Vancouvers discovered the Jackson five and from there they got an audition for Berry Gordy of Motown Records. The Jackson 5 signed for Motown and moved to California. Their first 4 singles, "I Want You Back", "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There" all made US No1 hits. The Jackson 5 recorded 14 albums and Michael recorded 4 solo albums with Motown. The Jackson 5 stayed with Motown until 1976, wanting more artistic freedom they felt they had to move on and signed up with Epic. The group name Jackson 5 had to be changed as it was owned by Motown, so they reverted to The Jacksons as they had be known in the early days. Brother Jermaine married Berry Gordy's daughter and stayed with Motown. Youngest brother Randy joined in his place. The Jacksons had a number of hit recordsand in total made 6 albums between the years of 1976 and 1984. In 1977 Michael made his first film debut when he starred in the musical 'The Wiz' playing Scarecrow with Diana Ross in the lead role of Dorothy. It was at this time Michael met Quincy Jones who was doing the score for the film. Michael teamed up with Quincey Jones as his producer for his first solo album with Epic Records. The album titled "Off The Wall" was a big success around the world and the first ever album to release a record breaking 4 No1 singles in the US. Read More..

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Biography of Paris Hilton

2009-01-17T05:00:00.000-08:00

Paris Whitney Hilton was born February 17, 1981, in New York City. Thanks to her great-grandfather Conrad Hilton, founder of the Hilton hotel chain, Paris is the shared heir to a family fortune estimated at $300 million. The daughter of Rick and Kathy Hilton, Paris grew up alongside her younger sister, Nicky, and two brothers, Baron and Conrad, in their homes in Manhattan's Waldorf-Astoria, Beverly Hills, and The Hamptons.After graduating from high school, Paris pursued a modeling career, appearing in such national publications as GQ and Vanity Fair and on runways for various New York designers. She soon became a well-known jetsetter, courting media attention for her outrageous lifestyle. Whether it was a short-lived romance with Leonardo DiCaprio or boxer Oscar de la Hoya or a rude remark in a public bathroom during a night of partying with her sister, Paris frequently received bad press for her socialite antics. A notorious sex tape starring Paris and her ex Rick Solomon, which was released on the Internet, didn't help matters.
In 2001, perhaps in an effort to clean up her reputation, she turned from modeling to acting, appearing in Ben Stiller's spoof Zoolander, an adaptation of the Dr. Seuss classic The Cat in the Hat and 2004's Raising Helen with Kate Hudson. But it was her role as herself in the 2003 Fox reality show The Simple Life that earned her the most publicity. Starring Paris and her best gal-pal, Nicole Richie, the show followed the girls on their misadventures while trying to get along on a working farm. The show was such a hit that Fox followed it up the next year with The Simple Life 2: Road Trip.
In May 2005, Hilton announced her engagement to Greek shipping heir Paris Latsis. The couple called off the nutpials in October. She has also been romantically linked to Greek shipping fortune heir Stavros Niarchos III and actor Josh Henderson.In May 2008, she announced her engagement to Good Charlotte guitarist Benji Madden. Read More..

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Biography of Madonna

2009-01-17T04:24:00.000-08:00

Singer, performer, actress. Born Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone in Bay City, Michigan, on August 16, 1958, to parents Silvio "Tony" Ciccone and Madonna Fortin. Tony, the son of Italian immigrants, was the first of his family to go to college, where he earned a degree in engineering. Madonna's mother, an x-ray technician and former dancer, was of French Canadian descent. After their marriage in 1955, the couple moved to Pontiac, Michigan, to be close to Tony's job as a defense engineer. Madonna was born three years later, during a visit with family in Bay City. The third of six children, Madonna learned early on how to handle her role as the middle child, admitting that she was "the sissy of the family" who often used her feminine wiles to get her way.

Her parents' strict observation of the Catholic faith played a large role in Madonna's childhood. "My mother was a religious zealot," Madonna explains. "There were always priests and nuns in my house growing up." Many elements of Catholic iconography-including her mother's statues of the Sacred Heart, the habits of the nuns at her Catholic elementary school, and the Catholic altar at which she and her family prayed daily-later became the subject of Madonna's most controversial works.

Another heavy influence on Madonna's early life was her mother, who was diagnosed with breast cancer during her pregnancy with Madonna's youngest sister. Treatment had to be delayed until the baby reached full term, but by then the disease had grown too strong. On December 1st, 1963, at the age of 30, her mother passed away. Madonna was five years old.

Her mother's death significantly affected Madonna's adolescence. Haunted by the memories of her mother's frailty and passive demeanor during her final days, Madonna was determined to make her own voice heard. "I think the biggest reason I was able to express myself and not be intimidated was by not having a mother," she says. "For example, mothers teach you manners. And I absolutely did not learn any of those rules and regulations." Read More..

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Her home life

On motherhood

Biography of Nelson Mandela

2009-01-16T11:34:00.000-08:00

South African statesman and president (1994-99). Born Rolihlahla Mandela on July 18, 1918 in Transkei, South Africa. Mandela's father had four wives and Mandela's mother, Nosekeni Fanny, was the third. He spent most of his childhood with his mother's family and was the first member to attend school. It was there that a Methodist teacher gave him the name Nelson, finding Rolihlahla too difficult to pronounce. Nelson's father died when he was nine, and the boy was adopted by the Regent Jongintaba and groomed to assume high office. As Thembu royalty, Nelson attended Wesleyan mission school, Clarkebury Boarding Institute and Wesleyan college. He studied at Fort Hare University but was asked to leave after boycotting against university policies.
Fleeing an arranged marriage, Mandela ran away to Johannesburg, where he worked a variety of jobs, including guard and clerk, while completing his bachelor's degree via correspondence. He then enrolled at the University of Witwatersrand to study law. He became actively involved in the anti-apartheid movement and joined the African National Congress (ANC) in 1942.
Within the ANC, a small group of young Africans banded together calling themselves the African National Congress Youth League. Their goal was to transform the ANC into a mass grassroots movement, deriving strength from millions of rural peasants and working people who had no voice under the current regime. Specifically, the group believed that the ANC's old tactics of polite petitioning were ineffective. In 1949, the ANC officially adopted the Youth League's methods of boycott, strike, civil disobedience and non-cooperation with policy goals of full citizenship, redistribution of land, trade union rights, and free and compulsory education for all children, among others.
For 20 years, Mandela directed a campaign of peaceful, non-violent defiance against the South African government and its racist policies, including the 1952 Defiance Campaign and the 1955 Congress of the People. He founded the law firm Mandela and Tambo to provide free and low-cost legal counsel to unrepresented blacks.
In 1956, Mandela and 150 others were arrested and charged with treason for their political advocacy, though they were eventually acquitted. Meanwhile, the ANC was being challenged by the Africanists, a new breed of Black activists who believed that the pacifist method of the ANC was ineffective. By 1959, the ANC lost much of its militant support when the Africanists broke away to form the Pan Africanist Congress.
In 1961, Mandela, who was formerly committed to non-violent protest, began to believe that armed struggle was the only way to achieve change. He co-founded Umkhonto we Sizwe, also known as MK, an armed offshoot of the ANC dedicated to sabotage and guerilla war tactics to end apartheid. He orchestrated a three-day national workers strike in 1961 for which he was arrested in 1962. He was sentenced to five years in prison for the strike, and then brought to trial again in 1963. This time, he and 10 other ANC leaders were sentenced to life imprisonment for political offenses, including sabotage. Read More..

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Biography of Barack Obama

2009-01-16T00:37:00.001-08:00

Barack Hussein Obama was born Aug. 4, 1961, in Honolulu, Hawaii. His father, Barack Obama, Sr., was born of Luo ethnicity in Nyanza Province, Kenya. He grew up herding goats with his own father, who was a domestic servant to the British. Although reared among Muslims, Obama, Sr., became an atheist at some point.
Obama’s mother, Ann Dunham, grew up in Wichita, Kansas. Her father worked on oil rigs during the Depression. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, he signed up for service in World War II and marched across Europe in Patton’s army. Dunham’s mother went to work on a bomber assembly line. After the war, they studied on the G. I. Bill, bought a house through the Federal Housing Program, and moved to Hawaii.
Meantime, Barack’s father had won a scholarship that allowed him to leave Kenya pursue his dreams in Hawaii. At the time of his birth, Obama’s parents were students at the East–West Center of the University of Hawaii at Manoa.
Obama’s parents separated when he was two years old and later divorced. Obama’s father went to Harvard to pursue Ph. D. studies and then returned to Kenya.
His mother married Lolo Soetoro, another East–West Center student from Indonesia. In 1967, the family moved to Jakarta, where Obama’s half-sister Maya Soetoro–Ng was born. Obama attended schools in Jakarta, where classes were taught in the Indonesian language.
Four years later when Barack (commonly known throughout his early years as "Barry") was ten, he returned to Hawaii to live with his maternal grandparents, Madelyn and Stanley Dunham, and later his mother (who died of ovarian cancer in 1995).
He was enrolled in the fifth grade at the esteemed Punahou Academy, graduating with honors in 1979. He was only one of three black students at the school. This is where Obama first became conscious of racism and what it meant to be an African–American.
In his memoir, Obama described how he struggled to reconcile social perceptions of his multiracial heritage. He saw his biological father (who died in a 1982 car accident) only once (in 1971) after his parents divorced. And he admitted using alcohol, marijuana and cocaine during his teenage years.
After high school, Obama studied at Occidental College in Los Angeles for two years. He then transferred to Columbia University in New York, graduating in 1983 with a degree in political science.
After working at Business International Corporation (a company that provided international business information to corporate clients) and NYPIRG, Obama moved to Chicago in 1985. There, he worked as a community organizer with low-income residents in Chicago’s Roseland community and the Altgeld Gardens public housing development on the city’s South Side. Read More..

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Biography of Sarah Palin

2009-01-16T00:11:00.000-08:00

Governor, former 2008 vice-presidential running mate of Republican presidential nominee John McCain. She was born Sarah Louise Heath on February 11, 1964, in Sandpoint, Idaho. At the age of three months, she moved to Alaska when her parents came to teach school in Skagway in southeast Alaska. Sarah Palin's father, Charles, was a science teacher and track coach. Her mother, Sally, was a school secretary.
Sarah Palin grew up in the small town of Wasilla, about 40 miles north of Anchorage. In 1982, she played on Wasilla High School's state champion girls' basketball team, picking up the nickname "Sarah Barracuda" for her intense playing style.
After graduating from Wasilla High in 1982, Sarah Palin wore the crown of Miss Wasilla in 1984 and was the runner-up in the Miss Alaska contest. She went on to earn a bachelor's degree in journalism from the University of Idaho in 1987. She also became a television sports reporter in Anchorage.
An outdoors enthusiast, Palin is a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association. She is an avid hunter, eats moose hamburger and rides snowmobiles.
Palin eloped with her high school sweetheart, Todd Palin, on August 29, 1988, and helped run his family's commercial fishing business. Todd, who is part Yu'pik Eskimo, also worked for BP at a Prudhoe Bay processing facility. He took leave from the company when his wife became governor to avoid a potential conflict of interest.
Affectionately referred to as Alaska's "First Dude," Todd is also a four-time champion of the Iron Dog, the world's longest snow machine race. From 1995 to 2002, he was a member of Alaska's Independence Party, a fierce states' rights group that wants to turn all federal lands in Alaska back to the state. Some party leaders have advocated Alaskan secession from the United States.
Palin and her husband have five children: Bristol (who is 17-years-old and expecting a baby with boyfriend Levi Johnston, a hockey player at Bristol's high school), Willow, Piper, Track (who is in the U.S. Army and was deployed to Iraq on September 11, 2008) and Trig (who was born in April 2008 with Down syndrome).
Palin entered politics in 1992, winning a seat on the Wasilla City Council by opposing tax hikes. Four years later, she was elected mayor of Wasilla by knocking off a three-term incumbent.
As mayor, Palin cut property taxes and reduced spending. She also raised the city sales tax by a half a percent to build a popular sports complex and put more money into public safety.
Mayor Palin also effectively used the system of congressional earmarks. She collected $26.9 million in such funding, according the independent watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense, including $15 million for a commuter rail project.
Palin ran her first statewide campaign in 2002 in a bid for the Republican nomination for lieutenant governor. She lost by fewer than 2,000 votes.
Alaska Governor Frank Murkowski appointed Sarah Palin to chair the state's Oil and Gas Conservation Commission in 2003. She resigned a year later in protest over what she perceived to be the "lack of ethics" of fellow Alaskan Republican leaders, including Republican Party Chair Randy Ruedrich.
In 2006, Palin won the Republican primary for Governor, defeating Murkowski. She went on to win the general election in November 2006 by defeating former Democratic Governor Tony Knowles in the general election, 49 percent to 41 percent.
While running for governor, Palin supported the so-called "bridge to nowhere," which later was criticized (by John McCain and others) as too expensive ($400 million) to build a bridge to a remote Alaskan community. Palin said the bridge was essential for local prosperity. But once she became governor, she turned against it, citing rising costs and other priorities.
"I told Congress thanks but no thanks for that bridge to nowhere up in Alaska," Palin said. "If we wanted a bridge we'll build it ourselves."
Palin made history on December 4, 2006, when she was sworn-in as the first woman and youngest governor of Alaska. She was also the state's first governor who was born after Alaska achieved statehood in 1959. Read More..

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