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Ekaterina Maksimova
Biography
Ekaterina Sergeevna Maximova (Russian: Екатерина Сергеевна Максимова; 1 February 1939 – 28 April 2009) was a Soviet and Russian ballerina of the second part of the 20th century who was internationally recognised. She was a prima ballerina of the Bolshoi Theatre for 30 years, a ballet pedagogue, People's Artist of the USSR and Russian Federation, winner of international ballet competitions, Laureate of many prestigious International and Russian awards, a professor in GITIS, Honorary professor at the Moscow State University, Academician of the Russian Academy of Arts, and an Executive Committee member of the Russian Center of Counseil International De La Danse, UNESCO.
Maximova was born in Moscow on 1 February 1939 to a highly educated family. Her maternal grandfather was Gustav Shpet, a Russian philosopher, historian of philosophy, psychologist, art theoretician, and interpreter (he knew 17 languages) of German-Polish descent. Her mother Tatiana Maximova (née Shpet) was a journalist and publishing house editor and her father Sergey Maximov was an engineer.
She was admitted to Moscow Ballet School (now Moscow Ballet Academy) and the age of 10 and the same year as her future partner and husband Vladimir Vasiliev. Their ballet partnership started at school.
Former ballerina of Mariinsky Ballet Elizaveta Gerdt was Maximova's instructor at the ballet school. Maximova graduated from Moscow ballet school in 1958 and joined Bolshoi Ballet the same year. She won first prize at the National Ballet competition in 1957 while still a ballet student.
Maximova's first ballet as a Bolshoi ballet dancer was The Stone Flower (in the leading role of Katerina). Her performance was so impressive that she was chosen to go on the first Bolshoi tour in the US in 1959. The American press called her "a little elf" and complemented her technique, grace and artistic style even though legendary Galina Ulanova was the real sensation of that tour. Later Ulanova became Maximova's ballet coach in the Bolshoi for many years.
In 1961, as a young ballerina Maximova starred along with Vladimir Vasiliev in the film for European and American viewers The USSR with an Open Heart, where they played ballet dancers. The premiere took place in Paris, France where Maximova and Vasiliev arrived as newlyweds.
According to ballet professionals, Maximova possessed ideal ballet body lines, effortless jumps and spins and flawless technical clarity. She started as a lyrical ballerina dancing title roles in classical ballets Giselle, Nutcracker (Marie), Fountain of Bakhchisarai (Maria), Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty (Aurora), but extended her breathtaking artistic talent and technical virtuosity through her hard work and devotion to her art. This enabled her to widen her artistic range with playful Kitri (Don Quixote), comic Eliza Doolittle (Galatea) and dramatic roles of Juliet, Phrigia (Spartacus), Anyuta (Chekov's story "Anna on the neck") Tatiana (Onegin) that tested her dramatic skills as an actress most completely.
Maximova seriously injured her spine during a rehearsal in 1975 and some doctors did not believe that she would walk again, but she returned on the stage in 1976. ...
Source: Article "Ekaterina Maximova" from Wikipedia in english, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
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Jennifer Lopez
Biography
Jennifer Lynn Lopez (born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, songwriter, actress, dancer and businesswoman. Lopez is regarded as one of the most influential Latin entertainers of her time, credited with breaking barriers for Latino Americans in Hollywood and helping propel the Latin pop movement in music. She is also noted for impacting popular culture through fashion, branding, and shifting mainstream beauty standards.
Lopez began her career as a dancer, making her television debut as a Fly Girl on the sketch comedy series In Living Color in 1991. She rose to fame as an actress, starring as singer Selena in the film of the same name (1997), and established herself as the highest-paid Latin actress, with leading roles in Anaconda (1997) and Out of Sight (1998). Lopez successfully ventured into the music industry with her debut album, On the 6 (1999). In 2001, she became the first woman to simultaneously have a number-one album and film in the United States, with her second album, J.Lo, and the romantic comedy The Wedding Planner. She has since become known for starring in romantic comedies, including Maid in Manhattan (2002), Shall We Dance? (2004), and Monster-in-Law (2005). Lopez released two albums in 2002: J to tha L–O! The Remixes and This Is Me... Then, the former became the first remix album to top the US Billboard 200.
Media scrutiny and the failure of her film Gigli (2003) preceded a career downturn. Her subsequent albums included Rebirth (2005) and Como Ama una Mujer (2007); the latter broke first-week sales records for a debut Spanish album. Lopez returned to prominence as a judge on American Idol (2011–2016). With the album Love? (2011), she has remained musically active since then. Throughout the 2010s, she voiced Shira in the animated Ice Age franchise (2012–2016), starred in the police drama series Shades of Blue (2016–2018), and served as a judge on World of Dance (2017–2020). In 2019, she garnered critical praise for her performance in the crime drama Hustlers. Lopez continued her acting career with leading roles in the films Marry Me (2022), The Mother (2023), This Is Me... Now: A Love Story, Atlas (2024), and Kiss of the Spider Woman (2025).
With over 80 million records sold worldwide, Lopez has earned four US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles and two Billboard 200 number-one albums. Her accolades include a Hollywood Walk of Fame star, the Billboard Icon Award, three American Music Awards, four MTV Video Music Awards (including the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award), and six Guinness World Records. She has been ranked among the 100 most influential people in the world by Time (2016) and the World's 100 Most Powerful Women by Forbes (2012). Lopez has a large social media following and is among the most-followed individuals on Instagram. Her other ventures include a lifestyle brand, beauty and fashion lines, fragrances, a production company, and a charitable foundation.
Description above from the Wikipedia article Jennifer Lopez, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Anna Drijver
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Anna Drijver (The Hague, October 1, 1983) is a Dutch (stage)actress and model. She worked as a model since the age of fourteen. Drijver played in television series Goede Tijden, Slechte Tijden, the 2005 film "Flirt" the 2008 film "Bride Flight". She also performs on stage, in a play called "Uitgedokterd", and did voice acting for the action-MMO game The Chronicles of Spellborn
Description above from the Wikipedia article Anna Drijver, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Saurav Chakraborty
Biography
Sourav Chakraborty is a renowned Indian voice artist best known as the primary voice behind almost all main characters in the popular animated series Motu Patlu, including Motu, Patlu, Dr. Jhatka, Ghasitaram, John the Don, and Inspector Chingum. He has voiced these characters for both Hindi and Bengali dubs since the show's inception. He is an Actor, Stand-Up Comedian, Writer, Voice Over Artist who is fluent in Hindi. As an actor, he has acted in many movies alongside Sonu Sood. He was also a participant in the INDIAN Laughter Challenge and Comedy Circus. He has also played a few different characters in the F.I.R. Serial on Sony SAB Channel. He is a brilliant Mimicry artist and is well known for his Comical Hindi voice behind Motu Patlu, Shaun the Sheep, Oggy and the Cockroaches, and Zig & Sharko. His name is also mentioned as Sourav Chakraborty.
He should not be confused with Sourav Chakraborty, who is a (Bengali Actor/Director/Writer).
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Lukas Rüppel
Biography
Lukas Rüppel (born 1985 in Göttingen) is a German actor.
Lukas Rüppel completed his acting studies at the Ernst Busch Academy of Dramatic Arts in Berlin; while still a student, he appeared on stage at the Berliner Ensemble under the direction of Claus Peymann.
In 2010, he joined the ensemble at Schauspiel Stuttgart, where he collaborated with directors such as Claudia Bauer, Jan Neumann, and Christian Weise. From 2013 to 2017, Rüppel was a member of the ensemble at Schauspiel Frankfurt, appearing in productions by René Pollesch, Stephan Kimmig, Bastian Kraft, and Christopher Rüping.
Beginning in 2017, he was a member of the ensemble at the Staatsschauspiel Dresden, where he worked with directors including Sebastian Baumgarten, Jan-Christoph Gockel, and Sebastian Hartmann. Since the 2019/20 season, Rüppel has been a permanent ensemble member at the Residenztheater Munich. He lives in Munich.
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Ahmed Helmy
Biography
Helmy was born in Banha, Egypt. He graduated from the Higher institute of Dramatic Arts in Egypt, from the decoration department. Ahmed also graduated of the Academy of Arts, High Institute for Theatre Art in 1993.
As an actor and performer, Helmy is notable for his fast-thinking and witty comedy.[citation needed] His career in mainstream Egyptian film began when director Sherif Arafa spotted him on the children's program Leib Eyal (Kids' Play) on the Egyptian Satellite Broadcast[citation needed]. Sherif found in him the comedian actor he was looking for to star his film, Aboud Ala El Hodoud (Aboud at the Frontier). In that film Helmy made his first big screen appearance, co-starring alongside Alaa Waley El Din. Thereafter, he quickly made a jump to leading roles in films such as Omar 2000, El Nazer (The Headmaster), El Selem We Al Tho'ban (Snakes And Ladders).
In 2007, Helmy topped the Egyptian comedian market in number of audience and revenue, mostly due to the success of his movie Keda Reda.
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Sean Connery
Biography
Sir Thomas Sean Connery (August 25, 1930 – October 31, 2020) was a Scottish actor and producer. He won an Academy Award, two BAFTA Awards (one being a BAFTA Academy Fellowship Award), and three Golden Globes, including the Cecil B. DeMille Award and a Henrietta Award. Connery was the first actor to portray the character James Bond in film, starring in seven Bond films (every film from Dr. No to You Only Live Twice, plus Diamonds Are Forever and Never Say Never Again), between 1962 and 1983. In 1988, Connery won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in The Untouchables. His films also include Marnie (1964), Murder on the Orient Express (1974), The Man Who Would Be King (1975), A Bridge Too Far (1977), Highlander (1986), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Dragonheart (1996), The Rock (1996), and Finding Forrester (2000).
Connery was polled in a 2004 The Sunday Herald as "The Greatest Living Scot" and in a 2011 EuroMillions survey as "Scotland's Greatest Living National Treasure". He was voted by People magazine as both the “Sexiest Man Alive" in 1989 and the "Sexiest Man of the Century” in 1999. He received a lifetime achievement award in the United States with a Kennedy Center Honor in 1999. Connery was knighted in the 2000 New Year Honours for services to film drama.
On October 31, 2020, Connery died at the age of 90.
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Sam Giancana
Biography
Salvatore 'Mooney' Giancana (born Gilormo Giangana; May 24, 1908 – June 19, 1975) was an American mobster who was boss of the Chicago Outfit from 1957 to 1966.
Giancana was born in Chicago to Italian immigrant parents. He joined the 42 Gang as a teenager, developing a reputation in organized crime, which gained him the notice of the leaders of the Chicago Outfit, which he joined during the late 1930s. From the 1940s through the 1950s, he controlled illegal gambling, illegal liquor distribution, and political rackets in Louisiana. In the early 1940s, Giancana was involved in a takeover of Chicago's black American lottery payout system for the Outfit. In 1957, he became the boss of the Chicago Outfit.
According to some sources, Giancana and the Mafia were involved in John F. Kennedy's victory in the 1960 presidential election. During the 1960s, he was recruited by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in a plot to assassinate Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Conspiracy theorists consider Giancana, along with Mafia leaders Santo Trafficante Jr. and Carlos Marcello, to be associated with the assassination of John F. Kennedy. In 1965, Giancana was convicted of contempt of court, serving one year in prison. After his release from prison, Giancana fled to Cuernavaca, Mexico. In 1974, he was deported to the United States, returning to Chicago.
Giancana was murdered on June 19, 1975, at his home in Oak Park, Illinois, shortly before he was scheduled to appear before the Church Committee.
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Pamela Vail
Biography
Pamela Vail (US) is an improviser, choreographer, performer and educator, an independent artist and a collaborator. Ongoing collaborations include those with filmmaker (since 2012) Jeremy Moss; critically acclaimed New York City-based interdisciplinary collaborative Yanira Castro | a canary torsi (founding member) and The Architects, a performance improvisation quintet (co-founder). She is currently based in Lancaster PA (US), where she is associate professor of dance at Franklin & Marshall College.
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Mari Selvaraj
Biography
Mari Selvaraj is a director and screenwriter working in Tamil cinema. He entered the Tamil film industry in 2006, initially planning to become an actor, but later joined film director Ram and worked as an assistant director in three films: Kattradhu Thamizh (2007), Thanga Meenkal (2013), and Taramani (2017). In 2018, he directed his first film, Pariyerum Perumal, which garnered critical acclaim and was one of the successful films of the year. He went on to direct the Dhanush-starrer Karnan (2021) which received widespread praise and was a box office success. Selvaraj is known for films that provide hard hitting commentaries on the realities surrounding the caste system in modern Tamil Nadu.
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