Eva Mendes Biography News Profile Relationships Photo Wallpaper.

A growing interest in Latin American film and TV talent during the 1990s helped propel actress Eva Mendes from B movie supporting player to Hollywood star and sex symbol. Her supporting role as Denzel Washington's girlfriend-on-the-side in "Training Day" (2001) put Mendes on the map and she continued to woo male fans with action offerings like "2 Fast 2 Furious" (2003) and "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" (2003). Mendes' pop culture presence rapidly grew out of proportion to her actual on-screen time and she became a favorite fashion model, Revlon spokeswoman, and a boon to the animal rights cause PETA when she posed nude in an advertisement that claimed the actress would rather go naked than wear fur. Regardless of the hype surrounding the leggy starlet, Mendes proved that she had real acting talent, offering up increasingly well-received performances in the hit comedy "Hitch" (2005) and the comic strip-based crime drama "The Spirit" (2008). With over a dozen film credits to her name and an increasing number of successful business ventures, the tough trailblazer emerged as an important role model for the growing ranks of aspiring Latin American entertainers.
Born on March 5, 1974 in Miami, FL, Mendes moved to Los Angeles with her family when she was two years old. Of Cuban descent, her parents fled the island in 1959 before the revolution, but ultimately split up when Mendes was 10 years old. Her mother worked as an accountant to support the family, and was very strict with Mendes and her three elder siblings. Mendes was not even thinking about an acting career when, while attending Cal State Northridge and majoring in marketing, a stroke of luck changed her life forever. Her neighbor - a photographer - took some photographs of her to use in his portfolio and a casting agent noticed the pictures and asked to meet Mendes. The 24-year-old was plucked from obscurity and cast in the straight-to-video release "Children of the Corn V: Field of Terror" (1998).
Mendes was determined not to let her career be defined by a cheesy horror flick, so she began taking acting lessons and got serious about success. She landed newcomer acting gigs in commercials and music videos and added a few more feature films to her resume including "Night at the Roxbury" (1998) starring Will Farrell and Chris Kattan, and "Urban Legends: Final Cut" (2000). Mendes finally got a profile boost in the critically acclaimed "Training Day" (2001) starring Denzel Washington, which generated some buzz over the actress' nudity. The same year, she appeared in Steven Seagal's actioner "Exit Wounds" (2001) and earned a bigger supporting role in "All About the Benjamins" (2002), a diamond heist comedy starring Ice Cube and Mike Epps.
In her first leading screen role, Mendes played an undercover U.S. customs agent who works with a pair of race car drivers (Paul Walker and Tyrese) to ensnare a drug kingpin in John Singleton's "2 Fast 2 Furious" (2002) - the sequel to "The Fast and the Furious" (2001). Mendes' flair for action material led Robert Rodriguez to cast her in the third installment of his Mariachi trilogy, "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" (2003), in which she played a duplicitous Mexican Federale to Johnny Depp's rogue CIA agent.
She reunited with Denzel Washington for director Carl Franklin's thriller "Out of Time" (2003), playing the estranged wife of Washington's Florida Chief of Police whose life falls apart when he becomes embroiled in a murder investigation. Around this time, Mendes' became a spokesmodel for Revlon and began to show a little more versatility as an actress with her co-starring role as a gossip reporter who falls for a relationship consultant (Will Smith) she is pursuing for a story in the romantic comedy, "Hitch" (2005).
In the independent romantic comedy "Trust the Man" (2006), Mendes delivered a strong supporting performance as an old college friend who engages in an affair with a man (Billy Crudup) trapped in a dysfunctional relationship with a longtime girlfriend (Maggie Gyllenhaal) looking to start a family. Mendes raised her profile significantly with the blockbuster comic book adaptation "Ghost Rider" (2007), playing the childhood sweetheart of a superstar stunt motorcycle rider-turned-bounty hunter of rogue demons (Nicolas Cage).
Mendes took on another "girlfriend" role opposite crooked club owner Joaquin Phoenix in the successful crime drama "We Own the Night" (2007), and leveraged her sex appeal again as a cosmetic counter siren who lures a husband away from his wife in the disappointing remake of George Cukor's classic 1939 film "The Women" (2008). The high profile actress and spokeswoman expanded her ventures with the release of a line of bedding and a deal to model for Calvin Klein, ending a busy year with a co-starring role in "The Spirit" (2008), a dark comic book adaptation helmed by Frank Miller.

Eva Mendes Biography News Profile Relationships Photo Wallpaper.

A growing interest in Latin American film and TV talent during the 1990s helped propel actress Eva Mendes from B movie supporting player to Hollywood star and sex symbol. Her supporting role as Denzel Washington's girlfriend-on-the-side in "Training Day" (2001) put Mendes on the map and she continued to woo male fans with action offerings like "2 Fast 2 Furious" (2003) and "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" (2003). Mendes' pop culture presence rapidly grew out of proportion to her actual on-screen time and she became a favorite fashion model, Revlon spokeswoman, and a boon to the animal rights cause PETA when she posed nude in an advertisement that claimed the actress would rather go naked than wear fur. Regardless of the hype surrounding the leggy starlet, Mendes proved that she had real acting talent, offering up increasingly well-received performances in the hit comedy "Hitch" (2005) and the comic strip-based crime drama "The Spirit" (2008). With over a dozen film credits to her name and an increasing number of successful business ventures, the tough trailblazer emerged as an important role model for the growing ranks of aspiring Latin American entertainers.
Born on March 5, 1974 in Miami, FL, Mendes moved to Los Angeles with her family when she was two years old. Of Cuban descent, her parents fled the island in 1959 before the revolution, but ultimately split up when Mendes was 10 years old. Her mother worked as an accountant to support the family, and was very strict with Mendes and her three elder siblings. Mendes was not even thinking about an acting career when, while attending Cal State Northridge and majoring in marketing, a stroke of luck changed her life forever. Her neighbor - a photographer - took some photographs of her to use in his portfolio and a casting agent noticed the pictures and asked to meet Mendes. The 24-year-old was plucked from obscurity and cast in the straight-to-video release "Children of the Corn V: Field of Terror" (1998).
Mendes was determined not to let her career be defined by a cheesy horror flick, so she began taking acting lessons and got serious about success. She landed newcomer acting gigs in commercials and music videos and added a few more feature films to her resume including "Night at the Roxbury" (1998) starring Will Farrell and Chris Kattan, and "Urban Legends: Final Cut" (2000). Mendes finally got a profile boost in the critically acclaimed "Training Day" (2001) starring Denzel Washington, which generated some buzz over the actress' nudity. The same year, she appeared in Steven Seagal's actioner "Exit Wounds" (2001) and earned a bigger supporting role in "All About the Benjamins" (2002), a diamond heist comedy starring Ice Cube and Mike Epps.
In her first leading screen role, Mendes played an undercover U.S. customs agent who works with a pair of race car drivers (Paul Walker and Tyrese) to ensnare a drug kingpin in John Singleton's "2 Fast 2 Furious" (2002) - the sequel to "The Fast and the Furious" (2001). Mendes' flair for action material led Robert Rodriguez to cast her in the third installment of his Mariachi trilogy, "Once Upon a Time in Mexico" (2003), in which she played a duplicitous Mexican Federale to Johnny Depp's rogue CIA agent.
She reunited with Denzel Washington for director Carl Franklin's thriller "Out of Time" (2003), playing the estranged wife of Washington's Florida Chief of Police whose life falls apart when he becomes embroiled in a murder investigation. Around this time, Mendes' became a spokesmodel for Revlon and began to show a little more versatility as an actress with her co-starring role as a gossip reporter who falls for a relationship consultant (Will Smith) she is pursuing for a story in the romantic comedy, "Hitch" (2005).
In the independent romantic comedy "Trust the Man" (2006), Mendes delivered a strong supporting performance as an old college friend who engages in an affair with a man (Billy Crudup) trapped in a dysfunctional relationship with a longtime girlfriend (Maggie Gyllenhaal) looking to start a family. Mendes raised her profile significantly with the blockbuster comic book adaptation "Ghost Rider" (2007), playing the childhood sweetheart of a superstar stunt motorcycle rider-turned-bounty hunter of rogue demons (Nicolas Cage).
Mendes took on another "girlfriend" role opposite crooked club owner Joaquin Phoenix in the successful crime drama "We Own the Night" (2007), and leveraged her sex appeal again as a cosmetic counter siren who lures a husband away from his wife in the disappointing remake of George Cukor's classic 1939 film "The Women" (2008). The high profile actress and spokeswoman expanded her ventures with the release of a line of bedding and a deal to model for Calvin Klein, ending a busy year with a co-starring role in "The Spirit" (2008), a dark comic book adaptation helmed by Frank Miller.

January Jones Biography News Profile Relationships Photo Wallpaper.

After making a splash with her breakthrough role in "American Wedding" (2003), actress January Jones quickly rose up the ranks to become a prominent screen presence in film and on television. Prior to her emergence, Jones started her career as a model, which naturally segued into acting. She made the rounds of independent film and guest spots on television, landing a small role in "All the Rage" (1999) while appearing in the pilot episode of "Get Real" (Fox, 1999-2000). After supporting roles in the features "Anger Management" (2001) and "Love Actually," she continued her rise with more notable features and bigger parts in such fare as "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights" (2004) and "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada" (2005). But it was her regular series role as the long-suffering housewife Betty Draper on the critically acclaimed "Mad Men" (AMC, 2007- ) that earned Jones serious consideration as an actress.
Born on Jan. 5, 1978 in Sioux Falls, SD, Jones was named by her parents after the character January Wayne from Jacqueline Susann's novel, Once is Not Enough. While attending Roosevelt High School, Jones spent her pre-modeling, pre-Hollywood time toiling away at a local Dairy Queen. At 18, she moved to New York City and made her first mark as a stunning model for hip suburban clothier Abercrombie & Fitch. After moving to Los Angeles to become an actress, Jones made her debut with a small role in the independent film "All the Rage" (1999), starring Jeff Daniels and Anna Paquin. She followed with a guest appearance in the Fox pilot, "Get Real," an irreverent family drama told from the perspective of three teenagers. Two years later, she had her biggest break to date when she landed a role in her first major motion picture, the teen-oriented thriller "The Glass House" (2001), starring Leelee Sobieski.

Like all young and beautiful starlets on the cusp of fame, Jones quickly became a fixture on the young Hollywood scene. Her blonde beauty attracted a variety of male admirers, including then-relatively unknown pre-Demi Moore paramour Ashton Kutcher. The couple, who reportedly met in 1998 at an Abercrombie & Fitch shoot, dated for three years until Kutcher became enchanted with Moore. Jones moved on to funnyman extraordinaire Jim Carrey and "American Wedding" co-star Seann William Scott before meeting and falling for pop-classical singer and favorite "Oprah" guest, Josh Groban, in 2003. Meanwhile, Jones continued to hone her acting chops, landing roles in a variety of high-profile projects, playing a bank robber in the Bruce Willis-Billy Bob Thornton crime comedy "Bandits" (2001), a memorable lesbian sexpot with temperament issues in the Adam Sandler-Jack Nicholson hit comedy, "Anger Management" (2003), and a British tourist in the hit romantic comedy, "Love Actually" (2003).
At the time her career began to heat up, Jones was featured as #82 in Maxim magazine's "Hot 100 of 2002" supplement. Next up was the star-making role of Cadence Flaherty, the beautiful sister and maid of honor to the not-so-blushing bride (Alyson Hannigan), as well as the love interest of an obnoxious hound (Seann William Scott) in "American Wedding" (2003). Though the film tanked, Jones received her first major coverage for a role that she had won from literally thousands of on-the-brink ingénues. Looking for further challenges, Jones learned how to swing dance for her role in "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights" (2004), the critically maligned sequel to the 1987 dance classic. In a journey back to the small screen, she appeared in the recurring role of Marissa Wells on "Huff" (Showtime, 2004-06), a drama about a psychologist (Hank Azaria) who attempts to salvage the lives of his patients, while his own spirals down the drain.
The actress continued to expand her range as a dramatic actress by portraying Barry Pepper's repressed wife in Oscar-winning actor Tommy Lee Jones' directorial debut, "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada" (2005). After a small supporting part in the earnest, but ultimately humdrum "We Are Marshall" (2006), Jones landed her most significant role to date on the wildly acclaimed series, "Mad Men" (AMC, 2007- ), a subtle and darkly textured drama that depicts society and culture in the early 1960s as seen through the eyes of Madison Avenue advertising executives. Jones played Elizabeth "Betty" Draper, the wife of Sterling Cooper's junior partner, Don Draper (Jon Hamm), whose crushing dissatisfaction with life as a suburban housewife and mother causes deep psychological and emotional distress, which becomes heightened by her growing knowledge of her husband's infidelities. The series earned 16 Emmy Award nominations, including one for Outstanding Drama Series, though Jones was surprisingly left out of the actress categories. She did, however, earn a Golden Globe nomination in 2008 for Best Actress in the television drama category, a feat she repeated the following year. Back on the big screen, she joined the ensemble cast of the British-made comedy, "Pirate Radio" (2009), which focused on a strange, but exciting subculture of disc jockeys that sprung up in the late 1960s in opposition to the BBC giving rock-n-roll little airtime. Meanwhile, her performance as the suffocating Betty Draper earned her an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2010.

    * Born:
      January 5, 1978 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA
    * Job Titles:
      Actor, Model

Significant Others

    * Companion: Ashton Kutcher. Born c. 1977; met in 1997 on an Abercrombie & Fitch photo shoot; no longer together
    * Companion: Jason Sudeikis. Reportedly began dating in summer 2010
    * Companion: Josh Groban.
    * Companion: Tommy Alastra.

Education

    * Roosevelt High School, Sioux Falls , South Dakota

Milestones

    * 2001 Made her feature debut in the suspense drama The Glass House
    * 2002 Had a part in Steven Soderbergh s comedy Full Frontal
    * 2003 Played Gina in the hilarious Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler comedy Anger Management
    * 2003 Played the sister to the not-so-blushing bride in American Wedding
    * 2004 Appeared in Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, co-starring Diego Luna
    * 2005 Played the bored wife of a border patrolman (Barry Pepper) in Tommy Lee Jones The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
    * 2006 Co-starred with Matthew McConaughey in the sports drama We Are Marshall directed by McG
    * 2007 Cast as suburban housewife and mother, Betty Draper in the AMC original television drama series Mad Men ; earned Golden Globe (2008, 2009) and Emmy (2010) nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
    * 2009 Joined an ensemble cast for Richard Curtis Pirate Radio
    * Nominated for the 2010 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in Drama Series

January Jones Biography News Profile Relationships Photo Wallpaper.

After making a splash with her breakthrough role in "American Wedding" (2003), actress January Jones quickly rose up the ranks to become a prominent screen presence in film and on television. Prior to her emergence, Jones started her career as a model, which naturally segued into acting. She made the rounds of independent film and guest spots on television, landing a small role in "All the Rage" (1999) while appearing in the pilot episode of "Get Real" (Fox, 1999-2000). After supporting roles in the features "Anger Management" (2001) and "Love Actually," she continued her rise with more notable features and bigger parts in such fare as "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights" (2004) and "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada" (2005). But it was her regular series role as the long-suffering housewife Betty Draper on the critically acclaimed "Mad Men" (AMC, 2007- ) that earned Jones serious consideration as an actress.
Born on Jan. 5, 1978 in Sioux Falls, SD, Jones was named by her parents after the character January Wayne from Jacqueline Susann's novel, Once is Not Enough. While attending Roosevelt High School, Jones spent her pre-modeling, pre-Hollywood time toiling away at a local Dairy Queen. At 18, she moved to New York City and made her first mark as a stunning model for hip suburban clothier Abercrombie & Fitch. After moving to Los Angeles to become an actress, Jones made her debut with a small role in the independent film "All the Rage" (1999), starring Jeff Daniels and Anna Paquin. She followed with a guest appearance in the Fox pilot, "Get Real," an irreverent family drama told from the perspective of three teenagers. Two years later, she had her biggest break to date when she landed a role in her first major motion picture, the teen-oriented thriller "The Glass House" (2001), starring Leelee Sobieski.

Like all young and beautiful starlets on the cusp of fame, Jones quickly became a fixture on the young Hollywood scene. Her blonde beauty attracted a variety of male admirers, including then-relatively unknown pre-Demi Moore paramour Ashton Kutcher. The couple, who reportedly met in 1998 at an Abercrombie & Fitch shoot, dated for three years until Kutcher became enchanted with Moore. Jones moved on to funnyman extraordinaire Jim Carrey and "American Wedding" co-star Seann William Scott before meeting and falling for pop-classical singer and favorite "Oprah" guest, Josh Groban, in 2003. Meanwhile, Jones continued to hone her acting chops, landing roles in a variety of high-profile projects, playing a bank robber in the Bruce Willis-Billy Bob Thornton crime comedy "Bandits" (2001), a memorable lesbian sexpot with temperament issues in the Adam Sandler-Jack Nicholson hit comedy, "Anger Management" (2003), and a British tourist in the hit romantic comedy, "Love Actually" (2003).
At the time her career began to heat up, Jones was featured as #82 in Maxim magazine's "Hot 100 of 2002" supplement. Next up was the star-making role of Cadence Flaherty, the beautiful sister and maid of honor to the not-so-blushing bride (Alyson Hannigan), as well as the love interest of an obnoxious hound (Seann William Scott) in "American Wedding" (2003). Though the film tanked, Jones received her first major coverage for a role that she had won from literally thousands of on-the-brink ingénues. Looking for further challenges, Jones learned how to swing dance for her role in "Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights" (2004), the critically maligned sequel to the 1987 dance classic. In a journey back to the small screen, she appeared in the recurring role of Marissa Wells on "Huff" (Showtime, 2004-06), a drama about a psychologist (Hank Azaria) who attempts to salvage the lives of his patients, while his own spirals down the drain.
The actress continued to expand her range as a dramatic actress by portraying Barry Pepper's repressed wife in Oscar-winning actor Tommy Lee Jones' directorial debut, "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada" (2005). After a small supporting part in the earnest, but ultimately humdrum "We Are Marshall" (2006), Jones landed her most significant role to date on the wildly acclaimed series, "Mad Men" (AMC, 2007- ), a subtle and darkly textured drama that depicts society and culture in the early 1960s as seen through the eyes of Madison Avenue advertising executives. Jones played Elizabeth "Betty" Draper, the wife of Sterling Cooper's junior partner, Don Draper (Jon Hamm), whose crushing dissatisfaction with life as a suburban housewife and mother causes deep psychological and emotional distress, which becomes heightened by her growing knowledge of her husband's infidelities. The series earned 16 Emmy Award nominations, including one for Outstanding Drama Series, though Jones was surprisingly left out of the actress categories. She did, however, earn a Golden Globe nomination in 2008 for Best Actress in the television drama category, a feat she repeated the following year. Back on the big screen, she joined the ensemble cast of the British-made comedy, "Pirate Radio" (2009), which focused on a strange, but exciting subculture of disc jockeys that sprung up in the late 1960s in opposition to the BBC giving rock-n-roll little airtime. Meanwhile, her performance as the suffocating Betty Draper earned her an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2010.

    * Born:
      January 5, 1978 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA
    * Job Titles:
      Actor, Model

Significant Others

    * Companion: Ashton Kutcher. Born c. 1977; met in 1997 on an Abercrombie & Fitch photo shoot; no longer together
    * Companion: Jason Sudeikis. Reportedly began dating in summer 2010
    * Companion: Josh Groban.
    * Companion: Tommy Alastra.

Education

    * Roosevelt High School, Sioux Falls , South Dakota

Milestones

    * 2001 Made her feature debut in the suspense drama The Glass House
    * 2002 Had a part in Steven Soderbergh s comedy Full Frontal
    * 2003 Played Gina in the hilarious Jack Nicholson and Adam Sandler comedy Anger Management
    * 2003 Played the sister to the not-so-blushing bride in American Wedding
    * 2004 Appeared in Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights, co-starring Diego Luna
    * 2005 Played the bored wife of a border patrolman (Barry Pepper) in Tommy Lee Jones The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
    * 2006 Co-starred with Matthew McConaughey in the sports drama We Are Marshall directed by McG
    * 2007 Cast as suburban housewife and mother, Betty Draper in the AMC original television drama series Mad Men ; earned Golden Globe (2008, 2009) and Emmy (2010) nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
    * 2009 Joined an ensemble cast for Richard Curtis Pirate Radio
    * Nominated for the 2010 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in Drama Series

Marisa Tomei Biography News Profile Relationships Photo Wallpaper.

For some performers, winning an Oscar became both a blessing and a curse. While an Academy Award could lead to bigger and better roles, it could also bring about career stagnation, as the actor tried to live up to unrealistic expectations. Actress Marisa Tomei was in danger of failing to warrant the hype after seemingly coming out of nowhere to nab Best Supporting Actress for her comical performance in "My Cousin Vinny" (1992). Though she spent the following years in long-forgotten movies like "Only You" (1994) and "Happy Accidents" (2000), Tomei managed to display potential star-making turns in "Unhook the Stars" (1996) and "The Slums of Beverly Hills" (1998), but they failed to propel her career due to slim box office performances. She proved her talent and career longevity, however, with her Oscar-nominated, subtle but complex turns in "In the Bedroom" (2001) and "The Wrestler" (2008), proving her worth to critics who had cruelly deemed her win for "My Cousin Vinny" to be a fluke, vindicating fans and critics who recognized her considerable talents all along.
Born on Dec. 4, 1964 in Brooklyn, NY, Tomei was raised by her father, Gary, a trial lawyer and her mother, Patricia, an English teacher; also helping with the child rearing were her grandparents, Romeo and Rita. Tomei spent a relatively normal childhood in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn, spending time in her parent's Westchester County summer home while attending Edward R. Murrow High School, where she performed in several school plays. Tomei tried her hand at college following high school when she matriculated at Boston University. The summer after her freshman year, her father had lined up a boring job, which she desperately wanted to avoid. So instead, she landed her first film role in "The Flamingo Kid" (1984), and though she had only one line, Tomei had avoided a dreadful summer job - and more importantly, she had her foot in the door. She then dropped out of college after landing the role of Marcy Thompson on the soap opera "As the World Turns" (CBS, 1956- ). Tomei soon left daytime to hone her craft on stage, winning a 1986 Theatre World Award for her performance in "Daughters."

Tomei soon headed out to Los Angeles, where she continued her stage success with a Dramalogue Award for her turn in Alan Bowne's "Beirut." Making her way over to television, she was cast as one of Lisa Bonet's roommates during the first season of "A Different World" (NBC, 1987-1993), then after leaving, made her television movie debut in the private eye mystery, "Parker Kane" (NBC, 1990). In the 1990s, Tomei returned to feature films, putting on a memorable display with her innate comic talents as Sylvester Stallone's overly spoiled daughter in the otherwise forgettable mob comedy "Oscar" (1991). Tomei had a major breakthrough with her next role, delivering a finely wrought comic performance as Mona Lisa Vito, the sassy auto mechanic and devoted girlfriend of an inexperienced trial lawyer (J Pesci) trying to defending his cousin (Ralph Macchio) and friend (Mitchell Whitfield) against murder charges in "My Cousin Vinny" (1992). Thanks in part to her Brooklyn upbringing, Tomei was the perfect choice to play Mona, earning substantial critical praise and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. But when her name was called out as the recipient of statue, many were shocked over her win, especially when the competition included such stalwart veterans as Judy Davis, Joan Plowright, Vanessa Redgrave and Miranda Richardson. Afterwards, rumors abounded that presenter Jack Palance accidentally called out the wrong name, a slight the actress never forgot.

Prior to her Oscar triumph, Tomei co-starred in "Chaplin" (1992) as a dead-ringer for scandal-ridden silent film star, Mabel Normand, who regularly starred with The Tramp (Robert Downey, Jr.). But after winning, she found it difficult to translate her success into other quality roles. Though terrific as a shy waitress romanced by an awkward busboy (Christian Slater) in "Untamed Hearts" (1993) and nothing short of miraculous as the pregnant wife of a star reporter (Michael Keaton) in "The Paper" (1994), Tomei was undermined by below average material. Her first real leading role in the gentle romantic comedy "Only You" (1994) attempted to showcase her charms, but her surprising lack of chemistry with former beau Robert Downey, Jr. usurped the love story. Two of her best post-Oscar roles were her turn as a troubled, working-class single mother who learns lessons from her older neighbor (Gena Rowlands) in "Unhook the Stars" (1996), and as the wild cousin of an impressionable young girl (Natasha Lyonne) in "The Slums of Beverly Hills" (1998). She also delighted television fans and joined an esteemed club of "Seinfeld" (NBC, 1990-98) guest-stars when she appeared as herself - the object of George Costanza's (Jason Alexander) affection in the 1996 episode, "The Cadillac." Tomei made a rare return to the small screen in the AIDS-themed drama "My Own Country" (Showtime, 1998), co-starring with real-life brother Adam. That same year, she starred alongside Quentin Tarantino in the Broadway revival of the thriller "Wait Until Dark."

Tomei started the new millennium with a starring turn opposite Vincent D'Onofrio in the fantasy romance "Happy Accidents" (2000). Finally finding a meaty role that allowed her to display her versatility, the actress delivered a charming performance as a modern-day woman whose Mr. Right reveals a disconcerting secret - he is a time traveler from the future who has come back to save her life. The film premiered at Sundance and was snapped up for distribution, but the releasing company had second thoughts and sold the rights to another company. By the time "Happy Accidents" had opened in 2001, Tomei had already been seen in relatively thankless supporting roles in romantic comedies like "What Women Want" (2000) and "Someone Like You" (2001). While her lack of another significant hit failed to go unnoticed by critics, Tomei soon proved her dramatic mettle in the Sundance-made drama, "In the Bedroom" (2001) As the older, married lover of a college student (Nick Stahl) whose mother (Sissy Spacek) disapproves of the relationship, which gets ripped apart after he dies tragically, Tomei glowed and delivered a delicate, layered performance. The film was among the year's best-reviewed and earned her a second Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination, certain vindication for those who previously claimed that her first was a mistake.

In 2002, Tomei took on the role of a confused thirty-something in the romantic comedy "Just a Kiss." She also had several other high profile film roles lined up including the comedies "The Guru" (2003) and "Anger Management' (2003). In the remake "Alfie" (2004), she provided a welcome moral center as Julie, the honest, grounded mom who refuses to share her caddish paramour (Jude Law) with other women. In 2006, Tomei was seen in a string of independent films, including "Mary Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School," an ensemble drama about a depressed man (Robert Carlyle) who attends a dance school where he rediscovers his joy for life through the connection he makes with a beautiful woman (Tomei) looking for her own inner peace. After appearing in flashback sequences as the mother of a neglected daughter (Kyra Sedgwick) looking for unqualified love in "Loverboy" (2006), she played a gold-digging floozy whose love affair with a drunken mess of a writer (Matt Dillon) propels him back into serious depression in "Factotum" (2006).
Also in 2006, Tomei began a recurring role in the audacious dramedy "Rescue Me" (FX, 2004- ), playing the ex-wife of Johnny Gavin (Dean Winters) who pretends to date Tommy Gavin (Denis Leary) in order to help him get back at his brother for dating his ex-wife (Andrea Roth). Tomei then showed up as a diner owner in "Wild Hogs" (2007), a big, dumb and hugely successful comedy about four down-and-out men (John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy) going through respective mid-life crises who embark on a freewheeling, cross-country motorcycle trip in order to prove their manhood, only to run afoul of a biker gang leader (Ray Liotta) determined to teach them proper biker behavior. Despite scores of bad reviews, many of which complained about the bizarre, almost obsessive need for the four leads to constantly prove their heterosexuality onscreen, "Wild Hogs" dominated the box office its opening weekend, taking in almost $40 million and making it the first bona fide hit of 2007.

In Sidney Lumet's underappreciated crime thriller, "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" (2007), Tomei played the trophy wife of a stock broker (Philip Seymour Hoffman) in desperate need of cash who plots to rob a mom-'n'-pop store with his younger brother (Ethan Hawke); only problem is the store is owned by their own mother and father, which leads to disastrous unintended consequences. She then appeared as a resourceful, left-wing reporter who is determined to uncover an assassination plot involving a hit man (John Cusack) posing as a trade show producer so he can kill a Middle Eastern oil minister in "War, Inc." (2008). She next co-starred in Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler" (2008), a bittersweet drama about Randy "The Ram" Robinson, an aging wrestler (Mickey Rourke) who struggles with being lured out of retirement after being plagued with a dead-end job and estrangement from his daughter. Tomei played an aging stripper looking to start a new life who forms a bond with Ram, despite his inability to sustain a real relationship. For her efforts, she was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, which was followed by a nod at the Academy Awards in the same category. Tomei continued to impress, notching another detailed, emotionally honest performance as a mother torn between her new boyfriend (John C. Reilly) and her strange grown son (Jonah Hill) in the well reviewed comedy, "Cyrus" (2010).

    * Born:
      December 4, 1964 in Brooklyn, New York, USA
    * Job Titles:
      Actor, Waitress

Family

    * Brother: Adam Tomei. Younger; acted together in the Showtime movie My Own Country (1998)
    * Father: Gary A Tomei.
    * Grandfather: Romeo Tomei. Helped to raise Tomei and her brother
    * Grandmother: Rita Tomei. Helped to raise Tomei and her brother
    * Mother: Patricia Tomei.

Significant Others

    * Companion: Dana Ashbrook.
    * Companion: Frank Pugliese. No longer together
    * Companion: Logan Marshall-Green.
    * Companion: Robert Downey Jr..
    * Companion: Terry Stacey. No longer together; he later shot Happy Accidents (2000) in which Tomei co-starred

Education

    * Edward R Murrow High School, Brooklyn , New York, 1982
    * Boston University, Boston , Massachusetts

Milestones

    * 1983 Appeared as Marcy Thompson on the CBS daytime drama As the World Turns
    * 1984 Feature film debut, The Flamingo Kid
    * 1985 Off-Broadway debut, Daughters
    * 1987 Had title role in Supermom s Daughter, an ABC Afterschool Special
    * 1987 Played Lisa Bonet s roommate during the first season of NBC s A Different World
    * 1990 TV-movie debut, Parker Kane (NBC)
    * 1991 Returned to features after five years to play Sylvester Stallone s daughter in Oscar
    * 1992 Academy Award winning role as Joe Pesci s girlfriend in My Cousin Vinny
    * 1992 Cast as silent screen star Mabel Normand in Chaplin, starring Robert Downey Jr. in the title role
    * 1993 First romantic lead in features, Untamed Heart
    * 1994 Played first top-billed role in Only You ; second film with Robert Downey Jr.
    * 1994 Portrayed Michael Keaton s pregnant wife in The Paper
    * 1995 Starred opposite Anjelica Huston in The Perez Family
    * 1996 Earned plaudits for turn as a troubled single mother in Unhook the Stars
    * 1996 Made appearance as herself on an episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld (February)
    * 1998 Broadway debut in revival of Wait Until Dark co-starring with Quentin Tarantino
    * 1998 Cast as the knowing cousin of a teen coming of age in Slums of Beverly Hills
    * 1998 Made rare TV acting appearances in the Showtime drama My Own Country
    * 1999 Appeared in Dario Fo s We Won t Pay! We Won t Pay! at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA
    * 2000 Appeared opposite Mel Gibson in What Women Want
    * 2000 Co-starred with Keanu Reeves and James Spader in The Watcher
    * 2000 Played opposite Vincent D Onofrio in the Sundance-screened Happy Accidents ; released theatrically in 2001
    * 2001 Cast as Ashley Judd s best friend in Someone Like You
    * 2001 Co-starred with Tom Wilkinson and Sissy Spacek in the award winning drama, In the Bedroom ; received second Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress
    * 2002 Appeared in ensemble romantic comedy Just a Kiss
    * 2003 Cast in the feature The Guru
    * 2003 Was the female lead in the comedy Anger Management
    * 2004 Starred opposite Jude Law in Alfie a remake of the 1966 film which starred Michael Caine
    * 2006 Appeared in several episodes of Rescue Me (FX) as Tommy s (Dennis Leary) sister-in-law turned love interest
    * 2006 Cast in Randall Miller s Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing and Charm School
    * 2006 Co-starred with Kyra Sedgwick in the Kevin Bacon directed Loverboy ; premiered at Sundance (lensed 2003)
    * 2007 Cast opposite John Cusack in the indie drama, Grace is Gone, which premiered at Sundance
    * 2007 Co-starred in Sidney Lumet s Before the Devil Knows You re Dead ; earned an Independent Spirit Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actress
    * 2008 Nominated for the 2008 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture ( The Wrestler )
    * 2008 Played a stripper, opposite Mickey Rourke, in the The Wrestler
    * 2009 Nominated for the 2008 Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role ( The Wrestler )
    * 2010 Co-starred with Jonah Hill and John C. Reilly in the comedy Cyrus
    * Grew up in Flatbush section of Brooklyn

Marisa Tomei Biography News Profile Relationships Photo Wallpaper.

For some performers, winning an Oscar became both a blessing and a curse. While an Academy Award could lead to bigger and better roles, it could also bring about career stagnation, as the actor tried to live up to unrealistic expectations. Actress Marisa Tomei was in danger of failing to warrant the hype after seemingly coming out of nowhere to nab Best Supporting Actress for her comical performance in "My Cousin Vinny" (1992). Though she spent the following years in long-forgotten movies like "Only You" (1994) and "Happy Accidents" (2000), Tomei managed to display potential star-making turns in "Unhook the Stars" (1996) and "The Slums of Beverly Hills" (1998), but they failed to propel her career due to slim box office performances. She proved her talent and career longevity, however, with her Oscar-nominated, subtle but complex turns in "In the Bedroom" (2001) and "The Wrestler" (2008), proving her worth to critics who had cruelly deemed her win for "My Cousin Vinny" to be a fluke, vindicating fans and critics who recognized her considerable talents all along.
Born on Dec. 4, 1964 in Brooklyn, NY, Tomei was raised by her father, Gary, a trial lawyer and her mother, Patricia, an English teacher; also helping with the child rearing were her grandparents, Romeo and Rita. Tomei spent a relatively normal childhood in the Midwood neighborhood of Brooklyn, spending time in her parent's Westchester County summer home while attending Edward R. Murrow High School, where she performed in several school plays. Tomei tried her hand at college following high school when she matriculated at Boston University. The summer after her freshman year, her father had lined up a boring job, which she desperately wanted to avoid. So instead, she landed her first film role in "The Flamingo Kid" (1984), and though she had only one line, Tomei had avoided a dreadful summer job - and more importantly, she had her foot in the door. She then dropped out of college after landing the role of Marcy Thompson on the soap opera "As the World Turns" (CBS, 1956- ). Tomei soon left daytime to hone her craft on stage, winning a 1986 Theatre World Award for her performance in "Daughters."

Tomei soon headed out to Los Angeles, where she continued her stage success with a Dramalogue Award for her turn in Alan Bowne's "Beirut." Making her way over to television, she was cast as one of Lisa Bonet's roommates during the first season of "A Different World" (NBC, 1987-1993), then after leaving, made her television movie debut in the private eye mystery, "Parker Kane" (NBC, 1990). In the 1990s, Tomei returned to feature films, putting on a memorable display with her innate comic talents as Sylvester Stallone's overly spoiled daughter in the otherwise forgettable mob comedy "Oscar" (1991). Tomei had a major breakthrough with her next role, delivering a finely wrought comic performance as Mona Lisa Vito, the sassy auto mechanic and devoted girlfriend of an inexperienced trial lawyer (J Pesci) trying to defending his cousin (Ralph Macchio) and friend (Mitchell Whitfield) against murder charges in "My Cousin Vinny" (1992). Thanks in part to her Brooklyn upbringing, Tomei was the perfect choice to play Mona, earning substantial critical praise and an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. But when her name was called out as the recipient of statue, many were shocked over her win, especially when the competition included such stalwart veterans as Judy Davis, Joan Plowright, Vanessa Redgrave and Miranda Richardson. Afterwards, rumors abounded that presenter Jack Palance accidentally called out the wrong name, a slight the actress never forgot.

Prior to her Oscar triumph, Tomei co-starred in "Chaplin" (1992) as a dead-ringer for scandal-ridden silent film star, Mabel Normand, who regularly starred with The Tramp (Robert Downey, Jr.). But after winning, she found it difficult to translate her success into other quality roles. Though terrific as a shy waitress romanced by an awkward busboy (Christian Slater) in "Untamed Hearts" (1993) and nothing short of miraculous as the pregnant wife of a star reporter (Michael Keaton) in "The Paper" (1994), Tomei was undermined by below average material. Her first real leading role in the gentle romantic comedy "Only You" (1994) attempted to showcase her charms, but her surprising lack of chemistry with former beau Robert Downey, Jr. usurped the love story. Two of her best post-Oscar roles were her turn as a troubled, working-class single mother who learns lessons from her older neighbor (Gena Rowlands) in "Unhook the Stars" (1996), and as the wild cousin of an impressionable young girl (Natasha Lyonne) in "The Slums of Beverly Hills" (1998). She also delighted television fans and joined an esteemed club of "Seinfeld" (NBC, 1990-98) guest-stars when she appeared as herself - the object of George Costanza's (Jason Alexander) affection in the 1996 episode, "The Cadillac." Tomei made a rare return to the small screen in the AIDS-themed drama "My Own Country" (Showtime, 1998), co-starring with real-life brother Adam. That same year, she starred alongside Quentin Tarantino in the Broadway revival of the thriller "Wait Until Dark."

Tomei started the new millennium with a starring turn opposite Vincent D'Onofrio in the fantasy romance "Happy Accidents" (2000). Finally finding a meaty role that allowed her to display her versatility, the actress delivered a charming performance as a modern-day woman whose Mr. Right reveals a disconcerting secret - he is a time traveler from the future who has come back to save her life. The film premiered at Sundance and was snapped up for distribution, but the releasing company had second thoughts and sold the rights to another company. By the time "Happy Accidents" had opened in 2001, Tomei had already been seen in relatively thankless supporting roles in romantic comedies like "What Women Want" (2000) and "Someone Like You" (2001). While her lack of another significant hit failed to go unnoticed by critics, Tomei soon proved her dramatic mettle in the Sundance-made drama, "In the Bedroom" (2001) As the older, married lover of a college student (Nick Stahl) whose mother (Sissy Spacek) disapproves of the relationship, which gets ripped apart after he dies tragically, Tomei glowed and delivered a delicate, layered performance. The film was among the year's best-reviewed and earned her a second Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination, certain vindication for those who previously claimed that her first was a mistake.

In 2002, Tomei took on the role of a confused thirty-something in the romantic comedy "Just a Kiss." She also had several other high profile film roles lined up including the comedies "The Guru" (2003) and "Anger Management' (2003). In the remake "Alfie" (2004), she provided a welcome moral center as Julie, the honest, grounded mom who refuses to share her caddish paramour (Jude Law) with other women. In 2006, Tomei was seen in a string of independent films, including "Mary Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing & Charm School," an ensemble drama about a depressed man (Robert Carlyle) who attends a dance school where he rediscovers his joy for life through the connection he makes with a beautiful woman (Tomei) looking for her own inner peace. After appearing in flashback sequences as the mother of a neglected daughter (Kyra Sedgwick) looking for unqualified love in "Loverboy" (2006), she played a gold-digging floozy whose love affair with a drunken mess of a writer (Matt Dillon) propels him back into serious depression in "Factotum" (2006).
Also in 2006, Tomei began a recurring role in the audacious dramedy "Rescue Me" (FX, 2004- ), playing the ex-wife of Johnny Gavin (Dean Winters) who pretends to date Tommy Gavin (Denis Leary) in order to help him get back at his brother for dating his ex-wife (Andrea Roth). Tomei then showed up as a diner owner in "Wild Hogs" (2007), a big, dumb and hugely successful comedy about four down-and-out men (John Travolta, Tim Allen, Martin Lawrence and William H. Macy) going through respective mid-life crises who embark on a freewheeling, cross-country motorcycle trip in order to prove their manhood, only to run afoul of a biker gang leader (Ray Liotta) determined to teach them proper biker behavior. Despite scores of bad reviews, many of which complained about the bizarre, almost obsessive need for the four leads to constantly prove their heterosexuality onscreen, "Wild Hogs" dominated the box office its opening weekend, taking in almost $40 million and making it the first bona fide hit of 2007.

In Sidney Lumet's underappreciated crime thriller, "Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" (2007), Tomei played the trophy wife of a stock broker (Philip Seymour Hoffman) in desperate need of cash who plots to rob a mom-'n'-pop store with his younger brother (Ethan Hawke); only problem is the store is owned by their own mother and father, which leads to disastrous unintended consequences. She then appeared as a resourceful, left-wing reporter who is determined to uncover an assassination plot involving a hit man (John Cusack) posing as a trade show producer so he can kill a Middle Eastern oil minister in "War, Inc." (2008). She next co-starred in Darren Aronofsky's "The Wrestler" (2008), a bittersweet drama about Randy "The Ram" Robinson, an aging wrestler (Mickey Rourke) who struggles with being lured out of retirement after being plagued with a dead-end job and estrangement from his daughter. Tomei played an aging stripper looking to start a new life who forms a bond with Ram, despite his inability to sustain a real relationship. For her efforts, she was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role, which was followed by a nod at the Academy Awards in the same category. Tomei continued to impress, notching another detailed, emotionally honest performance as a mother torn between her new boyfriend (John C. Reilly) and her strange grown son (Jonah Hill) in the well reviewed comedy, "Cyrus" (2010).

    * Born:
      December 4, 1964 in Brooklyn, New York, USA
    * Job Titles:
      Actor, Waitress

Family

    * Brother: Adam Tomei. Younger; acted together in the Showtime movie My Own Country (1998)
    * Father: Gary A Tomei.
    * Grandfather: Romeo Tomei. Helped to raise Tomei and her brother
    * Grandmother: Rita Tomei. Helped to raise Tomei and her brother
    * Mother: Patricia Tomei.

Significant Others

    * Companion: Dana Ashbrook.
    * Companion: Frank Pugliese. No longer together
    * Companion: Logan Marshall-Green.
    * Companion: Robert Downey Jr..
    * Companion: Terry Stacey. No longer together; he later shot Happy Accidents (2000) in which Tomei co-starred

Education

    * Edward R Murrow High School, Brooklyn , New York, 1982
    * Boston University, Boston , Massachusetts

Milestones

    * 1983 Appeared as Marcy Thompson on the CBS daytime drama As the World Turns
    * 1984 Feature film debut, The Flamingo Kid
    * 1985 Off-Broadway debut, Daughters
    * 1987 Had title role in Supermom s Daughter, an ABC Afterschool Special
    * 1987 Played Lisa Bonet s roommate during the first season of NBC s A Different World
    * 1990 TV-movie debut, Parker Kane (NBC)
    * 1991 Returned to features after five years to play Sylvester Stallone s daughter in Oscar
    * 1992 Academy Award winning role as Joe Pesci s girlfriend in My Cousin Vinny
    * 1992 Cast as silent screen star Mabel Normand in Chaplin, starring Robert Downey Jr. in the title role
    * 1993 First romantic lead in features, Untamed Heart
    * 1994 Played first top-billed role in Only You ; second film with Robert Downey Jr.
    * 1994 Portrayed Michael Keaton s pregnant wife in The Paper
    * 1995 Starred opposite Anjelica Huston in The Perez Family
    * 1996 Earned plaudits for turn as a troubled single mother in Unhook the Stars
    * 1996 Made appearance as herself on an episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld (February)
    * 1998 Broadway debut in revival of Wait Until Dark co-starring with Quentin Tarantino
    * 1998 Cast as the knowing cousin of a teen coming of age in Slums of Beverly Hills
    * 1998 Made rare TV acting appearances in the Showtime drama My Own Country
    * 1999 Appeared in Dario Fo s We Won t Pay! We Won t Pay! at the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, MA
    * 2000 Appeared opposite Mel Gibson in What Women Want
    * 2000 Co-starred with Keanu Reeves and James Spader in The Watcher
    * 2000 Played opposite Vincent D Onofrio in the Sundance-screened Happy Accidents ; released theatrically in 2001
    * 2001 Cast as Ashley Judd s best friend in Someone Like You
    * 2001 Co-starred with Tom Wilkinson and Sissy Spacek in the award winning drama, In the Bedroom ; received second Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress
    * 2002 Appeared in ensemble romantic comedy Just a Kiss
    * 2003 Cast in the feature The Guru
    * 2003 Was the female lead in the comedy Anger Management
    * 2004 Starred opposite Jude Law in Alfie a remake of the 1966 film which starred Michael Caine
    * 2006 Appeared in several episodes of Rescue Me (FX) as Tommy s (Dennis Leary) sister-in-law turned love interest
    * 2006 Cast in Randall Miller s Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing and Charm School
    * 2006 Co-starred with Kyra Sedgwick in the Kevin Bacon directed Loverboy ; premiered at Sundance (lensed 2003)
    * 2007 Cast opposite John Cusack in the indie drama, Grace is Gone, which premiered at Sundance
    * 2007 Co-starred in Sidney Lumet s Before the Devil Knows You re Dead ; earned an Independent Spirit Award Nomination for Best Supporting Actress
    * 2008 Nominated for the 2008 Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture ( The Wrestler )
    * 2008 Played a stripper, opposite Mickey Rourke, in the The Wrestler
    * 2009 Nominated for the 2008 Academy Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role ( The Wrestler )
    * 2010 Co-starred with Jonah Hill and John C. Reilly in the comedy Cyrus
    * Grew up in Flatbush section of Brooklyn

Kevin Smith Biography News Profile Relationships Photo Wallpaper.

Ever since his emergence onto the national stage, writer-director Kevin Smith became the idol of aspiring filmmakers everywhere when his independent feature "Clerks" (1994) – made for a startlingly low sum of $27,575 – earned awards at both the Cannes and Sundance film festivals and went on to become a wild success in limited art house release. Self-referential to a fault, Smith used his films to expand his fictional universe populated with a regular cast of characters who eventually crossed over into other mediums, including comic books and an animated television series. Smith was in top form with his third feature, “Chasing Amy” (1997), though he took critical hits for later work like “Dogma” (1999) and “Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back” (2001), both of which were admired by rabid fans, but panned by the public at large. Always assured with slacker characters, raunchy dialogue, “Star Wars” (1977) references and endless penis jokes, Smith did occasionally step outside his comfort zone – as he did with “Jersey Girl” (2004) – though such efforts were usually followed up with returns to more of the same, marking Smith as a champion of the Gen-X crowd, but often out of touch with wider audiences.
Born on Aug. 2, 1970 in Highlands, NJ, Smith was raised by his father, Donald, a postal worker and his mother, Grace, a homemaker. As a child, Smith saw his father’s misery at having to work a soul-sucking job, which led to the young lad’s determination to work at something he loved. An average student who received routine Bs and Cs, Smith videotaped basketball games and put on his own “Saturday Night Live” sketches while attending Henry Hudson High School. Though overweight, he had developed a sharp sense of humor in order to make it with the girls in his class. After graduating high school, Smith attended The New School for Social Research’s creative writing program, but dropped out after only one year when the school administration called his parents to complain that their son was throwing water balloons from his dorm window. In 1990, after seeing an ad in The Village Voice for the Vancouver Film School, he matriculated for four months before dropping out once again. Unsure of his next move, Smith took a job as a clerk at a convenience store in Leonardo, NJ.
While seemingly trapped in a go-nowhere life, Smith was suddenly inspired when he saw “Slacker” (1991), Richard Linklater's independent comedy about shiftless youth. For the first time, he saw a movie that was set in the director’s hometown, a notion that opened up the possibilities of low-budget moviemaking. Smith contacted former film school classmate Scott Mosier, who would serve as a producer on most of his films, and set to work on writing the script to his first feature, "Clerks" (1994), a somewhat plotless slice-of-life look at the lives of a slacker convenience store clerk (Brian O’Halloran) and his caustic best friend (Jeff Anderson) who works across the street at a video store. Sharp, witty and unapologetically bawdy, “Clerks” tapped into a fan base that reveled in the “Star Wars” references, non-stop male genitalia jokes and the adolescent obsession with female infidelity. With money raised from Smith's former college tuition fund, the sale of his extensive personal comic collection, loans from Mosier's parents, and maxing out 12 credit cards, Smith made "Clerks" in 21 nights, filming in the very Quick Stop convenience store where he worked.

A screening at the Independent Feature Film Market generated the initial buzz, which culminated into a sale to Harvey Weinstein at the Sundance Film Festival, where “Clerks” shared the Filmmaker's Trophy with Rose Troche's "Go Fish" (1994). “Clerks” was also notable for its introduction of Jay (Jason Mewes) and Silent Bob (Smith), two characters who made routine appearances in most of the director’s films, stealing every scene they were in. After earning a distribution deal from Weinstein’s Miramax Films, Smith’s film went on to earn critical acclaim and further awards at the Cannes Film Festival. But the Motion Picture Association of America ratings board determined that his film should receive an 'NC-17' for graphic language, which delayed the commercial release of the film. Enlisting Harvard law professor and noted attorney Allen Dershowitz to their cause, Smith and Mosier appealed the decision and eventually got their sought-after 'R' rating. Playing in a limited number of art house theaters, "Clerks" grossed a surprising $2 million and garnered wide critical acclaim.

By the time “Clerks was released, Smith was already neck deep with his next effort, "Mallrats" (1995), an irreverent comedy about two New Jersey slackers (Jeremy London and Jason Lee) who look for solace at the local mall after being dumped by their girlfriends (Shannon Doherty and Claire Forlani). Funded by distributor Gramercy for $5.8 million, "Mallrats" earned lukewarm critical notices and bombed at the box office. Chastened by the blight on his fledgling career, Smith ate crow before a crowd at the 1996 Sundance Film Festival, saying “I want to apologize for Mallrats. I have no idea what we were thinking.” In fact, the only notable achievement of his sophomore effort was the launching of former skateboarder Jason Lee’s feature and television career. But Smith redeemed himself to many with the critically-acclaimed romantic comedy, "Chasing Amy" (1997), which depicted the unlikely relationship between Alyssa (Joey Lauren Adams), a bisexual comic book creator, and fellow comic writer Holden (Ben Affleck), which causes untold fits of jealousy with his best friend and writing partner, Banky (Jason Lee). Made for only a quarter million dollars, “Chasing Amy” was a big art house hit, taking in over $12 million at the box office, while repairing the damage Smith created with “Mallrats.”

Back on top of his game, Smith began to expand his horizons beyond writing and directing when he served as executive producer on "Good Will Hunting" (1997), written by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon. Meanwhile, Smith merged his passions for film and comics when he wrote a screenplay for "Superman Lives" which Tim Burton was assigned to direct. Conflicts with Warner Bros. and Burton, however, relegated the project to the trash heap. When he returned to his bread and butter, Smith departed from the boy-girl relationship format of his previous movies in directing "Dogma" (1999), a controversial religious satire about two fallen angels (Affleck and Damon) trying to re-enter Heaven despite the apocalyptic havoc they aim to create. Also starring Linda Fiorentino, George Carlin, Chris Rock, Salma Hayek and Alan Rickman, “Dogma” featured some witty dialogue which was largely buried by an avalanche of exposition that was required to move forward a convoluted and often pointless plot. Regardless of the attention created by Smith’s skewering of Catholicism, the film ultimately proved that the director’s talents were better served in more slacker-friendly fare.
With his next effort, Smith tried to deliver a lighthearted romp starring his recurring side characters Jay & Silent Bob in the madcap "Jay & Silent Bob Strike Back" (2001), a hodgepodge of several amusing, but ultimately pointless sequences that showcased some classic Smith dialogue that nonetheless proved too meandering and exposition-laden to bear. Smith brought back many of the characters from his previous films – what he called the View Askew universe, named after his production company – including his close buddy Ben Affleck as both Holden from "Chasing Amy" and a parody version of his movie-star self. Ultimately, the movie made a decent showing at the box office despite being panned by critics. Always a dazzling raconteur and canny self-promoter, Smith made forays into television, turning "Clerks" into a short-lived animated series for ABC, which both aired and ended in 2000. In 2002, Smith joined "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" (NBC, 1991-2009) on a recurring basis for short filmed comedy bits. Among the more amusing were the collection of Smith's snarky road trips across America, visiting "Roadside Attractions" like giant balls of twine, and short films like "The Flying Car" featuring the "Clerks" characters trapped in traffic discussing what they would do to have a flying car like the Jetsons.

Smith also put his career as a writer of comics firmly on track with the debut of Clerks (the Comic) (1998), followed by the adventures of Jay & Silent Bob in Bluntman and Chronic – which was first featured in “Chasing Amy” – as well as his collaborations on Marvel Comics' Daredevil and DC's Green Arrow. His track record faltered in 2002, however, when he put his focus back on movies and failed to finish his runs on the miniseries Spider-Man: Black Cat and Daredevil: Bullseye, something his fans skewered him about afterwards. Indeed, it was his collected paperback run of Daredevil that lured his friend Ben Affleck – another childhood fan of the character – to pen a glowing introduction, which in turn inspired Marvel Productions and 20th Century Fox to lobby successfully to cast the actor as the blind superhero in the 2003 film. Smith also had a cameo role, playing a morgue attendant named Jack Kirby, after the prominent Marvel comic book artist. He also became one of the first filmmakers to engage in regular, near-direct dialogue with his audience, communicating via the Internet through his web sites MoviePoopShoot.com and ViewAskew.com.

During the media furor surrounding the "Bennifer" romance between Affleck and Jennifer Lopez, Smith often found himself acting as an unofficial spokesperson for the couple, given his closeness to Affleck and the fact the couple were both appearing in his romantic comedy "Jersey Girl" (2004). When the pair's previous film outing "Gigli" (2003) was labeled a bomb of epic proportions and the relationship subsequently fell apart, Smith and his film's marketers made a painstaking effort to point out that Lopez's role was pivotal, but brief in an effort to distance his film from the "Gigli" catastrophe. Instead, "Jersey Girl" – which opened to mixed reviews and unspectacular box office, but came nowhere near the flop that was "Gigli" – focused on Affleck as a driven, urban public relations executive who becomes a widowed single dad stuck in the Jersey suburbs with his dad (George Carlin) and his daughter (Raquel Castro), and who unexpectedly gets a second chance at love with a video store employee (Liv Tyler). Smith threw out much of his juvenile humor – along with Jay & Silent Bob – out the window and attempted to tell a more straightforward, romantic story, albeit with mixed success.

Perhaps in a sign of his creative well starting to dry, Smith returned to comfortable ground with “Clerks II” (2006), another raunchy look at the slacker lives of Dante (Brian O’Halloran) and Randall (Jeff Anderson), who – after years of still working behind the counters of the Quick Stop and video store – are forced to find new jobs when the strip mall burns to the ground. Having already been there and done that, Smith offered very little that was new – some even accused him of retreating to familiar territory after taking uncertain steps onto new ground with “Jersey Girl” – though the sequel did have flourishes of classic witty Smith dialogue. Made for a paltry $5 million, “Clerks II” did well enough at the box office to turn a profit. Meanwhile, Smith made a rare foray into television, serving as executive producer and directing the pilot episode on “Reaper” (CW, 2007- ), a supernatural dramedy about a young man, Sam (Bret Harrison), who learns on his 21st birthday that his parents made a deal with the Devil (Ray Wise) to give him the soul of their first born in order for his father to recover from a grave illness, leading Sam to serve as a bounty hunter for souls escaped from Hell. Back in features, Smith wrote and directed “Zack and Miri Make a Porno” (2008), a romantic comedy about two roommates (Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks) who decide to make an adult film in order to pay their ever-mounting bills. The film marked the first time since his debut “Clerks” that Smith had no role – not even a cameo – for Ben Affleck.

    * Also Credited As:
      Kevin Patrick Smith
    * Born:
      Kevin Patrick Smith on August 2, 1970 in Red Bank, New Jersey, USA
    * Job Titles:
      Director, Editor, Screenwriter, Actor, Producer, Comic book writer, Cashier, Comic book store owner

Family

    * Brother: Donald Smith, Jr. Older
    * Daughter: Harley Quinn Smith. Born June 26, 1999; mother, Jennifer Schwalbach
    * Father: Donald Smith.
    * Mother: Grace Smith.
    * Sister: Virginia Smith. Older

Significant Others

    * Companion: Joey Lauren Adams. Together from 1995-1997; starred in Mallrats (1995) and Chasing Amy (1997)
    * Companion: Joey Lauren Adams. together from c. 1995 to 1997; appeared in Mallrats and Chasing Amy

Education

    * Vancouver Film School, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, film, 1990
    * The New School for Social Research, New York, NY, creative writing

Milestones

    * 1991 Inspired to start a film career after seeing, Slacker, Richard Linklater s film about shiftless youth
    * 1992 Wrote script for Clerks
    * 1994 Debuted Clerks at the Sundance Film Festival; Miramax acquired distribution rights
    * 1995 Released second feature, Mallrats ; first affiliation with actor Ben Affleck
    * 1996 First producing credit (as executive producer) on a movie he did not direct, Drawing Flies
    * 1996 Signed deal with Carsey-Werner Productions to develop TV sitcom; deal fell apart when Jason Lee (star of Mallrats ) decided he didn t want to do a sitcom
    * 1997 Helmed Chasing Amy, starring Affleck, Lee and then-girlfriend Joey Lauren Adams
    * 1997 Received co-executive producing credit on Good Will Hunting for his help getting the Damon-Affleck script made
    * 1998 Clerks , the Comic Book debuted, offering the continuing adventures of super slackers Dante and Randal
    * 1998 Rewrote screenplay for straight-to-video Overnight Delivery
    * 1999 Directed Dogma, featuring Damon and Affleck; also reprised role of Silent Bob, the role he portrayed in his three previous directorial efforts
    * 2000 Executive produced, wrote and voiced character of Silent Bob on the animated Clerks (ABC)
    * 2001 Directed and co-starred in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
    * 2004 Helmed Jersey Girl, which starred Ben Affleck and Liv Tyler
    * 2006 Returned to direct Clerks ll, the sequel to his first film, 1994 s Clerks ; reprised the role of Silent Bob
    * 2007 Co-starred in Richard Kelly s ensemble film, Southland Tales
    * 2007 Co-starred with Jennifer Garner in Catch and Release ; the directorial debut of Susannah Grant
    * 2007 Helmed Zack and Miri Make a Porno starring Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks
    * 2010 Directed the buddy-cop comedy, Cop Out, starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan
    * Formed production company, View Askew