Kara Dioguardi

By Erin Carlson, AP Entertainment

When Kara DioGuardi accepted her job as the fourth judge on “American Idol,” she did not immediately grasp the enormity of a full-time gig on the most-watched TV show in the nation.

“I probably in my own way didn’t really take in what a huge thing it was, just `cause it would be so overwhelming,” she said. “Until I kind of showed up and was like, `Omigod, what am I doing here? This is, like, huge!’ And then it really hit me when we went live that, wow, `I got to speak live in front of 30 million people?’”

Since joining the judges’ panel, DioGuardi has weathered the curve balls of live television, eye rolls from Simon Cowell and criticism of her judging abilities by the viewer peanut gallery. As the eighth season progresses to a showdown between Adam Lambert and Someone Else, the 38-year-old songwriter and producer’s “saving grace” has been connecting with the finalists and helping steer them in the right direction, by way of her industry expertise.

“It’s not an easy job,” DioGuardi said in an interview from Los Angeles. “I mean, there was nothing wrong with that panel. It wasn’t like I had to fix something. It was great. So to come in and kind of be part of it was really tricky. …

“So I look at it sometimes and I think, `All right, maybe I could have done this better or that better,’ but I’m literally just trying not to” act like “a bumbling moron because I’m so, you know, nervous at times,” she said.

Adding a fourth judge to the veteran threesome of Paula Abdul, Randy Jackson and Cowell was part of series of changes producers implemented this season to shake up the franchise. A 13th contestant, picked in a wild card round, joined the top dozen. A one-time rule allowed judges to save contestant Matt Giraud from voter elimination.

And — in an “Idol” first — only two judges were allowed to review a singer last Tuesday to save time. The show has been running over schedule, which Cowell blamed on DioGuardi and Abdul talking too much.

“Of course, we’re going to have time issues — you added a fourth judge! What did you think? I was going to just sit there and, you know, like do a grading system on my hands? Which probably I would mess up because you know how my remedial math is,” DioGuardi joked, referring to the now-classic blunder she made while reviewing Lambert (“I’ve got six words for you: One of the best performances of the night!”).

Cecile Frot-Coutaz, an executive producer on “Idol,” said producers envisioned a fourth judge could create a time crunch.

“It’s hard for (the judges) to figure out whether they’ve spoken for 30 seconds or 45 seconds, so … we’re going to try and help them with that and give them a sense of their timing so that we keep it under control a bit more,” Frot-Coutaz said.

DioGuardi, whose criticism can be as long-winded as Cowell’s is blunt, said she’s making an effort to cut her comments short. She seems to have scaled back in the last couple weeks.

Her remarks are generally rife with musical jargon (especially “artistry”) and she has been an unwitting target of hecklers in the studio audience. Recently, cast-off Megan Corkey’s brother shouted: “Broken record!”

“Kara’s opinion is so irrelevant that I don’t think people even listen to it,” said Dave Della Terza, founder of VoteForTheWorst.com, which encourages “Idol” viewers to vote for bad-yet-entertaining singers. He derided DioGuardi as humorless and unskilled at thinking on her feet.

DioGuardi, who has worked with such singers as Christina Aguilera, Celine Dion and Kelly Clarkson, said she tries to tune out the negativity and focus on her goal: “to help America find the best `Idol’ and to help these kids.”

It’s clear she takes her job very seriously. In conversation, she offered unprompted, thoughtful analyses of various finalists; she often schedules one-on-one advising sessions with hopefuls after they get voted off.

As for her recent on-camera gaffes, including a reference to the legendary New York club Studio 54 as “Studio 57,” she said: “It’s OK. I’ll poke fun at myself and I’ll look like an idiot on that front. But I want to make sure that what I’m telling them makes sense and it has meaning.”

How does she fit in with Cowell and the gang?

“I’m a combination of them in different ways,” she said. “I think I can be hard sometimes and then soft in other times, depending on what I think the contestant needs.”

Frot-Coutaz said the four-judge system has worked thus far, and viewers have responded positively to DioGuardi.

“We’re certainly not talking about going back to three at this point. … We’re pleased with the fourth judge,” she said.

Plus, Frot-Coutaz noted, DioGuardi provided one of the season’s greatest moments: Her feud with Katrina “Bikini Girl” Darrell during the audition rounds, when the judge — a talented singer in her own right — told the scantily clad wannabe to bring a stripper pole next time.

The exchange, viewed by some as immature on DioGuardi’s part, revealed an intriguing glimpse into her personality — less Pollyanna, more Troublemaker.

DioGuardi said she’s funnier than she appears on the show. But she’s not completely stiff.

“I noticed that my hands go all over the place, and sometimes I look like I’m a gesticulating fool,” she said. “You know, it’s very Italian.”

Kara Dioguardi Bio and Photo Gallery

Sienna Miller

Sienna Miller is set to make her Broadway debut in Patrick Marber’s play ‘After Miss Julie’ in New York in October. The 27-year-old actress has admitted that she’s scared as well as excited about it.

“I’m scared obviously but really excited,” the Daily Express quoted Miller, as saying.

Meanwhile, Miller has been dropped from Ridley Scott’’s Robin Hood Hollywood movie remake – because she’s too young.

The actress was due to play Maid Marian but when the project went through a rewrite, she was no longer the right fit – and Cate Blanchett became the leading lady.

Sienna Miller Bio and Photo Gallery

Heidi Klum

 
Fashion Model Heidi Klum
18 years old and still in high school, Heidi Klum came across an ad for a model competition in her area while reading a magazine. While she was intrigued by the idea, she never even dreamed of the possibility of entering, much less of winning. Heidi Klum Bio and Pictures

Adriana Lima

Supermodel Adriana Lima
Adriana Lima was discovered while shopping at a local mall at the age of 13. At the age of 15, she entered and finished in first place in Brazil’s Ford Supermodel of the World Search. Adriana Lima Bio and Photos

Marisa Miller

Swimsuit Model Marisa Miller
Marisa Miller was born on August 6, 1978 in Santa Cruz, California and she is a buxom American supermodel who first gained attention when she appeared in the 1997 premiere issue of Perfect 10 magazine. Marisa Miller Photo Gallery

Danielle Lloyd

Danielle Lloyd Model
From the age of 16 Danielle loved modelling, frequently entering competitions in and around Liverpool so upon finishing her academic studies, she decided to pursue a career in modelling and also train as a beautician. Danielle Lloyd Photo Gallery

Carrie Underwood

By John Gerome

Carrie Underwood captured entertainer of the year Sunday night at the Academy of Country Music Awards, winning the top honor that has eluded women for nearly a decade, while Taylor Swift won album of the year and Julianne Hough snagged top new artist.

Country music’s boys’ club was adjourned for the year when Underwood broke Kenny Chesney’s four-year win streak and became the first woman to hold the title since the Dixie Chicks in 2000. The significance wasn’t lost on the 26-year-old superstar.

“I accepted that award on behalf of myself and my fans, but also on behalf of other women who came before me that kicked butt but never got the recognition they deserved,” Underwood said. “I can’t wait (for) the day, which I hope is in the very near future, where having females in the category is no big deal whatsoever.”

In 39 years of recognizing a top entertainer, the academy has granted the honor to a woman seven times, including Underwood. The others were Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Barbara Mandrell, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain and the Dixie Chicks. Each won once.

Chesney, who missed the chance to tie Alabama for most entertainer of the year awards, kissed Underwood as she walked up to accept the honor.

“He told me he was proud of me,” said Underwood, who’s enjoyed astounding success since winning “American Idol” in 2005 with eight No. 1 country hits including the signature single, “Jesus Take the Wheel.”

Swift, another woman dominating not only country music but the entire industry, won album of the year for her sophomore disc “Fearless.” Both of Swift’s albums have topped the 3 million mark — a rare feat today. She’s connected with fans both young and old for her intensely personal songs, which she writes usually on her own or with a co-writer.

Backstage, Swift told reporter that she “obsessed” over making “Fearless.”

“I labored over this album for two years,” she said. “The fact that you can write songs in your bedroom about your feelings and boys and can win album of the year at the ACMs. I just didn’t think that was possible.”

Swift, who had four nominations going into Sunday’s show, also got a special honor as McEntire presented her with an ACM Crystal Milestone Award for bringing so many young people to country music.

A tearful Hough, who added country singer to her “Dancing with the Stars” credentials, thanked “everybody that has followed me from the beginning and believed in me.” She bested Jake Owen and the Zac Brown Band for the honor.

Other winners included Jamey Johnson, Sugarland, Trace Adkins and Brad Paisley, but the evening’s most memorable moments came during the performances.

Adkins performed “‘Til the Last Shot’s Fired,” a somber salute to U.S. troops, with the West Point Glee Club in honor of servicemen and women. The performance was introduced by Lt. Andrew Kinard, who had been wounded. He told the crowd, “As you listen to this song, please consider that it’s not about the war, it’s about the warrior.”

John Rich’s angry anthem “Shuttin’ Detroit Down” also stirred the crowd.

“I’d like to dedicate this song tonight to all the hard-working, taxpaying Americans from coast to coast who love this country as much as I do,” Rich said while holding a guitar tagged with a “Made in the U.S.A.” sticker.

“We wrote this song specifically for you,” he said before launching into his searing song that feeds into taxpayer resentment about the bailouts on Wall Street.

Other performances included teen sensation Miley Cyrus, dancing atop a high staircase on stage; Heidi Newfield singing “Johnny and June,” inspired by the late Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash, around an appropriate ring of fire; and Underwood in a burgundy dress so overwhelming that it took up most of the stage.

“Can I borrow that?” host Reba McEntire quipped afterward.

Newcomer Johnson beat out veterans like George Strait and Paisley in nabbing the night’s first honor, song of the year for his poignant hit about an old man looking back on his life, “In Color.”

Model Volume

Heidi Klum

Fashion Model Heidi Klum
18 years old and still in high school, Heidi Klum came across an ad for a model competition in her area while reading a magazine. While she was intrigued by the idea, she never even dreamed of the possibility of entering, much less of winning. Heidi Klum Bio and Pictures

Adriana Lima

Supermodel Adriana Lima
Adriana Lima was discovered while shopping at a local mall at the age of 13. At the age of 15, she entered and finished in first place in Brazil’s Ford Supermodel of the World Search. Adriana Lima Bio and Photos

Marisa Miller

Swimsuit Model Marisa Miller
Marisa Miller was born on August 6, 1978 in Santa Cruz, California and she is a buxom American supermodel who first gained attention when she appeared in the 1997 premiere issue of Perfect 10 magazine. Marisa Miller Photo Gallery

Danielle Lloyd

Danielle Lloyd Model
From the age of 16 Danielle loved modelling, frequently entering competitions in and around Liverpool so upon finishing her academic studies, she decided to pursue a career in modelling and also train as a beautician. Danielle Lloyd Photo Gallery

Miley Cyrus

By Cristy Lytal – Reuters

Miley Cyrus brings her wildly popular Hannah Montana character to U.S. movie theaters on Friday after a year of publicity that left fans and parents wondering if the 16-year-old Disney sensation might be growing up too fast.

First, there was the “Vanity Fair” cover shot last June in which Cyrus was draped only in a bed sheet. Parents complained that it was an inappropriate move for the schoolgirl star their young daughters idolize.

Then there were personal pictures of her leaked on the Internet showing a strip of her green bra. More recently, a snapshot of her making “slant eyes” prompted an Asian group to say it was “mocking and denigrating” to people of Asian descent.

She has apologized, said pictures were taken out of context and complained that the media were trying to turn her into Hollywood’s latest “bad girl.”

“I almost feel like people think of me as dumb,” said Cyrus, who recently created her own personal “Rumor Patrol” blog on MileyCyrus.com

“I’m like, I’m smarter than you think. You know, I understand what you’re trying to do. It’s all a mind game and what not,” she said.

Cyrus, the daughter of country music singer Billy Ray Cyrus, spent her first 13 years in Tennessee.

In 2006 she landed a role on the Disney Channel’s “Hannah Montana,” a sitcom about a teenage girl named Miley Stewart who has a secret identity as rock star Hannah Montana.

Since then, Cyrus has sold more than 7 million albums, raked in $65 million at the box office with her concert film “Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana: Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour 3-D,” and started her own fashion line.

EDGIER ROLES

In “Hannah Montana: The Movie,” Stewart’s father — played by real-life dad Billy Ray — takes her home to Tennessee for some ego downsizing after she gets swept up in the Hollywood fame game.

Back home, Hannah falls victim to an exploding birthday cake, sits on raw eggs and gets into a cat fight with supermodel Tyra Banks over a pair of designer shoes.

“It was a bit scary,” said Cyrus, “but it was fun.”

Cyrus said that in general, it is difficult being a kid in Disney’s stable of child stars because it leads to a squeaky-clean reputation that any teenage girl would find tough to measure up to.

“I feel like some people will almost think of me as a joke because of it,” she said.

As a result, she is now trying to move into more nuanced parts and put Hannah Montana behind her. Cyrus sees the new movie as a first step.

“The big reason I did the ‘Hannah Montana’ movie is because (film) is something I really want to do for the rest of my life,” she said.

Her next project is a movie based on a book that Nicolas Sparks — the author of “A Walk to Remember,” “The Notebook,” and “Nights in Rodanthe” — is writing and adapting for her.

“It’s more of an edgy role, which I’m excited to do,” said Cyrus. “It’s really important to me that people think of me as a real artist.”

Miley Cyrus Bio and Photo Gallery

Heidi Klum

Fashion Model Heidi Klum
18 years old and still in high school, Heidi Klum came across an ad for a model competition in her area while reading a magazine. While she was intrigued by the idea, she never even dreamed of the possibility of entering, much less of winning. Heidi Klum Bio and Pictures

Adriana Lima

Supermodel Adriana Lima
Adriana Lima was discovered while shopping at a local mall at the age of 13. At the age of 15, she entered and finished in first place in Brazil’s Ford Supermodel of the World Search. Adriana Lima Bio and Photos

Marisa Miller

Swimsuit Model Marisa Miller
Marisa Miller was born on August 6, 1978 in Santa Cruz, California and she is a buxom American supermodel who first gained attention when she appeared in the 1997 premiere issue of Perfect 10 magazine. Marisa Miller Photo Gallery

Danielle Lloyd

Danielle Lloyd Model
From the age of 16 Danielle loved modelling, frequently entering competitions in and around Liverpool so upon finishing her academic studies, she decided to pursue a career in modelling and also train as a beautician. Danielle Lloyd Photo Gallery

Mischa Barton

The latest rumor Mischa Barton would like to debunk is she’s not appearing on the “Melrose Place” remake. Instead, the former “O.C.” star will make her return to the small screen with a role on another CW show, “A Beautiful Life,” produced by Ashton Kutcher.

“Ashton developed it about his life growing up as a model from Iowa, so it’s about the whole fashion world that he was in, and obviously I have a lot of friends in the fashion world, so I’m used to being around a lot of people in that,” Barton told PEOPLE on Thursday night at a GQ magazine-hosted party to celebrate the new men’s fragrance Burberry the Beat.

And Barton, who recently attended the fashion shows in Paris, promises to put the catty in catwalker. “(I play) a bitchy model-type character, like it’s a totally different character for me,” says Barton, who starts shooting as Sonia, a successful model who keeps the competition at bay but also advises the younger ones, at the end of the month.

Aside from modeling experience, the former face of Dooney & Burke has something else in common with Kutcher — a desire to reach out to fans directly. While Kutcher favors Twitter, Barton has recently taken to her own blog to “clear up all the misconceptions.”

Like what? “Like right now I’m supposedly too skinny. I just had to release a comment about how I’m eating enough and I’m healthy,” says Barton, who nibbled on a sweet onion tart with mushroom and a burger during the event. “I’m more concerned for young girls these days … and I think it’s important that you say I’m comfortable and I’m fine and you should to be too because it’s, like, silly … You’re always too skinny or too fat or too something.”

Other things she wants to clear up: “Like places I go, what kind of people I hang out with, what I’m like, if I’m a party girl, if I have issues … my real fans might go there and check out the music I like, the books I read, stuff like that.” Adds Barton, who also just broke the news of her breakup on her official Web site, “It’s just the best way for me to clarify things and show people who I really am.”

Mischa Barton Photo Gallery and Biography

Eliza Dushku

By LUAINE LEE McClatchy-Tribune News Service

Eliza Dushku stars as Echo in the Fox series, “Dollhouse.” (Fox/MCT)
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. – When actress Eliza Dushku treated her former boss to lunch it turned out to be the best investment she’d ever made.

Dushku had costarred on creator Joss Whedon’s hit fantasy, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” 10 years earlier. “Joss and I stayed friends, had a very tight connection when we made the show,” says Dushku, seated in a black vinyl armchair in the lobby bar of a hotel here.

“He was kind of a brother, mentor, teacher, a hero of mine. And he’s a feminist and my mom’s always been a feminist. And being 3,000 miles away from my mom, who’s in Boston, I found this real friend and ally in Joss, so we’ve been friends over the years.”

There was a reason for her largesse. Dushku had talked to Fox about returning to television. “And I had a plan in the back of my head. It was Joss, even though he didn’t know it yet,” she says. “About a week after I did some chatting with the Fox people I called Joss and invited him to lunch … I bought him a hot Buddha pizza from Ivy at the Shore. He picked the spot. And over a four-hour lunch we had ‘Dollhouse.’”

“Dollhouse” is Fox’s new sci-fi thriller in which Dushku plays an “Active” in a secret organization. The personalities of the “Actives” are wiped clean and re-programmed so they can become anyone a high-paying client desires – from assassin to corporate tycoon.

Dushku, 28, loves the chance to metamorphose into different alter-egos every week. Lately she’s undergone some transformations of her own.

“I don’t drink. And that’s my drug. I made a lifestyle change, even though living in L.A. sometimes feels like summer camp, like one big beach party. I have an opportunity and a job and something to contribute – and eliminating the fuzz and the numbing …

“I’ve followed a 12-step program and I’ve had the best few years of my life recently,” she says, her dark eyes dominating her face.

“I always showed up to work, but I’m crisp, I’m clear. I feel better. I work harder and I do better work than I ever have. I absolutely believe that I’ve found a connection with the big, scary G word. Sort of going: ‘The universe is going to do what it’s going to do and as long as I keep my side of the street clean and am accountable for my actions and my life and I eliminate all those numb-ers and things,’ it’s been amazing how my life has changed.”

She doesn’t really define alcohol as her problem. “I just know that now I don’t drink, and I feel better physically and emotionally and spiritually. I feel like a different person. I feel like I’ve been given a new set of eyes to take in the world with,” she says.

Part of this change occurred with the death of her grandparents. “I was so close to them they were like my parents,” she sighs.

“I just admired them and loved them so much. They were serious practicing Mormons. I was raised Mormon. I’d sort of fallen out of the church, and I’d become this rebel child in my later teenage years and my early 20s, and I watched the way my grandparents lived. And when they died, I thought about the kind of grace and integrity they lived their life with, and something shifted. And I just wanted to sort of change my perception in any way that I could and just live differently and just LIVE.

“I just got a tattoo on the back of my neck that says ‘Grace’ when my grandmother passed away,” she says, patting her neck. “She was a tomboy and she was a farmer and she was a tough cookie. She was always a lady and always graceful. She was funny, smart and witty. She was a lady in grace and it really got me.”

Dushku is a devoted traveler, seeking exotic parts of the world and new adventures. And she doesn’t worry about failure. “I feel I’ve surpassed goals that I had and some I didn’t even know that I had,” she says.

“I’m pretty proud of my work and my resume – both business wise and on a personal level. My house is clean, and I try every day to be better and do better work, especially at this point in my career. I truly feel like I’ve never felt better, never worked harder and I’ve never done better work and that’s a great feeling. So whatever comes of this – if someone wants to say I failed, I’ll never believe that.”

Still, not everything is perfect, she confesses. “I’m terrible at cooking. I’m not a good woman in some ways. I don’t really know how to take care of a household. But I’m good at where-there’s-a-will-there’s-a-way. And I’m good at making lemonade out of lemons and trying to always look on the bright side and find the sweet in the seemingly sour. I’m an optimist. I’m a realist, which sometimes is also my demise. I’m a super pragmatist and also a realist and stubborn goes along with that. But I’ve really been trying to change my perspective and my perception a little bit and see things in a lovelier light.”

Eliza Dushku Bio and Photo Gallery

Kaley Cuoco Stars in The Big Bang Theory

When the Chuck Lorre/Bill Prady comedy The Big Bang Theory debuted in 2007, expectations weren’t very high.

While CBS had enjoyed success with several other situation comedies, particularly Two and a Half Men from the same creative team, there was a feeling that overall audiences weren’t embracing the standard multi-camera, half-hour vehicle that was once a cornerstone of network television.

In addition, the show’s premise about the oddball relationship between two brilliant but socially awkward physicists who worked at Cal Tech and lived across the hall from a glamorous aspiring actress didn’t seem like a potential hit.

But The Big Bang Theory has evolved in its second year into a topflight program, and last week hit its stride commercially, attracting 13.1 million viewers in a different, later time after it’s usual 7 p.m. Monday slot was taken by President Obama’s press conference.

There’s now plenty of buzz for the program. The cast, which includes Johnny Galecki (Leonard) and Jim Parsons (Sheldon) as well as neighbor Penny (Kaley Cuoco) and their equally clueless (socially) friends, played by Simon Helberg and Kunal Nayyar, has meshed into a marvelous ensemble.

The show gets a boost on its March 9 episode when Summer Glau from The Sarah Connor Chronicles makes a guest appearance. The plot involves the four guys being afraid to approach Glau’s character, even though all of them adore her for her role on the show (besides being intellectuals, they all are also big sci-fi fans).

Right now The Big Bang Theory might be the smartest comedy on CBS’ airwaves, and a potential rival to NBC’s 30 Rock for overall best network sitcom honors.

Kaley Cuoco Bio and Photo Gallery

Penelope Cruz

LOS ANGELES (Reuters)

Penelope Cruz became the first Spanish-born actress to win an Oscar by taking the best supporting actress award on Sunday for her role as tempestuous artist Maria Elena in Woody Allen’s romantic comedy “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”

Cruz, 34, thanked both Allen and Spanish film director Pedro Almodovar for their roles in shaping her career and dedicated the gold statuette to the actors from her country.

“Thank you Woody for trusting me with this beautiful character. Thank you for having written over all these years some of the greatest characters for women,” she said.

With her Oscar win, Cruz, joins fellow actresses Dianne Wiest and Mira Sorvino in scoring best supporting-actress Oscars for their performances in Woody Allen films.

“I grew up in a place called Alcobendas, where this was not a very realistic dream,” said Cruz.

Dressed in a 60-year-old ivory Pierre Balmain vintage gown and fighting back tears, Cruz asked anyone had ever fainted while accepting an Oscar. “I might be the first one.”

Born in Madrid to a hairdresser and an auto mechanic, Cruz got her big break in the Spanish film industry in 1992 with “Jamon Jamon.”

She captured the attention of the Oscar-winning Almodovar, who cast her in various movies including the 2006 film “Volver,” which earned her a best actress Oscar nomination for her turn as a woman who kills her abusive husband.

That nod made Cruz the first Spanish woman to be nominated for a best actress Academy Award for a non-English speaking role.

Cruz thanked Almodovar for “having made me part of so many of his adventures.”

Cruz’s Oscar win on Sunday follows a British BAFTA award and other U.S. critics awards this season for her performance in “Vicky Cristina Barcelona” as the fiery ex-wife to a bohemian artist portrayed by Javier Bardem who has wooed a pair of young American women vacationing Spain.

Cruz struggled for years to convince English-speaking movie audiences to take her seriously after critics panned her earlier performances in films like “Woman on Top,” and was sometimes better-known for high-profile romances with stars like Tom Cruise and Matthew McConaughey.

‘CLIMBING MOUNTAINS’

Backstage on Sunday, Cruz said she is grateful that she was not discouraged by those earlier “invalidations.”

“You have to keep climbing mountains. It’s better not to listen or to engage in those debates,” she said, adding that she is encouraged by how more open the entertainment industry is to people with accents.

“It has been changing. We are all mixed together and that has to be reflected in cinema. I’m happy that finally that door seems to be more open and not just to me and three other people, but to a much bigger group,” she said.

Penelope Cruz Bio and Photo Gallery

Heidi Klum

Fashion Model Heidi Klum
18 years old and still in high school, Heidi Klum came across an ad for a model competition in her area while reading a magazine. While she was intrigued by the idea, she never even dreamed of the possibility of entering, much less of winning. Heidi Klum Bio and Pictures

Adriana Lima

Supermodel Adriana Lima
Adriana Lima was discovered while shopping at a local mall at the age of 13. At the age of 15, she entered and finished in first place in Brazil’s Ford Supermodel of the World Search. Adriana Lima Bio and Photos

Marisa Miller

Swimsuit Model Marisa Miller
Marisa Miller was born on August 6, 1978 in Santa Cruz, California and she is a buxom American supermodel who first gained attention when she appeared in the 1997 premiere issue of Perfect 10 magazine. Marisa Miller Photo Gallery

Danielle Lloyd

Danielle Lloyd Model
From the age of 16 Danielle loved modelling, frequently entering competitions in and around Liverpool so upon finishing her academic studies, she decided to pursue a career in modelling and also train as a beautician. Danielle Lloyd Photo Gallery

Odette Yustman

Odette Yustman plays Casey Beldon, a pretty young woman spooked by horrifying nightmares and a pretty nasty ghost, in writer/director David Goyer’s The Unborn. A supernatural thriller about demonic possession, a family curse, and an unborn twin, The Unborn finds Yustman once again playing a woman in peril (she was recently seen as a terrorized victim of a giant monster in Cloverfield).

In order to get into her role in Goyer’s horror film, Yustman turned to YouTube for inspiration. “That’s exactly how I did research. I figured I can, you know, go by the books and do research that way but I really wanted something visual, something that I could really see so that I can create my own idea of an exorcism, so I went on Youtube,” revealed Yustman at the film’s Los Angeles press junket.”

“Amateur videos, exorcisms, that’s what I searched and I found really crazy things. I mean, if you search that it’s actually really terrifying. You have people all over the world, some parents thinking that their kids are possessed. They take them into churches, like, ‘My kid is possessed. You need to do an exorcism,’ and some of the kids are terrified. I don’t know if their parents are crazy. I don’t know if these kids actually whatever, but some people react so many different ways. Some are screaming. Some are completely still. It’s just really scary, and I watched it by myself at night. I was petrified. I couldn’t sleep. It’s the scariest thing because it gets in your head and for me, psychological thrillers are really just terrifying me – like The Exorcist. It’s probably my favorite horror film and I watched it when I was, I think, seven years old with my mother the first time. I don’t know why my mom ever let me watch that. I couldn’t go to the bathroom by myself. I couldn’t go upstairs by myself. I couldn’t sleep. It was really…it just got in my head, you know? And Linda Blair did an amazing job.”

Yustman’s received a decent amount of horror scripts since starring in Cloverfield, and she’s careful not to get stereotyped as ‘the girl in danger’ type of character. But she says when she read The Unborn script, the genre didn’t matter because she loved the script so much she just had to do the film.

Asked what stood out, Yustman replied, “I think one of the main things was that this isn’t a remake. It’s a horror film that is a new idea, completely new concept, an original story. That really stood out to me because I get to… Nowadays I don’t think women have such great opportunities to play a character [like] this, to be able to carry a whole film yourself, so I was really fortunate to have that role and be able to hit every single emotion. She really is a tortured soul and she goes through so much throughout the movie so as an actress, you kind of look forward to those roles. Would I do it again? Yes, but it’s a challenge. You kind of have to know that you’re going to be working all day long. You’re going to be in bad weather conditions. You can’t complain. You can’t get sick. You can’t do anything. You just have to be on it. You have to do it. And it’s what I love the most, and I’m really grateful that I even get to do this.”

Yustman loved being a part of The Unborn, but there were some scenes she would like to forget about. David Goyer didn’t spell out exactly what was going to happen to Yustman in certain scenes. Instead, he took her by surprise, capturing her real expressions of alarm and fear in the film. There’s even a scene involving an eye speculum (the tool used to keep your eyelids apart during an inspection/operation) that Goyer sprang on Yustman at the last minute.

Recalling that disturbing experience, Yustman said, “Oh my gosh – I was about to kill him. I really was because he said, ‘I have an idea for this scene.’ I’m like, ‘What do you mean you have an idea for this scene?’ He’s like, ‘Well, you know, there’s this thing, it’s called a speculum and it kind of goes in your eye but you numb it so you’re not going to feel it and you only have to do it once.’ I’m like, ‘Okay, fine, if I have to do it, you have to do it.’ He’s like, ‘Sure, no problem.’ So we do it and it’s horrible and they’re like, ‘Don’t blink, don’t blink.’ I’m like, ‘Okay, okay.’ And then he’s like, ‘Wow, that looks really cool. I want a close shot right here. I want a shot right here… I want a shot right here.’ So we ended up doing it like six times and he didn’t do it at all. I’m like,’ Great,’ but it was horrible!”

Goyer also didn’t warn her she’d really be covered with potato bugs. “No, not at all,” said Yustman. “The bugs, he was like, ‘There’s potato bugs. I mean, I found one in my backyard. It’s not really a big deal. They’re harmless. It’s whatever.’”

But it wasn’t so ‘whatever’ when one went down her shirt. “They showed me the potato bugs and they’re huge. They were like this big and he’s like, ‘So, we’re going to put some on you, but they’re fine.’ They start crawling up my shirt, literally, like going into my boobs. One caught onto my arm, just like started biting me.”

Potato bugs bite? “Yeah. Like, ‘You told me they don’t bite.’ And he’s like, ‘I don’t know.’ They’re like eating each other. They’re horrible bugs,” laughed Yustman.

Odette Yustman Bio and Photos

Courtney Cox

Scrubs will have a new medical plan when it returns next month. After seven seasons on NBC, the hospital comedy will air on ABC starting Jan. 6, with Courteney Cox Arquette in a guest role as Sacred Heart’s new chief of medicine.

The former “Friends” star will be on duty for a three-episode arc, joining series regulars including Zach Braff, Sarah Chalke, Donald Faison and John C. McGinley.

“Scrubs” marks a comedy encore for the 44-year-old Arquette, who, after the long-running “Friends,” more recently starred as a tabloid-magazine boss on the FX network melodrama, “Dirt.”

A look back at Friends. Funny Bloopers Videos

Sarah Chalke of Scrubs. Bio and Photo gallery