Sarah Shahi Wallpapers and Biography

Posted in Celebrities on Feb 5th, 2008 | 1 comment

Aahoo Jahansouz Shahi, also known as Sarah Shahi (born January 10, 1980, in Euless, Texas, U.S.), is an American actress, model of Iranian and Spanish descent. former NFL Cheerleader and a great-great-granddaughter of the 19th century Persian Shah Fat′h Ali Shah Qajar by Begom Khanom (daughter of Hossein Qoli Khan Afshar, niece of Begom Khanom, daughter of Emam Qoli Khan Afshar), through their son Jahansouz Shah. Shahi was named #90 on the Maxim magazine “Hot 100 of 2005″ list; she moved up to #66 in 2006.

Sarah Shahi was born in Euless, Texas, to a Iranian father and Spanish mother, Abbas and Mahmonir Jahansouz Shahi. She attended Trinity High School and Dallas’ Southern Methodist University, majoring in English and Opera . Shahi started her career as a beauty queen during her teen years. She won the Miss Fort Worth USA pageant in 1997. She joined the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders 1999-2000 squad and appeared on the cover of their 2000 calendar.

While working as an extra on the set of Dr. T and the Women, she met director Robert Altman, who encouraged her to move to Hollywood. Sarah then moved to Los Angeles. Once in L.A., she got various recurrent roles in several famous series, such as Alias, where she played Jenny, and Dawson’s Creek, where she was Sadia Shaw. Shahi was also the first ghost in Supernatural, the CW paranormal drama series.

She is best known for her role as the Mexican-American DJ Carmen de la Pica Morales in the Showtime drama television series The L Word, which she joined in its second season. Sarah did not renew her contract with the L Word for a fourth season, and consequently her character was written out.

She also appeared in HBO’s The Sopranos, in the Season 6b episode “Kennedy and Heidi,” as Sonya Aragon, a stripper and college student who spends a weekend with Tony after a death in his family.

Sarah speaks English, Persian, and some Spanish, and has a Brown belt in Karate. Sarah’s currently starring as one of the leads alongside Damian Lewis in the new hit show Life which started airing in the U.S. in late September.

Although uncredited by most sources, Sarah also appeared in Jackie Chan movie Rush Hour 3 as one of the girls being handcuffed for motoring offence by Chris Tucker.

Shahi is in a relationship with actor Steve Howey, who starred as Van in the CW show Reba. Her acting coach is Bill Howey, Steve’s father.

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Katharine Mcphee Photos and Biography

Posted in Celebrities on Feb 5th, 2008 | 0 comments

Though Taylor Hicks’ quirky soulfulness made him 2006’s American Idol, runner-up Katharine McPhee’s classic good looks and voice and affinity for traditional pop made her a strong contender throughout the season. In fact, she was one of the first semifinalists to make it to the final 12. A native of Sherman Oaks, CA, McPhee began singing at age two.

Katharine Hope McPhee (born March 25, 1984) is an American pop and R&B singer, model who was the runner-up to Taylor Hicks on the fifth season of American Idol in 2006.

Her mother, Patricia McPhee, is an established singer in her own right, performing and recording as Peisha McPhee. She helped Katharine develop as a vocalist and gave her more formal training than many American Idol hopefuls receive. Though McPhee sang and acted throughout her childhood and high-school years, she began taking singing more seriously in college, attending Boston Conservatory as a musical theater major.

After three semesters, however, she left for Los Angeles to audition for film and television work. McPhee scored roles in the film Crazy, a musical about Hank Garland, and an MTV series, You Are Here, which didn’t make it to the air. She also appeared in productions of Annie Get Your Gun and The Ghost and Mrs. Muir before auditioning for American Idol in 2005.

McPhee was persuaded by Nick Cokas and her parents to try out for American Idol. She auditioned in San Francisco, and sang “God Bless the Child”, originally performed by Billie Holiday. Paula Abdul said that McPhee was “absolutely beautiful”, Randy Jackson hailed her audition as potentially the best so far that season, and Simon Cowell complimented her for being “current” and her audition being “absolutely fantastic”.

McPhee listed Whitney Houston and Brian McKnight as her favorite artists in the American Idol interview of the top 24 semi-finalists. During the week preceding the top three show, she was a runner-up in the Kennel Club Finals. McPhee visited her former high school for her hometown celebration. Antonio Villaraigosa visited Notre Dame High School and proclaimed McPhee’s visit as “Katharine McPhee Day.”

McPhee’s run on American Idol led to the popular use of the term “McPheever”, coined by Ralph Garman of Los Angeles radio station KROQ’s morning show Kevin and Bean. She also referred to her fans as the “Kat Pack” and “McPhans”.

McPhee was congratulated by Congressman Brad Sherman of Sherman Oaks, the 27th district of California, who raised a flag in her honor at the United States Capitol on the day of the finale show. McPhee was credited with performing KT Tunstall’s “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” during the Idol final run.

During the Idol Finale, McPhee duetted with Meat Loaf. They performed It’s All Coming Back To Me Now, which Loaf would go on to record with Rocker Chick’ Marion Raven, whose voice has been compared to Katharine’s.

During the competition, McPhee roomed with fellow contestant Kellie Pickler, and when Pickler was eliminated, she roomed with Paris Bennett.

Once McPhee made the final 12, her performances of songs such as “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “Come Rain or Come Shine,” and “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” made her one of the favorites of American Idol judges and viewers. After the American Idol season ended, McPhee was signed by show creator Simon Fuller’s 19 Recordings Limited label and released her first single, Somewhere Over the Rainbow/My Destiny; it became the second best-selling single of 2006.

That summer, after bouts with bronchitis and laryngitis, she joined the rest of the finalists and Hicks on the American Idols LIVE! tour and also toured with Andrea Bocelli, who appeared on American Idol as a guest judge. McPhee began recording her self-titled debut album in the fall, working with collaborators such as Timbaland’s production partner, Nate “Danja Hand” Hills, Chad Hugo of the Neptunes, and songwriter Kara DioGuardi. “Over It,” which was written by the songwriting team of Billy Steinberg, Josh Alexander, and Ruth-Anne Cunningham, arrived a few weeks before Katharine McPhee was released in early 2007.

On June 6, 2006, Sony BMG and 19 Entertainment announced that McPhee had signed to American Idol series creator Simon Fuller’s 19 Recordings Limited and Sony BMG’s RCA Records.

McPhee’s debut single, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow/My Destiny” was released on June 27, 2006 by RCA Records. “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” peaked at #12 on the Billboard Hot 100 and “My Destiny” peaked at #60.

Thirty-two weeks after its release, Somewhere Over the Rainbow/My Destiny had climbed to #4 on the Billboard Hot Singles Sales charts. It was 2nd highest best-selling single of 2006 after Taylor Hicks’s “Do I Make You Proud?”. After 58 weeks, “Somewhere Over the Rainbow/My Destiny” continues to chart, #47, on Billboard Hot Singles Sales chart, the week of Sept 1, 2007.

McPhee toured with Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, and performed duets, “Somos Novios” and “The Prayer” in three of his concerts during his tour in the United States from June 9 through June 11, 2006. She and Bocelli also performed and recorded duets, “Somos Novios” on the JC Penney Jam album and “Can’t Help Falling in Love” on Bocelli’s Under the Desert Sky album.

In June 2006, McPhee revealed to People magazine that she previously suffered from bulimia. After a period of about five years, she began treatment after qualifying for American Idol. During her run on American Idol, she lost 30 lbs.

McPhee missed the start of the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2006, due to severe bronchitis and laryngitis. McPhee commented on her illness in a public interview, saying “I just have to sing easily so I can get through the tour… I bruised [my vocal cords] because I was doing so much coughing”.

McPhee eventually joined the tour on July 28, in Washington, D.C. just in time for all ten finalists to visit the White House to meet President George W. Bush. The day prior to returning to the Idol’s tour, McPhee was a guest co-host on The View.

On July 21, 2006, Broadway World announced that McPhee is co-producing Michael Albanese’s play Red Herring along with Robert Hawk, Angelina Bruno, and Jeff Kasal. McPhee was quoted in the promo as describing a desire to become involved in theatre, stating that although “audiences know me best from American Idol… my passion has always been theatre.” The play will be a part of the 10th Annual New York International Fringe Festival.

McPhee and her sister appeared on debut of The Dr. Keith Ablow Show on September 18, 2006 to discuss her struggles with an eating disorder, bulimia, and her childhood fear of her father. On the show, McPhee stated that she was thought to have a learning disability during her middle school years but was finally diagnosed with a vision problem.

In October 2006, McPhee dedicated a performance of Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing” during the Carousel of Hope Ball which Whitney attended.

On November 22, 2007, McPhee sang the National Anthem before a national audience in Detroit before the Thanksgiving Day NFL game between the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions.

McPhee was named one of the 100 Most Beautiful People of 2007 by People Magazine. She was voted #2 on FHM’s 100 Sexiest Women in The World of 2007. Katharine was also #47 on Maxim’s Hot 100 Women of 2007. A People Magazine report, which emerged unconfirmed in November 2007, said McPhee was engaged to marry boyfriend Nick Cokas.

On December 3, 2007, McPhee and her mother Peisha McPhee performed ‘Silent Night’ at the Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony in Sacramento, California. On January 3, 2008, McPhee sang the National Anthem before a national audience in Miami, FL at the FedEx Orange Bowl game between the Virginia Tech Hokies and the Kansas Jayhawks.

On February 2, 2008, McPhee married boyfriend Nick Cokas in a Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church with a gospel choir. There were about 300 guest in attendence. Including I Know What Boys Like costar Rumer Willis.

McPhee’s self-titled debut album sold 116,000 copies its first week, debuting at #2 on the Billboard 200 chart. The first single from the album was the Top 30 hit, “Over It”.

“Over It”’s music video hit #1 on both TRL’s and VH1’s Top 20 countdown. “Over It” debuted at #1 on the VH1 top 20 countdown, and maintained the top position for three consecutive weeks. The song’s video also hit #1 on MTV Asia’s Pop 10 Chart for 12 consecutive weeks.

“Love Story” was the second single and music video from McPhee’s album. The video hit #1 on MTV Asia and stayed there for 5 consecutive weeks. It has peaked at #5 on TRL.

“Love Story”, “Not Ur Girl”, “Open Toes”, “Neglected”, “Each Other”, and “Home” were written by BMI’s Pop Songwriter of the Year, Kara DioGuardi. During a concert tribute for Neil Sedaka at the Lincoln Center in New York City on October 26, 2007, Grammy award winning producer/songwriter, David Foster, announced that he and Katharine McPhee will be doing an album together.

As of January 11, 2008, it has been reported by Billboard.com that McPhee has parted ways with RCA Records label. Direct from a BMG spokesperson: “Katharine McPhee has moved on to support her other entertainment activities.” a rep for RCA Records confirms that McPhee is no longer on the label’s roster, adding that, “Katharine is going to record her next album on her own.” McPhee’s self-titled debut charted at a promising No. 2 in February 2007, but it never reached gold status. Katharine McPhee is looking for new ways to make money now that she’s been dropped by her record label.

A magazine insider tells the ex-“American Idol” contender has been trying to sell photos from her upcoming February marriage to Nick Cokas and was looking for the immodest sum of $60,000.

American Idol star Katharine McPhee has married actor Nick Cokas in a lavish ceremony in Los Angeles. The 23-year-old singer-turned-actress has been dating Cokas–who is 19 years her senior–for over a year after they met on the set of a theater production.

And the couple, who got engaged last year, finally wed at Beverly Hills Presbyterian Church on Saturday, according to People.com.  McPhee wore a strapless ivory Manuel Mota gown to walk down the aisle at the ceremony, which was attended by 305 guests, including fellow American Idol contestants Kellie Pickler and Mandisa.

Stallone back in action with 2-film deal

Posted in Actors, Films and Movies, News on Feb 5th, 2008 | 0 comments

Sylvester Stallone as John Rambo in Lionsgate Films' Rambo - 2008Boxoffice comeback champ Sylvester Stallone has inked a lucrative deal to direct and star in two action films with “Rambo” producers Danny Dimbort,

Several scripts are being considered for follow-ups to his surprise hit sequels to “First Blood” and “Rocky.” With Nu Image/Millennium’s new Writers Guild of America interim deal speeding up the process, the first script is expected to be ready by the fall, with production set to begin shortly thereafter.

“The past year and a half of working with Avi, his partners Danny and Trevor and his film family has been nothing but a high point for me and my career and an extremely rewarding experience,” Stallone said. “Avi is a real gentleman and a man of his word.”

Stallone will produce the films with Kevin King-Templeton and Lerner. Dimbort, Short and Boaz Davidson will serve as executive producers.

It’s a deal few would have expected just a few years ago, when Stallone followed up his role in “Spy Kids 3D: Game Over” with a failed network boxing reality TV series, “The Contender.” But in 2006, Stallone wrote, directed and starred in “Rocky Balboa,” the sixth “Rocky” film, 16 years after the previous sequel in the franchise. The MGM release grossed $70 million on an estimated $24 million budget.

The second part of Stallone’s one-two punch came with the current release “Rambo,” which he also stars in, wrote and directed. The film, distributed by Lionsgate, made $18.2 million in its opening weekend and earned an estimated $25 million in its first 10 days of release.

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