Dayanara Torres

Dayanara Torres Biography

Dayanara Torres Delgado (born on October 28, 1974 in San Juan, Puerto Rico) is a Puerto Rican actress, singer, model and former Miss Universe.

At age 17, Torres was approached while walking through the Plaza de Toa Alta in her hometown and was subsequently invited to represent Toa Alta in the annual Miss Puerto Rico Pageant. She won the pageant and the rights to represent Puerto Rico at the 1993 Miss Universe pageant. Previously in 1992, she had participated in the Miss International pageant, where she placed among the semi-finalists, and placed second in the Queen of the World contest.

The Miss Universe pageant was held in Mexico City in May 21, 1993 and Torres won the crown. Torres's victory in the pageant caused some controversy because it was claimed she was still a minor. However, Torres had turned 18 several months before the contest. Her victory also raised some eyebrows as she won neither the preliminary round nor the semifinals. Torres anara was received in Puerto Rico with a massive parade.

During and after her reign, she became an ambassador of UNICEF, traveling through Asia and Latin America in support of the organization. She even created the Dayanara Torres Foundation which provided scholarships to poor students in Puerto Rico and the Philippines. In 1994 she went to Manila to crown the new Miss Universe. During the ceremony, she sang "A Whole New World" as a duet with Peabo Bryson.

After the 1994 Miss Universe pageant, Dayanara Torresreceived offers to endorse products, appear on television programs, and act in movies. She lived in the Philippines for five years, becoming a celebrity in the country. She also appeared in more than 10 movies, including a film with Filipino actor and singer Gary Valenciano called "Hataw Na." During that time, she also filmed Linda Sara, a Puerto Rican film directed by Jacobo Morales where she was paired with fellow Puerto Rican singer, Chayanne. The film was released in 1994. She also became a staple figure on Philippine television every Sunday on the show "ASAP", which gave her the title "Dancing Queen" because of her impressive dancing skills.

During her time in the Philippines, she had a relationship with Filipino superstar actor Aga Muhlach. (Muhlach is now married to Charlene Gonzalez, Miss Philippines-Universe 1994.) Torres and Aga first met each other on the set of her first Philippine movie, Basta't Kasama Kita (As Long As I'm With You). Their relationship lasted four years. She also learned Tagalog, the main language of the country.

She returned to Puerto Rico in 1998 and released her first album (and only one, as of now) called Antifaz. It reached the top of the Billboard charts through Latin America and the Philippines. She also starred in several theater productions in the island. That same year, a "Dayanara" doll was released and sold out in the island and in the Philippines.

Dayanara Torres married singer Marc Anthony on 9 May 2000 in Las Vegas. They have two sons, Christian Anthony Muñiz (5 February 2001) and Ryan Anthony Muñiz (16 August 2003). It was a rocky marriage,and they separated in summer 2002. They later reconciled and renewed their vows in a spectacular ceremony held in Puerto Rico in December of 2002. In 2003, a Miami waitress filed paternity charges against Anthony; multiple DNA-tests, the last in August 2004, disproved her claims. The couple's final separation was in October 2003. Torres filed for divorce in January 2004.

As the divorce proceeded, Anthony was seen out with actress-singer Jennifer Lopez, a long-time friend he had worked with in music videos. They had briefly dated in the late '90s, before his first marriage and her second one. Lopez and Anthony were recording a duet together in early 2004, for Lopez's then-upcoming film Shall We Dance? Lopez and Anthony married in a quiet home wedding on June 5, 2004, less than a week after his divorce from Torres was finalized on June 1. The media, however, was tipped off that morning of the wedding, and circled Lopez's backyard in helicopters. Photographs, alerting the rest of the world, soon followed. Reports fueled rumors that Lopez was pregnant but this was not the case.

On September 1 of 2005, she debuted in an American soap opera, playing a small role in The Young and The Restless. The programs producers expressed an interest in future appearances, though Torres, to date, has not reappeared on the program.

On March 6, 2006, Dayanara Torres had emergency surgery in New York, to correct an intestinal obstruction that was detected after she had felt pain during a flight from Los Angeles the day before.

Daryn Kagan

Daryn Kagan

Daryn Kagan Biography

Kagan grew up in Beverly Hills. She is a 1981 graduate of Beverly Hills High School and a 1985 graduate of Stanford University, where she double majored in American Studies and Communication.

After graduating from Stanford, Kagan sent out hundreds of demo tapes. Kagan was hired for an on-air job at a Santa Barbara television station, KEYT-TV. Kagan's next move was to a general assignment reporting position at KTVK in Phoenix. Wanting to do something other than report typical local news stories each week day, she took on additional duties reporting sports news during the weekend.

After KTVK did not renew Kagan's contract , Jim Walton, the head of CNN/SI, hired Kagan as an anchor and a news reporter. She went on to cover events including the Super Bowl, the NBA Playoffs, and international figure skating championships. Kagan was later hired by CNN's news division and as a news anchor and a reporter. She served as host of People in the News when that show debuted.

Since becoming a CNN news anchor, Kagan reported on presidential and mid-term elections. She reported on-site from the Middle East during the second Gulf War and the Washington, D.C. sniper attack investigation. Kagan traveled to Africa with musician Bono where she reported on AIDS and famine for all of the CNN networks. While in Africa, Kagan maintained a daily blog on CNN.com of her reports and experiences. Additionally, she reported live, from the red carpet, of several Academy Award ceremonies and from the Monterey Jazz Festival.

Kagan is one of a handful of national news anchors who was on the air live during the terrorist attacks on the morning of September 11, 2001. She reported throughout that day and, in later days, covered the unfolding story from CNN headquarters in Atlanta and from the network's Washington, D.C. bureau.

Daryn Kagan's site serves as the base of a company that provides hopeful and inspirational news content for various media . Kagan has hosted a PBS documentary called Breaking the Curse that tells the story of an American woman who has changed the lives of thousands of leprosy victims in India. The documentary began airing in June 2007 . Kagan has also signed an agreement with Meredith Books to write a book of inspirational true stories called What’s Possible! Creating Possibilities Beyond Life’s Five Biggest Obstacles. The book will be released in spring of 2008 .

Kagan is Jewish. Her great-grandfather was a Russian immigrant named Eiser Cohen who came to the United States through Ellis Island. Cohen settled in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her grandfather, Jack Kagan, later moved to the Los Angeles area. Her mother, Phyllis Kagan, is a breast cancer survivor who has appeared on CNN discussing the disease. Kagan has a younger sister named Kallan Kagan, the co-owner of a Brooklyn coffee shop, and an older brother named Mark Kagan.

Daryn Kagan is an athlete. She was on her high school track team and remains an avid runner. Kagan has driven in the annual Toyota Pro/Celebrity Race.

As a former sports reporter, Kagan retains a strong interest in professional sports. She has been on ESPN sports radio providing her insight. Kagan has denied that she is a NASCAR "junkie" though she says she can chat as "a casual gearhead".

In September 2004, Kagan became romantically involved with radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh. During his October 6, 2005, show, Limbaugh mentioned he received an email message from his "mistress in Georgia" that praised a speech by George W. Bush. CNN subsequently denied Kagan made the statements attributed by Limbaugh to his "mistress in Georgia." Kagan and Limbaugh broke up in February 2006.

Kagan has adopted two three-legged cats, Tripod (whom she has had for 14 years ) and I-Lean, and a dog, Darla Louise, from rescue shelters.

Danielle Overgaag

Danielle Overgaag Biography

Amsterdam's Danielle Overgaag has a BA in Management & Organization and is the host of "StudioSport". She was born in Gravenzande and resides in Amerstam. Her favorite things are working, travelling, and her dog Boey. Her favorite movie is Dumb and Dumber and she currently works on Amsterdam television.

Daria Werbowy

Daria Werbowy Biography
Daria Werbowy is a popular Canadian model of Ukrainian descent. Although born in Poland, Werbowy holds Ukrainian citizenship. When she was three years old, Werbowy's Ukrainian parents moved to Mississauga, a suburb west of Toronto, Canada. At age fourteen, Werbowy was 5'11", willowy and sporting braces. She attended Cawthra Park Secondary School. She was once romantically linked to actor Josh Hartnett.

Daria Werbowy had never seriously considered modeling, but found herself launched into the business after meeting a schoolmate's mother who headed Toronto's Susan J.Model & Talent Management. At age 14, Werbowy won a national modelling contest, but after a year of working with Susan J. Model & Talent, however, Werbowy thought she could be doing more with another agency and left.

After switching over to Elite Models, Werbowy began landing several prominent bookings in Canada but still had not achieved much international success. When Elite Canada's head scout, Elmer Olsen, started his own agency Werbowy followed and her career began to flourish. Within a few years, and under the guidance of International Management Group (IMG), Werbowy had gained a foothold on the international modelling stage. Daria plans to quit the industry when she turns 25, to become a professional painter, or to open her own gallery, back home in Mississauga, Ontario.

Though she relinquished the world's No.1 runway model status to new "it girls", Werbowy holds the record for opening and closing the most shows in one season. To date, Werbowy's clients have included Lancôme, Prada, Yves Saint-Laurent, Roberto Cavalli, Gucci, Hermès, Valentino, David Yurman, Missoni, Versace, Louis Vuitton and Chanel, altogether she has posed on 21 covers of Vogue (magazine). In her first season, Fall/Winter 2003, Werbowy captured two of the modeling worlds most coveted assignments: the cover of Vogue Italia, thrice (in July, August and October); and Prada's Fall/Winter ad campaign.

In July 2007, Forbes listed Werbowy as the ninth highest-earning model in the world after Karolina Kurkova, Natalia Vodianova, Carolyn Murphy, Alessandra Ambrosio, Adriana Lima, Heidi Klum, Kate Moss and Gisele Bundchen. Her earnings between June 2006 and June 2007 were in the order of $3.5 million.

Danielle Lloyd

Danielle Lloyd (born 16 December 1983, Liverpool) is an English lingerie and glamour model, and former Miss England (2004).

She was stripped of her title of Miss Great Britain 2006 after posing for nude pictures featured in the December 2006 of Playboy magazine, and her tabloid-alleged affair with one of the judges, her footballer boyfriend at that time Teddy Sheringham. As a participant in the 2007 series of Celebrity Big Brother, Lloyd, along with others, was accused of using bullying tactics and making racist comments directed against the Indian actress Shilpa Shetty. According to reports from the tabloid News of the World, Sheringham has decided to end his relationship with Lloyd as a result of her appearance on Celebrity Big Brother.

Danielle Lloyd was born in Penny Lane, Liverpool in 1983. Her parents, Jackie and Arthur Lloyd, work as a bank manager and an engineer, respectively. At the age of 3 months, Lloyd contracted whooping cough, resulting in damage to her lungs. This led to her developing asthma.

The headmaster of Lloyd's old school, St Hilda’s, Chris Yates said: "There’s no recollection of her ever being persecuted and no teacher can ever recall any incidents where Danielle was bullied. In fact I’ve been lead to believe by her former friends that the opposite is true."

On November 2, 2006, she was stripped of her title “following recent claims in the press and magazines and the publicity given on the Playboy Web site for their next issue", according to the MissGreat Britain website. The claim they were referring to was that Lloyd had been dating Teddy Sheringham, who was one of the judges of the pageant, for more than two months before her victory. This was reported by the media after she allegedly said in an interview that Sheringham bought her a pair of shoes for Christmas. Lloyd continues to claim that the relationship started after the pageant, and that the interview was made up. She attributes her topless shoot for the December 2006 issue of Playboy as the primary reason for the loss of her title.

On 11 January 2007 it was revealed that Lloyd was being sued by the Miss Great Britain company for breaking her contract and bringing the company into disrepute. The company is asking for full revelation of the sums she earned for the Playboy pictures, plus costs.

Lloyd made a memorable appearance on BBC One's Test the Nation. When asked "Who was Winston Churchill - a rapper, US President, the PM or King?", Lloyd answered "Wasn't he the first black president of America? There's a statue of him near me - that's black."

Lloyd has recently appeared in FHM and Maxim magazines and before the Big Brother racism row wrote a column for celebrityspotlight.co.uk.

Lloyd was the second housemate to enter the Big Brother House, and had amongst her possessions a blue teddy bear doused in Sheringham's aftershave.

Lloyd garnered significant negative publicity when thousands of complaints were filed with Ofcom after she, Jade Goody and Jo O'Meara, dubbed "The Witches (or Bitches) of Elstree" were accused of bullying and making racist remarks towards their fellow house mate, Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty.

This behaviour also created an international outcry gaining heavy coverage in the Indian media. Gordon Brown, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer visiting India at the time, condemned the programme on the grounds that he is against anything which might damage the perception that the United Kingdom is a country of tolerance. In a statement on January 17 Channel 4 defended the programme against charges "of overt racism or racial abuse".

Lloyd's aunt directly accused her of racism, adding "It was disgusting the way Danielle treated Shilpa. I'm surprised Big Brother didn't throw her out of the house."

A newspaper interview made before Celebrity Big Brother, from November 2006, revealed Lloyd's anti-immigration views: "If I was (a politician), I'd get more people into work and stop people coming into the country. There's so many people who come into England because they know they can get benefits. People who already live here should get the jobs".

Lloyd’s mother said in the News of the World that her family has been “destroyed” by the racist row: "Danielle is at the start of her career and facing ruin because of a TV show that she thought was going to be entertaining and fun. Everything's been taken away from her as well. It has destroyed the family. I'm regretting she went in. Danielle has got a lot of questions to answer when she gets out." She denied her daughter was a racist, claiming: "She will be distraught but she's got to take responsibility. She's been stupid and naive and she's guilty of that (but) I know she didn't mean any racial connotations when she told Shilpa to go home. Danielle's been brought up amongst family friends of all different races. I swear she isn't racist."

Danielle has agreed in an attempt to revive her popularity to go on a 'date' with a competition winner. The Daily Star in promoting the article discusses how she wears 'plunging vest top and miniskirt.' when on a date and will willingly attend at any public house of the entrant's choice.

Danielle Lloyd helped open a mobile phone safety campaign after her own mobile was stolen in a Liverpool club. The Keep It Safe & Secure campaign, backed by the National Mobile Phone Crime Unit encourages mobile users to take greater safety precautions when using their phone.

Deni Hines

Deni Hines Biography

Dohnyale "Deni" Sharon Hines (born September 4, 1970 in Sydney, Australia) is an Australian R&B singer, and is the daughter of singer Marcia Hines.

Hines released her first single with the Australian band Rockmelons with the a cover version of the Bill Withers 1971 hit "Ain't No Sunshine". She then went to release solo material with the top ten single "It's Alright" and the top twenty album Imagination (1996) which clocked in sales over 2.5 million copies worldwide. Her latest album is titled Water for Chocolate which was released on August 19, 2006 and features the singles "Water for Chocolate", "Son of a Preacher Man" and "5 Days of Rain".

Deni Hines grew up in Australia and was inspired by her mother's success as a singer to follow a career in show business. She was discovered by a friend when she was singing to the radio and then was encouraged to pursue singing as a career. Her earliest employment was as a backing vocalist for such artists as Kylie Minogue (her Rhythm of Love Tour, Australia and Far East 1991), Jimmy Barnes, Wa Wa Nee and Peter Blakeley before she was approached by the band Rockmelons to provide vocals for several of their songs. The first song that Hines released with the Rockmelons collaboration was a cover version of the Bill Withers 70's hit "Ain't No Sunshine" in 1991. The song proved to be a success charting at number five on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart. With the success of the first single, the reggae-inspired "That Word (L.O.V.E.)" was the second song released with the collaboration and became another top five single, charting at number four in Australia. The third and final song Hines released with the band was the ballad "It's Not Over". The song was also a success but was not as big as the previous two, charting at number fifteen in Australia. With the success with the Rockmelons, Hines became one of the most well known faces, and voices, in Australia.

After three hit singles with the Rockmelons, Hines was signed to Mushroom Records and released her first solo single "It's Alright" in 1995. It was a contemporary dance track that contrasted sharply with her earlier Rockmelons performances, and it became one of the year's biggest hits in Australia charting at number four on the Australian ARIA Singles Charts and winning an ARIA Award award for "Breakthrough Artist - Single". "Imagination", the second song released solo by Hines was released at the beginning of 1996 and was not as successful as "It's Alright" only peaking at number thirty-seven. With two songs released from the album, Hines released her debut album Imagination on May 25, 1996 and became a hit, charting at number fifteen on the Australia ARIA Albums Chart and was nominated for two ARIA Awards; "Breakthrough Artist - Album" and "Best Female Artist". "I Like the Way" and "I'm Not in Love" (a cover version of a 10cc' song) were the album's third and fourth singles but both failed to chart in to top fifty in Australia. Even though "I'm Not in Love" failed to make an impact on the charts, it nominated Hines for two ARIA Awards for "Best Pop Release" and "Best Female Artist". Imagination was also released in Japan on July 24, 1996 and had sales of 300,000 copies, making the total sales of 2.5 million worldwide.

In order to properly promote her album properly, Hines moved to the UK in 1997 and re-issued her album under the title Pay Attention and toured withLighthouse Family and Earth, Wind & Fire. "It's Alright" was released in the United Kingdom in 1997 and was received well peaking at number thirty-five on the singles chart. The track also managed to peak at number twenty-two in France. Further hits such as "I Like the Way", "Joy" and "Delicious" followed, however, her career quickly lost its impetus after her album Pay Attention failed to impact the charts. In 1998, Hines cracked the U.S. market on the dance charts with "Joy" and "I Like the Way" both peaking in the top twenty of the U.S. Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play charts. Hines released an album of remixed songs from her Imagination and Pay Attention albums on July 14, 1998, titled Remix Your Imagination. This album failed to break into any charts around the world but the song "Dream Your Dream" from the album managed to chart in Japan.

In 2000, Hines did a cover version of the Grace Jones song "Pull Up to the Bumper" for the soundtrack for 2000 Australian film The Wog Boy. 2002 saw Hines released a "Greatest Hits" album ("A Delicious Collection") based on contractual commitments with her then record company Festival Mushroom. In 2003 she spent time in France working with Hip Hop artist I:AM writing and recording for his album in addition to co-writing a track "Welcome" of which Beyonce Knowles vocalled for I:AM's release.

Devon Aoki

Aoki was born in New York City and grew up in California, attending The American School in London in Westminster. Her Japanese American father, Rocky Aoki, a former Olympic wrestler, is the owner and founder of the Benihana restaurant chain. Her mother, Pamela Hilburger, is a jewelery designer of English and German heritage. Her brother, Steve Aoki, is a well-known Los Angeles, California DJ, and is the founder of the Dim Mak Records. Devon also has a sister and half brother Cole Price.

Aoki was discovered in New York at a Rancid concert she had gatecrashed. She started modeling when she was 13, the same year Aoki was introduced to supermodel Kate Moss by her godmother who would later take the young Devon under her wing. It wasn't much later that Devon signed onto Storm Model Management at the tender age of 14. In 1998, Devon replaced Naomi Campbell as the face of Versace.

Aoki has told: "And then I guess from being in New York, I did this photograph for Interview Magazine called "Lovely Rita." My agency says that Kate Moss brought the picture in and told them that they should, you know, sign me. And then it happened, and then in my early career we did a lot of jobs together. She was a big help to me when I first started".

She has modeled for the fashion houses Lancôme, Chanel, and Versace. Aoki is 5 ft 6 in (168cm, according to celebheights.com) — an almost unheard of height for runway models, who are usually at least 5 ft 8 in tall. She has done ad campaigns for: Chanel Couture by Karl Lagerfeld, Versace Atelier by Steven Meisel, Junko Shimada by Bettina Kimenda and Baby Phat by Kimora Lee Simmons

Early on in her career Aoki made cameo appearances in several music videos, including Duran Duran's "Electric Barbarella", Primal Scream's "Kowalski" (With Kate Moss), Elton John's "Something About The Way You Look Tonight", Ginuwine's "In Those Jeans" video and, later, in Ludacris's "Act a Fool". Music from this video was featured in the soundtrack of 2 Fast 2 Furious, which Ludacris and Aoki both appeared in. In 2006, she made an appearance in The Killers's video "Bones". Aoki has also made a cameo appearance in the short films accompanying the new Sean Lennon album, Friendly Fire.

Her acting career includes films like 2 Fast 2 Furious, D.E.B.S., Sin City, Dead or Alive and War. She did not have her driver's license prior to filming 2 Fast 2 Furious and had to learn to drive during filming. Aoki got a part in a film called The Mutant Chronicles, directed by Simon Hunter and starring Thomas Jane, John Malkovich, Ron Perlman and others, will reportedly be released in 2008. The story is set 400 years into the future (23rd or 24th century). The movie is described as a futuristic Saving Private Ryan set in a world where nearly everything is powered by steam.

She has joined L.A.'s International Creative Management for representation and The Firm for management (which manages the likes of Jennifer Lopez and Adrien Brody). Aoki plans on launching her own clothing line, and has signed on to New York entrepreneur Richie Akiva's record label, where she will cut her own album.

In May 2007, Aoki posed for photographer Marc Baptiste’s book Nudes, however she has stated that she was wearing a dress.

It's funny. People have been saying that, and I saw the book. I'm the only person in the book who is wearing clothes. I'm wearing a dress. I'm like 'why am I in this book?' because it's nudes and I'm not nude at all. I'm wearing a dress. I don't think I knew it was for a nude book, because I was wearing clothes and that doesn't work with the whole concept. I had shot with that photographer and he probably wanted to use the pictures and I'm sure my management OK'd the pictures because I was clothed, so that is not actually true.

She has appeared in many magazine covers , books and articles. Aoki has appeared in The Cobrasnake website's party photos among other celebrities.

In September 2007, it was announced she was designing jeans line for Levi's. "One of the coolest designs is an adjustable zip waist you can tighten with an elegant clasp closure," she told to reporters.

Aoki lives on her own, and keeps her personal life private. But she is often seen alongside major hip-hop and Hollywood men at high-profile social functions and movie premieres. She used to date Lenny Kravitz and Rick Salomon (also known from Paris Hilton's sex tape).