Keanu Reeves

Date of Birth

2 September 1964, Beirut, Lebanon

Birth Name

Keanu Charles Reeves

Nickname

The Wall (due to his position in ice hockey)

The One

Height

6' 1¼" (1.86 m)

Mini Biography

One of the most inscrutable actors to ever hit it big, Keanu Reeves has been by turns adored, reviled, and grudgingly respected by the movie-going public. As the controversy over his talent rages on, his career choices and paychecks show him inching toward A-list status. Reeves, whose first name means "cool breeze over the mountains" in Hawaiian, was born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1964. His mother, Patricia, was a showgirl; his father, Samuel Nowlin Reeves, a geologist. After their marriage dissolved, Keanu moved with his mother and younger sister Kim to New York City, then Toronto. Stepfather #1 was Paul Aaron, a stage and film director - he and Patricia divorced within a year, after which she went on to marry (and divorce) rock promoter Robert Miller and hair salon owner Jack Bond. Reeves never reconnected with his biological father, who is now in prison on charges of cocaine possession. In high school, Reeves was lukewarm toward academics but took a keen interest in ice hockey (as team goalie, he earned the nickname "The Wall") and drama. He eventually dropped out of school to pursue an acting career.

After a few stage gigs and a handful of made-for-TV movies, he scored a supporting role in the Rob Lowe hockey flick Youngblood (1986), which was filmed in Canada. Shortly after the production wrapped, Reeves packed his bags and headed for Hollywood. Reeves popped up on critics' radar with his performance in the dark adolescent drama River's Edge (1986), but his first popular success was the role of totally rad dude Ted Logan in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989). The wacky time-travel movie became something of a cultural phenomenon, and audiences would forever confuse Reeves's real-life persona with that of his doofy on-screen counterpart. Over the next few years, Reeves tried to shake the Ted stigma with a series of highbrow projects. He played a slumming rich boy opposite River Phoenix's narcoleptic male hustler in My Own Private Idaho (1991), an unlucky lawyer who stumbles into the vampire's lair in Dracula (1992), and Shakespearean party-pooper Don Jon in Much Ado About Nothing (1993).

In 1994, the understated actor became a big-budget action star with the release of Speed (1994/I). Its success heralded an era of five years in which Reeves would alternate between largely unwatched small films, like Feeling Minnesota (1996) and The Last Time I Committed Suicide (1997), and unwatched big films like Johnny Mnemonic (1995) and Chain Reaction (1996). After all this Reeves did the unthinkable and passed on the Speed sequel, but he struck box-office gold again a few years later with the Wachowski brothers' cyberadventure The Matrix (1999). Despite his deadpan delivery style and reputation as an oaf, Reeves continues to reel in choice roles and fat paychecks. Whatever he knows, he's not telling the public--his self-deprecating interview tactics and mysterious private life provide little insight into his artistry. As far as Reeves is concerned, it seems, he's just a regular guy who rides a motorcycle, plays in a band (Dogstar), and shows up every now and then for a movie shoot.

Nicole Kidman

Nicole Kidman won 2003 Academy Award® for Best Actress for her role as Virginia Woolf in THE HOURS. Kidman’s riveting performance also earned her the Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama, the BAFTA Award for Best Actress and the Berlin Film Festival Silver Bear Award for Best Actress.

Born in Hawaii and raised in Australia, Kidman studied ballet as a young child and enrolled in drama school at the age of 10. She made her professional debut in the Australian film BUSH CHRISTMAS at the age of 14, but it was her role three years later in the mini-series “Vietnam” that made her a virtual overnight star in Australia. Her subsequent portrayal of a terrorized wife in the 1989 psychological thriller, DEAD CALM, directed by Phil Noyce, brought her international critical acclaim.

Kidman’s range and versatility have won her a reputation for daring performances including, in one year, her role in MOULIN ROUGE for director Baz Luhrman and in THE OTHERS for Alejandro Amenabar. Among other honors, these earned her dual 2002 Golden Globe Nominations as Best Actress in a Musical and Best Actress in a Drama. She won the Golden Globe for her performance in MOULIN ROUGE.

Kidman’s true breakout role was ‘Suzanne Stone,’ a woman obsessed with becoming a TV personality, in Gus Van Sant’s widely acclaimed black comedy TO DIE FOR, for which she won her first Golden Globe as Best Actress in 1995. In 1996, Kidman starred in Jane Campion’s adaptation of Henry James’ PORTRAIT OF A LADY, and in 2003 she teamed creatively with Campion, this time as a producer on IN THE CUT, which starred Meg Ryan. Kidman has given notable performances in such films as Stanley Kubrick’s EYES WIDE SHUT, Jez Butterworth’s black comedy BIRTHDAY GIRL, and director Robert Benton’s screen adaptation of Philip Roth’s THE HUMAN STAIN. Other credits include THE PEACEMAKER, PRACTICAL MAGIC, DAYS OF THUNDER, BILLY BATHGATE, MALICE, MY LIFE, FAR AND AWAY and BATMAN FOREVER. Kidman made a highly lauded London stage debut in 1998, starring in David Hare’s “The Blue Room,” and moved to New York with the production for a sold-out five-month run on Broadway.

A recipient of the 2003 American Cinematheque Award for excellence in film, Kidman was recently seen in Lars von Trier’s DOGVILLE, and co-starred with Jude Law and Renée Zellweger in Anthony Minghella’s COLD MOUNTAIN, for which she received both a Golden Globe and Critic’s Choice nomination as Best Actress. Kidman recently completed filming THE INTERPRETER for director/producer Sydney Pollack.

Aaliyah

Aaliyah Dana Haughton (January 16, 1979 – August 25, 2001), stage name Aaliyah, was an American R&B singer, dancer, fashion model and actress. Notable for recording several hit records, including three #1 R&B hits ("Back and Forth", "If Your Girl Only Knew", and "Miss You") and one #1 pop hit ("Try Again"), Aaliyah also collaborated with record producers and songwriters R. Kelly, Missy Elliott, Timbaland, and Static during her career, and also modelled for Tommy Hilfiger and acted in two motion pictures. In 2001, Aaliyah's career was cut tragically short when she died in a plane crash at the age of 22.

Aaliyah was born in Brooklyn, New York and grew up in Detroit, Michigan. Aaliyah signed with her uncle Barry Hankerson's Blackground label in 1993 and released her debut album, Age Ain't Nothing but a Number, in 1994. The album reached platinum status and featured the Gold-selling singles "Back and Forth", "Age Ain't Nothing but a Number" and "At Your Best (You Are Love)," a cover of the 1976 Isley Brothers single.

It was briefly rumored that in 1994, when she was 15, she was married to R&B singer/songwriter R. Kelly, the producer of Age Ain't Nothing but a Number. VIBE magazine in 1995 published a copy of their marriage certificate and claimed Aaliyah had falsified her age as 18 so she and Kelly could be married. Both parties had the marriage quickly annulled when the press found out about the union. R. Kelly did not work on any of Aaliyah's future recordings.

One in a Million (1996)
One in a Million, Aaliyah's second album, was chiefly written and produced by then unknowns Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott and Tim "Timbaland" Mosley and released on August 27, 1996. The album eventually went triple platinum, making Aaliyah a major R&B star and igniting the successful careers of Elliott and Timbaland. One in a Million featured the international smash hit "If Your Girl Only Knew," the platinum single "One in a Million," and the gold single "The One I Gave My Heart To," a ballad written by Diane Warren. Other singles from the album included "Got To Give It Up," "4 Page Letter," and "Hot like Fire". Tommy Hilfiger took notice of Aaliyah's "street but sweet" image and immediately signed Aaliyah onto print campaigns, runway shows, and a commercial. During this period, Aaliyah would also make guest appearances on albums by artists such as Missy Elliott, Timbaland & Magoo, Ginuwine and Playa, and Elliott, Timbaland and Playa's frontman Steve "Static" Garrett would remain Aaliyah's principal collaborators for the duration of her career.

Movie roles and soundtracks
In 1997, Aaliyah appeared on the soundtrack album for the 1997 Fox Animation Studios animated feature Anastasia, singing the pop version of "Journey to the Past". The song was nominated for an Academy Award, and Aaliyah performed the song at the 1997 Academy Awards ceremony, becoming the first and youngest African-American female recording artist to perform at the yearly ceremony.

Aaliyah had a huge hit in 1998 with "Are You that Somebody," the main single from the Doctor Doolittle soundtrack. Its video was the third most played on MTV that year, and the song's success began to make Aaliyah a household name.

In 2000, she co-starred with Jet Li in the martial-arts film Romeo Must Die. The film was notable for its mainstream success when featuring Asian and African American characters in the lead roles with few white Americans in the cast. Aaliyah contributed four songs to the film's soundtrack album, including "Back in One Piece," a duet with DMX (who has a minor role in Romeo Must Die), and the international smash "Try Again." "Try Again" was the first song ever to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100 based solely on the strength of its radio airplay, without any single sales factored (a 12" maxi single was released for consumer purchase, but only after the song had peaked).

In 2002, she was showcased in her final role as Akasha in the film adaptation of the Anne Rice novel The Queen of the Damned.

Prior to Aaliyah's death, she was attached to several movie projects such as the remake of "Sparkle," a film in which Whitney Houston's company was to be producing, "Some Kind of Blue," both 2 and 3 of the Matrix sequals, "Honey," and 3 other films.


Aaliyah (2001)
" We Need a Resolution," the first single from Aaliyah's self-titled, double-platinum third album, was released in spring of 2001. The album was a critical success, and the video for "We Need a Resolution" received heavy MTV2 play. Most of Aaliyah was recorded in Australia, as the singer was filming scenes for Queen of the Damned, released by Warner Bros. in 2002. The album debuted at #2 on the Billboard charts, and before her death, the album had already sold Gold (500,000 copies).

In the summer of 2001, Aaliyah filmed the video for Aaliyah's intended second single, "More than a Woman". After the video was completed, however, it was decided "Rock the Boat" should be the second single instead, and the "More than a Woman" video was temporarily shelved.

" Rock The Boat" video shoot
Aaliyah traveled to the Bahamas in August 2001 to film the "Rock the Boat" video with director Hype Williams. After filming was completed, Aaliyah and her entourage boarded a small airplane, which was to take them to Miami, Florida. The plane took off but quickly descended and crashed in the forest. All nine people aboard, including Aaliyah, the pilot and the other seven passengers, were killed in the crash. Some died immediately; some later, in the hospital. Investigators determined the plane was overloaded by several hundred pounds, and an autopsy revealed cocaine and alcohol in the pilot's blood. Reports have also suggested the pilot of the plane falsely obtained his licence from Black Hawk Airways by showing hundreds of hours never flown, which suggests he was not qualified to pilot the plane in the first place.

Legacy
Aaliyah's death affected her family, friends, fans and the entertainment industry as a whole. At the time of her death, Aaliyah had been dating Roc-a-Fella Records CEO Damon Dash, who grieved publicly over her passing. Friends such as Missy Elliott and Timbaland praised Aaliyah as an inspirational and talented individual. "Rock the Boat" went on to become a posthumous hit on radio and video channels, and the news of Aaliyah's death gave her album a notable sales boost, pushing it to #1 on The Billboard 200. The album's two subsequent singles, "More than A Woman" and "I Care 4 U," were also hits, the latter attaining success even without the promotional push of a music video.

In 2002, a posthumous greatest hits collection, I Care 4 You, was released in Aaliyah's name. In addition to well-known hits, it also included six previously unreleased songs from the Blackground vaults Aaliyah had recorded over the course of her career, including "Miss You," which became the album's lead single. Its video features Missy Elliott, Lil Kim, Toni Braxton and DMX, among others, paying tribute to Aaliyah.

Aaliyah was to have had a supporting role as the wife of Harold Perrineau Jr.'s character in the two sequels to The Matrix; her role was ultimately filled by Nona Gaye. Other films in which Aaliyah was signed to star in were Honey (which instead was filmed with Jessica Alba as the star), and a Whitney Houston-produced remake of the 1976 film Sparkle. In addition, Aaliyah and one of her agents had pitched and inked a deal with Fox Searchlight Pictures for her to star in a film based upon a true story about interracial love.

Aaliyah is interred in the Ferncliff Cemetery and Mausoleum in Hartsdale, New York.