Alexey Leonov, soviet/russian cosmonaut who, on 18 March 1965, became the first human to conduct a space walk

Alexey Arkhipovich Leonov (born 30 May 1934 in Listvyanka, Kemerovo Oblast, Soviet Union) is a retired Soviet/Russian cosmonaut and Air Force Major General who, on 18 March 1965, became the first human to conduct an extra-vehicular activity (EVA) also known as a space walk.
Leonov was one of the twenty Soviet Air Force pilots selected to be part of the first cosmonaut group in 1960. Like all the Soviet cosmonauts Leonov was a member of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. His walk in space was originally to have taken place on the Vostok 11 mission, but this was cancelled, and the historic event happened on the Voskhod 2 flight instead. He was outside the spacecraft for 12 minutes and nine seconds on 18 March 1965, connected to the craft by a 5.35 meter tether. At the end of the spacewalk, Leonov's spacesuit had inflated in the vacuum of space to the point where he could not re-enter the airlock. He opened a valve to allow some of the suit's pressure to bleed off, and was barely able to get back inside the capsule. Leonov had spent some eighteen months undergoing intensive weightlessness training for the mission.
 As of November 2011, Leonov is the last survivor of the five cosmonauts in the Voskhod program.
In 1968, Leonov was selected to be commander of a circumlunar Soyuz flight. However as all unmanned test flights of this project failed, and the Apollo 8 mission already given that step in the Space Race to the USA, the flight was canceled. He was also selected to be the first Soviet person to land on the Moon, aboard the LOK/N1 spacecraft. This project was also canceled. (Incidentally, the design required a risky spacewalk between lunar vehicles, something that contributed to his selection.) Leonov was to have been commander of the ill-fated 1971 Soyuz 11 mission to Salyut 1, the first manned space station, but his crew was replaced with the backup after the cosmonaut Valery Kubasov was suspected to have contracted tuberculosis.
Leonov was to have commanded the next mission to Salyut 1, but this was scrapped after the deaths of the Soyuz 11 crew members, and the space station was lost. The next two Salyuts (actually the military Almaz station) were lost at launch or failed soon after, and Leonov's crew stood by. By the time Salyut 4 reached orbit Leonov had been switched to a more prestigious project.
Leonov's second trip into space was similarly significant: he commanded the Soviet half of the 1975 Apollo-Soyuz mission -- Soyuz 19 -- the first joint space mission between the Soviet Union and the United States.
From 1976 to 1982, Leonov was the commander of the cosmonaut team ("Chief Cosmonaut"), and deputy director of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, where he oversaw crew training. He also edited the cosmonaut newsletter Neptune. He retired in 1991.
Leonov is an accomplished artist whose published books include albums of his artistic works and works he did in collaboration with his friend Andrei Sokolov. Leonov has taken colored pencils and paper into space, where he has sketched the Earth and drawn portraits of the Apollo astronauts who flew with him during the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project.^[1] Arthur C. Clarke wrote in his notes to 2010: Odyssey Two that, after a 1968 screening of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Leonov pointed out to him that the alignment of the Moon, Earth, and Sun shown in the opening is essentially the same as that in Leonov's 1967 painting Near the Moon, although the painting's diagonal framing of the scene was not replicated in the film. Clarke kept an autographed sketch of this painting—which Leonov made after the screening, hanging on his office wall.
In 2001, he was a vice president of Moscow-based Alfa Bank and an advisor to the first deputy of the Board.
In 2004, Leonov and former American astronaut David Scott began work on a dual biography / history of the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union. Titled Two Sides of the Moon: Our Story of the Cold War Space Race, it was published in 2006. Neil Armstrong and Tom Hanks both wrote introductions to the book.
Leonov was also a contributor to the 2007 book Into That Silent Sea by Colin Burgess and Francis French, which describes his life and career in space exploration.

Success 2012: José Carreras, spanish catalan tenor particularly known for his performances in the operas of Verdi and Puccini. He gained fame with a wider audience as one of The Three Tenors along with Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti

Josep Maria Carreras i Coll (born 5 December 1946), better known as José Carreras, is a Spanish Catalan tenor particularly known for his performances in the operas of Verdi and Puccini^.Born in Barcelona, he made his debut on the opera stage at the age of 11 as Trujamán in Manuel de Falla's El retablo de Maese Pedro and went on to a career that encompassed over 60 roles on the stages of the world's leading opera houses and in the recording studio.
He gained fame with a wider audience as one of The Three Tenors along with Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti in a series of mass concerts that began in 1990 and continued until 2003.  Carreras is also known for his humanitarian work as the president of the José Carreras International Leukaemia Foundation (La Fundació Internacional Josep Carreras per a la Lluita contra la Leucèmia), which he established following his own recovery from the disease in 1988
 The 1990s continued to see Carreras performing on the operatic stage in Carmen and Fedora and making role debuts in Samson et Dalila (Peralada, 1990), Verdi's Stiffelio (London, 1993), and Wolf-Ferrari's Sly (Zurich, 1998). However, his opera performances became less frequent as he increasingly devoted himself to concerts and recitals. His final performance in a fully staged opera was on 12 July 2002 in Tokyo, where he reprised the title role in Sly, while his final operatic performances at the Gran Teatre del Liceu, the opera house where his career began, were in Samson et Dalila (March 2001).
In 1990 the first Three Tenors concert, took place in the Baths of Caracalla in Rome on the eve of the 1990 FIFA World Cup finals. It was originally conceived to raise money for Carreras's leukemia foundation and as a way for his colleagues, Plácido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti, to welcome their "little brother" back to the world of opera. However, it and the subsequent Three Tenors concerts brought Carreras a fame that went far beyond the opera house.  It is estimated that over a billion people around the world watched the television broadcast of the 1994 Three Tenors concert in Los Angeles.  By 1999, the CD from the first Three Tenors concert in Rome had sold an estimated 13 million copies, making it the best-selling classical recording of all time. The early 1990s also saw Carreras serving as the Musical Director for the opening and closing ceremonies of 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games, and performing in a worldwide concert tour in tribute to his first singing hero, Mario Lanza.
Carreras's recording and concert repertoire has now moved almost entirely into Neapolitan songs, the light classical genre, and 'easy-listening'. He has also increasingly performed and recorded with artists from outside the classical music world, such as Diana Ross, Edyta Górniak, Lluis Llach, Peter Maffay, Udo Jürgens, Klaus Meine, Charles Aznavour, Kim Styles, Sarah Brightman, Sissel Kyrkjebø, Debbie Harry, Majida El Roumi, and Giorgia Fumanti.
Following his own recovery from leukemia, Carreras sought both to repay the debt he owed to medical science and to improve the lives and care of other leukemia sufferers. On 14 July 1988, he established the José Carreras International Leukemia Foundation (Fundació Internacional Josep Carreras per a la Lluita contra la Leucèmia) in Barcelona.
The José Carreras International Leukaemia Foundation also has affiliates in the U.S., Switzerland, and Germany, with the German affiliate the most active of the three. Since 1995, Carreras has presented an annual live television benefit gala in Leipzig to raise funds for the foundation's work in Germany. Since its inception, the gala alone has raised well over €71 million. Carreras also performs at least 20 charity concerts a year in aid of his foundation and other medical related charities. He is an Honorary Member of the European Society for Medicine and the European Haematology Association, an Honorary Patron of the European Society for Medical Oncology, and a Goodwill Ambassador for UNESCO.

Carreras has received numerous awards and distinctions for both his artistic and humanitarian work. These include: Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres and Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur (France); Gran Croce di Cavaliere and Grande Ufficiale della Repubblica Italiana; Grand Decoration for Services to the Republic of Austria; the Cruz de Oro del Orden Civil de la Solidaridad Social from Queen Sofia of Spain, The Prince of Asturias Prize, and the Bundesverdienstkreuz from the Federal Republic of Germany. On 23 February 2004, the Austrian Post Office issued a 1€ stamp to commemorate the 30th anniversary of his debut at the Vienna Staatsoper.
He has Honorary Doctorates from the University of Barcelona and Miguel Hernández University (Spain); Napier, Loughborough and Sheffield universities (United Kingdom); the Mendeleev Russian University of Chemistry and Technology (Russia); the University of Camerino (Italy); Rutgers University (United States); the University of Coimbra (Portugal); the National University of Music Bucharest (Romania); Philipps-Universität Marburg (Germany); the University of Pécs (Hungary) and most recently, Kyunghee University (Korea) and the University of Porto (Portugal).
In Spain the central plaza in Sant Joan d'Alacant bears his name, as do two theatres – the Auditori Josep Carreras in Vila-seca (near Tarragona) and The Teatro Josep Carreras in Fuenlabrada.

In its prime, Carreras's voice was considered one of the most beautiful tenor voices of the day. The Spanish critic, Fernando Fraga has described it as a lyric tenor with the generosity of a spinto, having "a noble timbre, richly coloured and sumptuously resonant". This is particularly true of the middle range of his voice. Fraga also noted, as has Carreras himself, that even in his youth the high notes of the tenor range were always somewhat problematic for him, and became more so as his career progressed. Like his idol, Giuseppe di Stefano, Carreras was also known for the beauty and expressiveness of his phrasing and for his passionate delivery. These qualities are perhaps best exemplified in his 1976 recording of Tosca with Montserrat Caballé in the title role and conducted by Sir Colin Davis. According to several critics  his assumption of the heavier spinto roles such as Andrea Chénier, Don José in Carmen, Don Carlo, and Alvaro in La forza del destino put a strain on his naturally lyric instrument which may have caused the voice to prematurely darken and lose some of its bloom. Nevertheless he produced some of his finest performances in those roles. The Daily Telegraph wrote of his 1984 Andrea Chénier at London's Royal Opera House: "Switching effortlessly from the lyric poet Rodolfo in La Bohème a few weeks ago to the heroic poet Chenier, the Spanish tenor's vocal artistry held us spellbound throughout." Of his 1985 performance in Andrea Chénier at La Scala (preserved on DVD), Carl Battaglia wrote in Opera News that Carreras dominated the opera "with formidable concentration and a cleverly refined vocal accent that imparts to this spinto role an overlay of intensity lacking in his essentially lyric tenor." However, Carl H. Hiller's review of the La Scala performance in Opera also noted that while in the quiet phrases of the score "he could display all the tonal mellowness of which this perhaps most beautiful tenor voice of our time is capable", he had difficulty with the high loud notes, which sounded strained and uneasily produced.Critic Peter G. Davis wrote of Carreras' choice to continue his career^.

Success 2012: TOMMY RAMONE, the last surviving member of the influential punk rock band THE RAMONES. In 1970, Tommy was an assistant engineer for the production of the Jimi Hendrix album Band of Gypsys

Tommy Ramone, also known as Thomas Erdelyi (born Erdélyi Tamás; January 29, 1952), is a Hungarian American record producer and musician. He was the drummer of the influential punk rock band the Ramones, the last surviving member of the original quartet.
Erdélyi was born in Budapest, Hungary, to Jewish parents who had survived the Holocaust by being hidden by neighbors, though many of his relatives were victims of the Nazis. He grew up in Forest Hills, a neighborhood of New York City's Queens borough. Tommy and guitarist John Cummings (later to be dubbed "Johnny Ramone") performed together in a mid-60's four-piece garage band called the Tangerine Puppets while in high school. In 1970, Erdelyi was an assistant engineer for the production of the Jimi Hendrix album Band of Gypsys.
When the Ramones first came together, with Johnny Ramone on guitar, Dee Dee Ramone on bass and Joey Ramone on drums, Erdelyi was supposed to be the manager, but was drafted as the band's drummer when Joey became the lead singer and found that he couldn't keep up with the Ramones' increasingly fast tempos. "Tommy Ramone, who was managing us, finally had to sit down behind the drums, because nobody else wanted to," Dee Dee later recalled.
He remained as drummer from 1974 to 1978, playing on and co-producing their first three albums, Ramones, Leave Home, and Rocket to Russia, as well as the live album It's Alive.
He was replaced on drums in 1978 by Marky Ramone, but handled band management and co-production for their fourth album, Road to Ruin; he later returned as producer for the eighth album, 1984's Too Tough to Die^.
Even though Tommy was an original member and co-producer for the Ramones, both Dee Dee and Johnny denied that he influenced the Ramones' sound.During interviews for the End of the Century: The Story of the Ramones, Dee Dee stated that Tommy was simply "at the right place at the right time". This seemingly contradicts an earlier interview in the same film in which Johnny Ramone states that Tommy was very important to the band.
Dee Dee, in his books, expressed resentment towards Tommy for having it "together" more than anyone else in the band, being able to cook himself dinner and organize his life in a much more functional manner, without the psychosis or addiction problems that Dee Dee himself suffered from. In comparison to everyone else in the band, Tommy was seemingly "normal", though there are accounts of him partying with the band and driving them around in his car in the early days. Tommy Ramone wrote "I Wanna Be Your Boyfriend" and the majority of "Blitzkrieg Bop" while bassist Dee Dee suggested the title. He and Ed Stasium played all the guitar solos on the albums he produced, as Johnny Ramone largely preferred playing rhythm guitar.
In the 1980s he produced the highly regarded Replacements album Tim, as well as Redd Kross's Neurotica.
On October 8, 2004, he played as a Ramone once again, when he joined C.J. Ramone, Daniel Rey, and Clem Burke (also known as Elvis Ramone) in the "Ramones Beat Down On Cancer" concert. In October 2007 in an interview to promote It's Alive 1974-1996 a double DVD of the band's greatest televised live performances he paid tribute to his deceased bandmates:

"They gave everything they could in every show. They weren't the type to phone it in, if you see what I mean."

Currently, Tommy and Claudia Tienan (formerly of underground band The Simplistics) are performing as a bluegrass-based folk duo called Uncle Monk. Says Tommy: "There are a lot of similarities between punk and old-time music. Both are home-brewed music as opposed to schooled, and both have an earthy energy. And anybody can pick up an instrument and start playing." He joined songwriter Chris Castle, Garth Hudson, Larry Campbell (musician) and the Womack Family Band in July 2011 at Levon Helm Studios for Castle's album Last Bird Home.

Success 2012: Steve Forbes, the editor-in-chief of business magazine Forbes. He was a Republican candidate in the U.S. Presidential primaries in 1996 and 2000

Malcolm Stevenson "Steve" Forbes, Jr. (born July 18, 1947) is an American publishing executive who was twice a candidate for the nomination of the Republican Party for president. He is the editor-in-chief of business magazine Forbes as well as president and chief executive officer of its publisher, Forbes Inc. He was a Republican candidate in the U.S. Presidential primaries in 1996 and 2000. He is the son of longtime Forbes magazine publisher Malcolm Forbes and the grandson of that publication's founder, B.C. Forbes. Forbes was born in Morristown, New Jersey, the son of Roberta Remsen (née Laidlaw) and Malcolm Forbes. He is married to Sabina Beekman, and they have five daughters; Sabina, Roberta, Catherine, Moira, and Elizabeth. Forbes attended Far Hills Country Day School. He graduated cum laude in 1966 from Brooks School in North Andover, Massachusetts, and was in the Princeton class of 1970. While at Princeton, Forbes founded his first magazine, Business Today, with two other students. Business Today is currently the largest student-run magazine in the world. In 1996, years after the death of his father, he changed the name credited to him on the Forbes magazine masthead from Malcolm S. Forbes Jr. to the name he had been known as throughout childhood, Steve Forbes. Forbes served as an occasional guest host on the show History's Business on the television channel History. He was awarded an honorary doctorate in economics from Stevenson University on April 30, 2009. Forbes is a member of Alpha Kappa Psi and Tau Kappa Epsilon. Forbes entered the Republican primaries for President of the United States in 1996 and 2000, primarily running on a campaign to establish a flat income tax. He also supported the ideas of re-introducing 4 1/2% mortgages and term limits in 1996, but dropped both in 2000 (as they were minor planks in his overall platform). When Forbes ran for president in 1996 and 2000, he sold some of his Forbes Inc. voting shares to other family members to help finance his run. He did not come close to securing the Republican nomination, despite winning the Arizona and Delaware Primaries in 1996 and getting some significant shares of the vote in other primaries. His awkward campaigning style was considered to be a major factor in his defeat. Time Magazine called his stumping a "comedy-club impression of what would happen if some mad scientist decided to construct a dork robot." and also described his campaign as "wacky, saturated with money and ultimately embarrassing to all concerned." After dropping out early in the 2000 primary season, he returned to heading the magazine and company. During the 1996 campaign, insiders at Fortune alleged that stories about Forbes' advertisers became favorably biased toward them. Major issues Forbes has supported include free trade, health savings accounts, and allowing people to opt out 75% of Social Security payroll taxes into Personal Retirement Accounts (PRAs). He supports traditional Republican Party policies such as downsizing government agencies to balance the budget, tough crime laws and support for the death penalty, and school vouchers, opposition to gun control and most government regulation of the environment, as well as drug legalization and same-sex marriage. This last was despite his father's increasingly flamboyant gay lifestyle before his death. In terms of foreign policy, he called for a "US not UN foreign policy" (which is composed of anti-International Monetary Fund sentiments, pro-Israeli sentiment, opposition to Most Favored Nation status for the People's Republic of China, and anti-UN sentiment.) His flat tax plan has changed slightly. In 1996 he supported a flat tax of 17% on all personal and corporate earned income (unearned income such as capital gains, pensions, inheritance, and savings would be exempt.) However, he supported keeping the first $33,000 of income exempt. In 2000 he maintained the same plan, but instead of each person receiving an exemption of $33,000, it more closely resembled the Armey Plan (Forbes's version called for a $13,000 per adult and $5,000 per dependent deduction). Forbes himself is very wealthy, with a net worth in 1996 of $430 million Although Forbes publishes the list of the 400 wealthiest men and women in the U.S., Forbes conspicuously exempts himself from such disclosure. In response to this criticism, Forbes promised in his 2000 campaign to exempt himself from the benefits of the flat tax, although he did support the repeal of the 16th Amendment in a debate with Alan Keyes the previous year. In his 2000 campaign, Forbes professed his support for social conservatism along with his supply-side economics. Despite holding opposite positions in 1996, for the 2000 campaign, Forbes announced he was adamantly opposed to abortion and supported prayer in public schools. The previous year Forbes had issued a statement saying he would no longer donate money to Princeton University due to its hiring of philosopher Peter Singer, who views personhood as being limited to 'sentient' beings and therefore considers some disabled people and all infants to lack this status. Steve Forbes was one of the signers of the Statement of Principles of Project for the New American Century (PNAC) on June 3,

Success 2012: Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, The 14th Dalai Lama

The 14th Dalai Lama (religious name: Tenzin Gyatso, shortened from Jetsun Jamphel Ngawang Lobsang Yeshe Tenzin Gyatso, born Lhamo Dondrub, 6 July 1935) is the 14th and current Dalai Lama, as well as the longest lived incumbent. Dalai Lamas are the most influential figures in the Gelugpa lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, although the 14th has consolidated control over the other lineages in recent years. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989, and is also well known for his lifelong advocacy for Tibetans inside and outside Tibet. Tibetans traditionally believe him to be the reincarnation of his predecessors and a manifestation of the Bodhisattva of Compassion.

The Dalai Lama was born in Taktser, Qinghai (also known to Tibetans as Amdo), and was selected as the rebirth of the 13th Dalai Lama two years later, although he was only formally recognized as the 14th Dalai Lama on 17 November 1950, at the age of 15. He inherited control over a government controlling an area roughly corresponding to the Tibet Autonomous Region just as the nascent People's Republic of China wished to assert central control over it. There is a dispute over whether the respective governments reached an agreement for a joint Chinese-Tibetan administration. During the 1959 Tibetan uprising, which China regards as an uprising of feudal landlords, the Dalai Lama, who regards the uprising as an expression of widespread discontent, fled to India, where he denounced the People's Republic and established a Tibetan government in exile. A charismatic speaker, he has since traveled the world, advocating for the welfare of Tibetans, teaching Tibetan Buddhism and talking about the importance of compassion as the source of a happy life. Around the world, institutions face pressure from China not to accept him. He has spoken about such topics as abortion, economics, firearms, and sexuality, and has been the subject of controversy for his alleged treatment of Dorje Shugden followers and his office's receipt of support from the CIA in the 1960s and early 1970s The Dalai Lama's appeal is variously ascribed to his charismatic personality, international fascination with Buddhism, his universalist values, international sympathy for the Tibetans, and western sinophobia.

In the 1990s, many films were released by the American film industry about Tibet, including biopics of the Dalai Lama. This is attributed to both the Dalai Lama's 1989 Nobel Peace Prize as well as to the euphoria following the Fall of Communism. The most notable films, Kundun and Seven Years in Tibet (both released in 1997), portrayed "an idyllic pre-1950 Tibet, with a smiling, soft-spoken Dalai Lama at the helm – a Dalai Lama sworn to non-violence": portrayals the Chinese government decried as ahistorical. One South African official publicly criticised the Dalai Lama's politics and lamented a taboo on criticism of him, saying "To say anything against the Dalai Lama is, in some quarters, equivalent to trying to shoot Bambi". Critics of the news and entertainment media coverage of the controversy charge that feudal Tibet was not as benevolent as popularly portrayed. The penal code before 1913 included forms of judicial mutilation and capital punishment to enforce a social system controversially described as both slavery and serfdom. In response, the Dalai Lama agreed many of old Tibet's practices needed reform. His predecessor had banned extreme punishments and the death penalty. And he had started some reforms like removal of debt inheritance during the early years of his government under the People's Republic of China in 1951. The Dalai Lama has his own page on Facebook

Cameron Diaz, american actress and former model. She became famous during the 1990s with roles in the movies The Mask, My Best Friend's Wedding, and There's Something About Mary

Cameron Michelle Diaz (born August 30, 1972) is an American actress and former model. She became famous during the 1990s with roles in the movies The Mask, My Best Friend's Wedding, and There's Something About Mary. Other high-profile credits include the two Charlie's Angels films, voicing the character Princess Fiona in the Shrek series, and Bad Teacher. Diaz received Golden Globe award nominations for her performances in the movies There's Something About Mary, Being John Malkovich, Vanilla Sky, and Gangs of New York. Diaz, the younger of two daughters, was born in San Diego, California. Her mother, Billie (née Early), is an import-export agent, and her father, Emilio Diaz (1949–2008), worked for the California oil company UNOCAL for more than 20 years as a field gauger. Diaz has an older sister, Chimene. Her father's family came from Cuba by way of Spain, before settling in Tampa's Ybor City, and eventually California where her father Emilio was born. Her mother is of English, German, and Cherokee descent. Diaz was raised in Long Beach, California and attended Long Beach Polytechnic High School

At age sixteen, she began her career as a fashion model, contracted with modeling agency Elite Model Management. For the next few years, she worked around the world for contracts such as with major companies, modeling for designers such as Calvin Klein and Levi's. When she was 17 years old, she was featured on the front cover of the July 1990 issue of the magazine Seventeen. At age 21 Diaz auditioned for The Mask, based on the recommendation of an agent for Elite, who met the film's producers while they were searching for the female main actress. Having no previous acting experience, she started acting lessons after being cast. The Mask became one of the top ten highest grossing films of 1994. Diaz's performance as the sultry lounge singer "Tina Carlyle" earned her nominations for several awards and launched her as a sex symbol. Preferring to feel her way effectively into the industry, Diaz avoided large studio films for the next three years and took roles in the independent films The Last Supper (1995), Feeling Minnesota (1996), She's the One (1996), and Head Above Water (1996). She was scheduled to feature in the film Mortal Kombat, but had to resign after breaking her hand while training for the role.

Diaz returned to mainstream films with My Best Friend's Wedding and A Life Less Ordinary, both released in 1997. The following year, she played the title role in the smash hit There's Something About Mary (1998), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for the category of Best Actress – Musical or Comedy. She received critical acclaim for her performance in Being John Malkovich (1999), which earned her Best Supporting Actress nominations at the Golden Globe Award, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards, and the Screen Actors Guild Awards (SAG Awards). Between 1998 and 2000, Diaz featured in many movies, such as Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her, Very Bad Things, Any Given Sunday, and the successful adaptation of Charlie's Angels. In 2001, she won nominations for Best Supporting Actress for the Golden Globe Awards, the SAG Awards, the Critics' Choice Awards, and the American Film Institute Awards for Vanilla Sky, and also voiced Princess Fiona in the movie Shrek, for which she earned $10 million.

In 2003, Diaz received another Golden Globe nomination for Martin Scorsese's 2002 epic Gangs of New York, and became the third actress (after Wedding costar Julia Roberts) to earn $20 million for a role, receiving the sum for Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. Her next movies were In Her Shoes (2005) and The Holiday (2006). She was preparing to work again with The Mask co-star Jim Carrey for the film Fun with Dick and Jane, but resigned to feature in In Her Shoes. Diaz reportedly earned $50 million during the period of a year ending June 2008, for her roles in What Happens in Vegas opposite Ashton Kutcher, and the Shrek sequels. In 2009, she starred in My Sister's Keeper and The Box. In 2010, Forbes Magazine ranked Cameron Diaz as the richest Hispanic female celebrity, ranking number 60 among the wealthiest 100. Also that year, Diaz voiced Princess Fiona for the movie Shrek Forever After, and reunited with her Vanilla Sky co-star Tom Cruise in the action adventure Knight and Day. In 2011, she played "Lenore Case", the journalist in the remake of the 1940s film The Green Hornet, and was the central lead in the hit comedy Bad Teacher. She was listed among CEOWORLD magazine's Top Accomplished Women Entertainers.

Diaz received "substantial" defamation damages from suing American Media Incorporated, after The National Enquirer had claimed she was cheating on then-paramour Justin Timberlake. She endorsed Al Gore publicly during 2000. Diaz wore a t-shirt that read "I won't vote for a son of a Bush!" while making publicity visits for Charlie's Angels.[24] Diaz has also been involved with the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the first and largest nonprofit organization for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and has spoken as an advocate for military families. Although she was quoted by a 1997 Time magazine article as saying she was germophobic, Diaz specifically denied this on the June 26, 2009, edition of Real Time with Bill Maher, saying that a small comment she made 12 years earlier regarding public bathroom doorknobs was distorted out of proportion. Relationships From 1990 to December 1994, Diaz cohabited with video producer Carlos de la Torre. In 1995, Diaz dated actor Vincent D'Onofrio during the production of Feeling Minnesota. Later in 1995, she began a relationship with actor Matt Dillon. The relationship ended in December 1998. She began dating Jared Leto in 1999 and the couple became engaged in 2000. In 2003, they ended their four-year relationship. Diaz dated singer Justin Timberlake from 2003 to 2006. In October 2004, Diaz and Timberlake were in an altercation with a tabloid photographer outside a hotel. When the photographer and another man tried to photograph them, the couple snatched the camera. Pictures of the incident appeared in Us Weekly. Representatives for the pair claimed that they were acting a scene on a set. Diaz was in a romantic relationship with New York Yankees baseball star Alex Rodriguez from July 2010 to September 2011.

Success 2012: Sir Michael Caine, one of two actors nominated for an Academy Award for acting in every decade from the 1960s to 2000s

Sir Michael Caine, CBE (born Maurice Joseph Micklewhite; 14 March 1933) is an English actor. Caine is one of two actors nominated for an Academy Award for acting in every decade from the 1960s to 2000s, the other one being Jack Nicholson. In 2000, Caine was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in recognition of his contribution to cinema. Caine was born in St Olave's Hospital, Rotherhithe, Southwark in South East London, the son of Ellen Frances Marie (née Burchell; 1900-1989), a cook and charwoman, and Maurice Joseph Micklewhite, a fish market porter. His father had Irish and Irish Traveller ancestry and was a Catholic, though Caine was brought up in his Protestant mother's religion.

Caine grew up in Southwark, South London, and during the Second World War he was evacuated to North Runcton near King's Lynn in Norfolk. After the war, when his father was demobilised, the family was rehoused by the council in Marshall Gardens at the Elephant and Castle in a pre-fabricated house made in Canada, as much of London's housing stock had been damaged during the Blitz in 1940-41. The prefabs, as they were known, were intended to be temporary homes while London was rebuilt, but we ended up living there for eighteen years and for us, after a cramped flat with an outside toilet, it was luxury. In 1944, he passed his eleven plus exam, winning a scholarship to Hackney Downs Grocers' School. After a year there he moved to Wilson's Grammar School in Camberwell (now Wilson's School in Wallington, South London), which he left at sixteen after gaining a School Certificate in six subjects. He then worked briefly as a filing clerk and messenger for a film company in Victoria Street and the film producer Jay Lewis in Wardour Street. From 1952, when he was called up to do his national service, until 1954, he served in the British Army's Royal Fusiliers, first at the BAOR HQ in Iserlohn, Germany and then on active service during the Korean War. Caine has said he would like to see the return of national service to help combat youth violence, stating:

"I'm just saying, put them in the Army for six months. You're there to learn how to defend your country. You belong to the country. Then when you come out, you have a sense of belonging rather than a sense of violence." After working on The Italian Job with Noël Coward, and a solid role as RAF fighter pilot Squadron Leader Canfield in the all-star cast of Battle of Britain (both 1969), Caine played the lead in Get Carter (1971), a British gangster film. Caine was busy with successes including Sleuth (1972) opposite Laurence Olivier, and The Man Who Would Be King (1975) co-starring Sean Connery and directed by John Huston (which he has stated will be the film he wishes to be remembered for after his death). In 1976 he appeared in the screen adaptation by Tom Mankiewicz of the Jack Higgins novel The Eagle Has Landed as Oberst (Colonel) Kurt Steiner, the commander of a Luftwaffe paratroop brigade disguised as Polish paratroopers, whose mission was to kidnap or kill the then-British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, alongside co-stars Donald Sutherland, Robert Duvall, Jenny Agutter and Donald Pleasence. Subsequently in 1978, he starred in The Silver Bears, an adaptation of Paul Erdman's (1974) novel of the same name. Caine also was part of an all-star cast in A Bridge Too Far (1977).

In the 2000s, Caine appeared in Miss Congeniality (2000), Last Orders (2001), The Quiet American (2002), for which he was Oscar-nominated, and others that helped rehabilitate his reputation. Several of Caine's classic films have been remade, including The Italian Job, Get Carter, Alfie and Sleuth. In the 2007 remake of Sleuth, Caine took over the role Laurence Olivier played in the 1972 version and Jude Law played Caine's original role. Caine also starred in Austin Powers in Goldmember (2002) as Austin's father and in 2003 he co-starred with Robert Duvall in Secondhand Lions. In 2005, he was cast as Bruce Wayne's butler Alfred Pennyworth in the first production of the new Batman film series. In 2006, he appeared in the films Children of Men and The Prestige. In 2007 he appeared in Flawless, while in 2008 he reprised his role as Alfred in Christopher Nolan's critically acclaimed Batman sequel, The Dark Knight as well as starring in the British drama Is Anybody There?, which explores the final days of life. It was reported by Empire magazine that Caine had said that Harry Brown (released on 13 November 2009) would be his last lead role. Caine later declared (in the Daily Mirror) that he had been misquoted by the magazine.

Caine had a cameo appearance in Christopher Nolan's science fiction thriller, Inception. He voiced Finn McMissile in Pixar's 2011 film Cars 2 and also voiced a supporting role in the animation, Gnomeo and Juliet. He also starred in the 2012 film Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, as Josh Hutcherson's character's grandfather; the film also featured Dwayne Johnson and Vanessa Hudgens. Caine will reprise his role as Alfred Pennyworth in the Batman sequel, The Dark Knight Rises, due for release in mid 2012. Filming has begun at Wollaton Hall, Wollaton, Nottinghamshire, England. Caine has been Oscar-nominated six times, winning his first Academy Award for the 1986 film Hannah and Her Sisters, and his second in 1999 for The Cider House Rules, in both cases as a supporting actor. He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 1992 Queen's Birthday Honours, and in the 2000 New Year Honours he was knighted as Sir Maurice Micklewhite CBE. On 5 January 2011, he was made a Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by France's culture minister, Frédéric Mitterrand. In 2008, he was awarded the prize for Outstanding Contribution to Showbusiness at the Variety Club Awards. Caine is a fan of chill-out music and has compiled a mix CD called Cained, which was released in 2007 by UMTV. According to Michael Caine, he met Elton John and was discussing musical tastes, when Caine claimed that he had been creating chillout mix tapes as an amateur for years. Also in music, Caine provided vocal samples for the band Madness for their 1984 hit "Michael Caine" as his daughter was a fan. He has sung in film roles as well, including for the musical film, The Muppet Christmas Carol.

Success 2012: Rachel Roberts, canadian model and actress. Famous for starring with Al Pacino in the film S1m0ne

Rachel Roberts (born April 8, 1978) is a Canadian model and actress. She was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. Roberts has appeared in numerous ad campaigns, most notably for Biotherm Skin Care Products, and she became well known in the United States as the titular character in the film S1m0ne. When Roberts began her career in modeling, she began to work for magazines such as Elle, Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, Glamour, Marie Claire and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue of 2000. Signing on to be skin-care line Biotherm's official model, she gained even more popularity by posing in campaigns for labels such as Ralph Lauren, Gap, Bottega Veneta, Ferre, Sisley, and Victoria's Secret. She has walked for countless designers such as Chloé, Valentino, Givenchy, Fendi, Blumarine, Roberto Cavalli, Comme des Garçons, Paul Smith and Balmain.

Roberts made her film debut as the title character of the movie S1m0ne in 2002; she married its writer, producer, and director, Andrew Niccol, the same year, and they have two children, Jack (born in 2003) and Ava (born in 2008). She has guest-starred on such television series as Entourage, Ugly Betty and Numb3rs. She was given a recurring role on the ABC one-hour drama, FlashForward, when David Goyer created the show, and stayed a recurring member of its cast till its cancellation. In 2011, she played Carrera in the movie In Time. CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (TV series) Karen Chevera – CSI Unplugged (2012) "Definitely the yummiest Canadian export since bacon and maple syrup."

Success 2012: Phil Collins, english singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist

Philip David Charles "Phil" Collins, LVO (born 30 January 1951) is an English singer-songwriter, drummer, pianist and actor best known as a drummer and vocalist for British progressive rock group Genesis and as a solo artist. Collins sang the lead vocals on several chart hits in the United Kingdom and the United States between 1975 and 2010, either as a solo artist or with Genesis. His singles, sometimes dealing with lost love, ranged from the drum-heavy "In the Air Tonight", dance pop of "Sussudio", piano-driven "Against All Odds", to the political statements of "Another Day in Paradise". Collins's professional music career began as a drummer, originally in a band called the Real Thing with his future wife, Andrea. Collins played drums and shared lead vocals (with Brian Chatton) in Flaming Youth which recorded one album, (Ark II). In 1970, he took over drums for Genesis, which had already recorded two albums. In Genesis, Collins originally supplied backing vocals for front man Peter Gabriel, singing lead on only two songs: "For Absent Friends" from 1971's Nursery Cryme album and "More Fool Me" from Selling England by the Pound, which was released in 1973. Following Gabriel's departure in 1975, Collins became the group's lead singer.

His solo career, heavily influenced by his personal life, brought both himself and Genesis commercial success. According to Atlantic Records, Collins's total worldwide sales as a solo artist, as of 2000, were 150 million. Collins has won numerous music awards throughout his career, including seven Grammy Awards, five Brit Awards—winning Best British Male three times, an Academy Award, and two Golden Globes for his solo work.He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Genesis in 2010. Collins is one of only three recording artists (along with Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson) who have sold over 100 million albums worldwide both as solo artists and (separately) as principal members of a band. When his work with Genesis, his work with other artists, as well as his solo career is totalled, Collins had more top 40 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the 1980s than any other artist. In 2008, Collins was ranked the 22nd most successful artist on the "The Billboard Hot 100 Top All-Time Artists". The majority of Collins's film work has been through music. Four of his seven American #1 songs came from film soundtracks, and his work on Disney's Tarzan earned him an Oscar. Collins even sang German, Italian, Spanish and French versions of the Tarzan soundtrack for the respective film versions. Collins's acting career has been brief. As a child, he appeared in three films, although two of the films were for brief moments as an extra. Besides the aforementioned A Hard Day's Night (1964), Collins's first lead role was in a children's film Calamity the Cow (1967).

Collins wrote and performed the title song to Against All Odds in 1984. The song became the first of his seven American #1 songs and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Song. Collins was not invited to perform the song at that year's presentation, although he was in the audience as the song's composer. Collins had arranged his US tour to accommodate the possibility of appearing on the telecast in the event his song was nominated for an Oscar. It is believed that the producers of that year's Academy Awards show were not aware of his prominence as a musical performer. A note to Collins's label from telecast co-producer Larry Gelbart explaining the lack of invitation stated, "Thank you for your note regarding Phil Cooper [sic]. I'm afraid the spots have already been filled". Collins instead watched Ann Reinking perform his song.[57] For a long time afterwards, he would introduce his performance of "Against All Odds" at his concerts by saying: "Miss Ann Reinking's not here tonight, so I guess I'll have to sing my own song". As a vocalist, Collins sang Stephen Bishop's composition "Separate Lives" for the film White Nights (1985) as a duet with Marilyn Martin. The single of the recording became another #1 for Collins. The song itself was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Song (a category that honours the composer, not the vocalists). Bishop's song had parallels to some of the songs on Collins's first two albums.

Writer Stephen Bishop noted that he was inspired by a failed relationship and called "Separate Lives" "a song about anger".[58] When the song was being nominated for an Academy Award, in interviews about the original snub by the Academy for "Against All Odds", Collins would jokingly say "the hell with him – I'm going up too," referring to if Bishop's song were to win the award. Collins's first film role since becoming a musician came in 1988 with Buster about the Great Train Robbery, which took place in England in August, 1963. The film received good reviews and Collins contributed four songs to the film's soundtrack. His rendition of "Groovy Kind of Love", originally a 1966 single by the Mindbenders, with lyrics by Toni Wine and music by Carole Bayer Sager, but with the melody of the Rondo section of Muzio Clementi's "Sonatina in G major", op. 36 no. 5 reached #1. The film also spawned the hit single "Two Hearts", which he wrote in collaboration with legendary Motown songwriter Lamont Dozier; the two artists would go on to win a Golden Globe for Best Original Song and receive an Oscar nomination in the same category, the second such honour for Collins; "Big Noise", written by Phil Collins and Lamont Dozier, which included Collins on vocals (although the song was not released as a single, an instrumental version of this song appeared as the B-side to the single version of "A Groovy Kind Of Love".) The final song, "Loco In Acapulco", was another collaboration between him and Dozier, with the vocals performed by the legendary Motown group the Four Tops. Film critic Roger Ebert said the role of Buster was "played with surprising effectiveness" by Collins, although the film's soundtrack proved more successful than the film did

Succes 2012: Marchese Piero Antinori, the 26th consecutive generation of wine producers in the Antinori family. One of his benchmark achievements was the introduction of Tignanello in 1971 which became the gold standard for a new category of wines called “Super Tuscans”

Marchizul Piero Antinori a carui familie produce vin de mai bine de 600 de ani, a contribuit in mod semnificativ la „Renasterea” vinurilor italiene, producand vinuri de calitate superioara, elegante si complexe, ce atrag atentia si aplauzele cunoscatorilor de vin din intreaga lume. Cu un imperiu ce detine peste 1400 de hectare plantate cu vita de vie, compania italiana a fost desemnata „BEST WINERMAKER OF THE YEAR” la Concursul International Vinitaly 2006. Beginning with Giovanni di Piero Antinori, who in 1385 joined the Florentine Winemakers Guild, the Antinori family has been producing quality wines for over 600 years. Throughout the company’s long history the Antinori estate has remained family owned and operated and Marchese Piero Antinori is the 26th consecutive generation of wine producers in the Antinori family (“Marchese” is the title for an Italian nobleman equivalent to the French “Marquis”).

Piero Antinori was born in Florence in 1939, studied Economics in college and joined the family company shortly after graduation. He took over the reins of the company from his father, Niccolo, in 1965 and today serves as president of the company. He is capably assisted by his three daughters, Alessia, Albiera and Allegra, all of whom hold managerial positions in the company and are being groomed to assume responsibility for the company’s diverse operations and thereby become the 27th generation of Antinori wine producers. One of Marchese Antinori’s benchmark achievements was the introduction of Tignanello in 1971 which became the gold standard for a new category of wines called “Super Tuscans”. Constrained by the Chianti Classico DOC regulations, Antinori believed that great wines of special character could be produced in Tuscany from a blend of international varieties, such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, with native Sangiovese. The resulting Tignanello is a complex, firmly structured but elegant and aristocratic wine, not unlike Piero Antinori himself.

Within the Italian wine community, Piero Antinori is a larger-than-life personality – a trend-setting winemaker, consummate businessman and ambassador to the world for the wines of Italy. The Antinori estate today is a multi-layered wine conglomerate with operations in Italy and around the world. In addition to wine estates in Tuscany, Umbria, Piedmont, Lombardy and Puglia, Marchese Antinori has operations in Napa, California and Chile’s Maipo Valley. Anticipating that wine would become an important element in lifestyle and destination travel, he opened a hotel in central Florence and a B&B not far from Florence. He also has opened restaurants in Italy as well as Vienna, Zurich, Moscow, Pebble Beach California and … well, you get the idea.

It’s hard to say where the Italian wine scene would be today without Piero Antinori‘s innovative initiatives. He has been an important influence in preserving Italy’s enological traditions while at the same time pioneering new approaches to producing quality wines. He is to wine what Frank Gehry is to architecture, pushing boundaries in order to create a remarkable artistic masterpiece. While many individuals and personalities have contributed to Italy’s wine renaissance, there is little question that Piero Antinori’s singular initiatives have been instrumental in bringing Italy to the top of the world’s wine list. Winemaking philosophy: The core of the Antinori philosophy is to maximize the undiscovered potential of specific wine regions, soils and microclimates while safeguarding the wealth of tradition, culture and taste which give Antinori wines their unique identity. Honors / Awards: 2008 LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD 2008 from Wine Enthusiast 2006 BEST WINERMAKERS OF THE YEAR The Vinitaly 2006 International Award 1999 WINE SPECTATOR Distinguished Service Award 1986 Man of the Year, Decanter Magazine

Succes 2012: Mihai Leu aka Michael Loewe, former professional boxer, WBO Welterweight Champion. The second European boxer to retire as an undefeated world champion. He later became Romanian national driving champion

Mihai Leu also known as Michael Loewe (born February 13, 1969 in Hunedoara) is a Romanian former professional boxer who lived and fought out of Hamburg, Germany. He is the former WBO Welterweight Champion. Leu retired after one title defense, against Michael Carruth, becoming the second European boxer to retire as an undefeated world champion, after Terry Marsh. Due to an injury, he was forced to abandon boxing but, unwilling to give up the world of sports, he turned racecar driver. He later became Romanian national driving champion. He started boxing in 1977 at the Hunedoara Constructorul club. In 1981 he moved to the Hunedoara Metalul from where in 1982 he moved on to Dinamo Bucharest. During his time with Dinamo, he won the national championship four consecutive years: 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986. In 1986, he moved to Steaua Bucharest and also became part of the national team. In 1987, he became World Junior Champion.

In total he fought 200 amateur matches, out of which he won 190. In 1991, he became a professional boxer in Germany (using the name Michael Loewe) and had 28 wins of 28 matches in welterweight, winning the following titles: * 1993 - Germany Intercontinental Title (which he gave up without fighting) * 1995 - WBO Intercontinental Title (which he gave up without fighting) * 1997 - WBO Welterweight champion (which he gave up due to medical reasons) In 1998 he started his new career at the wheel of a Ford Ka and after only three years, he managed to become the second best racecar driver in Romania. He had already participated in a race before, having made his debut in 1994, at the Banat Rally, on a Volkswagen Golf GTI 16V.

Five years later, in 2003, he became Romanian national champion driving a Hyundai Accent WRC, with co-driver Ciprian Solomon. After failing to win any rally after his championship winning year, Mihai Leu gave up competitive rallying in 2008, only to return in 2010, as team-manager of Jack Daniel's Rally Team, in the Romanian National Rally (CNR) championship. He is the son of Nicolae Leu, a well-known Romanian racecar driver of the `70s - `80s. His brother, Victor, also made his debut in car racing in 1999, as his co-driver. He is married and has a son Marco, born in 1993 who is a karting driver. He is involved in politics along with the Partidul Conservator, despite failing to secure a place in the European Parliament, in the 2007 national elections. He works part-time as assistant at the Tibiscus University in Timişoara. Mihai Leu s-a născut într-o zi de 13 (februarie 1968, la Hunedoara. Viitorul prim campion român la box profesionist, versiunea WBO, este fiul lui Nicolae Leu, un cunoscut pilot de curse din anii 70-80. A început să practice boxul de la vârsta de 9 ani, la clubul Constructorul, din oraşul natal, de la care, în 1981, pleacă la Metalul Hunedoara. Un an mai târziu, se transferă la Dinamo Bucureşti, unde a câştigat campionatul naţional de patru ori consecutiv: 1983, 1984, 1985 şi 1986. În 1986 se mută la Steaua Bucureşti, fiind cooptat în lotul naţional de box.

Primul său succes internaţional datează din 1987, când a devenit campion mondial la juniori. În 1991, alege boxul profesionist şi se va pregăti în Germania, perioadă în care va concura sub numele de Michael Loewe. Şi-a adăugat în palmares 28 victorii din 28 meciuri la categoria semimijlocie. În 1993, câştigă Titlul Intercontinental al Germaniei, iar doi ani mai târziu, Titlul Intercontinental, versiunea WBO. La 22 februarie 1997, la Hamburg, Mihai Leu devine campion mondial WBO, prin victoria împotriva panamezului Santiago Samaniego. „În primele trei reprize a fost tare ca o stâncă. La finalul reprizei a patra, soţia mea i-a cerut antrenorului să arunce prosopul. Credea că nu mai rezist şi dorea să abandonez. Antrenorul mi-a spus atunci: «Gândeşte-te la fiul tău şi la milioanele de români! ». Acest îndemn m-a mobilizat. La finalul celor 12 reprize, soţia mea, care a tras cu ochiul la foile arbitrilor, a văzut prima că sunt învingător. A urcat în ring, m-a luat în braţe şi mi-a spus: «Amore, eşti campion mondial!». Am izbucnit în plâns”, a povestit Leu, într-un interviu publicat, în primăvara anului trecut, de Libertatea.

Cariera de pugilist a lui Mihai Leu se încheie, însă, prematur, din cauza problemelor cauzate de o accidentare la braţ, dar el nu abanonează lumea sportului, alegând să fie pilot de curse, precum tatăl său. Debutul şi-l făcuse, deja, încă din 1994, la Raliul Banatului, pe un Volkswagen Golf GTI 16V. În 1998, a concurat la volanul unui Ford Ka iar trei ani mai târziu, devine cel de-al doilea pilot din România. în 2003, Mihai Leu ajunge campion naţional la volanul unui Hyundai Accent WRC, avându-l ca şi co-pilot pe Ciprian Solomon. A renunţat la competiţiile sportive în 2008, dar a revenit în 2010, ca team-manager , în Campionatul Naţional de Raliuri. Mihai Leu este căsătorit cu italianca Ana şi are un băiat în vârstă de 17 ani, Marco, despre care fostul mare campion a declarat, recent, că îi moşteneşte pasiunea pentru maşinile de curse. S-a implicat în politică, împreună cu Partidul Conservator şi lucrează part-time ca asistent la Universitatea Tibiscus din Timişoara. Despre sine, Mihai Leu a declarat că nu prea a avut timp de distracţii sau petreceri în tinereţe, dar îşi aminteşte că cel mai frumos lucru care i s-a întâmplat în anii ’90 a fost întâlnirea cu frumoasa lui soţie, de care este foarte îndrăgostit şi acum. El a mai recunoscut că că „boxul făcut la un nivel foarte inalt l-a ajutat sa fie mult mai disciplinat şi l-a făcut să inteleagă că numai cu renunţări şi cu voinţă se poate atinge marea performanţă“.

Success 2012: Jean-Paul Belmondo, famous french actor initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s. His typical characters were either dashing adventurers or more cynical heroes

Jean-Paul Belmondo (born 9 April 1933) is a French actor initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s.
Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, west of Paris, Belmondo did not perform well in school, but developed a passion for boxing and football. "Did you box professionally very long?" "Not very long. I was never a professional, just an amateur." "Did you want to be one?" "Yes, when I was 17, I dreamed of being a champion boxer. I trained at the Avia Club with Pierre Dupain, along with Maurice Auzel, who's now European welter-weight champion." "Why did you quit?" "Because you have to really love it and sacrifice for it, I had other ambitions and didn't want to sacrifice my life for it. To be a champion, you have to sacrifice everything. Since at the time I also loved acting, I thought it would be easier and less dangerous than boxing. It would hurt less. There might be blows to your morale, but in boxing you take blows to your body as well, so I chose just blows to my morale." – 1961.

His breakthrough role was in Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless (1960), which made him a major figure in the French New Wave. Later he acted in Jean-Pierre Melville's philosophical movie Leon Morin, Priest (1961) and in Melville's film noir crime film The Fingerman (Le Doulos, 1963) and Godard again with Pierrot le fou (1965). With That Man From Rio (1965) he switched to commercial, mainstream productions, mainly comedies and action films but did appear in the title role of Alain Resnais' masterpiece Stavisky (1974), which some critics regard as Belmondo's finest performance. Until the mid-1980s, when he ceased to be one of France's biggest box-office stars, Belmondo's typical characters were either dashing adventurers or more cynical heroes. As he grew older, Belmondo preferred concentrating on his stage work, where he encountered success. He suffered a stroke in 2001 and had since been absent from the stage and the screen until 2009 when he appeared in Un homme et son chien (A man and his dog).

He was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Ordre national du Mérite, promoted Officier (Officer) in 1986 and promoted Commandeur (Commander) in 1994.

He was made Chevalier (Knight) of the Légion d'honneur, promoted Officier (Officer) in 1991 and promoted Commandeur (Commander) in 2007.

In 2010 the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards gave him a Career Achievement award. Belmondo attended the ceremony and made appearances in the Los Angeles area.
Belmondo's father, Paul Belmondo, was a sculptor who was born in Algeria of Italian descent.

In 1953, Belmondo married Élodie Constantin, with whom he had three children: Patricia (1958), Florence (1960) and Paul (1963). Paul became a Formula One driver; his eldest daughter Patricia was killed in a fire in 1994. In 1966, due to a well-publicized affair between Belmondo and actress Ursula Andress, Belmondo and his wife divorced.

In 1989, Belmondo met Nathalie Tardivel who was 24 at the time, she and Belmondo married in 2002. On 13 August 2003, when he was 70, his fourth child Stella Eva Angelina was born. In 2008, Belmondo and Tardivel divorced.
Belmondo is saluted in a 1967 episode of the U.S. television sitcom Get Smart. In the episode "The Spirit is Willing" a top agent of the sinister spy agency KAOS is named Paul John Mondebello, an obvious alteration of Belmondo's name. He is also mentioned in a song about "Masculinity" in the play La Cage Aux Folles, and is mentioned in the Donovan song "Sunny South Kensington" on the Mellow Yellow album.