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Padma Lakshmi was born on September 1, 1970. Padma Parvati Lakshmi is an Indian American cookbook author, actress, and model. She has been the host of the US reality television program Top Chef since season two. In 2009 she was nominated for an Emmy Award for hosting Top Chef along with Tom Colicchio. Her parents’ only child together, Lakshmi is the daughter of a Pfizer executive and his first wife, Vijaya a nurse who currently specializes in suicide prevention. Her parents separated when she was one and divorced a year later. Both parents later remarried.

In 1984, when she was 14 years old, Lakshmi was in a car accident, causing an injury to her right arm that required surgery, which left a 7-inch scar between her elbow and shoulder. The incident happened on a Sunday afternoon as Lakshmi was being driven home from a Hindu temple in Malibu. She remembers a flash of orange, looking over to see the large car upon her. She described the event in the April 2001 edition of Vogue, saying, "Being in a car crash was like an exhilarating hallucination, an unbelievable moment that oddly remains one of the most beautiful images in my memory."

The car left Lakshmi with injuries that included a fractured right hip and a shattered upper right arm.
From a later marriage of her father, Lakshmi has a half-brother and a half-sister who was an actress and classical dancer but is now pursuing a career with children with special needs. In an interview in The Guardian, Lakshmi said, "My father had quit his job as an executive at Pfizer to manage her career. That was kind of like rubbing salt in the wound. I didn’t understand why he wanted that relationship with her, and not with me."

Lakshmi’s career began at age 16, when she was discovered by a modeling agent in Spain while sitting in a café. As she has stated, “I was the first Indian model to have a career in Paris, Milan and New York. I’m the first one to admit that I was a novelty." She has modeled for top designers such as Emanuel Ungaro, Ralph Lauren, and Alberta Ferretti and appeared in ad campaigns for Roberto Cavalli and Versus. She was a favorite model of the photographer Helmut Newton, whose photographs of her often highlighted the large scar on her right arm.

Lakshmi had a comical supporting role as the lip synching disco singer Sylk in the 2001 American movie Glitter with Mariah Carey. She starred with Amitabh Bachchan and Jackie Shroff in the 2003 Hindi action box office failure Boom as Shiela Bardez, one of a trio of super models accused of stealing diamonds. Lakshmi was last seen on screen as Geeta with Aishwarya Rai and Dylan McDermott in Paul Mayeda Berges’ 2005 film The Mistress of Spices. She will be starring[citation needed] in Deepa Mehta’s upcoming film, Komagata Maru which was earlier titled Exclusion.

Padma Lakshmi made a 2002 guest appearance as alien princess Kaitaama in "Precious Cargo", the 37th episode of the science fiction TV series Star Trek: Enterprise. She was also hostess of Domenica In, Italy’s top-rated television show. She portrayed Sean Bean’s nemesis in the 2004-2005 iTV TV series Sharpe’s Challenge. In 2006 Lakshmi appeared in ABC’s TV series The Ten Commandments with Dougray Scott, Naveen Andrews, and Omar Sharif. She took over as host of the popular TV cooking competition series Top Chef in 2006 during its second season and has continued every season since then.

On October 1, 2009, after years of struggling with endometriosis, a condition which causes irregularities in the uterus and has been known to cause infertility, it was publicly confirmed that Lakshmi is pregnant with her first child. Lakshmi has always been coy about the identity of her unborn child’s father with reports speculating surrounding Teddy Forstmann and friend Adam Dell.

Lakshmi was brought up as a vegetarian and has admitted that because of this, she sometimes becomes "squeamish" when sampling other cultural delicacies. However, in 2009, she starred in a commercial for the Carl’s Jr restaurant chain eating a Western Bacon Cheeseburger and in her second cookbook Tangy, Tart, Hot and Sweet she credits the chain with bringing her away from vegetarianism during her teenage years.

Originally known as the first internationally successful Indian supermodel, Padma Lakshmi started modeling while an exchange student in Spain with Clark University where she received a B.A. in Theater Arts. She was discovered by a modeling agent while sitting in a café and since has appeared in numerous fashion editorials and walked the runway for the likes of Ralph Lauren, Emmanuel Ungaro and Alberta Ferretti and starred in campaigns for Versus and Roberto Cavalli.  

It goes without saying that countless individuals, male and female, young and old, want to test the waters of modeling. Maybe it’s high fashion, maybe it’s swimsuit and maybe it’s commercial print. Regardless, millions of people go after modeling jobs every year. However, are you aware that not ever fashion model agency is looking for the same thing. If you haven’t already noticed, different agencies employ different models to create different looks for their campaigns. What does this mean? How about that there is no exact norm in the modeling industry.

While a fashion model agency will have certain expectation from potential models, that "model look" may not always be the same. Have you ever ventured off to a go-see or open call at a fashion model agency? If the answer is no, then let me give you a quick scoop. Most fashion modeling agencies offer a particular time each week or month where they allow aspiring models to come in and be examined. You can bring in a portfolio or merely a few snapshots. Just so you know, most high-end fashion agencies don’t want to see glamour shots or any made-up photos for that matter.

They want to see what you truly look like, make-up free and hair up. After all, your complexion, hair, teeth and figure are all major aspects of modeling. If you don’t have any professional pictures, don’t worry about it. Simple take a few snap shots and bring them with your to the fashion model agency you’re interested in. The web has quite a bit to offer in regards to fashion model agencies now days! What I mean is, you can look up their official websites any time you choose.

Often a fashion model agency will allow you to contact them via email and attach a few photos for them to look at. This way they’re able to distinguish on some level whether or not they’d be interested in seeing you in-person. In some cases, fashion modeling agencies will even fly you out and do a test shoot. This is the best way to determine if they can make money off of your look. Most women are teenagers when they tack this field and men are in their twenties. If you are interested in modeling, don’t put the dream on hold.

Celebrities are not like everyday people. They have busy schedules, drive expensive cars, and wear jewelry that others can only dream of owning. Maybe it is because celebrities are so far removed from normal life that they often give their babies unusual names. Some names are just a little different. John Travolta and Kelly Preston have two beautiful children. Their daughter’s name is Ella Bleu. Their son’s name is Jett. Jett is different, but anyone who knows anything about John Travolta knows he has a love for flying.

Gwyneth Paltrow, pregnant again, came under scrutiny for naming her first child Apple. While it is unusual, it is somewhat cute, like in the "apple of their eye." Chris Martin, her husband, tired of the controversy over the name Apple, has jokingly stated their second child, whether male or female, will be named Banana. Another cute name is Dandelion, the name of Keith Richards’ daughter. Julie Roberts recently gave birth to twins - a boy and a girl - and received flack over the names she chose. She received almost as much grief over the choice for her daughter’s name, Hazel, as she did the more eccentric choice of Phinnaeus for her son.

Many people speculated what Madonna would name her first child. Lourdes Maria seems a fitting name for child who’s mother’s name is Madonna, but she often goes by Lola. Her son is named Rocco, which sounds a bit like a cartoon character, but at least it is a tough sounding name. Actor Casey Affleck and fiancé Summer Phoenix recently had a son named Indiana August, which leads one to wonder what state and month their son was conceived in. Toni Braxton has two sons, Denim and Diezel. While both useful products, they make somewhat strange names for children. Rob Marrow decided it would be cute if he named his daughter Tu Simone Ayer, calling her Tu Morrow. Wonder if she will think it is cute 20 years from now? Actor Jason Lee named his son Pilot Inspektor, but magician Penn Jillette may have topped them all. He named his daughter, Moxie Crimefighter, saying "because when she’s pulled over for speeding she can say, `But officer, we’re on the same side, my middle name is CrimeFighter."’

If you think it is a new trend, think again. Back in 1971, David Bowie and his then wife Angela decided to name their son Duncan Zowie Heywood Jones. He soon became known as Zowie Bowie. Cher named her children Chastity Sun and Elijah Blue.

The Phoenix family is well known for their unusual choice of baby names. Summer Phoenix’s siblings are the late actor River Phoenix, actresses Rain and Liberty Phoenix and actor Joaquin Phoenix. Joaquin felt his name was so out of place with his siblings, that when he was four, he decided to change his name to Leaf. By the early 1990’s, he had reverted back to using his birth name. Another family infamous for their choices of baby names is the Zappa family. Frank’s children are Dweezil, Moon Unit, Ahmed Emuukha Rodan and Diva Muffin. While many people think that Dweezil is his given name, his birth name was originally Ian Donald Calvin Euclid Zappa because the hospital refused to register the name Dweezil. Always called Dweezil, when he was a child, he wanted to make the name official and his parents took him to have it changed legally. Paula Yates, former wife of Sir Bob Geldof and girlfriend of late rocker Michael Hutchence, also had a knack for giving her children unusual names. Among her brood are Fifi Trixibelle, Peaches Honeyblossom Michelle Charlotte Angel Vanessa, Heavenly Hiraani Tigerlily, and Little Pixie.

Some celebrity baby names make sense if you know the story behind them. Eurythmic’s Dave Stewart named his son Django after jazz guitarist Django Reinhardt. Stevie Wonder named his son Mandla Kadjaly Carl Stevland, however Mandla means "powerful" in Zulu and Kadjaly means "born from God" in Swahili. Helen Hunt just gave birth to a baby girl she named Makena’lei Gordon. The name Makena’lei is from a friend’s dream and means "many flowers of heaven." Gordon, an unlikely girl’s name, was to honor of Helen’s father, television director Gordon Hunt. Nicolas Cage just named his new baby boy Kal-el. Because Nicolas took his stage name of Cage from comic book character Luke Cage, he decided to name his son Kal-el after one of his favorite comic book heroes. Kal-el is Superman’s kryptonian name.

So, do the children like these unconventional names given them by their parents? In some cases, they do. The Phoenix’s seem to love their nature-inspired names and the Zappa children seem to have had no ill effects from their eccentric names. However, some children tire of the peculiar names quickly. Zowie Bowie had had enough of his moniker by the time he was 12 and asked to be referred to as "Joey." Although Dandelion Richards does not seem too bad, she has since started referring to herself as Angela. Recently, Peaches Honeyblossom Michelle Charlotte Angel Vanessa Geldof has been the most outspoken about the odd choice her parents made in naming her. She has been quoted as saying, "I hate ridiculous names. My weird name has haunted me all my life."

While having an unusual name might be difficult for any child, the celebrity of a child’s parents may enhance it even further. Thankfully, celebrity children who decide they don’t like their given names can switch to a nickname or even eventually have their names legally changed.

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Tiger Woods was born on December 30, 1975. He is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Currently the World No. 1, he was the highest-paid professional athlete in 2008, having earned an estimated $110 million from winnings and endorsements. He has won fourteen professional major golf championships, the second highest of any male player, and 71 PGA Tour events, third all time. He has more career major wins and career PGA Tour wins than any other active golfer.

Woods is the youngest player to achieve the career Grand Slam, and the youngest and fastest to win 50 tournaments on tour. He has held the number one position in the world rankings for the most consecutive weeks and for the greatest total number of weeks. He has been awarded PGA Player of the Year a record ten times, the Byron Nelson Award for lowest adjusted scoring average a record eight times, and has the record of leading the money list in nine different seasons.

Woods has been named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year a record-tying four times, and is the only person to be named Sports Illustrated’s Sportsman of the Year more than once. He won his 71st career title at the BMW Championship. The win moved him to first place in the FedEx Cup standings going into the final playoff event. It was his fifth win at the BMW Championship (including three wins as the Western Open) and marked the fifth time he had won an event five or more times in his career on the PGA Tour. Woods finished second at The Tour Championship to win his second FedEx Cup title. At the 2009 Presidents Cup, Woods had an impressive and equally spectacular performance in which he won all five of his matches at the event. He joined his friend Mark O’Meara who won all five of his matches at the 1996 Presidents Cup and Shigeki Maruyama, who accomplished this feat in the 1998 Presidents Cup (in all three instances, their respective teams won the competition).

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Tiger Woods was paired with Steve Stricker all four rounds of the competition in foursomes and four-ball. On the first day of foursomes, they won 6 and 4 over the team of Ryo Ishikawa and Geoff Ogilvy. In Friday’s match of four-ball, they won over the team of Ángel Cabrera and Geoff Ogilvy, 5 and 3. On Saturday, they beat the team of Tim Clark and Mike Weir after trailing for most of the match by winning the 17th and 18th holes to win 1-up in morning foursomes and in the afternoon four-ball they defeated the team of Ryo Ishikawa and Y. E. Yang by the score of 4 and 2. In the singles match, Woods was paired with his nemesis from the 2009 PGA Championship Yang. Yang grabbed the quick 1-up lead on the first hole but on the third hole lost the lead, and Woods went onto win the match by a score of 6 and 5. In addition, Woods was the one who clinched the Cup for the United States, which was his first time ever in his career he had the honor and opportunity to do this in a team event competition.

In November 2009, Woods was paid $3.3 million to play in the JBWere Masters, held at Kingston Heath in Melbourne Australia from November 12 to 15. The event was sold out for the first time. He went on to win at 14 under par, two strokes over Australian Greg Chalmers, marking his 38th European Tour win and his first win of the PGA Tour of Australasia. While Woods is considered one of the most charismatic figures in golfing history, his approach is, at its core, cautious. He aims for consistency. Although he is better than any other Tour player when he is in top form, his dominance comes not from regularly posting extremely low rounds, but instead from avoiding bad rounds. He plays fewer tournaments than most professionals (15–21 per year, compared to the typical 25–30), and focuses his efforts on preparing for (and peaking at) the majors and the most prestigious of the other tournaments.

His manner off of the course is cautious as well, as he carries himself in interviews and public appearances with a carefully controlled demeanor reminiscent of the corporate athlete persona developed between Nike and Michael Jordan. On November 25, 2009, supermarket tabloid The National Enquirer published a story claiming that Woods had had an affair with nightclub manager Rachel Uchitel‎, a claim she denied. The story began to attract media attention when Woods had a car accident a day and a half later. He was leaving his home around 2:30 a.m. (EST) in his SUV, a 2009 Cadillac Escalade, when he collided with a hedge, a fire hydrant, and finally a tree down the street. Woods was treated for minor facial lacerations and cited for careless driving.

Woods refused to speak to the police and the accident fanned intense speculation for the following two days until he released a statement on his website. He took blame for the crash, but said it was a private matter; he also praised his wife Elin for getting him out of the car. Woods later announced that he would not attend his own charity golf tournament, the Chevron World Challenge, or any other remaining tournaments in 2009. Interest in the story grew until San Diego cocktail waitress Jaimee Grubbs publicly claimed, in gossip magazine Us Weekly, that she had a two and a half year affair with Woods, producing voice and text messages that she says Woods left her.

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The voice message stated: "Hey it’s Tiger, I need you to do me a huge favor. Can you please take your name off your phone? My wife went through my phone…You got to do this for me. Huge. Quickly. Bye." Woods released an apology on the same day the story was published, expressing regret for "transgressions" and saying "I have let my family down." Woods was not specific about the reason for the apology, but requested privacy.

After over a dozen women claimed in media outlets that they had affairs with Woods, media pressure increased. On December 11, he released another statement, admitting to "infidelity" and offering another apology. Woods’ December 11 statement also announced an indefinite hiatus from professional golf. The day after the statement, several companies indicated they were reconsidering endorsement deals. Gillette suspended advertising featuring Woods, and said they would not be hiring him for any public appearances for the company. On December 13, management consultancy firm Accenture completely cut its sponsorship of Woods, stating the golfer was "no longer the right representative."

 
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Kim Kardashian was born on October 21, 1980. She is an American "celebutante", socialite, model, actress, businesswoman and television personality. She is best known for her social life and her role on the E! reality show Keeping Up with the Kardashians. She’s well known as Paris Hilton’s best friend, her incredible social life, her sex tape with Ray J, which was bought by Vivid Entertainment and is sold online, and her famous reality TV show, Keeping Up With the Kardashians.

Kimberly Noel "Kim" Kardashian is of Armenian descent and was born in LA to her parents, Robert Kardashian and Kris Jenner. She has two sisters, Kourtney and Kloe, and a brother, Robert, as well as several step-brothers and sisters. Kim owns and participates in a number of businesses, including her clothing store, Dash, and her health line, which she launched in 2008 with a workout DVD called Workout with Kim Kardashian.

Kardashian has done many small modeling jobs on the side of her television career. Kardashian posed nude for the December 2007 issue of Playboy magazine. In February 2008 Bongo Jeans announced that Kardashian would be their new face model. Kardashian is also a model for Travis Barker’s Famous Stars and Straps clothing line. Kardashian is one of the stars of the reality television series Keeping Up with the Kardashians along with her two sisters, mother, brother, half-sisters, and stepfather.

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On May 2, 2008, Kardashian released a workout DVD, Workout with Kim Kardashian, and a set of workout cards with the help of trainer Kathy Kaehler. In July 2008, Kardashian announced on her personal blog that she is working on her own perfume line to be released in 2009. In March 2009 Kardashian launched a shoe shopping service. Kardashian is slated to appear as a guest judge during Cycle 13 of America’s Next Top Model. Kardashian co-owns a clothing boutique called D-A-S-H with her sisters Kourtney and Khloe.