Who is LeToya Nicole Luckett?

Who is LeToya Nicole Luckett? The world knows her LeToya. Luckett is an American R&B singer-songwriter and actress. She was a founding member of the R&B female group Destiny's Child, with whom she won two Grammy Awards and released many successful commercial recordings.^[1][2][3]

After signing a record deal with Capitol Records, she pursued a successful solo career. Her solo debut album, LeToya (2006), topped the U.S. Billboard 200 albums chart in July 2006 and was certified platinum by the RIAA in December 2006. The single, "Torn", achieved records on BET's top ten countdown show 106 & Park. She was also named "One of the Best New Artists of 2006" by AOL and the "Top Songwriter of 2006" by ASCAP.^[4] LeToya is releasing her sophomore album "Lady Love" in Summer 2009.

Luckett was born March 11, 1981 in Houston, Texas, and grew up singing in her local Brentwood Baptist Church where she had vocal lessons to become an opera singer. Her father, who was also a singer, was very proud of his daughter's vocal talents and tried to promote her into the music business. Luckett is the eldest of two children; she has a younger brother Gavin.^[5] Luckett was given the opportunity to sing her first church solo at the age of five (5). "The lady just gave me the mic one Sunday and I sang", she recalls.^[6] Shortly thereafter, she joined the children's choir and began performing in plays at her elementary school. One day, she walked to her desk in class to find a girl sitting in her seat. Luckett asked her teacher to remove the girl from her assigned seat, who turned out to be Beyoncé Knowles. Both girls later became friends, and she was invited to join Latavia's and Beyoncé's group.^[7]

In 1993, LeToya Luckett joined Beyoncé Knowles, LaTavia Roberson, and Kelly Rowland to complete the Houston-based R&B group, Destiny's Child. After being signed and later dropped by Elektra Records, the group eventually signed with Columbia Records in 1997, but not before signing with Mathew Knowles as their official manager. According to the E! Television Special, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, Knowles forced the girls to sign with him before they could sign with the label. LeToya's mother requested the contracts be reviewed by an attorney, but Knowles denied the request. However, Luckett eventually signed with him and joined the group.[8]

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After graduating from the Houston club scene, the group began opening for acts such as Dru Hill, SWV, and Immature, and released their 1998 self-titled debut album Destiny's Child. The album spawned two singles: the platinum "No, No, No Part II"

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(featuring Wyclef Jean) "With Me". The group was featured on the Why Do Fools Fall in Love soundtrack with the song "Get on the Bus" (featuring Timbaland), and later toured as an opening act on TLC's "Fanmail Tour" and Christina Aguilera's debut tour.

In 1999, the group released their second album, The Writing's on the Wall. The album became one of the biggest selling albums released by a female group, and was certified eight times platinum in the USA. The album spawned four hit singles: "Bills, Bills, Bills", "Bug a Boo", "Say My Name" and "Jumpin' Jumpin'". In late 1999, in the midst of the group's rising success, Luckett and Roberson sent a letter to their management stating they wanted their own manager because of the increasing lack of communication from the group's manager Mathew Knowles (who is also Beyoncé Knowles' father). The pair said they never wanted to fire Knowles, but they did want to secure outside management to represent them fairly. Soon after, Luckett and Roberson found themselves on the outs with Knowles family and the group they helped create.^[9][10] When the "Say My Name" music video debuted in February 2000, they were shocked to find themselves replaced by two new members, Michelle Williams and Farrah Franklin.

Luckett and Roberson filed a lawsuit against Matthew Knowles, Beyoncé Knowles and Kelly Rowland, charging them with breach of partnership and fiduciary duties, and sought unspecified damages. Luckett and Roberson withdrew the case against Beyoncé and Kelly, but continued to sue Matthew Knowles. The case was eventually settled, with Luckett and Roberson continuing to receive royalties from their contributions as founding members of the group. When it seemed as if the drama had subsided, shortly following the release of Destiny's Child's Survivor, Luckett and Roberson filed another lawsuit against the group in March 2002. They claimed that the album's lead single, "Survivor", violated their previous settlement due to its lyrics, which they believed to reference the ugly split.^[11]

After several months of media speculation, it was announced via the MTV News website that Luckett and Roberson had created a new group called Anjel.^[12] After several auditions, Naty Quinones and Tiffany Beaudoin were selected as members. The group recorded a twenty-two-song demo in Atlanta, Georgia, with the help of R&B group Jagged Edge. Their production company (581 Entertainment) which handled the group fell through, and all the members of Anjel went on to pursue solo projects. However, the recorded tracks were leaked onto the internet.

After the Anjel project fell through, Luckett joined with Noontime, an Atlanta-based management/production company. Along with Noontime, she recorded a five song demo and eventually signed with Capitol Records in 2003. Soon after, she began working on her debut solo album. The first promotional single, "You Got What I Need", was released in 2004, followed next year by "All Eyes on Me". She featured on "My Promise" with her label mate Houston on his debut album It's Already Written, "What Love Can Do" on the Coach Carter soundtrack, and on "This Is My Life" with former boyfriend and rapper Slim Thug on his album Already Platinum. LeToya's self-titled debut album, was released on July 2006 and debuted at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts, outselling the compilation Now That's What I Call Music! and Pharrell Williams's
debut album. The album was certified gold after one month and as of December 2006, the album had been certified platinum. Luckett and Beyoncé Knowles are the only members of Destiny's Child to have an album debut at number one on the Billboard 200 and achieve platinum status in the U.S.^[13][14][15]

With LeToya being marketed as "The H-Town Chick", the album featured hip-hop inspired R&B production. Producers on the album included Jermaine Dupri, Scott Storch,
Teddy Bishop, B. Cox, and musical guests Slim Thug, Mike Jones, Paul Wall, and Bun B. "All Eyes on Me" was originally chosen as LeToya's debut single, but she selected "Torn"

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instead. She stated she "had to go against the grain" to get that single released, but it proved to be a good move. The ballad (produced by Teddy Bishop and a personal favorite of LeToya's) was released March 2006 and became an R&B hit. The ballad has been compared to Natalie Imbruglia and Mary J. Blige's past hit singles. The song climbed the Billboard charts, peaking at number two on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and became the number one song on urban radio.

Although Torn was still receiving major airplay, her second single, "She Don't",

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was released to radio and the video premiered on BET's Access Granted in July 2006 featuring LeToya's ex-boyfriend, Slim Thug. The single received moderate success, reaching number seventeen on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop chart. In November 2006, "Obvious"

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was selected as the third single. According to Billboard, the song had a 94% chance of becoming a hit, but due to the merger of Capitol Records and Virgin Records, all promotion and money was frozen, therefore the single was never officially released.^[16] Luckett was also named "One of the Best New Artists of 2006" by AOL Music, number two on Rap-Up magazines' Top 5 Breakthrough Artists of 2006, and had received multiple nominations from the NAACP, the Soul Train Music Awards, and the Teen Choice Awards.^[17]

BET promoted LeToya heavily not only on 106 & Park, The Center, and The Black Carpet, but with a three-part reality series special called The H-Town Chick, which aired from May to July 2006. The series chronicled LeToya's experiences during her summer promotional tour and insight on her life since Destiny's Child. BET also hosted a contest that gave fans the opportunity to decide the final outcome of the "Torn" video. Cingular hosted a Lip-Sync contest that awarded those who best performed "Torn" best in an online submitted video.^[18]

In addition to a nationwide radio tour, club performances, a brief European and Asian tour, LeToya was asked to participate in the 2006 Pantene Total You Tour, the Cingular Live in Concert series, and was personally invited by Mary J. Blige to join her summer tour, "The Breakthrough Experience Tour", as her opening act.^[19][20][21]

On July 13, she said in an interview that her album will have a 1980's influence on her songs and during the event, LeToya announced that the album would officially going to be named Lady Love, then she introduced and performed two new songs "Lady Love" and "Don't Let Me Get Away". On December 10, a buzz track, Swagger, that features rappers such as Slim Thug, Killa Kyleon and Bun B leaked onto internet through Luckett's official fansite, surprisingly the song makes a reference of Beyoncé's
song, Upgrade U.

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In 2008 she was featured on Webbie's single "I Miss You"

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which was a moderate success. She didn't appear in the video due to the fact that she was acting in the nationwide play "Rumors" and as a result wasn't able to make it to the shoot.

LeToya's second solo album is scheduled to be released on August 25, 2009.^[22]. The first single, "Not Anymore",

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was written by Ne-Yo and was produced by Bei Maejor. It was released on February 3. The music video was released on March 10. The uptempo song "She Ain't Got Sh** On Me" was leaked onto the internet end of March 2009 on several sites including YouTube.^[23] Luckett ran a contest on LeToyaOnline.com and her MySpace page, giving fans the chance to choose the follow-up single to “Not Anymore.” Called “The Final Showdown,” the contest gave the option of voting for one of two songs off her sophomore album, Lady Love. “We want the fans to choose between ‘Regret’ and ‘She Ain’t Got Sh*t On Me,’” LeToya reveals. “So whichever one wins between those two. They’ll both be singles though". "She Ain't Got..." won.

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Luckett's first role on television was on the WB show "Smart Guy" in 1998 with Destiny's Child.^[24][25][26] She also had an appearance in the movie "Beverly Hood" in 1999.^[27]

Since 2008, Letoya has been acting in plays and movies. LeToya was part of the cast of JD Lawrence's stage play Rumors as the character Michelle. She hit the road from January 31, 2008 to March 2, 2008.^[28]

Luckett is starring in the movie Preacher's Kid, scheduled for release in fall 2009.^[29] She will also be part of the movie Five Killers, scheduled for release in 2010 along with Ashton Kutcher and Tom Selleck.

Luckett is the owner of Lady L Boutique. She originally opened this successful clothing boutique in 2003 in the Uptown Park shopping center in her hometown of Houston, Texas as "Lady Elle Boutique" but renamed it to "Lady L Boutique". The store is an upscale women's boutique. She has opened a second location in The Galleria in Houston, Texas.

During the post first solo album era, Luckett also became involved in philanthropic activity. She has been participating in various events like the "Women in Entertainment Empowerment Summit".^[30] She was part of the national tour of the "Hip-Hop Summit Action Network ‘Get Your Money Right’ a Financial Empowerment Summit".^[31]

She also visits schools to motivate and encourage kids to study, pass classes and to further their education after graduation. She also speaks on the subject of violence and domestic abuse.^[32]

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Who is Keira Christina Knightley?

Who is Keira Christina Knightley? ^[1] The world knows Knightley is an English^[2] film actress. She began her career as a child and came to international prominence in 2003 after co-starring in the films Bend It Like Beckham and Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy.Knightley was born 26 March 1985.

Knightley has appeared in several Hollywood films and earned nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her role as Elizabeth Bennet in Joe Wright's 2005 adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice. Two years later she again was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, as well as the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in Atonement.

In 2008, Forbes claimed Knightley to be the second highest paid actress in Hollywood (behind Cameron Diaz), having reportedly earned $32 million in 2007, making her the only non-American person on the list of highest paid actors or actresses.^[3][4][5] However, Knightley has denied such a figure.

Knightley was born in Teddington, Greater London, England, the daughter of Sharman Macdonald, an award-winning playwright, and Will Knightley, a theatre and television actor. Her father is English and her mother is Scottish and of half Welsh ancestry.^[6] She has an elder brother, Caleb, who was born in 1979. Knightley lived most of her life in Richmond, attending Teddington School and Esher College. Knightley has dyslexia, but nevertheless was successful in school and was thus permitted to acquire a talent agent and pursue an acting career. She requested an agent as early as the age of three but got one when she turned six, from her mother as a reward for studying hard.^[7] Knightley has noted that she was "single-minded about acting" during her childhood.^[8] She performed in a number of local amateur productions including After Juliet (written by her mother) and United States (written by her then drama teacher, Ian McShane, no relation to the Deadwood actor).

Knightley appeared in several television movies in the mid to late 1990s—as well as ITV1's The Bill—before being cast as Sabé, Padmé Amidala's decoy, in the 1999 science fiction blockbuster Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. Knightley was cast in the role due to her close resemblance to Natalie Portman,
who played Padmé; the two actresses' mothers had difficulty telling their daughters apart when the girls were in full makeup.^[9] Knightley's first starring role followed in 2001, when she played the daughter of Robin Hood in the made-for-television Walt Disney Productions feature, Princess of Thieves. During this time, Knightley also appeared in The Hole, a thriller that received a direct-to-video release in the United States. She appeared in a miniseries adaptation of Doctor Zhivago that first aired in 2002 to mixed reviews but high ratings.

Knightley's breakthrough role was in the football-themed film, Bend It Like Beckham, which was a success in its August 2002 UK release, grossing $18 million, and in its March 2003 U.S. release, grossing $32 million.^[10] After Bend It Like Beckham's UK release raised her profile, she was cast in the big budget action film, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (along with Orlando Bloom and Johnny Depp) which was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and opened in July 2003 to positive reviews^[11] and high box office grosses,^[12] becoming one of the biggest hits of summer 2003 and cementing Knightley as the new "It" girl.

Knightley had a role in the British romantic comedy Love Actually, which opened in November 2003. Her next film, King Arthur, opened in July 2004 to negative reviews.^[13] In the same month, Knightley was voted by readers of Hello! magazine as the film industry's most promising teen star.^[14] Additionally, Time magazine noted in a 2004 feature that Knightley seemed dedicated to developing herself as a serious actress rather than a film star.

2005 saw the release of 3 films, the first of which was The Jacket. The complex thriller starring Adrien Brody was derided by critics as unoriginal, silly and messy.^[15] Knightley was taken to task for her American accent but was otherwise dismissed by critics. Next came Tony Scott's Domino, an action film based on the life of bounty hunter Domino Harvey. The film has been Knightley's greatest critical flop to date.^[16] Knightley's critics often suggested she was nothing more than a pretty face, which led the young starlet to comment to Elle magazine, "I always feel like I’m the one with everything to prove."^[7] Pride and Prejudice rounded out 2005.^[17] Variety wrote about her portrayal of Elizabeth Bennet: "Looking every bit a star, Knightley, who's shown more spirit than acting smarts so far in her career, really steps up to the plate here, holding her own against the more classically trained Matthew Macfadyen, as well as vets like Brenda Blethyn, Donald Sutherland,Penelope Wilton,
and Judi Dench
with a luminous strength that recalls a young Audrey Hepburn. More than the older Jennifer Ehle in the TV series, she catches Elizabeth's essential skittishness and youthful braggadocio, making her final conversion all the more moving."^[18] The film grossed more than $100 million worldwide^[19] and Knightley earned a Golden Globe nomination and an Oscar nomination (the Oscar ultimately went to Reese Witherspoon). The Academy Award nomination made her the third-youngest performer ever nominated.^[20] BAFTA's decision not to nominate her drew criticism from Pride and Prejudice producer Tim Bevan.^[21]

In 2006, Knightley was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.^[22] Her biggest financial hit thus far, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, was released in July 2006.^[23]

2007 saw the release of several films starring Knightley: Silk, an adaptation of the novel by Alessandro Baricco,
Atonement, a feature film adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel of the same name (co-starring James McAvoy,Vanessa Redgrave, and Brenda Blethyn),^[24] and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, which was released in May 2007. Knightley's performance in Atonement began to generate buzz before the film was released; she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award in the Best Dramatic Actress category for the role, as well as a BAFTA Award. Critic Richard Roeper was puzzled by both Knightley's and McAvoy's Academy Award snubs stating "I thought McAvoy and Knightly were superb."^[25]

In the late spring of 2007, Knightley shot The Edge of Love
with Cillian Murphy as her husband, Matthew Rhys as her childhood sweetheart, Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, and Sienna Miller as Thomas' wife Caitlin MacNamara.
She received, for the most part, very positive reviews for her role.^[26] The 2008 release was penned by her mother, Sharman Macdonald, and directed by John Maybury. She then filmed The Duchess, based on the best-selling biography, Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire by Amanda Foreman^[27] in which she played Georgiana Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire; the film was released in cinemas on 5 September 2008 in the U.K.

Knightley appears in the present-day drama Last Night, in which she co-starred with Eva Mendes, Sam Worthington and Guillaume Canet. It is directed by Massy Tadjedin^[28][29] In April 2009, Knightley began work on an adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro's dystopian novel, Never Let Me Go. Filming took place in Norfolk and Clevedon.^[30][31]

Upcoming films for 2009 include London Boulevard, with Colin Farrell, the script of which is written by William Monahan, who will also make his directing debut.^[32]

Knightley successfully auditioned for the role of Eliza Doolittle, in the Columbia Pictures planned remake of the stage musical My Fair Lady to be produced by Cameron Mackintosh although no release date has yet been scheduled.^[33] She will also work on The Beautiful and the Damned,

a biopic about the life and relationship of American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald and his novelist wife Zelda Sayre. The film is directed by John Curran and scheduled for release in 2010.

In 2008 she was attached to play Cordelia in a big screen adaptation of King Lear which was subsequently abandoned.^[34] Knightley has confirmed that she will not be starring in the fourth installment of Pirates of the Caribbean.^[35]

As a result of her rapid rise to fame, Knightley has been the focus of significant media attention. She has been described by press reports as "famously open with media,"^[36] although Knightley herself has stated "I don't talk about my private life."^[37]

Knightley was ranked #79 by FHM in the magazine's UK Edition 2004 100 Sexiest Women in the World list, #18 in 2005, and was named "the sexiest woman in the world in 2006".^[38] The U.S. Edition ranked her #54 in 2004, #11 in 2005, and #5 in 2006. Knightley appeared nude along with Scarlett Johansson, on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine's March 2006 'Hollywood' issue. In May 2006, Knightley was #9 on Maxim's 2006 Hot 100. She was also named 'the number one beauty icon of 2007' by a poll of 2,500 people conducted by UK high street chain Superdrug.^[39][40]

Knightley was the celebrity face for the luxury goods brand Asprey, as well as Lux haircare products in Japanese television commercials. In April 2006, she was confirmed as the new celebrity face of Chanel's perfume Coco Mademoiselle, though the first photo from the campaign was not released until May 2007.^[41]

Knightley's Valentino gown at the 2006 Golden Globe Awards won her much acclaim and even landed her the top spot on Steven Cojocaru's "Best Dressed List" on Entertainment Tonight, while the dress she wore to the 2006 Academy Awards was donated to the charity Oxfam, where it raised £4,300.^[42]

Knightley has warned children who dream of the celebrity life that it's not all what it seems to be. "It frightens me when kids go, 'I want to be famous.'"^[43] In a recent interview with the BBC Knightley said that she feels "de-humanised."^[44] She also said that when a person becomes a celebrity, the public doesn't care that the person's life is constantly watched.

While she has no current plans to leave the world of film, Knightley has said that she could not imagine subjecting a child to the media. She is quoted as saying; "I'm not planning to have children at the moment... everyone changes, and I'm sure there will be a time I will want to do something different. I could completely see myself moving away [from acting]."^[45]

Knightley is the face of an Amnesty International campaign to support human rights, marking the 60th anniversary of the United Nation's Universal Declaration of Human Rights.^[46] As part of the campaign, the star also made a short film. Knightley stated she wanted help raise awareness of the UDHR and human rights abuses.^[46] She said "The UDHR is something that everyone should be aware of and be proud of as a statement of our common humanity."^[46]

Knightley contributed her voice to a 2007 Robbie the Reindeer animation, all profits of which will be donated to Comic Relief.^[47] In 2004, she travelled to Ethiopia with a group that included Richard Curtis, who had directed her in Love, Actually, on behalf of that charity.^[48]

In April 2009, Knightley appeared in a video to raise awareness of domestic abuse. The video was directed by Joe Wright, who directed Knightley in Atonement, and shot for "Women's Aid", a U.K. based women and children aid group.^[49][50] The video has created controversy, with some sources calling it too graphic, while other groups support the video for showing a realistic depiction of domestic violence.^[51]

Knightley, who lives in London, is involved with her Pride and Prejudice co-star Rupert Friend.^[52][53] Knightley has stated she has no plans to be married in the near future. She previously dated Northern Irish fashion model Jamie Dornan,^[54] as well as actor Del Synnott, who, according to some reports, attempted suicide after their relationship ended, although Synnott and Knightley deny these claims.^[55]

Knightley has denied rumours she is anorexic, although she did say—after her appearance at the Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest premiere led to media speculation that her extremely slender figure was due to an eating disorder—that her family has a history of anorexia.^[56] Knightley sued the Daily Mail after they claimed she lied about having anorexia; the article said that a teenage girl died from anorexia, indicating that Knightley's physical appearance may have influenced her in some way. She was awarded a settlement for it.^[57] In July 2006, Knightley said she has become a workaholic, detailing that "the last five years have blended into one. I can't tell you what was last year and what was the year before" and specifying that she was "working too much"^[58] and was "quite frightened that if I continue at this rate I will start to hate what I love,"^[59] even suggesting that she would take a one-year break from acting to travel and focus on her personal life.^[60]

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