Thandie Newton

 Birth Name: Thandiwe Adjewa Newton

Age: 39, born 6 November 1972

Country of origin: United Kingdom

Height: 5' 3"

Ethnicity: Mixed

Relationship Status: Married

Partner: Ol Parker

About: Thandie Newton is the daughter of a Rhodesian (now Zimbabwean) mother from the Shona people and a British father. She lived in Zambia until political unrest caused her family to move back to the UK. She then lived in Cornwall in the southwest of Britain until the age of 11. At that time she enrolled in London's Art Educational School, where she studied modern dance. However, a back injury forced her to quit dancing. This led to her auditioning for films and receiving her first role in John Duiga Thandie Newton is the daughter of a Rhodesian (now Zimbabwean) mother from the Shona people and a British father. She lived in Zambia until political unrest caused her family to move back to the UK. She then lived in Cornwall in the southwest of Britain until the age of 11. At that time she enrolled in London's Art Educational School, where she studied modern dance. However, a back injury forced her to quit dancing. This led to her auditioning for films and receiving her first role in John Duigan's Flirting (1991). She then moved to Los Angeles, California, to pursue acting and her then-boyfriend. However, her British accent limited the amount of work she was getting, and she returned to Britain, where she went to Cambridge University to study, eventually receiving a degree in anthropology. Between semesters, she continued her acting and became noticed and in-demand for future film roles.

Vivien Leigh

 Birth Name: Vivian Mary Hartley

Born: 5 November 1913 Died: 7 July 1967

Country of origin: India

Height: 5' 4"

Ethnicity: White / Caucasian

"The two most famous Southern belles in history (Scarlett O'Hara and Blanche DuBois) were played by a British actress whose black hair and catlike green eyes barely masked the determination she shared with her most memorable characters. Essential Films Gone With the Wind 1939, MGM Waterloo Bridge 1940, MGM A Streetcar Named Desire 1951, Warner Bros. The Deep Blue Sea 1955, 20th Century Fox Ship of Fools 1965, Columbia"

Rachel Weisz

 Birth Name: Rachel Hannah Weisz

Age: 41, born 7 March 1970

Country of origin: United Kingdom

Currently Residing In: United States

Height: 5' 7"

Ethnicity: White / Caucasian

Relationship Status: Married

Partner: Daniel Craig

About: Rachel Weisz is an Academy Award-winning English actress. She became well known after her roles in the Hollywood films, The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, and has since continued appearing in major film roles that, thankfully, no longer have to do with the Mummy series. Weisz (pronounced "Vice") was born into a Jewish family and grew up in Hampstead, London. Her mother, Edith Ruth, is a Vienna born Austrian psychotherapist and aspiring actress. Her father, George Weisz, is Rachel Weisz is an Academy Award-winning English actress. She became well known after her roles in the Hollywood films, The Mummy and The Mummy Returns, and has since continued appearing in major film roles that, thankfully, no longer have to do with the Mummy series.

Weisz (pronounced "Vice") was born into a Jewish family and grew up in Hampstead, London. Her mother, Edith Ruth, is a Vienna born Austrian psychotherapist and aspiring actress. Her father, George Weisz, is a Hungarian-born inventor whose family fled to England to escape Nazi persecution. Needless to say, Rachel is not a great fan of Nazis.

During her university years, Weisz appeared in various student productions, co-founding a student drama group called Cambridge Talking Tongues, which went on to win a Guardian Student Drama Award at the Edinburgh Festival for an improvised piece called Sight Possession. She would receive offers to appear on Who’s Line is it Anyway, until the producers realized that the piece was “not supposed to be funny.”

Her breakthrough role was that of Gilda in the 1995 London revival of Noel Coward’s 1933 play Design for Living at the Gielgud Theatre. As most actresses gracing the West End do, Weisz teamed up with Keanu Reeves for a Hollywood action movie. That movie would be Chain Reaction, and would set off a chain reaction of people leaving theaters en masse. Then she did a bunch of artsy fartsy films with European directors. Hoity toity. Then she broke out as the lead female role in The Mummy. And, just as one is instructed to do on the ride inspired by that film, Rachel “did not look back.” She’s starred in a number of films including The Mummy Returns, Enemy at the Gates, About a Boy, and Constantine. She does stage work too, but you’re probably not reading this for that.

She won a Golden Globe, a SAG Award, and an Academy Award for her role in The Constant Gardener. She was then invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, thereby reducing the average age of members to 112.

Weisz is engaged to American filmmaker Darren Aronofsky, who, it is our fantasy, courted Ms. Weisz with a screening of the infamous “double ended sex toy” scene from Requiem for a Dream. It is also in our fantasy that Ms. Weisz said, after the screening, “You had me at one dildo.”

It's Time to Return to Middle Earth With The Hobbit Trailer!

Christmas isn't even here yet, but we already have a 2012 holiday treat to look forward to in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Though that's 12 months off, the good news is that we have the first trailer right here! If you're expecting something of the same caliber as The Two Towers, you might be a little disappointed; this preview is low on action and high on introduction and backstory. We meet young Bilbo (Martin Freeman), who is just trying to live his hobbit life in Bag End when he's rudely interrupted by an adventure-seeking Gandalf (Ian McKellen). What follows is a quick introduction to his long list of travel companions, and then a brief glimpse at what's in store in the first part of the adventure.

As excited as I am for this movie, I can't help but feel a teensy bit underwhelmed by this trailer. The production value looks amazing of course, but I was hoping the preview would incite a little more excitement. That said, we've got a whole year to build up the hype, so in the meantime, watch the trailer after the jump.

Prometheus Trailer: Charlize Theron Gets Mixed Up in Some Alien Business

Whether or not Ridley Scott's Prometheus is an official prequel to the Alien films, the teaser trailer does a great job at evoking the eerie vibe of the franchise. Presented as an origin story before the first Alien takes place, Prometheus follows a group led by Charlize Theron to another planet in an attempt to discover the genesis of the human race. From the foreboding music and tagline ("The Search For Our Beginning Could Lead to Our End"), we know that they find something far more dangerous and horrifying — though you don't really get a glimpse of what's lurking in the galactic darkness.

Aside from Theron, the movie boasts a cast that includes Michael Fassbender, Noomi Rapace, Guy Pearce, and Patrick Wilson, but don't look for any of them in this teaser — you only get brief flashes of anyone set against the creepy space backdrop. Still, it's an interesting first taste of the thriller, so watch it after the jump.

William and Kate Make a Special Visit to Diana's Dearest Charity

Prince William and Kate Middleton made a special holiday visit to the headquarters of the Centrepoint charity in London this evening. The foundation is one that is quite special to William, as it was the organization most closely associated with the philanthropic works of his mother, Princess Diana. Diana was formerly Centrepoint's patron, an honor that William now holds. Kate is presently determining which foundations she will focus on, and it's been rumored that Centrepoint, which helps young homeless people, is near the top of her list. William and Kate took a cooking class at the center tonight and were snapped cutting shapes out of pastry.

Kate stepped out this evening in a Ralph Lauren sweater dress, but it was her strapless Alexander McQueen gown that turned heads at Monday's Sun Military Awards. Kate and William attended with his brother, Prince Harry, who spoke during the ceremony. Harry shared his excitement to go to Afghanistan for another tour of duty with his fellow servicemen and women.