Padma Lakshmi

Biography of Padma Lakshmi
Born in Madras, Indian, on September 1, 1970, Padma Lakshmi spent most of her adolescence in the United States. From a very young age, Padma knew she was beautiful. In fact, she recalls having worn her first seductive dress at only 9 years old. It was always her dream to be a model. Her mother, however, insisted that Padma get a college degree first, telling her that if she was beautiful at 17, she'd be beautiful at 21 with a degree in hand.

Around that time, Padma Lakshmi got into a serious car accident, which left a seven-inch scar on her right arm. This would become her signature feature -- that curious imperfection that makes her all the more lovely and exotic.

padma lakshmi pens easy exotic
Padma Lakshmi attended Clark University in Massachusetts and got a bachelor's degree in theater arts. Her last semester of college was spent in Spain, where she landed her first modeling job. She also caught the attention of Helmut Newton, a photographer notorious for his stylish female nudes. Giant fashion mags like Vogue, Elle and Glamour rushed to get her decadent body in their pages as well.

After graduating, Padma Lakshmi moved to Italy for a few years, where she cohosted the TV show Domenica in Rai. She also trekked across the international runways for such labels as Versace, Armani and Ralph Lauren. While trotting the globe, Padma Lakshmi, an unabashed foodie, picked up and compiled low-fat recipes from every imaginable country. Her amassed culinary adventures culminated in Easy Exotic: A Model's Low-Fat Recipes from Around the World, a cookbook that became a bestseller.

padma lakshmi in glitter
Padma Lakshmi's frequent returns to her subcontinent home resulted in her starring in two Bollywood films, Caribbeans and Sandokan: The Darkness and the Light. She became so recognized in India that American studios tried to capitalize on her talents. She was cast as Sylk in the 2001 box-office bomb Glitter, starring Mariah Carey. That same year, she guest-starred in an episode of Star Trek: Enterprise.

In 2003, Padma Lakshmi starred in her biggest Bollywood flick yet: Boom, a story of three Indian supermodels caught in a diamond heist. Sadly, this movie tanked as well. But box-office success (or the lack thereof) proved no hindrance to the model's love life. Padma Lakshmi started dating Booker Prize-winning author Salman Rushdie, with whom she created a cinematic partnership and would go on to marry in 2004, then later divorce in 2007.

padma lakshmi hosts padma's passport
Padma Lakshmir's first cookbook, Easy Exotic, did so well that she was offered her own cooking show on the Food Network, The Melting Pot -- Padma's Passport, in 2001. Since then, her popularity with foodies everywhere has soared, and Padma has also hosted a documentary series (about food around the world, naturally) called Planet Food, and most notably Top Chef (2006), on which she is a judge and host, and which has become a top-rated cooking show on Bravo.

padma lakshmi in the mistress of spices
Padma Lakshmi's talent isn't limited to behind the cooking counter on reality TV, as her acting past as proven. In 2005, Padma starred in The Mistress of Spices alongside Aishwarya Rai and Dylan McDermott.

Despite her love for the big screen, Padma Lakshmi returned to television in 2006 with a role as Moses' mother in The Ten Commandments and Sharpe's Challenge, a miniseries set in India shortly after the times of Napoleon and right in the midst of British rule. While the miniseries was English-language, Padma was able to appeal to her Indian audience as well, dealing with a location and history she knew well.

Padma Lakshmi's first cookbook, Easy Exotic, sold so well that the Food Network gave her her own show in which she travels the world tasting the most exotic dishes imaginable. Meanwhile, Padma created her own film production company, Lakshmi Productions. Her first film is reported to be based on a short story by the love-stricken 56-year-old Rushdie, The Firebird's Nest. In addition to releasing her second cookbook, Tangy, Tart, Hot and Sweet, in 2007, and divorcing her husband. Upon hearing of her position on this list, Padma said, "Thanks to all those who voted for me!"

Education
Lakshmi is a 1992 graduate of Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts, USA, where she received a B.A. with honors in Theatre Arts. Lakshmi was brought up as a vegetarian and has admitted that because of this, she sometimes becomes "squeamish" when sampling other cultural delicacies.

Awards
Lakshmi was named number 66 on AskMen.com's "The Top Most Desirable Women of 2008" list.

Mallika Sherawat

Biography of Mallika Sherawat
Mallika Sherawat was born Reema Lamba on October 24, 1981, in Haryana, India. Raised by conservative parents, Reema spent her childhood harboring secret dreams of someday making a living as a model and actress. Much to the opposition of a father who never made any secret of his disdain for his daughter’s ambitions, Reema left her small village as soon as she was able to and she made her way to India’s most populous city, Mumbai.

reema lamba becomes mallika sherawat
Having made the decision to pursue a career within the entertainment industry, Reema abandoned her birth name (primarily because of the surplus of actresses named Reema) and adopted her current moniker (Sherawat is her mother’s maiden name). As Mallika soon discovered, however, it’s a long, hard road from obscurity to fame and fortune. In light of this, the struggling performer took on a job as an air hostess and soon found herself falling for a pilot named Karan Singh Gill.

It wasn't long before the two were married, but their union didn’t last terribly long. Soon, Mallika Sherawat was once again living the single life. Fortunately, it was around this same time that Mallika finally managed to land a part in a Bollywood production: 2002’s Jeena Sirf Merre Liye. Though Mallika's role was a relatively minor one, it was big enough to make audiences and film producers take notice of Mallika’s beauty and natural talent.

mallika sherawat in khwahish
Mallika's big break came a year later with a substantial role in the controversial film Khwahish. Mallika caused quite a stir with her unabashedly sexual performance, in which she participated in 17 on-screen kisses -- scandalous by Bollywood standards. The film firmly established Mallika as a brassy, uninhibited actress who deserved to be mentioned in the same breath as fellow Bollywood queens Aishwarya Rai and Lisa Ray.

Mallika Sherawat cemented her reputation as a sexpot in 2004 with the release of Murder, which cast the actress as a married woman who embarks upon an illicit affair. The film, essentially a remake of the 2002 Richard Gere and Diane Lane film Unfaithful, proved that Mallika had no qualms about showing plenty of skin on the big screen. After landing a nomination for Best Actress at India’s Zee Cine Awards, Mallika suddenly had the status and reputation to write her own ticket.

mallika sherawat stars with jackie chan
Over 2004 and 2005, Mallika Sherawat appeared in no less than four movies, including Kis Kis Ki Kismet and Bachke Rehna Re Baba. Her increasingly prominent status brought her to the attention of Jackie Chan, who cast Mallika as an Indian Princess in his 2005 action epic The Myth. She caused something of a stir at the Cannes Film Festival, when she arrived on the red carpet wearing an exceedingly skimpy outfit as part of her promotional duties for the film.

mallika sherawat in pyaar ke side effects
2006 and 2007 witnessed a rash of roles for Mallika Sherawat: Guru, Welcome, Aap Kaa Surroor, and You Must Be Scared were all major Bollywood productions that secured major audiences. It was Mallika's role in Pyaar Ke Side Effects, however, that garnered the most attention, chiefly for the accolades it elicited.

mallika sherawat in unveiled
As of the first month of 2008, Mallika already had parts in four major Bollywood films lined up for the year ahead: Dasavatharam, Maan Gaye Mughal-E-Azam, Ugly Aur Pagli, and Fun in the Army. She also locked down roles in two English-language productions: Unveiled and The Aquarian Gospel.

Leona Lewis

Biography of Leona Lewis
Leona Lewis’ success as a singer hardly came as a surprise to those who know her, as she has been pursuing a career in music for most of her life. Leona Lewis wrote her first song when she was 12 and won in an under-18 competition the following year. She subsequently attended two highly regarded stage schools, the Sylvia Young Theatre School and the BRIT School.

Her debut album, Spirit, was released in Europe in November 2007, and became the fastest-selling debut album ever in both the United Kingdom and Ireland. Released in North America in April 2008, Spirit debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart and made Lewis the first British solo artist to top the chart with a debut album.

With her album reaching number one in at least three continents and nine countries, Lewis has had one of the most successful launches of any television talent show contestant ever.

leona lewis on x factor
Leona Lewis’ increased confidence -- coupled with the encouragement of family and friends -- led her to audition for The X Factor. The British program essentially follows the same formula as American Idol: Participants perform in front of three judges (Simon Cowell, Sharon Osbourne and Louise Walsh) until a winner is chosen.

After The X Factor
Over one-million copies of the winner's single, a cover of Kelly Clarkson's first single "A Moment Like This", were pre-ordered by stores, although at the time, the winner of the show had not been announced and it was unknown who would be releasing the single. "A Moment Like This" was released on CD on 20 December 2006, and was available as a digital download from midnight on 17 December. It broke a world record after it was downloaded fifty-thousand times in thirty minutes. On 24 December, "A Moment Like This" was crowned the 2006 UK Christmas number-one single, having sold 571,253 copies, beating Take That's single "Patience", and outselling the rest of the Top 40's sales combined. It was reported that one chain was "shifting more than 100 of her CDs a minute".[19] The single became the biggest-downloaded song in 2006, beating Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy". The single stayed at number one for four weeks, and also stayed at the top spot in the Irish Singles Chart for six weeks. It went on to sell in the region of 1,000,000 copies.

A four-track download EP, "It's All for You", that she recorded before entering The X Factor was released digitally on 18 December 2006, through The Schizofreniks record label.The single did not chart.

In February 2007, Lewis signed a £5 million ($9.7 million) five album contract in the United States with Clive Davis's record label, J Records, and showcased for several American music executives at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, California.

On 16 January 2007, "A Moment Like This" was shortlisted for the British Single award at the 2007 BRIT Awards. It made it to the second round but was eliminated and did not make it to the final selection. In May, it was awarded the Ivor Novello Award for Best Selling British Single.

Leona Lewis was considered an early favorite by fans and pundits alike, and she consistently knocked the judges out with her stirring renditions of popular songs like “I Will Always Love You” and “Over the Rainbow.” On December 16, 2006, Leona Lewis, with approximately 60% of the votes, was crowned the third-season winner of The X Factor.


leona lewis releases spirit
A few days after her victory, Leona’s first single -- a cover of Kelly Clarkson’s “A Moment Like This” -- was released to stores and online music shops, and it shot straight to No. 1. In early 2007, at about the same time her single was short-listed for an honor at the 2007 Brit Awards, Leona Lewis relocated to Los Angeles to begin work on her highly anticipated debut album, Spirit, which was released in March 2007 in the UK.

In 2008, Leona Lewis was nominated for an outstanding four BRIT Awards, and her album Spirit was released in the U.S. as well.

Her hit single, "Bleeding Love," also hit No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 in March 2008.

Tracklisting:

1) L.O.V.E U

2) Dip Down featuring Loot

3) Ready to Get Down

4) Private Party featuring Robert Allen

5) Joy

6) Bad Boy featuring K2 Family

7) I Can't Say Hello

8) I'm So Into You

9) I Wanna Be That Girl

10) Silly Girl

11) Private Party (Cover Boys remix)

12) Private Party (Juan Mendez remix)

13) Dip Down (Troy Taylor Remix)

Link (Rapidshare): Leona Lewis - Best Kept Secret (Part 1)

Link (Rapidshare): Leona Lewis - Best Kept Secret (Part 2)

Petra Nemcova Part I

Czech beauty Nemcova's