No matter how humble someone is, becoming famous means experiencing troubles staying grounded. Most of the celebrities enjoy their fame and live luxurious lives while under the limelight. However, there are also those who opt for a quieter life, despite being recognized worldwide for what they do.
Actor Jonathan Lipnicki seems to be part of the latter. He had his major breakthrough playing the role of Ray in the movie Jerry McGuire when he was just five years old. His cuteness stole the hearts of millions of fans and he is considered one of the best child actors. Jonathan found himself on the VHS’s list of the ‘100 Greatest Kid Stars’ and ranked number 8 on E’s ”Cutest Child Stars: All Grown Up.”
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None of Jonathan’s parents or family members were into acting, so how did it all start for him?
His older sister, Alexis, showed interest in acting, and Jonathan followed her. ”My sister was in an acting class and I gave it a try. I loved it right off the bat and started auditioning. I booked a few commercials and then Jerry Maguire,” the child actor said.
In Jerry McGuire (1996)
Well, this movie and the chance to act alongside huge names like Tom Cruise, who is still Jonathan’s favorite actor ever, and Renée Zellweger opened the doors to Hollywood to him, and soon after, he landed another much-loved role, that of George Little in the animated/live-action comedy Stuart Little.
He was also part of the sequel in 2002 and the film was a huge success.
After that, Jonathan played in a number of films and series, including Dawson’s Creek, before he felt he had it enough of filming and turned to an ordinary life and practicing martial arts.
While at middle school, his friends teased him for being an actor. ”As a kid/teen I was made fun of relentlessly by some people who are now even my friends on FB,” he wrote on his Instagram. ”I was told I was a has-been and would never book a job again. I was made to feel like garbage every day of middle school.”
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However, a few years after graduating, our favorite child star got back to Hollywood and has been acting ever since. This year, he played the role of Sydney ’The Chef’ Lawson in the horror movie Broil.
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Today, the actor is 30 years old and he’s involved in a number of organizations, including the Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. His impact and role within these foundations is huge. In 2001, the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation hailed Jonathan as one of its “Heroes of 2001” for his work.
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Jonathan’s net worth is around $5 million, and he is yet to show what he’s capable of when it comes to acting. We have to agree that he turned into a nice guy and is looking cute.
During the time tennis was still considered a male dominated sport, a young girl with incredible talent started winning this sport’s courts and people’s hearts.
Anna Kournikova, born in Moscow on June 7, 1981, fell in love with tennis when she was still just a little girl. It was around the age of five when she first held a tennis racket in her hand and felt that was it.
As years went by, the entire world learned of this blonde prodigy who won every single junior tournament there was to be won. Not only that, but Anna became the prime interest of a number of sport companies who wanted a piece of her and were eager to be part of her successful story.
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In the book Chicken Soup for the Soul: Extraordinary Teens: Personal Stories and Advice from Today’s Most Inspiring Youth, Anna wrote: “I played well and I enjoyed the sport so my parents challenged me some more. Two years later, I began taking lessons at a professional tennis club where a lot of the current Russian tennis players were trained.
“Sure enough, tennis quickly became my life, my outlet, my circle of friends and my community. My coach was basically my second mother,” she continued.
“Everything in my life was about tennis and training. Somehow I knew, even though I was just a kid, that I didn’t really have many other options. At the time, life in Russia was tough – there weren’t that many opportunities there like there are in the Untied States.”
The word of Anna’s talent spread all the way to the most prominent tennis coaches on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean. IMG Tennis, a global tennis management company, were among the first who reached Anna’s family and offered them to move to their Lord Tennis Academy. At the time, Anna was 10, and by the age of 13, IMG helped her become a millionaire.
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The truth was that Anna was more than just a talented tennis player. She was a beautiful young lady whose appearance stunned everyone, and according to many, that wow factor was a huge plus.
“Even before her results started, even when she was a junior, people talked about her at IMG – which is creepy and gross, but it still happens to this day; ‘Oh my God, you should see this 12-year-old, she’s beautiful,’” New York Times tennis writer Ben Rothenburg said on the No Challenges Remaining podcast.
“People saw her as this package, and she became that.”
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Anna moved to Florida and started playing at the legendary Nick Bollettieri’s tennis academy and at the age of just 14, she became a pro.
“For a lot of sports, most people don’t start playing professionally at fourteen, but tennis is one of those sports where rigorous training starts at a very young age,” she explained.
“In fact, as I remember it, it wasn’t even a question of turning pro or not. I was groomed for so many years in preparation for this opportunity that I never even questioned it, I was both eager and hungry to prove myself on the WTA tour…. I had won everything I could win on the Junior Circuit so I was really excited to move on to the next level.”
All of a sudden, Anna Kournikova became a global phenomenon adored by millions. The list of sponsors willing to work with her was getting longer and money wouldn’t stop pouring in. She lived her dream.
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At the age of 18, Anna was considered a “sex symbol” who was on the covers of many prestigious magazines.
Her career blossomed. She won the Wimbledon double title together with Martina Hingis in 1999 and 2002, and things couldn’t have been better from a commercial standpoint. At the peak of her fame, fans looking for images of Anna Kournikova made her name one of the most common search strings on Google Search.
But then, in 2003, at the age of just 22, Anna was forced to retire from tennis due to injuries.
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“You know, the fame and everything, I guess most of it was created by you guys, by the media a lot of times, most of the time the yellow press,” she said on the evening she announced her retirement, as per AU Sports.
“[I] never tried to pay attention. I mean, obviously, it was a little hard times dealing with it being 16, 17 years old, reading some kind of c**p about yourself, you know. Most of it was made up.”
Despite ending her tennis career, Anna Kournikova remained under the limelight. She turned to modeling and appeared in a number of commercials. She also appeared in the music video Escape, by Spanish singer Enrique Iglesias, and that’s when the two started dating.
“I’ve never met her before, but I’m a big fan,” he said at the time. “I’m sure a lot of guys want to meet her. I’m one of them. She’s beautiful, talented, great tennis player, you know, and I’m sure she’s going to be great in the video.”
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Anna and Enrique have been together since 2001 and have three children together, twins Lucy and Nicholas who were born in 2017, and daughter Mary, born in 2020.
“I love being a mum, I absolutely wanted to have children, whether I had my own or adopted. I love taking care of people,” Anna told Tennis World USA in 2019.
“Marriage isn’t important to me,” she added. “I believe in being open and trusting each other, and respecting each other completely. We’ve been together for years. He’s the male version of me, and I’m the female version of him.”
Today, Anna Kournikova is 40 and looks as amazing as ever. She has a net worth of $50 million.
Anna was a trainer for season 12 of the television show The Biggest Loser but did not return for season 13. In addition to her tennis and television work, Kournikova serves as a Global Ambassador for Population Services International’s “Five & Alive” program, which addresses health crises facing children under the age of five and their families.
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There comes a time in life when we feel the urge to change something about our appearance. Whether it is the dull hairstyle we’ve had for years or the clothes we got tired of, a little change is always refreshing.
Dan, who is an “old school” rocker, has had his wild mane for years. The reason why he never had the courage to have his hair cut short is that he doesn’t like the shape of his head.
Being a huge fan of rock music, it came natural to Dan to rock this hairstyle.
However, when he met the love of his life and their wedding day was approaching, he knew he needed a change, and so did his future wife Maria.
In order to be sure he wouldn’t regret his decision, he decided to turn to the professionals from the “Flip A Look” in “The Rachael Ray Show.”
As Maria is an anticipation to see her future husband’s new look, Dan undergoes an incredible makeover and stuns everyone, especially her.
To see Dan’s transformation go to the video below and don’t forget to SHARE it with your family and friends on Facebook!
Krysta Davis of Cleveland, Tennessee, was 23 when she had a miscarriage. She and her husband, Derek Lovett, were heartbroken. But then, they learned she was pregnant again, and their days turned a bit brighter.
Everything seemed fine with their baby girl, but then, when Davis reached 18 weeks of pregnancy, their hearts were broken again. The little one had anencephaly, a rare health condition where a baby is missing certain parts of their skull or brain. The devastated parents were told that their daughter wouldn’t live more than an hour after birth.
“It was definitely shocking. It was a huge heartbreak knowing that we’d miscarried previously and were having complications with this pregnancy… it was really hard to take in,” Davis said. “We were going to cherish what time we had with her.”
These parents had two options, to either induce labor right away or carry the baby to term and donate her organs to other babies in need. They chose the latter. Imagine the strength and bravery one needs to possess to make such a decision.
Source: C. Tilley Photography
“[The doctor] said babies with anencephaly don’t tend to survive birth let alone cord-cutting. There was no outcome where she would be able to survive on her own for very long if at all,” she said. “We decided that even if we couldn’t bring our daughter home, no mother would have to go through what we were going to go through.”
Rylei Arcadia Diane Lovett was born at 40 weeks. Despite doctors’ prognosis that she would live just an hour at most, this sweetie was by her parents’ side for a whole week. During that time, she never cried. The only time she did cry was when she took her last breath and left this world.
Rylei was born on Christmas and died on New Year’s Eve. The time she spent with her parents was so precious that it changed their lives forever.
“It was absolutely amazing going from knowing we were maybe gonna get 30 minutes with her at most to having a week with her was more than we could have ever expected or imagined,” Davis said. “We were able to fit an entire lifetime of love into that one week with her that wasn’t promised to begin with. She just smiled the whole time. She was such a good baby.”
Rylei’s lungs were donated to a research hospital and her heart valves went to two children in need. It’s been really hard coming to terms with the fact that she’s really gone. But it’s also been a great month that we’ve got to share her story,” said Davis. “It’s helped a lot to be able to help other women in our situation, and hear their stories. It warms our hearts to know that [Rylei’s life] will give two other babies a second chance at life.”
Despite losing their girl, these parents were glad she would continue to live through the children whose lives she saved.
Three years after Rylei passed away, her mother shared photos of her on the Facebook page dedicated to this girl’s short but meaningful life. “I can’t believe it’s already been 3 whole years since the first time I held this tiny little human. 3 years since you took your first breath… I am so thankful for the time I had with you, but what I wouldn’t give to see you now… Happy birthday, precious girl.”
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It’s safe to say that the ongoing court trial involving Johnny Depp and Amber Heard has been the hot topic all around the world. Millions of people are eager to see the outcome of the turbulent trial between the now ex-couple.
Many people who believe that Depp is the victim blame Heard of humiliating the real victims of domestic abuse. Others, however, stand by her side. One of the people who is supporting Heard is her good friend Eve Barlow, a British music writer.
Barlow took to Twitter to explain that many women see Heard as the villain only because they “envy her beauty.”
According to her tweet from May 10, those women who despise Amber Heard are the ones with poor self-esteem. Barlow further wrote that these women are full of prejudice towards classic feminine strength and beauty, something Heard possesses.
Barlow was previously ejected from the courthouse for texting and tweeting in the front row during the start of the former couple’s $50 million defamation lawsuit.
I was invited to speak on a podcast about Depp v Heard. The interviewer said that many of Depp’s supporters are women and they hate Amber Heard. I’m seeing the hatred of women & antifeminist views rising amongst women. Do women hate other women? And if you think they do, why?
— Dr Charlotte Proudman (@DrProudman) May 10, 2022
Barlow’s tweet was a reply to a query from legal expert Dr. Charlotte Proudman who asked her followers on Twitter, “Do women dislike other women? Also, in the event that you figure they do, why?”
AH had to fight for her life, despite her position and assumed privileges. She still wasn’t afforded a savior. It’s much easier to get behind a woman who plays the damsel in distress than it is to empathize with a woman who has had to liberate herself.
Depp has sued Heard on the grounds that she defamed him in an op-ed she wrote for The Washington Post. The trial has been broadcast on Court TV and according to Vanity Fair, the channel’s ratings have doubled as a huge number of people closely follow the accusations the exes are throwing at each other.
Last week, Heard testified that Depp abused her back in 2015 during a drug-fueled fight and threatened to “carve up” her face with a bottle. Her testimony is expected to continue on Monday.
John Phillips/Getty Images for BFI
During the past few days, a number of videos showing people reenacting Heard’s testimony that Johnny Depp slapped her emerged on TikTok. There is also a petition asking Heard to be removed from Aquaman 2 which is set to be released in 2023.
Referring to the videos, which TikTok is trying to remove, Barlow wrote, “Listen, everyone who defends Amber Heard’s TikTok abuse is operating in bad faith.
“You can’t argue that it doesn’t discourage survivors from coming forward; anybody deliberately ridiculing abuse testimony is contributing to that silence. Period.”
Listen, anyone protecting the TikTok abuse of Amber Heard is acting in bad faith. You can’t argue that it doesn’t have a chilling effect on survivors from coming forward. Anyone actively mocking testimony about abuse is contributing to that silencing. Period.
Actress Helen Mirren and her husband Taylor Hackford spoke of the loss of actor Rio Hackford, Taylor’s biological son and Helen’s stepson.
Rio began his career in 1990, first appearing in the film Pretty Woman, where he played the uncredited role of a street junkie. Other films he was part of were Safe, Exit to Eden, Déjà Vu, I Love Your Work, Blood In, Blood Out, Treasure Island, Sherrybaby and Strange Days. Besides his career in film, Rio owned clubs in New Orleans and was a husband and a father of two.
Helen and Taylor revealed in a statement that the cause of Rio’s death was uveal melanoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer.
The couple also wanted to encourage everyone to get their eyes tested at least once a year, as preventive care of their health.
Needless to say, the family was left utterly heartbroken. Helen said that her stepson taught them how to live in community and generosity. He truly was a very special man.
They are still morning his loss and do all in their power to celebrate and honor his life journey that ended way too soon.
“Worthy experience isn’t everywhere. But Rio knew the closest to you at any given moment, and keeping track of these precious possibilities for you was his most fluent language of love,” Rio’s friend and screenwriter D.V. DeVincentis wrote on Instagram. “Rio was the apex curator of experience, it was his oxygen, his life.”
Rio Hackford was 51. May he rest in peace.
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Luiza Gadzhieva, a mother of four from Russia, decided to sell her newborn baby on the black market. According to police reports, she allegedly told her sister that she wanted to get rid of the one-week-old baby daughter because she set eyes on a pair of boots she liked a lot and was planning to buy the footwear with the money.
She even posted an ad in which she explained that she was willing to sell her girl to a family willing to adopt her.
Mere minutes after putting up the ad, she started receiving messages from potential buyers. One person told her they were willing to pay a little over $3900 for the baby and she accepted it. Little did she know, however, that she would try to make a deal with law enforcement officers working under cover.
Lizia told the potential buyer that she would wait for him at one Moscow coffee shop. Once there, she handed the baby the moment she received the money without showing any sign of regret for her cruel action. After the police made sure the baby girl was in safe hands, they arrested Luiza.
Mum tried to sell her one-week-old daughter on black market as she wanted some new boots https://t.co/wHQITtmo4f
This horrible mother was contacted by the anti-slavery group Alternativa shortly after she posted the ad and was warned that her baby could end up in the wrong hands, but she didn’t care and simply proceeded with her plan.
“We tried in every possible way to explain to her that bad, dangerous conditions awaited the child. We warned that the baby would be handed over to gypsies, but she was little interested in what would happen [to her daughter],” the group said.
“The height of cynicism was her correspondence with her sister, who knew about everything, and in which the child’s mother discussed what boots she will buy for herself after selling the baby,” the group’s spokesperson explained and added, “It is not known what would have happened to this child.”
Many believe that those people who are courageous don’t feel fear. The truth is that fear is a natural condition we all experience, but some people are able to manage it and overcome it so that it doesn’t prevent them from taking action.
It was around 5:50 in the morning when a man named Jean-Paul LaPierre from Boston was on the Blue Line train at Chicago’s Cumberland station trying to get to the Chicago marathon. All of a sudden, he noticed many of the passengers were disturbed and were going to the wrong direction. When he asked them what was going on, they said there was an armed robber in the train who was holding some of the passengers at gunpoint.
Without thinking twice, 52-year-old LaPierre, who happened to be a former boxer, decided to approach the robber.
Source: YouTube/ WGN News
The robber, who was later identified as 30-year-old Tremaine Anderson, was a well-known felon to the police.
At first, LaPierre asked Anderson to hand him the weapon, but when he refused to do so, LaPierre managed to disarm him. Although Anderson was way younger and taller, LaPierre still managed to defeat him thanks to his skills of a trained fighter.
The video of the incident shows the moment LaPierre manages to corner the robber against the train’s door as he says: “I’m a boxer. I’ll break your head in one punch. I could hit you 7 times in 3 seconds.”
He was able to keep the robber cornered until police arrived.
Source: YouTube/ WGN News
Once police took Anderson over, he resisted arrest and tried to escape, but LaPierre intervened once again and expertly flipped him over so the police could handcuff him.
La Pierre showed incredible bravery and didn’t get scared even when Anderson’s accomplices threatened to hurt him if he didn’t leave their friend alone.
What’s most impressive of all is that LaPierre still managed to run Chicago’s 12th marathon as though nothing happened.
One of Anderson’s victims happened to be taking part in the marathon as well. He made sure to thank LaPierre for acting quickly and preventing a tragedy from taking place.
Police released a statement saying Anderson has been charged with robbery with a firearm without the option of a bond. His criminal record is an extensive one. He has been charged with robbery, battery, and public indecency in the past.
“This man literally put his life in danger to save others, very courageous! Well done Sir,” one of the comments under the video of LaPierre’s brave act says. We truly believe that this man is a hero in every sense of the word.
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