Not a Simple Thing

Few tennis players have dominated their sport as Pete Sampras did in the 1990s. He was the top-ranked men's player in the world for six consecutive years—longer than any other player in tennis history. In 2000, Sampras broke the men's record for career victories in Grand Slam tournaments, the four most important events in tennis. His 13 Grand Slam wins included two Australian Open championships, four U.S. Open titles, and seven Wimbledon championships. Sampras added to his trophy case in 2002 with a dramatic fifth win at the U.S. Open. It was his 14th Grand Slam crown. Sampras, a 6-foot, 1-inch (1.9 meter) right-hander, won his first U.S. Open title in 1990. At 19 years and 28 days, he was the youngest man ever to win the event. With a powerful serve that approached 130 miles (209 kilometers) per hour and kept his opponents off balance, Sampras reached the number-one ranking in 1993—the same year he won his first Wimbledon and second U.S. Open. He slammed an ...

She has been called America's sweetheart. With her tumbling blond curls, model-like good looks, sweet temperament—and six Grammys—country and pop singer/songwriter, Taylor Swift is a young megastar.   Swift won four Grammys at the 2008 awards ceremony. Two were Album of the Year and Best Country Album for Fearless , her second album. The other two were Best Female Country Vocal Performance and Best Country Song for the single "White Horse. " Swift was 20 at the time. She had been pursuing a career in music for almost a decade. "I think I first realized I wanted to be in country music and be an artist when I was 10," Swift said. "And I started dragging my parents to festivals, and fairs, and karaoke contests. And I did that for about a year before I came to Nashville for the first time. I was 11 and I had this demo CD of me singing Dixie Chicks and LeAnn Rimes songs. "  The Nashville record companies showed no interest in Swif...

With the release of Jaws in 1975, 28-year-old film director Steven Spielberg was hailed as Hollywood 's new boy wonder. His thrilling movie about a giant shark that terrorizes a beach community earned more than $125 million at the box office. Jaws was the first in a string of blockbusters. As a child, Steven Allan Spielberg loved films filled with adventure and heroism. He is still attracted to exciting, suspenseful stories. Spielberg brings these to life with his superb moviemaking skills. Among his more famous films are Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977); E.T.—the Extra-Terrestrial (1982); and a series of Indiana Jones movies. His films are characterized by heart-stopping action, imaginative special effects, humor, and optimistic conclusions. In many Spielberg films, the main characters include children whose innocence triumphs over adult wickedness. Spielberg was once criticized for not making serious films. He rose to the challenge in 1985 when he di...

Jessica Simpson has grown as famous for her supposedly ditzy image as for her beauty and her singing voice. Yet appearances can be deceiving. The girl who once asked her husband if Chicken of the Sea was tuna or chicken is also an ambitious performer who has dedicated much of her life to becoming a star. Jessica Ann Simpson was born in Dallas , Texas. She began singing at a young age; she first sang in the choir of the local Baptist church. At age 12, she tried out for The Mickey Mouse Club . This popular television show was a well-known training ground for future talent like Simpson's eventual rivals Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. But Simpson faced an early disappointment when she was turned down for the club. Instead, with the help of her manager-father Joe (a minister) and stylist-mother Tina, Simpson signed with a small Christian-music label. Meanwhile, she attended J.J. Pearce High School, from which she graduated in 1998.   Simpson finally got ...

For much of his career, Arnold Schwarzenegger was known as a champion bodybuilder, a movie star, and a successful businessman. Then in 2003, he took on a new career—politics. Schwarzenegger was elected governor of California. He served as governor until 2011. Born in Austria, Schwarzenegger moved to the United States in 1968. He earned a bachelor's degree in marketing from the University of Wisconsin–Superior in 1979. He became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1983. As a bodybuilder, he won 13 championships; his titles included Mr. Universe, Mr. Olympia, and Mr. World. His leading role in the 1977 documentary Pumping Iron brought him to Hollywood's attention. It also helped to popularize bodybuilding competitions.   Schwarzenegger soon became a top box-office attraction. He made his mark as an action star in Conan the Barbarian (1982), The Terminator (1984), Predator (1987), and Total Recall (1990). He also displayed a talent for comedy in Twins (1988), Kindergarten...

Comedian and actor Adam Sandler first won notice with his hilarious stand-up routines. He became one of the most popular cast members of the television show Saturday Night Live during the early 1990s. His success on the long-running comedy show launched him to superstardom. He was born Adam Richard Sandler in Brooklyn, New York. He was one of seven children. The family soon moved to Manchester , New Hampshire, where in school, Sandler became known as the class clown. But he never thought about being a professional comedian. Then one night, his brother pushed the 17-year-old Sandler onto the stage at a Boston comedy-club amateur night. The laughs got him hooked. But he still suffered terrible stage fright until—again at his brother's suggestion—Sandler started singing funny songs as part of his act. Playing music calmed his nerves; it even helped distinguish his act during the 1980s stand-up boom. Sandler continued to perform while attending New York Universit...

A teen heartthrob's popularity is often fleeting as the idols and their fans grow older. Justin Timberlake seemed to understand this better than most. Not content to rest on his laurels as the front man of a hugely popular "boy band," Timberlake successfully transformed himself into an appealing entertainer for adult audiences. Justin Randall Timberlake spent his early years in Memphis, Tennessee. When Justin was seven years old, his parents divorced. He moved with his mother to Orlando, Florida. For as long as anyone in his family can remember, Timberlake was an entertainer, always singing, dancing, and telling jokes. As a child, he considered holidays largely an opportunity to perform before a bigger-than-usual audience. As he grew older, Timberlake practiced singing by mimicking songs on the radio. He learned to dance by watching MTV. After the move to Orlando, he entered every talent contest he could. He won many of them, including one that challenged contes...

Actor John Travolta is known for playing characters who are cool and tough, yet enormously appealing. As a rising young star in the 1970s, he made his reputation by dancing and singing as much as by acting. Travolta's popularity declined in the 1980s, but he came back stronger than ever in the 1990s with films that showcased his acting talents in a range of roles. John Joseph Travolta began performing as a teenager. He appeared in summer stock, on Broadway , and on television. In 1975, he was picked to play Vinnie Barbarino, the dim-witted but lovable "Sweathog" on the television series Welcome Back, Kotter . The show was a hit; it led to leading roles in two movies that made Travolta a star. In Saturday Night Fever (1977), he played a Brooklyn youth caught up in the 1970s disco scene. In the musical Grease (1978), set in the 1950s, he was a high-school punk who finds romance with a clean-cut girl.   Several poor films almost ended Travolta's car...

"I wish I knew where I was going," wrote 29-year-old John Muir to a friend in 1867. A promising young inventor, Muir had decided to abandon civilization after nearly losing an eye in an accident. He slung a backpack across his shoulders and began what would be a lifelong trek through the American wilderness. Muir wrote extensively about his journeys. His deep love of nature is evident in dozens of his popular magazine articles and books. Writing became Muir's vocation. In his essays, he urged that the nation's wilderness areas be preserved in a system of national parks and forests. Muir was largely responsible for the federal government's decision to establish Yosemite National Park and Sequoia National Park in California, his adopted home. Indeed, he is often referred to as the "father of our national parks. " In 1880, Muir married Louisa Wanda Strentzel, the daughter of a local horticulturalist. The couple settled in Martinez, California...

Good looks, great dance moves, and a golden voice made Ricky Martin the undisputed king of pop in 1999. Already a Latin-music star, Martin burst into the mainstream in February 1999 with a high-voltage performance at the GRAMMY Awards. Suddenly, Martin's name was on everyone's lips. Enrique Martin Morales began his career in television commercials as a boy in San Juan , Puerto Rico. At age 12, he joined the Latin pop group Menudo. He struck out on his own after five years, and his first solo albums, cut in Mexico, were hits. In 1994, Martin moved to Los Angeles and landed a role on the television soap opera General Hospital . He also appeared on Broadway in Les Misérables . Meanwhile, his recording career took off. Martin's 1998 album Vuelve showcased his signature blend of rock and Latin stylings and won the GRAMMY for Best Latin Pop Performance. In May 1999, the singer released Ricky Martin , his first English-language album. It included "Livin...

When the comic book series Spider-Man began, it offered readers a new kind of superhero whose real identity was that of an earnest young man with everyday problems and the weight of the world on his shoulders. On film, actor Tobey Maguire seemed to bring that complex character to life. His performances in Spider-Man and its sequels were essential to the popular and critical success of the films.   Tobias Vincent Maguire was born on June 27, 1975, in Santa Monica, California. Early in his life, Maguire's parents split up, leaving him to travel back and fourth between them. His mother encouraged Tobey to act; he took lessons, tried out for parts, and left school by the ninth grade to pursue his calling full-time. As a teenager, he worked in commercials and appeared in bit parts on television.   Maguire finally hit his stride in the 1997 film The Ice Storm. The quiet drama focused on a 1970s American family. Maguire occupied the film's moral center as th...

When Madonna's first recordings were released, some rock critics wrote that her voice was thin and colorless. And many people complained that her songs and videos were demeaning to women. But Madonna didn't let criticism stop her. She became one of pop music's biggest stars. And she has used her musical success to branch out into other fields. Over the course of her career, Madonna has spent time as an actress, a record and film producer, and an author of children's books. Madonna Louise Veronica Ciccone was born in Bay City, Michigan, in 1958. She began her career in 1978 as a dancer in New York City. She later appeared with various groups as a drummer and singer, and then formed her own band. Her first album, Madonna , was released in 1983, and the single "Borderline" was her first Top 10 hit. But it was her second album, Like a Virgin (1984), featuring "Material Girl," that made Madonna a superstar. Touring the country, she attract...

When Edward Regan Murphy was in high school, he predicted that he would become famous by the time he was 19, and a millionaire by 22. And Eddie was right. He shot to stardom in the popular TV comedy show Saturday Night Live when he was 19. He began making movies in 1982 and quickly became a star and a millionaire. Audiences loved the hip, sassy characters he played in hits such as 48 Hrs. , Trading Places , and Beverly Hills Cop . He remained one of Hollywood 's top box-office attractions throughout the 1980s. Murphy's star dimmed in the early 1990s. He appeared in a series of films that disappointed his fans and failed financially, and it seemed that his days as a top star were over for good. But then, in the summer of 1996, Murphy came back when The Nutty Professor became a huge hit. Murphy played two leading roles: an overweight, painfully shy professor who invents a formula that transforms him into a thin and smooth-talking ladies' man. But those w...

"The moment that face comes on the screen," film director Billy Wilder said, "people drop their popcorn. . . . You can't take your eyes from her. " Wilder was talking about Marilyn Monroe, one of Hollywood 's most popular stars in the 1950s. Born Norma Jeane Mortenson, Monroe grew up in a series of foster homes and orphanages. She worked in an airplane factory during World War II . Then her beauty caught the attention of a photographer, and she began modeling. Monroe appeared in her first movie in 1947, and although her roles were small, audiences were captivated by her unique combination of sexiness and vulnerability.   By the mid-1950s, she had become a major star. Films such as The Seven Year Itch and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes were huge successes. But Monroe complained that her parts were not challenging. She wanted to be recognized as a serious actress. So she moved to New York City to study acting. When she returned to moviemak...

The path to stardom was never clear for the young man who would grow up to replace Garth Brooks as the most popular country singer in the world. Samuel Timothy McGraw was born and raised by a single mother in a small town in Louisiana. He would not learn until he was 11 years old that his father was professional baseball player Tug McGraw, who had engaged in a brief affair with his mother. Growing up, McGraw listened to a wide variety of music, from country to rock to rhythm-and-blues. But although he loved music, his most obvious talents were on a baseball field. His baseball skills earned him an athletic scholarship to Northeast Louisiana University; he majored in sports medicine. But while in college he began playing guitar and singing to entertain friends. After performing at some local clubs, he decided his future was in music. He quit school and, like countless musical dreamers before and since, moved to Nashville , Tennessee. McGraw arrived in Nashville in 19...

Fiery, determined, and eloquent, Malcolm X inspired self-respect and pride in a generation of African-Americans frustrated by prejudice.   Born Malcolm Little, the seventh child of a Baptist minister, Malcolm grew up in Michigan. Although he was an above-average student, he drifted into crime after his father was murdered, probably by white supremacists. In 1946, Malcolm was convicted of burglary and sent to prison. There, he turned to the teachings of Elijah Muhammad, the leader of the Nation of Islam (Black Muslims). Muhammad rejected white society and wanted to establish a separate nation for African-Americans.   On his release from prison in 1952, Malcolm joined the Nation of Islam and rose quickly within its ranks. But Malcolm's popularity and his charges of corruption within the organization led to a break with Muhammad. In 1964, during a pilgrimage to Mecca, Malcolm decided to concentrate on raising the economic standards of African-Americans. He foun...

For Brad Pitt, the elements of superstardom seem to have always been in place: a world-famous face; a highly-publicized love life; and a penchant for roles that have played into American myths or torn them down. Critics have wondered whether he will ever find the one great, career-defining role that eludes him. Pitt has nevertheless made his mark as an actor, especially in films that have struck a cultural nerve, such as Se7en (1995) and Fight Club (1999). William Bradley Pitt was born in 1963 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. He grew up in Springfield, Missouri. His parents, Bill and Jane Pitt, were devout Southern Baptists. Pitt was an active student at Kickapoo High School, participating in everything from sports to debating to musicals. He went to the University of Missouri to study journalism and eventually entered advertising. Somewhere along the line, however, he discovered an ambition to act. Just two credits short of a degree, Pitt packed up "Runaround Sue"—his Datsun—a...

Former child actor Sarah Jessica Parker has grown into one of America's most versatile, talented, and enduring entertainers. Equally at home in television, movies, and on the stage, she has been an audience favorite wherever she has performed. Parker grew up in the farm country of south-central Ohio. Her parents divorced when she was only a year old. So she and her seven brothers and sisters were raised by their school-teacher mother and her second husband. Parker was a born entertainer; her singing and dancing quickly became a way to earn badly needed money for the family. At age eight, Parker made her first appearance before a national audience in the television special The Little Match Girl . Three years later, in 1976, when she was 11, she landed a role in the Broadway production of The Innocents , directed by renowned playwright Harold Pinter. Her family moved to New Jersey to be closer to the New York City theaters. After The Innocents closed, Parker toured...

Sarah Palin was the first woman to be nominated for vice president of the United States by the Republican Party. On August 29, 2008, John McCain , the Republican nominee for president, had chosen her to be his running mate. At the time, Palin was serving her first term as governor of Alaska. But in the November 4 presidential election, the McCain-Palin ticket was defeated by Barack Obama and Joe Biden , the Democratic presidential and vice-presidential nominees. McCain's choice of Palin as his running mate surprised many Republicans, as well as Democrats. She was little known outside of Alaska. And she lacked experience on the national scene and with major issues. This caused many people to question the wisdom of McCain's choice. Nevertheless, with her energetic style and folksy appeal, Palin helped solidify the support of the Republican Party's conservative base. Born in Idaho, Palin moved with her family to Alaska when she was three months old. Her fam...

Al Pacino has never forgotten his roots in the theater, even though he has long been one of Hollywood 's top stars.   Al Pacino began his career in New York City in the 1960s. He won awards for a wide range of performances off-Broadway. His first major film role was as a heroin addict in The Panic in Needle Park . Director Francis Ford Coppola next cast him as Michael Corleone, the son of a crime boss, in The Godfather . Pacino's powerful performance in that 1972 film catapulted him to stardom. Since then, Pacino has shuttled between Broadway and Hollywood. His acting in such films as Serpico (1973), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), And Justice for All (1979), and Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) has earned him eight Academy Award nominations. He won the Best Actor Oscar for the 1992 film Scent of a Woman . His later film roles include 88 Minutes (2007) and Ocean's Thirteen (2007). In 2010, Pacino was seen in the television film You Don 't Know Jack ; he p...

To millions of Americans, Tim Allen was Tim "the Tool Man" Taylor. Taylor was the host of a fictional TV home-repair show. He treated his family with an amusing mixture of "manliness" and bumbling love. The role that Allen played incorporated many aspects of his real personality. It also helped make Home Improvement one of the most popular television series in the 1990s. In high school, Allen, who was born Tim Allen Dick, had a reputation as a class clown. He also had a passion for tools and cars. Allen worked for an advertising agency until 1979, when he took a friend up on a dare and ventured onstage during amateur night at a local comedy club. It wasn't long before Allen had developed his onstage persona: a blustery "macho man. " He lampooned the American male's obsession with "guy stuff. " Throughout the 1980s, Allen toured comedy clubs and starred in several TV comedy specials. Then, in 1990, the Disney company invi...

Some actors are happy to be known for their character roles in smart, independent films; others enjoy the status of being a major box-office draw in Hollywood blockbusters. Ben Affleck has been both. He has also won acclaim as a screenwriter; he won an Academy Award for his original screenplay—co-written with friend Matt Damon—for Good Will Hunting (1997). It was that film that bridged the gap between independent film and Hollywood, between Affleck the actor and Ben the household name. Benjamin Geza Affleck was born in 1972 in Berkeley, California. The family soon moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts. By age 12, Affleck was on television in the PBS miniseries The Voyage of the Mimi . (He had been in a Burger King commercial at an even younger age.) In the same year, he met Damon. Although they both played Little League, it was the drama classes they attended together that would one day determine their linked future. Affleck began appearing in brief film roles with School ...