December 31

Arthur Guinness signs a 9,000 year lease, begins brewing at Dublin's St. James's Gate (1759); Thomas Edison demonstrates incandescent lighting in public for first time (1879); First New Year's Eve celebration held in Times Square (1907); The country of Kiribati skips the day altogether (1994).

December 29

President Andrew Johnson born (1808); Texas becomes the 28th US state (1845); US Army kills over 250 Lakota people at Wounded Knee (1890); Actress Mary Tyler Moore born (1936).

December 28

President Woodrow Wilson born (1856); Comic book writer Stan Lee born (1922); HBD British actress Dame Maggie Smith (1934); HBD Denzel Washington (1954); Indonesia AirAsia flight crashes, killing 162 (2014).

December 27

Chemist Louis Pasteur born (1822); Actress and singer Marlene Dietrich born (1901); Radio City Music Hall opens in New York City (1932); Benazir Bhutto assassinated (2007); RIP Carrie Fisher (2016).

December 23

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints founder Joseph Smith born (1805); Businesswoman Madam C.J. Walker born (1867); Vincent van Gogh cuts off his ear (1888); Voyager aircraft is first to fly around the world without refueling (1986).

December 22

Beethoven’s "Fifth Symphony" premieres (1808); Former first lady Lady Bird Johnson born (1912); Maurice and Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees born (1949); Colo becomes first gorilla born in captivity (1956); “Don’t ask, don’t tell” military policy repealed (2010).

December 21

"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" premieres (1937); HBD actress Jane Fonda (1937); RIP F. Scott Fitzgerald (1940); HBD French President Emmanuel Macron (1977); Bomb explodes on Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 (1988).

December 20

Louisiana Purchase finalized (1803); RIP Sacagawea (1812); "It’s a Wonderful Life" released (1946); RIP astronomer Carl Sagan (1996); Space Force becomes sixth US armed forces branch (2019).

December 17

Wright Brothers make first successful airplane flight (1903); HBD Pope Francis (1936); "The Simpsons" makes television debut (1989); RIP American actress Jennifer Jones (2009); North Korean dictator Kim Jong-il dies (2011).

December 16

Ludwig van Beethoven born (1770); Boston Tea Party occurs (1773); Author Jane Austen born (1775); Anthropologist Margaret Mead born (1901); World War II’s Battle of the Bulge begins (1944).

December 15

US Bill of Rights ratified, becomes law (1791); Eiffel Tower builder Gustave Eiffel born (1832); Hunkpapa Lakota leader Sitting Bull killed (1890); RIP Walt Disney (1966); RIP actress Joan Fontaine (2013).

December 14

President George Washington dies (1799); Author Shirley Jackson born (1916); Actress Patty Duke born (1946); Eugene Cernan is last person to walk on the moon (1972); 20 children and six staff murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School (2012).

December 13

Diplomat George Shultz born (1920); HBD actor Dick Van Dyke (1925); HBD Jamie Foxx (1967); HBD Taylor Swift (1989); 10 new countries announced to join European Union (2002); Saddam Hussein captured by American forces (2003).

December 10

Poet Emily Dickinson born (1830); Spanish-American War ends (1898); First Nobel Prize ceremony held (1901); RIP comedian Richard Pryor (2005); Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet dies (2006).

December 9

Actor Kirk Douglas born (1916); HBD actress Dame Judi Dench (1934); “A Charlie Brown Christmas” debuts (1965); RIP diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner Ralph Bunche (1971); Smallpox declared eradicated (1979).

December 8

Mary, Queen of Scots born (1542); The US declares war on Japan (1941); Musician Jim Morrison born (1943); John Lennon murdered outside his residence in New York City (1980); North American Free Trade Agreement, NAFTA, signed into law (1993); RIP astronaut and senator John Glenn (2016).

December 7

HBD Oscar, Emmy, and Tony Award winner Ellen Burstyn (1932); Pearl Harbor naval base bombed by Japan, killing 2,403 (1941); HBD basketball legend Larry Bird (1956); Apollo 17, the final Apollo moon mission, is launched (1972); RIP sound barrier-breaking pilot Chuck Yeager (2020).

December 6

13th Amendment of US Constitution is ratified, abolishing slavery (1865); Washington Monument completed (1884); Hollywood actress Agnes Moorehead born (1900); RIP folk music legend Lead Belly (1949); NASA photographs suggest presence of liquid on Mars (2006).

December 3

RIP novelist Robert Louis Stevenson (1894); HBD rock star Ozzy Osbourne (1948); HBD actress Julianne Moore (1960); First human heart transplant carried out (1967); Mikhail Gorbachev and George H.W. Bush declare end to Cold War (1989).

December 2

RIP abolitionist John Brown (1859); US Environmental Protection Agency formed (1970); HBD Britney Spears (1981); Benazir Bhutto becomes first female prime minister of Pakistan (1988); Colombia drug lord Pablo Escobar is killed (1993).

December 1

First moving assembly line introduced by Ford Motor Company (1913); Rosa Parks arrested in Alabama for refusing to give up her bus seat (1955); RIP author and activist James Baldwin (1987); World AIDS Day commemorated for first time (1988).

November 30

Winston Churchill born (1874); Michael Jackson’s "Thriller" is released, becomes bestselling album in history (1982); HBD model Chrissy Teigen (1985); Exxon and Mobil merge to form one of the world's largest companies (1999); RIP President George H.W. Bush (2018).

November 29

"Chronicles of Narnia" author CS Lewis born (1898); UN General Assembly approves plan to partition Palestine (1947); Warren Commission is established to investigate President Kennedy assassination (1963); RIP social activist Dorothy Day (1980); RIP Beatles guitarist George Harrison (2001).

November 24

Charles Darwin’s “On the Origins of Species” published (1859); Lee Harvey Oswald is shot and killed just two days after assassinating President Kennedy (1963); RIP Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury (1991); RIP “Brady Bunch” actress Florence Henderson (2016).

November 23

First issue of Life magazine published (1936); First episode of "Doctor Who" airs on BBC (1963); Children’s book author Roald Dahl dies (1990); Hockey great Wayne Gretzky scores his 600th goal (1988); HBD Miley Cyrus (1992).

November 22

Author Jack London dies of possible suicide (1916); HBD tennis star and social activist Billie Jean King (1943); President John F. Kennedy assassinated (1963); RIP author C.S. Lewis (1963); British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher announces resignation after 11 years (1990).

November 19

President James Garfield born (1831); President Abraham Lincoln delivers Gettysburg Address (1863); Indira Gandhi, first and only female prime minister of India born (1917); President Ronald Reagan meets Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev for first time (1985); Charles Manson dies while in prison (2017).

November 18

Abolitionist and women’s rights activist Sojourner Truth born (1797); HBD poet and novelist Margaret Atwood (1939); 918 people die in a mass murder-suicide in Jonestown, Guyana (1978); Massachusetts court ruling makes the state the first to recognize same-sex marriage (2003).

November 17

Suez Canal opens (1869); HBD actor Danny DeVito (1944); HBD former US national security adviser Susan Rice (1964); Arnold Schwarzenegger sworn in as governor of California (2003); First known case of COVID-19 traced to man who visited Wuhan, China (2019).

November 16

Blues musician W.C. Handy born (1873); UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, is founded (1945); Benazir Bhutto elected prime minister of Pakistan, becomes first woman in modern history to lead Muslim-majority country (1988); RIP Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman (2006).

November 14

Articles of Confederation, the first US Constitution, is passed (1777); Artist Georgia O’Keeffe born (1887); "Macho Man" Randy Savage born (1952); Two million people protest Vietnam War across US (1969); RIP famed anthropologist Margaret Mead (1978).

November 15

Articles of Confederation, the first US Constitution, is passed (1777); Artist Georgia O’Keeffe born (1887); "Macho Man" Randy Savage born (1952); Two million people protest Vietnam War across US (1969); RIP famed anthropologist Margaret Mead (1978).

November 11

Nat Turner is hanged after organizing slave rebellion (1831); Armistice signed by Germany and Allies, ending World War I (1918); Armistice Day, now known as Veterans Day, observed for first time in US (1919); HBD Demi Moore (1962);  HBD Leonardo DiCaprio (1974).

November 12

American suffragist and civil rights activist Elizabeth Cady Stanton born (1815); Joseph Stalin gains undisputed control of Soviet Union (1927); Actress and Princess of Monaco Grace Kelly born (1929); RIP comic book writer Stan Lee (2018).

November 10

Protestant Reformation leader Martin Luther born (1483); US Marine Corps is founded (1775); Singer and actress Jane Froman born (1907); "Sesame Street" debuts (1969); Bill Gates introduces Windows 1.0 to public (1983).

November 9

Napoleon Bonaparte leads coup and becomes dictator of France (1799); Actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr born (1914); Astronomer Carl Sagan born (1934); First issue of Rolling Stone published (1967).

November 8

Astronomer Edmond Halley born (1656); X-rays are discovered (1895); Singer Minnie Riperton born (1947); Edward Brooke becomes first African American elected to US Senate since Reconstruction (1966); RIP "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek (2020). 

William Makepeace Thackeray

He was a British novelist, author and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of British society, and the 1844 novel The Luck of Barry Lyndon, which was adapted for a 1975 film by Stanley Kubrick.

Thackeray, an only child, was born in Calcutta,^[1] British India, where his father, Richmond Thackeray (1 September 1781 – 13 September 1815), was secretary to the Board of Revenue in the East India Company. His mother, Anne Becher (1792–1864), was the second daughter of Harriet Becher and John Harman Becher, who was also a secretary (writer) for the East India Company.^[2] His father was a grandson of Thomas Thackeray (1693–1760), headmaster of Harrow School.^[3]

Richmond died in 1815, which caused Anne to send her son to England that same year, while she remained in India. The ship on which he travelled made a short stopover at Saint Helena, where the imprisoned Napoleon was pointed out to him. Once in England he was educated at schools in Southampton and Chiswick, and then at Charterhouse School, where he became a close friend of John Leech. Thackeray disliked Charterhouse,^[4] and parodied it in his fiction as "Slaughterhouse". Nevertheless, Thackeray was honoured in the Charterhouse Chapel with a monument after his death. Illness in his last year there, during which he reportedly grew to his full height of six-foot three, postponed his matriculation at Trinity College, Cambridge, until February 1829.^{[citation needed]} Never too keen on academic studies, Thackeray left Cambridge in 1830, but some of his earliest published writing appeared in two university periodicals, The Snob and The Gownsman.^[5]

Caricature of Thackeray by Thackeray

Thackeray then travelled for some time on the continent, visiting Paris and Weimar, where he met Johann Wolfgang von Goethe. He returned to England and began to study law at the Middle Temple, but soon gave that up. On reaching the age of 21 he came into his inheritance from his father, but he squandered much of it on gambling and on funding two unsuccessful newspapers, The National Standard and The Constitutional, for which he had hoped to write. He also lost a good part of his fortune in the collapse of two Indian banks. Forced to consider a profession to support himself, he turned first to art, which he studied in Paris, but did not pursue it, except in later years as the illustrator of some of his own novels and other writings.^{[citation needed]}

Thackeray's years of semi-idleness ended after he married, on 20 August 1836, Isabella Gethin Shawe (1816–1894), second daughter of Isabella Creagh Shawe and Matthew Shawe, a colonel who had died after distinguished service, primarily in India. The Thackerays had three children, all girls: Anne Isabella (1837–1919), Jane (who died at eight months old) and Harriet Marian (1840–1875), who married Sir Leslie Stephen, editor, biographer and philosopher.

Thackeray now began "writing for his life", as he put it, turning to journalism in an effort to support his young family. He primarily worked for Fraser's Magazine, a sharp-witted and sharp-tongued conservative publication for which he produced art criticism, short fictional sketches, and two longer fictional works, Catherine and The Luck of Barry Lyndon. Between 1837 and 1840 he also reviewed books for The Times.^[6] He was also a regular contributor to The Morning Chronicle and The Foreign Quarterly Review. Later, through his connection to the illustrator John Leech, he began writing for the newly created magazine Punch, in which he published The Snob Papers, later collected as The Book of Snobs. This work popularised the modern meaning of the word "snob".^[7] Thackeray was a regular contributor to Punch between 1843 and 1854.^[8]

Thackeray portrayed by Eyre Crowe, 1845

Tragedy struck in Thackeray's personal life as his wife, Isabella, succumbed to depression after the birth of their third child, in 1840. Finding that he could get no work done at home, he spent more and more time away until September 1840, when he realised how grave his wife's condition was. Struck by guilt, he set out with his wife to Ireland. During the crossing she threw herself from a water-closet into the sea, but she was pulled from the waters. They fled back home after a four-week battle with her mother. From November 1840 to February 1842 Isabella was in and out of professional care, as her condition waxed and waned.^[3]

She eventually deteriorated into a permanent state of detachment from reality. Thackeray desperately sought cures for her, but nothing worked, and she ended up in two different asylums in or near Paris until 1845, after which Thackeray took her back to England, where he installed her with a Mrs Bakewell at Camberwell. Isabella outlived her husband by 30 years, in the end being cared for by a family named Thompson in Leigh-on-Sea at Southend until her death in 1894.^[9] After his wife's illness Thackeray became a de facto widower, never establishing another permanent relationship. He did pursue other women, however, in particular Mrs Jane Brookfield and Sally Baxter. In 1851 Mr Brookfield barred Thackeray from further visits to or correspondence with Jane. Baxter, an American twenty years Thackeray's junior whom he met during a lecture tour in New York City in 1852, married another man in 1855.^{[citation needed]}

In the early 1840s Thackeray had some success with two travel books, The Paris Sketch Book and The Irish Sketch Book.

November 5

 "Gone with the Wind" actress Vivien Leigh born (1913); Franklin D. Roosevelt is first and only US president elected to third term (1940); Saddam Hussein is sentenced to death (2006); Android operating system from Google unveiled (2007).

November 4

Journalist Walter Cronkite born (1916); Nellie Tayloe Ross becomes first woman elected governor in the US (1924); HBD Sean "Diddy" Combs (1969); Iran hostage crisis begins (1979); Barack Obama becomes first African American elected US president (2008).

Kenneth Bruce Gorelick

 (born June 5, 1956), known professionally as Kenny G, is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and producer. His 1986 album Duotones brought him commercial success.[1] Kenny G is one of the best-selling artists of all time, with global sales totaling more than 75 million records.

November 3

RIP American sharpshooter Annie Oakley (1926); HBD journalist and fashion icon Dame Anna Wintour (1949); The Soviet Union launches first animal into space (1957); US arms sale to Iran revealed (1986); One World Trade Center officially opens on former site of Twin Towers (2014).

November 2

Marie Antoinette born (1755); Nobel Prize-winning playwright George Bernard Shaw dies (1950); First president of South Vietnam Ngo Dinh Diem assassinated (1963); Martin Luther King Jr. Day is created in the US (1983).

November 1

Michelangelo’s Sistine Chapel ceiling exhibited to public for first time (1512); Earthquake and tsunami in Lisbon kills 60,000-90,000 (1755); Silent film star Laura La Plante born (1904); HBD Apple CEO Tim Cook (1960); RIP football great Walter Payton (1999).

October 29

Sir Walter Raleigh is executed (1618); International Red Cross is formed (1863); "Joy of Painting" host Bob Ross born (1942); HBD Gabrielle Union (1972); John Glenn becomes the oldest NASA astronaut in space at age 77 (1998).

Jamie Lee Curtis

 (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress and writer. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1998.

Curtis made her film acting debut as Laurie Strode in John Carpenter's horror film Halloween (1978), which established her as a scream queen, and she thereafter appeared in a string of horror films, including The Fog, Prom Night, Terror Train (all 1980) and Roadgames (1981). She reprised the role of Laurie in the sequels Halloween II (1981), Halloween H20: 20 Years Later (1998), Halloween: Resurrection (2002), Halloween (2018), and Halloween Kills (2021). Her filmography is largely characterized by independent film that have been box-office successes, with 8 of her lead-actress credits grossing over $100 million.^[1]

Curtis's film work spans many genres, including the cult comedies Trading Places (1983), for which she received a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress, and A Fish Called Wanda (1988), for which she earned a BAFTA nomination for Best Actress. She won a Golden Globe, an American Comedy Award, and a Saturn Award for playing the starring role of Helen Tasker in James Cameron's action comedy film True Lies (1994). Curtis's other major films include Blue Steel (1990), My Girl (1991), Forever Young (1992), The Tailor of Panama (2001), Freaky Friday (2003), Beverly Hills Chihuahua (2008), You Again (2010), Veronica Mars (2014), and Knives Out (2019).

Curtis received a Golden Globe and a People's Choice Award for her portrayal of Hannah Miller on the ABC sitcom Anything But Love (1989–1992). She earned a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her work in the television film Nicholas' Gift (1998). She also starred as Cathy Munsch on the Fox horror comedy series Scream Queens (2015–2016), for which she earned her seventh Golden Globe Award nomination.

Curtis is a daughter of Janet Leigh and Tony Curtis. She is married to Christopher Guest, with whom she has two adopted children, Annie and Ruby. Due to her marriage with Guest, who is the 5th Baron Haden-Guest in the United Kingdom, Curtis is a baroness formally entitled to the title Lady Haden-Guest.

She has written numerous children's books, with her 1998 release Today I Feel Silly, and Other Moods That Make My Day making The New York Times's best-seller list. She is also a frequent blogger for The Huffington Post.

Curtis at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival

Her role in 1983's Trading Places helped Curtis shed her horror queen image, and garnered her a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.^[17] She then starred in the 1988 comedy film A Fish Called Wanda, which achieved cult status while showcasing her as a comedic actress. For her performance, she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role.^[17] Curtis received positive reviews for her performance in the action thriller Blue Steel (1990), which was directed by Kathryn Bigelow. She also received a Golden Globe Award for her work in the 1994 action comedy film True Lies, directed by James Cameron.

Her other film roles also include the coming-of-age films My Girl (1991) and My Girl 2 (1994), and the Disney comedy film Freaky Friday (2003), opposite Lindsay Lohan. The latter was filmed at Palisades High School in Pacific Palisades, California, near where Curtis and Guest lived with their children. She was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for her performance in the film.^[18] She starred in the Christmas comedy film Christmas with the Kranks (2004), which went on to gain a cult following.

In October 2006, Curtis told Access Hollywood that she had closed the book on her acting career to focus on her family. She returned to acting after being cast in June 2007 in Disney's live-action-animated film Beverly Hills Chihuahua, co-starring opposite Piper Perabo as one of three live-action characters in the film. She also starred in the 2010 comedy film You Again, opposite Kristen Bell and Sigourney Weaver.^[19] Curtis had voice roles in the animated films The Little Engine That Could (2011) and From Up on Poppy Hill (2011). This was followed by supporting roles in the neo-noir mystery film Veronica Mars (2014) and the biographical drama film Spare Parts (2015).

Curtis returned to leading roles with her reprisal of Laurie Strode in the horror sequel film Halloween (2018). The film debuted to $76.2 million, marking the second-best opening weekend of October and the highest opening weekend of the Halloween franchise; and became the highest-grossing in the franchise.^[20] Its opening performance was the best-ever for a film starring a lead actress over 55 years old.^[21] Curtis's performance earned critical acclaim.^[22] Also in 2018, she had a role in the drama film An Acceptable Loss. She then starred as Linda Drysdale-Thrombrey in Rian Johnson's mystery film Knives Out, which earned critical acclaim and over $300 million at the global box office.^[23]

In September 2021, she was honored with the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival for her lifetime achievements.^[24] Curtis again reprised her role as Laurie Strode in the horror sequel Halloween Kills, which was released in October 2021, and is set to play the character again in Halloween Ends, which is set to be released in October 2022.^[25] She will also appear in the science fiction action film Everything Everywhere All at Once.

Curtis made her television debut in a 1977 episode of the drama series Quincy, M.E.. She went on to guest star on several series, including Columbo, Charlie's Angels and Buck Rogers in the 25th Century. She appeared as Nurse Lt. Barbara Duran in the short-lived comedy series Operation Petticoat (1977–1978), based on the 1959 film that starred her father, Tony Curtis. Curtis was also a gameshow panelist on several episodes of Match Game.

Curtis starred in the 1981 television film Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story, playing the eponymous doomed Playmate. She earned a Golden Globe Award nomination for her work in TNT's adaptation of the Wendy Wasserstein play The Heidi Chronicles. Her first starring role on television came opposite Richard Lewis in the situation comedy series Anything But Love, which ran for four seasons from 1989 through 1992. For her performance as Hannah Miller, she received a People's Choice Award and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy. Curtis also appeared in a 1996 episode of the sitcom The Drew Carey Show. In 1998, she starred in the CBS television film Nicholas' Gift, for which she received an Primetime Emmy Award nomination.

In 2012, she appeared in five episodes of the police drama series NCIS, playing the role of Dr. Samantha Ryan, a potential romantic interest of Special Agent Gibbs (Mark Harmon). During an interview, she stated that if they could develop a storyline, she would be interested to return to the series, but this never occurred.^[26] The series reunited Curtis with Harmon, after he played her character's fiancé and later husband in the 2003 remake of Freaky Friday.^[27]

From 2012 to 2018, Curtis had a recurring role as Joan Day, the mother of Zooey Deschanel's character, in the sitcom New Girl. From 2015 to 2016, Curtis had a lead role as Cathy Munsch on the Fox satirical horror comedy series Scream Queens, which aired for two seasons. For her performance, she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy.

Mayim Chaya Bialik

is an American actress, game show host, and author. From 1991 to 1995, she played the title character of the NBC sitcom Blossom. From 2010 to 2019, she played neuroscientist Amy Farrah Fowler on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory. For the latter role, Bialik was nominated four times for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series^[1] and won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2015 and 2017.

In August 2021, it was announced that Bialik will host the primetime version of Jeopardy!. After Mike Richards stepped down from hosting the syndicated version of the show later that month, Bialik started concurrently hosting that version as well (sharing duties with Ken Jennings).

Bialik graduated in 1993 from North Hollywood High School in North Hollywood, California.^[18] In acknowledgment of her acting commitments, she was granted a deferred acceptance and attended University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).^[19][20] She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in neuroscience, with minors in Hebrew and Jewish studies, in 2000.^[21][22]

Bialik has said she did not have the grades needed for medical school.^[23] She went on to study for a doctorate in neuroscience. She took a break from studies in 2005 to return to acting.^[24] She returned to earn her Doctor of Philosophy degree in neuroscience from UCLA in 2007 under Dr. James McCracken.^[25] Her dissertation was titled "Hypothalamic regulation in relation to maladaptive, obsessive-compulsive, affiliative and satiety behaviors in Prader–Willi syndrome".

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Mayim Chaya Bialik (/ˈmaɪəm biˈɑːlɪk/ MY-əm bee-AH-lik; born December 12, 1975) is an American actress, game show host, and author. From 1991 to 1995, she played the title character of the NBC sitcom Blossom. From 2010 to 2019, she played neuroscientist Amy Farrah Fowler on the CBS sitcom The Big Bang Theory. For the latter role, Bialik was nominated four times for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series^[1] and won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2015 and 2017.

Mayim Bialik
Bialik in 2018
Born	Mayim Chaya Bialik December 12, 1975 (age 45) San Diego, California, U.S.
Education	University of California, Los Angeles (BS, MS, PhD)
Occupation	Actress game show host author
Years active	1987–present
Spouse(s)	Michael Stone ​ ​ (m. 2003; div. 2012)​
Children	2
Website	Official website

In August 2021, it was announced that Bialik will host the primetime version of Jeopardy!. After Mike Richards stepped down from hosting the syndicated version of the show later that month, Bialik started concurrently hosting that version as well (sharing duties with Ken Jennings).

Early life

EducationEdit

Bialik graduated in 1993 from North Hollywood High School in North Hollywood, California.^[18] In acknowledgment of her acting commitments, she was granted a deferred acceptance and attended University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).^[19][20] She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in neuroscience, with minors in Hebrew and Jewish studies, in 2000.^[21][22]

Bialik has said she did not have the grades needed for medical school.^[23] She went on to study for a doctorate in neuroscience. She took a break from studies in 2005 to return to acting.^[24] She returned to earn her Doctor of Philosophy degree in neuroscience from UCLA in 2007 under Dr. James McCracken.^[25] Her dissertation was titled "Hypothalamic regulation in relation to maladaptive, obsessive-compulsive, affiliative and satiety behaviors in Prader–Willi syndrome".^[2][26][27]

Acting careerEdit

Bialik at the rehearsal for the 1989 Academy Awards

Bialik started her career as a child actress in the late 1980s. Her early roles included the 1988 horror film Pumpkinhead (her first acting job^[28]) and guest appearances on The Facts of Life (two final-season episodes) and Beauty and the Beast. In 1988–89, she had a recurring role on the TV sitcom Webster playing Frieda, Webster's classmate, in eight episodes. It was for Beauty and the Beast, in which she played a sewer-dwelling girl named Ellie who had about 10 lines of dialogue, that Bialik obtained her Screen Actors Guild (SAG) card.^[29] She appeared in three episodes of MacGyver as Lisa Woodman. She appeared in Beaches (1988), playing Bette Midler's character as a young girl. Many contemporary reviews singled out her performance as a strong point in an otherwise emotionally contrived and formulaic film.^[30][31][32] She appeared in the music video for Michael Jackson's song "Liberian Girl". In 1990, she was tied to two television pilots, Fox's Molloy and NBC's Blossom. Molloy at first produced six episodes for a tryout run, followed by the shooting of the pilot special for Blossom. The latter aired two weeks before the Fox series and garnered higher ratings. When Molloy folded after its six episodes, Blossom premiered as a mid-season replacement on January 3, 1991, and aired until May 22, 1995.^[33]

On September 8, 1992, Bialik was a celebrity contestant guest in the episode "Disturbing The Heavenly Peace", the first episode of the second season of the PBS game show Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?. She had a major part in the Woody Allen comedy film Don't Drink the Water in 1994. Between 1995 and 2005, she mostly did voiceover work for cartoons, such as The Real Adventures of Jonny Quest, Disney's Recess and Kim Possible, Cartoon Network's Johnny Bravo, and Nickelodeon's Hey Arnold!. She appeared in the feature film Kalamazoo? (2005) and in three episodes of the HBO comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm as Jodi Funkhouser, the lesbian daughter of a friend of Larry David. The character transitioned to male in a later episode, going by the name Joey, and was recast to Chaz Bono, a trans man. Bialik also made guest appearances as a fictionalized version of herself in the series Fat Actress and in an episode of Saving Grace.^[34]

Bialik at the 36th Annual Gracie Awards in 2011

Bialik had a recurring role as the high school guidance counselor in ABC Family's The Secret Life of the American Teenager. In 2009, Clinton Kelly nominated her for a makeover on TLC's What Not To Wear.^[34] She joined the cast of The Big Bang Theory as Dr. Amy Farrah Fowler in 2010. Her first appearance was in the season 3 finale as a potential love interest for the character of Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons). In season 4, she began as a recurring character playing Sheldon's "friend that's a girl, but not a girlfriend." Beginning with the 8th episode of season 4, she became part of the main cast.^[35] Amy is a neurobiologist, which is related to Bialik's real-life doctorate in neuroscience. Bialik's performance in The Big Bang Theory earned her Emmy Award nominations in 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series. Bialik was one of seven actresses who had a "quirky" personality to audition for the role.^[36] Before she joined the cast, in the episode "The Bat Jar Conjecture", Raj suggests recruiting the real-life Bialik to their Physics Bowl team, saying "You know who's apparently very smart is the girl who played TV's Blossom. She got a Ph.D. in neuroscience or something." She is one of the guest stars on the 2014 Steve Carell improvisational sketch show Riot.^[37][38][39]

In August 2014, Bialik began hosting a revival of Candid Camera on TV Land along with Peter Funt.^[40] Her book Beyond the Sling: A Real-Life Guide to Raising Confident, Loving Children the Attachment Parenting Way was released in 2012.^[41] Her most recent movie appearance was in a Lifetime Christmas movie, The Flight Before Christmas.^[42]

In 2019, Bialik appeared in a commercial for IBM.^[43] On August 20, 2019, it was announced that she and her new production company, Sad Clown Productions, had signed exclusive contracts with Warner Bros. Entertainment. Mackenzie Gabriel-Vaught, a former executive at Chuck Lorre Productions, is Sad Clown's head of development.^[44] Sad Clown Productions, in conjunction with Jim Parsons's That's Wonderful Productions, BBC Studios, and Miranda Hart, executive-produces a starring vehicle for Bialik, Call Me Kat, based on the British series Miranda. The series, a co-production of Warner Bros. and Fox Entertainment, premiered on Fox on January 3, 2021.^[45][46] The series was renewed for a second season in May 2021.^[47]

From May 31 to June 11, 2021, Bialik served as a guest host of Jeopardy!^[48] On August 11, 2021, it was announced that Bialik will host future primetime specials and spinoffs of the series.^[49][50] After executive producer Mike Richards resigned as host after one week, it was announced that Bialik would guest-host the show for three weeks.^[51] The contract was extended to seven weeks, and she will then alternate with Ken Jennings for the rest of the calendar year.^[52]

Other works and writings

Personal life

Filmography

Written works

Awards and nominations

See also

References

Further reading

External links

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Colin Luther Powell

(/ˈkoʊlɪn/ KOHL-in;^[1] April 5, 1937 – October 18, 2021) was an American politician, diplomat, statesman, and four-star general who served as the 65th United States Secretary of State from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African-American Secretary of State.^[2] Prior to the election of Barack Obama as president in 2008, he and his successor, Condoleezza Rice, were the highest-ranking African Americans in federal executive branch history (by virtue of the Secretary of State standing fourth in the presidential line of succession). He served as the 16th United States National Security Advisor from 1987 to 1989 and as the 12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from 1989 to 1993.

Colin Powell
Official portrait, January 2001
65th United States Secretary of State
In office January 20, 2001 – January 26, 2005
President	George W. Bush
Deputy	Richard Armitage
Preceded by	Madeleine Albright
Succeeded by	Condoleezza Rice
12th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
In office October 1, 1989 – September 30, 1993
President	George H. W. Bush Bill Clinton
Deputy	Robert T. Herres David E. Jeremiah
Preceded by	William J. Crowe
Succeeded by	John Shalikashvili
16th United States National Security Advisor
In office November 23, 1987 – January 20, 1989
President	Ronald Reagan
Deputy	John Negroponte
Preceded by	Frank Carlucci
Succeeded by	Brent Scowcroft
United States Deputy National Security Advisor
In office December 1986 – November 23, 1987
President	Ronald Reagan
Preceded by	Peter Rodman
Succeeded by	John Negroponte
Personal details
Born	Colin Luther Powell April 5, 1937 New York City, U.S.
Died	October 18, 2021 (aged 84) Bethesda, Maryland, U.S.
Cause of death	Complications from COVID-19
Political party	Republican (1995–2021) Independent (before 1995, 2021)
Spouse(s)	Alma Johnson   ​ (m. 1962)​
Children	3, including Michael, Linda
Education	City College of New York (BS) George Washington University (MBA)
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1958–1993
Rank	General
Unit	3rd Armored Division 23rd Infantry Division
Commands	Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff United States Army Forces Command V Corps 2nd Brigade 101st Airborne Division
Battles/wars	Vietnam War Invasion of Panama Gulf War
Awards	Defense Distinguished Service Medal (4) Army Distinguished Service Medal (2) Navy Distinguished Service Medal Air Force Distinguished Service Medal Coast Guard Distinguished Service Medal Defense Superior Service Medal Legion of Merit (2) Soldier's Medal Bronze Star Medal Full list

Powell was born in New York City in 1937 and was raised in the South Bronx. His parents, Luther and Maud Powell, immigrated to the United States from Jamaica. He was educated in the New York City public schools, graduating from the City College of New York (CCNY), where he earned a bachelor's degree in geology. He also participated in ROTC at CCNY and received a commission as an Army second lieutenant upon graduation in June 1958. He was a professional soldier for 35 years, during which time he held many command and staff positions and rose to the rank of four-star general. He was Commander of the U.S. Army Forces Command in 1989.

Powell's last assignment, from October 1989 to September 1993, was as the 12th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the highest military position in the Department of Defense. During this time, he oversaw 28 crises, including the invasion of Panama in 1989 and Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf War against Iraq in 1990–1991. He formulated the Powell Doctrine which limits American military action unless it satisfies criteria regarding American national security interests, overwhelming force, and widespread public support.^[3] He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under Republican President George W. Bush. His term was highly controversial regarding his inaccurate justification for America's Iraq War in 2003. He was forced to resign after Bush was reelected in 2004.^[4]

In 1995, Powell wrote his autobiography, My American Journey, and then in retirement another book, It Worked for Me, Lessons in Life and Leadership (2012). He pursued a career as a public speaker, addressing audiences across the country and abroad. Prior to his appointment as Secretary of State, Powell was the chairman of America's Promise – The Alliance for Youth, a national nonprofit organization dedicated to mobilizing people from every sector of American life to build the character and competence of young people. He won numerous U.S. and foreign military awards and decorations. His civilian awards included the Presidential Medal of Freedom (twice), the Congressional Gold Medal, the Presidential Citizens Medal, the Secretary of State Distinguished Service Medal, and the Secretary of Energy Distinguished Service Medal. Several schools and other institutions were named in his honor, and he held honorary degrees from universities and colleges across the country. In 2016, while not a candidate for that year's election, he received three electoral votes from Washington for the office of President of the United States.^[5]

Powell, who was being treated for blood cancer, died on October 18, 2021, from complications of COVID-19.