Entertainment Characters

Selena Marie Gomez (/səˈliːnə ˈɡoʊmɛz/ sə-LEE-nə GOH-mez; born July 22, 1992) is an American actress, singer, songwriter, producer, and businesswoman. Gomez began her career as a child actress, appearing on the children's television series Barney & Friends (2002–2004), and emerged as a teen idol for her leading role as Alex Russo on the Disney Channel sitcom Wizards of Waverly Place (2007–2012). She signed with Hollywood Records in 2008 and formed the band Selena Gomez & the Scene, which released three successful albums: Kiss & Tell (2009), A Year Without Rain (2010), and When the Sun Goes Down (2011).

Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll[a] (/ʃəˈkɪərə/ shə-KEER-ə, Spanish: [ʃaˈkiɾa isaˈβel meβaˈɾak riˈpol]; born 2 February 1977),[1] known mononymously as Shakira, is a Colombian singer-songwriter. She has had a significant impact on the musical landscape of Latin America and has been credited with popularizing Hispanophone music on a global level.[2] The recipient of various accolades, she has won four Grammy Awards and fifteen Latin Grammy Awards, including three Song of the Year wins.

Ariana Grande-Butera (/.ɑːriˈɑːnə ˈɡrɑːndeɪ bjʊˈtɛərə/ ⓘ AR-ee-AH-nə GRAHN-day byuu-TAIR-ə;[note 1] born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, Grande is known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle register. Grande began her career as a teenage actress by appearing in the Broadway musical 13 (2008), and rose to fame as Cat Valentine in the Nickelodeon television series Victorious (2010–2013) and its spin-off series Sam & Cat (2013–2014). She signed with Republic Records and released her retro-pop and R&B-influenced debut studio album, Yours Truly (2013), which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Grande blended pop, R&B, and electronic on her second and third albums, My Everything (2014) and Dangerous Woman (2016), both of which contained the internationally successful singles "Problem", "Break Free", "Bang Bang", "One Last Time", "Into You" and "Side to Side".

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta[a] (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influential figure in popular music. After signing with Interscope Records in 2007, Gaga achieved global recognition with her debut album, The Fame (2008), and its reissue The Fame Monster (2009). The project scored a string of successful singles, including "Just Dance", "Poker Face", "Bad Romance", "Telephone", and "Alejandro". Her second full-length album, Born This Way (2011), explored electronic rock and techno-pop and sold more than one million copies first-week. Its title track became the fastest-selling song on the iTunes Store, with over one million downloads in less than a week. Following her electronic dance music-influenced third album, Artpop (2013), she pursued jazz on the album Cheek to Cheek (2014) with Tony Bennett, and delved into soft rock on the album Joanne (2016).

Taylor Alison Swift (born December 13, 1989) is an American singer-songwriter known for her autobiographical songwriting and artistic versatility. One of the world's best-selling artists, she is also the highest-grossing touring artist and the first to amass a billion-dollar net worth primarily from music. Swift holds the record for seven albums with over one million first-week sales in the U.S. She is the richest female musician and one of the 21st century's most prominent entertainers. Swift signed to Big Machine Records in 2005, debuting as a country singer with the albums Taylor Swift (2006) and Fearless (2008). The singles "Teardrops on My Guitar", "Love Story", and "You Belong with Me" found crossover success on country and pop radio formats. She incorporated rock on Speak Now (2010) and electronic on Red (2012), later re-calibrating her image from country to pop with the synth-pop set 1989 (2014); the ensuing media scrutiny inspired the hip-hop-imbued Reputation (2017). The albums contained the Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together", "Shake It Off", "Blank Space", "Bad Blood", and "Look What You Made Me Do".

Aubrey Drake Graham (born October 24, 1986), known mononymously as Drake, is a Canadian rapper, singer, and actor. Regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, he is credited with popularizing R&B sensibilities in hip-hop music. Drake first gained recognition by starring as Jimmy Brooks in the CTV teen drama series Degrassi: The Next Generation (2001–2008) and began his music career by releasing the mixtapes Room for Improvement (2006), Comeback Season (2007), and So Far Gone (2009).

Sir Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British and American filmmaker. Known for his Hollywood blockbusters with complex storytelling, he is considered a leading filmmaker of the 21st century. Nolan's films have earned over $6.6 billion worldwide, making him the seventh-highest-grossing film director. His accolades include two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award and two British Academy Film Awards. Nolan was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2019, and received a knighthood in 2024 for his contributions to film.

Emily Jean "Emma" Stone (born November 6, 1988) is an American actress and film producer. Her accolades include two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards. In 2017, she was the world's highest-paid actress and named by Time magazine as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. Stone began acting as a child in a theater production of The Wind in the Willows in 2000. As a teenager, she relocated to Los Angeles and made her television debut in In Search of the New Partridge Family (2004), a reality show that produced only an unsold pilot. After small television roles, she appeared in a series of well-received teen comedy films, such as Superbad (2007), Zombieland (2009), and Easy A (2010), which was Stone's first leading role. Following this breakthrough, she starred in the romantic comedy Crazy, Stupid, Love (2011) and the period drama The Help (2011), and gained wider recognition as Gwen Stacy in the 2012 superhero film The Amazing Spider-Man and its 2014 sequel.

Sean John Combs[a] (born November 4, 1969), better known by his stage name Diddy, and formerly Puff Daddy and P. Diddy, is an American rapper, record producer, and record executive. Born in Harlem and raised in Mount Vernon, Combs worked as a talent director at Uptown Records before founding his own record label, Bad Boy Records in 1993. He is credited with the discovery and development of musical artists including Mary J. Blige, Usher and the Notorious B.I.G., for whom he served as manager and hype man. Combs's debut studio album, No Way Out (1997), peaked atop the Billboard 200 and has sold over 7 million copies in the US. Two of its singles, "Can't Nobody Hold Me Down" and "I'll Be Missing You", topped the Billboard Hot 100—the latter was the first hip hop song to debut atop the chart. With a feature on "Mo Money Mo Problems", Combs became the first solo artist to replace himself atop the chart. His second and third albums, Forever (1999) and The Saga Continues... (2001), both peaked at number two in the US. Collaborative singles "Bump, Bump, Bump" (2002) and "Shake Ya Tailfeather" (2003) made him the first rapper with five US number-one singles. Following the release of his chart-topping album Press Play (2006), Combs formed the musical group Diddy – Dirty Money with R&B singers Kalenna Harper and Dawn Richard to release the collaborative album Last Train to Paris (2010). He independently released his fifth album, The Love Album: Off the Grid, in 2023.