Ugly Betty star America Ferrera is a beauty indeed! Now on her fourth season with the series, this young starlet knew at a young age that acting was for her.

America Ferrera was born in Los Angeles, California, growing up in the Woodland Hills area of the city. At only age seven, she landed her first role in a school production of Hamlet, and began acting in school plays and community theatre. She attended George Ellery Hale Middle School and El Camino Real High School and often took the bus to auditions.

By 2002, America made her TV debut in the Disney Channel movie Gotta Kick It Up! Her feature film debut in Real Women Have Curves put her on the map to stardom, followed by much success with TV and film roles such as Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants.

America’s biggest success thus far is the lead role in Ugly Betty, earning her a spot in the Time Magazine “Time 100: The Most Influential People in the World” list in 2007. She is currently in production on her latest film role.

[photo: Jerry Avenaim]

Do you think characters like America Ferrera’s Ugly Betty have positive or negative effects on the self-esteem of young girls?

Christina Aguilera, mother to one-and-a-half-year-old cute kid Max, is birthing a new venture: her very own radio station! The online channel will be featured on the “iheartradio” network, filled with interviews, Christina’s personal commentary, music, and more. Are more cute kids in the stars for Christina? Rumors have it that she and hubby Jordan Bratman are trying for a sibling for little Max. Time will tell!

Also known as “the little girl with the big voice,” Christina Aguilera was born in Staten Island, New York, and eventually moved to Rochester, Pensylvania when her parents divorced. As a child, Christina’s talent was apparent singing in talent shows and competitions, causing her to become the target of vandalism and exclusion by her peers due to jealousy. The family eventually moved to Waxford and kept her talent a secret. At that time, Christina attended Marshall Middle School and North Allegheny Intermediate High School until she was later home schooled.

The country was first introduced to Christina’s talents when she appeared on Star Search, leading to her role on The Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Although the show was canceled after only a year, Christina recorded a song for the animated film Mulan, which landed her a contract with RCA Records.

Her debut album shot Christina to the top of the charts, but her lack of input into her music caused her to part ways with her management. It wasn’t until she released her album Stripped with BMG Records (produced by Scott Storch and singer-songwriter Linda Perry) that her sugary image was squashed by a raunchier side. In yet another image make-over, Christina released Back to Basics, giving her vocal ability center stage again.

Now as mommy Christina balances the limelight with motherhood and marriage,  we hold our breath to see what the next side of Christina will be!

[Photo: GSI Media]

Do you censor your children’s music options based on the artist’s image?

Mariah Carey’s latest album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, is due in stores this month, but this isn’t the R&B superstar’s first taste of success; she has been in the musical spotlight since 1990. Find out how this cute kid turned musical diva.

Mariah was born and raised in Huntington, Long Island and turned to music to occupy herself as her single mother (and former opera singer and vocal coach) struggled to support her family after a divorce.

Mariah went on to graduate from Harborfields High School in Greenlawn, New York, but missed school often due to her job as a demo singer for local recording studios. Her job gave her the opportunity to work with musicians like Gavin Christopher and Ben Margulies, helping her co-write her material for her demo tape. She soon became a backup singer for Brenda Starr, a Puerto Rican freestyle singer.

By 1988, Starr gave Columbia Records exec Tommy Mottola Mariah’s demo tape at a party where Mariah met him, and he signed her to a recording contract. Reaching the U.S. Billboard 200 chart with her first album, there was no mistaking that Mariah’s Cinderella-like story was made for tinseltown.

Mariah begin taking acting lessons in 1997, appearing in such films as The Bachelor, Glitter, and State Property 2. Although her acting career has not given her much success or positive review, her musical talent will keep her in the spotlight for years.

What do you think about Mariah in the movies?

[Photo: David Shankbone]

Call it coincidence, or just sticking with what you know, speculation abounds that Miley’s 20-year-old boyfriend (underwear model Justin Gaston) is a younger version of her dear ol’ dad. But, that doesn’t stop this teen idol from making headlines with her music, television, and now big-screen movie career!

Born Destiny Hope Cyrus, this middle daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus quickly earned the nickname Smiley, shortened to Miley, thanks to her sunny disposition. By the time she was nine, she began taking acting classes at the Armstrong Acting Studio in Toronto, Canada. Though Billy Ray may have tried to keep her out of the spotlight, wanting her to enjoy just being a kid, Miley couldn’t resist and soon marked her career as an actress with a guest role on her father’s TV series Doc.

A few acting roles in movies and music videos later, her audition for Disney’s Hannah Montana truly marked her star in Hollywood at only 12 years old. Ironically, she was originally turned down for the series, but thanks to her persistence, was called back for further auditions, which eventually landed her the career-making role.

Miley naturally has marked herself as a singer as well, releasing a solo album (doubled with a part II of the Hannah Montana soundtrack) and recently made her way back to the big screen with her movie Hannah Montana: The Movie and Bolt.

[Photo: Steve Granitz/WireImage.com]

Do you approve of this 16-year-old actress dating a 20-year-old guy?

He surely has Rachel McAdams’ vote! He’s certainly not the first actor to put on his or her political hat and back the candidate of his choice, but co-star of State of Play McAdams thinks Ben would be just as good in the running.

This actor, film director, and screenwriter was born in Berkeley, CA, but moved with his family to Cambridge, Massachusetts at a young age. As a child actor, he landed a role on a PBS kids’ series as well as a handful of made-for-TV movies.

It was at age 10 that he met Matt Damon, when they attended Cambridge Rindge and Latin School together. After high school, Ben attended Occidental College in Los Angeles, as well as the University of Vermont.

Ben’s big screen debut was made in the 1992 flick School Ties, which lead to many notable movies, but his career-defining moment came with the movie Good Will Hunting (1997). Ben and Matt received the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, which seemed to give both actors the foothold they needed in Hollywood.

He’s since moved on to many big movie roles, scored several awards, directed films, opened his own production company, and voices his political views openly. There is no doubt that Ben Affleck has no intention of being pigeonholed as “just an actor.”

Next stop, Washington, D.C.?

What is your opinion about actors in politics?

[photo: Albert L. Ortega / PR Photos]

Photo by Lisa Ros/JPI

Heath Ledger’s life was cut short at age 28 by an accidental overdose of prescription medication. But his professional accomplishments live on.

Born and raised in Western Australia, Ledger had his first taste of acting at 10 years old in a school production of Peter Pan. At age 16, he left school to pursue acting, gaining a small role on a two-part television series and eventually leading to other television acting jobs. His first big-screen appearance was in 1997 in the Australian movie Blackrock, which eventually landed him in several Hollywood movie such as 10 things I Hate About You and Brokeback Mountain.

In his short life, Ledger earned several awards for his talent, most recently winning an Oscar for Actor in a Supporting Role at the 2009 Academy Awards for his role as The Joker in the movie The Dark Knight. Ledger proved that, even after death, all Hollywood stars aren’t born stateside!

Director/actor Kevin Smith must know which buttons to push to stay in the limelight. The posters for Kevin’s latest project to hit video stores, Zack and Miri, may have been deemed inappropriate by the MPAA, but there’s something about his crude humor I am not afraid to admit I like.

On August 2, 1970, Kevin Patrick Smith was born in Red Bank, New Jersey and raised there. After attending The New School for Social Research in New York and the Vancouver Film School, majoring in film, he dropped out halfway through in order to take part of his tuition reimbursement to finance his first film. He then made his directing and acting debut in the movie Clerks in 1994, inspiring a sort of cult following with subsequent movies such as Chasing Amy (1997) and, my personal favorite, Jersey Girl (2004). He now enjoys parenthood raising his daughter Harley Quinn with wife Jennifer Schwalbach Smith, enjoying his time in the limelight with the occasional controversy over his edgy movies.

[Photo: Kevin Smith at the premiere of Superbad, held at the Mann Chinese Theater, Hollywood, California]

Dropping out of school may have worked for Kevin Smith, but is it luck or talent? What do you think?

Kate Winslet was the personification of class at the 2009 Academy Awards as she accepted her award for Best Actress for her role in The Reader. But, how did she get started?

Kate Elizabeth Winslet was born into a thespian family, with parents, grandparents, and an uncle all familiar with the stage in England, UK. At age 11, she began studying drama at the Redroofs Theatre School, and landed her first acting job on a television commercial for cereal.

From there, Kate landed a role at age 16 on a children’s science fiction series, and continued to add TV roles to her resume. In the following years, her success in big-screen movies gained her many awards and lead to her career-boosting role in Titanic in 1997. Many movies later and with a few musical credits under her belt, Kate became the youngest actress to ever garner five Oscar nominations at 31 years of age. Her seventh nomination landed her the illustrious Oscar.

Despite the fluctuation between her box office successes and box office flops, Kate Winslet continues to shine. For those cute kids in England, heading to Hollywood is just as much in the stars as for you as for state-side kids!

[Kate Winslet at 2009 Academy Awards Ceremony; Kate Winslet child picture courtesy of Mirror.co.uk]

Which is your favorite Kate Winslet role?

If you’ve ever wondered how to take your shining star from the playground to the Hollywood Walk of Fame, a great place to get your inspiration is from the Hollywood hot shots that have already made it! As a celebrity A-list watcher myself, I’ll pluck the leading headliners out of the spotlight and take it back to the old school — their childhood.

Did you know that Madonna got her start in music as a member of pop musical groups “Breakfast Club” and “Emmy?”

Or, that John Travolta first graced the stage in the musical “Bye Bye Birdie?”

You may also be interested to know that Oprah Winfrey got her taste for the limelight in high school when she snagged a job in radio.

Or, that Fergie’s hunky new hubby Josh Duhamel accidentally stumbled upon modeling at age 26 when accompanying his then-girlfriend and an agency scout in San Francisco.

Check in regularly, and you’ll discover that most stars started out as regular people like you and me. Then, mimic their success by finding your way into Tinseltown the same way they got their big break!