Mandy Moore

Amanda Leigh "Mandy" Moore (born April 10, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter, actress and fashion designer. Moore became famous as a teenager in the late 1990s, after the release of her teen-oriented pop albums So Real, I Wanna Be with You, and Mandy Moore. Moore subsequently branched out into film, starring in 2002's A Walk to Remember and later in other movies, such as Chasing Liberty, also aimed at teenage audiences. Two of Moore's later films, American Dreamz and Saved!, were satires. Most recently Moore provided the voice of Rapunzel in Disney's newest animated film, Tangled. Her most recent album, Amanda Leigh, was released on May 26, 2009. Moore has sold more than 10 million records worldwide. Her private life, including her relationships with tennis player Andy Roddick and with actors Wilmer Valderrama and Zach Braff, as well as her marriage to singer Ryan Adams, has become the subject of media coverage. Moore was born in Nashua, New Hampshire. Her mother, Stacy (née Friedman), is a former news reporter who once worked for the Orlando Sentinel, and her father, Donald "Don" Moore, is a pilot for American Airlines.

Moore's father is of Irish and Cherokee descent, and her mother is of half English and half Jewish ancestry. Moore, who has two brothers, Scott and Kyle, grew up in Longwood, Florida, outside of Orlando, where the family moved shortly after her birth because of her father's job as an airline pilot. She was raised Catholic (though she is no longer practicing), and attended Bishop Moore High School, a Catholic school in Orlando, as well as Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs. Moore's interest in singing grew after seeing the musical Oklahoma! She was also encouraged to perform by her English-born maternal grandmother, who was her inspiration. Some of Moore's first public exposure occurred when she sang the national anthem at several Florida sporting events. She subsequently came to the attention of the head of the artists and repertoire department at Epic Records after his friend, a FedEx employee, overheard her as she sang at a recording studio. In early 2006, Moore stated that she missed her music career and that singing is what she was the "most passionate about." Moore had signed to Sire Records after her contract with Epic Records ended, but she left the company in May 2006. She signed with a new EMI Music-owned record company, The Firm, in July that year, describing her new contract as "especially exciting," and adding that she left Sire Records because she did not want to "follow the mainstream," but rather have "complete control and freedom" over her work.

Moore's new album, Wild Hope, was released on June 19, 2007, and includes collaborations with artists Chantal Kreviazuk, Rachael Yamagata, Lori McKenna and The Weepies. Moore stayed alone in a house in Woodstock in Upstate New York while recording the album in late 2006. She performed new material from Wild Hope at the Sundance Film Festival; her first single, "Extraordinary," premiered on her MySpace profile on January 29, 2007. Moore performed the song at the Brick Awards on April 12, 2007 and launched a tour in the summer of 2007. The album was released in the USA in June 2007 to positive reviews. It fared moderately well on the charts, debuting at number thirty on the Billboard 200 (Moore's third highest charting album in the U.S.), and at number 84 in Canada. In August 2007, Moore toured with Paula Cole, and Rachael Yamagata, playing at mid-size venues in the United States and Canada. Wild Hope was placed at number 10 on Entertainment Weekly's "The Must List" and also named Reader's Choice for that August 10 issue, two months after its release. Moore surprised many with a free concert in Boston on July 18, 2007.

Moore also appeared in the film American Dreamz, which was released in April 2006. In the film, she played a deranged contestant on a television series modeled after American Idol. Director Paul Weitz stated that he had Moore in mind for the role before she was cast, explaining that "there's something inherently sweet about Mandy; it makes it all the more interesting to see her in a villainess role". Moore has said that she enjoys playing mean-spirited characters but fears being typecast as a villain. American Dreamz opened at number nine at the U.S. box office, eventually totaling barely $7 million, and received mixed reviews; critic Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly, however, wrote that Moore and co-star Hugh Grant have a "wicked barbed chemistry" in their roles, while Variety's Robert Koehler said Moore's role was a "pitch-perfect study of a woman for whom a reality show is reality". Later that year, in what ComingSoon.net's review described as a "surprisingly good performance", Moore voiced Nita, the heroine of the Disney animated sequel Brother Bear 2, which was released directly-to-DVD on August 29. She was also originally cast to appear in that year's ensemble film Bobby, but was replaced by Mary Elizabeth Winstead. Moore, citing her conservative upbringing, has expressed dissatisfaction with her appearance on a May 2006 cover of Cosmopolitan; the magazine's headline is "orgasms unlimited", which refers to an article unrelated to her.

In her movie following this, Because I Said So, co-starring Gabriel Macht, Lauren Graham and Diane Keaton, Moore's character describes in detail the feeling of an orgasm to her mother. It was released on February 2, 2007 and received mixed reviews. In License to Wed, Moore portrays a young bride-to-be who has to complete a three-week prenup course before her wedding. Co-starring John Krasinski as her fiance and Robin Williams as a priest, the film was released on July 3, 2007 to mostly negative reviews. Nevertheless, Variety described Moore's performance as "appealing." In 2007, Moore returned to the small screen in an episode of How I Met Your Mother entitled "Wait for It". After a break of almost two years from big screen roles, Moore filmed the romantic comedy Swinging with the Finkels in the United Kingdom in 2009; the film is scheduled for a UK release on June 17, 2011. Moore also starred with actor Kellan Lutz in the 2010 film, Love, Wedding, Marriage with a release date of June 3, 2011. She was a guest star on the sixth season finale of Grey's Anatomy on May 20, 2010, her first television role since 2007. She returned in a guest role for an episode of the show's seventh season. Also that year, Moore voiced Princess Rapunzel, the tenth Disney Princess, in the CGI animated film Tangled. Moore, alongside Zachary Levi, performed the film's theme song, "I See the Light" at the 83rd Academy Awards where it was nominated for Best Original Song. As of January 2011, her movies have grossed a total of $410,923,736 domestically.

Moore branched into the fashion world in 2005 with her own fashion line named Mblem., a brand of contemporary knitwear and cashmere. The line was sold in over 500 specialty boutiques including Ron Herman and Lisa Kline and in some department stores such as Macy's West, Bloomingdales and Nordstrom. One of her aims was to provide clothing for taller women (Moore herself is 5'10). In February 2009, Moore announced that the line would be shutting down, but that she hoped to reenter the fashion world again under different circumstances in the future. According to a press release from her own official website, Moore was involved in teaming up with nonprofit organization PSI, and its subsidiary, Five and Alive, in fighting malaria in Africa. According to USA Today, Moore was also involved in serving as the Honorary Chairperson of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's division on awareness for youth. She served as a spokesperson by helping young people be aware of the seriousness of leukemia and lymphoma. She also serves as the spokesperson for Cervical Cancer Awareness Month, held every January. In addition, to increase cervical cancer awareness, Moore teamed up with Dr. Yvonne Collins, The Gynecologic Cancer Foundation (GCF), and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).