Ladies and Gents have you met someone that inspires you just like I have, to be in a God created marriage and become a powerful institution.
The kind of union where each individuals know and respect their roles but also nurture and add to the power already within yourself.
I wanted to remind you that you don’t have to be a celeb in order to be a power couple.
Let me introduce you to my new favorite Afro-American top list. A new generation of black powerful leaders, entertainers, actors, business men, athletes etc...... the new influential, unstoppable
and unbreakable. They are here to help and give back to others less fortunate. The truth is! to be a great couple, we need to teamwork to make the dream work.
The commitment to drive towards the same direction is key! Marriage is a partnership, not only to
build a family but also to impact lives.
So boyfriends and girlfriends go tie the knot and for the ones already married, keep on inspiring us.
When you think about power couples, people like President Barack and
First Lady Michelle Obama most likely come to mind. Farewell 1st family!
Other power couples
include:
Isabel Dos Santos and Sindika Dokolo
Isabel dos Santos (born 20 April 1973) is an
Angolan investor considered by
Forbes to be the richest woman not only in Angola, but the whole of Africa. In 2013, according to research by
Forbes, her net worth had reached more than three billion
US dollars, making her Africa’s first billionaire woman. She is the daughter of Angola's President
José Eduardo dos Santos, who has ruled the country since
1979.
Sindika Dokolo (born 16 May 1972 in
Kinshasa, Zaire, now Democratic Republic of Congo) is a Congolese
art collector and businessman. He owns one of the most important
contemporary African art collections, which includes more than 3,000 pieces.
He was brought up in
Belgium and
France by his parents: bank owner, millionaire and passionate for
African arts, Augustin Dokolo and his Danish wife Hanne Kruse. He attended the
Lycée Saint-Louis-de-Gonzague in Paris from which he graduated, later he studied economics, commerce and foreign languages at the
Pierre and Marie Curie University in Paris.
In 2002, he married
Isabel dos Santos, the eldest daughter of
José Eduardo dos Santos, President of Angola.
Gabrielle Union and Dwade
Gabrielle Monique Union-Wade (born October 29, 1972)
is an American actress. She began her career in 1990s, appearing on
television sitcoms, before landing supporting roles in teen comedy films
She's All That and
10 Things I Hate About You (1999). Her breakthrough role was in the 2000 teen comedy film
Bring It On, after which she was female lead in the short-lived
CBS medical drama series
City of Angels later that year.
Union is best known for her performances in the romantic comedy films
The Brothers (2001),
Deliver Us from Eva (2003),
Daddy's Little Girls (2007),
Think Like a Man (2012) and
Think Like a Man Too (2014). She also had starring roles in
Bad Boys II (2003),
Cradle 2 the Grave (2003), the critically acclaimed
Neo Ned (2005),
Cadillac Records (2008), and
Top Five (2014). In 2013, Union began starring as lead character in the
BET drama series
Being Mary Jane, for which she has received critical acclaim and an
NAACP Image Award. She co-starred in film
The Birth of a Nation (2016), and will next appear in
Almost Christmas and
Sleepless.
Dwyane Tyrone Wade Jr. (
born January 17, 1982) is an American professional
basketball player for the
Chicago Bulls of the
National Basketball Association
(NBA). He has established himself as one of the most well-known and
popular players in the league. Wade had the top-selling jersey in the
NBA for nearly two years, leading the league in jersey sales from the
2005 NBA Playoffs, until the midpoint of the
2006–07 season.
After a successful college career at
Marquette, Wade was drafted fifth overall in the
2003 NBA draft by the
Miami Heat. He was named to the
All-Rookie
team and the All-Star team the following twelve seasons. In his third
season, Wade led the Heat to their first NBA championship in franchise
history and was named the
2006 NBA Finals MVP. At the
2008 Summer Olympics, Wade led the
United States men's basketball team, commonly known as the "
Redeem Team", in scoring, and helped them capture gold medal honors in
Beijing, China. In the
2008–09 season, Wade led the league in scoring and earned his first
NBA scoring title. With
LeBron James and
Chris Bosh, Wade guided Miami to four consecutive NBA Finals from 2011 to 2014, winning back-to-back championships in
2012 and
2013. In 2016, Wade departed the Heat in free agency to play for the Chicago Bulls.
Alicia keys and Swizz
Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known by her
stage name Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, pianist and actress. Keys released her debut album with
J Records, having had previous record deals first with
Columbia and then
Arista Records. Keys' debut album,
Songs in A Minor,
was a commercial success, selling over 12 million copies worldwide. She
became the best-selling new artist and best-selling R&B artist of
2001. The album earned Keys five
Grammy Awards in 2002, becoming the second American singer to win five Grammys in one night. It produced her first
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "
Fallin'" which won
Song of the Year. Her sophomore album,
The Diary of Alicia Keys, was released in 2003, spawning successful singles "
You Don't Know My Name", "
If I Ain't Got You" and "
Diary", and selling eight million copies worldwide. The
duet song "
My Boo" with
Usher, scored her a second number-one single in 2004. The album garnered her an additional four Grammy Awards in 2005. Later that year, she released her first
live album,
Unplugged, which debuted at number one in the United States. She became the first woman to have an
MTV Unplugged album to debut at number one and the highest since
Nirvana in 1994.
Keys has made guest appearances on several television series, beginning with
The Cosby Show and most recently on season 2 of
Empire. She made her film debut in
Smokin' Aces and also went on to appear in
The Nanny Diaries in 2007. Her third studio album,
As I Am,
was released in the same year and sold five million copies worldwide,
earning Keys an additional three Grammy Awards. It produced the
Hot 100 number-one single "
No One". The following year, she appeared in
The Secret Life of Bees, which earned her a nomination at the
NAACP Image Awards. She released her fourth album,
The Element of Freedom, in December 2009, which became Keys' first chart-topping album in the United Kingdom. Keys additionally collaborated with
Jay Z on "
Empire State of Mind" as a featuring vocalist, winning a Grammy Award as
Best Rap/Sung Collaboration in 2010. It became her fourth number-one single on the Hot 100. She released her fifth album,
Girl on Fire, in November 2012, which became Keys' fifth chart-topping album on the
Billboard 200, spawning the successful single "
Girl On Fire." Keys released her second live album,
VH1 Storytellers, in June 2013.
Throughout her career, Keys has won
numerous awards such as 15
Grammy Awards, and has sold over 35 million albums and 30 million singles worldwide.
Billboard
magazine named her the top R&B songs artist of the 2000s decade. In
2010, VH1 included Keys on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All
Time.
Billboard magazine placed her number ten on their list of Top 50 R&B/Hip-Hop Artists of the Past 25 Years. In February 2012, Keys was ranked 14
th on
VH1's 100 Greatest Women in Music list.
Keys was ranked at number thirty-three on
VH1's "50 Greatest Women of the Video Era" list and number 10 on their "100 Sexiest Artists" list.
Kasseem Dean (born September 13, 1978), better known by his
stage name Swizz Beatz, is an American
hip hop recording artist and record producer from
New York City,
New York. Born and raised in
The Bronx,
he began his musical career as a disc jockey (DJ) and has since added
rapper, producer, record executive, creative director and fashion
designer, to his repertoire. At the age of 16, he gained recognition in
the hip hop industry, through his friendship and work with
East Coast rapper DMX and the
Ruff Ryders Entertainment record label.
Dean later found a protégé in Philadelphia-based rapper
Cassidy, whose success helped the launch of his own label imprint,
Full Surface Records. He went on to sign multiple artists to the label, including
Eve and
Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, among others. Dean also went on to release two albums under the label; the first was a compilation, titled
Swizz Beatz Presents G.H.E.T.T.O. Stories, released in 2002, in conjunction with
DreamWorks Records. He later released his debut studio album,
One Man Band Man, in 2007.
Swizz Beatz has
produced multiple
hit singles for several prominent artists throughout various
music genres, such as
hip hop,
pop,
soul and
R&B. His catalog includes "
Ruff Ryders' Anthem" (DMX), "
Banned from T.V." (
Noreaga), "
Gotta Man" (Eve), "
Jigga My Nigga" (
Jay-Z), "
Party Up (Up in Here)" (DMX), "
Check on It", "
Ring the Alarm" (
Beyoncé), "
Good Times" (
Styles P), "
Bring 'Em Out" (
T.I.), "
Hotel", "
I'm a Hustla" (Cassidy), "
Touch It" (
Busta Rhymes) and
much more.
Swizz Beatz was named the first "Producer in Residence" at
New York University, for the 2010–11 academic year.
About.com ranked him number 27 on its list of the "Top 50 Greatest Hip-Hop Producers," while
The Source placed him on its list of the "20 greatest producers" in the magazine's 20-year history. Fellow American rapper and music producer
Kanye West has also praised Dean, calling him "the best
rap producer of all time." Dean is married to American singer
Alicia Keys, with whom he has two children.
Jay-Z and Beyonce
Shawn Corey Carter (born December 4, 1969),best known as his stage name
Jay Z, is an American rapper, businessman, and investor. Formerly known as
Jay-Z, he is one of the
best-selling musicians of all time, having sold more than 100 million records, while receiving 21
Grammy Awards for his music.
[7][8][9] MTV ranked him the "Greatest MC of all time" in 2006.
Rolling Stone ranked three of his albums—
Reasonable Doubt (1996),
The Blueprint (2001), and
The Black Album (2003)—among
the 500 greatest albums of all time. In 2014,
Forbes estimated his net worth at nearly $520 million, making him one of the richest hip hop artists in the U.S.
Jay Z co-owns the New York
40/40 Club sports bar, and is the co-creator of the clothing line
Rocawear. He is the former president of
Def Jam Recordings, co-founder of
Roc-A-Fella Records, and the founder of the entertainment company
Roc Nation. He also founded the sports agency
Roc Nation Sports and is a certified
NBA and
MLB sports agent.
As an artist, he holds the record for most number one albums by a solo artist on the
Billboard 200 with 13.He has also had four number ones on the
Billboard Hot 100, one as lead artist. In 2009 he was ranked the tenth-most successful artist of the 2000s by
Billboard as well as the fifth top solo male artist and fourth top rapper behind
Eminem,
Nelly, and
50 Cent.
He was also ranked the 88th-greatest artist of all time by
Rolling Stone.
Jay Z married American
R&B singer
Beyoncé in 2008. Their daughter, Blue Ivy Carter, was born on January 7, 2012.
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter (
born September 4, 1981)
is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born and raised in
Houston,
Texas, she performed in various singing and dancing competitions as a
child and rose to fame in the late 1990s as lead singer of
R&B girl-group
Destiny's Child. Managed by her father,
Mathew Knowles, the group became one of the world's
best-selling girl groups of all time. Their hiatus saw the release of Beyoncé's debut album,
Dangerously in Love (2003), which established her as a solo artist worldwide, earned five
Grammy Awards and featured the
Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "
Crazy in Love" and "
Baby Boy".
Following the disbandment of Destiny's Child in 2006, she released her second solo album,
B'Day (2006), which contained hits "
Déjà Vu", "
Irreplaceable", and "
Beautiful Liar". Beyoncé also ventured into acting, with a
Golden Globe-nominated performance in
Dreamgirls (2006) and starring roles in
The Pink Panther (2006) and
Obsessed (2009). Her marriage to rapper
Jay Z and portrayal of
Etta James in
Cadillac Records (2008) influenced her third album,
I Am... Sasha Fierce (2008), which saw the birth of her alter-ego Sasha Fierce and earned a record-setting
six Grammy Awards in 2010, including
Song of the Year for "
Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)". Beyoncé took a hiatus from music in 2010 and took over management of her career; her fourth album (2011) was subsequently mellower in tone, exploring 1970s
funk, 1980s
pop, and 1990s
soul. Her critically acclaimed fifth album,
Beyoncé
(2013), was distinguished from previous releases by its experimental
production and exploration of darker themes. With the release of
Lemonade (2016), Beyoncé became the first artist to have their first six studio albums debut at number one on the
Billboard 200 chart.
Throughout a career spanning 19 years, she has sold over 100 million records as a solo artist, and a further 60 million with Destiny's Child, making her one of the
best-selling music artists of all time. She has won 20
Grammy Awards and is the most nominated woman in the award's history. She is the most awarded artist at the
MTV Video Music Awards, with 24 wins. The
Recording Industry Association of America recognized her as the Top Certified Artist in America during the 2000s (decade). In 2009,
Billboard
named her the Top Radio Songs Artist of the Decade, the Top Female
Artist of the 2000s (decade) and handed their Millennium Award in 2011. In 2014, she became the highest-paid black musician in history and was listed among
Time's 100 most influential people in the world for a second year in a row.
Forbes listed her as the most powerful female in entertainment of 2015,
and in 2016 she occupied the sixth place for
Person of the Year.
Leila and Osi Umenyiora
Leila Luliana da Costa Vieira Lopes (born 26 February 1986) is an
Angolan actress, model and beauty queen who won the titles of Miss Angola UK 2010,
Miss Angola 2010 and
Miss Universe 2011. Prior to being a contestant in beauty pageants, she studied
business management at
University Campus Suffolk in
Ipswich, England. Lopes is actively involved in raising awareness about
HIV/AIDS and the discrimination that people with the disease experience.
Ositadimma "
Osi"
Umenyiora (born November 16, 1981) is a Nigerian-American former
defensive end born in England who played in the
National Football League (NFL). He played
college football for
Troy University and was drafted by the
New York Giants in the second round of the
2003 NFL Draft. Umenyiora was a two-time
Pro Bowl
selection and holds the Giants franchise record for most sacks in one
game. He is one of four British-born players to have won a
Super Bowl, joining
Marvin Allen,
Scott McCready and former Giants teammate
Lawrence Tynes.
Diamond Platnumz and Zari Hassan
Naseeb Abdul Juma (born 2 October 1989), popularly known by his stage name
Diamond Platnumz (or simply
Diamond), is a
Bongo Flava recording artist and singer from
Tanzania.
He is best known for his hit song "Number One". Diamond has won
numerous awards at Channel O and the HiPHop Music Awards. He performed
at the
Big Brother Africa 7 eviction show in May 2012.
Diamond is considered influential among his fans, and is said to be the
most loved and decorated Tanzanian artist at the moment. He was believed to be the highest selling Tanzanian artist of
ringtones by mobile phone companies in 2013, as well as being among the artists earning the highest income in the
African Great Lakes region's music industry.
Zari (Zarinah Hassan) is a Ugandan musician.
Her
heritage involves many countries, her grandfather on her moms’ side is
Indian and her grandmother Ugandan, her grandfather on her dads’ side is
Somalian and her grandmother a Burundian.
2face Idibia and Annie
Innocent Ujah Idibia (born in
Jos,
Plateau State,
Nigeria), better known by his stage name
2face Idibia, or
2Baba, is a
Nigerian singer-songwriter, record producer and entrepreneur. He officially discontinued the use of the name
Tuface and selected
2baba or
Tu-baba as his stage name. He is one of the most decorated and successful Afro pop artists in
Africa. He is also one of the most bankable artists in
Africa.
2Face has received one
MTV Europe Music Award, one
World Music Award, five Hindies Awards (Hip-hop award), four
Channel O Music Video Awards and one
BET award for his musical work, four
MTV Africa Music Awards, one
MOBO award, one
KORA award, and numerous additional nominations.
Adewale Ogunleye and Dr Amira Baker-Ogunleye
Adewale Ogunleye (
born August 9, 1977) is a former Former NFL
American football defensive end who played eleven seasons in the
National Football League (NFL). He was signed by the
Miami Dolphins as an
undrafted free agent in 2000. He played
college football at
Indiana.
Adewale Ogunleye, from Emure, Ekiti State, has been involved with several
female celebrities - Sanaa Lathan and Kelis during his football
prime. But now he is happily married. He also holds a Masters in Business
Administration, while his wife, Amira owns few dental practice in Miami
that is frequented by celebrities.
Carmelo and LaLa
Carmelo Kyam Anthony (born May 29, 1984) is an American professional
basketball player for the
New York Knicks of the
National Basketball Association (NBA). Anthony attended
Towson Catholic High School and
Oak Hill Academy before playing
college basketball at
Syracuse. In Anthony's freshman season, he led the
Orangemen to their first and only
National Championship and was named the NCAA Tournament's
Most Outstanding Player. Anthony then entered the
2003 NBA draft where he was selected with the third overall pick by the
Denver Nuggets.
Since entering the NBA, Anthony has been named an
All-Star nine times and an
All-NBA Team member six times. While playing for Denver, he led the Nuggets to the
playoffs every year from 2004 to 2010, winning two division titles in that span. In 2009, Anthony led the Nuggets to their first
Conference Finals appearance since 1985. In 2011, he was traded from Denver to the
New York Knicks just days prior to the
NBA trade deadline. On January 24, 2014, against the
Charlotte Bobcats, Anthony set the
Madison Square Garden and Knicks' single-game scoring record with a career-high 62 points.
Anthony has been a member of the USA
Olympic basketball team a record four times, winning a bronze medal at the
2004 Summer Olympics and gold medals at the
2008,
2012, and
2016 Summer Olympics. He is the
United States Olympic men's national basketball team all-time leading scorer,leader in rebounds and games played.
Will and Jada Pinkett Smith
Jada Koren Pinkett–Smith (
; née
Pinkett; born September 18, 1971)
[1]
is an American actress, dancer, singer-songwriter, and businesswoman.
She began her career in 1990, when she made a guest appearance in the
short-lived
sitcom True Colors. She starred in
A Different World, produced by
Bill Cosby, and she featured opposite
Eddie Murphy in
The Nutty Professor (1996). She starred in
dramatic films such as
Menace II Society (1993) and
Set It Off (1996). She has appeared in more than 20 films in a variety of genres, including
Scream 2,
Ali,
The Matrix Reloaded,
The Matrix Revolutions,
Madagascar,
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, and
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted.
Pinkett Smith launched her music career in 2002, when she helped create the
metal band
Wicked Wisdom,
for which she is a singer and songwriter. Smith also created a
production company, in addition to authoring a book, published in 2004.
In 1997, she married actor
Will Smith. They have two children,
Jaden and
Willow.
Willard Carroll "
Will"
Smith Jr. (born September 15, 1968) is an American actor, producer, rapper, and songwriter. In April 2007,
Newsweek called him "the most powerful actor in Hollywood".
Smith has been nominated for five
Golden Globe Awards and two
Academy Awards, and has won four
Grammy Awards.
In the late 1980s, Smith achieved modest fame as a rapper under the name
The Fresh Prince. In 1990, his popularity increased dramatically when he starred in the popular television series
The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The show ran for six seasons (1990–96) on
NBC
and has been syndicated consistently on various networks since then.
After the series ended, Smith transitioned from television to film, and
ultimately starred in numerous
blockbuster films.
He is the only actor to have eight consecutive films gross over $100
million in the domestic box office, eleven consecutive films gross over
$150 million internationally, and eight consecutive films in which he
starred open at the number one spot in the domestic box office tally.
Smith has been ranked as the most bankable star worldwide by
Forbes.
As of 2014, 17 of the 21 films in which he has had leading roles have
accumulated worldwide gross earnings of over $100 million each, five
taking in over $500 million each in global box office receipts. As of
2016, his films have grossed $7.5 billion at the global box office. For his performances as boxer
Muhammad Ali in
Ali (2001) and stockbroker
Chris Gardner in
The Pursuit of Happyness (2006), Smith received nominations for the
Academy Award for Best Actor.
Ciara and Russel Wilson
Ciara Princess Wilson (née Harris; born October 25, 1985), known
mononymously as
Ciara, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer and actress. Born in
Austin, Texas, she traveled around the world during her childhood, eventually moving to
Atlanta,
Georgia where she joined the girl group Hearsay (not to be confused with the British group
Hear'Say);
however, the group disbanded after having differences. It was at this
time Ciara was noticed for her songwriting. In 2002, Ciara met music
producer
Jazze Pha. With his help, she signed a record deal with
LaFace Records.
In 2004, Ciara released her debut studio album
Goodies, which spawned three hit singles: "
Goodies", "
1, 2 Step", and "
Oh". The album was certified triple platinum by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), and earned her four nominations at the
48th Annual Grammy Awards. She released her second studio album,
Ciara: The Evolution, in 2006 which spawned the hit singles "
Get Up", "
Promise", and "
Like a Boy". The album reached number one in the U.S. and was certified platinum.
Her third studio album,
Fantasy Ride,
released in 2009, was considerably less successful than Ciara's first
two albums. However, it produced the international top-ten single "
Love Sex Magic" featuring
Justin Timberlake, which earned her a
Grammy Award nomination for
Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals. The following year, Ciara released her fourth studio album
Basic Instinct,
which was met with low sales and continued a downward trend in her
commercial performance. In 2011, she signed a new record deal with
Epic Records, and released her self-titled fifth studio album,
Ciara, in 2013 which was preceded by the U.S.
R&B/Hip-Hop top-ten single"
Body Party". In 2015, Ciara released her sixth album
Jackie, which included the singles "
I Bet" and "
Dance Like We're Making Love". The album debuted at number 17 on the
Billboard 200 and sold 19,000 copies, which made it her lowest first-week album sales to date.
Ciara has also transitioned into acting in 2006 she made her film debut it
All You've Got, followed by
Mama, I Want to Sing! (2012) and
That's My Boy (2012). In 2013, Ciara had a recurring role in the US TV series,
The Game. Since making her musical debut in 2004, Ciara has attained eight
Billboard Hot 100 top-ten singles, including a number one. She has also earned numerous awards and accolades, including three
BET Awards, three
MTV Video Music Awards, three
MOBO Awards, and one
Grammy Award. To date, Ciara has sold over 23 million records worldwide.
Russell Carrington Wilson (born November 29, 1988) is an
American football quarterback for the
Seattle Seahawks of the
National Football League (NFL).
Wilson played
college football for the
University of Wisconsin during the
2011 season, in which he set the single season
FBS record for
passing efficiency (191.8) and led the team to a
Big Ten title and the
2012 Rose Bowl.Wilson played football and baseball for
North Carolina State University from 2008 to 2010 before transferring to Wisconsin. Wilson also played
minor league baseball for the
Tri-City Dust Devils in 2010 and the
Asheville Tourists in 2011 as a
second baseman.
Wilson was selected by the Seattle Seahawks with the 12th pick in the third round (75th overall) of the
2012 NFL Draft. In 2012 he tied
Peyton Manning's record for most passing touchdowns by a rookie (26) and was named the
Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year. In
2013, he led the Seahawks to their first ever
Super Bowl
victory, and in 2014, led them to a second straight Super Bowl berth.
Wilson has won more games (46) than any other NFL quarterback in his
first four seasons, and is currently the second highest rated NFL passer
of all time behind
Aaron Rodgers.
On July 31, 2015, Wilson signed a four-year, $87.6 million contract
extension with the Seahawks, making him at the time the second highest
paid player in the NFL.
AKA and Bonang Matheba
Bonang Matheba (born June 25, 1987) is a
South African business woman, television & radio personality. She is well known for being the host of the popular
SABC 1 music show
Live. She also hosts
SABC3's premium lifestyle and travel magazine series,
Top Billing and its sister show, Afternoon Express. Bonang is currently the host on "The Front Row" a radio show on
SABC's
Metro FM. She will be on the next cover of our beloved 2nd issue of Afropolitain Magazine (www.afropolitain-magazine.com) go get your copy and don't forget to participate and leave comments.
Kiernan Jarryd Forbes, known by his stage name
AKA, is a South African
hip hop
recording artist and record producer. He is a multiple award nominee
and winner, both internationally and locally. His break through came
after the release of his single,
Victory Lap, followed by its remix, with features such as
Khuli Chana. On the back of this, he released his first album,
Altar Ego,
which became a great success. He has grown to become one of the most
significant hip hop artists in Africa. He is respected for his
contribution to the growth of hip hop and the foundation of a legacy in
Africa. He has influenced many and even stirred controversies with his
intimidating and unique skill. His rise has been rapid, and he is
popularly considered a young living legend. He recently started dating
Bonang Matheba,
the South African TV and radio personality, entrepreneur and model.
Since their relationship became public, the couple have received
widespread media attention. This has led to a synergistic relationship,
and the two are often perceived as one of Africa's power couples.
Pauletta and Denzel Washington
Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954)
[1] is an American actor, director, and producer. He has received three
Golden Globe awards, a
Tony Award,
and two
Academy Awards:
Best Supporting Actor for the historical war drama film
Glory (1989) and
Best Actor for his role as a corrupt cop in the crime thriller
Training Day (2001).
Washington has received much critical acclaim for his film work since
the 1980s, including his portrayals of real-life figures such as South
African anti-apartheid activist
Steve Biko in
Cry Freedom (1987), Muslim minister and human rights activist
Malcolm X in
Malcolm X (1992), boxer
Rubin "Hurricane" Carter in
The Hurricane (1999), football coach
Herman Boone in
Remember the Titans (2000), poet and educator
Melvin B. Tolson in
The Great Debaters (2007), and drug kingpin
Frank Lucas in
American Gangster (2007). He has been a featured actor in the films produced by
Jerry Bruckheimer and has been a frequent collaborator of directors
Spike Lee,
Antoine Fuqua and the late
Tony Scott. In 2016, Washington was selected as the recipient for the
Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award at the
73rd Golden Globe Awards.
In 2002, Washington made his directorial debut with biographical film
Antwone Fisher. His second directorial effort was
The Great Debaters, released in 2007. Washington's third directorial effort,
Fences, starring himself and Viola Davis, was released on December 16, 2016.
Meagan Good and DeVon Franklin
Meagan Monique Good (born August 8, 1981) is an
American
actress. Beginning her career in 1985 at the age of four, Good has
appeared in numerous television shows, films, and music videos.
In 2011, Good featured in an ensemble cast of the successful film version of
Think Like a Man. She played Joanna Locasto, the lead character on the
NBC drama series
Deception. She also starred in the 2013 comedy
Anchorman 2: The Legend Continues starring
Will Ferrell. Good has also earned a reputation as a
scream queen, having starred in the horror films
Venom (2005),
One Missed Call (2008),
Saw V (2008), and
The Unborn (2009).
DeVon Franklin (born April 13, 1978) is an
American
is an award-winning Film & TV producer, best-selling author,
internationally-known preacher and motivational speaker. A recognized
authority on spirituality, faith and the entertainment business, DeVon
is committed to using the power of media as an inspirational tool.
Beliefnet calls him one of the "Most Influential Christians Under 40,"
Variety Magazine named him one of the "Top 10 Producers to Watch," and
Ebony Magazine has named him one of the "Top 100 Influential
African-Americans in America."
Through his production company, Franklin Entertainment, DeVon
recently signed a new multi-year first-look film deal with 20th Century
Fox. In 2016, he produced the film MIRACLES FROM HEAVEN starring
Jennifer Garner and Queen Latifah, which has grossed $73 million at the
world-wide box office, making it one of the top-grossing faith-based
films of all-time. Prior to starting Franklin Entertainment, DeVon was
the Senior Vice President of Production at
Columbia Pictures and a studio executive at
Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.
He is also the author of two best-selling books, including the New York
Times best-selleing THE WAIT, which he co-wrote with his wife actress
Meagan Good.
Samuel Eto'o and Georgette Tra Lou
Samuel Eto'o Fils born 10 March 198, is a
Cameroonian professional
footballer who plays as a
striker for Turkish club
Antalyaspor. He is the most decorated African player of all time, having won the
African Player of the Year award a record four times: in 2003, 2004, 2005 and 2010. He was third in the
FIFA World Player of the Year award in 2005.
Eto'o scored over 100 goals in five seasons with
Barcelona, and is also the record holder in number of appearances by an African player in
La Liga. In 2010, he became the first player to win two European
continental trebles following his back-to-back achievements with Barcelona and
Inter Milan. He is the second player in history to score in two
UEFA Champions League finals and the fourth player, after
Marcel Desailly,
Paulo Sousa and
Gerard Piqué, to have won the trophy two years in a row with different teams.
As a member of the
Cameroon national team, Eto'o was a part of the squad that won the
2000 Olympic tournament. He has also participated in four
World Cups and six
Africa Cup of Nations
(being champion twice) and is the all-time leading scorer in the
history of the Africa Cup of Nations, with 18 goals. He is also
Cameroon's
all-time leading scorer and third
most capped player, with 56 goals
from 118 caps. He announced his retirement from international football on 27 August 2014. In 2015, he received the
Golden Foot Award.
Steve Harvey and Marjorie
Broderick Stephen "Steve" Harvey (born January 17, 1957) is an
American comedian, television host,
producer,
radio personality, actor, author and singer. He hosts
The Steve Harvey Morning Show, the
Steve Harvey talk show,
Family Feud and
Little Big Shots. He is the author of
Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man, which was published in March 2009, and the book
Straight Talk, No Chaser: How to Find and Keep a Man.
Harvey previously hosted
Showtime at the Apollo, starred in
The Steve Harvey Show, and was featured in
The Original Kings of Comedy. He is a three-time
Daytime Emmy Award winner, and a 13-time
NAACP Image Award winner in various categories.
Jesse Williams and Aryn Drake Lee
Jesse Wesley Williams (born August 5, 1981)
is an American actor, model, and activist, best known for his role as Dr.
Jackson Avery on the
ABC Television series
Grey's Anatomy. He also appears in the 2013 film
Lee Daniels' The Butler as real life civil rights leader
Rev. James Lawson. Previous roles include Holden in
The Cabin in the Woods (2012), Officer Eddie Quinlan in
Brooklyn's Finest (2009) and as Leo, Lena's boyfriend, in the film sequel
The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 (2008).
Williams was born in
Chicago,
Illinois,
the son of Johanna Chase, a professional
potter, and Reginald Williams. Williams has stated that his mother is
Swedish, while his father is
African American, with some
Seminole descent, from
Georgia. He has two younger brothers who specialize in
visual arts. Williams graduated from
Moses Brown School in
Providence, Rhode Island, in 1998.
After high school, his parents each began teaching in the public school
system, while his mother maintained her work in pottery.
Williams graduated from
Temple University with a double major in
African American Studies and Film and Media Arts. Following in the footsteps of his parents, he taught high school in the
Philadelphia public school system for six years, where he used his degree earned at Temple to teach
American Studies,
African Studies, and English.
Aryn Drake-Lee
is a real estate broker. Many
Grey's Anatomy stars eschew romance with other entertainers in favor of people with more "normal" jobs, and Jesse is no exception. Jesse and Aryn met when he was still a teacher in Philadelphia.
Boris Kodjoe and Nicole Ari
Boris Frederic Cecil Tay-Natey Ofuatey-Kodjoe , born March 8, 1973, better known as
Boris Kodjoe, is an
Austrian-born actor of
German and
Ghanaian descent known for his roles as Kelby in the 2002 film
Brown Sugar, the sports-courier agent Damon Carter on the
Showtime drama series
Soul Food and was a recurring character on
FOX's
The Last Man on Earth. He currently co-stars on
BET's
Real Husbands of Hollywood and on the
CBS medical drama
Code Black.
Kodjoe was born in
Vienna,
Austria, the son of Ursula, a
German psychologist of partially
Jewish descent, and Eric Kodjoe, a
Ghanaian physician who is of the
Krobo people. His
namesake is the
Russian poet and writer
Boris Pasternak. Kodjoe's
matrilineal great-grandmother was Jewish and died in the
Holocaust; his maternal grandmother survived the war in hiding. Kodjoe's parents divorced when he was six years old.
He grew up in the vicinity of
Freiburg im Breisgau. Kodjoe is fluent in
German,
English, and
French, and speaks some
Spanish. He has a brother named Patrick and two sisters named Nadja and Lara.
Nicole Ari Parker-Kodjoe (born October 7, 1970), also known as
Nikki Kodjoe, is an American actress. She is known for her role as Becky Barnett in the 1997 film
Boogie Nights and as the attorney Teri Joseph on the
Showtime series
Soul Food, which ran from 2000 to 2004. Additionally, Nicole co-starred on the short-lived
UPN romantic comedy
Second Time Around that lasted for one season and appeared in the 2008 film,
Welcome Home Roscoe Jenkins.
Parker was born in
Baltimore, Maryland. She is the only child of her divorced parents, health care professional Susan Parker and dentist Donald Parker.
After briefly attending the Montessori School, Parker entered
Roland Park Country School where she stayed through high school. At the age of 17, she won Best Actress in the state of Maryland's high school competition and then moved to
The Washington Ballet Company before applying to the
New York University's
Tisch School of the Arts. She graduated with an acting degree in 1993.
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