White Collar (TV series)

White Collar is a USA Network television series created by Jeff Eastin, starring Matt Bomer as con-man Neal Caffrey and Tim DeKay as Special Agent Peter Burke. It premiered on October 23, 2009. In December 2009, White Collar was renewed for a second season that began on July 13, 2010. On September 27, 2010, the USA Network renewed White Collar for a third season with 16 new episodes, which premiered on June 7, 2011.

Main characters

Matt Bomer as Neal Caffrey – a skilled forger and thief who was imprisoned after being captured by FBI Special Agent Peter Burke. After his girlfriend, Kate, visits him in prison to end their relationship, Neal escapes from prison in order to find her, but Peter quickly recaptures him. Neal proposes he become an FBI consultant, leading to Neal's release on the condition he wears an ankle monitor monitoring his movements. Neal uses his new position with the FBI to search for Kate, whom he believes is in trouble. Neal also appears to have considerable knowledge of history, jewelry and the arts, such as literature, Western paintings and opera even though it is revealed early in season two that he never graduated from high school. Despite being given the opportunity to build a new, honest life for himself, Neal often craves his old life, forcing him to make a choice between the two. Neal's father was a corrupt police officer; Neal was raised by his mother.

Tim DeKay as Special Agent Peter Burke – a hard-working, honest FBI agent, and the head of the investigative team on which Neal serves. His ability to predict Neal's actions lead to Neal's capture, a skill he uses with other criminals as well. He is very committed to his marriage, and loves his home life. Peter is the person Neal trusts the most and Peter is determined to convince Neal that an honest life is possible. He has also developed a guarded working relationship with Mozzie. Peter earned an Accounting degree, and was recruited out of college by the FBI, passing over a few Fortune 500 offers.

Tiffani Thiessen as Elizabeth Burke – an event planner and Peter's wife. She is supportive and understanding of his work and long hours away. An intelligent woman herself, Elizabeth is able to discuss Peter's cases with him, and at times makes a meaningful contribution to them. She also admires Neal's refinement, and tends to see the good in him when Peter does not.

Willie Garson as Mozzie – another con-man and close friend of Neal. Mozzie, often called Moz, is perhaps Neal's most trusted confidante. Though lacking Neal's people skills and spontaneity, he appears to be a jack of all trades, has a photographic memory, and helps Neal in a variety of ways. Mozzie grew up in foster homes all throughout childhood. Mozzie is the only other person who knows the whole story of Kate's current situation and the clues leading to her. He has a difficult time trusting Peter, referring to him as "The Suit", but will contribute to his investigations on occasion. He is also a conspiracy theorist, to the point of being absolutely terrified to step into the FBI offices.

Hilarie Burton as Sara Ellis – an insurance company investigator who testified against Neal when he was on trial for allegedly stealing a Raphael painting. Originally determined to catch Neal and see him returned to prison, she now claims she enjoys working with him and is aiding the ongoing investigation into the mystery of the music box.

Marsha Thomason as Special Agent Diana Barrigan – Peter's former probationary agent, Diana provides assistance with Peter and Neal's first case together. Later assigned to Washington, D.C., Peter calls on her to covertly help him unravel "Operation Mentor", and determine Fowler's role in Kate's activities. Diana is the daughter of a diplomat whose bodyguard was killed protecting her. Her girlfriend Christie (unseen to date) is having a difficult time adjusting to life in New York.

Sharif Atkins as Special Agent Clinton Jones – Peter's point man who is responsible for carrying out a variety of tasks during the team's investigations, including surveillance. Peter usually gets him to watch over Neal, which annoys him, but he appreciates Neal's unorthodox contributions to the team.

Overview

Neal Caffrey, a con-man, forger and thief, is captured after a three-year game of cat and mouse with the FBI. With four months left while serving a four-year sentence, he escapes from a maximum-security federal prison to find Kate, his ex-girlfriend. Peter Burke, the FBI agent who initially captured Caffrey, finds him at a dead end in his search and returns Caffrey to prison. This time, Caffrey gives Burke information about evidence in another case; however, this information comes with a price: Burke must have a meeting with Caffrey. At this meeting, Caffrey proposes a deal: he will help Burke catch other criminals as part of a work-release program. Burke agrees, after some hesitation. Through the successful apprehending of several white-collar criminals, Caffrey has proven to Burke that he will help him, and that he will not try to escape again. This begins an unconventional but successful partnership.

White-collar crime

Within the field of criminology, white-collar crime has been defined by Edwin Sutherland as "a crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation" (1939). Sutherland was a proponent of Symbolic Interactionism, and believed that criminal behavior was learned from interpersonal interaction with others. White-collar crime, therefore, overlaps with corporate crime because the opportunity for fraud, bribery, insider trading, embezzlement, computer crime, copyright infringement, money laundering, identity theft, and forgery are more available to white-collar employees.

Definitional issue

By the type of offense, e.g. property crime, economic crime, and other corporate crimes like environmental and health and safety law violations. Some crime is only possible because of the identity of the offender, e.g. transnational money laundering requires the participation of senior officers employed in banks. But the Federal Bureau of Investigation has adopted the narrow approach, defining white-collar crime as "those illegal acts which are characterized by deceit, concealment, or violation of trust and which are not dependent upon the application or threat of physical force or violence" (1989, 3). This approach is relatively pervasive in the United States, the record-keeping does not adequately collect data on the socioeconomic status of offenders which, in turn, makes research and policy evaluation problematic. While the true extent and cost of white-collar crime are unknown, it is estimated to cost the United States somewhere between $300–$660 billion annually, according to the FBI (Lane and Wall 2006, cited; in Friedrichs, 2007, p46).

By the type of offender, e.g. by social class or high socioeconomic status, the occupation of positions of trust or profession, or academic qualification, researching the motivations for criminal behavior, e.g. greed or fear of loss of face if economic difficulties become obvious. Shover and Wright (2000) point to the essential neutrality of a crime as enacted in a statute. It almost inevitably describes conduct in the abstract, not by reference to the character of the persons performing it. Thus, the only way that one crime differs from another is in the backgrounds and characteristics of its perpetrators. Most if not all white-collar offenders are distinguished by lives of privilege, much of it with origins in class inequality.

By organizational culture rather than the offender or offense which overlaps with organized crime. Appelbaum and Chambliss (1997, 117) offer a twofold definition:

Occupational crime which occurs when crimes are committed to promote personal interests, say, by altering records and overcharging, or by the cheating of clients by professionals.

Organizational or corporate crime which occurs when corporate executives commit criminal acts to benefit their company by overcharging or price fixing, false advertising, etc.

Blue-collar crime

The types of crime committed are a function of what is available to the potential offender. Thus, those employed in relatively unskilled environments and living in inner-city areas have fewer "situations" to exploit (see Clarke: 1997) than those who work in "situations" where large financial transactions occur and live in areas where there is relative prosperity. Blue-collar crime tends to be more obvious and thus attracts more active police attention (e.g. for crimes such as vandalism or shoplifting, where physical property is involved). In contrast, white-collar employees can incorporate legitimate and criminal behavior, thus making themselves less obvious when committing the crime. Therefore, blue-collar crime will more often use physical force, whereas in the corporate world, the identification of a victim is less obvious and the issue of reporting is complicated by a culture of commercial confidentiality to protect shareholder value. It is estimated that a great deal of white-collar crime is undetected or, if detected, it is not reported.

State-corporate crime

The negotiation of agreements between a state and a corporation will be at a relatively senior level on both sides, this is almost exclusively a white-collar "situation" which offers the opportunity for crime. White-collar crime has become a priority of law enforcement, however evidence shows that it continues to be a low priority.

When senior levels of a corporation engage in criminal activity using the company this is sometimes called control fraud.

Historical background

The term white-collar crime only dates back to 1939. Professor Edwin Hardin Sutherland was the first to coin the term, and hypothesize white-collar criminals attributed different characteristics and motives than typical street criminals. Mr. Sutherland originally presented his theory in an address to the American Sociological Society in attempt to study two fields, crime and high society, which had no previous empirical correlation. He defined his idea as "crime committed by a person of respectability and high social status in the course of his occupation" (Sutherland, 1949). Many denote the invention of Sutherland's idiom to the explosion of U.S business in the years following the Great Depression. Sutherland noted that in his time, "less than two percent of the persons committed to prisons in a year belong to the upper-class." His goal was to prove a relation between money, social status, and likelihood of going to jail for a white-collar crime, compared to more visible, typical crimes. Although the percentage is a bit higher today, numbers still show a large majority of those in jail are poor, "blue-collar" criminals, despite efforts to crack down on white-collar, and corporate crime.

Other fiscal laws were passed in the years prior to Sutherland's studies including antitrust laws in the 1920s, and social welfare laws in the 1930s. After the Depression, people went to great lengths to rebuild their financial security, and it is theorized this led many hard workers, who felt they were underpaid, to take advantage of their positions.

See also: Corrupt corporate legislation

White-collar worker

white-collar worker refers to a salaried professional or an educated worker who performs semi-professional office, administrative, and sales coordination tasks, as opposed to a blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor. "White-collar work" is an informal term, defined in contrast to "blue-collar work".

Demographics

Formerly a minority in the agrarian and early industrial societies, white-collar workers have become a majority in industrialized countries. Industrial and occupational change during the twentieth century created disproportionately more desk jobs, and reduced the number of employees doing manual work in factories.

In recent times workers have had varying degrees of latitude about their choice of dress. Dress codes can range from relaxed — with employees allowed to wear jeans and street clothes — up to traditional office attire. Many companies today operate in a business-casual environment where employees are required to wear dress pants (business trousers) or skirts and a shirt with a collar. Because of this, not all of what would be called white-collar workers in fact wear the traditional white shirt and tie.

At some companies, the "white-collar employees" also on occasion perform traditionally "blue-collar worker" tasks (or vice versa), and even change their clothing to perform the distinctive roles (i.e. dressing up or dressing down as the case requires). An example would be a restaurant manager who may wear more formal clothing than lower-ranked employees, yet still sometimes assist with cooking food or taking customers' orders. Employees of event-catering companies often wear formal clothing when serving food.

As salaried employees, white-collar workers are sometimes members of white-collar labor unions and they can resort to strike action to settle grievances with their employers when collective bargaining fails. This is far more the case in Europe than in the United States, where less than ten percent of all private sector employees are union members. White-collar workers have a reputation for being skeptical or opposed to unions, and tend to see their advancement in work as tied to their reaching corporate goals rather than in union membership.

Etymology

The term "white collar" is credited to Upton Sinclair, an American writer, in relation to modern clerical, administrative and management workers during the 1930s, though references to "easy work and a white collar" appear as early as 1911. Examples of its usage in the 1920s include a 1923 Wall Street Journal article that reads, "Movement from high schools to manual labor in steel plants is unusual, as boys formerly sought white collar work.

Sinclair's usage is related to the fact that during most of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, male office workers in European and American countries almost always had to wear white, collared dress shirts.

Ann Coulter

Ann Hart Coulter, born December 8, 1961 is an American lawyer, conservative social and political commentator, author, and syndicated columnist. She frequently appears on television, radio, and as a speaker at public events and private events. Well-known for her right-wing political opinions and the controversial ways in which she defends them, Coulter has described herself as a polemicist who likes to "stir up the pot" and, unlike "broadcasters," does not "pretend to be impartial or balanced.

Personal life

Coulter has been engaged several times, but never married. She has dated Spin founder and publisher Bob Guccione, Jr., and conservative writer Dinesh D'Souza. In October 2007, she began dating Andrew Stein, the former president of the New York City Council, a liberal Democrat. When asked about the relationship, Stein told the paper, "She's attacked a lot of my friends, but what can I say, opposites attract!"  On January 7, 2008, however, Stein told the New York Post that the relationship was over, citing irreconcilable differences.

Coulter owns a condominium in Manhattan and a house, bought in 2005, in Palm Beach, Florida. Although she says that usually she lives in New York, she votes in Palm Beach and is not registered to do so in New York. She is a fan of several jam bands, such as the Grateful Dead, the Dave Matthews Band, and Phish. Some of her favorite books include The Bible, Wuthering Heights, Anna Karenina, true crime stories about serial killers and anything by Dave Barry.

Religious views

Coulter says that she holds Christian beliefs, but has not declared her membership in any particular denomination; she has mentioned that her father was Catholic while her mother was not. At one public lecture she said: "I don't care about anything else: Christ died for my sins and nothing else matters. In a 2004 column, she summarized her view of Christianity: "Jesus' distinctive message was: People are sinful and need to be redeemed, and this is your lucky day because I'm here to redeem you even though you don't deserve it, and I have to get the crap kicked out of me to do it." She then mocked "the message of Jesus ... according to liberals," summarising it as "...something along the lines of 'be nice to people'," which, in turn, she said "is, in fact, one of the incidental tenets of Christianity".

Confronting some critics' views that her content and style of writing is un-Christian, Coulter has stated that "I'm a Christian first and a mean-spirited, bigoted conservative second, and don't you ever forget it. She has also said: "... Christianity fuels everything I write. Being a Christian means that I am called upon to do battle against lies, injustice, cruelty, hypocrisy — you know, all the virtues in the church of liberalism. In Godless: The Church of Liberalism, as well as in personal appearances, Coulter characterized the theory of evolution as "bogus science", and contrasting her beliefs to what she called the left's "obsession with Darwinism and the Darwinian view of the world, which replaces sanctification of life with sanctification of sex and death.

Law career

After law school, Coulter served as a law clerk, in Kansas City, for Pasco Bowman II of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. After a short time working in New York City in private practice, where she specialized in corporate law, Coulter left to work for the United States Senate Judiciary Committee after the Republican Party took control of Congress in 1994. She handled crime and immigration issues for Senator Spencer Abraham of Michigan and helped craft legislation designed to expedite the deportation of aliens convicted of felonies. She later became a litigator with the Center for Individual Rights.

Media career

Ann Coulter is the author of seven books, and publishes a weekly syndicated newspaper column. Known for her polemical style, she also makes numerous public appearances, speaking on television and radio talk shows, as well as on college campuses, receiving both praise and protest. During one appearance at the University of Arizona, a pie was thrown at her. Coulter has, on occasion, responded with insulting remarks towards hecklers and protestors who attend her speeches.

Newsweek estimates that she earns at least $500,000 per year making speeches.

Early life

Ann Hart Coulter was born in New York City on December 8, 1961, to Nell Husbands (née Martin; a native of Paducah, Kentucky) and John Vincent Coulter (a native of Albany, New York). The family later moved to New Canaan, Connecticut, where Coulter and her two older brothers, James and John, were raised. She graduated from New Canaan High School in 1980.

While attending Cornell University, Coulter helped found The Cornell Review, and was a member of the Delta Gamma national women's fraternity. She graduated cum laude from Cornell in 1984 with a B.A. in history, and received her J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School in 1988, where she achieved membership in the Order of the Coif and was an editor of the Michigan Law Review. At Michigan, Coulter was president of the local chapter of the Federalist Society and was trained at the National Journalism Center.

Columns

In the late 1990s, Coulter's weekly (biweekly from 1999–2000) syndicated column for Universal Press Syndicate began appearing. Her column is featured on six conservative websites: Human Events Online, WorldNetDaily, Townhall.com, FrontPageMag, Jewish World Review and her own website. Her syndicator says, "Ann's client newspapers stick with her because she has a loyal fan base of conservative readers who look forward to reading her columns in their local newspapers.

In 1999, Coulter worked as a regular columnist for George magazine. Coulter also wrote exclusive weekly columns between 1998 and 2003 and with occasional columns thereafter for the conservative magazine Human Events. In her columns for the magazine, she discusses judicial rulings, Constitutional issues, and legal matters affecting Congress and the executive branch.

In 2001, as a contributing editor and syndicated columnist for National Review Online (NRO), Coulter was asked by editors to make changes to a piece written after the September 11 attacks. On the national television show Politically Incorrect, Coulter accused NRO of censorship and said that she was paid $5 per article. NRO dropped her column and terminated her editorship. Jonah Goldberg, editor-at-large of NRO, said, "We did not 'fire' Ann for what she wrote... we ended the relationship because she behaved with a total lack of professionalism, friendship, and loyalty.

Books

Coulter is the author of seven books, all of which have appeared on New York Times Best Seller list, with a combined 3 million copies sold, as of May 2009.

Coulter's first book, High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case Against Bill Clinton, was published by Regnery Publishing in 1998. The book details Coulter's case for the impeachment of President Bill Clinton.

Her second book, Slander: Liberal Lies About the American Right, published by Crown Forum in 2002, became number one on The New York Times non-fiction best seller list. In Slander, Coulter argues that President George W. Bush was given unfair negative media coverage. The factual accuracy of Slander was called into question by then-comedian and author, and now Democratic U.S. Senator from Minnesota, Al Franken. He also accused her of citing passages out of context. Others investigated these charges, and also raised questions about the book's accuracy and presentation of facts. Coulter responded to criticisms in a column called "Answering My Critics", where she wrote "the most devastating examples of my alleged 'lies' keep changing" and that some accusations of her factual inaccuracy are either outright wrong or really just "trivial" factual errors (e.g., referring to "endnotes" as "footnotes", or incorrectly identifying Evan Thomas' grandfather, Socialist Party presidential candidate Norman Thomas, as his father).

Brigitte Nielsen

Brigitte Nielsen, born 15 July 1963  is a Danish actress, musician and television personality, who began her career with appearances in the 1985 films Red Sonja and Rocky IV and is also known for her marriage to Sylvester Stallone. She subsequently appeared with him in the 1986 film Cobra, and was noted for her widely publicized breakup with Stallone in 1987, and her relationship with New York Jets Mark Gastineau in 1988.

Her exploits were well-covered in the entertainment media in the 1980s, and the world press started referring to her as an "Amazon" because of her tall stature (verified by the Guinness Book of World Records at six feet, or 1.82 meters). She first commented on her stature and used the term "Amazonian" to describe herself in 1985.

She later built a career appearing in B-movies, and in the 2000s, for appearing on reality shows such as The Surreal Life, on which she met and began a relationship with rapper Flavor Flav. In 2008, she appeared on the reality show Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, which depicted her and several other celebrities dealing with recovery from drug and alcohol addiction.

Personal life

Family and relationships

Brigitte Nielsen has four sons: Julian Winding (born in 1984) with first husband Kasper Winding, Killian Marcus Nielsen (born in 1989) with ex-fiance Mark Gastineau and two sons with fourth husband Raoul Meyer, Douglas Aaron (born in 1993) and Raoul, Jr. (born in 1995).

Alcohol problems

On 9 July 2007, Nielsen checked herself into the Cri-Help rehabilitation facility in North Hollywood following what some reports claim was a family intervention. Her manager, Steven Tempone, confirmed on 19 July 2007 that she had checked into rehabilitation and told the Associated Press "All I know is it's something she did of her own free will and we're proud of her and wish her very well...When she gets out we'll have a big birthday party, and Coca-Cola only".

As of 22 July 2007, Nielsen was out of rehabilitation to attend the Comedy Central roast of Flavor Flav. She told People that she felt "like a new-born person ... I made a choice about a new life. It's not been easy but it was definitely time." While People does not report the date that Nielsen checked into rehabilitation, they state that she "had been in treatment for a few weeks". On 10 January 2008, VH1 began airing the reality TV series, Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. Nielsen appeared on the show for alcoholism.

In a January 2010 TV Guide story on her success with sobriety, Celebrity Rehab producer John Irwin stated, "She's sober, and she quit smoking. She's doing crazy good.

Plastic surgery

In mid-2008, Nielsen starred in the reality show Aus alt mach neu, broadcasted by the German TV-station RTL. The theme of the show was Nielsen's attempt to look "as young as her husband" by undergoing plastic surgery. The show was aired in Italy as well, on SKY Italia during December 2008 and the following summer on Italia 1.

Other

Besides her native Danish, Nielsen is fluent in English, Italian and German, and some understanding of French. Her current husband, Mattia Dessi, lived with her in Italy, as shown on Strange Love, which was filmed prior to their marriage. They live in Palm Springs.

Reality TV

Nielsen appeared on the first season of the Italian version of The Mole (2004) and on the third season of the VH1 reality show The Surreal Life (2004). In the show, Nielsen was seen flirting with Public Enemy rapper Flavor Flav, and it was confirmed that they were a couple, even though she was still legally married to her fourth husband, Swiss Formula Three driver Raoul Meyer. The show was such a success that VH1 produced a spin-off reality show called Strange Love, which began airing on the channel on 9 January 2005. Nielsen also appeared with Flav on VH1's Big in '04 Awards. In 2006, she guest-starred on Flav's other reality show, Flavor of Love.

In 2003, Nielsen appeared in the Danish Big Brother VIP. In January 2005, she was a contestant in the British version of Celebrity Big Brother, along with her former mother-in-law, Jackie Stallone. Nielsen came third in the final public vote. In 2006, she appeared in another reality TV series, VH1's The Surreal Life: Fame Game. In March 2007, she starred in a new British documentary called Killing Brigitte Nielsen, which aired on Sky Travel. She also appeared in the first season of Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, which chronicled her struggle to overcome her alcoholism at the Pasadena Recovery Center in Pasadena, California. The series premiered in January 2008 on VH1 and in July 2009 on United Kingdom's Fiver.

In May 2008, she revealed on German television that she would "renew" her body by having six plastic surgeries (which would cost €66,000 altogether). Nielsen was filmed during those surgeries by RTL and she had her own television show "Aus alt mach neu – Brigitte Nielsen in der Promi-Beauty-Klinik"(Make do and mend – Brigitte Nielsen in the celebrity beauty hospital). The same show was broadcast under the title Celebrity Makeover: Brigitte Nielsen on SKY Italia in Italy in December 2008 and in 2009 on Italia 1.

In 2009, Nielsen and other alumni of Celebrity Rehab appeared as panel speakers to a new group of addicts at the Pasadena Recovery Center, anticipating the two-year mark of her sobriety that coming July. Her appearance was aired in the third season episode "Triggers", which aired in February 2010.

Mobile Application

Mobile Application Part (MAP) is an SS7 protocol which provides an application layer for the various nodes in GSM and UMTS mobile core networks and GPRS core networks to communicate with each other in order to provide services to mobile phone users. The Mobile Application Part is the application-layer protocol used to access the Home Location Register, Visitor Location Register, Mobile Switching Center, Equipment Identity Register, Authentication Centre, Short message service center and Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN).

Published specification

The Mobile Application Part specifications were originally defined by the GSM Association, but are now controlled by ETSI/3GPP. MAP is defined by two different standards, depending upon the mobile network type:

MAP for GSM (prior to Release 4) is specified by 3GPP TS 09.02

MAP for UMTS ("3G") and GSM (Release 99 and later) is specified by 3GPP TS 29.002

Implementation

MAP is a Transaction Capabilities Application Part (TCAP) user, and as such can be transported using 'traditional' SS7 protocols or over IP using Transport Independent Signalling Connection Control Part (TI-SCCP); or using SIGTRAN.

MAP Signaling

In mobile cellular telephony networks like GSM and UMTS the SS7 application MAP is used. Voice connections are Circuit Switched (CS) and data connections are Packet Switched (PS) applications.

Some of the GSM/UMTS Core Switched interfaces in the Mobile Switching Center (MSC) transported over SS7 include the following:

B -> VLR (uses MAP/B). Most MSCs are associated with a Visitor Location Register (VLR), making the B interface "internal".

C -> HLR (uses MAP/C) Messages between MSC to HLR handled by C Interface

D -> HLR (uses MAP/D) for attaching to the CS network and location update

E -> MSC (uses MAP/E) for inter-MSC handover

F -> EIR (uses MAP/F) for equipment identity check

H -> SMS-G (uses MAP/H) for Short Message Service (SMS) over CS

There are also several GSM/UMTS PS interfaces in the Serving GPRS Support Node (SGSN) transported over SS7:

Gr -> HLR for attaching to the PS network and location update

Gd -> SMS-C for SMS over PS

Gs -> MSC for combined CS+PS signaling over PS

Ge -> Charging for Customised Applications for Mobile networks Enhanced Logic (CAMEL) prepaid charging

Gf -> EIR for equipment identity check

Facilities provided

The primary facilities provided by MAP are:

Mobility Services: location management (roaming), authentication, managing service subscription information, fault recovery,

Operation and Maintenance: subscriber tracing, retrieving a subscriber's IMSI

Call Handling: routing, managing calls whilst roaming, checking that a subscriber is available to receive calls

Supplementary Services

Short Message Service

Packet Data Protocol (PDP) services for GPRS: providing routing information for GPRS connections

Location Service Management Services: obtaining the location of subscribers

Anna Kournikova

Anna Sergeyevna Kournikova (Russian: Анна Сергеевна Ку́рникова; born 7 June 1981) is a Russian professional tennis player who now is a Russian-American citizen. Her beauty and celebrity status made her one of the best known tennis players worldwide. At the peak of her fame, fans looking for images of Kournikova made her name one of the most common search strings on the Internet search engine Google.

Although reaching No. 8 in the world in 2000, she never won a WTA Title in singles. Kournikova's forte has been doubles, where she has at times been the World No. 1 player. With Martina Hingis as her partner, she won Grand Slam titles in Australia in 1999 and 2002. Based on their looks, Hingis and Kournikova referred to themselves as the "Spice Girls of Tennis. Kournikova's professional tennis career has been curtailed for the past several years, and possibly ended, by serious back and spinal problems. She resides in Miami Beach, Florida, and plays in occasional exhibitions and in doubles for the St. Louis Aces of World Team Tennis. She currently is the new trainer, replacing Jillian Michaels, on the television show The Biggest Loser.

Personal life

Kournikova was in a relationship with fellow Russian, Pavel Bure, an NHL ice hockey player. The two met in 1999 when Kournikova was still linked to Bure's former Russian teammate Sergei Fedorov. Bure and Kournikova were reported to have been engaged in 2000 after a reporter took a photo of them together in a Florida restaurant where Bure supposedly asked Kournikova to marry him. As the story made headlines in Russia, where they were both heavily followed in the media as celebrities, Bure and Kournikova both denied any engagement. Kournikova, 10 years younger than Bure, was 18 years old at the time. The following year, Kournikova and Fedorov were married in Moscow. They were soon divorced, however. Fedorov claimed he and tennis star Anna Kournikova were married in 2001, but later divorced in 2003. Kournikova's representatives deny any marriage to Fedorov; however, Sergei's agent Pat Brisson claims that although he does not know when they got married, he knew "he was married".

Kournikova started dating pop star Enrique Iglesias in late 2001 (she appeared in his video, "Escape"), and rumors that the couple had secretly married circulated in 2003 and again in 2005. Kournikova herself has consistently refused to directly confirm or deny the status of her personal relationships. But in May 2007, Enrique Iglesias was (mistakenly, as he would clarify later) quoted in the New York Sun that he had no intention of marrying Kournikova and settling down because they had split up. The singer would later deny these rumors of "divorce" or simply separation. In June 2008, Iglesias told the Daily Star that he had married Kournikova the previous year and that they are currently separated. In an interview with Graham Norton in 2010, Kournikova confirmed that she and Iglesias have been together for over eight years but have no plans to marry in the near future.

Kournikova has a younger brother, Allan. He became an American citizen in late 2009.

Exhibitions and World Team Tennis

Kournikova has not played on the WTA Tour since 2003, but still plays exhibition matches for charitable causes. In late 2004, she participated in three events organized by Elton John and by fellow tennis players Serena Williams and Andy Roddick. In January 2005, she played in a doubles charity event for the Indian Ocean tsunami with John McEnroe, Andy Roddick, and Chris Evert. In November 2005, she teamed up with Martina Hingis, playing against Lisa Raymond and Samantha Stosur in the WTT finals for charity. Kournikova is also a member of the St. Louis Aces in the World Team Tennis (WTT), playing doubles only.

In September 2008, Kournikova showed up for the 2008 Nautica Malibu Triathlon held at Zuma Beach in Malibu, California.[11] The Race raised funds for children's Hospital Los Angeles. She won that race for women's K-Swiss team.[11] On 27 September 2008, Kournikova played exhibition mixed doubles matches in Charlotte, North Carolina, partnering with Tim Wilkison and Karel Nováček.[12] Kournikova and Wilkison defeated Jimmy Arias and Chanda Rubin, and then Kournikova and Novacek defeated Rubin and Wilkison.

On October 12, 2008, Anna Kournikova played one exhibition match for the annual charity event, hosted by Billie Jean King and Elton John, and raised more than $400,000 for the Elton John AIDS Foundation and Atlanta AIDS Partnership Fund. She played doubles with Andy Roddick (they were coached by Elton John) versus Martina Navratilova and Jesse Levine (coached by Billie Jean King); Kournikova and Roddick won.

Kournikova competed alongside John McEnroe, Tracy Austin and Jim Courier at the "Legendary Night", which was held on May 2, 2009, at the Turning Stone Event Center, Verona, New York. The exhibition included a mixed doubles match of McEnroe and Austin against Courier and Kournikova.

In 2008, she was named a spokesperson for K-Swiss. In 2005, Kournikova stated that if she were 100% fit, she would like to come back and compete again.

In June 2010, Kournikova reunited with her doubles partner Martina Hingis to participate in competitive tennis for the first time in seven years in the Invitational Ladies Doubles event at Wimbledon. On 29 June 2010 they defeated the British pair Samantha Smith and Anne Hobbs.

Playing style

As a player, Kournikova was noted for her footspeed and aggressive baseline play, and excellent angles and dropshots; however, her relatively flat, high-risk groundstrokes tended to produce frequent errors, and her serve was sometimes unreliable in singles.

Kournikova plays right-handed with a two-handed backhand. She is a great player at the net. She can hit forceful groundstrokes and also drop shots.

Her playing style fits the profile for a doubles player, and is complemented by her height. She has been compared to such doubles specialists as Pam Shriver and Peter Fleming.

Influences on popular culture

A variation of a White Russian made with skim milk is known as an Anna Kournikova.

Anna's popularity has extended into Texas Hold 'em lingo, where the hole cards Ace–King are sometimes referred to as an "Anna Kournikova", a term introduced by the poker commentator Vince van Patton during a WPT tournament because "it looks great but never wins".

Early life

Anna Kournikova was born in Moscow, Soviet Union, on June 7, 1981. Her father, Sergei Kournikov, was 20 at the time. Sergei, a former Greco-Roman wrestling champion, had earned a Ph.D. and was a professor at the University of Physical Culture and Sport in Moscow. As of 2001, he was still a part-time martial arts instructor there. Her mother Alla, who was 18 when Kournikova was born, had been a 400-meter runner.

Sergei Kournikov has said, "We were young and we liked the clean, physical life, so Anna was in a good environment for sport from the beginning. The family name is spelled in Russian without an "o", so a direct transliteration would be "Kurnikov", and it is sometimes written that way. But it is pronounced "Kournikov", so the family chose that as their English spelling.

Kournikova received her first tennis racquet as a New Year gift in 1986 at age 5. Describing her early regimen, she said, "I played two times a week from age five. It was a children's program. And it was just for fun; my parents didn't know I was going to play professionally, they just wanted me to do something because I had lots of energy. It was only when I started playing well at seven that I went to a professional academy. I would go to school, and then my parents would take me to the club, and I'd spend the rest of the day there just having fun with the kids. In 1986, Kournikova became a member of the Spartak Tennis Club, coached by Larissa Preobrazhenskaya In 1989, at the age of eight, Kournikova began appearing in junior tournaments, and by the following year, was attracting attention from tennis scouts across the world. Kournikova signed a management deal at age ten and went to Bradenton, Florida, to train at Nick Bollettieri's celebrated tennis academy.

Larry Hagman

Larry Martin Hagman, born September 21, 1931 is an American film and television actor, producer and director known for playing J.R. Ewing in the 1980s primetime television soap opera Dallas and Major Anthony 'Tony' Nelson in the 1960s sitcom I Dream of Jeannie.

Stage/TV and film actor

After leaving the Air Force in 1956, Hagman returned to New York City where he appeared in the Off-Broadway play Once Around the Block, by William Saroyan, and received excellent reviews. This was followed by nearly a year in another Off Broadway play, James Lee's Career. Despite his success, his career was overshadowed by his mother's fame, which was in ascendancy due to her starring role in a TV production of Peter Pan (in a role she had already played on Broadway). Larry Hagman's Broadway debut occurred in 1958 in Comes a Day. Hagman appeared in four other Broadway plays, God and Kate Murphy, The Nervous Set, The Warm Peninsula and The Beauty Part.

During this period, Hagman appeared in numerous, mostly live, television programs. In 1958 he joined Barbara Bain as a guest star in the short-lived adventure and drama series Harbourmaster, starring Barry Sullivan. Hagman joined the cast of The Edge of Night in 1961 as Ed Gibson, and stayed in that role for two years. In 1964 he made his film debut in Ensign Pulver, which featured young unknown Jack Nicholson. That same year, Hagman also appeared in Fail-Safe, opposite Henry Fonda.

Versatile character actor

At 25, Hagman made his TV debut on an episode of Decoy. The part led to other roles on other TV series such as: Goodyear Television Playhouse, Studio One, Kraft Television Theatre, Harbourmaster, The DuPont Show of the Month, 3 episodes of Sea Hunt, The United States Steel Hour, 2 episodes of The Defenders, Diagnosis: Unknown, Mr. Broadway, Love American Style, Medical Center, McCloud, Love Story, Lucas Tanner, The Streets of San Francisco, Police Woman, two episodes of Marcus Welby, M.D., Three for the Road, Harry O, The Rockford Files, Barnaby Jones, McMillan & Wife, Police Story, five episodes of Dallas's spin-off series, Knots Landing with Michele Lee, in which he played J.R. Ewing, The Simpsons, and five episodes of Nip/Tuck.

I Dream of Jeannie

After years of guest-starring in many TV roles, and starring in a less successful series the previous year, Hagman hit the jackpot in 1965 playing Barbara Eden’s TV "master" and eventual love interest, Captain (later Major) Anthony Nelson in the sitcom, I Dream of Jeannie, for NBC. The show had climbed into the Top 10 in its first year and was NBC's answer to both successful 1960s magical comedies, Bewitched on ABC and My Favorite Martian on CBS.

In its first season I Dream of Jeannie was not filmed in color, which was prohibitively expensive at the time. From the 2nd season (1966) on, however, the show was filmed in color in recognition of the widespread purchase and use of color televisions by the viewing public. During the show's first season Hagman's character was promoted from Captain to Major.

By 1970 Jeannie was running out of steam, and during the last season Hagman’s character finally married Jeannie.

There were two reunion movies both televised on NBC: I Dream of Jeannie: 15 Years Later (1985) and I Still Dream of Jeannie (1991). Hagman refused to appear in the first reunion movie, reportedly because of a payment dispute.

Dallas

Hagman was cast as conniving elder son and businessman, J.R. Ewing, a man whom everybody loved to hate for the show Dallas. Already starring on the show was legendary stage and screen actress Barbara Bel Geddes and Hagman's childhood movie hero Jim Davis as her husband Jock Ewing. In addition, Dallas casted a number of unfamiliar, yet promising actors, including Patrick Duffy, Steve Kanaly, Ken Kercheval, teenaged Charlene Tilton and Victoria Principal. When Hagman read the script for the role of J.R. at his wife’s suggestion, they concluded it was perfect for him. Another attraction for Hagman was that as a native Texan, he did not have to travel that far from his hometown, which gained great exposure and notoriety from the series.

In mid-1978, the producers thought that the series was originally supposed to be about Bobby and Pam, and it wasn’t originally intended to be a ratings bonanza, with producers anticipating having to cancel the show after only five episodes.

However, thanks to the strong fan following for Hagman's portrayal of J.R., he was credited as being the star who saved the show, it being offered a second season, on the strength of excellent first season ratings. His co-star Linda Gray also received a starring role as J.R.’s long-suffering wife. Overall, the cast got along very well with Hagman, particularly Duffy, who would often spend weekends with the Hagmans. The chemistry between Hagman and Duffy was convincingly like sibling rivalry (despite their real-life 18 year age difference) which made for exciting on-screen exchanges and equal screen time for Duffy's character.

I Dream of Jeannie again

In November 1999, after 29 years, Hagman agreed to reunite with Jeannie co-stars Barbara Eden and Bill Daily and creator/producer Sidney Sheldon on the The Donny and Marie Show. In 2002, when I Dream Of Jeannie was set to join the cable channel TV Land, Hagman once again took part in a I Dream Of Jeannie reunion with Eden and Daily, this time on Larry King Live.

On the TV Land Awards in March 2004, Hagman and Eden were the first presenters to reunite on stage. The following October, Hagman and Daily appeared at The Ray Courts Hollywood Autograph Show. And the following year, 2005 brought all three stars from I Dream Of Jeannie to the first ever cast reunion at The Chiller Expo Show.

Hagman reunited with Eden in March 2006 for a publicity tour in New York City to promote the first season DVD of I Dream Of Jeannie. He reunited once again with Eden on stage in the play Love Letters at the College of Staten Island in New York and the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York. The appearance marked the first time the two had acted together since Eden appeared with Hagman on Dallas in 1990.

In 2002, Hagman made an appearance in the fourth series of Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer's British comedy panel game, Shooting Stars.

In January 2011, Hagman made a guest appearance in the 7th Season of Desperate Housewives as a new husband for Lynette Scavo's mother, Stella.

Early life and career

Hagman was born in Fort Worth, Texas. His mother, Mary Martin, later became a Broadway actress and his lawyer father, Benjamin Jack Hagman, was a district attorney. His parents divorced in 1936 when he was five years old. He lived with his grandmother in Texas and California. His famous mother became a contract player with Paramount in 1938 and occasionally brought him to her movies. In 1940 his mother met and married Richard Halliday and gave birth to a daughter, Heller, the following year.Hagman attended the strict Black-Foxe Military Institute (now closed). When his mother moved to New York City to continue her Broadway career, Hagman again lived with his grandmother in California.[citation needed] A couple of years later, his grandmother died and Hagman joined his mother in New York. At age 14 (in 1945) while attending boarding school, he began drinking heavily which led to serious health problems later in life. In 1946 Hagman moved back to his hometown of Weatherford, Texas, where he worked as a ranch hand for his father's friend's company. Upon attending Weatherford High School, he was drawn to drama classes and reputedly fell in love with the stage and, in particular, with the warm reception he got for his comedic roles.

Hagman developed a reputation as a talented performer and in between school terms, would take minor roles in local stage productions. Hagman graduated from high school in 1949, when his mother suggested that he try acting as a profession.

Mila Kunis

Milena "Mila" Kunis, Милена Кунис, Мілена Куніс born August 14, 1983),( /ˈmiːlə ˈkuːnɪs/), is an American actress. Her television work includes the role of Jackie Burkhart on That '70s Show and the voice of Meg Griffin on the animated series Family Guy. She has also played roles in film, such as Rachel Jansen in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Mona Sax in Max Payne and Solara in The Book of Eli.

In 2010, she won the Marcello Mastroianni Award for Best Young Actor or Actress at the 67th Venice International Film Festival for her performance as Lily in Black Swan. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for the same role.

Personal life

Kunis has spoken with affection about her parents and has credited them for being a positive influence and keeping her focused on what is important in life. "I had a normal upbringing and went to public school," she says. "If I ever, even for a second, started getting a big head, I was brought back to reality pretty quickly. My parents are why I'm pretty grounded.

Kunis began dating actor Macaulay Culkin in 2002. At one time there were rumors of the couple getting married, but Kunis denied them, saying:

I've been engaged. I think I've already been married. And I'm sure I have a child somewhere. I'm waiting to have something else happen. No, I'm not married. And no, I'm not engaged. And no, I do not have a child. No one seems to listen. And next week I'll be engaged again. I think, at one point, they were like, 'Seen shopping in Beverly Hills for engagement rings.' We were in Japan working. What is wrong with these people? Half the time you can say they misconstrued facts. But, more often than not, they just make stuff up.

In an interview with BlackBook Magazine Kunis stated that marriage is "not something that’s important to me". Kunis said she tried her best to protect her and Culkin's privacy, noting that "We don't talk about it to the press. It's already more high profile than I want it to be."When questioned if it was difficult to stay out of the tabloids and press, Kunis responded: "I keep my personal life as personal as I physically, mentally, possibly can." Asked if that is difficult she said, "I don't care. I will go to my grave trying. It is hard, but I'll end up going to a bar that's a hole in the wall. I won't go to the "it's-happening" place. On January 3, 2011, Kunis' publicist confirmed reports that Kunis and Culkin had ended their relationship, saying "The split was amicable, and they remain close friends".

She has identified herself in interviews as a fan of the online computer game World of Warcraft and has received a certain amount of attention from the game's fan community as a result. She has not released what server she is in but says she is with her close friends in the Alliance. In an interview with Jimmy Kimmel, she said she does not use voice chat in the game after another player recognized her voice. Although Kunis has described herself as a "computer nerd", she does not have a Myspace, Facebook or Twitter account.

In an interview with H Magazine Kunis stated that she does not devote as much time to World of Warcraft anymore, but enjoys hanging out with her friends when she can. "When we have ‘friends night’ and we all get together, we play board games like The Settlers of Catan." She also mentioned that she and her friends enjoy doing Murder Mystery tours, where they drive around the Los Angeles area exploring locations of famous murders that have taken place. Kunis also enjoys traveling, and often goes on trips with her older brother, Michael. She and Michael have explored countries such as Fiji and Korea. "I like the way he travels," she explains. "He grabs a map, says, 'Let's walk,' and makes you explore. When asked to describe her perfect day Kunis said: "It would be going for a swim, lazing around the house, playing with my dogs, drinking a root beer float, catching up on TiVo, having some food, a glass of wine and calling it a night. In an interview Kunis elaborated: "I love to hang out with my friends....I love to sit home in my pajamas and watch TiVo. That brings me so much happiness. That's it. It's quiet and calm.

In January 2011, she revealed publicly for the first time her struggle with an eye condition called chronic iritis that had caused blindness in one eye. However, a couple of months earlier she had surgery that corrected the problem.

Television

At age nine, Kunis' father enrolled her in acting classes after school at the Beverly Hills Studios, where she met her first and still current manager Susan Curtis. Said Kunis: "My parents told her, 'Listen, we can’t afford head shots; we can’t afford anything. We can’t take her to auditions because we work full-time.' ... [Curtis] said, 'Don’t worry. I’ll fix everything,' and she did. I ended up getting the first thing I went out for, which was a Barbie commercial. All my parents said was, 'You can do whatever you want to do as long as you get A's and stay in school.  Kunis began appearing in print-ads, catalogues, and TV commercials for children's products like Lisa Frank products, Mattel's Barbie, and Payless Shoes. She also modeled for a Guess girls' clothing campaign. Her first TV role was as the young Hope Williams on an episode of the popular soap opera Days of our Lives. She had a minor role on 7th Heaven and supporting roles in Santa with Muscles, Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves, and the Angelina Jolie film Gia, as the young Gia Carangi.

In 1998, Kunis was cast as Jackie Burkhart in the Fox sitcom That '70s Show. All who auditioned were required to be at least 18 years old; Kunis, who was 14 at the time, told the casting directors she’d be 18 but did not say when. Though they eventually figured it out, the producers still thought Kunis was the best fit for the role. That '70s Show ran for eight seasons. Kunis expressed some frustration with working on one show for so long. "Eight years of doing the same show felt like being behind a desk, and I lost my drive," she says. However, she quickly "had an epiphany. I decided I wasn't going to take my career so seriously and make my job who I am. I just want to be happy with my life.

Early life

Mila Kunis was born in Chernivtsi in the Ukrainian SSR. Her family moved to Los Angeles, California in 1991, when she was seven years old. Kunis is Jewish and has cited antisemitism in the former Soviet Union as one of several reasons for her family's move to the U.S. Her mother, Elvira, is a physics teacher and drug store manager, and her father, Mark Kunis, is a mechanical engineer and cab company executive. She has an older brother, Michael.

Kunis has stated that a lottery system allowed her family to make the move: "It took about five years. If you got chosen the first time around, you went to Moscow, where there was another lottery, and you maybe got chosen again. Then you could come to the States." On her second day in Los Angeles, she was enrolled at Rosewood Elementary School not knowing a word of English. "I blocked out second grade," she says. "I don’t remember, but my mom tells me that I came home and cried every day. I wasn’t that traumatized. It was just a shock. Kunis added: "I didn't understand the culture. I didn't understand the people. I didn't understand the language. My first sentence of my essay to get into college was like, 'Imagine being blind and deaf at age seven.' And that's kind of what it felt like moving to the States.

In Los Angeles, she attended Hubert Howe Bancroft Middle School. She was mostly taught by an on-set tutor for her high school years while filming That '70s Show. When not on the set, she attended Fairfax High School, where she graduated in 2001. She briefly attended UCLA and Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles.

Media publicity

Kunis was ranked #54 in Stuff's "102 Sexiest Women in the World" (2002); Maxim named her #47 on its 2006 Hot 100 list. In 2008, she was ranked #81 on the Maxim Hot 100 list. She was also ranked #81 on the FHM U.S 100 Sexiest Women in the World 2008, although she is unranked in other FHM magazines from different nations. Kunis was also described as one of the "most attractive geeks" in 2008 by Wired.com due to her much-publicized affinity for World of Warcraft. The same year, she was featured and on the cover of the October issue of Complex Magazine. In 2007, Kunis participated in a video for the website Funny or Die appearing alongside James Franco. The video was a parody of the MTV show The Hills and was a huge success for the website, with well over one million views. Shawn Levy, director of Date Night, stated that part of what made him decide to cast Kunis with James Franco in the film was the chemistry he felt they had in the Funny or Die video. In December 2008, Kunis was featured in Gap's "Shine Your Own Star" Christmas campaign with other celebrities such as Jennifer Hudson, Jason Bateman, Mary-Louise Parker, and Jon Heder.

In 2009, she was ranked #5 in "Maxim Magazine's Hot 100" list. In addition, she won the award for "Hottest Mila" at the 2009 Spike Guys' Choice Awards beating out Milla Jovovich. Also in 2009, Premiere.com ranked Mila the most beautiful woman in Hollywood. In 2010, she was featured in the "Women We Love" segment in Esquire with an accompanied video. For the 2010 "Maxim Magazine Hot 100", Kunis ranked #22, and for the 2010 FHM Hot 100 list she ranked #17. Kunis has kept this type of media attention in perspective, saying, "You've got to base your career on something other than being FHM's top 100 No. 1 girl. Your looks are going to die out, and then what's going to be left?

Karina Smirnoff

Karina Smirnova, Карина Смiрнова; born January 2, 1978  is a Ukrainian American professional ballroom dancer.

She is a five-time U.S. National Champion, World Trophy Champion, and Asian Open Champion. Smirnoff has won the title at the UK Open, is a three-time champion at the US Open, two-time champion at the Asian Open, five-time champion at the Dutch Open, and five-time US National Professional Champion. She has been ranked second in the world[citation needed], and took second at the British Open Blackpool Dance Festival.

She is "the first woman to ever make the British Professional Final with three different partners".

Dancing with the Stars

Smirnoff was a performer on the third season of the ABC series Dancing with the Stars with celebrity partner Mario López. They finished in second place, losing to the team of Emmitt Smith and Cheryl Burke. Smirnoff returned to the show on March 19, 2007 for Season 4, this time partnered with Billy Ray Cyrus, country singer and Hannah Montana star. The pair was the eighth to be eliminated from the competition on May 8, 2007. Her partner for Season 5 of the show was current five-division world champion boxer, Floyd Mayweather Jr. On October 16, 2007, Karina and Floyd were the fourth couple eliminated from competition and came in 9th place. She returned for Season 6, partnered with singer Mario and finished in 5th place. In Season 7, she was partnered with chef Rocco DiSpirito and they were the fourth pair to be eliminated with a finish of 9th place for the second time.

For the eighth season, Smirnoff's partner was Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Wozniak. They were eliminated in the fourth round on March 31, 2009, along with Holly Madison and her partner Dmitry Chaplin.

For the ninth season, she was partnered with singer Aaron Carter. They were eliminated on November 10, 2009, placing fifth.

In the eleventh season, she was partnered with Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino, from MTV's reality TV show Jersey Shore. They were eliminated in the fourth week.

In the twelfth season of Dancing with the Stars, she has been partnered with the original Karate Kid, Ralph Macchio. They were eliminated in the semi-finals.

Smirnoff spoofed her role on Dancing in Hannah Montana, playing a fortune teller who predicts to a disbelieving Cyrus about his appearance in a dancing competition.

Biography

Smirnoff was born Karina Smirnova in Kharkiv, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union on January 2, 1978. When she was five years old, she began taking ballet lessons, followed by gymnastics, aerobics, figure skating, ballroom dancing and piano. She chose to pursue ballroom dancing. In 1992, Smirnoff emigrated to the United States, and is reportedly a naturalized United States citizen.

Education

Smirnova attended Nerinx Hall in St. Louis, MO and Christopher Columbus High School in New York and the Bronx High School of Science[citation needed] before going to Fordham University, during which time she picked up her interest in dancing again. Smirnoff graduated from Fordham University with a double major in economics and information system programming. During her academic studies, Smirnoff's goal was to go to law school and become an attorney. However she later came across a dance school in Brooklyn, New York, and after some time there dancing became her profession.

Career

Smirnoff has made numerous candid appearances on reality shows such as Dancing with the Stars, and Chelsea Lately, featuring Chelsea Handler

Early in Smirnova's dancing career, she and Roman Nabatov competed as an amateur couple for USA. They ended their dance partnership in January 1997 Smirnova soon after started dancing with Paul Killick in October 1998 as a professional couple for England; this partnership ended in July 1999. Immediately, Louis van Amstel and Karina Smirnova,in July 1999, entered a professional dance partnership, representing the U.S.A; the partnership ended in December 2000. From January 2001 to September 2005, Smirnova was in a dance partnership with Slavik Kryklyvyy and they represented the U.S.A; this partnership thus far is her most successful one. Kryklyvyy and Smirnova earned numerous top titles and high ratings together.

Her last professional partner recorded in competitions was Dmitri Timokhin representing Russia in October 2005. They won first place at the 2006 Grand-Prix Dynamo in Moscow. They finished dancing together in June 2006.

Smirnoff was the project manager/director of a dancing event entitled "Day & Night", held on November 18, 2006 at the Hollywood & Highlands Grand Ballroom.

She is featured in a nude pictorial in the May 2011 American issue of Playboy magazine.