Rapper Jay Z, actor Jeff Bridges and model Tyra Banks are celebrating their birthdays today, December 4.
Jay Z, 45
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Rapper, record producer and entrepreneur Jay Z turns 45 today. Born Shawn Corey Carter, Jay Z is one of the most successful hip-hop artists and entrepreneurs in America. He is one of the world's best-selling artists of all time, having sold more than 75 million records. He released his debut album, Reasonable Doubt, in 1996 and has released 11 more, including the commercially successful Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life (1998), The Blueprint (2001), The Black Album (2003) and Magna Carta Holy Grail (2013). Jay Z received 19 Grammy Awards for his musical work and additional nominations.
As an entrepreneur and investor, Jay-Z co-owns the 40/40 Club, 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 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. Jay-Z also has had four number ones on the Billboard Hot 100. In 2009, Jay-Z was ranked as 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, and the 88th greatest artist of all time by Rolling Stone.
Jay-Z is married to singer Beyonce. They have a daughter named Blue Ivy Carter, born January 7, 2012.
Jeff Bridges, 65
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Actor, country musician and producer Jeff Bridges turns 65 today. Bridges made his first screen appearances at the age of two years in The Company She Keeps in 1951. Bridges and brother Beau made appearances on their father's show Sea Hunt and the CBS anthology series, The Lloyd Bridges Show. His first major role came in the 1971 film The Last Picture Show, earning a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. He co-starred in the 1972 critically acclaimed boxing film Fat City. He was nominated again for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the 1974 film Thunderbolt and Lightfoot alongside Clint Eastwood. In 1976, he starred as the protagonist Jack Prescott in the first remake of King Kong, opposite Jessica Lange.
One of his better known roles was in the 1982 science fiction classic Tron, in which he played Kevin Flynn, a video game programmer, reprising his role in 2010 with the sequel Tron: Legacy. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1984, for playing the alien in Starman. In 1998, he starred in the cult-classic film The Big Lebowski.
In 2000, he received his fourth Academy Award nomination, for his role in The Contender. He played the role of Obadiah Stane in the 2008 Marvel comic book adaptation Iron Man.
Bridges received his sixth Academy Award nomination for his role in True Grit alongside Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper, and Hailee Steinfeld. Both the film, and Bridges's performance as Rooster Cogburn, were critically praised.
Bridges married Susan Geston in 1977. They have three daughters and one granddaughter.
Tyra Banks, 41
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Television personality, former talk show host, producer, author, actress and former model Tyra Banks turns 41 today. She first became famous as a model, appearing twice on the cover of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue and working for Victoria's Secret as one of their original Angels. Banks was one of the world's top-earning models in the early 2000s and transitioned into television and film, known for her roles as Eve in Disney channel's Life-Size and Zoe in the box office hit Coyote Ugly. Banks also had minor roles Love & Basketball, Halloween: Resurrection and has appeared in numerous television shows, including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Gossip Girl and Glee.
In 2003, Banks created and became the host of the long-running reality television show America's Next Top Model. Banks became the host of her own talk show, The Tyra Banks Show, which aired for five seasons and won two Daytime Emmy award for Outstanding Talk Show Informative. In 2010, she published a young adult novel titled Modelland, based on her life as a model. The novel topped The New York Times Best Seller list in 2011.