Demi Moore

Demi Moore
Demi Moore NY Fashion Week 2008.jpg
Moore in March 2008
Born Demetria Gene Guynes
November 11, 1962 (1962-11-11) (age 46)
Roswell, New Mexico,
United States
Occupation Actress
Years active 1982–present
Spouse(s) Freddy Moore (1980–1985)
Bruce Willis (1987–2000)
Ashton Kutcher (2005–)

Demi Moore (born Demetria Gene Guynes; November 11, 1962) is an American actress. She became well-known after a string of 1980s teen-oriented movies, and was one of the best known actresses of 1990s Hollywood. She is married to actor Ashton Kutcher.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Moore was born Demetria Gene Guynes in Roswell, New Mexico and spent many of her childhood years in Rogers Manor, Pennsylvania, a small town south of Pittsburgh. As a child, Moore had a difficult and unstable home life. Her biological father, Charles Harmon, left her mother, Virginia King (November 27 1943 – July 2 1998), after a two-month marriage, before Moore was born. As a result, Moore had the surname of her stepfather, Danny Guynes (March 9 1943 – October 1980), on her birth certificate. Danny Guynes, who committed suicide in 1980, frequently changed jobs; as a result the family moved a total of forty times. Moore's parents were alcoholics and often fought and beat each other. Moore was cross-eyed as a child, and wore an eye patch in an attempt to correct the problem until it was eventually corrected by two surgeries. She also suffered from kidney dysfunction.[1] Demi Moore also has heterochromia; she has one green eye, and the other hazel.

Moore's family settled in Los Angeles in 1976. Moore attended Hollywood's Fairfax High School, where her schoolmates included Red Hot Chili Peppers frontman Anthony Kiedis and actor Timothy Hutton. When Moore was sixteen, her friend, actress Nastassja Kinski, persuaded her to drop out of school to become an actress. In 1979, she met and married her first husband, songwriter Freddy Moore. They divorced in 1985.

Career

After quitting school, Moore went to work as a pin-up girl, modeled for European photographers, and worked at a collection agency. In the early 1980s, Moore posed for a series of photographs for Christopher Marrin featuring full frontal nudity. These photos went unnoticed until after she became a star, and were eventually published in a German magazine and later in North America. Moore's film debut was in the 1982 3-D science fiction/horror film, Parasite, which was a hit on the drive-in circuit, ultimately grossing $7 million.[2] However, Moore was not widely known until she played the part of Jackie Templeton on the ABC soap opera, General Hospital, from 1982-1983. Appropriately, she also had an uncredited cameo at the end of the 1982 spoof Young Doctors in Love.

Demi Moore (1990).

In the mid-1980s, she appeared in the youth-oriented films St. Elmo's Fire and About Last Night, and she was often listed as one of the Brat Pack, a name the media dubbed a certain group of top young actors at the time. After the commercial success of Ghost, Moore was given more prominent roles in A Few Good Men, Indecent Proposal, Disclosure and The Hunchback of Notre Dame for which she was the first actress to reach the $10 million salary mark. She never duplicated the success of Ghost and had a string of flops like The Scarlet Letter and The Juror. She then took more risks like shocking her fans with several breast enhanced topless scenes in Striptease, and shaving her head for G.I. Jane. They too failed at the box office and garnered mixed reviews. Meanwhile, Moore's Passion of Mind co-star Joss Ackland lambasted Moore by describing her as being "not very bright or talented".[3] At the same time she produced and starred in a TV mini-series called If These Walls Could Talk, written by Nancy Savoca. A three-part series on abortion, Savoca directed two segments, including the one in which Moore played a single woman in the 1950s seeking a back-alley abortion. She was nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress for that role.

Demi Moore was a founding "celebrity investor" in the Planet Hollywood chain of international theme restaurants (modeled after the Hard Rock Cafe and launched in New York on October 22, 1991) along with Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and then-husband Bruce Willis.

After a break from her acting career, Moore returned to the screen as a former member of Charlie's Angels gone bad in the 2003 film Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle. In 2006, she appeared in Bobby which featured an all-star cast including her husband Ashton Kutcher although they did not appear in any scenes together. On June 1, 2007, her most recent film, Mr. Brooks, was released. She appeared in Jon Bon Jovi's longform video "Destination Anywhere" as Janie.[4]

In 2006, Demi became the new face of the prestigious Cosmetic brand Helena Rubinstein.

Vanity controversy

In August 1991, Moore appeared nude on the cover of Vanity Fair under the title More Demi Moore. Annie Leibovitz shot the picture while Moore was seven months pregnant with her daughter Scout LaRue, intending to portray "anti-Hollywood, anti-glitz" attitude.[5] The cover sparked an intense controversy for Vanity Fair and Demi Moore. It was widely discussed on television, radio, and in newspaper articles.[6] Some retailers pulled the issue from newsstands, while others only sold it in a brown paper bag. The frankness of Leibovitz' portrayal of a pregnant sex symbol led to divided opinions, ranging from complaints of sexual objectification to celebrations of the photograph as a symbol of empowerment.[7]

The photograph was subject to numerous parodies, including the Spy magazine version, which placed Moore's then husband Bruce Willis' head on her body. In Leibovitz v. Paramount Pictures Corp., Leibovitz sued over one parody featuring Leslie Nielsen, made to promote the 1994 film Naked Gun 33⅓: The Final Insult. In the parody, the model's body was attached to what is described as "the guilty and smirking face of Mr. Nielsen appeared above". The teaser said "Due this March".[8] The case was dismissed in 1996 because the parody relied "for its comic effect on the contrast between the original".[8] Moore would in August 1992 again become an artistic subject on the cover of Vanity Fair for the world's leading body painting artist, Joanne Gair in Demi's Birthday Suit.[9][10]

Personal life

Moore married singer Freddy Moore in 1980 and they divorced in 1985. In 1987, Moore met Moonlighting star Bruce Willis. They soon fell in love and married two months later. The star couple had three daughters together: Rumer Willis (b. 1988), Scout LaRue Willis (b. 1991) and Tallulah Belle Willis (b. 1994). Demi and Bruce separated in 1998 and were divorced in 2000, but remain friends to this day. In 2003, Moore began dating actor Ashton Kutcher, who is more than fifteen years her junior. After much press speculation and interest, Demi married Ashton in 2005.

Kutcher and Moore, September 2008

Moore's primary residence is in Hailey, Idaho, near the famouls Sun Valley resort, although she spends much time in the Los Angeles area with Kutcher. She is a practicing follower of the Rabbi Philip Berg's Kabbalah Centre religion, and initiated Kutchetr into the faith, having said that she "didn’t grow up Jewish, but... would say that [she has] been more exposed to the deeper meanings of particular rituals than any of [her] friends ever did".[11] Contrary to popular belief, Moore claims she has never been a raw foodist and dispels the vegan rumors by eating a hamburger in a recent Mario Testino photoshoot.[12] Moore legally changed her last name to Kutcher two years after marrying husband Ashton Kutcher. However, she will continue to use Moore in her professional life and her acting roles.[13][14][15] Also, She is the Aunt of I Love Money and Rock of Love: Charm School star, Destiney Sue Moore.

According to the New York Times, she is "the world's most high-profile doll collector", and among her favorites is the Gene Marshall fashion doll.[16]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1981 It's Not A Rumor - The Nu Kats Rock Temptress MTV Video
1982 Choices Corri
1982 General Hospital Jackie Templeton
1983 Young Doctors in Love New Intern uncredited
Parasite Patricia Welles
1984 No Small Affair Laura Victor
Blame It on Rio Nicole 'Nikki' Hollis
1985 St. Elmo's Fire Jules
1986 Wisdom Karen Simmons
One Crazy Summer Cassandra Eldridge
About Last Night... Debbie
1988 The Seventh Sign Abby Quinn
1989 We're No Angels Molly
1990 Ghost Molly Jensen
1991 The Butcher's Wife Marina Lemke
Mortal Thoughts Cynthia Kellogg
Master Ninja Holly Trumbull
Nothing But Trouble Diane Lightson
1992 A Few Good Men LCDR JoAnne Galloway
1993 Indecent Proposal Diana Murphy
1994 Disclosure Meredith Johnson
1995 Now and Then older Samantha
The Scarlet Letter Hester Prynne
1996 Beavis and Butt-Head Do America Dallas Grimes (voice)
Striptease Erin Grant
The Hunchback of Notre Dame Esmeralda (voice)
The Juror Annie Laird
1997 Deconstructing Harry Helen/Harry's Character
G.I. Jane LT Jordan O'Neil
Destination Anywhere Jenny
2000 Passion of Mind Martha Marie/'Marty' Talridge
2002 The Hunchback of Notre Dame II Esmerelda (voice)
2003 Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle Madison Lee
2006 Half Light Rachel Carlson
Bobby Virginia Fallon
2007 Flawless Laura Quinn
Mr. Brooks Detective Tracy Atwood
2009 Bunraku Alexandra post-production
Happy Tears Laura post-production
The Joneses Kate Filming

References

  1. Biography Channel - Demi Moore
  2. "http://www.imdb.com/". Business Data for Parasite. Retrieved on September 17, 2007.
  3. BBC News | SHOWBIZ | Joss Ackland admits 'awful' films
  4. http://www.islandrecords.com/bonjovi/archives_atoz_m.las Demi Moore Entry
  5. Anderson, Susan Heller. "Chronicle". The New York Times. July 11, 1991. Retrieved March 28, 2008.
  6. Stabile, C. (1992). "Shooting the mother: Fetal photography and the politics of disappearance" (PDF). Camera Obscura. Retrieved on 2007-08-23.
  7. Murphy, Candace (2007-08-12). "Big bold bellies: Flaunting one's pregnancy becomes a fashion trend". Inside Bay Area. ANG Newspapers. Retrieved on 2007-08-23.
  8. 8.0 8.1 Richardson, Lynda (1996-12-20). "A Parody of a Pregnant Actress Stands Up in Court". New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  9. Penner, Degan (1993-11-21). "A Egos & Ids; It's Demi Vu All Over Again". New York Times. The New York Times Company. Retrieved on 2008-02-19.
  10. "Make-Up ILLUSION by Joanne Gair". Retrieved on 2008-02-18.
  11. http://www.thejewishweek.com/top/editletcontent.php3?artid=3430%20
  12. Speyer, Adriana. "Gimme Moore", page 100. V Magazine, 51, Spring 2008.
  13. Demi Moore is now Mrs Ashton Kutcher-International Buzz-Entertainment-The Times of India
  14. Demi Moore Finally Becomes Demi Kutcher - Entertainment News, Movie Reviews, Competitions - Entertainmentwise
  15. RTÉ.ie Entertainment: Demi Moore changes name to Kutcher
  16. Frank Decaro (February 22 1998). "A Star is Born, and She's a Doll", the New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-12-17. 

External links