People

Filmmaker. Performing artist. Writer. Award Winner. Is there anything this talented woman can’t do? Miranda’s rise to the top of the artistic world began when her first feature film Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005) won a special jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival and four prizes at Cannes. Since then, she’s been unstoppable. Learn more about Miranda July and her varied artistic mediums by exploring the selected links.

On December 11th 2007, government officials, influential individuals, and honored guests from all over the world gathered at the Oslo Spektrum to help spread the message of peace and celebrate this year's Nobel Peace Prize laureates. In honor of all the great men and women who have won the Prize, we have decided to spotlight three past recipients.

On December 11th 2007, government officials, influential individuals, and honored guests from all over the world will be gathering at the Oslo Spektrum to help spread the message of peace and celebrate this year's Nobel Peace Prize laureates. In honor of all the great men and women who have won the Prize, we have decided to spotlight three past recipients.

Kara Walker’s artistic medium is the delicate, 18th-century technique of cut-paper silhouettes. Her themes, though, are less polite: racism, slavery, and sexual abuse. Depicting the most graphic transgressions (beatings, rapes, and lynchings) between African-American slaves and their masters, Walker forces viewers to deal with difficult issues in a unique, thought-provoking way.

Lauded by Susan Sontag as a Thomas Mann for our time, Péter Nádas is considered the foremost contemporary Hungarian author. Orphaned at a young age, openly bisexual, and a witness to the Communist party’s devastating stranglehold on his country, Nádas is emerging as a popular and unique symbol of his country’s history and its people.

In 2000, mild-mannered Ph.D. student James Kent performed the work of 10 computer programmers in one month. Here’s why: The human chromosome has over 25,000 genes; through computer analysis we can discover how our genes determine who we are and what we look like. It normally takes a computer many hours to sequence genes, but Kent figured out an algorithm that sped up the process.

Bernhard was a farm dwelling novelist, playwright, and poet who was often criticized in Austria because of his outspoken views regarding his homeland. Despite these controversial beliefs, he was highly regarded abroad and earned himself a great literary reputation.

Princeton University guest lecturer; cage fighter in Japan; the first American in history to hold a Guinness World Record in tango dancing; Chinese kickboxing champion; Glycemic Index (GI) researcher; political-asylum researcher/activist; MTV break-dancer in Taiwan, hurling competitor in Ireland, and actor on a hit TV series in Hong Kong and mainland China. Timothy Ferriss, author of the New York Times bestseller, The 4-Hour Workweek, has accomplished all of the above and more. How does this intriguing 29-year old do it all?

The fiery British comedian, known for his role as the caustic, eccentric radio presenter Alan Partridge in the BBC series, I'm Alan Partridge, has made recent forays into Hollywood films and cable television that outdo many of his fellow countrymen and introduce him to a new American audience.

Laurie David, soon to be divorced from comedian, Seinfeld creator, and Curb Your Enthusiasm star Larry David, is a head honcho of Hollywood environmental activists. Encouraging Mr. David to purchase a hybrid car, the Toyota Prius, and touring the country speaking about environmental issues, Laurie is a powerhouse.

Forest Whitaker has starred in around 30 films, but it was his role as the late Ugandan dictator Idi Amin in the film The Last King of Scotland that exalted him to Oscar-winning recognition.

At the end of the 19th century a Turkish-born, French-educated lawyer turned painter revitalized Turkish fine art through publications and paintings, and established a museum honoring both the past and the future of the Ottoman traditions and its connections to its eastern and western neighbors.

Jon Soltz, a veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom, is an energetic debater, a frequent presence on broadcast news, and the co-founder of Vote Vets, which aims to get more military veterans elected to Congress.

On the eve of a thirteen day visit to the United States, Khrushchev had two requests: to visit Disneyland and to meet John Wayne, a the era's top Hollywood actor. But upon arrival to Disneyland, he was refused entry in light of the Cold War and the security risks posed. This symbolized the oft-tumultuous relationship between the Soviet leader and the United States.

As President, Lyndon Johnson grasped the remnants of the Kennedy legacy by spearheading the landmark Civil Rights Act. President Johnson is also remembered for another Kennedy-era initiative—the Vietnam War, the consequences of which led to his decision not to run for a second term of office.

The image of JFK's Camelot administration, with its energetic young leader and iconic wife, is often thought to stem from the vision of Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.

Robert F. Kennedy was a younger brother of the late President John F. Kennedy. After serving as Attorney General during JFK’s term, “Bobby,” as he was often called, continued to build his influence and reputation Shortly after winning the California Democratic primary for the presidency, he was assassinated. RFK is best remembered for his anti-Vietnam policies and support for human rights.

He was “Mr. Conservative,” a U.S. Senator from Arizona who ran for president against Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964. Goldwater is considered largely responsible for the conservative revival in the 1960s, which was an important precursor to the contemporary conservative scene.

Sol LeWitt’s style derives inspiration from the cube, a geometric form that influenced the artist’s work from its nascent beginnings.  Sol LeWitt was an American artist often linked to the minimalist and conceptual art movements. His dominant mediums were painting, drawing, and structures (sometimes referred to as sculptures).

In 2000 Kingsolver received the United States National Humanities Medal, the nation's highest honor for service through the arts. This award represents Kingsolver’s impressive ouevre of novels, poetry, and essays.

Sit-com star, Hollywood actress, film director: Is there anything Jenna Fischer doesn’t do? After landing the part of receptionist/secretary Pam Beesley on NBC’s hit show The Office, Fischer has become America’s sweetheart.

Brooklyn-born Isaac Mizrahi has been a force in the fashion world for more than 20 years. His interest in design began early: he was kicked out of school for sketching dresses in his Bible.

After eight years of exile in London, Ms. Bhutto, the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, recently returned to the country amidst violence and threats against her life.

A photographer who has combined the playful, controversial and innovative aspects of photography to help advance the art form to its technologically sophisticated present form.

One of the founders of the modern novel, Laurence Sterne's widely regarded, "unreadable" Tristram Shandy is the comic epic that made this British author a household name.

A well-known narrator of the airwaves, Keillor is the antithesis of a radio "shock jock."

We honor the landmark film critic in an exploration of her words, work, and praise around the Web.

He was a Catholic conspirator fed up with the oppressive rule of the Anglican-controlled government. On November 5, 1605, he and several other scheming friends attempted to blow up London Parliament with 36 barrels of gunpowder...

One is heir to the throne, and both are heirs to their mother's legacy of philanthropy. Prince Harry and Prince William, the sons of Charles, Prince of Wales and the late Diana, Princess of Wales, are celebrities as much as they are royalty.

A powerful, politically minded and acerbic Nobel Laureate, Britain's Doris Lessing is a treasured social commentator and novelist who has continued her prolific and award-winning career into her eighties.