Demi Moore

Demi Kutcher, best known as Demi Moore, is an American actress who rose to stardom amongst a group of peers who were dubbed the Brat Pack.

Moore was born Demetria Gene Guynes in 1962, in Roswell, New Mexico and spent much of her childhood and teenage years in Perryopolis, Pennsylvania. She had a difficult and unstable childhood culminating with her step-father’s suicide in 1980.

Her mother was abandoned by Moore’s birth father while she was still pregnant with Moore. However, she soon married Danny Guynes, a newspaper advertising salesman. Guynes, a gambler with an unstable job history, made his new family move from town to town on numerous occasions.

Moore's mother and step-father were alcoholics who often fought and beat each other. Besides these personal setbacks, the young Moore also suffered medical problems which included kidney dysfunction and an eye condition. She had ‘crossed eyes’, requiring two separate operations to correct.

Moore's family finally settled in Los Angeles in 1976. When she was sixteen and ambitious to become a model, her friend and future actress Nastassja Kinski persuaded her to drop out of Hollywood's Fairfax High School to become an actress. In 1979, she met and married her first husband songwriter Freddy Moore. The marriage lasted six years and they divorced in 1985.

In the early 1980s, Moore posed for a series of nude photographs. Although at first unnoticed, these photographs were eventually published in a German magazine and later in North America.

Moore’s first major acting role was in the made-for-television soap opera 'General Hospital' on ABC. She played the part of Jackie Templeton during 1982 and 1983. Her initial movie break came with the Silvio Narrizano directed 'Choices' in 1981. This was followed by the 3-D science fiction/horror film 'Parasite' and a bit part in 'Young Doctors in Love' in 1982. A further career-building movie was the 'Blame it on Rio' (1984), in which she played the daughter of Michael Caine’s character.

Fame followed in 1985 when Moore starred in Joel Schumacher’s era-defining hit 'St. Elmo's Fire'. A string of commercially successful movies in the 1990s ('Ghost', 'A Few Good Men, 'Indecent Proposal', 'Disclosure' and 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame') turned Moore into one of Hollywood’s most sought after and expensive actresses. Moore became a household name and was rated as the highest paid actress in Hollywood. The role in 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' made her the first Hollywood actress to reach the US$10 million salary mark. She became a pioneer for other actresses by being the first female lead to demand the same salary, benefits and billing as her male counterparts.

Her super-stardom was assured in 1990 when she co-starred with Patrick Swayze in the classic film 'Ghost' for which she received a Golden Globe award for her performance. The on-screen chemistry between Moore and Swayze remains a cinematic highlight. A further acting highlight was her MTV Movie Award for best on-screen kiss shared with Woody Harrelson in 'Indecent Proposal'.

Her public success was belied by personal problems and supposed instability. She was known as a member of the infamous “Brat Pack”, which also included actors such as Emilio Estevez, Rob Lowe and Molly Ringwald. While starring in 'St. Elmo's Fire', Moore played a dual role as a cocaine addict, both on and off-screen. She was reportedly fired from the film at one point and then re-hired after receiving an ultimatum from the film's director and choosing to go into rehab.

On-screen trouble again reared its head during the 1990s when Moore starred in a number of box office flops that included 'Nothing But Trouble', 'Mortal Thoughts' and 'The Butcher's Wife'. However, her performance alongside movie heavyweights Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise in the court room drama 'A Few Good Men' fully restored her standing in Hollywood.

After a failed engagement to Emilio Estevez in the 80s, she met and eventually married Moonlighting star 'Bruce Willis' in 1987 in a Las Vegas ceremony presided over by singer Little Richard. The pair had three daughters - Rumer Willis born in 1988, Scout LaRue Willis born in 1991 and Tallulah Belle Willis born in 1994. The relationship was lengthy by Hollywood standards and lasted until 1998 when the pair separated and divorced in 2000. Although divorced, the two have never lost their friendship and remain close.

Besides her movie career, Moore was a founding "celebrity investor" in the Planet Hollywood chain of international theme restaurants (modelled after the Hard Rock Cafe and launched in New York on 22nd October, 1991). Fellow investors included Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger and then-husband Willis. The restaurant chain became an international success with franchises worldwide.

Controversy ensued when Moore once again posed nude. Images taken by the American celebrity photographer Annie Leibovitz appeared on the cover of the August 1991 issue of the fashion magazine Vanity Fair. The stylish image showed Moore fully nude while seven months pregnant with her second daughter Scout LaRue. Intending to portray an "anti-glamour" attitude, the cover sparked intense controversy for both the magazine and Moore. Discussions took place across a range of media and hit the headlines for days.

The negative public reaction resulted in some retailers pulling the magazine issue from newsstands while other outlets used brown paper bags for the sale of the magazine. The raw frankness of the image and the 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. She was back on the magazine's cover the following year, nude again but foetus-free and sporting a layer of artfully applied body paint.

She was again nominated for a Golden Globe for Best Actress in the mid-90s when she produced and starred in a TV mini-series on abortion called 'If These Walls Could Talk', written by Nancy Savoca. Moore portrayed a single woman in the 1950s seeking a back-street termination.

After a break from acting in 1997, Moore returned to the screen in 2000 ('Passion of Mind') and again tasted cinematic success in her role as the antagonistic villain in the 2003 film 'Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'. Her role as a femme fatale earned her praise for being on the wrong side of 30 and having an immensely lithe figure.

In 2006, she appeared in 'Bobby', directed by Emilio Estevez, which featured an all-star cast including her current husband Ashton Kutcher - though they did not appear in any scenes together. She portrayed Virginia Fallon in the movie, which received mixed to negative reviews, but picked up a Hollywood Film Award for Ensemble of the year and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for outstanding performance by a cast in a motion picture.

In June 2007, 'Mr. Brooks' was released. Moore starred alongside Kevin Costner as a tough-as-nails detective on the trail of an obsessive suburban serial killer. The thriller received mixed reviews, but performed well at the box office and paved the way for her appearance in 'Happy Tears' (2009), an independent comedy-drama. She then teamed up with David Duchovny for 'The Joneses', which was a box office flop despite receiving largely positive reviews.

In 2010, Moore stepped into a different world when she starred in 'Bunraku', a martial arts live action/animation, which also featured Josh Hartnett and Ron Perlman. Moore is scheduled to star in 'Margin Call', a 2011 independent drama featuring Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany and Zachary Quinto. 'LOL: Laughing Out' Loud will also see her star with Miley Cyrus and is set to be released in 2011.

Moore turned her hand to directing for the TV film 'Five', which was shown on Lifetime on 10 October 2011.

The TV film, which also has segments directed by Jennifer Anniston and Alicia Keys, shows that breast cancer can affect everyone regardless of age, gender and income.

Of her directorial debut, Moore told the Today programme: "Part of what motivated me was wanting to bridge that divide that says, 'No, that happens to other people,' and in doing so, to share with others the value and importance of getting out of that denial."

Having appeared in some 50 titles to date, Moore has over the course of her career collected more than ten awards and received over 15 nominations including two Golden Globes.

Moore and Ashton Kutcher, the former 'Punk'd' and 'That 70’s Show' star, started dating in 2003 after meeting at a dinner in Manhattan. Although 15 years her junior, a strong relationship developed between the couple and, amid much press speculation and interest, the pair married in September 2005. The lavish wedding was attended by hundreds of people and included her former husband Bruce Willis and their three daughters.

Moore's primary residence is in Hailey, Idaho, near the famous 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 trendy Kabbalah Centre religion and initiated Kutcher into the faith, having said that she "didn’t grow up Jewish", but went on to say that she has been "more exposed to the deeper meanings of particular rituals".

In April 2011, the couple launched the 'Demi and Ashton Foundation" – a non-profit, non-government organisation which aims to fight child sexual slavery across the globe.

On 23 April 2011, the pair appeared on Piers Morgan Tonight to be interviewed about the charity together for the first time. The foundation’s website enables the public to educate themselves about the issue, show their support and donate money.

Moore and Kutcher are currently making headlines as accusations that the actor had a fling on their sixth wedding anniversary have surfaced. The actress has lost weight and rumours are abound that the pair will divorce.

Moore is a passionate 'raw foodist' and vegan, creating an interesting contrast with her extensive cosmetic surgery including breast implants, numerous collagen injections, liposuction, cheek implants, eyelid lift, and a procedure to lift sagging skin around her knees. According to Playboy magazine, Moore is one of the sexiest movies stars in Hollywood history.

In her personal life, Moore's relationship with her mother was rocky at the best of times, stemming from Moore's unhappy and difficult childhood. Both mother and daughter became alcoholics and at one stage checked into a drug-and-alcohol-recovery programme.

Her mother's recovery efforts failed. In 1990, Moore footed the bill for an eight month stay in rehab, but the relationship ended when Guynes sold the story of their troubles to the media. Over the following years, Guynes humiliated her daughter twice with pictorials in adult magazines. This included her 1993 12-page spread in the porn magazine High Society (after being turned down by Playboy). She posed in front of a potter's wheel, parodying Moore’s sex scene with Patrick Swayze in 'Ghost'.

In 1998, Guynes died from a brain tumour in New Mexico at the age of 54.
In addition to being a successful actress, Moore was also the producer of the hugely successful 'Austin Powers' movies starring Mike Myers.

For an actress leaning towards dramatic roles, the switch to comedy was considered a brave and inspired move.

Now in her late 40s, Moore remains one of Hollywood's most alluring, recognisable and admired female stars. Her current industry standing allows her to pick and choose roles that include co-stars associated with Hollywood's A-list. Her longevity as a hugely successful female lead actor has only ever been matched by a handful of her peers.