The post 2025 Academy Awards: 5 Historic Moments From This Year’s Oscars appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>Sean Baker
Sean Baker made quite a splash with his screwball comedy Anora, which was crowned as the biggest winner of the night with five Oscars. Four of these awards went to Baker himself—best picture, best director, best original screenplay, and best editing—making him the first person in the Academy Awards history to win four Oscars for a single film.
Adrien Brody
Adrien Brody became the first person to win two best actor Oscars in his first two nominations with The Brutalist. He also holds the record for the youngest man to win best actor for his performance in The Pianist.
Zoe Saldaña
Zoe Saldaña’s best supporting actress win for her role in the crime musical Emilia Pérez was also a historic first. She honored her roots in her emotional acceptance speech after becoming the first American of Dominican origin to win in this category, adding “I know I will not be the last.”
Brazil’s Best International Feature Win
After scoring five nominations for the best international feature, Brazil finally came out victorious in this category with the political thriller I’m Still Here.
Paul Tazewell
It was a night to remember for the Wicked costume designer Paul Tazewell, who made history as the first Black man to win an Oscar for costume design.
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]]>The post Taylor Swift Makes History as the Richest Female Musician Ever appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>According to Forbes, Swift officially became a billionaire in October 2023, thanks to the earnings from her record-breaking The Eras Tour and the value of her music catalog. She became the first musician to reach billionaire status primarily based on earnings from her music and performances, without relying on other business endeavors.
A year later, Swift’s fortune reached a $1.6 billion valuation, helping her surpass Rihanna as the richest female musician of all time. Unlike Swift, the R&B superstar didn’t build her empire with music alone, and she mostly owes her fortune to her cosmetics line Fenty Beauty and her lingerie brand Savage X Fenty.
As for Swift, her fortune includes nearly $600 million from royalties and touring, a music catalog worth an estimated $600 million, and around $125 million in real estate. Her ongoing The Eras Tour previously made history as the first tour to collect $1 billion in revenue and reportedly became the first to ever gross $2 billion worldwide. It inspired the highest-grossing concert film of all time, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour, which earned $267.1 million worldwide, with a high percentage of earnings going to Swift.
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]]>The post Blockbuster Facts About Actress Anna May Wong appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>Growing Up in Film
In the 1910s, when Wong was a little girl, the movie industry moved from New York City to Los Angeles, her hometown. While working in her parents’ laundromat, Wong would use the money she earned to buy movie tickets. She would also head to movie sets and watch as the actors and crew members got to work. “I would worm my way through the crowd and get as close to the cameras as I dared…I’d stare and stare at these glamorous individuals, directors, cameramen, assistants, and actors in grease paint, who had come down to our section of town to make movies,” Wong explained.
Barrier to Entry
As an up-and-coming actress, Wong’s work opportunities were sadly limited due to America’s anti-miscegenation laws which prohibited interracial relationships and cohabitation. Because many white actors would take on roles as Asian characters, Wong would be barred from performing if the costar was white, even if the character they were portraying was of Asian descent.
The Entrepreneur
With roles being few and far between, Wong went on to establish her own film production company called Anna May Wong Productions. Sadly, the company only lasted one year due to financial issues.
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]]>The post 3 Beauty Brands That Transformed Celebrities Into Billionaires appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>Fenty Beauty
With a net worth of $1.4 billion, Rihanna is one of the highest-paid celebrities in the world, but she doesn’t owe her fortune to music alone. She made many smart business decisions in recent years and started several brands, including the cosmetics empire Fenty Beauty, which prides itself on offering a wide range of beauty products for different skin tones.
Rare Beauty
Selena Gomez’s Rare Beauty is currently valued at approximately $2 billion and it’s one of the fastest-growing celebrity beauty brands in the world. It helped the former Disney star increase her personal net worth to $800 million, and she’s committed to donating 1% of the sales towards her mental health non-profit Rare Beauty Impact Fund.
Kylie Cosmetics
Kylie Jenner was once called the world’s youngest self-made billionaire at age 21 by Forbes, but it later turned out her net worth was overblown. She still managed to build a pretty impressive beauty empire with her brand Kylie Cosmetics, which was valued at $1.2 billion in 2019, when she sold a 51% stake to Coty for $600 million.
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]]>The post Showstopping Facts About Michael Jackson appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>Completing the Puzzle
Before his own career began, Jackson’s four older brothers decided to start a band, simply calling themselves the Jackson Brothers. At six years old, he was playing the congas and tambourine in their backup band. Once Jackson proved to his family how well he could sing, he joined the group, which then rebranded as The Jackson 5.
Tough Start
Upon deciding to pursue a solo career, things initially didn’t all go according to plan for Jackson. Aside from music, he also tried to launch a film career, being cast as the scarecrow in the film The Wiz. Sadly, the movie flopped, meaning that Jackson wouldn’t enjoy the breakthrough he had hoped for.
On The Ropes
While the world celebrated the release of Jackson’s “Thriller” music video, not everyone was charmed. A staunch Jehova’s Witness, Jackson would soon be threatened by the church, which claimed that the video promoted demonology. Desperate for the church not to cast him out, Jackson reached an agreement with them—he added a disclaimer to the video to say that it did not represent his beliefs. The rest, as they say, is history.
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]]>The post 5 Records That Taylor Swift Broke with “The Tortured Poets Department” appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>Largest Streaming Week
Tortured Poets debuted atop the Billboard 200 chart with the second-largest week for any album and the largest streaming week overall, with 891.37 million streams across 31 songs.
Most No. 1 Albums Among Soloists
Tortured Poets is Swift’s 14th album to hit No. 1 helping her tie Jay-Z’s record for most chart-topping albums among soloists, only second to The Beatles with 19 No. 1 records.
Largest Modern-Day Vinyl Week
Tortured Poets also scored the largest sales week of Swift’s career. Vinyl copies alone made up for 859,000 units in sales, helping the singer score the largest vinyl week in modern history.
Top 14 Billboard Hot 100 Hits
Swift monopolized the first 14 spots on the Billboard Hot 100 with the songs from her new album, becoming the first artist to ever achieve this feat.
First Woman With 50+ Top 10 Hits
The success of Tortured Poets brought Swift’s number of top ten hits to 59, helping her become the only female artist in the Hot 100 history with over 50 songs in the top 10.
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]]>The post Fascinating Facts About Iconic Actor Sir Christopher Lee appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>Solving Crimes
While few actors could claim to be part of the Sherlock Holmes franchise, Christopher Lee was the only actor who played three roles in the detective movies. Lee portrayed Mycroft Holmes, Ser Henry Baskerville, and the famous detective himself.
007 Connection
For James Bond fans, Lee is remembered as the fearsome villain named Francisco Scaramanga in the film, The Man with the Golden Gun. Still, his appearance in the franchise is not that surprising. After his parents divorced in the 1920s, Lee’s mother married none other than James Bond creator Ian Fleming.
How Much Is Too Much?
Like many other leading men, Lee was tall. Still, at 6’5”, he towered over many other actors, making it incredibly difficult for him to land lead roles early in his career. Ultimately, he was once named in the Guinness Book of World Records as the tallest lead actor in Hollywood. Fortunately, many men would wear platform shoes, which at least helped Lee to fit in.
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]]>The post Worldy Facts About Linda Christian, The First Bond Girl appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The Globetrotter
Born in Mexico in 1923, Christian never stayed in one place for too long. Because of her father’s business in the oil industry, she hopped from Latin America to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. She also became an accomplished polyglot in the process.
Being Spotted
After graduating high school Christian encountered none other than Hollywood actor Errol Flynn while he was filming a movie. He was immediately smitten by Christian and they soon embarked on a relationship. While it didn’t work out, she did become acquainted with Hollywood, attending a fashion show where she was spotted by a talent scout. She was immediately offered a seven-year film contract, which she enthusiastically accepted.
Making History
In 1954, Christian landed the role of Vesper Lynd in the James Bond film, Casino Royale. Although not an official part of James Bond cannon, the movie meant that Christian had become the first-ever Bond girl, with the first cannon movie, Dr. No, being released eight years later.
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]]>The post Business Card Signed By Steve Jobs Sells for a Record $181,183 appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>The business card, signed in black ink, features Apple’s iconic logo in rainbow colors at the top alongside the inscription Apple Computer. It also contains Jobs’ full name, his position as chairman of the board of directors, and contact information.
Feel the nostalgia when you browse vintage computers and consoles in our Steve Jobs and the #Apple Computer Revolution auction ending tonight
— RR Auction (@RRAuction) March 21, 2024https://t.co/gqgJXI1YBK pic.twitter.com/hZoeZQ3yOs
According to RR Auction, this is the only known business card signed by Steve Jobs from 1983 and also the only one of five signed cards that were authenticated.
“The sale of the Steve Jobs-signed Apple business card for over $180,000 sets a new standard in autographed business cards,” said RR Auction’s executive vice president Bobby Livingston in a statement. “It’s a testament to the enduring legacy of Jobs and the profound impact of Apple on our modern world.”
The business card was part of the larger lot of Steve Jobs memorabilia offered up for auction. A check from 1976 signed by Jobs was sold for $176,850, while his autograph on a Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl movie ticket went for $14,653.
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]]>The post Chilling Facts About the Career of Shirley Temple appeared first on History Chronicle.
]]>Losing Innocence
While Temple enjoyed a variety of prolific roles throughout her career, her debut performance was sadly a traumatic one. Temple’s first role came at the age of three when she starred in Baby Burlesks. This show was a satire on current affairs in which children would play adult roles, often wearing outfits and acting in sultry ways that are totally inappropriate and downright immoral for actors of that age.
Don’t Look Back in Anger
In her autobiography Child Star, Temple recalled how her debut role proved to be “a cynical exploitation of our childish innocence”. One of the worst experiences she had was at the hands of the director Charles Lamont, who would punish the child stars on set by forcing them to sit in a soundproof black box, sometimes even making the kids sit on a block of ice.
Hitting The Big Time
At the age of 12, Temple signed a major contract with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. While a promising career move, Temple’s personal life was ruined as she was overwhelmed with a packed schedule. Ultimately, she departed after making just a single film with the studio.
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