Denise Quiñones August: 1980—: Miss Universe. "I feel like I am living a fantasy," Denise Quiñones August told People en Español. As the 50th Miss Universe, some would say she is. A rural girl from a mountain town, Quiñones had only been competing in pageants for three years before winning the title of Miss Universe. As the fourth Miss Universe …
1901–2004 Actor Etta Moten Barnett achieved several notable firsts in her long career on the New York stage and Hollywood screen. She rose to fame in the 1930s and was one of the most admired African-American entertainment personalities of her era. Her credits include a long engagement as Bess in the landmark George Gershwin musical Porgy and Bess, but she is also thought to have been the f…
Born 1956, in Los Angeles, CA; Education: Attended University of California, Irvine, 1974–75; attended Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, 1977; University of California, Berkeley, B.A. (studio art and Asian studies; magna cum laude), 1979; attended Art Center College of Design, 1979–81. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Crown, Random House, 1745 Broadway, New York, NY 10019. Children&#x…
1917-2003 Fire captain, civil rights activist Roosevelt Barlow was among a small group of African-American firefighters to integrate the Philadelphia Fire Department, enduring extremely harsh treatment and fighting against entrenched institutional racism. He risked his life to help his brothers in the department and to help his community become a better place for all minorities. Barlow was among t…
Born 1958, in Fort Dix, NJ. Education: Attended Antioch University; studied in London and Dublin. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Tor Books, Editorial Office, 175 Fifth Ave., New York, NY 10010. Interstitial Arts Foundation. The Changeling (for children), Random House (New York, NY), 1995. The Wood Wife, Tor Books (New York, NY), 1996. A Midsummer Night's Faery Tale, illustrated with dolls cr…
Born 1951, in Buckinghamshire, England; daughter of a Royal Air Force flight lieutenant. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Candlewick Press, 2067 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02140. Advertising art director and painter; illustrator of children's books, 1990—. Exhibitions: Works exhibited at the Tyron Gallery, London, England. Worldwide CLIO award for advertising, 1979, for art and…
OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for SATA sketch: Born August 2, 1921, in Manhattan, NY; died of heart failure, February 5, 2004, in Langhorne, PA. Educator and author. Barr was well known for his work as headmaster of the Dalton School and Hackley School in New York state, but he was also the author of nonfiction books for children, as well as the lighthearted space opera Space Relations: A Sligh…
Female. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Lucent Books, 10911 Technology Place, San Diego, CA 92127. Author and editor of books for children and young adults. BirdsofPrey, Lucent (San Diego, CA), 2000. Snakes, Lucent (San Diego, CA), 2001. Native Americans of the Northwest Plateau, Lucent (San Diego, CA), 2002. The Delcaration of Independence, Greenhaven Press (San Diego, CA), 2003. The Tianamen Squar…
Born 1929, in London, England; Education: Attended Italia Conte Stage School, 1946, and Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, 1947–49. Politics: "Socialist." Hobbies and other interests: Theater, gardening, teaching ESL abroad. Agent—Sheila Watson, Watson, Little Ltd., 12 Egbert St., London NW1 8LJ, England. Lynne Reid Banks Writer and journalist. Actress in English repertory …
Born 1976, in Columbus, OH; Education: Ohio University, B.A. (creative writing); Vermont College, M.F.A. (creative writing for Hobbies and other interests: Travel. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Harcourt International, 6277 Sea Harbor Dr., Orlando, FL 32887. Writer. PhotoAssist, Inc., photo editor, 1999–2003; The History Factory, senior researcher, 2002–04; Words & Numbers, Bal…
Born 1960, in Chichester, Sussex, England; Education: Attended Oxford Polytechnic; Exeter College of Art and Design, B.A. (graphic design; with honors). Hobbies and other interests: Collecting books on art and illustration. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Walker Books, 87 Vauxhall Walk, London SE11 5HJ, England. Illustrator. John Radcliffe II Hospital, medical laboratory scientific officer in depart…
Born 1945; children: one son. Author, editor, and publisher. Formerly worked as a teacher; Ivy Close Publishing Company, cofounder with husband, Charles F. Baker III, beginning 1980; Classical Calliope (now Calliope magazine), co-editor and writer, beginning 1981. (All with Charles F. Baker III; for Calliope magazine) Best New Magazine designation, Library Journal, 1991; EdPress Golden Lamp Award,…
Antonio Banderas: 1960—: Actor, director. Antonio Banderas made a quick transition from little-known Spanish actor to Hollywood heartthrob with his 1992 American film debut in The Mambo Kings. Though he seemed to have come from nowhere, he had already made a name for himself in his native Spain, having acted in more than 30 films. He never considered himself a sex symbol during the earl…
When most people think of art, their immediate response has been to imagine the kind of art found in museums. For instance, the works of Rembrandt or Chagall suggest great art of museum quality. In contrast, the kind of art that people could view on the streets of American cities has not always been considered to be great art. In fact, in the past, such art might have been simply labeled street ar…
Model, actress 1973— Tyra Banks has parlayed her supermodel status into film, television, and music; her career is proceeding well according to her ambitious plans. A hit on the runways of top designers since the early 1990s, Banks's career segued first into television and later into film, when she was cast in a leading role in the 1995 film Higher Learning, written and directed by J…
Joan Baez: 1941—: Singer, songwriter, activist. She began her career as a talented singer-songwriter, but Joan Baez became an icon of the 1960s civil-rights movement, and the "Queen of Folk Music." Young, sincere, and talented, she was featured on the cover of Time magazine, launching her as a significant folk singer. Baez became one of the leading voices of social conscio…
Born 1956, in San Francisco, CA; Education: University of California, Davis, B.A., 1976; San Francisco Art Institute, M.F.A., 1980. Agent—c/o Author Mail, HarperCollins Children's, 1350 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10019. Freelance illustrator, author, animator, and painter. Certificate of Excellence, American Institute of Graphic Arts Book Show, and Parents' Choice Aw…
Ray Barretto: 1929—: Musician. Ray Barretto has explored and expanded the possibilities of Afro-Cuban Jazz for more than five decades. In the 1950s he introduced the conga drums to bebop, and during the 1960s he spread the sounds of salsa while keeping a busy schedule as a session player. In the 1970s he began experimenting with fusion, and during the 1980s he successfully straddled the…
Polly Baca-Barragán: 1941—: Politician, media relations specialist. Polly Baca-Barragán (known also as Polly Baca) was the first Hispanic woman to win a state senate election in Colorado. She was elected to the state house of representatives in 1974 and the state senate in 1984. Baca's life has been marked by a passion for public service. As a young woman she worked…
Jose Maria Aznar: 1953—: Prime Minister of Spain. Jose Maria Aznar Lopez was born in Madrid, Spain on February 25, 1953 to a middle class family with political ties to General Francisco Franco's ultra-conservative dictatorship. Aznar's father and one of his grandfathers both held posts in the dictator's government. His family also included several notable conservati…
Lourdes G. Baird: 1935—: Judge. Lourdes G. Baird became one of the highest-ranking Hispanic women in the U.S. Justice Department when she was appointed U.S. attorney for the Central District of California in 1990. The post involved supervising cases in a jurisdiction that was the largest in the United States at the time, comprised of seven counties with more than 12 million citizens. Du…
Born 1960, in CA; Education: San Jose State University, B.S. (graphic design). Politics: Liberal. Religion: "My own." Hobbies and other interests: Gardening, Koi and other critters. Author and illustrator. Commercial artist, with clients including Hallmark Cards and Will Vinton Productions, Portland OR. Formerly designed film sets for television production company. Society of Childre…
Born 1943, in Prestwick, Scotland; Education: Attended University of Melbourne, 1962-63. Australian Society of Authors. Adrift, Blackie (London, England), 1983, Viking (New York, NY), 1992. Little Brother, Nelson (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1985, Viking (New York, NY), 1992. Riverman, Nelson (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia), 1986, Puffin (New York, NY), 1992. Eagle Island, Nelson (Melbourne,…
1937- Politician Augustine, Jean, photograph. AP/Wide World Photos. Reproduced by permission In 1993 Jean Augustine made Canadian political history as the first black woman ever elected to the nation's House of Commons. Nine years later, Augustine achieved yet another historic advance when she became the first woman of African heritage to serve as a cabinet minister in Canada. "Being…
Born 1935, in Concord, New South Wales, Australia; Hobbies and other interests: Bushwalking. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Scholastic Australia, P.O. Box 579, Lindfield, New South Wales 2070, Australia. Writer. Formerly worked at a library in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and as a house mistress at a girls' boarding school. Volunteer at Merigal Dingo Sanctuary, New South Wales, Austra…
1963- Professional soccer player, soccer analyst Barnes, John, photograph. © Rune Hellestad/Corbis. During his stellar career as a professional soccer, or football, player in England, John Barnes played for England 79 times, scoring 12 goals. He was a member of the Liverpool team that won the league title in 1988 and 1990, the Football Association (FA) Cup in 1989 and 1992, and the League C…
Born 1950, in Birmingham, England; Education: Attended Yeovil School of Art, Somerset College of Art, and Rolle Teacher Training College. Author and illustrator of children's books. Commercial artist; paper engineer for pop-up books. Formerly worked as a gardener for National Trust at Montacute House, Somerset, England; former motorcycle dispatch rider and telemarketer. Semi-professional ja…
1984- Vocalist Barrino, Fantasia, photograph. Evan Agostini/Getty Images The third-season winner of television's American Idol singing competition in 2004, Fantasia Barrino, stood out from tough competition for two reasons. Above all, she was a vocal powerhouse, a singer with the kind of raw vocal talent the program's voting audience hadn't encountered before. And she made a s…
Surname pronounced "Ba-leet"; born 1961, in Manchester, England; current surname, Price) Balit; Education: Chelsea School of Art, B.A.; Royal College of Art, M.A.; also attended Morley Theatre School and Questors Theatre School. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Lisa Eveliegh, 26-A Rochester Sq., London NW1 9SA, England. Illustrator and playwright. City and Guilds School of Art, London, …
Born 1940, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada; died, 1996; Education: Attended Ball State University. Hobbies and other interests: Folk music, singing. Actor in television and film, Los Angeles, CA, 1961-63; The Journal Herald, Dayton, OH, columnist, 1968-69; Detroit Free Press, Detroit, MI, columnist, 1969-70; Monday Magazine, Victoria, BC, Canada, founding editor and contributor, 1975-77; Vancouver Sun…
Female. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Candlewick Press, 2067 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, MA 02140. Author and illustrator of children's books. Cat among the Cabbages, Levinson (London, England), 1996, Dutton (New York, NY), 1997. Eric the Reindeer, Hodder (London, England), 1997. Malorie Blackman, Alexander McCall Smith, and Sally-Ann Lever, Crazy Crocs,, Longman (Harlow, England), 1994.…
Born 1947, in Lancaster, Lancastershire, England; Education: University of Manchester, B.A. (with honors), 1969; St. Anne's College, Oxford, B.Litt, 1973; Aberdeen Teacher Training College, teaching certificate, 1974. Religion: Church of England (Anglican). Hobbies and other interests: Early music. Novelist and educator. Jewish High School for Girls, Manchester, England, teacher of English,…
Nationality: American. Born: Lawrence, New York, 27 September 1917. Education: Groton School, Massachusetts, graduated 1935; Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, 1935-38; University of Virginia Law School, Charlottesville, LL.B. 1941; admitted to the New York bar, 1941. Military Service: Served in the United States Naval Reserve, 1941-45: Lieutenant. Career: Associate lawyer, Sullivan and Crom…
Nationality: American. Born: Newark, New Jersey, 3 February 1947. Education: Columbia University, New York, B.A. 1969, M.A. 1970. Career: Has had a variety of jobs, including merchant seaman, census taker, and tutor; creative writing teacher, Princeton University, New Jersey, 1986-90. Awards: Ingram Merrill Foundation grant, for poetry, 1975, 1982; PEN Translation Center grant, 1977; National Endo…
1898(?)-1997 Politician President Hastings Kamuzu Banda was the sole source of Malawi's political power between 1958 and 1994. Ambitious and goal-oriented in his youth, he matured into a political sophisticate who spearheaded his country's vehement struggle against forced federation with Northern and Southern Rhodesia and negotiated the former Nyasaland's independence from Bri…
Nationality: Australian. Born: Adelaide, South Australia, 1941. Education: Norwood Technical High School, Adelaide. Career: Lived in India, 1968-70, and in England and Europe, 1970-74. Member of the Council, Australian National Gallery, Canberra, 1976-81. Awards: The Age Book of the Year award, 1980; National Book Council award, 1980; Victorian Premier's award, 1988. Murray Bail is, with P…
1952— Author, martial artist The author of more than 20 books of speculative fiction, as well as screenplays, teleplays, and short stories, Steven Barnes also has been a lecturer and creative consultant, a martial artist, and a self-declared expert on human performance. One of only a handful of successful black science-fiction writers, Barnes jump-started his career by collaborating with sc…
Nationality: British. Born: Peter Harry Bailey in Battersea, London, 1937. Education: Sir Walter St. John's School, London, 1948-53; Central School of Speech and Drama, London, 1953-56. Career: Actor, 1956-63. Literary Fellow, University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and University of Durham, 1972-74; visiting lecturer, North Dakota State University, Fargo, 1977-79. Awards: Maugham award, 1968; Ar…
Nationality: British. Born: Liverpool, 1934. Education: Merchant Taylors' School, Liverpool; ballet school in Tring, Hertfordshire. Family: Married Austin Davies in 1954 (divorced 1959); one son and two daughters. Career: Actress with repertory theaters in Liverpool, Windsor, Salisbury, London, and Dundee, 1949-60; cellar woman in a bottle factory, London, 1970; clerk, Gerald Duckworth Ltd.…
Nationality: American. Born: Buffalo, New York, 15 December 1922. Education: Indiana University, Bloomington, B.S. 1944. Military Service: Served in the United States Army Infantry, 1943-46. Career: Writer for television programs U.S. Steel Hour and Robert Montgomery Show; script supervisor, Zero One series, BBC Television, London. Elliott Baker's first novels, A Fine Madness and The Penny…
1946— Publisher When Arnold A. Auguste left his native Trinidad for Canada, he planned on pursuing a journalism career. Unfortunately, he couldn't find a place to work that matched his ideals. "I didn't originally set out to own a paper, I just wanted to write," he told The Eye Opener. Steeped in equal doses of debt and optimism, Auguste began publishing Share, a…
Nationality: British. Born: Shanghai, China, 1930. Education: Leys School, Cambridge; King's College, Cambridge. Military Service: Served in the Royal Air Force. Awards: Guardian Fiction prize, 1984; James Tait Black Memorial prize, 1985. Agent: Margaret Hanbury, 27 Walcot Square, London SE11 4UB. I believe that science fiction is the authentic literature of the 20th century, the only fic…
Nationality: American. Born: Newton, Massachusetts, 29 March 1940. Education: Colgate University, Hamilton, New York, 1958; University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, 1964-67, A.B. 1967 (Phi Beta Kappa). Career: Mannequin dresser, Montgomery Ward, Lakeland, Florida, 1960-61; plumber, New Hampshire, 1962-64; publisher and editor, Lillabulero Press, and co-editor, Lillabulero magazine, Chapel Hill, …
Nationality: Irish. Born: Wexford, 1945. Education: Christian Brothers School, and St. Peter's College, both Wexford. Career: Copy editor, Irish Press, Dublin, 1970-83. Since 1989 literary editor, Irish Times, Dublin. Awards: Allied Irish Banks prize, 1973; Arts Council of Ireland Macaulay fellowship, 1973; Irish-American Foundation award, 1976; James Tait Black Memorial prize, 1977; Guardi…
Born 1950, in England; Education: Attended Croydon College of Art, 1967-69; Brighton College of Art, B.S. (with honors), 1979. Politics: "Left." Freelance collage artist, filmmaker, and illustrator, 1972–. Exhibitions: Exhibitor at group shows, including Royal Academy Summer Exhibition, 1974, 1975; Portal Gallery, London, 1975; Crafts Council of Australia Gallery, Sydney, 1977…
Nationality: Irish Born: Leland Hone, India, 1928. Education: Alexandra School, Dublin; London University, 1950s. Career: Various jobs, London and Paris, 1940s; playwright and writer for radio, Ireland, 1960s; poetry editor, Force 10 magazine, County Sligo, Ireland. Over the past four decades Leland Bardwell has been an important and popular presence in Irish writing. As a poet, dramatist, short …
Born 1955; Education: Attended Brown University. Agent—Amanda Lewis, Doe Coover Agency, P.O. Box 668, Winchester, MA 01890. University of Chicago Laboratory School, Chicago, IL, third-grade teacher, c. 1980-2002; freelance writer. The Ghosts of Nantucket: Twenty-three True Accounts, Down East Books (Camden, ME), 1984. Nantucket Hauntings, Down East Books, 1990. Chasing Vermeer, illustrated …
Nationality: British. Born: St. Paul's Cray, Kent, 1918. Education: Schools in Beckenham, Kent, and Wallington, Surrey. Career: Worked for Amalgamated Press, London, 1936; reader, Cresset Press, London, 1947; secretary and sub-editor, BBC, London, 1949-78. Member of the Executive Committee, English PEN, 1981-85. Awards: Atlantic award, 1946; Maugham award, 1947; Cheltenham Festival award, 1…
Born 1955, in Cleveland, OH; maiden name, Peters) Barrett; Tracy Barrett Education: Attended Intercollegiate Center for Classical Studies, Rome, Italy, 1974-75; Brown University, A.B. (classics; magna cum laude; with honors), 1976; University of California, Berkeley, M.A. (Italian), 1979, Ph.D. (medieval Italian), 1988. Politics: Democrat. Hobbies and other interests: Knitting, traveling to …
Nationality: British. Born: Thornaby-on-Tees, England, 1943. Education: LSE, B.Sc.1965. Career: Has taught further education. Awards: Fawcett prize, for Union Street; Booker Prize, 1995, for The Ghost Road. Agent: Curtis Brown Associates, 162-168 Regent Street, London W1R 5TA, England. Union Street was Pat Barker's first novel, and at once marked her as a powerful voice in objective realism…
Pseudonym: Dan Kavanagh. Nationality: British. Born: Leicester, 1946. Education: City of London School, 1957-64; Magdalen College, Oxford, 1964-68, B.A. (honours) in modern languages 1968; also studied law. Family: Married Pat Kavanagh in 1979. Career: Editorial assistant, Oxford English Dictionary supplement, 1969-72; contributing editor, New Review, London, 1977-78; assistant literary editor, 19…
Nationality: American. Born: Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 1960. Education: Michigan State University, B.A. 1982; Oxford University, M. Phil. 1989. Agent: Henry Durlow, Harold Ober and Associates, 425 Madison Avenue, New York, New York 10017, U.S.A. Wilton Barnhardt is an epochal novelist, targeting phases, periods, decades. In his first novel, Emma Who Saved My Life, Gil narrates his twenties-l…
Nationality: American. Born: 16 November 1954. Education: Union College, Schenectady, New York, 1974, B.S. in Biology. Career: Faculty, Northlight Writers' Conference, Moorhead, Minnesota, 1988-89, and Mount Holyoke Writers' Conference, 1991-93; senior fiction fellow, New York State Summer Writers' Institute, Skidmore College, 1993; faculty, Warren Wilson MFA Program for Writ…
Nationality: British. Born: Horbury, Yorkshire, 1928. Education: Ossett Grammar School. Career: Draftsman and sales executive in the engineering industry, 1944-62. Lives in Hawath, West Yorkshire. Awards: Writers Guild award, 1974; Royal Television Society award, 1975. M.A.: Open University, Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, 1982. Honorary Fellow, Bretton Hall College, Wakefield Yorkshire, 1985. Age…
Nationality: American. Born: Cambridge, Maryland, 1930. Education: The Juilliard School of Music, New York; Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, A.B. 1951, M.A. 1952. Career: Junior instructor in English, Johns Hopkins University, 1951-53; instructor, 1953-56, assistant professor, 1957-60, and associate professor of English, 1960-65, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; professor of Eng…
Nationality: American. Born: Houston, Texas, 1943; brother of the writer Donald Barthelme. Education: Tulane University, New Orleans, 1961-62; University of Houston, 1962-65, 1966-67; Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore (teaching fellow; Coleman Prose award, 1977), 1976-77, M.A. 1977. Career: Architectural draftsman, Jerome Oddo and Associates, and Kenneth E. Bentsen Associates, both Houston, 1965…
(Garrett Bang) Born 1943, in Princeton, NJ; Education: Wellesley College, B.A., 1965; University of Arizona, M.A., 1969; Harvard University, M.A., 1971. Author, illustrator, and translator. Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan, teacher of English, 1965-67; Asahi Shimbun, New York, NY, interpreter of Japanese, 1969; Baltimore Sunpapers, Baltimore, MD, reporter, 1970. Illustrator and consultant for UNI…
children: two daughters. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Lucent Books, 10911 Technology Place, San Diego, CA 92127. Writer. AIDS ("Diseases and Disorders" series), Lucent Books (San Diego, CA), 2004. Championship Science Fair Projects: 100 Sure-to-Win Experiments, Sterling (New York, NY), 2004. Chemotherapy, Lucent Books (San Diego, CA), 2004. The Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Blackbirch …
1975(?)– Rapper, producer Banner, David, photograph. AP/Wide World Photos. Termed "a thug intellectual in a world of crunk" by the Miami New Times, Mississippi rapper David Banner made a name for himself as an artist whose work is rife with contrasts and contradictions. He did not shy away from exploiting the raunchy and violent themes characteristic of hip-hop music's …
1957— Singer Baker, Anita, photograph. Jo Hale/Getty Images. Anita Baker's rich and entirely distinctive alto voice has invited comparisons that range beyond the world of contemporary pop to include mention of such legendary jazz figures as Sarah Vaughan and Nancy Wilson. One of the leading performers in the field of sophisticated black adult pop in the late 1980s and early 19…
Nationality: British. Born: Lisa Rynveld, London, 1953. Education: Attended school in London. Career: Farmer of sugar cane, avocados, pears, and sheep, Venezuela, 1972-78. Since 1972, writer. Awards: Somerset Maugham award, 1983, for The Long Way Home; John Llewellyn Rhys memorial prize, 1983, for Slow Train to Milan; Eric Gregory award, 1983, for poetry. Agent: A.M. Heath, 79 St. Martins Lane, Lo…
Born 1960, in New Brunswick, NJ; Ethnicity: "Jewish." Education: Attended Rhode Island School of Design, 1978–80; New School University, B.A., 1983. Politics: Democrat. Religion: Jewish. Hobbies and other interests: Skiing, tennis, hiking, birding. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Bollix Books, 1609 West Callender Ave., Peoria, IL 61606. Artist and children's book author/…
Born 1968; Education: Columbus College of Art and Design, B.F.A., 1990; Lesley University, M.F.A., 2005. Hobbies and other interests: Creating novelty Web sites including kookychow.com, luncheonloaf.com, breadwig.com, and suxco.com. Commercial artist, illustrator, and writer. Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA, illustration lead/designer, 1992–97; Big Idea Productions, Lombard, IL, 3-D desi…
Born 1953, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia; children. Agent—c/o Author Mail, Random House Australia, 20 Alfred St., Milsons Point, Sydney, New South Wales 2061, Australia. Writer and illustrator. Children's Book Council of Australia (CBCA) Book of the Year Awards, 1979, for The Oath of Bad Brown Bill; Critici in Erba award, Bologna Book Fair, 1985, for The Racing Car Driver�…
