Model/actress Carolyn Murphy

Some people are irked by Carolyn Murphy. They think she looks too perfect.

But don't hold it against her. I'm sure she can't help it. :-D

Carolyn Murphy first gained attention in the mid-nineties with appearances in Prada ads.

The Panama City, Florida native signed an exclusive contract with the Estée Lauder cosmetics company, and she's been one of their spokesmodels since 2002.

She also has dabbled in acting, playing a role in Barry Levinson's semi-autobiographical movie Liberty Heights.

Model /actress Maria McDonald

Maria McDonald was a leading model of the 1980s.

She also showed a talent for acting, most notably in the 1989 Denzel Washington movie The Mighty Quinn. That seems appropriate enough, because you'll not see nothing like her! :-D

She has retired from modeling and acting to pursue other endeavors - most notably, the charity group Cover Girls for Change, a group of veteran fashion models who raise money for children's causes.

So do you still think models are vain? :-p

TV newswoman Carissa Lawson

Carissa Lawson is literally a new face to viewers of the New Jersey cable news channel New Jersey News 12 as of this writing. She joined the channel in February 2011.

The New York native has come to New Jersey News 12 from WLKY-TV in Louisville, Kentucky, where she anchored the 6 PM evening news. Prior to that, she reported and/or anchored the news at three different broadcast television stations in North Carolina.

Carissa Lawson also received an Associated Press Award for Reporting and got an honorable mention from the same institution for Best Hard News Feature for a story about a young Marine killed in the Iraq War. She shared an Edward R. Murrow Award for Best Newscast with her fellow staffers at WLKY-TV.

Her News 12 biography also describes her as a health nut. :-D

Actress Minka Kelly

Minka Kelly is another young actress catching attention these days, and not just because of her quirky first name. :-)

Having played cheerleader Lyla Garrity in the NBC high school football drama "Friday Night Lights," she's had a recurring role in "Parenthood" as a children's developmental counselor. Don't get used to seeing more of her on that show; as of this writing, she's slated to appear in a new version of the seventies series "Charlie's Angels" on ABC.

Fun Fact 1: She's romantically linked to New York Yankees baseball player Derek Jeter.

Fun Fact 2: Her father, Rick Dufay (Kelly is her mother's name), was the rhythm guitarist in Aerosmith from 1980 to 1984, replaced by the same guy he replaced (Brad Whitford) four years earlier.

Actress Rashida Jones

Rashida Jones is the daughter of musician Quincy Jones and actress Peggy Lipton, but she's managed to step outside the spotlight of her famous parents by distinguishing herself in two NBC sitcoms.

She played Karen Filippeli on "The Office" and, as of this writing, currently stars as Ann Perkins in "Parks and Recreation."

She's also appeared in several movies, most notably The Social Network.

Fun Fact 1: Bet you didn't know Rashida Jones was a comic book author. She created "Frenemy of the State," a comic book series about a socialite who is recruited by the CIA as a spy.

Fun Fact 2: Model Jolie Jones is her half-sister. (No prizes for guessing their common parent.)

Post Updates

I have stated on this blog that I do not post pictures of women who are deceased. Perhaps I should amend that to say that I don't post pictures of women who are knowingly deceased. As it turns out, I posted a picture of a woman I believed to be alive at the time - fashion model Linda Fenn, posted on August 19, 2010 - who in fact had died in 2008.

I received a comment from her niece, who is also Ms. Fenn's goddaughter, informing me of Ms. Fenn's unfortunate passing but also talking in the loveliest possible terms about what a wonderful woman she was. I published it, so you can look up my post of Ms. Fenn on this blog to read the comment. Though posting a picture of Ms. Fenn two years after her death violated my own rule, I am keeping that post on this blog, because her niece was so personally touched by and grateful for her Aunt Linda's inclusion.

I'll return with a new pictorial post on Friday.

TV meteorologist Janice Huff

Viewers of the Sunday edition of NBC's "Today" show tuning in to get the national weather forecast can count on two re-assuring presences - Janice Huff and her smile.

Of course, Greater New York area residents looking for the local weather report can count on her much more often, as Janice Huff has been the chief meteorologist at WNBC-TV in New York since 1995. She's been a regular presence on virtually all of the station's local news and talk programming.

Born in New York City but raised in South Carolina, Janice Huff worked as a weather forecaster at TV stations in Chattanooga, St. Louis, and San Francisco before returning to her native city. She currently lives in Morris County, New Jersey.

Fun fact: When she was a weather forecaster for KRON-TV in San Francisco in the early nineties, she was lauded by the American Lung Association for her work in promoting cleaner air and healthier lungs.

Model/actress Maureen Gallagher

Maureen Gallagher is a model/actress whose modeling career was at its height in the 1980s.

Her best known credit as an actress is a role in the 1995 action movie Bad Boys, with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence.

Thansk to my Facebook friend Cliff for suggesting her.

Television actress Jennifer Finnigan

Jennifer Finnigan is a Canadian actress who has made her mark on American television.

She recently made a big transition from daytime drama to prime-time comedy. After playing Bridget Forrester on CBS's soap opera "The Bold and the Beautiful" from 2000 to 2004, she landed a role in the ABC sitcom "Better With You" in 2010.

On "Better With You," she plays Maddie Putney, a lawyer with a live-in boyfriend. Maddie has a younger sister, Mia (played by Joanna Garcia, whom I've already featured here), who's engaged to be married - and is already pregnant.

The series is a diverting show about three couples at different stages in their relationships, including the Putney sisters' parents.

Actress/singer Christine Ebersole

Christine Ebersole is an entertainer of many talents.

She gained notoriety as a cast member of "Saturday Night Live" in the early eighties, and she has also appeared in numerous Broadway productions, such as the 1979 revival of Oklahoma!, the 1980 revival of Camelot, and the 2001 revival of 42nd Street, which got her a Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical. Revivals, obviously, are her forte. :-)

She's also appeared in numerous TV shows and several movies.

Actress Lesley-Anne Down

If you remember the seventies fondly, it might be because you remember Lesley-Anne Down.

The sultry British actress gained attention from American audiences with her role as Georgina Worsley in the television series "Upstairs, Downstairs" in the early seventies (aired in Britain on ITV and in America on PBS), and in movies as well. She played a gorgeous Russian assassin in 1976's The Pink Panther Strikes Again (with Peter Sellers) and a British woman who falls in love with an American Army lieutenant (played by Harrison Ford) during World War II in 1979's Hanover Street.

Much of her best-known work is in television, though, as she is recognized more recently for her roles in two American soap operas - "Sunset Beach," from 1997 to 1999, and "The Bold and the Beautiful," where she has been since 2003.

The Beauty of Retrospect: Special Kim Alexis Post!

I suggested last week that I wouldn't be posting any more pictures of Kim Alexis for awhile, but I have since found a wonderful profile picture of the stunning supermodel, taken recently, that I just had to share. :-)

She strikes a wonderful pose here.

I'm coming in like a lion for March; this is the eighteenth picture of Kim Alexis that I've posted.

Eighteen, and I like it! :-) :-D