Levardis Robert Martyn Burton Jr. is an American actor, director, and television host. He played Geordi La Forge in Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987–1994), Kunta Kinte in the ABC miniseries Roots (1977), and was the host of the PBS Kids educational television series Reading Rainbow for 23 years (1983–2006). He received 12 Daytime Emmy Awards and a Peabody Award as host and executive producer of Reading Rainbow.
In the performing arts, a stage mother is the mother of a child actor. The term stage mother sometimes has a negative connotation, suggesting that the individual is prone to obnoxiously demanding special treatment for her child, or suggesting that the individual has placed inappropriate pressure on her child to succeed, perhaps for reasons of vicariously living out her own dreams through the child. Entitled and grandiose demands have sometimes led to reportedly veiled threats from a stage parent.
Keeping Up with the Kardashians is an American reality television series which focused on the personal and professional lives of the Kardashian–Jenner blended family. It aired on the E! network between 2007 and 2021. The series focused mainly on sisters Kim, Kourtney, and Khloé Kardashian and their half-sisters, Kendall and Kylie Jenner. It also featured their parents, Kris and Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner, and brother, Rob. Partners of the Kardashian sisters also appeared on the show. Its premise originated with Ryan Seacrest, who also served as an executive producer. The series premiered on the E! cable network on October 14, 2007, and ran for 20 seasons over the span of almost fourteen years, becoming one of the longest-running reality television series in the US. The final season premiered on March 18, 2021.
Kourtney Kardashian Barker is an American media personality and socialite. In 2007, she and her family began starring in the reality television series Keeping Up with the Kardashians. Its success led to the creation of spin-offs including Kourtney and Kim Take Miami and Kourtney and Kim Take New York. After she and her family made the decision to end their show after 20 seasons in 2021, they began appearing in an all new reality television series titled The Kardashians on Hulu in 2022.
Khloé Alexandra Kardashian is an American media personality, socialite and model. She rose to fame starring with her family in the reality television series Keeping Up with the Kardashians from 2007 to 2021. Its success led to the creation of spin-offs, including Kourtney and Khloé Take Miami (2009–2013) and Kourtney and Khloé Take The Hamptons (2014–2015). Following the ending of their previous show, she and her family began starring on Hulu's The Kardashians in 2022.
Kristen Mary Jenner is an American media personality, socialite, and businesswoman. She rose to fame starring in the reality television series Keeping Up with the Kardashians (2007–2021) with her family. The success of their show led her and her family to star in multiple spin-off series, including Kourtney and Khloe Take Miami (2009), Kourtney and Kim Take New York (2011), Khloe & Lamar (2011), Rob & Chyna (2016) and Life of Kylie (2017). She acted as executive producer for most of her family's reality programs. In 2013, she hosted a six week long pop culture-driven daytime talk show, called Kris. Following her family's decision to sign off from E! in 2021, they then went on to star in The Kardashians on Hulu from 2022.
Kylie Kristen Jenner is an American socialite, media personality, and businesswoman. She starred in the E! reality television series Keeping Up with the Kardashians from 2007 to 2021 and then the Hulu reality television series The Kardashians from 2022. She is the founder and owner of cosmetic company Kylie Cosmetics. She is the fifth-most-followed person on Instagram.
Jeff Jenkins is an American producer known for his work in reality television. He is best known for producing The Simple Life, Total Divas, and Keeping Up with the Kardashians and Coming Out Colton.
I Am Cait is an American television documentary series which chronicles the life of Caitlyn Jenner after her gender transition. The eight-part one-hour documentary series debuted on July 26, 2015, on the E! network. The series focuses on the "new normal" for Jenner, exploring changes to her relationships with her family and friends. The show additionally explores how Jenner adjusts to what she sees as her job as a role model for the transgender community.
Lonzo Anderson Ball is an American professional basketball player. A point guard, he played college basketball for one season with the UCLA Bruins, earning consensus first-team All-American honors before the Los Angeles Lakers selected him with the second overall pick of the 2017 NBA draft. He was named to the NBA All-Rookie Second Team in 2018.
LaMelo LaFrance Ball is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected by the Hornets with the third overall pick of the 2020 NBA draft. Ball was voted the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2021 and named an NBA All-Star the following season in 2022.
LiAngelo Robert Ball is an American professional basketball player who last played for Astros De Jalisco. Ball played for Chino Hills High School in California, where he won a state championship and achieved national success as a junior with his brothers Lonzo and LaMelo, who are both current NBA guards. A three-star recruit and UCLA signee, he decided to forgo college basketball after being suspended for shoplifting in China before the 2017–18 season. In turn, Ball signed with Lithuanian professional team Prienai. He later played in the Junior Basketball Association (JBA), a league founded by his father, before joining the G League at the end of 2019–20. He was briefly signed to the Detroit Pistons in late 2020, but was waived prior to the start of the 2020–21 season. Ball joined the Greensboro Swarm in 2021.
LaVar Christopher Ball is an American businessman. He is the co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of the sports apparel company Big Baller Brand and founder of the now defunct Junior Basketball Association (JBA). He is the father of three professional basketball players: Chicago Bulls point guard Lonzo, Greensboro Swarm shooting guard LiAngelo and Charlotte Hornets point guard LaMelo.
Big Baller Brand (BBB) is an American company that designs, manufactures, and sells clothing and shoes. Launched in 2016 by Alan Foster and LaVar Ball, it has most notably produced signature shoes for the Ball brothers—basketball players Lonzo Ball, LaMelo Ball, and LiAngelo Ball. Big Baller Brand has additionally been involved in the creation of the Junior Basketball Association (JBA), which it fully funded, and both the Big Baller Brand Challenge Games and Big Baller Brand International Tournament, which were a series of Lithuanian exhibition games hosted by BC Vytautas.
"Melo Ball 1" is a rap single by American professional basketball player Lonzo Ball, featuring singer Kenneth Paige. Released on September 8, 2017, it is Ball's first official song and is about his younger brother LaMelo Ball and his signature Big Baller Brand shoe, the Melo Ball 1 (MB1). A segment of the song first appeared in a video published by SLAM magazine that debuted the MB1 shoes. The song was produced by 80's Baby Entertainment, Inc. under his family-owned record label Big Baller Music Group.
Returning the Favor is an American reality web series that premiered on August 28, 2017 on Facebook Watch. It follows Mike Rowe as he travels across the United States in search of people who are giving back to their communities. At the end of each episode, those being profiled receive a surprise that allows them to do even more of whatever kind of good work they are doing. In July 2018, Facebook renewed the series for a fourth season which premiered on January 14, 2020. The show was canceled after four seasons in January 2021.
The Junior Basketball Association (JBA) was an American basketball league that intended to be an alternative to the NCAA by allowing high school and junior college players to immediately play professionally. The league was first announced in December 2017 by LaVar Ball and was said to be fully funded by Ball's sports apparel company, Big Baller Brand. The JBA existed for just one season in 2018, featuring eight teams from major US cities.
Harrison Burwell Gaines is an American former basketball player who is most notably a California Attorney and the founder and chief executive officer of sports agency SLASH Sports & Entertainment. A native of Victorville, California, Gaines was a standout point guard at Serrano High School. He played college basketball with Penn before transferring to UC Riverside for his final two seasons. He later attended Thomas Jefferson School of Law.
The Los Angeles Ballers were a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles, California. The team competed in the Junior Basketball Association (JBA), a league created for high school and junior college players as an alternative to the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). They won the championship for the league's only 2018 season.
The Kardashians is an American reality television series which focuses on the personal lives of the Kardashian–Jenner family. The program is a retooled continuation of their previous reality show, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, which concluded in 2021 after a 20-season run, on E!.
