Fantastic Femmes--Aaliyah

There are those who died far too early in their careers...

Jimi Hendrix

James Dean

Selena

Heath Ledger

Jim Morrison

Buddy Holly

Add to that sad list...

Aaliyah

Aaliyah Dana Haughton was already a star in the music industry.

With several genre credits including the title role of Queen of the Damned and a supporting role in the Matrix trilogy, she was also establishing herself as a legit actress.
Unfortunately, her untimely death aboard an overloaded airplane brought an end to all that.
On this, the 10th anniversary of her passing off this mortal coil, we offer our condolences to her family, friends, and fans.

Genre credits include...

Matrix Reloaded (Zee)

[Note: Aaliyah's scenes had been filmed before her death, but since Zee was scheduled to return in the next film, it was decided to reshoot the character's scenes with another actress (Nona Gaye) in the role.]

Queen of the Damned (Queen Akasha)

Romeo Must Die (Trish O'Day)

New York Undercover "Fade Out"

Check out...

Aaliyah's Official WebSite

Fantastic Femmes--Brandy Norwood

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HERE!

Fantastic Femmes--Alica Keys

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HERE!

Fantastic Femmes--Samantha Mumba

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HERE!

Fantastic Femmes--Rihanna

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HERE!

Fantastic Femmes--Vanessa L Williams

Note: this page has been updated with NEW info HERE!

The first African-American to become Miss America, Vanessa was also the first to lose the crown due to the publication of nude photos taken a couple of years prior to her entry into the competition. (She has since been reinstated as the official winner for 1984!)
For most people, that would've been the end of their career. But not Vanessa..
Since then, she's had a number of best-selling vocal albums, performed to rave reviews in several Broadway shows including Kiss of the Spider Woman, Into the Woods, and Carmen Jones, and appeared in theatrical and tv movies ranging from drama (Soul Food) to musicals (Bye, Bye, Birdie) as well as performing on soundtracks of a number of films including Pocahontas!
Her greatest success has been a tour-de-force performance as scheming editor Wilhelmina Slater on the ongoing Ugly Betty tv series.
She'll be doing genre again, as her schedule permits...
Trivia: Vanessa turned down the lead in Monster's Ball which was then offered to Halle Berry, who won the Oscar for it! Hey, nobody's perfect!

Genre appearances include
A Diva's Christmas Carol (Ebony Scrooge)
Shaft (Det. Carmen Vasquez)
BoomTown (Det. Katherine Pierce)
WWIII aka Winds of Terror (MJ Blake)
Adventures of Elmo in GrouchLand (Queen of Trash)
The Odyssey (Calypso)
FutureSport (Alexandra Torres aka Alex)
Star Trek: Deep Space 9 "Let He Who is Without Sin" (Arandis)
Hoodlum (Francine Hughes)
Eraser (Lee Cullen)
T.J. Hooker "Partners in Death"
Partners in Crime "Celebrity"

Check out...
Vanessa's Official Site
Vanessa Williams Music

Fantastic Femmes--Puffy AmiYumi (Ami Onuki & Yumi Yoshimura)

I know they're not actresses, per se, but, it's my blog, they fit into the Fantastic Femmes theme with the animation connection, and I had a couple of pix I wanted to share...

Known as "Puffy" in Asia, Ami Onuki and Yumi Yoshimura are incredibly-popular J-Pop singing idols who first achieved fame in America performing the catchy theme to the animated Teen Titans series.

Genre credits include...
Yumi Yoshimura
LoveDeath

PuffyAmiYumi (Ami Onuki & Yumi Yoshimura)
Mohohan: Copycat Killer (actresses in commercial Dendou-Jitensha [commercial within the movie's narrative] )
Hi! Hi! Puffy AmiYumi! (appear as themselves in opening and closing live-action vignettes)
Teen Titans (series theme song, appear in music video)

Check out...
Puffy AmiYumi's Official Japanese website
Puffy AmiYumi's Official US website
Sony Music's Puffy website

On the series Hi! Hi! Puffy AmiYumi!, the cartoon Ami is voiced by Janice Kawaye, the animated Yumi by Grey DeLisele.

Fantastic Femmes--Ashanti

Note: this page has been updated with NEW info  

HERE!

Another singer / actress with several genre credits, and a fair number of other film / tv appearances as well.
Ashanti Douglas is a superb soprano, and a competent actress, with an enthusiasm for action stunts.

Her genre credits include...
Resident Evil: Extinction(Betty)
Muppets' Wizard of Oz(Dorothy Gale)
Buffy the Vampire Slayer "First Date" (Lissa)

Check out...
AshantiMusic
Ashanti Daily (FanSite)

Other actresses to play Dorothy Gale include...
Tin Man: Grace Wheeler, Zooey Deschanel, Alexis Llewellen, Rachel Patee (Dorothy at various ages)
The Dreamer of Oz: Courtney Barilla (Dorothy Gale / Dorothy Leslie Gage [the real-life inspiration for the character])
Return to Oz(1985): Fairuza Balk
The Wiz: Diana Ross
The Wiz (Broadway): Stephanie Mills
Journey Back to Oz; Liza Minelli (daughter of Judy Garland)
Off to See the Wizard: June Foray
Return to Oz(1964) Susan Conway
The Wizard of Oz (1939) / Lux Radio Theatre "Wizard of Oz": Judy Garland
The Land of Oz aka The Scarecrow of Oz: Maryeruth Boone
The Wizard of Oz(1925): Dorothy Dwan
Dorothy and the Scarecrow of Oz: Marcia Moore
The Wizard of Oz(1910): Bebe Daniels

Fantastic Femmes--Beyonce Knowles

Note: this page has been updated with NEW info HERE!

An award-winning singer and talented actress, Beyonce has done relatively little genre work, but what she has done has been attention-grabbing!
Curiously, though her non-genre acting has been in "serious" films like Cadillac Records and DreamGirls, her genre movie work has only been in comedies!

Genre appearances...
Austin Powers in Goldmember (Foxxy Cleopatra, also performed song on soundtrack)
The Pink Panther (Xania, also performed songs on soundtrack)
Pepsi Commercial "Gladiators" (Gladiator, also performed song)

Check out...
The Official Beyonce HomePage
BeyonceWorld (FanPage)