Biography
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Mandy Moore was born in Nashua, New Hampshire to Don
Moore (a pilot for American Airlines) and Stacy (a
former newspaper reporter). Her maternal grandmother was
an English dancer in the theater district in the West
End of London, England, and her maternal grandfather was
Jewish; her father has Irish and Cherokee heritage.
Moore has two brothers, Scott and Kyle; she grew up in
Seminole County, Florida, outside of Orlando, moving
there shortly after her birth. Moore was raised a
Catholic, and attended Bishop Moore Catholic High School
and Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs.
Mandy Moore's interest in singing grew after seeing the
musical Oklahoma!. Mandy subsequently sang the National
Anthem at a few athletic events, and was spotted and
signed on to a record deal with Sony Records after
recording a demo at the age of 14. Throughout 1999,
Moore toured with The Backstreet Boys.
Mandy Moore, fifteen years-old at the time, released her
first album, So Real, on December 7, 1999. The album
reached a peak of #31 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album
chart. At the time of her album's release, Moore was
considered only the latest in a quickly-growing series
of heavily-marketed 'pop princesses' akin to Britney
Spears, Christina Aguilera and Jessica Simpson. Moore
was the last (and youngest) of the four to reach
mainstream radio, and was initially not as successful as
her peers. Still, So Real was certified platinum in the
US by early 2000 and sold 943,000 copies; Her debut single, "Candy," peaked at
#41 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold.
A follow-up single, "Walk Me Home," was also released,
but to less success. Moore also released the title
track, "So Real," outside the States.
Mandy Moore's vocal category is
Soubrette. Her highest note is G5 and her lowest note is
A3. Her vocal range is approximately two octaves.
Mandy Moore released a re-worked version of her debut album
entitled I Wanna Be With You on May 9, 2000, only six
months after So Real's release. The album included
several new songs, along with tracks from So Real, as
well as a couple of remixed songs. Some criticized it as
a remix album and not a true followup. The album reached
a peak of #21 on the Billboard 200; it was later
certified gold in the US and sold 792,000 copies. The title track was the only single and
reached a peak of #17 on the Hot 100, Moore's highest
peak to date. The song was also featured in the film
Center Stage (2000).
Mandy Moore released the self-titled album Mandy Moore
on June 19, 2001. The album received mixed reviews and
debuted at a disappointing #35 on the Billboard 200. It
was later certified gold in the US and sold 443,000
copies. The album's main producer
was Tim Mitchell. The lead single, "In My Pocket", was
tinged with a Middle-Eastern sound, along with a
colorful video; it failed to make a dent in the charts,
however, missing the Hot 100 completely. The song was a
popular dance success not only in the States but also a
commercial hit in Australia, Thailand, and other
countries. Moore performed "In My Pocket" live many
times, including once at the 2001 Fox network television
special, "Teenapalooza".
The follow-up single, "Crush", also failed to chart,
although the music video received considerable airtime
on MTV. It went on to be Moore's first number one video
on TRL, where she also performed the song live. The
final single, "Cry", was released in early 2002 and
tied-in with the film A Walk to Remember, which was
Moore's debut as a lead actress. It also failed to
perform well on the charts. The album sold well in
Eastern Asia, however, and the songs "17" and "Saturate
Me" were both released as singles overseas.
Mandy Moore looks back at her old pop days with ill feelings,
saying "If I had the money, I would give a refund to
everyone who bought my first two albums", but has
also said they were appropriate for her age.
On October 21, 2003, Moore released
her fourth album, Coverage. The record consisted
entirely of cover songs from the 1970s and '80s that
Moore was influenced by as a child, as well as songs
that she had recently discovered. The album peaked at
#14 on the Billboard 200 (her highest ranking to date),
but "Have a Little Faith in Me" (the only released
single) failed to perform well on the charts. A video
was made for the song "Drop the Pilot", though it was
not released as a single in the US. Her cover of "I Feel
The Earth Move" also appeared on Love Rocks, a
compilation CD of songs from gay rights supporters.
Due to disappointing
sales for Coverage, Moore was dropped from Sony's Epic
Records. As a last obligation to Moore's contract, Sony
released The Best of Mandy Moore on November 16, 2004,
which included all of Moore's biggest hits from the past
five years. However, due to little promotion, the album
only reached #148 on the Billboard 200.
Another compilation album, Candy was released around the
time Moore began working on her 2006 album. It was
released with no promotion and never appeared on the
charts. This was the final release of Moore's music from
Epic Records. To date, Moore has sold more than 6
million albums worldwide.
A new studio album from Moore will be released in the
spring of 2006 through Warner's Sire Records. According
to "Instyle Magazine" (2/06), the title of the album is
Slummin' In Paradise. The album was co-written by
singers Michelle Branch, Rachael Yamagata, and Lori
McKenna. Moore will also collaborate with Adam Duritz,
Chantal Kreviazuk, and James Renald who wrote Hey! and
her single "Cry". The first single has yet to be
released.
Between 2000 and 2001, Mandy Moore hosted a talk show, the
Mandy Moore Show, on MTV. She performed a remix to her
song "So Real" on that show to futher promote I Wanna Be
With You.
In 2001, Moore appeared in a small part as the mean and
popular cheerleader Lana Thomas opposite actresses Anne
Hathaway and Julie Andrews in the film The Princess
Diaries. In the movie, Moore's character performs a song
from the film's soundtrack, "Stupid Cupid".
In 2002, Mandy Moore had her first
starring role in a major feature film in A Walk to
Remember, opposite actor Shane West. The movie, based on
the novel by Nicholas Sparks, revolves around the
developing romance between a Protestant minister's
daughter (played by Moore) and an unruly teenager. The
film was considered a moderate success, bringing in $41
million and establishing Moore's status as a lead
actress.
The soundtrack for the film featured four songs by Moore
("Cry", "Someday We'll Know", "It's Gonna Be Love" and
"Only Hope"). Moore won an award for Breakthrough Female
Performance at that summer's MTV Movie Awards, as well
as Choice Female Breakout Performance and Choice
Chemistry (with Shane West) at the Teen Choice Awards.
In 2002, she also voiced the Final Fantasy VII character
Aerith Gainsborough in the Square Enix-Disney crossover
video game Kingdom Hearts. She didn't, however, reprise
the role for the sequel.
In March 2002, Mandy Moore was featured in Elton John's video
for "Original Sin". That year, she was also ranked #67
in Stuff magazine's "102 S--iest Women In The World."
In 2003, Mandy Moore starred in the romantic comedy film How
to Deal. The movie failed to draw in the teenage crowds
in the US and grossed a total of $14 million. Moore's
next film was 2004's Chasing Liberty, a romantic comedy
which only grossed $12 million. Later that summer, she
appeared in a lead role in the low-budget satire on
religion, Saved!, playing Hilary Faye, a popular "good
girl" at a Christian school. The film, which did not
receive a wide release, was positively reviewed. Moore
received praise for her performance, with one critic
commenting that she was a "demented delight", and
another saying that it was her best performance to date. In 2005, Moore lent her voice to the movie
Racing Stripes.
Mandy Moore has also appeared on the television series,
Entourage, and guest-starred in two episodes of
boyfriend Zach Braff's comedy Scrubs in 2006. She will
also be lending her voice to The Simpsons, playing a
dominatrix named "Tabitha Vixx". The airdate of the
episode has yet to be confirmed.
Her future film roles include American Dreamz (which
opens on April 21, 2006), as well as Southland Tales,
Because I Said So (opposite
Piper Perabo and Diane
Keaton), and Dedication, all of which are currently
slated for a 2006 release. Moore was also originally
supposed to appear in the upcoming ensemble film
Bobby,
but was replaced by actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead.
In May 2006, Mandy Moore will begin filming a romantic comedy
entitled License to Wed, in which she portrays a young
bride who has to complete a two-week prenup course
before her wedding. The film, co-starring John Krasinski
as her fiance and Robin Williams as a minister, will be
filmed in Mexico and Los Angeles.
Mandy was a Neutrogena spokesperson, appearing in
commercials as well as print ads for the product. She
has also modeled for Coach handbags in Japan and for
the clothing brand, Penshoppe, in the Philippines.
Moore is also the spokesperson for the School and Youth
Programs of The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
Mandy dated actor Wilmer Valderrama for eighteen months
between 2000 and 2002; in 2006, Valderrama appeared on
the Howard Stern Show and claimed that himself and Moore
were each other's "first loves", although he did not
claim that their relationship was s--ual, as was alleged
by several media sources who had misquoted his
exact comments. In 2002, Moore started dating tennis
star Andy Roddick. The couple were together for 16
months, hardly spending time together due to Moore's
film schedule; Roddick ended the relationship in March
of 2004. She also dated Philippines-born singer/actor
Billy Crawford for a "few months" when she was younger.
In 2004, Mandy Moore began dating Scrubs actor Zach Braff. The
two met at a fundraising event for the Democratic Party
around the time of the November 2004 election. In early
2006, unnamed sources told In Touch magazine that the
couple were engaged. Braff called this a "total internet
rumor" and Moore's representative denied the engagement.
Moore's favorite musicians are Elton John,
Janet
Jackson,
Madonna and Bette Midler; Midler is also
Moore's favorite actress, and her film Beaches is
Moore's favorite film. Moore is friends with the
Osbourne family, and in 2003 frequently appeared in
episodes of their MTV reality show, The Osbournes.