Each week, we aim to bring you interesting information about interesting people in the form of short, compact biographies, which can be read on our website or listened to as a podcast episode. We hope you enjoy them.
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Whitney Houston rose from a gospel choir in Newark to become one of the most successful and influential singers in popular music. Her extraordinary voice carried songs including "Greatest Love of All", "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" and "I Will Always Love You" to audiences around the world, while The Bodyguard transformed her into a major film star. Behind the record-breaking albums and…
In this episode of Compact Biographies, we tell the life story of Tony Stark, the brilliant inventor, industrialist and hero whose name became inseparable from the armour he created. From his childhood in the shadow of Howard Stark to his leadership of Stark Industries, captivity in Afghanistan, the creation of the first Iron Man armour, his role in the Avengers, his relationship with Pepper…
In this episode of Compact Biographies, we tell the life story of Ellen Ripley, the warrant officer whose ordinary commercial voyage aboard the Nostromo became one of the most terrifying survival stories ever recorded. From her early life on Luna and her work for Weyland-Yutani to the disaster on LV-426, the loss of her daughter Amanda, her return with the Colonial Marines, her bond with Newt, and…
In this episode of Compact Biographies, we tell the life story of Hannibal Lecter, the fictional psychiatrist and killer created by Thomas Harris, as though he were a real historical figure. From his childhood in Lithuania and the trauma of war to his medical brilliance, cultivated manners, crimes, imprisonment, encounters with Will Graham and Clarice Starling, and later life as one of fiction's…
In this episode of Compact Biographies, we tell the life story of Michael Corleone, the fictional character at the centre of The Godfather saga, as though he were a real historical figure. From his early life as the youngest son of Vito and Carmela Corleone to his wartime service, relationship with Kay Adams, reluctant entry into the family business, rise as don, conflicts with rivals, betrayal…
In this episode of Compact Biographies, we tell the life story of Victor Frankenstein, the fictional scientist at the centre of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, as though he were a real historical figure. From his privileged childhood in Geneva and studies at Ingolstadt to his obsession with natural philosophy, the creation of the Creature, the deaths that followed, and his final pursuit into the…
In this episode of Compact Biographies, we tell the life story of Hermione Granger, the fictional witch from J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, as though she were a real historical figure. From her Muggle-born childhood and arrival at Hogwarts to her friendship with Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, her intelligence, courage, rule-breaking, fight against Voldemort, survival of the Second Wizarding…
In this episode of Compact Biographies, we tell the life story of Indiana Jones, the fictional archaeologist and adventurer, as though he were a real historical figure. Born Henry Walton Jones Jr., he became a scholar, professor, explorer, and reluctant hero whose life took him from classrooms and university halls to temples, deserts, battlefields, hidden tombs, and dangerous quests for ancient…
In this episode of Compact Biographies, we tell the life story of Diana Prince, the fictional Amazon princess better known as Wonder Woman, as though she were a real historical figure. From her childhood on the hidden island of Themyscira to her training among the Amazons, her decision to leave paradise, her encounters with war, humanity, gods, and mortals, and her lasting role as a symbol of…
In this episode of Compact Biographies, we tell the life story of Katniss Everdeen, the fictional heroine of Suzanne Collins's The Hunger Games, as though she were a real historical figure. From her childhood in District 12 and the death of her father to illegal hunting beyond the fence, her love for Prim, her time in the Hunger Games arena, her role as the Mockingjay, the rebellion against the…
