Mandy Moore (born April 10, 1984) is an American pop singer, songwriter, actress, and fashion designer.

Moore grew up in Florida and came to fame as a teenager in the early 2000s, after the release of her teen-oriented pop albums So Real, I Wanna Be with You, and Mandy Moore. She has branched out into a film career, starring in 2002's A Walk to Remember and later appearing in the lead roles of other movies also aimed at teenage audiences. Two of her later films, American Dreamz and Saved!, were satires in which she portrayed darker characters than in her previous roles. Moore's private life, including her relationships with tennis player Andy Roddick as well as with actors Wilmer Valderrama and Zach Braff, has been much discussed in the media.

Biography

Mandy Moore's fifth album, Wild Hope, was released in 2007.

Mandy Moore was born in Nashua, New Hampshire, the daughter of Stacy, a former news reporter who once worked for the Orlando Sentinel, and Don Moore, a pilot for American Airlines. Moore's father is of Irish and Cherokee descent and her mother is of English and Jewish ancestry. Moore has two brothers, Scott and Kyle; she grew up in Altamonte Springs, Florida, outside of Orlando, moving there shortly after her birth because of her father's job as an airline pilot. She was raised in the Catholic religion (although she is no longer a practicing Catholic) and attended Bishop Moore High School, a Catholic school in Orlando, as well as Lake Brantley High School in Altamonte Springs.

Mandy Moore's interest in singing grew after seeing the musical Oklahoma!; she was also encouraged to perform by her maternal grandmother, who was her inspiration. Some of Moore's first public exposure occurred when she sang the national anthem at several Florida sporting events. She subsequently came to the attention of the head of A&R at Epic Records after his friend, a FedEx employee, overheard her as she sang at a recording studio. She was then signed to a record deal with the label.

Mandy Moore toured with the Backstreet Boys throughout 1999. Her first album, So Real, was released in December that year and reached #31 on the U.S. Billboard 200 album chart. At the time of the album's release, reviewers considered Moore the latest in a series of heavily-marketed female singers described as "pop princesses", akin to Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, and Jessica Simpson. Entertainment Weekly's review noted that Moore's songs, revolving around "not-yet-experienced love", were performed with "suffocating professionalism", and that the album's ballads were "nauseating". Moore reached mainstream radio later and at a younger age than Simpson, Aguilera and Spears had, and was initially not as successful as they were, although So Real was certified platinum in the U.S. in early 2000 and sold nearly one million copies. Moore's debut teen-oriented pop hit single "Candy", which Yahoo! Movies described as "strangely provocative", peaked just outside the top forty on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and was certified gold. The single was more successful in Europe especially in the UK where it reached number 6. Allmusic noted the single was "mediocre" and "typical", containing lyrics that described love "in terms of sugar treats". The video for Candy features a "blink and you'll miss it" cameo from a young Scarlett Johansson, as a girl on a swingset.

Mandy Moore released I Wanna Be with You, a re-worked version of her debut album, in May 2000. The album, which was mostly completed with synthesizers, bass, guitar, and drums, comprised new songs alongside tracks and remixes from So Real. Several reviewers criticized it on the basis that it was a remix album and not a true follow-up, with Allmusic writing that its style was "trashier, flashier, gaudier, and altogether more disposable" than its predecessor. It peaked at #21 on the Billboard 200, was certified gold in the U.S. and sold nearly 792,000 copies. The title track "I Wanna Be with You" was the album's only single and reached #24 on the Hot 100, Moore's highest peak to date. It was also featured on the soundtrack of the film Center Stage (2000).

Mandy Moore released the self-titled album Mandy Moore — which included the songs "Saturate Me" (an R&B ballad), "You Remind Me" and "In My Pocket" — in June 2001. She promoted the album with her first headlining concert, "Mandy Moore Live@ShoutBack". The album contained uptempo tracks and influences from Eastern music, and was described as a "lush, layered production" by Allmusic. It received mixed reviews from critics, although Entertainment Weekly noted that Moore tried out "new sounds" and "a breathy Natalie Imbruglia vibe on the album ... as teen pop goes, it could be a lot worse", while Rolling Stone magazine positively described Moore as "more protorocker than R&B wanna-be" and specified that she was taking the "high road" compared to her first two albums. The album debuted at number thirty-five on the Billboard 200, was later certified gold in the U.S. and sold 443,000 copies. Lead single "In My Pocket", which Entertainment Weekly said contained "pumping, Indian influenced Euro disco", did not appear on the Hot 100; Moore performed the song live several times, including on the 2001 Fox network television special Teenapalooza. The album's follow-up single, "Crush", also failed to appear on the U.S. chart, although MTV aired the music video frequently (it was Moore's first number-one video on TRL). The early 2002 release of the final single, "Cry", tied in with the film A Walk to Remember, Moore's debut as a lead actress.

In 2006, Mandy Moore commented on her early albums with ill feelings, noting that although she believed that her first album was appropriate for her age, she felt it "sucked" and that her first albums were "just awful". Moore also said that she "would give a refund to everyone who bought my first two albums" if she could; during a radio interview in April 2006, the show's co-host (who had seen her comments) asked her for a refund on the first album, a request that Moore fulfilled.

Coverage (2003), Moore's fourth album, is her personal favorite. In October 2003, Moore released her fourth album Coverage, which Allmusic characterized as a "leap to musical maturity" and which Entertainment Weekly called an "effort to shed her bubblegum-blond image". It consisted of covers of 1970s and 1980s songs that influenced Moore as a child; Moore noted that she did not want to "top the original artist(s)", but rather offer her "own interpretation" of their music. Entertainment Weekly described the album's style as "overblown with strings, turntable scratching, and arena rock pomp", while E! Online said that Moore's voice has grown "stronger" and that she "sounds at home" performing the re-mixes. Coverage peaked at number fourteen on the Billboard 200 (her highest ranking to date), but "Have a Little Faith in Me" and "Senses Working Overtime", its only two singles, did not perform well on the charts, although the former did reach the ARC Weekly Top 40. A video was produced for "Drop the Pilot", but it was never released. Moore's cover of "I Feel the Earth Move" appeared on Love Rocks, a compilation CD of songs from gay rights supporters.

Due to low sales for Coverage, Sony's Epic Records dropped Moore. The company released the hits compilation album The Best of Mandy Moore, which reached number 148 on the Billboard 200, in November 2004 as a final obligation to Moore's contract. Another compilation, Candy, followed in 2005. During this time period, the only music Moore had recorded was a song demo, "Hey!", written by James Renald, and a cover version of Lori McKenna's "Beautiful Man", which was posted to her MySpace.

Wild Hope, Mandy Moore's most recent album, released in June 2007.In early 2006, Moore stated that she missed her music career and that singing is what she was the "most passionate about". Moore had signed to Sire Records after her contract with Epic Records ended, but left the company in May 2006. She signed with a new EMI Music-owned record company, The Firm, in July that year, describing her new contract as "especially exciting", and adding that she left Sire Records because she did not want to "follow the mainstream", but rather have "complete control and freedom" over her work. Moore's new album, Wild Hope, was released on June 19, 2007, and includes collaborations with artists Chantal Kreviazuk, Rachael Yamagata, Lori McKenna and The Weepies. Moore stayed alone in a house in Woodstock in Upstate New York while recording the album in late 2006. She performed new material from Wild Hope at the Sundance Film Festival; her first single, "Extraordinary", premiered on her MySpace profile on January 29, 2007. Moore performed the song at the Brick Awards on April 12, 2007 and launched a tour in the summer of 2007.

Mandy has since dismissed her earlier albums in an interview with Jane magazine: "I feel bad that people wasted their money on such trite, blah pop music."

Mandy Moore filmed a music video for "Extraordinary" in early March 2007; she appears as 120 versions of herself in the video. The album was released in the USA in June 2007 to generally positive reviews. It fared moderately well on the charts, debuting at number thirty on the Billboard 200 (Moore's third highest charting album in the U.S.), and at number 84 in Canada. In August 2007, Moore toured with Paula Cole, and Rachael Yamagata, playing at mid-size venues in the United States and Canada. Wild Hope was placed at number 10 on Entertainment Weekly's "The Must List" and also named Reader's Choice for that August 10 issue, two months after its release.

Mandy Moore surprised many with a free concert in Boston on July 18, 2007. Moore sang several songs from her newest album, Wild Hope.

On February 23, 2008, Moore released Wild Hope in Australia, and subsequently toured with Ben Lee and the West Australian Symphony Orchestra in Western Australia, supporting Kelly Clarkson on her tour. Mandy's last stop on her Pacific Tour was at Eastwood City in the Philippines. After her 2007 album "Wild Hope" didn't manage to make it into any big charts, Mandy has stated in an interview she is hoping to release a new album by fall 2008 saying "I'm going back to my pop roots" Moore, it has been reported, will be working on her new album release with John Shanks, Kara Dioguardi and Eddie Galan.

During the summer of 2000, Moore hosted a half-hour MTV talk show, The Mandy Moore Show, which resumed in the summer of 2001 under the title Mandy. Moore was also a Neutrogena spokesperson, appearing in commercials and print ads for the product. She has modeled for Penshoppe in the Philippines, Coach handbags in Japan, and was a spokesperson for the School and Youth Programs of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.

In 2001, Mandy 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. During the film, Moore's character performs "Stupid Cupid", a song from the film's soundtrack. In 2002, Moore had her first starring role in a major feature film in A Walk to Remember, which co-starred Shane West. Based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks, the film revolved around the developing romance between a Protestant minister's daughter (Moore) and an unruly teenager (West). The film was moderately successful, bringing in $41 million in the United States, and establishing Moore's status as a lead actress. Although the film was released to negative reviews, Moore received several positive notices for her performance, with critic Roger Ebert calling her "quietly convincing". At that summer's MTV Movie Awards, Moore won an award for "Breakthrough Female Performance" for the role. The same year, she voiced the Final Fantasy VII character Aerith Gainsborough in the Square-Disney crossover video game Kingdom Hearts, was featured in the music video for Elton John's "Original Sin", and was ranked number sixty-seven in Stuff magazine's "102 S--iest Women in the World".

In 2003, Mandy Moore starred in the romantic comedy film How to Deal, which failed to draw in teenage crowds in the U.S. and grossed a total of $14–million domestically. Her next film was 2004's Chasing Liberty, a romantic comedy that grossed approximately $12 million. Both films received negative reviews; Ebert once again singled Moore's performances out, noting in his review of How to Deal that Moore has "an unaffected natural charm" and "almost makes the movie worth seeing", and adding in his Chasing Liberty review that she has "undeniable screen presence and inspires instant affection". Other critics described her as an "actress of limited range", though one review of Chasing Liberty noted that she is the "most painless of former pop princesses". Later in 2004, Moore appeared in a lead role in the religion satire Saved!, in which she played Hilary Faye, a proper and popular girl at a Christian school. The film was positively reviewed, though it did not receive a wide release. Moore received praise for her performance, with one critic calling her a "demented delight" and another naming it her best performance to date.

In 2005, Mandy Moore lent her voice to the film Racing Stripes and appeared on the television series Entourage; she was also originally scheduled to star in the films Cursed, Havoc, and The Upside of Anger, all of which were eventually released in 2005 without Moore's involvement.

In 2006, Mandy Moore guest-starred in two episodes of Scrubs. The same year, she lent her voice to The Simpsons, playing Tabitha Vixx in the episode Marge and Homer Turn a Couple Play which aired in May. Moore also appeared in the parody American Dreamz, which was released in April 2006. In the film, she played a deranged contestant on a television series modeled after American Idol. Director Paul Weitz stated that he had Moore in mind for the role before she was cast, explaining that "there's something inherently sweet about Mandy; it makes it all the more interesting to see her in a villainess role". Moore has said that she enjoys playing mean-spirited characters but fears being typecast as a villain. American Dreamz opened at number nine at the U.S. box office, eventually totaling barely $7 million, and received mixed reviews; critic Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly, however, wrote that Moore and co-star Hugh Grant have a "wicked barbed chemistry" in their roles, while Variety's Robert Koehler said Moore's role was a "pitch-perfect study of a woman for whom a reality show is reality". Later that year, in what ComingSoon.net's review described as a "surprisingly good performance", Moore voiced Nita, the heroine of the Disney animated sequel Brother Bear 2, which was released directly-to-DVD on August 29. She was also originally cast to appear in that year's ensemble film Bobby, but was replaced by Mary Elizabeth Winstead.

Mandy Moore has expressed dissatisfaction with the cover's "racy" headlines. Moore, citing her conservative upbringing, has expressed dissatisfaction with her appearance on a May 2006 cover of Cosmopolitan; the magazine's headline is "orgasms unlimited", which refers to an article unrelated to her. Ironically in her next movie, Because I Said So, co-starring Gabriel Macht, Lauren Graham and Diane Keaton, Moore's character describes in detail the feeling of an orgasm to her mother, Keaton's character. It was released on February 2, 2007 and received mixed reviews. In License to Wed, Moore portrays a young bride-to-be who has to complete a three-week prenup course before her wedding. Co-starring John Krasinski as her fiancé and Robin Williams as a minister, the film was released on July 3, 2007 to mostly negative reviews.

Mandy Moore has branched into the fashion world with her own fashion line named Mblem., a brand of contemporary knitwear and cashmere. The line is sold in over 500 specialty boutiques including Ron Herman and Lisa Kline and in some department stores such as Macy's West, Bloomingdales and Nordstrom.

Mandy Moore dated actor Wilmer Valderrama for eighteen months between 2000 and 2002; in 2006, Valderrama appeared on The Howard Stern Show and detailed that he 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. Moore later referred to Valderrama as a "good guy" and a "gentleman", although she has stated that his comments about their relationship were "utterly tacky". Moore began dating tennis star Andy Roddick in 2002; Roddick ended the relationship in March 2004. Moore 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, whom she met around November 2004. Referring to Braff, Moore said that she likes "good Jewish boy(s)... with a sense of humor". In 2006, the two were incorrectly reported to be engaged; they ended their relationship the same year. In early 2007, media reports linked Moore to Adam Goldstein, known professionally as "DJ AM", though the two were reported to have ended their relationship in March 2007. Also in 2007, she briefly dated actor/singer Greg Laswell. Moore was most recently dating singer-songwriter Ryan Adams, formerly of the alt-country band Whiskeytown.

Mandy Moore's favorite musicians include Elton John, Switchfoot and Bette Midler; Midler is also Moore's favorite actress, and her film Beaches was Moore's favorite film when she was a teenager. Moore also enjoys Annie Hall and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and has described herself as a "glass-half-full kind of person". She says she does not know how to cook, but has set a goal for herself to take cooking classes.

Mandy Moore has also become a fan of mixed martial arts, often attending UFC events and being noted as one of the mainstream celebrities on hand. When shown at UFC 83, from Montreal, Canada, color commentator Joe Rogan jokingly referred to her as a "UFC groupie". She was next seen at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 24, 2008 for UFC 84, with play-by-play announcer Mike Goldberg observing that "She's becoming a UFC regular." She was seen at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on July 6, 2008 for UFC 86, cheering for light heavyweight contender Forrest Griffin and most recently at UFC: Silva vs. Irvin on July 19, 2008.

As to her religious beliefs, Mandy Moore considers herself spiritual, and has said that she does not think of herself as either Catholic or Christian. In early 2007, Moore stated that during the previous year, she had undergone a "really crazy time" in her life, asking herself "life-altering questions".

This Mandy Moore Biography Page is Copyright © 2004 - 2009 Chuck Ayoub