American Red Cross Announces 2005 Celebrity Cabinet

As the American Red Cross responds to the tsunami relief efforts, it is announcing 13 new celebrities who will raise awareness of organization’s lifesaving work

WASHINGTON, Thursday, January 13, 2005 — The American Red Cross is unveiling its fourth annual National Celebrity Cabinet. Members have committed to volunteer for one year to promote awareness of Red Cross services and activities nationwide and to encourage individuals to donate time, blood and money. The extraordinarily talented individuals recruited for this cabinet represent an exceptional combination of well-respected actors, musical artists, television personalities and a Broadway star.

“The Red Cross is grateful that so many celebrities are lending their time to help our humanitarian mission,” said Marsha J. Evans, President and CEO of the American Red Cross. “Last year celebrities helped raise awareness of Red Cross lifesaving activities and the importance of donating blood and generated overall excitement about the importance of Red Cross. We are equally honored that so many celebrities believe the Red Cross is a worthy cause and have decided to rejoin the cabinet.”

The following thirteen individuals are new additions to the 2005 National Celebrity Cabinet:

• Keiko Agena – Acting since the age of 10, Agena was recently presented with the Ammy Award, honoring Asians and Asian American achievement in film and television, for her role as Rory Gilmore's brainy and somewhat eccentric best friend Lane Kim on the WB hit TV show “Gilmore Girls.” Before landing her role on “Gilmore Girls,” Agena had recurring and guest roles on such shows as “ER,” “Felicity” and “Beverly Hills 90210.”
• Drake Bell – Starring in Nickelodeon's “Drake and Josh,” Bell is not only a talented actor but also a gifted musician who composes all of the music his character performs on the show, including the “Drake & Josh” theme song. His freshman album, Telegraph, will be in stores this spring.
• Giselle Blondet – For the last six years she has co-hosted “Despierta America” (Wake up America), the highly rated Univision morning show. In February, she will launch her own series on primetime for Univision. Giselle has recently written her first book titled "Con los pies sobre la tierra", which translates into "With your feet firmly on the ground" and is currently on the Best Sellers List.
• Andres Cantor – “Gooooal” call punctuates his fast-paced work when calling soccer matches, is the leading sports anchor for the Telemundo Network. He made his English language debut as the play-by-play announcer for NBC Sports during the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Cantor can be heard daily on his syndicated radio program, Futbol de Primera, which is broadcast in over 100 markets in the U.S.
• Sara Evans – Multi-platinum RCA recording artist Sara Evans is a Country Music Association award-winner as well as a world-class singer and songwriter. Her hits include "Born to Fly," "Perfect," and most recently, "Suds in the Bucket." Billboard magazine has called her "country's next female superstar."
• Melissa Gilbert - Gilbert stole America's heart at age nine when she joined the cast of Little House on the Prairie. Since then she has  demonstrated her versatility and in-depth knowledge of the entertainment industry by continuing to act as well as direct and produce. She is currently serving her second consecutive term as the 23rd president of Screen Actors Guild.
• George Foreman - Heavy weight champion, Foreman became the oldest champion ever in any weight division in 1994 and since that time has become a household name to a new generation – selling more than 60 million grills in the process. Although he keeps busy as a spokesman for many companies, he continues to makes time for his congregation and his community.
• Kristin Kreuk – In 2001, Kreuk landed not only a starring role in the WB's “Smallville” but the title role in the ABC television movie “Snow White.” Recently she starred in the miniseries “Earthsea” opposite Isabella Rossellini, Shawn Ashmore and Danny Glover, and she continues to be a spokesperson for Neutrogena.
• Patti LaBelle – Grammy Award winning recording artist and legendary entertainer, LaBelle continues to enjoy a career that spawns hits in a variety of genres ranging from girl group pop to space-age funk to lush, contemporary ballads.
• Spike Lee – One of Hollywood's most important and influential filmmaker's, Lee's work includes the Academy Award nominated film “Do The Right Thing,” as well as, “She's Gotta Have It,” “Malcolm X” and “Summer of Sam,” among others.
• Julianne Moore – Academy award nominee Moore is an actress of great versatility who has proven herself to be equally adept in both mainstream blockbusters and smaller independent films. Since her entrance into the big-screen in 1990, Moore's resume includes countless films such as “Far From Heaven,” “The Hours,” “Hannibal,” and “Boogie Nights” among others.
• Phylicia Rashad – A recent Tony and Drama Desk Award winner for her role as Lena Younger in “A Raisin In The Sun,” Rashad is a talented Broadway actress who has appeared in numerous shows including “Jelly's Last Jam,” “Into the Woods,” “Dreamgirls” and “The Wiz,” among others. She is well known to television audiences for her role as Claire Huxtable on “The Cosby Show.”
• Gabriela Spanic – Gabriela Spanic is one of the most recognized novela actresses worldwide, having appeared in 16 telenovelas. Her 1998 telenovela, La Usurpadora, broke all the records with audiences and it became one of the most popular telenovelas ever. Her telenovelas are being aired in more than 120 countries and translated into more than 28 languages with huge ratings.

Sherry Lansing, chairman and CEO, Motion Picture Group, Paramount Pictures, and member of the Red Cross Board of Governors, has once again agreed to chair this year's Celebrity Cabinet. “I am pleased these celebrities are participating in such a worthwhile cause,” Lansing noted. “The Red Cross plays a vital role in communities nationwide – I know this talented cabinet will help people realize the relevance of the Red Cross in their everyday lives.”

Returning Celebrity Cabinet members include:
Jim Cantore; Dakota Fanning; Leeza Gibbons; Cuba Gooding, Jr.; Jimmie Johnson; Heidi Klum; Nicole Miller; Peyton Manning; Julianna Margulies; Marlee Matlin; Chi McBride; Tim McGraw; Nancy O'Dell; Rascal Flatts; Marco Antonio Regil; Al Roker; Christina Sanchez; Jane Seymour; and Randy Travis. Brief bios on these celebrity cabinet members can be found on the link below.

For celebrity quotes, please visit http://www.redcross.org/news/other/entertainment/natcelebcab/quotes.asp

Celebrity Cabinet members will help the Red Cross in a variety of ways such as taping public service announcements, participating in select Red Cross functions, donating items to auctions and participating in opportunities to raise awareness and visibility of the organization's lifesaving activities. Several of our cabinet members are supporting the Red Cross' Tsunami relief efforts. Jane Seymour taped a radio public service announcement and Marlee Matlin has a banner on her web site. Andres Cantor and Gabriela Spanic will participate in Telemundo's tsunami benefit special entitled “UNIDOS CON EL MUNDO” (United with the World), joining forces with parent company NBC. The one-hour program will be hosted by Telemundo star Candela Ferro and air live on the East coast and tape delayed for the West coast on Saturday, January 15 at 8PM.

Several other cabinet members have already begun immersing themselves in programs and services, including Tim McGraw who donated proceeds from his August 21 concert in Orlando, Florida, raising more than $285,000.00 for the Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund. Steve Harvey, Peyton Manning and Nancy O'Dell all taped broadcast voice mail messages to encourage people to donate blood, and Julianna Margulies, Nancy O'Dell and Christina Sanchez taped public service announcements to support Red Cross programs.

Governed by volunteers and supported by community donations, the American Red Cross is a nationwide network of nearly 900 field units dedicated to saving lives and helping people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Led by 1 million volunteers and 36,000 employees, the Red Cross annually mobilizes relief to families affected by more than 70,000 disasters, trains almost 12 million people in lifesaving skills and keeps U.S. military families connected worldwide. The Red Cross is the largest supplier of blood and blood products to more than 3,000 hospitals across the nation and also assists victims of international disasters and conflicts at locations worldwide. Marsha J. Evans is the President and CEO of the American Red Cross.