The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce was honored to present actresses Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel with the 2,681st and 2,682nd stars with special double star ceremony on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Tuesday, November 19, 2019. PDT. The stars have been dedicated in the categories of Motion Pictures and Live Theatre/Live Performance respectively 6225 Hollywood in front of the Pantages Theatre.

Idina Menzel was born in New York. She started her career at the age of 15 when she began working as a wedding and bar mitzvah singer. This job carried her throughout her time at the renowned Tisch School of Arts where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Drama.

Menzel is a powerhouse of talent: a singer, an actor in film and TV, a songwriter, a Broadway star and a philanthropist. She rose to fame for her role as ‘Maureen’ in the popular Broadway musical “RENT”, and her career took off when she won a Tony Award for her role as ‘Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West,’ in the smash musical, “WICKED”. Her voice can be heard as ‘Elsa’ in Disney’s Oscar® winning Frozen, the second highest grossing animated film of all time, with more than $1.2 billion in worldwide box office revenue. The film’s signature song “Let It Go,” voiced by Menzel, became an instant international phenomenon, winning the Oscar® for Best Original Song – where Menzel performed it at the ceremony – and the Grammy® Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media. The track reached #5 on the Billboard Hot 100, making Menzel the first artist with both a Billboard Top 10 hit and a Tony Award for acting. Menzel’s new holiday album, “Christmas: A Season of Love,” was released on October 18th and later this year she will also reprise her leading role as ‘Elsa’ in Frozen 2. This winter, she also joins Adam Sandler in the Safdie Brothers’ A24 film Uncut Gems.

A skillful songwriter, Menzel’s prolific recording career includes multiple cast albums and the solo albums: Still I Can’t Be Still, Here, I Stand, and her latest album Idina., which was released September 2016 on Warner Bros Records. marks Menzel’s first original studio album since 2008’s I Stand, and its first two singles “I See You” and “Queen of Swords” are available everywhere now. The album was met with rave reviews, debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Holiday Albums chart and gave Menzel a Top 10 album on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart.

Menzel was previously seen on Broadway in the original production IF/THEN, for which she earned her third Tony nomination. “If/Then” which was followed by a nationwide tour. She also appeared as ‘Sheila’ in the Encores! production of “Hair” and starred as ‘Amneris’ in Broadway’s “Aida”. In London, she premiered the Broadway hit WICKED in the West End and received the Theatregoers Choice Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She also starred in Michael John LaChiusa’s musical “See What I Wanna See.”
Philanthropy is also important to Menzel, who co-founded the A BroaderWay Foundation in 2010. The organization is dedicated to offering girls from underserved communities an outlet for self-expression and creativity through arts-centered programs. The emphasis is on building self-esteem, developing leadership qualities and striving for personal and social achievement.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce which administers the popular star ceremonies encourages people who are unable to attend and fans around the world to watch the event exclusively on www.walkoffame.com.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce is proud to announce that film director Guillermo del Toro was honored with the 2,669th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Tuesday, August 6, 2019.

“Guillermo del Toro is a director with one of the most creative and vivid imaginations. He has his pulse on a realm of fantasy that has captivated and astounded audiences!” said Ana Martinez, Producer of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce is proud to honor him for his historic film work!” Martinez added.

Helping Emcee Rana Ghadban, President & CEO of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce to unveil the star will be director J.J. Abrams and singer/songwriter Lana Del Rey.

Guillermo del Toro is among the most creative and visionary artists of his generation whose distinctive style is showcased through his work as a filmmaker, screenwriter, producer and author. Born in Guadalajara, Mexico, he first gained worldwide recognition for the 1993 Mexican American co-production “Cronos,” a supernatural horror film, which he directed from his own screenplay after beginning his career working as a special effects makeup artist. The film premiered at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival, where it won the Mercedes-Benz Award. It also won over 20 international awards and eight Ariel Awards from the Mexican Academy of Film, including Best Director, Best Screenplay, and the Golden Ariel.

Del Toro’s latest producing project is the CBS Films, eOne and Lionsgate feature “Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark,” based on the books by Alvin Schwartz. André Øvredal directed the film which will be released in theaters everywhere August 9, 2019.

Through his overall deal with DreamWorks Animation, he has been an executive producer on the films “Kung Fu Panda 2 and 3,” “Puss in Boots 1 and 2” and “Rise of the Guardians.” He produced “The Book of Life,” for Fox Animation and ReelFX. His DreamWorks animated series “TrollHunters” is the most successful family series on Netflix. Under his overall deal with Fox Searchlight, he is currently producing “Antlers” (directed by Scott Cooper and starring Keri Russell. Del Toro’s next live action film is the period thriller “Nightmare Alley” which he will direct, produce and co-write for Searchlight. His most recent film, the contemporary fairy tale “The Shape of Water,” for Fox Searchlight, premiered at the 2017 Venice Film Festival, where it won the Golden Lion for Best Picture. It went on to win Golden Globes, BAFTAs, DGA, PGA and Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Score and Best Production Design.

Del Toro is also producing, co-writing and co-directing his stop motion adaptation of “Pinocchio” for Netflix Animation. His subsequent films include, “Mimic,” “The Devil’s Backbone,” “Blade II,” “Hellboy,” “Hellboy II: The Golden Army,” “Pacific Rim” and “Crimson Peak”. The filmmaker earned international acclaim as the director, writer and producer of the 2006 fantasy drama “Pan’s Labyrinth.” He was honored with an Oscar® nomination for his original screenplay for the film. The film won Academy Awards® for Art Direction, Cinematography, and Makeup. In all, the film garnered more than 40 international awards and appeared on more than 35 critics’ lists of the year’s best films. His most recent film, the contemporary fairy tale “The Shape of Water,” for Fox Searchlight, premiered at the 2017 Venice Film Festival, where it won the Golden Lion for Best Picture. It went on to win Golden Globes, BAFTAs, DGA, PGA and Academy Awards®, including Oscars for Best Picture, Best Direction, Best Score and Best Production Design.

With novelist Chuck Hogan, the multi-hyphenate co-authored the vampire horror trilogy “The Strain” with all three books debuting as New York Times top-ten bestsellers. Del Toro and Hogan are also the creators of FX Networks’ hit series based on “The Strain” novels. Del Toro directed the opening episode and served as an Executive Producer on the series. Currently, he is also developing a series based on Naoki Urasawa’s acclaimed manga series “Monster” for Sony Television. He will also produce the horror anthology “Guillermo del Toro’s 10 After Midnight” for Netflix Television.

In 2013, Harper Design and Insight Editions published Guillermo del Toro Cabinet of Curiosities, a lavishly illustrated book containing notes, drawings, and untold creatures from del Toro’s private journals and filmmaking diaries, with never-before-seen characters, art, and ideas of things to come. From this book, it was a natural progression to the unique art museum exhibition, GUILLERMO DEL TORO: AT HOME WITH MONSTERS, which appeared at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Minneapolis Institute of Art, and the Art Gallery of Ontario.
Del Toro is on the Board of Directors of The Hero Initiative which creates a financial safety net for comic creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. Since inception, the Hero Initiative has been fortunate enough to benefit creators with more than $1 million worth of much-needed aid.

The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce is honored to present acclaimed Director F. Gary Gray with the 2,665th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Tuesday, May 28, 2019. The has been dedicated in the category of Motion Pictures located at 6426 Hollywood Boulevard in front of the Hollywood Suit Store.

“F. Gary Gray is a man with a mission. He is known as one of the industry’s most prolific and versatile directors known for pushing the envelope and delivering exciting content.” said Ana Martinez, Producer of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “He is a great addition to the Hollywood Walk of Fame and we welcome him with open arms!” added Martinez.

Gary Gray, though a native of New York, was raised primarily in South Los Angeles. Throughout his career, Gray has excelled at bringing the most predominant themes from the pop culture zeitgeist to the screen. With more than 25 years in the industry, Gray has been able to consistently and successfully maneuver between genres ranging from Comedy to Thriller to Drama to Action. For this work, Gray received the prestigious “Excellence in the Arts Award” in 2017 from the American Black Film Festival. 

Gray’s films include “Law Abiding Citizen”, which starred Gerard Butler and Academy Award^® winner Jamie Foxx; “Be Cool”, based on Elmore Leonard’s best-selling novel and which starred Academy Award^® nominees John Travolta and Uma Thurman; “The Italian Job”, a visually arresting thriller with an all-star cast, including Academy Award^® winner Charlize Theron and Academy Award^® nominee Mark Wahlberg; “A Man Apart”, which starred Vin Diesel; The Negotiator, which starred Academy Award^® nominee Samuel L. Jackson; the award-winning heist picture “Set It Off”, with Jada Pinkett Smith and Academy Award^® nominee and Golden Globe winner Queen Latifah; and “Friday”, which launched the extremely popular “Friday” film franchise that starred rapper/producer Ice Cube and Chris Tucker. His film, “Straight Outta Compton” made over $160 million at the domestic box office, making Gray the highest-grossing African-American director.

Gray directed the 8^th installment of the “Fast and Furious” series (“The Fate of the Furious”) with Vin Diesel, Charlize Theron, Michelle Rodriguez, Tyrese Gibson, Chris “Ludacris” Bridges, Jason Statham, Scott Eastwood, Kurt Russell, and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.  Universal Pictures released the film in 2017 and was the No. 1 movie in the world at the domestic, international and global box office for two weeks.  It broke multiple box-office records including being the biggest global and international opening of all time with $542 million ($443.2 million international, $98.8 million domestic) and highest-grossing film from an African American director ever.  It has earned over $1.2 billion at the all-time worldwide box-office.

Away from the camera, Gray stays active in his community and has been an active supporter of numerous organizations, including the Tom Bradley Youth & Family Center, My Friend’s House Foundation and Urban Compass, among others.  He has received multiple commendations from the city of Los Angeles for his philanthropic work.  Gray also received the Presidents’ Lifetime Achievement award from the office of President Obama for his volunteer service.