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cues for kids - 2007 celebrity participants

Chef Robert L. Rainford Cabral 'Cabbie' Richards Liz West Kim MacDonald Matte Babel Dwight Drummond

Aliya-Jasmine Sovani Dan Levy Gilson Lubin Elaine 'Lainey' Lui Donovan Bailey

Chef Robert L Rainford
Host of “Licence to Grill”, The Food Network

Who knows where talent comes from? Is it nature or nurture, innate or learned? For Chef Robert L Rainford it is probably a combination of the above. He has always loved food. As a child, it gave him great comfort and as an adult it fills him with great curiosity “I always thought it was a mystery how food got to taste like it did, both good and maybe not so good sometimes”

Successful television host of the “Licence To Grill” television show seen around the world, chef instructor at famed George Brown College, and motivational speaker Chef Robert L Rainford feels he is just beginning to hit his stride and is very thankful for the opportunity to share in his experiences with the mystery that is food.

Cabral “Cabbie” Richards
Host, “Cabbie on the Street”, The Score

Cabral "Cabbie" Richards was born and raised in Toronto, Ontario. As a student at Ryerson University in the Radio and Television Arts program, he found his calling in front of the camera. At The Score Television Network, he successfully pitched his own show and has gone on to interview some of the biggest athletes in sports, including Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Dwyane Wade, Jarome Iginla, Derek Jeter, David Ortiz and Jason Giambi. Currently, he is the host and producer of "Cabbie on the Street" and "Cabbie Unlimited" on The Score Television Network.

Liz West
Entertainment Reporter, "Star! Daily"

Liz West is at home on a celebrity-packed Red Carpet. A veteran of the entertainment scene and a staple of the CHUM Ltd. (now CTVglobemedia) family since 2000, Liz first joined Citytv as the "CityPulse at 6" Entertainment Specialist and hasn't looked back since! Her role has expanded to include Host of "Star! At the Movies", Entertainment Reporter for "Star! Daily", as well as Co-Host of specials such as "Star! Schmooze" and "Live! At the Genies". On Friday mornings you can catch Liz dishing the latest entertainment news on "BT-Breakfast Television" and she continues to keep "CityNews" viewers up-to-date on her favourite topics - film, television, music and the latest in celebrity news.

Prior to her role with CHUM (now CTVglobemedia), Liz promoted, marketed and developed merchandise for Michael Cohl's company, Concert Production International (CPI) before moving into television. She hosted "Kitchens and Bathrooms" for The Life Network and then became an on-air host and associate entertainment producer for "eNow" and "CanadaAM".

Kim MacDonald
Host, Morning Show, The Weather Network

"Weather affects all Canadians but for marginalized youth it can become the enemy. Extreme weather can take a toll on the homeless. I feel privileged to be a part of Cues for Kids in the on-going effort to help get these young people off the street and out of the cold."

Kim brings a whole new meaning to the expression “morning person”. Waking up before the sun does have it's benefits for Kim: “I like being the one to help you plan your day. I think when it comes to priorities, it’s coffee first for Canadians and then their weather.” Kim is well known to Weather Network viewers, making her debut on the air in May 1998… although she’s not fond of the term “veteran”! Kim has covered everything from Hurrican Katrina to Climate Change but it is the day to day forecast that most Canadians tune in for. "I feel good telling people they are going to have a great day for their wedding or ballgame." Kim started her career in morning radio where she got her start. Working in St. Catharines, Kim co-hosted the morning show and anchored the news for both 610CKTB and 97.7 HTZ. FM. She is a graduate of Brock University.

Matte Babel
Co-Host of MuchOnDemand, Host of Live@ Much specials

Cool, confident and charismatic - Matte dropped an infectious urban flava Much couldn’t resist. This Torontonian simply showed up at MuchMusic World Headquarters in 2004 and convinced the station’s top dogs he was VJ-worthy. In the days that followed, Matte continued to impress over a series of gruelling on-camera tests. Upbeat and always ready to roll, it’s clear this Libra (born October 13th) has got his Much groove on. Mariah Carey, Coldplay, P. Diddy, P!nk and James Blunt are just a few of the superstars Matte has chatted up on the channel. And thanks to his on-camera charisma, Matte was named one of Toronto’s most eligible bachelors by the National Post in 2006.

Dwight Drummond
Co-Anchor, "CityNews at Noon", Crime Specialist, "CityNews"

Born in Montego Bay, Jamaica, Dwight emigrated to Canada in 1976. Growing up in Toronto's infamous Jane and Finch Corridor, Dwight became frustrated with how his community was covered by the media. He believed his perspective could make a difference in mainstream media. When he saw "CityNews" covering his high school basketball games at Runnymede Collegiate, he decided Citytv was where he wanted to work.

After graduating from Ryerson University in 1989, he joined Citytv as a security guard on "Electric Circus". Since then, he has worked as a Teleprompter Operator, Floor Director, Studio Cameraperson, Deputy Chief of Assignment, "CityNews" Streetbeat Anchor and "CityNews" Videographer. He was promoted to Crime Specialist in 2000.

Aliya-Jasmine Sovani
Host MTV Live, Budget Cribs

Aliya-Jasmine is still stoked that she landed the gig as host on MTV Live. Before working for MTV Live, Aliya-Jasmine was a television producer for MuchOnDemand, as well as the Tour correspondent for MuchMusic’s VJ search. She started her journalism career as a reporter for UMM Magazine.  A philanthropist and feminist, Aliya-Jasmine wants viewers to know there’s more than meets the eye. “I’ve fought for respect. It’s been hard for me to get away from the “Playboy” stereotype. There have been times when I’ve been judged, and pressured to be “the smart girl” OR “the pretty girl”…I want every girl to know she has the ability to be both beautiful AND accomplished simultaneously," she says.

Aliya-Jasmine’s evolving career goals include hosting and producing a documentary about women in Central Asia. During the "war on terror" Aliya-Jasmine volunteered a couple of her summers to teach English and Social skills to newly arrived Afghan immigrant children. A former arts student, Aliya-Jasmine has studied and lived all over the world (including Italy, LA, New York and the remote town of Perce, Quebec) and speaks (to some extent) five languages.

Dan Levy
Co-hosts the popular MTV programs, The Laguna Beach After Show and The Hills

Before landing the job as one of the hosts of MTV LiveDan worked at a local Rogers video store for three years where he was forced to wear a uniform. “It was a bad look; I'm surprised we didn't have to wear a visor." Needless to say, when Dan got the call that he landed the position, a call that he originally thought was a prank, deciding to join the MTV Liveteam was hardly a difficult choice.

He describes himself as “slightly OCD” with an almost concerning knowledge of the city's best pizza. "It's an art," he says with conviction. Although the former film student says he can't pick just one favourite movie - "it's too hard...and it get's all political… I LOVED Gigli though" - he can say that his favourite book is The Corrections by Jonathan Franzen and is devastated that Freaks and Geeks only saw one season.

His biggest accomplishment to date has been setting goals and standards for himself and actually achieving them. "It sounds cheesy, but there was a while there where I was talk and no action. Action is important," he says with a laugh.

Gilson Lubin
Host 'MTV Live, Gilson's Word From the Street'

You may recognize Gilson from the comedy circuit which he’s been working at since 1998. Originally an Architectural Design student at Humber College, Gilson overheard a couple of students talking about stand-up, curious he approached them and was directed to Yuk Yuks. “I went down to the club and I haven't stopped since."

Over the years Gilson, who moved to Toronto from St. Lucia at the age of 10, has racked up an impressive resume. He’s won a Canadian Comedy Award, Chicago’s Laugh Across America contest and the Las Vegas Comedy Festival. He also earned a scholarship for Humber College’s Comedy Performance and Writing program and while there was also nominated for the Phil Hartman award.

Gilson, who believes that his drive, work ethic and willingness to learn are what landed him his new job, can now be seen Monday-Friday with his co-hosts on MTV Live.

Elaine “Lainey” Lui
LaineyGossip.com and eTalk Reporter

"eTalk is providing a gossip education to the Canadian public! It's a great show to be a part of because we celebrate Hollywood and we honour our own Canadian talent at the same time. What's not to love?"

And really, what is not to love about self-proclaimed “gossip smuthound” Elaine “Lainey” Lui? With an immensely popular website, www.laineygossip.com, Lui has been breaking entertainment news with the help of credible sources in Hollywood and Canada. Seeing Lui’s talent, eTalk hired her on as a special correspondent in 2006.

What started as a simple mailing to her friends and colleagues soon grew to a website with millions of subscribers from around the world. The site now receives an average of 500,000 unique visitors per week, making it a leading international celebrity gossip source and was selected as one of Entertainment Weekly's 100 Websites to Bookmark Now in 2006.

Lui also shares her gossip updates with CTV News Vancouver and 93.5 FLOW in Toronto – and is also a “Style Watcher” for Celebrity Style, a weekly feature in Vancouver’s TV Week. A graduate of the University of Western Ontario, Lui lives in Vancouver, and is a Consultant for Convenant House.

Donovan Bailey

Bio and photo to come soon