Megan Denise Fox (born May 16, 1986) is an American actress and model. Fox is of Irish, French, and Native American ancestry, and was born in Oak Ridge, Tennessee to Darlene Tonachio and Franklin Fox. She was raised Roman Catholic and attended Catholic school for 12 years. Fox's parents divorced when she was young and she and her sister were raised by her mother and her stepfather, Tony Tonachio. She said that the two were "very strict" and that she was not allowed to have a boyfriend or invite friends to her house. She lived with her mother until she made enough money to support herself. Fox began her training in drama and dance at age five, in Kingston, Tennessee. She attended a dance class at the community center there and was involved in Kingston Elementary School's chorus and the Kingston Clippers swim team. At 10 years of age, after moving to St. Petersburg, Florida, Fox continued her training. When she was 13 years old, Fox began modeling after winning several awards at the 1999 American Modeling and Talent Convention in Hilton Head, South Carolina. At age 17, she tested out of school via correspondence in order to move to Los Angeles. Fox has spoken extensively of her time in education; that in middle school she was bullied and picked on and she ate lunch in the bathroom to avoid being "pelted with ketchup packets". She said that the problem was not her looks, but that she had "always gotten along better with boys" and that "rubbed some people the wrong way". Fox also said of high school that she was never popular and that "everyone hated me, and I was a total outcast, my friends were always guys, I have a very aggressive personality, and girls didn’t like me for that. I’ve had only one great girlfriend my whole life". She began her acting career in 2001 with several minor television and film roles, and played a recurring role on Hope and Faith. In 2004, she launched her film career with a role in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen. In 2007, she was cast as Mikaela Banes, the love interest of Shia LaBeouf's character in the blockbuster film Transformers which became her breakout role and earned her various Teen Choice Awards nominations. Fox reprised her role in the 2009 sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. Later in 2009, she starred as the titular lead character in the film Jennifer's Body. Fox has appeared on the covers of many magazines. In 2007, she appeared in Maxim; in 2008, the list had grown to include Cosmo Girl, Paw Print, Jack (ITALY), FHM (UK), and GQ. In 2009, the list includes, USA Weekend, Esquire, Empire, Maxim, GQ (UK), Entertainment Weekly and ELLE. Megan is considered a sex symbol and frequently appears in men's magazine "Hot" lists. She was listed #18, #16, #2, and #5 on Maxim magazine's yearly Hot 100 list in 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2010 respectively, while FHM readers voted her the "Sexiest Woman in the World" in 2008. She ranked number one on Moviefone's "The 25 Hottest Actors Under 25" in 2008. In 2007, Fox won the lead female role of Mikaela Banes in the live-action film Transformers, based on the toy and cartoon saga of the same name. Fox played the love interest of Shia LaBeouf's character Sam Witwicky. Fox was nominated for an MTV Movie Award in the category of "Breakthrough Performance", and was also nominated for three Teen Choice Awards, in the category of "Choice Movie Actress: Action Adventure", "Choice Movie: Breakout Female", and "Choice Movie: Liplock". Fox has signed on for two more Transformers sequels. Fox reprised her role as Mikaela Banes in the Transformer sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. There was some controversy surrounding Fox's appearance while filming the sequel of Transformers when Michael Bay, the movie's director, ordered the actress to gain 10 pounds. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen premiered on June 8, 2009 in Tokyo, Japan. The movie was released worldwide on June 24, 2009. Fox will not reprise her role as Mikaela Banes in Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Fox appeared with Dominic Monaghan in the music video for Eminem and Rihanna's single "Love the Way You Lie". In 2004, Fox began dating Brian Austin Green, of Beverly Hills, 90210 fame, after reportedly having met on the set of Hope & Faith. They were involved in an on-again, off-again relationship, before finally marrying in June 2010.
