Katy Perry pictures

I’m stressed out with the wedding and I keep smoking to calm my nerves. I do it even though I know it is really bad for me and I know I need to stop. So I’m thinking I am going to have hypnotherapy to help me get over it. I’d never say to kids, ‘This is cool.' It’s a really bad habit that I need to quit."

82 SEX APPEAL

Katy Perry first emerged as an international sex symbol by inciting lesbionic dreams in males both young and old. Back then, we weren't sure what to make of the voluptuous upstart. Was she gay? Was she straight? Or was she simply using bi-curiosity to sell records? Then we saw paparazzi pics of a bikini-clad Perry showing off what would quickly become known as one of the best racks in Hollywood, and everything else ceased to matter. Now, with Britney Spears passed her prime, and Lady Gaga's alienating take on sexuality suddenly contagious, Katy Perry has emerged as the front-and-center all-American sex symbol in pop music. In fact, Perry is so beguiling that she managed to tame the notorious philanderer Russell Brand, and usurped Olivia Wildefor the No. 1 position on Maxim's Hot 100 list. Perry married Brand in October of 2010.

73 SUCCESS

With an exploitative debut single like "I Kissed a Girl" (not to mention its less successful predecessor "Ur So Gay"), Katy Perry had all the makings of a typical one-hit wonder. Flash forward a few years and Katy Perry has managed to establish herself as one of the best selling female artists in the world. While "I Kissed a Girl" peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Perry's debut recordOne of the Boys hit No. 9 on the charts and produced a string of smash hits including "Hot N' Cold" and "Waking Up in Vegas."

Six MTV Video Music Awards and two Grammy Award nominations later, and Katy Perry returned with yet another hit machine. Lead single "California Gurls" immediately peaked at No. 1, making her sophomore effort Teenage Dream a certified smash before it was even released. Perry is also set to make the inevitable leap to the big screen when she stars as Smurfette in the 2011 animated film adaptation of The Smurfs. Something tells us the small blue forest creature will never have looked so sexy.

KATY PERRY BIOGRAPHY

  

One wouldn't guess it by listening to the sexually suggestive lyrics in her music, but Katy Perry is actually the daughter of two pastors and grew up singing in church until she was 17. Perry was also a fan of gospel music, and in her freshman year of high school, the California native dropped out to pursue a career in music. Perry's church singing turned the heads of some music veterans, who brought her to Nashville to hone her songwriting skills. Her first album (which she released under her original name Kate Hudson) was rooted in gospel and proved to be an unmitigated failure.

After changing her name and moving to California, Perry recorded a rock album for Island Records with super-producer Glen Ballard, though it was never released. After a continued series of falling outs and shelved projects with a variety of record labels, Perry's undeniable talent and star quality captured the attention of capital music executive who signed her in 2007.