Kevin Stea
Encyclopedia
Kevin Alexander Stea is an American dancer, choreographer, actor, singer, director and model.
He was the assistant choreographer and dance captain for Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...

's Blond Ambition Tour
Blond Ambition Tour
The Blond Ambition World Tour was the third concert tour by American singer-songwriter, Madonna. The tour was launched in support of her fourth studio album, Like a Prayer, and the soundtrack, I'm Breathless. The tour reached North America, Europe and Asia. It was a highly controversial tour,...

 and appeared in the documentary about it, Madonna: Truth or Dare
Madonna: Truth or Dare
Madonna: Truth or Dare is a 1991 American documentary film chronicling the life of American singer-songwriter Madonna during her 1990 Blond Ambition World Tour...

in 1990/1.
In January 1992, along with dancers Oliver Grumes and Gabriel Trupin, a lawsuit alleging fraud and invasion of privacy was entered in Los Angeles Superior Court against Madonna’s production company Boy Toy Inc., Miramax Films
Miramax Films
Miramax Films is an American entertainment company known for distributing independent and foreign films. For its first 14 years the company was privately owned by its founders, Bob and Harvey Weinstein...

 and Propaganda Films
Propaganda Films
Propaganda Films was a prolific and successful music video and film production company founded in 1983 by producers Steve Golin and Sigurjón Sighvatsson and directors David Fincher, Nigel Dick, Greg Gold and Dominic Sena...

. Because of the international notoriety of Madonna, the suit became a pervasive media topic with Stea discussed in the news and appearing on talk shows such as Maury Povich
Maury Povich
Maurice Richard "Maury" Povich is an American TV talk show host who currently hosts his self-titled talk show Maury.-Personal background:...

. After more than two years of litigation, in October 1994, the suit was withdrawn and an undisclosed settlement was reached.

Early life and education

Stea was born in Hollywood, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

, and is half-Caucasian
Caucasian race
The term Caucasian race has been used to denote the general physical type of some or all of the populations of Europe, North Africa, the Horn of Africa, Western Asia , Central Asia and South Asia...

 and half-Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...

. His father owned a Chinese restaurant in Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles is the central business district of Los Angeles, California, United States, located close to the geographic center of the metropolitan area...

. He grew up in various places in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 (California, Marlette, Michigan
Marlette, Michigan
Marlette is a city in Sanilac County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The 2006 US Census population estimate was 2,053. The city is located within Marlette Township, but is politically autonomous....

; Eugene, Oregon
Eugene, Oregon
Eugene is the second largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and the seat of Lane County. It is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, at the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about east of the Oregon Coast.As of the 2010 U.S...

; Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...

 and Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe, New Mexico
Santa Fe is the capital of the U.S. state of New Mexico. It is the fourth-largest city in the state and is the seat of . Santa Fe had a population of 67,947 in the 2010 census...

), and then completed his high school education in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...

 on a scholarship at the United World College of South East Asia
United World College of South East Asia
The United World College of South East Asia is an independent, international school in Singapore. The school's main campus is in Dover Road. A second campus was opened in 2008 in Ang Mo Kio...

, where he received the International Baccalaureate Diploma
IB Diploma Programme
The International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme is a two-year educational programme for students aged 16–19that provides an internationally accepted qualification for entry into higher education, and is recognised by universities worldwide. It was developed in the early to mid-1960s in Geneva by...

. Following that, he went on to the University of Southern California School of Cinema-Television
USC School of Cinematic Arts
The USC School of Cinematic Arts, until 2006 named the School of Cinema-Television , is a film school within the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California. It is the oldest and largest such school in the United States, established in 1929 as a joint venture with the Academy of...

, which he left to pursue a dance career.

Choreographer, dancer

A gymnast while in his youth, Stea began dancing seriously while he was at college. A year after his first dance job, he was hired by Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...

 as a dance captain, dancer and assistant choreographer on her 1990 Blond Ambition Tour
Blond Ambition Tour
The Blond Ambition World Tour was the third concert tour by American singer-songwriter, Madonna. The tour was launched in support of her fourth studio album, Like a Prayer, and the soundtrack, I'm Breathless. The tour reached North America, Europe and Asia. It was a highly controversial tour,...

. Stea appeared several times in the documentary Truth or Dare, which was made about the tour. Along with Oliver Grumes and Gabriel Trupin who appeared in the documentary, Stea sued Madonna in Los Angeles Superior Court for fraud and invasion of privacy, claiming that she had lied about the film and that they were not paid for their appearance in it.According to Stea, "Madonna told me she had a crush on me when we first started. And I thought she hated me.."Leslie C. Dunn and Nancy A. Jones in their book Embodied Voices: Representing Female Vocality in Western Culture (1997) argue that Stea and the other two dancers viewed Madonna as a motherly figure, a "mommy dearest".

Subsequently, Stea danced and assisted with choreography for Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

. He has also worked with numerous other high-profile music acts including Prince
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...

, Ricky Martin
Ricky Martin
Enrique "Ricky" Martín Morales , better known as Ricky Martin, is a Puerto Rican and Spanish pop singer and actor who achieved prominence, first as a member of the Latin boy band Menudo, then as a solo artist since 1991.During his career he has sold more than 60 million album copies worldwide...

, Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...

, George Michael
George Michael
George Michael is a British musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who rose to fame in the 1980s when he formed the pop duo Wham! with his school friend, Andrew Ridgeley...

, David Bowie
David Bowie
David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s...

, Celine Dion
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion, , , is a Canadian singer. Born to a large family from Charlemagne, Quebec, Dion emerged as a teen star in the French-speaking world after her manager and future husband René Angélil mortgaged his home to finance her first record...

, Macy Gray
Macy Gray
Macy Gray is a Grammy Award-winning American R&B and soul singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress, famed for her distinctive raspy voice, and a singing style heavily influenced by Billie Holiday and Betty Davis.Gray has released five studio albums, with her fifth studio album, The Sellout,...

, Anastacia
Anastacia
Anastacia is an American singer-songwriter. Anastacia has been highly successful in Europe, Asia, South Africa and South America, but has had only minor success in her native United States...

, Rihanna
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty , better known as simply Rihanna, is a Barbadian recording artist. Born in Saint Michael, Barbados, Rihanna moved to the United States at the age of 16 to pursue a recording career under the guidance of record producer Evan Rogers...

, Lady Gaga
Lady GaGa
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...

, Beyoncé
Beyoncé Knowles
Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...

, Britney Spears
Britney Spears
Britney Jean Spears is an American recording artist and entertainer. Born in McComb, Mississippi, and raised in Kentwood, Louisiana, Spears began performing as a child, landing acting roles in stage productions and television shows. She signed with Jive Records in 1997 and released her debut album...

, Cher
Cher
Cher is an American recording artist, television personality, actress, director, record producer and philanthropist. Referred to as the Goddess of Pop, she has won an Academy Award, a Grammy Award, an Emmy Award, three Golden Globes and a Cannes Film Festival Award among others for her work in...

, Christina Aguilera
Christina Aguilera
Christina María Aguilera is an American recording artist and actress. Aguilera first appeared on national television in 1990 as a contestant on the Star Search program, and went on to star in Disney Channel's television series The Mickey Mouse Club from 1993–1994...

, Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett
Tony Bennett is an American singer of popular music, standards, show tunes, and jazz....

, Will.i.am
Will.i.am
William James Adams, Jr. , better known by his stage name will.i.am and occasionally by his other stage name Zuper Blahq, is an American rapper, musician, songwriter, singer, actor and producer...

, A. R. Rahman
A. R. Rahman
Allah Rakha Rahman is an Indian composer, singer-songwriter, record producer, musician, and philanthropist. Described as the world's most prominent and prolific film composer by Time, his works are notable for integrating eastern classical music with electronic music sounds, world music genres and...

 (India), Seiko Matsuda
Seiko Matsuda
is a Japanese pop singer-songwriter. Due to her popularity in the 1980s and her long career, she has been dubbed the "Eternal idol" by the Japanese media.- Biography :...

 (Japan), and the Pussycat Dolls
Pussycat Dolls
The Pussycat Dolls are an American pop girl group and dance ensemble based in Los Angeles; currently consisting of Lauren Bennett, Vanessa Curry, Kristal "Lyndriette" Smith, Tiffany "Taz" Zavala, Kia Hampton and Paula Van Oppen. The Pussycat Dolls were founded by choreographer Robin Antin in 1995...

. In 2009, he danced in "The Question", by J.T. Horenstein at the Ricardo Montalbán Theatre.

In the mid-1990s, Stea worked in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, performing, singing and choreographing on a variety of television shows including Buona Domenica
Buona domenica
Buona domenica is a music album by the Italian singer-songwriter Antonello Venditti, released in 1979.-Track list:#"Buona domenica" #"Stai con me" #"Robin" #"Scusa, devo andare via " #"Modena"...

, Non Dimenticate Lo Spazzolino Da Denti and Carramba Che Sorpresa.

Fashion modelling

Also in the 90's, Stea began working as a fashion model for such designers as Tommy Hilfiger
Tommy Hilfiger
Thomas Jacob "Tommy" Hilfiger is an American fashion designer and founder of the premium lifestyle brand Tommy Hilfiger.-Early life:...

 and Calvin Klein
Calvin Klein
Calvin Richard Klein is an American fashion designer who launched the company that would later become Calvin Klein Inc. in 1968. In addition to clothing, Klein has also given his name to a range of perfumes, watches, and jewelry....

 in Los Angeles; Exte, Fendi
Fendi
Fendi is an Italian high fashion house best known for its "baguette" handbags. It was launched in 1925 as a fur and leather shop in Rome, but today is a multinational luxury goods brand owned by LVMH...

, Nicola Trussardi
Nicola Trussardi
Nicola Trussardi was an Italian fashion designer and entrepreneur.-Career:Trussardi was born in Bergamo, Lombardy....

  and Romeo Gigli
Romeo Gigli
Romeo Gigli is an Italian fashion designer. He was born in Castel Bolognese.He rose to fame in 1986, and influenced other designers with what the Los Angeles Times described as "soft look, body-hugging dresses with draped bubble skirts"....

 in Milan; and Jean-Paul Gaultier
Jean-Paul Gaultier
Jean Paul Gaultier , born 24 April 1952 in Arcueil, Val-de-Marne, France) is a French haute couture fashion designer. Gaultier was the creative director of Hermès from 2003 to 2010. In the past, he has hosted the television series Eurotrash....

 and Jose Levy
Jose Levy
Jose Levy was the theatre practitioner who attempted to import the ghoulish and grisly Grand Guignol aesthetic for London audiences.Levy was born in Portsmouth, England and educated at the Ecole de Commerce, Lausanne....

 in Paris. He also choreographed runway shows for Thierry Mugler
Thierry Mugler
Thierry Mugler is a French fashion designer and creator of several perfumes.-Childhood:Mugler was born in Strasbourg, France on 21 December 1948. His passion led him to focus more on drawing than on school and at the age of 9, he began to study classical dance...

 in Los Angeles and appeared on the runway as a dancer for Gucci
Gucci
The House of Gucci, better known simply as Gucci , is an Italian fashion and leather goods label, part of the Gucci Group, which is owned by French company PPR...

 presentation in Los Angeles. He has also appeared in fashion spreads in high end magazines such as Harper’s Bazaar (Italy), and on the cover of the Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan (magazine)
Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...

European Edition. His modeling work has continued with a 2009 spread in Fantasticsmag and a runway stint for the Band of Outsiders line in Florence in June 2011.

He also modeled in the works of fashion/artist photographers such as Peter Palladino, Herb Ritts
Herb Ritts
Herbert "Herb" Ritts was an American fashion photographer who concentrated on black-and-white photography and portraits, often in the style of classical Greek sculpture.-Early life and career:...

, Robert Deutschman, Reggie Casagrande, Peggy Sirota, Dan Nix, Maurizio Montani, and Andrea Marino. Of particular note is work on several projects with artist/photographer David LaChapelle
David LaChapelle
David LaChapelle is a photographer and director who works in the fields of fashion, advertising, and fine art photography, and is noted for his surreal, unique, sexualized, and often humorous style.-Early life:...

. He modeled in LaChapelle’s homage to Bruce Lee and Chinese Pop Culture, part of the “Raft” exhibition which opened in Hong Kong in May 2011 at de Sarthe Fine Art.

He also sings and performs under the name That Rogue Romeo.

Acting and commercials

In 1995 he starred as Daryl in Paul Verhoeven's Showgirls
Showgirls
Showgirls is a 1995 American drama film directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring former teen actress Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, and Gina Gershon...

, a film which was a major flop and often considered one of the worst films ever made.Stea has appeared in numerous movies and TV shows, mainly in dancer roles, including Newsies
Newsies
Newsies is a 1992 Disney musical film starring Christian Bale, David Moscow, and Bill Pullman. Robert Duvall and Ann-Margret also appeared in supporting roles. The movie is widely claimed to have gained a cult following after its initial failure at the box office...

, Melrose Place, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit
Sister Act 2: Back In The Habit is a 1993 comedy film starring Whoopi Goldberg. Directed by Bill Duke, and released by Touchstone Pictures, it is the sequel to the successful 1992 film Sister Act...

, Showgirls
Showgirls
Showgirls is a 1995 American drama film directed by Paul Verhoeven and starring former teen actress Elizabeth Berkley, Kyle MacLachlan, and Gina Gershon...

, The Birdcage
The Birdcage
The Birdcage is a 1996 American comedy film directed by Mike Nichols, and stars Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, Gene Hackman, Dianne Wiest, Dan Futterman, Calista Flockhart, Hank Azaria, and Christine Baranski. The script was written by Elaine May...

, Across the Universe (film)
Across the Universe (film)
Across the Universe is a musical romantic drama film directed by Julie Taymor, produced by Revolution Studios, and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The film's plot is centered around songs by The Beatles. It was released in the United States on October 12, 2007. The script is based on an original...

, Fired Up (TV series)
Fired Up (TV series)
Fired Up is a short-lived 1997–1998 situation comedy airing on NBC. It lasted for two seasons and 28 episodes. The series, the first from Grammnet Productions, starred Sharon Lawrence and Leah Remini. The series was about a self-centered promotions executive and her mouthy assistant...

, Charlie's Angels
Charlie's Angels (film)
Charlie's Angels is a 2000 American action comedy film directed by McG, starring Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, and Lucy Liu as three women working for a private investigation agency...

, Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...

, Austin Powers in Goldmember
Austin Powers in Goldmember
Austin Powers in Goldmember is a 2002 American spy comedy film and the third installment of the Austin Powers series starring Mike Myers in the title role. The movie was directed by Jay Roach, and co-written by Mike Myers and Michael McCullers. Myers also plays the roles of Dr. Evil, Goldmember,...

,13 Going On 30
13 Going on 30
13 Going on 30 is a 2004 American romantic comedy fantasy film starring Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo. It has a similar premise to the classic short story Rip Van Winkle, in which a young person falls asleep and wakes up many years later as an older person...

, Rent
Rent (film)
Rent is a 2005 American musical drama film directed by Chris Columbus. It is an adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name, in turn based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème. The film depicts the lives of several Bohemians and their struggles with sexuality, cross-dressing, drugs, life...

, Scrubs
Scrubs (TV series)
Scrubs is an American medical comedy-drama television series created in 2001 by Bill Lawrence and produced by ABC Studios. The show follows the lives of several employees of the fictional Sacred Heart, a teaching hospital. It features fast-paced screenplay, slapstick, and surreal vignettes...

, Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars
Dancing with the Stars is the name of several international television series based on the format of the British TV series Strictly Come Dancing, which is distributed by BBC Worldwide – the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the format has been licensed to over 35 countries...

, Rumor Has It...
Rumor Has It...
Rumor Has It... is a 2005 American comedy film directed by Rob Reiner, starring Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Costner, Shirley MacLaine and Mark Ruffalo...

and Naked Boys Singing
Naked Boys Singing (film)
Naked Boys Singing! is a 2007 musical/comedy film adaptation of the 1998 off-Broadway musical of the same name.-Cast:*Kevin Alexander Stea as Naked Maid*Joe Souza as Bliss of a Bris*Phong Truong as Window to the Soul*Jason Currie as Entertainer...

. He has appeared in over 50 commercials, most notably for Gap, Old Navy
Old Navy
Old Navy is an American clothing brand as well as a chain of stores owned by Gap, Inc., with corporate operations in San Francisco and San Bruno, California. It is one of the first major corporations to house headquarters in the new Mission Bay district of San Francisco.Gap, Inc. was run by...

 and Pepsi
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink that is produced and manufactured by PepsiCo...

.

External links

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