Biography: Carmit Bachar

Carmit Bachar (born September 4, 1974) is an American dancer, singer and actress. She was a member of the successful pop/R&B group, the Pussycat Dolls and was one of the main vocalists of the Pussycat Dolls, along with Nicole Scherzinger and Melody Thornton. Bachar left the group in March 2008.

Early life

Bachar was born in Los Angeles, her father is Israeli and her mother is of Dutch, Indonesian, and Chinese descent. ^{She was raised in Encino, California. Both parents were dancers; her mother worked as a dance teacher and her father worked with Elvis Presley and Marcel Marceau. Bachar competed internationally as a rhythmic gymnast for 10 years, and placed 5th in the U.S. Olympic trials in 1992. During her career competing on the U.S. National Team, she attended Hamilton Academy of Music in Los Angeles, studying music, dance, piano and viola.}

Pussycat Dolls

Bachar joined the Pussycat Dolls in 1995 while they were a burlesque show. She was a member of the Dolls longer than any other performer. Most of the current members, including lead singer Nicole Scherzinger and Melody Thornton, were casted by founder Robin Antin in 2002 or 2003, when the group was being transformed into pop recording artists. As with the other Dolls, she was a salaried employee of Interscope Records.

In 2006 and 2007, she toured with the Dolls in support of their multi-million selling album PCD. She was one of the three main lead vocalists in the group.

In February 2008, reports surfaced that she was leaving the Pussycat Dolls to pursue solo projects. On March 8, 2008, Carmit officially announced her departure from the Pussycat Dolls on the group's official website.

Melody Thornton gave Bachar special thanks in the 'Thank You' section of The Pussycat Doll's newest album 'Doll Domination'.

Solo career

Dancer/actress/solo singer

Bachar has also appeared in several films, including 13 Going on 30, Along Came Polly, and 2003's Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle featuring the Pussycat Dolls.

In 1997, Bachar was credited as a dancer in the Nickelodeon Movies film, Good Burger.

As a freelance dancer she has toured or appeared live with several rock/pop acts. In 1999, she was the "Livin' La Vida Loca" woman in Ricky Martin's world tour. In 2003 No Doubt's world tour, and appears on stage with Gwen Stefani during "Bathwater" in No Doubt's DVD Rock Steady Live. In 2001, She was a dancer for Aaliyah's music video "Rock the Boat". In 2004 she was a back-up dancer for Janet Jackson during the infamous peek-a-boo Super Bowl half-time show. In 2004, she was a dancer for Beyoncé's tours and appears on Her 2004 DVD Live at Wembley. She appears in Beyoncé's music videos "Crazy in Love" and "Baby Boy". Bachar appears (along with fellow member of the Pussycat Dolls, Kimberly Wyatt and creator Robin Antin) in the video "Shut Up" by the Black Eyed Peas as a dancer. She also appeared in the videos for Macy Gray's "Sexual Revolution", Jennifer Lopez's "Ain't It Funny", Wyclef Jean's "Perfect Gentleman", and The Offspring's "Why Don't You Get a Job?".

The Zodiac Show

In 2001 in Los Angeles, Bachar, Lee Cherry, Scarlett and others started an 'underground' nightclub called Freedom. This became the occasional "multi-genre cabaret" The Zodiac Party which was first held at the Hollywood Athletic Club, then The Key Club. As of 2006, Bachar is still co-producing the event, which is now called The Zodiac Show. In August 2008 it was reported that Bachar will be touring again with the Zodiac Show, which she described as "a rock 'n' roll version of Cirque Du Soleil".

Charity

It has been reported that she wishes to form a non-profit organization called "Smile With Me": "I want to have my own charity for children and adults who are born with a cleft palate. I was born with one and I want to educate and inspire people by saying that inner beauty is more important than looks."

Bachar is an ambassador of "Operation Smile", a worldwide children’s medical charity that helps improve the health and lives of children and young adults born with facial deformities. ^{In November 2007, she participated in an Operation Smile international medical mission in Bolivia, where she and her team organized creative stations for the kids like face and body painting, bookmaking, music and dance.}

Solo album

In an interview with E! from March 2008, she mentions that she will release a solo album in the future. In another interview with Savvy.com she said that she worked with Macy Gray and that her album will be released in 2009.

In June 2008, a new song called Carmasutra appeared on Carmit's Myspace. Although "Carmasutra" is Bachar's first solo song and her debut as a solo singer, it will not appear on her debut album.

References

1. Pussycat Dolls. AskMen.
2. "Dear Fans". Pussycat Dolls (2008-03-08). Retrieved on 2008-03-08.
3. Carmit Bachar at the Internet Movie Database
4. http://www.showbizspy.com/news/08212008/bachar-quits-pussycat-dolls
5. Beverley Lyons, October 16, 2006. Carmite Doing Her Bit For Charity. The Daily Record
6. "Carmit Bachar, smile ambassador". Retrieved on 2007-10-13.
7. October 12, 2007. Operation Smile Announces New Smile Ambassadors. Trans World News
8. November 9, 2007. Operation Smile Ambassador Carmit Bachar Visits Bolivia. World Journey of Smiles