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Holly Dunn, Nia Peeples, Ray Romano

Is Holly Dunn still performing? I know she’s a member of the Grand Ole Opry. I haven’t seen her in a while.
—Polly D., Mississippi

After moving to Santa Fe, N.M., in 2001, Holly Dunn has returned to Nashville, Tenn., and is touring for the first time since 1996. She performed in Switzerland this past fall and in Montana in December. Dunn, 45, also is working on songs for a new album. She first moved to Nashville after graduating from Abilene Christian University with a degree in public relations and advertising. She signed with MTM records in 1985 and burst onto the country music scene in 1986 with Daddy’s Hands, a song she wrote as a Father’s Day gift. She went on to write and produce her first three albums, which contained six hit singles, including two No. 1 songs. When MTM folded, Dunn’s success continued at Warner Bros. Records. And Dunn has seen a different side of the record business. In 1997, she became a disc jockey at W-4 Country in Detroit, hosting a morning show. She returned to Nashville the next year and hosted Holly Dunn’s Nashville Minute. From 1998 to 2000, Dunn was a regular host for TNN’s Opry Backstage. She was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1989. Dunn’s last album was Leave One Bridge Standing in 1997.

What is Nia Peeples doing since Walker, Texas Ranger went off the air? Is she married? Any children? She is a super actress.
—Jay S., New Mexico

She’s been working on a television pilot and has a movie that came out in November, Half Past Dead with Steven Seagal. The can-you-believe-she’s-41-years-old actress and singer is married to stuntman Lauro Chartrand and has two children. Peeples’ journey into show business started when her father was looking for an activity the family could enjoy together. Peeples’ mom had been a Polynesian dancer, so the family spent Sundays learning the dances. Before long, Peeples’ father realized he had a talented crew at home, and Peeples, her two sisters, and mom began performing for conventions and charity events. Throughout high school, Peeples sang and also excelled academically. She went to UCLA on a scholarship but left early to pursue her career. Her breakthrough role was in the television series Fame, and she built a solid singing and songwriting career in the 1980s but has been concentrating on acting for the last several years.

What can you tell me about Ray Romano of CBS’s Everybody Loves Raymond? Is he really married and the father of three children?
—Paul M., Missouri

Close. Ray Romano, 44, is married and has four children—a daughter and three sons. And yes, he has twin boys. Romano always knew he was funny, but he never considered a career in comedy seriously. Then one night in 1984, he performed at open mic night at a New York comedy club. He did well and was hooked. He continued to do odd jobs before deciding to do comedy full time. Romano appeared at clubs all across the country, which led to appearances on late night talk shows. One of those appearances was on the Late Show With David Letterman. Letterman was so impressed with Romano that he offered the standup comic a development deal with his production company, from which Romano’s hit comedy was born on CBS. He recently won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and has written a book, Everything and a Kite, which is based on his comedy. A native of Forest Hills, N.Y., he lives with his family in Los Angeles.

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