Kara DioGuardi
Pop songwriter and music industry insider Kara DioGuardi became a TV celebrity in 2008 when she was named as a new judge on the talent show American Idol. A 1993 graduate of Duke University, DioGuardi worked in New York for Billboard magazine during the 1990s, trying to make a go of it as a singer in her spare time. Her first success as a songwriter came with the Kylie Minogue hit "Spinning Around" (2000), and since then DioGuardi has made a reputation as one of pop's top writers and collaborators. She's worked on hits with Christina Aguilera ("Ain't No Other Man"), Ashlee Simpson ("Pieces of Me") and Faith Hill ("Lost"), and with a roster of pop stars that includes Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan and The Jonas Brothers. DioGuardi had a brief flirtation with TV in 2006, as a judge on the quickly-killed reality show The One: Making of a Music Star, but was unknown to most audiences until it was announced she would join American Idol judges Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson for the show's 2009 season.
Extra credit: Her song "Spinning Around" was originally written with Paula Abdul, but Minogue recorded it... Her dad, Joe DioGuardi, was a Republican congressman who served in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1985-89.