>> they have gotten global attention for their work in the entertainment world, tonight we talk to three top tars who are using their fame to shine a spotlight on those in need. actor and director ben stiller is famous for his comedies but the poverty in haiti made him get serious and get to work. >> i just wanted to help people that i thought were doing good

work and getting things done. >> for decades she has been known for her beautiful face and now she is using her for maternal health. >> i was holding my baby and i started to hemorrhage. >> ne-yo talks about the cause closest to his heart, giving hope the kids caught in the foster care system. >> ala lot of the kids are counselled out before getting in the game. >> these celebrities are doing what they can to make a difference. >> join us as we take a look at how they are giving back and hoping to inspire others to do the same. >> one, two, three!

supermodel, it's a titles only a few women in the world have held. she has worked with fashions top designers, has appeared on the cover of "vogue" nine times. her time less beauty and record breaking contracts made her a star. but in an industry known for attitude, she has been known as being down to earth, the woman who marched to the beat of her own drum. she took a break from the runway to earn a degree from new york university and her passion for yoga led "time" magazine to make her their cover girl. she has always advocated for

causes she believed in. she was part of the "red" campaign. and she has been a staunch anti-smoking activist for years. >> smoking is ugly. >> she now has two young children and it was motherhood that led her to her passion. promoting maternal health worldwide. >> deeply committed to make ago difference, she is working on a masters in columbia university. the supermodel whose face is so familiar is recognized as a voice for this cause. people come to active imp ism it of different ways you came to it in the 1990s with your father. >> my dad was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer after

being a life long smoker. and so i felt like i could contribute in some way. i reached out to the centers of disease control and prevention and they were kind of taken aback, and they said, we normally go to you people. >> they do not normally get calls. >> yeah, they don't. and we created a powerful public service announcement that i'm still proud of. >> in my life, there are two people that quit smoking in my family, i stopped and it took me seven years. my dad stopped six months before he died from lung cancer. >> i hear people say that they quit smoking because of that public service commercial. >> people are skeptical of celebrities getting involved in activism, was that a concern can on your part?

>> i'm skeptical of it too, i have to say. but it's limiting to think that you don't want to try to do something to better the world because the way that people will think of you. sharing our stories is a really powerful way to help others. and so, i fell like i wanted to add my voice. >> for the past decade, she has been using her voice on another issue close to her heart, maternal health. it's a cause she embraced after experiencing complications with her first child. >> i was holding my baby and started to hemorrhage, so my situation was managed smoothly. but i learned in the weeks after that that same clikz is the leading cause of -- that same complication is the leading cause of maternal moretality around the world. >> if you were in another country, you could have died. >> absolutely. 90% of the deaths are

preventible. >> that's the incredible thing about the maternal health issue. we are not talking about huge advances s in technology that needed. it's common sense of things that are known. >> so, by not being in the right place at the right time or having access to people who in an emergency situation can can save your life and your baby's life, it puts people in incredible danger. >> statistics like that led her to be a maternal health advocate for care. and then spent two years make ago documentary about maternal mortality issues and started a campaign called every mother counts. now a full-fledge nonprofit. >> have you been in places where you have seen births go wrong? >> i have been places where things started to go wrong.

>> janet's labor is not progressing and the threat of death for baby and mother is there. with no money to pay for food or transport, the nurses ask for us to help. >> when there was a problem, we stepped in. we did step in. >> the human thing to do. >> exactly. but it's the chance of a chance moment of a car coming by that can make the difference in saving somebody's life. >> i know with one of the things you are doing is getting motorcycles to get people to transport them. >> it's true, just getting a motorcycle or a bicycle to get a health worker to the woman is a huge step. even here in the u.s. we have a problem. we are ranked 50th and we lose two on women per day in the united states. >> why is that? i was stunned by that. >> it is stunning. but obesity is a big problem here. hypertension, race still play as big role. african american weapon are four

times more likely to die in child bigger than a white woman. >> what do you hope to accomplish with every mother counts? >> we are an advocacy organization. awareness is key. letting people know it's a global problem. she has put a twist on a classic celebrity fundraiser, running a marathon. >> it turns out the distance of a marathon is a average distance that women have to go for care. so we invited women to join in the marathon. >> that is an extraordinary way to think about it. that the distance of the marathon is the distance that women have to travel for care. people are saying, yeah, she does count. that is right. the it was such a fun thing to sort of reaffirm what we are wearing on our on shirts and what our mission is. >> up next, christie travels

half way around the world to see the work of a cnn hero. >> for the poor, we are the only place they can call on. >> and super star ne-yo tells us about the children who moved him to give back. >> i hope you are enjoying watching "sharing the spotlight." we are counselli in-- we are countsing down the heros. what better way to kick it off other than with a hero of our own. thank you for coming tonight and participating with us. you were telling me you have a long history with cnn heroes. this is an event that you hold near to your heart. >> i do. i find it really inspiring.

it's the one event that i feel that people who are kind of celebrated and kind of devoted and loved on are really deserving of it. >> yeah, it deferently is, and one of the things that cnn heroes prides itself on is telling the extraordinary stories of people just like you and me, every day people out there, who are really making a difference. how does this night differ from all of the award shows you have been to in hollywood. >> because we are really he elevating heroes and people who are stepping out of their lives and living for something bigger than themselves. a higher purpose. and in doing that, they are changing the world. i mean, not to down play what i do, but i feel like sometimes what we do is very self serving and i think it's really, really important to remind ourselves in this day that you can live a life bigger than yourself.

>> absolutely. thank you very much. we appreciate your time. and stay tuned because we will be back with more cnn heroes sharing the spotlight in just a moment. from the best players in history to the number 1 club in the world. the potential of manchester united unlocked.

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. complications during the birth of her first child led supermodel christy turlington burns to create a organization. >> robin was a person that i had heard about for a long time.

she is like, talk about a celebrity, but a celebrity in the birth community. when she was nominated as a cnn hero, you know, i started tweeting away and doing what i could to say, isn't this cool? we have a mid wife that is nominated and when i got the opportunity to meet her, i was thrilled. >> so thrilled she flew half way around the world the day after running a marathon. >> next play after the marathon, you went on a plane? was that wise? >> no, i don't think so. but i felt lining i had to do that. i have to meet her. it's important. >> what was it like? bali? >> going there is surreal and it was a very welcoming experience. and something that i felt like we were sisters going way, way back. >> welcome. >> yeah. >> you got clinic and you see that people are happy. it's busy, in terms of emergency care, can you do everything if it comes to that?

>> except for a c-section. >> what if a transfusion was necessary? >> we do iv fluids and transported to the hospital to fuse. >> her whole career has been based on bringing life in the world in the most supporting loving way. to see her do that, she sings to them in their own faith as their baby is being born. ♪ >> her clinic has been running on a donation basis all these years and it takes that tenacity, it's a unique kind of spirit. >> yeah, i'm not sure what the word is for it.

but robin has it. >> it's my honor to represent cfn hero, robin lim. >> christy presented her with her cnn award. >> what was it like being at the heroes event? it's unlike any award show. >> it's awesome. that's the bar now that i hold awards shows to. i watched it in the past and truly these are the people that we should be celebrating. person after person that got on stage, everyone was amazing and it was that much more like how does one choose just one? >> and at the end of the night, cn viewers just that and they got exciting news. the 2011 cnn hero of the year is -- >> what was it like the to see her win? >> remarkable. i think she was truly shocked that she won. she is a real like chatty, opinionated person and for the first time i think she did not

know what to say. but i think she took in that moment with with such grace and we have gone on to continue to support robin and her work. >> so you kept in touch with her? >> yes, i heard from her last night. i get an e-mail from her every now and again. >> with maternal health, christy team seems to have found her calling. >> it's human to want to make a difference. i think sometimes we just don't know how to do it. we should think about our families and communities of a first place to make impact and change. service to others is really what this world is about. and it can make a difference. >> coming up, comedian ben stiller gets steeerious in hait. singer ne-yo shows how he is bringing hope to often overlooked children.

>> you are watching "cnn heroes: sharing t sharing the spotlight." right now i'm in the social media suite, this is where we want you to be a part of the action. with me i have two heavy hitters. ray wilson said are you talking to me now? they are participating with us tonight. you guys are doing our live blog here. we can see ourselves, you go to cnn.com/backstage and you can join the conversation. are you recording us? >> should i hit record? >> yeah. hit record. >> it's recording us right now. we look good. we look like a group. we look like a song and dance group. i know both of you tweet a lot. you both like the twitter. so, tonight you can go to@cnn heroes or #cnn heroes. when people talk to people tonight, are you going to tweet them back? >> yeah, i'm tweeting them back

all night long. >> and we know that holly will tweet you back in a minute. >> i am obsessed but standing next to this guy, i'm not worthy. >> you can join the party at facebook and instagram as well. we will be back with more from anderson cooper -- >> he is dreamy! what is that? it's you! it's me? alright emma, i know it's not your favorite but it's time for your medicine, okay? you ready? one, two, three. [ both ] ♪ emma, emma bo-bemma ♪ banana-fana-fo-femma ♪ fee-fi-fo-femma ♪ em-ma very good sweety, how do you feel? good. yeah? you did a really good job, okay? [ female announcer ] to nurses everywhere, thank you, from johnson & johnson. [ female announcer ] to nurses everywhere,

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♪ >> he is blowing up the billboard charts with his hit "let me love you." but his road to success is

marked by achievements in writing and producing and you know him as ne-yo, but he was born shafer smith, he had his first deal with a record label at the tender age of 22. he went on to write hits for music royalty. including rihanna, janet, usher, and of course, beyonc ♪ you must not know about me >> in a little more than a decade, he saw three albums go platinum and appeared in several films, including "red tails." >> you are the first negro to shoot down a jet. >> there's more to his story, success has meant giving back. working with the boys and girls clubs of america and supporting the respect campaign against family violence.

but his most personal work has been helping kids who get overlooked. children in the foster care system. >> you had such an incredible ride making a name for yourself, at some point along the way, you made the decision i want to give back. when was that? >> that was shortly my first album. i was getting\a lot of praise and you know, the money was r l rolling in and i was told, you are given a blessing to be a blessing. i knew i wanted to have a way to give back. but i the did not know what way it was to be. >> why foster care? >> it was brought to my attention by a business partner, a lot of people who were working for us, came up through those circumstances. a lot of these kids get counted out before they get a chance to get in the game. behind the fact that they have that foster child label attached to them. >> there are a lot of challenges that kids in foster care face that a lot of people don't know

about. >> hm-mm. >> as a foster kid, you are bouncing from house to house with everything that you own in the world in a trash bag. aside from that, the thing that struck accord was the inspiration to be anything other than a child from a group home. to not use the excuse that i grew up in foster care. that is where we decided to step? >> often they are coming from terrible circumstances and the cycle continues. >> the cycle continues because there's nobody there to tell them that it does not have to be that way. there are scholarships that are out there they can have just for being a foster kid. i know they do not know it our focus is getting them life skills and information that they would not be privy to otherwise, and making sure their circumstance does not become a wall. maybe a speed bump, but not a wall. >> let's talk about the compound

foundation, what are the moments that stood out to you as you got to meet some of the people that were effected by some of the things that you were doing for them. >> they know the super long names of the drugs that they are forced to take because of behavioral issues. it's like, he is 5. and you took him away from the only family he knew and dropped him here, you think he is not going to have behavioral issues? it sucks, sucks supremely and we are here and doing what we can. >> his organization helps teens and foster care help to give kids hope and faith in themselves. it's something he needed when he was growing up. >> my mom, she worked her fingers to the bone to make sure that me and my sister did not

need for anything. she said that wants are trivial, but needs are ironclad. you need food and shelter and you need someone on this planet that loves you. i will make sure that you always have these things. as far as, you know, that new pair of nikes, maybe not. >> every kid has a difference story, they dealt with different situations. what can you relate to from your childhood? >> well, yeah, i mean, my mother and father did not get along very well. you know, dad checked outrelate actively early. -- relatively early. me and my sister saw things that we should not have seen. my mom was very, very real and straight forward with us. and made us understand that, people don't get along sometimes. you know? doesn't mean that anybody loves you any less or they do not love

you. >> i'm betting you figured out at a very early age that your mom was your hero. >> yeah, super early. i credit my mom for my love of music. when my mom and dad split up. there was a lot of anger in me. lining i got the whole, okay, people do not get along, but i'm your kid. why was i not good enough for you to stick around for that part of it. my mom gave me a pen and pad and that turned into song writing and that turned to the man you see before me. if not for the music, no telling where i may have wound up. what we did is put music studios in the group homes. >> you are ready? >> one, two, three. >> if music can do what it did for me, it has to work the same way for them. >> maybe you are discovering the new talent. >> the next ne-yo may come out of one of these homes. never know.

>> ben stiller turns funny into money for haiti's school children. >> i know you are enying cnn heroes sharing the spotlight, i'm on the red carpet and we are minutes away from cnn heroes an all star tribute 2012. look who i found with me, jane, thank you for being a part of this night tonight. >> it's my honor to be here, it's one of my favorite events of the year. it's nice to shine the spotlight on people who we may not have heard about. >> you went to the field to see the work that she does first hand with the service dogs for veterans. >> that the is right, mary is a veteran herself and she takes shelter dogs and matched them up with wounded veterans. she trains the dogs and teaches

the veterans how the be with them, they heal each other. it's an amazing relationship. i was there and spent the day with her watching her training the dogs and talked to the vets. dav david rodriguez, you will meet him tonight. she does work that is straight from the heart and dedication to these guys. it's wonderful. >> if you want to join and help mary's cause, go to cnn.com, the donations page and help donate, 100% of the donations go to the foundation. stay tuned. we will return in just a moment with more cnn heroes sharing the spotlight. ♪

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. >> after his father left, r&b star ne-yo channelled his emotions into words. he has become a success and has shared that with youth by forming an organization that teaches foster kids life skills around the year but each year he does a tour that brings presents to children of foster care and the boys and girls club of america. >> the boys and girls club is the a huge part of who you have become. >> i am a lumni, we partner up and give toys and bikes and clothes to kids that do not have such a great christmas otherwise. it's though make sure they understand you are not counted out. and you appear on a poster with

the words, be a gentleman. simple. >> that was brought to my attention in the age that i was in that picture. the importance of being polite, shivalrous and the importance of the outward appearance. >> you the did not ask to be a role model but i see you take it seriously. >> one of the great lines in the first spiderman movie was -- >> with great power comes great responsibility. >> some of the truest words spoken. >> you were into super heroes when you were a kid, obviously, was that because of the lack of a man in your life? >> yes. >> did you have someone as a role model as you were growing up? >> my mom taught me to be a man. >> and it formed your work? >> my mom said if it hurts, cry, and if it feels good, laugh and

smile and never be afraid to any of it. i was taught not to be afraid of my emotions. it taught me to think with this you know. i mean definitely think here. but think with this as well. you know. >> you well know though, that there are hard core performers that might specifically avoid getting involved with something like this because of how it could impact their street cred. >> that is the stupidest thing that i have heard in my life. there's a handful of sb entertainers that want to do that, and then there's others that understand that kids are emulating what i'm doing so i should give them a more positive thing to emulate. >> have you at all found that as a performer, people don't take you as seriously with your work? >> in the beginning, it was up to me to show all of the

naysayers that no, this is not about vanity, it's not about selling albums or money. for me, this is about helping these kids that need the help. >> and perhaps as a father? you have a very special -- i just saw your face light up. you are a proud dad, i know you are. >> definitely. from the second i saw my kids it was there's nothing i will not do to make sure that you are okay. literally. legal, illegal. whatever, as long as you are all right. i'm all for it. >> did becoming a dad make you work that much harder at giving them a better life, perhaps giving them a father figure? >> i can say yeah, i want to see my kids faces as i see these kids faces. it height ens your hustle. >> you why did you want to be a part of the show? >> the negative is he celebrated more than the positive now days. the people that are truly doing positive things for the right reasons, it needs to be celebrated and recognized and

this show is celebrating them. how can i not be a part of this. >> we cannot wait to see you perform. what are you singing? >> it's a song i wrote, called "heroes," speaks on the fact that even heroes need heroes at some point. the person that is the life saver who saves his life when he get s in trouble? it's people helping people helping people. >> i imagine you have people looking to you, with what can i do for you ne-yo. >> i have everything that i need, it's time to turn it around and ask everyone else that they need. i have been blessed with more than i can ask for through the music. now it's time to turn it around and give it back. coming up, ben stiller takes funny seriously for haiti school children.

sglr hello everyone, we are in the social media suite. we are gearing up for the "cnn heros: sharing the spotlight," here we have the twitter board, join the conversation with us, and tell us what you like most about tonight and i have also got holly robinson, and adrien brodie with us. you can talk and join the conversation on cnn.com/back stage. now return the to "cnn heros: sharing the spotlight".

>> ben stiller! >> hollywood, writer, producer, actor and director for nearly two decades ben stiller's star has skyrocketed, beating the odds and smashing box office records year after hilarious year. with more than $5 billion in ticket sales he has been called the world's biggest comic movie star. he has three franchises to his name. it's a name he shares with his famous father, jerry stiller who long with his wife and legendary comic partner introduced his son to come any early on. he a spired to a serious film career, but it was in his video, called "the hustler of money" that grabbed hollywood's attention. >> who is next?

you want to bowl? >> it led to a big break performing on "saturday night live." >> guys come on. >> and an emmy for the ben stiller show in 1993. >> i know it was you. i know it was you and it breaks my heart. >> his extraordinary success has come as something of a surprise. an ironic twist in his quest to be a serious film maker. in hollywood, funny is serious money and in recent years ben has used his comedy gifts to tackle some of the most sobering human crisis that we face. i caught up with him. >> how did you start doing this work? >> i was asked for doing a photo for "save the children" and i never had gone to developing world countries and they asked and said, hey, do you want to go and i was in a point in my life

where i was wanting to figure out a way to get involved somehow. so i went to ugand skpama, and that trip, saw a lot of things i only saw on television and from that they invited me to go to haiti. and that was before the quake. seeing this huge need that was there. and there's a huge domestic poverty issue here, but to go there and see that level of poverty so close to the united states which reminded me of what i saw in africa was very sobering. >> were you leery of being a celebrity to get involved? you can be mocked. >> i was skecptical for a long time because charity work can have an opposite effect of people drawing attention for themselves for it. ego is showbiz is related to

taking yourself seriously. >> few would accuse him of taking it too seriously. >> here at the derek zoolander center for kids that can't read good and want to teach others to ride good too, with we teach everyone what they need to know to be a professional model and human being. >> you do not want to draw attention to yourself, but the people will listen to you on any level is because they know who you are. >> it's a strange position to be in. >> yeah. and it does not make you an expert on anything, but you can have a point of view and shine light on issues that can help -- somehow help just by having the attention put on it. >> when i heard sean penn was

going down there, i did not know him, and i was skeptical of him going down there and when you see what he has done is extraordinary. >> i remember seeing him when katrina happened and seeing him in that picture of a row boat, and i'm like, we all want to help, bought what is he doing in a row boat. and i'm like, he is wanting to help because he is in a row boat. is he kookie? no, he is actually trying to help people and doesn't care how he does it. and i was like, that is a good example, you should not worry about what people say. >> sean would say is kookie. >> he is. >> but he does it anyway. being known for comedy, was it hard to be taken seriously? >> i tdid not want to be taken too seriously. i got inspired with sean and said is, wow, i suck, i should do some little part to help.

i feel like it's not about having to be taken seriously. it's about doing something and i think it inspires people to want to do something. >> that is what ben did. focusing his efforts on educating haiti's children. he launched stiller strong 2000 and sni -- 2009. it was a viral hit. >> stiller strong. stiller strong. >> raisely nearly $300,000 to help the children in haiti. >> is there something about haiti itself that -- relief worker once said haiti gets to you and once it gets to you, it never leaves you. >> yes, it's a special place, there's a creative energy there that is strong, in terms of art and music and amid the incredible poverty there, it's a

beautiful place. more people should come here. it's just and see what it is. there's so many great things here. then the earthquake happened and that sort of changed everything. >> coming up. disaster strikes, ben commits to helping haiti rebuild. billion dollars to help those affected and to cover cleanup costs. today, the beaches and gulf are open, and many areas are reporting their best tourism seasons in years. and bp's also committed to america. we support nearly 250,000 jobs and invest more here than anywhere else. we're working to fuel america for generations to come. our commitment has never been stronger. the potential of yelp unlocked. nyse euronext. unlocking the world's potential.

without freshly-made pasta. you could also cut corners by making it without 100% real cheddar cheese. but then...it wouldn't be stouffer's mac & cheese. just one of over 70 satisfying recipes for one from stouffer's.

>> hello, back stage at the auditorium, we are minutes away from the start of cnn heroes, an all-star tribute. there are ways that you can get involved and talk back with us. first of all, you can talk on our live brlog.

and talk to us. join us on twitter, #cnn heroes or@cnn heroes. instagram/cnn heroes. let's go back to "cnn heros: sharing the spotlight." >> just months after ben stiller was inspired to help educate haiti youth, the earthquake shook the country to its core. with hundreds of thousands dead and injured among the casualties were students and teachers and schools.

ben redoubled his commitment to the island nation and its children, helping to raise millions dollars for the nonprofit partners to rebuild nine schools and counting. >> you created a stiller foundation? >> yeah. though i feel uncomfortable with the name. like lebron james should have a foundation. i thought we should call it the jennifer aniston foundation. to get more hits. >> she did not want to do that. >> yeah. >> how do you make sure that, you know, the money goes where it is supposed to go and you get the impact that you want to have? >> that's the stuff you learn about as you get more involved and realize how complicated it is. especially in the whole world of organizations that are out there trying to do good. try to be really aware of transparency and accountability, it's a real issue. >> for you, that is what you

look for, your foundation partners with other -- >> yeah, i mean, did i not want to start another ngo, i felt like i'm not qualified to do that. i don't have any great, you know, ideas on how to get clean water or how to solve education issues. i just wanted to help people that i thought were doing good work and actually getting things the done. >> how tough is it to get things done in haiti? >> it's hard, it's very hard. there's something like 9,000 or 10,000 ngos in haiti for a population of 9 million or 10 million people. it's a huge amount of organizations that are not coordinated most of the time. so it's about patience and he kn -- and knowing if you stick with it and work with people that you believe are doing the right thing, that is all you can do. >> is it strange to go to a place like haiti and see the things that you city there and do the work that you -- that you

see there and do the work you do there and come back and be on a red carpet? >> it is strange show business is weird and ridiculous, so why not use it for something to try to help people. >> does it help? >> once the earthquake is over, people move on to the next thing and that's the reality of the world. to be able to keep talking about something that is not in the forefront of people's mind i think can be helpful. >> do you get recognized? >> a little. not too much. it's -- it's kind of depressing. no. the reality is -- >> that's what this is really about, right? >> no, look, it is a country, they do not have a single movie theater right now. show business is not one of their priorities with all they are dealing with. >> they have to get their priorities the straight. >> they should get their priorities straight and i will talk to my agent about getting more exposure. >> there's cool art deco theaters that are around the

approxima -- around the presidential palace and they are cool. >> one of the projects we are funding is the haiti film school. >> really? >> that is interesting. >> yeah, it is interesting. it's funny, i did a q&a with the students about a movie i directed. made hard hitting questions. >> they did? like what? >> well, it was about tropic thunder and they asked me if i thought it was funny to make fun of war and i was trying to explain that it was making fun of actors. >> sorry, could we cut. it was funny to reengage with something. i thought i had taken all the tough questions already. >> the exposure on tropic thunder? >> the explosion of the director in tropic thunder, what does it mean to you? and what message did you want to convey? >> let's go and make the greatest war movie ever.

>> yeah! >> yeah! >> yeah! [ explosion ] >> sometimes as an actor, you want to blow up the director. so we thought it might be interesting, funny and surprising to have a character all of a sudden disappear, early in the movie that you were not expecting. >> it was a genius move. did they get it? >> they did get it and they are amazing. it was amazing to see the movies they are working on. and they are so unique to haiti, it's fascinating. >> do you think of haiti a lot when you are here? does it stay with you? >> for sure. it's part of your life when you see the good and the bad. it's not possible to live your life here and not know what they are doing down there. they have been through so much, and our history is so inter