The Latest in Celebrity News and Gossip

Celebrity Volunteers

2005-11-14T14:07:00.000-05:00

When it comes to targeting selfish, materialistic people, celebrities are typically the perfect target. They make unbelievable amounts of money and sometimes still ask for more, which leaves us as the general population snickering. They wear nothing but designer clothing and jewelry that costs more than most of us will ever see. They are completely out of touch with reality and don’t even recognize the hardships going on in the world around them…or do they?

Angelina Jolie sparked my interest in finding out more about celebrities who volunteer a great deal of their time to help the less fortunate. In one of my first posts, I told you about celebs who were helping in Katrina relief. But who are the real volunteers…the ones that do it regularly and do it more for the victims than for their own recognition and publicity (because you are kidding yourself if you think all the celebs who participated in telethons, etc. for Katrina were not also out for selfish purposes)? There are a handful that I found and what they do for the community with their mind-blowing amounts of money is quite impressive…and I’m not talking about sending a check to the Red Cross once a year (although that is also notable).

We have all heard of Angelina Jolie’s travels around the world greatly helping the sick, poor and very unfortunate…even to the extent that she has adopted both of her children out of these conditions and made them her own (and rumors are circulating that a third adoption is under way). Although I am not very fond of her as a person, she has done so much good in other parts of the world and has used her money in such a meaningful way, which we don’t see many people doing these days.

Kurt Warner, two-time NFL MVP volunteers much of his time visiting children in this country with terminal illnesses. One of the foundations he volunteers with is “Basket of Hope,” an organization that benefits children with cancer. Here is what he thinks about his experience with them: "Delivering a Basket of Hope to children has been an awesome experience. We look forward to our visits to the hospital and can feel Jesus' presence in the room with us as we visit and pray with these courageous people."

Country singers Toby Keith and Tim McGraw also devote a good amount of their time to help the less fortunate.They both (separately) hold multiple benefit concerts every year from which the proceeds go to charities of their choice. They also travel around the country visiting terminally ill people in hospitals, particularly children.

I believe that what someone does with their time and money shows so much about thier character, and these celebrities have definitely made great use of both and should be recognized for that! If you are interested in volunteering but don't know what opportunities are out there, this site is great for finding something related to your personal interests.

With Thanksgiving being just a week away (where did this semester go??), I would like to wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving and good luck preparing to finish the semester!

Hollywood Needs to Start Eating

2005-11-09T23:57:00.000-05:00

The “thin” look has almost always been extremely common in Hollywood, but recently, stars have gotten frighteningly skinny. Thin is one thing, but bone-showing skinny is scary looking and very unnerving, but definitely should not be a common trend. As I talked about in my last post, trends pass from celebrities to youth very quickly, and this trend of being bone skinny is certainly not one to pass down to the children and young adults in our country – people are already obsessed enough with weight.

Stars like Lindsay Lohan, Jessica Simpson and Nicole Richie recently lost a lot of weight in very little time. I would think that after Mary-Kate Olsen came out about her eating disorder last year, the amount of stars showing similar characteristics of one with a disorder would decline heavily. Instead, we are seeing more and more stars that are clearly not being healthy about their body weight. Many say that Jessica Simpson has a great body now and looks better than ever; but regardless of this, she lost the weight very quickly and limited her diet to an extreme in order to do it, neither of which is good for one’s body. Lindsay Lohan claimed for so long that she was not doing anything detrimental to her health to lose weight; but recently admitted that she ‘had’ a serious problem and is beginning to speak out to young girls regarding eating disorders and the negative effects they have on one’s mind and body. Everywhere you look, there are stars wasting away and looking so unhealthy, and it is truly something to worry about, not only for their health but for the negative effects they can have on the young America.

Many associate eating disorders with young stars, however the ‘thin is in’ trend is rapidly growing among older women in Hollywood as well. Right away I think of the women on Desperate Housewives, all of whom are noticeably skinny. Many say they all look great, but doesn’t anybody realize that this is NOT what 40-something women should look like? I don’t completely blame this on the women either. I believe the show producers play a big part in the way these women look – that they set a standard for them and are expected to maintain a certain look no matter what their means are for doing so. This happens more than most think and many women, who, in my opinion look great and healthy, lose roles in movies and TV shows because they are not thin enough. Those who think this doesn’t happen regularly are kidding themselves, and I think much more should be done to stop this kind of discrimination because it is ultimately going to destroy the body images of millions of young girls.

To see actual measurements of some of the "hottest" celebs, visit this site and for bios of some stars who have admittingly had an eating disorder, click here. Hopefully girls will realize that being extremely skinny is not healthy or attractive, but in my opinion it will take the help of Hollywood changing their status quo to help them do so.

Fashion Trends: Who Sets Them?

2005-11-05T11:57:00.000-05:00

We all know what the hot fashion trends are because they become so prevalent, especially among our age group, that they are impossible to ignore. But where and who do they come from? When do they start and why do some catch and some don’t? I’m going to devote this post to fashion trends we see among our peer group every day that have been inspired and sometimes even created by celebrities.

Probably one of the most familiar fashion trends in the past year and a half have been UGG boots. Despite their high price, I don’t know many girls who don’t own a pair – they are everywhere, especially on our UD campus. But did you know that UGGs had been around for years before their popularity emerged once celebs such as Britney Spears started prancing around in them? I feel like they really took off around the time when Spears, while on the red carpet, excitedly claimed “I got me some UGGs!” and went on to explain how cozy and cute they are. Spears has always been a fashion icon. Even though so many say she has become so trashy, girls keep following her trends…including her most recent one; t-shirts with sayings or phrases printed on them.

Another popular trend that emerged this summer was the “Bohemian” style, also known as the BOBO style (short for Bohemian Bourgeois). The first name that comes to my mind when I think of this style is Mary Kate Olsen. Pictured to the left, she sports her token look, which runs between a vintage look and a messy, just rolled out of bed look. Also sporting this style constantly are Mischa Barton, Kate Moss and Sienna Miller. I am personally not a fan of the BOBO style, but some can pull it off nicely.

Next we have the oversized sunglasses. The Olsens were also a trendsetter for these, but it is hard to tell where the trend really started because all of a sudden every star had them on, and soon after so did every girl in America (or so it seemed). Everyone from Lindsay Lohan to Eva Longoria to Paris Hilton sport these oversized specs, still today. It is one of the few trends that does not seem to be going away, oddly enough. This is another look that I think only some can really pull off.

Not so much a fashion trend, but worth mentioning is the drastic multi-toned hair trend set by Christina Aguilera, pictured on the right. She first sported this hairstyle in her “Dirty” music video. The colors she used drastically varied until she all of a sudden started sporting the Marilyn Monroe look. Although she no longer sports the long, multi-toned hair-do, more girls in America do than ever before.

Although most fashion trends are set (and followed) by women and girls, there is the occasional trend set/followed by men too. One that has stood out to me is the “trucker hat” trend, that seems to have been started by Ashton Kutcher. Multiple times on his MTV show Punk’d he wore trucker hats (hats that are foam in the front and mesh in the back) with humorous words on them. Soon after he began wearing these, I started to notice more guys wearing similar ones.

There are so many more trends that spread from Hollywood to the young population in America. If you can think of any more big ones I have not touched on, feel free to tell me about them in your comments!

Halloween Bash with the Stars

2005-10-26T22:18:00.000-04:00

In the spirit of Halloween, I'm going to dedicate this entry to celebrities' Halloween parties and costumes. I'll even include some ideas of how to dress up like well-known celebs for those of you who don't have a costume yet. As you know, celebrities are known to throw the biggest, most elaborate parties for almost any occasion...So just try to imagine a celeb party for the most elaborate, gone-all-out occasion of the year. There are several celeb-swamped exclusive parties that are held every year habitually, including the Playboy mansion's bash, the West Hollywood Halloween Carnaval, and the DASK Procutions Masquerade and Costume Ball (catch a sneak peak!). Possibly the most well known and exclusive Halloween party in the world is the one held by Hugh Heffner and the Playboy bunnies at their mansion. In order to attend the party, you MUST be personally invited by Hef himself. They strictly adhere to the guest list due to the popularity of counterfeit tickets to the bash. Among the lucky invitees are Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu, Kevin Spacey, Kelsey Grammer, Heidi Fleiss, Jim Belushi, Jimmy Kimmel, Craig Kilborn, Jamie Foxx, Paris Hilton, and lots of others. This halloween party is like no other, with its main features being three separate spooked cemeteries, a haunted house filled with live and undead horrors, a museum of horror memorabilia, a terrifying redwood forest adventure, and some 70 actors in ghoulish costume. The mansion itself activates its two giant fire-breathing rooftop gargoyles and a monster attempts to scale the mansion's stone walls throughout the evening. Inside the party, the guests feast on sumptuous buffets and are supplied with special drinks by body-painted servers. I'm sure it is quite the sight to see. Here are some pictures from one of their Halloween parties a couple years ago.

So what are celebs dressing as for Halloween when the rest of the world is dressing to look like them? Pictured at the top of this post is model Molly Sims dressed as a fairy at Heidi Klum's bash in NYC. To view other celebrities including Diddy all decked out in their costumes, click here. Also, for those of you who are looking for an original, creative costume this year, check this site out for some pretty good ideas on how do dress up like the popular celebs of this year. I am always looking for different costumes because we see so many of the same things every year - angels/devils, cats, bunnies, and male profession workers turned female for as girls' costumes, and pimps, professionals, and "girls" as guys' costumes. I feel like a common celeb costume this year will definately be Daisy Duke (Jessica Simpson) from the movie "Dukes of Hazzard," so if you're looking for an original, creative costume portraying a movie star, I would go with something different than this one.

Let me know what your celeb costume ideas are and what you are dressing as if it is celebrity related! Last year I was Paris Hilton and my room mate was Nicole Ricci and we dressed like the girls did in thier reality show "The Simple Life." We had a lot of fun with it and it was an original inexpensive costume to put together. Let me know your ideas! Have a great Halloween and week!

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

2005-10-19T05:50:00.000-04:00

It appears as though another fad of the new millennium has emerged: plastic surgery. It has been performed for years previous to the turn of the millennium but it really only seemed to take off in popularity in the past eight years or so. The entire nation is enthralled by cosmetic surgery – according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, 8.3 million Americans had procedures in 2003, up 20 percent from the previous year and nearly 300 percent from six years earlier. Why has it taken off? My best guess is, you guessed it, celebrity influence. It was quite startling to me to find out who has gone under the knife. There are the obvious ones - Pamela Anderson, Michael Jackson, Goldie Hawn - but there are also a bunch of stars you wouldn't really expect it from. I'm sure you will be startled also to find out who they are…

Sharon Stone – facelift
Michelle Pfeifer – breasts, facelift, brow lift, nose job, lips
Madonna – facelift, nose job
Heidi Klum – Breast Implants
Prince Charles – ears pinned back, hair transplant
Halle Berry –nose job – had it tweaked several times
Kate Hudson – nose job
Freddy Prinze Jr. – nose job
Jessica Simpson – breast lift

…just to name a few. For more, you can view good plastic surgeries here or this one for horrible plastic surgeries (view links in the right margins). You will be absolutely stunned when you discover some of your favorite celebs on these sites that you would have never thought had work done.

Although so many stars are having work done, other stars have nothing positive to say about going under the knife. Here are some quotes from stars regarding plastic surgery:

For Kirstie Alley, 53, "it’s sick. We should start concentrating on our lives, (not) our noses and breasts."

"It’s out of control," says Shannen Doherty, 33

"Botox freaks me out," Cameron Diaz, 32, said to Harper’s Bazaar. "You see pictures of people with it, and it looks like their faces are dead in that one place."

“Does (plastic surgery) hurt? It must hurt terribly,” Julia Roberts, 36, said to Good Housekeeping. “But if it makes you happy, if it makes you feel good, you should do whatever that is, whether it’s plastic surgery or getting up and running four miles."

I personally feel the same way Kirstie Alley does on this topic. How about you? What is your opinion of plastic surgery in general? Does it change your opinion of a star when you find out he/she has gotten work done to their body/face?

Have a great weekend!

Crib Robbers or Madly in Love?

2005-10-16T19:14:00.000-04:00

It's official! Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes are not only engaged but expecting thier first child together early this spring. I haven't really paid much attention to them throughout the whole ordeal of getting together and planning to tie the knot, because quite frankly I thought it was a publicity stunt. They barely knew each other before getting engaged on top of the Eiffel Tower (how perfect) and constantly put out this image that they were too happy for words and couldn't get enough of each other. In my opinion, if a couple truly is madly in love, they don't need to go prancing around making out in public and jumping around like idiots to prove how in love they are; couples that are genuinely in love just give off a subtle aura to those around them that shows how truly happy they are (Demi and Ashton are a good example). Tom and Katie are just a little much for me - the constant physical contact actually makes me kind of sick. But anyway, I think the most awkward thing about thier new love is the age difference. I am not opposed to age differences by any means because sometimes it can be appropriate for couples who stay classy about it, but I don't feel that Tom and Katie are one of those couples. They are both huge role models (especially Katie) for the younger generations in our society, and dating a man 17 years older for a couple months and then getting engaged to him and soon after (possibly even before) getting pregnant by him, is just sending the wrong message. Some have questioned what her motives are in devoting the rest of her life to an older man, which is usually the case when a young woman marries an older man. I will touch on this a little later - for now I want to share with you a few more celebrity couples with big age gaps.

Married celebrities Michael Douglass (56) and Catherine Zeta Jones (31) have received mass criticism because of thier 25 year age difference. I can accept the age difference in their case. Although it is a huge gap, they carry themselves very well and stay extremely classy despite all the negative things people say about them. The only factors I worry about in this relationship are the children. The couple has two children, ages 5 and 2. When these kids are graduating high school, thier dad is going to be 69 and 72; let alone when they are older and have kids of thier own - who's to say he's even going to live that long? It's really sad when you think about it that way. Regardless of all of this, a man in his 60's, no matter who he is, has the energy level that a young dad has, which will strongly deter him from having a close bond with his children as they grow and continue being more and more active.

An even huger age gap is that between Billy Joel and Kate Lee - he is 55, she is 23 - a 32 year age difference. This, I think, is pushing it. First of all, hes MORE than twice her age, second of all, she is pretty much OUR age and dating someone older than most of our parents, and worst of all, his daugher Alexa Ray is almost 19 years old! Personally, I would be mortified if I were him. But it seems as though they are fine with everything and moving on with their lives just like any couple would. Rod Stewart sings "Forever Young," and that's what he seems to look for in companions. The 60-year-old and his estranged wife, Rachel Hunter, 35, have yet to finalize a divorce. Meanwhile, his new fiancee, Penny Lancaster, 34, is pregnant. Pretty gross if you ask me. While I'm showing my wits and songs as puns, I might as well mention Paul McCartney. He sang, "Will you still need me, will you still feed me, when I'm 64?" Well, he's getting there! The singer turned 63 in July, and he and second wife, Heather Mills, 37, have a daughter, who turns 2 in October. Again, I am sad for this little girl. There is a good chance she not even get to be escorted down the aisle at her own wedding by her father, and forget about her children ever really getting to know thier grandpa.

When a younger woman marries an older man, many question whether it is for money, security, or alternate reasons other than love. But what about when a younger man marries an older woman? This is actually more common in celebrity marriages than you would think. Mary Tyler Moore, Elizabeth Taylor, Susan Sarandon, Goldie Hawn, Roseanne, and Demi Moore have all chosen younger men as their love interests. It is commonly speculated that younger men end up with older women because they are finally looking for a mother figure that they either never had or found inadequate growing up. I'm not so sure this has anything at all to do with it, it sounds too much like the Oedipus complex to me, which really creeps me out. The main couple of this sort that has been in the news, as you know, is Ashton and Demi. The couple, who is 15 years apart in age, recenly wed in a private ceremony. I absolutly love both of them and totally support them in getting married. They are so adorable together and they seem so in love and so happy. In this situation, I don't worry about her children because the kids are old enough to understand what is going on and they love Ashton to death. However, Demi and Ashton have both said in interviews that they want kids. For Demi, who is 42, the biological clock is ticking very slow, if it hasn't stopped ticking all together. It has actually been proven dangerous and impairing for women over 35 to have children. I think the couple should take this into account when deciding whether to actually have biological children. The 58-year-old Susan Sarandon married Tim Robbins, who is 12 years younger than her and they have two sons. There has not been a huge amount of publicity about this couple although they are somewhat far apart, probably because they are both older in general - she is 58 and he is 46. When couples get to those ages it doesn't seem to matter as much for some reason, I guess that's just the way our society works. 49-year-old Geena Davis and her fourth husband, Dr. Reeza Jarrahy, a 34-year-old neurosurgeon, married in a 2001 wedding, and so far so good. Maybe a younger man really was what she needed to truly settle down. One last couple I want to talk about is another one of my favorite couples - Cameron Diaz (33) and Justin Timberlake (24). Again, this is not a huge age gap and I see nothing wrong with it but some have said that she is much more mature than the boy band/R&B/Pop singer and that it will never last. I disagree.

I look forward to hearing what you think about this topic and these couples! Have a super week!

Former Child Stars: Where are They Now?

2005-10-06T21:09:00.000-04:00

As you probably know, plenty of children make it to the big screen...and as quickly as they came, they disappear. I'm sure you also know that some have stuck around and continued to entertain us, whether on screen or off. So where have these child celebs gone? I'll talk about some of the better known ones since there have been so many, but I'll put a link at the bottom of this post in case I miss any of your faves!

We all know the notorious story of Drew Barrymore, who scored her major breakout role in E.T., started getting drunk when she was 9, got hooked on cocaine when she was 12, posed for playboy at 20, and later that same year danced topless on Letterman, AND managed to marry and divorce twice by the age of 26. Surprisingly, she made an allegedly sober comeback as producer and actress in Charlies Angels: Full Throttle in 2003. She is now known as a mega-star producer. Any opinions on her? Another sweetheart that stuck through her Hollywood career from childhood into adulthood (minus addictions) is Sarah Jessica Parker, who began her career in 'Square Pegs,' 'Footloose' and 'Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.' She went on to perform for several years on broadway and starred in couple more movies including 'Til There Was You,' before making it HUGE as Carrie on Sex and the City. She is by far one of my favorite actresses and people. Matthew Dillon also survived childhood in Hollywood, starting in 'Little Darlings' and 'My Bodyguard,' and moving on into adulthood as director of 'City of Ghosts,' and still acting in various films. If you can think of any other child stars that are still big in Hollywood, let me know about them!

As far as child stars that didn't quite make it to adulthood in Hollywood, I'm sure you heard the rumor at some point that Dustin Diamond (Screech from Saved by the Bell) died in a car accident/drug overdose/earthquake. But, I'm happy to report he is happily living and is currently a Wrestling chest teacher (if anyone knows what this is, help me out... For a fun little blast from the past, find out which SBTB character you are! Another TV star, Jaimee Foxworth, who played Judy on Family Matters, moved up in the world - she became a porn star. Family Matters --> Porn Star...thats just WRONG. Well, supposedly she is now 'retired' and out of showbiz completely. And then we have our dear Macaulay Culkin, the most profitable child star since Shirley Temple, who of course debuted his career in the Home Alone movies. After retiring at 16, marrying at 17, testifying for Michael Jackson at 24, he was recently sentenced to a suspended jail term and $1000 fine for misdemeaner drug charges. <--Another one that's going places with his life-->Todd Bridges, "Willis" from Diff'rent Strokes, sadly grew up to be a criminal. He has been arrested seven times on charges ranging from cocaine possession to murder, however has not served jail time to date. He is now a motivational speaker and has one child. Tracey Gold, who played Carol on 'Growing Pains,' went on to be heavily anorexic, which became common knowledge at the time. Then, in January of this year, she pleaded guilty to drunken driving charges filed against her after rolling her SUV over last September with her husband and three children in the car. At this point, I might as well update you on a couple of child stars that have done great things in their adulthood so you don't think every child actor is doomed to hell. Kirk Cameron, who was Tracey Gold's co-star in Growing Pains as Mike, has become a minister, cofounder of 'Living Waters Ministry,' and founder of Camp Firefly, a camp for terminally ill children. He is happily married with six children. Andrea Barber, aka Kimmy Gibbler of 'Full House,' went on to lead a normal life, got married and stayed married and plans to attend graduate school in the near future. Sadly, I couldn't really find any super-popular child stars that went on to do positive things with thier lives. Maybe I'll think twice before trying to get my kids into showbiz...

(If there is anyone in here that you wanted to know about but I didn't mention, click here!)

I hope you like my blog so far!! Let me know of any suggestions you have for how I can make it better! I don't get offended easily so let me have it! Have a great week everyone (and good luck on midterms)!

ENJOY BRAD PAISLEY'S "CELEBRITY!!!"

Splitsville: The New 'Hollywood'

2005-09-27T00:32:00.000-04:00

So apparently there is a new trend in Hollywood that is running rampid this year...divorce. This is surely not a new thing in the lives of celebs, but for some reason, this year has seen quite an upsurge in divorce rates among them. Personally, I think it does nothing but mock the sacrament of marriage and make divorce look just that much more tolerable. The divorce rates have undoubtably skyrocketed in this country in the past couple decades but they can only keep increasing when the younger generations see thier role models getting married and then divorced just months later - it makes marriage seem like it can be so temporary - and that's definately not ok. Hopefully I'm not the only one that thinks this way.

First was Jen and Brad. We all have watched and sympathized as the 'perfect' pair split in March over 'irreconcilable differences,' and were granted a divorce on August 19 by Judge Jill Robbins, which will be final on October 2. Brad has already found solace in new lover Angelina Jolie, and rumors continue to circulate that they are planning to wed already. I was always a huge fan of Brad but my respect for him has gone down, real fast. Another couple whose divorce has attracted mass publicity is Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards. Richards, at six months pregnant, filed for divorce in early March. The split was apparently shocking to friends and family and rumors that Sheen cheated circulated almost immediately. Godfather star James Caan filed for divorce in April after nine years of marriage. They remain very close friends and respect each other very much. Christian Slater filed for divorce in February after five years with his wife, Ryan Haddon. Snoop Dogg filed for divorce from Shante Broadus, wife of seven years and mother of his three children. He is seeking joint custody of the kids, and the divorce will probably not be final for at least another year. Marc Anthony and ex-wife Dayanara Torres made thier divorce final, just in time for him to turn right around and marry Jennifer Lopez. Uma Therman and Ethan Hawke also settled thier divorce early this summer. Also this summer, Rod Stewart filed for divorce from his wife (who separated him in 1999) upon finding out that his new fiance, Penny Lancaster (who is about half his age) is pregnant. Sick. Steven Tyler and his wife of 17 years split early this year on the basis of 'irreconcilable differences' also. Then in July, Model Mia Tyler followed in Daddy's footsteps when she and her husband Dave Buckner, a drummer for Papa Roach filed for divorce after two years of marriage (after tying the knot in 2003 during an Aerosmith concert). Also in July, Shannon Elizabeth (American Pie foreign exchange girl) filed for a divorce from Joseph Reitman, husband of three years. They plan to remain friends. Later this summer, Nicole Murphy, wife of Eddie Murphy filed for divorce after twelve years of marriage. They have maintained that the welfare of their children is thier main concern and priority through the whole ordeal. As I mentioned in a past entry, Jenny McCarthy and her husband are getting a divorce after six years together. They have a three year old son. Just this week, there were three couples that filed for divorce: Kathy Griffin and Matthew Moline, Chad Michael Murray and Sophia Bush, and Jamie-Lynn DiScala (Sopranos star) and husband A.J.

Seems never ending huh? It's absolutely unbelievable to me! And we still have 3 months left in this year! I didn't even mention all of the divorces filed that I found...Its so sad how many there really have been. Oh and on a side note, Paris and Paris are still on the bandwagon to tie the knot. In my opinion, they will be an addition to the above list in no time. Let me know how you feel about all of this!

Have a great week!

The Never Ending Piggy Bank

2005-09-21T11:16:00.000-04:00

So we all know that celebs make some substantial cash. We see pictures of their muli-million dollar homes, multiple cars, jewelry and clothes that cost more than we can fathom spending. I don't know about you but I think the amount of money some celebrities make is just ludacrous. There is such a gap in this country that is getting wider and wider as the rich are gettin richer and the poor are getting poorer. There are millions of Americans that have more than one job and/or work 60-80 hour weeks...just to get by. There are other Americans with so much talent that don't have the resources needed to get their feet wet in showbiz. All the while celebrities such as Paris Hilton are spending more than some people make in a year, on an outfit. It is a little disturbing to me when I see stars demanding more and more money as thier career advances, as if they don't have enough already. SO how much money are we talking about?

I'm sure I'm not the only one curious about who makes the most money in Hollywood and how much they actually do make. I found all of the following information at forbes.com (which is also a very insightful and informative website for all you business students out there!). In this year's salary report, Will Ferrell is actually the highest paid actor (in terms of this year's salary). He will be making about $40 million in salary in 2005. This surprised me because he wouldn't have been one of my first guesses, however when I started to think about it, he has been up-and-coming for several years now through SNL and various movies, and apparently it's his time to shine now...so we should be seeing a lot of Will in the near future! Topping all other actresses is, not surprisingly, Jennifer Aniston. She is a very talented and experienced actress and I can only imagine the salary offers she must get from producers everywhere. Although she will be making less money this year than last, $18.5 million is nothing to complain about. On a side note, I am pleased to see that she continues to advance her career and be so successful and confident in herself after her heartbreaking split with Brad Pitt. Moving onto athletes, I'm sure you would guess that Tiger Woods has some spare change in his pockets. Topping all other athletes across all sports, he will make about $87 million this year alone. Just take a second and try to picture that kind of salary. What does anyone do with money like that?? Not only is he the highest paid athlete, he is the fourth highest paid celebrity this year! Makes me wish I played golf as a kid! And speaking of kids, it is also not surprising that the Olsen twins are the highest paid "children" stars, making $21 million between the two of them this year. Although they do all thier work together, I find it a little awkward to count them as THE highest paid celebrity, because I don't think either of them on thier own would make that kind of money...so next on the chart is Lindsay Lohan, who will make $11 million. The highest paid model this year was between Gisele and Heidi Klum, but Gisele takes it with a $15.2 million salary. Last but not least of the categories I want to mention is that of talk show host. 9 out of 10 people who are in touch with celebrity life at all would guess correctly when they say that Oprah takes this category, hands down. But I can also be sure that these people are not even capable of fathoming Oprah's salary this year...a staggering $225 million! Not only is she blowing all other talk show hosts out of the water, she is the second highest paid celebrity overall! In one way I think it's insane for any one person to be making that kind of money, but in another way I think it's awesome that an African-American woman in our society has made herself so incredibly successful. Also, if someone is going to be running around with $225 million, there are no better hands to have it than Oprah's. I admire her for all the wonderful things she does with her money for the less fortunate. Not only does she donate tens of millions of dollars to charities each year, she also does tremendous amounts of missionary work, both on and off her show. For a glimpse of some of the great things Oprah does with her money, click here

Also, to view the complete lists of the most wealthy and powerful celebrities this year, check out the database/article at Forbes.com

See you all next week!

Baby Boom!

2005-09-14T21:03:00.000-04:00

Well...I was going to write my post this week about Hollywood's Baby Boom originally, but I decided to wait until Britney Spears had her baby since she is the most well-known mom-to-be of 2005...and wrote a post about celebrity conflicts (which can be found below). HOWEVER, when I got off work tonight I discovered that Britney actually had her baby today after I wrote my post on conflicts. Sooo I'm just going to have two posts this week because I love babies and keeping up with all the Hollywood newborns and I really wanted to write about them.First, the infamous Britney and Kevin. The newlyweds gave birth this afternoon to a baby boy after checking into an L.A. hospital at 6AM for a C-Section to be performed. They have not yet decided on a name, but are considering Preston Michael Spears Federline and Preston London Spears Federline. Both mother and baby Spears are reportedly healthy and happy as can be. But Spears isn't the only one with a brand new addition to her family. Heidi Klum and Seal had a baby boy late Monday night. The name they decided on almost immediately was Henry Günther Ademola Dashtu Samuel...whew that is quite a name. H.G.A.D.S. will join Klums first child (daughter), Leni, whom she had with ex-husband Flavio Briatore, Italian Formula One boss. Again, mom and baby are doing well and Klum insists that she will be at the Emmy Awards Show this coming Sunday. Tina Fey, Saturday Night Live's Weekend Update anchor and writer of the blockbuster "Mean Girls," and husband SNL composer Jeff Richmond, welcomed a tiny addition to their family this past Saturday; a baby girl whom they have named Alice. On August 22, Jerry Seinfeld and wife Jessica welcomed a baby boy to thier family of four. The infant, whom they have named Shepherd Kellen will join his four year old sister, Sascha, and two year old brother, Julian. Angelina Jolie takes on motherhood in a slightly different way. This past summer Jolie adopted her second child despite the facts that she is a single mom and the middle of several rumors and gossip peices concerning Brad Pitt. She adopted little Zahara, an Ethiopian baby girl who spent the first four months of her life living in horrific poverty - she was less than nine pounds at four months of age. Angelina claims that both her and her four year old son, Maddox, are very excited that Zahara has joined them and claims that both her children "give her so much joy."

There are so many more babies that were born earlier this year and so many on the way...to read more about them, click here.

On a side note...I have included links in the margin to some of my classmates' blogs who are covering related topics. There is also a "Class Blog" link in which you can find the rest of my classmates' blogs - you should definately check them all out!

Hollywood Conflicts

2005-09-14T13:09:00.000-04:00

Just as glamour and glitz in Hollywood are constant, so is conflict. And when there is Hollywood conflict, we love to hear about it. Whether it is a breakup, a feud, or a spiteful remark, a conflict among the rich and famous will undoubtably make headlines everywhere. The most recent conflict that has caught the American citizen's eye is that caused by rapper Kanye West against President Bush. During a live NBC Telethon that aired on September 2, Kanye West strayed from the script with an opinion of his own concerning President Bush. He stated that "America is set up to help the poor, the black population, the less well-off as slow as possible," and soon after went on to say "President Bush doesn't care about blacks." West was referring to the delay of time after Hurricane Katrina that it took for federal help to arrive to devastated areas. Bush did not directly respond to West's outrage, but did state that the delay in help was utterly "unacceptable." He stated yesterday that "to the extent that the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility." Bush is scheduled to make a televised statement tomorrow night (Thursday) during his fourth trip to the devastated south.
Another conflict that continues to make headlines is that between engaged couple Jude Law and Sienna Miller. Law cheated on his fiance of eight months in July of this past summer with thier nanny. Since, he has made a public apology to Miller and those close to them and taken full responsibility for his actions. However, thus far Sienna has called the wedding off and has not yet made a statement on whether or not she will forgive Jude. They have been seen together recently in London, but she is still not wearing her engagement ring. His actions ironically emulate those of his character in the hit movie "Alfie," in which he is a womanizer, straying from girlfriends and using women for sex. It always strikes me as interesting when stars become thier characters in real life.
Speaking of couple conflict, Jenny McCarthy and her husband, John Asher have recently filed for divorce after six years of marriage. They have a three year old son named Evan. Rumors have it that the split was caused by complications in their marriage during the filming of "Dirty Love" which she wrote and he directed. The movie is scheduled to open this month.
If anyone knows of any other heated conflicts or breakups let me know about them!!

Celebrities stepping up to the plate for Hurricane Katrina victims

2005-09-07T11:06:00.000-04:00

With all of the heartbreak surrounding the recent Hurricane Katrina, I think it would be appropriate to reveal those celebrities that have helped out with the relief efforts down south. Among the celebrities who have donated money to various efforts are Nicolas Cage, Celine Dion, Hilary Duff, John Grisham, Willie Nelson, Diddy, and Jay-Z, among others. There are also many telethons in the making right now which will help raise money from our fellow citizens; some of the celebrities contributing to and appearing in these telethons include Lindsay Lohan, Eric LaSalle, Glenn Close, Richard Gere, John Goodman, Leonardo DiCaprio, Russell Simmons, Chris Rock, Wynton Marsalis, Master P, Juvenile, David Banner, Neil Young, the Rolling Stones, Green Day, Paul McCartney, Kanye West, Brian Wilson, Sheryl Crow, Dave Matthews, Ludacris, Gretchen Wilson, Usher, Alicia Keys, John Mellencamp and Rob Thomas. Various talk show hosts including Ellen DeGeneres, Jay Leno and Oprah have taped episodes devoted to complete coverage of Katrina's aftermath. Oprah's coverage of the aftermath featured touching personal visits to the victims from Julia Roberts, Matthew McConaughey, Chris Rock, John Travolta and Lisa Marie Presley. These are just a few of the celebrities who are taking considerable time out of their careers for the sole purpose of helping fellow citizens in desperate need. I think they all deserve to be admired for their willingness and selflessness in this ongoing effort. It shows a lot of character when someone who is living a fantasy life can empathize with those much less fortunate than themselves and take an active role in helping them put thier lives back together. They can obviously afford to give back to the community much more than the average American and it's nice to see that they can recognize that and act as quickly as so many of them have. For more on celebrities rallying for Katrina victims, and to see how you can help, visit http://et.tv.yahoo.com/celebrities/etsid295310012417/ .

Intro to my blog

2005-09-01T14:27:00.000-04:00

As much as we will deny it, the lives of the rich and famous fascinate us. We buy magazines to read about their lives, watch TV shows such as "The Fabulous Life Of ____," and find some kind of twisted pleasure watching thier lives come crumbling down in breakups, fights, and judicial affairs. Why? Couldn't tell you. But instead of going out and buying US Weekly or People Magazine every week, just log into my blog, and stay up to date on the latest and greatest (and most dramatic) in the lives of all the celebrities we look up to. I will keep up with sports stars, movie stars...basically entertainers of all kinds, and even political figures. This is where to come to get all the dirt. Don't miss it!