Year: 2016
JESSICA ALBA USES HER OWN HONEST PRODUCTS
Jessica Alba may be a movie star and a successful businesswoman, but she does do her own shopping – at least sometimes. She and her family are in Kauai, Hawaii for the holidays and she went by herself to the local Foodland supermarket to stock up for the weekend. She even bought a few of her own products from The Honest Co, which is now worth a billion dollars! Looks like fireworks are on the menu for the New Year also….
Photo Credit: AKM-GSI
MADONNA HAS TAKEN UP A NEW SPORT
Madonna wants you to know what she’s doing over the holidays. She’s SKIING with her children and friends – not in Aspen – but Switzerland! She claims her kids talked her into taking up the sport. Among Madonna’s group you can see magician David Blaine next to her son David. Madonna and Blaine were an item in 1998 and have remained friends through the years. Rocco brought his British girlfriend along so he’s happier than usual. Looks like a good time was had by all.
Photo from Madonna’s Instagram.
SHARON STONE TRADED A BOYTOY FOR AN OLDER MAN
Sharon Stone, 58, keeps herself busy – with her AIDS charity work and the fact that she has around five movies coming out in 2017. But there’s always time for a new boyfriend. Sharon’s last boyfriend was Argentinian model Martin Mica, who happened to be 30 years younger than she is. It was a hot romance, but Sharon lost interest after eight months because they had little in common. Now she’s seeing successful sports agent from Atlanta, Lonnie Cooper, who’s closer to her age at 62. They spent Christmas in St Barts together and today Sharon and Lonnie took his daughter out for a jaunt in Beverly Hills. He must be very excited to be dating THE Sharon Stone!
Photo Credit: AKM-GSI
JOHN STAMOS HAS PREDICTABLE TASTE IN WOMEN
John Stamos, 53, definitely has a type. He prefers beautiful young model/actresses – not unlike his exwife Rebecca Romijn. The Full House star has been spending all his time with starlet Caitlin McHugh, 32. She’s an up and coming actress who’s done a lot of TV (Vampire Diaries etc) and a few movies. They’ve been a couple for the past year, but John’s been very quiet about it. They did vacation in Europe this summer and John was seen taking copious photos of Caitlin. They share one important interest – both love dogs.
(Above, John and Caitlyn leaving the celebrity hangout Madeo)
WHO DIDN’T LOVE DEBBIE REYNOLDS?
Is this the week of heartbreak or what? We’re still miserable from the loss of Carrie Fisher yesterday and apparently her mother Debbie Reynolds was so distraught that she suffered a stroke. At her son Todd Fisher’s house, while making funeral plans for her daughter Carrie! Back in the 90’s, we were lucky to have spent a weekend with Debbie Reynolds at her doomed Hotel in Las Vegas. Debbie and her best friend Charles Nelson Reilly were desperately trying to save the hotel from bankruptcy. She invited press people for a free weekend to see the Hollywood Memorabilia Museum she had installed there. She and Charles entertained and wined and dined us nonstop throughout the weekend. We DID love the museum and wrote about it. But nothing could save the mismanaged, dated hotel. Debbie had a lot of disasters in her life- financial and otherwise- but she remained an enthusiastic and positive sweetheart. We will never forget her.
(Above, Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds, and Albert Brooks (her costar in the wonderful “Mother”) at Debbie’s second Walk of Fame star ceremony in 1997)
Photo Credit: AKM-GSI
ZSA ZSA GABOR FINALLY MARRIED THE WRONG MAN
It’s the final insult for the late Zsa Zsa Gabor, who passed away at the age of 99 at her Bel Air home. In 1986 when Zsa Zsa took Frederic Von Anhalt for her ninth husband, she thought she was marrying royalty – a legitimate German prince – and that made HER royalty too! Eventually she learned that Frederic’s royal ties were questionable at best, but by then she was too ill to object. As her health declined, Zsa Zsa spent most of the last decade in bed in a vegetative state. Fredric sold photos of her looking awful in bed to tabloids! And he cut off her daughter Francesca Hilton’s allowance, so when she died, she was living in her car! All the while, Von Anhalt was “adopting” numerous young men to give them Princely titles. When Zsa Zsa mercifully passed away Dec 18, Fredric hired a publicist to arrange a “star studded” memorial service. A list of celebrities “expected “ was distributed to the media. The “Prince” hoped to earn big bucks for media access. It turns out NONE of the listed celebrities agreed to attend and don’t plan to! A small but genuine memorial service for her friends will be happening in January after the holidays.
(Above, a billboard that Frederic posted on Sunset Strip in 2011 while Zsa Zsa was in the throes of dementia)
Photo Credit: Pacific Coast News
CARRIE FISHER SAW THE HUMOR IN EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED TO HER
We all saw it coming but we didn’t want it to be true. Carrie Fisher suffered that massive heart attack on a plane as she was coming home for Christmas. She was described as “unresponsive” when she was removed from the plane. What exactly does that mean? Unconscious, or no signs of life? After she was whisked to the hospital we were told that she was “stable.” Days later George Michael suddenly died and attention turned to him. Now Carrie is gone and we fondly remember laughing uproariously at her stage show “Wishful Drinking.” Carrie had plenty of problems in life and dealt with them all with her brilliant sense of humor. Not many children of famous parents achieve their own success like Carrie did. She was one of a kind. Hopefully her dog Gary was right beside her at the end.
Photo Credit: AKM-GSI
IS MICKEY ROURKE IS STARTING TO LOOK LIKE HIS DOG?
Mickey Rourke brought along his beloved pooch for Christmas Eve lunch at Caffé Roma with his buddies. He can be forgiven for a multitude of fashion offenses because everyone looks better with a dog. Really. Mickey has done a lot of bad things to his own appearance, but he actually looks cute because he and his dog have the same little smile.
Photo Credit: AKM-GSI
GEORGE MICHAEL WAS HIS OWN WORST ENEMY
He had a rollicking career that lasted for decades and millions of adoring fans, but was George Michael ever really happy? His life seemed to go downhill starting in 1998 when he was arrested for lewd conduct in that Beverly Hills public restroom. THAT bounced him out of the closet in a hurry. The following years were a blur of arrests, drug and sex scandals . He was involved in half a dozen driving incidents – mostly DUI. (Imagine finding a celebrity asleep behind the wheel of his car on the side of the road? And that happened more than once!) Anxiety and depression seemed to fuel his self -medication. Rehab didn’t work for him and he couldn’t help himself. So sad. His music made everyone else happy.
(Above, George and his last boyfriend, hairdresser Fadi Fawaz, on vacation in Australia in 2012)