Song Lyrics collection, browseable by Artists, Albums, Top Lyrics and Songs over 28,000 artists and 650,000 lyrics
]]>Song Lyrics collection, browseable by Artists, Albums, Top Lyrics and Songs over 28,000 artists and 650,000 lyrics
]]>NEW YORK - "You get the best of both worlds," Miley Cyrus sings in the theme song of her hugely popular Disney Channel show, "Hannah Montana." It's a reference to her character's secret double life as both a rock star AND a normal schoolgirl.Offscreen, though, this 15-year-old phenom is starting to learn how hard it really is to have the best of both worlds: as a G-rated Disney superstar AND a real-life, growing teenager with an eye on a long career.Cyrus, whose fresh, easy charm and down-home southern appeal have catapulted her to an astonishing level of celebrity, especially in the past year, found herself having to apologize Sunday for some entirely un-Miley photos in Vanity Fair magazine.At a moment when she otherwise would have been relishing an amazing week a deal for her memoirs (reportedly seven figures), the cover of People magazine and a feature in Vanity Fair she issued a statement saying how embarassed she was. This came almost certainly at the behest of worried executives at The Walt Disney Co., for whom she will reap a reported $1 billion this year.For the record, only Cyrus' back and shoulders are bare in the most controversial shot by Annie Leibovitz, the renowned celebrity photographer. Many an Oscar-night gown would show as much skin. Cyrus herself told the magazine in an accompanying article that she found the photo, in which she gathers a sheet around her, "really artsy. It wasn't in a skanky way. And you can't say no to Annie."But Cyrus IS 15, with a fan base that begins in preschool. And it's what the photo suggests rather than shows the idea that she might be nude, perhaps even in bed that bothered some parents who poured their feelings onto blogs over the weekend. She wan't nude during the shoot, nor in bed, but she does have a subtle come-hither expression.Leibovitz said Monday that she and Cyrus had discussed the photos beforehand, and Vanity Fair said "Miley's parents and/or minders were on the set all day ... everyone thought it was a beautiful and natural portrait." As for Disney, it accused editors of creating a situation "to deliberately manipulate a 15-year-old." Disney declined to make anyone connected with "Hannah Montana" available to speak for this article.Unfortunately for Cyrus, the photos, taken in February, might not have made nearly such a splash but for a bit of awkward timing: They emerged just days after some attention-getting amateur shots of Cyrus hit the Web. In one, she tugs down a tank top to reveal a bright green bra. In another, she lies languidly on her back across a male friend, shirt raised to bare her midriff.So the timing was terrible. But some celebrity watchers saw the developments as an attempt by Cyrus and her handlers while not necessarily calculated to look ahead a few years, beyond the tween audience."She has to find a way to gain a new following," said Peter Castro, deputy managing editor of People magazine. He likened her situation to that of a butterfly still trapped in the cocoon. "She began as a caterpillar, and made a lot of money that way, but now she doesn't know which way to go. She's thinking, soon I've got to be a butterfly."Biological analogies aside, Cyrus' predicament evoked plenty of references to the cautionary tale of Britney Spears, who started on the Disney Channel about the same age as Cyrus and had her first huge hit, "Baby One More Time," at age 17."Britney was in a Miley place," said Castro. Then she decided to break out, making her persona in "Baby One More Time" a sexy schoolgirl, and doing a provocative photo shoot for Rolling Stone. "She alienated parents, but gained a whole following of older kids," says Castro.But, he added, "I don't know that Miley could get away with that. I think her dad and management team are closely following Britney's career, saying, 'Don't let this ever happen to you.'"Unlike the 26-year-old Britney of today, for whom the phrase "train wreck" has become an unwelcome cliche, the self-possessed and upbeat Cyrus has worn the title of "role model" easily. She has been utterly scandal-free until now, unless you count her failure to wear a seat belt during a car ride in her concert movie (her dad apologized for that, too)."Miley's at the very top of our celebrity list," said Joanna Saltz, executive editor of Seventeen magazine, whose average reader is between 16 and 17. While Spears never appears in Seventeen, readers love Cyrus, Saltz said, because she seems genuine, unproduced, comfortable in her own skin."And she's just exploded," said Saltz. "A year ago she was the queen of tweens, and now she's a favorite of our readers. She's crossed all age groups."Just how big is this young lady, whose 70-date concert tour in 2007 sold out within minutes, who had desperate parents filing lawsuits and entering wacky endurance contests (like hanging onto a pole for six days) to get tickets, who herself took home $1 million a week and something close to $20 million from the tour?"Honestly, it's astounding," said Rolling Stone editor Andy Greene. "She was selling 20,000-seat houses. She could have sold 80,000 a night. I spoke to one dad who said the atmosphere in there was like nothing since the early Beatles concerts. It's hard to think of anything quite like this." "Hannah Montana" is the No. 1 cable series for kids aged 6-14, and if you include the networks, second only to "American Idol." And even Cyrus' consolation prize to fans who couldn't get concert tickets, the "Best of Both Worlds Concert" 3D movie, grossed more than $60 million, a rare hit for a concert film. Her two soundtrack albums have sold 3.5 million and 3 million copies respectively in this country, according to Nielsen SoundScan. And according to People, "Hannah Montana" merchandise from bedding to handbags to toys to shoes is expected to rake in $1 billion this fiscal year. Janet Koch has made her own contribution to that sum. The mother from Weston, Conn., has bought her 9-year-old daughter, Cayla, a Hannah necklace, wig, hairband, and a microphone that plays Hannah songs. Pocketbooks in every color. A cute black hoodie. A belt. Posters to cover the walls. "I draw the line at the bedding," she quips. But Cayla can forgive that, because Mom managed to score a pair of tickets to the Cyrus concert in Hartford. Like so many other young girls, Cayla adores Cyrus, says her mother, "because she's someone she could see going to school with. She's not a diva. She's real." "She wants to be Miley," her mom says. "She wants to do exactly what Miley's doing." And while Cayla hasn't seen the Vanity Fair photos, her mother does not think she would be bothered by them. Cyrus would have to do a lot worse to lose these fans. Ultimately, whether Cyrus' career will be hurt by these photos will come down to parents like Koch after all, many tweens won't even see them. Certainly Seventeen magazine will be staying on her side. "What happened this weekend is part of what makes her such a great role model," says Saltz, the editor. "When she thinks she's made a mistake, she immediately owns up to it. She doesn't run from it or deny it. That's very rare to see in young celebrities today."Source: AP
]]>- Carmen Electra showed off her fiance and black diamond engagement ring, while the Hilton sisters frolicked with their beaus at an exclusive Coachella afterparty.
]]>NEW YORK - A jury will hear statements a former mental patient accused of stalking Uma Thurman made to police.State Supreme Court Justice Gregory Carro denied a defense motion to exclude the material including a letter he wrote to the "Kill Bill" actress and e-mails he sent to her father in which defendant Jack Jordan expresses love for Thurman.Thurman, who also starred in "Pulp Fiction" and "The Producers," is expected to testify at Jordan's trial, which begins Monday in Manhattan.Jordan was arrested in October 2007 on misdemeanor charges of stalking and aggravated harassment. He was accused of following and trying to contact Thurman for more than two years.Prosecutors say Jordan, 37, once tried to get into Thurman's trailer on a Manhattan movie set and appeared several times at her Greenwich Village house.He also sent her a letter complaining that he had been confined to a mental hospital and was being forced to take medication, and he sent her father four e-mails expressing his love for her, prosecutors said. It wasn't clear how he got the address.While being questioned in Manhattan, Jordan told detectives that he saw Thurman on a movie theater screen and when their eyes met, he knew they had a connection, that their relationship was meant to be.Jordan's lawyer, George Vomvolakis, tried to keep the statements out of the trial on the grounds that police illegally obtained them by promising Jordan he could go home as soon as he talked to them about Thurman, 37.Vomvolakis also argued that if Carro allowed the letter in as evidence, "the jury might think they were doing a disservice to Ms. Thurman if they acquitted him. They would think this is a crazy man," and that she could be in danger.The judge said the letter and the e-mails were "clearly relevant" to the charges and to whether Jordan made Thurman fearful.Vomvolakis had said in January he hoped to avoid a trial and work out a plea deal in which Jordan, whom he said was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, would enter a psychiatric treatment program.Jordan, who's free on $10,000 bail, is a 1994 graduate of the University of Chicago and is a graduate student at Mills College in Oakland, Calif., his attorney said. Jordan now lives in Maryland with his parents.Source: AP
]]>LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Megan Fox was named the world's sexiest woman on Wednesday by an annual online poll, while the world's most Googled woman, Britney Spears, barely scraped in at No. 100 after a shocker of a year.Fox, 21, who starred in last year's hit movie "Transformers," grabbed the title from actress Jessica Alba, 26, topping online men's magazine FHM Online's (www.FHMonline.com) reader poll of the 100 Sexiest Women in the World for 2008.Alba dropped to No. 3, coming behind American actress and former model Jessica Biel but ahead of Canadian actress Elisha Cuthbert who was ranked fourth after appearing in horror movie "Captivity" last year. U.S actress and singer Scarlett Johansson, 23, rounded out the top five."Megan Fox is the deserving winner of this year's FHM title. She's young, she's hot, she's a rising star and her sex appeal has definitely transformed this year's list. She's got a great future ahead of her," said FHM Online U.S. Editor JR Futrell.Fox debuted on the list at No. 68 in 2006 and was ranked No. 65 last year. But playing the lead female role in "Transformers," a blockbuster $700 million hit at worldwide box offices, markedly raised her profile.Also in the top 10 were Emmanuelle Chriqui, Hilary Duff, Tricia Helfer, Blake Lively and Kate Beckinsale.Newcomers to the list included Victoria Beckham, aka Posh Spice from British pop band the Spice Girls, who moved to Los Angeles with her husband, English soccer player David Beckham, last year. She made her debut at No. 99.Spears, 26, whose career has been buried under an avalanche of personal and mental health problems, managed to make the list at No. 100, a steep decline from 2004 when she was voted the world's sexiest woman.FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World poll is now in its 14th year with nearly 9 million votes cast this year by FHM readers worldwide to choose the sexiest women in film, television, music, sports, and fashion.This year's list also included reality TV stars to reflect the genre's increasing popularity with three girls from the "The Hills" making the list, including Heidi Montag at No. 44 and Audrina Patridge at No. 80 and Lauren Conrad at No. 95.From "Dancing with the Stars," actress Shannon Elizabeth returned to the list at No. 46 after being absent last year. She was joined by Cheryl Burke at No. 40 and Karina Smirnoff at No. 78, who made their debuts."It's no surprise to us that so many reality stars made this year's list," said Futrell. 'The Hills' is one of the most popular shows on MTV, and 'Dancing with the Stars' is the No. 2 reality show in America after 'American Idol.' We expect even more to be added next year."Source: Reuters/Nielsen
http://celebs101.com/celebritygossips-3331-Megan+Fox+crowned+sexiest+woman+in+the+world.html
]]>GLOUCESTER, Mass. - Sandra Bullock and her husband were unhurt after a head-on crash with a drunken driver, police said Saturday.The actress and her husband, Jesse James of TV's "Monster Garage," were being driven in a sport-utility vehicle Friday night when a station wagon crossed the center line and hit them, said Gloucester police Lt. Jerry Cook.Both vehicles were totaled, but no one was hurt. The vehicles were traveling 15 to 20 mph, Cook said.The other car was driven by Lucille Gatchell, who registered a blood-alcohol level of 0.20 percent, more than twice the legal limit of 0.08 percent, Cook said.She was held by Gloucester police overnight and released Saturday on personal recognizance. She is to be arraigned Tuesday in Gloucester District Court.Gatchell did not immediately return a call seeking comment Saturday. Calls to representatives for Bullock were not immediately returned.Bullock, 43, was "gracious" and concerned about whether Gatchell was OK, Cook said.The actress, who starred in such films as "Speed" and "Miss Congeniality," is in Massachusetts filming the romantic comedy "The Proposal."Source: AP
]]>BLANTYRE (Reuters) - Madonna has asked a Malawian court to delay a hearing to finalize her adoption of a boy from the southern African nation, a lawyer close to the case said.The singer's law firm in Malawi filed an application requesting the High Court in Lilongwe to hear her adoption of David Banda on May 15 instead of April 22, as originally scheduled, the lawyer said, speaking on condition of anonymity.Madonna's need to travel to the United States for business reasons was cited as the reason for the delay, the lawyer said.Court officials refused to confirm the application."Adoption is a confidential matter and we separate adoption files from the regular case files," Thomson Ligowe, assistant registrar in the High Court, told Reuters.Malawi's government recommended earlier this month that the court approve the adoption of Banda.The pop diva met the boy in an orphanage in 2006 and began adoption proceedings soon after. He has been living with Madonna and her film director husband Guy Ritchie in London since shortly after the adoption process began.The adoption has been controversial, with critics accusing the government of skirting laws that ban non-residents from adopting children in Malawi, one of the countries in Africa hardest hit by AIDS.The epidemic has left an estimated one million orphans in the country.Source: Reuters
http://celebs101.com/celebritygossips-3311-Madonna+seeks+delay+in+Malawi+adoption+case.html
]]>LOS ANGELES - Eve, Heidi Klum and Nicky Hilton were among the beautiful people who turned out for US Weekly magazine's Hot Hollywood party.The annual celebration of young Hollywood style, held Thursday at Eva Longoria's new Beso restaurant in Hollywood, also drew famous faces from MTV's "The Hills" and ABC's "Dancing With the Stars."Lauren Conrad chatted up the press on the red carpet outside as Ian Ziering shimmied across the dance floor under crystal chandeliers. Klum shared a table with friends as Cheryl Burke stole a smoke outside.Meanwhile, Marlee Matlin and Cristian de la Fuente commanded a corner in the upstairs VIP room, which was all red vinyl booths and velvet wallpaper.Though will.i.am disappeared into the crowd shortly after his arrival, his presence was loudly felt as DJ Steve Aoki spun his tunes over the club's bass-heavy system.Despite a capacity crowd, Eve talked her way into the VIP area: "I'm sure it will be OK," she assured a security guard. Rumer Willis, wearing long hair extensions, didn't have the same success and fled with pals when the doorman turned her away.Source: AP
]]>LOS ANGELES - A temporary restraining order against Britney Spears' friend Sam Lutfi was extended Wednesday after an attorney told a judge all parties had agreed on the matter.Lutfi was not at the hearing, during which an attorney for Spears' father gave Superior Court Judge Aviva K. Bobb a document with Lutfi's signature.Attorney Vivian Thoreen said James Spears, Lutfi and Andrew Wallet, an attorney who is co-conservator of Britney Spears' estate, agreed to continue the hearing on the restraining order to July 31.The restraining order was requested by Britney Spears' mother, Lynne, when the singer was hospitalized on a psychiatric hold. The order, which was to expire Wednesday, directs Lutfi to stay at least 250 yards away from the pop star and her homes.Earlier, Superior Court Commissioner Reva Goetz transferred the matter to Bobb's court because Lutfi objected to having a commissioner hear it instead of a judge. Bobb is the supervisory judge for probate matters. Goetz will continue to handle the conservatorship of Britney Spears and her estate.In a statement, Lutfi spokesman Michael Sands said: "Sam and the family are communicating and cooperating trying to do what's best for Britney."Source: AP
]]>LOS ANGELES - Paris Hilton's mom has a new gig. Kathy Hilton will play herself on the May 13 episode of the CBS soap opera "The Young and the Restless." She finds a magazine cover model for her friend Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman), but takes over the photo shoot, infuriating magazine staffers, in the episode taped Wednesday.Hilton starred in her own NBC reality show in 2005, "I Want to Be a Hilton," in which contestants competed for a chance to live like a socialite for a year.She made headlines last May at daughter Paris' probation-violation hearing by laughing when a city prosecutor argued that Paris deserved jail time.Source: AP
]]>LONDON (AFP) - US pop queen Madonna, Canadian crooner Celine Dion and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall are all descended from the same French carpenter, according to a records archive launched Wednesday.Canadian records spanning more than 300 years from 1621 were published on the family and social history website ancestry.co.uk and revealed the unlikely link between the three women.Camilla -- the second wife of Prince Charles, Britain's heir to the throne -- Madonna and Dion are all descended from French carpenter Zacharie Cloutier, according to the website."The fact that Camilla and Madonna are related, however distantly, highlights the truly unpredictable and entertaining nature of family history research," said ancestry.co.uk spokesman Simon Harper.The ancestors of some of Canada's most famous Quebecois, including former prime minister Pierre Trudeau, are included in the archive.Source: AFP
]]>NEW YORK - Alicia Keys says she's not a conspiracy theorist. In a statement issued Tuesday, Keys said she was clarifying "comments that were made during my recent Blender magazine interview since they have been misrepresented."According to an interview in the magazine's May issue, the 27-year-old singer says: "`Gangsta rap' was a ploy to convince black people to kill each other. `Gangsta rap' didn't exist." She also is quoted as saying that she wears a gold AK-47 pendant around her neck "to symbolize strength, power and killing 'em dead.""We stand by our story," Blender spokeswoman Kate Cafaro told The Associated Press on Tuesday."My comments about `gangsta rap' were in no way trying to suggest that the government is responsible for creating this genre of rap music," Keys said in a statement issued by J Records. "The point that I was trying to make was that the term was oversloganized by some of the media causing reactions that were not always positive. Many of the `gangsta rap' lyrics articulate the problems of the artists' experiences and I think all of us, including our leaders, could be doing more to address these problems including drugs, gang violence, crime, and other related social issues."As for the AK-47 remark, Keys said Tuesday that AK-47 is a nickname given to her by friends "as an acronym for Alicia Keys and a metaphor for wowing people with my music and performances, `killing 'em dead' on stage. The reference was in no way meant to have a literal, political or negative connotation."When AP attempted to reach Keys last week about the Blender interview, her publicist, Theola Borden, said the singer was on vacation and unavailable for comment.The multiplatinum star behind the hits "Fallin'" and "No One" most recently had success with her latest CD, "As I Am," which has sold 3.4 million copies, according to Nielsen Soundscan.Source: AP
]]>NEW YORK (Reuters) - A 15-minute film of Marilyn Monroe engaging in oral sex with an unidentified man will be kept from public view by a New York businessman who has bought it for $1.5 million, the broker of the deal said on Monday.Memorabilia collector Keya Morgan said he recently arranged the sale of the silent, black-and-white film from the son of a dead FBI informant who possessed it to a wealthy Manhattan businessman who wants to protect Monroe's privacy."The gentleman who bought it said out respect for Marilyn he's not going to make a joke of it and put it on the Internet and try to exploit her," said memorabilia collector Keya Morgan. "That's not his intention and I would never get my name involved if that were to happen."Monroe is clothed and the man's head remains out of the frame for the entire 15 minutes of the film, said Morgan, who watched it.Monroe was rumored to have had an affair with U.S. President John F. Kennedy, and Morgan said then FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover, a Kennedy rival, went to great lengths to try to prove it was Kennedy in the film.One of Monroe's ex-husbands, the late baseball great Joe DiMaggio, once tried to buy it from the collector for $25,000 but "he would not part with it," according to FBI files on Monroe that are available on the FBI Web site.Morgan is a well-known collector who owns memorabilia from the estates of Monroe and DiMaggio and said he was friends with Monroe's other two husbands, Jim Dougherty and Arthur Miller.He said he learned of the existence of the film while working on a documentary about Monroe, who died in August 1962 at age 36. A former FBI agent told him about it, and Morgan said he confirmed it by tracking down the son of the FBI informant, who had provided a copy to the FBI."I thought the FBI agent was embellishing it for my documentary. I never believed it once until I pulled up the FBI document (referring to the film)," Morgan said.The late informant's son had the original while the copy remains classified in the FBI files, said Morgan, whose deal was first reported by the New York Post on Monday."The FBI agent that I interviewed said J. Edgar Hoover was completely obsessed. A team of nine individuals were analyzing the tape inside a lab. J. Edgar Hoover brought in a few prostitutes who allegedly had been with President Kennedy and they tried to ... see if that was really President Kennedy."An FBI spokesmen declined to comment except to point out the Monroe files available online, which refer to the film but make no mention of Hoover's purported interest.Source: Reuters
http://celebs101.com/celebritygossips-3280-Marilyn+Monroe+sex+film+to+be+kept+private.html
]]>The 26-year-old pop singer, whose career has been buried under an avalanche of personal and health problems, rear-ended a car in stop-and-go traffic after she failed to stop her Mercedes in time, said CHP Officer Patrick Kimball.The rear-ended car, driven by a man identified as "J. Flint," in turn pushed forward into another car, the CHP collision report said. The driver of the third car observed no damage, and drove off, the CHP incident report said.Web site TMZ said on Sunday that CHP officers on the scene performed a sobriety test on Spears, which she passed.Spears is invariably trailed by a large posse of paparazzi while running her daily chores. Photographers were instantly on the scene.Source: Reuters
http://celebs101.com/celebritygossips-3275-Britney+Spears+in+minor+traffic+accident+in+L.A..html
]]>BLANTYRE (AFP) - Tough conditions should be attached to pop star Madonna's adoption of a Malawi boy, a human rights group said Friday, warning unscrupulous traffickers may use the case to justify illegal adoption.Maxwell Matewere, a spokesman for the Human Rights Consultative Committee, which attempted to legally challenge the controversial adoption, said a Malawi court should attach "tough guidelines" if it grants Madonna permanent custody.Matewere warned Madonna's controversial adoption of toddler David Banda could allow others to take advantage of Malawi's lack of inter-country adoption laws."Others might apply to adopt and use the Madonna case to justify adoption and yet they could be illegal adoptions for trafficking, organs and sexual exploitation," he warned.The high court is expected to set a date next week to rule on whether Madonna can officially adopt David, who has been living in London with the star and her filmmaker husband Guy Ritchie under an interim custody order.The granting of the temporary order ignited a storm of protest from the local rights group and heated debate about adoption laws in the poor southern African nation.The Malawi government is widely expected to back permanent adoption of David by Madonna and her filmmaker husband Guy Ritchie.It was not clear whether Madonna would appear in court, which her lawyer has said she is not compelled to do when the ruling is made.Malawi, where the number of orphans has peaked to one million as a result of AIDS, is reforming its laws to allow easier adoptions by foreigners.David was brought to an orphanage in Mchinji, 110 kilometres (70 miles) from Lilongwe, by his father Yohane Banda after his mother died shortly after birth.His father, who ekes out a living as a peasant farmer, said he let his son be adopted by Madonna to escape grinding poverty rampant in the southern African nation.Source: AFP
http://celebs101.com/celebritygossips-3265-Be+tough+on+Madonna+adoption%3A+Malawi+rights+group.html
]]>LAS VEGAS - A 26-year-old entrepreneur from Texas was named Miss USA on Friday, besting 50 other beauty queens for the coveted crown.Crystle Stewart, of Missouri City, Texas, runs a party-planning and motivational speaking company, as well as modeling professionally. She says she wants to dedicate her life to international philanthropy."I want to talk to people about how to set a goal and achieve it," she told The Associated Press after the show. "Because I just achieved my goal."Stewart edged out first runner-up Leah Laviano of Mississippi and Tiffany Andrade of New Jersey.Miss USA 2007 Rachel Smith relinquished the crown and the posh New York apartment that comes with it in a show aired live by NBC with hosts Donny and Marie Osmond from the Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. The network co-owns the parent Miss Universe Organization with Donald Trump.Smith, a former Miss Tennessee USA, said she was headed to Hollywood.Stewart was headed for the publicity circuit. She said she was eager to travel and spread her message of self-improvement to young women. She noted she was one of only a handful of black woman crowned Miss USA in the pageant's 57-year history."I think the United States is coming together," she said, citing the historic presidential candidacies of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton. She declined to name her preference."I don't know, we'll see. Fundamentally, I'm a Democrat," she said.Contestants from all 50 states and the District of Columbia have been in Las Vegas for nearly three weeks, rehearsing and hyping the 57th annual pageant. After stints in Baltimore and Los Angeles, organizers billed the new venue as a city beloved by the event's international audience.The pageant tried to showed off its edge, featuring a grinding live rock performance by the band Finger Eleven, music from Rihanna, and contestants in barely there black bikinis and faux-fur coats.Donny and Marie kept up a steady stream of sibling banter even while swiftly whittling the field.Donny Osmond told the losers to "put on a poker face" as he sent them home."Or use Botox; then it won't move," Marie quipped.Stewart will compete in the Miss Universe pageant in Vietnam in July. She also becomes a spokeswoman for breast and ovarian cancer awareness and other causes, while traveling to promote the organization.Miss USA contestants are scored in three categories: swimsuit, evening gown and interview. Miss Alaska USA, Courtney Erin Carroll, was chosen "Miss Photogenic USA" based on voting at the organization's Web site. The other contestants named Miss Ohio USA, Monica Day, "Miss Congeniality." Unlike the rival Miss America, Miss USA contestants are not asked to perform a talent.Smith's year on the throne has been marked by fewer racy headlines than her 2006 predecessor, Tara Conner. Conner's underage drinking landed her in rehab and sparked a media circus documenting her fall from grace.Smith's low point was a fall onstage during the evening gown competition of the Miss Universe pageant in Mexico City. She was booed by the crowd and Miss Japan won the title. A bigger blunder this year belonged to Miss California USA organizers. The judges crowned the wrong queen in their November contest and reversed it days later, saying Raquel Beezley, of Barstow, was the victim of a vote tabulation error. Dethroned Miss Los Angeles, Christina Silva, a Hispanic woman, has filed a lawsuit alleging racial bias. Asked to comment on the lawsuit, Stewart was whisked away by organizers. The Miss Universe Organization would not comment on the matter. The panel of judges for Friday's pageant included Heather Mills, model and former wife of Paul McCartney; comedian Rob Schneider; Olympic gold-medal swimmer Amanda Beard; and Christian Siriano, winner of Bravo's fashion reality series, "Project Runway."Source: AP
http://celebs101.com/celebritygossips-3269-26+years+old+Texan+crowned+Miss+USA.html
]]>LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Twenty-two months after giving birth to her first baby, Oscar winner and self-professed tomboy Rachel Weisz is back full swing as an actress, juggling motherhood with roles ranging from boozy vixen to ancient philosopher.The 37-year-old British beauty recently wrapped production on "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson's adaptation of the best-selling novel "The Lovely Bones," due next year, and is currently appearing in "My Blueberry Nights."Later this year, Weisz will be seen opposite another Oscar winner, Adrien Brody, and Mark Ruffalo in con-artist comedy "The Brothers Bloom."Weisz began her postpartum return to acting in the summer of 2006, only weeks after giving birth to son Henry Chance, fathered by her filmmaker fiance Darren Aronofsky ("Pi," Requiem for a Dream.")The result was a juicy supporting role in the art-house film "Blueberry Nights," featuring Grammy-winning singer Norah Jones in her movie debut as a lovelorn woman on a journey of self-discovery.Weisz portrays a character Jones encounters along the way -- the seductive, hard-drinking estranged wife of an alcoholic cop, who is played by "Good Night, and Good Luck" star David Strathairn.The film marked the English-language debut of Hong Kong-based filmmaker Wong Kar Wai, who Weisz counts as one of her favorite directors, and afforded her an ideal chance to ease back to work after a brief maternity leave."It was 2 1/2 months after I'd had a baby, so it was kind of perfect," Weisz said in a phone interview from Malta, where she is now shooting the historical epic "Agora." "It was five, six days in Memphis (where her "Blueberry" scenes were shot) and working with one of my all-time heroes."MUDDLING THROUGH ON MALTAWeisz said she brings her son with her on location but has had to adjust to demands of balancing diapers and directors."You muddle through and figure it out and get exhausted and keep muddling through," she said. "I just joined the ranks of millions of working mums out there and I have great respect for them because there is a lot of juggling to do.""Blueberry Nights" is one of numerous plum jobs Weisz said have come her way since she won the Academy Award as best supporting actress for her 2005 portrait of a determined social activist and diplomat's wife in "The Constant Gardener," based on the John le Carre novel."I've been offered more interesting roles with incredibly interesting directors and I'm sure the Oscar has a lot to do with that," said the actress, who first gained wide U.S. notice in the 1999 blockbuster remake of "The Mummy."In "Agora," from Chilean director Alejandro Amenabar, she is cast as the astrologer-philosopher Hypatia of Alexandria, who fights to save the collected wisdom of the ancient world amid the rise of Christianity around 300 A.D.For "The Lovely Bones," adapted from the Alice Sebold novel, Weisz and Mark Wahlberg co-star as parents devastated by the murder of their young daughter, who continues to watch over her family from heaven.Weisz plays a lighter role, that of a wealthy but sheltered heiress who turns the tables on a pair of sibling con artists in "The Brothers Bloom," due for release in October.Weisz, the London-born daughter of Jewish parents who fled Nazi-occupied Hungary and Austria, has come a long way since performing in her own Cambridge University stage troupe.But she said she remains a tomboy at heart -- not too far removed from the willful young girl who enjoyed climbing trees and resisted wearing dresses or combing her hair. "Hollywood's about dressing up and that's fun," Weisz said. "I kind of enjoy dressing up ... (But) right now I'm in jeans and sneakers and ready to scale a tree. I don't think that ever goes away. The tomboy doesn't go away." Neither will her passion for her acting. "I feel like I just started and hopefully I'm going to be acting when I'm an old lady," she said. Source: Reuters/Nielsen
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]]>NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Singer-songwriter Jewel will be a judge on the upcoming season of the "Nashville Star."She'll join John Rich of Big & Rich as a judge/mentor on the country music reality series, which premieres June 9.Last year, Jewel hosted the national talent search, which seeks to find the next country music star. This year's series is hosted by Billy Ray Cyrus."As a young artist, I really benefited from having great mentors like Bob Dylan and Merle Haggard. They took me under their wings and encouraged me to stand up for things that, as an artist, are important," she said. "They constantly reminded me that an artist's only concern is being great, not being famous. If you are truly great, success should follow."The 33-year-old singer, whose full name is Jewel Kilcher, says she's honored to continue that tradition with "Nashville Star," which switches to NBC this year after five seasons on cable's USA Network.The series has launched the careers of Miranda Lambert, Buddy Jewel and Chris Young.A three-time Grammy nominee, Jewel has a string of pop and rock hits including "You Were Meant for Me," "Foolish Games," "Hands," "Stand" and "Intuition."Her most recent project is a country album, "Perfectly Clear," that was produced by Rich and is set for a June 3 release. The first single, "Stronger Woman," is No. 14 on the Billboard country chart.Source: AP
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]]>BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - Mischa Barton has pleaded no contest to drunken driving for a December arrest in West Hollywood. The former star of TV's "The O.C." wasn't present in a Beverly Hills courtroom Thursday as her lawyer entered no-contest pleas on her behalf to misdemeanor driving under the influence and driving without a license.The 22-year-old actress was arrested Dec. 27 after sheriff's deputies saw her car straddling lanes and failing to signal for a turn.Lawyer Anthony Salerno says Barton will be fined, placed on three years' probation and must attend an alcohol education program.Salerno says Barton assumes full responsibility for her actions.Source: AP
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]]>LONDON (AFP) - Princess Diana's death in a 1997 Paris car crash, which an inquest ruled Monday was unlawful killing, cut short the life of the woman who injected Britain's royal family with celebrity glitz.Born into the aristocratic Spencer family, the shy kindergarten teacher was catapulted to superstardom in 1981 when, at 19, her engagement to Prince Charles, heir to the British throne and 12 years her senior, was announced.They married in July 1981 in London, a ceremony watched by 750 million on television around the world and billed as a "fairytale wedding."With her fashionable clothes and common touch, Diana became a firm favourite with the public even before she gave birth to Prince William in June 1982.But by the birth of her second son Harry in September 1984, her biographer Andrew Morton in "Diana: Her True Story" records that she was already suffering from bulimia and had attempted suicide five times.From 1986, press stories began appearing of cracks in the royal marriage, and Morton later wrote that Charles had resumed his relationship with married former girlfriend Camilla Parker Bowles at this time.At the same time, Diana began a relationship with cavalry officer James Hewitt, whom she is said to have "adored." The affair ended after four years and Diana later said she had been deeply hurt by Hewitt.It was during this time that Diana was photographed alone in front of the Taj Mahal while on a visit to India with Charles, in what was seen as a clear signal of the state of the couple's marriage.Finally, after more press revelations about other alleged boyfriends and Charles' affair with Parker Bowles, the couple separated in December 1992.Queen Elizabeth II, who had also seen Windsor Castle razed by fire and the separation of her second son Prince Andrew from his wife Sarah Ferguson in the same year, called it her "annus horribilis."Although separated, Diana insisted she did not want a divorce.But damaging press stories continued to appear -- despite a request for privacy from Diana -- and Charles admitted adultery in a BBC television programme.Finally, in November 1995, Diana gave an explosive interview to the BBC confessing her own adultery, her anger at the palace and her feeling that Charles would not be a good king.The obvious fury at her treatment by Charles and the royal family, and her determination "not to go quietly" led many to believe that the years of hurt had turned Diana into a vindictive and cunning woman, out for revenge.After the interview, the queen urged her son to divorce for the sake of his sons, and a divorce was granted in July 1996 with a reported settlement of 15 million pounds (then 25 million dollars).Despite her reluctance to divorce, Diana sought to make the most of a new sense of freedom.Already the world's most photographed woman, she began to fulfil her ambition to become a roving goodwill ambassador, launching a high-profile campaign against landmines and continuing to support various causes such as AIDS research and homelessness projects.Just weeks prior to her death, after being seen with a number of male companions, word got around that, at 36, Diana had found love with Dodi al-Fayed, son of Harrod's department store tycoon Mohamed Al Fayed. She died at Dodi's side when their chauffeured limousine crashed in a road tunnel under the Place d'Alma in Paris on the evening of August 31, 1997. The inquest into her death found that the Mercedes the couple were travelling in had been driven negligently by chauffeur Henri Paul and that the vehicles of the pursuing paparazzi were also to blame.Source: AFP
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