18 posts tagged “actress”

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 bi...

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 re...

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

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

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 cl...

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 ...

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

NASSAU, Bahamas - A Bahamas jury ruled Monday that Anna Nicole Smith's son died from an accidental drug overdose, just like his mother.The seven-member jury, which deliberated for less than two hours, recommended no criminal charges in the September 2006 death of 20-year-old Daniel Smith.The son of the former Playboy playmate died after coming to the Bahamas to meet his new baby sister on Sept. 10, 2006. His mother died early the next year in Florida from an accidental drug overdose at age 39.Police had said there was no evidence of homicide, and autopsies found that Daniel died from a combination of drugs, including methadone and antidepressants. But Bahamian authorities ordered the inquest amid widespread speculation over the circumstances surrounding his death.In its ruling, the jury said the cause of death was "nondependent use of drugs," meaning that Daniel Smith was not addicted and was not aware the drugs in his system would kill him.Neil McCabe, an attorney for Anna Nicole's mother, Virgie Arthur, said she was disappointed in the ruling because she suspected foul play was involved. Arthur has claimed previously that Anna Nicole's boyfriend and attorney Howard K. Stern played a role in both deaths, but she did not provide evidence."We don't think it makes any sense," McCabe said. "The boy was not a drug user, the judge said so. Why would he all of a sudden take a massive dose of methadone?"Stern, who has denied giving Daniel any drugs, said outside court that he was not sure whether the jury's decision would bring an end to the case."I have no control over them," he said of Arthur and her attorneys.Magistrate William Campbell said the jury's decision ended the case as far the courts in the Bahamas were concerned.The inquest began in November and heard from more than two dozen witnessesAnna Nicole's former boyfriend, Larry Birkhead, testified that Daniel was a troubled young man who struggled with drugs and alcohol. But Stern said he was surprised at the au...

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - The pregnant 16-year-old sister of troubled pop star Britney Spears is engaged, it was reported Tuesday.People magazine reported that Jamie Lynn Spears -- the star of the US television show "Zoey 101" whose pregnancy last year sparked a nationwide debate -- has been showing off an engagement ring to friends.Her fiance is the father of her baby, boyfriend, Casey Aldridge, People said. "She's got an engagement ring," a source close to Spears told People. "She's been showing it off, talking about it."News of Jamie Lynn Spears' pregnancy last year came as her more famous elder sister battled for custody of her own two children with ex-husband Kevin Federline amid allegations of being an unfit mother.Soon after confirmation of the pregnancy, Spears' mother Lynne shelved plans for a a book on parenting.Lynne Spears had been due to release "Pop Culture Mom: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World" via publisher Thomas Nelson next month.Source: AFP

LONDON (AFP) - The creator of the blockbuster Harry Potter books, JK Rowling, admitted she had "suicidal thoughts" after separating from her first husband in the mid-1990s, in an interview published Sunday."Mid-twenties life circumstances were poor and I really plummeted," Rowling said in an interview with a student magazine at Edinburgh University, which was re-printed in the Sunday Times."The thing that made me go for help... was probably my daughter. She was something that earthed me, grounded me, and I thought, this isn't right, this can't be right, she cannot grow up with me in this state."Rowling and her first husband, Portuguese journalist Jorge Arantes, had their daughter Jessica in 1993 but split up several months later.The author, now 42, said the end of the three-year marriage plunged her into despair."We're talking suicidal thoughts here, we're not talking 'I'm a little bit miserable.'"She said she sought treatment from her regular doctor, but he was away and the replacement doctor failed to take her problems seriously.When her own doctor returned to work, she re-read the case notes and prescribed cognitive behavioural therapy, which typically involves sessions with a counsellor to help patients counter negative thoughts."She absolutely saved me because I don't think I would have had the guts to go and do it twice," Rowling said.The author, whose seven books about the boy wizard have sold more than 350 million copies worldwide, said she was happy to talk about mental health problems to counter the stigma associated with depression."What's to be ashamed of? I went through a really rough time and I am quite proud that I got out of that," she said.Rowling, who is said to be a billionaire, eventually married again, to British anaesthesiologist Neil Murray in 2002. They have had two children together.Source: AFP