Gossip/Celebrity News

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Vivica A. Fox to 'Dance with the Stars'

Lots of people take it easy during the summer but Vivica A. Fox says she plans to do a lot of hard work – by getting in shape for the next season of Dancing with the Stars.

"I'm doing Dancing with the Stars. I'm so excited. I start training for that in July," the Kill Bill actress tells PEOPLE. "It's a wonderful opportunity for me to get paid, get in shape, work some outfits and represent for the sistas. Drop it like it's hot!"

Fox, who made the comment a party on Wednesday in Los Angeles to celebrate the upcoming Turks and Caicos International Film Festival, also said she's "looking forward to it being a challenging experience."

Fox's latest film, The Salon, is due out in the fall. The comedy, about a group of hairdressers and their customers, also stars Terrence Howard and Brooke Burns.

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Oliver Hudson Gets Married

Oliver Hudson married actress Erinn Bartlett in a beachside ceremony in Mexico on Friday, PEOPLE has learned exclusively.

Bartlett wore a wedding dress by Les Habitudes and Husdon wore a Ralph Lauren suit at the ceremony, which was officiated by a Buddhist family friend.

Among the 94 guests were Hudson's actress sister, Kate, her husband, Chris Robinson and their son, Ryder, 2, who served as ringbearer. Hudson's mother, Goldie Hawn, her partner, Kurt Russell, their son Wyatt, 19, and Boston Russell, Kurt's 26-year-old son from a previous marriage, were also in attendance.

A few weeks earlier, Kate Hudson threw Bartlett a girls-only, weekend-long bachelorette party in Las Vegas, complete with goody bags filled with $400 worth of Benefit cosmetics.

Hudson, 29, and Bartlett, 33, (who has appeared in films such as Rumor Has It, and Raising Helen) got engaged on February 19, 2004, after four years together. Hudson gave his fiancée a 3-carat diamond set in a platinum band by Los Angeles jeweler Neil Lane.

Before he bought the ring, Hudson sought advice from his mom and sister, as well as friends such as his former Dawson's Creek costar Katie Holmes. When he gave the ring to Bartlett, it was too big – but she loved it so much she wore the band wrapped with Scotch tape for weeks before taking it in for sizing.

Next up for the couple: quite possibly kids. "I want babies," Hudson told PEOPLE after his engagement. "I think I'll be a great dad." He's already a doting uncle. "I have (Ryder's) picture up on my screensaver."

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Hugh Grant Engaged?

What? No flip comment? No cheeky response followed by that devilish grin? Nope – mum’s the word for Hugh Grant when it comes to whether he’s now engaged to girlfriend of two years Jemima Khan.

In a story published Monday in Britain’s Daily Mail, columnist Richard Kay reported that Grant got down on one knee on a trip to Barbados six months ago.

"It's one of the best-kept secrets of the celebrity world," he wrote. Sure is. The couple’s reps refuse any comment, and friends and family maintain they either don't know or won’t say.

Engaged or not, the longtime bachelor, 45, and his lady, 32, seem quite smitten. "They get along marvelously," says a Khan pal, dismissing other recent rumors claiming a rift.
Formerly married to Pakistani cricket-champ-turned-politician Imran Khan, Jemima, a mother of two (sons Sulaiman, 9, and Kasim, 7), comes from one of Britain's wealthiest families. Her billionaire financier father, Sir James Goldsmith, died in 1997, the same year as her good friend Princess Diana.

In the last month Grant and Khan have been spotted snogging everywhere from Venice to New York City, where a ringless Khan shopped on June 5.

Their chemistry isn’t just physical, either. "He’s very clever, and she really is funny, witty and quick," says her friend. "They spark off each other perfectly."

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Matt Damon, Wife Have a Girl

Matt Damon and his wife, Luciana, have welcomed a baby girl named Isabella, PEOPLE has learned exclusively.

"The baby is here. Isabella arrived yesterday," Damon's brother Kyle told PEOPLE on Monday. Isabella was born Sunday night in Miami.

"Mother and Isabella are doing fine," Damon's rep Jennifer Allen, confirmed to PEOPLE. "The family is very happy and everyone's healthy."

This is the first child for the couple. Luciana also has a daughter, Alexia, from a previous marriage.

"He's a terrific uncle and he's going to be a wonderful father," Kyle said of his brother, Matt. "Thankfully, Lucy has some experience, so that will help. Alexia is a terrific girl. They're all really close, they'll be an intimate family."

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Denise: I Wasn't Looking For Love

Denise Richards has spoken out for the first time about her relationship with Richie Sambora – and the reports that she betrayed her "best friend," Sambora's estranged wife, Heather Locklear.

"The thing with Heather, that's been hard," she tells Entertainment Tonight in an interview airing Monday night. "You can't help who you fall for and that friendship, unfortunately, was done and wasn't salvageable."

Richards, 35, was in Las Vegas Friday night to emcee a performance by the Pussycat Dolls when she spoke with ET.

In the interview, she insists that her relationship with Sambora, 46, which began shortly after Locklear filed for divorce from the Bon Jovi guitarist, was "the last thing I was looking for," adding, "it's true when they say things happen when you least expect it."

In terms of her relationship with Locklear, Richards says they were never "best friends" as has been reported. "People have gone on – 'Would you date your best friend('s husband)?' " she says. "You know, she wasn't my best friend. She was a close friend in the last couple of years. I hadn't known her my whole life (like) people (are) portraying this."

Still, Richards admits, "(It's) been tough having people think that I'm such a crappy friend."

She also insists that Sambora and Locklear's marriage was over – as was her own union with Charlie Sheen – before she and Sambora got together. "We didn't meddle in marriages and anything like that."

As for her divorce from Sheen, Richards says of her allegations in court documents that he threatened to kill her, "Unfortunately the thing with Charlie and I – that was a court document that became public. I didn't hand it to a tabloid and say, 'Here, print this.' And it's sad, and it's horrible that it's gotten to the point that it's gotten to."

Sheen's camp, meanwhile, has noted that the document was filed by her own lawyer and not under seal as other papers had been.

A judge recently extended a restraining order requiring Sheen to stay at least 300 yards away from Richards and their daughters Sam, 2, and Lola, 1.

The recent events have changed Richards profoundly, she tells ET: "I was always a people pleaser and I just finally got to the point in my life after having my daughters and going through a really ugly divorce ... I've just gotten to the point where life is so short and I just want to be happy."

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It's a Boy for Jack Black, Wife

Jack Black and musician wife Tanya Haden, who eloped in March, are the new parents of a baby boy, born Saturday in Los Angeles.

Black announced the arrival during Monday's Hollywood premiere of his new comedy Nacho Libre, telling TV's Access Hollywood, "Secretly, between you and me, it's already happened. I've got the babe back at home safe and sound, and I'm actually very anxious to get back to my lovin's (loved ones)."

Indeed, Black left the premiere shortly after the lights went down and the screening began.

Black announced his wife's pregnancy last month while promoting Nacho Libre, in which he plays a wrestler who raises money for an orphanage.

"I think I will be good when it comes to playtime," he told reporters, according to USA Today. "I don't know how good I'll do with the discipline."

Black, 36, and Haden, 34, first met as students at Crossroads, a private high school in Santa Monica, Calif., and started dating in April 2005. They exchanged vows in a private ceremony in Big Sur, Calif.

"They love each other very much. We're thrilled," the bride's father, jazz bassist Charlie Haden, told PEOPLE after the wedding.

In September, Black is set to begin filming Be Kind, Rewind, costarring ***sten Dunst.

"Wherever the job goes, the baby is just going to come with me," he said last month. "It will work out." Besides, he joked, "I don't really get involved until he's, like, 10."

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Daryl Hannah Speaks from Jail Cell

Daryl Hannah – who was arrested along with 16 other protestors in Los Angeles's South Central Urban Garden on Tuesday – tells PEOPLE by phone from her jail cell, "I'm not thrilled about it, but I felt it was important to sustain my commitment."

The Kill Bill actress, 45, and about 25 immigrant farmers and their supporters were campaigning to save the 14-acre fruit and vegetable garden from planned demolition.

"I spent the last 23 days down at the South Central farm, which is the largest urban farm in the nation and provides food for hundreds of families," Hannah tells PEOPLE. "The subsistence farmers are from one of the poorest communities. This farm should be a model for sustainable urban agriculture. It needs to be replicated, not eradicated."

For the past three weeks, Hannah and protest organizer John Quigley had been sitting 40 feet above the ground in a large walnut tree. Folk singer Joan Baez and anti-logging activist Julia "Butterfly" Hill had also taken shifts in the tree, although neither was present when the arrests were made.

On how she got involved with the garden, Hannah tells PEOPLE, "I make a weekly video blog on sustainable issues for my Web site. I went down to the farm to shoot a segment on it and fell in love with it and the farmers and committed myself to stand in solidarity with them and on principles to save the farm."

Los Angeles Sheriff's Department spokesperson Kerri Webb said the protestors were arrested for violating a court order and obstructing sheriff's deputies who were enforcing the order, two misdemeanors.

Police arrived at the garden without notice at 5 a.m. Tuesday, but because some demonstrators had attached themselves with "chain links, handcuffs, and 55 gallon steel drums filled will cement," it took officers several hours using power tools to break through the devices.

"Arrests were made from 6 a.m. in the morning until 1 p.m.," said Webb, adding that no protestors or deputies were injured.

Leonardo DiCaprio and Willie Nelson had also stopped by the garden in the past weeks to show their support.

[Rasputin]

Paul, Heather Mills McCartney to Divorce

After previous statements referring to her split from husband Paul McCartney as a separation, Heather Mills McCartney is now using the D-word.

"Contrary to recent press reports, Heather Mills McCartney will not be giving any interviews or commenting in relation to her pending divorce from her husband," said a statement issued by Mills McCartney's office Sunday.

And Tuesday morning, Mills McCartney's lawyer released another statement, marked "urgent," saying that she planned to sue a British tabloid after her divorce had been finalized.
"The interests of her daughter (Beatrice, 2) are of paramount concern," the statement says. "She will defer issue of legal proceedings until the arrangements in relation to the divorce are concluded, but intends to sue at that stage all parties, including individuals, who are intent on damaging her reputation."

On Sunday, Britain's News of the World ran an article claiming that Mills McCartney once worked as a high-priced call girl.

The statement continues: "Heather is very distressed by this article. She continues to recover slowly from her revision amputation operation and has suffered weight loss, anxiety and sleeping problems as a result of the stress and anxiety of the break up of her marriage. The coverage of this in certain newspapers has caused further distress and illness to her."

The McCartneys announced their split in May after four years of marriage.

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Jessica Simpson & Jared Leto: Spring Fling?

Jessica Simpson, who will release her new single "Public Affair" on June 27, seems to be engaging in a rather public flirtation with Jared Leto.

"They're an item," a source close to Leto tells PEOPLE in its new issue.

The actor, 34 – who has dated Cameron Diaz and Scarlett Johansson – chatted up Simpson and then scored her number on June 2 at the Los Angeles nightclub Hyde.

Four nights later, Leto partied solo at New York City's club Plumm, then headed to Double Seven, where he met up with Simpson, 25. "They were hanging all over each other," says a witness.

Still, a source close to Simpson tells PEOPLE, "Jessica is not dating anyone," and the singer's rep insists, "She is single." Adds Leto's rep, "There is no truth to these rumors."

But what about Lindsay Lohan, who was linked with Leto, her costar in the upcoming Chapter 27, last year (and who clashed with Simpson in April over the attentions of mutual pal Brett Ratner)? "She's telling friends she's furious," says a source close to the actress. "She feels betrayed by Jared."

Says Lohan's rep, "Lindsay could care less."

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Charlie Sheen Steps Out With His New Girlfriend

Denise Richards isn't the only one enjoying a new relationship. Now her ex, Charlie Sheen, has a new squeeze.

Single since January, Sheen, 40, hit the Chrysalis Butterfly Ball in Los Angeles on Saturday with 28-year-old actress and real estate investor Brooke Mueller (a.k.a Brooke Allen, star of 1999's direct-to-video Witchouse).

Sheen's rep tells PEOPLE, "She's his girlfriend."

During the event, Sheen showed his gentlemanly side, putting his suit jacket around Mueller's shoulders when the evening turned chilly.

The couple's public outing comes on the heels of Richards's European vacation with her new beau, Richie Sambora.

Richards recently told Entertainment Tonight that her relationship with Sambora, 46, was "the last thing I was looking for," adding, "It's true when they say things happen when you least expect it."

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Paris Hilton: I Like Being Single

Paris Hilton's been singing the praises of being single this week.

On Monday's Late Show with David Letterman, Hilton said she was content being single for another five years – until she's 30.

"How about mid-30's?" suggested Letterman.

Continuing on this theme, on Tuesday Hilton announced on Live With Regis and Kelly that she's "single for the first time" in her life – and loving it.

"I always have a boyfriend all the time, so I've never really got to know me and, like, have time for myself because I spend all my energy on the boyfriend," said Hilton, who is promoting her E! series The Simple Life - 'Til Death Do Us Part, in which she costars with ex-pal Nicole Richie.

Hilton, who ended her engagement to Greek shipping heir Paris Latsis last year ("We're still friends," she told Letterman), recently broke up with Stavros Niarchos, another Greek shipping heir – though that relationship, too, doesn't appear to be completely over.

The two went browsing together for DVDs last Saturday at a Tower Records in Hollywood and, generally kept close company over the weekend: Niarchos (recently linked to Lindsay Lohan) also attended a birthday party the hotel heiress (recently linked to NFL player Matt Leinart) threw for pal Caroline D'Amore at her Hollywood home, PEOPLE reports in its new issue.

"I'm a very strong woman. I don't need a man. I can be on my own," Hilton told Regis Philbin and Kelly Ripa.

As for her rivalry with her former best pal Richie, Hilton said she hopes she and her costar will patch things up.

"I've known her 20 years," Hilton said. "I look at baby pictures. It makes me sad that she's, you know – we're going through something right now and we'll make up one day."

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Most Powerfull Celebrities

1. Tom Cruise

2. Rolling Stones

3. Oprah Winfrey

4. U2

5. Tiger Woods

6. Steven Spielberg

7. Howard Stern

8. 50 Cent

9. Actors of Sopranos

10. Dan Brown

Top People in diferent categori:

Actor: Tom Cruise

Writer: Dan Brown

Sport: Tiger Woods

Director/producer: Steven Spielberg

Model: Gisele Bündchen

Musican: Rolling Stones

Business: Donald Trump

Ashpaz: Wolfgang Puck

Comedian: Jerry Seinfeld

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Britney: 'I Have No Regrets'

During his one-on-one with Britney Spears on Dateline NBC Thursday night, Matt Lauer called the "sweet little girl" he first met seven years ago, when she sang "Silent Night" at the Rockefeller Center Christmas tree-lighting ceremony, "one tough cookie."

"I don't allow anyone to change me," said Spears, 24, who had asked to do the interview to combat recent negative reports about her appearance, marriage and parenting skills. And combat them she did.

On the way she looks: "I still walk out of my house in rollers," she told Lauer. "I do not care what people think."

On life with husband Kevin Federline: "Awesome. Thank you."

On taking 9-month-old son Sean Preston to the emergency room after he fell from his high chair: "The doctors acted really funny. I don't want to say what they did, or what they said, but it was really bad."

Spears cried several times during the interview, but when Lauer asked why she didn't just walk away from her fame, she said, "I have to believe I'm here for a reason." What is that reason? "I don't know. I have to keep searching every day."

Despite her fame, she insisted she wants Sean Preston to have "the most normal life for him that's possible."

When Lauer asked if she knew the sex of the second child she is expecting, Spears said no: "I wanted to be surprised." She also said she wasn't sure how far along she was, but Lauer calculated that the baby is due in September.

Spears also speculated on why she'd gone from press darling to tabloid target. She said she'd felt "a little shift" in the perception of her after she and Justin Timberlake broke up and he suggested in a video that she'd cheated.

Then came her quickie Las Vegas wedding – and annulment 55 hours later – to childhood friend Jason Alexander, which she told Lauer was an act of rebellion when she was saddled with a rigorous performance schedule. "But I have no regrets for anything I've ever done," she said.

Next came her relationship with Kevin Federline, who, Lauer pointed out, left girlfriend Shar Jackson for Spears when Jackson was six months pregnant with their second child.

Spears pled ignorance: "I didn't know until two months later. But I don't blame him. … They weren't technically together when he came to me anyways. They were, you know, apart. But that happened with Julia Roberts too." (Roberts began dating husband Danny Moder while he was still married to Vera Steimberg.)

"But it's more talked about and more of an issue with me," Spears continued. "Like, her husband was married and had kids when they first got together. But for some reason it's like, boom! in your face when it happens with me, and it's really none of anybody's business."

Lauer pointed out that Moder and Steimberg, in fact, had no children.

But Spears insisted that Federline – whom Lauer saw when he arrived at her Malibu house, putting to rest rumors that he'd moved out – is a good person. "He's like a boy," she said. "He cares. He cares so much. His heart is awesome. He has a really big heart, and I love that."

Spears also told Lauer she's "not desperate, but I'm definitely a housewife." "I cook, I try to cook," she said. "And I like to clean." Her housekeeper comes once a week, but "she slacks a little."

Although fans might be surprised to learn that a star worth an estimated $100 million still does her own laundry, Spears said in her Louisiana twang, "That's who I am!"

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Tom Cruise Named Most Powerful Star

Tom Cruise is No. 1 on Forbes magazine's annual Celebrity 100 Power List, which ranks the stars of showbiz and sports according to earnings and buzz.

Cruise is the only celebrity to top the list twice, Forbes editor Lea Goldman told the Associated Press. The Mission: Impossible III star also ranked No. 1 in 2001, the same year he divorced Nicole Kidman.

"He's one of the few guaranteed bankable stars," Goldman said. "No one in Hollywood can negotiate the kind of salary he gets."

With an estimated income of $67 million last year, Cruise wasn't the top earner, but his couch-hopping antics on The Oprah Winfrey Show, his dismissive comments about Brooke Shields's postpartum depression and his whirlwind romance with Katie Holmes worked to his advantage in the past 12 months. Last year he was ranked 10th.

Perennial Forbes favorite Oprah Winfrey, who claimed the No. 1 spot last year, fell to No. 3 on the new list, despite her estimated $225 million earnings.

Winfrey's windfall pales next to No. 6-ranked Steven Spielberg's $332 million, which made the director-producer the year's highest-paid celebrity.

Howard Stern was the second highest-paid celebrity, with $302 million. He placed seventh on the list, up 20 spots from last year.

Brad Pitt, who ranked 11th last year, dropped to 20th place, despite his high-profile relationship with Angelina Jolie. Jolie, not surprisingly, made the list, too, tying for 35th place – with Pitt's ex, Jennifer Aniston.

Tiger Woods, with $90 million in earnings, ranked fifth, bettering fellow golfer Phil Mickelson, who placed 18th.

First time Forbes lister 50 Cent captured eighth place thanks to his top-selling ringtones, G-Unit clothing line and record sales of more than 20 million. No other rapper made the cut.

Mel Gibson, who topped the list in 2004 and ranked third last year, fell off the list, as did Madonna (No. 8 last year) and Lance Armstrong, Will Ferrell, Julia Roberts and Lindsay Lohan – despite their high rankings in 2005.

New to the Celebrity 100: Dr. Phil McGraw (22), Simon Cowell (29), Kiefer Sutherland (68 and Ryan Seacrest (88 The Simple Life stars Paris Hilton and Nicole Richie came in at No. 56 and No. 95, respectively.

Among dead celebrities, Elvis Presley is still No. 1, 31 years after he left the planet. Last year he made an estimated $53 million. Also still doing well is Albert Einstein. He made $20 million.

The Forbes Celebrity Top 10:
1. Tom Cruise
2. The Rolling Stones
3. Oprah Winfrey
4. U2
5. Tiger Woods
6. Steven Spielberg
7. Howard Stern
8. 50 Cent
9. The cast of The Sopranos
10. The DaVinci Code author Dan Brown

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Ruben Studdard Wins $2 Million in Lawsuit

Ruben Studdard has entered the winner's circle again. The 2003 American Idol victor has been awarded $2 million in his lawsuit against the ex-manager he claimed misappropriated more than $246,000 from him.

Jefferson County (Ala.) Circuit Judge Scott Vowell on Thursday awarded the 26-year-old Studdard $500,000 for his actual losses and another $1.5 million in punitive damages in his suit – filed last year – against former manager Ronald W. Edwards and Edwards's promotions company, Sez Inc., the Birmingham News reports.

According to the ruling, Edwards raided Studdard's checking and other bank accounts, improperly used his credit cards and even spent Studdard's money to repay a $10,000 bank loan.

Studdard, dubbed "The Velvet Teddy Bear" on Idol, has sold more than 2.2 million records, but the damage to his credit because of Edwards fraud made it hard to get financing to buy a home, Vowell's order said.