Gossip/Celebrity News

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Britney Spears to Host Las Vegas Club Opening

Britney Spears, a fixture on the Los Angeles club scene, will host the opening of LAX nightclub in Las Vegas next month, a club rep tells PEOPLE.

LAX, whose investors include Christina Aguilera and Nicole Richie's former fiancé DJ AM, opens Aug. 31 in the Luxor Hotel.

"Britney Spears will host the grand opening," a club rep said Tuesday.

Since completing rehab in March, Spears has been a club regular, most recently last weekend when she hit three hotspots in one night. She stopped by Ritual Supper Club to celebrate her assistant Alli's birthday, then Les Deux and Element, where she arrived with a group of seven women and went on the dance floor.

It's not clear if Spears, 25, will perform at the LAX opening. The singer is currently working on a new album and has been seen visiting a dance studio, but no release date or performances have been announced.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal first reported that Spears would be hosting the opening.

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Courtney Thorne-Smith Expecting a Baby

According to Jim actress Courtney Thorne-Smith is expecting a baby, her spokesperson confirms to PEOPLE.

The child, who is due this winter, will be the first for the actress and her husband, Roger Fishman, who owns a media company.

The couple will also have something else to celebrate during the winter: The first anniversary of their marriage is on Jan. 1, 2008.

But wait, there's more. This September Smith, 39, whose credits include Melrose Place and Ally McBeal, will publish her first book, a novel titled Outside In.

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Tammy Faye Messner Dies

Evangelist Tammy Faye Messner died on Friday morning of inoperable cancer, CNN's Larry King announced on Saturday night, after her family asked him to personally make the delayed statement. She was 65.

Messner had appeared as a guest on Larry King Live on Thursday, looking frighteningly thin, revealing that she could no longer swallow food and had dwindled down to a mere 65 lbs.

"She died peacefully," King said, as reported by CNN.

Messner underwent surgery for colon cancer in 1993 and revealed in 2004 that the disease had spread. By 2007, she revealed that her cancer was no longer treatable.

Asked by King what she would most like to be remembered for, Messner jokingly replied, "well, my eyelashes." Asked if she had a message for her fans, she replied: "I'd like to say that I genuinely love you, and I genuinely care, and I genuinely want to see you in heaven some day. I want you to find peace. I want you to find joy."

For two decades, Tammy Faye Bakker was a national icon, best known for dabbing at mascara-tinted tears while then-husband Jim Bakker prayed for sinners on the PTL (Praise the Lord) Network, one of the nation's first and most successful television ministries. It crashed and burned when Bakker was convicted in 1989 of defrauding supporters of his PTL ministry of more than $150 million, including a $265,000 payment to church secretary Jessica Hahn to keep quiet about their affair.

"It was the worst time in my life," Tammy Faye later said of the scandal, during which she developed a tranquilizer addiction. "It was as if someone had hit me with a 10-ton truck," she told NBC.

Never indicted in the mess, Tammy Faye divorced Jim Bakker while he was in prison and married construction magnate Roe Messner, who had helped build the ministry's Christian theme park and resort Heritage USA in South Carolina.

As Tammy Faye Messner, she launched herself as a new, more ironic celebrity persona and even had a talk show on FOX in the 1990s. A 1999 film about her called The Eyes of Tammy Faye was submitted for an award at Sundance, and she appeared on the VH1 reality show The Surreal Life, which put her in a house with porn star Ron Jeremy and rapper Vanilla Ice.

"That reality show changed my life, once again," she told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in 2005. "I can't believe such wonderful blessings are happening to me."

Her extravagant shopping sprees were as famous as her makeup. She once said she hoped heaven would include a giant shopping center "where there's no limit on your charge card."

She had certainly traveled a long way from her humble roots. Born Tamara Faye LaValley in International Falls, Minn., she was the oldest of eight children raised by a mill worker and a homemaker. "I thank God whenever I get into a bathtub, because I never had that when I was a little girl," she once said.

She had two children with Jim Bakker – Tammy Sue, 37, a minister who assisted her mother with home hospice care in her final months; and Jay, 31, who battled alcohol addiction but has lately emerged as a preacher in his own right, albeit one with tattoos, preaching to a younger generation.

Jim Bakker, 67, served five years in prison, remarried and in 2003 launched the New Jim Bakker Show broadcasting out of Branson, Mo.

Right to the end, Tammy Faye seemed disinclined to dwell on the past. In a blog post to fans, she urged the sick to keep faith: "To those of you who are suffering as I ... don't give up! Make up your mind you're going to LIVE!! That is NOT EASY. The path gets so long. ... You see, God gives out his promises, they do not lie, they do not fail."

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***sten Dunst Winning Friends in London

***sten Dunst is keeping up her summer of love in London, despite her Brit boyfriend Johnny Borrell's often being out of town.

Currently filming How to Lose Friends and Alienate People, the Spider-Man star, 25, was spotted last week hitting a number of trendy clubs while Razorlight frontman Borrell performs on the festival circuit.

"I think she has really fallen in love with London," says Toby Young, co-producer of the film, which is based on his memoir of his travails working as an assistant at Vanity Fair.

On Sunday, Dunst popped into Soho's Groucho Club with costar Simon Pegg before heading to the Dalston Jazz Bar in Hackney. Wednesday afternoon she shopped for two pots of French Lime Blossom body creme at Jo Malone on Sloane Street, while Thursday took her to the new hot spot Shoreditch House (which has a Sex and the City-inspired roof terrace pool).

Dunst also is often seen at the Hawley Arms, a pub also frequented by Kate Moss and Amy Winehouse. "She has been here quite a few times with Johnny," says a pal. "She loves Northern Soul. I think she's a mod at heart."

Indeed, Dunst seems to be making fans everywhere. "She's been great, absolutely great," says her film's producer, Stephen Woolley, explaining why he cast Dunst to play a magazine editor in the comedy.

"It was important we didn't find someone too glamorous, and she had to have a sense of humor," he said. "***sten has such a great sense of humor plus, Simon [Pegg] is a huge Spider-Man fan!"

The movie – which in two weeks wraps in London before moving to New York – also stars Pegg (playing Young's character), Gillian Anderson and Megan Fox.

Adds Woolley: "There are lots of celebrity cameos in the film, but it's a secret."

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Brad, Angelina & Kids Visit French Adventure Park

Days after wrapping filming on her new movie Wanted in Prague, Angelina Jolie, along with Brad Pitt and their family, made a surprise visit to a French amusement park, according to the staff there and the local Charente Libre newspaper.

"We're a small little town, we're not used to having celebrities," said one employee at the Aventure-Parc in Massignac. The facility, located in France's Charente-Limousin region, features tree-climbing, rope swings and other outdoor activities for kids.

"We don't get French celebrities, so it's completely crazy to find yourself standing with Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, the most chased-after couple in the world in front of you," said the employee. "Completely crazy."

While the park's six workers were seated at a picnic table having lunch, one told PEOPLE that on Monday afternoon a blacked-out Mercedes van pulled up carrying the Hollywood couple and three of their children, Maddox, 5, Pax-Thien, 3, and Zahara, 2.

"I asked myself, 'Who is this man with a ball cap and this woman with black sunglasses?' " one staffer told PEOPLE. "We were all extremely shocked."

The awed staff offered to waive the standard 5 € entry fee, but Jolie and Pitt insisted on paying. They stayed an hour, using the playground area that included a bouncy castle and a children's obstacle course among other facilities.

"To see Brad Pitt knocking around in a bouncy castle with his children [and] screaming like wild animals was like a hallucination," said park operator Benjamin Gautier.

The three-acre park, which also features rope climbing courses between trees, normally welcomes 100-150 people during the day, but was otherwise empty because of overcast weather, according to staff.

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Tom & Katie to Throw Party for the Beckhams

David and Victoria Beckham have already caused quite a stir in the states. But this weekend the British imports are going to be treated like Hollywood royalty.

None other than power couples Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes and Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith will host a private party for the Beckhams at the Museum of Contemporary Art in downtown Los Angeles on Sunday.

The invitations, printed in gold lettering on deep gold card stock, beckon guests to "Please join Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes and Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith in welcoming David and Victoria Beckham to Los Angeles."

The party is only the latest in a series of high-profile events to celebrate the couple's move to Los Angeles. The day they arrived, they met the press when David was officially introduced as the latest addition to the Los Angeles Galaxy soccer team.

Victoria also made appearances on the Today show and Ryan Seacrest's KIIS-FM radio program and starred in a one-hour NBC special Victoria Beckham: Coming to America.

Beckham, who is expected to raise soccer's profile in America, has been hampered by an ankle injury, but is expected to play Saturday during Galaxy's exhibition game against Chelsea, ESPN.com reports.

How long he will play is not clear, according to the ESPN report.

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Brigitte Nielsen: I Feel Reborn After Rehab

Brigitte Nielsen made a post-rehab appearance Sunday at a roast for former flame Flavor Flav – the first time she's been sober on a show in three years, she tells PEOPLE.

"I'm feeling good," Nielsen says. "I feel like a new-born person. I just came out of rehab. I made a choice about a new life. It's not been easy but it was definitely time."

Nielsen was among those skewering Flav at the taped Comedy Central roast at Warner Bros. studios in Burbank, which is scheduled to air Aug. 12.

Nielsen says she was nervous about the show, but told the audience during the taping: "I'm very happy to be out of rehab!"

Although the news of Nielsen's rehab stint was first revealed last week, the actress had already been in treatment for a few weeks, TMZ.com has reported.

Nielsen says she decided to enter rehab for alcohol abuse after something "within" told her "enough is enough."

"It has to do with your family. It has to do with business. It was to do with your friends, who are honest with you," she says. "So you know maybe it's time to change – and that's exactly what I did. I cannot thank God more."

She says she's "almost 20 days" sober and hopes to stay that way.

Up next, she plans to work on getting her body back in shape. "I'm going to start hitting the gym," says Nielsen. "They say it's one step at a time."

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Drew Carey to Host The Price Is Right

Drew Carey, come on down! The comedian will replace Bob Barker as the new host of The Price Is Right.

The Cleveland native confirmed his new gig as the host of the CBS game show during a taping of the The Late Show with David Letterman, which is set to air Monday.

Barker retired last month after 35 years of hosting the daytime sensation, drawing a slew of replacement contenders including Rosie O'Donnell, Ian Ziering, George Hamilton and Mario Lopez.

Carey, who will also be host of a new CBS prime-time game show, The Power of 10, told Letterman that he only learned that the deal had been done a few minutes before appearing on stage.

"When do you begin?" asked Letterman, to which Carey, 49, replied: "You got me...All I know is that all the deal points we wanted got settled. And I just found out, honestly."

Last week, Carey told PEOPLE, 'I would really enjoy doing [the show], and I think I'd be good at it."

Carey had a ten-year run on ABC with his sitcom The Drew Carey Show and was host of the improv show Whose Line is It Anyway?

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Kelly Clarkson Speaks Out on Clive Davis 'Feud'

Kelly Clarkson is finally speaking out to clear up rumors about her relationship with label head Clive Davis after the two had creative differences over her latest record.

"There has been quite a bit of controversy surrounding the release of My December, much of which has focused on a supposed feud with my record label, in particular, Clive Davis," Clarkson says in a statement posted on her Web site Monday.

"I want to set the record straight on this by saying that I want my band, my advisors, those close to me and my record label to be one big, tightly knit family. Like any family we will disagree and argue sometimes but, in the end, it's respect and admiration that will keep us together.

"A lot has been made in the press about my relationship with Clive. Much of this has been blown way out of proportion and taken out of context. Contrary to recent characterizations in the press, I'm well aware that Clive is one of the great record men of all time. He has been a key advisor and has been an important force in my success to date. He has also given me respect by releasing my new album when he was not obligated to do so. I really regret how everything has turned out and I apologize to those whom I have done disservice. I would never intentionally hurt anyone. I love music, and I love the people I am blessed to work with. I am happy that my team is behind me and I look forward to the future."

It's been a tumultuous couple months for Clarkson, 25, who recently fired her manager and shelved her summer tour after a public clash with Davis over the direction of her latest album, My December, the first disc she co-produced and wrote entirely.

Davis reportedly voiced concerns that the album, released last month, didn't have a guaranteed radio hit (her first single, "Never Again," peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard charts). Clarkson, meanwhile, complained that the label was trying to force her into a more mainstream pop direction. (At one point, she said the label asked her to cover a Lindsay Lohan track. "They were just sending me stuff that was like almost insulting," she told MTV. "I'm like, 'You can't even find new songs? You don't want me to write my album but you're sending me hand me downs?' ")

As for her relationship with Davis, she told USA Weekend earlier this month: "I'm going to be real honest with you: I am not a fan [of Davis]...I do respect him, but I don't want to barbecue with him. We don't braid each other's hair. And, despite the rumors, he is nowhere near a father figure."

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Eva Mendes Says She's 'Thankful' for 'Nice Physique'

When it comes to her looks, Eva Mendes is grateful for what she's got.

"I'm thankful that I'm healthy and that I have my limbs and a nice physique," the actress, 33, tells Jane for its August "Naked" issue for which she is the cover girl. "Of course, there are things anybody wishes they didn't have or wishes [there] were more of, but why even bring that up? I think it comes off as bratty."

Just being in Hollywood contributes to helping her maintain a good body image, says Mendes. "Once you start doing the red carpet thing, you can become very critical of yourself; it's very easy. I was like, 'I'm not falling into that.' It's just not healthy."

She also finds it healthy to be comfortable with how she looks. During a recent visit to a Korean spa, she says, "There were all these beautiful Korean women bathing, being totally comfortable, no matter what type of body they had. I was like, 'This is what it must have been like back in the Roman-bath days.' And you feel like you're all in it together, in a weird way."

Not that she doesn't have a junk-food favorite. "For some reason, tacos from Jack in the Box really do it for me. The combination of tacos and French fries, it's heavenly. Throw an Oreo shake in there, and you've got a party," she says.


Among other topics that Mendes touches upon is her family, with whom she enjoys a relationship as healthy as her body image.

"Now I realize that not all families work like [we do]," she says. "We're loud, we yell, we get it out, then two minutes later we're like, 'Okay, what do you want to eat?' "

The one constant in her life, she also says, has been the unexpected. "I was a total accident, and I was supposed to be a boy. My mother had her ultrasound when she came from Cuba to Miami in the '70's, and the doctors told her, 'You're having a boy.' I think it would've been cool if she had stuck with the name she'd picked out for me. You could be talking to Javier Mendez right now."

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Nicole Richie Sentenced to Jail

Nicole Richie pleaded guilty to DUI and was sentenced to four days in jail on Friday in a Glendale, Calif., courthouse – just one month after her pal Paris Hilton walked free from behind bars.

She also agreed to serve a three-year probation term, and must enroll in an alcohol education program. She was also fined $2,048.

During the hearing, Los Angeles County Commissioner Steven Lubell admonished Richie, saying: "Someone could've gotten killed. You need to understand that driving under the influence is extremely dangerous."

Richie was given the option of serving her time in a paid city jail, which is seen as a cushier facility than a county jail. She was given no surrender date, but must complete her jail time before Sept. 28.

Richie, with her hair pulled back and wearing a loose-fitting black dress, showed up 10 minutes early for her 8:30 a.m. (PST) hearing, arm-in-arm with her boyfriend, Joel Madden, who was also dressed in all black.

Prosecutor Carolina Lugo said outside the courtroom that Richie's reported (and unconfirmed) pregnancy had nothing to do with the plea deal. "That was not discussed and we have no information about that."

Last month Richie, 25, told David Letterman on his Late Show that she is "scared" to go to jail. But, she added, "I'm willing to face whatever consequences come my way, and I take responsibility for what I've done."

Arrested on Dec. 11 after being spotted driving the wrong way on an L.A. freeway, Richie failed a field sobriety test and admitted to police that she'd smoked marijuana and took Vicodin earlier that evening. She was en route from Madden's home at the time.

She was previously convicted of a DUI in June 2003.

Although California law states that repeat DUI offenders get minimum of three months in jail, the sentence is reduced to only four days if the person accepts a three-year probation term.

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Isla Fisher Opens Up About Her Pregnancy

Isla Fisher plans on taking some time off for her next big project: the birth of her first child with her fiancé, Borat funnyman Sacha Baron Cohen.

"I haven't got any plans to jump back into [work after the birth]," Fisher told reporters at a recent Los Angeles press event for her new movie, Hot Rod, which hits theaters next Friday.

Due in winter, Fisher, 31, said she has not found out the baby's gender, nor has she decided whether she'll give birth in London or L.A., where she and Cohen split their time.

"I'm so happy, very happy, and very excited," gushed the actress best known for her role as a zany sister-of-the-bride in Wedding Crashers.

The actress – and two-time novelist – won't be writing again anytime soon, either: "I plan on just coloring in books. I'll focus on that for the next few years," she said.

Her Hot Rod costar, Saturday Night Live's Andy Samberg, says Fisher will be a good mom. "Yeah, I think so," he told PEOPLE. "That's gonna be an interesting family. That kid has got to brace himself. That kid's got something in for him."

Asked if the child would be a born comedian, because of his parents, Samberg cracked: "Or it will just reject comedy altogether, because there's no living up to [them.]"

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Dad: Jessica Simpson Turns Down 'Porn Star' Role

She's always been herself on camera, but Jessica Simpson isn't ready to show all of herself on camera.

"The last script that came to us was for Jessica to be a porn star," Jessica's father and manager, Joe Simpson, told PEOPLE at Thursday's ABC Television Critics Association party in Beverly Hills.

"We were promised we would win an Oscar with that," says Simpson, 49. "I was like, 'Eh, we'll just buy a [statue of a] little man and keep our clothes on.' "

Since she shot to fame in 2003 with ex-husband Nick Lachey on MTV's Newlyweds Jessica Simpson, 27, has been receiving quirky TV-show proposals "every day," according to her father.

"We're pitched those a lot," he says. "There are a lot of cool ones, and a lot of really strange ones."

Currently, Papa Simpson is promoting ABC's fall series The Women's Murder Club, which he is producing with Rush Hour director Brett Ratner. No plans are underway for Jessica or her younger sister Ashlee Simpson, 22, to appear on the show.

"They're very busy, and they're happy," Joe Simpson says of his daughters. "Jessica has three more movies to shoot; she has a new record coming in September. If the right role came up, of course, we'd never turn that down."

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Britney Spears's Bodyguard Has Scuffle with Photographer

A day after arriving in Las Vegas, Britney Spears was caught up in an incident between one of her bodyguards and a member of the paparazzi, according to police.

On Thursday morning, Las Vegas police were called to the Wynn Las Vegas' Spa after Spears's bodyguard, Julio Camera, allegedly punched a photographer, say police.

Camera was escorting Spears and her children through the Wynn property when two photographers, Andrew Deetz, 24, and Kyle Henderson, 23, ran up behind the group, attempting to get a picture of the singer. One of them bumped into Camera, who was holding Spears's son, Sean Preston, according to the report.

"Spears screamed in fear of her children's safety," the police report reads. Camera then gave the child to Spears and an altercation occurred between him and a one of the photographers around 11:55 a.m.

After Las Vegas police were called to the scene, Camera was cited for misdemeanor battery.

Deetz "received minor abrasions during the incident," according to the police release.

Spears also filed a report against the second photographer, claiming that Kyle Henderson struck both Camera and, by accident, Sean Preston, as the child was being held by the security guard.

Both cases remains under investigation.
A source with knowledge of the situation said Camera was detained for three hours following the dustup, and then met with Spears at Treasure Island after the singer checked out of her hotel room at the Wynn at 5:15 p.m.

In a statement released Friday, the hotel said, "Ms. Spears was a guest of Wynn Las Vegas this week. She elected to leave the resort on Thursday afternoon, July 26, of her own accord. We have no comment with regards to any alleged activity during her stay with us and will not comment on our guests' experience at Wynn Las Vegas."

A call to Spears's lawyer was not immediately returned.

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Heidi Klum: I Love My Muffins

Despite having one of the best bodies in the business, Heidi Klum says she has struggled with her weight.

"I was never a skinny, skinny type – the more I tried, the worse it was. I'd think about food more than ever," the Project Runway host and judge, 34, tells Britain's Easy Living magazine.

"They'd say 'You have to lose weight', and I'd be like, 'All I can think about is muffins!' " she says. "I don't want to get too skinny. I still want to have a round, womanly figure."

The German-born mom of three (8-month-old Johan, Henry,1, and Leni, 3) and wife to singer Seal since 2005, claims that doing what makes you happy and being there for your children are the keys to a healthy lifestyle.

She further admits to trying to cut carbs and candy to lose some pregnancy weight, but is "not a freak with working out and food."

She admits, "I always eat the profiteroles. I eat the pasta when I want it."

And who can tell? Klum is smoking hot in photos from the September issue of Arena magazine, which are burning up the Internet.

"I used to complain that I couldn't seem to fit into the clothes for the edgy fashion shows, but I found my own path," she says in the Arena article accompanying the very revealing pics.