All That Glamour And Gossip

Okay, I don’t have much Britney gossip to report today (except that there are rumors Heidi Klum is trying to court Brit to guest judge Project Runway), so I declare Britney Spears Week over. 

Katie Holmes speaks up and shows off her glamourous side in an Old Hollywood-style photo shoot for T: The New York Times Style Magazine. The stunning 29-year-old actress steals the cover from her husband Tom Cruise, who is also featured in the magazine.

Katie, who is pretty private despite daily paparazzi shots, vaguely confronts the image that the press has drawn of her since her 2006 marriage.

“There’s a misperception about me that I just became this wallflower, this woman who doesn’t have any control of her life,” she says. “And that’s pretty wrong. From the very beginning, I’ve made choices in my life that have been very strong.”

Tom also reveals a little something about his wife: “At one point, I thought she was going to ask me to marry her first and I cut her off by changing the subject. I wanted to ask her.” 

View the video interviews here.  If Katie can marry her childhood crush, does that mean there’s still hope for me and Leo DiCaprio?

In case you were interested, Mr. Britney Spears - a.k.a. Kevin Federline - deemed it necessary to share his “side of the story” with People during Britney Comeback Week. This is the first time he’s publicly spoken out since the nasty divorce.

The pop star’s ex-husband proclaims that he is “rooting” for Britney and still loves her (but he’s not in love with her). 

K-Fed reveals that he was surprised - no, “blindsided” - when Britney filed for divorce in 2006.

“I mean, we were having complications. I didn’t give her an ultimatum, but I was trying to work stuff out with her, and she didn’t even talk to me or anything and went behind my back and filed [for divorce]. [I was] completely blindsided,” he says.

This seems like an orchestrated PR response to recent interviews (complete with subtle disses) his former missus has given. In her equally orchestrated cover interview with Rolling Stone, Britney claims that Kevin ditched her.

Kevin tells People that his two boys, Sean Preston, 3, and Jayden James, 2, were the most important thing to him during the divorce process. He also admits that when Britney locked herself in the bathroom with Jayden back in January, an incident that led to her very public meltdown, he reached the nadir of his depression.

However, now that things are looking up for Brit, K-Fed is hoping for a reconciliation. Hmm, that could make for some interesting gossip.

Check out a pretty Brit at her birthday party last night at Tenjune in New York City. Celeb pals like Lance Bass, Heidi Klum, and Jaime Pressly celebrated with her. And word is, she sipped water all night long…that’s our girl!

Photo: E! Online

Happy Birthday, Britney!

As part of her overload comeback tour, Britney Spears brought the Circus to Good Morning America today. She performed the catchy “Womanizer” and debuted “Circus” under the big tent. Brit basically walked around the stage flinging her arms and lip syncing, but hey, at least she looked fabulous.

The cutest moment came when Britney sang to her sons Sean Preston and Jayden, who were in the front row with the rest of the family. 

Sexiest Man Alive Hugh Jackman sang happy birthday to the popstar he’s never met, while Reese Witherspoon, Taylor Swift, and the cast of Desperate Housewives wished Brit a Happy 27th Birthday via video. 

Britney Week continues tomorrow when she is on hand to help light the Christmas Tree at Rockefeller Center.

Welcome back! I hope you all had a warm, cozy Thanksgiving! Here’s a recap of what went down.

Old friends were reunited in New York City this weekend when the Victoria and David Beckham arrived in town to catch Katie Holmes on Broadway. Both families spent the holidays together with a carriage ride through Central Park - even Tom Cruise’s adopted kids with Nicole Kidman went along. 

Excited ‘NSync fans are crossing their fingers and hoping for a future reunion after Lance Bass (who came in third place on Dancing with the Stars) recently said that “it’s a definite possibility.” 

I’m officially declaring it Britney Spears Week. Her MTV documentary For the Record kicked it off last night. Britney also delivered a string of performances in Europe, including “Womanizer” on X Factor, which is Simon Cowell’s American Idol-esque show in London (and where Leona Lewis shot to fame). In fact, the harsh judge gave the gorgeous Brit a standing ovation. 

He later told Ryan Seacrest that he would love for Britney to perform on American Idol next year: ”I would literally have her on my show every week for the next 10 years.” Wow, this must be the highest praise Simon has ever given. 

Don’t forget to join in the festivities on Good Morning America tomorrow morning and help Britney celebrate her 27th birthday and the release of the much anticipated Circus.

Photo: Popsugar

…to give and receive!

America’s favorite accessories label, Coach, has just made the spirit of giving easier - and more fun! They have teamed up with 11 of their biggest celebrity fans to launch Coach Cares, an online initiative for the holidays.

Mandy Moore, Jessica Alba, Eva Longoria Parker, Halle Berry, Ali Larter, and other A-listers chose their holiday must-haves and favorite charitable causes. Now through Dec. 31, 20% of sales from those select items will go to the celebrity’s charity of choice and more importantly, raise awareness about worthy causes like inner-city schools, domestic violence, and animal rights. 

Get Mandy’s cute Amanda Foldover Flap clutch (I’m obsessed!) for your best girlfriend, Ali’s Lindsay Vintage Leather Shopper for your mom, and Ryan Reynold’s sturdy Transatlantic Leather Cabin Bag for that special guy in your life. Holiday shopping: done.

So head over to Coach to click, buy, and give. Repeat.

Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt have made it official: the publicity-loving couple eloped last Thursday. Just when you think they weren’t capable of doing anything away from the staged paparazzi and cameras.

The Hills stars told their friends that they were heading south of the border to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico for a “romantic getaway,” but did not allude to a wedding though there was speculation.

An (pre-planned?) UsWeekly cover today confirms the early reports, so it’s really not that much of a surprise wedding - gee, they waited four days to tell the press. And they chose the top selling tabloid, suspicious, no?

Speidi have been engaged since 2007, though Heidi temporarily broke it off last December.

Yesterday, the American Music Awards celebrated a year of great music with star-studded performances and medleys from Rihanna, Christina Aguilera, Alicia Keys, Beyonce, Annie Lennox, Kanye West, Leona Lewis, Pink, Sarah McLachlan, and many more.

Miley Cyrus celebrated her sweet 16 backstage with celeb pals - wait, didn’t the deep-voiced starlet have a ginormous birthday party, like, a month ago?

Justin Timberlake was the much-hyped “surprise” cameo, which was rumored to be his ex Britney Spears - don’t get me wrong; I love JT, but he’s hardly a surprise after his plethora of recent appearances.

Photo: Popsugar

While People named Hugh Jackman sexiest man alive, E! has bestowed the honor of “Sexiest Woman in the World” to supermodel Karolina Kurkova, despite the fact that she has no belly button (squint closely at the photo).

Four other models join the Victoria’s Secret Angel in the top 10.

1. Karolina Kurkova

2. Bar Rafaeli (Leonardo DiCaprio’s model girlfriend)

3. Angelina Jolie

4. Gisele Bundchen

5. Scarlett Johansson

6. Adriana Lima

7. Heidi Klum

8. Penelope Cruz

9. Manuela Arcuri (Italian actress)

10. Shakira

It’s official - Paris and Benji are finished. Shocked? Neither am I. 

As reported earlier this week, Paris Hilton was spotted partying with ex-bf Stavros Niarchos in Miami this weekend sans Benji Madden, her beau of 9 months. After her return to L.A., the couple hung out at separate clubs; Benji was seen with Nicole Richie, Paris’s supposed best friend and his twin brother’s girlfriend. Is somebody taking sides already?

On Wednesday, Paris’s rep told E! that “they’re still together… there is no breakup.”

Hours later, a contestant from Paris’s reality TV show My New BFF accidentally (or not) blabbed that the socialite and rocker did break up, but not because of Stavros or infidelity. 

Later, the same rep confirmed to the AP that they did split but will “remain very good friends.” Blah blah.

Reasons as to why the once surgically-attached duo are no longer vary, depending on who you believe. Some say that Benji was too controlling and others simply attribute the split to natural differences. Either way, Paris is more fun single!

Photo: People

People mag has released my favorite list today - 2008’s Sexiest Men Alive. And who did Matt Damon pass the crown to? Australia’s Hugh Jackman. 

“Hugh is tough and romantic at the same time,” says Australia costar Nicole Kidman. “Australian men are a different breed. They’re rugged and they sweat.”

Well, he is quite ruggedly handsome - and the accent doesn’t hurt. Nic also gushed that ”women’s jaws drop when Hugh walks into a room.” 

Other fellas on the list include Zac Efron, Blair Underwood, Daniel Craig, Ed Westwick, David Beckham, Michael Phelps, Joshua Jackson,  Javier Bardem, Twilight’s Robert Pattinson, Mark-Paul Gosselaar (Zach from Saved by the Bell!), and more in the issue out this week.

What do you think of this year’s sexiest? Is there anyone you’d like to see on the list? Do share!

As Paris Hilton partied in Miami Beach this weekend, did she find time to reconnect with an old flame?

Yes, according to these images, Paris was spotted hanging out with Greek heir Stavros Niarchos after the Victoria’s Secret fashion show Saturday night. 

“They slipped in secretly together holding hands very, very early in the morning,” an eyewitness blabs to OK! magazine. “They were cuddling and whispering together all night. Stavros was making Paris laugh — She couldn’t stop smiling when he was around and they were dancing together very closely.” 

Another source refutes the claim to E! News: ”They didn’t come together or leave together. They didn’t make out at all!”

Of course, none of this would be going down if boyfriend Benji Madden were around.

Photo: OK!