For the last three decades, Madonna has reigned as the Queen of Pop, and she's had an amazingly broad influence on pop culture, fashion and the career of nearly every young female pop starlet ( ). When royals begin to age, there is the inevitable talk about an heir to the throne.
For the first few years of the new millennium, it seemed as if Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera would battle it out for the crown. As we all remember, there was the infamous performance by the two young lovelies at the 2003 MTV Video Music Awards, where each shared a liplock with Her Madgesty.
Since Spears appeared to get just a little more tongue that X-tina, it seemed the torch was passed to Britney, who even took up Kaballah to emulate her highness. Then came Brit's quickie marriage and equally quick annulment to childhood friend , which was the precursor to a downward spiral to be forever known as "The Federline Years." As we've seen, Britney after dumping FedEx, but her attempts to regain her spot in the line of pop succession have derailed.
Everyone knows that a mother of two doesn't for the world to see.
Meanwhile, another blonde has quietly planted herself on the top of the heap. Gwen Stefani, while slightly beyond "princess" years, is worthy of being considered pop royalty.
Her is doing very well on the charts, which is no surprise, given that everything she's touched turns to gold. From her mega-selling "Love.Angel.
Music.Baby." to her monster collaborations with Eve and Moby, Gwen has the magic touch.
Like Madonna, Gwen's influence now stretches beyond music. She's renowned for her edgy fashion sense and has her own successful , complete with matching . Gwen even has her own doll line and is creating her own perfume to market under her L.
A.M.B.
brand. She's even taken a turn on the big screen. Stefani made a brief acting debut playing Jean Harlow alongside Leo DiCaprio in "The Aviator," and made a cameo appearance in "Zoolander.
" While other contenders have faulted, Gwen is clearly on the path to pop's top spot.
Gwen is everywhere these days; the VH1 "Big in '06" awards, this past weekend, and next on MTV's New Year's Eve show. She does it all while , proving that you can be sexy and classy at the same time.
She's got a happy marriage with a , and never seems to be far from her her son. Yep, Gwen has it all. Perhaps Miss Britney should stop and take a cue from Stefani.
If she did, she'd learn a valuable lesson: you don't need a sex tape or panty-less outings to be a megastar -- something even Madonna learned a long time ago.
Posted Nov 26th 2006 12:05PM by
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Hollywood share a very special bond.
Star moms are usually very particular about the way they raise their daughters, especially because they know the trials and tribulations their child will have to overcome from growing up in the spotlight. This sometimes forces that mother-daughter connection to grow stronger..
. but not always.
Sometimes money and attention interfere with the love, leaving only feuding and heartache.
Here's a loving little look at some of Tinseltown's more famous celeb moms and their female offspring.
Posted Nov 26th 2006 12:01PM by
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Some stars gracefully make the move from and actually enjoy some success.
Jamie Foxx did it with his star turn in "Ray," which prompted him to record a hit album. Other stars moved from singing to acting; Madonna was amazing in "Evita." But some stars should stick to what they do best.
The only thing memorable about Jessica Simpson's acting debut was the Daisy Dukes she wore. And while Paris Hilton has taken some heat for her singing ability, her album can be classified as a hit. Her acting "talent" in films like "House of Wax" and "The Hills" has been called the s**t, and not in a good way.
Posted Nov 22nd 2006 7:30AM by
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How did Madonna get the nickname "Madge"?
--Melissa
Melissa, lots of people have to be wondering the same thing.
"Madge" is a name the UK press gave to , a shortened combo version of "Her Majesty" and "Madonna." No one in her professional or personal life refers to her by that name ..
. we're guessing it didn't stick, or she just doesn't care for it!
For more Madonna, .
Posted Nov 9th 2006 7:24PM by
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I heard that "Sex and the City" might be made into a movie .
.. any truth to that?
Katie, you're right on the money!
Although this project has been up in the air for the longest time, the girls of New York seem to have gotten everything squared away and are finally on track for a film. exclusively reported that, as of now, things were a go. It's just a matter of ironing out contract issues and finding the perfect timing.
So get ready. And as Carrie would say -- "Can you handle it?"
to check out Kim Cattrall's glamorous gallery!
Posted Nov 5th 2006 11:00AM by
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Madonna may be trying to save the African children, but she's definitely not looking out for New York pedestrians.
The Material Mama and her drivers, one of whom is a retired cop whose brother is a state senator, have, , been breaking just about every traffic rule in existence -- going through red lights, making illegal U-turns, "burning rubber on major thoroughfares," and generally causing traffic havoc all over town.
In fact, a Post reporter says that she witnessed Madge's entourage running 40 red lights in just four days. She's been on a relentless tour of the city's talk shows to defend her controversial adoption of little baby David.
One of the drivers, who goes by the name Abel, explained, "Some days she gets in back and says, 'Abel, I don't want to be followed' - and I know what to do." Abel adds, indiscreetly, "She enjoys this. She likes it when we do bad things.
" The Post did not have a response from Madonna's reps at press time.
To celebrate her split from Travis Barker, Shanna Moakler threw herself a much hyped "divorce party" in Las Vegas at the Bellagio's Light club. The couple, which has been airing their dirty laundry on MySpace, filed for divorce in August.
According to , the highlight of the night was a three-tiered cake with a knife-wielding bride on top and a bloody groom at the bottom.
"I'm really doing it ..
. to have closure and celebrate being single again and start a new chapter in my life," Moakler says about the party. "I don't have any regrets about doing it.
At the end of the day, this isn't the worst thing in my life. People go through it every day. This is how I'm showing the world that divorce is okay.
It doesn't have to be the end of your life."
Aussies gave Kylie Minogue a warm welcome when she touched down in Sydney today. The pop princess says she's excited about hitting the road to finish up her Showgirl tour, which was postponed last year after she found out she had breast cancer.
Kylie was so happy to be home that spotted her at the airport jumping around and clapping her hands. "I feel really inspired, more than I have for quite a while," she says. "I'm not a year out of recovery and I'm recording and doing photo shoots .
.. I've hardly stopped.
" Her comeback performance is set for Nov. 11.
Actions speak louder than words for Jackie Chan, who admits that speaking English is sometimes hard for him.
On his website, Chan says he's often frustrated with the dialogue on the set of "Rush Hour 3" and feels his roles are limited because he can't quite grasp the English language. "To me, action scenes are so easy, but dialogue scenes drive me crazy. The directors and producers want me to speak everything perfectly," he says.
"Sometimes when a word is in the past tense or plural, I get confused. It is hard to remember lengthy dialogue and still sound natural."
A striptease by Gerard Butler injured Hilary Swank while filming "P.
S. I Love You" in New York. During the steamy scene, a source that Butler's suspenders got tangled and snapped, hitting the actress in the face.
Filming was stopped and Swank got stitched up. Production is set to resume on Monday. .
.. Lindsay Lohan, Ellen Burstyn and Ann-Margret have signed on for the big screen version of Tennessee William's "The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond.
" Production should begin next year ...
Mel Brooks says David Hasselhoff will star in a Vegas production of "The Producers" starting in February
Posted Nov 2nd 2006 3:32PM by
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No matter how hard she tries,
can't seem to outrun questions about her newly adopted Malawian heir, David Banda Mwale Ciccone Ritchie.
Out with a gal pal for one of her leisurely jogs around New York's Central Park reservoir on Wednesday, the 48-year-old Material Girl, clad in the latest in workout gear--an argyle sweater!--ignored a foreign paparazzo when asked, "How is doing David?
"
Madonna has for adorning her new 13-month-old baby with a red Kabbalah string, which is supposed to protect the wearer from "the evil eye," and is connected symbolically to the tomb of Rachel and defending against ill will. Why are people bugged by this?
Madonna has been in the Big Apple wrapping up a media blitz for her latest children's book "English Roses: Too Good to Be True" and an upcoming edited concert special on NBC, but nearly all questions have been about the controversial third world adoption.
Over 12 million children in sub-Saharan Africa have lost one or both parents. Let's give Madge her props for helping.
Posted Nov 1st 2006 8:45AM by
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Madonna claimed this morning that she initially tried to give her recently -adopted baby's father money, so he could raise the boy himself, but he turned her down.
And this, said Madge, she took as a sign that she should adopt him herself.
The Queen of Pop that she "couldn't really understand" Yohane Banda's decision not to take her money, especially because he had "moved to another village and was kind of getting on with his life." When he declined the money, Madonna said she regarded it as "my sign that .
.. it was my responsibility to look after [David].
"
Madonna also defended her decision to get little David indoctrinated into the Kabbalah fold early. "I believe in Jesus and I study kabbalah," she said. "So, I don't see why he can't, too.
" And as for David himself, Mama Madge said that the kid (like his adoptive mother) has "a terrible temper," that he's "flirtatious," and "hysterically funny."
The demise of Reese Witherspoon and Ryan Phillippe's marriage was said by TMZ sources to be "cumulative," and Phillippe's growing affection for Aussie actress Abbie Cornish, as reports (via Page Six), may have played a hand. An Us source says, "Ryan admitted it was true and said, 'We need to just end this.
' Reese literally had no choice." Phillippe and Cornish, as several sources have reported, grew close in Austin, Tex., as they filmed the indie production "Stop Loss.
" Regardless, the split continues to take its toll. "We're a little bit devastated and heartbroken," Ryan's mom Susan said.
Porn star Jenna Jameson's ample, um, armaments are apparently a little too offensive for those buttoned-up Marines.
The sex star's boyfriend, ultimate fighter Tito Ortiz, was asked by Marines in San Diego to be a guest of honor at a birthday ball, but was then disinvited when Marine honchos found out that he would be bringing Jameson with him, Maj. Jason Johnston sent Ortiz an email, saying, "There is some serious consternation here about having your girlfriend attend our ball. Of course I, and a lot of Marines, are very excited about it .
.. many of our commanders feel it might be inappropriate.
"
Anna Nicole Smith has been hospitalized with pneumonia at the same Bahamian hospital where her son Daniel died in September and where she had her baby Dannielynn. The former Playboy Playmate, according to attorney Wayne Munroe, contracted "a slight case of pneumonia" brought on possibly by "a sudden change of weather" in the Bahamas. Munroe says the hospitalization was more a precaution because Smith had just given birth.
Meanwhile, the lawyer adds that Smith has filed suit against G. Ben Thompson, the South Carolina developer with whom she had a previous relationship, over the ownership of the waterfront mansion where she's been in seclusion since Daniel's death.
Britney Spears has been working hard to get into fighting shape for her career rebirth, and she celebrated dropping down to a size 6 by spending nearly $10,000 in one hour at Barneys in Beverly Hills, according to In Touch Weekly ( ).
No tracksuits were bought, says the mag, but "soft, clingy" sweaters were ...
The New York Post's the "Mel Gibson" episode of Law Order, which will air this Friday, and the fake Mel sounds very much like the real Mel, at least when it comes to his anti-Semitic rage. "They suck the money out of this town," says the character, played by Chevy Chase. "They send it to Israel so they can make bombs and matzoh!
" Do you think the real Mel knows what matzoh is? ..
. Alec Baldwin, not generally known as a supporter of Republicans like California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, has asked to have his narration removed from a documentary called "Running with Arnold" about the Governator because he thinks that the filmmakers have gone too far by associating Schwarzenegger with Nazi rallies.
Posted Oct 31st 2006 5:19PM by
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In an interview airing Wednesday and Thursday on "Today" and Wednesday on "Dateline NBC," tells Meredith Vieira in detail about her controversial adoption of David, a 1-year-old boy from Malawi.
When asked about the media coverage the story has received, Madonna said, "With all the chaos, pain and suffering in the world, the fact that my adoption of a child ..
.who was living in an orphanage, you know, was the number one story for a week in the world. To me, that says more about what.
..our inability to focus on the real problems.
And our desire to have distractions and to be consumed with people's personal lives and gossip." Posted Oct 30th 2006 7:28PM by
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Is it possible that adopted son's first words could be "Jewish mysticism"? It sure looks that way.
Landing at New York's JFK Airport yesterday, Madonna walked through the terminal holding her newly adopted son, David, and it would appear from the video that David is sporting the very familiar Kabbalah red bracelet on his left arm.
Madonna, wearing a pair of dark shades, walked through the airport ignoring photographers questions and headed straight for an SUV waiting outside. She hopped into the back seat, cradling David in her arms -- an image that sort of reminded us of the earlier this year.
The Material Girl is on a New York press tour this week, hitting "Today," "Dateline" and "Live With Regis Kelly.
" Wonder what she'll be talking about...
Something that you just gotta know?
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