Hollywood headlines: A celebrity week in review
Helen Mirren, Oscar winner for her performance in 2007’s “The Queen,” was queen for a day in Hollywood on Thursday, receiving the 2,488th star on the Walk of Fame. She even had a king to attend to her in her new home. “The ‘queen’s’ star,” said Leron Gubler, Hollywood Chamber of Commerce president and chief exec, “is located right next to that of the ‘king,’ Colin Firth. We’ve kind of made this, in front of the Pig ‘N Whistle, we’ve kind of made this a Brit location.”
Full story: Helen Mirren’s star gets a prime spot on Hollywood Walk of Fame | INTERACTIVE: Hollywood Star Walk (Chris Pizzello / Invision / AP)
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie possibly tie the knot, Kanye West and Kim Kardashian are expecting, and Helen Mirren gets her Hollywood Walk of Fame star in this week’s Hollywood headlines.
Did Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie become “Mr. & Mrs. Smith” on Christmas Day? The unconfirmed rumor du jour has Hollywood’s No. 1 celebrity couple spiriting their brood off to the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Caribbean to swap “I dos.” The Dec. 25 ceremony allegedly took place at designer Donna Karan’s Parrot Cay estates, suggests the Telegraph, and those in attendance were said to have included Brad’s parents Jane and William Pitt, and his brother Doug and sister Julie. A representative for Pitt’s management team did not return a phone call and an e-mail seeking comment Wednesday. And reports about the nuptials all include plenty of caveats including “maybe,” and “possibly” and “might-have-but-might-not-have-so-don’t-blame-us-if-it’s-not true.”
Full story: Did Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie secretly marry on Christmas Day? | PHOTOS: Celebrity portraits by The Times (Mark Boster / Los Angeles Times)
NeNe Leakes is engaged -- again -- to ex-husband Greg Leakes. “The Real Housewives of Atlanta” star and “New Normal” cast member broke the news to Jimmy Fallon on Thursday night after the chat-show host teased her with her own tantalizing photos from New Year’s Eve, which showed a night of romance (rose petals, Champagne, strawberries and more) and were capped with two cryptic tweets: “My answer was” and “yes.” Fallon managed to get NeNe to spill the question, which turned out to be, “Will you marry me again?” The two met in 1996, married in 1997 and filed for divorce in 2011 (it was official last April). NeNe started “RHOA” in 2008.
Full story: NeNe Leakes engaged anew to ex-husband Greg Leakes (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)
Tailgating and mental health don’t necessarily go together -- unless you’re living in Lady Gaga’s world. On the coming leg of her Born This Way Ball tour, the singer will offer free counseling during the BornBrave pre-show, courtesy of the Born Brave Bus. “[I]t will be a fun tailgating experience for monsters to unite,” Gaga said on her Facebook page. “At the BornBrave Bus you have access to professional private or group chats about mental health, depression, bullying, school & friends. There will also be food and games, DJ White Shadow and Lady Starlight will DJ with host BREEDLOVE to keep the experience fun,” she continued.
Full story: Lady Gaga will offer mental-health counseling before concerts (Evan Agostini/Invision/AP)
Dancer, singer and actress Julianne Hough, who plays a victim of abuse in the upcoming film “Safe Haven,” has her own back story of abuse suffered as a child, she revealed to Cosmopolitan in its February issue. After winning a five-year scholarship to the Italia Conti Academy of the Arts, where her brother Derek Hough was studying, a 10-year-old Julianne headed from Utah to London to train in dance. The now-24-year-old told the magazine that while in London, far from her recently divorced parents, “I was abused, mentally, physically, everything,” she said. It got worse “when I started hitting puberty, when I started becoming a woman and stopped being a little girl.”
Full story: Julianne Hough reveals childhood abuse suffered while overseas (Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)
Hugh Hefner and Crystal Harris made it to the vows this time around, getting married on New Year’s Eve in a small ceremony at the Playboy Mansion. Hef, 86, announced the news via Twitter on Monday, saying, “Crystal & I married on New Year’s Eve in the Mansion with Keith as my Best Man. Love that girl!” Keith Hefner, 83, is Hugh’s younger brother. The Playboy founder followed up on Tuesday, tweeting, “Happy New Year from Mr. and Mrs. Hugh Hefner!” with an accompanying picture of him in his trademark pajamas with the bride, 26, still in her pink mermaid-style gown.
Full story: Hugh Hefner, Crystal Harris finally marry on New Year’s Eve (Dan Kitwood / Getty Images)
Kim Kardashian is pregnant, and Kanye West is the father. Yes, you just read that. No, we’re not kidding. “It’s true!! Kanye and I are expecting a baby,” Kardashian posted Monday on her blog. “We feel so blessed and lucky and wish that in addition to both of our families, his mom and my dad could be here to celebrate this special time with us. Looking forward to great new beginnings in 2013 and to starting a family. Happy New Year!!! Xo.” West had actually spilled the news Sunday night at a concert at the Revel Resort in Atlantic City, N.J.
Full story: Kim Kardashian is pregnant, expecting a baby with Kanye West | PHOTOS: Kim Kardashian’s relationships and flings (Michael Loccisano / Getty Images)
If Tom Cruise had a rumored new girlfriend in recent weeks, now it must be ex-wife Katie Holmes’ turn -- and talk had it that she was turning up the heat with one Jake Gyllenhaal. But talk is all it was, and one-international-tabloid talk at that. Grazia magazine had Holmes and Gyllenhaal spending time together in a romance that supposedly kicked off with an intro by Katie’s former “Dawson’s Creek” costar Joshua Jackson. “Katie says that they have tons in common and Jake has already been to see her in ‘Dead Accounts,’ plus she has been over to his apartment in the West Village for dinner,” a source told the tabloid (via MTV UK).
Full story: Katie Holmes and Jake Gyllenhaal? Really? OK, not really. | PHOTOS: Famous Scientologists (AP / Carolyn Cole, Los Angeles Times)
