Cause Celebre

Now that soul-searching and good deeds have officially replaced many of our more frivolous preoccupations, self-promotion seems so passe--even in Hollywood. This week, Hollywood people roused from silent mourning and started going to parties again. But for the most part, they are charity parties--and not just for the victims of the terrorist attacks. The animals, the cancer patients, the homeless still need help, too:

* Gloria Steinem, singer-songwriter Sophie B. Hawkins and tree hugger Julia Butterfly Hill plan a benefit for the animal protection group the Ark Trust Inc., on Oct. 14. The event, at UCLA’s Freud Playhouse, features a performance by Hawkins, who said, “It makes me happier to perform when I’m doing something for animals.”

Steinem will discuss the links between the animal rights, environmental and women’s rights movements. “In a deep sense, it is the hierarchical thinking of polarized gender roles ... humans dominating nature ... that allows us to value some lives over others.”

Hawkins, a New York transplant, rescues stray animals from the streets of L.A.. “I’m devoted to my animals like children now,” said Hawkins, who has three dogs and three cats. “I’m really involved in bringing animals up to the status that they really deserve. I feel they should be more of a constant with us.”

Hill, 27, known for her two-year stay atop a 1,000-year-old Northern California redwood tree, will lecture on environmental preservation. Many of us are experiencing a “fight or flight” response to the Sept. 11 attacks, she said. But as Americans we must acknowledge that “a lot of this violence has been perpetuated because of resources and we are by far the greatest user of resources in the world.”

* Actress Christina Applegate has two major films hitting theaters this fall, but she’s spending most of her free time talking about her mother’s battle with breast cancer. Applegate, 29, is this year’s spokeswoman for the Komen Los Angeles County Race for the Cure, a 5K run Nov. 4 at the Rose Bowl to raise money for breast cancer research, education, screening and treatment.

Applegate’s mother, actress Nancy Priddy, whose cancer was diagnosed in 1977, struggled mightily with the disease in the mid-1990s, enduring more than a year of chemotherapy. As a result of that experience, Applegate said she will start getting her own mammograms after she turns 30 this year. “It’s not something to be afraid of,” Applegate said. “It’s just something to be aware of.”

* Wednesday night, director Brett Ratner, who has won praise for “The Family Man,” “Rush Hour” and “Rush Hour II,” picked up an award for his generosity toward Chrysalis, a nonprofit organization that finds steady jobs for the homeless.

Ratner, 32, became a Chrysalis supporter last year. During a visit to L.A.’s skid row, he was shocked to find hundreds of people living in makeshift villages. There are thousands of homeless people living within an eight-block radius he said. “That’s what blew me away. It was the saddest thing you’ve ever seen.”

Chrysalis, in contrast, empowers homeless people by teaching them job skills and giving them a place to retrieve messages. “You can give people food or money,” said Ratner, “but there’s nothing better than helping them help themselves.”

Behind the Wheel

Maybe it’s another manifestation of the newly toned-down glitz in Hollywood. Or maybe these stars just like to DIY (do it yourself).

At the premiere Wednesday of “My First Mister,” Christine Lahti’s directorial debut, celebrities including Sally Field, Goldie Hawn, Teri Garr, Alfre Woodard and Tracey Ullman eschewed the limo treatment, parking their own cars nearby and walking to the Laemmle theater in Santa Monica.

One exception was Arnold Schwarzenegger, who relied on the kindness of strangers. When he and wife Maria Shriver pulled up in front of the theater in their silver Mercedes, a quick-thinking staffer jumped in and offered to valet the car, if Schwarzenegger would take a stroll down the carpet for the press. He happily obliged, and when the couple left the theater, the car was waiting curbside.

The movie opens Oct. 12.

Role Models

Journalist Cokie Roberts is a working mother and proud of it. No guilt trips for her. “One of the things that puzzles me is that at this point in the 21st century, there’s still an argument going on about where you should be--at home with your children or at work,” said Roberts. “To me it just seems absurd.” Individual women and their families should determine what works for them. There are no rules, she said.

Roberts chose both. The political analyst and news anchor is a mom--and now a grandmother of three. Her daughter gave birth to twin boys last month. Who’s her role model?

“I have a remarkable mother,” Roberts said. No argument here. She’s the daughter of former U.S. Rep. Lindy Boggs, who at 81 was appointed ambassador to the Vatican by former President Clinton. (She was elected to fill the seat of her late husband, U.S. Rep. Hale Boggs. .) Roberts’ late sister, Barbara Sigmund, was a former mayor of Princeton, N.J.. Roberts said having women in office is vital for a democracy. She added that the outlook for women in most professions has improved since she began her career.

“When I started, it was legal to say, ‘We don’t hire women,”’ said Roberts. “They could say, ‘You can’t be on the air because [women] don’t sound authoritative.”’

In any kind of organization, women are a “civilizing influence,” said Roberts. “Multi-tasking is now a word but women have [always] been multitasking.” As she talked on the phone, Roberts was doing needlepoint.

She’ll speak at a luncheon Oct. 12 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Newport Beach to help raise money for Human Options, which provides services for abused women and their children.

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Times staff writers Gina Piccalo and Louise Roug contributed to this column.