She has been a human mannequin dressed by one of the most celebrated stylists in the world and is one of the people responsible for the fashion genius behind the Sex and the City TV show and movie.
Now Sarah Jessica Parker is showing how dedicated to fashion she really is after taking on a new leading creative role at American fashion label Halston.
The star, who is busy finalising the second Sex and the City movie, due out in May this year, has announced that she will take on a designer role at the label.
The actress was spotted wearing the label while she shot scenes for the second movie, sparking rumours of a collaboration which the 44-year-old actress confirmed in an interview with Women’s Wear Daily newspaper.
She has been announced as chief creative officer and president with equity stake in the company and told the newspaper that she was very serious about the position.
“I think it’s wonderful to feel invested in something,” she said.
“I tend not to just endorse something. I like feeling the stakes.”
Since 1990 the Halston fashion label has had eight owners and six designers until it was saved by Harvey Weinstein, Jimmy Choo’s Tamara Mellon, and celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe.
Although Sarah Jessica has a successful background in acting, the star is a notable lover of fashion. She is the first to admit that this move, which has certainly been done by other celebrities before, is not part of her background.
“I know I come to the company in a rather unorthodox way but I’m not the first to be president of a company without the traditional background,” she said.
“Others have been successful in those endeavours and I do so hope I can be as well.’
She told Women’s Wear Daily it was her “good manners, a point of view that is inspiring, that is hopefully smart, and an incredible passion and excitement and enthusiasm, as well as some experience of what I know about women, that having been pretty much the focus of my role in Sex and the City” which made her well suited to the role.
We can’t wait to see the fashion brilliance the shoe-obsessed actress will bring to her new role!
Summer heat triggers a surprising variety of ailments. Here are some natural home remedies that spell relief.
Athlete’s foot
Soothe skin and clear infection by putting 1 cup of apple cider vinegar in a bowl of cool water and soak your feet for 10 minutes twice daily. Apply tea tree oil directly to the affected area.
Bites and stings
Apply one drop of peppermint oil directly to the bite. Peppermint has anti-inflammatory and antiseptic properties. Or, make a paste of bicarbonate of soda and a little water and apply that.
Heat exhaustion
Give sips of ginger tea, or place a few drops of rosemary oil on a tissue and inhale it. Acupressure can help you stop feeling faint: Press firmly between the base of the nose and the upper lip, for 1 minute. Take Siberian ginseng – this herb helps the body adapt more easily to extremes in temperature.
Prickly heat
Try an oatmeal bath: Grind dry rolled oats into a very fine powder in a blender, and add 2 cups to a bath of lukewarm water. Don’t rinse off, simply pat skin dry. Another idea is to chill wet chamomile tea bags in the fridge, then place them on the inflamed skin. Chamomile contains an oil called azulene, which has very effective anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and pain-relieving properties.
Sore eyes
Chlorine, salt water and hot winds play havoc with your eyes. Add 4 drops of lavender essential oils to a cup of spring water and mix well. Soak two cotton wool pads in the liquid, squeeze out the excess water and place a pad over each eye, then lie down with feet elevated higher than your head.
Sunburn
Cool down by soaking in a tub of tepid water for 15 minutes. Adding a cup of bicarbonate of soda or 500 ml of strong black tea to the bathwater will help. Avoid soap. Drink plenty of liquids – your body needs all the moisture it can get. Then smooth on a light moisturiser containing vitamin E or aloe vera. Some people get relief from thin slices of raw cucumber or tomato – they feel cool and help reduce inflammation on small areas, like the nose or tips of the ears. Plain yoghurt is also soothing – pat lightly on all suburned areas, then rinse off in a cool shower.
Former Miss Universe Jen Hawkins has jetted all over the world, but she says there’s no place like home, reports Phillip Koch.
Just days ago, Jennifer Hawkins was striding down an LA catwalk with the cream of Hollywood at her feet.
As one of the ex-pats headlining the glam G’Day LA bash in Los Angeles, she flew the flag for Aussie fashion, dazzling the A-list crowd in a jewel-encrusted swimsuit.
Jen drew whoops and cheers as she shimmied down the catwalk in a one-of-a-kind, $6000 piece from her Cozi by Jennifer Hawkins swimwear collection.
Now back home in Sydney, Jen admits she is open to career possibilities in Hollywood, but loves Australia and is happier than ever.
“Life is not perfect but it is pretty good,” says Jen, who spent Christmas with her family in Newcastle after celebrating her birthday with boyfriend Jake Wall and friends.
The G’Day LA fashion show presented by Myer promotes our fashion industry abroad.
“It was a great opportunity for designers and also for me to showcase Aussie fashion to the world,” the 26-year-old explains.
Jen’s life has changed dramatically since her last G’day LA bash six years ago as Miss Universe. BRW has estimated her annual earnings at $3.3 million, making Jen the 27th highest earning entertainer in the country.
She attributes her incredible figure to cutting out all wheat products, and an exercise regime which includes Pilates, yoga and running.
“I hate the gym but I have worked out what works for my body and I have a healthy lifestyle,” she says. “I’m also happy with where I’m at in life. I used to over-analyse things but now I’m relaxed. I’m in a good place and very happy with Jake. Our dream is to buy a piece of land near the water and build.”
And then there is the lure of Hollywood.
“If a contract came up while I was in LA, I would have to think seriously about it,” Jen says. “I have taken acting classes, which help with presenting, and I would love to expand my TV presenting career. But who knows what’s going to happen. I like to be prepared either way.”
But first she wants to continue to promote Australia’s finest fashion in LA, where the right outfit on the right person – especially during awards season – can ignite a career.
Last week’s G’Day LA parade has already piqued interest, with Camilla and Marc, Yeojin Bae, Jayson Brunsdon and more on show.
“We get over 1000 people at the gala, so it’s an amazing opportunity for these designers to showcase their wares to the US market,” says G’day USA committee member Wally Mariani.
On the eve of Australia Day, the talented singer tells Katherine Chatfield why her hometown of Darwin will always be her favourite.
Impossible as it seems, Jessica Mauboy doesn’t seem to notice the 36-degree heat and sweltering humidity as she stands amid tropical palms in the Northern Territory.
“I just breathe it in,” she smiles at the melting Woman’s Day team. “I’m used to it. I love it. It’s home.”
Although Jess could easily have stars in her eyes after an awesome year that included recording her hit album Been Waiting, starring in Aussie movie Bran Nue Dae, and winning an ARIA award for Highest Selling Single, there’s no doubt the 20-year-old still has her feet planted firmly on the red earth she was raised on.
Even as a make-up artist flutters around Jess, her family joke with their little girl, forgetting her superstar status entirely.
“I don’t know many Aussies who can’t laugh at themselves, or who take life too seriously,” Jess says. “For me, Australian spirit means we encourage everybody to follow their dreams, even if it means letting your daughter sing to every TV commercial that comes on, just like my parents did.”
And it’s clear there’s nowhere Jess would rather be than with her family. “Every time I get a break, Mum says ‘Do you want to go on holiday?’” Jess laughs. “But all I want to do is come home, go fishing and wear thongs.
“I grew up in the bush. I have fond memories of going out in the dinghy to go crabbing with my dad.”
But there is another reason the Idol graduate is keen to return to the town she calls home, besides the beloved bushland. Her boyfriend of one year, Themeli Magriplis, is based here, forcing the smitten couple to conduct a long-distance relationship between Darwin and Sydney, where Jess has bought her own apartment.
“I’m always so anxious to see him,” she grins. “I was the only one awake on the plane from Sydney because I was so excited!”
The couple first met when Jess was on a girls’ night out at a Darwin club. They felt an instant connection the moment they spotted each other across the room.
“It was love at first sight,” Jess remembers. “For some reason he just caught my attention straight away. I couldn’t stop staring at him. Later that night I could feel someone staring at me. I turned, and bang, I was connected.”
The notoriously wild-living star is dedicating his last days to cutting his wife out of his will, and his life. Matthew Denby finds out why.
It’s a bitter family feud so shocking even Hollywood can’t believe it. Actor Dennis Hopper, who is dying of prostate cancer, last week blindsided his wife of 14 years, Victoria Duffy, by summoning divorce lawyers to his bedside.
The move was reportedly instigated by Dennis’s adult daughter from a previous relationship, Marin, 47, amid allegations that Victoria’s taste for the high life has been bleeding the actor dry.
“Dennis told me, ‘I’ve worked so hard to give Victoria everything she wanted, but it only fuelled her appetite for more and more luxury’,’’ a friend of the star told the New York Post.
Things have now become so ugly between Dennis and Victoria, who have a six-year-old daughter, Galen, she’s said to have barricaded herself into the lavish home they share with Marin in an effort to avoid being turfed out.
Victoria has been married to the Easy Rider star for a relatively long time, but under the terms of their pre-nup, she will be eligible for only one quarter of his fortune if they divorce.
“It’s truly a tragedy,” one friend of the couple says of their falling out. “And sadly it’s all about the money and who inherits what.”
Dennis, 73, has been battling prostate cancer since 2003, and it is believed the disease has spread to his bones.
US reports say he may only have weeks to live and is confined to hospital in LA. But although having only a limited time left, he has chosen not to reconcile with his wife, and is dedicating his last days to legal manoeuvrings.
Despite Dennis’s reputation for wild living, friends describe the couple’s 14 years together as “relatively happy”, which makes his sudden demand she leave their beachside compound all the more shocking.
There is much at stake, with three children from his five previous marriages all lining up for a cut of his wealth. Although he blew much of his movie earnings, Dennis’s involvement in the New York art scene paid off handsomely, and he has works valued in excess of $100 million.
“Dennis was worried that paintings and photographs were disappearing, and he didn’t like the explanations,” says a source.
Victoria, 41, was said to have tamed him, after a self-destructive lifestyle that reportedly saw him habitually carrying both a gun and a knife, and consuming enormous amounts of rum, beer and cocaine.
“All my early idols were alcoholics and drug addicts so I took to the bottle and let it carry me through my career,” he recently said. “Then there was the sex.”
It seems Dennis is determined to go out in much the same way he lived: defiant and the centre of attention.
What do you think of Dennis’ sad situation? Share your thoughts below.
Veteran royal correspondent Judy Wade, who knew Diana well, says William has done his mum very proud.
I saw firsthand how Diana won over the world, and I had a sense of deja vu when I saw her son, Prince William, on his first adult tour of Australia and New Zealand.
William came, the public saw, and he conquered the hearts of Australians by the thousands.
From the minute he arrived, the image of Diana was among the Aussies again, but William’s charm offensive really got under way when he visited The Block, in Sydney’s inner-city area of Redfern, where he was greeted by Sydney’s indigenous community.
Surprised by the huge crowd waiting to see him, he blushed as he was welcomed with a Wakka Wakka tribal dance and the traditional wafting of smoke from eucalyptus leaves.
The fact that a prince chose to visit some of the most underprivileged people in the city was regarded by them as an unprecedented honour, and by Aussies who’d loved Di as William’s touching tribute to his mother.
Once inside the building, Wills delighted children and elders alike, playing ping pong and even reading the storybook, Possum Magic, to a group of enthralled kids.
Approached by a six-year-old girl who asked, “Did your Mummy die?” William quietly replied, “Yes she did. It was very sad.”
Everyone agreed Diana would be delighted with the way her elder son has turned out. “He’s such a credit to her,” one elderly lady said. And I couldn’t agree more.
Royal insider Judy Wade sheds light on the attractive blonde who was never far from William’s side during his Australian tour.
As the sun went down over Sydney Harbour last week, it wasn’t Kate Middleton by Prince William’s side as he sipped a string of mojitos. That unique pleasure went to a certain curvy blonde.
She is the ever-present “other woman” in his life.
Gorgeous Thea Garwood works at St James’s Palace. Her title is Engagements Secretary, which means she organises every aspect of his official life, including public appearances like his tour Down Under.
But work seemed far from her mind as she enjoyed an evening in Sydney’s Darling Harbour with the Prince last Tuesday night.
“It’s very unusual for a diary secretary to be involved in unofficial engagements like Thea is with William,” says veteran royal observer Robert Jobson. “I would imagine it’s not something Kate is particularly happy about.”
Thea joined Wills’ staff when he and Harry were planning the Diana Memorial pop concert. At the time, William and Kate were estranged.
While they eventually did get back together, as we all know, in the meantime Thea proved herself an indispensable part of William’s office. And it was Thea, not Kate, who proudly watched as William embarked on the first major challenge of his life – representing his grandmother the Queen.
He’s her dialect coach, rubber sheets and sex toys have been left behind and Brad has taken Maddox.
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have been rocked by the shocking claims of a hotel maid that the actress has been cheating on Brad with a hunky dialogue coach.
With the couple’s relationship hanging on a knife’s edge, Brad has taken Angelina’s favourite son, Maddox, 8, to New Orleans, as a strained and downcast Ange tries to hold it together in LA.
Brad is said to be furious following claims by former Waldorf-Astoria housekeeper Anna Kowalski, published in US magazine In Touch, that she witnessed evidence suggesting Angelina cheated during the filming of Salt in New York.
While her lover and their kids were at their rented Long Island mansion, Anna claims Angelina was romping with a tall, dark-haired dialogue coach hired to help her perfect her accent for the film.
“She would see the tutor while a bodyguard stood at the entrance to the suite,” said Anna, who’d often been assigned to work with the family on their numerous visits to the hotel over four years. “I had seen him going up to her room on the security monitor.”
After one coaching session, Anna says, she witnessed first hand the tell-tale evidence of lessons of another kind. Horrified by the state of the room, she says there is no doubt in her mind that Ange had been enjoying herself without the father of her children.
“The room was a disaster,” Anna says. “There was water all over the bathroom and empty vodka bottles everywhere. Every towel was used and there were flowers in the tub, with candles. The bed was covered in black rubber sheets and there were sex toys on it.”
Following the allegations – and after months of rows and mounting reports of an impending split – the two have dispensed with their public shows of unity. A furious Brad last week took Maddox to New Orleans, where they went to a football game.
Back in LA, the escalating drama in Ange’s personal life appears to be taking a physical toll, with her weight reportedly plunging to a scarily low 47kg.
Her eyes shielded behind large sunglasses, a despondent-looking Ange juggled large shopping bags from an organic food store, while her two oldest daughters, Zahara, 5, and Shiloh, 3, sucked their thumbs and clutched security blankets. Ange’s dark mood seemed to have rubbed off on Shiloh in particular, who is very close to Brad. She has been in tears ever since he jetted off.
HOSTS: Eddie McGuire, Andrew O’Keefe and Rove McManus.
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Hall Of Fame
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TV WEEK Logie Award winners 2004
DATE: Sunday, April 18, 2004
BROADCAST ON: Nine Network
GUESTS: Mel Brooks, Ronn Moss
PERFORMERS: Anastacia, Michael Bublé (“Moondance”), Shannon Noll, Guy Sebastian, Kath (Jane Turner) and Kim (Gina Riley) (“Lady Bump”), Cirque Du Soliel
The benefits of breastfeeding just keep adding up. Now, according to a study published in the spring 2009 issue of Journal of Human Capital, it seems the effects also last for considerably longer than was once thought.
Researchers examined the academic records of siblings, some of whom were breastfed as babies, and others who were bottle-fed with formula, and found a strong correlation between breast-feeding and better high school results.
They also found an increased likelihood of high school completion and university attendance for tertiary-level study in those people who were breastfed. Importantly, since this is the first such study to examine brothers and sisters, rather than the greater population, other influences such as parental intelligence and home influences could be ruled out.
Your say: Do you agree with this study? Do you think it is important to breast feed your child? Share with us below…
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