Issue date: November 12, 2000
Does the curly-haired
little girl in the TV Pepsi ads act in anything besides those commercials?
Does she have a "regular" life?
Margaret Smith, Chicago
Hallie Kate Eisenberg's life is normal to her; she's been acting
for much of it. But it's by no means how a typical 8-year-old lives.
On a recent school night, for example, the precocious spokeskid,
who sings, dances and plays guitar, was primed to talk about her
latest career challenge: starring as Helen Keller in The Miracle
Worker, Sunday at 7 p.m. ET on ABC. Interviews are nothing new
in the busy Eisenberg home -- Hallie's older brother and sister
act, too -- but Hallie's a bit shy, explaining that for the movie
she "had to throw a lot of tantrums, which I don't usually do."
To prepare, she read up on Keller's life and visited a school for
deaf and blind children. What did she learn playing Keller? "Even
with disabilities, you can be a genius."
Does designer Donatella
Versace, who took over her late brother Gianni's company, have a
family? Where does she live?
Julie Guerry, Lynnbrook, N.Y.
Versace lives in Milan, Italy, with her American husband, Paul Beck, who oversees the company's ad campaigns. Their 14-year-old daughter, Allegra, inherited her uncle Gianni's $500 million estate; their son, Daniel, 11, inherited his extensive art collection, including works by Picasso. When Gianni Versace was shot to death in 1997 by serial killer Andrew Cunanan, his younger sister stepped up to become chief designer in his fashion house. A social butterfly who hangs out with clients like Goldie Hawn and Madonna, Versace, 44, is known for such sexy creations as the barely-there gown Jennifer Lopez wore to the Grammys.
Little-known actor
Jake Gyllenhaal made such an impressive debut in last year's October
Sky. I'd like to know more about him.
Mary Hart, Scotia, N.Y.
He's a student at Columbia University in New York, but as the
son of movie people (a director and screenwriter) he grew up in
L.A. The acclaimed Sky, in which he brought rocket scientist
Homer Hickam to life, was his ticket to more interesting roles.
Gyllenhaal, 19, has three films due in 2001; the most intriguing
has to be Donnie Darko, billed as a "period '80s/coming of
age/science fiction suburban satire about the death of the Reagan
era, an American family torn apart and a 14-year-old genius touched
by the hand of God."
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Celebrity
Chocoholics Chocolate, one of
life's few legitimate addictions, has as much power over high-wattage
stars as it does over you and me. Frequent Who's News contributor
Nancy Mills, who with her son Kevin Mills has written a new cookbook,
Chocolate on the Brain (Houghton Mifflin, $17), pried confessions
and obsessions out of Hollywood's biggest names. Read on.
SANDRA BULLOCK: "Chocolate
is the greatest gift to women ever created, next to the likes of
Paul Newman and Gene Kelly. It's something that should be had on
a daily basis."
RON HOWARD: "I
love Hershey bars, Butterfingers, ice cream, chocolate sauce on
top of the ice cream, brownies, chocolate chip cookies. I'm lucky
I'm not 200 pounds."
JODIE FOSTER:
"I don't eat it, because otherwise I remember how much I love it,
and I'd eat it every day."
ASHLEY JUDD: "I
love chocolate pudding. I would even say it's my favorite thing."
RICKI LAKE:
"I'm obsessed. I don't act on this obsession very often, but recently
I was at Disneyland with my family, and we all shared a chocolate
pecan pie. I have to restrain myself. Otherwise, I'd be 500 pounds."
SHARON STONE:
"I'm a chocolate fiend, but only dark chocolate. I'm thinking of
marketing my white- and dark-chocolate macadamia nut cookies. They're
yummy. They're so not on my diet."
MICHELLE PFEIFFER:
"I'm not a big sweets person. But I'm a chocolate person. It's the
good stuff."
JOHN TRAVOLTA:
"I probably have some sort of chocolate five times a week. There's
definitely a change it does to the chemistry of the body. It's my
favorite feeling. I live for it."
MEL GIBSON: "I think
I've scratched the surface after 20 years of marriage. Women want
chocolate and conversation."
JULIA LOUIS-DREYFUS:
"If I have chocolate around, I will eat it. I love it, I love it,
I love it. I like a piece every day."
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THIS WEEK'S BIRTHDAYS
November 12: Sammy Sosa, 32 ; David Schwimmer, 34 ; Neil
Young, 55
November 13: Chris Noth, 44; Whoopi Goldberg, 51; Joe Mantegna,
53; Garry Marshall, 66
November 14: Laura San Giacomo, 38; Prince Charles, 52
November 15: Sam Waterston, 60
November 16: Tricia Cast, 34; Dwight Gooden, 36
November 17: Leslie Bibb, 26; Daisy Fuentes, 34; Danny DeVito,
56; Martin Scorsese, 58
November 18: J.C. Watts, 43; Margaret Atwood, 61
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