Issue date: December 17, 2000
Tell me more about the
private side of talk show host Rosie O'Donnell. I'd like to know basics
like where she was born and raised, as well as how many kids she has adopted.
Bernie Tito
Wenatchee, Wash.
O'Donnell refers often to her background; she grew up on New York's Long Island, one of five children. When her mother died, O'Donnell, at 10, became a mom to her siblings. That trauma obviously affects her adult life. At 38, she's a single mother of four and an unrelenting advocate for children. Not only has she adopted three -- son Blake Christopher, 1, joined son Parker, 5, and daughter Chelsea, 3, just a year ago -- but she's also a foster mom to another 3-year-old, Maria. She wants privacy for her kids, though, so don't look for lots of pics of them in her new magazine: O'Donnell has lent her name and brain to McCall's, expected to relaunch next spring as Rosie's McCall's. Of course, adoption is nothing new in Hollywood. Among the best-known names who've adopted: Kirstie Alley, Kate Jackson, Sharon Stone.
Is Chris Noth of Sex
and the City really seeing Winona Ryder?
J. Larsen, Lake Arrowhead, Calif.
No. Noth himself tells us that rumor was exaggerated. "It was a very nice flirtation and got blown up into something that never was," says the handsome actor, in Cast Away this week. "We're friends. Nothing happened." As for any other romance, don't ask. "I keep quiet about that."
How old are talented Wayans
brothers Marlon and Shawn? Do they always work together?
Shana Levett, Auburn, Ala.
They've made separate movies, but Marlon, 28, and Shawn, 29, more often
work as a duo and have since their 1995 WB sitcom, The Wayans Brothers.
They're now writing an animated feature, Roaches, as well as shooting
a sequel to last summer's surprise hit Scary Movie. In that, they're
again directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans, who showcased his little brothers'
talents in his early '90s sketch comedy show, In Living Color.
Is the new Geena Davis
Show the actress' first attempt at a sitcom?
Michael Paris, Claremont, Calif.
Watching it, you'd think it must be. But no. Davis, 43, starred in two
sitcoms -- 1983's Buffalo Bill, with Dabney Coleman and 1985's
Sara, as the title character -- before she made some great movies
and won a Best Supporting Actress Oscar (for The Accidental Tourist).
In spite of nasty reviews of her newest venture, the ratings have been
strong enough to give ABC confidence to order episodes for a full season.
Who can forget Jill Clayburgh
in the '70s movies An Unmarried Woman and Starting Over?
What became of her?
Donna Yannazzone, Haverstaw, N.Y.
She's worked steadily for the past two decades, but not in the big-budget
or well-regarded movies she deserved. You may have seen Clayburgh, 56,
play Ally McBeal's mother last season on Fox. That door remains open,
though no new appearance has been written yet. She has a romantic comedy,
Never Again, ready for release, and spent fall in Europe filming
2001's The Fallen.
It's too bad Nebraska's
Bob Kerrey is leaving the U.S. Senate. Is he through with politics?
Norma Donelson
Danville, Va.
Probably not. Even as aides were boxing up the Democrat's Senate office,
his name was surfacing as the right one to help a new president bring
together intractable Republican and Democratic leadership. At 57, Kerrey
doesn't rule out more public service, but he says he needs to have his
"spiritual side" filled up. Besides, there's plenty of political dickering
in academia, which is where he's headed at the first of the year. A Vietnam
War hero who ran for president in 1992 and considered it again for 2000,
Kerrey will be president of the New School University in New York City.
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THIS WEEK'S BIRTHDAYS
December 17: William Safire, 71
December 18: Christina Aguilera, 20; Katie Holmes, 22; Brad Pitt,
37; Steven Spielberg, 53; Ossie Davis, 83
December 19: Milla Jovovich, 25; Alyssa Milano, 28; Cicely Tyson,
67
December 20: Anita Baker, 43
December 21: Keri Chaconas, 26; Jane Fonda, 63; Phil Donahue, 65
December 22: Ralph Fiennes, 38; Diane Sawyer, 55
December 23: Susan Lucci, 54
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