In this article: Birthdays Last week's Who's News Bonus article: Keri Russell Richie Sambora

Russell likes Felicity, too. She admires her character's courage and romanticism but tells us she herself is "more reserved." Because the show is a critics' darling, Russell quickly became a star and role model. "Hopefully, I'm acting respectably. I feel a responsibility." While some young actresses feel compelled to be pencil-thin, Russell doesn't. "It's horrifying that girls feel that. I know so many examples of people who aren't stick-skinny who are amazingly sexy."

Bon Jovi guitarist Richie Sambora is terrific. He's entitled to more than just passing mention as actress Heather Locklear's husband.
Matthew Rocque Chicago

You got it. Sambora, 40, tells us that, apart from his wife and daughter Ava, 2, music is his joy. "That's what I was put on Earth to do." A Perth Amboy, N.J., native who'd been living in California, he became bicoastal at summer's end when the family set up a second home in Manhattan for Locklear's new stint on TV's Spin City. "I can make music anywhere. It's important to support my wife." He spent early fall writing songs with Jon Bon Jovi for the band's first new album in two years. Don't look for schmaltzy lullabies. "This is gonna be a good-time rock 'n' roll record."

It still doesn't feel like basketball season without Michael Jordan on a court. What's the retired NBA great doing with his time?
Debbie Hardaway, El Paso

Jordan, arguably the best living player in basketball history since Wilt Chamberlain's death, is indulging his golf passion. He's played in tournaments and says he'll keep at it. He also made time for hurricane victims in his native North Carolina last month, dropping into a shelter to offer hugs and Hanes underwear (which he endorses). The already larger-than-life man will be colossal come spring when a 45-minute documentary on his life, Michael Jordan to the Max, opens on eight-story-high IMAX screens around the world.

I'll bet half of Hollywood has yet to hear of handsome English actor Christian Bale, but he has a young female following like you would not believe. When will he get the acclaim he deserves?
Valerie Mosher, Greenfield, Mass.

Hollywood's taking note. The 25-year-old actor, starring as Jesus in NBC's Mary, Mother of Jesus, tells us he's seeing more and better material. Listed by at least one magazine as one of the hottest actors under 30, Bale doesn't see peers such as Matt Damon as competition. "I don't read entertainment magazines," he says. "They'd just make me insanely jealous." Bale, in New York through the holidays for a Shaft remake, recently finished American Psycho. Was it more difficult to portray Jesus or a serial killer? "I had more nightmares" playing Jesus, he says.

John Kennedy Jr.'s tragic death last summer pulled the family together in sadness once again, but I didn't see Joan, Sen. Ted Kennedy's ex-wife, in any of the coverage. Is she still considered part of the family?
Ruth Hartley, Faulkton, S.D.

Absolutely. She keeps a house at Hyannis Port, Mass., spends a good portion of time with her three children (including U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy) and four grandchildren, and did attend the memorial service for JFK Jr. and his wife, Carolyn. A recovering alcoholic, she's an active 63: She swims, golfs and plays tennis. A "mild" heart attack in May put a crimp in her style for six weeks, but we're told she's back to her routine, even planning to ski this winter.

Who knew former Melrose Place hunk Rob Estes could be funny? He's one of my favorite actors, but I didn't know he could do comedy until Suddenly Susan.
Jamie Johnson Aurora, Colo.

He's actually still working on the comic timing but tells us being on a set all day with Monty Python vet Eric Idle (who plays Susan's new boss) is an education and "a kick in the butt. I'm laughing all the time. You can't have a conversation without him going off on some riff." Estes, who plays a photographer and possible love interest for star Brooke Shields, says comedy "is like music -- it takes an ear." At home, he's listening to infant son Mason Tru: Estes and his wife, Josie Bissett, also an ex-Melrose resident, became parents in July.

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THIS WEEK'S BIRTHDAYS

Nov 14: Prince Charles, 51.
Nov 15: Beverly D'Angelo, 45.
Nov 16: Oksana Baiul, 22.
Nov 17: Daisy Fuentes, 33; Sophie Marceau, 33; Yolanda King, 44; Danny DeVito, 55; Lauren Hutton, 56; Martin Scorsese, 57.
Nov 18: Linda Evans, 57; Margaret Atwood, 60.
Nov 19: Jodie Foster, 37; Meg Ryan, 37; Ahmad Rashad, 50; Calvin Klein, 57; Ted Turner, 61.
Nov 20: Ming-Na Wen, 36; Bo Derek, 43.

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