In this article: Birthdays Last week's Who's News

Q: It's been ages since I've seen Leonardo DiCaprio in a movie or on a talk show. Is he taking a permanent break from show business?
Tracy Thompson, Wilson, N.C. No.

DiCaprio, 25, soon heads to Rome to begin Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York. And in February we'll finally see The Beach, an adventure-thriller filmed in Thailand a year ago. He'll be back in the States for Earth Day 2000 because he's chairman of the 30th anniversary event in Washington, D.C., April 22. We didn't know he was so eco-aware, especially since local Thais protested the Beach crew's presence in their national park, but we're told that Leo's environmental conscience goes way back. Now he's even interested in one of the new dual-powered (electric and gas) hybrid cars.

Q: Arnold Schwarzenegger looks as healthy as ever in End of Days. But after his open-heart surgery, shouldn't he slow down?
Ed West, Keokuk, Iowa

Schwarzenegger, 52, is fully recovered from the 1997 surgery. "I was living in denial," he says of the heart murmur it corrected. "I didn't want to think about it." End of Days ended a two-year hiatus from the movies; he's now working on The Sixth Day, about cloning, "a very interesting subject. They're talking about cloning organs because there aren't enough organs out there. They're cloning animals, vegetables and fruits. Starbucks is already cloned! I wish there was cloning so I could have two or three of me." That's one way for the busy dad of four to get more done.

Q: How did Kristin Scott Thomas come to be such a great actress? I don't recall seeing her in much before The English Patient.
George Taray, Independence, Ore.

She's one of the most highly regarded actresses in the English-speaking world, but it wasn't always so. Twenty years ago, the then-19-year-old fled to France because two London drama teachers told her she'd never be an actress. "They recommended I join my local drama society, and then I could play Lady Macbeth." She's lived in France ever since. She's married to a fertility specialist, Fran¨ois Oliviennes, with whom she has two kids, Hannah, 11, and Joseph, 8.

Q: I was surprised to hear President Clinton has put on weight again. He was looking pretty fit. What's he doing about it?
Maria Rickman, Wheat Ridge, Colo.

After his annual medical exam in September showed that the 6-foot-2 Clinton had gained 18 pounds, to weigh 214, he was told to lose at least 10 and lower his cholesterol (his "bad" cholesterol had risen). Now the 53-year-old chief executive works out on a treadmill, lifts weights and plays a lot of golf, though that's not much of an aerobic exercise when riding in a cart. Clinton, famous for his doughnut and cookie noshing, is eating healthier, too: more fruit, less fat.

Q: I admire singer Sarah McLachlan. I'm just a little confused about her relationships. I thought she was married to her producer, Pierre Marchand, but now I see her husband is a musician, Ashwin Sood. Also, what are her plans now that she has stepped out of the limelight temporarily?
Christine Liu Frederick, Md.

Lilith Fair's founder wants time at home in Canada. Plus, she and Sood, her drummer, want a baby. As you note, her creative circle looks like Peyton Place, but Marchand was just a boyfriend; he was followed by her keyboard player. Sood and McLachlan, married three years, didn't get together easily. "The dirty, nasty, secret part," McLachlan once told us, "is my dearest girlfriend, my best friend -- Ash is her ex. And it's sort of that line you don't cross."

Q: I like Gwen Ifill, moderator of PBS' Washington Week in Review, because the show is civil and she seems smart, professional and calm.
Janice Jackson, Albany, Ga.

Ifill sounds calm even in the midst of her hectic workday. She was attracted to journalism from age 9. She liked to write and "I lived in a household connected to current events." Her dad was an African Methodist Episcopal minister who worked in the civil-rights movement; his job moved the family to various cities in the Northeast, so Ifill learned to meet people. Off hours, she's involved in her church. How does she de-stress? "I pray a lot."

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Dec 26: Jared Leto, 28.
Dec 27: Cokie Roberts, 56.
Dec 28: Denzel Washington, 45; Stan Lee, 77.
Dec 29: Ted Danson, 52; Jon Voight 61; Mary Tyler Moore, 62.
Dec 30: Tiger Woods, 24; Tracey Ullman, 40; Matt Lauer, 42.
Dec 31: Li Gong, 34; Anthony Hopkins, 62.
Jan 1: Joe McIntyre, 27; Cate Blanchett, 31; Val Kilmer, 40; J.D. Salinger, 81.