Celebrity picure and gossip: November 2006

L-Lo has the hardest-working publicist in Hollywood

Lindsay Lohan's publicist has slammed the media for making light of the letter Lohan wrote to the Altman family after hearing of director Robert Altman's death. (Go here for excerpts of the letter). The e-mail letter was described by one paper as "alarmingly incoherent," while another newspaper cruelly asked, "Had she been on one of her legendary party benders? Or was this Exhibit A for the indictment of America's education system?" Leslie Sloane defended her client, saying, "When I got the reports that he had died, I reached Lindsay on her cell phone, and she had no idea. She was devastated. She started crying. She quickly put something together on her BlackBerry... Here was a girl who found something special in this man that she felt so close to. And she was completely shocked and blown away that he just died. It was written very quickly and it was from the heart." You have to admit, this girl just can't catch a break.

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Britney had a tummy tuck?

Britney Spears's first husband opened up to a British newspaper about his childhood sweetheart and his view of her failed marriage to Kevin Federline. Jason Alexander, who was married to Spears for all of three days, is writing a tell-all book about growing up with Britney in Louisiana. Highlights from the interview:

On her divorce: "I have always loved her and I always will. It's best for everyone that Kevin and her have split. She is much more confident now... I was really shocked when she married Kevin. I figured it was a fling that would fly over. I never thought she'd marry him. He always seemed so negative... From what I understand, with all the stuff that's gone on, the marriage has been unstable for some time... Their problems were because she had kids and that he wanted to pursue a career and was just never home... From what I understand he's already doing his thing. He's been asking beautiful women to join him backstage on tour... He's just a lucky guy who was in the right place at the right time."

On her friendship with Paris Hilton: "Paris is a good friend of hers. They both have the same issues. They are both in the spotlight."

On plastic surgery: "Britney has to get out there now and be seen looking good and so on. She's doing all that. She's been locked down for two years... She had a tummy tuck after the birth of her second child. She's working on all of that. She's worth hundreds of millions - of course she looks good... She has the money to have surgery and nutritionists and get her body back. And now she's focused, she is doing it. She's motivated - she just got rid of a man."

On her comeback: "Further up the ladder this is a corporate thing - and they decide about certain changes... Her negativity around Kevin at this point in her career had to go. She's been out of the picture for two years and this is big business... She's trying to come back, recording a new album. He refused to have any part of her life and was slowing down her career. She knows she has to get rid of all that."

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Posh tries to control herself

Victoria Beckham reportedly shopped around an agreement hoping for control of any pics snapped of her at the Bambi Awards in Germany. The Associated Press, Reuters and two German photo agencies said "no thanks" to signing Beckham's proposed agreement, which would have seen the Spice Girl alum get copies of all the photos and the right to use them for promotional purposes while restricting photographers from disclosing any "confidential information" they might have learned about her during the ceremony. Weird, right?

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A world of candids

(click on thumbnails for larger images)

Ashton Kutcher in LA

Britney Spears at a drugstore

Nicky Hilton out with David Katzenberg

Kate Winslet and Kate Bosworth at the Broadway premiere of The Vertical Hour

Nicole Kidman at an Omega event in Geneva

Minnie Driver, Felicity Huffman with William H. Macy, Kristin Davis, and Mark Ruffalo with Kirsten Dunst at an Oxfam event

Marcia Cross in LA

Kate Bosworth on set in NYC

Nelly Furtado and Victoria Beckham at the Bambi Awards in Germany

Mariah Carey outside her mom's jewelry store in Aspen

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United nations

Pink takes a cue from Britney - TMZ

Popsugar has a manly megapost of the GQ Men of the Year

Frugal-Fashionista does Rachel Bilson and Gwyneth Paltrow

Is Anna Nicole pregnant again? - Dlisted

Christina Aguilera gets waxed - ICYDK

Eva and Tony to wed

Desperate Housewives actress Eva Longoria and basketball star Tony Parker are engaged, just months publicly admitting they were having relationship troubles. "Eva and Tony are officially engaged," Longoria's rep told People mag. "The couple have never been happier."

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Richie's road to recovery

Friends of Nicole Richie have noticed some changes in the Simple Life star in the month since she announced she was seeking treatment to help her gain weight. "She has [gained] at least five pounds," says a source. "She wants to prove she's trying to change." As reported in the last few weeks, Richie has also "distanced herself from a lot of [old] friends," according to the source, including a public parting from stylist Rachel Zoe. "She's doing great," said a friend who spoke to Richie over Thanksgiving. "She's taking care of herself and is in a good place." Even former nemesis Paris Hilton is singing Richie's praises, saying, "She looks better than she's ever looked. I love it."

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Celeb divorce update

Selma Blair's divorce from Ahmet Zappa has been finalized in LA Superior Court. The pair were married after only six months of dating in January 2004, and Blair filed for divorce last June citing irreconilable differences. The Legally Blonde actress is reportedly dating fellow actor Johnny Messner, whom she met on the set of The Sweetest Thing.

Christian Slater and Ryan Haddon's split has also been finalized. Slater's publicist says his client is on amicable terms with Haddon and that the parents of seven-year-old Jaden and five-year-old Eliana are "committed to raising their two young children together."

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TomKat buy English estate

Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes have reportedly bought a $4.75 million estate in England. The six-bedroom mansion in an exclusive community just outside London boasts an indoor swimming pool, sports pavilion, greenhouse and underground garage and is protected by a high-tech security system. And - no coincidence I'm sure - the estate is minutes from the new UK headquarters of the Church of Scientology. The couple also own homes in Telluride and Beverly Hills.

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Lindsay spotted at AA

Lindsay Lohan may be trying to clean up her act. After a week of partying with Paris Hilton and Britney Spears, Lohan was seen at an AA meeting near her LA apartment at 7:30 yesterday morning. "She has attended several meetings and has hopefully decided to turn her life around - this time for good," a friend of the Bobby actress says. "She is out of control." Lohan allegedly skipped out on a family Thanksgiving because "someone would force an intervention on her," and friends of the starlet hope "she will really get serious about getting sober. And drop out of the limelight for a while."

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