Twenty-three-year-old celebrity kid Kelly Osbourne is set to write her memoirs. The "Papa Don't Preach" cover singer, who is famous basically for having a famous dad, will publish an autobiography of what it's like to grow up as the child of metal rock god Ozzy Osbourne.
Kelly has been to rehab twice, allegedly for painkillers, and apparently was ensnared in some sort of controversy with singer Christina Aguilera, which will also be chronicled. We've seen most of Kelly already, as she starred alongside daddy Osbourne and mother Sharon Osbourne in a reality television series presented by MTV.
Mom Sharon, who also serves as Ozzie's manager (and has for many years, basically rocketing him to stardom), has already written her memoirs. Like mother like daughter, I guess! Virgin Books in the UK will publish the latest from the Osbourne clan.
I want to see a book from daughter Amy, who allegedly refused to have anything to do with the reality series!
When little Bob Irwin was only a month old, his crocodile-hunting dad Steve Irwin caught heat for messing with a grouchy croc while cradling the infant. Maybe the wildlife bug was planted during that controversial scene, or maybe it just runs in the family, but four-year-old Bob says that he's the next Irwin in line for his own TV show.
Sister Bindi, now 10, already has a successful series that she does for the Discovery Channel. And the kids watch their dad, who died two years ago after being stung by a sting ray, every morning during breakfast. So while wrangling dangerous animals is definitely a family affair, so is commercialization.
Terri Irwin, Steve's widow and the kid's mom, has been criticized for allowing her children to be out on the airwaves and in stores. (Bindi even has her own doll.) But I have to think that if it were me and this was the thing that helped them feel close to their dad as they grew up, I wouldn't be so quick to put a stop to it either, assuming the kids were happy and healthy and enjoying the process. Either way, I think Steve would be proud to see his family carrying on his traditions without him.
It's hard to believe, but Frances Bean Cobain, daughter of Courtney Love and the late Kurt Cobain is old enough to have had her Sweet Sixteen birthday party. Frances was only a toddler in 1994 when Cobain was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, which makes her "My Suicidal Sixteen" party theme all the more disturbing.
Frances' soiree, marking the "death of childhood," was held at the House of Blues in Los Angeles. Frances asked her guests to wear black or red and to participate in a "Who Looks the Most Dead" contest (prizes: "IPOD TOUCH and a $200 gift certificate to amoeba"). Guests were also warned that, due to House of Blues rules, bags would be searched at the door ("so don't be stupid and try to bring shit it do it b4 you get into the party if you have to and try to be stealth!"). Apparently, Frances can plan a party but cannot spell check her email invitation.
The party reportedly cost mom Courtney Love a whopping $323,000. Love arrived for the soiree in the dress Angelica Houston wore in the movie "The Addams Family." Ooooh classy.
Looking at her family tree, it's pretty amazing that France Bean has never made the news for drug abuse or mental health issues, so I'll give her a pass on hosting such a tacky themed party. Growing up with Courtney Love as a mom, a woman with a long history of drug abuse, it's not likely that Frances could count on her to step in and tell her what is inappropriate and what is acceptable.
Hopefully the Suicidal Sixteen party was just a dark humor joke and not a sign of what is to come for Frances Bean.
Driving around in customized, matching electric ride-on cars with personalized license plates, Preston (3) and Jayden (2) Spears celebrated their birthdays (September 14th and 12th, respectively) together along with their family. The boys' grandparents were there along with their aunt and newborn cousin Maddie Briann.
Other celebrity guests included Jenny McCarthy's son Evan and Gwen Stefani's son Kingston. According to a source speaking with People magazine, "The boys received tons of birthday gifts. Britney and her family really made the party special for the boys." The cake was in the shape of a yellow truck to match the cars-and-trucks theme of the party.
You know? Those boys have been through a lot, what with their mum's issues and all; it seems to me they deserve a nice time for a change.
"She is really very, very, very disinterested in fashion," said Amurri. "She doesn't care. She wears gym clothes from when she comes back from the gym until night. Sometimes she puts a jacket over it if I really beg her to, but she doesn't really care very much."
Eva, on the other hand, who was attending New York Fashion Week, has a keen interest in fashion, especially classic, sophisticated styles. I wonder if mom Susan has been driving Eva crazy since her teen years, popping up in her sweaty gym clothes and embarrassing Eva in front of her friends.
I can impress my own two tiny tots with a colorful new t-shirt or a nice pair of flats, so I'm going to enjoy it while I can. Do your kids pay attention to how you dress? Does it every bother them that you aren't trendy enough?
In a week when teen sex is on everyone's mind come these two stories: Daniel Radcliffe (you know, Harry Potter) tells Details magazine that he lost his virginity at 16 to an older woman (the age difference, he says, "would freak some people out"), while Britney Spears' mother dishes on Britney's deflowering at 14, not by Justin Timberlake but by a hometown football stud.
Well okay then.
The sex lives of celebrities -- even child celebrities -- are always fascinating, but here's what's so interesting about these two stories: while Radcliffe has only good things to say about his family ("I've got a great family. We're a very tight-knit group-we work very well as a team and as a tribe"), Britney's story of childhood lost is being marketed by her mother, Lynne, in a new book, one which appears to cash in on the fact that Spears and her siblings had little in the way of good parental guidance. According to the New York Daily News' Page Six, "Lynne Spears, 53, confesses her regret of losing control of Britney's career to handlers who promoted her as a sex object and put her in raunchy videos."
I suppose that what strikes me the most about these stories is not that Spears and Radcliffe both had sex young (after all, teens are curious and kids who work in show business are tossed into a very adult world) but that their stories are being told in such different ways. Radcliffe, who is never in the tabloids and is universally regarded as a good kid, gets to tell his own story of losing his virginity, while Britney's saga is being recounted by her mother, in an attempt to make Lynne Spears look like less of a horrible parent.
At the same time, though, I wonder if stories like these -- especially Radcliffe's, which has a kind of romantic nerdy-guy-gets-older-girl twist -- encourages kids to have sex young. You know, because Harry Potter did it and look where he is now. And Britney, well, she wouldn't be such a mess if it weren't for her mom.
What say you -- should we be hearing about the sex lives of teen stars? Or no thanks?
All politics aside, I can't imagine how hard it is to be Bristol Palin right now. Shoved squarely into the media spotlight by her mother's VP dreams, she's had to endure scrutiny by a harsh and unforgiving media. At an age where wearing the wrong style of shirt to school can cause a teen to feel major embarrassment, Bristol is now being watched closely by an entire nation.
Jamie Lynn Spears thinks she knows how Bristol feels. In a show of solidarity, she recently sent Bristol a set of $60 pink burp clothes to the teen. Jamie Lynn gave birth to baby Maddie in June, at the age of 17, and like Bristol plans to marry her baby's father, Casey Aldridge.
Jamie Lynn's gesture was nice, but her circumstances were far different. As Britney's sister and a celeb in her own right, Jamie Lynn was accustomed to the glaring flashbulbs of the paparazzi. When she found out she was pregnant, she knew what she was facing by announcing it. But while Bristol probably expected her pregnancy news would cause a small stir in Alaska, I'm sure she never in a million years expected this.
On a lighter note... who pays $60 for a burp cloth?
According to a new report, actress Leighton Meester was essentially born in prison. The Gossip Girl star's mother was allegedly in prison serving time in federal prison in Texas for drug-related charges when her now-famous daughter was born.
Mom was allowed to live in a half-way house until little Leighton was three months old, but then had to serve out the rest of her sentence behind bars. The report appears in the questionable if anything Star magazine, where it is noted Leighton was raised by a relative until mom was released.
The magazine also claims other members of Meester's family, including her grandfather, spent time in the slammer, again for drug-related charges. Do we believe it? Sure, why not--plenty of women have had children while in prison. Can't stop mother nature. Do we care? That I'm not so sure about. With Gossip Girl's second season opening to its largest audience ever, I doubt the show needed such a publicity stunt, but they got one anyway!
He's an actor, celebrity, philanthropist, father to some of the most famous offspring in the world. In his spare time, Brad Pitt also fancies himself a photographer, so much so that Angelina gave him a Littman 45 Single camera for a recent birthday gift. Now he's taking his hobby to the next level.
Rumor has it that Brad shot the cover for November's issue of W magazine, and it includes some pretty noteworthy subjects -- his family. Angelina, along will all six kids -- even newborn twins Knox and Vivienne -- will appear on the cover.
Back in 2005, Brad and Angelina appeared on a different, more notorious cover of W. In a spread called "Domestic Bliss," Brad and Angie appeared as husband and wife with undeniable chemistry, and pretty much blew the lid off any denials they were making about being "just friends." Jennifer Aniston, still married to Brad, was quoted as saying that shoot was evidence that Brad "had a sensitivity chip missing." She filed for divorce a few months later.
If that cover was a staged version of domestic bliss, what will appear in November by all reports will be the real thing -- a happy, content family in their prime.
Brian Wilson of Beach Boys fame is finding fatherhood the second time around to be a bit different than the first. For starters, he is clean and sober now. Wilson has made no secret of his past struggles with drub abuse and mental illness and his relationship with daughters Wendy, 38 and Carnie, 40 remains strained. "I don't talk to them very much. I used to. I recorded with them at one time, but I don't talk to them a lot," he says.
But these days it seems that Wilson has conquered his demons and with the help of a heavy dose of antidepressants, is back to making music. He is also back to being a dad with wife Melinda Ledbetter, who he married in 1995. The couple have three children - 11-year-old Daria, 10-year-old Delanie and 4-year-old Dylan. But from the sounds of it, 66-year-old Wilson isn't finding parenthood to be all that easy this time around, either. He admits that a house full of kids and pets can be "very loud" and he often escapes alone to walk in the park. "The kids make me feel a little jumpy," he says. "Sometimes I want to get out of the house to get away from my kids but I love my kids a lot. I love my kids. ... Quiet time comes around 10 at night when I go to sleep. It's peace of mind. Things run smoothly at night. During the day, things are more rough."
Wilson's difficulty in dealing with the noise of children probably isn't just due to his advanced age. He has been diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, bipolar type, which often involves auditory hallucinations. Add to that the neurological damage done by the vast amounts of antipsychotic drugs he was prescribed in the 1980's and it is no wonder he's feeling a little overwhelmed.
But still, Wilson says he is a happy man these days. "I'm happier now than I was a year ago," Wilson said recently. "I started exercising and I started eating more of the right food and I started feeling better. I just get up in the morning and say my prayers."
Wilson's new album, That Lucky Old Son, is scheduled for release on September 2nd and will be followed by a tour.
Perhaps you have heard of Katy Perry, an up and coming young singer who is working hard to shock and alarm parents while positioning herself as the anti-Miley Cyrus. A former Christian music singer, Perry is now getting all kids of attention for a song she wrote called I Kissed a Girl. I haven't heard the song, but a quick read of the lyrics indicates that the tune is about alcohol and lost inhibitions. Specifically, a girl getting drunk and kissing another girl. And liking it. A sample: The taste of her cherry chap stick I kissed a girl just to try it I hope my boyfriend don't mind it It felt so wrong It felt so right Don't mean I'm in love tonight I kissed a girl and I liked it I liked it,
Perry's fans may be teens, but a lot of parents are freaked by the song, claiming it promotes homosexuality and promiscuity. Even Perry's own parents say they are disappointed in their 23-year-old daughter and find the song "shameful and disgusting."
But Perry has made it quite clear that she has no interest in being a role model for the young people who listen to her music. "Being in the business of rock and roll means having an attitude, being sexy, being edgy and being unapologetic unless I do something wrong...I look up to people like Joan Jett, Pat Benatar, Freddie Mercury and Cyndi Lauper. I want to have that same type of appeal. If people want a role model, they can have Miley Cyrus."
Miley Cyrus and her poor choices aside, I don't think every young artist has a responsibility to be a role model for the entire youth population. That said, I don't really understand the controversy surrounding this song. She got drunk, she kissed a girl. The takeaway - at least for me - is that drinking makes you do things you wouldn't otherwise do. Maybe that is the point kids should be getting.
I have a new favorite outfit. It's a brown dress that is nice and loose and hits just slightly above the knee. The first time I wore it, my seven-year-old looked me up and down and asked when I was going to finish getting dressed. I thought I was finished, but apparently a dress that hits just above the knee is, to her, a mini-dress and not suitable for person of my age. She suggested I complete the outfit with a nice pair of leggings.
I declined to wear the leggings and she let it drop. But I am clearly not the only one who embarrasses my kid with my choice of clothing. The 16-year-old daughter of Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall has similar issues with her mom.
Georgia May Jagger considers herself a bit of an expert when it comes to fashion. "I'm interested in every aspect of fashion," she says. "I think it's in my bones. When I was younger I used to be my mum's stylist, picking things out for her to wear. I'd say to her, 'If anybody asks you who styled you tonight say Georgia'."
But Georgia doesn't want credit when mom isn't dressing her age. She says she usually doesn't tell her mother what she should and shouldn't wear, but she did take it upon herself to remove temptation from mom's closet. "I did take all her miniskirts," she says. "I didn't tell her she couldn't wear them but I told her one night that her skirt was too short. She came down the stairs and I was like, 'God, Mum, you are 50'."
Jerry Hall is a beautiful woman who looks great for her age. But I agree that 50 is a bit old for mini-skirts, even if you have the legs for them. What do you think? Is there a cut-off age for wearing short skirts? Or do you believe that if you've got it, you should flaunt it - no matter what your age?
Mr. Ripley might be talented, but he's is also getting grossly outnumbered by the fairer sex in his household!
The addition of a new daughter to the family means Matt Damon will now have to negotiate with four women in order to get a little time in the bathroom: wife Luciana, stepdaughter Alexia, two-year-old Isabella, and newborn daughter Gia Zavala.
Little Gia was born on Wednesday. Damon's rep reports that the newest Damon girl is healthy and beautiful and that she and her mother are doing well.
As for Matt Damon, the sexiest man alive doesn't appear to mind living in an estrogen-filled environment in the least. "[I'm] taking the rest of the year off," he told USA Today. "I'm just hanging out with my family."
If you thought 'funny' lady Roseanne Barr had quietly disappeared to wherever it is that loud, opinionated comedians disappear to, you were wrong. She's still out there and she's still making her opinions known. A few days ago, she posted a rather nasty piece on her blog taking aim at actor John Voight, his daughter Angelina Jolie, as well as Brad Pitt and the kids.
Barr appears to be angry that Voight isn't supporting Barack Obama and that Jolie has said she likes McCain but is undecided as to who will get her vote. According to Barr, that makes Voight a "frightened little girl in a pink ballet tutu" and Jolie his "evil spawn." Brad did not escape Barr's wrath either as she refers to him as Jolie's "vacuous husband."
Addressing Jolie, Barr writes: "....it might be good for your Asian and African children's self esteem to know you support a brown man for the leader of the free world. How nice of Barr to be so concerned for the self-esteem of the Jolie-Pitt children. It is unfortunate that she refers to their biological children as "dunces that will consume more than their fair share and wreck the earth even more."
Of course, Barr is entitled to her opinions and her political point of view, but I am just not sure what she was trying to accomplish with this rant. Calling someone an evil spawn and referring to their children as dunces is probably not the best way to bring them around to your way of thinking.
Suri Cruise is nearly two and a half years old. Heaven knows you couldn't forget that if you tried. And while she has more fashion sense than pretty much any other tot on the planet, there is one thing that seems to still give us all pause. No, it's not how her celebrity parents could have actually spawned her, nor is it how much is spent keeping her best-dressed and -tressed. Nah--it's that thing where she's still carrying around a baby bottle.
Yes, still. It seems like this first made the news when Suri was more than a year old and still using a bottle. Like sippy cups are so great. Now she's making headlines again for still sporting the baby bottle--when she's not even really a baby. My question is this: what is the big deal? My kid is nearly seventeen months old and he still occasionally uses a bottle. We've tried really hard to break him of the habit, but, for a while, he simply eschewed the sippy cup. He could use one, sure, but he couldn't get the same amount of milk from the sippy as from the bottle. So, we let him roll with it. Eventually, he switched over to predominantly using the sippy.
I know there are standards and practices for how we're supposed to raise our children. I know that guidelines have been set to help us make our way through this crazy maze called parenthood. But with issues as large as world hunger, violence, abuse and immunizations out there for us to tackle, why does anyone give a rat's butt about whether or not Suri Cruise still uses her baby bottle? I feel sorry for Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes--they're busy people who are trying to raise a kid and have full-time jobs too. it ain't easy. And not every kid fits the model she's supposed to. Is it really the end of the world if Suri still uses a bottle?
When little Bob Irwin was only a month old, his crocodile-hunting dad Steve Irwin caught heat for messing with a grouchy croc while cradling the infant. Maybe the wildlife bug was planted during that controversial scene, or maybe it just runs in the family, but four-year-old Bob says that 
Driving around in customized, matching electric ride-on cars with personalized license plates, Preston (3) and Jayden (2) Spears celebrated their birthdays (September 14th and 12th, respectively) together along with their family. The boys' grandparents were there along with their aunt and newborn cousin Maddie Briann.
I laughed when I read Susan's recent post on 
In a week when 
All politics aside, I can't imagine how hard it is to be Bristol Palin right now. Shoved squarely into the media spotlight by her mother's VP dreams, she's had to endure scrutiny by a harsh and unforgiving media. At an age where wearing the wrong style of shirt to school can cause a teen to feel major embarrassment, Bristol is now being watched closely by an entire nation.
He's an actor, celebrity, philanthropist, father to some of the most famous offspring in the world. In his spare time, Brad Pitt also fancies himself a photographer, so much so that Angelina gave him a 
Brian Wilson of Beach Boys fame is finding fatherhood the second time around to be a bit different than the first. For starters, he is clean and sober now. Wilson has made no secret of his past struggles with drub abuse and mental illness and his relationship with daughters Wendy, 38 and Carnie, 40 remains strained. "I don't talk to them very much. I used to. I recorded with them at one time, but I don't talk to them a lot," he says.
Perhaps you have heard of Katy Perry, an up and coming young singer who is working hard to shock and alarm parents while positioning herself as the anti-Miley Cyrus. A former Christian music singer, Perry is now getting all kids of attention for a song she wrote called I Kissed a Girl. I haven't heard the song, but a quick read of the 
I have a new favorite outfit. It's a brown dress that is nice and loose and hits just slightly above the knee. The first time I wore it, my seven-year-old looked me up and down and asked when I was going to finish getting dressed. I thought I was finished, but apparently a dress that hits just above the knee is, to her, a mini-dress and not suitable for person of my age. She suggested I complete the outfit with a nice pair of leggings.
Mr. Ripley might be talented, but he's is also getting grossly outnumbered by the fairer sex in his household! 
If you thought 'funny' lady Roseanne Barr had quietly disappeared to wherever it is that loud, opinionated comedians disappear to, you were wrong. She's still out there and she's still making her opinions known. A few days ago, she posted a rather 
