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Sophia Loren voted most naturally beautiful

      London: Thanks to her "love of life, spaghetti, and the odd bath in virgin olive oil", even at 71 Sophia Loren's natural beauty and her status as one of the world's sex symbols shows no signs of diminishing. The sultry Italian star has been voted the world's most naturally beautiful person, in a recent online poll. The beautiful actress has won the competition, beating a host of younger names such as Cameron Diaz and Pirates of the Caribbean actor Johnny Depp. Second place went to Hollywood heart-throb George Clooney,44, followed by curvy Welsh opera turned pop star Charlotte Church. Welsh actress and wife of veteran actor Michael Douglas Catherine Zeta Jones came in fourth, followed by Depp, Kate Winslet and Gwyneth Paltrow. Actor Jack Black is eighth, followed by Hollywood actress Diaz and presenter Gail Porter, who gets into the list for being "comfortable with who she is" despite losing her hair. The online poll asked 1,578 people for their verdict on the world's most naturally beautiful, for The Dare To Be Bare Awards for celebrities who do not conform to stereotypes.

    The world's top 10 naturally beautiful people: 1. Sophia Loren 2. George Clooney 3. Charlotte Church 4. Catherine Zeta Jones 5. Johnny Depp 6. Kate Winslet 7. Gwyneth Paltrow 8. Jack Black 9. Cameron Diaz 10. Gail Porter.

When Connery beat ex-wife unconscious (Go To Top)

      London: He may be the epitome of macho, but after four decades of silence, Sir Sean Connery's ex-wife is revealing the actor's darker side. In her new autobiography, 'My Nine Lives', Diane Cilento makes public that beneath the suave exterior of the much loved Scottish actor lies a man who was not only jealous about his wife's popularity, but also beat her unconscious. Cilento, talking about the incident for the first time, recalls how she was assaulted by Connery while the actor was filming the movie 'The Hill' in 1965. "I was a bit drunk. Once inside our room in the darkness, I felt a blow to my face and was knocked to the floor and passed out for a few seconds. Then I was screaming, we were both shouting. I got to my feet and tried to fight back, but another blow sent me flying," the Daily Mail quoted her, as saying. "I managed to get through the bathroom door and locked myself in. I spent the rest of the night sprawled on the bathroom floor, covered with towels, whimpering," she added. She said that that one moment changed her and the Bond star's life forever, and though they remained married for another eight years till 1973, the incident caused a never to be mended rift between them and their relationship. "Everything had changed. Looking back, I think my conviction that Sean was my loyal protector, the one person who always made me feel safe, had been shattered. I still loved him deeply, but he would never again be the same person I had trusted unconditionally," she added.

The amount celebs earn every minute (Go To Top)

      London: As if knowing how much they are worth is not enough, Forbes magazine has broken down how much some of the world's most famous people earn - by the minute. Topping the list is the man who gave the world movies like 'ET', 'Jurassic Park', 'Minority Report' - Steven Spielberg who pulled in a whopping 342 pounds per minute amounting to a staggering 180 million pounds in 2005. The second highest earner is not any famous actor or actress but American DJ Howard Stern who gets paid 311 pounds a minute, with a total income of 163 million pounds. Number three on the list is 'Star Wars' director George Lucas who earned 242 pounds a minute in 2005 with a total sum of 127million pounds, reports The Sun. The top five was rounded off by chat show host Oprah Winfrey, who earned 240 pounds a minute totalling up to 122million pounds, and comedian and actor Jerry Seinfeld whose 54million pounds income amounts to him earning 103pounds per minute in fourth and fifth place respectively.

     The list for the top ten celeb pay packets as per Forbes magazine is: 1. Steven Spielberg - #180 million. Pay per minute: #342. 2. DJ Howard Stern - #163million. Pay per minute: #311. 3. George Lucas - #127million. Pay per minute: #242. 4. Oprah Winfrey - #122million. Pay per minute: #240. 5. Comedian and actor Jerry Seinfeld - #54million. Per min: #103. 6. Golfer Tiger Woods - #49million. Pay per minute: #92. 7. Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown - #48million. Pay per minute: #90. 8. Pirates of the Caribbean producer Jerry Bruckheimer - #45million. Pay per minute: #87. 9. JK Rowling - #41million. Pay per minute: #77. 10. Law and Order creator Dick Wolf - #38million. Pay per minute: #72.

Did the Queen want to abdicate after Di's death?

      London: If the story of new film 'The Queen' is to be believed, Elizabeth II, shocked at the public anger towards her, considered abdicating in the days after Princess Diana died. Due for release next month, the movie focuses on the week following Diana's death on August 31, 1997, when the Royal Family was plunged into crisis after misjudging the national mood. It controversially alleges that the present Queen of England was so shaken by people's wrath towards her that she was on the verge of stepping down. In the film, a despairing Queen, played by Helen Mirren, is seen walking in the gardens of Balmoral with her mother, saying, "When you no longer understand your people, maybe it's time to hand over to the next generation," reports The Mirror. The Queen Mother, however, reassures her that things will soon blow over. Scriptwriter Peter Morgan insists that the bold claim made in the film was meticulously researched. "I went to see everyone and anyone who would talk," he said. "There area lot of biographers of the Royal Family and the Blairs and they all have their sources, from equerries to secretaries to butlers to maids to civil servants." The Queen is to be released on September 15 this year.

Here come now the 'divorce planners'!  (Go To Top)

     London: Now get a divorce served on a platter, for a German company has come up with a quirky concept of 'divorce planners', who will help the separated couple with smooth and trouble-free divorce proceedings. Sieglinde Vauth, who runs the Agentur Rosenkrieg (War of the Roses Agency), and has been divorced twice, has offered to help couples on the path to divorce. He has said that his firm will help the estranged couple by mediating between spouses, giving them advice and helping to arrange all the practical aspects of a divorce, including sorting out the finances. "It is mainly when money comes into play that the problems arise. I try to find other solutions than simply saying 'eenie, meenie, minie, mo' and distributing the assets in that way", ananova quoted him, as saying.

Hilton buys her goat a grave beside Monroe

      London: There's no doubt that Paris Hilton loves all her pets. However, some thought that she went a little too far when she bought the plot next to screen legend Marilyn Monroe's grave to bury her dead goat. A source revealed that when the hotel heiress booked the plot in Hollywood's Pierce Bros Westwood Village Memorial Park for a 'Billy Hilton', everyone assumed that it was for a deceased uncle. However, the only Hilton family member to be buried there was Paris' pet goat. "It's absolutely disgusting. Paris booked the plot for a 'Billy Hilton'. Everybody was very understanding because they presumed it was one of her relatives. But it has transpired that it's just an old goat. Normal people are content to bury their pets in the garden and be done with it. But not Paris," Femalefirst quoted the source, as telling Daily Star newspaper. "This is one of the most prestigious cemeteries in the world, it's not for animals. It should be reserved for superstars," the source added. Paris' pet now has Hollywood legends Truman Capote, Dean Martin and Jack Lemmon to keep him company at the graveyard.

Psychiatrist confirms re-incarnation of Monroe

      Washington: Fifties screen legend Marilyn Monroe is still alive in the form of a nightclub singer named Sherrie Laird from Toronto, or so claims a top psychiatrist Dr Adrian Finkelstein, who has been conducting tests on her since past eight years. Dr. Adrian Finkelstein, a leader in the controversial field of past-life regression therapy, is convinced that Monroe is back on earth after her reincarnation. He narrates the entire experience in his new book "Marilyn Monroe Returns: The Healing of a Soul," about his treatment of Sherrie Lea Laird. Dr. Finkelstein was approached in 1998 by Laird, who asked for his help after a series of strange dreams and experiences led her to believe the late actress was being channelled through her. "I've been trained, as a psychiatrist, to assess human behaviour and to recognise somebody that's a fake from somebody that's genuine", Contactmusic quoted him, as saying. "The way Sherrie came across to me the first time, when she approached me in 1998, was a troubled psyche seeking relief", he added. Laird has claimed that 11 months after Monroe's Aug. 5, 1962, barbiturate overdose death, her first hint came when, as a kid, she heard her aunt singing 'Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend', the song was the actress' anthem from the 1953 film 'Gentlemen Prefer Blondes.'

     In a bid to appease skeptics and outraged Monroe fans, Finkelstein filmed one recent hypnosis session with Laird for cable news network CNN. During the session, a mumbling Laird as Monroe revealed that she had her first sexual experience with alleged lover John F Kennedy in the back of a moving car and last saw the then US President two months before her death. Under hypnosis, Laird also said, "Not murdered," when Finkelstein asks her if Marilyn was killed. She also characterized Monroe's brief marriage to baseball great Joe DiMaggio as "boring." Finkelstein feels that in the session for CNN, the singer was "really so convincing", insisting that she is indeed a reincarnated Marilyn Monroe.

How Craig became James Bond

      Washington: Actor Daniel Craig almost blew up his chance of playing James Bond when he dared to challenge producer Barbara Broccoli over her screen test regime. The British actor felt so confident when Broccoli insisted on a face-to-face screen test, he fought for a break when the intense audition almost lasted the entire day. "I finally had to stop in the last half hour and tell Barbara enough is enough," Contactmusic quoted him as saying. The blond actor finally landed the role but was widely criticized by fans of the franchise. The 38-year-old actor, whose screen credits include roles in 'Munich' and 'Layer Cake', was selected last October to play the secret-agent icon. The MGM/Columbia Pictures production began shooting in January and is due for release worldwide on 17 November 2006. The film co-stars Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen, Jeffrey Wright, Judi Dench, Giancarlo Giannini, Caterina Murino, Simon Abkarian, Tobias Menzies, Ivana Milicevic, Clemens Schick, Ludger Pistor, Claudio Santamaria, and Isaach De Bankole.

Craig going insane over fans' hate mails (Go To Top)

      Washington: New Bond Daniel Craig is eagerly waiting for his first 007 movie to hit the theatres, as he thinks only his performance can silence the internet critics who are demanding his removal. He insists that that he sick of reading the kind of hate material Bond fans have posted on the internet. "If I went onto the internet and started looking at what some people were saying about me - which, sadly, I have done - it would drive me insane. They hate me. They don't think I'm right for the role. It's as simple as that. They're passionate about it, which I understand, but I do wish they'd reserve judgment," Contactmusic quoted him as saying. A group of James Bond fans have launched a website, www.craignotbond.com, to protest Craig replacing Pierce Brosnan in the 007 film franchise, and to boycott Casino Royale, slated for release Nov. 17. Meanwhile, the bosses of the franchise are so impressed with his performance that they have signed him on for a second Bond movie. The 38-year-old actor, whose screen credits include roles in 'Munich' and 'Layer Cake', was selected last October to play the secret-agent icon.

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