Peggy Hopkins Joyce

You know how some of you have suggested that I write a book about the doomed starlets I've been profiling recently?

Well, if I take your advice, I've found the perfect inspiration.



Gold Digger is one of the most well-written biographies I have read in ages. It follows the life of Peggy Hopkins Joyce, an influential and much-forgotten American celebrity from the 1920s.



Peggy was the first tabloid-created celebrity in American history. (Think Anna Nicole Smith meets Kim Kardashian.) Peggy was beautiful, incredibly vain, disgustingly naive, materialistic, superficial, and shallow beyond belief.

America loved to hate her.



Peggy was born to a lower-middle class family in Virginia and obsessively dreamed of being a rich bitch since childhood.

When she was a teenager, Peggy gave the middle finger to her hometown and took off with a theatrical group, in hopes of being a star. She wanted to be a silver screen goddess, or at least find a millionaire to marry.



She ended up marrying a series of wealthy men, but it was a high-profiled divorce with her third husband during the early 1920s which made her an international tabloid sensation.



During the trial, it was revealed that Peggy lived a lifestyle most Americans couldn't even fathom. She was draped in $60,000 fur coats and wore diamonds worth millions. Her mansions and trips to Europe were laced with astounding luxury.



And her love life was scandalous enough to make even the most lecherous of men blush. A raging nymphomaniac, Peggy slept with hundreds of men, most who bought her jewels and designer clothes.



The public couldn't get enough. When the divorce was finalized, Peggy still made front page news around the globe, throughout the 1920s, for her indiscreet liasons, outrageous purchases, and fabulous fashion.



She is one of the first American celebrities to be a fashion icon, in fact. Almost every single newspaper article about her described in detail the exact outfit she was wearing. Women everywhere desperately tried to copy her glamorous style.

She was the most famous woman in the entire world.



When she wasn't busy spreading her legs for millionaires and granting interviews to an adoring media, Peggy dabbled in silent films and theater. But it got her nowhere because she had absolutely no talent.



Some of her most famous affairs include Charlie Chaplin (who described Peggy in his autobiography as being "crazy") and Walter Chrysler (the automobile legend was so obsessed with Peggy he bought her the most iconic diamond in the world).



Six of her former lovers were so distraught she dumped them, they committed suicide.

She received thousands of fan letters per day, mostly from worshipful teenage girls who adored her style and middle-aged men who begged her for one night of passion.

Unfortunately, however, the good life didn't last long for Peggy.



By the 1940s, she was getting older and a slowing metabolism took away her girlish figure. Her looks were fading. Men didn't find her appetizing anymore.

Since her beauty and youth were her meal ticket, Peggy found herself selling fur coats and diamonds to stay afloat. She was so depressed, she became an uncontrollable alcoholic.



By the late 1950s, she died of throat cancer in relative obscurity and with a modest savings.

Today, barely anyone knows she even existed.

You simply have to read this book.

Lily Collins

Over the weekend, I watched the thriller, Abduction, starring the delicious Taylor Lautner. I instantly became mesmerized with his gorgeous co-star, Lily Collins.



Lily, 22, is the American-raised daughter of soft rock superstar, Phil Collins. No offense to the little bald British music man, but his second wife, Lily's mother, must have been a knockout.



With her flowing chocolate brown locks and thickly sculpted eyebrows, Lily reminds me of a modern Brooke Shields. (Although the media has crowned her the next Audrey Hepburn).



Some of you may remember Lily as playing Sandra Bullock's teenage daughter in The Blind Side a couple years ago.



She also stars as Snow White in the much-anticipated Mirror, Mirror. Her co-star in that fairytale is another Hollywood movie queen, Julia Roberts.



Lily has been acting since she was two years old. Her parents divorced when she was five, and her American mother brought her to Los Angeles, where she was trained at the Youth Academy for Dramatic Arts.



But acting isn't her only passion.



The delicate beauty is also a journalist. As a teen, she wrote a column for Elle Girl, called "NY Confidential." She also wrote articles for Seventeen, Teen Vogue, and the Los Angeles Times magazines.



She majored in Broadcast Journalism at the University of Southern California.



Here are some photos of Lily from the upcoming Mirror, Mirror.







So, what do you think of Lily Collins?

Celeste Holm (and her leading man)

Celeste Holm's glamorous life began in Chicago, where the newlywed college student began acting in plays.

The blonde beauty was a huge success on the stage, but unfortunately, her personal life was interfering with her work. At 22, she ended up divorcing her husband and giving her two-year-old son to her parents to raise, so she could focus on her acting career.



Giving up her family helped Celeste rise to stardom. By the 1940s, Celeste was a famous Broadway star and a few years later, she began making movies.

In 1947, she won an Oscar for her role in Gentleman's Agreement. She starred in All About Eve, with Bette Davis and Marilyn Monroe. She also starred in High Society with Grace Kelly.



During that time, Celeste had three other husbands and another son.

Her oldest son, Ted Nelson, actually went on to become a legend in his own right. He is an Internet pioneer and a famous sociologist. He has won numerous prestigious awards and is highly regarded around the world. His brother, Celeste's younger son, became a successful businessman.



In 1999, Celeste's life changed forever. The 82-year-old widow was attending a fundraiser when she met Frank Basile, a dashing 36-year-old opera-singing waiter.

Frank was seriously dating another woman at the time, but he started pursuing the legendary actress on the side anyway. He even skipped shifts as a waiter to romance Celeste. He claims he was madly in love and he didn't even realize there was a 46-year age difference.



When Celeste's sons, who are 74 and 64, found out about their elderly mother's new boyfriend, they were suspicious. After all, Celeste is worth $13 million. So, they created a financial trust so Frank couldn't touch her money. But that only pissed Frank off. In 2004 on her 87th birthday, although Celeste was newly diagnosed with Alzheimer's, the couple eloped.



After they were married, Frank got into a nasty disagreement with his new stepsons over his inheritance. He wanted more than the $200,000 they offered. Eventually, he settled for inheriting one-third of Celeste's estate, upon her death.

Then, Frank and Celeste sued her two children so they could regain control of her finances. It was a five-year battle which cost them millions of dollars.



Poor 94-year-old Celeste, who is incredibly confused over the matter, as she is battling Alzheimer's, is now estranged from her two sons over the incident.

But, the Hollywood legend seems to be content with her much younger husband. He stuck by her side as she battled memory loss, a collapsed lung, hip replacements, and bleeding ulcers.



Plus, she still has drive. Just like she didn't allow motherhood to prevent her from working 70-some years ago, she's not letting her ailments prevent her from doing the same now.



Celeste recently finished filming her latest movie, College Debts, a raunchy low-budget comedy about a kid who needs to find a way to pay for acting school.



Above is a photo of Celeste with her hunky new co-star. Should Frank be jealous?!

What are your thoughts on Celeste's scandalous marriage?

Amber Heard

A couple days ago, I got caught up in a new television show, The Playboy Club.

I'm a huge fan of the 1960s and Mad Men, so I thought I would give the show a shot. I was pleasantly surprised that The Playboy Club focused less on sleaze and more on an exciting plot. So much happened in one hour!

I was instantly smitten with the main actress, Amber Heard, who is absolutely adorable.



I had seen her in a few films beforehand, and I knew she is starring with Johnny "spank me" Depp in the upcoming The Rum Diary (which I'm dying to see).

Well, after seeing her lovely debut as a Playboy Bunny in the new NBC show, I decided I simply had to know more about her!



The 25-year-old has a pretty interesting story.



Amber comes from a middle-class Catholic family in Austin, Texas.

In high school, she was active in her school's drama department and also did local modeling and television commercials.



When she was 16, however, her life changed forever.



Amber's best friend died in a car accident. The incident haunted Amber, who began reading depressing novels by Ayn Rand and George Orwell. She then proclaimed herself an athiest.



At 17, she eventually dropped out of high school and moved to New York City to become a model.



A very short time later, she found herself doing small parts in television and movies in Los Angeles.

As her career began to pick up speed, so did the public's interest in her.



Last year, Amber came out at GLAAD's 25th anniversary event. She is currently dating the famous Hawaiian artist and photographer, Tasya van Ree, who is ten years her senior.



When she's not busy working, Amber enjoys spending time with her girlfriend, traveling, line-dancing in Texas bars, cooking, doing her own laundry, and playing with her Golden teacup Yorkie named Pistol.

She is an avid gun enthusiast (you can take the girl out of Texas, but...) and she proudly owns a .357 Magnum.

She is also a huge fan of muscle cars and like a bad ass, drives a 1968 Ford Mustang.

Despite her climb to fame, Amber just wants to keep it real.



"I would just love to work in films for the rest of my life. I don't care about famous or about being anything like that. All I care about is living my life, being able to do what I love, working project to project, city to city, in films I believe in. That's the only way to live."



What do you think of Amber?

Poor Pussycat

I recently saw a semi-amusing Neil Simon play-turned-film, Last of the Red Hot Lovers.

Don't bother remembering the title. It wasn't that good.

But what was good about the 1972 film was the hilarious young actress, Paula Prentiss.



She played a pot-smoking southern belle train wreck. And she played the part flawlessly.

Upon my research of this vivacious brunette, I discovered her background was somewhat...sordid.

Here is her story:



Paula was born in 1939 in San Antonio to an Italian immigrant and his American wife. It is rumored her father sexually abused both her and her younger sister, Ann.

Upon high school graduation, Paula attended Northwestern University, in hopes of becoming a doctor. But she was seduced by the stage. She ended up studying drama instead.



It turned out to be a great decision. She met the love of her life (and future hubby), Richard Benjamin, in the theater department, plus she got discovered by a talent scout during one of her college productions.



She went on to star in films, while her husband, Richard, struggled with his acting career.

During the mid-1960s, film directors realized that there was more to Paula than her good looks. She was actually quite hilarious. She quickly got roles in kooky screwball comedies, stealing the show in all her scenes.



But while filming What's New Pussycat? in 1965, Paula suffered a severe nervous breakdown, likely stemmed from her abusive childhood. She tried to commit suicide by jumping off one of the studio stage's beams. A stagehand fortunately rescued her before it was too late. She was committed to a mental institution by her heartbroken husband.



(Meanwhile, Paula's younger sister, Ann, was trying to make a name for herself in showbiz. But it was difficult, since she looked and acted so similarly to her famous older sibling. Although she managed to snag a few good roles, her career never really took off.)



In 1970, Paula started to work again. She secured a television series and an Emmy for it. She starred in several offbeat comedies and portrayed a picture-perfect housewife in The Stepford Wives. She also started a family with Richard.



In the mid-70s, she decided to take another break to raise her two kids and also deal with her sister, Ann, who was showing signs of mental problems. Ann had also developed a criminal streak, which Paula was desperate to stop.



By the early 1990s, Paula's husband, Richard, had become a well-respected film director. He lovingly gave his wife roles in his films, which brought Paula back into the public eye.



Unfortunately, Paula's happy ending was soon blown apart.

In 1997, her sister, Ann, assaulted their 86-year-old father with a firearm and got busted for it. While she was in prison, she attempted to hire someone to murder their father, plus Paula's husband and son.


(Ann Prentiss)

She was convicted in a Santa Monica court for the terrorizing crimes and was sentenced to 19 years in jail.

Ann died last year, while serving her time.

Talk about a dysfunctional family.

I don't believe Paula really acts anymore. And after researching her story, I can't say I blame the poor woman.



But despite all her struggles throughout her life, she did manage to have a spectacular career, with loads of famous films under her belt.

Plus, she has one of the most successful marriages in Hollywood history. She and Richard have been married for FIFTY YEARS.





And I think that makes her a pretty lucky woman. Don't you?