Beauty News

Britney Spears has topped ET's annual Hot List.

Charlie Wilson’s War star Daniel Eric Gold has snagged a recurring role in Ugly Betty, reports EW.

The up-and-coming actor will play Matt, a friend Betty (America Ferrera) meets at YETI (Young Editors’ Training Initiative).

Betty and Matt have a future together, one that involves a big secret Matt has.

Looks like it’s the end of the storyline for Betty’s current love interest, Jesse (Val Emmich)!

Jeremy Piven had to withdraw from his hit Broadway play, Speed-the-Plow, because of extreme mercury toxicity (six times a healthy amount of mercury).

Dr. Carlon Colker, who has been treating the 43-year-old actor, tells ET, “Jeremy is disappointed that members of the production staff of Speed-the-Plow and other members of the entertainment community have not rallied behind him during this health crisis.”

“Jeremy is suffering from extreme mercury toxicity. A major symptom of mercury poisoning is extreme fatigue. In addition, Jeremy began experiencing neuro-muscular dysfunction late last week, which led to extreme difficulty in lifting his arms and legs. Then, this past Sunday, he began feeling dizzy.”

“Jeremy has been an avid sushi eater for many years, regularly eating sushi twice in one day. He has also taken certain Chinese herbs, and that, in combination with the frequent sushi consumption, could have led to these elevated mercury levels.”

Replacing Piven will be Tony Award winner Norbert Leo Butz (Dec. 23 to Jan. 11) and Emmy Award winner and Oscar nominee William H. Macy (Jan. 13 to Feb. 22).

Get well soon, Jeremy!!!

Birthday girl Katie Holmes takes daughter Suri to visit a school on the Upper East Side in New York City on Thursday.

Suri wore her favorite Scallop Placket Coat from Best & Co. while carrying around a bag full of goodies from trendy Bouchon Bakery (Columbus Circle’s Time Warner Center).

Other pictures include Katie and Suri last night after Katie’s performance of All My Sons.

HAPPY 30TH BIRTHDAY, KATE NOELLE HOLMES!

Brad Pitt turns 45 today and the LA Times just did a nice piece on him.

“I doubt time and gravity will be as kind as I was to myself,” Brad says with a smile. “It just made me think about the ticking clock. Am I in mid-life? Am I halfway there?. . . . Do I have 10 years, five years? And so what are those moments going to be that I do know I have, which is now?”

His latest movie, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, is out in theaters on Christmas Day. I saw a screening of it earlier this week and it is fantastic. It may be Golden Globe nominated for Best Drama but there are so many built-in hilarious moments as well. The entire cast does such a superb job — Brad, Cate Blanchett, Elle Fanning. JJ approved!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, WILLIAM BRADLEY PITT!

Cameron Diaz and model boyfriend Paul Sculfor share lots of laughs as they walk hand-in-hand through New York City’s West Village wearing matching styles of coats on Thursday.

The 36-year-old actress was in town for the Broadway premiere of Shrek: The Musical. If you haven’t already, get your tickets. Don’t let this show die like all the rest on Broadway!

USA Today said it best: “All these assets do not add up to a great musical: That, by definition, would require great music. But Shrek is pretty grand entertainment, and to these eyes, it looks like a big, fat hit.”

Natalie Portman shoots new scenes for her upcoming movie, 17 Photos of Isabel, aka Love and Other Impossible Pursuits, in downtown Manhattan on Thursday.

The 27-year-old actress plays the protagonist in the film and is filling in for Jennifer Lopez, who abruptly left the project. The movie, which is a Don Roos-directed adaptation of an Ayelet Waldman novel, is about a young woman who finds the key to recovering her marriage in her relationship with her precocious stepson.

Also pictured: Former Friends star Lisa Kudrow and costars Scott Cohen and Charlie Tahan (the boy).

Gwyneth Paltrow has taken to her GOOP newsletter to share her favorite holiday menus

She says, “The Christmas morning breakfast/brunch is easy to prepare and has great seasonal and holiday flavors. The Spiced Pumpkin & Walnut Bread has become one of my favorites, I could eat the whole loaf. Make it and serve it warm in the morning. The frittata is really wonderful and you can use any ingredients you like, just follow the basic technique. Here I use sweet potatoes, shallots and goat cheese, but feel free to dream up your own combo. The biscuits are a healthier version of the good ole’ southern version but are just as tasty. You can scramble an egg, add one of the homemade sausages, stick ‘em in the fresh warm biscuit and, to quote a line from the epic eighties film Sixteen Candles, “Wha-lah, breakfast is ready!”

Check out Gwyn’s fave recipes at GOOP.com.

* Scott Ruffalo’s death was not an accident.
* Kristen Bell’s little globes are still golden.
* Brad Pitt goes gray.
* Barack Obama defends his Rick Warren inauguration invitation.
* In NYC, the bagel is king.
* Hitler’s ghost is haunting Tom Cruise’s movie.
* Keri Russell commands LAX
* Ruining Kate Beckinsale’s Christmas surprise.
* Jessica Simpson’s got a dirty do.
* Kristen Bell is so complex.
* Harry Potter star Emma Watson is hoping to go to college in the United States next fall and study English literature. Watson, whose personal fortune is estimated at $20 million, tells USA Today: “The wealth side of it hasn’t really hit me yet because I have no need for money in my life.”
* Will Ferrell is updating his Broadway show, “You’re Welcome, America: A Final Night With George W. Bush,” adding a bit about Bush’s recent shoe-throwing incident.
* Akon is has pleaded guilty to harassment for tossing a fan off stage at an upstate New York concert last summer. The singer will serve no jail time as long he performs 65 hours of community service and pays a $250 fine.

How I Met Your Mother star Neil Patrick Harris puts on his Santa Hat for the latest TV Guide cover. His costars/elves: Alyson Hannigan and Cobie Smulders.

TV Guide has kindly summed up the Best of 2008:

CHEERS TO:
– Simon Baker for The Mentalist. TV is now his medium
– True Blood for putting some bite back into HBO’s anemic line up
– Amy Ryan for showing her flair for both drama and comedy
– To the Presidential campaign for winning over the TV electorate
– Gossip Girl for dodging the sophomore slump. These fashionable kids are growing up

JEERS TO:
– Season 5 of Project Runway – dull-icious
– Heroes for flipping characters round from hero to villain and back again
– Grey’s Anatomy’s ghostly love story
– To E!s reality shows with Pamela Anderson, Denise Richards and Dina Lohan
– The Writers Strike – for screwing up the season

Former Heroes guest star Matt Lanter has signed on to play a bad boy Liam in CW’s 90210, reports People.

The 25-year-old actor, who once competed in Bravo’s Manhunt: The Search for America’s Most Gorgeous Male Model, will shake things up at West Beverly High (especially with Naomi, played by AnnaLynne McCord).

90210 returns with new episodes on Tuesday, Jan. 6. Matt’s will first appear in an episode in February.

Donald Trump Jr., his wife, Vanessa, and their daughter Kai, 19 months, take the latest cover of Page Six Magazine. (Trump and his wife are expecting their second child, due in February 2009.)

Trump dishes about how The Donald spends December 25, their least favorite family traditions and what will be under the tree this year.

On his Christmases as a child: “When I was little, as unconventional as my family is, I don’t know that our Christmas was that different other than [the fact] that we were on the top of Trump Tower. We’d run downstairs and jump into our parents’ bed, just like everyone else. Then we’d go over to our grandparents’ place in Queens and do lunch.”

On how his father, Donald Trump, likes to celebrate Christmas: “He’s a blue-collar guy with a big balance sheet. He wants a burger, he wants to eat his turkey and bacon—he doesn’t want to have soufflés. He grew up in Queens and while he may have the fancier side of his life, when it comes down to it, he just wants to watch football on the holidays.”

On re-gifting presents: “Look, I’ve been re-gifted presents that I’ve given my family. You know, they’re like, ‘Oh, great, thanks!’ and then you end up getting it back the next year. It’s like, ‘You know I gave you this to you last year right?’ And they’re like, ‘No, it’s a different one!’”

On his desire to instill charity in his children: “Vanessa and I both grew up with the understanding that we were incredibly fortunate to be in the positions that we were in. I think we’ve got to try to instill that in the generations to come.”

P6Mag is free inside the Sunday edition of the New York Post and online on Monday at PageSixMag.com. Bigger cover pic inside…

Jennifer Connelly is drop-dead gorgeous in Givenchy at The Day The Earth Stood Still premiere at Roppongi Hills on Thursday (December 18) in Tokyo, Japan.

The 37-year-old actress wore a dress straight off the Spring 2009 Givenchy runway. Sexy cut-outs on the front and back! Jennifer finished off her look with strappy sandals also from Givenchy. Loving the hairstyle, too!

The Day The Earth Stood Still is in US theaters now, but opens in Japan TOMORROW, December 19.

Also pictured: Director Scott Derrickson and costars Jaden Smith and Keanu Reeves.

* Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie don’tt have a $200M prenup
* Gwyneth Paltrow has to work on her marriage
* Ed Westwick and Chace Crawford like Ray-ban
* Katie Price likes to show off her tummy
* Gwen Stefani does a little shopping with Kingston
* A-Rod shows off his buff body
* Tom Cruise pokes a little fun at himself
* Doutzen Kroes is a stunning Victoria’s Secret model
* Vanessa Hudgens holds onto her black pea coat
* A fan of Lindsay Lohan was arrested early on Wednesday after pushing past a nightclub security guard and trying to grab the actress, police said.
* The Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office on Wednesday ruled the death of Mark Ruffalo’s younger brother a homicide.
* Hip-hop star Akon pleaded guilty Wednesday to harassment for tossing a fan off stage at an upstate New York concert last year

Nominations for the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were just announced!

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie each scored nominations for “Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role” for their roles in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Changeling, respectively.

Heath Ledger picked up a nod for “Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role” for his work as The Joker in The Dark Knight.

Doubt is the film to beat this year, raking in five nominations. Milk and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button followed with three each.

HBO leads the networks with nine nominations. NBC and ABC followed with eight and seven, respectively.
The SAGs will air live on TNT and TBS on Sunday, Jan. 25, at 8PM ET/PT.

(Click inside for the full list of SAG Nominations…)

Eric Bana supports Youth Off The Streets CEO Father Chris Riley launch his new magazine Teenmatters in Sydney Australia on Wednesday.

Teenmatters is a quarterly publication dedicated to helping parents of teenagers by providing effective tools and skills to enable and empower parents to better relate to their teenagers. The magazine will also have information about the reality and extent of issues such as drug and alcohol abuse, sexual abuse and depression.

Bana, 40, will be honored at Australia Week 2009, a festival from January 13 -24, 2009, with the Excellence in Film Award.

Jenny McCarthy (in Hervé Léger by Max Azria) and Jim Carrey arrive at the premiere of Yes Man held at the Mann Village Theater on Wednesday in Los Angeles.

On the red carpet Jenny talked about how she and Jim Carrey aren’t planning on getting married, but she joked she does want to eat him!

“We both know that we both do not want to get married, and that doesn’t mean that there’s a part of us that doesn’t love each other,” Jenny said. “To us it’s a little bit more romantic that we don’t want to tie the knot, because we’re together strictly because we want to be and not because someone has a certificate that says so. I love the fact that I want to just eat him up without him being my husband.”