Deepest condolences go to John Travolta and wife Kelly Preston, who lost their 16-year-old son Jett on Friday.

John and Kelly are among the most kind, genuine superstars I’ve met, which makes this heartbreaking tragedy that much sadder.

I first sat down with Kelly in 2001, when she was lobbying Congress on behalf of CHEC to enact a national Right To Know bill, which she described as “the right to know what chemicals are harming us and how.”

Accompanied by Olivia Newton-John, the two stormed the Capitol in Washington, D.C., to get things accomplished. They made a video called Not Under My Roof, which they hoped to get into maternity wards by 2002. (It worked!)

According to Kelly, Jett, then 8, nearly died at age 2 when he breathed in fumes shortly after their carpets were cleaned.

“We’re using things on counters, carpets and outside on the lawn that are very damaging to young nervous systems,” Kelly tells me. “The rates for cancer, autism and learning disabilities are way up. I want to know why and I would like to stop that.”

She was especially concerned about PVC, which is a chemical that was discovered in children’s necklaces sold at Kmart at the time.

“It is found in teethers, and America hasn’t stopped using them, which is appalling, because when the children mouth these toys, the chemicals are released into their little bodies,” Kelly tells me.

 

I’ve seen Kelly several more times over the years with her husband at 2003’s Stella Adler School of Acting Awards, his 2007 Hairspray premiere and her 2007 Death Sentence premiere.

It was very exciting to meet John Travolta for the first time. It was even more refreshing how his soft-spoken nature has a way of putting everyone at ease. (One time he even called me “honey” – wow!) He seems like he would be a great father, and he didn’t think his Hollywood fame made him any different from others rising to the challenge of parenthood.

“It’s tough to be a parent anywhere,” John said at his wife’s Death Sentence premiere. “I think there’s some advantages that Hollywood people have for encouraging privacy and homeschooling. We get to control our environment a little better -- even though it looks like being famous you’re less controlled. We actually in some ways get to control it better.”

Kelly certainly cherishes motherhood. What's her favorite part?

“Just the closeness and the fun and the joy they give you on an every-moment basis,” she tells me at her premiere. “It’s just so wondrous. There’s so many clichés, but it’s really seeing things through their eyes, or the hilarious ways they’ll perceive something. Their take on it is so completely astute. Kids say the wildest things. Well, they really do, and they nail it all the time.”

In getting through difficult times, the couple relies on their 17-year history as husband and wife.

At his Hairspray premiere, John tells me the secret to a happy marriage lies in communication. He says, “Communication leads to understanding, and understanding is a universal solvent.”

They also rely on spirituality to keep their union strong.

“We’re both Scientologists and we have similar beliefs in how to raise our kids,” Kelly says at her premiere. “It keeps us growing spiritually and constantly and happy and grounded.”

John says, “We use the techniques all the time at work, home, with the kids. It’s all tools for better survival.”

Kelly adds, “Better living. We know how to survive in life a whole lot better. It helps you on a daily basis. Apply religious philosophy everywhere that it’s applicable.”

John continues, “It is tools you need every day to better your life.”

Our thoughts are with John, Kelly and their daughter Ella Bleu, 8, during this devastating time.

Jesse McCartney doesn’t look back when it comes to his boy band past in the group Dream Street. The guys have no set plans to reunite.

“I don’t know that that’s going to happen,” he tells me. “Everyone’s doing their own thing at this point. A bunch of us have our own promising careers. I think for everyone that was a big learning experience. It was one of those moments where we learned a lot in this industry in those few years.”

But Jesse, 21, is pleased to return to his childhood by lending his voice to Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakuel, due out later this year.

“I grew up watching it every Saturday morning,” he says. “I never thought I’d be playing the young little fat chipmunk. Getting back to my roots.”

Even though he’s established as a singer and actor, that doesn’t make him immune to being mistaken for other celebrities.

“A couple girls came up to me a few weeks ago, and they walked up and I’m waiting for it, like ‘yeah?’ And they’re like ‘Frankie Muniz!’ and I’m like ‘no! Wrong guy. Later.’”

He has a backup plan just in case.

“I always wanted to be a baseball player,” Jesse tells me. “I always wanted to be an athlete. I’m a big sports fan. I played baseball all through high school – I was the pitcher for my team – and I probably would’ve gone on to play for college if I didn’t stay in the music industry.”

What’s this single guy’s advice for getting through a breakup? Write a song.

“Even if you don’t consider yourself a songwriter, you don’t have to be. You can just write. For me, that was my biggest outlet.”

Reba McEntire is ready to help with tips to make a fresh start with food in 2009.

“There’s no dieting during the holidays, only afterwards,” she tells me. “I had the clue to get off sugar, bread, anything white, rice, gravy – all the good stuff – I eliminate them totally, and small portions. Eat small portions. Get away from the bad stuff, and only eat small portions.”

The singer, 53, wasn’t always wealthy growing up in Oklahoma. She says it’s possible to look like a million bucks – even if you don’t have a lot of cash.

“Surround yourself with people who can make you look beautiful and dress you well,” she says. “I do that.”

A New Year is time for a new you, and stars are revamping their outlooks. What are their resolutions?

Julianne Hough says, “Keeping my skin fresh and not tanning so much. I won’t have to so much when I take the season off from Dancing With The Stars, so I can keep my face fresh.”

Emma Roberts is practical. “Probably just to eat healthier and get more sleep,” she tells me. “I have a problem where if I start thinking about something, I’m up all night just thinking and can’t go to sleep.”

“I’m always 15 minutes late, so I’m going to try and wake up 15 minutes earlier,” Natasha Bedingfield says.

Gabrielle Union is going to stop obsessing. “I think I worry too much, and put too much emphasis on ‘Oh my God, she’s an eight, or oh no, she’s a double-zero.’ You know what, do your thing. If you look like one of the 90210 girls, then God bless you. And if you are a 12, God forbid – that’s illegal in the county of Los Angeles – then go with that. Do you and keep it moving.”

Gossip Girl’s Lydia Hearst has her list ready. “Honestly, to remain happy and healthy and maintain good friendships and be able to be back in the City more and do more charity work with God’s Love We Deliver,” she tells me. “I work in the kitchen.”

Jesse McCartney says, “I always procrastinate and put things off to the last second.  Maybe that should be my resolution. Stop procrastinating.”

Jake T. Austin is under the parental influence. “My mom really wants me to try not to argue with my sister,” the Wizards of Waverly Place star, who appears in January’s Hotel For Dogs, tells me. “I don’t know how long that’s going to last, but I’ll try as hard as I can.”

Darius Rucker is also thinking family. “I’m going to make the same one I make every year, that I’m going to get in much better shape and I’m going to start breaking that around January 2. I think next year I’m going to try to make a resolution to stay home a little more. I’m going to try and see the family more next year.”

Jake Owen seconds that notion. “I think it’s going to be to call home more just because I think everybody should do that. Time flies, and I seem to sometimes go a week or two without talking to my mom and dad. I want to make sure that I keep up with them.”

Lena Olin, who appears in The Reader with Kate Winslet, doesn’t think big just once a year. “I start every day with a resolution. I try to make the most of every day I wake up, so New Year’s – I start out fresh every day. I have a lot of ambition in my life. Personal. To make the most of every day.”

“We’re all going to try and sit back with our families and soak this up and reflect,” Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley tells me. “Be thankful.”

Lady’s Hillary Scott adds, “Keep dreaming big, too. I think always if you put it out there and you say it, it can happen. We just try to stay optimistic and make goals and I think this dreaming big.”

The Dish host Danielle Fishel uses a slogan for each year. “I tend to not make resolutions because I think you tend to set yourself up for failure, but what I do is I make a statement about whatever I want this year to be for me. Last year, my statement was ‘no fear’ so anything that scared me –  such as going back to school – it scared me, and I did it anyway. This year I’m not exactly sure what my positive affirmation is going to be, but I think it’s going to be career-based.”

Some are not so serious.

“Always wear socks with boots,” Ashanti laughs.

And some are opting out. “I don’t make resolutions because I’m not good at keeping promises,” Damien Fahey tells me.

Be sure to make the most of your 2009.