Posts Tagged ‘Cristian de la Fuente’

Ivanka In The Doghouse

May 28th, 2008

Ivanka Trump wakes up early to bring Yorkie Tiger out to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Milk-Bone dog biscuits. The playful pup mugs for the cameras during the Times Square event held in a doghouse made of 100,000 dog biscuits. It looks like both mom and pup got blowouts this morning!

“It’s very hard to control the dog with over a thousand Milk-Bones,” Ivanka says.

Guests including Ivanka and Dancing With The Stars finalist Cristian de la Fuente sing “Happy Anniversary” to the tune of Happy Birthday. We nosh on a Milk-Bone-shaped cake created by Food Network’s Ace of Cakes chef Duff Goldman. Mmmm!

Dramarama! Ivanka jumps into a waiting black car before doing interviews. Uh-oh! We’re told she’ll answer questions by phone or e-mail, but we never hear back. Bummer! Ivanka is one of my favorites — that’s why I’m here. : ( Next time. UPDATE: They’re working on it. Yes! Ivanka is the best.

 

I say hello to Cristian, and spot another familiar face in renowned pet photographer Chris Ameruoso. His dog is sporting a mohawk ! Chris tells me Nicolette Sheridan is one of his favorite pet owners. Her pups names are Fatty and Oliver.

“She literally becomes one of her dogs when she’s with her animals. She could be all dressed up in her clothes, and if her dog jumps in the pool, she’ll jump in the pool after them.”

What does fiancé Michael Bolton think?

“He loves Nicolette and the dogs, too, but he thinks Nicolette’s a total nutcase with the animals.”

One trend sweeping the celeb set is pot-belly pigs. George Clooney owned one for twenty years, and now Reese Witherspoon and Denise Richards also have pigs. Paris Hilton wants one.

“Pot-belly pigs are so smart,” he tells me. “It’s like dealing with a human. If you yell at a 5-year-old child, it hurts. Like when your dad yells at you. That’s what a pig feels. People don’t realize that. It’s a negative and a positive at the same time. They’re good pets but they’re not like owning a dog. They’re very clean and they have a lot of personality and they get very nippy, but people get scared of them when they get older because they come and start nibbling at you. They’ve got little chompers, and it hurts. I’m hoping that 2-3 years from now we don’t start seeing all these pot-belly pigs. It is a fad, like the girls walking the red carpet with their small dogs.”

Chris recommends TomKat get a Labrador for Suri. “Kids can sit there and roll on them and play with them and hit them and they’re OK with it,” he tells me.

Hooray! Milk-Bone raises $1 million to donate to its Milk-Bone Canine Heroes program, which helps dogs serving law enforcement agencies and the physically disabled.

Cristián de la Fuente Recovering From Surgery

May 27th, 2008

 

 

Cristián de la Fuente is recovering comfortably at home after undergoing surgery to repair his bicep, the actor announced.

“Thank you to everyone for their concern and well wishes,” the Dancing with the Stars alum says.

His surgery “went very nicely,” Dr. Neal S. Elayrache tells Entertainment Tonight. “I was able to get a perfect repair of the bicep. Cristián will spend about a week in a splint then start rehab. In about 3 months he will have a full recovery and strength back."

The 34-year-old actor, who can next be seen in USA’s In Plain Sight, tore a tendon in his arm last month while performing the samba on the ABC hit. After consulting with doctors, he decided to delay surgery to continue the show. He and partner Cheryl Burke made it all the way to the final three and was eliminated during the finale last Tuesday.

But don’t think he’ll be heading back to the ballroom once he’s all healed.

"I have hung up my dancing shoes!" Cristián says. "I will now spend time with my family."

Cristián de la Fuente’s Pet Nap

May 23rd, 2008

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dancing with the Stars finalist Cristián de la Fuente is keeping a dirty little secret from his wife Angelica Castro!

He lets their dog, Napoleon, sleep in their bed when she’s not around.

“He loves to sleep in the bed with me, and my wife doesn’t want him, so every time my wife is not home, we sleep together,” Cristián, 34, tells OK! at the Milk-Bone Takes Manhattan event. “If not, he has his own bed on my side of our bed. But whenever my wife is not home, we’ll sleep together. We don’t tell her. The good thing is, he doesn’t talk.”

Now that the secret’s out, Angelica can take solace in the fact that caring for Napoleon gave Cristián, who stars in USA’s new series In Plain Sight, great practice and preparation for fatherhood by the time they welcomed their daughter Laura, now 3.

“He was my first child,” he says. “I didn’t know what it was like to have a child until I had my daughter, but he was the first relationship that I had where I had to take care of him, feed him, and give him everything because they can’t survive without you. It’s a great feeling. It’s my little boy.”

These days, Napoleon is playing second fiddle to Laura, who may very well be a pro dancer on DWTS one day. Inspired by Cristián’s run, Laura has decided kicking up her heels is the gig for her.

“She wants to be a dancer,” he says. “She got a doll, and she named the doll Cheryl [after my partner Cheryl Burke]. I guess we’ll have a dancer in the family.”

By Valerie Nome

Kristi Crowned DWTS Champ!

May 21st, 2008

Riding high on a wave of perfect scores on Monday night’s performance finale, figure skating superstar Kristi Yamaguchi became the latest celebrity to be crowned champ on Dancing with the Stars.

With her dance partner Mark Ballas, the Olympic gold medalist froze out the other two remaining couples: all-pro football star Jason Taylor and Edyta Sliwinska, who finished second, and Chilean actor Cristian de la Fuente and Cheryl Burke, ended up in third.

Kristi, who has been blogging all season for OK! about her experiences on the show, became the first woman to win the hit ABC reality show since its first season, when soap star Kelly Monaco took home the disco ball trophy.

"It’s a huge honor," Kristi told OK! after the show. "Obviously this is a gift from the fans. We danced our hearts out all season for the fans. It’s been the most amazing adventure and I can’t thank Mark enough for giving me this gift.”

She plans to appear with the other two finalists on Good Morning America on Wednesday and wave the green flag to start the Indy 500 this weekend. Then she’ll take a much-needed rest after her long dancing journey.

“I just want to take a break and be with my family," explains the mother of two girls Keara, 4, and Emma, 2, with hockey player husband Bret Hedican. "I know my kids have been missing me a lot so we’ll just chill out for awhile.”

Meanwhile, Jason admitted to OK! he wasn’t surprised about his second-place finish: “I would have been shocked if we would have won. She so deserved it. Edyta and I sat here ten weeks ago and watched her dance the first time and it was like, whoo! This is a waste for us to even do it.”

Jason said his only regret is that he couldn’t win for his dance partner and DWTS regular Edyta — who has never finished first.

“I’m disappointed for her. She hasn’t won one,” he said. “But I was happy to get to this point; I never thought I would be in the finale.”

Jason said he learned from doing the show, “if you take more chances than you normally would, you can accomplish things. I know it’s been said forever that if you set your mind to something, you can do it, but this is one thing I never, ever thought I would do. I tried it, it was scary, but Edyta is a sparkplug and kept the train going all season and I can’t thank her enough.”

The football star said he’s planning to take a trip with wife Katina and their three kids. “We’re heading to the Bahamas, just get lost and go to the beach and do nothing. No dancing. No working out, nothing. Just laying around.”

After that, he’s ready to get back on the football field. “I can still play. I’m ready to go. I’ll take a few days off and get back to work.” He’d also love to break into acting and hopes someday to appear in “action type film.”

Jason’s dance partner Edyta Sliwinska will be visiting her native Poland with her husband, former DWTS pro Alec Mazo, who didn’t participate in the show this season. “I’m going to Poland for a couple of weeks,” she told OK! “I need my mom to take care of me. I need to be spoiled for awhile. I’m tired. I definitely need a break.”

Third-place finisher Cristian wasn’t disappointed either, saying, “Kristi was definitely the best.” His partner Cheryl added, “It was time for a woman to win.”

Gutsy Cristian, who injured his left bicep tendon during the competition but managed to finish third, next faces surgery on his arm. “Surgery and six weeks of recovery,” he told OK! After that, he’ll be promoting his summer USA network drama series, In Plain Sight, in which he plays a baseball player from the Dominican Republic who has a relationship with an American woman played by Mary McCormack.

His dance partner will devote herself to promoting the Cheryl Burke Dance Center, her new chain of dance studios, and will visit schools and encourage kids to take up dancing for physical fitness.

By Carole Glines

DWTS Watch: Kristi’s Perfect in the Finale

May 20th, 2008

After two amazing performances last night, figure skater extraordinaire Kristi Yamaguchi looks poised to add the Dancing With the Stars disco-ball trophy to her already full mantle.

The Olympic gold medalist and her partner Mark Ballas dazzled the judges Monday night, earning perfect scores of 30 for both their cha-cha and freestyle routines and appearing to leave her competitors, football player Jason Taylor and Chilean actor Cristián de la Fuente, on the sidelines.

“I’m ready to collapse. There’s nothing left in me,” a tired but happy Kristi told OK! after her triumph. “I’m thrilled, obviously. I couldn’t have done anything better tonight.” (For more on Kristi, read her OK! blog and check out her fashion feature in this week’s issue.)

Jason received scores of 24 for his cha cha and 27 for the freestyle, while Cristian earned the same score, 26, for both of those dances.

After the show, the football hunk told OK!, “I thought it went well. I had a great time. The freestyle is great — you just do whatever you want. The cha cha wasn’t my favorite.”

His partner Edyta Sliwinksa said Jason’s 6′6" height made doing the cha cha difficult. “It’s very hard for a person this tall to dance,” she explained. “I don’t really know any professional dancers taller than maybe 6′2"."

A gracious Jason said, “Kristi was great as she’s been all season and I thought Cristian danced very well, too.”

Jason revealed that his wife Katina gave him some advice before his final dances — and that’s not unusual. She gives him feedback on football, too! “She’s always coaching me, no matter what, constantly on the phone before a football game, she’ll text me points. She’s always trying to help. She gives me that boost of energy.”

The dance couple said it was Edyta’s idea for them both to rip each other’s clothes off during their sexy freestyle routine. “I decided to show how gorgeous he looks,” smiled Edyta, who also has one of Hollywood’s best bodies. “He’s really modest and it was very difficult to get him to do it.” Jason, a self-described introvert, said, “She talked me into it. Look, it’s the finals. Pull out all stops.”

Meanwhile, Cristian and partner Cheryl Burke thought their dances went well, even though the actor — who injured his left bicep weeks ago — tweaked the arm badly during rehearsals.

“I did everything she wanted me to do,” a relieved Cristian told OK! after performing two clean routines. “At the end of the day, that’s what it’s about.”

Cheryl said she thought he might not be able to go on after the tough rehearsals: “He is stubborn.”

Gutsy Cristian explained, “When you want to achieve, the worst thing is to give up–to go home and imagine what would have been.”

The star praised his competitors and pointed out, “We’re so all different. We all bring so many different things to the dance floor. People, by voting, have the ultimate decision.”

Tune in to ABC tonight to see what voting viewers have decided!

By Carole Glines

DWTS Cristian’s Winning Plan

May 19th, 2008

Dancing with the Stars finalist Cristian de la Fuente overcame unsure footing and battled an injured arm to make it to tonight’s finals. It would be his sweetest end if he snags top prize tonight.

But don’t expect to be stopping by his house and hugging up on his trophy if he does.

“If I win, I’m going to give it to Marlee Matlin,” fellow DWTS competitor, Cristian tells the TV Fanatic. “She’s really been an inspiration for me, among all the people who went on the show, and I think she’s the one who really deserves to win it.”

Win or not, DWTS has been “a great experience,” Cristian says. “It’s nice when you read that you can have a goal that you fight for and achieve, even when you have big obstacles. It’s even nicer when you experience it.”

Cristian, that sounds like the biggest prize of all.

Dancing with the Stars, season finale, airs Tuesday, May 20 at 9 p.m. on ABC.

Hot Shots! 5/19/08-5/25/08

May 19th, 2008

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DWTS Watch: Cristian Bounces Back!

May 6th, 2008

Just one week after suffering an injury many thought would end his dancing days, Cristian de la Fuente surprised everyone by coming back to earn the top score of the night on Monday’s Dancing with the Stars.

The Chilean actor decided to stay in the competition last week after he ruptured a tendon of his left bicep. Cristian’s doctor told him he could delay having surgery until after the show, but the star would be unable to do lifts with his left arm.

So it was up to his right arm to do all the lifting of pro partner Cheryl Burke during the tango and the mambo.

“I was a little nervous at the beginning,” he admitted to OK! after the show. “We worked really hard this week and at the end, it was the best outcome we could have had. I can’t believe it. I’ll have to go back home and watch the tape.”

The physical setback, which forced him to keep his left arm behind his back during some of the choreography, has actually made Cristian a better dancer. “We fought so hard to get good scores and every week we’d go home with a little bit of a disappointment,” he recalled. But not tonight.

But don’t think it was as easy as they made it look last night. Cristian and Cheryl revealed that there were lots of problems in rehearsal, however, and they actually took time outs from each other like little kids. “When we both got in a bad mood then we went to separate corners of the dance studio for five minutes," he explained. "There’s a lot of frustration so sometimes it’s better in ‘time out.’ But we love each other so much and we’re so passionate about this.”

Cheryl disclosed that there were times he dropped her in rehearsals, but “I trust him. He’s a strong man.”

In fact, the actor is so determined to win the ABC reality show that he said of his wife Angelica, who cheers him on in the audience, “I don’t even see her. I get home every night at midnight and leave every morning at eight. I’m rehearsing all day.”

Fellow competitor Jason Taylor told OK! “He danced his butt off. He should try both arms behind his back. It’s amazing what he did.”

By Carole Glines

Cristián de la Fuente Denies Faking Injury

May 5th, 2008

Cristián de la Fuente and his dance partner, Cheryl Burke, are speaking out about the injury that nearly ended their run on Dancing with the Stars.

In an interview with Extra, the dancing duo put to rest the rumors claiming that Cristián faked hurting his arm to gain a few sympathy votes from fans.

"I would need to be out of my mind to fake something like this," Cristián said.

While he revealed the injury (a pulled muscle in his left arm) has left him able to use only one arm to perform lifts during the dances, his partner Cheryl says she’s not worried.

"Heather Mills did it with one leg, we can do it with one arm," Burke said.

For the entire interview with Cristián and Cheryl, tune in to Extra–tonight!

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