Posts Tagged ‘Vanessa Carlton’

Trumps Talk Terrible Twos, Donald III

May 8th, 2009 / Author: OK! Staff

It’s a busy time for Donald Trump Jr.

The Celebrity Apprentice finale takes place Sunday, the same day as Mother’s Day, and daughter Kai turns 2 on Tuesday.

Donald Jr., 31, and wife Vanessa, 31, who wed in 2005, welcomed son Donald III in February.

How is Kai adjusting to life as a big sister?

“She’s doing very well with it now,” pleasant Donald tells me during the Operation Smile’s 2009 Smile Event held Thursday at NYC’s Cipriani Wall Street. “She’s very good with the baby. There are definitely moments of jealousy as I think there would be. She’s a tough little one herself. But no, she’s great. She’s having a lot of fun with it. Donnie’s doing great, getting big fast, he’s 15 lbs. already at three months. He’s going to be a monster, so we’ll see. He’s been great.”

How does Kai help?

“She actually helps with the feeding,” Vanessa tells me. “I’m breastfeeding, but sometimes I pump and put it in a bottle so she can feed.”

Donald embarrasses. “Way too much information.”  

She continues, “But she loves it. She loves to sit there, she puts the pillow around, she copies me with the burp cloth and feeds the baby. Of course, you have to be there because she’s a baby herself. But she helps.”

When asked for a milestone, Ivanka’s big bro admits defeat. “This is her category. I have no idea what these things are supposed to be.”

Vanessa says, “For now, she’s stringing more than three words together, so that’s a huge milestone. She’s acting like a terrible 2-year-old, so that’s her huge milestone. So it’s ‘no,’ and it’s ‘yes.’”

Donald says, “She was the sweetest child one day, and the next day, she was really pushing her boundaries. It was a very fast transition.”

Vanessa says, “She’s got a very strong personality. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.”

Adjusting to life as a family of four was a change.

Vanessa says, “The first few days when I came home with my son, it was definitely difficult because you have a baby at home, and now you have another newborn and you have to attend to both. With the breastfeeding and stuff, it was very difficult. But I’ve been able to manage up to this point, and as soon as you get things going and you have a routine, something will happen. I’m hoping that everything stays the way it is.”

Donald adds, “We’re looking for status quo right now. If we can maintain the way we are, we’ll be good.”

With two kids, how do they make couples time?

“Who? What? That doesn’t exist,” Donald says. “Yeah. Uh, we don’t. We try to integrate as much stuff with the children by bringing them to dinners and making them a part of it. I think frankly it’s a way to really develop a child well, too. You incorporate them as much as you can, and we do what we can once they go to sleep.”    

Would they like more kids?

While Vanessa says “we would like to have 2 or 3” more, Donald counters “we’re in negotiations about that.”

When Vanessa brags that her son only wakes up once a night at three months old after she shares her daughter woke up four times a night until she was eight months old, she catches herself. ”I’m lucky. I have a good boy. I don’t want to jinx that.” Donald adds, “Don’t say that in public. It could be a mess.”

Donald Jr. and Vanessa sit down at dinner to enjoy a red beet, string bean and goat cheese salad; basket of homemade breadsticks and sliced French bread plus warm Cipriani rolls; and dinner of roast filet of beef with sauce perigourdine. Vanessa Carlton and the original winner of America’s Got Talent, Bianca Ryan, perform, and the event raises nearly $1.5 million for the cause.

Donald and Vanessa are on the board of directors for Operation Smile, which is a worldwide children’s medical charity whose network of global volunteers are dedicated to helping improve the health and lives of children and young adults.

SEE MORE PHOTOS IN THE VALERIE GALLERY:

Vacationing With Vanessa Carlton

July 30th, 2008

Vanessa Carlton has been around the world, but her favorite place is Cairo, Egypt.

 

“Egypt is such an intense and beautiful and chaotic city,” the 27-year-old singer tells me. “I love it. I loved walking in Cairo by myself, which is kind of a risky thing, but I just felt really empowered. It was so beautiful.”

 

Even in the recession, she recommends international travel.

 

“It’s so important for everybody to travel the world because you have such a better perspective of where you’re at when you’re home.”

 

And Vanessa’s NYC home is totally swank. I’ve been there! It’s awesome. She has a direct elevator up to her super-spacious apartment, which comes complete with wood floors, high ceilings, art collection and yapping dog Lord Victor. She’ll likely swing by tonight because she’s playing Fillmore New York at Irving Plaza in NYC. Woo-hoo!

 

Catch the Thousand Miles songbird on tour through August 10 when she wraps up at Milwaukee’s Pabst Theater.

Part Two: J.Lo Shines a Light on Rolling Stones

April 4th, 2008

It’s sheer pandemonium when the Rolling Stones descend on NYC’s Ziegfeld Theatre for the premiere of their concert documentary Shine a Light. Fans sneak in the line to the press line hoping to score face time with their idols — a cameraman attempts to bring his mom! Of course, it’s air tight as always and no one is getting through.

Surprise: Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony are on their way. Really!

Mick Jagger is very kind, but the publicist goes ape after a financial reporter asks the Rolling Stone how the recession affects him.

“You invest in different things,” Mick says. “You have to watch out and you don’t spend too much on drinks. And you only go out twice a week.”

The publicist roars, “You know what guys?! We’re here talking about the movie. If you want to ask about the recession, don’t come.”

And there goes my chance to talk to Mick, as she says it’s ruined for the group of reporters in which I stand. The woman threatens to kick my well-meaning pal out. Whoa!

There’s also high drama when I ask Charlie Watts about whether he supports Hillary Clinton, who appears in the first half-hour of the film. “Yeah, I think so,” he says. Bam! “Ask him questions about the movie,” she says, cutting him off. “She was in the movie!” I protest.

Luckily, reps cool their heels by the time the other Stones make their way.

Ron Wood, who smells of alcohol, says, “Is there any water or anything?” when he steps up. Voila — a bottle of Poland Spring appears.

“You’ve done everything,” a reporter begins. “I haven’t done everything… you’re gorgeous,” he says.

Ron tells me the group will never again perform their first single "Come On." “They absolutely refuse to play it. I go, ‘Come On,’ it’s a great song, let’s go.’ I try to get them to play it but they won’t.”

What’s his favorite thing to do in NYC? “Try and get out on my own. It’s impossible.”

Although Keith Richards says he’ll never retire from touring, he confesses to taking more naps. “Now and again, yes,” he says. He cackles when asked the secret to a happy marriage, and says his favorite place in New York is “my bedroom.”

Jerry Bruckheimer, Vanessa Carlton, Michelle Yeoh, Tommy Hilfiger and Gina Gershon give love to the Rolling Stones on their way into the venue as stunning Theodora Richards waits for a friend. Stephen Bing — the billionaire who fathered Liz Hurley’s son Damian — produced the film, but he’s dressed way down in faded jeans and white gym shoes.

The movie starts, but reporters wait because reps say tickets are being saved for J.Lo and Marc. Thirty minutes after the screening begins, the glam couple arrive, smiling and waving regally. How are the twins? “Thank you,” she tells me.

Pick up the OK! out now to find out how Keith feels about this concert documentary competing with Miley Cyrus’s record-breaking concert documentary Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus: Best of Both Worlds. “Britney Lost 15 Lbs. in Just 4 Weeks" is the cover line. And, don’t miss Part One: My Day With the Rolling Stones.

 

Shine a Light is in theaters now.

Behind The Scenes on Daughtry Photo Shoot

March 31st, 2008 / Author: cwillett

I trek up to Connecticut’s Mohegan Sun to interview Daughtry when the band is in town to open for Bon Jovi. Questions about American Idol are off-limits, and Chris Daughtry, who has a bodyguard, makes nice with a tight-squeeze bear hug after tempers flare.

Backstage at Mohegan Sun Arena, he sips Red Bull and bonds with group members including mohawked bassist Josh Paul, drummer Joey Barnes, rhythm guitarist/vocalist Brian Craddock and lead guitarist Josh Steeley.

When Chris realizes their Starbucks drinks aren’t in place, he freaks out. “So, who’s getting fired today, boys?” he says. “Todd gets fired every day, and we rehire him just because we love him and he’s willing to make changes.”

Finally, Starbucks coffees arrive at 2:04 p.m. — just before the photo shoot begins. The setup is the band sitting with drinks in a bar, but the manager puts the kibosh and orders the drinks be removed from the shot. “I’ve never seen them with a drink,” the manager says. “They have little kids. It’s not an image they want to project.”

A member of Daughtry’s camp tells me he calls his kids every day at 6:30 a.m. to tell them to have a good day at school. “I’ve never met a nicer guy,” he says.

Here comes the stylist primping the guys’ mugs with blue rice paper from Japan. Oops! The blue is rubbing off.

Josh Paul says I look just like his sister Kimberly, and rattles off his resume as having played for Suicidal Tendencies, Kelly Osbourne and Ashley Parker Angel.

Vanessa Carlton’s Thousand Miles plays as we move to another location.

“Are you taking a picture of my package?” Chris jokes to our photographer while lounging out on a red seat.

He waves as he makes a getaway in the elevator. It’s sound check time…

 

Check out Daughtry’s Quick Chat in the OK! on stands now. "Shiloh and Suri: Big Girls Now!" is the cover line.

Vanessa Carlton Loving “Happy Single Time”

February 20th, 2008

Since her break-up with Third Eye Blind frontman Stephan Jenkins last year, Vanessa Carlton has been a single gal in New York City. But don’t think she’s on the prowl.

"It’s great to be single," she tells OK! at the Smart and Live Earth event. "Happy single time!"

The 27-year-old, who broke up with Stephan after a five-year relationship, does have a new love in her life — environmentalism. Inspired by Al Gore, who has "penetrated pop culture," Vanessa has been going green for years. And it helps that she lives in the big, bustling city where a car is not needed.

"I take the subway. I walk everywhere," she says. "I take bags to the grocery store. I use long-lasting lightbulbs."

By David Lasky

Stars Celebrate Valentine’s Day

February 14th, 2008

Celebs love to be loved just as much as everyone else.

While Sheryl Crow, Keyshia Cole, Cassie and Christy Turlington will be working, newly engaged KT Tunstall is celebrating the day in Scotland. “We’ll be checking out wedding venues,” she tells me.

 

“I’m gonna…,” George Clooney, who is dating Sarah Larson, jokes.

“This is going to be my first Valentine’s Day in three years on my own,” Jesse McCartney tells me. “It just might be me on my couch this year. And the TV.”

“I’ll be ordering room service,” Rachel Bilson says. “I’ll be in a hotel room here. Hahaha.” As for his plans, her boyfriend Hayden Christensen says “nothing right now.”

Ryan Reynolds, whose movie Definitely, Maybe opens today, says, “My plan is to run out with 150 of my closest friends and see Definitely, Maybe.” Costar Rachel Weisz says she hopes to go out to dinner. “It’s very hard to get the kids together,” she says. “It’s very sad. I might stay in.”

“The best Valentine’s Day – or the ones I always liked – is when my boyfriend would remember it was Valentine’s Day,” Vanessa Carlton tells me. “That was always a plus.”

Cupid’s arrow certainly puts Brody Jenner in a good mood.

“Usually my mom is my Valentine but this year, yes, I’m going to have a girlfriend,” Brody tells me. “Honestly, it’s been a long time since I actually celebrated Valentine’s Day.”

Selma Blair will be single this VDay. “I’m going to sleep,” she laughs. Gossip Girl’s Dreama Walker tells me she has a date with Ben – and Jerry. (Ha ha) “Dublin Mudslide, definitely.”

How did the stars spend their most memorable Valentine’s Days?

 

"Last Valentine’s Day I had a show, but afterwards I hung out with my boyfriend and all my friends and their boyfriends," Colbie Caillat tells me. "We went to dinner." (She has a new boyfriend this year.)

“We went for a balloon ride,” Phil Donahue, who is married to Marlo Thomas, tells me.

Naomi Judd remembers, “We went for a ride in our ’56 T-bird, and it’s got those bucket seats. It doesn’t have bucket seats – it has a bench seat. So we put the top down and rode around the countryside with my arm around him, so we can get up snuggly.”

Half the battle is knowing what interests you – and what doesn’t.

Emily Mortimer and hubby Alessandro Nivola know what they’re not going to do. “Not go out and sit in a restaurant with 25 other couples looking into each other’s eyes,” she tells me. “It’s terribly embarrassing.”

And sometimes it’s about a different kind of love.

Gone Country host and country singer John Rich tells me, “My grandmother’s birthday is on Valentine’s Day, so it’s always cool to celebrate her birthday. My grandmother makes all my stage clothes. She’ll be 77 this year. I wear rhinestone jeans and rhinestone shirts – all these crazy outfits. I’ve had big artists come up to me and say ‘man, where’d you get that?’ I’m like ‘oh, my Granny Rich made that.’ She’s a real part of my career and my imaging. Her birthday’s on Valentine’s Day, so I always load her up with a bunch of flowers. She has a little alteration shop in Tennessee. It’s always cool on Valentine’s Day to take care of Granny Rich.”

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

Happy New Year! Celeb Resolutions For 2008

January 1st, 2008

A New Year is a time to start fresh.

“I definitely want to get back into the exercise routine,” Tattoo singer Jordin Sparks tells me. “Of course that’s something that everybody wants to be able to do, but I really want to because I miss it. And then I want to tour. I’ve always wanted to go to Egypt and Italy.”

The New Jersey-bred Jonas Brothers are waking up fresh off their first time celebrating New Years Eve in NYC. “As a band, we’re into our music and we want to have more concerts,” Joe says. “I’m still wondering if people are going to show up to events when we go do stuff.”

Vanessa Carlton is ringing in her 2008 in India. She tells me, “I do hope that I finally figure out how to meditate. That would be a real feat.” Why? “Like everyone, I aspire to answer the existential questions and quandaries that we all have. It is so rejuvenating, and I’m really interested in and searching for peace. My song More Than This – that’s the last song on the album Heroes And Thieves – punctuates that Buddhistic idea ‘how you do at this moment declare that you need no more than you have?’ I don’t need any more – I have my dog, I have my house, I have my music, I work with amazing people, beautiful friends, good granola, whatever. In theory, you would instantly feel this bliss because you don’t crave any more. Craving makes you so anxious and throws you off your balance. I wish that for everyone, and I search for that. Being in an ashram in India – three hours into the rural heart of India – is an easier place to find it.”

Kiss Kiss singer Chris Brown tells me he aspires to “top next year better than last year.”

 

Alicia Keys has travel on her to-do list in 2008. “My dream place to travel is Mystique,” she says. “I haven’t been there and I love the name. And it’s hot.”

Bubbly singer Colbie Caillat says, “I’d really like to learn to play guitar. I’m still learning.”

 

Law & Order: SVU star Tamara Tunie is all about changing in 2008. “Sundays are for me and my husband,” she tells me.

30 Rock’s Judah Friedlander hopes to crack jokes this year. “I’ve been doing standup comedy for 18 years. I’d like to finally put out a CD — and my own standup movie.”

Alas, stars like Jane Krakowski have given up on declaring new behaviors. “I’m not a resolution girl,” she tells me.

“I think they’re the same as they are any day of the week,” Deborah Norville tells me. “Try and be a better mom, a more diligent wife, try to be smarter at work and be a better person. I’ve given up on the ten pounds. There’s no point. I worship the God of spandex.”

How Celebs Do Christmas

December 25th, 2007 / Author: Valerie Nome

: 5745

Despite being lavished with gifts all year, the stars are giddy about celebrating Christmas.

Read more »

Visiting Vanessa Carlton

December 10th, 2007 / Author: Valerie Nome

: 4799

Vanessa Carlton meets me outside her NYC apartment on a rainy day. Breathless from walking her brown long-haired dachshund Lord Victor, we happen to arrive at her doorstep at exactly the same time - 4:00 p.m. We elevator up to her spacious pad with her publicist and manager in tow. (This is very exciting – I’ve never been to a celeb’s house!)

While Lord Victor chases a toy, Vanessa and I sit down in her living room. (See the painting on the wall and the piano in the picture?) She is gleeful about her new album, Heroes And Thieves, which is in stores now. Read more »

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