Ross H. Perot Businessman and presidential candidate.

Ross Perot was born in Texarkana, Texas in 1930. After working for IBM, he founded (1962) Electronic Data Systems (EDS), a computer services company. During the Iranian hostage crisis (1979), he funded a successful operation to rescue two of his employees from an Iranian prison. He sold EDS to General Motors in 1984, diversified into real estate, gas, and oil, and later started a new computer services company.

He ran unsuccessfully for U.S. president as an independent in 1992 and fought U.S. ratification of the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Dr. Henry A. Kissinger National Security Adviser (1969-75)

Henry Kissinger was born in Germany in 1923. An expert in international affairs and nuclear defense, he was national-security adviser (1969-75) to Presidents Nixon and Ford, and played a major role in the formulation of U.S. foreign policy.

He arranged Nixon's visit (1972) to China, shared (1973) the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating a cease-fire with North Vietnam, and helped arrange a cease-fire in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War. He has written several books on foreign policy and two volumes of memoirs.

Reverend Jesse L. Jackson Civil Rights Leader and Politician

Jesse Jackson was born in Greenville, South Carolina in 1941. He was executive director (1966-71) of Operation Breadbasket, founder and national president (1971-83) of People United to Save Humanity (Operation PUSH), and the first serious African-American candidate in the presidential primaries (1984; 1988). An advocate of statehood for the District of Columbia, he was elected (1990) as one of the District's nonvoting "shadow" senators.
Contact Jessie Jackson at 400 I Street NW, Washington, DC DC 20001 or try the Rainbow Coalition web site at http://www.rainbowpush.org

Albert (Al) Gore U.S. Vice President

Al Gore was born in Washington, D.C. in 1948. A moderate Democrat, he served (1977-85) as a U.S. representative from Tennessee before he was elected (1984) U.S. senator from Tennessee. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1988. Gore was reelected to the Senate in 1990.

In his successful campaigns for president, Bill Clinton chose Gore as his vice-presidential running mate in 1992 and again in 1996. Gore has sought to draw attention to environmental concerns and to promote the development of nationwide information systems and the streamlining of the federal government.

Colin L. Powell Military Leader

Colin Powell was born in New York City in 1937. He became a U.S. army general, the highest ranking African-American officer in U.S. history and chairman (1989-93) of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

He served two tours of duty (1962-63, 1968-69) during the Vietnam War and later served in both command (commander, 2d Brigade, 101st Airborne Division, 1976-77; commander, V Corps, Europe, 1986) and political (military assistant to the Deputy Defense Secy., 1979-81, and to the Defense Secy., 1983-86) positions.

From 1987 to 1989 he was President Reagan's national security adviser. In 1989 he was made a four-star general and was appointed chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Powell played an influential role in the planning of U.S. strategy during the Persian Gulf War.

Bob Dylan Musician and Poet

Bob Dylan was born as Robert Zimmerman in Duluth, Minnesota, in 1941. In the 1960s he gained recognition through his lyrics, capturing the alienation of American youth, and his harsh, insistent delivery. Influenced by Woody Guthrie, among others, Dylan exercised a profound influence on folk and Rock Music, his style evolving from folk to folk-rock to country. Enigmatic and reclusive, he became something of a cult figure.

Robert J. (Bob) Dole Former U.S. Senator

Bob Dole was born in Russell, Kansas, in 1923. A lawyer and Republican, he was elected as U.S. representative from Kansas in 1960 and served four terms. In 1968 he was elected to the U.S. Senate. Dole was Gerald Ford's running mate in Ford's unsuccessful presidential campaign (1976) and campaigned unsuccessfully for the Republican presidential nomination in 1980 and 1988. He has served as Senate majority leader (1985-87, 1995 to 1996) and minority leader (1987-95).

His wife, Elizabeth Hanford Dole, born in Salisbury, North Carolina, in1936, is a lawyer and U.S. government official. A Republican, she was secretary of transportation (1983-89) in the Reagan administration and secretary of labor (1989-91) under President Bush. She became president of the American Red Cross in 1991.

Mario Cuomo Governor of New York (1983-95).

Mario Cuomo was born in New York City in 1932. Admitted (1956) to the New York bar, he attracted attention after he successfully mediated (1972) a local housing dispute. A Democrat and an often impressive orator, he was New York's secretary of state (1975-79), lieutenant governor (1979-83), and governor (1983-95). He supported social service program innovations and improvements in the state's infrastructure and environment and was a noted opponent of capital punishment.

Bill Cosby

Bill Cosby was born in 1937 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was the first African-American actor to star in a dramatic series on television (I Spy, 1965-68). He has also starred in several situation comedies, including the popular Cosby Show (1984-92), and the comedy-mystery series The Cosby Mysteries (1994). He has won numerous Emmy awards and written several books, including Fatherhood (1986).

Ray Charles

Ray Charles was born in 1930 in Albany, Georgia. Blinded at age seven, he rose to fame in the 1950s singing rhythm-and-blues songs to the accompaniment of his piano and orchestra. His work, rooted in gospel music, influences, and is influenced by, jazz.

Bill (William Jefferson) Clinton

Bill Clinton was born William Jefferson Blythe the 3rd in Hope, Arkansas in 1946. A graduate of Georgetown University and Yale Law School, and a Rhodes scholar, he was a lawyer and (1974-76) law professor. In 1974 he was an unsuccessful Democratic candidate for the U.S. Congress from Arkansas.

In 1976 he was elected Arkansas attorney general, and in 1978 he won the Arkansas governorship, becoming the nation's youngest governor, but he failed to win reelection in 1980. He ran again in 1982 and won and was reelected twice (1986, 1990). A moderate Democrat, he headed (1990-91) the centrist Democratic Leadership Council.

In 1992 he won the Democratic presidential nomination, and he and running mate Al Gore defeated President George Bush and independent candidate Ross Perot in the presidential election. He won (1993) passage of a national service program and of tax increases and spending cuts to reduce the federal deficit. He also proposed changes in the U.S. health care system that ultimately would provide health insurance coverage to most Americans but was unable to win passage of his plan. In 1994 he sent U.S. forces to Haiti as part of the negotiated restoration of Aristide's presidency.

He is married to Hillary Rodham Clinton, and has one daughter, Chelsea Clinton.

James Earl (Jimmy) Carter, Jr.

Jimmy Carter was born in 1924 in Plains, Georgia. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. (1946), he served in the U.S. navy and in 1953 returned to his family's peanut farm, which he built into a prosperous business. As governor of Georgia (1970-75), he reorganized the state executive branch and sponsored consumer and land-use legislation.

After a spectacularly successful campaign for the 1976 Democratic presidential nomination, Carter, although a Southerner and political outsider, narrowly defeated the Republican candidate, President Gerald Ford; his running mate was Walter Mondale.

Carter's presidency was plagued by difficult relations with Congress, which ratified his two Panama Canal treaties (1977) giving eventual control of the canal to Panama, but would not ratify his arms limitation treaty with the Soviet Union (1979). He was successful, however, in effecting (1979) a peace treaty between Egypt and Israel.

During Carter's term of office the U.S. suffered high interest rates, inflation, and then recession, all of which he had little success in controlling. In November 1979 a group of Muslim militants in Teheran, Iran, took some 50 U.S. citizens hostage and held them until January, 1981. Carter's failure to attain their release before the 1980 presidential election contributed to his defeat by Ronald Reagan.

Since leaving office, Carter has been active in human rights issues, often serving internationally as an observer during first-time free elections, and has worked as an international mediator in North Korea, Haiti, Bosnia, and elsewhere. He has also worked with Habitat for Humanity, an organization that helps working-class people build and finance new homes.

George Herbert Walker Bush

George Bush was born in 1924 in Milton, Massachusetts. A graduate of Yale University, he was a Navy fighter pilot in World War II and after 1953 headed an oil-drilling firm in Texas. In 1966 he was elected to the first of two terms as a Republican representative from Texas. He was ambassador to the UN (1971-73), chairman of the Republican National Committee (1973-74), chief of the U.S. liaison office in China (1974-75), and director of the CIA (1976-77). After losing the 1980 Republican presidential nomination to Ronald Reagan, Bush served as his vice president (1981-89).

In 1988, Bush and running mate Dan Quayle defeated Michael Dukakis in the presidential election. Faced with escalating budget deficits, he abandoned his electoral pledge of "no new taxes" and accepted a tax package that was designed to reduce the deficit but largely failed to do so as recession and an anemic recovery combined to produce the lowest growth rate since the Great Depression.

In foreign affairs, he ordered an invasion of Panama (1989) to depose Manuel Noriega, and in 1990 he committed the U.S. to the reversal of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, which was achieved (1991) in the Persian Gulf War. Bush signed (1991, 1992, 1993) nuclear Disarmament agreements with the USSR and Russia that called for substantial cuts in nuclear arms and (1992) the North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico.

In 1992 he was defeated in his bid for reelection by Democrat Bill Clinton. His eldest son, George Walker Bush, born in 1946 in New Haven, Connecticut, worked in the oil industry and was managing partner (1989-94) of the Texas Rangers baseball team before his election as governor of Texas in 1994.

What's he up to? Ashley enjoys the cool water

Miss Cole bought the black vehicle and then spent £5,000 customising it with high-spec extras such as gold-plated hubcaps, black leather upholstery and a state-of-the-art Sony sound system.
The couple’s initials AC and CC are embroidered on to the headrests in Swarovski crystals.
Other stars to own a Mini Hummer are David and Victoria Beckham and Harry Potter star Rupert Grint.

Gaunt: Cheryl on holiday last year

Pictures of the couple on a make or break holiday this time last year showed her looking gaunt and drawn.
Since then she has become the nation’s sweetheart replacing Sharon Osbourne as the fourth judge on The X Factor.
Miss Cole proved such a hit with viewers that show bosses have doubled her salary to little over £1million.
Auditions for the talent show started earlier this month with the singer and fellow judge Dannii Minogue, 37, already battling it out in the fashion stakes
And to celebrate her windfall she splashed out on a £14,000 luxury Mini Hummer for her husband.
The vehicle is a miniature replica of the life-size Hummer, the robust gas-guzzler originally designed for heavy-duty military use.
However the Coles’s electric-powered Mini Hummer, which has a top speed of 35mph, will have to deal with territory no more demanding than the well-tended grounds of their £3.5million Surrey mansion.

Cheryl Cole sparkles by the seaside in her £375 mirrored swimsuit

Ashley then took a dip in the water while Cheryl and a female friend bartered with a local salesman, buying cowboy sunhats.
Showing his tender side, Ashley then played in the sand with their friend's young child, helping build a sand castle as he kept a close eye on the youngster.
The happy scenes were a far cry from a year ago, when 25-year-old Cheryl's weight plunged to under six stone as she battled to save her marriage.

Cheryl Cole sparkles by the seaside in her £375 mirrored swimsuit

Husband Ashley appears to be on the same diet as his wife, as he showed off his slight physique in blue swimming trunks.
The smiling pair appear to have got over the allegations of infidelity that rocked their marriage last year.
They sat chatting and laughing on the beach with a group of friends beside the sea.

Cheryl Cole sparkles by the seaside in her £375 mirrored swimsuit

Hat-trick hero: Ashley tests the temperature of the water while Cheryl dons a white hat to stroll along the shoreline

Cheryl turned heads in the south of France - where the couple are holidaying - in the lime green Florida bathing suit from Odabash's swimwear collection, which was decorated with circular mirrors.
It appeared to have plenty of support in the bust area, however Cheryl's tiny figure failed to fill it out much as the bikini area looked somewhat baggy.

Cheryl Cole sparkles by the seaside in her £375 mirrored swimsuit

Just 18 months ago, her marriage was in crisis and her figure looked skeletal as the stress took its toll.
Now Cheryl Cole is back in good shape and appears happier than ever with husband Ashley Cole.
The singer ditched her bikini to show off her figure in a striking cutaway swimsuit by designer Melissa Odabash.
And at £375, her sexy look certainly didn't come cheap.

She's got the X Factor: A passer-by gives Cheryl Cole

an admiring glance on the beach in the south of France.

Dressed to thrill: Darren Day's wife Stephanie Dooley wore a pink striped frock, while Jennie McAlpine had trouble keeping her skirt from flying up in

Dressed to thrill: Darren Day's wife Stephanie Dooley wore a pink striped frock, while Jennie McAlpine had trouble keeping her skirt from flying up in the breeze

Star turnout: Guests included new mothers Tina O'Brien and Jane Danson as well as pregnant Samia Smith and her husband Matt

Bride Lucy-Jo Hudson and groom Alan Halsall, both 26, have been together for four years after meeting on the set of Coronation Street as Katy Harris and Tyrone Dobbs.
The happy couple hid their wedding outfits from the view of waiting cameras as they emerged from the church into the 20C sunshine.
Other guests at their wedding included Alan's co-stars Jenny McAlpine, pregnant Samia Smith and Jane Danson.
New parents Tina O'Brien and Ryan Thomas were also in attendance as was singer Darren Day and his wife Stephanie Dooley.

Covered up: The bride and groom wore cloaks as they left the church in order to keep their wedding outfits a secret

When she realised she might be running late, Ms Holden was forced to run across the grass - which she managed without mishap despite her vertiginous heels.

Well-suited: Amanda attended the wedding with her husband music producer Chris Hughes, who looked dapper in a smart grey suit

The outfit was teamed with co-ordinating platform heels and a purple fan-shaped clutch by handbag designer Lulu Guinness.

Her record producer husband looked polished and smart in a dark grey suit with lavender-coloured tie, aviator shades adding a cool edge.

Get me to the church on time: Amanda Holden makes a run for it as she heads to Corrie star's wedding

She is normally glamorous and composed, putting flustered Britain's Got Talent contestants at ease.
But yesterday talent show judge Amanda Holden was caught looking slightly fraught herself as she rushed to a wedding.
The actress was in a hurry to get to the wedding of Coronation Street stars Lucy-Jo Hudson and Alan Halsall.

Get me to the church on time: Amanda Holden makes a run for it as she heads to Corrie star's wedding

Nicole's boyfriend F1 driver Lewis Hamilton at the Mercedes Benz Driving Academy yesterday

Their latest single Hush Hush; Hush Hush has been billed as from The Pussycat Dolls featuring Nicole Scherzinger, instead of the previous Pussycat Dolls, which has reportedly caused further tension.

Several songs from the album, which was originally scheduled for release two years ago, ended up on the Doll Domination album last year.
Melody, who often has her own solo segment in the Dolls' previous singles, made her feelings known on stage in her native Phoenix, Arizona in April, when the group were supporting Britney Spears.
As each Doll introduced herself, Melody said: 'I want to give a shout out to my family. Thank you for supporting me...even though I'm not featured.
'Don't give up on your dreams. Don't let anybody stop you - ever.'
After her on-stage outburst, she was given an enthusiastic high-five by redhead Jessica.
Writing on her Twitter micro-blogging page, Melody later said: 'You don't have to take the advice, but to all those who wish to be in the industry, don't sacrifice your integrity. Takes longer, worth the wait.
'Its so funny to me sometimes how nuts people in the music industry are.
'I will maintain by remaining the same, you will just wear yourself out.'

Dolls invasion: Nicole walks the beach with bandmate Ashley Roberts

The race comes at the end of a difficult season for Lewis who has been playing second fiddle to fellow Brit Jensen Button in this year's Formula 1 Championship, and hasn't managed to win a single race.
While Lewis was missing from Nicole's beach jaunt, onlookers would no doubt have been surprised to see her enjoying the company of bandmate Ashley after months of rumoured conflict within the group.
It is believed Nicole is planning to leave the Pussycat Dolls to focus on her solo career and finally release her long-delayed debut album My Name Is Nicole

Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger leaves beau Lewis Hamilton behind as she enjoys beach break with bandmate

The singer has rarely left her boyfriend’s side in recent months, but their was no sign of the 24-year-old who is preparing for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone next week.
















Bikini fit: The 30-year-old does her best
Baywatch impression as she jogs along the beach .

Pussycat Doll Nicole Scherzinger leaves beau Lewis Hamilton behind as she enjoys beach break with bandmate

Pussycat Dolls singer Nicole Scherzinger showed off her toned body as she took a dip in the sea in Hawaii.
The 30-year-old, who is dating Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton, turned heads in a multi-coloured bikini as she soaked up the sun on Waikiki Beach.
Nicole was all smiles as she sun-bathed with bandmate Ashley Roberts and ran along the beach before the group took to the stage in Honolulu.

'I just started working out now so I'm getting better.'

'I just started working out now so I'm getting better.'
The U.S. actress, who dates former Beverly Hills 90210 star Brian Austin Green, spoke of her chemistry with Transformers co-star Shia Labeouf.
'I just always want to hold him and take care of him and make sure he's happy and safe and kiss him on his forehead,' she revealed

Megan Fox shows off her fabulous figure in revealing red gown... and her garish tattoos

The 23-year-old claims she didn't work out before filming the movie - and only now is she ditching the junk food for a healthier way of life.
'I'm a big sugar addict and junk food addict and just recently started trying to be a really healthy-type human being,' she told the Insider.
'Honestly, my bodyweight and muscle tone fluctuates constantly. I wasn't super ripped or in shape in that movie.

Dressed down: Megan was less glamorous as she strolled in Paris the day before

Dressed down: Megan was less glamorous as she strolled in Paris the day before

Dressed down: Megan was less glamorous as she strolled in Paris the day before

The tattoos were on show as the brunette actress revealed her long limbs and toned body in a slit to the thigh asymmetrical red dress.
The inkings are two of the eight on her body - and if U.S. reports are to be believed, she could soon have many more.
Megan is apparently planning on getting a tattoo sleeve - where her arm would be completely covered in the etchings.
But her mother Darlene is begging her to reconsider - fearing the body art will put off movie bosses and jeopardise her career.
A source told the National Enquirer: 'She has never understood why her daughter would want to cover her gorgeous body with tattoos.
'After each new tattoo, Darlene pleaded with Megan not to get more. Darlene believes that when Megan is a 40-year-old woman wanting to play more mature roles, people won't want to hire her because it will be too hard to cover her tattoos.'
But as Megan walked the red carpet at the Berlin premiere of Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen her tattoos didn't stop the hordes of fans clamouring for her autograph.

'I just want to take care of him': Megan and her co-star Shia LaBeouf

Megan Fox shows off her fabulous
figure in revealing red gown...
and her garish tattoos

Megan Fox shows off her fabulous figure in revealing red gown... and her garish tattoos

Megan Fox looked the image of physical perfection as she arrived for the German premiere of the new Transformers film last night.
The only thing to mar her beauty were the unsightly tattoos on show - including a four-inch one showing Marilyn Monroe on her right arm.
Her dress also revealed another on her

Boyle hope after missed concerts

Britain's Got Talent tour organisers are hoping Susan Boyle will perform in Glasgow later after she pulled out of two concerts in Manchester on Sunday.

A spokesman said Boyle, 48 - runner-up in ITV1's talent show - had been advised to rest "following three sensational performances".
She performed in Birmingham on Friday night before appearing in matinee and evening shows in Sheffield on Saturday.
She was treated for exhaustion at The Priory in London after the TV show.
Concert-goers at the Manchester Evening News Arena arrived to find notices announcing Boyle would not perform at either of the scheduled matinee or evening shows.
"She sends her sincere apologies to her fans for not appearing in Manchester," her spokesman said.
He added Boyle had not been ruled out of the rest of the 21-date tour, and it was hoped she would return to the stage in her home country on Monday.
The singer performed renditions of I Dreamed A Dream from Les Miserables and Memory from Cats on the opening night of the tour.
But the next day in Sheffield she appeared to stumble over the words to Memory and received a mixed reaction from the audience.
The crowd in Manchester booed after Britain's Got More Talent presenter Stephen Mulhern told the audience Boyle would not be performing before a video clip of her "journey" was played on stage.
Ticket holders had the option of a refund if they decided they did not want to watch the show - but a spokesman for the MEN arena said only seven people asked for their money back over the course of two shows.
The arena tour, which will travel across the UK until the end of June, showcases winning act Diversity plus some of the other finalists and semi-finalists, including Boyle.

Renee Zellweger reveals her favourite Aussie haunt

Hollywood stars often speak fondly of Australia after visiting on promotional trips or holidays.
They praise the friendliness of the locals, the beauty of Sydney Harbour, Melbourne's great coffee and restaurants and scuba diving on the Great Barrier Reef.
Renee Zellweger is different.
"I love going to Woronora," said Zellweger, revealing her favourite Australian haunt.
Woronora, in Sydney's Sutherland Shire, isn't known for Hollywood celebrities. Set in a picturesque valley with a river running through it, Woronora is also a known fishing spot and popular with bushwalkers.
Some members of Texas-born Zellweger's family live in the southern suburb and she loves to drop in during Australian visits for backyard barbecues.
It is a long way from the red carpets and Academy Award ceremonies for the three-time nominee, who won in 2004 for her supporting performance alongside Nicole Kidman in Cold Mountain.
"They live on the river," Zellweger said of her relatives.
"My uncle is a hell of a cook. My Aunty Jo just had her 90th birthday."
In Zellweger's latest film, the romantic comedy New in Town, she plays a character also taken out of her regular glitzy environment.
The 39-year-old plays Miami-based high-powered executive Lucy Hill who is dispatched to New Ulm, a small town in Minnesota, to fix one of her company's underperforming businesses.
Her job is to slash the workforce.
"She's so determined to be successful and appear successful and in control," Zellweger said.
But the townspeople, including a local union boss played by Harry Connick Jr, thaw the ice queen.
New in Town opens in Australia on March 5.

Kidman and Urban's lonely Sundays

Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman called their daughter Sunday to celebrate family life.
The country music star and his actress wife who gave birth to Sunday Rose last July chose the unusual name because they dreaded Sundays before they married in 2006.
Keith told US talk show host Ellen DeGeneres: "Particularly when you don't have someone in your life, in my experience, Sunday was the loneliest day. Everyone goes with their families and if you don't have a family, you don't have anybody. It went from being sort of the most dreaded day of the week for us to being the most joyous day, because we just had a family."
Keith, 41, also confessed both he and Nicole were relieved their daughter - who was born on a Monday - didn't arrive into the world on a Sunday as they feared people would think that was why they had chosen the name.
Keith - who lives in Nashville with Australian actress Nicole - added: "Sunday is wonderful. There is not too much talking yet. Although it's her version of it, I guess."
"When she does talk I think she'll say things like Good day, ya'll'. She'll have a nice mix of accent."

Gossip mags take aim on home shores

When Hollywood fails to deliver explosive news - weddings, divorces and baby bumps - the Australian gossip magazines have two choices.
This week Woman's Day and New Idea choose to focus on Australian sporting couples, both going into raptures with the news that Grant Hackett and his sometime pop-singer wife, Candice Alley, are expecting twins.
WD proudly champions its story as an exclusive (read, paid) interview, leaving NI scrambling to stake a claim on the story - sans interview - quoting a "friend" of the couple.
The two titles also run photos of Bec Hewitt with her children at a hotel pool. Just weeks after hinting that the Hewitt marriage was on the rocks, WD now says Bec finds motherhood "a breeze".
The same cannot be said for Nicole Kidman. According to WD, the celebrity mum's fears for the safety of baby Sunday Rose are "controlling her life". Kidman's "crippling" case of mother-worry is evidenced by photos of her carrying Sunday on her hip.
As WD and NI settle for close-to-home stars, Famous and NW take the opposite tack.
For these titles, a slow news week in Hollywood means just one thing: time to dig out another photo gallery of waifs and fatties.
In Famous, an emaciated Mischa Barton is pictured getting out of a car - a sign that "eating seems to have taken a back seat" in her life. Meanwhile NW runs a gallery of figures helpfully accompanied by the number they weigh on the bathroom scales, from 44kg for Victoria Beckham to 100kg for Beth Ditto.
NW also has a "baby surprise". Nicole Ritchie, pictured, is having twins, a close friend claims.
A waif with two buns in the oven? It's a gossip magazine editor's dream.

Dark days of Kidman marriage

'We had to bare our souls' ...
Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban.

FOR most couples, the honeymoon period lasts for at least three months, but Nicole Kidman has admitted that her country singer husband Keith Urban's battle with the bottle sent their fledgling union into a tailspin.
"We were thrown into his alcohol problems three months into the marriage and that was big," the 41-year-old actress told the Daily Mail newspaper in London as the couple prepared to leave Australia for the US with their baby, Sunday Rose.
She said Urban had admitted his problem and spent time in rehabilitation, which made their relationship stronger. "We became the closest we could become because we had to bare our souls. We did 10 years of marriage in just three months. When the addiction takes control of someone's life, it's terrifying. But there is hope, and we work on it every day."
Kidman, Urban and nine-month-old Sunday Rose spent last week at their $6.5 million Southern Highlands estate. They left for the US city of Nashville on Friday.
Kidman said she enjoys the laid-back charm of the town. "We lead a very easy, simple life there, and that suits me much better these days. As I get older, I have a real need to be around nature."
During her previous marriage to Tom Cruise, the couple adopted two children, Isabella, 16, and Connor, 14. However, giving birth to Sunday Rose in her 40s has given her a greater sense of her own mortality, she said.
"It's bittersweet," she said. "I want to be around to see Sunday Rose's 21st birthday . . . My relationship with death used to be far more ambivalent . . . now it feels much more important for me to stay in the world."

Brangelina censor tell-all book

Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have stopped their former bodyguard releasing a tell-all book.
The couple - who have been dating for four years and raise six children together - hired top US and UK lawyers to prevent Mickey Brett revealing details of their private lives in a novel and TV show.
The book proposal would have been based around Brett's first-person account of his years protecting a number of Hollywood stars, including Sandra Bullock, Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman, Sylvester Stallone and Richard Gere, according to the New York Daily News newspaper.
Marty Singer, Brad and Angelina's US litigator, says Brett was bound by a confidentiality agreement and is legally not allowed to comment.
He also claimed Brett is a "pathological liar" and revealed he has been convicted of 11 different crimes.
Brett has denied trying to sell stories.
He claims he had not given the project the all-clear, and says most of the tales were created by his ghost writer Robin McGibbon.
Brett's lawyers said: "Our client disputes what has apparently been said by Mr. Singer, but is not in a position to comment further at this stage."
However, McGibbon insists the bodyguard is lying.
He explained: "Mickey was definitely going to consider a book or TV deal if the offer was good enough. But at this point, there's not going to be any book."

Motherhood madness

Hold onto your bassinets, it's breeding season in Hollywood. In the world of tattle-rags, all women, no matter their career goals or marital status, harbour one ambition; that of beautiful, bucolic motherhood. With Mother's Day looming, the magazines have turned to the mums and want-to-be mums of celebrity land.
Famous sets the bar high with reports that Jennifer Aniston plans to adopt a baby boy. A friend says the actress has splashed out almost $500,000 on a nursery at her Hollywood mansion and has chosen a name for the child: Nicholas, in honour of her Greek heritage. The middle name, John, is in honour of her father, the magazine is at pains to point out, and not her love-rat ex-boyfriend John Mayer.
Of course, she has only made this decision following a heart-to-heart with her other ex, Brad Pitt, who we all know is something of an expert in overnight fatherhood, having acquired - through adoption or natural means - no fewer than six children since leaving Aniston for the baby-crazy Angelina Jolie in 2005.
Perhaps Aniston could also have a heart-to-heart with Home And Away starlet Ada Nicodemou. In New Idea's Mother's Day special, the actress reveals that for her, motherhood "definitely won't be this year". Like Aniston, the as-yet childless Nicodemou has started to stock up on baby clothes and has chosen some "traditional Greek family names".
The joys of motherhood come with their own set of problems. First and foremost is the conundrum of holding onto your man, in order to make more babies. Nicole Kidman is a case in point. In Woman's Day a sleepy-looking Kidman is pictured stepping out for a morning coffee and newspaper with hubby Keith Urban. The mag says Kidman's "frosty" expression and "chilly looks" towards her husband - illustrated with helpful arrows - are due to one thing: Kidman is mad about Urban's upcoming concert tour playing havoc with her breeding plans.
And the complications don't stop once a woman is impregnated. Nicole Richie may have managed to get up the duff a second time to her boyfriend, Joel Madden, but as NW points out, a second pregnancy means another nine months of feeling "fat and frumpy", two factors certain to drive Madden into the arms of other keen breeders.

Kidman sells house at discount

Nicole Kidman has sold her Darling Point villa almost a year to the day since she listed it for sale with price hopes of about $20 million.
While secrecy shrouds the precise details, the sale price is about $6 million less than its listing price - a discount of 30 per cent.
Kidman, 41, received several offers on the Yarranabbe Road property during the past two weeks, including an offer of about $12 million from Michael Hannan, former owner of the Wentworth Courier newspaper. However, agent Bill Bridges confirmed that Mr Hannan is not the successful buyer of the house, which has been Kidman's Sydney abode since 1995 when she was married to actor Tom Cruise.
The Oscar-winning actress decided to sell the hillside property - which has no lawn and limited gardens - because it is not suitable for a small child.
After the birth of Sunday Rose, Kidman's daughter with country music singer husband Keith Urban, the pair splashed out $6.5 million for Bunya Hill, a 45-hectare rural estate at Sutton Forest in the Southern Highlands.
The American-based couple's main residence in Nashville is on a farm. Last month, when Kidman and Urban flew to Australia with Sunday Rose for an Easter family reunion, they shunned the Darling Point residence and headed straight to Bunya Hill.

Nicole Kidman splashes out on Sydney penthouse apartment

Nicole Kidman and husband Keith Urban have splashed out $6 million on the penthouse apartment in Latitude at Milsons Point.
The 21st floor penthouse was sold by Wizard founder Mark Bouris whose family company bought it off the plan in 2005 for $4.75 million as an investment.
It marks a return to Kidman's North Shore childhood roots, and puts her just four kilometres from the Greenwich residences of her parents, Antony and Janelle, and sister, Antonia.
The 420-square metre penthouse occupies the top two floors of the converted 1960s Sharp office block.
There are 101 units in the Lavender Street complex including three on its top level.
With a 180-degree harbour and city skyline panorama, the penthouse has three bedrooms, three bathrooms and extensive open-plan living areas opening to wide terraces.
The current $3500-a-week renters are required to vacate next month.
Kidman's first Sydney property was an $81,000 unit on Military Road, Mosman.
The Nashville-based Kidman recently secured about $13 million for her Darling Point villa which was listed last May with hopes of $20 million. It had been her principal Australian abode since 1995.
They briefly owned a two-storey Walsh Bay apartment, but didn't stay longer than 20 months. The couple maintain a Sutton Forest, Southern Highlands, retreat.

Top ten highest paid models

Gisele Bundchen is the highest-earning model in the world. The Brazilian beauty has topped the list compiled by Forbes.com for the third year running after making an impressive $US25 million ($31 million) from June 2008 to June 2009.Despite raking in a fortune, Gisele - who married American football star Tom Brady in February - has been hit by the global economic crisis, making $US10 million ($12 million) less than in the previous financial year.However, the 28-year-old catwalk queen still has lucrative campaigns with Versace, Dior, True Religion jeans and Ebel watches. She also has her own successful shoe line.Heidi Klum finished in second place with $US16 million ($20 million), earning $US2 million ($2.5 million) more than the previous financial year.The 35-year-old German-born star’s career has continued to prove lucrative thanks to her ongoing TV and product endorsement deals.Heidi hosts Germany’s Next Top Model and Project Runway and is a model for Victoria’s Secret lingerie company. She also promotes Diet Coke, Volkswagen, LG, a range of Birkenstock sandals and her own skincare line In An Instant.Kate Moss has retained third place with $US8.5 million ($10.6 million), earning $US1 million ($1.2 million) more than the previous financial year.The 35-year-old British beauty has enjoyed ongoing success with her fashion lines for UK high street chain Topshop and also renewed several of her high-profile endorsement campaigns.Chris Gay, president of Marilyn Agency which represents fourth-placed Adriana Lima, believes the top earning models are successful because they are versatile.Gay said: “Companies are searching for a face that won’t muddle their message. The models that possess that beauty are the faces everyone wants right now. But that is a rare beauty.”The top five models - Gisele, Heidi, Kate, Adriana Lima and Doutzen Kroes - remain the same as last year.Orlando Bloom's girlfriend Miranda Kerr has risen to ninth place after entering the list at number 10 last year. The Australian star earned $US3 million ($3.75 million) after landing several deals, which included starring in a swimsuit campaign for Victoria’s Secret.Thanks to Bang! Showbiz

Kidman's adoption plans

MAGWATCH
The big news this week is that botox causes infertility - although not in so many words. Instead, New Idea splashes with an "exclusive special report" from Vietnam about Nicole Kidman's plans to adopt a war orphan from Ho Chi Minh City.
"Nicole and Keith have probably said they would like a healthy child," it writes of Kidman's baby hankering. "When New Idea visited orphanages in Vietnam, we found many kids were disabled." There is no byline on the story, but the careful sourcing would suggest John Pilger is back among the Vietcong.
Elsewhere in the rag there is news of "Sad Lara" - not a Cat Stevens song for bogans but the tribulations of life as Lara Bingle, who is apparently at the centre of a wives-and-girlfriends saga threatening to tear the Ashes tour apart. Bingle failed to turn up to a pre-Ashes counselling session on the Sunshine Coast last week - an obvious snub to the other WAGs, who were forced to shop at Kookai and use Hyatt umbrellas on their own.
Over at Woman's Day news is breaking that Oprah Winfrey is overweight. Speculation is also mounting that she is black and plans to host a daytime chat show. More troubling than that is the magazine's exclusive on "the credit crunch prince".
Pictures of Prince Charles wearing a pair of black shoes last week beside pictures of him wearing a pair of black shoes in 1968 are proof the well-eared royal has not been shopping for 41 years. The pictures go on - the same hat, the same coat, the same kilt - but strangely no mention of the fact he has been having it off with the same woman since well before he married Diana. Perhaps the man just doesn't like change.
In NW the cover story spruiks stars without stylists - and has proof that Tori Spelling looks crazy with or without make-up. But the bigger story is its double page spread on "size zero mums".
Pictures of Ashlee Simpson and Jessica Alba suggest they are now small enough to share their babies' Bonds jumpsuits. But the inset photo of Alba leaning over suggests a greater worry - a spine so pronounced she is at risk of being kidnapped by an invertebrate militia of slugs and sea cucumbers.
That would leave her daughter Honor at risk of being taken by the Kidmans. Unless she is disabled. Apparently the Kidmans don't like that.

Kidman denies Vietnam adoption

Nicole Kidman has denied she and her husband Keith Urban are seeking to adopt a child from Vietnam, labelling the claims made in an Australian magazine as "rubbish".
The front cover of New Idea magazine this week pointed to a story about Kidman's planned adoption of a baby boy, with the article stating the star couple had contacted the Vietnamese government, via the US embassy, to discuss an adoption.
However, Kidman's Australian publicist Wendy Day said the story was completely untrue.
Ms Day said she had been unable to speak to Kidman, who is in New York, until late on Monday Sydney time.
"So I had to wait until they woke up last night to ask the question to absolutely be sure because I'm in Australia and they're there," Ms Day told AAP.
"Nicole has come back and said that it's a complete fabrication, it's completely untrue. It's rubbish.
"They have never spoken to anybody in that regard - in regard of any form of adoption in Vietnam."
Ms Day said she was contacted on Friday by a freelance journalist, asking if she knew of a proposed adoption from Vietnam by the couple.
"I said I'd never heard of anything like that but if she felt that she wanted to go down that path, she should send me an email and I'd send it on to Nicole or ask for a comment, which she never did," Ms Day said.
"I never heard from her again."
The story also states Nicole's Australian lawyer Stuart Gibson is handling the adoption.
Ms Day said she has since spoken to Mr Gibson and was told he had never heard of such a story.
"I rang Stuart and he said he'd never had a phone call from them - from anybody at New Idea - and never heard about the story either," she said.
The story does quote a spokesman for Mr Gibson as saying: "We do not want to discuss this situation", and references the quote to an adoption.
Dang Minh Dao, deputy of the Department of International Adoption at the Ministry of Justice in Hanoi, is also quoted in the story.
"Yes, Nicole Kidman wants a baby from Vietnam. We've been approached by the American Embassy," he reportedly said.
Ms Day questioned the authenticity of the quote.
"There is no foundation anywhere that would lead this magazine coming to this conclusion," she said.
Ms Day would not speculate on whether Nicole and Keith are expecting a child or if they have commenced adoption proceedings anywhere else in the world.
Comment is being sought from New Idea.

Gowarikar's 'Jodhaa Akbar' sweeps IIFA awards

Ashutosh Gowarikar's historical love epic 'Jodhaa Akbar' swept the 10th International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards here, taking home trophies for best picture, best director and best actor for heartthrob Hrithik Roshan. The movie traces the rise of the great Mughal emperor Akbar in the 16th century in India and his romance with Hindu princess Jodhaa, played in the film by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The film showcases Akbar's marriage with the Hindu princess and how their romance shapes the course of history. The film faced stiff competition from 'Ghajini', 'A Wednesday', 'Dostana', 'Rock On' and 'Race'. Gowarikar won the best director award for his historic piece which wove together romance and communal harmony while actor Hrithik Roshan bagged the best actor trophy for the same. The movie had 10 nominations in various categories.
However, Aishwarya failed to bag the best actress trophy, which went to Priyanka Chopra for her power-packed performance in director Madhur Bhandarkar's film 'Fashion', in which she plays a small town girl who makes it big in the world of fashion. Others contenders in this category were Asin, Katrina Kaif and Bipasha Basu. "When I started this movie I was advised by all my friends not to make the film on a subject which depicted two religions coming together because the situation in the country at that point of time was not right. But I am happy that I made a film which is based on Hindu-Muslim unity," Gowariker said while accepting his award at the IIFA ceremony tonight. Oscar-winning musician A R Rahman won the best music director award for the same film. Javed Akhtar walked away with best lyricist trophy for his score 'Jashn-e-Bahara' while, Javed Ali bagged best playback singer (male) award for the same movie. After winning filmfare for best supporting role, actor Arjun Rampal scored at IIFA too for his performance as a struggling guitarist for 'Rock On'. The actor, who had forgot to mention the name of superstar Amitabh Bachchan last time did not repeat the mistake again. "Wow...I now want to thank someone whom I have always looked up to as my inspiration and that is none other than Amitabh Bachchan," said the actor before thanking his family members.

Paris Hilton spotted kissing Cristiano Ronaldo

(In this photograph provided by celebrity website TMZ, Paris Hilton and Portugese football player Cristiano Ronaldo are shown together at Hollywood nightclub Club: MyHouse. Photo: Reuters/TMZ)

Paris Hilton has been seen kissing football star Cristiano Ronaldo.
The socialite reportedly spent hours kissing the handsome sportsman after they met at Los Angeles club MyHouse on Wednesday night - less than 24 hours after she split from boyfriend Doug Reinhardt.
A source told gossip website X17Online: "Cristiano and Paris were all over each other ... His table needed every waitress in the building to service the large quantities of alcohol, and he spent in excess of $20,000 on champagne and drinks."
The 28-year-old heiress and her sister Nicky started their evening at trendy eatery Nobu, where onlookers say Paris was "visibly pining" for The Hills star Doug, who she dated for six months before they split.
A restaurant source said: "The Hilton sisters showed up at about 10.20pm and sat on the outside patio. Paris wasn't her usual chipper, chatty self - she looked absolutely miserable.
"She was clearly flying under the radar with her sister. She had a couple of cocktails and she was fiddling with her phone throughout the entire meal."
The sisters left the restaurant about 11.20pm and headed to the club. Once inside, Paris instantly made a beeline for Cristiano's table.
The pair left together at 3am, driving straight to Nicky's house in West Hollywood.