Maggie Gyllenhaal had an early taste of what it's like to be a famous new mom when some paparazzi reported a fake fire at the actress' apartment block – just so she'd come out into the street with her baby.
“The paparazzi were just really awful to us,” the actress told the Los Angeles Times. “I mean, they called the fire department and told them there was a fire in our little, tiny building in the West Village (New York) so that we would have to come outside with a 5-day-old baby.”
The bogus fire alert almost led Gyllenhaal to turn down the role of Rachel Dawes in the new Batman movie, “The Dark Knight.”
“I was trying to navigate my way through that (media intrusion) when this offer came,” she told the newspaper. “I thought, 'It's going to push that stuff further probably.' But what am I going to do? I'm going to hide and not do things that are appealing to me? I'm an actress.”
THIS WON'T HURT A BIT
Actress Amanda Peet has been mea culpa-ing for calling parents who refuse to vaccinate their children “parasites” in a lifestyle and family magazine. In the latest issue of Cookie, the new mom hammered celebrities such as Jenny McCarthy and Charlie Sheen who vocally oppose vaccinations.
In an article about motherhood, the “Whole Nine Yards” star said: “There are a lot of misconceptions about the dangers of vaccinations . . . (but), frankly, I feel that parents who don't vaccinate their children are parasites.”
Peet is now backtracking after upsetting family groups with her remarks. In a statement, she said, “I believe in my heart that my use of the word 'parasites' was mean and divisive.
“I completely understand why it offended some parents, and in particular, parents of children with autism who feel that vaccines caused their illness. For this I am truly sorry. However, I still believe that the decision not to vaccinate our children bodes for a dangerous future.”
McCarthy is among those fighting vaccinations, claiming birth injections contributed to her son's autism.
AN HONORABLE BABY NAME
Aside from Gwyneth Paltrow naming her daughter Apple, what parent wants to saddle their progeny with a weird or bad name for life?
Not wild about her own handle, actress Jessica Alba said she wanted her baby's name to be not just unique, but beautiful as well. So she named her daughter Honor Marie Warren (the last name is courtesy of daddy Cash Warren). “I was always irritated that my name was Jessica,” the 27-year-old actress told OK! magazine. “Come on, it's a very '80s name, because there were tons of Jessicas in every school I went to. There's something great about having a unique name. It's a part of your identity.”
THE PRICE OF BEAUTY
In an exclusive investigative report, the National Enquirer reveals that Jennifer Aniston's expenditure on beauty products exceeds the gross national product of numerous Third World countries. The 39-year-old “Friends” alum, who continues to go steady with 30-year-old rocker John Mayer, spends $20,000 a month on such necessities as private sessions with a yoga instructor and a personal trainer, organic eats from a private chef, and regular anti-cellulite spa sculpting treatments.
No comment from Jen.
– COMPILED BY CAROLINE DIPPING FROM NEWS SERVICE REPORTS
