I think most of us (especially those of us who have given birth to children of our own) can agree that it is completely ridiculous when celebrities pop out a kid and then “bounce back” to their formerly slim shapes after what seems like no time at all. Honestly, it took me at least a good six months to get back to my own pre-pregnancy weight, so it comes as quite a refreshing admission from Jenna Fischer to hear that she’s not exactly finding it an easy task to slip into her skinny jeans four months after giving birth to her first child, a son named Weston, in late September of last year. In fact, Jenna insists that not even breastfeeding has helped speed the process of losing the baby weight:

It’s been four months since Jenna Fischer gave birth, and like most new moms, The Office star is struggling to get her pre-baby body back.

“Let me please stand in solidarity with all of the women who are not a size 2 six weeks after leaving the hospital,” the 37-year-old told Us Weekly at the 18th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards in L.A. Sunday. “I thought, you read all of the stuff in magazines like, ‘Oh, I breastfed my baby and I am so skinny now.’ I am breast-feeding my baby and I am not getting any skinnier!”

“I think I’m just going to be a little bit bigger for a little bit longer,” Fischer said, “and that’s fine with me.”

The Office star wore a custom-made dress by Max Azria Atelier, which “made me look the smallest I could possibly look right now after just having had a baby,” she told Us.

Fischer, who married screenwriter Lee Kirk on July 3, 2010, said motherhood has changed her in ways she never imagined. “I love being a family. I love going from two people to three people, and it has deepened the bond between me and my husband. We love being together, the three of us. Our little unit.”

The new mom added that she was excited to get all dolled up for the star-studded event. “It took a special occasion for us to leave at first, but we have a babysitter that we really trust now, so I feel like because of that, tonight we can really relax and have fun,” Fischer told Us. “We’ll check in and make sure Weston gets to bed OK.”

[From Us Magazine]

That sucks that breastfeeding hasn’t helped Jenna lose weight. I always joked that my daughter literally sucked the life out of me during her first few months of life because breastfeeding did help me burn off some pounds, but as soon as she started a partially solid diet, I had to get back to the gym to lose the rest of the weight. For me, the trickiest part was to stop eating like a breastfeeding mother after the weaning process. Ahhh yes, I miss those days. Eating lunch for just one isn’t quite as fun, right?

Anyway, thank goodness for truly normal seeming celebrities like Jenna Fischer who have no problem admitting that they aren’t perfect. But then again, if “perfect” means looking uncomfortably thin like Posh almost immediately after giving birth, then perfection is definitely overrated.

Photos courtesy of WENN

In this, The Summer of Babies (and Bumps), I keep forgetting that some ladies are pregnant. I blame January Jones – that bitch gets pap’d every single day, and it seems like the paps aren’t interested in documenting some of the other pregnant ladies’ assorted bumps. Such it is with Jenna Fischer. I had completely forgotten that she was pregnant, that’s how long it’s been since I’ve seen a photo of her. Jenna got married to Lee Kirk last year, and she announced her pregnancy in May… which makes her, what? Six months along?

So here’s Jenna at last night’s premiere of A Little Help. Many of her Office friends came out to support her new comedy, where she’s playing a widow trying to take care of her kids when all of her neighbors think she’s a 9/11 widow? That’s seriously the plot. Er… okay. Jenna is also going to be back to playing pregnant on The Office, because this (real) pregnancy has been written into the show. Jenna told Vulture, “Pam will be pregnant when the season starts, Pam and Jim snuck away last season on Valentine’s Day, and they had sex… The story is that they conceived this baby at that time and were keeping it a secret until we come back from the summer. When we started shooting that [Valentine’s Day] episode, I thought to myself, If everything goes well, this is going to be a very, very convenient coincidence, and I think I found out I was pregnant when we were shooting that episode.”

Also: Well hello, Ed Helms.

Photos courtesy of Fame.

“The Office” star Jenna Fischer recently posed in a bikini for the cover of Shape Magazine. Fox 411 notes that she has one of those, “Wow, who knew?” bodies, and while she does look great, Shape also has a long history of airbrushing the living daylights out of people. I’m not saying Jenna doesn’t look that great, just that Self is not to be trusted in this regard.

Jenna gave a cute interview to them. Apparently they asked her to take on a 10 day challenge in which she was supposed to improve several aspects of her health. Her first decision was to day the 10 day challenge in 14 days. She’s big on being realistic. It seems Jenna has a problem with doing just one thing at a time, and that became very apparent throughout the project. Here are a few of her challenges:

When the editors of SELF pitched me the idea of doing a get-healthier-and-happier challenge, I was instantly onboard. This is going to change my life! I thought. It’s like having my own personal life coach! No sooner did I hang up than regret began to set in. Challenges? I already wake up at 5 A.M.; what more do you want from me? My brain likes to watch The Real Housewives of Orange County and pet my cat. It does not like being challenged. But I was stuck. So my first order of business was to give myself two weeks instead of the 10 days SELF suggested. Then I tackled an easy one first. —Jenna Fischer

• Make a healthy, tasty Crock-Pot meal
First thought: My boyfriend is going to love this one!
Result Ladies, if you have a Crock-Pot you got for your wedding and never use, dig it out and start cooking. This is the best invention since the microwave for busy women who want a home-cooked meal. You can make so many great things: turkey chili, pot roast, chicken breasts, ribs and my all-time favorite—Mom’s Stuffed Peppers. I prepared everything the night before, threw it in the Crock-Pot in the morning, set it on low and came home to dinner. My boyfriend adored it. We had more time to spend together that evening. Since we didn’t have to cook, it left time for hanky-panky!

• Dress in a fresh way for work
First thought: Does a hoodie count?
Result I started by looking in my closet for a pair of pants. In five years on The Office, I can count on one hand the number of times I’ve worn something other than mismatched sweats to work. I removed every pair of pants and put back only ones that fit. (I had a lot of hopeful pants in there.) I started sorting all of my T-shirts. Two hours later, my room was a disaster and it was time for bed. I haven’t finished my closet project, but I’ve learned a lot. I don’t have a good pair of black pants that fit; I don’t have a single casual skirt that isn’t five years old. Most of my T-shirts are shrunken or faded. No wonder I dress dumpy all the time! I did find an adorable pair of purple corduroy pants. I wore them to work the next day with a comfy gray sweater and a scarf.

• On a workday, go for a 20-minute jog
First thought: I hate the editors of SELF magazine.
Result My brain says, I do not want to do this. I’m tired. My feet hurt. Is that a swollen gland? Skip this challenge; they’ll never know. OK, I have to do this. How can I make it fun? I need a kick-ass iPod mix! An hour later, I had a mix and no more excuses. I went jogging. And it was awesome! I want to do this every day! I feel energized, strong, clearheaded. I alternated between jogging and power-walking, but that doesn’t matter. The point is that I got out there and didn’t stop moving. If I keep this up, I might be able to put some of those pants back into my closet!

• Reconnect with an old friend
First thought: Where do I start!
Result I called my best friend from high school, Ellen. We had lost touch in college but saw each other again at our 10-year reunion. We keep in touch with emails here and there. I called her on a Sunday. I put on my headset, and we chatted for 30 minutes while I cleaned my kitchen. It was a great conversation and reminded me of how important it is to feel a connection to those people who have known you for longer than your current success in life. The hands-free headset is the key to keeping in touch. They only cost about $20 at Target. You don’t have to choose between chatting and cleaning the kitchen. I did both!

My favorite thing about the challenges was having the opportunity to concentrate on one area of my life at a time and really examine the way I approach each. And of all the challenges, the BlackBerry embargo has had the most lasting effects. While I was shooting my latest movie in New York [Solitary Man, with Michael Douglas and Danny DeVito], I left my BlackBerry in my trailer on most days. If I did bring it to the set with me, I didn’t carry it in my pocket but left it by my chair instead. My workdays have been much less stressful because of that change. I came away from my SELF live-better challenges with a great overall lesson: one thing at a time.

[From Self]

As mentioned at the end, Jenna had to go without her Blackberry for a day and ended up really liking it. She also noted that the only challenge she didn’t complete was reading for 30 minutes – just once. She said that even when she reads, it’s always a script or something work-related. She felt guilty and like she couldn’t make time for something that would demand 100% focus and was purely for pleasure. It sounds like she’s dealing with a lot of the stresses we all face. We’ve got so much technology around – which isn’t necessarily a bad thing – but you can start to forget how much it interferes with your life. You’ve got to be hooked in and connected 24/7, and if you’re not you feel like you’re slacking.

I’m sort of surprised she chose to go the bikini route. I love Jenna to death, she strikes me as one of the few actors who’s still totally the same person as she was before she was famous. There’s nothing wrong with the bikini, it just seems unnecessary and a bit beneath her. C’est la vie.

Here’s Jenna at the Los Angeles premiere of Inglourious Basterds on August 10th. Images thanks to WENN.com .

Everything about this post is a SPOILER, so if you don’t want to read about the new season of The Office, move along.

These are some gorgeous pictures of Jenna Fischer and John Krasinski shooting scenes for the new season of The Office. It looks like Jim and Pam are getting married! And it definitely looks like Pam is sporting a maternity wedding gown. So there’s the first part of the season – Pam is definitely knocked up, and she and Jim and definitely trying to get married. Maybe they’re wedding will be marred by something douchey Michael Scott does. But I doubt it. Instead of feeling disappointed at this spoiler, I just feel excited. I can’t wait to see the wedding episode!

They made Jenna look very pretty, I think. The dress seems like a nice empire-waist gown that Pam would have gotten off-the-rack. But I can barely take my eyes off of John Krasinski. He is killing me in that suit. Does he know that he’s every girl’s imaginary “nice guy” boyfriend? Does he know that moms around the country read about him in People Magazine and tell their daughters, “This is who you should be dating!”? Unlike many of those “nice guy” imaginary boyfriends, I’ve always found John to be incredibly sexy and handsome. He’s not one of those guys who “seems nice once you get to know him”. John is tall, handsome, and his sweetness seems written on his face. He also seems like the guy you met in college. The nice guy with the bad taste in women. The guy you always wanted to date, but the two of you were “friends”. And you foolishly didn’t want to ruin your friendship with hot sex. Sigh. I love him. I would nail it. And I would make him cuddle afterwards, too. I wouldn’t just roll over and fall asleep, like I usually do. Sigh. I little Krasinki makes the day better!

Jenna Fischer is engaged! To a guy most of us have probably never heard of, but still, it’s exciting. According to People Magazine, writer Lee Kirk is the lucky guy. Lee propsed to Jenna while they were vacationing in Europe. I hope they weren’t in Paris – that’s the city where Tom Cruise proposed to Katie Holmes. I’ve got my fingers crossed for Amsterdam or Stockholm. Some place unconventional for a proposal. This will be the first marriage for Lee Kirk, and the second marriage for Jenna. She was previously married to director James Gunn. According to People, Lee and Jenna have been together since January 2008, and made their first public outing as a couple at the 2008 Emmys:

While Pam Beesly may be headed down the aisle with Jim Halpert on NBC’s The Office, her real-life alter ego is altar-bound, too – Jenna Fischer is engaged, PEOPLE confirms.

The actress, 35, got engaged to writer Lee Kirk, 37, on June 30 while both were vacationing in Europe.

Although they’ve been dating since January of last year, they stepped out publicly for the first time at the Emmy Awards in September 2008, when Fischer described Kirk to PEOPLE as “my super-cute boyfriend.”

This is the first marriage for Kirk. Fischer was previously married to director James Gunn [they divorced in July 2007].

[From People]

While I am a big fan of Jenna’s comedic talents, I tend to think people confuse her with her relatively wholesome girl-next-door character on The Office. Throughout this whole post, I’ve nearly typed in “Pam Beesley” like five times, that’s how connected Jenna is with her Office character. I bring this up because I’ve read interviews with Jenna where she comes across as pretty hardcore – she’s got a really dirty sense of humor, and a disregard for maintaining any kind of “good girl” image.

Coincidentally, I’ve always suspected there was something more to her divorce to James Gunn. Regarding her divorce, Jenna said post-split: “It’s sad, but we remain close. My husband got the dog, and I got the cat. But the dog and cat miss each other, so we must have a sleepover one of these days.” Her cat’s name is Andy (cute cat name!) and I really hope Andy gets along with Lee. What am I saying? Lee wouldn’t have made it this far if Andy the cat didn’t give him the seal of approval.

Jenna Fischer and Lee Kirk are shown at the SAG Awards on 1/25/09. Credit: WENN.com

You would never know it by watching their characters on TV, but two stars of the hit comedy “The Office” are best friends. Jenna Fischer, who plays sweet receptionist Pam, and Angela Kinsey, who plays Angela, the prim, cat-obsessed backstabber, have been helping each other through some pretty rough times over the past year. Sources say the women have leaned on each other through divorces, back injuries and even childbirth.

Actress Angela Kinsey of “The Office” is leaning on her BFF, co-star Jenna Fischer, for strength and support after separating from her husband of eight years, sources tell The Enquirer.

But not only is Jenna helping Angela cope with the split from her hubby – TV writer Warren Lieberstein – she’s even sharing the care of her 9-month-old daughter, Isabel Ruby!

“Angela has no better friend in the world than Jenna,” said a source close to the hit NBC sitcom. “Jenna is there for her 24/7, and that includes baby-sitting for Isabel.”

Jenna’s devotion to her pal should come as no surprise. She participated in Angela’s prenatal yoga classes and was even by her bedside when she gave birth to little Isabel on May 3 of last year.

For Jenna, helping Angela in her time of need was a no-brainer. Angela had been there for her after a bad fall in May 2007, in which Jenna fractured her back in four places.

“Angela was with her the entire time after the fall,” said the source. “She sat with her for hours in the hospital. She was even at her side when she went through physical rehabilitation!”

Angela also stood by her friend’s side when Jenna split with her husband of nearly six years in early September of 2007.

“It was a very difficult year for Jenna, breaking her back and then splitting with her husband,” divulged the source. “She went through a lot of pain. Angela helped Jenna through both her ordeals.”

[From The National Enquirer print version, March 9, 2009]

It’s nice to know that there are some normal women in Hollywood who have each other’s backs when things get tough. So often we read about feuding actresses in the tabloids. I guess it’s more exciting to read about, but you know what? It’s about time there were some stories about grown, mature women who take care of each other. I’d like to think that there are a lot more women like that than ones who backstab each other. Even in Hollywood.

Jenna Fischer and Angela Kinsey pose together at the 2008 Screen Actors Guild Awards. Photo credits: WENN.com

The stars were out for the premiere of He’s Just Not That Into You in Hollywood last night. Many of the female stars made risky outfit choices, with the exception of Jennifer Aniston, who donned a underwhelming black low-cut tuxedo suit with gold chains.

Drew Barrymore was goofy-looking in a short cocktail gown with a poofy bow on the bodice and her hair in a ponytail.

Scarlett Johansson wore a pink strapless down with giant flowers on it. It looked like a curtain print to me.

Jennifer Connolly showed off her legs in a very short green sequined dress with jeweled gladiator heels that seemed more like a holiday outfit.

Ginnifer Goodwin looked gorgeous in a short orange cocktail dress with a bold necklace and matching strappy heels. I love her hair and makeup.

Jenna Fischer is one of my favorite celebrities, but I’d like to see her get a new stylist. Her navy blue and black dress is too plain.

The guys goofed around on the red carpet, with Bradley Cooper giving Justin Long a hug. Kevin Connolly and Ben Affleck were both dapper in suits and were sporting some facial stubble.

He’s Just Not That Into You is out in the US this Friday, February 6. Here’s the trailer. It looks like a cute, fast-paced movie, and I usually enjoy movies like this with multiple sub plots. We’ll have to see how it does at the box office.

Thanks to Fame Pictures for these photos.

George Clooney is not going to let his girlfriend’s web-based mini scandal get in the way of a good premiere. He posed jokingly with his relatively long-lasting love, Sarah Larson, 29, on the red carpet at the premiere of his new film, Leatherheads last night. Humor author A.J. Jacobs interviewed Clooney for last month’s issue of Esquire, and their entire session consisted of Jacobs showing Clooney the criticism and sites about him on the Internet. Clooney was really low-key and mildly amused by all the crap about him online, and you can bet he got a kick out of those drunken photos of his girlfriend. Compared to the other photos on the photographer’s site, which include a lot of wasted topless women making out, the photos of Larson on all fours and sort-of bikini wrestling weren’t that bad.

Clooney has been tirelessly promoting Leatherheads, which is out in the US on April 4. He has an interview in this week’s Life & Style that includes a lot of his deadpan witty comments, like saying he likes to wear women’s clothing and shoes. He also told a funny story about how he embarrassed designer Georgio Armani by wearing one of his suits until it started looking beat. Armani sent him a new one and told him to either wear it or not credit him with designing that old thing:

Are you into fashion?
It’s not that important to me. I’ve worn the same tux so long that Georgio Armani actually sent me a new one and said, “Please either wear this or stop saying you’re wearing Armani, because it’s frayed.” I’ve basically worn this sweater for three days. It’s easier for men than for women.

Do you have sympathy for women’s fashion woes?
I do wear a lot of women’s clothes. The thing is the pumps. I have Manolos in size 11 ^1/2. They’re hard on your calves.

[From Life & Style, print edition, April 7, 2008]

As for whether he dated Renee Zellweger, to which he said “a little bit” when asked, Clooney said he was joking and that comment was overblown, but he got in trouble with Zellweger for it. He says “No” when asked if it’s true that they dated a little.

Is it true that you and Renee Zellweger dated a little?
No. Someone went through a list of girls I supposedly dated. I replied. “Yes, no, yes, no, no, never heard of her, a little bit,” as a joke. If you take the list and what I said together, it looks like I said “a little bit” about Renee. She later said to me, “A little bit?” I was like, uh-oh, I’m in trouble.

[From Life & Style, print edition, April 7, 2008]

I still think they had something going on, though.

Leatherheads is a football comedy set in the 1920s and it’s getting mixed reviews. We’ll have to see how it does at the box office.

Zellwegger looks really good at the premiere in LA last night. Her face isn’t all bright red or ghostly looking and that’s a great vintage-cut dress. Also shown are John Krasinski and Jenna Fischer. I love Jenna Fischer, she seems so down to earth. Thanks to PRPhotos for these pictures.

I never got the appeal of David Spade, because the few times I watched that terrible “Just Shoot Me” show I found him incredibly annoying. Somehow he’s managed to score with Hollywood babes including Kristy Swanson, Lara Flynn Boyle and Heather Locklear, so maybe he’s fun to be around. The latest conquest of the height-challenged comic is said to be newly separated star of “The Office,” Jenna Fischer.

The 43-year-old comedian… is now seeing The Office’s Jenna Fischer, 33! “When Jenna separated from her husband… in September, she didn’t expect to start dating right away, but she met David at a party, and he made her laugh so hard that she decided to accept his dinner invitation,” a friend tells Star. Their relationship is “just light and fun,” adds the pal.

[From Star Magazine, print edition, December 31, 2007]

Jenna Fischer plays the second wife of singer Dewey Cox in the comedy Walk Hard, which is currently out in theaters. She said that she completely ripped off Reese Witherspoon’s character in Walk the Line for the role. She blogged about the film on her MySpace right before its December 21 release date, and said that working on it was a “dream come true.” As for the content of the film, she praises her co-star John C. Reilly professionalism and warns that the film “is very raunchy and sexy and the humor is hard core,” and that “ladies, we have penis.”

I so want to make a crack about Spade’s manhood now, it would perfectly wrap up this story, but instead I’ll talk about how into Christmas Jenna Fischer is. She said she loves decorating and baking and that she has three-step Christmas cards she bought at Target. As of December 21st, she was still working on some of them. Maybe she has a new guy to kiss on New Year’s too

Update: Fischer blogged on her myspace that she’s never even met David Spade and suggested that we pair her instead with other actors she’s never met such as Orlando Bloom, Colin Farrell or Jake Gyllenhaal. I think I speak for all of us when I say that those guys should be so lucky. Our apologies for repeating this completely inaccurate story:

Over Christmas, I saw a report in Star Magazine that I’m dating David Spade. Imagine my surprise as… I’VE NEVER MET David Spade! What a milestone! My first TOTALLY 100% UNTRUE tabloid report! I’ve always been very cynical when I hear celebrities say that a story is fake. I figure SOME part of every story must be true right? NO WAY! I have no idea how they are allowed to get away with stuff like that! My publicist said that no one ever called to check the facts of the David Spade story. Which seems strange to me. I have a minor in journalism and I was told to never run a story without 2 reliable sources to back it up. But, while we are on the subject, some other people I’ve never met are: Orlando Bloom, Colin Farrell, Jake Gyllenhaal, and Brad Pitt. Maybe I can fictionally date some of those guys too?

[From Jenna Fischer's myspace]

Jenna Fischer is shown at the premiere of Walk Hard with John C. Reilly on 12/12/07. David Spade is shown at the opening of Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas on 11/9/07, thanks to PRPhotos.

There were some doozies last night at the Emmys, with Ellen Pompeo taking the crown for worst hair and makeup in a poofy updo with 60s eye makeup and pale lips. Her dress wasn’t that bad, but the gold braided accessories just added to her dated, goofy look. Hayden Panetteire of Heroes wore a peach Marc Bouwer dress made of yards of fabric. She could have smuggled a sibling into the event under that dress. The top featured a brassiere with swirled design accented by a giant broach. An apt commentor on Just Jared said it was “a bad pregnant prom dress.”

Jennifer Morrison of House tried too hard in a silver one-shoulder flapper dress slit to the upper thigh that had too many pieces accented by thick lines and somehow managed to make the slender actress look like she had a tummy. It was pretty from the waist up, but it was too complicated overall. She almost didn’t make this list, as it’s not a terrible dress. Update: After seeing more pictures of Morrison’s dress, she definitely wasn’t one of the worst dressed and doesn’t deserve to be on this list. It only looked poorly cut from certain angles.

America Fererra, Eva Longoria, and Mary Louise-Parker all made Yahoos! best dressed top ten, but I thought their dresses were unflattering. Ferrerra usually looks gorgeous, but her Monique Lhuillier dress wasn’t cut well for her figure and I don’t like the weird spangly belt. Eva Longoria looked arrogant without reason as usual in a beaded Kaufman Franco that made her boobs look like tennis balls. She paired the silver dress with weird plain tan flats heels that look suited to a day at a country club, not an awards show. Mary Louise-Parker wore a red strapless gown that was decent, but the piece at the bottom flared out oddly and it was too tight all over.

Poor newly single Jenna Fischer of The Office looked ridiculous in a gray dress with gold leaves all over it and a big ‘ol bow underneath a strange gold braided belt. Just Jared quotes her as saying “I had to wear something that wouldn’t hurt my back,” as if trying to excuse her awful choice.

Mark Wahlberg’s wife, Rhea Durham, wore a peach cap-sleeve dress with a beaded top in a nipple-look starburst pattern and long skirt. I’ve seen it before, I’m trying to remember on whom, in another color. (On Mischa Barton at the Dead Man’s Chest Pirate’s premiere, thanks Katie for the tip.) It wasn’t as unattractive in the other color from what I remember.

Edie Falco’s dress was too tight but would have been passable if it wasn’t for all the black and white beaded flowers scattered on it. The random pattern of the beading makes them look like mistakes that you want to pick off, as if she was hit by a wind filled with sticky little daisies.