I love Andie MacDowell and one of my favorite things about her has been the fact that she looks so naturally beautiful. She’s gorgeous, she seems down-to-earth when I’ve seen her interviewed, and because she seems all natural she’s the perfect spokeswoman for L’oreal. It makes me sad, then, to see her looking all shiny and pulled at the L’oreal Legends Gala last night.

Keep in mind, though, that Andie MacDowell is fifty freaking three years old! I thought she was a hot looking 45, honestly, and I’ve covered her several times here and still had to look up her age. Some of you are going to yell at me and tell me she’s not getting anything done since she has some natural crow’s feet. She looks very waxy and fake to me, and like she’s trying to smile and can only wince. Whatever she’s doing, she hasn’t gone overboard yet and it’s possible the fillers or Botox she’s using will settle. For comparison here are two earlier photos of her. She looks different now, doesn’t she? Also, she’s shown below with her 16 year-old daughter, Sarah Margaret, she’s so pretty!

Oh and in terms of the fashion – both Andie and her daughter’s dresses are lovely. I really like Andie’s full length sparkling v-neck dress. Her daughter’s light blue chiffon gown has a subtle lace panel on the skirt and bow detail at the bodice. It’s very elegant yet sweet and age-appropriate. Sarah is going to be a stunner.

Andie In March, 2011:

In April, 2010:

Speaking of waxy, here’s Julianna Margulies in red. Her dress is ok. I don’t particularly like the way it’s draped but it’s not bad. Those shoes look orthopedic though! From the side they’re prettier with the heel, but from the front they look like sandals you’d wear around the house.

Kerry Washington wore a very ugly loose bronze dress that did nothing for her gorgeous figure. The cut is bizarre and it has some sort of scarf thing trailing down the back. I like her stacked necklaces and matching earrings though.

This woman Aimee Mullins is a double amputee and an accomplished athlete. But I have to point out that she has Wilma Flintstone hair. That dress looks like it could be a Halloween costume too.

Taraji P. Henson was so hot in form fitting blue. The shoes don’t seem to go with that dress, but I’ll overlook it.

Kelly Rutherford really bugs me for some reason. I can’t explain it really. This dress squashes her boobs and she needs to fill in those eyebrows. Looks like she filled in her cheeks pretty well.

Michael Michele is recognizable to me, but I can’t remember where I’ve seen her. IMDB reminds me that she was on “Homicide” and “ER.” She really owned the red carpet in that teal one shoulder dress. Her feet look like they’re hanging out of her shoes though. She’s another one that looks Botoxy to me. They pretty much all do. Maybe Andie MacDowell really is natural-looking – in comparison.

Most photos credit: Diane Cohen/Fame. Some photos credit: WENN.com

Julia Roberts tried to work a fitted, possibly polyester blend suit at the Larry Crowne premiere in LA yesterday. I like the tailored suit trend, but this outfit is just wrong on Julia, especially with the matching shell under the jacket. All she needed to complete this look was a silky top in a color that popped. Instead it’s all kind of monochrome except for the jade necklace, which looks like a set piece from Eat, Pray Love. Plus those pants need to be hemmed for her a little. Her hair and makeup are polished yet effortless though. I love the loose bun she’s wearing in her hair.

Also at last night’s premiere was Taraji P. Hensen in a crimson dress. It looks like Leger and I’m over that too-tight dress trend. She looks hot though. IMDB has her listed in the movie although I didn’t spot her in the trailer.

Model Selita Ebanks, not in this movie, had on a ridiculous v-neck fuschia mini dress with gemstone detail at the sides. She paired it with leopard peep toe ankle booties and gold bangle bracelets. She’s a knockout, but what a wreck that outfit is. Plus check out her rooster hair.

Jenna Elfman, another non-costar, was there in a breezy purple dress, gold kitten heels and a canary clutch. She’s cray to the z but I like her look here. My hairdresser would have something to say about her very chunky highlights, although he’d praise the cut.

Tom Hanks, Julia’s costar, wore his best freshly washed jeans with a navy dress shirt and plain jacket. His wife, Rita Wilson, tried a little harder in a sequin cocktail dress and tuxedo jacket. You would think that these two would work to coordinate more considering that they’ve been married for 22 years, but maybe Rita lets Tom do his own thing. If Tom were my man I would try to dress him better.

Tom seems to have arrived by scooter, at least part of the way. His character rides a scooter in the film and it’s doubtful that he took that thing more than a few blocks. Otherwise it might explain why he was dressed like a deliveryman.

Bonus pic – a freshly shorn Bryan Cranston with his wife Robin Dearden. This is how a couple coordinates, and apparently they’ve been together about as long as Tom and Rita.

Here’s the trailer. It looks cute but I’ll probably wait to see it on DVD. Larry Crowne is out this Friday in the US, on July 1.

Photo credit: Fame Pictures

This faux ad for Funny or Die made me laugh so hard I’m crying. It’s hysterical. I only tested it on one man, my dad (I’m visiting) and my mom, and my dad was unamused but admitted that it’s accurate. My mom thought it was just as funny as I did. So are men unamused by this ad because it hits too close to home, or was it just my dad? Guys please respond to this post and let me know if you think this is funny! Also please test it out on your men and comment.

The ad stars Oscar winning French actress Marion Cotillard along with Taraji P. Henson, Lesley Anne Warren and William Fichtner.

We don’t hear much gossip about Marion Cotillard, but there’s news that she’s set to star in a new Woody Allen film alongside Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams. The project is not yet titled and will be set in France.

Taraji P. Henson and Lamar Odom on 1/11/09. Credit: PRPhotos

The tabloids are full of stories this week that bring Khloe Kardashian’s show wedding into question. Khloe and Lamar were married after a mere month of dating, and it’s not surprising to learn that Lamar left some women in his hasty wake. First we have the news that Khloe’s new trial husband, Lamar Odom, proposed to Oscar nominated actress Taraji P. Hensen just a week before he met Khloe. Taraji and Lamar were dating earlier this year and even showed up at at an event together.

We’ve already heard from Lamar’s longterm girlfriend and the mother of his two surviving children, Liza Morales, who went on the record several times to say that Lamar was trying to reconcile with her in August, and that she was more surprised about his wedding to Khloe than anyone. Liza said Lamar is a “commitment phobe,” and called the news that he was marrying Khloe a “bombshell.”

Star Magazine has quotes from Lamar’s other longterm girlfriend, Lara Manoukin, who says she was dating the LA Lakers star for seven years right up until the time he went public with Khloe. They say that as far as Lara knew, she was still with Lamar when she heard the news that he was with Khloe. Star’s source is an “audio message posted on the Internet” allegedly by Lara, which sounds sketchy. They do explain the origin of their source, though and that’s better than the fake quotes they usually use. Star also has quotes from Lara’s stepfather explaining that his daughter broke up with Lamar after confronting him about his relationship with Khloe.

Lamar proposed to Taraji P. Hensen a week before he met Khloe

On October 2, Fox Sports Radio host Matt “Money” Smith indicated that the basketball player proposed to another star just a week before he met Khloe, but she turned him down. Matt suggested that the other woman is… actress Taraji P. Hensen, who is best known for playing Brad Pitt’s adoptive mother in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

Indeed, a close friend confirms to In Touch, “There was talk of marriage, but it’s unsure of whether he actually proposed or not.” But Lamar and Khloe’s reps insist there’s no truth to the story. “Taraji and Lamar only dated briefly earlier this year and broke up right after the Oscars,” says his rep.

[From In Touch, print edition, October 19, 2009]

Lamar had a girlfriend of seven years who was blindsided by his marriage to Khloe

Jaw dropped when Khloe Kardashian married Lamar Odom after knowing him for only 32 days. And no one was more shocked than Lara Manoukian – Lamar’s girlfriend of seven years! Amid rumors he was cheating, the L.A. jewelry designer went to Miami to get away from it all. But when she flipped on the TV, the truth was staring her in the face: a news segment on E! focusing on Khloe and the new man in her life, Lamar!

“My heart is destroyed,” Lara, 29, later told an unidentified friend in an audio message posted on the Internet. “I treated that fool like a king… from cooking to cleaning his place, anything you can think of, I’ve done for that man… This dude has lost his mind!”…

Her stepfather, Harry Diramarian, tells Star exclusively that the L.A. Lakers forward, 29, cheated on his stepdaughter repeatedly. “After Lara saw that Lamar was dating Khloe, she confronted him, which ended in a big blowout between them. That was the last time Lara saw him,” he reveals.

[From Star Magazine, print edition, October 19, 2009]

As we reported Wednesday, Khloe and Lamar’s wedding wasn’t official and their lawyers are only in the preliminary stages of hammering out a prenuptial agreement, which could take weeks. It looks like Lamar has a long history of making promises to women he can’t keep, and I doubt Khloe will be any different. Even if these two make it legal Lamar will probably have a couple of other women he’s stringing along at any given time.

Lamar is shown outside of Mr. Chow with Khloe, who is holding her hand conspicuously up to show her giant rock, on 10/1/09. Credit: RHS/WENN.com. He is also shown shopping at Kitson on 10/6/09. Credit: Michael Wright/WENN.com

Brad Pitt is such a good son to his “mama” Taraji P. Henson. It sounds more and more like Brad is well-aware that he and Angie won’t be taking home any gold at the Oscars, but Brad is still really hopeful for Taraji and her Best Supporting Actress nomination. When the nominations came out, both Brad and director David Fincher were most excited about Taraji’s nomination.

All of this is according to a new interview with OK! Magazine. Taraji even talks about how she and Angelina get along so well they’re now looking for a film to do together! OK! has more:

It sounds like the most nail-biting moment for Brad Pitt on Oscar night won’t be when his category is read out – at least, not if his reaction to the nominations is anything to go by.

His co-star in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Taraji P. Henson, says that Brad and producer David Fincher were more excited about her getting her first Academy Award nomination than they were about their own.

“As soon as they introduced the movies Brad and Fincher ran back to the hotel, and they ran in the room,” Taraji, who played Brad’s mother in the movie, told OK! at a party in New York hosted by Tuppeware.

“They didn’t ask if the movie got nominated, if they got nominated – they were like, “did Taraji get it, did Taraji get it? Then they immediately started jumping up and down.

“Brad sent me an e-mail saying, “Hey mama – job well done, you so deserve it.”

“I was like, “I’ll always be Brad Pitt’s mama!”

And Taraji said that she clicked with Brad significant other, Angelina Jolie, just as much as him – so much so that they’re hoping to work together.

“Oh they are darling, darling, darling – I love her. We’re trying to get a film together.”

“We’re talking about it. We’re bouncing around ideas. She’s busy for the next like year and a half. So, I’m just trying to get right behind that.”

From OK! Magazine

There are some big hopes being placed on Taraji’s shoulders. Statistics guru Nate Silver predicts that she’ll win, and out of all the major awards Benjamin Button is nominated for, Taraji has the best shot. It would be a heart-warming story too – Taraji has gone through some real personal struggles. Her son’s father was murdered, and Taraji used to live on welfare. I’m kind of hoping Taraji takes home the gold!

Taraji Henson is shown at the “Women in Film’s 2nd Annual Pre-Oscar Cocktail Party” on 2/19/09, Credit: WENN/Fayes Vision, and at the “Essence Black Women In Hollywood Luncheon” earlier that day. Header image of Taraji at the ACE Awards on 2/15/09. Angelina Jolie is shown at the BAFTA Awards on 2/8/09. Credit: WENN

Taraji P. Henson is so cool, it hurts. The Academy Award-nominated star of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button claims that being single mother of a teenage boy prepared her for the role of playing Brad Pitt’s mother. She and Pitt became close on the film set, so much so that Brad even asked Taraji to come over and meet the twins. Taraji had to beg off, because she’s so busy promoting Button.

Not to say that Taraji and Brad don’t hang out. Taraji tells USA Today about a time when several of her girlfriends came to town and wanted to meet Brad Pitt. So what did Taraji do? She called Brad up, of course. And he came! Taraji says Brad came over, hung out with her and her friends, and they all had a good time. She also says that Brad hung out with her teenage son, Marcel, and the two boys got along very well. Just another day in the life for Brad, the man Taraji calls “the best son a mother could want.” USA Today has more:

So let’s say Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie invite you over to meet their infant twins, Knox and Vivienne. It could well be the most coveted offer in Hollywood. And Taraji P. Henson knows it.

“I’ve been so busy and haven’t had the chance to do that yet,” says Henson, who plays Pitt’s adoptive mother in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

It has been a whirlwind few months for Henson, 38. Benjamin Button, a nearly three-hour saga about a man who ages backward and is raised by Henson’s character after she finds the geriatric newborn on her doorstep, has earned acclaim and nominations. All the attention Henson is getting as Queenie hasn’t gone to her head, says the gabby and self-deprecating actress.

“I’m still kind of numb. I’m waiting for someone to say, ‘Wake up!’ I’m just really excited about it, and trying to enjoy each and every moment,” she says. “But at the end of the day, I’m still TJ. That’s what my family used to call me, and they still do.”

“Besides, I haven’t gotten any calls from Spielberg yet. Or George Lucas. Still waiting.”

Henson got notice for playing a prostitute in 2005′s Hustle & Flow, but she was nowhere near a household name when director David Fincher had her read for the part of Queenie.

She knew Pitt was attached to play Button, so “I didn’t think I had a real shot. I thought they had an offer out to a big celebrity.”

But Fincher, who had seen Hustle, says that all along, “we wanted somebody who had unparalleled energy. Aside from energy, which is obvious in everything she has done, she’s compassionate. When she was done reprimanding this tiny old man, you could go, ‘She’s doing it out of love.’ If he’s believable as this tiny little gnome man and she’s believable as someone who cares about him, that’s all we would need.”

He has noticed how much she is enjoying her turn in the spotlight.

“I’ve never known Taraji to shy from attention,” Fincher says. “This kind of attention can be a soul-suck if you don’t have a lot to give, but she has so much to give. She’s not afraid of anything. She’s not a pushover.”

Acting alongside one of the most famous actors on the planet sure didn’t intimidate her. She jokingly calls Pitt “the best son a mother could want.” She met Jolie and most of their brood. And Pitt has hung out with her son, Marcel, 14. Her fellow nominee, she says, is “just a regular guy.”

“Three of my very best girlfriends flew into town and wanted to meet Brad Pitt. So I was like, ‘Brad, come over. My girlfriends are going crazy over you.’ He comes over, and he’s so cool. He has a way of being very warm and making people feel welcome.”

“I am a mom in real life,” she says. “Once a mom, always a mom. I try to mother my friends. It’s like riding a bike: You never forget how to be a mom.”

Marcel is the center of Henson’s world. The single mom drives him to basketball games and makes sure he has a full belly, always.

“My son gets breakfast every morning. I don’t buy cereal. Sometimes he wants scrambled eggs. Sometimes he’ll have bacon. Or pancakes. He gets home-cooked meals every day,” she says. “Even if I have a 5 a.m. call, I’ll cook and leave his food in the microwave before I leave. You expect a child to succeed and do well in school, but how are they going to do that if they have no brain food?”

From USA Today

Doesn’t Taraji sound like a really cool woman? Taraji’s son’s father was murdered more than a decade ago, and she seems to have made the best out a horrible situation. It’s got to be difficult to be a single, working mother in addition to an African-American actress trying to have a career in Hollywood. I hope she and Brad stay friends, and that he helps her in any way he can. It’s what good sons do!

Taraji Henson is shown at the NAACP Image Awards on 2/12/09. Credit: PRPhotos

Oscar-nominated for her role in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Taraji P. Henson would seem to be on a career-high. Then she gave a very humble interview where she said that even though she’s Oscar-nominated this year, she’s still struggling to find work. Now more of Taraji’s personal story of struggle, murder and hard work is being told.

Taraji was in her third year as a theatre major at Howard University when she became pregnant by her boyfriend, William Johnson. Taraji didn’t drop out of school when she became pregnant, instead finishing her degree. Her son Marcel was born in 1995. His father was brutally murdered in 1997. Star magazine has more:

Taraji P. Henson is earning accolades as Brad Pitt’s mother in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, but her real-life story of being a single mom who had to overcome poverty and the murder of her son’s father to make it in Hollywood is even more compelling.

In the Feb. 23 issue of Star — on sale now — we detail the actress’ rough road to stardom, including how she became pregnant by her then-boyfriend William Johnson during her junior year as a theater major in college. The driven mom-to-be continued to perform in school productions — including singing and dancing in Dreamgirls during her second trimester — in hopes of becoming a working actor.

An unexpected pregnancy was one of many challenges, we report in our story. Her son Marcell’s father was violently murdered — and Taraji found herself struggling, so she went on welfare. Fortunately, she had enough strength to see them both through those dark days and her efforts paid off — she’s up for a best supporting Oscar for her Button role on Feb. 22 and 14-year-old Marcell is blossoming in high school.

“Taraji is a wonderful person and an excellent mother,” Marcell’s grandmother, Magrissa Johnson — William’s mom — tells Star.

From Star Magazine

Last night Taraji won the NAACP Image award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in Benjamin Button. She is an award-winning actress with an incredible personal story, one that should have been told weeks, if not months ago. I’m serious – if more people had known, she would have been a shoo-in for the Oscar. The Academy loves to give Oscars to people with this kind of personal story of hard work, struggle and trauma. At the very least, I hope she’s an actress we see a lot more of in the years to come.

Taraji Henson is shown at the NAACP Image Awards on 2/12/09. Credit: WENN

My only exposure to Taraji P. Henson was through various red carpet interviews, and my only opinion of her was that she’s a real sweetheart. She’s cute as a button (get it?) and she seems genuinely thrilled with her acting nominations for playing the adoptive mother of Brad Pitt in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, topped off by her Oscar nomination this week for Best Supporting Actress. She sat down for an interview at CBS to talk about Button, God’s sense of humor and how she found out about her nomination.

Taraji P. Henson, who played Benjamin’s adoptive mother, Queenie, got a nod for Best Supporting Actress. Benjamin was portrayed by Brad Pitt, who was nominated in the Best Actor category.

And Henson told co-anchor Julie Chen on The Early Show Friday playing Pitt’s adoptive mother isn’t “what I imagined I’d be doing when I starred with Brad Pitt. So I know now God has a sense of humor!”

Henson says she was asleep when she got the word she’d been nominated. “I was asleep,” she says. “I was comatose. … I have a great group of friends, and they knew that I was gonna to be angst. And they took me out the night before for a fabulous dinner. And then we went out for music and dancing just so I could have a light night and not think about it. And the tactic worked, because I got home. I was wiped out. And I was knocked out.”

Then her manager called at 5:30, “and I knew it had to be good news. ‘Cause what idiot would call me at 5:30 with bad news?!”

Henson says she hadn’t even mulled winning. “I couldn’t go there yet. I was still dealing with, ‘Wow! A dream has come true!’ Because that’s every actor’s dream. When you say, ‘I want to be an actor,’ everybody thinks about Old Oscar.”

“I wish everybody could be like Queenie,” Henson replied. “Incredible. I actually pay close attention to my grandmother, my mom, and I have four other aunts. And they’re all, you know, we had a get-together. There was a woman there to represent every age. I just sat back and watched. What was so beautiful is that they all embraced age. You know, this film deals a lot with aging. In this industry, it can be really hard on women as we age. I just found that so refreshing. That they showed that it gets better with time.”

Queenie ages 50 years in “Button,” and Henson says that was “Fun, because I know I’ll never look like that at 71. My grandmother’s 84 and she looks nothing like that. (She’s) beautiful. She barely has wrinkles on her face…Well, beauty comes from the inside out. (Queenie)’s a woman who embodied unconditional love. And what’s not beautiful about love?”

From CBS News

Henson’s been everywhere this week, and for good reason – she doesn’t have a job. Even as she diligently promotes her film and herself, she admits that her career’s in a tough place. Much of it may not be her fault – with SAG contract negotiations in a constant state of flux, many projects are being held back or abandoned. Add to that the constant struggle for actresses of color, and even an Oscar nomination isn’t a guarantee of work.

Oscar-nominated actress Taraji P. Henson is desperately searching for her next role – because there are no movie offers on the horizon.

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button star is up for the Best Supporting Actress gong at this year’s (09) Academy Awards.

And she is shocked at the announcement she has made the shortlist, as her work offers have dried up since she finished shooting the film.

Asked by the Daily Beast website if she is inundated with new roles, she says: “Actually… no. I can’t wait to write my memoir someday and talk about this moment in my life – my name is being bounced around the Oscars, Golden Globes, and all these awards, it’s incredible. And I don’t have a job. Nothing.”

“The industry is really slow right now because of the pending strike, so I am at a standstill. It’s funny that I have all these things going on and no work in sight. It’s very shaky out here.”

From contactmusic.com

As I was researching Henson, I saw that she’s done several of those Tyler Perry movies. I haven’t seen any of them, but Perry makes one or two of those every year, doesn’t he? If Taraji is part of Perry’s ensemble of actors, she might be guaranteed work very soon. If not that, perhaps her “son” Brad Pitt can help her out!

Taraji P. Henson is shown at that Golden Globes on 1/11/09, the Critics Choice Awards on 1/8/09 and the Palm Springs Film Festival on 1/8/09.