I saw this story yesterday, and I was saving it for today. Y’all need some Viola Davis on Valentine’s Day, don’t you? I want V on V-Day. Viola is out promoting her new film, Beautiful Creatures, and she was asked about her V-Day plans with her husband, and how she met and fell in love. Viola’s advice to the lovelorn? Pray for a man and God will deliver!

For lonely hearts this Valentine’s Day, there is hope if you just pray for the perfect mate, according to Viola Davis.

At a premiere for her latest movie, “Beautiful Creatures,” the Oscar nominee from last year’s “The Help” told us, “I was the loneliest woman in the world, and someone said, ‘You should just pray for a husband.’ ”

She took her pal’s advice, adding, “I said I wanted a big black man from the South who looked like a football player, who already had children, who maybe had been married before . . . 3 1/2 weeks later I met my husband.”

The pair shared a scene on the television show City of Angels. “He was the anesthesiologist, Dr. Holly, and I was Nurse Lannett,” Davis told Us Weekly. “We were passing blood in a scene. He knew how lonely I was. I was out in L.A. and I hated it and he said, ‘I’ll show you around Los Angeles. I’ll show you around the Santa Monica pier.”

The couple will celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary on June 23. “We’ve been together thirteen years, and from the first day, it was magic,” Davis gushed. Tennon certainly agrees, telling Us, “She’s the sweetest woman. It’s so great to see her be all of who she is. That’s what I love about her.”

Tennon, who has two sons from previous relationships, also praised The Help star for being a “great mom” to their 2-year-old daughter Genesis, whom they adopted in October 2011.

“Sometimes she doesn’t think she is, but she’s wonderful,” he gushed. “Nobody’s perfect and I raised two kids by myself before I met my wife. I was a single father with two children for 17 years, and my wife is doing an amazing job.”

Motherhood is more fulfilling than Davis ever imagined. “Everything falls into place,” the star told Us. “My whole purpose in life has changed now, and that’s really hard for an actor. Before that it was about me. Now it’s gone.”

[From Us Weekly & Page Six]

Isn’t that a sweet story? I think Viola’s husband seems like a nice guy too – he’s a bit older than V, he had been married before, and I think he was probably jazzed to find a woman who had all of her ducks in a row, you know? Viola is awesome, and everyone needs to bow down. Even God! God was all, “Damn, I got you, girl. See if you like this guy!”

Photos courtesy of WENN.

I have to keep reminding myself that Viola Davis isn’t an Oscar winner. For whatever reason, I just have a tic about that. I really believed she was going to win the Best Actress last year for The Help, but Meryl Streep won for The Iron Lady. Which, by the way, I recently saw and it SUCKED. I love Meryl, but that film was a hot mess and the biggest problem was the script (as opposed to Meryl’s acting). Still, I guess it’s sort of a victory for Viola because most people already consider her an Oscar-winner? Maybe? At the end of the day, though, maybe Viola didn’t want to win an Oscar for playing a maid – it’s a stereotype that a lot of African-American actresses try to avoid in their careers, and Viola now says that she will never play another maid again:

Viola Davis might have received an Oscar nod for playing a maid in “The Help,” but the actress told CNN she’s glad not to be wearing an apron in her latest movie.

Davis plays a librarian named Amma in Richard LaGravenese’s “Beautiful Creatures,” though the character was actually written as a maid in the book series that inspired the film.

“I’m tired of that,” Davis told CNN of playing housekeeper roles. “We played – me and Octavia [Spencer], Aunjanue Ellis, Roslyn Ruff – we all played maids in ‘The Help’ and it was fabulous, it’s a fabulous story because we were personalized and all of those things, but I think that people need to see an African-American in the 21st century integrated in the life of this town and family who’s not in servitude.”

Davis also gushed about her green costars, Alice Englert and Alden Ehrenreich.

“They weren’t thinking about ‘everything is resting on my shoulders, how are people going to receive the movie?’ That is not your job as an actor,” she said. “They were artists doing their job, in the moment, without vanity, with courage. And that’s what I respected about them, I really did. There’s no sense of stress in any of them. … It was wonderful to watch.”

[From CNN]

It’s weird to think that an actress of Viola’s caliber has to actually make those kinds of declarations and that consciously avoiding playing those kinds of stereotypical characters will be detrimental to her career. Because what’s next for V? A Tyler Perry movie? Thankfully, no. I just checked her IMDB – she’s been working steadily since last year’s awards season, which is great.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

When the E! camera panned to Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck’s arrival at the SAGs, I got a little jolt of hope that these two might actually walk a red carpet together. Jen whispered something in Ben’s ear, Ben kissed her affectionately, and I thought “this is it, we’re going to get photos of them together on the red carpet for the first time since that bad superhero movie!” But no, it didn’t happen. Ben talked to Giuliana and she asked him where Jennifer was, and he was all “long gone,” as if it were Jen’s decision not to do an interview with him because she was too busy posing. He did thank her at the beginning of his acceptance speech, when Argo took home the actor for best ensemble cast.

Ben’s speech came right at the end of the night, and he ended it on a perfect note. He was so psyched and he gave such a nice tribute to the other actors, and actors in general. (You can watch his speech here.) As Kaiser mentioned, I really think Argo could bring it home for best picture at the Oscars. The Academy Members get their ballots right around now, and they’re going to remember Ben’s awesome speech at the SAGs.

In term’s of Jennifer Garner’s gold gown, I was disappointed. Let me put it this way, I thought she looked hot in spite of the dress. It was probably the color, which kind of washed her out. Maybe the color looked prettier in person than it did on camera. I did like her makeup and her loose curls. I don’t remember ever seeing her hair like that in the past, and I like that she changed it up.

Viola Davis was one of last night’s presenters and she wore this bright teal one-shoulder Monique Lhuillier. I like that she chose such a bright color, and that she went with her natural hair. Plus her orange earrings are a nice pop of contrast. This is a gorgeous gown and a sophisticated look. Something rude: her shoes are kind of trashy.

Also looking bright we have Nina Dobrev in shocking pink Elie Saab, a designer she’s worn in the past. This dress is so sleek and gorgeous, and Nina rocks it as usual. I love to see what she wears to events, she’s usually spot on.

In contrast Julianna Margulies wore this black and white Chado Ralph Rucci gown that was like an uglier version of Marion Cotillard’s two-tone dress. I don’t like the way the skirt scoops up into the bustline, and I dislike the cut and the dripping asymmetric black band at the hemline. It’s a bizarre dress that strives to be contemporary and just fails, in my opinion. I’m not a fan of her fashion in general. Her husband is so hot, I have to say.

Bonus: Jennifer Garner and Julianne Moore!

Photo credit: FameFlynet and WENN.com

On Saturday, the Friendly House in Los Angeles celebrated its 23rd Annual Awards Luncheon. The women’s recovery home, which provides a safe haven for females “a safe harbor for women suffering from the destruction of alcoholism and drug abuse,” has named Viola Davis as its Woman of the Year for being such a strong supporter of the house. Viola looked rather stunning in this red dress with a matching silk belt. Once again, she chose to go wigless, and she looks spectacular as a result.

For the second year in a row, the luncheon chose Russell Brand as its Master of Ceremonies because, you know, the ladies love Russell. And Russell loves Viola! Don’t get any ideas though, for Viola is a married woman, but of course that didn’t stop Russell from putting the moves on her while they posed on the red carpet together. The Mail is making catty remarks about Russell’s unimpressive biceps for some odd reason. His arms look just fine here. It’s not like he’s a freaking body builder or anything, just a semi-toned yogi, and I think Russell is much more into the spiritual effects of Kundalini yoga rather than the physically hardcore Ashtanga or Bikram varieties. Even though I love Russell, he does look in need of a bath. Would it have killed him to dress up just a little bit for this event? Of course not, but this is the Rusty uniform.

Photos courtesy of WENN

I haven’t seen new photos of Renee Zellweger or heard ANY gossip about her in months. The last photos we have of her are from the Met Gala in May. But she appeared like a wood sprite last night in NYC for the 29th Annual Fashion Group International Night Of Stars. Renee wore her favorite designer, Carolina Herrera. Much like Halle Berry, Renee’s style is kind of stuck in the same place it was a decade ago. It’s not such a bad thing – she knows what looks good on her, she knows her body. I will say this… Renee’s face looks really good. I’m sure she’s Botoxing, but she’s not overdoing it from what I can see. She looks oddly less squinty too…?

Renee is 43 years old right now… and am I the only one who kind of misses her in movies? For a while there, she was doing really great work. She doesn’t have anything coming out this year. Or next year. Allegedly, she’s going to be doing a third Bridget Jones film (Bridget Jones’s Baby) at some point. Sigh… so she’s probably at this event just because she felt like having a night out. What’s going on with you, Renee?

More photos from the event… Sarah Jessica Parker in L’Wren Scott, with horizontal stripes. She had the jacket on for street photos and she took the jacket off for the carpet photos. I like the look better with the jacket, although I do like the structure of everything overall – L’Wren Scott is a great designer. And her makeup is a mess.

And here’s Viola Davis and her husband. V looks good in this black-and-white Max Mara dress! I like when she goes without her wig, but I do have a question: this is a tint, right? She’s getting her natural hair tinted or dyed? Because I don’t like the shade she’s using – I think she should go darker.

Photos courtesy of WENN.

I know this post will probably be the least commented-on of the day, but you know what? It was either this or a story about Kim Kardashian and Kanye West wearing matching Yeezy sneakers (for real). I often give you guys the chance to see the Kardashian road less taken – and I ask you to show your support for non-Kardashian posts. Sometimes you deliver. Sometimes not. But I know deep in my heart that if I wrote about Kim and Kanye, the comments would be flowing like wine, meanwhile I have to beg you to talk about two of the most talented women in Hollywood, Meryl Streep and Viola Davis.

Meryl and Viola are friends. They worked together in Doubt, but I believe they knew each other before then. When Meryl won the Best Actress Oscar this year over Viola, there weren’t any hard feelings on either side – these two ladies have a lot of respect for each other. Meryl even donated some money to a cause close to Viola’s heart right after the Oscars. Anyway, here are the two lovely women at last night’s Crystal + Lucy Women in Film Awards. Meryl was on hand to present an “Excellence In Film” award to V. So f–king classy. Meryl and Viola are both wearing MaxMara (one of the sponsors of the event).

More photos from the event…Marcia Gay Harden looks STUNNING in that yellow.

Stana Katic (from Castle) in Lisa Ho. She styled herself like Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany’s.

Chloe Moretz in MaxMara – the dress is okay. The shoes are inappropriate.

Cote de Pablo wearing a shapeless sack. I’m always taken aback whenever I see her out of her Ziva David styles.

Jenna Dewan in MaxMara. The jumpsuit is okay, and it’s a nice color. Her face looked kind of botoxy to me.

Christina Applegate in MaxMara. I love this dress. I love it on her too.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet and WENN.

We have just a few more photos from the White House Correspondents Dinner this weekend. We’ve already covered many of the ladies at the event, here are links to our earlier stories. We’re actually only doing the celebrities with the highest name recognition, there were quite a few people who seemed like they had no business being there. (Other than Lohan and Kim K of course.) I’m talking about Glee’s Matthew Morrison and Darren Criss, Elle MacPherson (in a ball gown of course), a Sports Illustrated swimsuit model named Irina Shayk, and an American Idol finalist from last year named Colton Dixon. I should get over it, though, as Kaiser and others are pointing out, that’s the point of this event. It’s not some stodgy insider event, it’s where politics and celebrity meet, and reality stars serve as punch lines. Next year there will probably be some Real Housewives in attendance, and they won’t be crashing it. The White House doesn’t invite these people, the press and media outlets have them as guests, and they want to bring people who will get coverage.

First off is Viola Davis in asymmetric Amsale. It looks like her left boob is about to make an appearance. Viola often has issues containing her girls on the red carpet, so this isn’t as cleavage-heavy as we’ve seen from her her in the past. I actually would love this look if it weren’t for how low it goes on the one side, and that could be a tailoring issue. It’s such a striking gown. Viola went with a wavy wig instead of her natural hair, which she was rocking at the end of this years awards season. Overall it’s a very elegant look. (Just Jared has more photos here.)

Rosario Dawson didn’t have any qualms about bringing out the big guns. Her boobs were pushed up to her neck and barely contained in shiny, very tight green Armani Privé. This is not appropriate for an event at the White House! This is something you wear to an action movie premiere when you want to get the attention of tween boys. So wrong and such a fug, unflattering dress. Even Lohan didn’t try to show this much cleavage.

Compare Rosario to the very lovely and appropriately-dressed Dakota Fanning, 18. There are elements of sexiness to Dakota’s full length sparking Prada dress in that it’s low cut and even has a keyhole cutout above the stomach. Still, it looks demure on her. I think it’s her overall styling as well. Also, we have a photo of Dakota at the event with Steven Spielberg and she just looks thrilled to be there.

Martha Stewart worked some kind of caftan-looking white and gold beaded shirt. It wasn’t cute and it looked like one of her craft projects, but it’s Martha and she can wear whatever she wants. Kim Kardashian enthused about meeting Martha at the event, and told US Weekly “The highlight of my night was meeting Martha Stewart. She is such an inspiration to me!” Why is Martha an inspiration to Kim? Is it because she actually has marketable skills and contributes something to society? I wouldn’t know how to properly fold sheets without Martha’s step-by-step instructions.

Diane Keaton was in one of her trademark suits, this time a pinstriped fancy-looking one. From far away it didn’t look bad to me, but up close I see that it’s more like a zoot suit. It’s loose and her pants are dragging on the floor. Her look reminds me of this Tom and Jerry episode.

Finally Elizabeth Banks was in red too. The Fashion Patrol notes that she was in Antonio Berardi, and they describe the fabric as “peplum.” I love the clean lines of this dress, which really works on Banks. I wouldn’t dare to wear a dress that flared at the hips like that, but on her it’s gorgeous.

Photo credit: Janet Mayer/PRphotos

I’m pretty sure that Viola Davis and Meryl Streep didn’t know each other before they worked together on Doubt. I’ve read interviews with Viola where she described her flat-out terror at the prospect of acting against Meryl, and how that terror led her to be excessively prepared for her scene with Meryl. Whatever went down during filming of Doubt, it seems like V and Meryl became fast friends. They both garnered Oscar nominations for the film, and they were very hand-holdy and affectionate with each other in interviews and on lots of red carpets. I tend to think that everybody loves Meryl, though – she’s just seems like a lovely woman, a woman who actively mentors younger actresses, a woman who is comfortable being a role model.

Anyway, as you know, Meryl and Viola found themselves in competition for the Best Actress Oscar. Many (including me) thought V had it sewn up – how could the Academy NOT give it Viola for not only her heart-wrenching performance, but for her two decades of work in film, television and theater? Well, it went to Meryl. When Meryl won, she kissed her husband and then reached across the aisle to embrace Viola. I thought V looked sad, but there was also a look on her face of – “Well, if I was going to lose, I’m glad I lost to Meryl.”

So in the post-Oscar clean-up, Meryl did something for her friend which is… kind of amazing. Meryl celebrated her Oscar victory by donating $10,000 to a charter school that Viola supports in her hometown of Central Falls, Rhode Island. G–damn, Meryl is a classy bitch.

The Help’s Viola Davis may have missed out on an Oscar trophy at Sunday’s Academy Awards, but she still walked away somewhat of a winner thanks to the night’s big champ Meryl Streep.

On Monday, Streep — who earned top honors for her portrayal in The Iron Lady — donated $10,000 to a bankrupt charter school Davis supports in her Rhode Island hometown of Central Falls.

“We’ve just been screaming from the rooftops,” Angelo Garcia, the founder and director of operations at the Segue Institute for Learning, told Reuters after news of Streep’s donation was made public Tuesday. “We’re excited Meryl Streep has gotten the ball rolling for us, but we recognize there’s a long road ahead of us,” he added.

Donating on behalf of her Silver Mountain Foundation for the Arts, Streep, 62, will soon see her funds put to good use, allowing the school to establish a capital campaign in hopes of raising $1.2 million to buy and renovate a nearby building and community center.

[From Us Weekly]

How much do you love this? This is grace in victory. This is not a move of pity, or shame or a feeling of undeservedness. Meryl thinks she deserved the Oscar – she would have been fine without it, sure, but if they were going to give it her, she would accept it with open arms. But she can simultaneously honor her co-nominee and friend and make a public move to support her friend’s cause. I just… I’m so filled with love for both of these ladies. They’re awesome.

Photos courtesy of WENN, Fame/Flynet.

Prior to the Oscars we write up the categories we’re covering ahead of time, and I of course had a whole post pre-written for Viola Davis taking home the lead actress statue. I really expected her to win, but I luckily wrote up a backup story for Meryl winning just in case. I was surprised and delighted that it went to Meryl, although Viola would have made me just as happy. Honestly I only saw Viola’s performance, and while I think she’s an excellent actress I didn’t love The Help.

Let’s talk about Viola’s lovely styling. As Kaiser mentioned over the weekend it was nice to see her ditch the wigs, especially for such a momentous night. She went natural with her hair and looked much younger and more striking as a result. It may have been a natural progression for her. Viola told Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet that she gradually learned to “step up” her game. She said “There was a lot riding on this character being portrayed in a way that wasn’t stereotypical, so I had to step up to the plate. In the course of that, this whole season I felt like I had to step up to the plate, and I just emerged, my confidence… At a certain point you have to represent something bigger than yourself. That’s what the movie is about.” Doesn’t it sound like she’s talking about her hair a little too, or am I reading too much into it?

In terms of the dress I liked the color but not the style of her Vera Wang gown. I think it has a cheap-looking bustline and a bizarre hemline area that tries to make the dress elegant by design and doesn’t quite do it. It’s like it starts as one dress at the waist and then cuts away to another style entirely. Business at the waist, party at the bottom. I would have guessed it was Marchesa. We saw Viola’s ladies on full display on the red carpet just last week and I was hoping she’d go for something more demure, like the gorgeous Grecian Pucci gown she wore to the Globes. It wasn’t Viola’s night last night, but I hope we see more of her, and I hope she gets more chances to shine at the Oscars.

We’re gearing up for the Oscars and there will be plenty of pre and post-parties to get our fashion fix. The cast of The Help was well represented at the Women in Film Pre-Oscar Party last night at Cecconi’s Restaurant in West Hollywood. I would have liked to have seen Emma Stone there, but she must have had other plans. (Sexy ones involving Andrew Garfield.)

First off is the lovely Jessica Chastain in formfitting salmon Elie Saab. I admire this woman and find her unassuming, genuinely grateful for her success, and so pretty. Her fashion has been a mixed bag tending toward “fug” this whole awards season, though. This dress is an exception in that it’s well tailored and flattering. The bustline is bizarre and it’s not a knockout dress, but we’re talking about a cocktail party, not the Oscars. Her hair and makeup are perfection. We’ll have to see if she brings it tomorrow night.

Do you see Jessica’s mess of a Vivienne Westwood gown that she wore to the Hollywood Reporters nominees night on Thursday? My theory is that she lets stylists take over her fashion and isn’t questioning their poorer choices.

Viola Davis went with her natural hair last night (as we also saw in a photo spread for LAT Magazine earlier this month) and opted for a purple faux wrap MaxMara Zenica dress with some killer black wedge pumps. I love those shoes! I have a pair of black wedge booties that are similar. I’m including a side view of Viola with producer Cathy Schulman (Crash, The Illusionist) so you can see the shoes a little better. (There’s a better view of the shoes here.) I like Viola’s look and her accessories apart from the bizarre white flower brooch she’s wearing. It seems like a simpler pin would have better completed the look.

Sidenote by Kaiser: I really, really hope Viola goes “natural” for the Oscars. I think she’s stunning this way.

Octavia Spencer was most likely in Tadashi Shoji, her designer of choice this season. (I don’t have confirmation on that, though.) I love that primrose gathered gown and she really knows what works for her. Some lighter colored and/or less clunky shoes might have worked better, but that’s a minor complaint. Octavia was earning praise from her co-stars at the event. USA Today has quotes from Allison Janney and Jessica Chastain gushing about Octavia. Janney said, in part, “she makes me laugh and she’s so generous of heart and spirit.” That’s nice!

Allison Janney was amazing in a striking cornflower blue one shoulder gathered gown. I would love to own this dress. Her accessories perfectly complimented the look without overwhelming it. I prefer Janney with lighter hair, but a quick image search shows that she has had darker hair for around three years.

This photographer got a few photos of the attendee’s manicures. Show me their shoes! On a side note, I recently discovered pinterest. (I don’t know what took me so long, but I’m still waiting for my invite!) The shoe and nail pr0n there is amazing.

Photo credit: FayesVision/WENN.com