Archive for September 28th, 2009
Carla Bruni has been accused of wielding excessive political influence over her husband, French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
The French First Lady was accused of being the ‘power behind the throne’ in a scathing attack by leading daily newspaper France-Soir.
The paper claimed the former model had moved from the catwalk to Cabinet in less than two years.
‘Although a discreet wife, Carla Bruni-Sarkozy has in reality got her hand not just in the head of state’s diet and sporting regimes, but is also affecting the choice of government.,’ the paper wrote.
The French media and Sarkozy’s close friends all suggested it was his gruelling fitness regime encouraged by Bruni that lead to his collapse while jogging in July.
But France-Soir said today that Bruni’s behind-the-scenes power had extended well beyond her husband’s physical health.
The paper even suggested she had been at a meeting to decide the composition of Sarkozy’s cabinet.
‘Her influence feeds every kind of fantasy,’ it added.
It said it was her pressure that lead to Sarkozy abandoning his support for a new law that all immigrants should be DNA-tested.
When the law was first mooted two years ago, Bruni was quoted as saying: ‘I myself am just a very privileged immigrant.
‘What would have happened to me if my own parents had been subjected to DNA tests?’
The paper also claimed that Bruni was also responsible for the sacking of Justice Minister Rachida Dati, as well as the appointments of Frederic Mitterand as Culture Minister and Philippe Val as head of France Inter radio.
The paper added: ‘But she who admits to being instinctively left-wing is pulling her husband towards the centre, and abandoning the law on DNA testing is only the latest proof.’
The Elysee Palace said the allegation Bruni had helped to government ministers was ‘totally untrue’.
It added: ‘She has never attended these kinds of meetings.’
Meanwhile Sarkozy himself admitted to the French media that his wife’s importance was ‘immense’.
He said recently: ‘I attach great weight to what she says to me. Her views widen my outlook and my thoughts.’
But he added: ‘Carla and I speak a lot, but I think I have reached an age that allows me not to be influenced by anyone.’
Bruni has frequently denied she has any sway over her husband’s policies.
She said in a separate interview with Au Feminin magazine this month: ‘I have no influence on my husband’s political decisions. They are his and he makes them in his own name.’
source: dailymail.co.uk
September 28th, 2009
She is the world’s most successful ‘plus-size’ model.
But Crystal Renn, 23, nearly died after she was pressured to lose nearly half her body weight to succeed in her cut-throat industry.
In a series of shocking insights, the American Rubenesque model described how she was ordered to drop five stone after being spotted by a talent scout at just 13.
From that moment she abandoned her care-free calorific diet which included cheesecake and pizza and from then on lived on lettuce leaves, diet Coke and chewing gum.
In a candid new autobiography Renn, whose mother abandoned her when she was a baby, said she saw modelling as an escape from her life
‘When somebody says you can lose this amount of weight and escape everything that is currently happening to you – that is the moment that caused the eating disorder,’ she said in an interview with the Observer magazine.
‘To be a model – that was my ticket. I made the choice not to eat because that was what was expected of me to get my ticket. I was willing to risk my life to do that.’
By barely eating, taking diuretics and exercising for more than eight hours a day, her weight dropped to 95lb, with a hip measurement of just 33in.
She admitted the drastic diet took her to a size zero close to death.
‘I am startled by the way my body looks when I don’t eat. I think that is a picture of someone who looks like they are dying. That is me facing death at a really young age. I was all bones,’ she said.
‘I see someone who has nothing inside, who is unfeeling, incapable of understanding what is happening to them. I talk about it as if it is a separate person.
Despite weighing just 7 stone and easily fitting into size 0 designer samples, work for the ‘normal’ sized model was thin on the ground.
After starving herself for three years Renn’s body began to reject the regime and she gained weight.
She was told to shed the extra pounds – but refused and joined modelling agency Ford – known for supporting plus-sized models.
Renn began to embrace food again: ‘ ‘Pizza, peanut butter, chocolate mud cakes. I ate a lot of those,’ she told the Observer, adding that she would sit on the sofa eating cheesecake every day – the way she used to before her eating disorder.
‘Each pound was a discovery. I liked it. I felt myself becoming more who I am. I had a cleavage suddenly.
‘I started wearing heels, short dresses, colour. I was becoming the weight I naturally am. It felt like I was a woman finally.’
Since gaining five stone, Renn has gone on to become one of the world’s highest paid plus-sized models, and has appeared in American Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar and has modelled for the Evans clothing brand.
source: dailymail.co.uk
September 28th, 2009
Kate Moss has fuelled speculation she is joining her boyfriend’s band after registering with a musician’s association.
The supermodel – who has previously performed with ex-boyfriend Pete Doherty, Primal Scream and The Lemonheads – has joined the Performing Rights Society, which protects UK musicians and songwriters, as she prepares to team up with The Kills rocker Jamie Hince on his new project.
A source said: “Jamie is so used to hearing Kate sing, at home and in karaoke, that he’s tempted to give it a go.
“She makes no secret of wanting to record more stuff before it’s too late for her.”
A spokesperson for the Performing Rights Society branded Kate’s membership a “smart move”.
The representative added: “Kate has co-written some songs with Pete Doherty and she will now be able to collect her share of the royalties.
“For any future songs she writes – and which are played on radio, TV or live – we will also collect the royalties due.
“Both Pete Doherty and Jamie Hince are members. We are glad to welcome Kate too.”
Jamie’s agreement to work with Kate is a dramatic change from his previous attitude.
In June, the 35-year-old model pleaded with Jamie to let her join The Kills on stage at a charity event in London, but the guitarist was against the idea.
A source said at the time: “Kate is keen on doing more singing, she wants her voice out there. But Jamie is refusing to even entertain the idea.”
Kate has previously admitted she would have been a singer if she hadn’t made it as a model, saying: “I would have wanted to a be a rock star, a lead singer, if I wasn’t a model. I would have gone touring in a bus with my band.”
source: breakingnews.iol.ie
September 28th, 2009
Agyness Deyn’s rocker boyfriend, Albert Hammond Jr, has been carted off to overcrowded celebrity rehab following an almighty row.
According to US reports, the Strokes guitarist, 29, was taken for help by his mates after the British supermodel left his upstate New York home following the couple’s alleged spat.
Now friends of the Lancashire model, say she can’t ‘deal with Albert when he’s like this.’
source: metro.co.uk
September 28th, 2009
ACCORDING TO fashion etiquette, it’s a major faux pas – leaving the price tag and shop label on the bottom of your shoes.
To commit that style no-no on a catwalk in front of scores of journalists, photographers and fashion industry big wigs is even more embarrassing.
Supermodel Naomi Campbell strutted her stuff during a London Fashion Week show unaware that an absent-minded wardrobe assistant had forgotten to check the bottom of her shoes. Well, at least the label didn’t say ‘Primark’ and ‘sale’.
source: voice-online.co.uk
September 28th, 2009
She may be nearly 10 years her senior but Liz Hurley managed to outshine Kate Moss at a mutual friend’s wedding this weekend.
Wearing a daringly low-cut black sequinned evening dress, the 44-year-old mother-of-one put Moss, 35, in the shade.
The pair were attending the glitzy society wedding of Ben Caring, 30, and his bride Elle Perfect in north London.
Ben – the son of Richard Caring, who is the owner of The Ivy restaurant and one of Britain’s richest men – and Elle, 30, held their reception at the Caring family home, dubbed ‘the Versailles of Hampstead’.
And, although the wedding was originally billed as a ‘modest affair for family and close friends’ the eventual guest list was filled with famous faces.
Attendees included actor and director Kevin Spacey, artist Tracey Emin, restaurant critic Michael Winner, chat-show host Michael Parkinson and comedian David Walliams.
Hell’s Kitchen presenter Claudia Winkleman and newsreader Kirsty Young also attended, as did nightclub owner Peter Stringfellow and his significantly younger girlfriend Bella.
source: dailymail.co.uk
September 28th, 2009
