Anna Nicole Smith insists she owns the Bahamas home where she is staying, and claims the man trying to evict her and her companion, attorney Howard K. Stern, is a publicity hound. G. Ben Thompson has claimed Smith has failed to pay him after he allowed the former model to stay at the island retreat the past four months.
Thompson’s claims have led to the Bahamian government threatening to rescind Smith’s residency application. Smith reportedly told “Entertainment Tonight” for a Monday airing, “Someone is trying to evict me, (but) I own this house and I’m going to let the courts handle it.” TMZ.com reported a default judgment was issued Monday against Smith because she failed to respond to Thompson’s filing to evict her in a Bahamian court. The judgment allows
Thompson to force Smith out of the house, TMZ claimed.
Documentary filmmaker Alexandra Pelosi’s mother is the new speaker of the House. Now the daughter of Rep. Nancy Pelosi has a new house of her own. Alexandra Pelosi and her Dutch TV-journalist husband, Michiel Vos, have purchased a two-bedroom, two- bath apartment for $1.425 million, according to the New York Post. The couple recently sold their co-op at 45 E. 11th St. for $715,000 to move into the 1,400-square-foot condo in a 21-story building at the corner of Fifth Avenue and 16th Street. Pelosi, 36, gained national attention after being given unfettered access to George W. Bush’s 2000 presidential campaign for her HBO special “Journeys with George.” Pelosi gave birth to her first child, a boy, on Nov. 13.
Pharrell Williams is more than a rapper. He’s also a sci-fi fan and skateboarder, and next year, he told the New York Post, he is planning to open an ice cream parlor in Manhattan. Williams recently released “Team Ice Cream Vol. 1 Skate Video,” which features footage of his skate team’s world tour. Williams said he plans to open the ice cream shop in April.
msnbc.com/nov. 27 Tori Spelling already has – who has been selling off her clothes and household goods in online auctions – is also putting her house on the market. The former “90210” star has been auctioning off her belongings through Sharon Yost, a Los Angeles woman who specializes in selling off estates belonging to film types, and now Yost is advertising on her Web site that Spelling’s Studio City house will be up for grabs on Dec. 8 through 10.
ny post/chicago tribune It’s hard to tell what the status of Vince Vaughn and Jennifer Aniston is at any given moment. And their recent separate home purchases haven’t shed any light on the matter. Vaughn has just paid $12 million for a 7,880-square-foot duplex penthouse in Chicago. According to the Chicago Tribune’s Bob Goldsborough, Vaughn’s new penthouse, located in the Palmolive building, takes up the entire 36th and 37th floors and has 17-foot ceilings and 630 square feet of terrace space. His new apartment was originally listed for $10.6 million. Vaughn’s neighbors in the area include John Cusack, Mike Ditka, Oprah Winfrey, Jerry Springer and Michael Jordan. Aniston, meanwhile, who reportedly paid $15 million for a 9,000-square-foot-plus house in Beverly Hills, still owns a small two-bedroom bungalow in the Hollywood Hills that she bought for $742,500 in 1995.
london e-s The country pile is a far cry from his Neverland ranch and only has three bedrooms, a kitchen, living room and one bathroom. A studio insider says: “Michael and his three kids are having a ball here. Michael gets up early every morning and makes breakfast of porridge and fruit for the children before heading to the studio to work with will.i.am. “He is living a very normal life in Ireland, away from prying eyes. He may be one of the most famous people in the world, but he drives himself around the country, he goes to the local cinema with the kids and he eats in the local cafes.” Other artists including McFly and Snow Patrol have all recorded albums in the idyllic hideaway, which has an indoor swimming pool, gym and sauna. Michael landed in Ireland over three months ago and was staying in the exclusive 20,000-a-week Luggala Castle in Wicklow – until golfer Tiger Woods showed up last month. The Smooth Criminal was told to Beat It when Tiger arrived as he’d already reserved the castle as a base for himself and his entourage during the Ryder Cup. After he was kindly asked to leave, Jacko moved to the Recreational Centre just outside Bray, Co Wicklow, and moved to Grouse Lodge three weeks ago. The singer isn’t currently signed to a record label, but we’re sure they’ll be queuing up when they find out his plans to re-record Thriller with producer will.i.am. He wants to update the international smash for the new generation with CD/DVD and internet componants. Michael revealed: “I’ve never given up on making music. Ireland has inspired me to make a great new album.”
upscale magazine Janet Jackson must be optimistic about sales of her new album; the singer is reportedly shopping for $30 million apartments. The singer went apartment hunting recently and was interested in a 9,000-square-foot “crib” in a high-rise in Manhattan’s Columbus Circle. She was considering a move there with boyfriend/producer Jermaine Dupri, according to Upscale magazine. If the deal goes through, it would be one of the highest prices ever paid for a New York apartment. It’s not a record-breaker, though: last year media mogul Rupert Murdoch paid $44 million for a 19-room apartment on Fifth Avenue. While apartment hunting, Jackson reportedly confirmed rumors that she had briefly dated Matthew McConaughey, though she is very serious about Dupri and would like to have children with him – while denying buzz that the two are secretly married. She did, however, reveal that Dupri has even more shoes than she does. While viewing the massive walk-in closets, she told Upscale, “Jermaine could take the bigger one. He has way more shoes than I do and I’m a shoe whore!”
tmz.com/oct. 11 For any of you hard-core Beatles fans out there with a few million dollars laying around, John Lennon’s former home in the U.K. is on the market.
Lennon bought the property in 1964 at the height of Beatlemania and lived there with his first wife Cynthia and son Julian. The house was also the site of the blossoming relationship between Lennon and Yoko Ono. In fact, in Cynthia Lennon’s book “John” she wrote that she returned home from vacation early to find Yoko Ono in her house wearing her bathrobe. Ouch! The house is on the market for $11.1 million and is 24 miles southwest of London and features six bedrooms, five reception rooms, a playroom, sauna, swimming pool and enough music history to keep your cocktail party conversations interesting for the rest of your life. So while money can’t buy you love, it can definitely buy the house that love broke up.
ok! magazine TOM Cruise and Katie Holmes may soon be vacating the enormous Beverly Hills mansion that the Mission: Impossible star has been leasing since his split with second wife Nicole Kidman in 2001. Reports claim that Tom, 44, paid almost $US10 million in cash last year for a brand-new home in the Hollywood Hills. The 12-room, 5,000 sq ft property, which sits on 2.5 acres, also has an older house on the grounds which is undergoing renovations and may be used to provide extra space for guests. “It’s a huge property by most people’s standards, but for Katie, it will offer far more intimacy than the massive house she and Tom are in now,” an insider told OK! – From PA
janetcharltonshollywood.com When Tom Cruise’s people finished packing up his offices at Paramount, two interesting pieces of info leaked out. When he remodeled his office, Tom had a porthole cut into the wall so he could sit at his desk and enjoy the view of the Paramount Pictures water tower. Sometimes he occupied the offices day after day, and at other times he was gone for months. Since day one, he always had a standing order – when he returned, whether it was after a day or a month, he had to have a NEW toilet seat installed in his personal bathroom. We can’t help but wonder if anyone saved those stacks of nearly new toilet seats, and if they’ll be turning up on eBay.
hello! magazine His song Candle In The Wind was a worldwide hit and now Elton John is hoping the real thing will be just as successful. The millionaire superstar, who is known for his love of flowers, has launched a range of scented candles inspired by his English country estate. The philanthropic singer launched the Elton John Fireside Fragrance Collection – ten per cent of the profits from which will go towards his Aids charity – at a New York Hotel. And, unsurprisingly, fans can expect some fabulous floral notes from the man who employs his own private florist. Tuesday’s launch also coincided with another of the big-hearted celeb’s money-raising projects his annual Aids Foundation benefit dinner at the Waldorf Astoria. As usual, the British singer wasn’t short of celebrity friends to help support the cause. Among those attending the “Enduring Vision” dinner were socialite Ivana Trump, Whoopi Goldberg and Neil Young – who performed for the star-studded crowd. Elton, who is currently touring to promote his latest album The Captain And The Kid, was also joined at the glitzy event by fellow musical talent Elvis Costello and his expectant wife, the Canadian jazz singer Diana Krall.
