Table of contents for January 10, 2022 in People

‘There’s crushed cereal, with bowls and spoons clinking around, because we’ve had breakfast on the school run. You’re sitting on crumbs which are so embedded in the seat it would take a f---ing blowtorch to get them out’—KATE WINSLET, on what the back of her car looks like, to The Guardian ‘You learn from the best, and you steal from the best, and you share what you learn’—DENZEL WASHINGTON, on picking up directing tips from experts in the field, to USA Today ‘No one has connected with me. It makes me feel like such a loser’—DREW BARRYMORE, on not meeting anyone via online dating, on The Drew Barrymore Show ‘He might be the type of person that never really settles with somebody. Maybe he’s like a bee going from…

then & now! Don McLean can still clearly remember the way his song “American Pie” helped transform his career when it topped Billboard’s Hot 100 chart five decades ago. “A lot of it is very present in my mind, as if it happened yesterday,” says the singer-songwriter, 76. January 15 will mark 50 years since his nearly nine-minute lament for “the day the music died” (a reference to the 1959 plane crash that killed Buddy Holly) hit No. 1 and made him a pop star. “I was not comfortable with that,” he says of his ascent into the spotlight. “It was something that I certainly did enjoy, but there was something strange about it.” McLean accepts his legacy, even if it has driven him into what he calls an “‘American Pie’…

Nearly four years ago five women accused James Franco of sexual misconduct. Now the 127 Hours actor, 43, is speaking out about why he stayed silent for so long—and how he says he’s changed. “At that moment I just thought, ‘I’m gonna be quiet,’” Franco said during an interview on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Podcast. “There were people that were upset with me, and I needed to listen.” In January 2018 the women—four of whom were students at Franco’s Studio 4 acting school—accused him of abusing his power as a teacher and mentor in a sexually exploitative way. Franco denied the accusations at the time, but in 2021 he settled a sexual misconduct lawsuit for $2.235 million. Since then “I’ve just been doing a lot of work,” claimed Franco, who…

Babies MTV’s The Challenge stars Kam Williams, 27, and Leroy Garrett, 36, are expecting their first child in June. “Our journey never fails to surprise me!” Williams wrote on Instagram. • Actress Olivia Munn, 41, and comedian John Mulaney, 39, welcomed their first baby together, a boy, on Nov. 24, a source confirmed. Weddings Real Housewives of Miami cast member Alexia Echevarria, 54, married real estate mogul Todd Nepola, 49, on Dec. 16 at the Eden Rock hotel in St. Bart’s. Courts Minnesota police officer Kim Potter, 49, was found guilty Dec. 23 of first- and second-degree manslaughter in the April death of Daunte Wright, 20, a Black man whom she shot after allegedly mistaking her gun for a Taser during a traffic stop. Potter will be sentenced Feb.…

When it comes to her secret for a long and joyful life, Betty White is clear on one thing: “I try to avoid anything green,” she jokes. “I guess it’s working.” Instead, she regularly indulges in hot dogs—and vodka, which she prefers on the rocks with a splash of grapefruit juice. “Let’s put it this way,” says White’s executive personal assistant of nearly a decade, Kiersten Mikelas. “The health-food craze has not landed in her kitchen. There’s no green juice.” White’s recipe for happiness is most definitely working. On Jan. 17 the beloved star, known for unforgettable roles on hit TV shows like The Mary Tyler Moore Show and The Golden Girls, will celebrate her centennial birthday. “I’m so lucky to be in such good health and feel so good…

Hilary Downey loved being a new mom, but after gaining 70 lbs. while pregnant with her son Tom in 2013, “I felt horrible. My joints ached and my energy was low.” Then one day she could barely carry Tom in his car seat to go grocery shopping. “I had to sit down,” says Downey, who weighed 245 lbs. “I decided I needed to get healthy for my son.” She started taking walks but knew that nutrition mattered more. “I grew up watching my mom fad-diet, and I didn’t want to go that route,” she says. Using the Lose It! app, she started logging her meals and tracking her macronutrients—carbs, proteins and fats—to eat healthier yet still enjoy occasional splurges. It worked—she lost the baby weight and gained just 30 lbs.…

Across 1 Friends 5 Health resort 8 Designer Michael 12 Actor Baldwin 13 Soup container 14 One-named Irish singer 15 TV host of People Puzzler (continued at 20 Across) 16 British singer Rita 17 Word before end or admiral 18 Ship to another country 20 See 15 Across 22 Cheerios grain 23 CBS forensic series 24 Berry on the short-lived Living Dolls with 15 Across 27 Daytime show for 15 Across, in season 1 (2 wds.) 31 A long time ___ 32 Young man 33 The Cat in the ___ 34 The “N” of cable channel GSN 37 Dancing With the ___ (show for 15 Across) 39 Ruckus 40 “Be quiet” sound 41 Emmy ___ (15 Across won two for her Scientology series) 44 The King of ___ (15 Across sitcom) 48 ___ of…

Fans were shocked when Harlem actress Meagan Good and TV and film producer DeVon Franklin announced their separation on Dec. 21. “We celebrate almost a decade of marriage together and a love that is eternal,” Good, 40, and Franklin, 43, said in a joint statement. “There’s no one at fault. We believe this is the next best chapter in the evolution of our love.” Multiple sources say the pair’s busy schedules often kept them apart. “When they did have time, it’d just be hours that they would be able to spend together,” says an insider. Good and Franklin connected while working on the 2011 film Jumping the Broom, got engaged in May 2012 and wed a month later. “They moved really quickly when they first got together, and DeVon…

The Oscar winner, 52—who voices Buster Moon in Sing 2—talked to People (the TV Show!)’s Nancy O’Dell about raising his three kids, Levi, 13, Vida, 12, and Livingston, 9, with wife Camila. What do your children think of your job? They think I’m cooler now that I’m the voice of Buster Moon. It’s nice to be able to make something that they can see with their friends. I’m a little more relevant around the dinner table now. What do you hope they get out of the movie? The film is about dreaming big dreams, but it’s also about the hustle and the hard work it takes to make them happen. If you just say, “You can do what you dream,” that’s not true. If you dream it, you can…

On a fall day in 2020, Tommy Raskin stood with his father in the kitchen of their family’s Takoma Park, Md., home, weighed down by his years-long battle with depression. After months navigating law school online amid the pandemic, Tommy was going through an especially hard time, and he told his dad he didn’t think he would ever be happy. Unsure how to help his 25-year-old son—whose pain was often hidden behind his many passions (animal rights, social justice, Boggle, Sacha Baron Cohen films and more)—Jamie fell back on his own instinctive optimism. “I told him when you’re sick, it’s hard to imagine ever being healthy again,” Raskin says. “And when you’re healthy, it’s hard to imagine ever being sick. I was trying to say, ‘This will pass.’” That sunny…

The Pelham Parkway section of the Bronx was not an easy place to grow up in the 1990s, and like many kids in the neighborhood, 13-year-old Minerliz “Minnie” Soriano knew to stay close to home. If she needed pocket change, she sold candy door-to-door in her apartment building. A straight A student who dreamed of becoming an astronaut, she would sometimes sit cross-legged in the lobby of her apartment building doing her homework as neighbors such as Joseph Martinez, a fellow space buff, passed by. “I used to make fun of her,” says her best friend, Kimberly Ortiz, who walked home from school with her almost every day. “I used to tell her, ‘We’re from the Bronx. We’re not going to be astronauts.’” On Feb. 24, 1999, Minerliz left Middle…

1 Pork Chops With Shallots & Blistered Grapes As the grapes roast in the oven, they burst and release their juices—creating a thick, naturally sweet sauce that pairs perfectly with the flavorful bone-in pork. ½ garlic head, sliced lengthwise • 5 Tbsp. olive oil, divided • 4 bone-in pork loin chops (2 lbs. total) • 1 tsp. salt • ½ tsp. black pepper • ½ tsp. sugar • 1 lb. seedless red grapes, stemmed • 2 shallots, thinly sliced • Balsamic vinegar, for serving Preheat oven to 400°. Place half of the garlic head on a sheet of foil; drizzle with 1 tablespoon oil. Wrap, and roast until soft, 45 minutes. Squeeze cloves out from skins, and mash. Sprinkle pork with salt, pepper and sugar. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in…

1 Slim Down Your Wallet Eliminate bulky clutter by “using your phone’s digital wallet to store things like transit passes, gift cards and rewards cards,” says Janelle Cohen, author of The Folding Book. Then take everything out of your wallet and “add back in only the things you can’t live without, like your ID and credit card.” 2 Swap Out Mismatched Hangers “Streamlining your hangers provides a cleaner look and keeps your clothing at a uniform height” in your closet, says Ría Safford of RíOrganize. She suggests the velvet nonslip kind, which “hug those silky blouses.” 3 Find All the Socks Your Washer Ate Your missing socks may not be gone for good! Check inside the gasket of your washing machine. “It’s the felt or rubber lip in the rim…

Last Time My Son Made Me Laugh This morning I woke up and looked at the monitor, and Gus [age 10 months] was sitting up in his crib. Like, couldn’t do that yesterday, and then this morning fully sitting up. And now he won’t stop. I put him down for a nap and went to look, and he was already sitting up again. Last Wardrobe Malfunction Oh, the [2021] Emmys. I was in this red dress with really thin spaghetti straps. Sweet Sophia Bush walked by to go backstage, and I jumped up to hug her, and a strap just popped. The next commercial break, I ran back there, and Sophia had told them, so they had red thread ready to go. Thank God for her! Last Moment of…

MEGHAN AND HARRY’S FAMILY OF 4 Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry marked their first Christmas as a foursome with a new portrait starring son Archie, 2, and daughter Lilibet, 6 months—in her long-awaited photo debut! (The couple’s wedding photographer Alexi Lubomirski snapped the image this summer at the Sussexes’ California home.) “Archie made us a ‘Mama’ and a ‘Papa,’ and Lili made us a family,” they said in the card’s message, which also expressed support for several organizations “that honor and protect families—from those being relocated from Afghanistan, to American families in need of paid parental leave.” DECK THE HALLS HOLIDAY GETAWAYS CUTE COUPLES FAMILY REUNION Beverly Hills, Dec. 17 Ashlee Simpson Ross, husband Evan Ross and his sister Tracee Ellis Ross shared a laugh at the…

After closing on a 1938 Georgian-style five-bedroom L.A. home together in June 2020, the Property Brothers cohost, 43, and the New Girl actress, 41, naturally went into renovation mode. At first the couple, who met while filming Carpool Karaoke in 2019, were planning to make only some small updates before moving in with Deschanel’s two kids: son Charlie Wolf, 4, and daughter Elsie Otter, 6 (whom she shares with her ex Jacob Pechenik). However, hidden water damage, shoddy older updates and major supply-chain delays tripled their timeline. “This dream home would become the largest residential renovation I had ever done in my career,” Scott writes in an essay in the latest issue of his and twin brother Drew’s magazine Drew + Jonathan Reveal (on newsstands Jan. 7; like People, it…

With their father, Chris, facing terminal cancer, the Liechty siblings from Pettisville, Ohio, weren’t sure if auditioning for season 21 of The Voice was the right decision. Caleb, 26, Joshua, 24, and Bekah, 20—with help from coach Kelly Clarkson—became the first non-solo act to win the show on Dec. 14, and now their band Girl Named Tom is making plans to record a debut full-length album. During the season they often debated whether they should fly home to see their father, who was diagnosed with cancer in 2017 and is now hospitalized, but he encouraged “us to see this through,” says Caleb. Winning the show was “surreal,” adds Joshua, whose sister Bekah has some practical plans for their $100,000 cash prize: “I want to save for retirement!”…

Joan Didion could convey both terse reserve and bold confessional honesty in the same sentence. In a 1969 Life article, she began by revealing that her marriage to her husband, author John Gregory Dunne, was on the rocks. “I tell you this not as aimless revelation,” she wrote of the crisis, which they ultimately overcame, “but because I want you to know, as you read me, precisely who I am and where I am and what is on my mind.” Didion, who was 87 when she died Dec. 23 in her Manhattan home of Parkinson’s disease, would unflinchingly recall two tragic heartaches in the bestselling memoirs The Year of Magical Thinking (2005), about Dunne’s 2003 death from a heart attack, and Blue Nights (2011), about the loss of their daughter…

The show’s done shooting—how did you all celebrate? We’ve been celebrating [ever since]—any chance any of us are in the same city, we definitely take advantage of that. Any souvenirs from the set? I got a handful of Quiet Ann sneakers. She knows the kicks. People haven’t forgotten Scrubs. What’s a memory from that time that sticks with you? We were doing the musical theater episode. And the day that I had to shoot my scene, I’d taken a really bad fall out of my shower and fractured my hip!…

Jeannette Asbury Age: 54 Height: 5'5" Lives in: Stevensville, Mont. Job: Paralegal HOW I STAY BALANCED Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater! There are days when I slipped at breakfast, but that doesn’t mean the day is gone. Get back on your plan. I set super-small, achievable goals—and then I exceed them every time I can. When I started running, I’d run to the end of the block and build from there. I celebrate the milestones—I would buy new clothes when I’d shrink out of what I was wearing. ‘I Don’t Worry About the Scale’ I was chunky growing up, and my family was a constant nag about it, so I started sneaking food. My weight gain continued through my early 20s and after I had my daughter.…

Erin McManis and her husband, Chad Schatz, have a reputation for fostering and rehabilitating obese dogs in Phoenix. “We like working with dogs that are often overlooked and more prone to be euthanized,” says McManis. So in May 2019, when they saw a kill-shelter video of a stray beagle who, at 90 lbs., was morbidly obese, they contacted the rescue organization and picked him up that afternoon. “Although the other dogs we had weren’t as severely overweight, we thought we could help,” says McManis, who named their new charge Wolfgang. “He was just a super friendly, happy-go-lucky dog.” With a vet’s supervision, McManis put Wolfgang on a healthy diet and exercise regimen. “Weight loss is not any different for dogs than humans,” says the 39-year-old lawyer. “If you’re burning more…

Fleece Vest This classic sherpa provides an extra layer of warmth without being bulky, thanks to the elongated, fitted shape. Cashmere Hat Channel après-skis vibes even if you’re far from the slopes in this luxe rib-knit beanie with a faux fur pompom. Oversize Scarf The best scarves should feel as comfy as a blanket and add a bit of flair to your wardrobe. This patterned style checks both boxes. Glossy Puffer A high-quality puffer coat is worth the splurge. This one is wind-resistant, plus the burgundy color is a sophisticated upgrade from basic black. Water-Resistant Boots These sleek neutral rubber- and-nylon boots are proof that weather-appropriate footwear doesn’t have to be clunky. Insulated Leggings These fleece-lined bottoms will keep you warm on a run outside or are perfect for a…