People December 18, 2023

‘I always go back to a platform when it comes to a shoe. I kind of have my staples, and they end up being a little Y2K’—JESSICA SIMPSON, on how her style always evokes a little turn- of-the-century flair, to People ‘He sends me greetings all the time’—RITA MORENO, on her lasting friendship with Fast X costar Vin Diesel, to People ‘Well, my favorite story is the year I went home and my mom was dressed as Mrs. Claus, and I was like, “Hi mom,” and she said, “Mrs. Claus.” My mom was committed’—TRACEE ELLIS ROSS, on how mom Diana got her kids into the holiday spirit, to People ‘She’s constantly leaving me little skin-routine products on my side of the sink, like age-defying, emulsifying s---, or a restoring lotion’—KEVIN…

1 Mariska Hargitay’s Cat Meet the newest member of the Claw & Order family: Karma (top inset). The actress revealed on Instagram that she’s adopted a cat named after pal Taylor Swift’s hit song. 2 Subway’s Foot-long Cookie The sandwich chain announced 12-inch chocolate chip cookies are crumbing to menus nationwide, starting early in the new year. 3 A Sex and the City reality show?! Is There Still Sex in the City?, a new dating series inspired by the HBO hit, will follow four friends in their 50s as they trade the city for the countryside—and all the men it has to offer. 4 Spinal Tap Is Back! One of England’s loudest bands will return with a ruckus in a mockumentary sequel honoring the 1984 film’s 40th anniversary—complete with new…

The Year Women Led the Way If anyone has a doubt about how much women shook the world in 2023, I refer you to the weekend of July 21. On that Friday night people lined up in pink power suits and cowboy vests to see Margot Robbie’s Barbie. On July 22 a crowd of 72,000 flocked to see Taylor Swift at Lumen Field in Seattle and shook the ground so hard that a seismometer registered it as an earthquake. The next night fans did it again. Meanwhile in Chicago rain couldn’t stop Beyoncé from a performance so out of this world it was, as one critic said, “the closest we mere mortals will get to going to the moon.” These women had a Midas touch in big and small ways—a single…

MACAULAY GETS HIS STAR Los Angeles, Dec. 1 Macaulay Culkin was anything but alone at his Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony. The actor’s Home Alone mom, Catherine O’Hara—who praised his performance in the 1990 holiday classic as “perfect”—showed up to support him. His fiancée, actress Brenda Song, and their sons Dakota, 2, and a baby born earlier this year also joined him, marking the kids’ first public appearances. “I’d like to thank Brenda. You’re absolutely everything,” Culkin said in his speech. “You’re the best person I’ve ever known, and after the birth of our two boys, you’ve become one of my three favorite people.” FAMOUS FAMILIES TOGETHER AGAIN Los Angeles, Dec. 1 Thirty-five years after Cagney & Lacey ended, costars Tyne Daly (left) and Sharon Gless reunited at the premiere…

What’s sweeter than Willy Wonka’s candy and chocolate confections? The growing bond between Timothée Chalamet and Kylie Jenner. On Nov. 28 the Kardashians star, 26, supported Chalamet, 27, at the London world premiere of his new movie Wonka, which finds him putting a fresh spin on the title character previously played by Gene Wilder in 1971 and Johnny Depp in 2005. And though she did not pose with Chalamet on the red carpet at the Royal Festival Hall, a source confirms the beauty mogul slipped into the screening and joined revelers at the film’s afterparty. “Kylie calls Timothée her boyfriend,” says a source. “They both try to attend important events for each other. He is very supportive of her career, and she of his.” Indeed, two and a half weeks…

Since he was fired from the Today show in 2017 amid allegations of sexual misconduct in the workplace, Matt Lauer has been leading a quiet life out of the spotlight. The former news anchor, 65, has “drastically changed his social circle” and “iced out many old friends, even people who stuck by him after the Today show,” says a source. Among those who remain close to him are his kids—sons Thijs, 17, and Jack, 22, and daughter Romy, 20, with ex-wife Annette Roque—and his girlfriend, businesswoman Shamin Abas, whom he began dating in 2019. Though he sold his Hamptons home in 2022, he still manages a horse farm on Long Island with Roque. In the future he plans to spend more time at his New Zealand home, where “he feels…