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Remember when the stunning Princess Diana was alive and she did her best to shield her princes from the spotlight? You gotta give her props for wanting them to grow up as normal as possible, all things considered.

Not to compare her to Jason Priestley or anything but hey, 90210 alums are in a class by themselves! <grin> Jason was spotted at the international airport in Toronto with his wife, two-year-old daughter, Ava Veronica, and three-month-old son. Unnamed. Well, suffice it to say he has a name but we don’t know what it is! Rumor has it the kid is named Dashiell, but they haven’t confirmed their son’s name yet publicly.

Jason’s goal is to keep his private life private. You know what? Good for him. I’m not sure if that would include something as basic as a child’s name versus perhaps revealing details about his private life on a more personal level but whatever it is, he is protecting his private life and consequently his family.

Could you imagine what it would be like to open a weekly magazine to see your family’s faces all over the place? Granted, I’ve heard some celebrities yearn for the face time because these mags keep their personal stock on the high end but when it comes to shielding their privacy, he’s certainly trying to keep things hush-hush and, in this case, the cutie pie on the QT.

So, whaddya think? Does being public about the basics of your personal life come with the celebrity territory or should more celebrities draw the line in the sense that work is work and personal life is off limits?

The Duggars

Okay, by now you’ve heard of them, right? Surely, you have heard of the Duggars. They’re the stars of TLC’s brand new show, 18 Kids and Counting, featuring their household of kids (dare I say it? More like two baseball teams) and now they’ve welcomed their first grandchild into the world.

In fact, a special will air this Tuesday at 9 p.m. as the First Grandduggar. Mackynzie Renee is the first grandchild to Jim Bob and Michelle and has arrived in the world with 17 aunts and uncles! Plus, another aunt or uncle will be born in 2010 as Michelle is expecting her 19th (yes, as in 19!) child this coming spring.

Mackynzie was born in her parents’ house, Joshua and Anna, as a midwife and doula attended the birth. With this many kids and an unusual family size, you simply have to wonder: Is this family cashing in and leveraging their kids as bait to the network? Is it a way for them to earn a living like any other family or are they sensationalizing their story? Hmmmm.

As peculiar as it is, at least Josh has had his share of child-rearing. As the eldest of their brood, he likely grew up helping his younger siblings with their homework, assisting with household chores, and the like.  That said, one can only imagine how they won’t lack in the department of finding a babysitter or nanny to help watch Mackynzie!

Do you think this family is cashing in on their unique circumstance or do you think all’s fair in love and war in terms of making a living however they can get it?

Can you imagine being in the spotlight and keeping something super-personal under wraps? Well, out of respect for the stars, there are some things you probably wouldn’t want leaked. This is one of them.

Then again, when you have big news to share and want to do it on your own terms (and not a tabloid’s), it’s time to shout it to the rooftops! Celine Dion is pregnant and due next May! Here’s the scoop: the 41-year-old Canadian singer is very early in her pregnancy thanks to an embryo that was frozen in liquid nitrogen for the past eight years. Eight years! (Is there an echo in here? Ha!)

You may recall Celine has a son, Rene-Charles, who was born in January 2001. While trying to conceive R-C (we’ll call him that for short, ‘k?), she had her embryos frozen. Fast forward: her mega-watt performances in Vegas ended in 2007 and at that time she consulted her doctor about conceiving again. It was time to have the embryos transferred back and, well, the rest is history. Or herstory. After all, the sex of the baby right now is still unknown!

Do you think it’s wise to share information with the world at this point or should she perhaps wait a little longer to not jinx anything (that is, for those of us who are superstitious)?

{Photo: CNS}

INF

I don’t claim to understand Hollywood life, ha ha. I just study it. A lot. Almost like an anthropologist studying a socio-economical status or foreign tribe in the midst of their habitat, if you will. So when it comes to hearing about the glam relationships and the like, nothing ceases to amaze me.

Kinda like how couples have babies out of wedlock and then — oops — get engaged as their kids become old enough to be in their parents’ own wedding. Or having tons of relationships and, consequently, divorces at a very young age. It seems to happen more frequently in Tinseltown than in America’s towns, villages, and cities (although it still happens everywhere, of course the non-traditional relationships seem to happen more frequently in Hollywood).  It always seems to be an anomaly when you frequently hear about such stories among celebrity-ville.

Like Jude Law. Let’s face it: That man can act! The two-time Oscar nominee and actor of the upcoming film Repo certainly has a lot of talent and a lot to be proud of in the industry. But, when we look at his personal life, it could be deemed a different story.

Who knows, maybe he’s just one the mags choose to single out, but remember Sienna Miller? She’s the actress in the current flick, G.I. Joe? As Jude’s former fiancee, she broke off the engagement once she heard he had cheated on her with the nanny. And now, the father of three children is in headlines since he’ll become a daddy once more.

A model and actress in Florida with whom Jude recently had a relationship is expecting a daughter this October around the same time that Jude will star in Hamlet on Broadway in a 12-week stint.

What are your thoughts: Is Jude just in the news a lot for his off-screen romances and not enough for his on-screen talents?

As a writer, as you can imagine I spend countless hours in front of my laptop. And by that, I mean my laptop and my television. I’ve gotten so accustomed to having the TV on as background noise over the years that it’s automatically on. All. The. Time.

Sure, if it’s not baseball as my numero uno choice, it’s usually the news or an entertainment news program so of course, I may stay on the pulse of the scene for all of my blogs! (Or at least that’s what I keep telling myself <grin>!) So you can imagine what I ended up watching on Sunday night when I didn’t feel like changing the channel from E! Yes, that’s right: I watched Kendra!

I’ve seen her a few times on The Girls Next Door, the previous show with the Playboy Bunnies and Hugh Hefner. Apparently it looks like this is a spin-off. Cackle intact, Kendra’s show highlights her life and, in turn, her nuptials to a professional football player. I must admit, it was somewhat entertaining as far as background noise goes and while I only wish I was at the gym because it went by pretty quickly (why do workouts always go faster while watching E!?), the mother-daughter interaction was interesting to say the least.

Instantly, her mother and grandmother are thrust into the spotlight as the bridal shower (yes, this was the *second* episode I watched, a two-parter no less!) was the culmination of all things in a reality show. Suspense. Drama. And the one-liner! Twenty-three-year-old Kendra told her family right then and there she was unable to drink because she is pregnant. Da-da-dum! (insert ominous music here!)

Her mother’s reaction was not supportive and it made me realize from that perspective, do you ever truly stop being a mother even when your grown daughter is about to walk down the aisle in front of the spotlight? Do relationships get put on a pedestal and people no longer have squabbles just because the woman and man are celebrities? Methinks not. As it turns out, her mother only wanted the best for Kendra as she, too gave birth at an early age and saw her husband walk out on her. Of course, she doesn’t want her daughter to experience the same thing.

In the end, they patched things up and all things are a-go for their big wedding (yes, an hour-long episode will air on Sunday night though the real thing already took place!) and we’ll see if her mother is truly getting accustomed to the idea of being called “Grandma.”

It’s time to weigh in: do you think Kendra’s mother had a point by being completely unsupportive or perhaps was just initially shocked by the stork news before it set in?

{Photo: Reuters}

Okay, okay, I so know what you’re thinking. “Teen Queen” as in oh-my-gosh has that Jamie Lynn Spears given birth again? Well, when I think of a movie teen queen I think of none other than Molly Ringwald who seems ageless even though the 40-year-old officially made her mark two decades ago.

To those of us who grew up in the ’80s, it wouldn’t have been our generation without Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, or hey, even The Facts of Life. So when Molly made headlines recently by giving birth to twins, Adele Georgiana and Roman Stylianos, one can’t help but reflect on the star’s career and how she’s managed to keep five-year-old daughter Mathilda out of the spotlight as well.

In case you didn’t know, Ringwald is currently on ABC Family’s The Secret Life of the American Teenager playing – you guessed it – the mother of a pregnant teen. In any event, we wish Molly and her family well upon the arrival of their daughter and son!

Which begs the question: who do you think is the consummate teen queen of today’s movies?

{Photo: Wire Image}

Splash News

Who’s one of my favorite American Idol alums? Jennifer Hudson! Seriously, she wasn’t even a finalist and yet she represents the quintessential American dream. Academy Award? Check. Grammy Award? Check. Gracefully enduring three tragic losses in the public eye? Check, check, check.

So imagine my delight when I got to interview Miss Hudson last year for her role in Sex and the City: the Movie! It just keeps getting better as you hope her down-to-earth persona could be shared among other celebs. But alas, I digress.

Anytime I hear about good news related to J. Hud I get pretty darn psyched. First was the engagement to her Harvard-educated lawyer-now-wrestler David Otunga. Next was her Superbowl performance of our country’s national anthem a few short months ago.

I’m typing this during the Michael Jackson memorial service (although I think the coverage is OD’d, oh my the performances are quite moving!) in anticipation of seeing J. Hud perform Will You Be There with a choir and the Michael Jackson tour dancers. Naturally, I’m doing some J. Hud research: she’s due in approximately two months! Yay Jennifer!

One can only look toward her resiliency to bounce back from loss and see what type of musical talents her little one will possess!

Do you think her baby will be a musician or actor or both?

Calabrese/Gaz Shirley/Pacific Coast News

Picture it. You’re an A-List celeb and everywhere you go there’s paparazzi. A flash bulb here, a flash bulb there, here a flash, there a flash, everywhere a flash-flash!

Now, if you will imagine strolling with your stroller. Your kid’s in the caboose and the paps simply won’t leave you alone. That, my friend, is where the line should be drawn. Sure, along with being a celebrity comes the territory of being in the public eye and having your privacy invaded to some extent.

Key words: “to some extent.” When you’re hottie Matthew McConaughey, star of the new flick, Ghosts of Girlfriends Past,  there’s going to be interest in his nine-month-old son, Levi, but you know what? Photogs should back off. Give him some space and, more importantly, realize a celeb’s kid did not choose to be in the public eye. Matthew seems more cordial than other celebs and typically acknowledges the photogs with a wave or hello.

Well, in a recent interview with Ryan Seacrest, it seems the actor is at peace and realizes paparazzi will always be a-stalkin’ but that you have a choice. You can either stay at home and not go out, or you can simply live your life and accept they will be there to document it.

We give Matthew props for rolling with it and realizing his love, Camila, is often thrust into the spotlight thanks to the pics.

In any event, what are your thoughts? Do celebs deserve an inkling of privacy or is anything fair game in terms of pictures the moment they’re out and about?

Getty Images

It’s a funny thing about being pregnant. Elisabeth Hasselbeck, co-host of The View, recently said she doesn’t have time to think about her pregnancy and she’s lucky to take that pre-natal pill at the end of each day!

You said it, sista! Not like this singlista would know but, hey, when you’ve seen your pregnant friends be doted on with their first pregnancy and see the seismic shift with babies two, three, or more, it’s pretty clarifying. For instance, Hasselbeck has so much going on considering her four-year-old daughter and one-year-old son need TLC (and, ah yes, her husband, too!). She is also promoting a new book about gluten-free diets, co-hosting the show five days each week, and fitting in what she needs to do to stay healthy herself.

For someone so outspoken on political issues, she seems to have hit the nail on the head on this one. During her first pregnancy Elisabeth alluded to being “a pregnant goddess and everyone is running around giving you water.”  While every woman is a pregnant goddess indeed and should always be given a seat on the subway (hear me, fellow 6 train passengers? It’s considered polite to give up your seat for a pregnant woman, elderly person, or child!), the frame of mind shifts when you already have babies in the house.

I’ve seen this in my own friends and their different mindsets of preparing for baby full throttle versus not having any time to prepare for their addition since they’re already busy nurturing their other children.

As refreshing as it was to hear words from a celebrity ring true, what are your thoughts? Think pregnant celebs have it any different or is it the cry-me-a-river speech being artificially busy considering they typically have help via nannies, chefs, and chauffeurs?

Alison Dyer

What would you do if you were immersed in the over-the-top-skinny look of Hollywood and stood in the glaring light of the television spotlight? Better yet, imagine hosting a reality show about losing weight and yet you have just given birth!

Meet Alison Sweeney – The Days of Our Lives actress and host of The Biggest Loser. Sweeney gave birth to her second child, a daughter, Megan Hope on January 12, 2009.

So you can imagine what the star did next: exercise. Although she returned to the TBL set merely eight days after giving birth, and reprised her role on Days merely six days beyond that, she’s doing what her show’s contestants do best: work out.

Giving props to Nintendo Wii, Sweeney rocks out to its fitness program EA Active. As Sweeney gets accustomed to motherhood times two, it looks like her discipline and determination will get her back into her skinny jeans in no time flat. (I could totally dish here about being healthy instead of scary skinny, but hey, that would be a whole other blog.)

Even though it sounds like Sweeney is dropping the pounds the good old-fashioned way (i.e., hard work), do some celebrities take it too far to drop the baby weight pronto?