Marcheline Bertrand

You might all not know the name but she has a famous daughter, famous son-in-law and a famous ex-husband. I used her name as title because I wanted to give her her own identity which was something she hardly had while alive. Her name doesnt sound familiar to you does it? She was french and was once an actress.

She died on saturday 27th January 2007 at a medical centre in Los Angeles. The 56 year old former actress battled cancer for seven and a half years before giving in last week. She was surrounded by her children.

Okay, let me let the cat out of the bag

Marcheline was Angelina Jolie's mother, Jon Voight's ex-wife and Brad Pitt's Mother-in-law? Maybe some day.

Sidney Sheldon

Hey people, Sidney Sheldon is dead. He died yesterday 30th January 2007 of complications from pneumonia. His beautiful wife was said to be by his side when he died. How many of you are Sidney Sheldon loyalists like myself? Am I sad? Maybe a little. I loved his books, very deep and intense. But the best part is that he died old. He was 89.

May we all live to be that old

May his beautiful soul rest in peace. Amen

"I had always dreamed but I never ever dreamed this big. This goes far beyond anything I could have ever imagined," Jennifer Hudson

JENNIFER HUDSON

JENNIFER AT AMERICAN IDOL

Who would have Thunk it? Like a friend will say. Jennifer Hudson...from nobody to world class celebrity. I remember her at the 2004 edition of American Idols and I also remember feeling really sad when she was voted off. She was the sixth contestant to leave. And I'm sure she must have thought it was over for her, not knowing that God had a bigger plan for her. In 2005, our lucky girl was cast in the role of Effie white in the film adaptation of DREAMGIRLS beating out hundreds of professional actresses and singers including Fantasia Barrino who beat her in American Idol.

Since the release of the film, Hudson has won several awards, among which is the highly prized GOLDEN GLOBES for BEST SUPPORT ACTRESS and the SAG AWARDS(Screen Actors Guild) for BEST SUPORT ACTRESS. She has also been nominated for THE OSCARS and I'll bet my every cent that she'll also win this.

I have seen this movie and I must say she deserves all the fuss, attention and awards she's getting. Her on-screen performance of 'AND I'M TELLING YOU I'M NOT GOING' was sensational. It brought tears to my eyes. She was astounding in the movie.

Now she's a superstar. Everybody wants a piece of her and many papers want to interview her. Even Oprah called her on her talk show to congratulate her on her performance and awards. Jennifer...who would have thunk it? Congratulations girl

This is a typical example that God has a plan for everyone one of us...if you don't succeed now, relax! God knows your heart and when its time, He will bless you beyond your wildest dreams.

Brandy Norwood


Lamont Bentley

This is one story that has really saddened me. The unneccessarily death of 38 year old Los Angeles waitress, wife and mother of one Awatef Aboudihaj, who was going about her own business on the 30th of dec 2006. Awatef was said to be driving a honda, Brandy was driving a Land Rover. For some inexplicable reason Brandy was slowed down but instead of doing that, her vehicle which was in high speed hit Awate's car from behind, Awatef's vehicle hit another car, slid sideways into a center divider and was hit by another car. She was said to have died later in the hospital. So so sad! I hear now that she maybe facing up to a year in prison for reckless driving. But her people say she was not driving under the influence of either drugs or alcohol. I hope this is true. And despite the tragedy I hope Brandy is not sent to prison. That wouldn't be fair. It was not deliberate. I also hear the dead woman's family are suing the singer for 50 million dollars...If she can, let her compensate the family but prison? No No No...Please

Ironically one of the cast of Brandy's sitcom Moesha, Lamont Bentley, who played the role of Hakeem Campbell, was killed in a car accident in January 2005 around the same area Brandy had her accident. In Lamont's case, his car plunged off the San Diego Freeway. He was the only one in the car. He was just 31 years old and had two daughters...So so sad. Check out his picture above and see if you remember him from Moesha.

May their souls rest in perfect peace

Tyra Banks is mad at the things people have been writing about her. They say she's fat. They've been calling her names and making fun of her body for so long. And she has decided to fight back. Read the story below


Tyra before and after

Television personality and former supermodel Tyra Banks has hit back at critics who mocked her as fat and dubbed her "America's Next Top Waddle" after recent weight gains.
Banks, 33, who swapped the fashion runway in 2005 for a career as a TV chat show host and presenter of the reality show America's Next Top Model, said she was hurt by the comments.
Banks, who is 178 cm tall, said she now weighs about 73kg - about 13.6kg heavier than in 1997 when she first made it as a swimsuit model.
"I still feel hot but every day is different. It's when I put on the jeans that used to fit a year ago and don't fit now and give me the muffin top, that's when I say 'Damn!'," she told People magazine in an interview for its Friday edition.
Recent unflattering pictures of Banks in a swimsuit on a beach in Australia have circulated on the internet with headlines such as "Tyra Porkchop" and "Tyra Banks is Fat".
"It was such a strange meanness and rejoicing that people had when thinking that was what my body looked like. It was really hurtful to me," Banks told People.
She said she was worried about the effect such reports would have on her fans.
"I get so much mail from young girls who say, 'I look up to you, you're not as skinny as everyone else, I think you're beautiful'," she said.
"So when they say that my body is 'ugly' and 'disgusting', what does that make those girls feel like?"
Banks said she was criticised in her 20s for her curves and hips when she was a runway model. Instead of strict dieting, she launched herself as a swimwear and lingerie model.
She has sought to highlight discrimination against overweight people, donning a padded "fat suit" and going undercover as a 159kg woman in 2005 to show how obese people are treated by others.
Banks said she was dedicating part of her talk show next week to putting the record straight about her size.

This is courtesy Reuters


Is this woman not sexy?

Anyway after all the talks, that apparently hurt her feelings, Tyra wrote this personal note in her website.
This here is Tyra in her own words

Have y'all,
Ever typed in your name on Google just to see what comes up? I've done it before for fun, and have seen lots of articles and photos from my career come up. But after returning from Australia recently and coming home to phone calls asking me if I was OK, I was confused. What were they talking about?
Then I remembered my flight back from Australia. Why did that flight attendant look my thighs and butt up and down -- and say, "Thank God! Thank God! They're liars!!!" I just wasn't getting it. I told myself I didn't care, but I was having trouble sleeping that night so I got outta bed, went over to my computer, and Googled myself. This time I typed in "TYRA FAT" -- and child, I had NO idea what was about to pop up on that screen.
My eyes were met with headline after headline "THIGH-RA BANKS!" "AMERICA'S NEXT TOP WADDLE!" "TYRA PORK CHOPS!" "TYRA TOPS 200LBS!" There were blogs from people shocked that it was reported I had gained almost 50 pounds in two months. I COULDN"T BELIEVE WHAT I WAS READING. Then I saw the photo of me on the beach in Australia. Written next to it was, "Tyra Banks shows the world why she retired from the runway." I needed to let everyone know what I thought about these headlines, and on the Tyra Show this Thursday, February 1st, I put on the very same swimsuit I was wearing in Australia...and confront those fat tabloid photos.
I hope you watch to see what I have to say!
Love,
Tyra


Tyra at a beach shoot for america's next top model.

Tyra you have added alot of weight. But its good, really really good. You are still curvy with alot of flesh. Men love that. Whats the fuss about? Pls girl tell me what you did to add all that weight. I want to be like you. Really.

But whether slim or fat, Tyra is still beautiful. Dont you guys think?

When I read this piece on the internet I was amused. Did I say amused? I Laughed my heads off. Sorry people, but I found it Hilarious...France has banned its citizens from smoking? You know why I found it funny? Because 1/3 of its adult population smokes. You guys know what that means? The adult population divided by three, one set smokes. And now its illegal? How in the world will they survive? The ban for smoking in public places came into force on thursday Jan 25th 2007. No more smoking in schools, hospitals, work places and smokers will now have to stub out on the door step of shops, sports clubs. But the real test for the french will be in 11 months when clubs, restaurants, cafe's and its like will have to comply. And are the french angry? They are so so miffed. Smokers are feeling persecuted by this ban, they feel its an attck on their personal freedom. Of course this invariable means that clubs and cafe's will suffer low patronage. Under this new law, smokers who light up publicly will pay a fine between 450 to 650 euros, while business owners will pay up to 750 euros.

My question is; will this people comply? About fifteem million of them. Some of them have been smoking for 10, 20, 30, 40 years...how do they stop all of a sudden? My other question is; is it right to enforce this law? Maybe. Because according to their health ministry's report, tobacco is the leading cause of avoidable death, claiming 66,000 lives per year and passive smoking claims another 5,ooo lives per year. The french govt are hoping that the ban will encourage smokers to kick the habit and many businesses are offering in-house sessions on how to quit smoking.

France joins Italy, Belgium and Britain which has banned smoking in public places.

I am in toatal support of the ban. Totally. Stop smoking, more lives are saved. I hope it gets to Nigeria soon

Hey everyone. So sorry I haven't uploaded my blog in so long. I have been crazy busy with work. For some reason I have been getting modeling jobs here and there. In the last two weeks I've had to cater for ushers for a wedding and a book launch. Models for a fashion show, and I'm presenly grooming models for a valentine show..Its been crazy. But thankfully I enjoy what I do. So I'm not complaining. I'm also trying to get my magazine out...u guys I need money o...doing a magazine is no child's play. Also I'm trying to upgrade my mag website...its been a very busy month but we thank God. And for those of you who want to know whether I'm married or getting married soon, the answer is NO! I'm very much single. Do I want to be married anytime soon? Maybe. If I find the right guy who treats me right...Got to go. Will check in with y'all later...do have yourselves a great week

My Kayode Fayemi is gone. I can't believe it. I'm still in great pain. I keep hoping its false and somebody will call and tell me he's alright, that it was all a joke. My heart bleeds as I write this. I can't begin to express my pain at his demise. Why you Kayode? You were just 42yrs old. Your wife just had a baby. My did you have to go without any warning. You were not sick, you were a vibrant and jolly fellow who loved life. Why did God take you away so suddenly? Did he think you were too good for this world? Why do good people die young? Why do things like this happen. Kayode was not only my publicist, he was a friend and like a brother to me. I met Kayode in 2000 at a fashion show I was part of. He walked up to me and said I was the best model on stage and he would like to have an interview with me about modeling. Guess I forgot to tell you all that Kayode was a journalist. At the time I met him he was working with city people magazine and he was the first guy to write about me in the paper. He made me news material as he did a series of interviews and write-ups about me. He was the first to call me a super model in the papers, and the first to put me on the front cover of a magazine. He made other journalists notice me. He made me popular. When he became the editor for celebrity magazine, he asked me to write for the paper, he gave me a page where we both choose the name fashion and modeling with linda ikeji. I worked with Kayode and the magazine for over a year and it was during this time that I was inspired to start my own magazine. So you can say Kayode inspired FM&B magazine. He was a mentor to me, he looked after my reputation in the media. I leaked most of the stories I wanted people to know about me through him. He sent journalisst upon journalists to interview me. Kayode made me newsworthy. He loved me as a sister, he loved me in ways I could not understand. He never allowed any bad stories to be written about me. He was my protector. And I loved him. He officially became my media consultant in 2005 and the best part of it all is that I never paid Kayode a dime. He never asked, instead he gave me. He never forgot my birthdays. Never forgot to wish merry xmas, happy new year, barka de sallah etc. He was always the first to send me a text. He really was a friend.

On wednesday afternoon, 10th january 2007, while at waterparks where he had gone for a meeting, my Kayode had an asthma attack and didn't survive it. He died at the hospital. Some attribute the attack on the whether, but Kayode has survived 42 years of harmattan, why this year 2007? Was he not with his inhaler? That's most unlikely because I know he goes around with his inhaler. Could it be that the people around him could have saved his life if they had known how to administer first aid to an asthma patient? Or was it just Kayode's time to go? What happens to his four adorable girls? What happens to his young beautiful wife? How will they cope without their bread winner? Why is life so unfair?

I remembered the last time I saw Kayode, it was dec 3rd 2006 at Zakky Adzay's album launch. We sat on the same table and chatted non-stop for hours until we left the venue at 9pm. I remember we walked together to his car, he hugged me and promised to see me soon. I didn't know that would be our last meeting. If I'd known, I would have held on to him a little longer or maybe I never would have let him go. The last time I spoke to him was 8th january 2006, two days before he died, when I called to tell him about a programme I was working on. He promised to call me before the week ran out, but he didn't fulfil that promise. Death wouldnt let him.

Kayode I've cried for you, maybe more than anybody else who knew you.I'll always cry for you. My heart bleeds, and I feel an emptiness inside now. I feel lonely without you. You were not only my publicist and friend, you were also my confidant. I told you everything I wanted somebody else to know and you were always there to give me advise. You shaped my life Kayode, and I'll miss you tremendously. Adieu my friend. May the angels take care of you. May God keep you in his bossom. May your beautiful soul rest in perfect peace. Amen.

I'll always love you.

Linda Ikeji

Happy NEW YEAR everyone. I can't believe I waited this long before saying this. Really sorry. Whats my excuse? Been so busy doing this and that. I am coming up with a new TV programme called CATWALK WITH LINDA. I'll tell you what it's all about later. Gotta run. Cheers