Celebrity Gossip Roundup

March 08, 2008

Nicky Hilton and The Hills star Whitney Port have forged a friendship -- courtesy of the Olsen twins. The New York Post reports that the gals are getting close because their boyfriends, the respective exes of Mary Kate and Ashley, are best friends. Hilton's boyfriend, David Katzenberg, was linked to Mary Kate for several years, while Port's new love, former Columbia University quarterback Matt Kaplan, was attached to Ashley.

Jessica Simpson is recreating a famous photo shoot, a la Lindsay Lohan, on the cover of next month's Esquire magazine. The singer/actress is channeling a 1965 shot of Italian actress Virna Lisi shaving her lathered-up face. Legendary Esquire designer George Lois intended the original concept to be a provocation of the women's liberation movement.

Prince Harry is reportedly engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Chelsy Davy. The UK's Sunday Mirror reported that the 22-year-old prince proposed during a recent safari in Botswana -- but the pair want to keep the engagement a secret until Davy finishes her post-graduate courses and the prince completes his active Army service. "It'll be 18 months down the line before they go public about their engagement," a source told the paper. The couple have been dating since 2004.

Former O.C. star Mischa Barton will be taking a plea bargain in her DUI case at her court date on Thursday. The actress will plead no contest to the DUI charge and in exchange, the marijuana charge will be dropped. Another charge of driving without a license will be reduced to an infraction, Barton will serve three years of unsupervised probation, attend an alcohol education class and pay a fine of approximately $1,700.

Carrie Underwood and Gossip Girl star Chance Crawford ended their relationship in modern fashion. "We broke up over text, so it's like 'peace out,'" the former American Idol told Extra at the Idol Gives Back taping on Sunday (April 6th). "It was completely mutual, we're both fine." The pair, who had been dating since last summer, recently called it quits. The relationship "just didn't work," Underwood said. "We both knew it didn't work and there are no hard feelings whatsoever."

California First Lady Maria Shriver is the latest celebrity to have her medical records viewed by unauthorized personnel at UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, E! News reports. A worker was fired last week for snooping on cancer patient Farrah Fawcett's records, while 13 were fired and another dozen disciplined last month for breaching the confidential records of Britney Spears. According to the Los Angeles Times, as many as 32 famous people may have had their files violated at the facility.

Actor Rob Lowe claims his former babysitter is trying to extort $1.5 million from him and his wife, People.com reports. In a blog posting Monday (April 7th), Lowe said the unnamed woman is demanding the money "or she will accuse us both of a vicious laundry list of false terribles. It is an attempt to damage and humiliate not only my wife and me, but our two young sons as well." The 44-year-old star added, "My family is devastated at this betrayal; this woman worked in our home and traveled with us off and on for seven years, without complaint." The post also includes what Lowe says are two friendly text messages from the woman after she quit her job.