She has an “angel” of a boyfriend, Dutch bass player Martyn Lenoble, “who loves me from head to toe.” She has a cozy Malibu beach house that she calls “the best thing I’ve ever done for myself.” And, after a very public battle with breast cancer that has given her a gratifying “feeling of purpose,” Christina Applegate has a new lease on life. “I used to be really shy but I started to come into my own in my late 20s and early 30s,” Applegate, 37, tells PEOPLE in the cover interview for the annual Most Beautiful issue – her first interview since her reconstructive breast surgery last November. “Now I’m not afraid to speak up in a room full of people and be a part of the conversation.” The Samantha Who? star says she’s finding balance and embracing her body after undergoing a double mastectomy in July. “You have to get through the physical transformations then buck up, go to work and try to be the normal, happy Christina for everyone around you,” she says. One source of strength has been Lenoble. “He’s been a friend for about 13 years,” Applegate says. “Our relationship gets stronger and stronger. I’m really lucky.” And, more importantly, he makes the actress feel “beautiful” about her new body. “I’m very grateful to Martyn for coming along at a time that he did because he’s been my rock through all of this,” Applegate says. “He gave me something to really want to live for and something to smile about.”

Considering the life-changing effect that enduring a double mastectomy has on a woman, I am very impressed with Christina’s attitude about her beauty (which is on full display in this issue of People magazine). I, for the life of me, cannot imagine what it must be like to survive a bout with cancer so my hat is off to her in that respect. I suppose congrats are in order for being named by People magazine as one of the 100 Most Beautiful People. But, there are 99 other folks who have been deemed beautiful by People — after the jump, check out a few of those pretty faces …

There is no denying that each one of these people is beautiful but I gotta question the selection choice of some of these photos. The 90210 girls were photographed without make-up (on purpose) but the photo is set in the harsh beach sun which makes each of the young girls look haggard. Also, I think the mag could’ve selected better photos of Robert Pattinson and Michelle Obama. Each one of them is incredibly beautiful and, yet, these photos in my opinion do not showcase their beauty at all. I do love the photo of Kristen Wiig and, of course, Tristan Wilds and Zac Efron both look supercute. I know the People magazine list of the 100 Most Beautiful People is meant to be fun and I think they generally get it right … but what do you think? Who would YOU have selected for the cover of this mag?

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Why IN THE WORLD would anyone who has endured something as life-changing as a double mastectomy in order to rid their body of breast cancer want to tempt fate by smoking cigarettes and risk getting throat cancer? It just seems extremely dangerous and foolhardy to take up a smoking habit in the wake of a successful defeat of cancer. Obvs, it is her life and she is free to do as she pleases but I can’t help but wonder what it may feel like should she ever find out that she is sick again. Why take the chance? I’m really dumbfounded … but I do wish her well and continued health.

[Photo credit: INFdaily]

Batman movie “The Dark Knight” soared away with five People’s Choice Awards on Wednesday including favorite movie and on-screen pairing for stars Christian Bale and the late Heath Ledger to kick off Hollywood’s annual awards season. Country singer Carrie Underwood, who rose to fame on television talent show “American Idol,” was another big winner, hauling in three People’s Choice Awards for favorite female singer, country song “Last Name,” and star under 35 years-old. “Fans and people voting for me are what gave me a career in the first place,” Underwood said, acknowledging the voting by music lovers. “This is an amazing night.” The People’s Choice Awards, in its 35th edition this year, are a widely watched measure of popular appeal for Hollywood stars and they mark a starting point for the industry’s annual awards season which runs through the Oscars, the world’s top film awards, that take place in February. Adam Sandler was named funniest male star, Reese Witherspoon favorite female movie star, and Kate Hudson top leading lady among winners in more than 40 categories covering film, television, music and even online entertainment.

Sandler, Witherspoon and Hudson all echoed a familiar theme of the night by saying People’s Choice honors were special because they were voted on by fans, as opposed to critics or members of industry groups. The ceremony also has a more casual atmosphere compared to TV’s Emmy’s or the film industry’s Oscars, where black ties and ball gowns are mandatory. Noting that difference, Katherine Heigl, who accepted the trophy for best comedy movie for her “27 Dresses,” told reporters backstage that she wore a pants suit because “it was after the holidays, so I didn’t want to wear anything strapless or anything I had to suck in my stomach for.” Among film honors, “Dark Knight,” which was 2008’s top film at box offices with global ticket sales of nearly $1 billion, also proved to be the No. 1 movie of the night. Along with best film and on-screen match-up, it hauled in awards for favorite action movie, superhero for Bale as Batman, and for its cast. “The Secret Life of Bees” was the winner of best film drama and favorite independent film, and animated “Wall-E” was the No. 1 family film for People’s Choice voters. In the TV arena, medical show “House” was named favorite TV drama, and “Two and a Half Men” was best TV comedy. “The Mentalist” was top new TV drama while “Gary Unmarried” was the No. 1 new TV comedy. “House” star Hugh Laurie took home the trophy for favorite male TV star, and Christina Applegate took the honor of top female TV star for “Samantha Who?” Applegate, who revealed earlier this year that she underwent surgery for breast cancer, said the award meant a lot to her after a difficult year.” “I feel great. I really do,” she told reporters backstage. “Each week gets easier and each week gets better.” Ellen DeGeneres was named best TV talk show host and “Dancing With the Stars” was the people’s pick for No. 1 competition or reality TV show. Along with Underwood, top winners in music included Kid Rock for favorite rock song “All Summer Long,” Rascal Flatts for favorite group, Chris Brown best male singer and Katy Perry with best pop tune “I Kissed a Girl.”

I love the People’s Choice Awards primarily because the winners are determined by the people … which is unlike any other major award show. I had tickets to attend last night’s show but couldn’t make it because of a last minute meeting I had to attend late yesterday afternoon. As much as it bums me out that I couldn’t attend, I’m very happy with the way other things are going in my personal life right now … but I’m digressing. Much congrats to the winners of the PCAs this year. Let’s see if The Dark Knight is able to secure any other nominations and awards as the Awards Season carries on. Click HERE to see a full list of this year’s People’s Choice Award winners.

[Photo credit: Wireimage, Splash News; Source]

Christina Applegate looked stunning on the red carpet, I’m so glad to see her looking so well. Heidi Klum and Julie Benz also looked pretty amazing … I threw in David Boreanaz so that there could be a little bit of Angel/Darla love going on here. I liked Brooke Shields’s pink dress and I thought Kathy Griffin picked out a nice wig to wear for the event. Here are a few pics of some of the winners in the Emmy Awards press room backstage … I also threw in some non-winners as well, cuz they were brave enough to pose for pics without having actually won anything last night:

The sleek ’60s drama “Mad Men” made Emmy history Sunday as the first basic-cable show to win a top series award, while the sitcom “30 Rock” and its stars Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin also emerged as big winners. “We’re all so very grateful to have jobs in this turkey-burger economy,” Fey said after accepting the best comedy series trophy for her satire about a late-night TV show. “This is the greatest job I’ve ever had in my life,” Baldwin said of his role an a network executive. He paid tribute to Fey, the NBC show’s star and creator, as “the Elaine May of her generation.” “I thank my parents for somehow raising me to have confidence that is disproportionate with my looks and abilities. Well done. That is what all parents should do,” said Fey, who also won for best actress and writing in a comedy series. Emmy voters rewarded quality, not ratings: Many of the winners draw relatively small audiences. AMC’s “Mad Men,” which looks at America through the prism of Madison Avenue, is lucky to get 2 million viewers. Glenn Close of FX’s “Damages” and Bryan Cranston of AMC’s “Breaking Bad” captured drama acting trophies. Close, honored for her portrayal of a ruthless attorney, complimented her fellow nominees, including Holly Hunter and Sally Field. “We’re proving that complicated, powerful, mature women are sexy in high entertainment and can carry a show,” she said. “I call us the sisterhood of the TV drama divas.” Cranston won the trophy for his role of a desperate man who turns to making drugs. Dianne Wiest of “In Treatment” and Zeljko Ivanek of “Damages” won supporting acting honors for the drama series. Jean Smart of ABC’s “Samantha Who?” was honored as best supporting actress in a comedy series, with Jeremy Piven her actor counterpart for “Entourage.” Piven took aim at the five reality hosts who helped open the ceremony in what could charitably called a rambling way, saying, “What if I just kept talking for 12 minutes — what would happen? That was the opening.” The crowd at the 60th annual Primetime Emmy Awards laughed heartily, not a good sign for the hosts, who included Ryan Seacreast of “American Idol.” … Jeff Probst of “Survivor,” one of the ceremony’s masters of ceremonies, claimed the first award for best reality series host. “We feel honored to be part of this family. Thank you for letting reality in,” he said … HBO’s “John Adams,” about the founding father, was named best miniseries and won other awards including acting trophies for Paul Giamatti, Laura Linney and Tom Wilkinson. The historical drama set a record for most awards, 13, including five trophies Sunday and eight previously announced. The record of 11 was held by HBO’s “Angels in America,” the TV academy said. HBO was the most-honored network, with 26 awards earned Sunday and at the creative arts ceremony held earlier this month. ABC was second with 12 awards, followed by CBS, NBC and PBS with 10 each; AMC with eight, Showtime with five and Fox with four.

Felicitations and congratulations go out to all of this year’s Emmy Award winners … but I am struggling to find nice things to say about last night’s award show. Since I didn’t get to see it for myself, I have to rely on what others are reporting … and none of it is good. After the jump, check out some of the scathing yet funny bad reviews of last night’s 60th Annual Emmy Awards — believe me, some of them are deffo worth checking out …

USA Today: “It was hideously awful from start to harried finish, dragged down by five amateurish reality anchors who would have been unwelcome as guests, let alone hosts.”

MSNBC: “The Emmy telecast offers quality that’s dismally lower than nearly anything else on television. “American Idol” and “Dancing with the Stars” deserve plenty of criticism, but even their worst episodes — typically their results shows, as they lack content and waste time — are more engaging and entertaining than the Emmys … The Emmys need to dump their producers and directors, hiring a team who knows how to produce popular television.”

Yikes! It sounds pret-ty bad … if any of y’all watched last night’s show and have anything pertinent to add, please do … I must admit, I’m pretty entertained by just the bad reviews that I’ve been reading :)

[Photo credit: Bauer-Griffin, Wireimage; Source, Source]

A month after being diagnosed with breast cancer, actress Christina Applegate, 36, is “100 percent” cancer-free, she told “Good Morning America’s” Robin Roberts in an exclusive interview. “I’m clear. Absolutely 100 percent clear and clean,” the star of ABC TV’s “Samantha Who?” said. “It did not spread — they got everything out, so I’m definitely not going to die from breast cancer.” But the price she paid for that peace of mind was high. To be sure the cancer would be completely excised, and that there would be a reduced chance of it returning despite Applegate testing positive for the BRCA1 breast cancer gene, the actress opted to have both her breasts removed in an operation known as a prophylactic double mastectomy, even though cancerous lumps were only found in one breast. “My decision, after looking at all the treatment plans that were possibilities for me, the only one that seemed the most logical and the one that was going to work for me was to have a bilateral mastectomy,” Applegate said. Three weeks ago, she had the dramatic operation rather than undergoing other longer-term treatments like radiation or chemotherapy. “I didn’t want to go back to the doctors every four months for testing and squishing and everything. I just wanted to kind of get rid of this whole thing for me. This was the choice that I made and it was a tough one.” Though she will be undergoing breast reconstruction surgery over the next eight months, Applegate said the emotional toll has been heavy. “Sometimes, you know, I cry. And sometimes I scream. And I get really angry. And I get really upset, you know, into wallowing in self-pity sometimes. And I think that it’s all part of the healing,” she said. But Applegate is healthy and calm now, due to both her unflappible sense of humor — “I’m going to have the best boobs in the nursing home” — and the powerful inspiration she gained from her mother, Nancy Priddy, a repeat breast cancer survivor. “She’s been sort of this quiet warrior in the back and has been a great support, and just telling me that I was going to be OK. And I knew I was going to be OK. I’ve watched her have a mastectomy, and then I’ve watched her go through two years of chemotherapy and eight surgeries and a hysterectomy. I’ve watched this woman survive both those things. So, for me, there was always that sense that I was going to be OK, no matter what.” Applegate is also going to be OK due to her own vigilance. She started getting mammograms six years ago, after she turned 30, and said the cancer was found through the second of two MRI tests as a follow-up from a biopsy she had last year. “If this had been caught a year from now, or when I was 40, I probably wouldn’t be able to live through this,” Applegate said. The MRI Applegate underwent, she said, is capable of seeing cells, meaning it can detect cancerous cells even before a tumor forms.

This is such amazing news, even tho Christina had to make the difficult choice to undergo a double mastectomy. The lesson here is that early detection can save lives … but the article did go on to say that the MRI that Christina used to catch the cancer cells early on is very expensive and is not covered by a lot of health insurance policies. That being said, I hope Christiana’s story will inspire other young women to begin checking themselves for possible lumps by giving themselves self-exams or by starting a routine of mammograms as early as they can (I think age 30 is the new standard?). I am so happy for Christina and I hope her story will help other folks save their lives.

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