Local Couple Renews Vows

By Richard Mineards   |   February 14, 2023

After tying the knot 15 years ago, former TV talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres, 65, and actress wife Portia de Rossi, 50, renewed their wedding vows at their $70 million Montecito estate.

The dynamic duo’s good friend, Kris Jenner, matriarch of the Kardashian clan, officiated at the intimate ceremony with guests including near neighbor Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Portia, who starred on Ally McBeal, wore the classic gown from her Los Angeles wedding in 2008, while Ellen dressed down in a blue jacket and khaki slacks with sneakers. Brandi Carlile sang the Roberta Flack classic, “The First Time I Ever Saw Your Face.”

Ellen, who thought she was attending a bash to celebrate Portia’s half century, shared the occasion on her
Instagram page.

Giving Back

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s Archewell Foundation has raised $13 million since its formation in 2020 with $3 million given away to their charitable causes, including cash for 12 million COVID-19 vaccinations.

The monies raised by the Sussexi’s charitable organizations was also handed to organizations supporting refugees from Afghanistan and Ukraine.

Archewell’s first “impact report” says its money helped pay for 12.66 million COVID shots around the world, while working with the anti-poverty charity Global Citizen.

The donations equated to 23% of income.

Bravo!

See the Light

Former Montecito TV talk-show hosts Ellen DeGeneres and Oprah Winfrey, who just celebrated her 69th birthday in L.A., are set to appear on former First Lady Michelle Obama’s new podcast with Amazon Audible.

The new project, The Light Podcast, debuts March 7 and remains exclusive to Amazon for two weeks, at which point it will become universally available.

It will be an eight-part series discussion with topics including race and relationships.

Personal Disagreement 

Actor Ashton Kutcher was not happy his ex-wife Demi Moore detailed their marital problems in her 2019 bombshell memoir Inside Out.

The Carpinteria resident, 44, who graces the cover of Esquire’s first ever digital cover story, fumes he was “f**king pissed” at his former spouse, 60, for reigniting a media frenzy over his personal life.

“I’d finally gotten to the place where the press had really laid off me and my wife Mila Kunis and family. And then the next day, the paparazzi were at my kids’ schools,” the father of two reflected on the renewed interest in his first marriage following Moore’s book release.

During the interview, the People’s Choice Award winner recalled exactly how his “life changed” the moment news broke over his relationship with actor Bruce Willis’ ex, who is 15 years his senior.

“I was 26, bearing the responsibility of an eight-year-old, 10-year-old, and 12-year-old,” he said of becoming a stepfather in his mid-20s. “That’s how some teen parents have experienced their 20s.”

Mazel Tov!

My congratulations to Montecito rocker Adam Levine, 43, and his former supermodel wife Behati Prinsloo, 34, who have just welcomed their third child.

The tony twosome, who wed in 2014, already have daughters Gio Grace and Dusty Rose, aged four and six, respectively.

No word yet of the sex or name of the latest addition to the family…

Burnett Birthday Bash

Montecito comedy legend Carol Burnett will be celebrating her 90th anniversary with some of Hollywood’s biggest names.

NBC has announced an upcoming two-hour special honoring the icon on her birthday, “Carol Burnett: 90 Years of Laughter and Love,” which will air on April 26.

Joining in the celebration, which is shooting at the Avalon Hollywood Club in the Big Orange, will be Montecito singer Katy Perry, Ellen DeGeneres, Cher, Julie Andrews, and Amy Poehler

“I can’t wait to look back at so many wonderful moments throughout my career,” gushes Carol. “I feel so lucky to share this night with everyone.”

Other stars lined up for the celebration are designer Bob Mackie, Lily Tomlin, Laura Dern, Marisa Tomei, Steve Carell, Susan Lucci, Sofía Vergara, and Vicki Lawrence.

Quite the crowd…

A Droop in Goop

Montecito actress Gwyneth Paltrow has closed the London branch of her Goop lifestyle store franchise after losing $1.8 million in revenue as a consequence of the global pandemic.

The wellness brand, famous for its vagina-scented candle and psychic vampire repellent spray, was originally launched by the Oscar winner in 2008 as a weekly newsletter.

It has since developed into an internationally recognized brand with Paltrow, 50, opening her first U.K. store in affluent Notting Hill in 2019.

But the shop was forced to close its doors as the coronavirus pandemic swept across Britain in March 2020 and has remained closed ever since.

Local Author Acknowledged

Mahri Kerley, bubbly owner of the popular book emporium Chaucer’s, obviously has a sense of humor. Accompanying her display of Spare, Prince Harry’s best-selling memoir, is the notice: “Book by local author.”

Sightings

Michael Douglas and actress wife Catherine Zeta-Jones noshing at Local… Warbler Katy Perry and actor fiancé Orlando Bloom at the G’Day USA arts gala in L.A… Actress and game-show host Jane Lynch enjoying Taco Tuesday at Los Arroyos on CVR.

Pip! Pip!

 

You might also be interested in...

Advertisement
  • Woman holding phone

    Support the
    Santa Barbara non-profit transforming global healthcare through telehealth technology