The Great Fight
Elaine Weiss, prize-winning journalist and author of the blockbuster book The Woman’s Hour, was fêted at a bustling reception at Tydes at the Coral Casino after speaking on The Great Fight to Win the Vote at Campbell Hall, part of the UCSB Arts & Lectures series.
Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton is teaming up with mega director Steven Spielberg to bring the triumphant episode of American history to the small screen.
Among the guests at the bash, co-hosted by Gretchen Lieff and Christopher and Lisa Lloyd, were Bill and Sandi Nicholson, Bruce Heavin, Hollye Jacobs, Miles Hartfeld, Annette Caleel, Corinna Gordon, Janet Garufis, Monica Babich, Kimberly Phillips, Scott and Ella Brittingham, and Sara Miller McCune.
Spa Treatment
It was a case of pores for thought when debonair French entrepreneur Charles Edouard Barthes launched his EviDens de Beaute collection at the Rosewood Miramar’s luxurious Sense spa.
The towering Paris-based magnate described the collection, which boasts triple collagen farmed from salmon in the frigid waters of Hokkaido and a specially created fragrance from Grasse, France’s perfume capital, as “a marriage between two cultures” given his wife, Eriko Nakamura, is a TV broadcaster in Tokyo.
“We came up with the idea for anti-aging products that were sensitive for the skin and worked with a professor in Japan, who was given carte blanche to create the line,” the impeccably dressed Barthes told me.
The products are available exclusively in many Rosewood spas, as well Harrods, the top London department store, and 25 countries internationally.
Spreading Out
TV talk show titan Oprah Winfrey is expanding, at least when it comes to real estate.
Oscar winner Jeff Bridges, who put his Montecito estate on the market in May for $8 million, has sold his four-acre home, a Spanish Revival built in 1919 with a 5,000 sq.ft. barn to Oprah for $6.85 million.
Her East Valley Road estate, Promised Land, now sprawls across 70 contiguous acres, having bought a 23-acre neighboring compound for 29 million in 2015.
The new compound comprises five separate structures, including a carriage house, pool house and a gated equestrian facility.
Oprah, 65, has several impressive properties through the U.S., including a 43-acre Orcas Island, Washington, compound she acquired last year for $8 million, a $14 million ski chalet in Telluride, Colorado, bought in 2015, and a 163-acre ranch in Maui, Hawaii.
R for Real Estate
The late Montecito best selling alphabet detective series author Sue Grafton’s home has come on to the market for $6.999 million.
The nine-year-old five-bedroom, five-bathroom 6,181 sq.ft. house on two acres on Picacho Lane was designed by Grafton, who died in 2017 aged 77, and her husband Steve Humphrey.
The 5,790 sq.ft. main residence boasts a master suite with a balcony, fireplace and marble bathroom, detached three-car garage and a 800.sq.ft. guesthouse above.
The property’s being sold by Crysta Metzger of Coldwell Banker’s Montecito office.
Katy at the Perry-mids
Santa Barbara warbler Katy Perry celebrated her 35th birthday in spectacular fashion by flying 64 of her closest friends to Egypt for a lavish desert getaway.
The former Dos Pueblos High student marked the occasion with a fun-filled ten-day cruise down the River Nile, riding camels through the desert, and enjoying the stunning sunset over the pyramids outside Cairo, all of which she captured in a slew of social media snaps.
Katy’s fiancé, English actor Orlando Bloom, 42, also shared several snaps on Instagram, and said his future bride and mother Sonia were sharing their birthdays together.
Hot Tip
Montecito TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres is getting advice for talent on her Burbank-based show from none other than Meghan Markle.
The Duchess of Sussex, 38, texted Ellen, 61, about a dancing duo from Brussels, Belgium, Jeny Bonsenge and her student Anae, 9, she’d seen on Instagram and they recently appeared on the program.
Ellen visited Meghan, Prince Harry, and baby, Archie, in London in August.
Screen Siren Scare
On a personal note, I remember French screen siren Catherine Deneuve, 76, who has just suffered a serious stroke in Paris.
Deneuve, best known for her raunchy role in Belle Du Jour in 1967, was a dinner companion at a 1996 gala in Punta del Este, Uruguay, when I was flown in from New York via São Paulo, to cover the extravagant event hosted by Brazilian billionaire Gilberto Scarpa when I hosted the Gossip Show on E! Entertainment TV.
Although nicknamed the Ice Maiden for her exquisite beauty and aloof demeanor, she couldn’t have been more charming company.
I’m delighted to hear she’s expected to make a full recovery.
Sightings: Antonio Banderas noshing at Olio e Limone… Actor Willem Dafoe at the Riviera Theatre… Oprah Winfrey in New York for the opening of Tina Turner: The Musical
Pip! Pip!
