Men's magazine Esquire has dubbed Halle Berry the Sexiest Woman Alive in its November 2008 issue, and put her on the cover in a blazer and tie (and not much else):

Halle's response to the Sexiest Woman Alive title? "Well, I don't know exactly what it means but being 42 and having just had a baby, I think I'll take it."

But wait! This isn't your average magazine cover of a scantily clad woman — it's actually a recreation of Esquire's December 2000 cover of Bill Clinton: … continue reading

Cats are better than dogs.

OK, I'm not really talking about Catwoman. But I wanted to deflect the ire of dog-lovin' lesbians long enough to let me make a point. And I do have one.

Yes, another gratuitous picture. You're welcome.

Personally, I love dogs and cats equally. I have cats because, well, I'm lazy. But a recent University of Minnesota study suggests that people with cats are less likely to die of cardiovascular disease than people without cats. Dog owners had the same rate of stroke and heart attack as non-owners. Of course, I already knew that my cats help reduce stress, especially when I'm working at home. I mean, this is what I see when I'm blogging.

One theory about the results has to do with the nature of cats — they are lap animals that want to be petted. When the owner pets the cat, down goes the stress. I would have to balance that with another aspect of the feline nature: a fondness for attacking toes when the owner is asleep. And the fact that a kitty's favorite place to sleep is on whatever part of the bed is highest at a given moment and, if its position is threatened, it will hang on with extended claws. In other words, sex can be, well, a pain in the butt. Literally. (This is, unfortunately, not just theory.)

Still, we love our kitties. Witness the popularity of Lolcats. … continue reading

One of life’s great shared injustices is the yearbook photo. We all had to get them. And — unless they’ve somehow magically found a cure for awkwardness, geekiness and general dorkitude since I was a teenager — most of us dreaded them. For whatever reason, be it bad skin, bad clothes or the steadfast yet ultimately misguided belief in the transformative properties of big bangs, many of us look back at our school pictures and cringe. Or, at the very least, giggle. But you know what? Celebrities had to get them too, just like us mere mortals. Now that is what I call justice.

So, let’s play a little game called Name That Teenager. It’ll be fun; like being back in high school, but already knowing what everyone will look like at the class reunion. Let the games begin:

Among them you have a Rock star, an Alien hunter, an alphaBette and the possible next president of the United States of America.

Give up? … continue reading

It's January. Election Day is ten months away. Yet the campaign has been underway for several months already. And as expected, I am already bored with it. I have no idea who I will vote for come November, and I likely won't know until I actually cast my vote behind the little curtain of my portable voting booth. What I do know is that the face of Chuck Norris was grinning at me from behind Mike Huckabee when he congratulated himself on a victory in the Iowa caucuses last week. And I asked myself, "What the hell is Chuck Norris doing in Iowa? And why does he look like a life-sized plastic cutout of himself?"

I'm guessing you may be asking yourself a similar question right now. Namely, what the hell does this have to do with women in entertainment? Well, Chuck Norris' plastic mug got me thinking about the role of celebrity in politics. Politics is one big popularity contest, after all, the likes of which many of us dreaded in junior high. So, does having a celebrity by your side actually get you anywhere in politics? Actually being a celebrity worked well for Ronald Reagan, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jesse "The Body" Ventura. But does having the vocal support of Oprah Winfrey and Halle Berry actually do anything for Barack Obama come election day?

There has to be something to this celebrity endorsement thing, right? It's not like Obama is the only one with big name celebs lining up to offer support, usually in the form of money and publicity, which inevitably generates more money, which may or may not win someone the White House. Rudy Giuliani has the support of some 1970s pinup girls in the form of Bo Derek and Cheryl Ladd. No word on whether the rest of the angels view him as a perfect 10 or not. … continue reading

File this under resurrected good news: Nefertiti, Halle Berry's collaboration with Monster's Ball director Marc Forster, may be emerging from development hell. The MTV Movies Blog posted a short (like, twenty-second) clip about the project from a recent interview with Berry (watch it here).

Let me highlight the phrases I like: "Battle scenes," "love," "woman coming into her own," "woman ruler," "that epic quality." Now that's a mantra I can get behind. I'm also excited that a woman of color will star. (I could totally see the cast of something like this being whitewashed (hi, Liz Taylor in Cleopatra!) and ending up with, say, Cate Blanchett in a skull cap.) But Berry has the looks, the style and the regal bearing to play Nefertiti and all of her adjectival phrases: Great of Favors, Possessed of Charm, Mistress of Sweetness, Beloved One, Mistress of Upper and Lower Egypt.

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Next Friday, Oct. 19, marks the opening of Halle Berry's newest film, Things We Lost in the Fire. Besides the general goodness of seeing the beyond fabulous AfterEllen.com Hottie No. 19 on the big screen, we get a bonus: This time there are no pleather costumes, no mutants. Indeed, there's not much action at all — just Berry and her talents (and a few other folks, I suppose, in particular costar Benicio Del Toro). [Warning: Minor spoilers.]

The drama, Danish director Susanne Bier's U.S. debut, does start out with a violent death. But Things We Lost isn't a ghost story or even a revenge fantasy. Instead, the story follows Berry's character Audrey Burke as she mourns the murdered Brian (David Duchovny) while caring for their two children and building a friendship with his troubled best friend Jerry (Del Toro).

It's been far too long since Berry was able to dig deep into a role like this. Although her performance as Janie in Their Eyes Were Watching God was beautiful, the made-for-TV adaptation was an overall disappointment, and Monster's Ball was way back in 2001. 2001! Rather than spend my time wondering how it could've taken so long to get her back into a dramatic picture, I'm just going to enjoy this moment and all the Berry-time that it brings. … continue reading

It's the end. That volcano towering over your hometown is about to blow, and you only have an hour to get out of town and save assorted important people and innocent children along the way No, wait. A gang of murderous strangers — or army of the undead, take your pick — is on your tail without adequate exposition, and your assorted armory is out of bullets. Or maybe it's that the asteroid approaches on a collision course, threatening the earth with a dinosaur-like extinction.

In any case, one question remains: Who do you call in an apocalypse? Which hero do you want to help you save the world, then take home afterward to celebrate your survival? Those were questions actually asked by a recent study. (OK, not the one about taking her home. That was me. But really, what's the good of saving the world if you can't snuggle with your honey when it's over?) Here's the only woman to make the top ten:

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In a recent interview, Aretha Franklin spoke about casting dilemmas for the TV movie version of her autobiography, From These Roots.

Billy Dee Williams and Terrence Howard have committed to play her father and Smokey Robinson, but the role still up for grabs is Aretha herself. Depending on who you listen to, that is. Jennifer Hudson is rumored to be already cast, but Franklin says nothing is set yet. If it were up to her, she'd have several women play herself at different ages. (Hey, that sounds familiar. But I would really have something to say if they cast Cate Blanchett for this one.) Here's Franklin's short list:

I know, I know. Jennifer Hudson, Fantasia Barrino and Halle Berry? Which one of these is not like the other? But let's start with Hudson. … continue reading

ABC apparently noticed the success of recent cable shows with strong women as leads. The network has ordered a script about the most powerful woman in New York — The Fixer. Russell Gewirtz, who wrote Inside Man, will write and produce the pilot. The show’s lead character was inspired in part by Madeline White, Jodie Foster’s character in Inside Man.

Although Madeline’s character was not fleshed out in the movie, we know that she was in the business of cleaning up image problems for her clients — at any cost. Foster even described Madeline as a “fixer figure” in an interview for Inside Man. Gewirtz says that the woman at the center of The Fixer is “a single mother who is very clever, influential and powerful.” And, like Madeline White, she is morally ambiguous. No word on sexual orientation, but given the character profile, I'm not sure we want her to be the network's first leading lesbian.

The important question for us, of course, is who will play The Fixer? Stepping into a role associated with Jodie will be no picnic (just ask Julianne Moore), so the actress needs some powerful acting chops to make it her own. The first person to come to mind, unfortunately, is already headed to another ABC show.

Can’t you just see Dana Delany as a smart, sexy, manipulative power broker? She could even wear that suit she almost took off when her Senator Grisham seduced Bette. Excuse me; I need a moment.

Another TV powerhouse we haven’t seen enough lately is Sela Ward.

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Most AfterEllen.com readers and indeed most observant consumers of pop culture are aware of how rare quality film and television roles for black actresses tend to be. Just yesterday, Sarah blogged about the women of Soul Food, who have gone from lead roles in a compelling drama to primarily supporting roles, and earlier this week the LA Times spoke up with an article about Hollywood's love for "black best friends."

While the article doesn't necessarily break entirely new ground (Spike Lee has been talking about the related "magical negro" phenomenon for years), this unfortunate "BBF" trend — the casting of a black woman as the "the wise, loyal and often sassy sidekick" to a leading white woman — deserves all the press attention it can get, in the hopes that it will change. Just think about it:

I love Wanda Sykes in anything she does, thought Stacey Dash as Dionne was Clueless Cher's better half, and am becoming a fan of My Boys best friend Kellee Stewart (now that her character's story line has moved slightly beyond finding a man to fly to Italy with her). I also think that sidekicks are often more interesting and appealing than lead characters (hello, Willow).

But I'd be even more thrilled to see these women in lead roles, and when I try to think of instances in the reverse — black women with white best friends — all that comes to mind is Peter, Rudy's pal on The Cosby Show, and I don't think that counts, no matter how cute they are. … continue reading

Every wonder what your favorite star would look like as a work of art? Or a Japanese animation? Or a baby? Or an apeman? (Well, hopefully you haven’t wondered too much about the latter, ’cause that’s just weird and makes me think I shouldn’t sit next to you on the subway.) As for the rest, wonder no more. The Face Transformer is here to help you slack off at work find the answers. Answers to questions like, “What would Salma Hayek look as painted by Alfons Mucha?

Much like the insanely addictive MorphThing.com, The Face Transformer lets you manipulate famous faces. You can choose from more than a dozen options, ranging from different ages to races to painting styles and, yes, ape features. I stayed away from the racial and simian choices in favor of art and age. The results were alternately fun, freaky and down-right frightening.

Lucy Lawless by Amedeo Modigliani: Fierce, I’d hang that on my wall.

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Why is the Barbarella remake such a rumor magnet? First we heard Kate Beckinsale might take on the role. Then Drew Barrymore was mentioned (egad). I still think Scarlett Johansson would be great for the part, but if she were interested I'm sure she'd have been cast by now.

The latest rumor is that Halle Berry will play the bouncy, befuddled space heroine.

This is not a bad idea — after all, Berry is a veteran of sci fi and action movies, and she's fabulous at 40. And maybe it's actually true; why shouldn't Berry work with Robert Rodriguez and the writers behind Casino Royale? She could do (and has done) worse. … continue reading

This week, Halle Berry topped In Touch Weekly's list of women who make 40 fabulous. A fabulous decision indeed:

It's not just her skills or her strut that landed her in the top slot: In Touch credits her win to her personal evolution "into this woman that feels very confident in who she is." Sexy, self-confident, and evolved? Excellent reasoning. And definitely traits these forty-somethings share.

What's even more fabulous about the list than lady number one is its diversity. Scoring slot number two is Cuban-born beauty Daisy Fuentes: … continue reading

Hey, Helen Mirren, can I bend your ear for a moment? I have one of those bone thingies to pick with you. Seriously, sit down. We need to talk.

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Listen, I know you just won the Oscar and are probably still basking in its post-coital embrace. But at times like these, it is important not to lose one's head.