Some successful Cross breeding
Marcia Cross, who recently gave birth to twins, is a proud member of the Mom Club.
“I wanted to be a member of that club so badly, and now I’m in and it’s so much better than I even imagined,” says Cross, 45, who plays Bree on ABC’s “Desperate Housewives.”
Cross gave birth to daughters Eden and Savannah in February – one month before her March 21 due date – hours after being diagnosed with preeclampsia, a disorder characterized by high blood pressure that threatens both mother and baby.
She and stockbroker husband Tom Mahoney began dating in 2004 after Cross spotted him at a flower store in Los Angeles and left her number with the shopkeeper.
“We did in vitro a week after we got married,” she tells People magazine.
As for having twins, Cross says, “I was hugely terrified. And I was more scared to have girls – probably from just having been one.
“Now I’m just delighted. There’s nothing closer than the female bond.”
Ginger Spice and everything nice
Ex-Spice Girl Geri Halliwell, who gave birth to daughter Bluebell Madonna last May, is writing a series of children’s books and has returned to the studio to record a theme song.
The former Ginger Spice has landed a six-book publishing deal with Macmillan to chronicle the animated adventures of Ugenia Lavender, a bold, assertive 9-year-old who balances school life with solving mysteries.
Halliwell compares one of the stories she’s working on to ” ‘Alice in Wonderland’ meets ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark.’ “
Things could get really ugly
She may drop a few pounds here and there, but “Ugly Betty” star America Ferrera says she’ll never become a Hollywood waif.
“There are times when I go to the gym and really try, and there are times when I just don’t,” Ferrera says.
“And honestly, even if I wanted to be anorexic, I just don’t have what it takes,” she adds. “After four hours of being anorexic, I’d be like, ‘It’s been four whole hours! Feed me!’ “
Stroking his ego?
Now that Will Ferrell has ice skating down, he’s hitting the pool.
Ferrell, star of the recently released comedy “Blades of Glory,” will join University of Southern California football coach Pete Carroll and the team in a fundraiser today at the McDonald’s Swim Stadium on campus.
Following their final spring practice, the Trojans will swim a relay race, joined by the USC Song Girls. Carroll and Ferrell will take part in a “Pete vs. Will Challenge.”
Monkey see, monkey dojo
The first film pairing of kung fu stars Jackie Chan and Jet Li will tell the tale of an American teenager’s fantasy journey to ancient China to rescue a mythological monkey king.
“The Forbidden Kingdom” will start shooting May 2 in movie studios in Hengdian, located southwest of Shanghai, and neighboring locations.
The birthday bunch
Country singer Loretta Lynn is 72. Actress Julie Christie is 67. Actor Brad Garrett is 47. Actor Anthony Michael Hall is 39. Actor Adrien Brody is 34. Rapper Da Brat is 33. Actress Sarah Michelle Gellar is 30. Actress Abigail Breslin (“Little Miss Sunshine”) is 11.