Olivia's wild Xmas bash
When LA's Aussie contingent gathered for a festive Christmas dinner to raise money for children, they wound up sharing a night to remember.
What a wild night! The Aussie brat pack in Hollywood really know how to let their hair down. Melissa George. Toni Pearen, Kym Wilson, Marcus Graham together with Ally McBeal star Portia de Rossi and Australia’s favourite expat Olivia Newton-John, decided to give themselves a Christmas to remember this year.
With Aussie stars making huge impact on the Hollywood scene, this talented young group really work hard all year. But they showed they can also party han as they danced and sang up storm until daybreak But it wasn’t just a wild get together-there was a special reason behind the glittering star studded celebrity bash in the Hollywood hills.
The Aussie brat packers had decided to celebrate with a message this year and raise money for their favourite charity-the Make A Wish Foundation, which grants wishes to seriously ill children.
All the guests made their own private wishes while feeding dollar bills into a spectacular two metre high sculpture of a head with a video camera behind one eye.
The late John Denver’s ex wife Cassandra Delaney and daughter Jesse Belle were also among the guests who lined up to stuff money into the giant head’s mouth.
Portia, the stunning blonde star of Ally McBeal, had to make a frantic dash across town mid party to meet her co-stars Calista Flockhart, Jane Krakowski, Gil Bellows and Lucy Liu, who were throwing their own fun-filled Christmas shindig.
But before she left her Aussie friends, she shared an authentic lamb roast with Olivia and her daughter, Chloe, and the rest of the gang.
Toni Pearen really let loose playing DJ during the evening and making sure nobody got out of doing a few old favourite dance moves. Olivia kicked up her heels with daughter Chloe as Toni led the way, until Olivia swapped partners to shimmy with Melissa George, who sported a fantastic new cropped hairstyle.
“Meeting Livvy was a hoot! She holds a very special place in all of our hearts”, Melissa says. “There are no pretences about her whatsoever. She is so open and she really wants to know about your life, It was great meeting Chloe too. She blew me away, she’s so confident.”
Wearing an eye-catching outfit that caused plenty of comment, Melissa explained that she had picked up the traditional Balinese dress of antique lace and green sarong on a recent holiday with her handsome new love hunky Chilean businessman Claudio Dabed.
Melissa was also thrilled to catch up with her new friend, Portia.
“We’d met at an audition before, and it was great to see her again”, Melissa says, ‘We just talked about LA and what jobs were doing, what’s coming up. She told me she is really loving working on Ally McBeal.”
Toni Pearen also jumped at the chance to chat with the popular of the cult US comedy. Portia is really taking the world by storm, playing long-legged sexy lawyer Nell.
“It is so inspiring to see another Aussie succeed in such a big way. I’m a big fan,” she says.
Olivia was in no hurry to leave the party and was having a great time. “It was a lovely evening, and a great atmosphere, I really enjoyed meeting the young Aussie actors. They were charming and beautiful and I’m sure they’re all going to do very well here”, she says.
“Chloe and her friends had a great time - two of them had just arrived from Australia so they travelled halfway around the world to go to a party full of Australians. They thought it was a great party”, she says, laughing.
Kym, Toni and Olivia spent part of the evening, between dances of course, deep in conversation about the event on everyone’s lips right now -the millennium celebrations.
Toni, who admits to bouts of homesickness and hasn’t been back to Australia in two years, can’t wait to see the new century in on Australian shores. “It’s going to be such a great celebration this year. Australia really is the only place to the for me. I’m going to a mate’s place on Sydney Harbour and will be drinking Champagne with my closest friends. I really can’t wait.”
Melissa, however, will be staying behind in Los Angeles to start work on her new TV series. LA Confidential.
After winding up their Christmas bash by the pool in the early hours of the morning, the gins declared the event an absolutely awesome night. and are already planning another bash!
Story by Fiona Joyce. Pictures: Michelle Day
OH-livia!
It could be the Christmas season, the sassy new haircut or the fact that Olivia Newton-John is finally happy in love again. But as these pictures show, Olivia is brimming with confidence and isn’t afraid to show off her feelings for the man in her life, gorgeous US cameraman Patrick McDermott.
The couple couldn’t help but get hot and sexy together on the streets of LA, enjoying intimate kisses and playful cuddles. And even when Olivia got into her car, they found it too hard to drag themselves away from each other, with even more caresses across the face from Olivia as Patrick looked like the cat that got the cream.
It seems Olivia’s former husband Matt Lattanzi’s recent wedding to the couple’s former babysitter isn’t causing Olivia too much concern.