People

By Rebecca Winters Sunday, Jan. 25, 2004
    • Silvio's Snips
    Ancient Rome is suddenly looking more youthful, and not because those shiny new Vespa scooters are everywhere. After a mysterious month-long absence, in which Italians speculated that their leader was recovering from plastic surgery, Prime Minister SILVIO BERLUSCONI finally stepped back in front of the cameras last week. Noticeably tauter around the throat and eyes, the billionaire politician conceded only that he "took a few hours for myself every morning to get back in shape." Face-lift or not, the hubbub proves that "more than a Prime Minister, Berlusconi is a star," says newspaper editor Giuliano Ferrara. Let's just hope this doesn't give jowly old Ted Kennedy any ideas.

    Judgment Fashion
    For celebrities, dressing for court is always a trial. Ever since shoplifter Winona Ryder wore those demure headbands, stars' accessories have been making case history.

    When MARTHA STEWART arrived at her federal trial on obstruction-of-justice and securities-fraud charges last week, court watchers tittered that her pricey purse made her look elitist. Stewart carried an Hermes Birkin bag, which starts at $6,000. But really, shouldn't Stewart's jury pool be concerned with weightier questions, like how the brown Birkin pairs with an orange jumpsuit?

    MICHAEL JACKSON'S accessories are also winning fans for the prosecution. Jackson wore a Serbian medal of merit upside-down to his arraignment on child-molestation charges, infuriating some Serb veterans. The Order of the White Eagle is given for "brave behavior on battlefields," a historian told the Belgrade newspaper Blic. Braving a phalanx of paparazzi doesn't count.

    No, This Isn't Farrah
    Although she bears a striking resemblance to a certain mane-tossing, 1970s crime fighter, newcomer TRICIA HELFER didn't just sashay into character for NBC's Behind the Camera: The Unauthorized Story of Charlie's Angels, airing in March. Growing up in Canada, the former model had no TV, so the role required work. There was Fawcett's walk to learn and history to absorb. And then there were the physical enhancements. The hair extensions were easy. But how did Helfer mimic the other iconic parts of Fawcett's physique? "We had a range of prosthetic nipples," says Helfer. And to think Farrah made do with just two.

    Jen & Ben On The Block
    Depressing bridal planners and tabloid photographers but relieving the rest of the free world, the celebrated celebrity courtship known as Bennifer has at long last come to an end. The ardent red-carpet romance sparked on the 2002 set of their dud Gigli seemed to lose its luster after JENNIFER LOPEZ and BEN AFFLECK called off their September 2003 nuptials amid frenzied media coverage. When Lopez was spied partying with P. Diddy at a Miami nightclub in January, rumors swirled that the exes would reunite. By last week, Lopez's spokesman was confirming that Jen and Ben were done. Bennifer watchers speculated that Affleck's casino carousing was the cause. Oddsmakers can now put their money on Demi and Ashton's split — or wedding — instead.