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FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2012
White tops, Perry
drops in celebrity poll
Betty White, the 90-year-old queen of comedy,
remained the star with the most audience appeal in
2011 while cross-dressing Tyler Perry of the “Madea”
films suffered a setback in a new celebrity poll yesterday. The
survey from Encino, California-based E-Poll Market Research
showed “Hot in Cleveland” star White was the most liked
Hollywood celebrity in its survey covering calendar year
2011, a spot she also held in 2010. She was followed by
Sandra Bullock and Michael J Fox. But the percentage of
respondents who said they like Perry a lot dropped by 14
points, which the research firm pinned on a “South Park”
spoof of the star and controversy surrounding him. “He
declined from a very high level. He was very popular in
2010,” said Randy Parker, a spokesman for E-Poll, which
found only 20 percent of respondents like Perry a alot. White,
by contrast, had 53 percent say they liked her very much.
Perry, who had an overall popularity grade of 77 out of 100,
or “E-Score,” in the survey, is far from a critics’ darling. But he
has a fiercely loyal fan base and regularly tops US box office
charts with the films he writes, directs and stars in. His film
hits have included the 2005 breakout “Diary of a Mad Black
Woman” in which he dressed up to play several characters
including the tough-talking grandmother Madea. He has
made several spinoffs such as last year’s “A Madea
Christmas.” But some detractors have accused Perry of perpetuating
stereotypes about blacks. Director Spike Lee, for
one, has been critical of Perry’s low-brow comedy, and last
year Perry fired back at Lee in a feud that seemed to take on
a life of its own. Joining Perry at the top of the E-Poll list of
biggest decliners was snow boarder Shaun White, who was
on everyone’s TV screen in 2010 due to his gold medal finish
at the Winter Olympics, then fell in media exposure last year.
Still, White had an overall popularity ranking, or E-Score, of
90 out of 100. “Parks and Recreation” TV star Aziz Ansari, a
stand-up comedian who appeared last year in the film “30
Minutes Or Less,” ranked as the biggest gainer on the E-Poll
survey. Twenty-eight percent of respondents said they liked
Ansari a lot, which was up by 16 points from the year before.
The E-Poll celebrity rankings were based on results from
weekly surveys done by the company. Each weekly survey
had 1,100 respondents. Below are the top three most appealing,
biggest gainers and biggest losers.
Most appealing celebrities
1 Betty White
2 Sandra Bullock
3 Michael J. Fox
Biggest gainers
1 Aziz Ansari
2 Scott Caan
3 Kaley Cuaco
Biggest losers
1 Tyler Perry
2 Shaun White
3 Nicolas Cage —Agencies
Kate Young, the stylist responsible
for some of Michelle Williams’
and Natalie Portman’s most
memorable red carpet moments, tops
The Hollywood Reporter’s countdown
of the 25 most powerful stylists in
showbiz. Young earned the honor in
part for helping make Portman a red
carpet fixture last year while she was
pregnant and on her way to winning
the best actress Oscar for “Black Swan.”
The issue ranks the trendsetters behind
the A-listers, including Leslie Fremar at
No. 2, whose clientele includes Charlize
Theron and Reese Witherspoon. No. 3 is
Petra Flannery, who likes to discover
new talent and make them fashion
stars. Her roster includes Emma Stone,
Zoe Saldana, Mila Kunis and Megan
Fox. Other notables: At No. 11, Jeanne
Yang, who styles Katie Holmes so well
they have a luxury sportswear collec-
Lifestyle
Hollywood Reporter:
Portman stylist most powerful
tion in their names at Barneys New
York; No. 12, L’Wren Scott, who is
engaged to Mick Jagger and is a
favorite of first lady Michelle Obama;
and No. 20, reality TV star Brad Goreski,
who made the list while his former
employer, stylist-turned-designer
Rachel Zoe, went from No. 1 last year to
off the countdown this year. (The
Hollywood Reporter says she’s now
“too big to rank.”)
Michelle
wears Marchesa
to state dinner
Michelle Obama chose an off-the-shoulder Marchesa gown for
her duties Wednesday night as hostess at a White House
state dinner honoring the British prime minister and his wife,
David and Samantha Cameron. It was a deep shade of teal in a draped,
column silhouette. The designer of the gown, Georgina Chapman,
and her husband, movie mogul Harvey Weinstein, were guests at the
affair, but they didn’t know Mrs Obama was wearing one of
Chapman’s designs when they arrived. “I’m knocked out!” Weinstein
said. Chapman, not surprisingly, also wore Marchesa, which has made
its name on Hollywood red carpets. Hers was a draped blue and gray
gown with a sheer overlay, and covered in crystal embroidery. Mrs
Cameron seemed to get the memo to wear blue too: Her sparkly
gown by London- based designer Alessandra Rich featured lace
details, a high neck, half sleeves and a belted waist. She had on high
black heels from the British retailer Next. There’s great interest in what
Mrs. Obama wears to big events like this because she’s been touted as
a fashion influencer who makes bold choices. On Wednesday, the
unexpected piece of her look was the chunky, multistrand silver,
turquoise and teal necklace by Tom Binns. Binns also had created the
elaborate necklace the first lady wore last year in London when she
and the president welcomed the British royals to the American
ambassador’s home for a black-tie dinner. “First lady Mrs Obama
always looks so chic and modern. I love the addition of texture with
the Tom Binns necklace,” said Roksanda Ilincic, who has dressed both
Mrs Obama and Mrs Cameron. Mrs Obama, in fact, wore a purple dress
by Ilincic during that same trip to England. “Dressing Mrs Obama and
Samantha Cameron have been wonderful. I am honored that each
woman representing their countries have been such advocates in
their respective roles,” Ilincic said. The other fashion plate at the dinner
was Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour, a well-known supporter
of President Barack Obama. She wore Chanel.