Valentine’s Day – My Favorite Victoria’s Secret Super Model

I’ve decided to write about all of the celebrities I’ve met in my life. It’ll probably only be once a month, and I’ll crank them out until I run out of famous people.

First of all, Happy Valentine’s Day to all of my phicklephilly readers! I hope you’re in love or at least love something! If you’re not happy today, and if anyone starts talking about love, romance, hearts, cards, or chocolate, just slap them and say ‘it’s Wednesday!

It’s a coincidence and fitting that I release this piece on Valentine’s Day. Because this lady is and always will hold a special place in my heart.

This one happened about 11 years ago when I was working in Manhattan. The year was 2007.

I was sitting in a dive bar in Journal Square in Jersey City one evening after work. My buddy Howard was with me. I’m drinking a beer and reading the Daily News. On the Entertainment page was a little blurb at the bottom about how Alessandra Ambrosio was going to be making an appearance at the new Armani Exchange in Manhattan on Saturday afternoon.

I think every guy has an “It” girl in life. Some movie star, athlete, or model that they just adore. In the 70’s and 80’s for me it was Farrah Fawcett. I LOVED Farrah. I owned all of her posters starting with the famous red swimsuit. I was even a card carrying member of her fan club. Always watched Charlie’s Angels and all of her movies.

But sometime in the 90’s I noticed this one model in a Victoria’s Secret catalogue that really struck me. I didn’t know her name for several years. But once you have a woman in your life and order something from their catalogue, they never stop coming. They must send them out every couple of weeks because I had loads of them coming to the house.

I eventually found out the identity of this exquisite woman. Alessandra Ambrosio. I was in love. Her perfectly symmetrical face, with her feline eyes and lovely tawny hair is a combination that drove me nuts. I absolutely have adored Alessandra for years. I know I love beautiful women, it’s hard not to. But Alessandra to me is one of the most beautiful women on the planet.

Alessandra Ambrosio was born in Erechim, Brazil on April 11, 1981. Her parents are Brazilians of Italian, Portuguese and Polish ancestry and own a petrol station. She enrolled at a modelling class at the age of 12, and at the age of 14, she was one of 20 finalists for the 1995 Elite Model Look national competition for Brazil. Ambrosio was always insecure about her large ears, and at the age of 11, she had cosmetic surgery to have her ears pinned back, though two years later she suffered complications. In 2006, she appeared on The Tyra Banks Show, and said that the surgery was a bad experience and has discouraged her from ever getting plastic surgery again.

I would love Alessandra the same even if her ears stuck straight out like open car doors!

When Ambrosio was 12 years old, she partook in modeling classes, and then began modeling for Dilson Stein at age 15. Competing in Brazil’s Elite Model Look competition started her modeling career in earnest. Her first notable modeling job was shooting the cover of Brazilian Elle magazine. Elite passed along some of her Polaroids to Guess which led her booking the Millennium GUESS? campaign. She has since appeared in advertising campaigns for Gucci, Dolce & Gabbana, Calvin Klein, Oscar de la Renta, Christian Dior, Escada, Fendi, Giorgio Armani, Guess, Emporio Armani, Moschino, Gap, Hugo Boss, Ralph Lauren, Saks Fifth Avenue, Macy’s, Revlon, and the Pirelli Calendar. She has walked the catwalks for designers such as Prada, Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, Givenchy, Christian Lacroix, Bottega Veneta, Escada, Tommy Hilfiger, Christian Dior, Marc Jacobs, Louis Vuitton, Balmain, Ralph Lauren, Halston, Vivienne Westwood, Giles Deacon, and Oscar de la Renta. She has appeared in numerous international magazine covers, including Cosmopolitan, Elle, GQ, Harper’s Bazaar, Marie Claire, Ocean Drive, Vogue and was the only model to appear on the cover of Glamour in the United States in 2006.

“I HAVE to go to A/X Armani Exchange on Saturday and try to see her! Do you want to go with me?”

“Why the hell would I want to go meet some supermodel? I’m gay!”

“Well she’s a fashion model and I figured you guys like stuff that’s fashionable.”

“I’m gay!”

So Saturday comes and I go to the local Rite Aid and buy a disposable camera. (Yea. I had a little cell phone back then before there were any iPhones or androids and that little phone didn’t have a camera in it. That thing was probably made by Fisher Price for all I know. A lot has happened in the world of technology in the last 15 years!)

So I’ve got my little cheapo plastic throw away camera and I hop on the PATH train into Manhattan. I get off at 32nd Street and walk East over to Fifth Avenue, The store is up around 56th Street so I need to walk north about 25 blocks. That’s a little bit of a hike. But it’s Saturday in the Summer and Manhattan is quiet on the weekends.

After awhile I finally reach the store. There’s a line of people to get in. I get in line behind this Asian girl and I go, “Is this the line to see Alessandra?”

“Oh, I have no idea. I just saw a lot of people here and I wanted to see what was going on.”

What a moron. How can she not know who Alessandra Ambrosio is?

The line is moving and I get inside.

The minute I lay eyes on the super queen I involuntarily gasp. I literally sucked air sharply into my lungs like I never have before.

I can’t believe I am standing in the same room with her. I can’t believe that I’m not seeing just a photograph of my queen. I am looking upon one of the most beautiful women in the world and the only thing that’s separating she and I is space.

I’m starstruck.

She sits down and starts signing things. I’m snapping pics and my heart is pounding. I’m getting closer!

Ohh…my love. My Queen! She is stunning! They take my name and write it on a little Post It. I assume this is because they don’t want any misspellings on the pictures she’s signing.

I finally reach Alessandra!!!

 

My arm around my queen!

I introduce myself and I can’t believe I am meeting her for real. She says my name and I swoon. My name coming from Alessandra’s lovely lips.

There she is! It’s really her! I’m shaking hands with my favorite woman on Earth. I’m looking into the eyes of the object of my desire for the last 10 years. She signs the photo, and I ask if they will take a photo of me with my camera. She agrees and I hand it to her handlers. I tell them to take a few just in case.

I put my arm around her, and lean in. My hand is on her shoulder! I’m touching Alessandra! My love!

I’m so close to Alessandra, I can smell her.

This is framed in my livingroom.

I will never be the same. I leave with my little camera full of photos, and the above autographed picture.

To Charles, Love, Alessandra. (Heart. Star.)

I love her even more now. I’ve met Alessandra Ambrosio! This day has been a dream come true. I’m holding the picture and I don’t want anything to happen to it, so I run across the street into of all things, a Victoria’s Secret. (Fitting!) I approach one of the sales girls and ask if I can have a bag.

“What do you need it for?”

I hold up the photo. “To protect this autographed picture of Victoria’s Secret model, Alessandra Ambrosio.”

The chick looks like she doesn’t know who Alessandra is and hands me a bag. I gently slide my treasure inside it. (puns abound) I thank the girl and nearly skip to the PATH station.

I’ve added these delicious little videos to close out this piece. I can’t watch the first one without getting worked up. I love her so much.

I met my super queen. I never met Farrah Fawcett. I loved her so much, but I met my new queen Alessandra. It was glorious day in my short life. She’ll never know how much I love her but I met her, We got a picture together, I touched her, and smelled her.

My lovely Alessandra…

 

 

 

 

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Celebrity Sightings: Joséphine Jobert on What it’s like Filming Death in Paradise

Apparently my global audience is as much in love with Josephine as I am. So I’ll keep posting during my free time.

And on Saturday nights… I like to publish whatever I want!

 

https://www.radiotimes.com/travel/2018-01-18/josephine-jobert-on-what-its-like-filming-death-in-paradise/

 

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Celebrity Sightings: Death in Paradise: Who is Josephine Jobert? Meet the Sergeant Florence Cassel Actress

 

Love her!

 

http://tv.bt.com/tv/tv-news/death-in-paradise-who-is-josephine-jobert-meet-the-sergeant-florence-cassel-actress-11364138050472

 

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Celebrity Sightings: Farrah Fawcett – 1947 to 2009 – Life Uncovered – Part 7

Stick Figure Thin

When Farrah was hospitalized, she seemed to fade in and out of consciousness, mumbling incoherent matters in between. She was stick-figure thin, so her dear friend Alana Stewart made every dish on Farrah’s former favorite food list so that she and O’Neal could try to tempt Farrah to eat. She made macaroni and cheese, fried chicken and ginger cookies – but there was no use. Farrah would take a cookie, stroke it gently and hand it back to Stewart with a smile, saying “that’s so beautiful.”

Marriage Wasn’t In The Cards

Fawcett and O’Neal had danced around the idea of marriage since before their son Redmond was born in 1985, with Farrah sometimes pushing it and O’Neal sometimes pushing it. But with three failed marriages between them as well as the difficulties in their relationship, a wedding never happen. One time, O’Neal even proposed to the actress using a cigar band as an impromptu engagement ring, but a flat tire on the way to the shotgun wedding ruined those plans.

O’Neal’s Last Chance

Just before Fawcett’s death, O’Neal decided to ask Farrah one more time to marry him and with tear-filled eyes, she accepted. While speaking about it in an interview, O’Neal said,” The priest at St John’s Hospital arrives to marry us but administered the last rites instead.” The next day, the doctor was ordered to remove the actress’ life support, and Farrah passed away just a few hours later with O’Neal at her side.

In Denial

Before her untimely and saddening death, Doug Vaughan, an NBC senior vice president, worked with Farrah on Farrah’s Story – a type of video diary she made detailing her battle against the disease. Doug was quoted saying: “This is so not the way she thought it was going to go, Farrah was certain that she was going to beat this.” Truth be told, Farrah was so profoundly convinced she was going to make it, the entire point of the video was to show other patients the fight is worth it.

In Sickness And In Health

O’Neal would not leave Farrah’s side during her last days. When he was asked why, he gave a rather unpredictable answer: “She’s never been more lovable,” he said. “There’s a sweetness – she’s skin and bones, but she’s got this beautiful look. I don’t know how long I’m going to get it, but I know why I’ve been around for 30 years for this person.” Although they have certainly had their rough patches over the years, some things never change.

Fighter Right Until The End

For two years Farrah moved back and forth between her comfortable California home and a personal German clinic. In the clinic, she underwent alternative treatments, some extremely painful and invasive. Suffering through the pain and clenching strongly to her mattress, Farrah insisted her best friend Stewart would film every single procedure she had to go through so that the documentary would chronicle her achievement in finding new means of combatting cancer. “She’s had terrible luck,” said O’Neal, “she tried so many different approaches.” Sadly, nothing worked.

 

Rest in Peace, Farrah. I’ll always love you because you were my first.

 

 

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Celebrity Sightings: Farrah Fawcett – 1947 to 2009 – Life Uncovered – Part 6

Mystery Scar

The red, one-piece bathing suit that Fawcett wore during this photo shoot was chosen to cover up a scar she received in her youth. While the exact story behind the injury that caused the scar remains a mystery, sources that were close to her say that it was from an accident while trying to learn to ride her bike. Either way, it all worked out because without the scar to be hidden the red bathing suit wouldn’t have been chosen.

Friends Or Enemies?

After taking a brief break with her former flame, Ryan O’Neal, Fawcett later began dating producer James Orr in 1997, but the relationship almost as soon as it started. In 1998, Orr was convicted of assaulting Fawcett in a highly publicized scandal that was majorly played up in the tabloids. Neither came out from the legal battle unscathed, and since then became enemies. The bad publicity Orr received seriously hurt his name in Hollywood and had trouble finding work.

Kids Before Marriage

Fawcett and O’Neal may have never made it down the aisle, but famously dated from 1979 until 1997 and even had a son together, Redmond O’Neal. Although the couple broke things off more than a decade before her battle with cancer began, O’Neal appeared to be a constant presence in Farrah’s life. While the pair seemed to be picture perfect, their relationship was described by some as stormy and temperamental. There was certainly more than what met the eye.

Sticky Fingers

Just three months after ending her 17-year relationship with Ryan O’Neal, Fawcett began dating James Orr, who directed her in the 1995 comedy Man of the House. Orr’s close friend and sometimes actress Kristen Amber claimed that Fawcett had stolen $72,000 worth of her clothing that she had kept in his home. After a thorough police investigation, and Farrah’s name being dragged through the dirt, investigators failed to substantiate the charge, and Farrah was let off the hook.

‘Til Death Do Us Part

It’s true that hardships can bring people together, and this is especially true in the case of Farrah Fawcett and Ryan O’Neal. The relationship was put to the ultimate test after O’Neal fell ill and Fawcett was there for the whole ride. Although they split up in 1997, Fawcett called Ryan the love of her life, and they but got back together in 2001 after he was diagnosed with leukemia. They remained a couple until Fawcett’s death.

Battle With Cancer

O’Neal wasn’t the only one to fall victim to cancer as in 2006, Farrah was also diagnosed. For three years, Farrah fought hard against the disease and sought various types of treatments, but her efforts were to no avail. Cancer quickly spread to the rest of her body, and she unfortunately passed away on June 25, 2009. Farrah was surrounded by Ryan and her son Redmond at the time of her death as well as the final moments leading up to it.

Kicking And Screaming

The first time O’Neal and Fawcett decided to cease their relationship, back in 1997, was not a pretty sight. The two were screaming, scandals of infidelity hit the fan, and even news of low-level violence would surface in tabloids thirsty for information. However, just because they could no longer keep their cool enough to be interlinked romantically, did not mean they were willing to terminate any further interaction with one another altogether. Therefore, the second and last time the two parted was when Fawcett was on her death-bed.

Photo Fight

In 1980, O’Neal set up a meeting between Fawcett and artist Andy Warhol, where Warhol created two portraits of Fawcett. The one of a kind portraits were later loaned by the actress to The Andy Warhol Museum. After a 2013 court case between O’Neal and the University of Texas, whom Fawcett named as the recipient of her artwork, one of the portraits was deemed the property of O’Neal. During the court case, the portrait was valued between $800,000 and $12 million.

Michael Jackson Overshadowed Fawcett’s Death

Fawcett died at age 62 on June 25, 2009, the same day pop icon Michael Jackson died, at Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California, with O’Neal and Stewart by her side. Unfortunately, the news of Fawcett’s death was largely overshadowed by the coverage of singer-songwriter Michael Jackson’s death, which occurred a few hours later in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles. Even in her final moments, O’Neal said that Fawcett managed to keep a smile on her face.

Permanently Damaged Their Son

O’Neal was quoted recently explaining he fully understands the extent in which his fighting with Farrah deeply damaged their son. He elaborated: “One of us should have been the grown-up. Instead, we were two single-minded people who gave into our baser impulses…Our moral compass had become submerged in a sea of ego and confusion and our sweet little boy would bear the brunt of the corrosion.” Because of his unstable childhood, Redmond turned to substance abuse.

 

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Celebrity Sightings: Farrah Fawcett – 1947 to 2009 – Life Uncovered – Part 5

Finally Out Of Jail

In 2016, the distraught son Redmond O’Nea was released from prison. After he had been jailed in 2015 for violating probation regarding previous drug possession convictions, it was rather unexpected when he was spotted out to dinner with his father, since he was initially given a three-year sentence. Redmond reportedly promised Farrah he would stay clean, but in 2011 he was found in possession of illegal substances and a firearm. He was imprisoned during Farrah’s last days, but he managed to visit her one last time before her death.

Cheating On Every Man’s Fantasy

In 1997, the couple knew one of the hardest years of their lives due to O’Neal’s notorious inability to stay faithful. Apparently, the same woman featured on every teenage boy’s wall in the 70’s caught her long-time lover doing the dirty deed in his Malibu pad. O’Neal was forced to recount his infidelity during a testimony he gave in a lawsuit pressed by the University of Texas years later, in which he confessed to messing around in the sheets with Leslie Ann Stefanson, star of The General’s Daughter.

A Valentine’s To Remember

Fawcett decided to surprise O’Neal for Valentine’s Day the day she discovered the truth. O’Neal described the horrible moment in detail: “It was terrible, I didn’t expect to see her down there. I tried to put my pants on, but I put both legs in one hole. Leslie dived under the covers.” O’Neal hoped Farrah didn’t realize what was happening, but in vain. “I thought Farrah was going to attack her, but she said, ‘What’s your name?’ Leslie said, ‘Leslie.’ And Farrah walked out.”

Special Guest At Farrah’s Funeral

A private funeral was held for Farrah in Los Angeles on June 30, 2009, and there was a very special guest in attendance, her son. Fawcett’s son Redmond was in jail at the time of her funeral, but he was thankfully given the permission to leave his California detention center to attend the funeral, where he gave the first reading. While being released, Redmond was photographed in his blue jumpsuit. Fawcett was buried at the Westwood Village Memorial Park in Los Angeles.

Not A Vain Bone In Her Body

One time, O’Neal asked Fawcett about her chosen and very distinct hair style: “I said, ‘Why do you wear your hair like that?’ and she said, ‘I can’t see to the right or left, and that way I don’t have to see people looking at me.’” Farrah was also not one to spend hours on grooming rituals. In fact, she once said: “I’m always more comfortable when I have on hardly any make-up, my hair is brown and I’m very unattractive.”

The Secret Affair

According to court papers, Fawcett had a secret affair with her university sweetheart during her final years behind Ryan O’Neal’s back. He claimed in a deposition that they rekindled their relationship in 1998 and were a couple for 11 years until Farrah died from cancer several years ago while she was 62 years old. The undercover love triangle was revealed in a bitter legal battle over the ownership of a $26 million Andy Warhol portrait of the former Charlie’s Angels actress and model.

Fawcett’s Football Flirt

Greg Lott, 67, a former football star, first dated Fawcett when they were both at the University of Texas. Lott, now a car dealer in Texas, claimed O’Neal prevented him from seeing Fawcett in her last days. “He kept me from seeing the love of my life before she died,” he said. “Photos don’t make a relationship. I know what I had with her. He didn’t have that. He blew it.” O’Neal and Lott were photographed arguing in the street several months after her death.

A Whole Lott Of Money

Fawcett left all her artworks to her old university but when the collection was handed over it was discovered that one of the valuable portraits was hanging in O’Neal’s bedroom. O’Neal claims that before she died, Fawcett gave him the Warhol painting to pass on to their son. Fawcett didn’t include O’Neal in her living trust but left $80,000 to Lott, who testified that it was the actress’s wish to bequeath all of her artwork to her alma mater, including the Warhol portrait.

Lott’s Love Letters

In court, Lott claimed to have years of handwritten notes between him and Fawcett. In one letter dated, Dec. 8, 2008, written from her hospital bed in Germany, Fawcett wrote, “I miss you so much, and sometimes the loneliness makes me cry. But this is a daunting journey one must take oneself, and there is very little anyone else can do to help. I wonder if at the moment of surgery I can do it, so I pray for strength and courage and it comes.”

Close Call

Fawcett and O’Neal fought often and loudly, and these arguments took a toll on their son, Redmond. The six-year-old once threatened to hurt himself to stop his parents from fighting. O’Neal recounted a particularly heart-stopping example that occurred during an argument in their bedroom. Redmond was standing in the doorway in his Winnie-the-Pooh pajamas, holding a butcher’s knife and said, “I’m going to stab myself if you don’t stop it!” That ended the argument.

 

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Celebrity Sightings: Joséphine Jobert – The Actress That Replaced Sara Martins

This series is so popular! Please tell me why you love it so much. I can’t believe the traffic i get for Josephine. Granted, I love her too but I am blown away about how much you all love her. tell me what other actors I should write about to get this kind of response!

Tell me who else i should write about!!!

 

So I watched Death in Paradise on Netflix and fell in love with Sara Martins. I literally felt a tear roll down my cheek during the last scene of her last episode. I was heartbroken. (See: Sara Martins – The Actress I Fell In Love With)

What was the point in watching this show anymore? It’ll suck now.

Then they introduced Josephine….

I have found a new love. Classic Phicklephilly style.

Joséphine Jobert (born 24 April 1985 in Paris) is a French actress and singer.

Biography

Jobert is the daughter of Véronique Mucret Rouveyrollis, a photographer, musician, writer, actor, and director, and Charles Jobert, a camera operator and director of photography. Her father is of French and Algerian Jewish descent, and her mother’s ancestry is Martiniquaise, Spanish and Chinese. Jobert comes from a family of artists, which includes her paternal aunt Marlène Jobert and cousins Eva Green and Elsa Lunghini.^[1][2]

In 1997, aged 12, she moved with her parents to Montreal, Canada, for eight years, where she studied singing and acting, and took her first steps into television. With her friends and her parents, she participated in the creation of songs, videos, a web series, and a television series on the Internet. She attended drama workshops by Stéphane Belugou as well as Coda Music School.^[3]

Career

From 2008 to 2014, Jobert had steady work in various French television series. In 2015 she took on her first English-language role, as Officer Florence Cassell in the BBC One series Death in Paradise.

Filmography

Television

• 2007–2009 : Our pension years : Amel Habib (seasons 1-3)
• 2007–2011 : Lightning : Alice Watson
• 2010 : My friends, my loves, my shit … : Lou, a mechanic (Episode 2.06: All fire and flame)
• 2012 : I was your age from Bruno Garcia : Yasmine
• 2013 : Alice Nevers: The judge is a woman : Djamila (Episode 11.06: Amazon)
• 2013–2014 : Under the sun of Saint-Tropez : Roxanne
• 2013–2014 : Cut! : Victory Vila
• 2014–ongoing: Villa Karayib : Kannelle Benneteau Meadow
• 2015–ongoing: Death in Paradise : Sergeant Florence Cassel (since series 4)

Film

• 2012 : Love Survey of Véronique Mucret Rouveyrollis Jo
• 2013 : Words of Véronique Mucret Rouveyrollis : Esmeralda / Filmmaker

Video

• 2003 : Big Star Patrick Marty
• 2007 : For the life, single from the album Our pension years

Albums

• 2007 : Our pension years (soundtrack to the first season of the series namesake)
• 2008 : Our board 2 years (soundtrack of the second season)
• 2009 : Our pension 3 years (soundtrack to the third season)

LOVE HER TOO!

 

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