Hugh Jackman reunites with his once estranged mother in sweet pic
Hugh Jackman recently reconnected with his long estranged mother, Grace McNeil. On Aug. 23, the actor shared an Instagram photo of himself and his mother side-by-side, their arms wrapped around one another's shoulders as they smiled at each other. "Mum," he captioned the sweet shot. Their reunion comes decades after Grace left Hugh's family, a story he's shared in interviews in the past — along with the tale of how they "made peace" long after she left when Hugh was 8. Now 52, the star told The Sun in 2011 (via People) that he now understands Grace was suffering from "undiagnosed postnatal depression" when she returned to England after the family had moved to Australia, where Hugh was born. His older sisters ultimately joined Grace there. "As I went off to school, when I came back, there was no one there in the house," Hugh recalled on Australia's "60 Minutes" in 2012. "The next day there was a telegram from England. Mom was there. And then that was it. I don't think she thought for a second it would be forever. I think she thought it was, 'I just need to get away, and I'll come back.' Dad used to pray every night that Mom would come back." Though he's said he was "furious" with her as a little boy, Hugh told Australian Women's Weekly in 2012, "… I never felt that my mum didn't love me," explaining, "I've spoken about it at length with her since and I know she was struggling." In his own family life, Hugh shares a son and a daughter with Deborra-lee Furness, his wife of 25 years. During a chat with Hoda Kotb on "Today" last week, he said that in his life, his marriage to the actress and producer has "been one of the best things so far."
RELATED: Stars we've lost to COVID-19
Travis Scott surprises Stormi Webster, 3, with special gift amid news she'll soon be a big sister
Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott's daughter, Stormi, is turning into quite the daddy's girl. On Aug. 24, Kylie shared photos of the couple's tiny 3-year-old — decked out in her dad's signature (and coveted) new Nike high-tops and a "Space Jam" t-shirt — as she checked out a school bus from every angle. In one post, Kylie explained that, "all Stormi has been talking about is riding a big yellow bus" so "Daddy surprised her" with one she could investigate up-close, according to People. Kylie, 24, is reportedly expecting her second child with Travis, 30, although the two have yet to confirm last week's multitude of reports. The makeup mogul has been talking about expanding her family over the past year, though, telling her best friend Stassie Karanikolau in an Instagram Live that she hopes to someday have seven little ones. Speaking to i-D magazine earlier this year, Travis sounded similarly taken with parenthood. "It's a major inspiration," he said of being a dad. "… Kids show you a different outlook on life, how they view things, the type of pressures they have and what makes them happy, what makes them move." He added, "… I don't live for myself anymore."
RELATED: Stars expecting babies in 2021
Tom Cruise surprises UK family with helicopter landing in their garden
When Warwickshire, England's Alison Webb was contacted with a request to let an "unnamed VIP" land their helicopter in her family's garden recently, she figured her children would find the landing exciting and agreed to help. "I thought it would be kind of cool for the kids to see the helicopter land in the garden," Alison later told the BBC. As it turned out, the helicopter wasn't the only exciting part of the day. The "VIP who was running late" turned out to be a certain stunt-loving star who's been in the area shooting "Mission: Impossible 7." "[Tom Cruise] basically arrived and got out and it was like, 'Wow,'" Alison recalled. "He went straight over to the children for a chat, then came over and elbow bumped us and said, 'thank you very much,'" she continued. "Then he said if the kids would like they could go up in the helicopter." They apparently took him up on his offer while Tom went to a meeting, the BBC reported. "It turned out to be an incredible day," Alison gushed. "It was surreal, I still now can't believe it happened." Tom stars opposite Hayley Atwell in the next installment of the Ethan Hunt action series. "Mission Impossible: 7" is due out in May 2022.
RELATED: Tom Cruise turns 59: His best and worst movies ranked
The Rolling Stones' Charlie Watts dies at 80
Less than a month after announcing he wouldn't be joining The Rolling Stones on tour this year after a recent medical procedure, drummer Charlie Watts "passed away peacefully in a London hospital … surrounded by his family" on Aug. 24, his publicist told The Associated Press. He was 80. Widely regarded as one of the greatest rock drummers of all time, Charlie was remembered by his fellow music icons on social media as a "rock" behind the drum kit and a "beautiful man" (Paul McCartney), "the ultimate drummer … and such brilliant company" (Elton John) and "the heartbeat of Rock & Roll" (Questlove). Charlie joined the Stones in 1963, lending his skills as a graphic artist to the band's early album art work and tour stage designs, while his jazz-influenced sense of time quickly him a rock hero at the drums. He went on to play on every Stones record, including "A Bigger Bang," which he recorded while recovering from a bout with throat cancer in 2004. Charlie's personal life was famously steady, too — he married his wife, Shirley, in 1964 and never looked back. Charlie's survived by Shirley and the couple's daughter, Seraphina.
Ben Affleck's jewelry shopping excursion may not have been JLo-related after all
It seems Ben Affleck is not quite ready to pop the question to Jennifer Lopez (again). Earlier this week, Page Six spotted the star shopping for jewelry at Tiffany & Co. alongside his mom and kids. One photo even showed Ben gazing at an array of what looked like rings, sparking the outlet to suggest he could be planning to propose to his on-again love nearly two decades after they called off their first engagement. Alas, E!'s insiders have since blamed the shopping trip on something slightly less juicy. A source told the outlet Ben was in the store as part of a scavenger hunt with his family when he was photographed. "They went all around the [Century City, Calif.] mall and into various stores crossing off each of the items they found," the source continued. "One of the stops was into Tiffany and they had to find something in the store. Ben walked in with his son and his mom and they quickly found what they needed and walked out. Ben held a pen and crossed it off his list."
Jessica Chastain thinks her Tammy Faye Bakker makeup did 'permanent damage' to her skin on 'The Eyes of Tammy Faye'
Jessica Chastain's naturally glowy look may have been permanently compromised by the many hours she spent in gobs of heavy, dark makeup and prosthetics on the set of "The Eyes of Tammy Faye." The Oscar-nominated star, 44, recently opened up to the Los Angeles Times about what it was like to don the movie version of televangelist Tammy Faye Bakker's infamous look — and it wasn't the most positive experience. "I think for sure I've done some permanent damage to my skin on this. Listen, I eat very pure, and I take very good care of my skin and I stay out of the sun and all that stuff," Jessica said (via the New York Post). "But it's heavy. And when you're wearing it all day, every day — the weight of it on your body, it stretches your skin out." It also made her nervous. "[Tammy] was so emotional, and I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to get emotional with all this stuff all over me," Jessica admitted. Then there was the challenge of maintaining her energy levels after four to more than seven hours in the makeup chair at the start of the work day. "By the time I got on set that first day that was seven and a half hours, I was like, 'I have no energy left.' And she's supposed to show up with so much energy," she continued. "That was the '90s look — the very end. That's the most prosthetics I've worn. Even the bronzer and the foundation are so much darker, the lashes are thicker. The makeup gets heavier as she gets older." "The Eyes of Tammy Faye," which also stars Andrew Garfield as Tammy's scandal-beleaguered preacher husband Jimmy Bakker, hits theaters Sept. 17.
Kanye West builds replica of his childhood home in the middle of Soldier Field
Over the weekend, Kanye West scrubbed his Instagram bare, leaving only a photo of the home he grew up in on Chicago's South Side. It was assumed to be related to his (allegedly) forthcoming new album "Donda," which is named after his late mother. But more info surfaced this week, courtesy of a fan account that's shared a photo and video of what appears to be a replica of the home as crews piece it together in the middle of Chicago's Soldier Field, where Kanye's slated to host a third "Donda" listening party on Aug. 25. The previous two listening events took place at Atlanta's Mercedes Benz Stadium, which also served as Kanye's temporary home while finished up the recording. His manager has posted on social media that "Donda" will arrive following listening party No. 3, though the rapper's been feuding with Drake on social media about their upcoming album release dates, leading some outlets to predict 'Ye will release his new music whenever the time is right to simultaneously one-up Drake.
Hailey Bieber quietly supports Selena Gomez on Instagram
Back in 2019, amid a din of rumors and fan theories suggesting there was bad blood between Hailey Bieber and Selena Gomez, Hailey dismissed it as "toxic," telling British Vogue it was another case of "people creating false drama between women." This month, ET noticed the model has quietly doubled down on that position by "liking" an Elle Instagram post about the magazine's new Selena cover, in which Selena opens up about the "public heartbreaks" she's endured in recent years, along with physical and mental health issues. Selena's best known "public heartbreak," of course, would have been her split from Justin Bieber after many years of on-off dating. Hailey and Justin said "I do" in 2018,