Sure, they’ve got fame and fortune going for them. But when it comes to what really matters in life, some celebrities are more fortunate than others. Assuming these A-listers aren’t jaded enough to take all their blessings for granted, here’s what they should be giving special thanks for at the Thanksgiving table.
Tina Fey: Sarah Palin. With the critically lauded “30 Rock” facing shaky ratings and her old show, “SNL,” in desperate need of fresh buzz, the sudden prominence of the Alaska governor — and Tina doppelganger — was a godsend. It wasn’t just the eerie physical resemblance, but her cheerful, dead-on skewering of the GOP’s V.P. nominee that made all Americans salute Tina’s talent.
Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt: Nannies. What parents of six wouldn’t love to dash off to a film premiere while the kids are asleep? And we’re still waiting for Angie to take that break from acting she keeps talking about.
John Mayer: Paparazzi. He may moan and whine about being stalked by cameras, but the truth is that the singer-songwriter gets exponentially more exposure for his famous conquests (Jessica Simpson, Jennifer Aniston) than for his music.
Katie Holmes: Broadway. The opportunity to star in the revival of “All My Sons” on the Great White Way has restored some of the former “Dawson’s Creek” star’s cred as a serious actress. (“Mad Money”? Not funny.) Plus, the actress is rumored to prefer her life stepping out in NYC with Suri to living in captivity — er, luxury — in TomKat’s ivory-tower L.A. manse.
Taylor Swift: Getting dumped by Joe Jonas. For a girl who writes country songs about teen angst, having a romance with a pop heartthrob abruptly terminated via a “like, 27-second” cell phone call — after he met another girl, actress Camilla Belle — is a gold mine.
Adrienne Bailon: The Internet. Of course we believe the Cheetah Girl when she insists she didn’t leak racy pictures of herself online to shed her squeaky-clean Disney-star image. What kind of jaded, soulless cynics would suspect otherwise? All we’re saying is, for someone whose biggest claim to fame was being third-tier reality “star” Robert Kardashian’s girlfriend, she sure got a lot of ink out of it.
Travis Barker and Adam “DJ AM” Goldstein: Survival instincts. Anyone who has seen a photo of the horrifically charred plane wreck they managed to escape immediately realizes that it’s a wonder they’re alive. Better yet, they survived with relatively minor injuries, albeit badly burned. But no doubt this Thanksgiving they’ll be taking time to remember the four victims of the tragedy who were not so lucky.
Jennifer Aniston: Tina Fey. From reading the tabloids, you’d think that all Jennifer Aniston ever does is lounge around in bikinis and mope about the Brad that got away. But thanks to the plum part Tina wrote for her “30 Rock” guest spot, we remembered that — oh yeah! — Jen’s actually an actress. And given the right material, she’s a pretty hilarious one, too.
Lindsay Lohan: Samantha Ronson. The glowing smile on LiLo’s face these days is proof enough that DJ girlfriend Sam has helped her get to a more centered, content place. But every time Lindsay’s press-happy papa, Michael, takes the opportunity to publicly trash Samantha, we’re even more convinced that she is a good influence on her gal pal.
Britney Spears: Her dad. It couldn’t have been easy for either father or daughter when Jamie Spears took total control of the flailing pop star’s life. But since then, Britney has gone from being hospitalized under involuntary psychiatric hold to regaining visits with her kids and triumphantly returning to the spotlight. This is what we call cause for giving mad thanks. We hope it will be a very happy Thanksgiving for the Spears family … and for yours! (Not necessarily in that order.)
Kitty Raymond is an entertainment writer and astrologer. She welcomes feedback at [email protected].
