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Hollywood for Grownups: Naomi Watts Marries Billy Crudup Again and Rescues Her Wellness Line

Plus, Diane von Furstenberg’s famous friends and Ed Asner’s enduring charity poker tournament


spinner image Ed Asner and Matthew Asner, Diane von Furstenberg and Naomi Watts on a blue and yellow background
(Left to right) The late Ed Asner and his son, Matthew Asner, Diane von Furstenberg and Naomi Watts
AARP (Chelsea Lauren/Getty Images; Dave Benett/Getty Images; Gilbert Flores/Getty Images)

In Hollywood, you get by with a little help from your friends.

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Hollywood for Grownups

Hollywood reporter Merle Ginsberg has written about celebrities, film, TV, music and fashion for publications including The New York Times, Hollywood Reporter, Rolling Stone, The Daily Beast, Cosmopolitan and more. Each week she’ll cover celebrity news for AARP’s Hollywood for Grownups column.

spinner image Ed Asner and Matthew Asner arrive at the Autism Speaks inaugural Blue Tie - Bllue Jean Ball at House of Blues Sunset Strip on December 1, 2011 in West Hollywood, California
(Left to right) Ed Asner and Matthew Asner in 2011.
Chelsea Lauren/Getty Images

Ed Asner’s Family's High Stakes for Autism

Major power poker players in Hollywood — Leo DiCaprio, Jennifer Tilly, Matt Damon and Kevin Hart — do it for big bucks. But producer-director-autism advocate Matthew Asner, 60, who played poker with his late dad, Ed Asner, as a teen, does it for even bigger money — and bigger stakes. The Ed Asner Family Center charity will host its annual Ed Asner & Friends Celebrity Poker tournament at Radford Studios in Los Angeles on June 15. “My dad played poker his whole life,” the younger Asner tells AARP. “He once ripped a hospital IV out of his arm just to make a game!” Ed’s younger son, Charlie, was diagnosed with autism years ago, and Matthew’s son Will is also on the spectrum. “I wanted to create a ‘father and son’ thing to support the autism community,” Matthew says. And it has. Last year the tournament raised $186,000 thanks to celebrity participants such as Matthew Modine, 65, Jason Alexander, 64, Jean Smart, 72, and more. So far this year, Asner says they’re expecting Rosie O’Donnell, 62, Tom Arnold, 65, Mimi Rogers, 68, and Sean Astin, 53.

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spinner image Naomi Watts at the AFI Life Achievement Award Honoring Nicole Kidman held at The Dolby Theatre on April 27, 2024 in Los Angeles
Naomi Watts
Gilbert Flores/Getty Images

Naomi Watts Earns Her Stripes

Naomi Watts, 55, turned health devastation into a winning proposition. But it wasn't easy. Her menopause line — which she developed after going into early menopause at 36 — is back on sale after a nasty legal battle with biotech giant Amyris, which partnered with her on 11 products, including vitamins, face mist, scalp serum and hydrating vaginal gel, ranging in price from $45 to $85, in 2022. When Amyris went bankrupt last summer, it claimed it owed Watts nothing. The actress counterclaimed last week, saying that she is owed $200,000-plus based on a signed consulting contract. To keep her line viable despite a recent downturn in celebrity wellness brands, she put up half a million dollars in the renamed Stripes by Naomi Watts, where she’s now listed as managing director. Her products sell on Amazon, at Sephora and direct to consumer on IAmStripes.com. Meanwhile, Watts and husband Billy Crudup, 55, tied the knot — for a second time — in a Mexico City ceremony last weekend, with pals Nicole Kidman, 56, Justin Theroux, 52, and Isla Fisher among the 130 guests. The first go-round was a year ago at New York's City Hall, with just close friends and family.

spinner image Diane von Furstenberg attends the BoF VOICES Gala Dinner and Party at Soho Farmhouse on November 30, 2023 in Chipping Norton, England
Diane von Furstenberg
Dave Benett/Getty Images

Diane von Furstenberg's famous friends

Hulu’s June 25 documentary Diane von Furstenberg: Woman in Charge includes a remarkable group who speak on the 77-year-old Belgian designer's behalf: husband Barry Diller, 82, Oprah Winfrey, 70, Hillary Clinton, 76, New York author Fran Lebowitz, 73, fellow designer Marc Jacobs, 61, and more. The film chronicles von Furstenberg’s beginnings as the humble daughter of a Holocaust survivor, her 50 years running her clothing line for superstars, and her high-profile love life. But the challenge for the filmmakers was getting so many A-listers to talk. Sharmeen Obaid-Chiney, the doc’s codirector-producer, says she nabbed Clinton at the 2022 Diane von Furstenberg annual awards, in Venice: “Hillary wanted to lend her voice to encourage any woman seeing the film.” And Oprah immediately agreed to be interviewed when asked. “She answered every question,” Obaid-Chiney says. “Oprah is a woman who really knows who she is, and so is Diane. I think they see that in each other.”

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