Celebrity Gossip and News

Gwyneth Paltrow's $55,000 Yoga Lesson

Are you desperate to discover just how flexible Gwyneth Paltrow really is by seeing her downward-facing dog technique up close? Got an extra $55,000 lying around? Then you should be kicking yourself right about now, because that's the amount one loaded and devoted fan successfully bid for a single yoga lesson with the bendy Oscar winner, reports the London Mirror.
The high-priced workout was offered up by Paltrow for a good cause, namely the Prince's Trust charity, which helps disadvantaged U.K. youth.

"Someone's spent a great deal of money on it so I'm going to have to really come up with an excellent plan," enthuses Gwyn, who gave birth to Moses last month. "Unfortunately, I can't do it in the nude or anything to make it really exceptional, but I will try and come up with a good plan for a yoga lesson."

In other do-gooder news, Gwyn's ex Ben Affleck is showing off his softer side while filming in his hometown. The Boston Herald reports the now under-the-radar star, who welcomed daughter Violet with wife Jennifer Garner in December, made the day of an expectant mom named Dawn while scouting locations for his directorial debut "Gone, Baby, Gone" near the city earlier this week.

Affleck not only gave her a hug and posed for photos but also granted her autograph request by signing her brand spankin' new ultrasound photo. His hokey if heartfelt inscription: "To Dawn, The Beginning of a New Day." But there's a Hollywood-style twist to the story. The paper says Affleck was unaware that his pregnant fan, who found out that day that she was expecting a girl, lost her 3-year-old daughter in 2000 when a bone marrow donor couldn't be found.

Meanwhile, Mrs. Affleck has decided to stick close to her hubby during filming by packing up Violet and heading east.

"Jennifer couldn't wait to leave L.A.," an insider tells Us Weekly. "She said it's time to be a mom and wife for a while."

The actress, who recently hung up her wigs and pleather as butt-kicking spy Sydney Bristow on "Alias," plans to "lay low," says the source, adding, "Even though her friends were sad to see her go, this summer is all about family."

And not just her own. On Monday, she joined Reese Witherspoon in New Orleans to focus attention on the Children's Defense Fund, which aims to help the youngest victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Garner, who wiped away tears as she watched a group of kids perform the song "Something Inside So Strong," told People of her visit, "I see a lot of hope and joy in these children, laughing and playing despite all that's happened. I'll think of them when I hold my own daughter close to me."

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Posted by on May 15, 2006 7:23 PM
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