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Daily Mail
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne's love story: What the 18-year-old really thought of the young rocker when they met and how the 'soulmates' endured all despite the odds
Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne became one of the most unlikely A-list power couples and their love story endured despite the many challenges thrown their way. The couple remained devoted to each other over their nearly five decades together, standing by one another through Ozzy's addiction, infidelity and health difficulties. Sharon steadfastly stood by her husband's side until his death on Tuesday aged 76, supporting him through his ill health and his final ever Black Sabbath concert just weeks before his passing. They first met when Sharon was just 18 years old and Ozzy was 22, but it certainly wasn't love at first sight for the couple, with Sharon recalling how she really felt about the rocker at the time. Speaking to CBS' Dan Rather for AXS TV in 2017, Sharon said she was 'nervous' of Ozzy and his Black Sabbath bandmates - Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward - at first. They first met when Black Sabbath were considering being managed by Sharon's father, talent agent Don Arden - who then signed the band in 1974. When asked if it was love at first sight during that first meeting, Sharon replied: 'No, no not at all! I was like ''oh Lord look at them'' because they were all odd and hairy''. 'I'd been used to dealing with artists who were American and they were really slick and put together and they smelt nice. 'But suddenly these guys came in and they were very hairy and they were from the North of England and they don't look or dress like anything I'd ever seen, so I was very nervous of them.' However, Sharon said she began to understand the Black Sabbath appeal when she watched their London show that night, though it wasn't until years later that romance formed between her and Ozzy. 'I was so in awe of what I was seeing, again, I hadn't seen anything like that,' she admitted. 'When I saw how electric it was and how different, I was blown away! So that's when I became interested in Black Sabbath.' In 1979, Ozzy was fired from Black Sabbath due to his unreliable behaviour and substance abuse with Sharon taking over as his solo manager, straining her relationship with her father Don - who had been fired by the band. On The Osbournes podcast, Ozzy recalled: 'I got fired from Black Sabbath and I thought ''I'm done'', and then Sharon said ''I want to manage you'' and I thought ''does she want me?''' In 2017, Sharon said she was 'nervous' of Ozzy at first, but his sense of humour eventually won her over - which she credits for keeping them together (they are pictured in 1985) It was then that sparks began to fly, with Sharon telling how she was attracted to his sense of humour and vulnerability - crediting that for keeping them together over the years. 'In 79 we were working together and it was in 1980 that we started. We were working together and it just became something else,' she told Dan Rather in the 2017 chat. 'He was so funny and quick-witted and very vulnerable. I just thought he was the funniest, sweetest guy I'd ever met because he was so vulnerable about everything. That just attracted me to him.' Their romance blossomed during a trip to San Francisco with musician Gary Moore, with Ozzy previously telling how he desperately tried to sneak off to Sharon's room. On their family podcast last year, Sharon recalled: 'He was trying to find my room but I had booked in another name and Ozzy couldn't find me in my room.' While Ozzy quipped: 'All night, I was going to say ''can I come and watch your telly?'' cos that was my pick-up line back then.' However, it wasn't plain-sailing as Ozzy was married, with his first wife Thelma Riley - with whom he shared children Jessica and Louis and adopted her son Elliot - divorcing him in 1982 due to his alcohol addiction. Sharon said of the time: 'It was tough because Ozzy was married and had two children so after the divorce - his wife divorced him, I would have done the same thing at the time - so everything he had, he just left with her, which was the right thing to do.' When asked if she was the reason for their split, Sharon added: 'No, because of the drink, she couldn't take it anymore and I get it.' When the couple tied the knot after his divorce in 1982, Sharon told how they had 'nothing', with Ozzy struggling financially after being fired from his band while she was laden down by tax bills from her father Don's management firm - which he had put her in charge of. Despite their hardships, Ozzy has described Sharon as his 'soulmate' and said he believes they were always meant to be together. 'I was attracted to Sharon for many years, we'd see each other in airports and festivals along the way and she had this infectious laugh, she was fun,' he said on The Osbournes podcast in 2024. 'We were meant to be together, looking back, we were meant to be.' He gushed: 'Sharon is like my soulmate, sometimes I love her, sometimes I don't love her, sometimes I'm angry with her, sometimes I'm crazy about her, sometimes I'm very jealous of her, sometimes I want to f**king kill her. 'But through it all, at the end of the day, I love her more than anything in the world. I couldn't live without her, I wouldn't want to live without her. My love for her is bigger than it's ever been, we've had a rocky road.' The couple have had many marital difficulties over the years from infidelity to illness but remained together through it all, with Ozzy praising his wife for staying by his side through his health woes. 'These last five years have been hell and I've been a pain in the arse trying to recover but my family have been so f**king wonderful,' he said last year. 'My wife has worked her arse off trying to help me get back on my feet, and my kids have been great as well.' Ozzy underwent seven surgeries over the past five years, including a fourth spinal operation in 2023, and had battled Parkinson's disease since 2003 - though he only publicly revealed his diagnosis in 2020. Ozzy and Sharon tied the knot on July 4, 1982, in Hawaii and welcomed three children during their marriage - Aimee, 41, Kelly, 40, and Jack, 39. They documented their family life throughout the 2000s on their reality TV show, The Osbournes, though their eldest daughter Aimee chose not to feature on the series. Ozzy supported Sharon through her battle with colon cancer in July 2002, when she underwent surgery to remove a large portion of her colon. Thankfully, Sharon was given the all-clear and has remained cancer free ever since, though she underwent a preventative double mastectomy after learning a genetic mutation raised her risk of developing the disease. But one of the couple's most trying moments in their marriage was when Sharon discovered Ozzy had been having an affair with his hair stylist Michelle Pugh in 2016. The distraught music manager struggled to cope with the devastating news and it drove her to take a drug overdose before she walked out on their decades-long marriage. However, she publicly forgave him months later, admitting she was still in love with him and couldn't imagine her life without him, so was working to rebuild their trust. Ozzy later shared his deep regret for cheating on his wife and voiced his sadness over almost losing her because of his 'outrageous' actions. 'I've done some pretty outrageous things in my life. I regret cheating on my wife. I don't do it anymore,' he told British GQ. 'I got my reality check and I'm lucky she didn't leave me. I'm not proud of that. I was pissed off with myself. But I broke her heart.' In Ozzy's final years of life, Sharon remained steadfastly by his side and nursed him through several major health issues, including his Parkinson's struggles. Sharon appeared by his side at his Back To The Beginning concert on July 5, which saw Ozzy take to the stage for one last time for his farewell show. It was also the last time that Ozzy performed with his Black Sabbath bandmates since 2005, with thousands of fans flocking to Birmingham's Villa Park for the concert. Ozzy had planned to keep recording music after retiring from live performing, but less than three weeks after his last show, his family announced the sad news of his death, sending the music world into mourning. In a statement on Tuesday July 22, his family said: 'It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. 'He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time. Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and Louis.'
Daily Mail
16-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
British grandmother, 65, dating 44-year-old Gambian waiter says men her age are 'like washed-up coleslaw' - as she lavishes him with thousands of pounds worth of gifts
A 65-year-old British woman who says she 'doesn't fancy men her own age' has been labelled a 'sex tourist' after finding love with a younger man she met on holiday, much to the disapproval of her concerned family. Zena, 65, from Oxted, Surrey, was on holiday in The Gambia two years ago when she came across Ebrima, a waiter at her resort who is 21 years her junior. With much matchmaking taking place online in the 21st century, Zena was delighted when Ebrima pined after her with flowers, asking her out on a date. The mother-of-four starred on the programme 90 Day Fiancé UK, where her love story with her now-boyfriend, Ebrima, 44, was told. 'I thought he's rather nice, he's tall, he's handsome, we've had a few dates and we've had a relationship ever since,' she said. Zena admitted that the age-gap relationship is Ideal as 'I don't really fancy men my own age'. She added: 'Men in their 60s, I'm not attracted to. They're all bald and have big fat guts. They're like washed-up coleslaw. I don't fancy young men, I like an in-between.' But although Zena appears to be happy that she has finally found someone after three failed long-term relationships, her family are not convinced that Ebrima has her best intentions at heart, especially after they uncovered his secret social media profile. Since dating, Zena has bought him an iPhone, a mattress and sent him more than £1,000 for occasions such as birthdays, Christmas, and to help his struggling family. Ebrima has also asked her for £3,000 so he can set up a taxi business. She said: 'He's extremely fit and I am so attracted to him. When I put a few posts up on my social media, a lot of people said "You're just a visa vagina" or "You're just a sex tourist." No, I'm not a sex tourist because if I wanted [to have] sex in England I would, even at my age.' Zena added: 'I am a generous person and if I think someone needs money, I will give it to them because you can only keep so much for yourself.' However, her elderly mother, 95, disapproves of Ebrima, adding that she hopes the pair do not end up marrying, while Zena's granddaughter Tillie believes the fairy tale romance may all be too good to be true. 'He could have four ladies exactly like you all sending him money,' she speculated. Zena's daughter, Zoe, said: 'I don't think she's thinking straight but I hope for her sake, he's going to prove us all wrong. If he does ask for money that is definitely a red flag.' Ebrima - who also appeared on the show - told Zena that he 'really, really wants to get to England' after speaking about how poorly workers are paid in his country. 'The income is very low so it is dependent on tips,' he said. 'Everyone is struggling to have English people because English people give tips. 'Zena is very good for my family. She usually helps me with money and clothes, now I don't buy clothes.' Ebrima - who is a practising Muslim - has always told Zena that he does not have social media, but after her friend Lisa told her to do some digging, she was shocked to find out that she had been lied to. After Tillie found his profile on Facebook, Zena said: 'What a cheek. I'm furious really. He said he never had one.' The waiter also stated he was single on his social media account, with Tillie and Zena uncovering the heaps of scantily-clad women on his Facebook Friends list. 'I feel sick, he's totally deceived me,' she said, adding that her intention is to confront him about the lie during her trip to The Gambia, which will be the first time she has come face-to-face with her lover in eight months. '[I'll say] 'You're supposed to be a Muslim and they're not supposed to do things like that. He's always telling me 'Don't wear this, don't wear that, don't drink this, don't drink that'. Well I'm sure his w****s on his social media drink.' Upon arriving at the tropical country and being greeted at the airport by her younger lover, Zena was less than impressed with the hotel they were staying in, calling it 'a f***ing building site'. She said: 'I sometimes feel a bit gutted that he hasn't got anything for me. At least there's one thing he can give me that's priceless. I just want to have one good night together before I have it out with him.' But the morning after, Ebrima irritated Zena when he made her tea 'too milky' and she attempted to get the answers she desperately needed. When she asked whether he had social media, Ebrima said: 'It's been deleted for a long time. It's not there now.' But then Zena said he was 'lying' and showed him his own Facebook profile, adding: 'You've put single. Are you single?' He responded: 'It was a joke, I like joking.' The 65-year-old then asked why he had not accepted her friend request and said: 'I don't really think it's that funny. I'm not going to waste all my time getting over here, buying you things and buying things for your family and then, lo and behold, you're playing me. 'I don't think it's a joke because I'm taking our relationship seriously. You're going single on here, you could get other women approaching you to join you as a friend, what would you do then?' Ebrima said he was an 'entertainer' and that he would often delete friend requests from women rather than accepting them. The argument turned heated, with Zena saying: 'This isn't a f***ing joke and I'm not happy about that.' She added: 'Who does he think he is? He has trouble making conversation so I don't understand how he thinks he's an entertainer. 'He's lying straight to my face because I know he's got women on there because I've seen them.' But Ebrima maintains he was joking by setting one up and said that he only used it for around a month. In the preview for the fourth episode, Ebrima takes Zena to the house he has been building, but she is far from impressed when she sees that her bedroom barely has four walls and no roof. 'Finances were the main issue,' he said, while saying that he still needs around £2,000 to help with the cost, but Zena is reluctant to take out a loan to help out her boyfriend.
The Guardian
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘I wish I'd enjoyed my fame a bit more': Jim Sturgess on regrets, romance and the art of the mix tape
Like all good love stories, this one starts with a chance meeting and ends with a reunion. It was 2008, pre-Hardy and Hiddleston, post-Bale and Grant; Jim Sturgess was a rising star and the latest handsome young Brit to break Hollywood. Having landed the lead role in casino thriller 21, Sturgess needed a love interest: cue a slew of chemistry tests with a roll call of beautiful young women, a process Sturgess remembers now as 'the most exposed blind date you could ever possibly put yourself through, with five producers watching you from afar'. Kate Bosworth got the role, but one actor lingered in Sturgess's mind: an effervescent Australian called Teresa Palmer. 'When you do those chemistry tests, they put you through it, so we spent the whole day together,' Sturgess says. 'I was really hoping she was going to get the part, because we got on really well. She's Australian, I'm English, and we were both in Hollywood going, 'Where the hell are we?'' Palmer didn't get the part, but Sturgess never forgot her. And, almost 20 years later, Sturgess and Palmer have been reunited – for Mix Tape, a wistful romantic drama about two people who reunite after 20 years apart. Told in four one-hour episodes (you'll wish it was much, much longer), Mix Tape follows two teenagers, Dan and Alison, as they woo each other with letters and mix tapes in 1980s Sheffield (which means we get some amazing needle drops: the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Cure, Joy Division). Guileless young Dan (Rory Walton-Smith) is completely smitten, but Alison (Florence Hunt) is guarded, desperately trying to hide her difficult family life at home. When she suddenly disappears – for reasons revealed much later – Dan is completely heartbroken. Sturgess, now 47, plays adult Dan: a music journalist who never left his home town and, despite being married, never really moved on from his first love. When he discovers Alison (Palmer) is now a bestselling author living in Sydney, he sends her a friend request online. Letters and cassettes are swapped for Facebook messages and Spotify playlists, but the feelings remain the same. Palmer tells me Sturgess is 'the kindest, warmest, coolest, most effortless actor I've ever worked with. And that dude really has great taste in music,' she adds. 'He is that character – he is the real deal.' Before filming even began, Sturgess and Palmer were sending each other playlists, with Sturgess putting her on to UK rappers like Kano, Dizzee Rascal, Ocean Wisdom, Little Simz. 'It was just like the show,' he says. 'Twenty-odd years later, we were reconnecting.' In his 20s, Sturgess made his name as the romantic lead in the Beatles musical film Across the Universe and opposite Anne Hathaway in One Day, but he has spent the past few years in roles that require guns and running – think Hard Sun and Geostorm. But Sturgess is made for this work, with his crinkly eyed smile and soft eyes. Last year was all about 'rodent boyfriends' – well, you can take your Mike Faist, because Sturgess is the OG rodent boyfriend, with a face particularly suited for yearning. 'I've been working on my yearning,' he laughs. 'I'm actually very attracted to romance stories, more so as I get older. They're just so human – it's literally two people navigating their feelings and their emotions, which is really beautiful and interesting.' Mix tapes were a 'big, big part' of how Sturgess wooed girls. 'It works!' he laughs. 'A mix tape was a really big deal back then! That was why I was so attracted to young Daniel – I was that guy!' As a teenager, he was obsessed with US hip-hop and guitar bands from Northern England; he vividly recalls listening to the Stone Roses on his Walkman while delivering newspapers. 'That's what's so beautiful about Mix Tape – it is about that period when you first fall in love, when you first hear music,' he says. 'Your receptors are just so wide open and everything is so important to you. And that's why, when people ask you what your favourite band is, you'll probably say what your favourite band was when you were 16.' Sturgess had a hand in choosing the music used in Mix Tape and even taught Walton-Smith and Hunt how to make mix tapes on cassette: 'It blew their minds. They were like, 'This is an art form. And this is a lot of work!'' he laughs. 'I was explaining to them how you couldn't just get the music off the internet – you had to own it, all your mix tapes came from what was in your collection. They couldn't believe it.' Director Lucy Gaffy let Sturgess in on the audition process for young Dan; they picked Walton-Smith, a complete newcomer who will be in everything soon. 'There was a real gentleness to Rory that some of the other actors didn't bring,' says Sturgess. 'He's got that natural Northern swagger and charm to him. And it was his first job! He was so wide open and desperate to learn. Beautifully inquisitive. He was brilliant. I'm really proud of what he's done.' When Sturgess was his age, he was too afraid to ask for help: 'I was dropped in at the deep end.' He never formally trained as an actor, but he got the bug as a six-year-old when he was cast in a production of Wind in the Willows. 'I was not very good at school. I struggled to concentrate … I was slightly tarnished with the naughty brush. But I just took to [acting]. I still remember the sense of community, of making something together – which I still crave now.' When he was cast opposite Evan Rachel Wood in Across the Universe, Sturgess was propelled to international stardom. 'I didn't really know what I was doing. I was just a kid from England, playing in bands – and suddenly this movie thing happened. Everything changed quite quickly. I didn't really understand how to navigate myself through all that. I didn't have anybody guiding me. I'd be invited to these big parties, but I would always not go. It was a bit scary, it feels a bit mad.' Over the years, he's been in the very good (Cloud Atlas), the worthy of reappraisal (Across the Universe – 'I feel like if it came out now, it might have done all right,' Sturgess muses), and the very bad (London Fields, a spectacular box office flop overshadowed by the subsequent tawdry trial between his co-stars, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard). He's passed on some big opportunities (playing Spider-Man on Broadway) and said yes to much smaller parts that made him happy. If anything, he's learned to focus on the experience of making something, rather than the reception: 'It's such a rollercoaster ride … If your end goal is just to have it be well received and get all the admiration that might come with that, you're going to fall over a lot. You're going to trip yourself up. If it is well received, that's the icing on the cake. I don't really read reviews. I just don't. I'm not trying to hide from them or anything. I'm just never that interested. If I read a bad one, I'll probably agree, you know? Fair enough!' At the premiere for that casino film 21, which was held in Las Vegas, he remembers his face was plastered across billboards on the Strip, on the blackjack tables at the hotel and even on his room key. What is his relationship with fame now? 'It is easier,' he says. 'I was definitely more famous when I was younger and, sometimes, I wish I'd enjoyed it a bit more. But I shied away from fame a lot. I had it at an arm's length. And, looking back, I think I would have got more out of it if I opened myself up to it and embraced it, if I wasn't quite so wary of it all.' Now, he is recognised 'just enough that I'm quite flattered when it happens'. These days, Sturgess is performing music under the moniker King Curious and his next film will be 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank, alongside Liam Neeson and – you guessed it– Teresa Palmer, who plays his girlfriend again. Is this what they're doing now, a la Fred and Ginger, Kate and Leo, Hanks and Ryan? Sturgess laughs. 'If you could just find somebody you got on with and kept making relationship movies … well, I'd be down!' Mix Tape is on BBC Two and iPlayer
The Guardian
15-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘I wish I'd enjoyed my fame a bit more': Jim Sturgess on regrets, romance and the art of the mix tape
Like all good love stories, this one starts with a chance meeting and ends with a reunion. It was 2008, pre-Hardy and Hiddleston, post-Bale and Grant; Jim Sturgess was a rising star and the latest handsome young Brit to break Hollywood. Having landed the lead role in casino thriller 21, Sturgess needed a love interest: cue a slew of chemistry tests with a roll call of beautiful young women, a process Sturgess remembers now as 'the most exposed blind date you could ever possibly put yourself through, with five producers watching you from afar'. Kate Bosworth got the role, but one actor lingered in Sturgess's mind: an effervescent Australian called Teresa Palmer. 'When you do those chemistry tests, they put you through it, so we spent the whole day together,' Sturgess says. 'I was really hoping she was going to get the part, because we got on really well. She's Australian, I'm English, and we were both in Hollywood going, 'Where the hell are we?'' Palmer didn't get the part, but Sturgess never forgot her. And, almost 20 years later, Sturgess and Palmer have been reunited – for Mix Tape, a wistful romantic drama about two people who reunite after 20 years apart. Told in four one-hour episodes (you'll wish it was much, much longer), Mix Tape follows two teenagers, Dan and Alison, as they woo each other with letters and mix tapes in 1980s Sheffield (which means we get some amazing needle drops: the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Cure, Joy Division). Guileless young Dan (Rory Walton-Smith) is completely smitten, but Alison (Florence Hunt) is guarded, desperately trying to hide her difficult family life at home. When she suddenly disappears – for reasons revealed much later – Dan is completely heartbroken. Sturgess, now 47, plays adult Dan: a music journalist who never left his home town and, despite being married, never really moved on from his first love. When he discovers Alison (Palmer) is now a bestselling author living in Sydney, he sends her a friend request online. Letters and cassettes are swapped for Facebook messages and Spotify playlists, but the feelings remain the same. Palmer tells me Sturgess is 'the kindest, warmest, coolest, most effortless actor I've ever worked with. And that dude really has great taste in music,' she adds. 'He is that character – he is the real deal.' Before filming even began, Sturgess and Palmer were sending each other playlists, with Sturgess putting her on to UK rappers like Kano, Dizzee Rascal, Ocean Wisdom, Little Simz. 'It was just like the show,' he says. 'Twenty-odd years later, we were reconnecting.' In his 20s, Sturgess made his name as the romantic lead in the Beatles musical film Across the Universe and opposite Anne Hathaway in One Day, but he has spent the past few years in roles that require guns and running – think Hard Sun and Geostorm. But Sturgess is made for this work, with his crinkly eyed smile and soft eyes. Last year was all about 'rodent boyfriends' – well, you can take your Mike Faist, because Sturgess is the OG rodent boyfriend, with a face particularly suited for yearning. 'I've been working on my yearning,' he laughs. 'I'm actually very attracted to romance stories, more so as I get older. They're just so human – it's literally two people navigating their feelings and their emotions, which is really beautiful and interesting.' Mix tapes were a 'big, big part' of how Sturgess wooed girls. 'It works!' he laughs. 'A mix tape was a really big deal back then! That was why I was so attracted to young Daniel – I was that guy!' As a teenager, he was obsessed with US hip-hop and guitar bands from Northern England; he vividly recalls listening to the Stone Roses on his Walkman while delivering newspapers. 'That's what's so beautiful about Mix Tape – it is about that period when you first fall in love, when you first hear music,' he says. 'Your receptors are just so wide open and everything is so important to you. And that's why, when people ask you what your favourite band is, you'll probably say what your favourite band was when you were 16.' Sturgess had a hand in choosing the music used in Mix Tape and even taught Walton-Smith and Hunt how to make mix tapes on cassette: 'It blew their minds. They were like, 'This is an art form. And this is a lot of work!'' he laughs. 'I was explaining to them how you couldn't just get the music off the internet – you had to own it, all your mix tapes came from what was in your collection. They couldn't believe it.' Director Lucy Gaffy let Sturgess in on the audition process for young Dan; they picked Walton-Smith, a complete newcomer who will be in everything soon. 'There was a real gentleness to Rory that some of the other actors didn't bring,' says Sturgess. 'He's got that natural Northern swagger and charm to him. And it was his first job! He was so wide open and desperate to learn. Beautifully inquisitive. He was brilliant. I'm really proud of what he's done.' When Sturgess was his age, he was too afraid to ask for help: 'I was dropped in at the deep end.' He never formally trained as an actor, but he got the bug as a six-year-old when he was cast in a production of Wind in the Willows. 'I was not very good at school. I struggled to concentrate … I was slightly tarnished with the naughty brush. But I just took to [acting]. I still remember the sense of community, of making something together – which I still crave now.' When he was cast opposite Evan Rachel Wood in Across the Universe, Sturgess was propelled to international stardom. 'I didn't really know what I was doing. I was just a kid from England, playing in bands – and suddenly this movie thing happened. Everything changed quite quickly. I didn't really understand how to navigate myself through all that. I didn't have anybody guiding me. I'd be invited to these big parties, but I would always not go. It was a bit scary, it feels a bit mad.' Over the years, he's been in the very good (Cloud Atlas), the worthy of reappraisal (Across the Universe – 'I feel like if it came out now, it might have done all right,' Sturgess muses), and the very bad (London Fields, a spectacular box office flop overshadowed by the subsequent tawdry trial between his co-stars, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard). He's passed on some big opportunities (playing Spider-Man on Broadway) and said yes to much smaller parts that made him happy. If anything, he's learned to focus on the experience of making something, rather than the reception: 'It's such a rollercoaster ride … If your end goal is just to have it be well received and get all the admiration that might come with that, you're going to fall over a lot. You're going to trip yourself up. If it is well received, that's the icing on the cake. I don't really read reviews. I just don't. I'm not trying to hide from them or anything. I'm just never that interested. If I read a bad one, I'll probably agree, you know? Fair enough!' At the premiere for that casino film 21, which was held in Las Vegas, he remembers his face was plastered across billboards on the Strip, on the blackjack tables at the hotel and even on his room key. What is his relationship with fame now? 'It is easier,' he says. 'I was definitely more famous when I was younger and, sometimes, I wish I'd enjoyed it a bit more. But I shied away from fame a lot. I had it at an arm's length. And, looking back, I think I would have got more out of it if I opened myself up to it and embraced it, if I wasn't quite so wary of it all.' Now, he is recognised 'just enough that I'm quite flattered when it happens'. These days, Sturgess is performing music under the moniker King Curious and his next film will be 4 Kids Walk Into a Bank, alongside Liam Neeson and – you guessed it– Teresa Palmer, who plays his girlfriend again. Is this what they're doing now, a la Fred and Ginger, Kate and Leo, Hanks and Ryan? Sturgess laughs. 'If you could just find somebody you got on with and kept making relationship movies … well, I'd be down!' Mix Tape is on BBC Two and iPlayer
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
James Brolin Reflects on the Blind Date That Sparked His 27-Year Marriage to Barbra Streisand (Exclusive)
James Brolin and Barbra Streisand celebrated their 27th wedding anniversary on July 1, 2025 Speaking with PEOPLE just after the milestone, the actor reveals how they spent the special day Brolin also reflects on the blind date that kicked off a love story that's lasted nearly three decadesJames Brolin is looking back on the moment he fell in love with Barbra Streisand. In a recent catch-up with PEOPLE, the actor opened up about their romance, which began with a blind date on July 1, 1996. "That night was something. It was like somebody called and said, 'Would you be interested in a date with her?' And what I said was, 'I like what she says between songs,' and I was a real nut for women singers — especially jazz and bar singers and romantic singers at the time. So that got my interest," Brolin, 84, shares. "I had been out of a marriage for three years and really saying, 'Who needs that again?' But we both agreed to go. We're on our way and halfway there, we both picked up the phone to cancel and something told us, 'No. Let's just do it.'" Before meeting in the '90s, Streisand, 83, had previously been married to Elliott Gould between 1963 and 1971. Brolin was previously married to Jan Smithers from 1986 to 19995, and before that, Jane Cameron Agee. Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. By saying no to their doubts, neither knew they were saying yes to a deep and genuine love. "We met there. I didn't look at all like she had thought I would because I'd been, for seven years all bearded and curly-haired in Hotel. She saw me and went, 'That's not the guy I came to see.' I had cut off all my hair. She finally came up to sit with all the people at the table and came behind me and said, 'Who f----- up your hair?'" he laughs. "Well, that's when I fell in love. I thought, 'This girl tells the truth right from the beginning. I'm crazy about her,'" Brolin continues. "And then we've really been pretty much together ever since then." To mark their anniversary this year, the two enjoyed the day "in the pool and sitting in the sun and in the shade." "We look out at almost 180 degrees of water, but we're 90 feet up, so it's pretty nice and relaxing. Then we went off to dinner at the invite of some friends and did a fusion Japanese dinner, and they brought flowers. They must have carried stuff. They brought two cakes," he shares. "It was just overkill for six people, but that's good friends," he continued, noting they finished the night at home with a movie. Brolin appreciates that his wife has been "very giving," respecting the time it takes to explore creative endeavors like acting and filmmaking. "One thing that she does that some women have a terrible time with is, 'Where were you? Oh, that only takes 20 minutes. You've been two hours.' Those kind of questions just destroy things. She never asked me anything," he shares. "And I just feel this incredible loyalty, because of it, and so that it brings you together. With her, I love everything she does. I love her choices. People argue with her about her choices and then in the end, when given enough time, they find out she was right in the first sentence." The actor also says that their differences bring out the best in each other. "She's very much a perfectionist and takes her time working things out and being sure. And me, I make very quick decisions. I'm a great problem solver when trouble comes up at the last minute," he explains. He concludes, "We don't work the same way and yet, we love the way the other one works." Read the original article on People
