Famous In Hollywood Magazine

In this online magazine, renowned Hollywood interviewer and journalist Jay Christian, shares his celebrity human interest stories of the past and present.

Word for word, you'll enjoy reading what the greatest Hollywood actors, actresses and recording artists in the world personally thought and wanted to share, as well as issues that they believed in.

There will be new celebrity stories from famous Hollywood legends to the current celebrities of today!

We are thrilled to have you visit our Famous In Hollywood community! 

 

Issue #38 February 2025

Welcome!

Every month, you'll read stories that I've written from my interviews with Hollywood celebrities of the past and present. Each star has expressed to me in conversation, their thoughts and wisdom, that I've put together in a wonderful story to share with you, as I have always done throughout my entire career.

I hope you enjoy all these intriguing stories. 
Visit me each month to find out what the Hollywood celebrities have to say and share, right here at: 

Famous In Hollywood Magazine!
My best to you-
Jay Christian​

DONNA MILLS 

Her Secrets For A Good Relationship

By Jay Christian

 

Just as beautiful as ever, Donna Mills has returned back to Hollywood! After a two decade hiatus to raise her daughter Chloe, Donna has decided that she still has a lot more to give to the screen and her longtime fans are thrilled about her decision. 

 

Donna had spent 14 years on TV’s popular series “Knots Landing,” and did some guest starring roles, but there was still something missing in her life.  After some careful thought, at the age of 54, she adopted a child in 1994. Donna didn’t want her daughter Chloe, to be raised by full-time nannies, so she made the decision to step away from acting to raise her on a full-time basis. She was a responsible mother and rolled up her sleeves, to do what every good mom does running a household, as a single parent.

 

Then in 2000, she met the man of her dreams, actor-director Larry Gilman. Donna was doing a commercial with a drug company for an anti-inflammatory medication and they had requested that she take media training, since she was representing their product. Larry was one of the media trainers.

 

Donna said, “We met and had talked and were attracted to each other. He gave me his card and he had my phone number, so I waited for him to call me.” She continued, “Soon after, 9/11 happened and all the media tours were cancelled. And so we didn’t do anything for three months. After that, the company that hired me, wanted to resume media training and I said ‘okay, but only if I can have the same guy.’ So this time, we got to talk after the session. Larry told me that he wanted to call me, but didn’t think it was proper and I said that ‘I was waiting for you to call me!’ Soon we got together and we’ve been together ever since!”

  

Since Donna was a single parent before meeting Larry, an important quality was his acceptance of her adopted daughter Chloe and vice versa. Donna explains, “I think it took her a little bit of time to accept him. She was five years old at the time, but they have always been very close and she knows that she can always count on him and that’s big for her.”

 

Being happily involved as a couple with her partner of more than 20 years, Donna says that another secret to having a long, pleasant relationship is being supportive of each other.

 

“Larry has always been supportive of me and my career. He understands the business. He has always been very supportive of me, whenever I’m working,” she acknowledged. “Also, we are very compatible. Larry has been an actor and a director and all that, so he gets it. A lot of people don’t get it that aren’t in show business. They say, ‘Why do you have to work 18 hours a day.?’ But somebody that’s been in the business knows and they just accept it.”

 

Donna feels that mutual respect towards each other is another key element to a long lasting relationship.

 

“He respects what I do and I respect what he does. He travels a lot though, which is somewhat difficult, but that’s part of his business. We both like a lot of the same things. We both play tennis and he started a vineyard that I’m now a part of, so we share that too!” she said.

 

Working on something together builds a stronger bond and Donna says that one of the happiest times they have together is when they’re working on their vineyard. “It’s a lot of work, but it’s fun. Working the vineyard is a happy time together, believe it or not, we both like to work up in the vineyard.” Donna explained,” There are a lot of things that you have to do, like tucking and also we have a crew. There are three sets of wires that the vines grow on and grape vines grow every which way and they need to grow up and onto these wires. So you have to go and put them on the wires and that’s called tucking. There’s a lot of weeding and a lot of stuff you have to do to maintain the vineyard. We produce 100 cases a year. So far, we’ve won three medals at the San Francisco International Wine Competition for our vintages. The name is Mandeville Vineyards, " she said proudly.

 

Donna believes that having a more relaxed relationship, adds to longevity. She said, “We laugh a lot and have fun together. We just got back from a river trip on the Danube River in Austria and Germany. It’s very comfortable because you are on a very nice boat, cruising down the river and it includes breakfast, lunch and dinner. It’s very luxurious. You go off the boat for hikes and to see different things. It was really fun!"

 

She also feels that trust is very important in a long-term relationship and said, “To boil it down…it’s trust. We argue very little. We trust each other a lot. Even with finances, we don’t worry about who pays for what. It all kind of comes out even in the end. Our relationship just seems to work out and I think maybe we’re lucky that way. We both feel safe and satisfied,” Donna said with pride.

  

Her advice to Famous In Hollywood readers, “Don’t sweat the small stuff! Don’t let petty little things get you angry or upset, it’s not worth it. Don’t get mad, it’ll all even itself out,” Donna smiled. *

 

BEAU BRIDGES’ GUACAMOLE DIP

 

Ingredients:

 

2 ripe avocados

½ cup fresh tomato salsa (make your own or purchase from the deli or refrigerated section of your supermarket)

½ cup sour cream

2 scallions, thinly sliced

⅓ cup canned chopped green chiles, preferably jalapeno

⅓ cup chopped ripe olives

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 small garlic clove, minced

 

Directions:

 

Cut avocados around middle lengthwise, then twist to separate into halves. Remove pit and scoop out avocado from skins into a medium bowl with a large spoon. Mash coarsely with a fork.  If salsa has a lot of liquid, drain so it doesn't thin out dip. Add salsa, sour cream, scallions, jalapenos, olives, lemon juice, and garlic to mashed avocados. Mix well. Cover with plastic wrap directly on surface of guacamole and refrigerate until serving time. Because of all the goodies I add to this guacamole, the dip holds its color well, even if you prepare it in advance. This recipe makes 3 cups of guacamole. I also make my own fresh tortilla chips by cutting corn tortillas into wedges and baking them in a 325-degree oven for about 10 minutes, until crisp.

 

Image by Racool_studio on Freepik.com

 

JANET LEIGH’S CHOCOLATE CAKE

 

Ingredients:

 

2 cups flour

2 cups sugar

3 ½ teaspoons margarine or butter

½ cup shortening

1 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla

½ cup buttermilk

1 teaspoon baking soda

 

Icing:

 

⅓ cup milk

1 stick margarine or butter

3 ½ teaspoons cocoa

1 box of confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup coarsely chopped nuts

 

Directions:

 

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour and 2 cups sugar. Set aside. In a pan, put 1 stick or margarine or butter, 3 ½ teaspoons cocoa, shortening and water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat. Add to dry ingredients and mix together. Then add eggs, vanilla, buttermilk and baking soda. Mix well for about 4 minutes. Pour into a greased and lightly floured pan. Pan should be 15 ½ by 10 ½ by 1 inch. Correct size of pan and baking time are very important for perfect cake. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.

 

For icing- In a saucepan, add milk, margarine or butter and cocoa and bring to a boil while mixing. Add one box of confectioners’ sugar and vanilla with the coarsely ground nuts (walnuts are preferred) and mix well. Then, pour hot icing on hot cake. Let cool and enjoy!  *

 

Recipes from the book Jay Christian's Hollywood Celebrity Recipes

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