D3

Stumble Upon

del.icio.us

Digg

Facebook

Print

Email

Speak Up

U.S. first lady Michelle Obama is fashion's star, but that's not why she's one of Glamour's December cover models.

Enlarge Photo

AP

Patrick Swayze's widow Lisa Niemi speaks at the Women's Conference on Tuesday in Long Beach, Calif.

Obama's work in mentoring earned her the spot, which will be rotated with four other covers. She'll receive a special recognition in the annual Women of the Year issue that goes on newsstands Nov. 10.

In an interview with new Glamour columnist and CBS anchor Katie Couric, Obama said being a role model is one of the most potentially powerful things she can do at the White House.

"I see how little bits of exposure and big bits of exposure really change my girls significantly, and I want that for more girls around the country and the world," she said.

When it comes to her relationship with U.S. President Barack Obama, he helps her feel "whole," she said. "Cute's good. But cute only lasts for so long, and then it's, 'Who are you as a person?' Don't look at the bankbook or the title," she said. "Look at the heart. Look at the soul."

Obama does know people are always looking at her, though, especially her fashion choices. "I can't be surprised that people are interested. But I've tried to be at peace with the choices that I make first, and then be open to everyone else's reflection," she said.

On the Glamour cover she's in her own drop-waist, red cocktail dress with a modified ballskirt and a chunky, bow-inspired necklace. The outfit was from her own closet, and no designer will be credited in the magazine.

*****

Patrick Swayze's widow has told a crowd near Los Angeles that the loss of her husband of 34 years has left her with sadness "on a cellular level."

Lisa Niemi, making her first public comments since Swayze's death last month from pancreatic cancer, told attendees Tuesday at a conference that her pain "made all the sadness and grief previous to that look like an intellectual concept."

Though she cared for her husband during his 22-month battle with the disease, Niemi says grappling with the 57-year-old Dirty Dancing star's death was still "an animal all its own."

Niemi was speaking to several thousand women gathered Tuesday for the annual nonpartisan Women's Conference in Long Beach, California.

*****

Los Angeles Lakers star Pau Gasol is getting a chance to show off his acting moves on CSI: Miami.

CBS says Gasol will appear in the Nov. 16 episode of the crime drama, playing a person of interest in the investigation of a terrible car accident.

CSI: Miami stars David Caruso and Emily Procter.

Gasol sat out the Lakers' final six pre-season games because of a strained right hamstring, and was considered unlikely to play in Tuesday night's season opener.

The Spanish-born athlete has other screen credits, including an appearance on the CBS drama Numb3rs with teammate Jordan Farmar.

*****

After three kids, The View's Elisabeth Hasselbeck has no plans to get pregnant again, US Magazine reports.

"No, I don't," she said Monday on Barbara Walters' SIRIUS XM radio show, Here's Barbara. "If something happened and I was pregnant again... I don't know how that would happen, because I'm clearly avoiding my husband," former NFL quarterback Tim Hasselbeck.

Not getting intimate is tough.

"He's so cute," Hasselbeck, 32, said. "This is the problem... he's very cute."

Asked if she's ever heard of birth control, Hasselbeck replied, "Yeah, I have. It takes a while to kick in once you start one. But in the meantime, I just find him incredibly attractive. So, it's not like I'm that disciplined, so right now, my strategy is dressing in a way that will not get me pregnant."

In August, Hassebeck gave birth to son Isaiah, who joins siblings Grace, 4, and Taylor, 23 months.