House Off Market

Former TV talk show host Ellen DeGeneres just signed off on one of Montecito’s biggest property sales this year, selling the iconic 1919 villa Pompeian Court on San Ysidro Road for $32 million, shy of the original $46.5 million asking price.

Less than one year prior the eight-acre estate traded hands for $22.5 million.

During their ownership, DeGeneres and actress wife Portia de Rossi gave the six-structure complex a complete overhaul. The two-bedroom, four-bathroom main house spans 7,800 square feet.

There are two guest houses on the estate which offer three more bedrooms, a pool house, an art studio, and a small staff office.

The buyer is mining billionaire Robert Friedland, who also bought a $47 million oceanfront property in Carpinteria, which he snapped up five months ago.

A Love Letter to Auctions

The late Princess Diana’s intimate love letters to James Hewitt are reportedly set to go on sale in the U.S. for about $1 million, spiking fears they will be made public.

Former Household Cavalry officer, Hewitt – who had a five year affair with the then Princess of Wales between 1986 and 1991 – owns 64 letters she wrote to him.

A U.S. company, Heritage Auctions in Dallas, Texas, has reportedly lined up a rich client to buy the love letters priced at $1 million, in what has been called “the final insult” to the memory of the late princess who was killed in a tragic car crash in Paris in August 1997.

Hewitt, 65, is said to have previously offered the letters – penned between 1989 and 1991 – as collateral for a large loan.

Cover Model Makeup

Former Sports Illustrated cover model turned business tycoon Kathy Ireland, 61, is teaming up with beauty brand Luminess to launch an eponymous line including complexion and air-driven beauty solutions.

The cosmetics giant is partnering with Kathy Ireland Worldwide and says it will “transform Kathy’s appeal to beauty for all ages,” according to London’s Daily Mail.

Kathy became one of America’s wealthiest entrepreneurs when she launched her lucrative brand licensing company after appearing in Sports Illustrated for 13 consecutive issues, including three covers.

Q&A Reflections

Comedy queen Carol Burnett is having the last laugh.

Even with her sterling reputation Carol, 90, knows when she has taken it too far.

The Montecito resident cites one incident when she was touring with her famous Q&A act on the road in a new Harper’s Bazaar interview.

Shortly after 9/11 an audience member asked Carol if she could be a member of the opposite sex for 24 hours who would she be and what would she do. “I said I’d be Osama bin Laden and I’d kill myself,” Carol recalled.

She noted the situation is one she very much regrets.

Prized Literature

Prince Harry’s controversial memoir Spare has been shortlisted for two prizes at the British Book Awards.

The 39-year-old royal’s headline grabbing tome included a revelation that his brother, the Prince of Wales, pushed him into a dog bowl in a row over Meghan Markle.

The ghost-written autobiography has been listed in two categories – narration audiobook non-fiction and non-fiction narrative.

When the Nibbies first launched in 1990, King Charles was awarded Author of the Year.

Breaking Barriers in the Southwest

Meghan Markle joined actress Brooke Shields and former TV host and author Katie Couric on a star-studded keynote panel for the opening day of SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas.

South by Southwest, also referred to as SXSW, is an annual event that celebrates the convergence of technology, film, music, education and culture over nine days.

The Duchess of Sussex, described as “a feminist and champion of human rights and gender equity, and a New York Times bestselling author,” headlined the opening day – which fell on International Women’s Day.

The session titled “Breaking Barriers, Shaping Narratives: How Women Lead On and Off the Screen” was moderated by Errin Haines, host of The Amendment podcast and watched by Prince Harry in the audience.

O so Special

Oprah Winfrey, 70, who recently left the WeightWatchers board of directors after revealing she used a weight-loss drug, will tackle the controversial topic of prescription weight-loss injectables like Ozempic, Mounjaro, and Wegovy in an upcoming ABC primetime special.

An Oprah Special: Shame, Blame and the Weight Loss Revolution airs Monday (March 18th) featuring the longtime Montecito resident, medical experts and patients discussing the “national impact” of prescription weight-loss drugs in front of a live studio audience.

“It’s a very personal topic for me and for hundreds of millions of people impacted around the globe,” says Oprah, who is also executive producer of the project.

She says the intention is to ultimately lift “the shame, judgment, and stigma” surrounding weight loss.

Stepping into the Role

Gwyneth Paltrow has candidly discussed the “rough process” of becoming a stepmother to her husband Brad Falchuk’s children.

Falchuk shares Isabella, 19, and Brody, 17, with his former wife and fellow TV producer Suzanne Bukinik to whom he was married from 2002 to 2013.

He first met the Oscar winner in 2020 and onstage at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel for the Visionary Women’s International Women’s Day Summit. Last week the Oscar winner looked back on the rocky transition.

“Yeah, frankly it’s bruising, right guys,” she told the audience. “I really like to talk about this because it’s one of my biggest learnings as a human being. My area of growth personally came from the initial different relationship with my step kids and now they’re like my kids … But the path here was really rough.

“It’s like you have to embody the spirit of the sun and just give and not expect anything back. I just learned to try to keep shining like the sun and never keeping score.”

Sightings

Oprah Winfrey brunching with friends at Joe’s Cafe on State Street… Katy Perry shooting an episode of American Idol at Lotusland… Actor Michael Douglas visiting his alma mater UCSB.

Pip! Pip!