show biz

Teen sisters Cat and Honor Black were among the youngest entrepreneurs ever on BBC Dragons’ Den at just 16 and 17.

A Dragons’ Den contestant has shared a powerful message after making history on the programme, becoming one of the youngest-ever entrepreneurs to walk away with five investors. Cat Black and her sister Honor Black were just 16 and 17 years old when they entered the Den, putting forward their brand Maiden to Steven Bartlett, Deborah Meaden, Touker Suleyman, Peter Jones and guest Dragon Gary Neville.

The sisters pitched their venture business Maiden, a brand committed to empowering girls and women. Their company, which creates cricket clothing, teamwear and equipment exclusively for women and girls, had been established following their own experiences.

“We started Maiden because we were tired of being at the sidelines,” Honor explained. “We felt when playing at every level that we were forced to make kit with boys’ kit or unisex gear that wasn’t designed for us. And so we decided that we would make something that worked for us and others like us.”

Cat recalled a moment that left her wanting to quit cricket, after a “humiliating” experience during her time of the month where the other players laughed and she felt misunderstood. “The kit we had was not designed for such a situation,” she went on. “This pushed me to help create something that made girls feel confident and comfort in the sport they play.”

They had walked in asking for £15,000 for a 10% stake in their business, having launched in 2024 to roaring success from girls like them, parents and schools. “The message was clear, we weren’t alone,” Honor said.

Talking about scaling their business, Cat went on: “Women’s cricket is going, the timing is perfect and we’re at the forefront of change. We want Maiden to be the go-to brand for female cricket.” Honor added: “And as our brand does always say, it’s ok boys, we will take it from here,” reports Wales Online.

Leaving the Dragons more than impressed, Cat and Honor secured five investments, giving away a total of 25% of their business. Their product was hailed as “fantastic” by Touker Suleyman, who admitted: “I’m very impressed.” Steven meanwhile praised: “If you’re this capable at 16/17 years old, I can’t imagine what you’re going to be like at 18/19/20.”

In an exclusive interview, Cat spoke to The Mirror about the experience, and building the company with her sister. She said: “When we ended up getting all five Dragons, we were like, oh my god, no way. We’d never even thought about what would happen if we had got Dragons!”

After filming in the Den, Cat was given the opportunity to meet the other Dragons. “It was hugs all around, I met all of them, definitely a bucket list moment ticked off,” she said.

She added: “I remember hugging them so many times, I was so overwhelmed. Peter Jones really understood the situation more than the others, just because he started a business at 16, so he was like, ‘This is an amazing achievement, and I hope it all goes well for you’.”

Talking about their journey to build Maiden into what it is today, she continued: “You always look up to other business, and aspire to be bigger and aspire to be better. I didn’t know that I’d been the youngest contestant on Dragons’ Den [to receive five offers].”

Cat continued: “I don’t think I realise how far we have come until someone tells me, which is always amazing. I am honestly proud that we’ve managed to do this and inspire other women to do the same.

“It’s such a big thing because it’s not just around cricket. The whole Maiden mission is more like for women who see a problem, you can fix it, you can do something about it.

“That’s what inspires me and hopefully it inspires lots of other women, not just in the sports industry but everywhere. You can change and you can do something.”

Dragons’ Den is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

Leah Remini is joining the cast of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.”

The “King of Queens” star confirmed rumors that she was joining the 16th season of “The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” with an Instagram post on Wednesday, writing alongside the announcement, “It’s true.”

Remini’s team didn’t comment on whether the Emmy-winning actor would be a full-time cast member on the series. Tracy Tutor, a luxury real estate broker from “Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles,” will also join the all-star cast, which includes Kyle Richards, Erika Girardi, Dorit Kemsley, Bozoma Saint John, Rachel Zoe and Sutton Stracke. Kathy Hilton and actor Jennifer Tilly also will return in a recurring “friend” role.

Amanda Frances of Season 15 will not be returning. She announced the news and a forthcoming memoir via Instagram on Aug. 5, writing, “I am taking the clarity, the lessons, the plot twists, the spiritual warfare, and the occasional deeply unnecessary dinner party drama into all that God has for me next. … And to anyone watching, please know: Your next move does not require anyone’s approval.”

“The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” turned 20 this year and has the distinction of most-watched of the franchise, with “Real Housewives of Atlanta” coming in second after carrying the torch for a decade.

Per Variety, “RHOBH” began filming earlier this summer with much of the cast — sans Remini and Tutor — jet-setting off to Ghana for Saint John’s wedding to Keely Watson last week. Remini will begin filming in Los Angeles this week.

Remini and her former husband, Angelo Pagán, announced back in 2024 that they were divorcing after nearly 30 years together. In a joint statement, the exes said they’d both changed, “as people do.”

“This decision came after a lot of thought and care, and as hard as divorce is, we are approaching this with a positive outlook because we know it’s what’s best for us,” they said in the joint statement.

The pair had publicly shared their relationship in TV specials that aired on VH1’s “Inside Out: Leah Remini” and on Remini’s TLC series, “It’s All Relative,” which aired for two seasons.

Nigella Lawson will be joining Paul Hollywood on the upcoming series of Bake Off and now insiders have claimed that their “flirty and fiery” relationship will play out on screen

The “flirty and fiery” relationship between Nigella Lawson and Paul Hollywood on The Great British Bake Off will have viewers gripped, according to insiders.

Channel 4 believe the pair, who are working together as judges for the first time on the upcoming 17th series, are “TV gold” – and unlike anything that’s been seen before.

Newly arrived Nigella, who has replaced Dame Prue Leith on the hit show, is not afraid to poke fun at Paul or engage in flirty banter – and he is said to enjoy it. At one point, when they disagree on something, she challenges him to a physical challenge. And another time, when the bakers are toiling over a particular cake, she compares it to his sun-tan.

One insider said: “Paul just loves the attention! He’s met his match with Nigella because she might be new but she’s not afraid to poke fun at him.

She then challenges him to an arm wrestle. And she also makes a joke about a walnut cake being the same colour as him.

“She can come across as seductive and flirty – not just with him, with everyone – but that’s just who she is, she can’t help herself! It’s her trademark. Some of the things she comes out with are so funny. There are some iconic moments.

“The great thing is that Nigella hasn’t changed anything about herself for the show, and the show hasn’t changed anything for her. She’s come along and done her thing and it’s worked wonderfully.

“Their chemistry gives this series a whole different feel which gives it a freshness. Viewers are in for a treat.”

Yesterday Channel 4’s director of content strategy Kiran Nataraja said she was “really excited” to have Nigella on the show. And referring to a report suggesting she’d been dismayed to see Paul arriving on the set in Berkshire using his own personal mode of “showing off” transport, Kiran added: “She and Paul are not arguing about helicopters the whole time.”

In a clip shown at the Edinburgh TV Festival Nigella, 60, is heard telling one contestant: “Don’t let the sugar shout. Let it sing.”

And she tells another: “I like the fact that there is something a bit sort of jumbly about them. A treat to look at and a treat to eat.” Another critique she provides is: “There is nothing wrong in restraint. Restraint is a very good partner to indulge.”

She and Paul are also shown sitting back and relaxing as, for the first time, they are not called upon to set the Technical Challenge – thanks to the newly introduced “audience choice week”.

Paul, 66, previously got on well with both Dame Prue and her predecessor, Dame Mary Berry. The long-running series, presented by Noel Fielding and Alison Hammond, already has a reputation for being packed with saucy innuendoes.

The Great British Bake Off is due to air on Channel 4 next month.

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Emmerdale star Nick Miles, who played Jimmy King on the ITV soap for more than two decades, has addressed final scenes which saw the beloved character killed off in a crash

Nick Miles has addressed his exit from Emmerdale – just hours after his character was killed off in explosive scenes. The actor, 63, has played Jimmy King on the long-running soap since 2004, but departed the Yorkshire-based serial in scenes that aired on Thursday evening.

Viewers will know that, in recent times, Jimmy and wife Nicola had been looking to the future, and had even planned to renew their wedding vows. Jimmy had not disclosed to Nicola about his financial troubles though, but tragedy struck when he crashed crashed into the wedding marquee where Joe Tate and Dawn Taylor were having a heart-to-heart.

No explanation has been offered yet as to what caused the fatal crash but actor Nick, who previously starred in The Bill, has spoken out about the sudden departure.

Asked by co-star Nicola Wheeler, who plays his on-screen wife, in a video that appeared on Emmerdale’s official Instagram why his character had to go, he simply reasoned: “Everybody I know who read that script, the first thing they said was that it made me cry.”

Nicola was with him in his final moments, telling Jimmy she loved him and holding his hand, as he imagined their vow renewal. With Jimmy gone, Nicola wept before fleeing the marquee just as it exploded.

Just moments before, everything played out as Nicola raced into the marquee to find her husband, was in a bad way and suggested he might not be making it out.

In heart-wrenching scenes, Jimmy shared his love for his wife, but sadly he succumbed to his injuries and died in the car. Moments later the marquee looked as though it was about to be engulfed in flames.

Fans were certainly not impressed with the shock death, with one writing: “He deserved better.” Another said: “I’m still in bits what an episode. Bravo to the cast,” as a third added: “I can’t get over the episode. I was in tears.”

Another fan commented: “I hate that they are getting rid of [name].” A further post read: “He deserved something more epic,” as a final fan said: “You’ve done [name] dirty!”

Other fans confessed they couldn’t believe the show was getting rid of the character. Another fan said they were “fuming” given the character had been a apart of the show for so long.”

Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX. *

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DOLLY Parton’s late husband’s will has revealed clues into how the music icon will divide up her massive $650 million fortune in the months after her death.

In Carl Dean’s last will and testament obtained by The U.S. Sun, he set out his wishes for his property, including what should happen to Dolly’s estate.

Carl died on March 3, 2025, just 18 months before Dolly’s death.

Carl’s will claimed Dolly would have trusted him with her estate should she have died first, so his will appears to have been done in coordination with the music legend.

In his 2013 will, Carl set out a directive specifically about Dolly’s personal effects relating to her “music and entertainment career.”

Carl said that if Dolly does not survive him, all of her career artifacts “including…pictures, costumes, jewelry, musical instruments and equipment and souvenirs” are to be distributed according to the terms of the Carl Thomas Dean Trust.

FINAL POSE

Dolly Parton looked upbeat in final photos just weeks before her death

The actual terms of that trust, however, are not public.

Carl then directed that for the rest of his belongings, in the event that Dolly died before him, should be distributed among their nieces and nephews.

At the time of his will, which was updated in 2013, Carl acknowledged five of his own nieces and nephews, and then another 14 on Dolly’s side, who are named to be beneficiaries of the estate.

Dolly and Carl had no children together.

Despite online rumors that Dolly left all royalties relating to her song Jolene to her goddaughter Miley Cyrus, there was no mention of the pop star in Carl’s filings.

The philanthropist’s husband also set out a specific clause for the allocation of money to charity.

Under a section titled Payment of Debts and Administration Expenses, Carl authorized his executor to make decisions to pay out any “unpaid charitable pledges” at their sole discretion.

Carl essentially was leaving the door open for his executor to pay any charity that may have had an outstanding donation promise from his and Dolly’s estate.

As The U.S. Sun exclusively reported, Dolly was quietly getting her affairs squared away during her final months.

Public records show that her expansive Willow Lake Plantation property was transferred to the DP Dean Trust on April 21 of this year for $0.

A county clerk noted that the estate was previously held under the DP Spousal Trust before being shifted into the DP Dean Trust.

Since Dolly served as the trustee for the spousal trust, it seems clear she was actively rearranging her real estate holdings just four months before her passing.

Recent 2025 tax records assessed her main home in Brentwood, Tennessee, at $10,700,400, while her neighboring property was appraised at $1,282,800.

Dolly was the sole beneficiary of the Carl Thomas Dean Trust.

As The U.S. Sun previously exclusively revealed, her personal real estate holdings in Tennessee alone were valued at a minimum of $180 million.

Forbes estimated her net worth at roughly $450 million in 2025.

Much of that fortune stemmed from her 50 percent ownership of the Dollywood theme park, alongside a prized music catalog featuring over 3,000 songs—including massive hits like 9 to 5 and I Will Always Love You —which was valued at around $120 million.

Beyond her music and business ventures, she also founded Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a beloved charity that mails free books to young children across five countries.

The icon passed away at 80 years old following a brief battle with cancer.

Netflix viewers have been gifted an exclusive first look at Grand Theft Auto VI

Netflix viewers have issued the same complaint just seconds into the new GTA 6 stream.

Gamers have been waiting patiently for the new Grand Theft Auto VI extended teaser, which was shown exclusively on the streaming giant on Thursday evening (August 27).

In a first-of-its-kind collaboration, Rockstar Games gave Netflix viewers an early glimpse at the gameplay months before its launch this November. The new game will see main characters Jason and Lucia forced to rely on each other “more than ever”.

A synopsis teases: “Jason and Lucia have always known the deck is stacked against them. But when an easy score goes wrong, they find themselves on the darkest side of the sunniest place in America, in the middle of a criminal conspiracy stretching across the state of Leonida – forced to rely on each other more than ever if they want to make it out alive.”

While fans were counting down the days until the extended look finally dropped, many were left baffled when Netflix crashed just as they were trying to tune in.

Upon clicking on the 26-minute episode, viewers immediately received an error message that read “something went wrong”.

Taking to X, formerly Twitter, one fan complained: “NETFLIX WHAT THE F***, ITS NOT EVEN BEEN 1 SECOND.”

Another added: “Why was Netflix not ready for this?? They should’ve known that GTA would crash their app.”

Someone else chimed in with: “What’s up #Netflix? We are up for #gtavi extended look but you’re down!”

But other gamers have been more struck by just how “gorgeous” the gameplay looks. One fan confessed: “Nah I’m blown away. #gta6.”

Someone else shared their excitement, commenting: “There isn’t another game in existence that looks graphically as good as #GTAVI #GTA6. Wow.”

And a final fan raved: “I’m literally smiling ear to ear right now. #GTAVI #ExtendedLook.”

The sixth GTA iteration comes 13 years after Grand Theft Auto V debuted, making it a hugely anticipated launch. Grand Theft Auto VI is set to arrive for PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X|S on November 19.

Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look is available to stream on Netflix

Emmerdale fans will remember John Barton’s dramatic exit following a romantic reunion with his wife Moira

Emmerdale icon James Thornton has a very famous wife who sitcom fans will instantly recognise.

It’s been 17 years since James Thornton arrived in the Dales as dashing John Barton, and alongside his wife, Moira (Natalie J Robb), he became the new owner of Butlers Farm.

The farmer took over the agricultural business from the iconic Sugden family, kick-starting a new dynasty on the ITV soap and a long-standing feud between the two families.

John and Moira were childhood sweethearts, and the parents of Matty and Holly Barton, and James was also the adoptive dad of Adam Barton, though his biological father was James Barton.

Before his arrival, series producer Gavin Blyth described James’ character, John, as “a very charismatic and modern farmer”.

However, despite the Bartons initially appearing as the perfect, hardworking family unit, cracks began to show in John and Moira’s marriage.

John’s kiss with Eve Jenson (Suzanne Shaw) and Moira’s subsequent affair with Cain Dingle (Jeff Hordley) tested their relationship. Despite struggling to forgive Moira for her infidelity, John eventually realised he couldn’t live without her.

When the couple reconciled in February 2012, their happiness was short-lived when a harrowing incident saw John and Moira’s car crash following a skid on ice, leading to a tragic plunge off a ravine. John died in the incident, leaving Moira heartbroken.

Speaking to Digital Spy in 2012 about his dramatic Emmerdale exit, James thought the storyline was “brilliant” and said: “As I learned more, I discovered that the scale of John’s departure was going to be huge, and that the amount of money they were spending was massive.

“So I was really, really pleased. As an actor, you always want to do something that’s going to grab the audience’s attention.”

Famous wife

James married Welsh actress Joanna Page, famous for her role as Stacey in the BBC hit Gavin & Stacey, in December 2003, four years after they both starred in the two-part BBC drama David Copperfield – he was Ham Peggotty, and she was Dora Spenlow.

The couple share four children – Eva, Kit, Noah, and the youngest, Boe, who was born in 2021.

It was having children that, Joanna says, completely changed their relationship. She told Woman magazine: “It completely changes you. You’re really close and a unit, then you have kids, and it kind of completely splits you because they’re now the focus.

“We know that romance is going to be on the back burner for now and life is exhausting and hectic, but in 15 years’ time it’s just going to be and him and then we’re going to get to go travelling around the world.”

Road accident

In February 2010, James was hit by a motorist in London and received medical treatment for leg injuries. Emmerdale producers rewrote scenes involving his character. At the time, an Emmerdale source told the Daily Star the entire cast was shocked.

James now works as a voice artist and has narrated several documentaries, including BBC series This Farming Life. He has narrated and appeared in the documentary Benefits By the Sea: Jaywick (2015–2016), narrated the Channel 5 series The Motorway, and has been the voice of Talk TV.

He also narrates ad campaigns for high-profile brands like Ford, Amazon, Shell, and BP.

Emmerdale airs weekdays on ITV and ITVX

Where are Big Brother stars Saskia Howard-Clarke and Maxwell Ward now after they defied critics with their romance off screen?

It’s hard to believe, but it is officially 21 years since the sixth season of Big Brother – and arguably one of the most iconic in history – graced our screens.

The competition, which aired in 2005, saw romances galore as winner Anthony Hutton enjoyed a memorable night in the jacuzzi with Makosi Musambasi – which almost led to the first ever Big Brother baby – while Kinga Karolczak got up close and personal with a wine bottle…

Viewers also had a front-row seat to the blossoming bond between Saskia Howard-Clarke and Maxwell Ward, who fell in love in front of the cameras and kept things going long after Davina McCall bid them farewell.

The promotions girl, 23, and the maintenance engineer, 24, both entered the infamous house on the first day, and sparks soon flew. However, while they quickly became besotted, their romance left viewers – and their castmates – divided.

Kemal Shah called the pair out for their closeness in the bedroom, prompting Maxwell to pour water over him, which earned the engineer a stern warning from Big Brother bosses.

However, in scenes slightly reminiscent of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, they were forced to face off against each other in a Big Brother first after receiving the most nominations from their fellow housemates, meaning they were both up for eviction.

Their romance was briefly put on pause when Saskia axed on day 36, after receiving 71% of the public vote. But it wasn’t long before they were reunited, as her beau was booted out the following week.

The pair dated for over a year, and even purchased a home together, before their relationship came crashing down. Maxwell confirmed their split in an episode of After They Were Housemates in 2007, announcing he was moving out.

Three years later, he appeared to take a swipe at his former flame in a chat with Heat Magazine, claiming that he could have won the show if they had remained single.

“I’m not blowing my own trumpet, but if I hadn’t got with you [Saskia], I would’ve won the show hands down,” he said, via the Sun.

“If I had the time again, and I’m sure you’d say the same thing, I wouldn’t have got with you and you wouldn’t have got with me.”

Touching on his time in the house in an interview in 2020, he said: “You’re going to be propelled to the best looking bird with a massive pair of, you know…

“She was the best of a bad bunch. We were [an item for a white], we bought a house together. When you’re on Big Brother and you meet someone like that, I was insecure. There’s 12million people watching that series.”

While Maxwell has remained out of the spotlight since the show, Saskia embraced the fame and has since worked as a glamour model.

She initially stepped back from the public eye when she became a mum to her son, Phoenix, with her ex-husband, but has since turned to OnlyFans. In a rare 2023 interview, she also revealed that she had found love again on Tinder.

Unpacking her TV romance with Maxwell with the Sun, she said: “He laughed me into bed, that’s the best way to describe it. “He’s a really nice, funny guy and very persistent, I’ll give him that, but time in there is slow, right? I think I was in there for five or six weeks and you’ve been away hiding for two weeks before with no contact with your family, it’s a long time. Then to get close to somebody…

“It happened organically but, listen, if I’d met him on the outside, I don’t mean to be horrible, but he wouldn’t have been my type at all.”

Reflecting on their split, she explained that she found the reaction from the public more difficult than their romance ending for good, adding: “What was frustrating for me was more the ‘told you so. I knew she wouldn’t be with him,’ and I felt bad for him because he had a lot of stick saying that he was punching, which is not nice.”

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KASABIAN’S Leeds Festival headlining slot is under threat as bosses have sent an urgent warning to “take cover”.

The annual festival kicked off it’s four-day extravaganza today, with revellers expected to turn up in their thousands to see their favourite acts perform live.

Iconic rock band Kasabian, which consists of members Sergio Pizzorno, Chris Edwards, Ian Matthews and Tim Carter, are set to perform tonight at on The Grid stage from 9:20 to 10:50pm.

However, it’s been revealed that a thunderstorm is going to happen in Leeds and it could derail the highly-anticipated performance.

The organisers took to Instagram to share a statement for those attending the festival today.

They penned: “Weather update. There will be a thunderstorm in Leeds today.

STAGE EXIT

Reading Festival axes iconic stage after 18 YEARS – as new programme announced

SINGING IN THE RAIN

Soaked revellers brave rain & mud as Reading & Leeds Festival begins

“Please take cover where you can including in your camping tents and avoid sheltering under trees.”

Festival-goers took to the comments section to share their thoughts as they urged bosses not to cancel acts because of the weather.

One person wrote: “I better see no acts cancelled because of this weather.”

Another reveller commented: “Is this a joke.”

Somebody else said: “Please don’t do what you did last time and shut the stages down. Hopefully the stages aren’t affected much.”

Yet another joked: “It wouldn’t be Leeds Festival without rain!!”

The iconic event began at 10am this morning and will be running until Sunday evening.

Other stars set to perform over the next few days are Charli XCX, Chase and Status, Dave, Florence + The Machine and Raye.

As well as this, sombr, Skepta, Jade and Declan McKenna will also be crooning to some of their biggest tracks.

The iconic event is taking place at Bramham Park, which is located between Leeds and York.

The competition will air live on the streaming platform and there is a huge cash prize at stake.

Fans of tense competitions are in for a treat as Netflix has announced a new show with a life-changing cash prize.

Netflix has unveiled an intense competition that could see one person win £501,000, with none other than Richard Osman and Gary Lineker at the helm. The show is a “high-stakes” darts competition that will see amateurs go up against the world number one, Luke Littler.

Beat Luke Littler is the name of the Netflix show in question, and it offers people one chance to win one perfect leg of 501, earning them the £501,000 prize if they are able to beat the 19-year-old champion.

A nationwide hunt to find the 20 competitors brave enough to take on the challenge has opened, with regional heats due to be held in Manchester and London in September. The show will air live on Netflix on October 30, with Lineker as host and Osman as the expert analyst.

Darts prodigy Luke ‘The Nuke became the youngest world champion in the sport’s history at just 17 years old. A two-time PDC player of the year, he was recently named in TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in Sports 2026 list. He featured in the Netflix sports documentary series Matchroom: The Greatest Showmen and appeared as a guest on The Rest Is Football.

The show marks Lineker’s return to live sport following his departure from the BBC last year. He shared in a statement: “I am delighted to be deepening my relationship with Netflix after such a brilliant experience with The Rest Is Football at the World Cup, and Beat Luke Littler feels like exactly the kind of unpredictable, live event television that gets me excited – I cannot wait to see who fancies their chances.”

Osman, who will star in a role similar to that on Pointless, said: “As a huge darts fan, and proud owner of a signed photo of Jocky Wilson, I couldn’t be more excited to join the amazing Beat Luke Littler live show.

“He’s the greatest player in the world. But 20 legs in a row? I honestly think someone is going to win that £501k. It’s going to be an incredible night.” Littler will be asked to play 20 separate legs against the 20 different opponents, meaning each qualifier only needs one successful leg to beat him.

However, this will still be a huge challenge given the level Littler has reached in 2026. The 19-year-old has won every PDC major staged so far this year, according to dartsnews.com, retaining both the World Championship and World Matchplay, and his Blackpool title came with a record-breaking 111.04 tournament average.

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He teased to Netflix’s Tudum: “Everyone thinks they can beat me. Now they get a chance to prove it.” Fans have taken to X, formerly Twitter, to share their thoughts on the concept and the interesting choice of experts. One joked: “That classic darts expert… Richard Osman.” Another quipped: “So Lineker buys a dartboard for the Rest Is Football studio and is now hosting darts shows? Come on.”

To watch Beat Luke Littler, viewers just need an active Netflix subscription. Once signed in, they will just need to select the Beat Luke Littler stream to tune in.

Beat Luke Littler arrives on Netflix on October 30

Production services vendor Quixote stunned Hollywood in April when it said it was winding down most of its Los Angeles soundstage business, delivering another blow to an industry already buffeted by steep losses in film and TV production.

Now, one of those facilities is attempting to stage a comeback.

Film and TV producer Manny Halley said he has taken over a 125,000-square-foot former Quixote North Valley complex on Montague Street in Pacoima under a 25-year lease with an option to buy, and plans to reopen it this fall under the name Imani Studio. The land is owned by Rexford Industrial Realty, which is not a party to the production business.

Halley’s credits include the “True to the Game” film trilogy that featured Vivica A. Fox, and the BET reality TV series “Keyshia Cole: The Way It Is,” which ran on BET from 2006 to 2008.

In an interview, Halley declined to disclose the price he paid, but said the lease is worth more than $25 million and that the cost to build the facility three years ago was about $19 million. The deal was financed with capital from his Imani Media Group.

“Right now is a unique time for independent producers because we don’t have to sit back and wait for a studio,” he said. “And in order for us to build a library and keep going, we have to keep costs down. So having your own stage is going to keep costs down.”

Producer Manny Halley has taken over ownership of one of the former Quixote North Valley studio facilities in Pacoima.

(Dae Howerton and Dallas J. Logan)

Halley said he was also motivated by the ongoing production crisis in L.A. and the continued loss of industry jobs. His company has shot 18 productions in California, 14 of which received a state production incentive.

“Somebody’s got to believe in Hollywood,” Halley said. “It’s a sad industry right now, and I want to change it.”

He is making a long bet on a market a much larger company has struggled with. Former owner Hudson Pacific announced it was shutting down most of its L.A. soundstages as well as operations in Atlanta as part of a cost-reduction move.

The Los Angeles-based real estate company bought Quixote in 2022 for $360 million, saying at the time that the acquisition would address the growing demand for soundstage space. Quixote was originally founded in 1995.

Though L.A. area soundstages had average occupancy rates of about 90% from 2016 to 2022, their business plunged in 2023 amid the work stoppages of the writers’ and actors’ strikes, according to data from the nonprofit FilmLA, which tracks on-location shoot days in the Greater L.A. area. In 2024, the average occupancy rate was 63%.

“Keeping production infrastructure active and investing in California’s capacity to support film and television is essential to our long-term competitiveness,” California Film Commission Executive Director Colleen Bell said in a statement. “Facilities like this help keep productions here, sustain good-paying jobs, and support the thousands of businesses and workers that make up our entertainment economy.”

Halley said he plans to invest $2 million to $6 million into the facility, including additional staff and LED volume walls. He retained three employees to help run operations and hopes to hire others who previously worked there.

He said he plans to use the facility, which has four soundstages, to shoot his own shows and movies, but also intends to rent out space to other productions, including student projects.

“I just want to give everybody their opportunity to shine,” he said. “I want to give them their own playing field to create and make their visions come to life with affordable stages.”

But even if outside productions don’t rent the space, he said the facility could sustain itself on his company’s projects. Imani Media Group has a distribution arm that has worked with Amazon, Tubi and the major theater chains.

By late September, Halley said he intends to start shooting a “True to the Game” TV series at the Pacoima facility, as well as the BET comedy “Lot Patrol,” which the network recently picked up for an additional five episodes.

“Supporting Black ownership and entrepreneurship across the entertainment industry remains deeply important to BET,” Brian Rikuda, BET’s executive vice president of enterprise growth strategy, business operations, and programming strategy, said in a statement. “As Manny Halley expands Imani Studios into a 125,000-square-foot production home, we’re proud to continue our partnership rooted in a shared vision to create culturally impactful entertainment and expand opportunity in our industry.”

TIKTOK star Baylen Dupree broke down in tears as she married her fiance and accidentally called him ‘the greatest d**k of my life’ in a sneak peek of her big day.

The social media favourite, 24, and Colin Dooley, 26, tied the knot back in May this year at the Airlie estate in Warrenton, Virginia.

The loved-up pair filmed the whole thing as part of her TLC show Baylen Out Loud – and the two-part special concluded on August 25.

Baylen couldn’t control her emotions as they came face to face at the aisle.

Fighting back the tears, she said: “Oh God, everyone bear with me.”

Baylen, who has Tourette syndrome, went on to say: “Three years ago, what started as a simple swipe became the greatest d**k… god damn!”

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As their guests laughed, she continued: “The greatest blessing God has ever given me.

“You came into my life in some of the darkest moments and without even realising it you became my medicine.

“When I was hurting you loved me gently, when I felt lost you reminded me of who I was.

“God used your heart, patience and your love to pull me out of places that I thought I would never escape.”

Baylen and Colin started dating in 2022.

The pair got engaged in February last year.

Baylen Out Loud hit our screens last year on American channel TLC.

“Following the journey of Baylen Dupree, a young woman living with an extreme case of Tourette Syndrome.

“Despite her challenges, Baylen and her family are not afraid to laugh and embrace the chaos,” Apple TV’s synopsis reads.

The first season aired in January, followed by a second in October, and a third in May this year.

Baylen shot to fame in lockdown on TikTok and now boasts an incredible 13m followers on the platform.

MELANIE Sykes has revealed a new look with a wig – after shaving her head amid her alopecia battle.

The 56-year-old, who revealed her autoimmune disease diagnosis last year, took to her Instagram page to share the stunning selfie with fans.

According to NHS Inform, alopecia is a “general term for hair loss”.

The TV star has proudly been showing off her new shaved head look after previously being left “two thirds bald”.

But she recently was all smiles as she posed for a picture while rocking a brunette bob.

Melanie captioned the post: “Options………….. #chameleon #wigstagram.”

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BRAVE MEL

Melanie Sykes shows off her bald head after alopecia battle

Earlier this month Melanie, looked radiant as she went back to her modelling roots for the first time since losing her hair.

And just days before she showed off her bald head in her “Monday Motivation” post.

Throughout Mel’s alopecia battle she has been open and honest about the impact it has had on her.

She previously explained how her autoimmune condition had progressed over time and had left her with noticeable bald patches across her head.

Mel told how she was in “so much pain” after spending a long period of time unwell.

The star said at the time: “I’ve got an autoimmune condition, I am losing my hair, I keep having crazy inflammation all over and I am working on healing.

“In the last three months, I’ve done a meditation teacher training course.

“I was too ill to finish it, like the last two days of it I couldn’t do.

“It’s meditation teacher training, I don’t necessarily want to teach, but I can do…

“Mostly I’ve been living a very, very very spiritual existence.

“I’m two-thirds bald, really. Every time I say I’m bald I laugh, I don’t know why… Thank god I can laugh.”

Just after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade in 2022, ending the nationwide right to legal abortion, Olivia Rodrigo walked onstage at the Glastonbury festival in the United Kingdom, sad and furious but also galvanized. “I’m heartbroken over what happened in America yesterday,” Rodrigo said onstage then. “I’m devastated and terrified that so many women and so many girls are going to die because of this.”

Four years later, Rodrigo has a new festival of her own this weekend, Daisy Chain Fields in Irvine’s Great Park, that’s entirely in service to those causes of women’s rights and reproductive autonomy.

“I remember being at Glastonbury that day with the most exciting opportunity to perform on that stage, but at the same time, being shaken to my core knowing that women’s rights were being stripped away,” Rodrigo told the Times via e-mail just before the festival. “I want people to walk away from here feeling hopeful and feeling like they can effect change. That was the entire thesis of this festival. I do think we can. We’ve seen it happen before, and we’re seeing some change now.”

Daisy Chain Fields is an ambitious escalation of Rodrigo’s activism in this sphere, which has paralleled her chart-topping success after debuting as a teenager with her LP “Sour” in 2021. The festival — with similarly-aligned acts including Chappell Roan, Doechii, Bikini Kill, Katseye and others — will be a globally-prominent cultural event, underlining the urgency for reproductive and women’s rights work amid the current right-wing backlash. It raises funds to benefit 10 like-minded advocacy groups, and intertwines her music career and women’s rights advocacy in ways few pop artists at her scale are attempting.

“We are ecstatic to have Olivia supporting our work, not only financially, but using her voice and reach to shine a light on these urgent issues,” said Nancy Northup, president and chief executive of the Center for Reproductive Rights, which challenged abortion bans in 11 states, and filed the first lawsuit on behalf of women denied abortions in 50 years. “Women are continuing to suffer under these bans, and that won’t stop until abortion is federally protected once again. Her support will help us continue filing lawsuits and advocating for laws that expand reproductive rights, both in the U.S. and globally.”

Olivia Rodrigo performs during the opening night of her Guts tour at Acrisure Arena on Feb. 23, 2024, in Palm Desert, Calif.

(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)

Rodrigo’s public work in activism began in earnest on the tour for “Guts” in February 2024. That tour coincided with the launch of Rodrigo’s Fund 4 Good, a nonprofit (under the fiscal sponsorship of the 501(c)(3) group Entertainment Industry Foundation) that steered $2.5 million in profits and donations from that tour to a range of global groups working in women’s rights, health and reproductive care. These included Jhpiego — a Johns Hopkins-affiliated global women’s health NGO — along with Women’s Shelters Canada, Women Against Violence Europe, and the Korea Foundation for Women.

“She did something. She could have played it safe, but she acknowledged that she has the power to make stuff happen, and she’s going to use it for good,” said Kathleen Hanna, founder of the legendarily activist punk group Bikini Kill, who will play Daisy Chain Fields on Saturday. While Hanna recalled feeling initially skeptical about the all-women Lilith Fair in the ’90s, she respects how Rodrigo learned about that fest’s communal, radical goals from a recent documentary, and sought to update it for her fans’ generation.

“What’s awesome about that is that it’s not that rare” for artists to be outspoken on these issues now, Hanna said. “Look at Megan Thee Stallion, Hayley Williams — all I see is women who are like ‘This is bull—.’ In a fascist era, we need to be meeting each other and opening friendship circles instead of isolating ourselves.”

Rodrigo’s advocacy hasn’t always gone smoothly. While on tour for “Guts” in 2024, Rodrigo brought abortion rights groups under the National Network of Abortion Funds to canvass at shows, and some groups handed out free condoms and emergency contraceptives to fans. Those efforts upset conservatives in states like Missouri, which had enacted a near-total abortion ban, and where state legislators sought to ban the morning-after pill. Fearing political backlash, Rodrigo’s management team at the time reportedly asked the groups to refrain from passing out contraceptives, but still encouraged them to canvass on-site.

“I don’t think demanding that women and girls be safe and have ownership over their own bodies is a radical idea,” Rodrigo said. “I was raised by parents who encouraged that belief in me.”

At Daisy Chain Fields, Rodrigo will likely face little resistance — but the show arrives in an ever more challenging time for women’s health and rights.

The return of President Trump to office has resulted in legislation like the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that slashed funding for healthcare; decimated funding for groups like USAID; and saw controversial, conspiracy-pushing figures like Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. brought into government. Crucial issues in women’s health risked being ignored or exacerbated.

“It is a fraught moment” said Angela Aina, co-founder and executive director of the Black Mamas Matter Alliance, one of the groups supported by Daisy Chain Fields. Aina said that American Black women die in childbirth at three times the rate for white women, and 87% of these deaths were preventable.

“What matters most to us is that the festival is showing people the organizations that are doing this work and pushing solutions,” Aina added. “Black maternal health has too often been treated as a niche concern, something discussed among public health professionals and then set aside.” But when these topics underpin a massive, sold-out festival of music with an audience of young women, it becomes “part of ordinary civic life,” she said.

These organizations said Rodrigo made a real effort to connect personally with their teams and more closely learn about their issues and strategies. Some, like the National Institute for Reproductive Health and Planned Parenthood, focus on reproductive justice. Baby2Baby supports mothers in poverty while Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health focuses on Native and First Nations community healthcare; FreeFrom responds to the epidemic of gender-based violence, while the National Domestic Workers Alliance advocates for care workers, the vast majority of whom are women.

“It’s really extraordinary,” said National Domestic Workers Alliance President Ai-Jen Poo. “[She’s] making the time to come to meetings and learn about each organization directly from us, offering to think through different ways that she can lift up our work even beyond the festival.”

Part of NDWA’s mission is to change the cultural conversation around domestic labor — “We as a culture often refer to it as ‘help,’ as opposed to the profession that it is for millions of workers,” Poo said — an undertaking Poo said Rodrigo understands well.

“I think that she is a great storyteller herself through her music, and she knows that great storytelling is at the heart of what moves people and what creates change for people,” she said.

Olivia Rodrigo speaks at the beginning of the July 14, 2021, daily briefing at the White House in Washington, where she was filming a video to promote vaccines.

(Susan Walsh / Associated Press)

The National Women’s Law Center works across virtually every issue affecting women and girls in the United States. “One of the things I like to say is that our fingerprints are on the lives of women in this country in ways that they’re probably not even aware of,” said Uma Iyer, NWLC’s chief external affairs officer.

Iyer said that the “constant conversation” between law, policy and culture change is at the heart of the NWLC’s work, and Rodrigo’s advocacy keeps that conversation urgent.

“We’ve seen that in how #MeToo played out. That spawned litigation, but it was also a big global cultural moment,” Iyer said. “You’re talking about it at kitchen tables and movie theaters and on talk shows, and that discourse really matters when you’re trying to effect change.”

Each of the nonprofits will have a physical presence at the festival in Irvine’s Great Park. For their station, Poo said the NDWA will set up a space for visitors to learn about care work and pay tribute to the caregivers in their own lives through artwork, which will all knit together “in a big chain of care” by the festival’s end.

“We’re really excited about all the people who will come to our tent and have a conversation with us and stay involved in our movement long afterwards,” she said. “We feel like Daisy Chain is almost like a catalyst for really growing this movement for care in our country.”

Several organizers said the recognition and opportunities for connection that the festival brings are just as meaningful as whatever financial support it generates.

While the festival’s total donation pool is yet unclear, Rodrigo has said that all artists on the lineup are performing for free, though production and staffing costs for a fest this size will be substantial.

What money the nonprofit groups do receive will go right back into “continuing the work,” Iyer said. “The work of gender justice in whatever form it shows up for any of these 10 organizations is really the work of protecting our democracy.”

Money generated by Daisy Chain Fields will be “flexible dollars,” Iyer explained, usable for anything an organization needs to fill in the gaps. “Those are critical dollars for nonprofits to be able to survive and do the work,” she said. Beyond the impact for populations the organization serves, Iyer said the promise of Daisy Chain Fields has boosted morale among NWLC staff during an extremely difficult time in America.

“When you have this big festival with people you love to hear, who bring you joy and bring you comfort and peace and entertainment and laughs and love, and they’re all banding together because this one incredible person asked them to, because she believes it’s the right thing to do — it makes the work a little less hard.”

The work seems to be catching on. Roan, long outspoken on LGBTQ+ rights issues, will throw the Super Graphic Spectacular concert at the Shrine in Los Angeles on Oct. 21-22, benefiting trans youth through Roan’s Midwest Princess Project. Last year, Doechii told the audience at the GLAAD Media Awards in L.A. that as ”hard-won cultural change and rights for transgender people and the LGBTQ+ community have been threatened,” the superstar rapper was “disgusted” by the revanchism.

“Olivia’s involvement is such a gift, because she is reaching and educating young people who may feel checked out or hopeless on these issues,” Northup said. “Olivia is giving us a chance to meet young people where they’re at, and she’s approaching it with positivity. Her message is not about what we’ve lost, it’s about what we can accomplish if we channel our collective power as women and girls.”

Rodrigo just followed up her acclaimed LP “You Seem Pretty Sad for a Girl So in Love” with a new single, “Serena Joy,” titled after a character in Margaret Atwood’s “The Handmaid’s Tale” who complies with an oppressive theocracy.

“If they do it to them, they’re gonna do it to you,” Rodrigo sang, with a fury that brooks no room for despair.

“There’s a growing sentiment among young people and women that we have to create change, and hopefully people are inspired, whether it’s by engaging with some of our NPO partners or simply finding whatever way feels right to them,” Rodrigo said. “There is no doubt in my mind that protecting women and girls, and ensuring they have ownership over their own bodies, has to be a priority for all of us.”

Dolly Parton may be gone, but her spirit of self-expression is still making waves — this time in a Texas federal court.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner on Tuesday cited the late artist in his decision to strike down Senate Bill 12, a 2023 law that sought to restrict drag shows. His decision, which blocks the Texas attorney general from enforcing the law, noted that the prohibition was “an unconstitutional restriction on speech.”

Just as many people “chastised Dolly Parton as a voluptuous sex symbol because of her big hair, flamboyant clothes and breast exposure … there are erotic elements in countless popular performances that could be subject to both civil and criminal penalties under S.B. 12,” Hittner wrote in his decision.

And because the law doesn’t specify who determines whether a performance “appeals to the prurient interest” or that the work be considered as a whole, a single sexual or erotic moment in a performance could result in penalties, he wrote. Those penalties include civil fines of up to $10,000 for businesses and a misdemeanor charge that carries up to a year in jail for participating individuals.

Hittner’s decision came down on the same day Parton, the 80-year-old legendary songwriter, actor and businesswoman, died following a brief battle with cancer.

Parton was referenced several times in court records associated with the case. One of the plaintiffs, Brigitte Bandit, a drag queen and longtime activist, frequently performs as the Grammy-winning artist.

In an Instagram post on Tuesday, Bandit wrote that Parton had been a “huge influence” on her life and her drag performances. She even brought a children’s book about Parton to testify at the Texas Capitol, which eventually got back to the country music star, who then gifted Bandit a signed rhinestone-covered guitar.

“Dolly has shaped much of my life as a drag artist,” Bandit wrote on Instagram, calling her a “queen who has changed the world with her love, artistry, and GLAM! my diva forever.”

After the 2016 mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla., Parton called herself a “patron saint” of the gay community in an interview with Billboard.

“All those drag queens, sometimes I see some of them look more like me than I do,” said the star, who famously lost a Dolly Parton lookalike contest.

Tuesday’s ruling wasn’t the first time the law, widely touted as a “drag ban,” has been deemed unconstitutional by the courts.

Hittner initially struck down the law in September 2023, just a few months after the Texas Legislature passed it. In November 2025, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the lower court’s injunction and returned the case to district court with instructions on how to reconsider it.

In the end, the high court’s directions did not change Hittner’s determination that the law violates the 1st and 14th amendments.

Hittner wrapped up his decision with a suggestion for those who oppose or are offended by the performances: “[T]he solution is relatively simple … just don’t go.”

SANDRA Bullock has shown off her new tattoo after her partner’s sad death, as she wowed on the red carpet for the premiere of Practical Magic 2.

Last night, Sandra, 62, and co-star Nicole Kidman, 59, both looked incredible at the star-studded screening in London for the hotly-anticipated sequel to the 90s classic film.

But one thing that was noticeable on the much-loved actress’ shoulder was a small tattoo that read: “L B”

Although Sandra is yet to comment on her new inking, it is understood that the “L” stands for her two children – son Louis, 16, and daughter Laila, 12.

While the “B” is believed to be a tribute to her late partner Bryan Randall who died in 2023 at 57, following a three year battle with ALS – the most common form of motor neurone disease.

Sandra first met Bryan, who was a model-turned-photographer, when he photographed her son Louis’ birthday back in 2015.

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Speaking two years before his sad death, the actress told Red Table Talk: “I found the love of my life.

“We share two beautiful children – three children, [Bryan’s] older daughter. It’s the best thing ever.”

The Hollywood star also has another small tattoo, which she had inked over her heart in tribute to her late mum.

Sandra was joined by her Practical Magic 2 co-star Nicole on the red carpet last night.

The pair both looked glamourous as they posed together for photos at the film‘s premiere in London’s Leicester Square.

Sandra and Nicole also showed off their timeless good looks, as they appeared to have not aged a day since the first film, almost 30 years ago.

Practical Magic originally came out in 1998, and was a huge film for both Sandra and Nicole.

Based on the novel of the same name by Alice Hoffman, the film follows the life of two witch sisters – Sally and Gillian Owens – who are bound by a curse that prevents them from finding forever love.

The new film, which sees Sandra and Nicole reprise their leading roles, picks up from the last one, and this time sees Sally’s daughters affected by the curse.

Practical Magic 2 hits cinemas on September 11 in the UK.

TWILIGHT star Taylor Lautner’s wife Taylor has revealed their unborn baby could ALSO be called Taylor.

She admitted the parents-to-be, who are expecting a baby girl, hadn’t ruled out the moniker – and confirmed it is “in the mix”.

The couple revealed they were expecting their first child in March.

During a chat on the Call Her Daddy podcast, registered nurse Taylor was asked about potential baby names.

Host Alex Cooper asked: “Was there any consideration of naming your child Taylor?”

Taylor replied: “It may be in the mix.

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“We will find out when the baby comes”.

She then added: “I feel like if I don’t name my baby Taylor, the Internet’s literally gonna cancel me.

“I’m gonna get cancelled”.

Taylor added the name had been in line if the duo had learned they were welcoming a little boy, too.

She added: “We used to always joke that if we’re having a boy, we’d name him Taylor and call him T.J”.

In their baby reveal actor Taylor, 34, shared a sweet snap of him planting a kiss on his wife’s blossoming baby bump.

The glowing couple also posted a baby scan in an adorable family photo.

Taylor cheekily captioned the post: “What’s better than two Taylor Lautners?” – a nod to the fact his wife shares his first name and surname.

The two tied the knot in a lavish November 2022 wedding.

KYLIE Jenner has confronted her BFF Stassie in a tense podcast moment as they addressed weeks of fighting and fall-out rumours.

It’s been speculated that the once inseparable pair have been feuding as fans were left convinced they’d fallen out.

Now the two women have finally addressed the rumours as Kylie, 29, has appeared on a new episode of Stassie’s Better Half podcast, which he hosts alongside Victoria Villarroel.

A teaser clip of the episode has been shared on their Instagram and it looks like fans are in for a wild ride.

In a heavily-edited video, the ladies are seen putting it all out on the table as dramatic music plays in the background.

Mum of two Kylie says: “I think we’re just going down different paths.”

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The words “It’s time to clear the air,” appear on the screen in a pink fancy font.

Stassi expresses: “I just think you were being such a b***h,” as Kylie adds: “That really rubbed me up the wrong way.”

“I think we’re at a different phase of life from each other,” Stassi, also 29, tells her bestie as she agrees.

Kylie shoots back: “I just don’t like how…,” before the clip dramatically ends.

Fans have been left unconvinced by the clip and think Kylie and Stassie are rage-baiting them.

One person commented: “Oh pleaseeeeeeeeeee. Cute acting.”

Another follower expressed: “Ya’ll play too much.”

Somebody else stated: “I love that you guys rage bait like this.”

Yet another penned: “I can’t wait to click on this clickbait.”

While a fifth added: “Don’t play with us like this.”

Earlier this month, Kylie threw herself a party to commemorate her 29th birthday but Stassie was noticeably absent from the festivities.

Instead, she was in Ibiza with her new pal Alix Earlie as Kylie partied with Kim Kardashian, Khloe Kardashian, Kendall Jenner, Hailey Bieber and many more.

This raised eyebrows as fans flocked to social media to share their thoughts.

“Stassie is currently in Ibiza with her new bestie Alix & will not be attending Kylie’s birthday party. Another one bites the dust,” said one fan on Reddit.

Another fan added: “Maybe Stassie got tired of paying for everything. Didn’t she say that Kylie always forgets her wallet whenever they go out.”

“Alix is more famous than Kylie now imo. Gen Z or A doesn’t care about Kylie,” added a third.

“Kylie having no real friends left is very telling. Her former assistant and lash tech are her besties how pathetic,” slammed a fourth.

MODEL Kaia Gerber serves up a fashion treat at the US Open in New York.

The beauty, 24, looked fab in shades and a black dress at a Roger Federer exhibition tennis match.

Kaia, daughter of supermodel Cindy Crawford, watched with Homer Gere, 26, above, her co-star in TV thriller The Shards.

His actor dad Richard Gere dated Kaia’s mum in the 1990s.

Now that’s two great matches.

Kaia, who stars in the new FX series The Shards recently claimed she was possessed as a child before undergoing an exorcism.

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She told The Mitch Churi Chat Show podcast: “I do feel as though I attract beings from the other dimension, in a very casual and chill way.”

The star then revealed the bizarre way in which the ancient ritual was performed.

“They played a didgeridoo all over me.

“That’s how they did the exorcism,” Kaia revealed.

“I’ve never talked about it, but it actually did happen.

“I’m all healed.”

TOKYO — Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama, who splashed her signature polka dots on paintings, sculptures and museum installations around the world, has died, her company said Thursday. She was 97.

Kusama died Aug. 14 at a hospital in Tokyo, Yayoi Kusama Studio said in a statement.

Kusama, one of Japan’s most respected contemporary artists, was widely exhibited around the world, including at the Museum of Modern Art and the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York.

Repetitive motifs in various shapes were her trademark, resembling netting, swirls or worms, but most often dots, dancing proudly on her canvases or as sparkling balls or dots of light in her installations in all their vibrant, psychedelic glory.

Yayoi Kusama’s “Infinity Mirrored Room — The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away,” 2013.

(EPW Studio / David Zwirner, New York)

In 2017, the Los Angeles Times wrote about the first U.S. museum survey of the Tokyo artist’s Infinity Mirror Rooms at the Broad. The rooms generated “Hamilton”-scale hype.

Kusama told The Times: “I believe that people are attracted by the infinite mysterious beauty that the artwork has. I am also attracted.”

Now two of Kusama’s pieces on permanent display at the Broad draw, on any given day, a line of visitors to see the immersive art pieces for mere moments. “Infinity Mirrored Room — The Souls of Millions of Light Years Away,” on the first floor, requires reservations to stand for one minute in a small mirrored room full of bouncing LED lights that make you feel like you’re floating in the Milky Way. “Longing for Eternity,” on the third floor, also draws lines but does not require a reservation to peek inside a chamber that gives off a purple disco dance floor vibe.

Both conjure a sense of awe, of boundless imagination. Millions have entered the “Souls” room, snapping photos and video that elicit floods of Instagram likes, since its opening in 2017.

Kusama, known for her fiery red wig, lived by choice in a Tokyo psychiatric hospital for decades. She had opened her own museum in Tokyo yet remained very private, granting limited interviews.

Kusama insisted she drew the way she saw the world — covered with spots, part of the hallucinations she said she had from childhood. She was one of the first Japanese women to go to New York to pursue her art, in 1957.

Although soft-spoken and shy in her mannerisms, she was always unabashedly bold in the assertion of her dotty vision, not only in sticking to the style for decades but also in making it accessible to the masses.

In her later years, as the times caught up with her art, she enjoyed fame. She signed on with fashion brands such as Louis Vuitton as well as other licensed products including teacups, T-shirts and key chains with her illustrations and replicas of her likeness that were used in show windows and other marketing.

In 2008, Christie’s auctioned her work for $5.8 million. In 2016, she won the most prestigious award Japan gives its artists, the Order of Culture.

Upon receiving the award, she told reporters she was more determined than ever to pursue her art, stressing that the sincerity and devotion she had demonstrated in her personal life were crucial parts of her artistic legacy.

“I feel there is little left in my life, but I am now still fighting to the death for my art,” she said. “I am giving all I have so that many people will continue to be interested in my art, even after I am dead.”

Kusama was called pop, avant-garde, feminist, just to name some of the categories thrown at her, most of which Kusama brushed off as not quite representative of her art.

She was born in a middle-class family but felt misunderstood, as her parents wanted her simply to get married. They wanted to buy her kimono, not paints and brushes. She knew she had to get away. She chose America.

When she arrived in New York, the fad was “action painting,” characterized by dribbles, swooshes and smears, not dots. She suffered years of poverty and obscurity. But she kept painting dots.

She put circles of paper on people’s bodies, and once a horse, in “happening” antiwar performances in the late 1960s, which got some people arrested for obscenity but helped get media attention for her art. While in New York, she befriended artists including Andy Warhol, Georgia O’Keefe and Joseph Cornell, who praised her innovative style.

Over the years, Kusama has made quirky but stunningly celebratory works such as “Macaroni Girl,” a female figure plastered with macaroni, which expresses the fear of food; “The Visionary Flowers,” giant sculptures of twisting tulips; and “Mirrored Corridor,” a room with mirrors that delivers an illusion of a field of phallic protrusions speckled with dots.

Kusama, who has also made films and published several novels, said she wasn’t sure where she got her ideas. She just picked up her brush and started drawing. The process was so mysterious sometimes she surprised herself, she told the Associated Press.

“I think, ‘Oh, I drew that? I was thinking that,’” she said.

She appeared happy to have her art be the focus of media attention and praise, reading one of her poems to a reporter or tackling her artworks with gusto for photos.

But she was also a charmingly disarming mix of vulnerability and defiance — at one moment declaring herself “an artistic revolutionary” and then, the next, mumbling: “I am so afraid, all the time, of everything.”

Times staff writer Deborah Vankin contributed to this report.

Zoe Ball appeared on Wednesday’s Celebrity MasterChef as a guest judge, where she set the contestants a food challenge

Celebrity MasterChef welcomed Zoe Ball on Wednesday’s episode.

During the latest instalment, the second round of heats continued, with five celebrities facing two more culinary challenges as they battled for a place in this week’s quarter-final.

First up, it was the return of the mystery box before the Who’s Coming to Dinner? round, where each week, a special guest sets a culinary brief for the celebrities. On Wednesday’s episode, Zoe, 55, entered the MasterChef kitchen as a guest judge, asking the celebrities to create the ultimate pudding. It comes as Zoe recently admitted fears for her new radio job.

Hosts, Grace Dent and Giorgio Locatelli, were delighted over Zoe’s appearance in the kitchen with Grace calling her a ‘hero’ of hers.

Talking in a VT about appearing on the show, Zoe joked: “I am so honoured to be in the MasterChef kitchen, but I am a terrible cook. I mentioned to my kids that I might be visiting the studio and the looks of horror.

“[They said] ‘What? They’ve allowed you in?’ So the only way I could ever come here was to be a guest judge. So I’m thrilled and I’m ready to be impressed.”

Talking about setting the ultimate pudding task, Zoe quipped: “A meal is not complete without a pudding. It’s a little bit of naughtiness, a bit of indulgence. I will often order pudding before I’ve even thought about the main.”

She added: “I’ve always been a pudding kind of girl. My family are pudding people. A meal is not finished until you’ve had pudding.

“Puddings make me happy. They’re creamy, they’re rich, they’re a little bit naughty and things that are naughty are good for you, in my opinion.”

Taking to Twitter, now X, viewers were all quick to say the same thing about Zoe’s appearance on the show. One person said: “Zoe’s like a breath of fresh air! Best celeb judge! #MasterChefUK #CelebrityMasterChef.”

A different account wrote: “Loving Zoe’s positivity giving encouragement. She realises these celebs are not professional chefs. #CelebrityMasterChef!” while another viewer said: “Zoe Ball seems really nice. #celebritymasterchef.”

Another fan commented: “Seeing #zoeball on #celebritymasterchef just made me think, #zoeball should have been one of the new presenters of #strictlycomedancing!” while a different viewer added: “Zoe Ball feels like a natural presenter for this show #CelebrityMasterchef!”

At the end of Wednesday’s episode, it was sadly comedian and influencer Tom Simons aka TommyInnit who left the kitchen.

Celebrity MasterChef continues on BBC One and BBC iPlayer

In death as in life, Parton left us one of the few spaces where Americans can still unite under a single banner. The banner of Dolly.

Flags are flying at half-mast to honor singer Dolly Parton, who died Tuesday at the age of 80.

There are few artists, let alone individuals of any stripe, whose loss compels a national day of mourning. Especially now, when it can appear there is little to agree upon and everything to debate.

But in death as in life, Parton left us one of the few spaces where Americans can still unite under a single banner: The banner of Dolly.

Her music was borderless, disarming and genuine. Simply put, it was a reflection of the woman who wrote and performed the songs. Her outsized personality, warmth, compassion and charm made her more than a country music star. Parton was an icon whose music, philanthropy and authenticity superseded genre, class, sexuality, color and politics.

She ingratiated herself to the public in bigger-than-big wigs, “trashy” outfits (her words) and with an unfailing sense of humor about herself. When I interviewed Parton in 2001 upon release of her album “Little Sparrow,” she expounded on her fashion sense.

“Just ‘cause I’m singing about a farmer doesn’t mean I have to come out in overalls,” she said. “Or just ‘cause I’m singing about a woman having a baby doesn’t mean I have to wear a maternity smock. But if I did, I’d put rhinestones on it.”

Parton’s self-effacing jokes made her immense talent less threatening in an entertainment industry that often reserved the title of “genius songwriter” for men. And women’s contributions were often minimized by putting the focus elsewhere.

In 1977, when she appeared on “The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson,” the most powerful man on television asked what her ample bustline would have been called back home. “Healthy,” he joked? She laughed it off. He then said he would give a year’s pay to “peek under there.” She was quick with a comeback, “I paid good money for these.”

Parton was a master at meeting wisecracks about her shapely figure with her own one-liners. When Carson’s successor Jay Leno asked if her breasts were real, Parton replied, “They’re real big!”

The boob jokes were predictable during her frequent appearances on talk and variety shows. But the of-its-time sexism was neutralized when she’d pull out her acoustic guitar and perform a song as comfortably as if she were sitting on the porch of her childhood home in Appalachia. The audience was then reminded that it was her indelible songs like “Coat of Many Colors” or “Jolene,” and the home-spun beauty of Parton’s voice, that made her a star.

The fourth of 12 children born to a poor sharecropper in a one-room cabin on the banks of the Little Pigeon River in Pittman Center, Tenn., Parton over six decades sold more than 100 million records to become one of the bestselling music artists of all time. She expanded her audience when in 1980 she played an overworked, underappreciated secretary alongside Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin in “9 to 5.” The title track she wrote and performed for the film is an enduring work anthem, no matter the generation.

Despite Parton’s huge pop successes, which also included “Here You Come Again” and “Islands in the Stream,” she always came back to her roots. “When I came out of the Smoky Mountains, I tried to make a living doing [mountain music], but I couldn’t,” she said back in 2001. “I had to prostitute myself in certain ways musically in order to make a living. It’s almost like I had to get rich in order to sing like I was poor again.”

But it was largely what Parton did and said outside the recording studio and film set that made her such an inspiring and beloved figure, especially in communities that had been overlooked, marginalized or demonized.

She spent her lifetime giving back to Appalachia and other regions of her home state, sponsoring literacy programs and building the Dollywood theme park to attract tourism and create jobs. She covered tuition and related college expenses should Dollywood employees enroll in higher education. It was also reported that Parton had anonymously paid for the band uniforms for a number of Tennessee high schools for years.

When Whitney Houston popularized the country singer’s song “I Will Always Love You,” Parton used her songwriting royalties to buy property in a historically Black Nashville neighborhood, and moved her own business offices into the complex rather than in the city’s corporate or music-row districts. Functioning as a local commercial building and office space, it allowed her to invest directly in the surrounding community. Parton referred to the property as “the house that Whitney built.”

Parton was also known for her long history of openly supporting the gay community. She raised money for HIV-related charities, and her production company, Sandollar Productions, co-produced the Oscar-winning documentary “Common Threads: Stories From the Quilt,” which honored people lost to AIDS. She also publicly came out in support of same-sex marriage in 2009 and voiced her support for the trans community after several anti-trans measures came into law in Tennessee in 2023.

Communities across the political and cultural spectrum, and countries overseas, are now remembering and honoring Parton with drag parades, New Orleans brass band tributes and even a King’s Guard rendition of “9 to 5” outside Buckingham Palace.

Parton’s acts weren’t political. They were empathetic. And unifying. Even in death.