Look To The Stars News: Maria Sharapova

Kate Winslet's Celebrity Friends Wear The Golden Hat For Autism

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:30:00 +0000

Kate Winslet will be releasing a special book to benefit her autism charity, the Golden Hat Foundation, in April 2012, and has called on some of her famous friends to help.

The book features a collection of stunning self-portraits from celebrities and cultural luminaries, all wearing a “magical” hat to support autism awareness and outreach.

Winslet has amassed a collection of photos from an amazing array of her friends and renowned personalities who have donned this special hat, taken a self portrait, and passed the hat along from one person to another. Among the participants whose photos are featured in the book are George Clooney, Anna Wintour, Ben Stiller, Brigitte Lacombe, Christina Aguilera, David Souffan, Demi Moore, Don Cheadle, Elijah Wood, Ellen Page, Javier Bardem, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jude Law, Julianne Moore, Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Laura Dern, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Maria Sharapova, Marion Cottillard, Meryl Streep, Michael Kors, Naomi Watts, Pedro Almodovar, Peter Sarsgaard, Ricky Gervais and many, many more.

Play Tennis With Anna Kournikova For Charity

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Here’s a chance for you and two friends to spend an hour on the tennis court in Miami with Anna Kournikova for charity.

The opportunity is being auctioned right now on CharityBuzz.com, and is part of the Chris Evert Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic Fall Auction.

Chris retired from Professional Tennis in September 1989, after her final match in the U.S. Open. One month later, Chrissie was back on the tennis court hosting the first Chris Evert Pro-Celebrity Tennis Classic in Boca Raton, Florida.

Lucy Lawless Sells Spartacus Costumes In Kiwi Charity Auction

Fri, 02 Sep 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Starship Children’s Health in New Zealand has kicked off its annual Starship Spring Clean, where Kiwis are asked to clean up, clear out and sell off, all in support of the kids at Starship – and this year they’ve got celebrity help.

Throughout September, you can list items for sale on Trade Me at www.trademe.co.nz/starship pledging all or part of the sale proceeds to the national children’s hospital.

Not only can you buy and sell everyday items on Trade Me for Starship, but there are also a number of exclusive items donated by Starship’s celebrity supporters, including Spartacus costumes donated by Lucy Lawless, a bespoke suit donated by the Prime Minister Rt. Hon John Key, signed gear from the All Whites and NZ Breakers and a 2010 racing suit, signed gloves and a signed car part from Scott Dixon.

Maria Sharapova To Play For Charity In Japan

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 12:00:00 +0000

Wimbledon finalist Maria Sharapova will join world number one Caroline Wozniacki in Japan in September to take part in charity events for victims of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that struck the country in March.

The tennis stars will arrive in Japan ahead of the Pan Pacific Open on September 25 and, along with French Open champion Li Na, will meet children from the Fukushima Prefecture, where the nuclear power plant suffered a massive meltdown following the disaster.

“I was deeply saddened by the terrible disaster,” said Li. “I continue to think about you during these difficult times.”

Stars Donate Shoes To Celebrity Charity Auction

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 14:00:00 +0000

Soles4Souls, the international shoe charity, has announced a complete line-up of A-list celebrities who decided to take off their shoes for a good cause.

What began as a staff shoe drive internally at NBCUniversal 30 Rock studios for the charity’s Japan relief efforts quickly caught on to stars such as Sarah Jessica Parker, Sir Elton John, sisters Kim, Khloe, and Kourtney Kardashian, Jessica Simpson, Justin Timberlake, John Krasinski, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mariska Hargitay, Yoko Ono, the TODAY show cast, and many more. Jennifer Wilson, an NBCUniversal employee who helped initiate the celebrity shoe auction, said it was the kindness of organizations like Soles4Souls during Hurricane Katrina that drew her to help.

“I’m a Louisiana girl with family in New Orleans, so I saw first-hand the destruction, pain, and uncertainty that comes with a natural disaster,” Wilson said. “I started this to help those that helped us.”

Kate Winslet Enlists Celebrity Charity Help For New Book

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 15:00:00 +0000

Kate Winslet has asked some of her celebrity friends to wear a special “magic” hat for a new book benefiting her autism charity, the Golden Hat Foundation.

Winslet has amassed a collection of photos from an amazing array of her friends and renowned personalities who have donned this special hat, taken a self portrait, and passed the hat along from one person to another. Among the participants whose photos are featured in the book are Anna Wintour, Ben Stiller, Brigitte Lacombe, Christina Aguilera, David Souffan, Demi Moore, Don Cheadle, Elijah Wood, Ellen Page, Javier Bardem, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jude Law, Julianne Moore, Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick, Laura Dern, Liev Schreiber, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Maria Sharapova, Marion Cottillard, Meryl Streep, Michael Kors, Naomi Watts, Pedro Almodovar, Peter Sarsgaard, Ricky Gervais and many, many more.

Winslet found inspiration for this project in her friends Margret Dagmar Ericsdottir and Ericsdottir"s son Keli, who lives with a severe form of non-verbal autism. Winslet met Ericsdottir when she narrated a documentary film, A Mother’s Courage: Talking Back To Autism, about the family"s mission to find a way to connect with Keli. Eventually specialists “unlocked” Keli by teaching him ways to communicate. Despite hardship, Keli now composes beautiful and deeply moving poetry. One of the poems, among the many included in the book, is called “The Golden Hat,” which describes a magical hat that enables an autistic boy to communicate.

Maria Sharapova To Make Charity Trip To Belarus

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 14:00:00 +0000

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Goodwill Ambassador Maria Sharapova will head straight from the 2010 Wimbledon tournament to Belarus to visit an area affected by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

The tennis star plans to travel to the Gomel region where her charitable foundation has helped fund a number of UNDP youth-focused projects.

The UNDP projects provide new opportunities for young people in Gomel and improve living conditions for their communities. In the town of Chechersk, Sharapova will visit a local arts centre where children learn about the environment and work on projects to beautify the town; she will then stop over at a health facility using a therapeutic approach to emotional and mental stress. Finally, she will meet with the recipients of her foundation’s scholarships, who attend the country’s top universities.

Antonio Banderas Named As United Nations Goodwill Ambassador

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 15:30:00 +0000

The United Nations Development Programme has announced that Antonio Banderas will be its new Goodwill Ambassador for the fight against poverty.

“Poverty robs us of our potential as a people, preventing us from being all that we can be,” said Banderas. “This is why it is so important to mobilize all of our efforts to defeat it, especially if today we have the knowledge, the tools and the resources to do it.”

In his new role as an advocate for the poor, Antonio Banderas will set his sights on the Millennium Development Goals (MDG’s), a set of eight globally agreed targets that seek to halve world poverty by 2015 by combating hunger, disease, illiteracy, environment degradation and discrimination against women.

Celebrity Signed Heels for Wish Upon a Hero Foundation

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 14:50:00 +0000

Step into designer shoes signed by Scarlett Johansson, Taylor Swift, Martina McBride, Bethenny Frankel, Estelle and Emme for the Heroes in Heels auction.

More are being added to the list, too – Keep an eye out for shoes signed by Ali Larter, Brooke Burke, Susan Lucci, Laura Bryna, Sherri Sheppherd, Reba McEntire, Maria Sharapova, Natalie Distler, Miley Cyrus, Nancy Wilson, Kimberly Caldwell and Colbie Caillat.

Tennis Pros Tutor Teens

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:31:00 +0000

Kids in NY were treated to tips from tennis stars Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams in NY last week.

Fans and youth from New York Junior Tennis League, Athletes for Charity, New York City Parks Foundation and Mentoring USA were on hand to learn from the pros at Nike’s 2009 unveiling of the US Open’s ‘look’.

Andy Murray Grants Wish For Sick Teens

Wed, 08 Jul 2009 12:00:00 +0000

Two tennis-mad teenagers have had their wish granted to attend The Championships at Wimbledon – and they met Andy Murray too!

The UK Make-A-Wish Foundation hosted two children from overseas when tennis fans 17 year old Christine McLinn, from Wisconsin, USA and Thys Kroezen, aged 15 and from the Netherlands, had their life-time wish granted to come to England and see a tennis match at the world famous Wimbledon tournament.

Christine is fighting Hodgkin’s disease and has played tennis since she was six years old. She has an expert knowledge on anything to do with tennis and her favourite female player is Serena Williams. She has had to endure chemotherapy, but she surprised medical experts by managing to win a local tennis championship within a few weeks of receiving the treatment.

GOSH, What Auctions!

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:26:00 +0000

The Great Ormond Street Hospital is set to benefit from many current and recent celebrity charity auctions, including a date with Orlando Bloom, which brought in £9,000 ($14,600) just last week.

The Pirates of the Caribbean star was on hand at the Victoria and Albert museum with Formula One racing driver Lewis Hamilton, British TV presenter Vernon Kay and Jade Jagger to help raise over £450,000 ($730,000) for the children’s charity.

Hamilton and other F1 stars, such as Jenson Button, Rubens Barrichello, Sebastian Vettel, Jarno Trulli and Kimi Raikkonen have all signed unique displays for an auction benefitting the children’s hospital. The auction will run at Starcards.org until June 30th.

A Game, A Dress, And A Brawl For Charity

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:29:00 +0000

A special surprise for Look to the Stars readers

Be sure to visit Look To The Stars tomorrow, Wednesday March 12, to read our exclusive interview with Leeza Gibbons as she tells us a little about the causes that are closest to her heart.

Between a Rock and a hard place