LOS ANGELES (AP) — In her bad girl days, Angelina Jolie’s body was a billboard for tattoos that said such things as “Billy Bob.”

Now she’s sharing intimate details of her anatomy to help women at risk, going public with her preventive double mastectomy to greatly reduce her high odds of breast cancer.

It’s the latest peak in Jolie’s turn-around from hedonist to humanitarian, party girl to inspirational poster girl. The way she went public with her medical story on her own terms, in her own time — with a New York Times op-ed piece Tuesday that caught the media fishbowl of Hollywood completely by surprise — reveals a woman who once seemed out of control to be one of Hollywood’s most forceful and compassionate stars, using her fame with surgical precision to promote matters dear to her.

“I’m in awe of her. She remains one of the most inspiring women that I’ve ever encountered,” said former Paramount Pictures boss Sherry Lansing, who heads the Sherry Lansing Foundation for cancer research. “By letting people know about her personal issue, she is touching countless women who have the same genetic mutations, and she is showing them that they have choices and they can be empowered and can take care of their own health. And by doing so, I believe she is going to save countless lives.”

Jolie’s come a long way from her wild-child days of 10 or 12 years ago. She was branded a home-wrecker when she took up with Billy Bob Thornton, who broke up with Laura Dern and married Jolie. Thornton and Jolie were a tabloid writer’s dream team, an odd couple who wore lockets with a drop of each other’s blood.

Back in 2000, Jolie proudly showed off the newest of her 10 tattoos, the name “Billy Bob” etched across her left shoulder. The marriage ended three years later, and new home-wrecker accusations arose after Brad Pitt left Jennifer Aniston for Jolie, his co-star in the 2005 assassin adventure “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.”

But since then, while paparazzi stalk them and entertainment reporters scramble to chase the latest rumor that Jolie and Pitt are finally going to wed, they have emerged as the ultimate Hollywood power couple. They switch off on film projects so one is free to mind their six children, they travel the world talking up good deeds.

“If she wasn’t one of the top actresses in Hollywood, she’d be one of the top publicists,” said Howard Bragman, vice chairman of Reputation.com. “It’s hard to think of a couple that has a better image in this town, both for their careers, family, humanitarian work. … They’re very good at it, and one of the reasons is they have a very intimate circle that they trust, and they don’t go beyond that. It’s unusual in Hollywood circles, but they’re very strict about their personal life, about what gets out there. When something gets out there, it’s usually planned to get out there. It doesn’t leak. They don’t even have publicists.”

A special envoy on refugee issues for the United Nations, Jolie, 37, has become as much about causes as career.

She still makes big studio entertainment such as next year’s “Maleficent,” a twist on “Sleeping Beauty” in which she stars as the wicked sorceress who puts a curse on the fairy-tale princess. Yet Jolie puts her humanitarian interests on screen, too, making her directing debut with 2011′s “In the Land of Blood and Honey,” a war drama about two lovers — a Bosnian Muslim woman and a Bosnian-Serbian man — caught up in the horrors of work and rape camps.

“There is no difference between the star Angelina Jolie and the woman Angelina Jolie. The choices she made even as a director are still strong,” said Thierry Fremaux, director of the Cannes Film Festival, where Jolie has been a frequent guest with films such as “Changeling” and “A Mighty Heart.”

As for Jolie’s op-ed piece about her mastectomy, “we all know that she didn’t do that for herself but as giving an example to all the women on this planet Earth who are suffering from the same disease,” Fremaux said. “We knew she was a great star, but she’s a great person, as well.”

Jolie wrote about her mother’s death from cancer at 56 and that she carries a gene herself that, according to doctors, left her with an 87 percent chance of breast cancer and 50 percent chance of ovarian cancer. She describes in detail the procedures she underwent from early February to late April to remove tissue and reconstruct her breasts with implants.

She was treated at the Pink Lotus Breast Center in Beverly Hills, Calif. Dr. Kristi Funk, who founded the center in 2007, read a short statement to reporters Tuesday, saying “we hope that the awareness she is raising around the world will save countless lives.”

The procedures reduced her risk of breast cancer to less than 5 percent, Jolie wrote.

“I wanted to write this to tell other women that the decision to have a mastectomy was not easy. But it is one I am very happy that I made,” Jolie wrote. “I can tell my children that they don’t need to fear they will lose me to breast cancer.”

One of the most remarkable aspects of the story is how two of the most recognizable people in the world were able to make repeated incognito trips to Pink Lotus, where Jolie writes that Pitt was there for every minute of her surgeries. Jolie and Pitt are hounded by the press, so how they kept this a secret is anyone’s guess.

“It’s almost unspeakably amazing. In this world there is no privacy. David Petraeus couldn’t keep a secret,” said Hollywood publicist Michael Levine, who once represented Jolie’s father, Jon Voight. “It’s hard to imagine how they did it.”

Announcing it in such a personal and classy way can only enhance Jolie’s stature in Hollywood. With family and philanthropic work, Jolie has eased back on film projects, with future prospects including a possible sequel to her action hit “Salt,” in which she played a sexy CIA agent on the run.

Will the mastectomy have any effect on Jolie’s sex-symbol image?

“I feel like she is the kind of person who will do whatever it takes to still look fantastic. I think she has a discipline that is unmatched,” said Dave Karger, chief correspondent for movie-ticket seller Fandango.com. “She will make sure that she looks just as great as she has in the past.

“I don’t think that’s going to make much of a difference, and I think a lot of people are going to have more respect. This humanizes her in a way. She’s not that perfect specimen sticking her leg out at the Oscars anymore. She’s a real human being with real health issues like any other human being.”

A real human being, and no less of a woman, to hear Jolie tell it.

“I feel empowered that I made a strong choice that in no way diminishes my femininity,” Jolie wrote.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — The man who was the voice of Charlie Brown in several “Peanuts” television shows faces possible prison time for stalking and threatening his former girlfriend and a plastic surgeon who had given her a breast enhancement.

Peter Robbins is scheduled to appear in San Diego Superior Court on Wednesday for sentencing. He pleaded guilty last month.

Prosecutors say the 56-year-old called his former girlfriend up to 37 times in a 24-hour period, saying he would kill her and her son if she did not give back his dog and car. They say Robbins repeatedly called the plastic surgeon to demand a refund for the breast enhancement.

The Oceanside resident is best known for his portrayal of Charlie Brown on the TV special “A Charlie Brown Christmas.”

OCEANSIDE, Calif. (AP) — The lead singer of the Grammy-nominated metal band As I Lay Dying was arrested Tuesday in Southern California over allegations he tried to hire an undercover detective to kill his estranged wife.

Tim Lambesis, 32, was taken into custody while shopping at a retail business in Oceanside, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement.

Detectives received information Thursday that Lambesis had solicited someone to kill his wife, who lives in nearby Encinitas, the statement said. A task force from several law enforcement agencies launched an investigation that led to the arrest.

He was charged on three federal counts — one count of solicitation to commit murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit crime.

The department would give no further details on the investigation.

As I Lay Dying formed in San Diego in 2000 and has released six albums, including 2007′s “An Ocean Between Us,” which reached No. 8 on Billboard’s charts. A single from the album, “Nothing Left,” was nominated for a Grammy for top metal performance. Their last album, “Awakened,” came out in September on Metal Blade Records.

It was not clear whether Lambesis had hired an attorney, and a phone message seeking comment left at a number listed in his name was not immediately returned.

The band, which plays in an aggressive style that features metal guitar riffs at the furious pace of hardcore punk, was scheduled to tour the country with several other metal acts starting later this month.

Lambesis, known for his signature growling vocals, had recently raised more than $78,000 from fans to fund his side project, Austrian Death Machine, a metal band mocking the film work of Arnold Schwarzenegger, according to the Los Angeles Times. The top prize, for those who spent $5,000, was to have the winner’s initials tattooed on Lambesis’ buttocks, the newspaper said.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Faith Hill is out of the football game.

The country star announced Monday morning on Twitter that she won’t be doing the “Sunday Night Football” theme song this year.

She’s been featured at the top of the broadcast for six years now.

Hill says in her tweet it’s been an honor to appear on the NBC show, but that it’s time to “let someone else rock the open. Difficult decision. Kinda emotional.”

“Sunday Night Football” executive producer Fred Gaudelli tweeted “great love and appreciation” to Hill for her participation over the years. He made no mention of what the show plans to do with the opening.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — While many stars arrived to the MTV Movie awards dressed to impress, Ke$ha had another goal in mind—topping the worst-dressed lists.

The “Tik Tok” singer paired sheer, lace bell bottoms with a black fringe vest and severe makeup, including black lipstick. She described the look as “70′s Manson child” on the red carpet before Sunday’s show.

Ke$ha said her mother is most proud of her when the singer is criticized for her daring style choices.

She said her fashion philosophy includes having fun, making mistakes, taking risks. She says: “Rock whatever you’re comfortable in.”

And when it comes to her fashion critics, Ke$ha had two words: “Suck it.”

Her new documentary series, “Ke$ha: My Crazy Beautiful Life,” premieres April 23 on MTV.

 

 

It seems Bruno Mars isn’t the only member of his family with a great set of pipes. The 27-year-old Grammy winner’s four sisters can sing a little, too, and have been chosen to appear in a WEtv reality series. The show will document the process of recording the women’s debut album. The eight-episode show will air Fridays this fall but no premiere date has been announced.

The sisters, Tiara, Tahiti and Presley Hernandez, are reportedly moving from Hawaii to Los Angeles to join older sister Jamie. The women perform as The Lylas. If they’re as talented as their brother, Bruno, who was born Peter Hernandez, I’ll be excited to hear the new album!

 

-Heather

NEW YORK (AP) — In just four years, Justin Bieber has gone from fielding innocuous questions about his haircut to denying that he’s in desperate need of rehab. Bieber’s grown up and into tabloid territory, with his recent troubles making some question whether he’s just the latest teen star gone wild.

In what could have been his worst week ever, the 19-year-old pop star struggled with his breathing and fainted backstage at a London show, was taken to a hospital and then was caught on camera clashing with a paparazzo. Days earlier, he was booed by his beloved fans when he showed up late to a concert.

Those incidents come after photos of Bieber appearing to smoke marijuana hit the Web, and some headlines have suggested that the ultra-popular star is going through a famous Britney Spears-style meltdown.

Others suggest he’s struggling with a more common condition: being a teenager.

Donnie Wahlberg, who was just 14 when New Kids on the Block debuted on the music scene in the late 1980s to wild fan craze, said he remembers the pressure and hard times that came with being a teen celebrity.

“Justin Bieber’s making mistakes that everyone makes and he’s probably trying things and exploring things that most kids his age explore, but the problem is he’s got 50 paparazzi chasing him around when he does it,” 43-year-old Wahlberg said. “When we are 19 and 20, we think we can take on the world and we do forget that there is a lot of life left to live in front of us, and hopefully he’ll get through these times and find his way into a long career and a healthy adulthood.”

Bieber, his manager and his mother didn’t respond to interview requests for this story. But the pressure was evident in the days following his collapse backstage at the O2 Arena, as the Grammy-nominated singer wrote on Instagram that he’s sick of the “countless lies in the press” and that he would not be heading to rehab.

“I’ve accomplished more than I could’ve ever dreamed of, i’m 19 and it must be scary to some people to think that this is just the beginning,” he wrote. “I’m a good person with a big heart. … All this isn’t easy. I get angry sometimes. I’m human. I’m gonna make mistakes.”

Even mistakes seem like new territory for Bieber: Since breaking out at 15 he’s seen five of his albums hit No. 1 on Billboard’s 200 albums chart and nearly 20 songs crack the Top 40. He’s had several world tours, launched a massively successful 3-D movie about his life and made deals that include his own dolls, nail polish and fragrances. He’s got a social media presence that includes 52 million likes on Facebook and 36 million Twitter followers.

But does that leave any time to be a kid?

Nick Carter, considered the wildest of the Backstreet Boys, was also the group’s youngest member when they began to dominate the music charts in the 1990s, and he recalls the days when he grew mad as an overworked teen who yearned for a normal life.

“I remember getting tired. I remember getting burned out and I’m like, `Let me relax’ and you have managers, and the record label … and then before you know it, the artist gets resentful and starts to revolt against them and that’s when you end up with a situation like what’s going on,” he said, referring to Bieber.

“In a lot of ways you’re resentful and you’re missing out with your friends, your childhood, you see all of your high school friends growing up … and you’re like, `Oh, I got to go back on tour.“’

Vincent Herbert, the record executive who signed Lady Gaga and also discovered the teen R&B boy band Mindless Behavior and singer JoJo at 12, said that young singers need role models around them who are fit, and that there must be “time for music and time to be kids.”

“I think sometimes young artists get to that (frustrated) point because they’re young and it’s a lot and it gets overwhelming. I don’t think Justin Bieber is at that moment, I just think he had a bad week. That kid’s a phenomenal artist, he’s such a hardworking person, he’s such a good kid,” said Herbert.

But he acknowledges that for young artists, the pressure does sometimes lead to meltdowns: “No one’s a machine — we’re all human.”

Spears became the poster child for that after she shaved her head and lost custody of her children, and more recently Demi Lovato checked into rehab because of an eating disorder and self-mutilation, though both have released successful music since. And many young members of Hollywood have been rebellious, used drugs and watched their careers falter, from Mackenzie Phillips to Corey Haim and Corey Feldman.

Carter said his bad attitude began to affect his business, and young singers must think twice about their actions even when they’re at a breaking point. He says he’s now working to rework those lost relationships.

“I probably messed up a particular movie I was going on an audition for because I showed up late and people looked at me like I was disrespecting them when really I was just out of my head,” he said. “I’ve been for years right now scrounging and clawing and proving through my work and staying away from alcohol and trying to be the best person I can be to make up for all the things I’ve done, and that’s been hard.”

While Bieber, who was raised by a single mother in Canada, has held on to a pretty squeaky image, last year began to suggest some troubles: He vomited twice onstage during a concert in Glendale, Ariz., he was cited for speeding on a Los Angeles freeway and Los Angeles County Sheriff’s investigators questioned the singer after he reportedly scuffled with paparazzi who tried to photograph him and then-girlfriend Selena Gomez as they left a movie theater.

“What he’s going through ultimately is just the passage of adulthood and to go through that with this kind of scrutiny — it’s hard,” said Bill Werde, the editorial director of Billboard. “He’s going to have to decide if he wants that or not. He’s going to have to decide if he can handle the sort of bad that comes with the good.”

Both Carter and Wahlberg are reluctant to give advice to Bieber simply because when they were in his position, they wouldn’t have listened.

“The facts are that he’s going to do what he wants to do,” Carter said. “What happened to me when I was that age was the same thing — it’s power. Your parents are telling you, `Please don’t do this, please don’t do that’ and you’re looking at them going, `Who are you? I am me.“’

 

Follow Mesfin Fekadu on Twitter at http://twitter.com/MusicMesfin

OTISVILLE, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan medical marijuana facility is partnering with a member of the Grammy-winning rap group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony to cultivate and distribute a new strain of medical marijuana.

The Green Oasis and Stanley “Flesh-N-Bone” Howse have agreed to work together on “Phifty Caliber Kush,” which they say has a noticeable floral taste and is an effective pain reliever.

The Flint-area dispensary’s owner, Anthony Butler, calls the new pot strain “the best of the best.”

Flesh-n-Bone Global executive Michael “Tony B.” Bernardi tells The Flint Journal that Howse hopes the product can provide relief for any qualified, verified patient.

Besides distributing “Phifty Caliber Kush,” The Green Oasis could begin selling merchandise and possibly host a visit from Howse.

Michigan voters approved marijuana for some chronic medical conditions in 2008.

NEW YORK (AP) — Former “Gilmore Girl” Alexis Bledel and “Mad Men” star Vincent Kartheiser are engaged.

Bledel’s publicist, Meghan Prophet, confirms the news, which was first reported by Us Weekly. She says the couple have been dating for about a year.

The 33-year-old Kartheiser plays ad man Pete Campbell on the hit AMC network drama, where, last season, Pete had an extramarital affair with the wife of a commuting friend. She was played by Bledel in a guest-starring role.

The 31-year-old Bledel is best known for her role as the teenage daughter in the long-running series “Gilmore Girls,” and for her performances in “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants” and that hit movie’s sequel.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — He was the Terminator, then a governor, and now Arnold Schwarzenegger is an editor.

The Los Angeles Times reports Schwarzenegger has been named executive editor of Muscle & Fitness and Flex magazines.

It’s a position that the former Mr. Olympia held briefly 10 years ago, after winning California’s gubernatorial recall election. After being criticized for potential conflict of interest, he quit the job.

The Times says Schwarzenegger, who has appeared on the magazines’ covers more than 60 times, will contribute columns and other input.

In a statement, Schwarzenegger says it was publications like Muscle & Fitness and Flex that inspired him to start lifting weights.

The magazines are owned by American Media Inc.