May 4th, 2006

  The Farmers Market in Beverly Hills is the place to shop for fresh produce and so on a recent Sunday morning we found ourselves there at the same time our old friend Madonna was there. She was looking for fresh vegetables, we surmised, to fortify herself for her grueling upcoming tour,

Con-fessions on a Dance Floor, which kicks off here in L.A. on May 21. She said, Im going to turn the world into one big dance floor, and admitted that when word reached her that the album debuted at number one in the U.S., she cried. When we expressed surprise that she is doing another tour, she said, Well, a girls got to make a living, adding that she doesnt see retirement in her future.

This naturally led to our next question: How does she balance the careers of wife, mother, and performer? Has any sort of strain in the family been created as a result of her music success and the must-do tour? When the last tour ended, I did get a lot more time to spend with my kids. But life ebbs and flows in cycles. And I feel you mustnt fight that flow pointlessly. There are periods of time when I am with my family more, and then when I go through a lot of career concentration, I am totally guilt-ridden. As for Guys [husband Richie] reaction, he is really happy for me, she insisted, giving lie to the rumors that the couple is having problems in their marriage. She continued, But I think there is always going to be this kind of, like [Guy] said to me the other day, Am I going to lose you again for another six months? But I can say the same thing when he goes off and makes a movie and he becomes out of sight, out of mind, whereas I am on the phone constantly, worrying and asking questions, making sure the kids brush their teeth.

We complimented the Material Girl on how great shes looking, easily 10 years younger than her 40-plus years. The older you get the more [time and money] you spend on facials. My exercise regimen is an open book and I avail myself of every kind of moisturizer and skin rejuvenator, she said. She added that like everybody else, she doesnt rule out plastic surgery.

As we were driving to the Kodak Theatre for the 17th Annual GLAAD (Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation) Media Awards, Madonnas Sorry was playing on the car radio. The song has become something of a gay anthem and one of Madonnas best. All we could think of was Madonna saying that her daughter, nine-year-old Lourdes, likes to point out who the gay men are when they go out and how much fun she would have with mom at the awards, working their gaydar together. Charlize Theron, upon receiving the Vanguard Award, said, The thing Id like to leave with the audience is to have tolerance, acceptance, and remind everyone that at the end of the day, were all the same. Theron was cited for her Best Actress Oscar-winning role as lesbian killer Aileen Wournos in the biopic Monster. She was also cited for her stand on the legalization of marriage between same-sex couples, saying that she and her long-time boyfriend, Stewart Townsend, wont tie the knot until it is legal for gays and lesbians to marry their significant others. The pre-show V.I.P. party boasted two other starsthe shirts that Brokeback Mountain stars Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal wore, on loan from owner Tom Gregory.

Presenters Teri Hatcher and Nicolette Sheridan, co-stars of Desperate Housewives, gave their version of the infamous smooch between Madonna and Britney Spears at the 2003 MTV Awards. The two locked lips in a show of solidarity for the gay community, with Teri saying, Nic, Ive always want to do this, honey, before planting the kiss. When we got a few minutes with Teri, we asked her if it were true, as reported in a supermarket tabloid, that she will be moving into Ryan Seacrests $11 million Hollywood Hills home, recently purchased from Kevin Costner. No, Im not, she responded, I havent heard that ridiculous rumor. Word on the street is that Teri and Ryan have already gone their separate ways, but she wouldnt confirm that when we asked her about it. She went rushing on stage to present the Outstanding Film Limited Release Award to Transamerica, the well-regarded film that starred another of her Desperate Housewives co-stars, Felicity Huffman, in an Oscar-nominated role as a trans-gendered male-to-female. Felicity was in Florida with husband William H. Macy for the Sarasota Film Festival, where they were honored at a special dinner, so they missed the girl-on-girl action.

When Teri went on stage, we asked Nicolette for her thoughts about ex-fiance Niklas Soderblom selling her 1.76 diamond engagement ring on eBay. She just smiled and planted a kiss on new fiance Michael Bolton, who sprang $150,000 for a 5-carat diamond ring for Nicolettes third finger, left hand. Alas, as we go to press, Niklass ring, with a floor of $20,000 for starters, had not brought in a single bid.

The late Princess Margaret Roses jewels will go on sale at Christies on June 13 in the most important royal jewelry auction since Wallis Simpsons (the Duchess of Windsor) gems went under the gavel in 1987. Christies London is handling the jewelry sale of Princess Margaret, Queen Elizabeth IIs younger sister. Our confidential source in New York tells us that Hugh Grant, now filming Music and Lyrics By in the city with Drew Barrymore, jumped on a private jet (what else?) to meet his girlfriend Jemima Kahn in London for a private viewing of the princesss jewels.

The insider tells us that the pair who have been dating since 2004 are finally tying the knot and are looking at some of Princess Margarets rings for Jemima, the daughter of the late Sir James Goldsmith and Lady Annabel Goldsmith. For a year, Hugh has been keeping everyone guessing as to when he is going to pop the big question. Our source says he already has, but his people will not confirm it. And Hugh is famously tight lipped where his private life is concerned. He will say, however, that for now at least, hes not feeling pushed to end his bachelorhood. I dont feel under pressure, he claims. Our tattletale also says that while Hugh has been working in N.Y.C., Jemima has been house hunting and found a place near her moms in Richmond. Good pal David Linley, the 44-year-old son of Princess Margaret and Anthony Armstrong-Jones, is said to be designing furniture for the couples new home.

Grant is currently on the nations movie screens in American Dreamz, written by Paul Weitz, who also directed Hugh in About a Boy. Hughs character in the former, a cruel T.V. talent-show judge, is said to be based on the infamous, tart-tongued Simon Cowell, of American Idol, but Hugh says that that is just not true. Paul says its largely based on me, Grant reveals, adding in typically self-deprecating fashion, Its his impression of how miserable and pessimistic and self-loathing I am.

As for Princess Margarets royal baubles, it is a collection that tells a very personal story, an indication of the manner in which an aristocratic woman lived her life and includes the first pieces of jewelry given to her when she was christened. There are also typical pieces that any well-born woman could expect to receive during her lifetime. There are, not surprisingly, several tiaras, including the Victorian diamond Poltimore tiara which the princess wore in 1960 on the day that she became the bride of Armstrong-Jones, who became Lord Snowden and would go on to become a world-class photographer.

Speaking of photography and royals, Prince William, sources say, has serious aspirations for a career in photography, just like his uncle, and wants to start exhibiting his work. He has been taking private lessons in the art of the lens for some time and is slowly building up a portfolio of young bluebloods and roy-als (think Cecil Beaton), or so were being told, to show the world. An exhi-bition in London and possibly in N.Y.C. could take place as soon as next year, we hear from a private source who adds that right now hes doing some fashion photography with his girlfriend, the beautiful Kate Middleton, as his model. But his real goal is to shoot Kate Moss, contends the gossip.

Following weeks of a mating dance, Kate Moss and Calvin Klein are reuniting with Kate the star of the fall 2006 Calvin Klein Jeans advertising campaign. Photogs Mert Alas and Marcus Piggott shot the campaign in the Big Apple a few weeks ago. Moss will always be associated with Calvin Klein in the publics mind. She was one of the designers muses throughout the 90s. The Calvin connection and the accompanying steamy ads featuring the model wrapped around a buffed Mark Marky Mark Wahlberg in his tighty whities catapulted Moss into that rare air breathed by supermodels. In the new ads, Kate is paired with Jamie Dornan, ex of Keira Knightley, who starred in the fall 2004 Calvin Klein Jeans campaign. Jamie is an aspiring actor and has a role alongside Kirsten Dunst in Sofia Coppolas Marie Antoinette.

To celebrate the reunion and the wrap up, Calvin tossed a private party for Kate at the new East Village restaurant European Union. One party- goer said that Kates one-time boyfriend, druggie/rocker Pete Doherty, tried to crash the party but was barred entry. Kate is said to be more than a little miffed with Doherty for telling the British tabloids that a wedding is going to happen at a Scottish castle sometime between September and November. A source close to Kate says, There will never be a wedding. Shes moving on with her life.