Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
After impressing critics with his work in films such as “Antwone Fisher,” Malcolm David Kelley was cast to play Walt on the hit series, “Lost.” Now 25, Kelley is one of the stars of the new Kathryn Bigelow film “Detroit,” which is based on the Algiers Motel incident during that city’s 1967 12th Street Riot. “Detroit is a city with so much history,” says the Los Angeles-based actor. “The people are great and truly resilient.”
Before retiring, Mark C. Lee flew on four NASA space flights, traveled more than 13 million miles, circled the globe 517 times and did an untethered spacewalk. In 1992, he and his then-wife, Nancy Jan Davis, made history by becoming the first married astronauts to fly together in space.
Olympian Kelsey Robinson helped Team USA win the bronze medal in volleyball at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, but her love of basketball is evident by the number on the back of her team jersey — 23. The number, of course, is in honor of Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, but it also makes her feel close to her Chicago-area roots, says Robinson, 24.
Broadway star Megan Hilty won rave reviews for her portrayal of Glinda the Good Witch in “Wicked” and was nominated for a Tony Award for her characterization of Brooke Ashton in “Noises Off.” Her latest projects include a holiday CD, “A Merry Little Christmas,” and a co-starring role in the Warren Beatty film, “Rules Don’t Apply.”
When Randall Park was a student at UCLA, he thought about pursuing a career in academia. Thanks partially to some creative writing classes — in which he wrote a part for himself in a student production — he decided to try acting instead. After playing a governor on “Veep” and North Korean dictator Kim Jung-Un in the controversial film, “The Interview,” Park landed the role of family patriarch Louis Huang on the ABC sitcom, “Fresh Off the Boat.” The third season premiere will air on Oct. 11.
Though Sterling K. Brown has been acting for 15 years, he earned “overnight sensation” status with his Emmy-winning performance as Chris Darden in the FX miniseries, “The People v. O.J. Simpson.” He returns to television in the new NBC series “This Is Us,” which premieres on Sept. 20. The actor also will appear in the films “Marshall” later this year, and, in 2017, M. Night Shyamalan’s “Split.”
After playing a lycanthrope on “True Blood,” Kelly Overton gets to hunt vampires in the title role of the new Syfy series, “Van Helsing” (which premiers on September 23). Based out of Pasadena, Calif., the actress has also started a jewelry brand called Benevolence LA, where the proceeds go toward charitable causes worldwide.
Olympic medalist Steve Furniss competed for the United States at the 1972 Olympics in Munich and also in Montreal four years later. A resident of Huntington Beach, California, he is a co-founder of the swimwear line TYR, which earned a place in pop culture by designing the iconic red swimsuits worn by the cast of “Baywatch.” At the Munich Games, Furniss was 19 and excited to be competing in Germany, but horrified to learn about the massacre of the members of the Israeli wrestling team. Now 63, he shares some of his memories of those Games and more.
Raised in Ukhta, Russia, actress Olga Fonda came to the United States to study and was later discovered by a modeling agent. A former competitive dancer who’s also proficient in krav maga and karate, Fonda puts her talents to good use on TNT’s “Agent X.” On the series, she portrays a fearless Russian spy.
“I grew up in Seattle, so Hawaii was a popular destination for my family and a decently close plane ride,” says “Thursday Night Football” sports reporter Megan Alexander. “Lahaina, Maui, has got to be one of the most beautiful islands on the planet. The beaches are beautiful, the Hawaiian people are so relaxed and friendly and the tropical drinks are delicious, because of the fresh fruit. There is just something magical about the plane touching down in Hawaii and the pilot saying, ‘Aloha and Mahalo.’”
“I’ve been really fortunate to get to see a good part of the world through dance,” says choreographer and dancer Travis Wall, 28. “One of my favorite places was Australia, which just felt like home. It was one of the nicest places and the people were so nice to Americans! I’m really looking forward to touring there next year.”
“My favorite memories are of my children and my husband walking along the beaches searching for seashells and sea creatures,” says “Entertainment Tonight” host and Evine fashion designer Nancy O’Dell. “It seems so simple, but we do this on every Hawaii or beach trip and we love it. It just makes me happy to think of it. I could probably make 10 scrapbooks alone of all the beautiful things from nature we have found on the beach.”
“The first trip I took with my family was to Disney World and I absolutely loved it!” says actress Tamera Mowry. “I was 16 years old and we did the Mickey Mouse Club tour and I got to meet Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera. I hope to share a Disney experience with my family in the coming years. It’s such a fun and exciting trip for the whole family!”
Betty Ann Boeving says that one of her proudest accomplishments has been founding the Bay Area Anti-Trafficking Coalition (BAATC), which fights against human trafficking. Boeving, 39, has visited all seven continents, traveled to more than 85 countries and even climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise money for her cause. “Understanding the cultural dynamics that lead to this outsourcing and exploitation of so many young women is essential to reducing the number of trafficking victims worldwide,” she says.
Actress Brooke Burns says her ideal vacation would be to head to “Africa for a month. I’ve been for about 10 days and it wasn’t enough time. Being out on safari takes you to another time. I would love to do that and marry the trip with some significant time on the islands east of Africa. Mauritius. Seychelles.”
Salvador Paskowitz is the screenwriter for new film “The Age of Adaline,” which stars Blake Lively and Harrison Ford. If he were to script his own past, he couldn’t have made up his fascinating family background, he says. Raised by bohemian parents, Salvador and his siblings were raised in a camper on a beach in Southern California. His father — the late Dorian “Doc” Paskowitz — had given up his career as a physician to become a surfer.
“We started traveling almost immediately with our kids and we’re aware that sometime we’re ‘that family’ and you feel bad for the other passengers,” says “Better Call Saul” actor Patrick Fabian. “When we traveled to Fiji, my youngest was beside herself! It was an 11-hour flight that started at 11 at night. By 1 a.m., she was having a meltdown. There’s nothing you can do. I was lucky we were with family and we took turns holding her and trying to console here. But there are not enough lollipops and iPads to help at that point.”
Born in the Philippines and raised in Ohio, Reggie Lee currently splits his time between Los Angeles and Portland, where he has a co-starring role as Sgt. Wu on the NBC hit series “Grimm.” Lee’s film credits include “The Dark Knight Rises,” “The Fast and the Furious “ and “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End.” Lee says he loves shooting on location in Oregon, but he’s looking forward to doing some traveling soon. “I generally like to stay home and be with family for the holidays. But, right after Christmas, I’m headed to London and then Paris for New Year’s.”
WNBA center Sasha Goodlett currently plays for South Korea’s Woori Bank Hansae. “Adjusting to the culture and the language barrier was challenging,” says the 24-year-old basketball star. “It’s hard trying to understand someone when they don’t know English and you don’t know Korean. But, I am learning Korean! So, hopefully by the end of the year I will be relatively fluent in it.”
New York Times bestselling author Chelsea Cain’s latest thriller, “One Kick” (Simon and Schuster, $25.99), kicks off a new series of novels centered on a former abductee, who becomes immersed in a missing child case. Based out of Portland, Oregon, Cain says nothing completes a road trip like a gas station Payday bar. As for her dream trip? “Murder on the Orient Express!” says Cain, 42.