Journalist, Author & Syndicated Columnist
Grammy Award-winning musician Angelique Kidjo says that being named UNICEF’s International Goodwill ambassador in 2002 has been a fulfilling part of her life. “It gave me the opportunity to travel to all the other continents and meet incredible women who carry the continents on their shoulders,” says the New York-based artist. “They are the main inspiration behind my songs.”
An avid traveler, model and author Carol Alt says that there are still a few key places on her bucket list. “I’ve never been to the Far East,” says Alt. “I’ve been offered many trips there, but the moment was never right. I think it would really be worth it to go there one day.”
More than two decades ago, Cheryl Della Pietra worked as Hunter S. Thompson’s editorial assistant. Her job description included late-night partying with the famous author and ensuring that he typed up a page each evening to turn into his publisher. In her lively debut novel, “Gonzo Girl,” Della Pietra writes about a young Ivy League graduate who will only get paid if her boss, gonzo journalist Walker Reade, completes the book he owes his editor.
“When I was 11, I went to Puerto Rico for a month to stay with my grandmother,” says Andrea Navedo of “Jane the Virgin.” “To see the way people lived there and experience my own culture was wonderful. It helped give me insight into my own cultural identity. I remember that the food and coffee there was amazing.”
“Frozen” actor Jonathan Groff says he was destined to be in a Disney movie. Read more to find out why!
Fashion designer Amsale Aberra — known professionally simply as Amsale — is synonymous with upscale wedding gowns that can cost brides $75,000. Aberra stars in the WE tv reality series “Amsale Girls,” which focuses on the brides who frequent her New York boutique and the women who help them pick out their fantasy dresses.
People know who Bobby Flay is because he is everywhere. The celebrity restaurateur (Mesa Grill) is the Food Network’s face of grilling, an Iron Chef and host of the network’s biggest show “Food Network Star,” which premieres this season on Sunday, June 5. Though Flay loves traveling overseas, the 46-year-old culinary artist says if he were forced to pick between visiting domestic or international locales, he’d pick the United States.
Singer, actress and former “American Idol” runner-up Katharine McPhee, 26, was born and raised in Los Angeles, where she currently resides. “I love traveling and am on the road all the time for work, but I don’t get to go on as many vacations as people would think,” she says. “But a lot of people can work on vacation or relax while they’re traveling for business. And that’s what I’ve started to do.” Her favorite vacation memory, actually, is of the days off she had during a business trip to Italy. McPhee’s latest CD is “Christmas is the Time …(To Say I Love You).”
Aaron Zigman’s music isn’t as flashy as the designer wardrobe that Sarah Jessica Parker wears in “Sex and the City 2” — opening in theaters on May 27. But his score does set the tone for the film, whether Carrie and her girls are in New York City or gallivanting around the world. Based out of Los Angeles, the 47-year-old composer (whose previous work includes “The Notebook” and “The Proposal”) talks about his own love of traveling, whether it’s to Paris or Charleston, S.C.
He already has a Pulitzer Prize and a New York Times best seller under his belt, but author Jeffrey Marx isn’t resting on his laurels. His latest book — “The Long Snapper: A Second Chance, A Super Bowl, a Lesson for Life” — is a page-turner that succinctly captures the true-life story of football player Brian Kinchen. Marx, who has traveled to more than 20 countries for work and play, says that Italy is his favorite destination. But Greece is one country he can’t wait to visit.