People: Paternal sunshine for a tot’s mind
Jenny McCarthy worried about finding a good man after her son, Evan, was diagnosed with autism two years ago.
Then Jim Carrey came along.
“Beyond doubt it was written in the stars that Jim and Evan were a pair,” the 34-year-old actress tells People magazine.
“He’s actually helped Evan get past some obstacles I couldn’t. I sometimes call him the autism whisperer. He speaks a language Evan understands, and Evan feels safe with him.”
McCarthy and the twice-divorced Carrey, 45, went public with their romance last year, but they have no plans to marry.
“There will be no certificate,” she says. “It goes far deeper than that. Jim came into our life with an open heart and open arms. He’s learned a lot about autism. He listens. The power of listening. It can move mountains.”
McCarthy and film director John Asher filed for divorce in August 2005, after six years of marriage. Earlier that year, Evan, now 5, was diagnosed with autism.
She details Evan’s progress in her new book, “Louder Than Words: A Mother’s Journey in Healing Autism.”
Babies, she can’t drive her car
Britney Spears lost custody of her two sons because she failed to produce a California driver’s license and allegedly missed a drug and alcohol test, her lawyer says.
On Monday, Spears was ordered to relinquish custody of Sean Preston, 2, and Jayden James, 1, to ex-hubby Kevin Federline.
Spears faces charges of hit-and-run and driving without a valid license for allegedly crashing into a parked car in August.
She’s been berry, berry busy
Halle Berry says she tried for months to get pregnant with her first child.
“There was a lot of staying home and doing what you do. Like, all the time, around the clock,” Berry, 41, who is three months pregnant, told Oprah Winfrey on Tuesday.
Meet and greet
Also on the nest: “Meet the Parents” star Teri Polo, who’s expecting her second child and her first with drummer boyfriend Jamie Wollam.
Another Apple, anyone?
Gwyneth Paltrow is joining acclaimed chef Mario Batali and New York Times food columnist Mark Bittman on a tour of Spain’s cuisine and culture for a PBS television series.
Paltrow, a longtime vegetarian, says she plans to get by on rice dishes and seafood.
The heat is on
Evander Holyfield, who once defeated George Foreman for the heavyweight boxing title, now is taking him on in the grilling world.
The “Evander Holyfield Real Deal Grill” is a competitor to Foreman’s “Lean Mean Fat Reducing Grilling Machine.”
“I’ve got a George Foreman grill. It’s a good grill,” Holyfield says. “But don’t you think the latest grill is supposed to be the best grill?”
The birthday bunch
Singer Chubby Checker is 66. Magician Roy Horn (Siegfried and Roy) is 63. Singer-guitarist Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac) is 58. Drummer Tommy Lee (Motley Crue) is 45. Singer Gwen Stefani is 38. Actress Neve Campbell is 34. Singer Ashlee Simpson is 23.