Adrien Brody

On a recent sunny autumn afternoon, Beyoncé Knowles—singer, actress, full-time superstar—was sitting coiled on a sofa in the penthouse suite of the Soho Grand hotel. The “hottest chick in the game” (as she is referred to in verse by her longtime paramour, Jay-Z) looked young, fresh-faced and wholly honey-hued, with minimal makeup and her dark golden hair long and curly down her back.  read more »

When she’s onstage, no one owns it quite like the 27-year-old Ms. B: She stalks and struts and uh-ohs-uh-ohs those famous hips, belting the big stomach-clenching notes out of the park. In person, however she couldn’t be less of a diva.

While some celebrity homeowners--Julian Schnabel for one--are hurrying to get rid of their lavish homes as the economy continues to dissolve, others are taking to the old tradition of "nesting," a term that gained currency post 9/11 when (as USA Today wrote in January 2002) people started "spending more time at home" and "feathering [their] nests with more elaborate and entertaining diversions." (Does that mean we can finally get a Wii?)

Indeed, high-profile New Yorkers have recently taken to remodeling their homes to make them more livable. Some have even taken to acquiring (additional?) weekend homes to get away from all the negative talk of the economy around the city.   read more »