Gwyneth Paltrow is that kind of person who likes to stay friendly with her exes.

Especially her ex Ben Affleck.

Friends say the star is big on sending personal notes and gifts for births and other major celebrations, and Ben and his wife Jennifer Garner have been on the lucky receiving end of such gifts.

“Ben and Jen got one of Gwyneth’s famous notes this year just after Seraphina was born,” says the insider. “It was very nice, but it was a little too personal. Gwyneth made sure to mention how she was happy that Ben was finally creating the family he had always wanted, a family, which the two of them discussed in depth when they were dating. It just rubs Jen the wrong way.”

But that’s just the beginning of Paltrow’s too-close-for-comfort behavior.

Gwyneth has enrolled her children, Apple and Moses, in the same Beverly Hills school that Violet Affleck attends, according to our source.

“Luckily, Gwyneth and Chris are barely in California three months out of the year, so Jen should not have to run into her too often at school,” says the insider. “The other moms already have a problem with the paparazzi following the Garner-Afflecks, and Gwyneth Paltrow will only make the situation worse.”

So far Garner, and Paltrow’s husband, Coldplay singer Chris Martin, are playing it cool with the Ben/Gwyneth thing. Martin is so laid back, says our source, he actually promotes Gwyneth to stay in touch with Ben. And Jen is taking his cue.

“Jen will always allow Ben to have contact and friendship with Gwyneth,” the pal says. “But she doesn’t always like it.”

Source, Bauer-Griffin

Johnny Depp says his dream role is to play Broadway legend Carol Channing in a biopic — and now Channing has offered her blessing.

“It is not a new concept to me,” Channing said. “Not at all. Men have been imitating me for as long as I can remember. In fact, most of the impersonations I have seen have had a five-o’clock shadow. I imagine, when or if Johnny should portray me, he will succeed. Because a true artist, such as himself, is one who loves his or her creation and therefore represents their honest view of that which they are creating. I think he is a gifted performer and I would be very proud, as well as interested in seeing what his vision of me would be. Johnny is someone I would very much like to help me and my foundation (ChanningARTS.org) to bring the arts back into the public school system in America.”

Depp said in an interview last week that he would love to play Channing. “I love her, I really do, she’s amazing. With all the digital technology these days, I could probably pull it off!”

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Pregnant reality star Kendra Wilkinson is working on a memoir.

“I feel like the luckiest girl in the world,” she says in a statement released by publisher Simon Spotlight Entertainment. “I have a husband I adore, a baby on the way, and now my memoir is going to be published!”

The publisher says the book — scheduled to hit stores next summer — will explore Wilkinson’s childhood, her Playboy years (including her time with Hugh Hefner, with whom she split last October), her experience taping The Girls Next Door and Kendra and newlywed life with NFL star Hank Baskett.

“The memoir will be a humorous, relatable, fish-out-of-water tale that captures the spirit of one of the most beloved Playboy cover models in history,” says the release.

Adds Jennifer Bergstrom of Simon Spotlight Entertainment: “Kendra is so genuine and funny that her memoir is sure to be unique, refreshing, and a reflection of the woman so many people have fallen in love with.”

Source, Bauer-Griffin

Angelina Jolie made her third trip to Iraq on Thursday, offering support to hundreds of thousands of displaced Iraqis.

During her day-long visit, Jolie, 34, met four families displaced from the district of Abu Ghraib, located to the west of Baghdad, according to the UN Refugee Agency.

The families that Jolie met complained that their children could not go to school and they could not afford to pay for medical treatment for various ailments.

After one Iraqi complained to Jolie about his hardships, Jolie (a mother of six) told him, “It takes a lot of strength for you to survive this life. I don’t know if I would be strong enough to survive this.”

Jolie, a UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador, also cradled a newborn with a rash during her visit, according to the UN Refugee Agency.

Before she left, the actress told locals: “I want to come back and find you in a better place and in a different situation. We hope that UNHCR and the government will support you in getting a piece of land. You need help not because you are poor, but because you are the future of Iraq.”

Despite the difficult times, Jolie said, There are some changes. There are returns of displaced people, not a big number, but there is progress.”

Jolie first visited Iraq in August 2007, talking to 1,200 refugees. She returned last February.

Of her third trip, the actress said, “This is a moment where things seem to be improving on the ground, but Iraqis need a lot of support and help to rebuild their lives.”

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Former Grey’s Anatomy star T.R. Knight is opening up about his departure from ABC’s hit medical drama, telling Entertainment Weekly he saw no future for Dr. George O’Malley, the lovable resident he played for five seasons.

Knight says his screen time dropped so much by season 5 that he chose to leave the show rather than seek an answer — something he says was hard to come by.

“My five-year experience proved to me that I could not trust any answer that was given [about George],” he tells the magazine. “There just comes a time when it’s so clear that moving on is the best decision.”

Costar Katherine Heigl initially disagreed with her friend.

“I didn’t think it was the right decision,” she says. “I felt like some of the problems could be worked through. But by the time it came to fruition, I was [glad] for him because he was ready to go.”

Knight also addresses the dismissal of former costar Isaiah Washington, who used a gay slur in an infamous incident on the set of the show, saying the controversy that followed created tension with Grey’s executive producer Shonda Rhimes.

Knight came out shortly after.

“I think she was concerned about having my statement come out so close to the [initial] event,” Knight says of Rhimes, who he says discouraged him from coming out.

Rhimes denies this, telling EW, “I said, ‘If you want to come out, that’s awesome.’”

While Knight leaves behind a top 10 show and a $14 million contract, he says the move is best for his career.

“From an outsider’s perspective, I get the ‘He’s just a spoiled actor … he doesn’t know how good he has it,’” he says. “There are a lot of people who would like to be in my position. But in the end, I need to be fulfilled in my work.”

Source, Bauer-Griffin

As much as Jennifer Garner has enjoyed her near-daily shopping trips with daughter Violet Affleck, the actress seems to be delighted to be putting her mom hat to the side, if only for a few hours, while shooting Valentine’s Day in L.A. on Wednesday.

The film, which co-stars Patrick Dempsey, is the first movie Jen has worked on since the Jan. 6 birth of her baby girl Seraphina Rose Affleck.

Source, Bauer-Griffin

Heidi Pratt has hit a high note.

The Hills star, 22, has been selected to perform during the 2009 Miss Universe Pageant telecast next month, Usmagazine.com has learned.

She will belt out “Turn Ya Head” off her upcoming debut album, Unleashed, during the Aug. 23 show. Access Hollywood reports that Celebrity Apprentice star Claudia Jordan, Flo Rida, Kelly Rowland and dancer David Guetta also will take the stage.

Despite the new Miss Universe gig, Pratt’s singing hasn’t been embraced by fans.

Shortly after debuting her first single and video, “Higher,” in 2008, online critics slammed her on the web.

“Makes me feel uncontrollably ill,” “beyond pathetic,” and “the crappiest video I have ever seen” were among the comments posted on Usmagazine.com.

At the time, Montag told Us, “I cried myself to sleep that first night after my video came out… I am just a 21-year-old from a small town in Colorado trying to follow her dreams.”

She has since gone on to drop the singles “No More,” “Overdosin’” and “Black Out.”

Her debut album, Unleashed, is due Sept. 23.

Source, Bauer-Griffin