Happiness is beauty

New York – She was born with her acting family’s classic beauty, but Drew Barrymore credits her fun-loving approach to life for her No. 1 spot on People magazine’s annual “100 Most Beautiful People” list.

“I just think happiness is what makes you pretty. Period,” she tells the magazine. “Happy people are beautiful. They become like a mirror and they reflect that happiness.”

Barrymore, 32, graces the cover of the issue that hits newsstands Friday. It’s her fourth time on the list, but first as cover girl.

Making the cover “made my peacock feathers shine in the golden-hour light and extend to the heavens,” says Barrymore, who stars in the upcoming Warner Bros. film “Lucky You,” opposite Eric Bana.

Inside, she weighs in on a host of beauty-related topics. Her beauty rules for dating? “The only fundamental rule for me is to just be yourself,” she says. “Let your freak-flag fly, and if someone doesn’t get you, move on.”

Among others on the “Beautiful People” list: Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, Oprah Winfrey, Alicia Keys, Leonardo DiCaprio, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Garner, Scarlett Johansson, Matthew McConaughey, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Halle Berry, Julia Roberts and Jennifer Lopez.

Baldwin ready to quit acting

Los Angeles – Divorced dad Alec Baldwin, caught yelling at his daughter on a voicemail message, said Wednesday he asked NBC to let him out of his “30 Rock” contract so he can devote his time to the issue of “parental alienation.”

“If I never acted again I couldn’t care less,” Baldwin said in a pre-taped appearance for ABC’s “The View,” scheduled to air Friday.

The actor, in a transcript provided to The Associated Press by “The View,” said that he also wanted to quit “30 Rock” so the sitcom and the hundreds who work on it wouldn’t “be hurt by the situation.”

NBC, however, quickly shot down the idea. The actor has became a key asset for the freshman sitcom, stealing the show as an oily but charming network executive overseeing a “Saturday Night Live”-type program.

“Alec Baldwin remains an important part of ’30 Rock.’ We look forward to having him continue his role in the show,” NBC said in a statement Wednesday.

Action speaks volumes

Champaign, Ill. – What Roger Ebert couldn’t say Wednesday night at the opening of his Overlooked Film Festival, his smile said for him.

A tracheostomy has left the 64-year-old film critic unable to speak. But at his first public appearance since cancer surgery last June, Ebert smiled widely as he walked through the Virginia Theatre, accepting handshakes, hugs and a couple of standing ovations from movie buffs and friends.

In November, confined to a Chicago hospital bed, Ebert considered canceling the festival, said his wife, Chaz Hammelsmith Ebert. But festival officials told them passes already had been sold, and he committed to coming to the festival in Champaign and nearby Urbana, his hometown.