Mandy Moore reveals struggles with depression

New York – Mandy Moore has a lot going for her, including a starring role opposite Diane Keaton in the upcoming comedy “Because I Said So.” Even so, she says she’s grappled with depression.

“A few months ago I felt really low, really sad. Depressed for no reason,” the 22-year-old actress-singer says in an interview in the February issue of Jane magazine, on newsstands today.

“I’m a very positive person, and I’ve always been glass-half-full,” she continues. “So it was like someone flipped a switch in me. I wanted to figure out why.”

Moore, newly single after high-profile relationships with actor Zach Braff and tennis standout Andy Roddick, says her recent split with Braff didn’t help matters.

“The breakup added to what I was going through, but it’s not the complete reason,” she tells the magazine. “It definitely doesn’t help if you’re already in that place.”

Moore, who is working on a new record at a studio in Woodstock, N.Y., and feeling better for doing it, says writing songs “away from friends in L.A. or New York” is good for the soul.

“Writing has been really therapeutic,” she says of her music. “These little nuggets that have come up over the past eight months have made me look at things in a different way.”

Hilton pleads no contest to reduced DUI charge

Los Angeles – Paris Hilton was placed on 36 months probation and ordered to pay fines after pleading no contest Monday to alcohol-related reckless driving, a reduction of an original charge of driving under the influence.

Hilton, 25, did not appear in court. The plea was entered by her attorneys Howard Weitzman and Shawn Chapman Holley, the city attorney’s office said.

Judge Michael Sauer also ordered her to attend an alcohol education program and imposed other conditions.

He gave Hilton the option of reducing her probation to 24 months if she completed 40 hours of community service. No immediate decision was made on that option. The fines, plus penalty assessments, totaled about $1,500.

Hilton’s publicist, Elliot Mintz, said he spoke with her after the proceeding. “She told me that she was happy the matter is over,” said Mintz, without further comment.

Hilton was arrested Sept. 7 after allegedly being seen weaving on a Hollywood street in her Mercedes-Benz.

Lawyers deny media report of divorce settlement offer

London – Lawyers for Heather Mills McCartney said that she has not agreed to a financial settlement in her pending divorce from Paul McCartney.

Mishcon de Reya Solicitors, which is representing Mills McCartney in the bitter split, denied a report in Sunday’s News of the World that McCartney had offered a settlement worth $63 million.

“With regard to the article in yesterday’s News of the World, we would like to state that there has been no offer made whatsoever at any time to our client and therefore no settlement has been agreed,” the law firm said Monday.

McCartney, 64, and his 38-year-old second wife announced their separation in May and began divorce proceedings in July. They have a 3-year-old daughter, Beatrice.

Keith Urban explains his 90 days in rehab center

Nashville, Tenn. – Keith Urban praised his wife, Nicole Kidman, and thanked his fans for their support during his three-month stay at a rehab center for alcohol abuse treatment, in a video posted on his Web site.

Urban entered the Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif., on Oct. 19 for what he thought would be a 30-day stay.

The 39-year-old country singer, who has publicly acknowledged a former addiction to cocaine, said he decided to stay for three months because he realized that learning to abstain was only part of the process to recovery.

“Learning about abstinence was one thing, but then there was all this other area of my life to start learning about, and so 30 days became 60, and 60 days became 90, and with each week that passed I found myself really learning how to surrender,” he said.

Urban said the time he chose to enter rehab was “far from ideal.”

He missed the release of his latest album, “Love, Pain & the whole crazy thing,” and wasn’t present to accept his second male vocalist of the year honor at the Country Music Association Awards.