Lindsay Lohan’s father wants to patch things up

New York – Michael Lohan wants to patch things up with his family.

“Reconciliation and redemption – across the board,” says Lohan, a born-again Christian. “Just all of us getting right with God.”

Lohan’s 21-year-old daughter Lindsay, star of “Mean Girls,” “Freaky Friday” and other films, has said that her father’s behavior and her parents’ divorce have caused her to act out.

Michael and estranged wife Dina Lohan settled their long-simmering divorce in August, months after he left a New York state prison where he served almost two years for drunken driving and other charges.

He reunited with Lindsay in September after a 3 1/2-year estrangement. She had entered a drug and alcohol treatment center the previous month after reaching a plea deal on misdemeanor drunken driving and cocaine charges.

Lohan blames himself for Lindsay’s troubles.

“Absolutely. How can I not? I mean, we lead by example,” Lohan said in an interview Wednesday with AP Television News.

Halle Berry sorry about nose joke

New York – Halle Berry is the latest celebrity to join the Foot-in-Mouth Club.

The 41-year-old actress has apologized for making an inappropriate joke at last Friday’s taping of NBC’s “The Tonight Show.”

Berry, who showed host Jay Leno photos of herself that she had distorted by using computer software, remarked that one snapshot – in which her nose appeared cartoonishly large – made her “look like my Jewish cousin.”

“I so didn’t mean to offend anybody – and after the show I realized it could be seen as offensive, so I asked Jay to take it out, and he did,” Berry told the New York Post for Tuesday’s editions.

“What happened was I was backstage before the show and I have three girls who are Jewish who work for me,” she said. “We were going through pictures to see which ones looked silly, and one of my Jewish friends said, ‘That could be your Jewish cousin!'”

Queen Latifah: ‘Beauty is not just a white girl’

New York – Queen Latifah says the definition of beauty is changing.

“Beauty is not just a white girl. It’s so many different flavors and shades,” the 37-year-old rapper-actress tells People magazine in its latest issue. “It’s good for regular girls because the meter (for beauty) has been a slim white girl.”

“(In Hollywood) we’ve definitely gotten better with body type,” she says. “It used to be just me! Now with Jennifer Hudson’s success and America Ferrera, I got some successors to take the reins on this whole bodylicious thing.”

Latifah describes herself as being voluptuous – “definitely curvaceous.”

“I think I’m normal compared to the statistics,” she says. “This is a big country nowadays.”

The star of “Chicago” and other films says she had elective breast-reduction surgery in 2003 to alleviate years of back and shoulder pain.

“I didn’t want to get it. But I had lost 25 pounds and my breasts didn’t go anywhere! I was still carrying that load,” she tells the magazine.

However, “I didn’t quite want them to be this small,” she laughs.

Cate Blanchett says her skin takes a lot of work

Cate Blanchett is used to costumes bordering on disguise on the big screen – layers of thick white makeup for her star turn in the “Elizabeth” movies, or a wig and leather jacket for her portrayal of a young Bob Dylan in the upcoming “I’m Not There.”

But it’s still surprising to picture her serving breakfast at home wearing an actual mask. Donning a white cotton, full-face moisturizing cover akin to a soft hockey mask is part of her skin care ritual, says Blanchett, who has been hired as the U.S. face of SK-II, a high-end skin care line from Procter & Gamble Co.

Blanchett joins a long list of celebrities endorsing personal-care products, but she says she’s used SK-II for seven years to keep her skin in its famously good shape.

Because her roles have frequently demanded heavy makeup application (two-and-half-hours worth daily for “Elizabeth”), her skin requires extra attention, Blanchett says.

Paris Hilton’s charity mission postponed

New York – Rwanda will have to wait for Paris Hilton’s help.

“Due to the restructuring of the Playing for Good Foundation, the philanthropic trip to Rwanda that the foundation had previously planned with Paris has been postponed,” the children’s charity said Thursday in a statement.

A staffer for Andy Gelb, a spokesman for the organization, said he was unavailable for comment.

The 26-year-old socialite – who has promised to use her celebrity status for good causes – was supposed to pack her bags for the African country next month. On her itinerary: visits to schools and health-care clinics.

“I’m scared, yeah. I’ve heard it’s really dangerous,” Hilton told Newsweek magazine earlier this month. “I’ve never been on a trip like this before.”

Hilton announced the mission in September, several months after serving a 23-day jail sentence for violating probation in an alcohol-related reckless driving case.

“There are a lot of bad people in L.A. Before, my life was about having fun, going to parties – it was a fantasy,” she told Newsweek. “But when I had time to reflect, I felt empty inside. I want to leave a mark on the world.”