ftjr5fjt by robertcal46

REFRESHINGLY FIND YOUR SUMMER THIRST QUENCHER

Mango Dragonfruit Starbucks Refreshers®

Pink Drink

beverage

Kiwi Starfruit Starbucks Refreshers® beverage

July 26, 2021

COUNTERCLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM: ADAM CHRISTOPHER/NBCU PHOTO BANK/GETTY IMAGES; AMY SUSSMAN/GETTY IMAGES; RICH FURY/GETTY IMAGES; MATT PETIT/A.M.P.A.S./GETTY IMAGES; KEN MCKAY/ITV/SHUTTERSTOCK; RANDY HOLMES/ABC/GETTY IMAGES

chatter ‘I went to my ﬁrst nice restaurant, and I saw Liam Neeson. I fangirled out. . . . I creeped him out. He literally got up and he left and went a couple tables over’ —JASON MOMOA, on one of his first experiences in Los Angeles, on Jimmy Kimmel Live

‘It means my fishoil pills are going to be delayed’

‘Tacos are self-care’ —REESE WITHERSPOON, on her form of pampering, on Twitter

“We are watching Space Jam for the second time in two days. My daughter is obsessed with Michael Jordan, he is her favorite comedy actor’ —MINDY KALING, on her 3-year-old’s favorite movie, on Twitter

—WANDA SYKES, on how she’s affected by Jeff Bezos stepping down as Amazon CEO, on Jimmy Kimmel Live

‘The real key(s) to happiness: Step one— marry your weird best friend. Step two— always, and I mean always, have a plethora of wigs in your home’ —MELISSA M c C A R T H Y, on her secret to a successful marriage, on Instagram

‘Men are disgusting’ —TIFFANY HADDISH, on what she learned working as a phone-sex operator for 30 days, on NPR’s It’s Been a Minute with Sam Sanders podcast

July 26, 2021

The s a r r i vh o w , Aug. ing imag 11, T’Ch ines al diffe la in a r role ent the M in CU

Chadwick Boseman makes his final Marvel appearance Disney+ released the trailer for the animated series What If. . . ? The actor recorded his part, as his Black Panther character T’Challa, before his death last year.

Macaroni and cheese gets extra creamy

The Sex and the City ladies return Break out the Manolos! SATC stars (from left) Cynthia Nixon, Sarah Jessica Parker and Kristin Davis shared a stylish photo from the first day on the set of the HBO Max revival series And Just Like That. . . .

Now ly n you o one n e e dl f o r bow two the ts trea

Kerby JeanRaymond makes a landmark fashion move The designer became the first Black American invited to present at Paris Couture Fashion Week: His brand Pyer Moss’s fun runway show featured looks paying tribute to Black innovators.

July 26, 2021

Backstreet’s back—for the holidays! The Backstreet Boys gave fans a Christmas in July gift when they announced a Las Vegas residency, coming in November and December. These will be the group’s firstever holiday-themed shows. Just add eggnog.

CLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM RIGHT: (HAT) GETTY IMAGES; REBECCA SAPP/WIREIMAGE; CINDY ORD/WIREIMAGE(2); HBO MAX; DIMITRIOS KAMBOURIS/GETTY IMAGES

Here’s the scoop on the ultimate orange comfort food: Kraft and Van Leeuwen Ice Cream have teamed up to create a limitededition mac and cheese flavor.

July 26, 2021

Vo l . 9 6 / N o . 4

On the Cover 34

Sarah Ferguson

Gwen Stefani & Blake Shelton

Drake Bell

Team U.S.A.

44 Return to Cannes

Helen Mirren and other stars head back to the famous film festival.

This Week 13

Scoop

Christina Haack and Ant Anstead move on after divorce, Patti LaBelle talks about food and famous friends, and more

Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, popularly known as Fergie, opens up about her bold new chapter.

Drake Bell

The former teen star is sentenced to two years’ probation in a childendangerment case

An Unexpected Match

Two days after Debby Merthe married Jim Merthe, she donated a kidney—to his ex-wife

Mental Health First Responders

50 Henry Golding

The actor talks about how fatherhood has changed his life.

When someone calls 911, crisis counselors like Ebony Morgan provide an alternative to police—and help save lives

100 . . . and Counting! Three friends join to celebrate a centennial birthday after getting their COVID-19 vaccines

2021 Summer Olympics

58 Jim Morrison

Fifty years after his death, friends paint a picture of his final days.

After a yearlong delay, Simone Biles, Caeleb Dressel and the rest of America’s team are finally headed to Tokyo in search of gold

CLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM RIGHT: JENNIFER CAUSEY; MICHAEL OCHS ARCHIVES/ GETTY IMAGES; VERA ANDERSON/WIREIMAGE; DAVID SILPA/UPI/SHUTTERSTOCK; DAVID BURTON; DRESS: GINA BACCONI; EARRINGS: THE HIRST COLLECTION

Also in This Issue 1 6 13 20 23 25 79 81 83 86 87 88

CHATTER STAR TRACKS SCOOP PASSAGES STORIES TO MAKE YOU SMILE PEOPLE PICKS STYLE BEAUTY FOOD PUZZLER SECOND LOOK ONE LAST THING

ON THE COVER Photograph by David Burton. Hair: Federico Ghezzi/ w-management; makeup: Emily Mergaert/Estée Lauder Cosmetics and Caudalie Skincare; stylist: Hannah Teare; fashion coordinator: Nicolò Pablo Venerdi Bettiol; tailor: Michelle Warner; jacket: Dolce & Gabanna available at YOOX; shirt: Elizabeth Atelier; earrings: the Hirst Collection; inset: Tim Graham Photo Library/Getty Images. Top insets from left: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images; Marc Lebryk/USA Diving; Grace Hollars/ USA Today Sports July 26, 2021

StarTracks

CUTE COUPLES

Shooting a music video in New York City on July 11, Rihanna and her boyfriend, rapper A$AP Rocky, couldn’t have looked happier. “They are having a great summer together,” a source says of the longtime pals, who began dating last fall.

July 26, 2021

“When bad selfies happen to good people,” Catherine Zeta-Jones quipped of a snap with husband Michael Douglas July 8 on Instagram.

Kit Harington and his Game of Thrones costarturned-wife, Rose Leslie, shared a laugh while holding hands during a July 6 stroll around N.Y.C.

Princess Kate and Prince William were all smiles in their box as they watched the women’s singles final at Wimbledon in London on July 10.

CLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM RIGHT: KARWAI TANG/WIREIMAGE; GOTHAM/GC IMAGES; JAMES DEVANEY/GC IMAGES; GOTHAM/GC IMAGES; BROSNYC/BACKGRID

July 26, 2021

StarTracks The stars aligned when Katy Perry and fiancé Orlando Bloom met up with Sophie Turner and her husband, Joe Jonas, at a Louis Vuitton Parfum dinner July 5.

CELEBS TAKE PARIS FASHION WEEK

Jennifer Lawrence sat frontrow at the Christian Dior Haute Couture show.

Also at the Louis Vuitton Parfum dinner: Black Widow star Florence Pugh, who posed outside the event in her playfully patterned jacket and skirt.

July 26, 2021

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: BERTRAND RINDOFF PETROFF/GETTY IMAGES; EDWARD BERTHELOT/GETTY IMAGES; KRISTY SPAROW/GETTY IMAGES

AN EXOTIC NEW ROLE Brisbane, Australia, July 11

John Cameron Mitchell got into character as incarcerated zookeeper Joe Exotic (inset) while filming Peacock’s series about the infamous Tiger King subject.

JASON & HIS KIDS PLAY BALL! Chicago, July 9

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: DAVID BANKS/AP/SHUTTERSTOCK; BACKGRID AU/BACKGRID; EVERETT; DENISE TRUSCELLO/WIREIMAGE

Jason Sudeikis’s son Otis, 7, and daughter Daisy, 4 (their mom is dad’s ex Olivia Wilde), joined him to throw out the first pitch at a Chicago Cubs game.

MEGAN TAKES SIN CITY

Las Vegas, July 10 Rapper Megan Thee Stallion kicked off hot-girl summer with a high-energy performance at the Hakkasan nightclub.

MOTHER OF THE BRIDE New York, July 4

Katie Couric shared a sweet photo of her holding her daughter Ellie Monahan’s hand on her wedding day. “My baby . . .” Couric wrote on Instagram. July 26, 2021

StarTracks At the beach in Sardinia, Italy, on July 10, Julianne Hough rocked a baby-blue bikini.

FUN IN THE SUN Gerard Butler caught some waves in Malibu on July 8.

Kevin Hart and wife Eniko held each other close while posing for an Instagram on a boat ride. “Views...,” Hart captioned the July 7 post from his 42nd-birthday celebration.

July 26, 2021

Lizzo—wearing a green cheetah-print bikini—soaked up the rays in a series of Instagram snaps she posted on July 5.

People’s reigning Sexiest Man Alive Michael B. Jordan and girlfriend Lori Harvey took a dip in the pool while on vacation July 8.

Gone fishing! Dwayne Johnson spent time at his farm in Virginia on July 5.

(HOUGH) MEGA; (BUTLER) RMBI/BACKGRID

Cristiano Ronaldo posed for a photo with his mini-me son Cristiano Jr. on a yacht. “My baby boy,” he captioned the July 6 Instagram.

July 26, 2021

Bundling your home and car insurance is super easy with GEICO. Not only could it save you money with a special discount, but you’ll also save time by having all your coverages in the same place.

geico.com | 1-800-947-AUTO | Local Office Some discounts, coverages, payment plans, and features are not available in all states, in all GEICO companies, or in all situations. Homeowners, renters, and condo coverages are written through non-affiliated insurance companies and are secured through the GEICO Insurance Agency, Inc. GEICO is a registered service mark of Government Employees Insurance Company, Washington, DC 20076; a Berkshire Hathaway Inc. subsidiary. GEICO Gecko® image © 1999– 2021. © 2021 GEICO 21_635572609

July 26, 2021

ALL THE H O L LY W O O D NEWS YOU NEED TO KNOW

Hands Up for Love “Their friends and families are over the moon for them,” a source says of the couple (at their wedding with pal Carson Daly).

After the Wedding . . .

Gwen & Blake’s Life as Newlyweds! STEVE GRANITZ/WIREIMAGE; INSET: JEREMY BUSTOS

For Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton,

every day feels like a honeymoon. So the couple didn’t mind forgoing a traditional getaway following their July 3 wedding at Shelton’s ranch in Tishomingo, Okla. Instead they returned to their home in Los Angeles to tend to their respective careers. “They’re both very, very busy this year with work, and this was the only time they could ﬁt in

By all accounts the country star and the No Doubt rocker’s wedding was pretty magical. As Stefani, 51, and Shelton, 45, said “I do” in a backyard chapel the wedding,” says a source close to on his ranch, they were cheered on the couple. Indeed, Stefani is workby an intimate group of 40 of their ing on her ﬁfth solo album and preclose friends and family members, paring for her Las Vegas residency including Stefani’s sons (with ex that returns in the fall. Gavin Rossdale), Kingston, ‘I DON’T SEE Meanwhile, Shelton is 15, Zuma, 12, and Apollo, 7, MUCH CHANGE busy ﬁlming as a coach on and longtime pal Carson IN THEIR LIVES. THEY HAVE BEEN Daly, who officiated. “It was season 21 of The Voice and HAPPY AND preparing to hit the road everything they wanted: SETTLED FOR on his Friends and Heroes family, friends, dancing, the QUITE A WHILE’ —A MUSIC SOURCE beauty and familiarity of tour in August. July 26, 2021

Scoop

WHAT’S NEXT

B l a k e R e t u r n s t o T h e Vo i c e In addition to preparing for his upcoming Friends and Heroes tour, Shelton is back at work coaching his 21st season of The Voice.

G w e n ’s N e w G r o o v e

Stefani has been busy recording her fifth solo album, which she teased with the Saweetie collaboration “Slow Clap” (inset) in April.

Exes Christina Haack & Ant Anstead

Moving On After Divorce

Haack and Hall celebrated her birthday in Mexico on July 8.

July 26, 2021

Nearly a month after Flip or Flop star Christina Haack and her ex, British Wheeler Dealers and Master Mechanic host Ant Anstead, finalized their divorce, the former pair, who share son Hudson, 1, both have taken their respective new romances public. Anstead, 42, began dating two-time Academy Award winner Renée Zellweger, 52, in late June, and the couple confirmed their relationship when they were spotted holding hands during a romantic outing on July 5. Three days later, Haack, 38, revealed on Instagram that she had been secretly dating Realtor Joshua Hall for several months. “When we met this past spring, the synchronicities hit us so hard and fast they were impossible to ignore,” Haack wrote in a July 8 post. “I felt immediately crazy protective over him and wanted to keep him for myself and get to know each other.”

Anstead and Zellweger in Laguna Beach July 5.

CLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM RIGHT: THE IMAGE DIRECT; BACKGRID; JEREMY BUSTOS; TRAE PATTON/NBC/NBCU PHOTO BANK/GETTY IMAGES

emotional ceremony for both of them.” After getting engaged last October, Stefani and Shelton—who met while working on The Voice together in 2014 and started dating a year later following their difficult divorces from Rossdale and country star Miranda Lambert, respectively—knew “there was really no perfect time for the ceremony in light of the COVID19 lockdown,” says the music industry source. “But it turned out ﬁne. They decided on the size of the guest list as the Blended Brood “They have found months went on. true happiness as They were so ready a family,” a source to start their lives says of the couple (with Stefani’s together, and both the Oklahoma surroundsons, from left: are ecstatic.” ings and lots of love and Kingston, Apollo Now, as Stefani and laughter,” says a music and Zuma). Shelton look forward to industry source. “It couldn’t have been better.” On the big their future, “they seem extremely happy,” says the Stefani source. day “even the weather cooperated,” Adds another industry insider: adds a source close to Stefani. “They “They are both inspired with their talked about how they already felt lives in every way.” married before the wedding, but —BRIANNE TRACY with when the day arrived, Gwen was still reporting by Pernilla Cedenheim, giddy and a bit nervous. It was an

The Podcast for People in the Know

A new podcast covering the most talked-about entertainment news of the day, plus exclusive interviews, features, and inspiring stories about real people.

Hosted by PEOPLE Editor-at-Large SNAP TO LISTEN

JANINE RUBENSTEIN

Scoop

HEART MONITOR Just Friends

Sharon Stone & RMR The actress, 63, and the rapper, 25, sparked romance buzz when they reportedly hit up L.A. hot spots Delilah and the Highlight Room recently— but “they are friends,” says a source, who adds they are just “hanging out.”

Split

S c o o t e r B r a u n & Ya e l C o h e n The celeb manager, 40, and his businesswoman wife, 34, have separated after seven years of marriage. “They love each other and just need some time apart and will hopefully bounce back for their kids,” a source says of the pair, who share three children.

Eric Murphy & Jasmin Lawrence

Happy Anniversary

Carrie Underwood & Mike Fisher The country star, 38, and the former NHL pro, 41— who share two kids—celebrated 11 years of marriage on July 10. “11 years sure have flown by . . . here’s to many, many more,” Underwood posted on Instagram.

July 26, 2021

Lawrence and Murphy in Life (1999).

Eddie Murphy’s son Eric, 32, is dating Martin Lawrence’s daughter Jasmin, 25. Their dads costarred in the ’90s hits Boomerang and Life. “I’m so incredibly blessed to know you, to love you and to have you by my side,” Jasmin wrote on Instagram July 10 in a birthday message to her beau. “Cheers to many more blessings, laughs and beautiful memories! I love you so much!”

TOP LEFT: TM/BAUER-GRIFFIN/GC IMAGES; TOP RIGHT: SAADIQ BY MADE NIGHTLIFE/MEGA; BOTTOM RIGHT: GETTY IMAGES

Dating

Scoop

With Elton John in 2002.

With Prince in 2009.

Patti LaBelle on Food & Famous Friends

CLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM LEFT: KINDERFARMS; KEVIN MAZUR/WIREIMAGE; REUTERS/ALAMY; AMY SUSSMAN/INVISION/AP/SHUTTERSTOCK

Throughout her six-decade career, Patti LaBelle has been acclaimed for her powerful singing voice, but offstage, she’s earned some equally glowing reviews for her culinary skills. She’s even logged time playing chef to assorted A-list pals. “I’ve cooked for a lot of entertainers: the Braxtons, the Rolling Stones, Richard Pryor, Oprah,” says the 77-year-old legend, whose latest project is a 20th-anniversary reissue of her first cookbook, LaBelle

Cuisine. One dinner guest, Sir Elton John, gave her a diamond ring to make up for losing her Tupperware, and her sometime collaborator Prince once asked her to cook for him at his Paisley Park estate in Minnesota. “He had his assistants shop for me, and they bought, like, 20 items. I was cooking my face off!” she says. “But when it was time to eat, he sat down and just ate a biscuit. I said, ‘Boy, you okay?’ He just wanted to see me cook!”

These days, LaBelle’s dinner guests are less high-profile but special nonetheless. On any given night, she can be found in the kitchen of her Philadelphia-area home with her granddaughters Gia, 6, and Leyla, 4, who are both featured

in LaBelle Cuisine. (Their dad is her son Zuri Edwards, 48.) “I learned from my mom and dad; now they’re learning from me,” says LaBelle, who can’t wait to “spoil” her new grandson, who’s due this fall. “It’s just fun!” — B R I A N N E T R A C Y

Jessica Biel

Family & Her New Passion Project

Fo r t h e K i d s

Kinderlyte (left) is a natural medical-grade beverage to prevent dehydration. Inset: Biel, with Timberlake and Silas in a 2019 Instagram photo.

The 39-year-old actress, producer and mom to sons Silas, 6, and Phineas, 11 months, with husband Justin Timberlake, 40, has launched Kinderfarms, a new wellness brand specializing in all-natural products. What was most important to you when you decided to do this? Cofounder Jeremy Adams and I wanted to create an opportunity for parents to make a different choice for their kids. And to be able to say, “I really trust that the ingredients in these products are effective and nontoxic.” How did you navigate life this past year

through the pandemic? Some of the pod schools we were involved in were a huge support. It was really helpful for my kids to have some small, safe social circle, and I didn’t go crazy. That, and probably white wine. Did you and Justin divvy up responsibilities? It was very much “be flexible, go with the flow.” But you have to divide and conquer— otherwise, I think, one person probably gets too burned out. And we just have to be there for each other. What gives you the most hope now? I think just being with friends, looking at each other and going, “We made it through.” Human beings are resilient creatures. We come back stronger when things are tough. — J U L I E J O R D A N

July 26, 2021

Scoop

Christina Aguilera Talks Mom Life & Music

OPEN HOUSE

Sylvester Stallone’s Palatial Mediterranean Mansion

The Rocky actor, 75, and his wife, Jennifer Flavin Stallone, 52, are ready for a change of daily scenery: The pair have listed their 21,000-sq.-ft. home in L.A.’s ritzy Beverly Park neighborhood. Sitting on 3.5 acres, the main house boasts eight bedrooms and 12 bathrooms, as well as a cigar room and (of course!) a gym.

The patio provides access to the infinity pool and a twostory guesthouse nearby.

on sale for $85 MILLION

The massive spread also comes with a screening room.

July 26, 2021

The couple installed a custom bar. Stallone’s office houses his awards, plus memorabilia from Rocky and Rambo.

TOP LEFT: FRAZER HARRISON/GETTY IMAGES; (REAL ESTATE) CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: ANTONY JONES/GETTY IMAGES; ANTHONY BARCELO/BARCELO PHOTOGRAPHY(4)

and family life with fiancé Matt Rutler The 40-year-old singer—who recently and kids Max, 13, and Summer, 6? announced a promotional collaboration It’s a juggle. We’re currently on this little vacay with SweeTARTS—chats about family as in our hometowns. I wanted the kids to see she works on her next album. their cousins—it was important for me to have You revealed you’re working everybody come together after on a Latin-influenced record. ‘THIS ALBUM IS being locked down for so long. What’s that been like for you? A FULL-CIRCLE Are you saving any of your old It’s something I’ve wanted to do MOMENT FOR ME. I’M REINSPIRED stage outfits for Summer? for years. I love [my 2000 LP BY MUSIC ALL I might! She’s a very interesting Mi Reflejo], but I listen 20 years OVER AGAIN’ one. She’s not the type of girl who later, and I’m like, “Oh cute, that likes a fuss. She likes to keep it cozy, and some was baby Christina.” As a grown woman of my wardrobe isn’t cozy—it’s just for show. now, I’m singing with deeper passion, I keep an archive of all the looks, so if it’s not love and experience than ever before. for her to enjoy, it’ll be for the fans! I’m reflecting on superpersonal issues. —T O M Á S M I E R How do you balance your busy schedule

Scoop

Blast Off

Branson (left, floating in zero gravity) posed with crew members ahead of the flight. From left: Colin Bennet, Beth Moses, Sirisha Bandla and Branson.

Richard Branson

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: VIRGIN GALACTIC(3); JASON VANCIL/VIRGIN GALACTIC; PHILLIP FARAONE/GETTY IMAGES; EYEPRESS/SIPA/SHUTTERSTOCK

Inside His Historic Space Flight

Daredevil billionaire Sir Richard Branson is no stranger to bold adventures, but his latest trek was out of this world—literally. The vivacious entrepreneur, whose past exploits include flying a hot-air balloon across the Pacific Ocean, soared to the edge of space on July 11 as a passenger aboard one of his Virgin Galactic spaceships. “It was one of the greatest experiences in my life, if not the greatest experience of my life,” he says of the trip, which made history as one of the first space tourism flights. The moment was decades in the New Mexico—sparks enthusiasm in young making for Branson, 70. He founded the people “who have not had the chance” to commercial spacecraft company in 2004, be inspired by space travel. Virgin Galactic but he has dreamed of traveling to space plans to offer commercial trips aboard its since he was a child. Five other crew spacecrafts starting next year, and accordmembers joined Branson on the rocketing to the company, approximately 600 powered VSS Unity, which people have already reserved jetted toward space at three ‘FROM BUILDING seats, reportedly at $250,000 times the speed of sound upon apiece, with SpaceX founder CARDBOARD ROCKETS, TO separating from its mother Elon Musk among them. ACTUALLY GOING ship, the VMS Eve. While the flight satisfied a TO SPACE . . . Once Unity reached a peak decades-long desire, Branson IT REALLY DID altitude of 53.5 miles, the crew says he doesn’t intend for it to FEEL UNREAL’ enjoyed views only a select few be his “cherry on top of the —BRANSON in history have experienced. cake.” He’ll be looking for his “We were floating and looking out of the next adventure soon enough. “I’m an windows,” Branson recalls. “Nothing can optimist and think I’m going to live to do justice to the colors and the 100, and there’ll be other cherries,” says spectacular views you get.” the perpetual thrill-seeker, who turns 71 Branson hopes his adventure—which on July 18. “But for the time being, it’s lasted just over an hour before Unity definitely the cherry.” returned to Virgin Galactic’s spaceport in —JASON DUAINE HAHN

THE BILLIONAIRE SPACE RACE

Branson and fellow billionaires Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk are attempting to carve out a piece of the fledging space tourism industry with their respective companies. But Branson is the first of the trio to reach space.

Jeff Bezos

The Amazon founder, 57, launched his company Blue Origin in 2000. He’ll ride one of its rockets to space on July 20.

Elon Musk

The Tesla CEO, 50, founded aerospace company SpaceX in 2002. Its first commercial space flight is expected to lift off next year.

July 26, 2021

passages Engaged

Actor Douglas Booth, 29, and The Morning Show actress Bel Powley, 29, are engaged after he proposed during a romantic picnic in London. The two met on the set of Mary Shelley in 2016. Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt, 26, proposed to his college sweetheart, professional soccer player Dani Rhodes, 23. “I am the luckiest man in the world!!” Watt wrote on Instagram.

•

Matthew and Renee Morrison with kids Revel (left) and Phoenix

Babies

•

Health

Pope Francis, 84, led his

ﬁrst public prayer on July 11 since undergoing surgery for diverticular stenosis of the colon a week ago. He appeared from the balcony of his hospital room outside of Gemelli Polyclinic in Rome. Fans have been banned from attending the Tokyo Olympics as a new state of emergency was declared in the Japanese

•

Minister Yoshihide Suga said the state

of emergency will last through Aug. 22.

Deaths

Happy Birthday! Jennifer Lopez, 5 2 July 24, 1969 Prince George, 8 July 22, 2013 Woody Harrelson, 60 July 23, 1961

Director Robert Downey Sr. died at his New York City home after battling Parkinson’s disease. He was 85. “He was a true maverick ﬁlmmaker,” said son Robert Downey Jr. Actor Charlie Robinson, best known for playing Mac on the sitcom Night Court, died at

•

UCLA Medical Center of metastatic adenocarcinoma at 75. Australian TikTok star Caitlyn Loane, who gained popularity for showing her daily life as a farmer, died at 19. Her cause of death has not been conﬁrmed.

•

Robert Downey Sr. with son Robert Downey Jr.

By ALE RUSSIAN

Anne Hathaway

Why I Care

For nearly two decades the actress, 38, has helped bring happiness to pediatric patients across the country

PERSONAL STORIES ABOUT GIVING BACK

The Lollipop Theater Network is a nationwide nonprofit organization bringing movies and entertainment to children confined to hospitals due to chronic or life-threatening illnesses. I became involved almost 20 years ago. My cousin is friends with Evelyn [Iocolano, the founder] and told me how special the organization was. Once I saw it for myself, I became a lifelong supporter. I usually do in-person visits, but because of COVID, we’ve switched to Zoom, which actually helped us come up with a cool fundraising idea. On July 20 Charitybuzz will launch an auction where people can bid on the chance to hang out with my The Devil Wears Prada family [Meryl Streep, Stanley Tucci, Emily Blunt] and me on Zoom to raise money for this amazing cause. Kids dealing with serious illnesses—and their families—are among the strongest people I have ever met. It’s an honor to be in a position to bring them some fun and joy. — Reported By MIA McNIECE

For more information, go to lollipoptheater.org

July 26, 2021

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: ROY ROCHLIN/WIREIMAGE; DAVE ALLOCCA/STARPIX/SHUTTERSTOCK; GEORGE PIMENTEL/GETTY IMAGES; TAYLOR REYNOLDS

Actor and singer Matthew Morrison, 42, and his wife, Renee, 36, welcomed their second baby, daughter Phoenix Monroe, on June 28. The two also share son Revel, 3. “We rise! Our family is now complete,” the couple tells People. Former Bachelor star Bob Guiney, 50, welcomed his second child, a son named Blake Barrett, with his wife, Jessica Canyon, 37, on July 1. The pair are also parents to son Grayson Robert, 2.

capital because of COVID-19. Prime

Naomi Osaka Ready for Tokyo Olympics Following Hiatus for Mental Health

The tennis star opened up about her struggle with depression and the decision to take a step back in a revealing essay for TIME Standing onstage at New York

City’s Pier 17 while accepting her Best Female Athlete ESPY Award on July 10, Naomi Osaka couldn’t stop smiling. Still, the events that preceded the happy achievement weren’t far from the tennis phenom’s mind, as she told the audience: “This year, it’s been really tough for a lot of us.” Osaka, 23, withdrew from the French Open on May 31, a day after being ﬁned $15,000 for skipping media requirements during the Paris-based major tournament in order to preserve her mental health; that same day she revealed in an Instagram message that she’s grappled with “long bouts of depression” since her stunning singles victory at the 2018 U.S. Open. On June 17 her agent announced Osaka’s decision to skip Wimbledon amid a ﬂurry of headlines. Now, with Olympic tennis beginning July 24 in Tokyo, the world’s No. 2-ranked player has broken her silence with a soul-baring essay for TIME magazine. In the piece, titled “It’s O.K. to

Lessons Learned

“ Yo u c a n never please e v e r y o n e ,” Osaka (above right, at the 2021 Australian Open) says she realized after mixed public reaction to her French Open withdrawal.

In Her Corner High-profile figures including Stephen Curry (top right), Novak Djokovic (bottom right), former First Lady Michelle Obama (center) and Meghan Markle (bottom left) have offered Osaka support both publicly and privately. Fellow Olympian Michael Phelps (top left) told her she may have saved a life by speaking up.

Not Be O.K.,” published in the July 19 issue, the athlete called herself “naturally introverted” and admitted that she felt pressure to publicly disclose the symptoms of her anxiety so that tournament officials and the press would believe her. Osaka, who is also the subject of an upcoming Netﬂix docuseries (out July 16), called for a “refresh” to the sports press-conference format, encouraging Grand Slam organizers to modify “out-of-date” rules in an effort to “make it better, more interesting and more enjoyable” for reporters and players alike. Though Osaka said she has no desire to be “the spokesperson or face of athlete mental health,” she is glad others can “relate [to] and understand” her story. The time off to “recharge,” Osaka wrote, has helped her feel prepared for the Summer Games, at which she’ll represent Japan. “I’ve never competed in an Olympics,” Osaka told People in April. “So just that in itself will be a huge thrill and honor—but being in my home country gives me that added excitement.” —L I N D S A Y K I M B L E

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: WILLIAMS + HIRAKAWA/AUGUST; DARRIAN TRAYNOR/GETTY IMAGES; ADAM DAVY/PA IMAGES/GETTY IMAGES; NAACP/GETTY IMAGES; MAX MUMBY/INDIGO/GETTY IMAGES; JOE SCARNICI/GETTY IMAGES; JUAN OCAMPO/NBAE/GETTY IMAGES

! e l i m s o S t o r i e so ut . . . make y

Teen makes history as the ﬁrst Black American winner of the Scripps National Spelling Bee LAKE BUENA VISTA, FLA.

With one seven-letter word—“murraya,” a genus of flowering citrus plants— 14-year-old Zaila Avant-garde took home the crown at this year’s Scripps National Spelling Bee on July 8, becoming the first Black American champion in the contest’s 96-year history. “It felt really good to win because I have been working on it for, like, two years,” said Avant-garde, who had also competed in the Scripps Bee in 2019, when she placed 370th. “I felt like in the moment I snapped out of a surreal dream.” But spelling isn’t Avant-garde’s only talent: The eighth grader from Harvey, La., is also a basketball prodigy who holds three Guinness World Records, for dribbling, bouncing and juggling multiple basketballs (up to four). Avant-garde says she hopes to attend Harvard University “as a basketball player and student” and perhaps one day become an NBA coach. “I want to inspire everybody,” she says, “especially African American girls.”

Avant-garde (with her trophy) won a $50,000 prize and now counts former President Obama among her 14,000 social media fans.

FROM TOP: JOHN RAOUX/SHUTTERSTOCK; SWNS.COM(2)

“Ryan showed me the Ring video, and we just couldn’t stop laughing,” says Whitacre (inset, with Washick and Rajah).

By DIANE HERBST and JEN JUNEAU

A missing dog returns—and rings her family’s doorbell SIMPSONVILLE, S.C.

The last thing Ryan Washick and Mary Lynn Whitacre expected to see when their Ring doorbell sounded at 3 a.m on June 28 was their runaway pup Rajah. “She was just sitting super-politely on the front step, and no one else was there,” says Washick, 23. The 1½-year-old pup had bolted the day before, after being spooked by fireworks, and the couple had spent hours looking for her. Thrilled with Rajah’s return, the couple shared the Ring video on social media. “We were shocked by how much it blew up!” says Whitacre, 23. “Now our families joke about how Rajah is a celebrity. But we’re just happy she’s back home.” Have a story that makes you smile? Send suggestions to storiestomakeyousmile@people.com

America’s Favorite Foodie! Rach’s Best Recipes

Entertaining Secrets

Favorite Finds

Lifestyle Hacks

Claim your Best Deal Now at RachaelRayMag.com/hurry

T H E B E S T S T U F F TO WATC H , R E A D & L I S T E N TO T H I S W E E K !

Edited By To m G l i a t t o

LeBron James on the court with Bugs Bunny.

HBO MAX | Space Jam: A New Legacy

WARNER BROS. PICTURES

Eh—what’s up, LeBron?

FAMILY The ﬁrst Space Jam, released in 1996, was a stateof-the-art blend of animation (the immortal Looney Tunes gang) and live-action (in the form of basketball star Michael Jordan). This reboot takes another sports legend, LeBron James, and mixes him in with today’s much more complicated digital ﬁreworks. On a technical level, this is like upgrading a cave painting to a Rembrandt. Don Cheadle plays an algorithm—yes, named Al G. Rhythm—deep within the matrix of Warner Bros.’ computer banks. He has a brainstorm: He’ll digitally incorporate James into all sorts of Warner Bros. projects. To that end, Mr. Rhythm uploads both a protesting James and his more enthusiastic son Dom (Cedric Joe), a game boy of genius

who feels underappreciated by Dad. The only way James can return to the ﬂesh-and-blood world is by defeating Rhythm in a game of basketball. He recruits Bugs Bunny, Elmer Fudd and the usual two-dimensional suspects as teammates. Along the way, the movie offers a generous—arguably too generous—sampling of the studio’s enormous portfolio, with references to Wonder Woman, Austin Powers, Casablanca and even the Conjuring franchise (keep an eye out for a deranged-looking nun). Meanwhile, the tension between James and Dom builds, giving the story some welcome emotional heft at the end—think of it as Hoops on Pop. For more on Cheadle, see page 88. (Launches July 16; also in theaters, PG)

‘On a technical level, this is like upgrading a cave painting to a Rembrandt’

July 26, 2021

picks presented by

MOVIE | Roadrunner:

A Film About Anthony Bourdain

For more picks, tune in to our new People Picks video series and submit your Fan Pick of the Week

Take one last trip with the beloved yet troubled traveler DO C U MEN TA RY Not just another tribute to the food world’s favorite bad boy, who died by suicide in 2018, this beautiful film—directed by Morgan Neville (Won’t You Be My Neighbor?)—sheds light on Bourdain’s final, erratic year, when he was in a whirlwind romance with actress Asia Argento. For the first time since his death, we hear from Ottavia Busia, his estranged wife: In one particularly heart-wrenching scene, she says, “I wish I kept an eye on him more.” (In theaters July 16, R) Bourdain on the set of his CNN show Parts Unknown.

Q&A Sarah Levy

The Schitt’s Creek actress, 34, stars in SYFY’s new series SurrealEstate (July 16, 10 p.m.), about an agent handling demonic house listings. On Schitt’s Creek you costarred alongside your dad, Eugene Levy, and your brother Dan. Is it strange not working with them now? It’s weird! I was so used to seeing a family member, With costar Tim Rozon.

MUSIC | Vince Staples, Vince Staples

HBO | 100 Foot Wave

DOCUSERIES Pursuing his dream of riding a 100-ft. wave off the coast of Nazaré, Portugal, surfer Garrett McNamara builds an entire community to share in the mission. This true story is both daunting and inspiring, with great footage of enormous swells. “To go down a giant wave,” says fellow surfer Rodrigo Koxa, “is dancing with God.” (July 18, 10 p.m.) 26

July 26, 2021

if not two family members. We’re still very close. Why’d you switch from a sitcom to a scary show? To be a part of some type of horror genre—it’s been a dream of mine. Has it lived up to your expectations? With so many visual effects, it was seeing a lot of things that weren’t actually in front of me, definitely my inner-child fantasies just letting my imagination run wild. — E M I LY STROHM

CLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM LEFT: HBO; CNN/FOCUS FEATURES; DAVID CROTTY/PATRICK MCMULLAN/GETTY IMAGES; BLUE ICE PICTURES/SYFY; NOAM GALAI/GETTYIMAGES

RAP Like 2018’s FM!, Staples’s self-titled effort runs about the length of a sitcom—minus ads. But if his projects have become shorter, he hasn’t sacriﬁced intensity: This set’s murky, R&Btinged beats underpin sobering verses about his hardscrabble upbringing. (Available now)

AT LAST, YOUR FAVORITE

CLASSIC MIX

ALL TOGETHER IN ONE BAG.

PEANUT MIX

SCAN ON SNAPCHAT TO SEE

WHAT'S HAPPENING INSIDE THE BAG

CANCER DOESN’T STOP. FOR ONE NIGHT. WE STAND TOGETHER.

SATURDAY

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: MARK TAYLOR/SHOWTIME; SCOTT MCDERMOTT/ PEACOCK; ISABELLA B. VOSMIKOVA/NETFLIX; MEDIAPUNCH INC/ALAMY; APPLE TV+

APPLE TV+ | Schmigadoon!

COMEDY Quarreling out in the forest over their relationship, Josh and Melissa (Keegan-Michael Key and Cecily Strong) stumble onto a town where everyone sings and dances according to old-school musical convention: It’s like a lost touring production that conﬂates Brigadoon, The Music Man and Carousel. This six-episode series is a sweet, beguiling fantasy, sung by a great cast that includes Jane Krakowski, Kristin Chenoweth and Alan Cumming—but does Music Man, which opened on Broadway in 1957, need spooﬁng in 2021? Schmigadoon! could maybe use a little more schmattitude. (First two episodes launch July 16)

O’Connor (left), Morgan Davies and Ingrid Torelli.

SHOWTIME | The End

COMEDY Kate (Frances O’Connor), a palliative care doctor, brings her aging, suicidal mother (Harriet Walter) down to Australia from England and installs her in a retirement facility. This is the setup for what turns out to be a barbed, darkly outrageous comedy in which no one gives a ﬁg about going gentle into that good night. (July 18, 8 p.m.)

PEACOCK | Dr. Death

DRAMA Based on a true-crime podcast, Dr. Death stars Joshua Jackson (The Affair) as Christopher Duntsch, a Dallas neurosurgeon of unshakable arrogance and brutal—sometimes fatal—incompetence. Alec Baldwin and Christian Slater play the doctors determined to shut him down. (Launches July 15)

Key (left) and Dove Cameron.

o t e n o watch

Never Have I Ever’s Megan Suri

The Los Angeles native, 22, joins season 2 of Netflix’s Mindy Kaling-created teen comedy as Aneesa, a potential new friend to Maitreyi Ramakrishnan’s competitive Devi. “I once made Mindy laugh on-set,” Suri recalls, “and I’m still living off it.” — A L L Y M A U C H

With costar Ramakrishnan.

July 26, 2021

picks

Narrator Nyong’o and lion cubs.

THE BILLIONAIRE’S SURROGATE

DISCOVERY | Serengeti II

Family life in the animal kingdom

MY PIRATE PRINCE

NATURE We’re back in the Serengeti in Africa for the second season of this Discovery hit, gently narrated by Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o. Once again we’re immediately immersed in the complex hour-by-hour dynastic challenges facing lions, elephants, zebras, baboons and more. You wonder if they ever wished Nature would give them a deal to work remotely. The ﬁrst episode ends with a terrifying ﬂood—the environment is changing. “What we love is so easily taken,” Nyong’o says, “even the seasons we live our lives by.” (July 18, 8 p.m.; all six episodes launch on discovery+ July 18)

Fa s t a n d F u r io u s To o !

HIS ROYAL APPETITE

Cars

Ford v Ferrari

In this Pixar smash, a car named Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) takes a wrong turn on the road to racetrack glory. (Disney+)

Matt Damon and Christian Bale head to the 24-hour Le Mans competition in a fast, gritty epic. Four Oscar nods, including Best Picture. (Amazon)

MOVIE | FAMILY

D G

R A S P FOR FREE

MOVIE | DRAMA

Baby Driver

MOVIE | ACTION

Ansel Elgort, one of the stars of the new West Side Story, plays a getaway driver in this slick caper costarring Jamie Foxx and Jon Hamm. (iTunes)

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: ROY ROCHLIN/GETTY IMAGES; DISCOVERY CHANNEL; EVERETT(3)

Check out these hot-rod hits

At 4 Your Health, we believe staying healthy should be accessible and affordable for all. Whether you’re looking for an alternative against high co-pay costs, seeking treatment without insurance, or simply want to add to your existing health tools, we’ve got you covered. With 4 Your Health, you get access to: + On-Demand Doctors + Guided Meditations + Streaming Workouts

+ Custom Meal Plans + Health Coaches + Prescription Discounts and More

Try it free for 14 days at 4yourhealth.com/4people

Your All-In-One Online Health Resource

picks

The Best New Books The making of a psychiatrist, a woman’s midlife reinvention, and a rehearsal dinner on repeat E d i t e d b y K I M H U B B A R D

Dana Spiotta Wayward

INSETS, CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT: MICHAEL CHRISTIE; KATE MCKENNA/CRABAPPLE PHOTOGRAPHY; JESSICA MARX

book of the week

Adam Stern Committed

MEMOIR Erotomania, anorexia, narcissism, warring parents who can’t control their own behaviors to save their suffering kids: Stern chronicles the buffet of human suffering he meets and treats during his ﬁrst years of residency at Harvard Medical School. By turns funny and tragic, Committed pulls back the curtain on what it takes to become a psychiatrist—and how the practitioners, or the good ones, anyway, can put their own sanity on the line in the service of healing others.

NOVEL After the 2016 election, 53-year-old Samantha is going out of her white-privileged, menopausal, utterly outraged mind. Ditching her nice husband, suburban house and teen daughter for a wreck of an architectural gem in rundown Syracuse, she tries to reinvent herself. Spiotta mines this material with laser precision and wit.

Annette Christie The Rehearsals

NOVEL College sweethearts Tom and Megan are about to get married—until secrets that come out at the rehearsal dinner nix the wedding. Or do they? The two end up reliving the dinner Groundhog Daystyle, and things just might turn out differently. A sweet, delightful romance.

New in Nonfiction Scott A. Small Gary Ginsberg Chloe Shaw Forgetting First Friends What Is a Dog? A neuroscientist and An illuminating The death of her memory researcher look at presidential beloved Booker explores the benefits— pals from Joshua prompts the including enhanced Speed (who someauthor to revisit creativity and emotimes shared a bed relationships with tional well-being— with Abe Lincoln) other pups from her to Bill Clinton’s past—and how those that not remembering everything confers partner in charm bonds helped her on our lives. Vernon Jordan. create her best self. Contributors BOOKS LISA GREISSINGER, JUDITH NEWMAN, MARY POLS MOVIES ANA CALDERONE MUSIC ERIC RENNER BROWN

July 26, 2021

Is Just Enough’ AT 6 1 , T H E I CO N I C R E D H E A D E D D U C H E S S M A K E S H E R DEBUT AS A NOVELIST WITH HER HEART FOR A COMPASS—AND EMBRACES HER AUTHENTIC SELF: ‘BE WHO YOU ARE’ By M I C H E L L E TA U B E R

July 26, 2021

Photographs by D AV I D B U R T O N

Sarah Ferguson knows she has three distinct identities: There is Fergie, the vivacious redhead who burst onto the world stage in 1985 at age 26 when she began dating the Queen’s second son, Prince Andrew, becoming a target of relentless tabloid bullying alongside her friend Princess Diana. There is the Duchess of York, the royal title she acquired when she married Andrew in 1986 and the one she retained even after their divorce a decade later. And lastly there is Sarah, the ﬁrsttime novelist (at 61!) who has long championed children’s charities around the globe and is a new grandmother to 5-month-old August, her daughter Princess Eugenie’s son with husband Jack Brooksbank. (Eugenie’s sister Princess

Beatrice is expecting her first child with husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi this fall.) After nearly four decades in the public eye, the duchess is embracing this last identity more than ever. “When you have a sense of humor and you’re a redhead, everybody takes you for a big hurricane,” she tells People via Zoom from her home at Royal Lodge in Windsor, while her Norfolk terrier Errol plays at her feet. “But sometimes you don’t always want to be the storm.” In the past year she found herself at the center of several storms: Like millions of people around the world, she lost a close friend to COVID-19 and experienced the isolation of the pandemic. She has also continued to weather the fallout from Andrew’s association with American financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, which led to Andrew’s announcement in 2019 that he would step back from royal duties. (He has denied any wrongdoing as well as any knowledge of Epstein’s crimes.) Through it all the duchess admits she has often battled “this extraordinary fear of getting it wrong or putting my head above the parapet only to be hit down.” Now she’s entering the spotlight once again with the debut of her novel, Her Heart for a Compass, a sweeping coming-of-age story due Aug. 3, about one of her ancestors, Lady Margaret Montagu Douglas Scott. “In researching her, I found out more about my own DNA, and I found that resilience and courage and sense of hope and optimism,” she says. “I am a full-blown Celtic redhead, and that comes with a great enthusiasm for life, great spontaneity and also—you just fight on.”

From Spirited Girl to Proud Grandma

E a r l y Ye a r s

Raised on her father’s farm, Ferguson (here at age 4) says, “my parents brought me up not to be heard, to go outside and play with your ponies.”

B ro ke n Fa m i l y

Sarah (left, with older sister Jane and parents Ronald and Susan ca. 1965) was 12 when her mother left. Her father was distant: “He didn’t know any different.”

We d d i n g D a y

After being introduced by Diana, she and Andrew married on July 23, 1986. “I said to her, ‘Oh, Andrew’s really good-looking,’ ” recalls Ferguson. “And she said, ‘Duh, Fergs!’ ”

Royal Mom

“I’m very lucky,” she says of daughters Beatrice (right) and Eugenie (on the first day of school in 1994). “I love my girls, and I’m really proud.”

U n i t e d Fa m i l y

“Andrew and I are very strong coparents together,” Ferguson says of her ex-husband (in a 2020 Instagram with Beatrice, left, and Eugenie).

New Baby Joy

Eugenie and Jack welcomed son August Philip (named in part after Eugenie’s late grandfather Prince Philip) in February, making Ferguson a grandma.

HAIR: FEDERICO GHEZZI/W-MMANAGEMENT; MAKEUP: EMILY MERGAERT/ ESTEE LAUDER COSMETICS AND CAUDALIE SKINCARE; STYLIST: HANNAH TEARE; FASHION COORDINATOR: NICOLO PABLO VENERDI BETTIOL; TAILOR: MICHELLE WARNER; PREVIOUS SPREAD: CORSET & SKIRT: ELIZABETH ATELIER; SHIRT: DOLCE & GABANNA AVAILABLE AT YOOX; THIS SPREAD: DRESS: HERVE LEGER AVAILABLE AT YOOX; COAT: VIINTAGE AQUASCUTUM; RING & EARRINGS: AMRAPALI; BOTTOM ROW, FROM LEFT: LICHFIELD ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES; ALAMY; JOHN SHELLEY COLLECTION/AVALON/GETTY IMAGES; TIM GRAHAM PHOTO LIBRARY/GETTY IMAGES

‘I am a full-blown Celtic redhead’ —THE DUCHESS

July 26, 2021

You spent much of the pandemic lockdown completing Her Heart for a Compass. What did you learn about yourself during that time?

I’ve written this book because it’s about women’s empowerment and about being strong enough to stand up and be counted. . . . It’s like I’ve gotten out of my own way. I’ve really become Sarah. I know that’s so weird. The duchess is there. Good old Fergie’s there too. And you became a grandma in February!

‘It’s like I have gotten out of my own way’ —THE DUCHESS

To see Eugenie and Jack being beautiful parents to little August—I’m really proud.

Wright, left the family when the duchess was 12 and married an Argentinian polo player.]

It was a fantastically spoiled life. But perhaps because my parents weren’t present in their own selves, they weren’t present for me. Their parents didn’t teach them. I remember very clearly I didn’t know who to ring up to ask if I could have my ears pierced. In bringing up my girls, I was breaking a pattern. Because I showed up. You struggled with anxiety in part after being bullied in the press for years about your weight.

I had major mental health problems because of

July 1 marked what would have been the 60th birthday of your friend Princess Diana. What do you think she would be like today?

She would be very proud of her sons and their wives. And of course she would be just like me, obsessed with the grandchildren. Because that’s what she loved. She adored my girls. She adored the boys. This would be her haven. Her heaven. Your own childhood was privileged but challenging. [Her father, Major Ronald Ferguson, was a polo manager for Prince Philip; her mother, Susan

In 1995 the duchess first drew her “Little Red” alter ego on a napkin to comfort a young survivor of the Oklahoma City bombing. She later wrote a Little Red children’s book series, and today she reads to kids on her Storytime with Fergie and Friends YouTube show (right).

July 26, 2021

JACKET: DOLCE & GABANNA AVAILABLE AT YOOX; SHIRT: ELIZABETH ATELIER; (DIANA) CLOCKWISE, FROM TOP LEFT: GEORGES DE KEERLE/GETTY IMAGES; MIKE FORSTER/DAILY MAIL/SHUTTERSTOCK(2); DAVID HARTLEY/SHUTTERSTOCK; TIM GRAHAM PHOTO LIBRARY/GETTY IMAGES

The Legacy of Little Red—and Beyond!

My Memories of Diana ‘ I W I L L A LWAYS LOV E H E R ,’ T H E D U C H E S S S AYS O F T H E L AT E P R I N C E S S

Yo u n g a n d C a r e f r e e

“We were best friends from when she was 14 and I was 15,” the duchess says of Diana (in 1983), whose Spencer family had crossed paths with her own. “She had the most wonderful, infectious giggles and a terrific sense of humor,” she says of the friend she called by the nickname Duch.

Royal Moms

“If she were sitting with me here right now, I know she would say, ‘I am so proud of both of my boys and the wonderful wives they have chosen,’ ” the duchess says of Diana (with William, left, and Harry in 1991). “Because each has got her own voice.”

Making Mischief

“It’s in my heart: Her tinkling laughter, just so naughty and so fun,” she says of Diana (at Royal Ascot in 1987). “She taught me so much of public life. She was so brave. We used to have the most incredible time together.”

Wives of Windsor

“In the ’80s [with Andrew, left, and Harry, right, in 1987] it was Diana looking beautiful, and there was fat, frumpy Fergie,” the duchess says of the many ways the press pitted them against each other. “We were just there for people to make a lot of money. At the time we both didn’t realize that.”

Bonded for Life

“We promised each other we would always be together—there was never any daylight between us,” the duchess says of reports she and Diana (in 1988) fell out. “But everybody wanted that, because we were so strong together. People want to break something so strong.”

the trauma. It’s taken a great deal of work because I believed every word that the front pages told me. It was self-shame. I’m stratospherically sensitive. I have to be aware that trying to be perfect is no longer necessary. And that actually being Sarah is just enough. How did you make it through your darkest days as the target of public ridicule and tabloid scandals?

I’ll never forget walking in one day to see my girls, and I said, “I’m so sorry, girlies, because I really think I’ve destroyed myself.” That is really dark. I had to work hard on the self-sabotage to explain it. . . . Diana and I both had our own mental health issues, and she and I used to talk. She said, “Fergie, remember one thing: When you’re at the top of the pedestal, it’s so easy to fall off. And you’re at the bottom. You just climb up.” We were positioned as saint and sinner. And the most important thing was to remain robust together, and we did, no matter what anyone wrote.

Weight Watchers for 12 years, you have to look at yourself. I had to learn every day why I was using food as my friend. Her New Book

“With each line and each chapter, I was in search of my own heart,” she says of her novel, inspired by a strong female ancestor.

What has helped you and Andrew, 61, remain close even after your divorce—and more recently after he stepped down from royal duty?

I really respect the monarchy of Britain, and I really love the tradition and culture. He has his own way, and I have my very Celtic, very spiritual way. So we are a good balance. . . . Andrew has always stood very ﬁrmly with me, and he has never shut the door. Whatever challenges he has, I will stand ﬁrm to the co-parenters that we are together. So sometimes when Andrew’s down, I’m up, or when I’m down, he’s up, and we will always be supportive of each other. I believe that he’s a kind, good man, and he’s been a fabulous father to the girls. How did you approach motherhood to daughters Eugenie, 31, and Beatrice, 32?

You were criticized for becoming a Weight Watchers [now WW] spokesperson after your divorce from Andrew in 1996.

I’m self-deprecating and British. But [one thing] is I’m a really good mom. And I’m a good mom because, in growing up, when the girls used to say, “Why can’t we do that?” I would say, “Well, I’ve already made those mistakes. The world’s press has written about my mistakes, so you don’t need

Well, thank you to the United States. You gave me the ability to be a very good mother, because you gave me a job. . . . When you work for

Giving Back Around the World F RO M T H E U. K . TO A F R I C A , T H E D U C H E S S H A S RO L L E D U P H E R S L E E V E S TO H E L P

Scan this QR code to watch People Cover Story: Sarah Ferguson on PeopleTV.

Pandemic Response

During the COVID-19 lockdown, the duchess led the delivery of more than 150,000 items for those in need through her Sarah’s Trust charity. “In a crisis I’m really strong,” she says. “I know what it feels like to be challenged to the point of not knowing what to do.”

July 26, 2021

H e r Wo r k i n A f r i c a

Long involved in relief work in Africa, in 2019 she visited a school in Sierra Leone that had been helped by the charity Street Child. “The fragrance of the rose stays on the hand of the giver,” she says.

DRESS: DOLCE & GABANNA FROM YOOX; EARRINGS: SUSAN CAPLAN

‘I’m going to live every minute of my life’ —THE DUCHESS

to make them now. So I’ve gone ahead of you to clear the way so that you can dream and grow and be who you are.” What have you learned about aging?

I’m 61, and my mom died at 61. [Before her death in a car crash] I forgave her and loved her and reconnected with her. . . . Can I go back to 60? No, and I don’t want to. I’m challenging myself. I’m going to fly my helicopter again. If I need to go and have face-lifts, I will. If I go color my hair, then I go color my hair. I think a glass of wine in the evening is essential, well not every day! You have to put your feet up occasionally and say, “You know what? Whatever.” We overthink everything. I’m going to live every minute of my life. Your nonprofit Sarah’s Trust helped support relief efforts in the U.K. during the pandemic.

I always remember my grandmother saying, “When you feel bad about yourself, go and give to others.” I feel really strongly that this is a big moment to say “Nobody is alone.” How do you handle tough days now?

I felt really strange this morning. I was out of control in my head. I was tired. The first thing is to be really honest: “How do I feel right this second?” Once you work out how you feel, you realize you must shine light on it. Then you anchor yourself. So I went and did an hour of step-ups. Just on the staircase. I didn’t go to the gym. I didn’t put on my leotard. And I watched Little House on the Prairie for the escapism. I got my heartbeat going. Then I rang a friend. Then the next thing is to realize that everyone else has insecurities too. Do you have regrets?

Someone asked me, “If you were an astronaut and you could take all the pressure off you, would you leave behind Fergie and Sarah and the duchess and your past mistakes and failings?” And I said, “What are you talking about? They’re all my friends.” I made friends with past mistakes. I made friends with Fergie. She didn’t know any better. And then Sarah. That’s why we experiment. How is it that we’re meant to be knowledgeable when we don’t know? My Fergie, my duchess, my Sarah: They’re all good people.

•

July 26, 2021

COURT IN SESSION

Bell appeared via Zoom (left) at the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court (above) in Cleveland July 12. “Today’s plea and sentence reflect conduct for which Mr. Bell did accept responsibility,” Bell’s attorney said.

voice—or face—onscreen. The young woman at the center of the case, now 19, detailed the trauma she says she suffered after meeting Bell when she was just 12. “He preyed on me and sexually abused me,” she said. “He is a monster and a danger to children.” Her shocking testimony was the culmination of an investigation three years in the making. “The Cleveland Police Department did an extensive investigation into this matter,” says Tyler Sinclair, spokesman for the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office. “The victim was consulted throughout this process and approved of the ﬁnal outcome.” Judge McCormick sentenced Bell, 35, to two years’ probation and 200 hours of community service. Though Bell’s accuser described sex 42

July 26, 2021

Drake Bell Pleads Guilty

A TEEN STAR’S THE FORMER NICKELODEON ACTOR G E T S A S E N T E N C E O F T W O Y E A R S ’ P R O B AT I O N AFTER ACCEPTING BLAME IN A ‘CHILD ENDANGERMENT’ CASE—AND FACES HIS ACCUSER’S D I S T U R B I N G A L L EG AT I O N S O F A B U S E By C H R I S T I N A D U G A N

‘A GROWN MAN DOES NOT ENGAGE IN TO A TEENAGER’ —JUDGE TIMOTHY McCORMICK

acts she says he forced upon her, Bell was not charged with sexual abuse and has repeatedly denied the accusation. “Today’s plea and sentence reﬂect conduct for which Mr. Bell did accept responsibility,” Bell’s attorney Ian Friedman says. “The victim’s allegations that went beyond that . . . not only lack supporting evidence but are contradicted by the facts learned through extensive investigation.”

A child actor who first appeared in commercials and

in small TV roles, Jared “Drake” Bell was cast as a regular performer in Amanda Bynes’s hit Nickelodeon variety series The Amanda Show in 1999, along with actor Josh Peck. By 2004 the pair had a On June 29 Bell revealed in a tweet—written Nickelodeon series built around them as stepbrothin Spanish—that he was married to Janet ers with opposite personalities —the hugely popular Von Schmeling, 28, and that they have a Drake & Josh. Bell was cool, hip teen musician Drake child. “I have been married for almost 3 Parker opposite Peck, as Josh Nichols, a straight-A years, and we are blessed to be the parents student with awkward social skills. Millions of kids of a wonderful son,” he said. “Thank you tuned in to four seasons and three TV movies. Bell very much to all my fans around the world took home several Kids’ Choice Awards and landed for your good wishes.” a record deal and a slew of young fans. Bell’s courtroom accuser was one of them. “He instantly made me feel that he adored me,” photos of his body and his genitals.” she said, describing how a friend of her aunt’s set When they saw each other in person, up their ﬁrst meeting. But when she she says, Bell forced her to perform TEEN DREAMS turned 15, their exchanges became oral sex on him, and she says that his Bell and Josh Peck “blatantly sexual,” she said, and abuse has haunted her ever since. (from left) starred included “photos of my body, and Bell has worked to rebuild his on Nickelodeon’s hit comedy Drake & Josh career as an actor and musician since from 2004-2007. In arrests in 2009 and 2015 for driving 2019 Bell told People under the inﬂuence. And, in 2020, his they “discussed the possibility” of a revival. ex-girlfriend Melissa Lingafelt—who began dating the actor when she was 16 in 2006—accused him of verbal and physical abuse. (Bell is not charged in connection to Lingafelt and has denied her claims.) Less than an hour after receiving his sentencing, Bell—who recently revealed he has been married for nearly three years to Janet Von Schmeling and is a new dad—went live on Instagram, their baby son on his lap, and performed two songs for his 4.3 million followers. Judge McCormick had just reminded him of his responsibility to those fans. “Your position and celebrity status enabled you to nurture this relationship,” McCormick said. “You were able to gain access to this child, and you were able to gain the trust of the child. So it’s a two-edged sword, your position. I hope you truly are remorseful.”

(MAIN IMAGE) GONZALO MARROQUIN/PATRICK MCMULLAN /GETTY IMAGES; (DRAKE & JOSH) CHRIS CUFFARO/NICKELODEON; (JANET VON) MATTHEW SIMMONS/GETTY IMAGES

H I S S E C R E T F A M I LY

•

July 26, 2021

Radiant Dame

CANNES 2021

“It was so great to see it back in action,” Mirren (at the July 6 openingnight premiere of the musical Annette) says of the 74th Film Festival.

GLAM IS BACK!

TWO YEARS AFTER THE S TA R S L A S T C E L E B R AT E D AT T H E G L I T Z Y C A N N E S F I L M F E S T I VA L , FAVO R I T E S L I K E H E L E N M I R R E N , M AT T DA M O N A N D S P I K E L E E S PA R K L E D ON THE FRENCH RIVIERA By N I G E L S M I T H and DANA ROSE FALCONE

July 26, 2021

Helen Mirren has shone on the Cannes carpet since her first premiere, for the 1973 dramedy O Lucky Man! It was fitting, then, that the festival’s two-time Best Actress (for her roles in 1984’s Cal and 1994’s The Madness of King George) marked the return of red carpet glamour on opening night, striding up the Palais steps in a luminous yellow Dolce & Gabbana gown. The F9 star and L’Oréal Paris ambassador, 75, talks pandemic life, her most vivid Cannes memory and female empowerment in Hollywood.

Fa n Fa v o r i t e

Matt Damon, 50, soaked in the applause for his crime drama Stillwater, which received a five-minute standing ovation.

What was it like to come back to Cannes?

It was extraordinary. Having spent a year and a half sort of behind closed doors, it’s a little bit intimidating. It’s very moving. I think everyone was in tears.

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: IAN LANGSDON/EPA-EFE/SHUTTERSTOCK; ANDREAS RENTZ/GETTY IMAGES; STEPHANE CARDINALE/CORBIS/GETTY IMAGES

What’s your most memorable Cannes experience? My first experience. At the time

I was working in Paris in experimental theater, so I was living a very artistic bohemian lifestyle. In fact, I was living in a room that had no running hot water. But I had a film that was in Cannes, and so they asked me if I’d like to go. I thought it’d be like a little holiday by the sea, no idea what I was letting myself in for. My first experience of being in front of banks of photographers—I’d never done that before in my life. I was trembling at the end of it.

The Buzz Mom iest ents!

Do you still get those red carpet jitters?

No, I have to say, I love it. I’m a girl, I love, love dressing up—and then I’m perfectly happy to give it all away at the end of the night and go back to my scruffy bohemian outfits. Did you maintain any beauty rituals during quarantine? Yes, absolutely. Every day during

this pandemic it was just me and my husband at home, which was wonderful. Every day I put on makeup. I didn’t do it for Taylor [Hackford, 76, director of An Officer and a Gentleman and Ray, whom she married on Dec. 31, 1997] because Taylor never notices. He’ll sometimes say in a rather puzzled way, “Oh, you look really nice.” This year L’Oréal Paris is sponsoring a new prize, the Lights on Women Award, to honor a rising female filmmaker. What progress have you seen in this area? When I started in film and for

most of my film career, until very recently, you would see maybe 150 men on-set, Mirren made her Cannes maybe one or two women. It was a very, debut in very male environment. What you find 1973. is, if you have a female director, women tend to bring more women on board in the craft of filmmaking, which to me is very, very important.

Fa s h i o n S t a t e m e n t

Jodie Turner-Smith, 34, whose film After Yang debuted at the festival, stunned in Gucci at the Stillwater premiere. On July 9 thousands of dollars’ worth of her personal jewelry, including her mother’s wedding ring, was stolen from her hotel room.

CANNES 2021

Silver-Screen Star

L’Oréal Paris ambassador Andie MacDowell, 63, says she’s “embracing” her gray curls.

A FA M I LY A F FA I R

Making History

Director Spike Lee, 64, the film festival’s first Black jury president, arrived decked out in a pink Louis Vuitton suit and custom Air Jordans.

July 26, 2021

Penn Part y of Three

Flag Day director and actor Sean Penn (right), 60, and his costar daughter Dylan, 30, celebrated the film’s July 10 premiere with Penn’s son Hopper Jack, 27, who has a small role in the movie. CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT: DANIELE VENTURELLI/WIREIMAGE; VIANNEY LE CAER/INVISION/AP/SHUTTERSTOCK; DDP/ZUMA; BEST IMAGE/BACKGRID; SIMONE COMI/IPA/SHUTTERSTOCK; ANTHONY HARVEY/SHUTTERSTOCK; GETTY IMAGES; CHRISTOPHE SIMON/AFP/GETTY IMAGES

Bella of the Ball

Model Bella Hadid, 24 (inset, with new beau Marc Kalman on the French Riviera), wore Chopard earrings with nearly 24 carats in diamonds and a Jean Paul Gaultier gown she called “a classic.”

Red-Hot in Black

Jessica Chastain, 44, strolled onto the red carpet wearing a strapless Dior Haute Couture ball gown and a dazzling ruby-and-diamond necklace.

Power Couple

Romance in France

Honorary Palme d’Or recipient Jodie Foster (left), 58, brought along Alexandra Hedison, 52, her photographer wife of seven years, on opening night.

Making Mother Proud

Kering chairman and CEO François-Henri Tilda Swinton (right), 60, and her daughter Pinault, 59, presented wife Salma Hayek, 54, with Honor posed at the July 8 photo the Kering Women in Motion Award on July 11. call for their movie The Souvenir: Part II.

SHE SAVED HER HUSBAND’S EX-WIFE

A Gift of Life

W H E N D E B B Y M E R T H E L E A R N E D T H AT H E R H U S B A N D ’ S F I R S T W I F E , M Y L A E N , N E E D E D A K I D N E Y, S H E S T E P P E D U P — A N D N E V E R T H O U G H T T W I C E B y J O E L L E G O L D S T E I N

July 26, 2021

A Special Day

“I wanted a church wedding, and everybody to be there,” says Debby, with Jim on their wedding day at the Salt Life Church in Salt Springs, Fla.

pital to donate her kidney to Jim’s ex-wife, Mylaen Anderson-Merthe, who’d been suffering from kidney disease for 30 years. The women had always been friendly, so when it became clear that none of the 60-yearold grandmother’s family members was a match, Debby decided to step up. “I said, ‘Mylaen’s going to be an awesome grandmother, and this has to be done,’ ” says Debby. “I knew she was worth it, and I knew we had to make it work.” Following the successful procedure, Mylaen was given a clean bill of health—and the long-awaited chance at a new life. “If Jim and I were meant to be together, Debby would’ve never come along, and I wouldn’t have had a donor,” says Mylaen. “This was all meant to be.” The twist of fate was something Jim and Mylaen had never imagined when they wed in 1991. During

FROM TOP: JOHN RAOUX/SHUTTERSTOCK; COURTESY JAMES MERTHE

It was Nov. 22, 2020, the 10-year anniversary of Debby Neal-Strickland Merthe and Jim Merthe’s first date—and despite COVID-19 restrictions, the couple were determined to get married that day. They’d postponed the festivities four times over the years, in favor of celebrating Jim’s children’s weddings along the way—and now every detail had been planned, down to the blue bridal bouquet her aunt made for her. “I didn’t want any frills; I wanted to keep it simple,” says Debby, 56, who exchanged vows with Jim, 57, in front of a small group of 50 loved ones at the Salt Life Church in Salt Springs, Fla. “It was perfect; it was just how it was supposed to be. It was God’s plan that we persevere and make this happen.” Which is why, two days later—all according to plan—Debby checked in to Tampa General Hos-

FROM TOP: COURTESY JAMES MERTHE; JOHN RAOUX/SHUTTERSTOCK; COURTESY MYLAEN ANDERSON-MERTHE

Mylaen’s first pregnancy with Meant to Be their son Jimmy Jr., now 32, “It all made she was diagnosed with presense,” says Debby (left, with eclampsia, which resulted in Jim and Mylaen in high blood pressure that later Ocala, Fla.). “He’s led to kidney disease. During my destiny and she’s my destiny.” their 17-year marriage, Mylaen and Jim—who met working at a Daytona Beach, Fla., car dealership and later opened the Belleview Auto Salvage business together—also welcomed daughter Sami, now 30, before Jim’s struggles with alcoholism finally caused the couple to divorce in 2008. “In the beginning it was hard to get along, but being there for our children was the most important thing,” says Mylaen, whose kidney disease worsened over time, before taking a serious turn in the past two years. “I was very scared. In the last year and a half, everything started going downhill really fast. I knew my time was limited.” Meanwhile, Debby’s 17-year marriage (her second) had also ended in divorce, following her husband’s struggles with substance abuse. (He died in 2018.) She’d been a single mother of two for seven years and towing cars for a living, when she met Jim through his auto-salvage business. They shared an instant connection, but Debby refused to date Jim until he’d stopped drinking. With her support, he’s now been sober for more than 10 years. “She saved my life too,” he says, “I don’t know if I’d still be here if I hadn’t quit drinking.” With four kids and seven grandkids between them, the two are foster parents to six children and continue to stay close to Mylaen and Jim’s extended family. “We do it for the children,” says Debby. “And I’ve always had a respect for Mylaen. There’s a lot of love there.” So it was no surprise when Debby (whose brother died of cystic ﬁbrosis in 1995, after he was unable to get a double-lung transplant) offered to donate her kidney to Mylaen when she heard about her plight in May 2019. “I thought it was a little strange,” admits Jim. “But I also know if Debby says she’s going to do something, she’ll do it.” By the time Debby had undergone testing to confirm she was a match, Mylaen’s kidneys were functioning at a perilously low 8 percent. Within hours of the surgery, Mylaen was showing signs of improvement: “I felt like I was alive again. Overnight I felt like a totally new person.” Despite COVID

‘We’re Connected Forever’ Following the transplant, Debby and Mylaen were reunited in the hospital (above) and later decided to mark their special bond as “kidney sisters” with matching key chain tags (below). “Neither one of us has sisters,” says Mylaen, “and now we’re connected forever.” For Debby that connection runs deeper than she could have imagined. “Giving her my kidney did more for me than it did for her—if you can believe that.”

‘It was God’s plan that we persevere and make this happen’ —DEBBY NEALSTRICKLAND MERTHE

Happy Days Ahead

“I have a whole new life and I want to enjoy it,” says Mylaen (with daughter Sami and grandson, Jackson, in May). “I feel really blessed.”

restrictions, she and Debby convinced hospital staffers to allow them to see one another. “We were laughing so hard, our incisions hurt,” says Mylaen, recalling their shared joy and relief. Adds Debby: “As soon as Jim and I saw her, I was like, ‘She looks totally different.’ The doctor said it was a miracle.” These days the two proudly call themselves “Kidney Sisters” (see sidebar). “She’s given me all I could have wanted,” says Mylaen, who works at a car dealership and loves spending time with her son, daughter and two grandkids. “I knew that we were both going to go into the hospital and she was going to come home with one of my kidneys,” says Debby. “And now we’re both going to live happily ever after, raising our grandkids.”

•

More than 100,000 people are waiting for a transplant. For information on becoming a living donor, visit donatelife.net. July 26, 2021

THE SNAKE E Y E S S TA R CONTINUES TO BREAK BARRIERS— WHILE LEARNING TO SLOW DOWN FOR HIS BABY GIRL By M E L O D Y CHIU

July 26, 2021

HENRY’S HEART “It’s so good to be in front of the camera again, but now there are other challenges—and that’s being away from my brand-new baby daughter,” says Golding (left, with his wife, Liv, and daughter Lyla in L.A.; right, in London).

CHRIS PIZZELLO/INVISION/AP/SHUTTERSTOCK

Henry Golding breathes a happy sigh. “When Liv and Lyla were here, we just spent time in Primrose Hill walking around, going to coffee shops, spending time together smooching and cuddling,” he says, smiling over Zoom from England as he recounts his last perfect day off with his wife, Liv, and daughter Lyla, who turns 4 months old on July 31. His two favorite girls have since returned to L.A., “and I can’t wait until I get back,” says Golding, 34, who’s been abroad shooting Netflix’s upcoming film adaptation of Persuasion alongside Dakota Johnson since May. “As soon as I finish this movie, I’m going home.” It’s no surprise Golding is missing his family, but he’s homesick in an entirely new way. After more than a year hunkered down in Los Angeles with his wife—including two and a half uninterrupted months with their newborn—the actor sees life through a different lens. “I’ve realigned what’s important in life,” says the Malaysian-born Brit, who moved from Singapore to L.A. in 2019 with Liv, 36, a Taiwanese-Italian fitness entrepreneur he first met a decade ago. During the pandemic lockdown, “we were able to explore the West Coast together, focus on family time and be present for the entire pregnancy journey,” he says. “Money can’t buy that type of quality time.”

It’s a lesson Golding may not have learned with-

out a forced pandemic break. In 2018 he charmed audiences as the sweet and dashing Nick Young in Crazy Rich Asians. The ﬁlm—which grossed $239 million worldwide—was the most successful romantic comedy in a decade. It also cemented Golding, who got his onscreen start hosting travel shows in Asia and New Zealand throughout his 20s, as Hollywood’s next leading man. FollowJuly 26, 2021

TU N E I N 5 N I G H TS A W E E K!

! V on T Exclusive Pop Culture News

A-List Celebrity Interviews

Real Hero Stories

M E E T Y O UR H O S TS!

WATCH ON THESE STATIONS & PEOPLE.COM ATLANTA

PHOENIX

ST. LOUIS

PORTLAND

NASHVILLE

HARTFORD

KANSAS CITY

GREENVILLE/ SPARTANBURG

LAS VEGAS

MOBILE

FLINT/SAGINAW SPRINGFIELD/ HOLYOKE

GOOD AS GOLDING King of Combat

He underwent rigorous sword and fight training to perform his own stunts in Snake Eyes: “We spent hours and hours in the gym. My hips stretched out, and the shoulders still ache!”

ing the movie’s runaway success, he starred in a string of mainstream releases, including A Simple Favor and Last Christmas, and earned critical acclaim with his moving portrayal of a gay British-Vietnamese refugee in the 2019 indie film Monsoon. Reflecting on his relentless schedule— including months away in Vancouver and Japan in late 2019 and early 2020 shooting his latest film, Snake Eyes (out July 23)—Golding acknowledges he feared losing momentum. “You’re always kind of like, ‘Oh, this is going to be the last job,’ ” says the actor, who plays the title character in the G.I. Joe spinoff. “You can plan and plan and plan until you’re red in the face, but it only takes —ON ASIAN a pandemic to be like, REPRESENTATION ‘Nope.’ You realize you have to make hard decisions sometimes for the better of your personal life—and your soul.”

CLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM: DAVE BENETT/GETTY IMAGES; NIKO TAVERNISE/PARAMOUNT PICTURES; EVERETT(3)

‘GIVE US A SENSE OF PRIDE. THAT’S ALL WE’RE ASKING FOR’

As one of the few Asian men landing lead roles on

the big screen, Golding is determined to continue breaking barriers. Snake Eyes is white in Larry Hama’s comic book series, but producers made a conscious decision to write the ninja warrior as Asian American in the ﬁlm. “It’s really about if the characters are written with justice: Are they three-dimensional? Is there a backstory? Is there a reason why they’re from this certain country or of this certain ethnicity?” says Golding, who was raised in Malaysia and Surrey, England, by his Malaysian mother, Margaret (a nativeborn Sarawakian of Indigenous Iban ancestry), and English father, Clive. “We don’t want to be the butt of the joke. It’s not funny

His Big Break

“It really felt like a party,” Golding (with Constance Wu) says of filming the luxurious final scene in Crazy Rich Asians.

Soul Searching Golding (with costar Parker Sawyers) showed his depth playing a young gay man reconnecting with his roots in Monsoon.

Strong Support “Liv is such a badass,” says Golding of his wife, whom he met at a friend’s birthday bash on New Year’s Day in 2011. “She absolutely understands the nature of this job.”

Holiday Cheer

Golding and costar Emilia Clarke shared sweet chemistry onscreen in 2019’s Last Christmas.

anymore.” Becoming a dad, he says, pushed him to think more deeply about inclusion. “I have an Asian American baby, and I hope I’ve helped lay a foundation where she grows up in a society that accepts you for who you are,” he says. It’s a mindset Golding brings with him to work. “The schedule was ruthless, yet he would organize dinners and make sure everyone felt included and a part of the team,” says his Snake Eyes costar Samara Weaving, who plays a G.I. Joe agent in the film. “Henry is a very generous and kind human being.” Looking ahead, Golding hopes to follow in the footsteps of his inspirations: Daniel Day-Lewis, Gary Oldman and Tom Hardy. “It’s gravitas,” says Golding, who dreams of starring in “the next big sci-fi action” film. “They all have that thing you’re just drawn to: the way they stand, the way they look at you. They don’t even have to say anything.” They’ve also quietly carved out full lives offscreen, something he hopes to achieve. “I’ve traveled my entire life all over the world, and hopefully we get the chance to travel equally as much,” he says. “Lyla’s already got one country on her little passport. We’ll be collecting them and taking note for her.” As for now, he’s just itching to get home to more baby snuggles. “It all goes by in a blur,” he says of parenthood. “No words can describe how challenging it is, but it’s just been an absolute joy.”

•

July 26, 2021

W H E N S O M EO N E I N D I S T R E S S C A L L S 9 1 1 I N E U G E N E , O R E . , M E N TA L O F F E R A S S I S TA N C E I N P L AC E O F P O L I C E — A N D The call from 911 dispatch reaches crisis responder

Ebony Morgan around 2 a.m. on a 28-degree October night in Eugene, Ore.: A woman in her 50s, barefoot in a coat and hospital scrub pants, has ﬂagged down a car and asked the driver how to kill herself. Morgan and her partner, Michael Williams, an emergency medical technician, steer their white van through the dark, empty city streets to reach her, and when they do, they talk. The woman has no weapon or real plan to harm herself or others but is 54

July 26, 2021

H E A LT H C O U N S E L O R A N D R E G I S T E R E D N U R S E E B O N Y M O R G A N C A N P O S S I B LY S AV E A L I F E B y J E F F T R U E S D E L L

upset, despondent because she has no housing and nowhere to go. Morgan, a registered nurse, and Williams check the woman’s vital signs, then give her warm clothing they have stockpiled in the van and persuade her to let them take her to an overnight warming center. After they check her in, they leave her with information about resources she can use to help meet her needs. “We don’t have to put people in handcuffs, we don’t have to put them in the back of a police car,” Morgan says. “My priority is

to make it the least traumatic experience it can be.” In most municipalities, a call to 911 brings police or an ambulance. But Eugene, population 170,000, is taking a dramatically different approach. There the nonprofit CAHOOTS—Crisis Assistance Helping Out on the Streets—relieves the burden on police by answering 911 calls involving suicide threats, homelessness, substance abuse and other mental health crises that can escalate with tragic results when armed officers respond (see box).

HELPING HANDS

Ebony Morgan (far left, inset) is part of a mobile crisis-response unit (above) working with police to answer 911 calls.

July 26, 2021

A DIFFERENT APPROACH A CASUAL ‘UNIFORM’

With CAHOOTS workers outfitted in T-shirts and jeans, “the interaction has a different tone,” says Morgan. “And that’s on purpose.”

PARTNERS WITH POLICE

A CAHOOTS team (like Daniel Felts, second from left, and Kimber Haws, center, during a domesticviolence case) can call for backup.

READY TO RESPOND

In preparation for 911 dispatches that can involve addiction, mental health issues and domestic fights, a CAHOOTS medic’s “go bag” includes Narcan, used to treat an overdose.

CAHOOTS staff can provide everything from clothing, food, water, toiletries and first aid to on-the-scene counseling—or a ride to a crisis center or hospital. “If the call turns out to be less about criminality and more about behavioral health, being able to do a warm handoff to CAHOOTS is really important,” says Eugene police chief Chris Skinner. In 2019 two-person CAHOOTS teams answered 24,000 calls and needed police backup only 150 times. “I think they prevent crime from happening,” Skinner says. “They’re able to deescalate or resolve those crises before people spiral out of control.”

Cities across the country are noticing the CAHOOTS

program: As protesters nationwide have called for changes in policing—and to “defund” what critics see as a militarized police response—more than 200 city or law enforcement agency leaders have contacted Eugene to ask how they and their staff of 40 do it. A CAHOOTS-inspired program in Denver last year saw 748 calls diverted from police—a nearly 3 percent drop in armed officer response—with zero arrests —EBONY over six months. The option MORGAN

‘PEOPLE WANT TO BE HEARD. THEY WANT TO FEEL SAFE’

UNITED FRONT

“The trust we have with the community is one of our most valuable tools,” says Ebony Morgan (kneeling, far left, with fellow CAHOOTS team members).

for 911 dispatchers to refer calls to mental health responders is “a very effective model that could be applied in a broader number of cities,” says Daniel Herman, a professor at the Silberman School of Social Work at Hunter College who has studied crisis intervention. “If police response can be avoided when not needed, the chances there’s going to be an adverse outcome are reduced.” Created and overseen by Eugene’s nonprof-

PREVIOUS SPREAD, FROM TOP: BRIAN BULL; TODD COOPER/EUGENE WEEKLY. THIS SPREAD, COUNTERCLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: TODD COOPER/EUGENE WEEKLY(3); ROCHESTER POLICE DEPARTMENT; ROTH AND ROTH LLP/AP; ROCHESTER POLICE DEPARTMENT/THE NEW YORK TIMES/REDUX; BRIAN BULL

it White Bird Clinic, a social-services center, CAHOOTS began its police-funded shifts in 1989. (That funding has continued: Today three CAHOOTS vans staffed by a mental health responder and a medic run in 24/7 rotation in Eugene and neighboring Springﬁeld, Ore., with the $2.1 million cost largely covered by the two cities’ police budgets.) “CAHOOTS would never be dispatched to a call where someone is potentially violent or armed,” says Jose Alvarez, a Eugene cop who spent 10 years as a CAHOOTS counselor and EMT. “But officers really don’t want to deal with homeless trespassers or non-dangerous psychotic subjects who may be creating a nuisance. I don’t know of any officers who are not grateful CAHOOTS can deal with those calls.” About a month after Carrie Goodwin’s husband died by suicide in 2016, she was living in a motel with her two teens and struggling with addiction. While she was distraught and drinking, her son reached out for help, and CAHOOTS proved to be a lifeline. “If another agency had come when my son called 911, it’s likely my kids would have gone into foster care,” says Goodwin, 44. “They weren’t like police—they didn’t have that scary aspect. It felt more like an encounter with a therapist. They were there to just help me through in the short term, to get on to the next thing I needed to do.” For Morgan, 30, the work is personal: Her father was killed in a police encounter when she was 5. She doesn’t like to discuss it, but the experience made her distrustful of law enforcement. Years later, while working in a hospital emergency room, she witnessed how CAHOOTS workers interacted with people—“so humanistic and grounded in what the clients needed”—and saw another way to approach people in crisis than she was used to seeing from police. In nursing school she applied to CAHOOTS, and in 2020 she became a crisis intervention worker. Now Morgan sits alongside police officers in meetings where her voice and theirs carry equal weight. She knows her work can’t replace theirs. “I don’t want to enter some of the spaces they do, and I’m not prepared to do that,” she says. But as an alternative to the officer with a gun whose very presence might ratchet up conflict, Morgan believes she has saved lives. “Part of why I take so much pride in being a responder who the community can feel safe with is that I need to know that’s an option for me to heal,” she says. “I’m part of a change.”

•

FATAL 911 CALL

Daniel Prude (right) died after police responding to an emergency call restrained him (left, March 23, 2020).

TRAGIC POLICE ENCOUNTERS As Daniel Prude, 41, became increasingly erratic during a psychological and druginduced episode while visiting family in Rochester, N.Y., on March 23, 2020, his brother dialed 911. Responding police officers found him naked in the street—then handcuffed him and covered his head with a “spit hood” to keep him from expectorating on them in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Prude’s death in a hospital seven days later was ruled a homicide caused by “asphyxia in the setting of physical restraint.” His family was heartbroken and angry. “I placed a phone call for my brother to get help, not for my brother to get lynched,” Joe Prude said at a September 2020 news conference. The involved officers were suspended but not charged. Though Rochester mayor

Lovely Warren announced reforms including a “Person in Crisis” response team to handle mental health or substance abuse calls, that didn’t prevent officers from pepper-spraying a 9-yearold girl in a subsequent response to a family dispute. “Police officers are not trained to handle mentalhealth-related cases, frequently,” says Maria Haberfeld, a professor of police science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Said New York attorney general Letitia James: “The current laws on deadly force have created a system that utterly and abjectly failed Mr. Prude and so many others before him. Serious reform is needed, not only at the Rochester Police Department but to our criminaljustice system as a whole.”

‘ D E E P LY TROUBLED’

Rochester mayor Lovely Warren criticized the actions of officers who pepper-sprayed and handcuffed a 9-year-old girl on Jan. 29 (left, in a police bodycamera video).

July 26, 2021

50 YEARS LATER Poet at Heart

The Mystery of

Jim Morrison’s Final Hours

Among the most powerful performers of his generation, Morrison (ca. 1968) “was there to grab you by the base of your spine and shake you,” says Doors manager Bill Siddons.

AS THE LEAD SINGER OF THE DOORS, HE WAS O N E O F T H E B I G G E S T R O C K S TA R S I N T H E W O R L D. H A L F A C E N T U RY A F T E R H I S D E AT H AT 2 7, U N A N S W E R E D Q U E S T I O N S R E M A I N By J O R D A N R U N TA G H

July 26, 2021

FROM LEFT: ETHAN RUSSELL; EVERETT

Dawn breaks over Paris on July 3, 1971. Jim Morrison isn’t in his bed. Pamela Courson, his 24-yearold “cosmic mate,” calls out to him, but there’s no answer. She finds her love reclining in the bathtub. His head is tilted back, eyes closed, with a sly grin across his handsome face. She thinks it’s a prank. Then she sees the blood trickling from his nostril, tinting the water a light pink. Morrison—the leather-clad electric shaman who preached his poetry to millions as the front man for the psychedelic rock band the Doors— was dead at 27. “We didn’t think he’d make it to 30,” the band’s former manager Bill Siddons says now. “He did everything to excess.” Fifty

RELUCTANT ROCK STAR

Two years after Morrison and his film-school classmate Ray Manzarek formed the Doors in 1965, they were one of the top bands in the country. “There was a lot put on his shoulders that he didn’t want,” Siddons says of Morrison (below, during his final performance with the band on Dec. 12, 1970). Left: Manzarek, Robby Krieger, John Densmore and Morrison in 1967.

July 26, 2021

In June they visited Père Lachaise cemetery, the ﬁnal resting place of legendary literati like Honoré de Balzac and Oscar Wilde. “When I go, this is where I want to be buried,” he told Courson. Within a month, he would be.

A complex web of contradictory accounts exists

Tr o u b l e w i t h the Law

During a disastrous 1969 Miami concert Morrison drunkenly threatened to expose himself. His bandmates denied any lewd behavior actually occurred, and friends say the legal fallout soured Morrison on rock stardom.

about his final day. In the story Courson told to French authorities, they went to the cinema before returning to their apartment in the early morning of July 3. Hours later Courson awoke to Morrison’s labored breathing. He drew a bath and vomited blood. She suggested they call a doctor, but Morrison insisted that he felt better. She went to sleep, she claimed, only to discover his lifeless body at daybreak. Courson, who died of a heroin overdose in 1974, also shared other, conflicting stories about Morrison’s death. She told some friends that Morrison overdosed on heroin, though it’s unclear when he supposedly started sampling the drug he professed to hate. The theory is bolstered by the account of rock icon Marianne Faithfull. In her 1994 memoir, she claimed her then-boyfriend, a young aristocrat named Count Jean de Breteuil, sold Morrison the fatal dose of heroin. De Breteuil, who was Courson’s rumored lover, was in Paris with Faithfull the weekend of Morrison’s death and had paid him a visit. When de Breteuil discovered that Morrison was dead, he and Faithfull fled to Morocco. “[De Breteuil] was scared for his life,” she wrote. “Jim Morrison had OD’d, and he had provided the smack.” Musicologist Roger Steffens recalls

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: MARK AND COLLEEN HAYWARD/ GETTY IMAGES; BUREAU OF PRISONS/GETTY IMAGES

years later, questions about his untimely end still linger. A medical examiner ruled his death a heart attack, though no autopsy was ever performed. Led by Morrison, the bohemian son of a rear admiral, the Doors broke through in 1967 with the acid jazz of “Light My Fire” and became one the biggest groups on the planet. Morrison’s feline swagger and soulful lyrics made him a rock and roll Adonis, but he grew disillusioned with celebrity. “People keep thinking of me as a rock and roll star,” he said shortly before his death. “I don’t want anything to do with it.” He grew a bushy beard and put on weight due to his spiraling alcoholism. In 1970 he was found guilty of profanity and indecent exposure at a 1969 Miami concert and was sentenced to six months in prison. Though he was free on bond and had appealed, the conviction took a toll on his psyche. “He said, ‘I don’t want to do this anymore. I’m tired of being a dancing monkey,’ ” Siddons recalls of Morrison, who moved to Paris with Courson in 1971 after releasing his ﬁnal album with the Doors, L.A. Woman. “He didn’t formally quit. He was just gone.” The couple sublet an elegant apartment in the Marais quarter. Morrison jotted down poetry in sidewalk cafés. He lost weight, shaved his beard and seemed happier than he’d been in years. But Courson’s worsening heroin addiction led to ﬁghts with Morrison, who abhorred the drug. Meanwhile he tried to cut down on drinking, with little success. Despite their struggles, Courson, who had run a fashion boutique in L.A., “was the only one that mattered to Jim,” says Siddons.

COUNTERCLOCKWISE FROM BOTTOM RIGHT: LAIF/REDUX; MARC PIASECKI/GETTY IMAGES

seeing the couple in Morocco for dinner the day after Morrison’s death. An anxious de Breteuil claimed to have been the one who discovered the body after receiving a panicked call from Courson telling him Morrison was locked in the bathroom. The news of Morrison’s death hadn’t yet hit the press, and Steffens was skeptical. “I thought, ‘Well, maybe they’re so stoned, they hallucinated this whole thing,’ ” Steffens says. De Breteuil died of a heroin overdose the following year. The most radical challenge to the official narrative comes from Sam Bernett, who managed a Left Bank nightclub called The Rock ’n’ Roll Circus and maintains Morrison died there. According to Bernett, Morrison showed up after 1 a.m. and met with two dealers working for de Breteuil. Bernett says he later found Morrison locked in a bathroom stall, the victim of an overdose: “He had his head between his legs, white fluid around his lips and nose, and his eyes were closed.” Bernett claims de Breteuil’s henchmen moved the body back to Morrison’s apartment, dumping him in the bath. Others in Morrison’s circle believe prescription drugs were to blame. In his last months he had serious respiratory problems that left him coughing up blood and hiccuping violently. A doctor prescribed an asthma medication (since banned by the FDA) with cardiac side effects that could be exacerbated by alcohol. Alain Ronay, a friend who saw Morrison on his last day, remembers him gasping for breath, his face like “a death mask.”

His Muse

Courson (with Morrison in 1971) inspired many of his songs, including “Love Street” and “Twentieth Century Fox.” Their five-year relationship was tumultuous, “but she was the only one who wouldn’t take his bull----,” says Siddons.

‘People fear death even more than pain. It’s strange. . . . Life hurts a lot more than death’ —JIM MORRISON

Because no autopsy was ever performed, what

exactly Morrison had in his system on July 3, 1971, will never be known. Under French law

HIS LAST DAYS

an autopsy wasn’t required because the medical examiner found no obvious evidence of foul play. With his death attributed to natural causes—a heart attack “possibly aggravated by excessive drinking”—Morrison’s body was released for burial. Siddons ﬂew from L.A. to oversee the funeral. That almost no one, including Siddons, ever saw Morrison’s body gave rise to the most outrageous tale: He’d faked his own death in the ultimate bid to jettison fame and start over. He’d joked about it with friends, even sharing his new identity: “Mr. Mojo Risin,” an anagram of his name. But the theory is based more on wishful thinking than evidence. “I spent three days with Pamela, and I know what real grief is,” Siddons says. “There was no question of him being gone.” Morrison was buried on July 7 at Père Lachaise, surrounded by his literary heroes. At the service Courson read from one of his poems. Days earlier he had written a ﬁnal verse in his notebook, ending with the lines: “Last words, last words—out.”

•

Fleeting Joy

This picture from June 1971 is believed to be the last photo taken of Morrison, who looked healthier in Paris but was plagued by respiratory problems.

Love Nest

After authorities declared him dead, Morrison’s body was kept on ice in the apartment he had shared with Courson, who kept vigil.

Final Resting Place

Four days after his death Morrison was buried at Père Lachaise cemetery. Today his grave is a popular tourist attraction in Paris. July 26, 2021

LOWEST PRICE ANYWHERE!

Welcome home ...

to the ONLY magazine that offers passionate cooks inspiration, recipes and real knowledge in every issue. No fluff, no filler – only the best-of-the-best dishes, menus and how-tos.

Get our very best deal now, at FineCooking.com/lowest

L o n g L i v e s We l l - L i v e d

“We’ve gone through this together,” says Schwartz (left, with Moscou, center, and Pirrello). “I’m just thankful I was here to get a vaccine.”

1. Schwartz (ca. 1934) taught children with disabilities and braille to blind kids. 2. Moscou (center) with her beloved daughters Ellen (left) and Patricia (ca. 1953). 3. Pirrello in her New York City apartment (ca. 1968). “It’s been a wonderful life,” she says. 1

1 0 0 Y E A R S . . . A N D C O U N T I N G !

A Very Special Birthday

CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: COURTESY ATRIA SENIOR LIVING; COURTESY RUTH SCHWARTZ; COURTESY MITZIE MOSCOU; COURTESY LORRAINE PIRRELLO

T H R E E F R I E N D S C E L E B R AT E — A F T E R R EC E I V I N G T H E COV I D -1 9 VACC I N E

June 8 was a day for champagne bubbles, cake and balloons at the Atria Senior Living community home on Manhattan’s Upper West Side—part of a memorable birthday salute to coresidents and friends Ruth Schwartz, Edith “Mitzi” Moscou and Lorraine Pirrello, all of whom turned 100 within a week of one another. “I think I was born under a lucky star,” says Schwartz, who, like Pirrello and Moscou, has lived at the Atria for about two years. “I never expected such grandeur!” The celebration was a long time coming—in more ways than one. The center’s residents had been restricted to lockdown for more than a year during the pandemic; the centennial event was only possible once they—along with their family and friends had received

the COVID-19 vaccine. “When we were ary, urging her coresidents and others to confined for all those months, it really get their shots. “I know it’s been hard for was horrible, but it was necessary,” says everyone, and I’m so thankful that I’m Pirrello, who retired after 20 years as a able to see them.” mezzo soprano with the Metropolitan For Moscou, who was born and raised Opera chorus in New York City, then in Brooklyn, where she helped run her took up tennis and played well into her father’s furniture business and raised two late 90s. “I feel so liberated now. I feel daughters with her attorney husband, life like I’m alive.” after quarantine means a welcome return The celebration reunited Schwartz, a to regular trips to museums, the theater retired special-education teacher known and concerts in the city. “It’s been a joy to for her impeccable sense of fashion, with be connected with these lovely people,” her son from California— she says. And while turning and she met her 2-year-old 100 merits a party, Pirrello great-grandson (her fourth notes it can still be impolite great-grandchild) for the to ask someone their age: “I first time. “It was fabulous; wish people wouldn’t remind I was so thrilled he was able me so much!” to come,” says Schwartz, who —JEFF TRUESDELL —RUTH SCHWARTZ filmed a video back in Januand DIANE HERBST

‘You have to laugh. Just enjoy every day’

July 26, 2021

M E U M R S

S L Y C M P I

TOKYO 2021

GOING FOR

WOMEN’S GYMNASTIC TEAM GRACE McCALLUM, 18

JORDAN CHILES, 20

Event | Gymnastics

The Specialist

Fueled by Determination—and Faith After breaking her finger six months before the Olympic trials, “I thought my dreams went down the drain,” McCallum admitted. But the Minnesota native credits her Catholic faith—and lots of hard work—with helping her secure the fourth team slot. “My faith has helped me a ton,” the gymnast, who always travels with a rosary, has said.

A Second Chance for Success Three years ago Chiles was so exhausted and deflated that she thought about quitting gymnastics. Then Simone Biles convinced her to train with her in Texas. Since then Chiles hasn’t made a major mistake in 20 routines. “Having [Simone] by my side 24/7, giving me encouraging words, helped,” she has said.

In Tokyo, Carey will be one of the few athletes with a parent there to cheer her on— her dad, Brian, is also her coach. The Phoenix native, who won silver at the 2019 worlds for vault, will compete in the individual events, where vault and floor are her standout skills: “I can put up a pretty good score on those.”

USA GYMNASTICS/JOHN CHENG

J A D E C A R E Y, 2 1

W i t h r e p o r t i n g b y A D A M C A R L S O N , R A C H E L D E S A N T I S , L I N D S AY K I M B L E ,

OLD!

T H E PA N D E M I C M AY H AV E P U S H E D T H E GAMES BACK A YEAR, BUT IT COULDN’T KEEP T E A M U . S . A . D O W N . H E R E ’S A LO O K AT S O M E O F T H E A M A Z I N G AT H L E T E S H E A D E D TO TOKYO—AND READY TO WIN! By J O H N N Y D O D D and E I L E E N F I N A N

SIMONE BILES, 24

SUNI LEE, 18

MYKAYLA SKINNER, 24

Event | Gymnastics

The GOAT With skills bigger than her sport seems able to handle—or score—Biles really only has one worthy opponent: herself. The question isn’t if she’ll medal, but whether she’ll beat her four-gold-andone-bronze count from 2016. Meanwhile, as the team veteran, she doles out this advice: “I just want to keep everybody cool, calm and collected.”

Overcoming Family Tragedy After clinching her team spot at the trials (besting Biles on the uneven bars in the process), Lee looked into the stands for her dad: “I knew he was very emotional.” No surprise: It was a tough road to get there after a fall in 2019 left him paralyzed. “He’s been at my side through everything,” she’s said.

A Comeback After COVID-19 When COVID-19 put her in the hospital in January and prevented her from training for weeks, “I wanted to give up so many times,” Skinner told Today. But Skinner, an alternate in Rio, battled back for an individual spot at her first—and last—Olympics. She has announced she’ll retire from competition after the Games.

K A R E N M I ZO G U C H I , JA N I N E P U H A K , A L E R U S S I A N a n d G EO R G I A S L AT E R

July 26, 2021

SYDNEY MCLAUGHLIN, 21

M M E

S L Y C M P I

TOKYO 2021

Event | Track & Field

Perfecting Her Skills Sydney McLaughlin admits that she was “shocked” when the 2020 Summer Olympics were postponed last year because of the pandemic—but she decided to make the best of it and use the delay to focus on fine-tuning her already stellar skills at the 400-meter hurdles. “I made a coaching change, took a look at my race and figured out all the things I wanted to work on,” says the New Jersey native. The result? She shaved an astonishing .26 seconds off the world record at last month’s trials. “It was confusing at first, but I’m grateful for that time.”

BRODY MALONE, 21 Event | Gymnastics

The Fresh Face “Hands down, that kid’s the future,” Olympic veteran Sam Mikulak declared after Malone won this year’s national championship. Raised in Summerville, Ga., where he grew up rodeo riding, Malone learned early on how to persevere, following his mother’s death from cancer in 2012. “It helped me realize no matter what happens, you can always move on,” says Malone, who was voted the hardest-working athlete by his Stanford University teammates. “Life goes on whether you like it or not.”

Event | Gymnastics

OLYMPICS 2021:KEY DATES

• July 23: Opening Ceremony • July 25: Skateboarding Debuts • July 27: Women’s Gymnastics Team Final • July 29: Men’s 100-meter Freestyle Swim • July 30: Women’s 100-meter

July 26, 2021

Freestyle Swim • Aug. 4: Men’s 200-meter; Women’s 400-meter Hurdles • Aug. 5: Men’s 400-meter and 100-meter Hurdles • Aug 6: Women’s Soccer Finals • Aug. 8: Closing Ceremony

Setting New Priorities After a disappointing seventh-place finish in the all-around in Rio in 2016, Mikulak was devastated. “I was so distraught, because I had sacrificed so much for it,” says the California native. “Then I realized that shouldn’t be what I rely on for happiness.” Now, having built a happy life outside the gym with his dogs and fiancée, he’s headed to Tokyo with a new perspective. “I used to feel like gymnastics controlled me,” says the athlete (who jokes that at 28, he’s “elderly” for a gymnast). “To not have that weight on my shoulders is like a whole other competition.”

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: KIRBY LEE/USA TODAY SPORTS; HARRY HOW/GETTY IMAGES; CARMEN MANDATO/GETTY IMAGES

SAM MIKULAK, 28

M M E

S L Y C M P I

TOKYO 2021

TRAYVON BROMELL, 26 & NOAH LYLES, 24 Event | Track & Field

FROM TOP: STEPH CHAMBERS/GETTY IMAGES(2); AUSTIN HARGRAVE/AUGUST

Running ‘Fast and Furious’ Noah Lyles and Trayvon Bromell have both been hailed as the next Usain Bolt in their respective events. And later this month, at Tokyo’s National Stadium, the world will see whether the two sprinters can live up to the hype. The Florida-born Bromell—who left the 2016 Olympics in a wheelchair after tearing his Achilles tendon— is in the midst of a stunning comeback after being told he’d never run again; he’s now the goldmedal favorite in the 100 meters. “It’s a blessing,” says Bromell, who leans on his faith for strength. “It’s God’s work.” Lyles—who suffers from asthma—narrowly missed qualifying for the last Olympics, but the Virginia-born athlete clocked this year’s fastest time in the 200 meters at last month’s trials. “The 200 has been my main focus, perfecting it to the best of my abilities,” says Lyles, who seems well on his way to doing just that.

CAROLINE MARKS, 19 Event | Surfing

Finding Her Flow When the pandemic postponed the Games and closed gyms, tracks and pools, many athletes had to scramble to keep in shape. Caroline Marks just walked out the door of her Melbourne Beach, Fla., home. “Luckily I live in a place that has great waves,” says Marks. “I never had to get ready. I’ve been staying ready.” Marks, who at 13 became the youngest female to compete in a world surf event, first got on a board “because I wanted my brothers to think I was cool and accept me.” Then “I fell in love with it.” With the sport’s Olympic debut, “I want to showcase how fun surfing is and how cool of a sport it is and how diverse it is,” she says. “It gives me chills talking about it.” July 26, 2021