Recent celebrity gossip and sightings
GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA – FEBRUARY 21:
TV personalities and former figure skaters Johnny Weir (L) and Tara Lipinski look on during the Ladies Single Skating Short Program on day twelve of the PyeongChang 2018 Winter Olympic Games at Gangneung Ice Arena on February 21, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
CBS “Survivor” announced the 18 new castaways who will compete against each other on the show’s 42nd season premiering on March 9.
GANGNEUNG, SOUTH KOREA – FEBRUARY 16:
Nathan Chen of the United States looks on after competing during the Men’s Single Skating Short Program at Gangneung Ice Arena on February 16, 2018 in Gangneung, South Korea. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – FEBRUARY 11:
(L-R) Charli D’Amelio and Dixie D’Amelio attend the KLUTCH Sports Group x UTA Dinner Presented by Snapchat at Beauty & Essex on February 11, 2022 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images for KLUTCH Sports Group)
From natives making their television debuts on competition shows to local athletes winning Olympic gold medals, Connecticut has been taking over the small screen. Nearby Westchester County also had some action in February with three TV shows filming.
Here are some of the Hollywood headlines that hit the state in February.
(L-R) Heidi D’Amelio, Charli D’Amelio, Marc D’Amelio, and Dixie D’Amelio attend the 2021 ESPY Awards at Rooftop At Pier 17 on July 10, 2021 in New York City.
The “first family of TikTok” returned to their home state the week of Feb. 13 and documented it through social media. Charli D’Amelio, known for her dancing videos on TikTok, and her family returned to Connecticut and stopped in several spots such as Stew Leonard’s, a South Norwalk steakhouse and a UConn game.
Lindsey Jacobellis, of Roxbury, Conn., acknowledges the crowd during a medal ceremony for the women’s snowboard cross finals competition at the 2022 Winter Olympics, Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2022, in Zhangjiakou, China.
Roxbury resident Lindsey Jacobellis, 36, won another Olympic gold medal — this time while competing in mixed team snowboard cross. She also won gold in women’s snowboard cross. The Stratton Mountain School graduate made her Olympic debut at the 2006 games in Turin, Italy, where she won the silver medal in women’s snowboard cross. She is also a 10-time snowboard cross champion at the X Games.
Yale student Nathan Chen won gold in Free Skate at the Beijing Olympics last month. He is the first American to win gold since Evan Lysacek in 2010. He competed in the 2018 games in Pyeongchang where he finished fifth in the Men’s Single Skating event after a poor performance in the short program.
MANA ISLAND – MAY 13:
SURVIVOR announced today the 18 new castaways who will compete against each other on SURVIVOR when the Emmy Award-winning series returns for its 42nd season with a two-hour premiere, Wednesday, March 9 (8:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. The series is also available to stream live and on demand on the CBS app and Paramount+*. Pictured Top Left to Right: Lydia Meredith, Rocksroy Bailey, Marya Sherron, Jonathan Young, Mike Turner, Drea Wheeler, Romeo Escobar, Lindsay Dolashewich, Hai Giang, and Chanelle Howell. Pictured Bottom Left to Right: Zach Wurtenberger, Tori Meehan, Daniel Strunk, Maryanne Oketch, Jackson Fox, Jenny Kim, Omar Zaheer, and Swati Goel. (Photo by Robert Voets/CBS via Getty Images)
CBS announced two Connecticut contestants are making their TV debut, and competing to win $1 million, on season 42 of “Survivor.” Daniel Strunk, 30, is a law clerk from Cincinnati, Ohio who now lives in New Haven and Chanelle Howell, 29, is an executive recruiter from Hamden who lives in New York City. “Survivor” premieres March 9.
Kim Hoàng Wood, as seen on Spring Baking Championship, Season 8.
Connecticut baker Kim Hoàng Wood, appeared on Food Network’s “Spring Baking Championship” Feb 28. Wood is one of 12 competitors on the show’s eighth season, hosted by Molly Yeh, which awards a $25,000 prize to the winning baker. Wood has a decade of professional experience in pastry and hospitality, including high-volume work for employers like Exxon Mobil and Foxwoods Resort Casino.
Figure skating announcers Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir prepare for the start of the pairs figure skating short program in the 2018 Winter Olympics at Gangneung Ice Arena on Feb. 14, 2018, in Gangneung, South Korea. For the 2022 Olympics in Beijing, they are working out of the NBC Sports offices in Stamford.
Figure skating announcers Tara Lipinski and Johnny Weir covered the Winter Olympics remotely from the NBC Sports headquarters in Stamford instead of in person. The duo was reportdley staying at the Delamar on Steamboat Road in Greenwich while covering the Beijing Olympics for NBC Sports.
Adam Kostek, a 16-year-old student from Westport, met Red Sox player Matt Barnes on Sally’s Apizza in Stamford on Feb. 28, 2022.
Boston Red Sox player Matt Barnes was spotted at Sally’s in Stamford on Feb. 28. Barnes’ Instagram stories showed him making his own pizza, and he even stopped to take a photo with a Westport teen who had stopped in to apply for a job. Barnes, originally from Bethel, set a record during his time at the University of Connecticut with 247 career strikeouts over his three seasons. He was drafted by the Boston Red Sox in the first round (19th overall) of the 2011 draft. He debuted with the the team in 2014.
Brian Boitano skates during the P&G & Wal-Mart “Tribute to American Legends of the Ice” at Izod Center on December 11, 2013 in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Olympic gold medalist Brian Boitano was seen giving a figure skating lesson to Jonny Moseley, an Olympic gold medalist in freestyle skiing, at the rink at Chelsea Piers in Stamford. The two were on a break from broadcasting the Olympics from the NBC Sports studios in Stamford.
Julian McMahon, left, as Jess LeCroix, Roxy Sternberg as Sheryll Barnes and Da’Shawn Jackson as Kendall Tyson star in “FBI: Most Wanted” on CBS. McMahon and Sternberg were recently filming the crime drama in Westchester County, N.Y.
The CBS series “FBI: Most Wanted” was filming in Westchester County, N.Y. Production for the crime drama starring Julian McMahon, Roxy Sternberg, Keisha Castle-Hughes and Nathaniel Arcand took place the week of Feb. 6 in Yorktown and Tarrytown.
Universal Television crews prepare to film a scene for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in the parking lot of the Days Inn hotel.
“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” began filming for an episode of its 23rd season in Westchester County, N.Y. in late February. Universal Television crews filmed scenes around Days Inn hotel and Motel 6 in Elmsford. On Feb. 25, Motel 6 featured scenes including main characters Sergeant Fin (played by Ice-T) and Olivia Benson (played by Mariska Hargitay.)
– Joseph Tucci
Filming for the Showtime series “City on a Hill,” starring actors Kevin Bacon and Jill Hennessy, also took place last month in Yonkers and at the College of New Rochelle.
Leeanne Griffin is the food and consumer reporter for Hearst Connecticut Media Group, handling coverage of restaurant openings and closings, trends, events and general news about CT food and beverage businesses.
She’s been working in Connecticut news for more than 15 years, most recently as the food and dining reporter for the Hartford Courant. A native of Worcester, Mass., she holds a master’s degree in journalism from Quinnipiac University.
