The Vampire Diaries‘ Kat Graham will star in a biopic about Motown singer Tammi Terrell. The film will follow the brief career of Terrell, who collaborated with Marvin Gaye on a string of 1960s hits including “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” and “Ain’t Nothing Like The Real Thing” before dying from a brain tumor at the age of 24. Production on the film begins this summer. Meanwhile, Graham is working on her own debut album with producer Babyface. [Deadline]
Congratulations to Pharrell Williams who was honored as a fashion icon at the annual Council of Fashion Designers of America Awards on Monday night.
“I’m not a style icon. I’m just inspired. And I’m OK with that,” Williams said when presented with the award by Kanye West. Yahoo! News]
A few months ago, Cincinnati Bengals player Devon Still happily announced his 5-year-old daughter, Leah, was in remission from cancer. This week, his family is dealing with the sad news that Leah is now battling VOD, veno-occlusive disease, a complication that has occurred after her stem cell transplant surgery.
“I need some prayers sent up for Leah tonight!” Still wrote on Instagram. “We hit a pretty serious complication from the stem cell transplant called VOD. They caught it early so hopefully it gives the doctors a better chance of stopping it from getting aggressive. As you can imagine our minds are all over the place but we’re going to try and remain positive!” [News One]
Orange Is The New Black star and trans activist Laverne Cox penned a thoughtful letter on her personal Tumblr about Bruce Jenner’s transformation to Caitlyn that was revealed on the Vanity Fair cover.
“I am so moved by all the love and support Caitlyn is receiving,” she wrote. “It feels like a new day, indeed, when a trans person can present her authentic self to the world for the first time and be celebrated for it so universally.”
“I hope, as I know Caitlyn does,” she added, “that the love she is receiving can translate into changing hearts and minds about who all trans people are as well as shifting public policies to fully support the lives and well being of all of us. The struggle continues …” Read her full post here.
The doctor who operated on Kanye West’s late mother, Donda West, is demanding that the rapper clear his name. Donda West died after complications from a liposuction and breast reduction surgery. Dr. Jan Adams carried out the operation but says he still feels he carries the blame for her death.
“Most people that I run into think she died on the table, they don’t even know this lady was home for a day,” Adams said. “I think the truth needs to be out there. If he had any balls or if he was any kind of man he could. But the real answer is he probably won’t.” [Hello Beautiful]
