Celebrity Grapevine

Pop singer Roni Duani, better known as Roni Superstar, had good cause for celebration last week. Not only had she earned her discharge from the army, but she also celebrated her 21st birthday.

By GREER FAY CASHMAN
roni duani 88 298 (photo credit: )
roni duani 88 298
(photo credit: )
VICE PREMIER Shimon Peres has a knack for being photographed with celebrities, or often celebrities want to be photographed with him, as was the case with Leonardo DiCaprio. Peres was among the many guests who flocked to the reception hosted by filmmaker Amos Gitai for French film star Juliette Binoche, who came to star in his forthcoming film Disengagement, based on the pullout from Gaza. For some odd reason, Peres kept getting her name wrong when he referred to her, but more than made up for the gaffe with one of his characteristic analogies, declaring that whoever sees her is reminded of the taste of chocolate. THE $70,000 that Sandy Bar received for making a lightning trip to Israel to do the commercial for the LG Chocolate mobile phone will certainly help to pay the expenses of the lavish seder night that she is planning in Los Angeles for some 40 guests, many of them Israeli expatriates. Bar will do most of the cooking and husband Aki Avni will conduct the seder. Last week's strike almost kept Bar in Israel for a longer period than she had intended, but as the strike was short lived she was able to fly back to LA as scheduled, with at least one extra item in her luggage. In addition to the $70,000, she also received a sample of the cellphone she's promoting, plus an Israeli phone number. GIVEN THAT they move in the same circles, it was inevitable that singer, model and actress Maya Buskila and her former agent Roberto Ben Shushan would find themselves at the same event. Despite all the public acrimony that passed between them, friends and acquaintances who saw them at the Gideon Oberson swimwear show and Mercedes exhibit hoped that maybe there would be a sulha. However attempts to bring them together failed. The wounds are still raw. POP SINGER Roni Duani, better known as Roni Superstar, had good cause for celebration last week. Not only had she earned her discharge from the army, but she also celebrated her 21st birthday. Another entertainment personality who completed her army service was Agam Rodberg. Duani and Rodberg are among the few female entertainers of their generation who opted to do army service and made no effort to avoid it. Most of their peers found all sorts of excuses to get out of wearing khaki for two years, and there are quite a few male entertainers in their age group who also found a way of dodging their duty. FOR SEVERAL years, Lihi Alon was regarded as one of Israel's leading fashion models, and although newer and younger models have come up in the ranks, she's still on the map. From modeling clothes, Alon has turned her hand to designing them. A former Shenkar student, she always had an ambition to produce her own collection, but somehow never got around to it until a couple of items that she made for herself earned so much admiration that she decided to put out a limited collection, currently on sale in two boutiques. Alon has no major plans as far as design goes. So far, it's just been a way to realize a dream. And she's still managed to keep up with her modeling assignments. But who knows, if her designs become popular, she may very well make a total switch. ALSO TURNING her hand to design is Sex and the City star Sarah Jessica Parker, who has launched her own collection under the label of Bitten. In the television series Parker played Carrie Bradshaw, a New York journalist with a unique sense of style and a fetish for exorbitantly expensive designer shoes. In 2004, the actress was given the Fashion Icon Award, and in 2005, she created her own fragrance - Lovely. Parker joins a long list of entertainment world celebrities who've given their names to fashion and beauty products, among them Elizabeth Taylor, J-Lo, Victoria Beckham, and Kylie Minogue. Also planning to launch her own range of beauty products is Catherine Zeta Jones. ESTRANGED FOR quite some time, actress Tori Spelling and her mother Candy kissed and made up after Tori gave birth to a boy. The infant carries his famous grandfather's name, Aaron, as a middle name. His full name is Liam Aaron McDermott. His father is Canadian actor Dean McDermott. ON THE local scene, actress and fashion model Ronit Yudkowitch presented her husband Yair Barzilay with their third joint production, born by caesarean section at Beilinson hospital. Given the age difference between the baby and his siblings, he's bound to be spoiled. He's nine years younger than Ro'i and 10 years younger than Shai.