In the wake of Kim and Kris, another of America's first couples has split.
"The New Girl" star Zooey Deschanel has split up with husband Ben Gibbard, who fronts the starry-eyed rockers Death Cab For Cutie, US Weekly reports.
The separation is said to be "mutual and amicable." After the success of "The New Girl," could Zooey be suffering from the same affliction that seems to end the marriages of Best Actress Oscar winners?
Not to assign Zooey Deschanel Kardashian-like suspicions, but: objectively speaking, the announcement of her divorce, which came just hours before "The New Girl" aired on the east coast yesterday, seemed perfectly timed to boost ratings.
Unfortunately for Fox, that wasn't the case.
Both "New Girl" and the show preceding it -- "Glee" -- were down 19 percent in the ratings.
Baseball had kept both programs off the air for the past three weeks -- and evidently booking Deschanel to croon the national anthem at a World Series game wasn't enough to keep audiences hungry for more of her fledgling comedy.
It's not time for "New Girl" to panic yet. Despite the numbers, Fox is still enjoying looking like one of the heroes of this year's sitcom victory wave -- and the newly single Deschanel is likely to be a fixture of the news cycle in the coming weeks.
For "Glee," though, things are starting to look pretty dismal.
Last night saw the debut of "Glee Project" winner Damian McGinty -- it should have been a blockbuster episode of the musical dramedy.
Instead -- and seriously, we're "Glee" fans, and we're tired of hitting this note -- it was an episode that gave viewers a reason to flip the channel at every commercial break.
The Irish McGinty was shoved into a prolonged bit about him being a leprechaun. He had to sing "It's Easy Being Green," for crying out loud.
The rest of the action was either rehashed or completely unrealistic: Jane Lynch's Sue Sylvester continued on a quest to squash the club. Dianna Agron's Quinn persisted in an insane scheme to steal her baby back from the adoptive mother. Etc., etc.
Ratings don't always reflect quality -- but for "Glee," this time, the two were perfectly in proportion.
Zooey Deschanel and Joseph Gordon-Levitt teamed up to cover Nancy Wilson's "What Are You Doing New Year's Eve?" and it's just what you would expect -- folksy, adorable, and Deschanel is wearing a tiara.
Also, are they in a college dorm?
Enjoy below.
(via BuzzFeed)
So long, 2011!
It's been a year filled with small screen shake-ups, celebrity cheating scandals and divorces, and movie re-makes that just won't go away.
And the Kardashians.
MTV scared us. Donald Trump kept yelling. Brett Ratner offended everyone. And Ryan Gosling won you over.
Here's a look at who had a great year...and who didn't.
His sophomore debut, "Take Care" was one of the year's most anticipated and successful albums -- debuting at the top of the Billboard 200, garnering critical praise, and making our own 20 Best Albums of 2011.
He's also been linked to Rihanna and Nicki Minaj, which doesn't hurt.
Plus, you know it's been a good year when a stranger is willing to tattoo your name on her face.
The show you used to love is having an identity crisis.
The series steadily lost viewers this year and reached a season ratings low in November.
Why? It's not fun anymore!
We've lost those sillier simple storylines for preachy ones and exciting pop musical numbers for boring classics.
And there's just never enough Jane Lynch.
Luckily, we've not some ideas on how to fix this mess.
The premiere of her show "The New Girl" destroyed its ratings time-slot and won Fox's green-light for a another season after just the second episode.
Despite splitting with her husband two months ago, Deschanel managed the impossible by keeping the news under the tabloid radar.
Oh, and she got to sing the National Anthem at the World Series.
Sorry Zooey Deschanel, but your spending habits are so not adorkable.
Yesterday The Wire took readers on a whirlwind tour of "The New Girl" star's finances. They look solid on the surface—no debt, a cool $1,578,000 in the bank, $1,645,000 in stocks ... heck, she even donates to charity!—but if her career were to go up in smoke (as many in Hollywood do) she'd need to save a pretty penny to keep her $600 a month dry cleaning habit.
Your Money spoke to Libertas wealth management adviser Adam Koos to get the scoop on what the twee actress should do to get her finances in check, based on her divorce filing papers. There's probably a lot the actress isn't disclosing—clothing campaigns, films and her indie pop project, She & Him—so we're going by what her attorney said she spends ($22,500!) and earns from "New Girl" ($95,000) per month.
Plan for disaster
Even though she's young, Deschanel, 31, shouldn't take her success for granted, said Koos.
"If she read this she'd probably say nothing's going to happen, but Hollywood isn't an easy place to work as you age, and what if disaster struck? She would not be able to sustain the amount of spending she's doing."
Especially if she were to become disabled or the hit sitcom mysteriously wasn't renewed. On the surface, Deschanel seems set for the next century. But a little number-crunching tells a different story.
Deschanel currently brings in $1,140,000 per year. Let's say she pays 40% in taxes. Her after-tax income would be $684,000 yearly ($1,140,000 x .60), bringing her total net worth, if we added the after-tax income to the $1,578,000 she has in the bank and $1,645,000 in stocks, to a princely sum of nearly $3.8 million dollars.
If Deschanel punched out of Hollywood for good, invested her current yearly income and earned an average return of 4 percent, she'd still be making $153,000 or so per year for the rest of her life. That's not shabby. But wait a second—if you divided that number by 12, you'd find she's only taking in $12,800 about month. But the actress spends way more than that: $22,500 per month and $270,000 annually.
There's no way she could sustain this—unless she invested $6.75 million in the stock market at a 4 percent return. At an aggressive 5 percent return, that number would be slightly better ($5.4 million), but not by much.
"You can't spend money on what you expect to make," said Koos. "It should be based on the level of lifestyle you'd be able to retain if the worst were to happen. Sure, if Zooey kept making $95,000 a month, she could spend like that forever, but who knows in Hollywood." Or life.
The actress may now be single, but a) don't expect her to be for long and, b) even singles should prepare for the worst. Having an emergency fund is key to any financial picture and rising star or not, there will likely be rocky days ahead for the A-lister.
Rein in the spending
It goes without saying, then, that Deschanel needs to get a grip on her spending.
"Zooey hit the lottery on the acting gig, but I'd tell her, 'Look, you're young, you're successful and you should definitely reward yourself, but these things can change very quickly,'" said Koos. "It would make a lot of sense to rein in some of the exuberant spending on things like dry cleaning ($600) and clothes ($2,000)."
Sidenote: How does she spend that on dry cleaning if she's consistently replenishing her wardrobe? We digress.
Deschanel could easily adopt a few lifestyle tweaks to change her spending habits. Among them:
She could ditch the $600 dry cleaning tab by washing things herself (or paying someone else to do it) and going longer between cleanings. The latter will help her clothes last as long as those red carpet photos.
Rather than drop $500 a month on eating out, Deschanel could ask her friends to split the tab or try skimping on solo meals out when she's too tired to cook. (See more ways to save on restaurants in 2012.)
Deschanel might try cutting her $800 utilities tab by calling the service providers to negotiate down the price. Her $300 cell plan could also be slashed if she and big sis Emily signed up for a family plan, asked for a group or corporate discount if the plan was for business, or switched to making calls from the web using a device like Magic Jack.
Spending $1,000 monthly on groceries could easily be changed if the singer opted for generic over brand-name goods and switched where she shops (Whole Foods?) to a local food stand or salvage store. The latter might sound off-putting, but a lot of well-off Americans are flocking to these stores to save big on non-perishables like canned goods and crackers.
Finally, the adorkable actress could tear a page out of the Your Money playbook and count to ten before she splurges on impulse items and think long and hard about why that vintage Chanel frock is calling her name when she already has ten in the closet.
Ms. Deschanel, if you're reading this, we love you. Just take these tips as encouragement to plan for the future and keep rocking at your stellar career.
Please follow Your Money on Twitter and Facebook.
President Barack Obama!
Yesterday, Zooey Deschanel turned 32-years-old and although she lost during Sunday's Golden Globe awards, the "New Girl" won big with her generic birthday greeting from the leader of the free world.
Zooey posted the official letter to her Twitter account, writing: "I am SO EXCITED! RT @hellogiggles Happy Birthday @zooeydeschanel from @barackobama @thewhitehouse ! Thanks @ronniecho"
But ZD wasn't the only one the prez was wishing a "Happy Birthday" to yesterday.
It also marked Michelle Obama's 48th year young.
Perhaps the first family celebrated by watching last night's brand new episode of "New Girl"?
Retired basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar met Zooey Deschanel backstage at The View today and snapped this photo. More proof that basketball players make normal people look like ants (via Gawker).
Zooey was wearing four inch heels in the photo.
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We don't often find ourselves taking money advice from primetime television, but a recent episode of FOX sitcom "New Girl" should be required viewing for anyone looking to buy a new cell phone.
In it, Zooey Deschanel's character, Jess, helps her roommate, Nick, pick out a new cell phone. When the store runs a routine credit check and turns up a comically low score of 250, everyone comes out to gawk.
"I've just never seen a score this low," a worker says. "Did you just wake up from a coma?"
He hasn't: Nick's score is so low that in the end, he winds up walking off without a phone at all.
That led us to wonder: How much does your credit score factor into your shot at getting a cell phone? We contacted three of the largest mobile providers in the U.S. – AT&T, Verizon and Sprint – to find out. After hearing back from two of them (AT&T hadn't responded at press time), we have some answers.
The good news is a less-than-stellar score won't edge you out of the cell phone club entirely, but in order for providers to take a gamble on risky customers, they'll often charge security deposits upfront.
"We will deny based on issues of identity verification, but we do not deny because of a credit score," a Sprint spokesperson said in an email. But a "lower credit score would result in a higher deposit request."
No provider publicizes their deposit rates, but to give you an idea, an AT&T message board features a complaint from a customer who was asked to pay $500 per line for a new contract.
Here's how Sprint handles their credit checks, according to the spokesperson:
"When somebody applies for credit for postpaid service, we will first check to see if the customer has an existing unpaid bill with Sprint. If not, we proceed toward pulling a credit bureau report on the individual, which we run through a credit scoring model. The resulting score (based on the credit bureau) will impact the credit offer we give a customer (deposit/no deposit, number of lines, spending limit/no spending limit)."
If this happens to you, here are your options:
Skip the credit check scenario by forgoing a contract plan and signing up for a prepaid phone instead. Most cell phone providers offer some sort of prepaid plan, which allows customers to either pay as they go or adhere to a flat monthly fee for certain services.
Verizon's unlimited prepaid plan costs $50 each month, while AT&T's prepaid Go Phone runs as a low as $2 per day used and up to $50 per month.
Prepaid phones can be a great option for infrequent mobile users–and those trying to build back their credit–but it's important to be sure you're choosing the right plan for your talking habits.
Pay-as-you-go phone bills can add up quickly and easily cost more than contract plans if you're not careful.
Or, like Nick, you could save yourself a couple grand per year and try living the phone-free lifestyle.
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While Zooey Deschanel has captivated America with her quirkiness on the hit FOX show "New Girl," it's her scene-stealing sidekick Cece, played by Hannah Simone, who is getting all of the attention as the beautiful on-screen best friend.
While Simone plays a model on the show, in real life, the 31-year-old of Indian, Greek and Italian descent is actually a model-turned-TV host-turned actress. And "New Girl" is her first steady acting gig.
But success isn't rare for this Kim Kardashian look-a-like, who grew up all over the world and after studying both international relations and television/radio in college, worked for the UN before quickly landing gigs in front of the camera.
And now this "New Girl" is here to stay.
Apple's new Siri campaign featuring Samuel L. Jackson and Zooey Deschanel is proving to be highly effective amongst young adults, even though the buzz on Siri among those same adults is that the robotic voice app isn't that useful.
According to data from YouGov's Brand Index, amongst 18- to 34-year-olds the iPhone's buzz jumped from 16 to 51 on the firm's 100 to -100 grading scale after the ads debuted. That far outpaces Android, which saw an increase from 16 to 27 in the same period.
Between April 19 and May 4, the time of Apple's rapid rise, the mobile category as a whole saw minimal rise from 15 to 18. Currently Brand Index has the iPhone at 38 compared to Android's 27, and the segment average at 15.
Despite, the rise in popularity amongst young adults, Siri itself has been seen as a flop.
See Also:
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Sunday night, Hollywood's brightest and youngest stars gathered at the Gibson Amphitheatre in Los Angeles for the Teen Choice Awards.
No Doubt performed live together for the first time in over a decade, Demi Lovato hosted the show, Selena Gomez celebrated her 20th birthday on-stage and her boyfriend Justin Bieber gave a futuristic dance performance.
Lea Michele won big "Choice" awards, but see who dominated on the red carpet.
DJ
Fox is well-known for cross-promoting its shows during live sporting events, including graphics, announcement from commentators, and occasionally seeing stars of primetime shows strategically seated. In recent years, Fox has found another avenue for self-promotion: our national anthem.
Last night, prior to game four of the World Series, Demi Lovato, a judge on Fox's "The X-Factor," sang the national anthem (and it was awful). And the night before, it was Zooey Deschanel of Fox's "New Girl." It was also the second straight World Series in which both sang the national anthem.
In fact, eight times in the last two World Series, including all four games this season, the singer of the national anthem had ties to a show on Fox...
And while they are accomplished as singers to some degree, Fox made sure we knew they were part of the Fox family. Notice above that Fox did not identify any of Lovato's musical accomplishments, just her role on their network. It is also worth noting that Fox (or Major League Baseball) invited Deschanel, and not M. Ward, the other member of her band She & Him.
But maybe the most egregious part of this is that the last two games were in Detroit. Not only did Fox and MLB trot out retreads, they ignored a long and rich history of music in the home of Motown. A history with singers much more accomplished (and talented) than these human billboards.
It's insulting to Detroit. It's insulting to accomplished singers. It is insulting to baseball fans. And it is insulting to our country.
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We aren't the only ones to use coupons. Some of Hollywood's A-listers regularly look for discount deals and practice money-saving habits.
Coupons.com compiled a list of penny-pinching celebrities, and we've added a few of our own.
From stars who clip coupons to those who bargain buy, here are the celebrities who know how to stretch a dollar.
The "House of Lies" star admitted on "Conan" that she's very frugal.
“I use a lot of coupons," Bell told late-night host Conan O'Brien. "The best coupon you can get, possibly in the world, is the Bed Bath & Beyond coupon.”
The late-night host revealed in a Parade column that he only spends money from comedy routines.
"When I was a kid, I had two jobs," wrote Leno. "I worked at a Ford dealership and at a McDonald’s. I’d spend the money from one job and save the money from the other. That’s still the way I am now. I live on the money I make as a comedian, and I put all the TV money in the bank. I’ve never spent a dime of TV money—ever."
While taking Everyday with Rachael Ray through a day in her life, Underwood shared that despite forgetting coupons sometimes, she does make a habit to cut them out.
"Doing the weekly shopping, I stock up on stir-fry kits, Amy's meatless burgers, and armloads of onions and garlic. I put onions and garlic in everything. Ack -- as usual, I forgot my coupons. (Yes, I do clip them!)," shared Underwood.
Keep your "eyes open," Zooey Deschanel.
Entertainment Weekly reports Taylor Swift will appear on the "New Girl" season finale.
There's no word on the role she'll play, but, according to EW, Swift will be an "important guest" at Cece (Hannah Simone) and Shivrang's (Satya Bhabha) wedding.
This won't be Swift's first time on screen.
The singer also guest-starred on CSI in 2009 and appeared in "Valentine's Day" two years ago.
Maybe she'll be performing at the wedding.
The episode airs on Fox May 8 at 9 p.m.
Winter is coming and it's the most adorkable time of year in this animated "Game of Thrones" parody.
Cinefix's YouTube series, "Wrong Director," imagines Zooey Deschanel as the Mother of Kitty-Cat Dragons, who plucks away on ukulele strings to the tune of heartbreak, and Aubrey Plaza as a whiny Ygritte.
A Michael Cera impersonator voices a less threatening Joffrey of the Houses Baratheon and Lannister gets squeamish at the sight of a beheading.
Watch the video below.
SEE ALSO: Each 'Game Of Thrones' House Reimagined As A Global Corporation
Zooey Deschanel recently had a child (in real life), and while she's on maternity leave, "Transformers" star Megan Fox has been cast to fill in on Deschanel's hit show, "New Girl."
Fox will not be playing Deschanel's role of Jess. Instead, Entertainment Weekly reports, Jess will get called for jury duty halfway through the season and remain out for a long enough period of time that the roommates need a sublet for her — Megan Fox.
Fox will play the new character Reagan, a role the show's executive producer says was written with the actress in mind. The producer said she was interested in Fox since Fox starred in the comedy "This is 40."
Reagan will be a pharmaceutical sales rep who will disrupt the boys' lives. It's not clear how many episodes she'll stick around for or whether she will become a permanent figure on the show, but Entertainment Weekly says Fox will first appear on the sixth episode of the next season, which begins in January.
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