Cover Girl: Mandy Moore on Self Magazine

Beautiful pop singer and actress Mandy Moore hit the cover of the June issue of Self magazine and dished a little on her new album, and life without a boyfriend. Her new album, Wild Hope, is coming soon. For even more of Mandy, you can sign up for her e-mail newsletter.

SELF: Is singing more personal to you than acting?
Mandy Moore: I think singing is more personal because it's totally vulnerable and you're totally putting yourself out there. I also feel that it is more rewarding. I love what I do and when you love what you do, you don't even give yourself the option of saying, "Maybe this won't work and maybe I'll fail somehow."

SELF: What do you think people's perception of you is?
Moore: I think musically, people think of me as the underdog. I understand why they think that because when I first came out, it was at the same time as Britney, Christina and Jessica Simpson, and I was kind of like the third or fourth wheel, just sort of tacked on there because I was the youngest. I understand that. I hope that people out there will respect the fact that I've grown and am a different person now with different musical taste. I hope the people who didn't like my music then will give me a chance.

SELF: Are you a person who tends to hold emotions in?
Moore: Well, I used to, but I've gotten much better about that. I am a totally open book with people I love and trust. I talk about anything with them, but there is that certain side of me that will contain how I feel about stuff. I'll only put stuff out there so far, and then I'll wrap it up in this little box, put it over there, and then digest and deal with it after I've had time to figure out how I really feel.

SELF: And when you have all these movies [Moore has three movies being released in 2007], you don't really have a lot of free time.
Moore: Yeah, it's been a little crazy and I know that there are definitely some things that I'm going to have to hunker down with later and go, "OK, let me really think about how I feel about this."

SELF: What are those things?
Moore: You know, just personal things. Actually none of it is relationship-related, they are more personal things that are going on in my own world. I am really feeling like a woman for the first time. I have come into my own and have spent a lot of time reflecting and working on myself for the past couple of months and am continuing to do so. I just want to make sure that I'm still in control and very much a part of all the decisions that are being made in life. I guess I'm just really realizing the power that you actually have. So I really need to figure out how I feel about everything and about myself in the scheme of things.

SELF: Are you overly self critical?
Moore: I think I can be. I try to stay with the positive, but sometimes I feel like my self-criticism pushes me to do and be my best. I am my own harshest critic, but I've always been that way, even as a kid. I don't think it's completely out of control. I have come to terms with the idea that it's never going to be good enough, and that's OK. If I'm looking at a picture, listening back to a tape of a song or watching a film, it's just like, "Ugh, eew, I don't like the way I look, I don't like the way I sound." Nothing is really ever good enough for me, but I've come to terms with that. I'm not going to be happy 100 percent of the time.

SELF: Do you give yourself pep talks?
Moore: The only time I do is before I go onstage to perform. I just tell myself, "Mandy, this is what you love to do and this is what you're lucky enough to do with your life. Just go out there and have fun, because that's what it is." I think back to being a kid and doing local community theater. I loved it. When I go onstage now, I just keep trying to find and capture that feeling again. There's just nothing better.

SELF: You've said that this was a pivotal year. What was the fulcrum?
Moore: I had a lot of time to be alone and in my own head, which I don't have very often. I used to shy away from that. And now if I don't have time, especially in the morning, I start to get really anxious. I wake up early so that I have an hour and a half or two hours before I have to be somewhere and do something. I have really come to appreciate my me-time.

SELF: So for the first time you faced yourself and...?
Moore: It was scary! I was scared to be alone. But then it was like, let's jump into this life thing. I'm still sort of figuring out how I want everything to work. Every facet of who I am—as myself, as a friend, as a daughter, a girlfriend, a business associate, a recording artist—I have to take each one at a time and figure out how that definition of me has now changed and therefore how I want my relationship with the people involved in that part of my life to now be.

SELF: You have said in the past that you want to leave Hollywood by age 40. Is that true?
Moore: I don't know why I ever said that. It was really silly of me. To put a limit on anything sounds ridiculous to me at this point. I want to do it as long as I want to do it.

SELF: There's no goal, like "I have arrived, I will be complete, if...?"
Moore: No, because once you realize the finish line, then it's time to just pack it in and go home because there really shouldn't be a finish line.

SELF: Are you ready to date again?
Moore: I'm not looking. If someone finds me, I'm more than open to it. I would love to have some new people in my life. Not necessarily in a romantic sense, but I am currently accepting applications for friends!

Cover Girl: Mandy Moore on Elle Magazine

Mandy Moore is a busy girl these days. Besides her newest album, and being on the cover of the May issue of Elle magazine, she also hit C Magazine as well. Here's a little excerpt from her Elle interview:

"Please fill me in on the particulars of your present roman­tic life."

"Oy. It's boring. Nobody wants to know about it. Honestly, I thought about that today, and I tried to figure out a polite or witty way to say, 'I don't want to talk about my personal life.'"

"Come up with anything good?"

"I didn't come up with anything."

(Here's something: Moore's been seen hanging out with Adam Goldstein, also called DJ AM, and best known for making upward of 25 grand per three hours of record spinning, having had gastric-bypass surgery, and being the former fiancé of Nicole Richie.)

"I've wondered, plagued by any body issues?"

"Sometimes I feel fine. Sometimes I don't feel so great. I'm a regular person. I'm not that thin. I'm okay with representing a different type than the normal Hollywood beauty ideal. But other people aren't so okay with that. I've been told that I have to lose weight for stuff before. It's mortifying. It's hard to have someone come up and go, 'You should lose a few pounds.' And they don't say it delicately. How can you? It's only happened to me once before. But once is enough to make you feel awful."

A few calls reveal that Moore is referring to License to Wed, this summer's romantic comedy with Robin Williams and The Office's John Krasinski. Some Warner Bros. executive had seen American Dreamz and deemed her too round. "All I can tell you is that I've never been on any production where some executive didn't say, 'Can't that actress lose weight?'" says the film's director, Ken Kwapis. "It's a horrible part of being a director in Hollywood." Ugly show business realities and obvious biases aside, Kwapis thinks License to Wed might be the showcase that flings Moore into the America's sweetheart throne that's been empty for so long. "I feel confident that this could be the role," he says. "It is so winning. The audience is just going to fall in love with her."

Krasinki certainly seems enamored with her. In his first leading-man role, he initially had misgivings about playing opposite a woman who'd grown up famous. "I expected that maybe Mandy was going to be living on her own planet," he says. "She wasn't at all. She's incredibly sweet and smart, and she cares so much. Nothing's half-assed with her. I wish I could say the same thing about myself when I was in my early twenties."

Even with the hide toughening that comes with spending a third of your life in the cattiest industry in the world, a girl can still make a stupid mistake. On a recent trip to Paris, Moore, unable to sleep, pulled out her laptop and ended up on a blog on which a photo of her was being dissected. "People are so mean," she says. She chronicles the things she read about herself—"She's fat. She's untalented. I wish she'd shut up. I don't want to hear another record from her." And then Moore did what she's always done, and the reason we still know her name: She rose in the morning, did her best to forget all those voices, and got right back to work.

Cover Girl: Mandy Moore on C Magazine

Actress, pop singer and clothing designer Mandy Moore is on the cover of the May issue of C Magazine, talking about her new album and her old sound. "It's embarrassing. I wish I could make those [old] records disappear."

And on her real first name, "Amanda's a chain smoking cabaret singer in her late 60s singing in the Catskills. Maybe when I'm that old, I'll become Amanda."

Cover Girl: Mandy Moore on Parade Magazine

Pop singer, actress and clothing designer, Mandy Moore graced the cover of this week's Parade magazine. The bright and bubbly actress stars in the upcoming romantic comedy “License to Wed,” and talked to writer Robert Masello about being in the spotlight, embarrassing public missteps of other celebrities, her new album and more.

Her new album…
“ Wild Hope just felt like such a selfish venture to me. It was a way for me to get out of my head, get some clarity on certain situations, and finally be a part of something that I was completely behind creatively and proud of…. At first, it felt a little bit overwhelming, but I really took to the writing process, and even though ‘Extraordinary’ was the last song I wrote for the album, I felt like that was the statement I wanted to make. And once I finished it, that’s when I knew it was time to go into the studio and sing.”

Moore the daredevil…
“I’ve gone skydiving twice. I was terrified about doing it, but I wanted to overcome that. The first time, I did it with my parents and I remember that they had already both jumped out, and suddenly it was my turn. And I thought, ‘Well, I don’t want to be an orphan,’ so I guess I have no choice, and I jumped out of the plane. There is this kind of adventurous thing in me—I saw this movie on Mt. Kilimanjaro about four years ago, and ever since then I’ve been obsessed with climbing it one day. At this point, I’m in no shape to be climbing a mountain, but I will get in amazing shape someday and I will climb Mt. Kilimanjaro. I have no choice—I have to do it.”

Friendship…
“I don’t really have a ton of friends. My best friends, my close circle, are mostly in New York. But my brothers live with me here [in L.A.]. One is younger, one older—and I hang out with them a lot. My younger brother’s in school, my older brother’s working out here in L.A. But I actually like spending time by myself, and it’s not super odd for me to go [out] by myself…. I’m really kind of boring—I’d rather go to bed early and get up early because I really value my time off, my time away from work.”

Writer Robert Masello on Moore’s new album…
“My friends don’t believe it when I tell them I’m actually playing Mandy Moore’s new CD—v oluntarily—in my office, but I am. I’m a guy who usually listens to Bob Dylan, John Prine, David Gray, Lucinda Williams, Ray Davies—a lot of the great singer-songwriters. But I have to say, Mandy’s CD has very catchy songs, interesting lyrics and terrific arrangements. And she wrote or co-wrote all the material. When we met for brunch, I told her that I really liked the album, but I’m not sure she didn’t think I was just sucking up. I mean, it’s not that I don’t say plenty of insincere things to my interview subjects—‘The hair looks super, Mr. Trump!’—but in this case I was being sincere.”

Behind the scenes at PARADE's photo shoot with Mandy Moore
Photographer Robert Ascroft reveals the fun details behind his shoot with actress/singer Mandy Moore.

Where did the shoot take place? “The shoot took place in the Hollywood Hills at a private home. Since it was a weekend, the owners were also there.”

What time did it start? “The crew arrived at 7 a.m. and Mandy arrived at 9 a.m. It was a cool and cloudy day when we arrived, but it cleared up for the shoot.”

How long did the shoot last?
About four and a half hours.

What was served for lunch? “We were done with the photo shoot by lunchtime and we all had the most amazing fish and grilled vegetables. It was a great way to end the shoot.”

What music played during the shoot?
“We listened to the duo Bird and Bee. We all became huge fans of one very inappropriate song on the record about becoming someone’s boyfriend!”

Who came to the shoot with Moore? “Mandy’s agent accompanied her.”

Robert Ascroft on Mandy Moore…
“It started off as a gloomy and somewhat cold day but by the time Mandy walked on set, the clouds opened up and we had sun for the whole shoot. Shortly after we were finished taking the photos, the clouds came back. I originally wanted blue skies for the shoot and I got them! Mandy was very easygoing and enjoyable to be around. She even jumped in the pool for me at the end of the shoot, with a dress on!”

Photos courtesy of Parade.com.

It's Over: Mandy Moore and DJ AM

DJ AM needs to find himself a new celebrity to date. Mandy Moore dumped him, according to Page Six. You may recall that DJ AM (aka Adam Goldstein) wanted to hook up with a starlet to get some press coverage after his break up with Nicole Richie left him locked out of the Hollywood scene. Poor guy has to try again, I guess. No word from Mandy's rep on whether the rumor is true or not.

Photo from Page Six.

Cover Girl: Mandy Moore on Seventeen Magazine

What's not to like about actress/pop singer/clothing designer Mandy Moore? Wholesome, down to earth, and a great role model for teens. The well-rounded beauty is appearing on the cover of the March issue of Seventeen magazine.

Inside, the 22 year-old dishes on the pressures to be a size 0 ("I'm not Nicole Richie. I'm not like a toothpick, and I never will be.") and admits that she is a bit of a romantic. "My heart moves at lightning speed."

Fashion Police 2007: The Grammys

Madison and I love a good awards show. Even though we're on separate coasts, we sat transfixed to E!'s red carpet coverage last night, sharing our opinions on the stars' hits and misses. Like the recent Golden Globes and the SAG Awards, there were not many "Oh my God, what was she thinking?" fashion choices. Perhaps the stars are playing it a bit safer - all the better to stay under our radar. Here we go.

Fergie from The Black Eye Peas. From the neck down, I think she looks fine. But the neck up is another story. Between the hair, the overly done make-up and the ridiculous amount of holes in both ears, I think she was a tad overdone. Stacey's a beautiful girl, but hon, less is more:

Christina Aguilera has long been evoking the pin-up stars from the 50s with her blonde bombshell hair, bright red lips and skin-tight dresses. Lucky for her, she can work it. Last night at the Grammys was a slight departure for her, and she looked great. Only criticism would be the overdone-baked tan:

Sigh, Mandy, seriously, where is your stylist? I like Mandy Moore just fine. She's cute, a good role model and has her head firmly on her shoulders. But this outfit? Fine for perhaps a lunch with a friend at the Ivy, but not so much for the Grammys:

The Dixie Chicks. The good news is that the Dixie Chicks won a few awards last night. Their die-hard fans have stuck by them through all their controversy - good for them. The bad news? While their fashion choices aren't complete misses, they certainly good use a bit of help:

I have no idea who Imogen Heap is, but she gets the award for "Are you kidding me?" Pity the person who had to sit behind her during the show:

Carrie Underwood has award show gear down solid. For someone who is so new to the red carpet, the former American Idol winner seems to have a very good stylist and she knows what works for her. Gorgeous.

LeAnne Rimes was there last night with her husband, Dean. Nice and understated, I just wish she'd take a bit more of a risk. The dress and styling is ok, just nothing to write home about.

Finally, Vanessa Minnillo breaks out of her usual rut of prom girl dresses, and tries something different. It's a simple sheath and appropriate for the evening. But where was boyfriend Nick Lachey?
Other than the fact that her curls needed a tad bit of taming, I think Shakira's dress was my favorite of the evening. Simple and gorgeous, I loved the red bow. Her makeup was subtle and just right.
Hilary Duff. I think the top of the dress looks eerily reminiscent of lingerie, but she's young and fun and can make it look cute. Madison and I differ on our opinion of her hair color. She prefers her blonde. I liked the blonde, but thinks the dark locks look much more striking.
Photos from People.

Newsstand Friday: Ok! Magazine

Here's what you can find in OK! Magazine this week:

CAMERON DIAZ

Desperate for a second chance with Justin

Seems Cameron Diaz is regretting not marrying Justin Timberlake when she had the chance. The 34-year-old actress and her former flame announced they had ended their nearly four-year courtship earlier this month. Cameron has since begged her ex for a second chance, but Justin has already moved on. The playboy pop singer has been spotted chatting it up with Jessica Biel and his former girlfriend Alyssa Milano. The two, who dated after his 2002 split from Britney Spears, danced up a storm at a Jan. 19 party he threw at Jet nightclub at the Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. “They were having a great time,” an eyewitness tells OK!. “It certainly looked like they were a couple again.” Possibly realizing there’s little chance for a reconciliation, Cameron has been consoling herself on the waves, and she’s not alone…

LINDSAY LOHAN

As she tackles rehab, Lindsay speaks exclusively with OK!

On Jan. 16, Lindsay Lohan entered an outpatient program at the Wonderland Center in Los Angeles, and she opened up to OK! exclusively about her brave decision. “I’m doing so great,” Lindsay, 20, told OK! the evening of Jan. 17. “I’m fine. Nothing to worry about. Thank you so much for checking in. I do appreciate it.” In fact, she added, “I’m actually watching American Idol at the moment and laughing so hard!” OK! explains what made Lindsay take such drastic measures to get her life back on track.

TOM AND KATIE

The Mission: Impossible star is ready for another baby!

Tom Cruise wants wife Katie to expand their family, pronto. He’s tapping into two powerful allies – soon-to-be-L.A. neighbors David and Victoria Beckham – to convince Katie to have another baby. Victoria, who is mother to three sons, has said, “All I want to do now is stay in the shadows and look after my children.” A friend of Tom’s tells OK!, “To Tom, the Beckhams are the perfect role models for how he wants his marriage to progress.” But Katie, who was on her way to an A-list career before she hooked up with Tom, may have other ideas…

MANDY MOORE

Her new movie, and her new man!

Mandy Moore is already an accomplished industry veteran with albums, movies and high-profile boyfriends to boot. But the 22-year-old performer likes to stay out of the paparazzi limelight. “I’m not looking for that sort of attention,” she says. “I’m a homebody. I’m an old woman in the body of a 22-year-old.” Even though Mandy can sing and act, she doesn’t consider herself a triple threat. “I cannot dance at all — I have no rhythm,” she chuckles.

ALSO INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

BRITNEY’S NEW MAN. GREY’S ANATOMY FEUD CONTINUES. BODY BATTLES. THE OLSEN MYSTERIES. AMERICAN IDOL WATCH! THE CAST OF THE GAME GETS GRUB. UGLY BETTY’S BECKI NEWTON.

Cover Girl: Mandy Moore

Mandy Moore is featured in this month's Jane Magazine, according to Us Weekly. We get all the dish about how Mandy's doing since her split from Scrbus star Zach Braff:

On having a quarter-life crisis:

"I've been going through this really crazy time in my life – it's what I imagine people fresh out of college go through. I'm asking myself life-altering questions like, 'Who am I? Where do I fit in this world? What am I doing, what do I want to do? Am I living to my full potential?"

On her early albums:

"I feel bad that people wasted their money on such trite, blah pop music."

On being depressed:
"A few months ago, I felt really low, really sad. Depressed for no reason. I'm a very positive person, and I've always been glass half-full. So it was like someone flipped a switch in me."

On breaking up with Zach Braff:

"The breakup added to what I was going through, but it's not the complete reason. It definitely doesn't help if you're already in that place..."

On leaving pop music behind:

"I could've made a record a year ago with the same people who do everybody's records. But I'm super-proud that I stuck to my guns. You don't have to follow the mainstream. I love pop music but it's not right for me."

On dating:

"I've tried dating a bit, and I don't like it. I know I should be putting myself out there. But I don't really think it's for me. That's not to say I'm ready to jump back into a relationship any time soon. I'm definitely not looking. But it would be fun to have a crush."

On why she doesn’t drink:

"I'm a control freak, and I think maybe that's why. I'm too scared to see what will happen. I've been drunk maybe two or three times in my life, although I do like to have a glass of wine before going into the studio, to mellow me out."

On her image:

"I kind of am a goody-goody. But I'm not judgmental. I've done a couple of movies [A Walk to Remember, Saved] where I've played Christian characters, so people assume I'm very religious. It's not a completely correct perception of who I am."

On the future:

"I'm still figuring it all out, but I want to be extraordinary. I want to live up to my full potential. I've always been really shy, very 'don't look at me.' I've wanted to hide. But now I don't want to hide.”

Mandy Moore and DJ AM Step Out

So maybe it really is true that Mandy Moore and Nicole Richie's ex, DJ AM, are dating. The two went out for lunch in West Hollywood on Monday. Looks like when DJ AM asks for a favor from his friends, they deliver.

Photo from People.

What's Up for Wilmer Valderrama?

The popular star of That 70s Show has been busy lately, especially with those pesky rumors that he's back with his ex, Mandy Moore (yet to be confirmed).

Parade Magazine recently caught up Wilmer, and he's got stuff going on all over the place:

"I created a new reality show for MTV," he said. "You ever see the movie 8 Mile? I created an 8 Mile with laughs. It's a competition called Yo Mama. We go to cities around L.A. and get a bunch of kids at random and let them talk smack—you know: 'Yo mama's this, yo mama's that...' The funniest, the most creative of them will battle it out before a live audience. We need a new generation of reality shows. That's the idea here."

But even for MTV, won't the language be pretty rough? "The more profanity you use," Wilmer said, "the less creative you look. They discipline themselves. MTV guaranteed us 20 episodes. I'm the host and executive producer." So he has money in this thing? "Sure," Wilmer answered. "In Hollywood, to make real money, you have to own a piece of it."

Today, Wilmer is savoring a life that a few years back seemed impossibly distant. He recently was cast to star in the new film version of the '70s TV series CHiPs. On top of performing and producing, he even has a clothing line, Calavena, due out soon, and he co-owns three restaurants. As Wilmer said happily, "It's crazy, man."

Photo from Wilmer's very own site.

Andy Roddick and Mandy Moore: Together, But Not Really

I'm no body language expert, but I bet a lot can be gleaned from this picture of the former couple on December 8th. The fact that her head is tilting away from him and there's all that space between them. No tension there, eh?

Tennis star Andy Roddick and singer/actress Mandy Moore came together recently to host the Charity Celebrity Poker Tournament on Friday in the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. It was Andy's event, and Mandy was on hand to up the celebrity ante.

He told People magazine, "We're cool. We're doing fine now. She's a good girl, and it says a lot about her to come out tonight."

The pair dated for over a year and split up in 2004. Also on hand were other celebrity stars, Venus and Serena Williams, Nicky Hilton and Backstreet Boy Howie Dorough.

Money from Friday's event went towards the Andy Roddick Foundation, which supports Kids in Distress, A Safe Haven for Newborns and other charities that assist abused and at-risk children.

Roddick said of the event, "We proposed the concept and everyone was real excited. We have superstars of the tennis world, the modeling world with the cast of (MTV's) 8th and Ocean, the actress world with Mandy. I'm humbled by everybody that came out tonight. It's pretty cool."

Before the gossip mongers go into overdrive, the pair remain friends, and that's it.

Photo from People.