Ask American Profile

Nicole Richie, Jerry O'Connell, Don McLean, William Peterson

I love Nicole Richie of The Simple Life. Does she have any plans to make movies?
—Tyrone S., Michigan

The reality show star just signed a deal to appear in Kids in America with Rosanna Arquette, but she also can be seen on TV in Simple Life 2, with best friend Paris Hilton. “We go around America and get different jobs, and we have as much fun as we did on the first one,” she says. The 22-year-old daughter of singer Lionel Richie has a boyfriend, but it’s not American Idol singer Justin Guarini, who’s rumored to be her fiancé. “You know what’s so weird? I’m engaged to somebody else every week (in the press). I think it’s funny.”

I read that actor Jerry O’Connell of Crossing Jordan went to the Kentucky Derby this year. Is he a big horse-racing fan?
—Cindy M., Oklahoma

The May race was his fifth Run for the Roses. The 30-year-old New York native says the Kentucky Derby is “right up there with the Super Bowl and the World Series. Louisville knows how to do it up big.” He also attends the Breeder’s Cup and the Belmont Stakes. And he bets “a substantial amount of money, but it’s not how much you bet, it’s how much you walk away with.” Chances are he blew his winnings on shoes. “I don’t go for Gucci,” he says. “I’ll spend thousands of dollars on sneakers.”

What is singer Don McLean doing these days?
—Mark F., California

“I am working on a box set, a Christmas compilation called Christmastime and an album of new material to be released late this year,” the New Rochelle, N.Y., native says. “I do about 50 concert dates a year. This year, I will visit Hong Kong, Ireland and Australia, in addition to my American concert dates.” In June, McClean, 59, who penned and sang the 1971 hit American Pie, was inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. “When I’m not working, I have a 175-acre property with horses which I maintain,” he says. “I am a Western horseman and have been for almost 25 years.” He spends most of the year in Maine with his wife, well-known children’s photographer Patricia, and their two children, Jackie Lee, 14, and Wyatt, 11.

Could you tell me where William Petersen has been all these years? Is he married, and if so, how many times and does he have children?
—Kathyrn H., Alabama

The star who plays Gil Grissom on the popular CBS drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, in addition to serving as the show’s co-executive producer, is a newlywed. He and Gina Cirone married in 2003 and live in Los Angeles. Grissom had been divorced for many years from Joanne Brady, the mother of his adult daughter. His long and distinguished career includes many theater, television and film roles. Movies include Manhunter, Cousins and To Live and Die in L.A. Television credits include the films Long Gone, The Rat Pack and The Kennedys of Massachusetts. Born in Evanston, Ill., he attended Idaho State University on a football scholarship and discovered acting there.

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