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Page Hopkins, Toby Keith, Mark Lowry, Golden Globe Awards

Could you please give us some information on Page Hopkins, who is with FOX News?
—Tom M., Florida

Page Hopkins was born in 1966 and grew up in the Seattle suburb of Bellevue, Wash. She says her parents always watched the news and she "thought it looked so exciting. All these women on the news got to talk to so many interesting people.’’ The FOX News weekend anchor says the profession has turned out to be "so much more rewarding" than she expected. "Living in these times, it’s so important to bring the best, most accurate, most truthful accounts to viewers,’’ she says. After graduating from Wellesley College in Wellesley, Mass. (pop. 26,613), she worked for TV stations in West Palm Beach, Fla., and Monroe, La. (pop. 53,107). She served as an anchor for Moneycast, a nationally syndicated show on Bloomberg Television, before joining Fox News in 2002. She lives in New York City with her husband and two children.

How about something on Toby Keith? This guy does such a wide range of music and he’s not monotonous like a lot of other artists.
—Mrs. A. M., California

Country music singer Toby Keith, 43, put a twist on the ad campaign for the city of Las Vegas—"What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas"—on his current hit, Stays in Mexico. The song, from his new CD, Greatest Hits 2, has sparked controversy for its return to one of country’s oldest themes: cheating. "People say I like to stir things up," he says, "but it’s just not being afraid to play what you write." The Academy of Country Music Entertainer of the Year, who lives near Norman, Okla., also isn’t scared of branching out. Next spring, Harrah’s Casino in Las Vegas will open "I Love This Bar & Grill," a Keith-themed club. Keith insists his family—wife Tricia and children Shelley, Krystal and Stelen—isn’t impressed with his success. "Most of those things don’t impress me, either," he says, "but it sure feels great."

What happened to Mark Lowry, who used to sing with the Gaither Vocal Band?
—Mrs. Horace B., South Carolina

Mark Lowry, who sang baritone for 13 years in the award-winning Southern gospel quartet, is busy with a solo career as a singer and Christian comedian. He’s touring the country this year with LordSong and Stan Whitmire. His second all-singing album, Some Things Never Change, was released in 2003. The 46-year-old Houston native attended Liberty College in Lynchburg, Va., intending to study business. Instead, he wound up performing at numerous independent Baptist churches around the country for several years after college. In those days, he had to fill the gaps between his songs while he was waiting for someone to change his soundtracks. "Those few seconds of ‘dead air’ can feel like hours when you’re on stage facing a crowd, so to fill time, I’d start talking about my life and my testimony. People would laugh . . . and I finally realized I was on to something," says Lowry, who has homes in Houston and Nashville, Tenn.

How does a film win a Golden Globe Award before it has been released?
—Janice S., Texas

All eligible films, including those that haven’t been released yet to the public, are screened for the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which selects the winners in Hollywood, where its 90 members are based, says Michael Russell, a publicist for the Golden Globes. The awards program, which began in 1944 with movie awards for motion picture and leading and supporting actors and actresses, began honoring television achievements in 1955. In 2004, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King won best dramatic film, best director and two other trophies. The awards, which always are broadcast before the Academy Awards, are closely watched as an indicator of what films are likely to win an Oscar. The 2005 Golden Globes air on NBC on Jan. 16.

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