Celeb Secrets: Hanging out with HOLLYWOOD ROYALTY

Sunday Mirror, Nov 17, 2002 by Words: Elaine Lipworth

Elizabeth Hurley is on her second glass of red wine and she has her arm around Elton John. Halle Berry and Oprah Winfrey are chatting over the lobster salad and Lara Flynn Boyle is deep in conversation with Geena Davis. It's the Carousel of Hope Ball in Beverly Hills and with so many famous faces it's impossible not to gawp. There are dozens of charity bashes most nights of the week in Los Angeles, but this one is literally dazzling. Kate Hudson's admiring Lisa Kudrow's Dolce & Gabbana dress, while across the room Raquel Welch and her husband are joined by Barry Manilow - who's just been having a chinwag with Don Johnson and Christian Slater. The ball is in aid of childhood diabetes and only takes place every other year - even reclusive celebrities like Liz Taylor glide along the red carpet with a royal wave for the paparazzi.

Oprah has jetted in from Chicago for the evening, despite the fact she doesn't like LA and prefers to spend her evenings at home. 'I rarely go out,' the star tells me over a glass of champagne at the cocktail reception in the Beverly Hilton hotel. 'But I've travelled across the country after doing two shows to be here. I believe to whom much is given, much is expected, so each person has to give back to the community.' She looks fantastic in a shimmering white Vera Wang gown with plunging neckline and dangling diamond earrings. In fact, all the 1,300 guests at tonight's event are dressed up to the nines - not surprising considering they've paid $5,000 a ticket. Some big spenders have forked out $50,000 for a whole table, then filled it with friends.

So why does this particular charity get such widespread celebrity backing? All the stars say the reason is simple: the Carousel Of Hope is run by 71-year-old Barbara Davis, who is married to a Denver oil billionaire and has a daughter with diabetes. 'Barbara is extremely driven and very charming, so it's hard to say no to her,' says Kelsey Grammer, explaining the big turnout. 'I've tried, but I always find myself back here.'

The stars adore the charity queen with the big blonde hair in the diaphanous candyfloss pink Oscar de la Renta gown (she always wears pink for her parties). 'I wanted to feel like a fairy princess,' says Barbara, dripping with diamonds and carrying a tiny evening bag shaped like a crown. 'I started all this because my healthy seven- year-old daughter Dana woke up one day and wasn't well. I took her to the doctor and was told she'd be on insulin for the rest of her life. It was a tremendous shock and I just knew I had to fight.'

Barbara's parties have raised more than $65 million over 25 years, but she admits organising the ball has taken over her life. 'I spend six months phoning the stars personally then planning the entertainment. It's so glam and glitzy even the most spoilt celebs want to be on the guest list. Tonight Sting, Elton John and B.B. King are giving a private concert.'

The affair is lavish: pink roses all over the ballroom, chairs draped in white satin. Painted carousel horses gallop across giant fluffy white clouds on an elaborate tableau over the stage. 'It's a bunch of rich people, of course it's lavish,' says Roseanne Barr, who's holding hands with a blonde woman who she drags on to the dance floor as B.B. King belts out Let The Good Times Roll.

'Barbara, girl, you know how to throw some fancy schmancy party,' says Oprah later in the evening. However, not all the stars are in such good spirits. In the ladies' loo, the whiff of clashing perfumes is overpowering and Tori Spelling's clutching a glass of champagne. 'I can't stand the heat and the noise is too much,' she whines to a friend who looks exactly like her in an identical dress. Tori and the unknown starlet seem positively miserable. I wonder why they've bothered to come. 'I don't want to talk, I'm socialising with my friends, this is not an appropriate time for an interview,' the actress snaps with a frosty smile when I try to chat.

Back at the reception, her dad, TV tycoon Aaron Spelling is much more friendly. 'Isn't it fun? It's the place to see and be seen, to look gorgeous and glamorous,' says the man behind Dynasty, Charlie's Angels and Beverly Hills, 90210. 'Don't you think stars like to dress up and go to big parties? Yes they do. When you come here you want to look better and dress better than everyone else. My wife Candy is wearing a gorgeous dress, and, as you can see, the diamonds are wearing her,' he says, roaring with laughter. 'Have you seen my daughter?' he jokes as sulky Tori walks past. 'We love her very much, she's very talented and God bless her.'

Tori and most of the women at the Carousel Ball have certainly been blessed with money and good figures - or good plastic surgeons. The ballroom's full of surgically enhanced bodies, tanned and toned to perfection. The women are enviably skinny, but on closer inspection the look is the same: huge breasts, no hips, tiny turned- up noses, pouty lips, sculpted cheekbones and bleached blonde hair. Black, lace, strapless, backless sequin gowns and big expensive jewellery are also the order of the night.