For Uma Thurman, there's a bonus to playing an avenging martial-arts assassin in the Kill Bill movies: She's become part of teen slang. "Some high school girls refer to defending themselves by saying they're going to 'go Uma.' It's really funny that in young girls' vernacular, getting tough is 'going Uma'or'getting Uma'ed up,' " says Thurman, 34. Her character also has fashion followers. "When we went around the world doing premieres, there'd be girls dressed up as me in my yellow tracksuit. Watch out!' "
Keeping Tabs
Actress Eva Mendes isn't a fan of tabloids, but she plays a reporter for one in the upcoming romantic comedy Last First Kiss. "Honestly I'm the last person to pick up a tabloid—unless I'm in it," says Mendes, 30. "Then I find it truly fascinating." So what's the most ridiculous thing she's ever read about herself? "Supposedly I was naked and drunk in Miami Beach, hitting on some girl. I got the biggest kick out of that. The bad thing was my mom called and said, I read something.... 'It was a mom's worst nightmare. She did not think that was funny. But I loved it."
Toe Hold
Sometimes the worst participants on Blind Date, the syndicated matchmaking show, make lasting first impressions. Not, unfortunately, on their partners, but on Roger Lodge, the show's host. "People constantly come up and say, 'Remember me? I was the toe sucker in the hot tub,' " says Lodge, 43, who hosts the 1,000th episode May 14. "Among all of the zaniness you see, a lot of people are really looking to meet someone. But when it becomes evident a date's not working out, people think, 'Screw it, I'll be the one that everyone remembers.' " So did Lodge remember the foot fetishist? "I did. She came up to me in the vegetable department of my local supermarket. It was very exciting."
The Mass Menagerie
Kim Basinger's 8-year-old daughter Ireland (with her ex Alec Baldwin) shares the actress's love of all creatures great and small. "I have 21 animals at home—dogs, cats, ducks, bunnies, a cow, hermit crabs, fish and a rat named Nibbles," says Basinger, 50, costarring in the upcoming drama The Door in the Floor. "I've had every pet there is, but never knew much about rats. At the end of Ireland's kindergarten year, the rats needed to go home with someone. There were only two names in the jar. Ireland ran home and said, 'Mom, I won you the rats!' I couldn't say no. They're fun to play with, and they're incredibly bright. They sit on your shoulder while you're working on the computer. They're just beautiful."
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