Sharon Stone says she's willing to make a fool of herself – for a good cause, of course. The actress, who was honored with the Harvard Foundation's 2005 Humanitarian Award for leading an American Foundation for AIDS Research (amFAR) campaign, told us that as a fund-raiser, "you have to be willing to be shameless. You have to be willing to potentially make a fool of yourself asking for money and for people to care. Sometimes you just feel like you're going to throw up or faint." And she puts her money where her mouth is: During the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 28, she pledged $10,000 and dared others to follow suit. In five minutes, she raised $100,000 for the Global Fund to Fight AIDS.
"I am extremely humbled and honored to be celebrated for my concern for humanity," Stone said during her acceptance speech at the university, where she was joined by her siblings and grandparents. "All of our actions, small and large, reflect us. When we don't tolerate, we become small."
The actress will morph back into movie-star mode when she reprises her Basic Instinct role as homicidal writer Catherine Tramell. Stone flies to London on April 18 to begin filming the sequel to the 1992 hit movie. "The script is just great," she says. "The film has a sensational cinematographer and a killer wardrobe." No pun intended.
Baby Love
Seal and Heidi Klum were the picture of a happy family as the expectant parents shopped with Klum's 10-month-old daughter Leni at Los Angeles's Fred Segal boutique recently. While Klum tried on vintage denim jackets and browsed for jewelry and Juicy Couture sweats, Seal trailed behind carrying a smiling Leni. "He bounced and danced to the music (in the store) to entertain her," says a fellow shopper. "You can tell he adores that baby."
Staying Put
Will & Grace star Debra Messing is laying to rest the rumors that her hit NBC show is moving its production from the West Coast to New York City. "We are staying in L.A.," she told us at a Gotham magazine party at the Beverly Hills restaurant Maple Drive. "My family is back east and I would love for my son (Roman, who turns 1 April 7) to be able to see them more, but he's so little right now that we can take our time."
But make no mistake: Messing loves the Big Apple. She got her master's in fine arts at New York University, where she also met her husband, Daniel Zelman. "It's the city itself. It's the energy. There's something in me that comes alive when I enter New York. It's a really magnetic thing. I keep expecting the romance to wane, but it hasn't yet. I think I'm smitten."
Caught in the Act
• American Idol judge Randy Jackson, lunching at L.A. eatery Asia de Cuba, where he had the signature tunapica (tuna tartare with Spanish olives, black currants, coconut, soy-lime vinaigrette and wonton crisps).
• By PAYSHA STOCKTON, KIM LANSING, MARISA LAUDADIO and RUTH ANDREW ELLENSON
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