Daily Insider for January 13

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January 13, 2004
CAUSE CELEB
Actress, singer, designer ... when making a list of teen queen Hilary Duff's credits, don't forget philanthropist. "Charity has always been important to me and my family," the Cheaper by the Dozen star tells PEOPLE.com. "I can remember from when I was little, at Christmas parties my mom would have people bring diapers and canned foods instead of gifts so my mom could take them to shelters." Most recently Duff visited Texas Children's Hospital in Houston. "They are such strong kids," Duff says of the terminally ill kids she visits. "I think that they are amazing, even though they might think that I am amazing." Duff is active with the nonprofit Kids with a Cause, a charity that brings celebrity kids together with less fortunate ones suffering from abuse, neglect, poverty or illness (sister Haylie is a spokesperson).

FINOLA DISHES SOAP DIRT
Ever wonder what really goes on behind the scenes of those steamy soaps? Finola Hughes, a former star of All My Children and General Hospital, is dishing the dirt, in a novel to be called Soap Suds. "I have been writing bits and pieces for the last10 years," she tells us. The names will be changed to protect the innocent (and not so innocent) – but, Hughes says, "If you are in the know and you know soaps, you will sort of know who I am referring to." When she isn't writing, Hughes hosts the series How Do I Look?, debuting Jan. 16 on the Style Network.

CAUGHT IN THE ACT
Recently spotted:
• A dapper Derek Jeter, dining at a corner table at Elio's, an Italian restaurant on Manhattan's Upper East Side that is popular with the city's powerbrokers. His dinner date was MTV VJ Vanessa Minnillo, the 1998 Miss Teen USA. (Also at the restaurant, at another table, was Martha Stewart.)

• Paris Hilton, dining with boyfriend Nick Carter at Justin Timberlake's restaurant Chi in West Hollywood.

• Actor and aspiring music mogul Elijah Wood, at a party at The Vandals bassist Joe Escalante's West Hollywood home.

Reported by: SEAN DALY, HEATHER STABILE, MARISA LAUDADIO and SHARON COTLIAR

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