Celebrity Gift List

By SAMANTHA ETTUS
Scripps Howard News Service
23-DEC-05

Here at Celebrity Assets, as the year comes to a close we have been reflecting on how some of our favorite celebrities have managed their personal brands in the past 12 months.  In that spirit, we present our holiday wish list for some of our most talked about celebrities:

Katie Holmes
After a year of oddities and playing backup to fiancé Tom Cruise, it appears that Katie has been brainwashed right before our eyes.
Celebrity Assets wish:  Katie gets a backbone and the will to be her own person again.  

Michael Douglas
Though we enjoy watching him play family man and second fiddle to wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, who is clearly in the prime of her career, Michael is not too old to capture our attention himself on the big screen.
Celebrity Assets wish:  A plum movie role

Martha Stewart
Celebrities are constantly lifted up and brought down, so it was inevitable that Martha would be unable to sustain the entirely positive response she received after her release from prison.  But after a year of highs and lows, Martha should feel great about her comeback.  Despite some disappointments like her business book The Martha Rules and the cancellation of her Apprentice show after only one season, Martha survived the unrelenting media attention to claim two big successes in her daily talk show and well received new baking book.
Celebrity Assets wish:  Martha will stick to the projects she is known for: crafts, cooking and how-to. 

Jamie Foxx
After winning an Oscar for his role in Ray, Foxx has now taken on a new challenge by launching a music career.  He was already nominated for a Grammy for his 2004 Kanye West-Twista collaboration "Slow Jamz," so we have no reason to doubt his new venture.  With everything coming up roses for Foxx, what more could he ask for?
Celebrity Assets wish:  The only thing missing for Jamie is a solid healthy relationship in the new year.

Britney Spears
As a celebrity, capturing the media spotlight is almost always a positive, as it signals your continued relevance in the public eye. Yet in Britney?s case, she could use a little less exposure.  Since marrying Kevin Federline she has largely made headlines for her personal traumas, and the hits just keep on coming?this week she sued Us Magazine for an allegedly false sex tape story, leading us to wonder if her escalating dramas will ever abate.
Celebrity Assets wish:  For her own sanity and that of baby Sean Preston, a way to keep her personal life private.

Ben Affleck
It was painful to watch new daddy Affleck smoke constantly around his pregnant wife Jennifer Garner, though he claims to have kicked the habit recently.
Celebrity Assets wish:  Ben abandons his unhealthy habit for good, an even more important move now that baby Violet is around.

Jessica Simpson
Her year has been jam packed professionally and her personal life is now in turmoil, having recently filed for divorce from husband Nick Lachey after a year of speculation.
Celebrity Assets wish:  Jessica deserves a long restful nap. 

Donald Trump
After his season three Apprentice flop in which he pitted the educated against the uneducated, Donald rebounded with abandon, boasting a terrific and competitive cast in season four, perhaps his best yet.
Celebrity Assets wish:  Donald keeps his seat on the casting couch for season five.

Remember: the most dependable road to the top is to treat your brand as your greatest asset.
 
(Samantha Ettus? new book, "The Experts' Guide to Life at Home" (Random House) is now in bookstores. Contact her at Samantha@celebrityassets.com.)