To print this page, select "Print" from the File menu of your browser salon.com > People Oct. 14, 1999 URL: http://www.salon.com/people/col/reit/1999/10/14/np1014 Corset's end Helena Bonham Carter comes undone! Divorce, British style. When pets take after the stars. Plus: the Unabrother makes a deal. - - - - - - - - - - - - By Amy Reiter In trends, as in comedy, the rule of three still applies. But I'm settling for two. Trend 1: British actresses ditching -- and dissing -- corsets. Last week it was Kate Winslet doffing her constricting underthings. Now, Helena Bonham Carter is cutting loose. "No matter how many modern parts I do, people still refer to me as Mrs. Costume Drama," complains cinched-waist and heaving-bosom expert Bonham Carter in Los Angeles magazine. "It would be nice to really shed the corsets." Trend 2: Divorced British couples finding bliss together. Fergie, the Duchess of York, is boasting to the British tabloids that she and her live-in ex, Prince Andrew, are the "happiest divorced couple in the world." "Some people are very happily married; well, we're very happily divorced," she told the Daily Mirror. "It might sound strange but we believe very strongly in what we've got." Fergie and her royal friend might find a little competition from Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall. The same tabloid also reports that the rock 'n' roll couple have decided, after a pregnant pause in their ... uh ... non-marriage, to shack up again. Their cohabitation is strictly platonic -- they live in different wings of the house. "Everyone is happy with the arrangement, especially the children," a source told the paper. Sounds like these folks are ready for careers in U.S. politics. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Just in case you still thought undertakers had more fun "I'm so glad I'm in this business. You go to the best restaurants and meet the nicest people. Maybe if I was in the funeral director business or real estate, it wouldn't nearly be as much fun." -- Julia Child on the joy of cooking. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - My goldfish looks like Donald Trump Does your Persian kitty remind you of Rosie O'Donnell? Is your pit bull the spitting image of Rudy Giuliani? Does your exotic parakeet look (and squawk) more like Fran Drescher than you care to admit? If so, you're not alone. In a poll conducted by Pet Assure, an animal HMO, more cat owners think their pets resemble O'Donnell than any other celebrity -- with Hillary Clinton, Cameron Diaz, Eddie Murphy and Whoopi Goldberg padding along just behind. Dog owners most frequently named Giuliani, Jim Carrey, Oprah Winfrey and Al Gore as their pets' celebrity Doppelgängers. George Foreman was also a top choice. "One respondent said his chocolate Lab reminded him of Foreman in both appearance and appetite," Pet Assure spokesman Jerry Hirsh (whose own endearingly erratic dog, Midnight, is a dead ringer for Andy Kaufman) told me. "He said if the dog wasn't neutered, he'd have given all his puppies the same name." In addition to Drescher, bird owners' pecking order included Elton John, Linda Tripp (of whom a D.C.-dwelling golden retriever does a spot-on impression), Howard Stern and Madeleine Albright. Bill Gates was named most lizard-like and Dan Quayle took the prize in the hamster category. How do you spell Habitrail again? - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Zoinks! Shaggy's jumpin' and jivin' "Look at the Gap television commercials and you'll see hundreds of people dressing like Shaggy." -- Time Warner exec Dan Capone on the ongoing fashion impact of "Scooby-Doo." - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Juicy bits Who wants to break the news to David Gelernter? David Kaczynski, the Unabomber's bro, is teaming up with Disney to make a movie based on his life. "This is a tale of a brother who learns who his brother really is and attempts to save him, in the face of a horrific crime," Jon ("Fried Green Tomatoes," "Inspector Gadget") Avnet, who will direct the film, told Variety. Here's hoping turgid writing doesn't run in the family. Sheesh. The Gingrich divorce mess just keeps spreading. Now the Associated Press reports that Mr. Nasty is seeking permission to question Marianne's friends. It's not clear what he's hoping to prove, except what a prince of a guy he really is. But then we knew that. salon.com | Oct. 14, 1999