It’s been almost 16 years since one of the greatest conservationists in the world, Steve Irwin, passed away. His love for the different animals was enormous. He introduced many species to the wide public and always spoke of the natural world with much affection. What’s most, he passed on that love to his children who followed into their dad’s footsteps and are keeping his legacy alive.
Last year, Steve’s daughter, Bindi, welcomed baby daughter Grace Warrior into her life. Since the very first months of her life, Grace got to be around different animals. As mom Bindi shared photos of those first encounters, people were happy that the girl has been taught to love animals from such young age.
Recently, Grace turned 1 year old and the family organized a birthday celebration. One thing that caught the attention of many was the photo of late Steve Irwin the family posed next to.
“Happy Birthday to my graceful warrior,” Bindi wrote on Instagram. “One year of watching your beautiful heart bloom into the most extraordinary person. Grace, you have been an old soul from the very beginning. It is the greatest blessing to be your mama. I love you eternally, unconditionally and infinitely.”
Grandma Terry shared her joy of being a grandmother to Grace. “Today is Grace Warrior’s first birthday,” Steve’s widow wrote. “I am amazed every day when I see her determination, curiosity, and depth of love. There is a wise old soul behind her eyes, and I am very privileged to be her grandmother.”
Credit / Bindi Irwin – Instagram
We are sure grandpa Steve is looking down on Grace from heaven and is proud of her and of the people his children have become.
Happy birthday, Grace Warrior. We wish you all the happiness and joy in the world.
Always ahead of her time, actress, model, musician, and above all a style icon who stirred the world of fashion numerous times throughout the years, Grace Jones remains until this day someone we all admire. Being 73 doesn’t prevent this unique woman from living her life to the fullest, something many envy her for.
Born in Jamaica and raised in upstate New York, Jones has never failed at stunning the world, whether it’s been because of her music, her fearlessness, or her decision to shave her head and brows at one point of her life wanting to “look more abstract, less tied to a specific race or sex or tribe,” as per her own words shared with Vogue.
Jones’ family was extremely religious and she was expected to live following strict rules, something her rebellious spirit didn’t allow her.
“I hated my dad; he was so strict. But now I love him because they didn’t make him bishop for a long time because of me,” she once shared with The Guardian.
“There was an article in Ebony magazine about me with a photograph of the family around the piano. My dad wasn’t in it, but the fact that it was released in a magazine… he was supposed to cut me off, like in the Bible it says, ‘If your right arm offends, you cut it off.’ He said, ‘I don’t care; I support my daughter.’ But it held him back.’”
Shutterstock/Bart Sherkow
Being influenced by her mother, Jones showed passion for fashion and was great at designing her own clothes from very early age.
“I got a lot of my style from my mom, to be honest. We were all sewing, making designer clothes when we were teenagers,” she told Interview Magazine.
“And I was crocheting since I could pick up a crochet needle. My mom was a really good seamstress, so she used to make all these designer things.
“We never bought clothes off the rack. Everything was original. I believe that influenced me a lot. We had to pick out our own buttons, threads, our own fabrics. There are a lot of details in making your own stuff.”
Never afraid to show her body and her sexual power, Jones turned to modeling. She didn’t see it as her career initially and only did it in order to make money for her rent, but her unique appearance attracted the attention of numerous modeling agencies, so soon enough, she found herself sharing an apartment with two other models in the capital of the fashion world, Paris.
She was the life of the parties at the famous Studio 54 and turned to music after model Pat Cleveland heard her singing and told her she was extremely talented.
“I’d say, ‘Grace, you need to sing, honey,’” Cleveland told Marie Claire. “She’d say, ‘Well, if you sing with me,’ So I started singing with her. But then, when she finally got a producer and invited me into the studio to sing, I had to say, “No, Grace, this is your thing.’”
“You don’t get to stay famous for long unless you’re always switching,” Andy Warhol was said to have written in his diary. “Grace Jones is an example of this.”
Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
Speaking of Warhol, he and Jones were very close friends.
“Andy was very quiet. He talked softly. I’d never ever hear him raise his voice or anything like that. I think he liked watching me. He was more of an observer, and he felt comfortable with me. I don’t know why, but he did feel really comfortable together with me,” Jones told Interview Magazine.
“He would just give me advice, things like, I’d say I don’t like signing autographs, and sometimes we’d be out, and people would come for an autograph, and I’d just be like, ‘No, I don’t really wanna sign an autograph,’ and he’d just say, ‘Oh Grace, it’ll make them happy, you make them feel good when you do it.’ So I said, ‘Why am I doing that?’ It didn’t make sense to me. This was Andy helping me realize that it’s better to do it than not to do it.”
In 1977, Grace signed a record contract with British label Island and that was the start of her long and successful music career she would always turn to again and again. In 1984, Jones was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Video Album for her long-form music video collection, A One Man Show.
One incident which made her the center of attention back in the day was Jones’ appearance on Russell Harty’s talk show. The script was pre-planed and rehearsed beforehand, but the audience changed the atmosphere once they went live and the show ended up with Jones slapping Harty multiple times. Apparently, she was ignored and that made her feel uncomfortable and that was the reason for the scandalous outcome.
Youtube/Fiona Apple Rocks
Although she made a name for herself as an established musician, Jones eventually turned to acting and landed the role of Zula in Conanthe Barbarian.
One thing led to another, and after a number of successful films, Jones got the role of May Day in the James Bond movie A View to a Kill, in which she starred alongside legendary Bond actor Roger Moore.
Shutterstock/Kathy Hutchins
One thing she was known for was that she never performed unless she was paid beforehand. One time, she was supposed to perform at a show organized by LG Electronics, but as they failed to provide her with the money, she stood them up. That story is one of the most scandalous ones.
“I am ready for action. The champagne is flowing, the oysters slipping down nicely. Again, though, no money, and it is a Saturday. They are begging me. ‘We will have the money on Monday.’ No, I am not moving until I’m paid. I won’t even leave the hotel and go to the venue because there is too much pressure once you arrive,” Jones wrote in her autobiography, I’ll Never Write My Memoirs.
“We say, ‘Well, give us all your jewelry and watches, your Rolexes, as a deposit. We’ll keep them in the safe until I get paid.’ They do not want to do that. They get increasingly desperate. Finally, after a couple of hours with me not budging and everyone trying to come up with a solution, they called with an idea for a deposit for the weekend until they could get the cash on Monday.
“They say, ‘We have an employee who has a baby she is prepared to offer as security. We have a baby! You can keep the baby until we bring you the money.’ The baby is the most outrageous story of them all. I didn’t take the baby. They couldn’t get the money. I didn’t do the show.”
Gareth Cattermole/BFC/Getty Images
Not surprisingly, the now 73-year-old actress, performer, and model, looks as stunning as always. She says she wants to be remembered as someone who made people happy.
This icon is reported to have a net worth of around $7 million.
A year ago, Ronnie and Donnie Galyon, the oldest conjoined twins died at 68.
When their parents learned they were expecting twins, they were over the moon. Little did they know, however, that their boys were not ordinary. When they were welcomed into the world on October 28, 1951, Ronnie and Donnie’s mom and dad were shocked to see their babies were conjoined.
Unfortunately, a surgery to separate them was way too risky, and the parents decided against it. Shortly after, their mom decided she didn’t want to take care of them and the two brothers were raised by their father, Wesly, and their stepmom, Marry.
Following their 63rd birthday, in 2014, Ronnie and Donnie were awarded the title oldest living conjoined twins by the Guinness World Record. With that, their dream came true, as they always wanted their names to be written in that book. “It’s what me and Donnie’s always dreamed about, and we hope to get the ring, because we’ve dreamed about getting this since we were kids,” Ronnie said in an interview back in 2014.
Unfortunately, the Galyon brothers died on July 4, 2020.
They never attended school and were the sole breadwinners in the family. They made their living performing at carnivals throughout the country. The brothers retired back in 1991 and lived together with their brother Jim after kind-hearted members of the community raised money and helped construct an addition to Jim’s house for them.
“They’ll live the rest of their days here comfortably,” Jim told Dayton Daily News in 2010, and explained how his brothers lived in a tiny apartment in the city before they moved in with him. “They’re definitely happier. They’re definitely more at peace.”
World’s oldest conjoined twins dead at 68. RONNIE AND DONNY had earned the distinction of being the world’s oldest conjoined twins shortly before their 63rd birthday. https://t.co/EhqfHb1xUl via @HuffPost
Ronnie and Donnie lived their lives to the fullest. They didn’t have any regrets and were happy with their brother and the little circle of friends they made throughout the years.
“We had fun when we were growing up,” Ronnie said, as per the Daily Mail. “We’ve had a nice life,” Donnie was reported to had added.
Two huge stars in their own right, Lady Gaga and Liza Minnelli, capped off last night’s Oscars ceremony when they presented the Oscar for Best Picture. When they took the stage, they received standing ovations. Then, Lady gaga turned to Minnelli, took her hand and said “Do you see that? The public, they love you.”
The presence of Minnelli, who is 76 and wheelchair-bound, brought joy to many and elicited an outpouring on social media, with many people saying that her being on stage represents “a powerful moment of inclusivity.”
Neilson Barnard/Getty Images
Lady Gaga acknowledged Minnelli by announcing that the actress was celebrating the 50th anniversary of Cabaret, for which she won an Oscar for Best Actress in 1972.
Holding the cue cads in her hands, Minnelli stumbled with her words, but Lady Gaga got closer to her and said “I got you,” to what Minnelli replied, “I know, thank you.”
This exchange melted millions of hearts. Many said it was the highlight of the night, and we can’t agree more.
Lady Gaga is such a special one.
The way she’s gently handling Liza (and Tony Bennett so many times before) shows you her heart. #TheOscars
Lady Gaga telling Liza Minnelli “I got you” on stage at the Academy Awards in an industry and society that so rarely takes care of its older women. My heart needed that. One day I hope someone will be there to say “I got you” too.
Say what you want about Lady Gaga but you have to respect a performer at the top of their game who takes the time to lovingly connect with and celebrate elders like Tony Bennett and Liza Minnelli in the way she does.
Before attending the Oscars, Lady Gaga was partying at Elton John AIDS Foundation’s 30th Annual Academy Awards Viewing Party for which she wore a dazzling pastel gown and red lipstick.
In life, not everyone is lucky enough to be part of a family that will teach them what love and security are. Many kids are part of dysfunctional surroundings and never get to experience parental love.
Three brothers Joey, 3, Logan, 2, and Noah, 1, found themselves looking for a forever home. The chances were that they would end up in three different families and that would mean they wouldn’t be given the chance to grow up by each other’s side.
However, things turned for the best for these young boys and they were all adopted by the same family. Their story is an example that miracles do happen, and theirs took place just before Christmas.
KC and Lena Currie of Sudbury, Massachusetts, adopted Joey around a year ago after they met him at an event sponsored by Children’s Friend.
“We saw a picture of Joey and Children’s Friend mentioned [it] would be a good match,” Lena explained. “He was 18 months old at the time.”
Joey was a loving little boy who settled in with his new family just perfectly. Although they didn’t really consider adopting another child, the Curries got a call from Children’s Friend and were told how Joey had a little brother who was six weeks old. Sweet Noah needed a home, and both KC and Lena knew his place was right beside his brother’s. Soon after, Noah was legally adopted and part of the family.
Some time later, the family learned of the third brother, Logan. They were told how he was supposed to be adopted, but something turned wrong and he was again looking for a family.
Was it a sign that they should adopt him, too? Well, the Curries believed exactly that and now the siblings were together, under one roof.
“It was our gut feeling,” KC told GMA. “We were going to end up saying yes because keeping the brothers together was really important to us. When they’re older and have questions, they’ll have each other to lean on and experience that ride together.”
Looking after three kids under the age of 4 isn’t easy, but KC and Lena are more than willing to do all in their power to be the perfect parents to their boys.
“It’s the first year and first holiday where it’s all permanent and true,” Lena said.
“Now we can start dreaming about grade school, sports, and all those fun things,” added KC.
This story is both touching and inspiring and exactly what we needed to hear during the most wonderful time of the year.
One 20-year-old University of South Carolina student is sharing her incredible story of how she escaped from kidnappers thanks to advice her mom once gave her.
It all happened as the young woman, Jordan, was going to her student apartment building after finishing work as around 1 a.m.
As she approached the place, three men suddenly approached her and took her possessions. To make things even worse and way scarier, they pointed a gun at her.
As they tried stealing her car, they realized they couldn’t operate it because it was a stick shift, and that’s when the real hell happened. Two of the men forcefully put Jordan in the car and forced her to drive them to the gas station. The third man ran away.
The men, who were later identified as teenagers, told Jordan to withdraw money from the ATM machine. They also told her they were going to violate her. That’s when the brave woman decided to take action inspired by a story her mom once told her.
Speaking to WCBD News2, Jordan, who’s a criminal justice major said:
“I thought back to my mom. She was almost a victim of assault when she was in college, and she fought back and fought the man off, and I thought you know, I’m going to be strong like my mom, I’m going to get myself out of this.”
Facebook
Jordan’s mother, Beth Turner, always taught her daughter to be brave. She wisely advised her to be strong and fight back if she ever found herself in a similar situation.
According to ABC News 4, Jordan said:
“My mom always told me, you know, don’t let them get you alone, because then you have no help, you have no hope for passerby’s to see you or hear you, and you have no help to get out.”
After withdrawing the money from the ATM, Jordan started planning her escape. Once she entered the car again, she didn’t put the seat belt on, so she jumped out of the moving vehicle.
“I just kind of thought in my head, ‘Do it, do it, do it,’ and then the next thing I know, my hands were on the handle, I was opening the door and I was staring at the pavement,” Jordan explained.
Youtube
As soon as she jumped out of the car, Jordan tried signaling moving cars to stop and help her. Two drivers passed by without stopping, but the third was kind enough to pull over.
According to ABC News 4, the college student told reporters:
“They were in a moving vehicle, without a driver, and a 20-year-old girl just outsmarted you. I wish I could’ve seen their faces at that moment, so that they knew that I might have been a victim, but I was not victimized.”
After the incident, the two teens got arrested. They were well known to the police as they had been involved with a number of other crimes at the area.
Leslie Thompson, a study hall teacher at Confier High School in Colorado couldn’t get the words her student RJ Sampson said to her out of her head. RJ is visually impaired and he never got to read the yearbook.
So when he asked her “When are you going to make me a braille yearbook?” she knew she had to do her best in order for this wish of his to become a reality.
RJ wanted his own yearbook from the time he was only a freshman, and now as a senior, he was finally going to get it thanks to his teacher and his classmates who loves him very much.
All the students loved the idea of helping make RJ’s dream come true. Everyone got engaged in the process of making the braille yearbook. RJ, of course, had no idea what the school’s staff and the students were up to.
However, this wasn’t an easy task to do. Leslie, the vision team, and the yearbook committee spent more than 1,500 hours making it. But they didn’t mind that. The only thing they cared for was RJ’s smile when he gets to hold it in his hands.
Take a look at the video below to see the heartwarming moment the surprise is revealed in front of the students gathered at the school hall. This is truly amazing and shows how loving the people from this education facility really are.
Although he always believed he would pursue a career in sports, Garth Brooks ended up becoming one of the most famous country singers of all time thanks to his music talent.
It was during his years at the Oklahoma State University that Brooks became aware of his love for singing and performing. He and his friends experimented with music in their dorm rooms and soon after, Brooks decided to take his guitar to a local salon named Willie’s and ask if he could perform. Once on stage, with all those people listening to him playing and singing, Brooks knew music was his calling.
“One night turned into two nights, three nights, and pretty soon I was playing Monday through Friday all over town,” Brooks recalled to Colbert. “The great thing was, it wasn’t working … I could feed myself and somebody I loved doing something that isn’t a job!”
Shutterstock/Kathy Hutchins
Next, he formed his band Santa Fe, which performed music covers.
“The greatest thing about clubs is there’s no one in between you and the people you’re playing for,” he told PBS.
“There is no “yes men” between you and them; it’s just honesty. They’re going to let you know. And they’re going to let you know right away. So you learn quick what works and what doesn’t.”
What felt like the right thing to do at the time was moving to Nashville, where Brooks believed he could make a career. But things didn’t turn as expected and he soon returned to Stillwater, a bit disappointed from the pace with which his career was moving.
Shutterstock/ Paul Smith / Featureflash
Then, one night changed it all for Brooks. He took part in a writer’s round at the famous Bluebird Café. The person who was supposed to perform second didn’t show up and Brooks took the stage instead. He sang If Tomorrow Never Comes, not aware that among the crowd there was the Capitol Records label head Lynn Shults.
Shults was mesmerized by Brooks’ performance and told him to stop by his office the following day. On June 17, 1988, Capital Records signed Brooks for an advance of $10,000. The following year, he released his first single, Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old), which reached No. 8 in the charts.
Terry Wyatt/Getty Images
At the time his career took off and he rose to stardom, Brooks was married to wife Sandy with whom he has three children. She was his greatest support and was always by his side, but eventually, Brooks’ many tours, promotions, and performances, which required from him to be away from home, were too much to handle for Sandy. The two filed for divorce, which was finalized in 2001.
“Sandy is kind of doing my job and her job with the girls. If Sandy is doing her job, she’s telling them, ‘Hey, your dad loves you to death. He’s just working, and he’ll be home soon.’ Well, I didn’t have anybody to do that anymore,” he said about the divorce, shortly after he announced he wanted to retire from music in order to be able to spend more time with his daughters.
Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images
The divorce of Brooks and Sandy became a much-talked-about topic, especially because of the hefty settlement worth $125 million, which she received.
The former partners maintained a co-parenting schedule for 14 years. Despite the divorce, their daughters were seeing both parents every morning and every evening. “That’s how we ran it because we knew it was right for those kids. If you did what was right for the kids, you were going to do what was right for you. It was simple,” Brooks said.
Shutterstock/s_bukley
In 2005, Brooks married his second wife, Trisha Yearwood, a very famous singer on her own right. Speaking to USWeekley, Brooks said that Trisha became an active participant in raising his daughters. He, Sandy, and Trisha often attend the girls’ many sporting events together.
“I will say, I’d never wished divorce on anybody, but [for us,] three children and three parents worked really well, especially since the three girls were all tomboys. So they were all at soccer, track and field, softball, and never ever did one of those kids take the field where at least one parent wasn’t in the stands,” Brooks told US Magazine.
Shutterstock/Kathy Hutchins
Brooks has won 23 Academy of Country Music Awards over the course of his career, and was nominated for two Primetime Emmys in 1999 for Outstanding Performance in a Variety or Music Program and Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Special for his Garth Live From Central Park special. He has a net worth of $400 million.
