Tara Elizabeth Conner (born on December 18, 1985) is a beauty queen from Russell Springs, Kentucky who is Miss USA 2006 and has also competed in the Miss Teen USA pageant.

Conner has held the titles Miss Kentucky Teen USA 2002, Miss Kentucky USA 2006 and Miss USA 2006. She placed second runner-up in the Miss Teen USA 2002 pageant and fourth runner-up in the Miss Universe 2006 pageant. Conner’s overall results are higher than any of the seven other women who have competed in each of the three Miss Universe Organization pageants, narrowly beating Lynnette Cole of Tennessee, Miss USA 2000, for this honour.

Conner graduated from Russell County High School in 2004 and at the time of her Miss USA win was studying toward a degree in Business Administration from Somerset Community College. Apart from her role as Miss USA, Conner has been employed as a model and waitress. Conner was a featured model on the HDNet series Bikini Destinations in 2004, posing for the cameras in Lake Tahoe.

BALTIMORE – Miss Kentucky was crowned Miss USA in the 55th annual pageant Friday night.

Tara Elizabeth Conner, 20, of Russell Springs, was crowned by Chelsea Cooley of North Carolina, who is Miss USA 2005.

“I am an easygoing, down-to-earth girl” Conner said.

“Throughout my life, hardships and different experiences have made me a very humbled, yet strong individual,” she said. “It is because of these life lessons that I have become the person I am today.”

The new titleholder will compete July 23 in the Miss Universe competition in Los Angeles.

Miss California, Tamiko Nash, 26, of Los Angeles was first runner-up. Miss Georgia, Lisa Wilson, 26, of Rome was second runner-up; Miss Ohio, Stacy Offenberger, 26, of Marietta was third runner-up. Miss Florida, Cristin Duren, 24, of Panama City Beach was fourth runner-up.

The 51 contestants were trimmed to 15, then 10 semifinalists and finally five finalists.

The five finalists were asked questions.

The pageant is co-owned by Donald Trump and NBC, which aired the competition.

Miss USA Tara Conner’s crown is safe for now as pageant officials review “behavioral and personal issues” amid reports of bad behavior at bars, FOXNews.com has learned.

“Miss USA Tara Conner has not been dethroned,” said Paula M. Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organization, in a statement. “The Miss Universe Organization and Mr. Donald J. Trump will be evaluating her behavioral and personal issues to see what we can do to work with her, and what we will do about her reign going forward.

“Mr. Trump will make a determination and announcement within the coming week,” she said. Trump is an owner of the Miss USA and Miss Universe pageants.

The celebrity gossip Web site TMZ.com reported Thursday that executives from both the pageant and its broadcaster, NBC, met Tuesday to discuss reported problems with Kentucky native Conner, 20, and allegations of inappropriate conduct at New York City bars, according to the TMZ report, which cites unidentified sources.

THE Bollywood actress Tania Zaetta has received an undisclosed sum and a formal apology from the Chief of Defence after his department leaked false allegations she had sex with troops in Afghanistan during a concert tour.

Air Chief Marshal Angus Houston met Ms Zaetta yesterday to personally apologise for any distress suffered by the former Who Dares Wins host.

“Ms Zaetta gave her time and her talent to entertain our forces serving in Afghanistan and she deserves our praise and our thanks,” Air Chief Marshal Houston said.

He also invited the former Baywatch actress to entertain the troops again. “She is welcome to again join a Forces Entertainment Tour in the near future,” he said.

The Defence Department reached a compensation agreement late last year for an “unacceptable breach of privacy” after rumours surfaced about Ms Zaetta’s conduct during an entertainment tour in April 2008.

Ms Zaetta was named in a confidential briefing paper to the Defence Minister, Joel Fitzgibbon, as having slept with soldiers at a military base in Tarin Kowt, the capital of Oruzgan province.

The document said the allegations had been made by the singer Angry Anderson, a claim the rocker has denied.

Yesterday Ms Zaetta thanked her family and friends for standing by her through a difficult time. She also thanked the “thousands of beautiful people from all over the world” who emailed her website.

“I read every single email, many of them with tears in my eyes,” the host of a series of fitness and boxing videos said.

As for the invitation to go back for round two, the actress was considering it.

“I’m very pleased this is all over now and I look forward to the next opportunity to visit our Australian troops overseas,” she said. “My trip to the Middle East with the Australian Defence Force touched my heart in many ways and will stay with me forever.”

The actress is now working on a feature film to be shot in Geelong and starting a charity, Peace for the Children, for children in conflict zones.

When Tiffany
Pollard, aka New York
, and her fiancé, George Weisgerber, aka Tailor Made, were leaving City Crab on Park Avenue Tuesday night, a man standing outside the popular Manhattan eatery asked them for a dollar, says a source. “The guy started cracking jokes and made New York and Tailor Made laugh, so Tailor Made gave him $5.”

But the man refused the $5, saying he only wanted a dollar from them. “Why would you want a dollar rather than $5?” Weisgerber asked him.

The man’s reply? “If New York signs it for me, it will be worth much more than a dollar.”

New York laughed, signed a dollar bill and gave it to the man. “This could only happen to New York,” says the source.

It has been confirmed that New York will be doing another VH1 reality show:

“New York has to put her last conquest, Tailor Made, on the backburner as she tries to take on Tinsel Town. She’s moving out west to see if she can climb the Hollywood ladder.”

Sylvester Stallone has become the latest star to sign up for jury duty in Los Angeles. The Rambo star showed up at an L.A. courthouse early on Monday and was introduced to other potential jurors in an…

She may be just two years old, but Suri Cruise is already developing an appreciation for fashion and culture.

The toddler was spotted admiring the array of tutus backstage after watching The Nutcracker at the New York City Ballet with mother Katie Holmes.

She was given the VIP treatment as she made her way around, with ballerinas lining up to show her their intricate costumes.

LOS ANGELES – Vivid contract girl Sunny Leone has signed on to star in
the Bollywood movie Pirates Blood, from Siba Art Production and
Distribution.

An English-language thriller, Pirates Blood begins shooting in
mid-February in Oman, and will also star veteran Bollywood actor Salim
Bahwan. Cinematography will be overseen by noted South Indian lensman
Ramachhandran Babuk.

Leone is represented by LA Direct Models, whose owner, Derek Hay,
said, “We are delighted that Sunny will have this mainstream
breakthrough. She has already been described by the Arabic press as
‘Indian-America’s Marilyn Monroe.’ She is beautiful, talented and a
brilliant choice for this movie, as her appearance will appeal to both
her Indian and American fans.”

Those fans are also sure to clamor for Sunny Loves Matt, the Vivid
release featuring her first boy/girl performance, streeting Mar. 5.

“Sunny’s popularity has soared since she joined Vivid,” said studio
co-chairman Steven Hirsch. “She has an enormous fan base that is
already pre-ordering Sunny Loves Matt, and we believe that as the
first adult star to go Bollywood, she is marking another milestone in
movie history.”

Bollywood has attracted increasing attention from the American film
world in recent years. Major Hollywood figures including Michael
Douglas, Sylvester Stallone, Cameron Diaz, Peter Weir and Will Smith
have actively pursued film projects to be shot in India, with top
Indian stars, according to Entertainment Weekly.

“The increasing popularity of Indian cinema has been referred to by
the press as ‘Bollywood Mania,'” said Hirsch. “It is driving
moviemakers to be more innovative, and casting Sunny as the female
lead in Pirates Blood is a step in that direction.”

EW magazine has compiled a list of the top 50 smartest people in Hollywood’s entertainment business. The abridged list of the top 10 is pasted below.

1. Judd Apatow, director/writer/producer
2. Steven Spielberg, director/producer
3. James Cameron, director/producer
4. Ari Emanuel, partner of the Endeavor Agency
5. Will Smith, actor/producer
6. Meryl Streep, actress
7. Peter Rice, president of Fox Searchlight
8. Tyler Perry, actor/director/writer/producer
9. David Heyman, producer
10. John Knoll, visual-effects supervisor of Industrial Light & Magic

There were criteria in choosing the candidates for this list. The persons had to be smart at the present moment. This also meant that they had to be leaders in their field. This list only suggested names in the movie industry. It aimed to cover a broad spectrum of professions in the movie field. The level of smartness was judged by their achievements. Those who went beyond expectations were placed high on the list.

People who benefitted others in their line of work were placed higher on the list than the loners. EW claimed that they did 3 months of research, live interviews and consideration before finalizing this list. To read the entire list of the Top 50 Smartest People in Hollywood, please visit the source.

Comedian Steve O revealed to Howard Stern on his radio show on (07Sep07) that Lindsay Lohan stole a bag of cocaine from him. He claims that she had taken what he called the “Big Suge” from him, when she was visiting his house.