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Kehlani performs at the 2021 Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival on October 31, 2021 in San Francisco, California.
Steve Jennings/WireImageDecember's celebrity news closes the year with a Milford man meeting Robert Kraft and getting a call from Jay-Z, plus Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds riding a train for some festive fun.
Here are some of the famous people who visited or made the news in and around Connecticut in December:
Milford native Jerry Edmond watched a game with Patriots owner Robert Kraft in Foxborough, MA on Dec. 24, 2022.
Jerry Edmond, a Foran High School and Central Connecticut State University alumnus, received an invitation from New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft to watch a game after a video of Edmond being heckled by a Las Vegas Raiders fan went viral.
Jay-Z also FaceTimed Edmond during the game.
- Abby Weiss and Jailene Cuevas
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA - OCTOBER 31: Kehlani performs at the 2021 Outside Lands Music and Arts Festival at Golden Gate Park on October 31, 2021 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Steve Jennings/WireImage)
R&B singer and songwriter Kehlani was spotted in December at the make-your-own candle shop ALL Love Candles, according to an Instagram post showing her posing with a staff member and holding up a peace sign.
- Jailene Cuevas
Hollywood couple Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds were seen hanging out with Santa and Mrs. Claus at the Essex Steam Train and Riverboat in early December.
The couple booked a full car for their family and friends, according to Maureen Quintin, a spokesperson for the company. In a picture, Reynolds is seen wearing a grey Pelé soccer shirt and blue hat while Lively is wearing Christmas pajamas and a robe.
- Jailene Cuevas
David Harbour, left, and John Leguizamo in "Violent Night."
Director Tommy Wirkola’s “Violent Night,” which stars a not-so jolly Saint Nick, played by "Stranger Things" actor David Harbour, is set in Greenwich. However, the filming itself was done in Canada.
The film opens with Santa Claus getting sloshed at a pub in Bristol (not here, the other one) while complaining that selfishness, greed and envy have ruined the Christmas holiday. Soon, he’s lifting off in a reindeer-led sleigh, while vomiting over the side onto an English rooftop.
- Daniel Figueroa IV
Actress-singer Idina Menzel arrives for the 92nd Oscars at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on February 9, 2020.
Actress Idina Menzel, voice of Elsa in "Frozen," read to children at Hanover Elementary School in early December.
Menzel and her sister Cara Mentzel read their new book “Loud Mouse.” According to Disney books, the book is about a mouse who loves to sing and she is finding her voice.
- Jailene Cuevas
Martha Stewart attends the iHeartRadio Z100’s Jingle Ball 2022 Presented by Capital One at Madison Square Garden on December 9, 2022 in New York.
Bedford, N.Y. resident and media mogul Martha Stewart was seen baking croissants at Bella’s Bake Shop in Mount Kisco with the bakery’s owner David Chiappinelli in December, as part of her new Roku show, “Martha Cooks.”
The show features Stewart in her kitchen sharing her cooking techniques and favorite recipes with viewers as well as cooking with chefs of local eateries and bakeries.
- Susie Costaregni
Drag queen Robin Fierce performs a lip-sync of "When You Believe" at Drag Queen Storytime, presented by Troupe429, at Norwalk Public Library in Norwalk, Conn. Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020. Three drag queens and one drag king read stories to a packed house of children and parents, followed by a lip-sync performance of "When You Believe." A Christian group protested the event outside saying prayers and holding signs including "defend children's innocence" and "bearded ladies belong in a circus."
In December "RuPaul's Drag Race" announced its fifteenth season will feature three Connecticut drag queens vying for the crown and the cash prize of $200,000.
West Hartford's Amethyst, Hartford's Robin Fierce and Ansonia's Loosey LaDuca will represent Connecticut among the 16 contestants in the upcoming season of the drag competition show.
- Andrew DaRosa
Shlomo Haart, Nathalie Ulander, Miriam Haart, Julia Haart and Robert Brotherton pose at the opening night of the new Candace Bushnell one-woman show "Is There Still Sex In The City?" at The Daryl Roth Theatre on December 7, 2021 in New York City.
The newest season of Netflix's "My Unorthodox Life," which aired in early December, mentions locations in the Nutmeg State.
In the fourth episode of the season, while at a restaurant near his home, Robert Brotherton, the former COO of Elite World Group, mentions a "gay club [that] is 30 minutes away" that has drag queens. Haart expresses interest to which Brotherton asks Saade: "Troupe. How far is it?"
The location being mentioned is Troupe429 in Norwalk.
- Andrew DaRosa
Patti LuPone attends the 75th Annual Tony Awards at Radio City Music Hall on June 12, 2022 in New York City.
Several notable public figures gathered in Litchfield in December to film a virtual panel for "Common Ground with Jane Whitney."
Among the featured panelists were three-time Tony award winner and Broadway star Patti LuPone; Maria Ressa, who is a journalist, author and 2021 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize; journalist Katy Tur, who is the anchor of MSNBC's "Katy Tur Reports;" author and National Book Award finalist Amy Bloom and criminal justice reform activist Dr. Topeka K. Sam.
- Amy Coval
Jamie Lee Curtis arrives at The Hollywood Reporter's Women in Entertainment Gala on Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2022, at Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles.
Jamie Lee Curtis spoke about her experience attending a boarding school in Connecticut during an interview with Colin Farrell for Variety in December.
“Born and raised right here in the City of Angels,” she said. “I went to boarding school once. Connecticut. One year. Mistake.”
- Daniel Figueroa IV
Hannah Storm on the red carpet before the start of the Houston Sports Awards, held at the Wortham Theater Center Wednesday, Apr. 20, 2022 in Houston, TX.
The new docuseries “Grails: When Sneakers Change the Game" premiered on Hulu in December. The six-part series, directed and produced by ESPN anchor and Greenwich resident Hannah Storm and her production company Brainstormin’ Productions and ABC News Studios, takes a behind-the-scenes look at the sneaker industry.
The series includes interviews with notable figures, including Grammy Award-winning DJ Khaled, "Shark Tank" investor and FUBU CEO Daymond John, Phoenix Suns all-star guard Chris Paul, sneaker collector and StockX co-founder Josh Luber, rapper Joseph "Fat Joe" Cartagena, former world No. 1 golfer Luke Donald, former MLB all-star pitcher CC Sabathia, PGA Tour golfer Joseph Bramlett and author of "The First Pair" Christyna Pourhabib.
- Susie Costaregni
“Glass Onion,” which was released on Netflix in December, stars Yale Drama’s Kathryn Hahn as a liberal governor of Connecticut and a U.S. Senate hopeful.
- Daniel Figueroa IV
Christian Siriano, a “Project Runway” winner, gave Town & Country magazine a tour of his new Easton home in December. Records show the home was twice visited by George Washington.
- Daniel Figueroa IV
Chef Brian Lewis prepares a miso black cod crepe at The Cottage in Greenwich, Conn. Thursday, March 3, 2022. Chef Brian Lewis' restaurant The Cottage has opened a new location in at 49 Greenwich Ave., joining its original in Westport.
Chef Brian Lewis, owner of the Cottage in Greenwich and in Westport, was featured on the "Today" show in early December, baking a Linzer tart with anchor and Westport resident Craig Melvin.
- Susie Costaregni
Tony Capasso of Tony's at the JHOUSE with NHL star Stephane Matteau and Brett Montgomery, CEO of Wheelhouse Entertainment.
Former NHL player Stephane Matteau and Brent Montgomery, CEO of Wheelhouse, were seen dining at Tony’s at The J House in early December.
- Susie Costaregni
Valerie Malfetano, left, owner of Valbella; Mark Simone, WOR radio host; Nick Zherka, Valerie's husband and Valbella general manager; and Greg Kelly, Newsmax TV anchor; pose at Valbella in Riverside last Saturday night.
Newsmax TV anchor and WABC radio host Greg Kelly and his wife Judith were seen celebrating his birthday at Valbella restaurant in Riverside in December with WOR radio host Mark Simone.
- Susie Costaregni