Senior Inspiration: 94-year-old woman plans to graduate from college next month and look for work

Photo: Paul Chin/ The San Francisco Chronicle — Hazel Soares, 94,  takes notes in one of her classes at Mills College in Oakland, California, where she is set to graduate in May with a degree in art history. After graduation Soares, who has more than 40 grandchildren, plans to search for a museum job. Very nice story about Soares here.

2010 Olympic medal winning U.S. Women’s Ice Hockey Team

Photo: Pete Souza/White House — First Couple welcomed the silver medal winning U.S. Women’s Ice Hockey Team to the White House on Wednesday, April 21, 2010.

Style and Grace

Photo:Bettmann/Corbis/Vanity Fair — A 1961 snapshot of First Lady Jackie Kennedy, Prince Rainier, Princess Grace Kelly, and President John Kennedy at the White House when the royals dropped by for lunch. One of several terrific photos of important events in the life of Grace Kelly that showcased the actress/princess’ fashion style on the Vanity Fair website.

Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty/Instyle.com – Actress Vera Farmiga

Before the 82nd Annual Academy Awards ceremony began at 5:30 this evening in Hollywood, many of the stars walked the red carpet. Actress Vera Farmiga looked lovely in a glamorous, ruffled fuchsia gown by Marchesa. Farmiga is a best actress nominee for her role in, “Up in the Air.”  More star arrivals at the Oscars on Instyle.com

Photo:Jeffrey Mayer/WireImage/Instyle.com — Sandra Bullock wears Alexander McQueen on the red carpet at the Screen Actors Guild Awards January 2010.

The fashion industry and many in the entertainment biz are mourning the unexpected death of British designer Alexander McQueen. On Thursday morning, February 11, McQueen was discovered dead, of an apparent suicide, in his London home. He was only 40 and living an incredibly successful career.

I must admit, McQueen’s name was not as familiar to me as some other designers. On this post, are just a few of his stylish creations worn by some of his celebrity fans. It turns out, I’ve admired a number of McQueen’s outfits on the red carpert, not realizing he was the creator.

Photo: Jon Kopaloff/FilmMagic.com/Instyle.com — Jennifer Connelly poses in a red dress by Alexander McQueen at the Hollywood Film Festival in October 2007.

He was born Lee Alexander McQueen on March 17, 1969 in the East End of London. After extensive training as a tailor and designer, McQueen quickly gained fame in the fashion industry. In 1996, he was the head designer for Givenchy and later moved on to partner with Gucci.  

Photo: Gilbert Flores/Celebrity Photo.com/Instyle.com — Cate Blanchett wore Alexander McQueen to the  Golden Globe Awards in January 2007.

McQueen was not only known for his high-quality and provocative couture collections, but also for his imaginative and cutting edge theatrical fashion presentations. The Instyle.com website has extensive coverage of McQueen’s fashions and his talent as a showman, including an article called, ”Daring to Be Brilliant: The Talent of Alexander McQueen.”

Photo: Jay L. Clendenin/Los Angeles Times – Actress Sandra Bullock and her husband, Jesse James, arrive at the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards last night.

 Actress Sandra Bullock was one of the double winners at last night’s 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills. Despite the rain showers, Bullock looked cool, dry, and dazzling in a purple chiffon gown by Bottega Veneta. The actress quickly won a spot on most fashion critics’ best dressed list along with Penélope Cruz, Heidi Klum, and Drew Barrymore.

Once inside, both Bullock and Barrymore scored again — by winning Golden Globes.  Bullock won for best performance by an actress in a motion picture drama for “The Blind Side.” Barrymore took home the statuette for best performance in a mini-series or TV film by an actress for her role in “Grey Gardens.” 

Some of the other big winners were:

“Avatar”  Best Motion Picture Drama

“The Hangover”  Best Motion Picture Comedy of Musical

Jeff Bridges  Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture Drama for “Crazy Heart”

Robert Downey Jr.  Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for “Sherlock Holmes”

Meryl Streep  Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture Comedy or Musical for “Julie & Julia”

Mo’Nique   Best Supporting Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture for “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire 

Christoph Waltz   Best Supporting Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture for “Inglourious Basterds”

James Cameron   Best Director in a Motion Picture for “Avatar”

Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner   Best Screenplay Motion Picture for “Up in the Air”

For a complete list of the winners click over to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Golden Globes website.