The Kill Bill actress is one of a number of stars said to have been caught up in a money-making scheme perpetrated by high-profile investment banker Kenneth Starr.

Starr was arrested by New York authorities on Thursday and charged with wire fraud, investment adviser fraud and money laundering, amid claims he used cash belonging to celebrity clients including Martin Scorsese and Wesley Snipes to buy a luxurious Manhattan apartment.

He is alleged to have cheated his clients out of a staggering £20 million.

Details of the case have now emerged, and in the federal criminal complaint filed against Starr, prosecutors allege Thurman, named only as Client 2 in the paperwork, realised a large sum of money had been transferred out of her bank account and into an account belonging to an associate of the accused.

She then stormed into Starr’s office with her lawyer, and the complaint alleges he tried to stall her, saying he was unable to contact the associate.

The extract, obtained by the New York Daily News, reads, “Starr returned to the room several times to say that (his associate) was unreachable and unavailable by phone or email, (but Thurman had already spoken to the associate, who told her) he did not know the money belonged to her and that he thought it belonged to Starr.”

Starr is alleged to have taken money from another client to pay Thurman back.

He has been released on £166,667 bail, and told the New York Daily News, “It will be cleared up.”

Source: Yahoo! News UK

Returning to the Uma Thurman – Giulietta connection, the two will be part of an international campaign created by Leo Burnett, which is said to reflect the actress’ personalities in the features of the car and ultimately merge.

“References starting from a dream-like, abstract dimension are resolved in an urban context, attributing realism and consistency to Giulietta’s dream. The substance of the new Giulietta is further confirmed by the pay-off which counterbalances the Shakespeare quote: “Without heart we are only machines”,” a company statement reads.

The TV commercial will be aired in Italy starting May 16 and was entirely filmed in the US. Directed by Kevin Fitzgerald, Uma Thurman plays five roles, five different women who symbolise the different souls of the car. The sound track is by Flavio Ibba.

The new Giulietta will be available in two trim levels, Progression and Distinctive, two customizations packs (Pack Sport and Pack Premium), two different seat fabric upholstery, leather upholstery (four colors available), in addition to eight types of alloy rims (from 16” to 18”) and nine body colors.

The Robin Hood Foundation defied the recession and raised a record-setting $72.7 million at its annual spring gala last year. Still, executive director David Saltzman was nervous about this Monday’s fundraiser.

So he turned to three heavy hitters, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, Google Inc. CEO Eric Schmidt and investment adviser Lee Ainslie III of Maverick Capital to serve as co-chairmen and help sell tickets for Wall Street’s biggest single-night fundraiser.

“We would hope Eric will attract a whole new group of donors and help inspire a similar type of thoughtful, innovative and effective poverty fighting in Silicon Valley and beyond,” Saltzman said about Schmidt, a Robin Hood novice, in an interview this week.

Saltzman, 48, said sales of the more than 3,400 tickets are “a little bit ahead of where we were” last year.

The Robin Hood Foundation was started by Paul Tudor Jones in 1988 and raises money for 200 of New York’s poverty-fighting organizations. Its board — which includes Tudor Jones, Greenlight Capital Chairman David Einhorn, film producer Harvey Weinstein and actor Gwyneth Paltrow — covers the gala’s cost so that all proceeds go to the beneficiaries. Before last year’s record, the gala raised $56.5 million in 2008 and about $72 million the year before.

The event, at New York’s Jacob Javits Convention Center, will be hosted by NBC Nightly News anchor Brian Williams. “Saturday Night Live” alumnus and late-night talk-show host Jimmy Fallon will perform.

Stevie Wonder

The entertainment is led by Stevie Wonder, a major star in line with past guests such as Paul McCartney and the Rolling Stones. A couple of surprise guests also will be on tap, Saltzman said. Last year, Aretha Franklin stunned the audience with a rendition of “Bridge Over Troubled Waters.”

Entertainers invited to attend and mingle with the hedge fund managers and bankers include Sting, film and television star Michael J. Fox, tennis great John McEnroe and Stephen Colbert, host of Comedy Central’s “The Colbert Report.”

Once the guests sit down for dinner of filet of beef, a host of entertainers and celebrities such as Uma Thurman and Catherine Zeta-Jones will circulate among donors asking for additional pledges beyond the seat prices ($2,000 and $3,000 for individuals, $30,000, to $250,000 for tables). Wireless devices at each table will allow attendees to make anonymous donations. Last year, the devices helped raise about $28 million.

“This is about good people coming together to look out for their neighborhoods,” Saltzman said. “This is the New York City equivalent of an old-fashioned, small-town barn raising.”

The Robin Hood Foundation gala is Monday at 6 p.m. at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, 11th Avenue between 35th and 36th streets, in Manhattan. Dress: Business attire. Information: debbief@eventassociatesinc.com or +1-212-245-6570, ext. 20.

To contact the writer on this story: Patrick Cole in New York at pcole3@.bloomberg.net.

Source: Bloomberg

American actress Uma Thurman struggled to keep pace with her Hollywood career post motherhood but she vowed to keep “fighting” to preserve it.

The Pulp Fiction star, who turned 40 yesterday had almost quit acting to look after her two children from her former marriage to Ethan Hawke daughter Maya, 11, and eight-year-old son Levon, Candis magazine reported.

“I love and adore being a mother. It’s the greatest gift I’ve ever been given. Having children flips the game from being about you to about what you can create in a home and what your responsibilities are,” Thurman said.

“I’ve thought about quitting acting, but I love what I do so much – it’s the big conundrum of my life. So I’m fighting to keep my foot in the business, be creative and stimulated, and still take care of my children,” she added.

Source: NDTV

Happy belated Birthday to Uma Thurman! Our Uma just turned the big 4-0! We hope you had an awesome birthday Uma!

Uma Thurman hides her feelings from her children.

The ‘Kill Bill’ actress – who has daughter Maya, 11, and son Levon, eight with ex-husband Ethan Hawke – believes she needs to stay “steady” around her kids to stop them from growing insecure.

Asked whether the youngsters realise how difficult it is to juggle work and family life, she said: “I hope they don’t. I don’t want them to notice when I’m exhausted or depressed. They need a steady mother
who gives them a feeling of security, otherwise they might become even more vulnerable than they, as children, already are.”

Uma is particularly keen for her children to view her as a role model and despite admitting motherhood can sometimes be difficult, she wants to share in every aspect of their lives.

She added: “I constantly wrack my brains, but unfortunately there’s no manual for it. It’s really important to be a role model. But I always try to explain to my children that their mum is only human, too.

“What does being a mother mean to me? That’s simple – Every day I experience the greatest love I have ever felt. It takes a lot of energy and nerves, but I don’t want to miss a second of it.”

The 39-year-old star always looks to her own mother for advice, but admits that hasn’t always been the case.

She added to Germany’s OK! magazine: “I can always rely on my mother’s advice. I rarely used to look for support from her when I was younger though – I wanted to learn from my own experiences. Even when I was a young girl I felt drawn to grown-ups and felt like going out into the world. Did I fail from time to time or make mistakes? Of course I did. But instead of drawing up walls inside of me, up to today I still meet people benevolently and with trust.”

Source: Post Chronicle

Uma Thurman, the ‘Kill Bill’ star admits she continues to be surprised that she gets work.

She said: “When I was 16, they were like, ‘Mm, well enjoy yourself. You might not be an adult woman actor’.

“And then when you’re in your twenties , they’re like, ‘Enjoy yourself. That late-twenties thing thing is not going work’. And somehow I hung around.

“Becoming a mother definitely took the focus off my work. Then I had a few panics that I couldn’t get a job any more, and then I would get one.”

The 39-year-old actress, who has two children – Maya Ray, 11 and Levon Roan, eight from her marriage to actor Ethan Hawke – also admits to loving her career.

She told Style: “I love what I do. For my wellbeing, I need to be reminded that I have other purposes. In the old days, people pined for their husbands. In modern life, your work is like your man, your love.

Source: Post Chronicle

It seemed as though she was back to being singleton after splitting with her fiance last month.

But, just a month after the break up, Uma Thurman has been spotted with her ex Arpad ‘Arki’ Busson sporting the kind of telling smile that confirms the couple have reignited their relationship.

The Kill Bill actress, 39, and her millionaire lover were pictured together as they left Morton’s private members club in London.
And far from trying to hide from waiting photographers, Uma was happy to pose for pictures – even grabbing one of the paparazzo’s cameras – while her former love waited to drive them home.

Meanwhile, Arpad managed to scratch a silver Mercedes as he was trying to drive his car away from outside the club, but he managed to smooth things out with the owner of the vehicle and finally left without a hitch.

Thurman called off the wedding to her millionaire fiance in December last year amid reports she was having second thoughts about her future.
‘Uma was really affected by the early deaths of her two friends Natasha Richardson and David Carradine,’ a pal said at the time.

‘It made her re-evaluate her life and she concluded that Arki and her wanted different things’.

Source: Daily Mail

Uma Thurman ended her engagement because her ex-fiance was too controlling.

The ‘Kill Bill’ actress reportedly split from French financier Arpad Busson because she was tired of him trying to take over her life and telling her what to do.

A friend of the actresses told the New York Daily News newspaper: “It seemed like he always wanted to run the show.”

The relationship allegedly turned sour when the 47-year-old businessman decided he wanted to make drastic changes to Uma’s lavish homes without even consulting her.

The friend explained: “He wanted to bring in his own chef and his own security. He’d talk about redesigning her house in the city and knocking down buildings at her place upstate.”

It had been reported that the couple ended their year-long engagement almost two months ago after a row about money.

Uma – who has 11-year-old daughter Maya and seven-year-old son Levon with ex-husband Ethan Hawke, and was also previously married to actor Gary Oldman – recently admitted she wasn’t ready to marry again.

She said: “I’m happily engaged but we haven’t set a wedding up. I’m not in a rush to do anything.”

Source: People

After a being engaged for over a year, Uma Thurman has called off her engagement to Swiss multimillionaire Arpad Busson.

The couple started dating in the summer of 2007 and were engaged a year later but now according to sources close to the actress she has broken it off.

“The engagement ended awhile back – almost two months ago,” a source said, “They remain friends.” The source said about the ring “She will probably give it back. She wants to return everything that is his.”

Back in September the 39 year-old mother of two said she wasn’t planning on getting married anytime soon “I’m not in a rush to do anything. One day we’ll do it, when we’re ready. We can’t live anywhere else because my children’s father lives here. We’ll figure it out.”

It sounds like they didn’t figure it out. Busson is based in London where he has two sons with former girlfriend Elle MacPherson and Thurman has a son and a daughter with ex-husband Ethan Hawke who is based out of New York.

No comment was made by Thurman’s or Busson’s reps.

Source: E Ontario Now