Entertainment
The adventures of Lauren Hutton, the original supermodel
Lauren Hutton was told again and again in the 1960s that she wasn’t cut out to be a model. She recalled being told, “‘You’ve got that space between your teeth, your eyes are crossed a lotta the times. I had improper … everything.'”
While the gap in her teeth was sometimes visible, in the beginning she was discouraged from showing it. “I had to buy a little $300 plastic thing that went there, that I would sneeze out and lose,” she said.
She still owns the record for most cover appearances on American Vogue: 26. And at 82, she still has that smile.
Asked how she feels having been the first supermodel, Hutton said, “Yeah, certainly, if it was about money. And I changed the whole money system.”
In 1973, Revlon signed her to an exclusive deal for a quarter of a million dollars a year, then the biggest contract in modeling history.
Coming from college in New Orleans, she saw New York as a gateway to the world and to the wild places she wanted to visit. Ask her about modeling, and somehow you’ll almost always end up in Africa: “I lived with pygmies, and I lived with Karamojong, and I lived with Kalahari bushmen,” she said. “You’re constantly excited. You’re constantly thrilled. And everything’s beautiful. My life was none of this stuff. My life was traveling. That’s the only reason I came to New York.”
“You never really wanted to be a model?” I asked.
“Never heard of it!”
“In so many ways, it was all an accident.”
“Amen! Amen!” Hutton replied. “I’ve always been lucky. I was born lucky.”
A “believable” beauty
She was born Mary Laurence Hutton in Charleston, South Carolina, during World War II. Her dad was an Army pilot overseas: “He wrote me every single day from the war. And my mother, very kindly and beautifully, put it into books for me.”
Her parents split in 1945. Lauren grew up in Florida with an abusive stepfather. So, she treasured her father’s letters: “‘Cause I wanted my daddy bad,” she said.
But she never met him. “No. No. But he gave me a love, enough love in those letters that held me all this time, and made me love men!” she laughed.
Hutton made her screen debut in 1963 as a decoy contestant on the TV game show “To Tell the Truth,” while working as a “Bunny” at the Playboy Club in New York City. But at the beginning she was turned down by five modeling agencies.
Eileen Ford, who’d call Hutton a “believable” beauty, finally gave her a shot, later admitting, “I still don’t know what made me take her.”
Bert Stern/Conde Nast via Getty Images; CBS News 
Hutton was sent to see the legendary editor of Vogue, Diana Vreeland, a meeting Hutton described as “heaven.” “And she said, ‘You!’ And I looked, and she had pointed this long, beautiful finger at me. And she said, ‘You have quite a presence.’ I had no idea what that was. What was a presence? But I took a chance, and I said, ‘Well, you sure do!'”
Vreeland quickly connected her with one of Vogue’s top photographers, Richard Avedon. “And he made wonderful – they’re still some of the best pictures I ever took,” Hutton said.
Avedon and Hutton became frequent collaborators. Soon she was the hottest model in the country, and a household name. Artist Robert Rauschenberg, a friend and neighbor, created a collage portrait of her. Hutton landed film roles, too, in “Paper Lion” with Alan Alda; “The Gambler” with James Caan; and “American Gigolo” with Richard Gere.
Photographs by Richard Avedon. © The Richard Avedon Foundation 
I asked, “For someone who didn’t want to be a model, or an actress, you turn out to be really good at it. And you seem to not only understand how to do it, but you seemed to figure out the economics of it?”
“Twice. I did that twice,” Hutton said. “‘Cause Bob lost all the first bunch.”
“Bob” was Bob Williamson, for nearly three decades her boyfriend, father figure, and financial manager. Hutton said, “You’d hear all those girls say, ‘Well, my sweetheart’s in high finance. What is yours in?’ I’d say, ‘Low finance.’ And I was right!”
They travelled the world together, until she discovered he’d lost nearly $13 million of her money. “Bob was very, very smart about all kinds of stuff,” she said.
“But he also lost all your money?”
“Yeah. But you know what? I’d do it again in a second,” Hutton said.
CBS News 
She went back to fashion and earned her fortune all over again. “I just kept on plugging at it,” she said.
Resilience is a recurring theme in Hutton’s life. In 2000, a motorcycle accident knocked her 20 feet into the air: “I can remember every second of it, and it was really sort of rapturous.”
She’d been riding to Las Vegas with a group of friends that included Jeremy Irons and Dennis Hopper, and was badly hurt: “Oh, I was dead, and I wasn’t breathing at all. Those boys saved me. My gang, my guys saved my life. My wingmen! Don’t make me start crying!”
But the cover girl came back from that, too.
Lauren Hutton has never regretted an adventure. “I was not there to see myself on the stands,” she said. “I was there to get the money to go see the world. I’ve had a great life. I’ve been very lucky.”
For more info:
- Thanks to the Rauschenberg Foundation, New York City
- Photographs by Richard Avedon © The Richard Avedon Foundation
Story produced by Gabriel Falcon. Editor: Carol Ross.
Entertainment
New York Times accuses Pentagon of flouting judge’s order blocking its press access policy
The New York Times told a federal judge Monday that the Pentagon has flouted the court’s ruling blocking it from enforcing its policy limiting journalists’ access to the Defense Department headquarters. The Times urged the court to compel the government to comply with the order to reinstate press credentials
U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman did not rule from the bench after he heard a second round of arguments from lawyers for the Times and the Trump administration. The Times said that Pentagon officials have implemented a revised press policy that circumvents the judge’s March 20 ruling.
Friedman sided with The Times earlier this month, ruling that the Pentagon’s new credential policy violated journalists’ constitutional rights to free speech and due process. He ordered defense officials to reinstate the press credentials of seven Times reporters and said his decision applied to “all regulated parties.”
Times attorney Theodore Boutrous said the Pentagon responded to Friedman’s order by imposing a new, revised policy that imposes “radical new restrictions” on journalists.
“They’ve only made things worse,” Boutrous said.
Government attorney Sarah Welch said the Defense Department’s revised policy on media access to the Pentagon includes several “safe harbors” protecting reporters engaging in routine forms of newsgathering. “The department has fully complied in good faith with that (March 20) order,” Welch told the judge.
In a court filing Sunday, Times national security reporter Julian Barnes said Pentagon staff also explained to him and his colleagues last week that their new credentials would give them access to a new press area located in the Pentagon library. But the only way for the reporters to access the library is through a corridor or on a shuttle bus that they didn’t initially have permission to use, Barnes noted — prompting Judge Friedman to respond, “How weird is that? Is it Catch-22? Is it Kafka? What’s going on here?”
In October, reporters from mainstream news outlets walked out of the building rather than comply with the new rules. The Times sued the Pentagon and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in December to challenge the policy.
Times attorneys accused the Pentagon of violating the judge’s March 20 order, “both in letter and spirit,” by issuing a revised “interim” policy that bars credentialed reporters from entering the building without an escort. Plaintiffs’ lawyers say the latest policy also imposes unprecedented rules dictating when reporters can offer anonymity to sources.
Barnes said in his filing that Pentagon Press Office staff also told Times reporters that journalists “would no longer be allowed into the Pentagon without an escort from the Department, and that an escort would be provided only for pre-arranged interviews, press conferences, or other specified types of events.” He said they were told they’d need to submit a request at least a day in advance to attend these events, and requests would be approved by the Pentagon Office of Public Affairs. That, he pointed out, rendered the Pentagon Facility Alternate Credentials, or PFACs, “worthless,” because all reporters, even without a credential, may access the Pentagon if they are pre-approved by the press office.
He said that in his 20 years of covering the Pentagon “this is the first time that the Department has ever barred reporters with [Pentagon press credentials] from entering the Pentagon without an escort, a reservation, or an invitation to a specific press conference or event.”
“The intent is obvious: The Interim Policy is an attempted end-run around this Court’s ruling,” newspaper attorneys wrote.
Government lawyers argued the Pentagon’s revised policy fully complies with the judge’s directives.
“In effect, Plaintiffs ask this Court to expand the Order to prohibit the Department from ever addressing the security of the Pentagon through a press credentialing policy with conditions that may address similar topics or concerns as the enjoined conditions. The Order does not say that, and this Court should not read it to say that,” Justice Department attorneys wrote.
The Justice Department also argued that the court’s order did not say the Pentagon couldn’t revise its press credential policy or issue new press access policies.
Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell has said the administration would appeal Friedman’s March 20 decision.
The Pentagon Press Association, which includes CBS News and Associated Press reporters, said the Pentagon’s interim policy preserves provisions that Friedman deemed to be unconstitutional while also adding new restrictions on credential holders.
“The Interim Policy moves reporters’ workspace to an annex facility outside the Pentagon and prohibits any reporter from moving within the Pentagon itself without an escort, further limiting their ability to actually do journalism in the forum designated specifically for that purpose,” an association attorney wrote.
The current Pentagon press corps is composed of mostly conservative outlets that agreed to the policy. Journalists from outlets that refused to consent to the new rules, including CBS News and the AP, have continued reporting on the military.
Friedman, who was nominated to the bench by President Bill Clinton, said in his order that recent U.S. military operations in Venezuela and Iran highlight the need for public access to information about government activities.
Lady Gaga just hit a major milestone, and it was made extra special thanks to her fiance Michael Polansky.
After marking her 40th birthday on Saturday, March 28, the pop icon took to social media to share how she celebrated her big day and thanked her husband-to-be for making it a memorable one.
Born Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta, the singer spent her birthday listening to fellow musicians who had just come out with new music a day prior. “Haute & Freddy, Robyn, and Raye filled my birthday with their beautiful new albums,” Gaga revealed in a TikTok post.
“Had the best time listening and relaxing with Michael as we wind down The Mayhem Ball,” the Poker Face hitmaker added, referring to her ongoing Mayhem Ball Tour set to conclude on April 13 at Madison Square Garden.
“Thank you Michael for making my birthday so so special, I love you,” she gushed over Polansky.
“May the birthday month begin… Thank you monsters for all your beyond kind messages. Growing up w you is something I will always cherish,” Gaga concluded.
In addition to her tour, the 16-time Grammy-winner has had an eventful past year. Back in February, she joined Bad Bunny on the Super Bowl halftime show stage for a record-breaking concert.
Earlier this month, Gaga revealed that she and Polansky plan on tying the knot “soon” after spending the past year travelling. The couple have been dating since 2020 and got engaged in April 2024.
Scott Mills, one of the BBC’s most familiar voices, has been sacked from Radio 2 following allegations about his personal conduct.
The BBC confirmed he is “no longer contracted to work with the BBC,” though declined to provide further details.
The 53-year-old had only recently taken over the Radio 2 breakfast show from Zoe Ball in January 2025.
He quickly grew the audience to 6.5 million listeners, making it the UK’s most listened to morning program.
His departure came suddenly, with colleagues and listeners learning of the news after Gary Davies stepped in to host the show the morning after Mills signed off with a casual “Back tomorrow.”
Mills has been a fixture at the BBC for more than 25 years, beginning at Radio 1 in 1998 where he became a staple of the weekday schedule and later hosted the Official Chart.
He moved to Radio 2 in 2022, replacing Steve Wright in the afternoon slot, before being promoted to breakfast host.
Alongside radio, Mills has appeared on television, providing Eurovision commentary, competing on Strictly Come Dancing in 2014.
He made cameos in dramas such as Casualty and soaps like Hollyoaks.
He also won Celebrity Race Across the World in 2024.
According to the BBC, Mills was listed as the corporation’s 11th highest paid star.
His sudden dismissal has shocked colleagues and audiences alike, with BBC director of music Lorna Clarke acknowledging in an internal email that the news would be “sudden and unexpected.”
For now, Mills’ future in broadcasting remains uncertain, but his decades long career across radio and television has cemented him as one of Britain’s most recognizable presenters.
New York Times accuses Pentagon of flouting judge’s order blocking its press access policy
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