By Neia Balao
2:30am PDT, Oct 1, 2022
_
Join Wonderwall.com as we take a look at all the ways the stars were nothing like the rest of us in August and September 2022, starting with this story… Only in Hollyweird would you be denied a job based on your astrological sign! According to "Glee" star Heather Morris, who was a backup dancer before she scored a part on the hit FOX series, Jennifer Lopez once eliminated candidates who auditioned to dance with her based on their zodiac signs. "She walks in the room and she said, 'Thank you so much, you guys have worked so hard. By a show of hands if there are any Virgos in the room, can you just raise your hand?'" Heather shared on the Aug. 23 episode of the "JustSayin' with Justin Martindale" podcast. After dancers raised their hands, J.Lo then told them, "Thank you so much for coming," before they they "had to leave after a full day of auditioning for Jennifer Lopez," Heather recalled. Heather admitted she wasn't in the room at the time but defended the claim, explaining that she heard the same anecdote repeated by different dancers. "This is hearsay but true," she said, adding, "When one person says something, could be true [but] when multiple people say something… it's like, 'Oh, that happened.'" She also revealed that auditions would often last eight hours, during which "you're not getting any money" and "people [are] judging you the whole time."
RELATED: Stars who used surrogates
_
On Aug. 29, Serena Williams stepped onto the court for her last U.S. Open in absolute style. The tennis icon donned a custom bedazzled Nike figure skater-inspired ensemble that featured a crystal-encrusted bodice — the sparkling embellishments represented the night sky at the U.S. Open — and a six-layer skirt symbolizing her six Flushing titles. The most expensive part of her look, however, was her choice of footwear…
RELATED: Stars react to Serena Williams' last U.S. Open run
_
Ariana Grande loves the finer things in life — and that includes top-tier accommodation! On Sept. 20, Britain's The Sun reported that the "7 Rings" singer is renting a luxurious and palatial North London megamansion — valued at eight figures — while working on the forthcoming two-film adaptation of the Broadway musical "Wicked," in which she stars as Glinda the Good Witch. According to the report, the home has a massive kitchen, bedrooms filled with high-end furniture, a huge cinema, large reception rooms and a private garden — plus neighbors including comedian Ricky Gervais and rock star Liam Gallagher.
_
On Sept. 19, TMZ reported that Kim Kardashian dropped a fortune on a stunning property in Malibu that's 14 miles up the coast from ex-husband Kanye West's $57 million home that that rapper is currently renovating. Kim's sprawling 7,400-square-foot Mediterranean-style estate has 4 bedrooms and 5.5 bathrooms and sits on a secluded, well-protected ridge overlooking the Pacific Ocean. As for how much the SKIMS founder shelled out on this luxurious pad, which was previously owned by supermodel Cindy Crawford and businessman Rande Gerber? A cool $70 million. On top of that, she's keeping her $60 million estate in nearby Hidden Hills!
_
Imagine being so successful that you lose track of the properties you own! Such is reality for momager Kris Jenner. "I forgot you even had this place," Khloe Kardashian told Kris during a visit to her mother's Beverly Hills condo on the season 2 premiere of Hulu's "The Kardashians" on Sept. 22 (which was filmed in the spring of 2022). "This is a cute little place, if I must say so myself," said Kris, adding that she last visited the property over the holidays in 2021. "This is our gift-wrapping station. This is Santa's workshop," she said. Khloe replied, "I can't wait to be wealthy enough to forget I have property somewhere — just like, 'Oh, I have a condo in Beverly Hills? I forgot about that!'" Kris later explained in a confessional, "Here's the thing: I have a condo and my mom has one and my cousin [Cici Bussey] has one, and we all live nearby and I kind of forgot it was there. That sounds so ridiculous, doesn't it?" Kris and Khloe later cleaned out the condo's fridge, which was stocked primarily with bottles of champagne — "in case of emergency," Kris quipped.
_
Although Britain's Princess Charlotte is just 7, she's already been branded an "icon" on Twitter, thanks to an adorable moment caught by cameras at her great-grandmother's funeral. The move came as Charlotte stood next to big brother, Prince George, 9, as they waiting for Queen Elizabeth II's coffin to pass by them on its journey to Windsor Castle after her state funeral in London on Sept. 19. Charlotte leaned over to her brother at one point, telling him, "You need to bow." The future king — who's now second in line to the throne — followed his little sister's cue and gracefully bowed, while Charlotte curtsied as the royal hearse drove by. "Princess Charlotte is so sassy I love it! Even when Prince George is king she'll still be bossing him about," one person tweeted, sharing a clip of the interaction.
_
During a Sept. 21 appearance on the "Today" show, filmmaker, writer and actor Tyler Perry opened up to hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager about what prompted him to offer his Los Angeles home and his personal security team to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in early 2020 when they left as senior working members of the royal family. "It was a very difficult time for them," Tyler explained. "What I know about the two of them, that I wish the world knew, is how much they love — these two people love each other. They found each other — out of all these odds against them finding each other, they found each other. The love they have is really, really moving, and I just wanted to do anything I could to support them." In a recent interview with The Cut, Duchess Meghan revealed that she had never met Tyler before she, husband Prince Harry and son Archie Harrison stayed at his Beverly Hills estate for a few months before buying their current residence in Montecito, California. She also said that Tyler gave them a grand piano as a housewarming gift, telling them to "write the soundtrack for your life."
_
Following Queen Elizabeth II's death on Sept. 8, fresh attention was paid to the British royal family's wealth and land holdings, which show that with King Charles III now on the throne, eldest son Prince William has inherited a private estate valued at around $1.2 billion, according to CNN. William, who's now first in line to the throne, now oversees the Duchy of Cornwall estate — and now holds the Duke of Cornwall and Prince of Wales titles — after inheriting them from his father. The duchy, which dates back to 1337, is made up of almost 140,000 acres of land and property in southwest England and the revenue it generates is "used to fund the public, private and charitable activities" of the Duke of Cornwall, now William. He's not obligated to pay any form of tax on his estate, though he's expected to follow Charles' lead, as the king voluntarily started paying taxes in 1993. "Of course, voluntary income tax [is] not a fixed rate, and they don't have to declare how much income they're making their tax on," explained royal finance expert and author Laura Clancy. "So actually it's just like plucking a figure out of thin air." In 2021, Forbes reported that the queen's personal wealth was approximately $500 million. Most of that now goes to Charles.
_
Nichelle Nichols — who portrayed Communications Officer Lt. Nyota Uhura on "Star Trek" — will receive an appropriate send-off later this year when her DNA and ashes are launched "between 150 million to 300 million kilometers into deep space" on Celestis Inc.'s Vulcan Rocket, the company announced on Aug. 25. Nichelle — the first Black woman featured in a lead role on a network television series — worked for many years to recruit minority astronauts, though she never made it to space herself before she passed away on July 30 at 89. Nichelle's ashes will be in the company of some of her former "Star Trek" colleagues including the show's creator, Gene Roddenberry and his wife, Majel Barrett Roddenberry; "Star Trek" engineer actor James "Scotty" Doohan; and Douglas Trumbull of "2001: A Space Odyssey" fame, according to "Entertainment Tonight." Nichelle's son, Kyle Johnson, will also give a portion of his DNA so he can be by his mother's side in spirit on her journey. "My only regret is that I cannot share this eternal tribute standing beside my mother at the launch," Kyle said in a statement. "I know she would be profoundly honored for this unique experience and enthusiastically encourage all of her fans to join us vicariously by contributing your thoughts, affections, memories, [Nichelle-] inspired successes, dreams, and aspirations via email to be launched with her on this flight!"
_
We're not surprised in the slightest! On Sept. 5, Cardi B and Offset celebrated son Wave's first birthday with an extravagant car-themed celebration. "WAVE,SET,GOOOO!!!!!! HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my love," Cardi wrote on Instagram alongside a series of sweet snapshots from her baby boy's birthday bash that featured incredible decorations including enormous balloon displays surrounding a slew of expensive sports cars, an indoor playground, free themed clothing for guests, candy stations and more. Baby Wave even had his own mini car that he could cruise around in!
_
Oh, to be an Emmy nominee! The 74th Primetime Emmy Awards took place in Los Angeles on Sept. 12, and according to Page Six, the television stars who were honored that evening were recipients of a truly enviable swag bag. Contents of the gift bag worth a casual $70,000 included an African safari, a grill, an NFT art piece, a three-night stay at a villa in the Dominican Republic, a three-night stay at a Turks & Caicos resort and more high-end items. Emmy winners including Zendaya and Jason Sudeikis were invited to stop by the eBay and GBK Brand Bar Luxury Lounge to collect their coveted gift.
_
During her extravagant wedding ceremony on Aug. 20 at husband Ben Affleck's Riceboro, Georgia, estate, Jennifer Lopez did something only J.Lo could do: She donned not one, not two but three couture wedding dresses! The "Marry Me" star's creamy white confections were all designed by Ralph Lauren — plus she wore $2 million in diamond and pearl jewelry on her big day. (See her wedding-day looks here.)
_
Congratulations again, Mr. and Mrs. Affleck! On Aug. 20, Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck walked down the aisle for a second time, following their Las Vegas elopement in July, in a romantic ceremony at Ben's Riceboro, Georgia, estate that was witnessed by close friends including Matt Damon and Kevin Smith. On top of the epic wedding costs, like a fireworks display during the reception, DailyMail.com reported that Ben secured a three-mile no-fly zone that was enforced by police and security that included boats patrolling the lake bordering the property. If only we had that type of cash to spend on maintaining privacy!
_
One of the six women with whom Nick Cannon shares children has a new pad to call home thanks to the generous star! On Sept. 1, Abby De La Rosa — who shares 1-year-old twins Zion and Zillion with Nick and is expecting again — took to Instagram to show off the new digs Nick purchased for her. "Here's to beautiful new beginnings. I'm so grateful," she captioned the video. In confirming that he had, in fact, bought the house, Nick responded, "You are more than welcome!! It's the least I can do, Thank you for the unconditional love and the most precious gifts any human can ask for!! BEAUTIFUL New Beginnings!"
