The week in gossip: how the celebs like to par-tay

Wow, it was quite the week for celebrity birthday parties. Every morning I woke up with another reason to be jealous as I read how Leo celebrated turning 39, what Anne did for her 31st (OK, I wasn’t quite so jealous of her vegan dinner), how Robert Downey Jr threw an awesome weekend-long bash for his wife’s 40 and how Nick Lachey marked his big 4-0 moment. Here’s what went down … (plus the rest of my favourite goss moments)

>> Leonardo DiCaprio celebrated turning 39 with the kind of soiree his latest on-screen countepart, Jay Gatsby, would approve of. After a private dinner with the likes of Martin Scorsese, Orlando Bloom, Edward Norton, Benicio del Toro and longtime friend Tobey Maguire, Leo hosted a charity birthday party for himself at a New York nightclub. He raised $3 million for The Leonardo DiCaprio Foundation through a special auction, selling off two bottles of Moet & Chandon Grand Vintage 1921 that were used in the flashy Baz Luhrmann film. Kanye West and 2 Chainz performed on-stage while the birthday boy danced with his girlfriend Toni Garrn (see them kissing in the pic above?).

>> Robert Downey Jr threw a star-studded weekend-long 40th birthday celebration for his wife Susan at Cavallo Point Lodge, near the San Francisco. Among the celebrity guests were Justin Theroux, Jason Bateman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Reese Witherspoon, Jon Favreau, Maya Rudolph, Gwen Stefani and Gavin Rossdale and their families for a fun-filled getaway.

On Saturday, a birthday party was held in the hotel’s

>> Robert Downey Jr's wife isn't the only one who turned 40 last week. Jessica Simpson's ex, Nick Lachey, also celebrated with a 'birthday weekend'. The singer, who shares his birthday with his 33-year-old wife Vanessa Minnillo Lachey, tweeted: "Well, the 40th birthday weekend has officially begun! Pray for me ... gonna be a big one! Going out in style. Goodbye 30's, you were fun!!"

Vanessa hosted a party for her husband in LA, inviting his former bandmates and members of a rival '90s boy band, N*SYNC (how scandalous!). Each party-goer received their invitation in the form of a personalised bottle of whiskey, complete with the birthday boy's face printed on the label. Fancy.

Steel Panther performed as a surprise for Nick, and he joined them on stage afterwards to sing "Don't Stop Believing".

As for Vanessa's birthday, she opted for a more low-key celebration. "Kickin off the birthday weekend with my two favorite guys!!!" she tweeted on Friday, with a photo of two wine glasses on a table with a milk bottle belonging to the couple's 14-month-old son Camden.

>> Anne Hathaway celebrated her 31st birthday at a vegan restaurant in Hollywood on Saturday ... wearing cheetah-printed tights. Her husband Adam Shulman and a group of friends - including celebrity guest Amy Adams - gathered in the private wine room at Crossroads in West Hollywood, which was shrouded by white curtains. "There were around 40 people attending -- two long tables for a sit-down dinner with candles," a source told US magazine. "At 10pm she was brought a huge chocolate cake with tons of candles. Everyone sang happy birthday."

>> On the subject of celebrations ... Bradley Cooper went to his 20-year reunion in Fort Washington last weekend. "He was definitely having a great time. He made his rounds and made sure to talk to everyone. He had fun catching up and hearing about their lives. There was lots of laughing and joking going on. He really loved seeing everyone ... He didn't act like a movie star. Just a normal guy who was personable and friendly."

>> OK, it's not exactly a party ... but Kate Moss donned Playboy's legendary bunny costume to celebrate the magazine's 60th anniversary. The magazine hits stands in January 2014, the same month the supermodel turns 40 (bet she's got something MASSIVE planned).

>> E! News revealed that Zac Efron's mouth is wired shut after he broke his jaw. The actor slipped on a puddle of water at the entrance of his Los Angeles home. He broke his jaw when he fell and also suffered a gash that required stitches. (Dlisted wrote: "I bet that as Zac fell, he screamed, “NOT THE FACE! JESUS! NOT THE FAAA-” Boom.")

>> Further proof that life isn't fair: Matt Damon appeared in a 20-second commercial in exchange for a $3 million payday. He literally says two words in the entire ad. Breaking it down, he got $1 million to say "recycling," $1 million to say "yeah," and another million to chuckle.Click here to watch it.

>> Kim Kardashian posted this adorable pic of baby North West on Instagram. Who do you think she looks more like - Kim, or dad Kanye West?

>> It's been almost 20 years since her six-year marriage to fellow actor Kenneth Branagh ended, and now Emma Thompson has spoken for the first time about the scandal believed to have ended their relationship. Although the couple claimed at the time that their divorce was a result of work pressures, it was widely believed Kenneth had an affair with up-and-coming actress Helena Bonham Carter. "[The affair is] all blood under the bridge. You can't hold on to anything like that. I just think ... pfft," Emma told the UK's Sunday Times. "It's pointless. I haven't got the energy for it. Helena and I made our peace years and years ago."

>> Alec Baldwin was heckled and driven to tears during the New York trial of his accused stalker. Canadian actress Genevieve Sabouri was arrested in 2012 and charged with 23 counts of harassment and one of stalking. Yesterday, Alec testified that he never had a sexual or romantic relationship with the actress, and said she began leaving up to 30 voicemails on his phone every night. Alec teared up as he recounted Genevieve turning up uninvited to his East Hamptons home last year. "I ran to tell my wife not to go near the door because I wasn't sure if she had a gun or a weapon or where we were at this point, and then I called the East Hampton police," he said.

The judge sentenced Sabouri to six months jail, saying: "Your relentless and escalating campaign of threats and in-person appearances in private spaces served at a minimum to harass, annoy and alarm Mr Baldwin, and intentionally so, and terrorized his wife."

>> Jon Cryer revealed to Conan O'Brien that his hair is painted on, literally. "This is the work of several talented professionals making the most of like four hairs," the 48-year-old told the TV host, pointing to his head. "It's amazing, actually, what they can do. I'm not wearing a piece - or anything like that - but it's a long involved process that starts with stuff like shoe polish

>> Katie Holmes posted a photo of herself standing proudly in front of a sign on Robben island in South Africa that reads: "Freedom cannot be manacled!" And it got everyone wondering if there was a pointed message behind it to her ex-husband Tom. Tom is currently embroiled in a nasty $50million court case with Bauer magazines over their assertion that he "abandoned" daughter Suri after his divorce. When questioned about why Katie left him, he was forced to admit that it was because she wanted to rescue Suri from Scientology.

>> George Clooney confessed to Esquire that he played the ultimate prank on Brad Pitt a few years ago. He had some stationery made up with Brad’s letterhead, found a book about acting and accents and sent it to Meryl Streep, with an accompanying note. The note said: “Dear Meryl, this book really helped me with my accent for Troy. I hope it helps you too.” Then he signed it “Brad Pitt.” Love!

>> George also ripped into Russell Crowe, who called him a "sellout". The truth is that [Russell Crowe] did send me a book of poems to apologize for insulting the s*** out of me, which he did,' George said. "He really went off on me. "Who the f*** does this guy think he is? He's a Frank Sinatra wannabe." He really went after me." Knowing that he might run into George during awards season, Russell then attempted to apologise. "I think he said "I was misquoted" and I was like, 'Yeah, yeah. Whatever'."

>> In a segment on her show, Ellen Degeneres has surprised The Big Bang Theory actress Kaley Cuoco by bringing in her fiancé, Ryan Sweeting, and orchestrating a quickie wedding for them on stage. Ellen brought out a show staffer who was recently ordained to officiate weddings and her boyfriend Ryan walked on set for an impromptu ceremony.

>> Kaley has since dropped hints about what her REAL wedding will be like, including wanting a cake in the shape of her three pit bull terriers' heads. "I actually want to do it of my dogs, see I'm obsessed with my dogs." she said. She also wants to include one of her five horses in the ceremony. "I might ride in on one of my horses. I secretly kinda want to do that. I'm a big animal freak, I'd rather the animals be there than real people."

>> Jennifer Aniston was widely dissed online for getting a cartilage piercing in her ear. Prior to lopping off her signature locks (click here to see the photo), she and friend Gucci Westman did some ear accessorising. Or, as Huffington Post describes it "apparently found a time machine so they could travel

>> Homeland's Damian Lewis tweeted: "MOVEMBER!! Find your inner spiv and grow a mo this month to raise awareness for Prostate Cancer."

>> Gwyneth Paltrow shared her kids' Christmas wish lists on her website, Goop.

And finally, though I hesitated to include it, here's the latest in the Charlie Sheen saga ...

>> Following Charlie's outspoken comments on Twitter regarding his custody battle with his ex-wife Brooke Mueller, the judge presiding over the custody case involving his twins Bob and Max slapped him with a restraining order. According to TMZ, the Anger Management star's restraining order contains a gagging clause meaning that if he talks publicly about the case - or the boys' mother - again... he's off to prison.

>> RadarOnline reported that Brooke recently tested positive for Adderall, a drug used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. And while she has aprescription

>> Radar claimed she's still set to regain full custody of the couple's four-year-old twins despite the positive test. And Charlie was predictably furious. Over the weekend he tweeted: "[S]o lemme see if I got this straight. [M]y twin boys are now in harms way and in grave danger. [B]eing "raised" by a gaggle of incompetent and lascivious marionettes all ruled and fooled by an adderol snorting husk called Brooke [sic]. [A]nd guess what CPS and "I'm Italian" judge anus-brain, you may have gagged me temporarily, but mark my unspoken words, anything happens to my boys, and you will know get to know me, know who I truly am, a loving father. [A]nd if this means being jailed for loving and trying to protect my children, then go for it."

>> In the wake of all the ugliness, Charlie's OTHER ex-wife Denise Richards, tweeted photo of him holding her adopted daughter Eloise with the caption: "Many of you don't see this side."

For even more great gossip, click here.