Actress Paltrow learns of 9/11 "Sliding Doors" moment (Reuters)

VENICE, Italy (Reuters) – Gwyneth Paltrow has received a letter from a woman who believes the actress may have inadvertently saved her life on the day of the attacks on New York nearly 10 years ago.

As the United States prepares to mark the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Paltrow told Reuters she was more closely involved in the events than she had known at the time.

"Basically, what happened was I had gone to a yoga class very early," the Hollywood star said in an interview in Venice to discuss her latest movie "Contagion."

The film, directed by Steven Soderbergh, also features Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Jude Law and Kate Winslet, and tells the story of a deadly disease that quickly spreads around the world causing panic.

Particularly in its examination of how governments react to a crisis, some of its themes echo the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on the twin towers.

"I was on the way home and it was the morning of September 11 -- not that I knew at the time what that meant -- and a girl was jaywalking across the street and we kind of both stopped at the same time and waited a really long time," said Paltrow.

She said she and the woman did "this stop-start thing" for a time and began to laugh before the woman finally went on her way.

"Ten years later I got a letter from her saying that she had been late for work and we had that thing and she went down to the Christopher Street station to catch her train to go down to the World Trade Center where she worked on the 77th floor of the South Tower and the train was just pulling out.

"So had we not had that interaction she feels like her life would've taken a much different course. She called it her 'Sliding Doors moment'," Paltrow added, referring to one of her movies in which the plot follows different paths based on whether or not she catches a subway train.

"It was an extraordinary story and all I could think about is all of the people who had experiences like that that day, but aren't able to reach out because it wasn't a recognizable person," said the 38-year-old Oscar winner.

"She saw it was me so she was able to get me a message, but I think a lot of fates were changed that day obviously and I am very humbly happy to be a part in her story."

Contagion, which is not in the main competition at the Venice film festival, opens in theatres on September 9 and has been well received in early reviews.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White, editing by Paul Casciato)

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Ex-Braves pitcher, actress face Wyo. foreclosures (AP)

JACKSON, Wyo. – Foreclosed properties owned by former Atlanta Braves pitcher John Smoltz and singer and actress Connie Stevens are headed for auction this month in Wyoming.

The Jackson Hole News & Guide ( http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/ap/ap_en_ce/storytext/us_smoltz_foreclosure/42525835/SIG=10lnnjnbb/*http://goo.gl/cHrui) reports that Smoltz owes Wells Fargo Bank roughly $1.6 million on a vacant lot in the Snake River Sporting Club. The property is a troubled development that has changed hands several times since 2004.

Smoltz's lot is set to go up for auction Aug. 23.

Stevens owes roughly $2.8 million on a property in Indian Springs. She appeared in the movie "Grease 2" and the television series "Maverick."

Her property is scheduled for auction Aug. 25.

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New Yorker charged with stalking French actress Cotillard (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Oscar-winning actress Marion Cotillard, cast in the next Batman movie, has a role in a real life Gotham crime after a stalker sent threatening messages to her fan site.

Teresa "Terri" Yuan, who lives in Queens, was arrested by the FBI on Thursday last week, said Robert Nardoza, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Brooklyn, which also covers Queens.

She was charged with sending threatening messages to a French movie actress, according to a criminal complaint. The actress is Cotillard, a law enforcement source told Reuters on Saturday.

Federal authorities have 30 days to seek a grand jury indictment. Yuan was released Friday on $50,000 bond, authorities said.

"The guilt and sorrow I feel now, I won't feel after it happens," said one of the videos Yuan e-mailed from Queens to fan club servers in New Jersey.

"After it happens I'll feel no regret whatsoever...that's apparently how it feels to be a killer, to be a murderer."

Yuan was accused of e-mailing several threatening videos and messages to the website, including one in which she indicated she knew Cotillard's travel schedule and planned to meet her.

No future court dates have been set in the case, which was heard in U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, Nardoza said.

Cotillard, 35, who won the Best Actress Academy Award for her role as Edith Piaf in "La Vie en Rose," also appeared in Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris," "Inception" and is cast in the upcoming Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises."

Yuan's lawyer, Michael Schneider, declined to comment.

(Reporting by Jessica Dye; Writing by Barbara Goldberg; Editing by David Bailey)

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AP source: TV actress plans plea in NYC bar run-in (AP)

NEW YORK – Actress Paz de la Huerta is set to admit she threatened to hit a former reality TV figure in a trendy hotel bar, a person familiar with the case said Wednesday.

The "Boardwalk Empire" actress will plead guilty Thursday to harassment in her March encounter with Samantha Swetra, who appeared on the MTV reality series "The City," the person said. Harassment is a violation, not a crime.

De la Huerta's punishment will entail a fine and a day of community service, said the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity to discuss the plans in advance of Thursday's court date.

De la Huerta's lawyer, Jamel Oeser-Sweat, says he's working with prosecutors toward a plea deal and expects some movement on the case Thursday. Prosecutors declined to comment.

De la Huerta, 26, was charged with assault and other offenses after authorities said she punched Swetra in the face, gave her a bloody nose and hurled a glass that cut Swetra's leg at the swanky Standard Hotel. De la Huerta also lashed out at Swetra with words, telling police she herself was "a real actress" and Swetra "a publicity-seeker, a fake actress," according to a court complaint.

She'll admit only to saying she'd hit Swetra, according to the person familiar with the case, who said de la Huerta may also get assessed for potential alcohol counseling.

Swetra has called the actress' behavior "atrocious and utterly intolerable" in a lawsuit over the incident; the suit seeks unspecified damages. De la Huerta, in court papers, has called the claims false.

De la Huerta plays Lucy Danziger, the fiery girlfriend of politician Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (played by Steve Buscemi) on "Boardwalk Empire." The show's second season is due to air this fall. De la Huerta also has appeared in films including "The Cider House Rules," "A Walk to Remember" and "The Limits of Control."

Swetra, a fashion buyer, appeared in several episodes of "The City." The show followed Whitney Port, a star of MTV's Los Angeles-based reality hit "The Hills," as she moved to New York to work for designer Diane von Furstenberg.

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British actress Anna Massey dies at 73 (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) – Veteran actress Anna Massey, best known for her supporting roles as a lonely spinster, has died at the age of 73 from cancer, British media reported on Tuesday.

Massey made her professional debut on stage at the age of 17 and enjoyed a career in film and television spanning five decades, including roles in Alfred Hitchcock's "Frenzy" and an adaptation of "The Importance of Being Ernest."

She won a BAFTA for her role in a 1986 TV adaptation of Anita Brookner's novel "Hotel du Lac.

In 2004 Massey was awarded a CBE, an honor from the Queen, for her services to acting.

Two years later she played former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the television drama "Pinochet in Suburbia."

"I find acting incredibly difficult -- it demands much more of my time than it does for some people," the actress told The Independent newspaper in 1996.

"I'm not instinctive. It takes enormous discipline and bravery to get me there."

Massey was married to Sherlock Holmes actor Jeremy Brett for four years until 1962. She met her second husband, Russian scientist Uri Andres, 27 years later.

"She will be remembered as a loving wife and mother, a cherished grandmother, a generous colleague and, always, a consummate professional," her agent said in a statement.

(Reporting by Karolina Tagaris; Editing by Janet Lawrence)

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British actress Anna Massey dies at 73 (AP)

LONDON – Anna Massey, the member of an acting dynasty whose roles ranged from lonely spinsters to Margaret Thatcher, has died. She was 73.

Massey died Saturday after a battle with cancer, with her husband and son at her side, her agent Pippa Markham said Monday.

The actress was born in 1937 into a performing family — her father was Canadian actor Raymond Massey and her mother British actress Adrianne Allen. Her brother Daniel Massey also became an actor, and her godfather was director John Ford.

Massey made her West End stage debut at 17 in "The Reluctant Debutante" and her film debut in Ford's 1958 police procedural "Gideon's Day."

She had roles in films including Michael Powell's classic chiller "Peeping Tom," Otto Preminger's "Bunny Lake is Missing," Alfred Hitchcock's "Frenzy" and the 2002 adaptation of "The Importance of Being Earnest," in which she played the comic governess Miss Prism.

Massey worked most frequently in television and was a stalwart of British period dramas, often cast as a waspish spinster or maiden aunt. She appeared in TV adaptations of Anthony Trollope's "The Pallisers," Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the D'Urbervilles," Charles Dickens' "Oliver Twist" and many others.

In 2006, she played former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in the TV drama "Pinochet in Suburbia."

Markham said Massey would be remembered as "a consummate professional," but the actress revealed in a memoir that she had struggled with depression and stage fright, and suffered a nervous breakdown in the 1960s.

She once said that as an actor, "I'm not instinctive. It takes enormous discipline and bravery to get me there."

Massey won a BAFTA, Britain's top acting award, for her role in the 1986 TV adaptation of Anita Brookner's novel "Hotel du Lac."

In 2004 she was named a Commander of the Order of the British Empire, or CBE, by Queen Elizabeth II for services to drama.

Massey is survived by her husband, Uri Andres, and David Huggins, her son from a first marriage to the late actor Jeremy Brett.

Funeral details were not immediately available.

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Edith Fellows, child actress of 1930s, dies at 88 (AP)

LOS ANGELES – Edith Fellows, a child actress who was the subject of a famous 1936 custody case, has died. She was 88.

Her daughter, Kathy Fields Lander, tells the Los Angeles Times that Fellows died of natural causes Sunday at the Motion Picture & Television Fund retirement home in Los Angeles.

Fellows' mother abandoned her as an infant, and she was raised by her grandmother, who brought her to Hollywood. She made about 50 movies in the 1930s, '40s and '50s, including the 1936 film "Pennies from Heaven." She later turned to the stage and TV.

Fellows was 13 when her mother sued for custody. Fellows testified that she wasn't "used to loving strangers" and remained with her grandmother.

Her childhood earnings were placed in trust, but most later mysteriously vanished.

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Information from: Los Angeles Times, http://www.latimes.com

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Actress Richards now mother of 3 (AP)

NEW YORK – Denise Richards has added a third little one to her family, this time through adoption.

The 40-year-old actress recently adopted a newborn baby girl. Richards named the infant Eloise Joni after her mother, who succumbed to cancer four years ago. Richards' representative, Jill Fritzo, on Wednesday confirmed the adoption.

Richards has two daughters by her ex-husband Charlie Sheen. The actress and former model says 7-year old Sam and 5-year old Lola couldn't be happier with their new sister and feel blessed.

Richards and Sheen had a turbulent marriage that Richards wrote about in a memoir, scheduled to be released in July.

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Actress Rita Wilson named editor of 'Huff/Post 40' (AP)

By SANDY COHEN, AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen, Ap Entertainment Writer – Thu Jun 16, 2:41 pm ET

LOS ANGELES – The Huffington Post is launching a new site aimed at the baby boomer generation, and Rita Wilson will direct its vision and content.

AOL Huffington Post Media Group President and Editor-in-Chief Arianna Huffington said Thursday that the actress and producer will be editor-at-large of "Huff/Post 40," which is set to launch in August. She says Wilson even came up with the name of the new site.

Huffington said in an interview that the new site is designed to appeal to men and women over 40 and it will be "both about news and about people sharing their own experiences about that stage in life."

She credited her and Wilson's shared Greek heritage for setting them up to value aging as a process that brings wisdom and new possibilities.

The 54-year-old Wilson, who is married to Tom Hanks, has acted in movies, on television and on Broadway. She has also written stories on style and health for O, The Oprah Magazine and Harper's Bazaar, where she has been a contributing editor since 2006.

Wilson made good on a lifelong dream to perform on Broadway at age 49, Huffington said. That drive, and Wilson's sense of humor, is what makes her the "perfect godmother" for the new site.

"She's always following her own passions and making things happen, so I think she's a great role model," Huffington said.

The HuffPo founder said she wasn't concerned about Wilson's limited experience in journalism, calling the new editor-at-large "a wonderful writer herself and she has a clear sense of what the theme of the site will be." She said they are now working to fill other top editorial positions for the new site.

"Huff/Post 40" will be uplifting and interactive, Huffington said.

"It's important to cover this with a sense of joy about this age ... that's another thing that's often missing from the writing about this stage of life," she said. "You worry about approval less; you're more clear about who you are — all those things are so liberating. It's a very liberating time of life, I say as I turn 60...

"It's an age where you can look less at the past and more into the future."

Huffington is also looking into the future as she continues to expand her media empire with AOL. She's developing Huffington Post France; Huffington Post UK launches July 6 and Huffington Post Canada went live last month.

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Online:

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Sandy Cohen can be reached at http://twitter.com/APSandy

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British actress Elizabeth Hurley divorces (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) – British actress and model Elizabeth Hurley's four-year marriage to Indian businessman Arun Nayar ended in divorce on Wednesday.

The couple was granted the divorce by a district judge at the High Court's Family Division in London, according to the Press Association.

Hurley, 46, married the textile heir at Sudeley Castle in western England in 2007 and had a traditional Hindu wedding in Jodhpur, India.

Hurley dated British actor Hugh Grant for more than a decade and has a child from a relationship with film producer Steve Bing.

(Reporting by Mike Collett-White; editing by Keith Weir)

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Sutton Foster wins best actress in a musical Tony (AP)

NEW YORK – Sutton Foster has won the Tony Award for best actress in a musical.

Foster won for playing Reno Sweeney, the sassy but kindhearted nightclub singer looking for a good man aboard the ocean liner S.S. American, in the revival of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes."

It is Foster's second Tony. She previously won in 2002 for "Thoroughly Modern Millie," and has earned Tony nominations for "Shrek: The Musical," "Little Women" and "The Drowsy Chaperone."

Foster beat out Patina Miller in "Sister Act," and Donna Murphy in "The People in the Picture" and Beth Leavel in the jukebox musical "Baby It's You!"

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Ellen Barkin wins featured actress Tony Award (AP)

NEW YORK – Ellen Barkin has won the Tony Award for best performance by an actress in a featured role.

Barkin won for her searing performance as a frustrated doctor trying to combat AIDS in the revival of Larry Kramer's "The Normal Heart." The play marks her Broadway debut.

She is better known as a film actress and her credits include "The Big Easy" opposite Dennis Quaid and "Sea of Love" with Al Pacino.

Barkin beat out Edie Falco in "The House of Blue Leaves," Judith Light in "Lombardi," Joanna Lumley in "La Bete" and Elizabeth Rodriguez in "The Motherf---- With the Hat."

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Frances McDormand wins Tony as best play actress (AP)

NEW YORK – Frances McDormand has won the Tony Award for best leading actress in a play.

The Academy Award-winner took home her first Tony for playing a South Boston blue-collar woman who reconnects with a high school boyfriend in David Lindsay-Abaire play "Good People."

It is McDormand's first Tony win. She had been nominated in 1988 for playing Stella Kowalski in a production of Tennessee Williams' "A Streetcar Named Desire." She has an Oscar for "Fargo."

McDormand beat out Nina Arianda in "Born Yesterday," Lily Rabe in "The Merchant of Venice," Vanessa Redgrave in "Driving Miss Daisy" and Hannah Yelland from "Brief Encounter."

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Cannes best actress Dunst grateful film was considered (Reuters)

CANNES (Hollywood Reporter) – "Wow, what a week it's been," Kirsten Dunst exclaimed as she accepted the award for best actress at the 64th Cannes Film Festival Sunday for her performance as a depressed woman whose wedding must compete with the end of the world in Lars von Trier's "Melancholia."

And that was certainly the understatement of the evening.

Ever since the movie screened Wednesday morning, it's been overshadowed by the controversy that erupted when von Trier jokingly boasted of being a Nazi at the official press conference that followed.

Sitting beside him, Dunst looked on uncomfortably as the Danish director dug himself into a hole by responding to a question about German influences on his work by saying that he understood and sympathized with Hitler.

Although the director later withdrew his comments, the festival took the highly unusual step of declaring him a "persona non grata," and he was not on hand for the closing festivities.

In her acceptance, Dunst expressed her gratitude that the jury saw past the uproar to recognize her work in the film, which will be distributed stateside by Magnolia later this year.

"This is an honor that's once in a lifetime. Thank you to the Cannes Film Festival for allowing the film to still be in competition," she said before also acknowledging von Trier by adding, "I want to thank Lars for giving me the opportunity to be so brave in this film. It's such a special night for me."

After the awards ceremony, French director Olivier Assayas, a member of the jury, said of the decision to single out von Trier's film for an award, "It is one of his best films. We all agreed about the condemnation of his comments made during his press conference. But the film is very well acted, very well written. It's a great work."

Rebecca Leffler in Cannes contributed to this report

(Editing by Chris Michaud)

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Actress, music icon Cher turns 65 (AFP)

NEW YORK (AFP) – Music icon Cher, the rare celebrity to have earned both Oscar and Grammy glory, turns 65 this week with undiminished adoration from millions of fans around the world.

Before Madonna or Lady Gaga, there was Cher, a forerunner of the current crop of musical divas, with her fondness for head dresses, sequined gowns and a fearlessness of harnessing her sexuality as part of her carefully crafted public persona.

Throughout her career, Cher has sold more than 100 million records, but she said in a recent interview that her most recent hit -- last year's "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me" -- has particular poignancy at this moment in her career.

"That song, for me, had a lot of meaning," she told a California newspaper last year, saying that it reminded her that "I have to kind of move over."

"Not that I'm doing it gracefully, because you'd have to pull me over kicking and screaming," she said in her interview with the Fresno Bee.

Cher is a singular character on the American cultural landscape for her longevity and her ability to reinvent her career over a career spanning six decades.

Even the pop stars of the moment, not known generally to show deference to their musical elders, pay homage to Cher.

"How could you not learn from Cher with her work ethic and the way she commands attention when she walks into a room, but exudes such peaceful tranquility and love for everyone?" said singer Christina Aguilera.

Cher was born Cherilyn Sarkisian on May 20, 1946 to an Armenian truck driver who abandoned the family when she was just two-years-old, and a mother who cobbled together a living as a sometime actress model.

A 16-year-old high school dropout with hip-length raven hair and striking but atypical good looks, Cher met husband-to-be musician Sonny Bono at a Sunset Boulevard coffee shop.

At barely 18, she teamed up with him to record "I Got You, Babe," the first of many massive hits.

The chart-topping 1965 tune became the duo's biggest single and their signature song, and was on Rolling Stone's magazine list of the 500 Greatest Songs of all time.

The couple married in 1969. Then came a daughter, Chastity, and their groundbreaking television variety act, "The Sonny and Cher Show," one of the most popular programs of the early 1970s.

Throughout early stardom, Cher was a style icon, equally as comfortable in bell bottom jeans and navel-baring cropped tops, she was in the floor-length form-fitting gowns that were staple attire on her show.

Her marriage to Sonny ended in 1974. A second marriage, to musician Greg Allman of the Allman Brothers Band, produced one son, Elijah Blue Allman. That union fell apart after barely two years.

But, the queen of reinvention, Cher launched her acting career around that time, earning lead role honors opposite Meryl Streep when they made "Silkwood" in 1983.

A few years later, she was awarded an Oscar for her starring role in the hit 1987 romantic comedy "Moonstruck" opposite Nicolas Cage.

Her on-again, off-again music career took off again at the end of the 1980s, when she had one of her biggest solo hits, "If I could Turn Back Time."

The tune might also have been describing her physical appearance, given her acknowledged penchant for plastic surgery, or her numerous farewell tours and comeback concerts.

Recently Cher has been in the news because of Chastity -- now known as Chaz -- who is now living as a transgendered man.

A new film, "Becoming Chaz" which debuted this year at the Sundance Film Festival, chronicles the medical and social transition of Chaz from female to male.

Over the years, in addition to her music and screen career, Cher has starred in a Las Vegas live show, with nearly 200 appearances.

Her latest musical hit was last year's "You Haven't Seen the Last of Me," heard in the film "Burlesque," which also marked her first big screen appearance in more than a decade -- the latest being the 1999 film "Tea with Mussolini".

In "Burlesque," she plays as a down-on-her-luck nightclub owner, opposite Aguilera, who waxed rhapsodic about her co-star.

"She's been there and done everything, before any of us," the singer said.

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French actress Clemence Poesy poised for stardom (Reuters)

CANNES, France (Hollywood Reporter) – From "Gossip Girl" on the Upper East Side to Peasant girl from Eastern France, French actress Clemence Poesy has crossed genres, languages and territories in her career.

Now, 19-year-old actress is at the Festival de Cannes with a divine role as Joan of Arc in Philippe Ramos' Director's Fortnight title "The Silence of Joan."

The film takes place in 1430 and follows the maid of Orleans during the last year of her life as she is captured and imprisoned, miraculously survives a fall from a tower and deals with the many men surrounding her, played by an all-star male Gallic cast including Thierry Fremont, Mathieu Amalric, Liam Cunningham and Jean-Francois Stevenin.

So did Poesy relate to the heroine known for hearing voices from God and leading the French army to victory during the 100 years war?

"I can't really relate to a young prophetess who was leading armies at a time where women weren't allowed to have any kind of social importance," she said. "While we were shooting, I didn't relate to Joan of Arc personally as much as I related to the Joan we were trying to portray and whose story we were telling. It was a long process that I approached with different references and different crafts."

For the film's director, Ramos, Poesy was an obvious choice for the role.

"I was looking for someone with a divine presence and Clemence had the spark," Ramos said. "Clemence has a sense of mystery about her. She has a very particular beauty that's childlike and sensual at the same time she's full of contrasts."

Poesy's film choices also diverge. "I like being between French films and international projects it feels like an amazing opportunity to always keep learning and discovering and it also gives me a lot of freedom. I'd love for things to keep going this way. Every project is different, every director is different. It changes all the time which is what's so great about it."

After Joan, Poesy will leave her native tongue to explore more English language roles including Rupert Goold's upcoming adaptation of Richard II opposite Ben Winshaw that starts shooting this month.

With the offers piling in, Poesy has managed to find a balance between Hollywood blockbusters and French auteur cinema like The Silence of Joan. "I just go with what feels right at the time and very often it's in reaction with what I've just done," she said. "I tend to want to act in English after a French film, make a small film after a big one, something fun after something dark. I like experimenting and I try to do things that are different from one another," she explained.

As her English-language roles multiply, the French accented actress may just be poised to rival Hollywood's leading ladies.

"I have a lot of respect and admiration for someone like Cate Blanchett, find Emma Thompson wonderful, Meryl Streep inspiring, Juliette Binoche full of light and Catherine Deneuve incredible," she said.

Based on the way her career is going, Poesy, whose last name means "poetry" in French, may just join the elegant actresses in the international starlette circle.

Ramos said: "She's a beautiful young actress, but not archetypal it's her personality and talent combined with her unique beauty that sets her apart."

And, did we mention, she sings too?

"Oh it's a small thing really," the actress says of her collaboration on a duet with Miles Kane that will be on his first solo album. "I like the song, I loved recording it and discovering a new way to tell stories."

Poesy will also be saying goodbye to Hogwarts as her role in the "Harry Potter" franchise comes to an end this year.

"It's always moving to see a story come to an end, but I always thought the strength of "Harry Potter" was in the fact that people knew from the start that it would end after seven books/films, so it's a little bit like life we appreciate it because we know it's not there forever," she said. "I think it's a good thing that it's finishing while it's still magical."

While Poesy will be radiating divine light in Joan, the actress opts to stay out of the spotlight in her home country and abroad.

"Frankly, I think most of all, no one really cares about my private life. I just try to keep the two separated, always keeping in mind that there are things, precious things, that can just be mine and I don't have to share with anyone else but the people I love."

(Editing by Zorianna Kit)

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Actress Miller settles News Corp phone snoop case (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) – Sienna Miller will take a payoff to drop a case against a newspaper that snooped on her phone messages, a scandal that embarrassed Rupert Murdoch's News Corp while it seeks government blessing for a huge merger.

Miller, the on-and-off girlfriend of fellow Hollywood star Jude Law, was one of the main plaintiffs suing News Corp over allegations reporters at its News of the World tabloid illegally listened to voice messages to get scoops.

The scandal has already cost Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman his job and led to calls for greater oversight of Britain's ruthlessly competitive news media.

The newspaper said it would pay Miller 100,000 pounds ($160,000) as part of a settlement that would see her drop her case. The newspaper would also give her documents in the case.

Miller was one of more than 20 celebrities, including TV personalities, sports figures and even former cabinet members, suing the News of the World for hiring a private investigator to hack into the voicemail accounts of their mobile phones.

Her case was expected to be one of a handful of lead cases against the newspaper that will set compensation levels for other plaintiffs. The lead cases are expected to be decided at a case-management hearing next week.

"We are pleased that we have managed to bring this case to a satisfactory conclusion. Several weeks ago we admitted liability in certain cases and offered a genuine and unreserved apology," News International said in a statement on Friday.

"We hope to resolve other cases swiftly."

Miller's lawyer had no immediate comment.

The scandal has damaged News Corp's reputation at a time when it has been seeking government approval for a proposed $14 billion takeover of British pay-TV firm BSkyB. Opponents want the merger blocked pending the outcome of a police probe.

One journalist at the newspaper was jailed in 2007 for illegally snooping on phone messages of a member of the royal household, but the paper maintained until this year that it was an isolated incident.

The police have since reopened the investigation, several journalists have been arrested and the newspaper has apologised. Cameron's media chief Andy Coulson, who had been the newspaper's editor at the time when the snooping took place, resigned.

Ex-member of parliament George Galloway, who also says his voicemail was hacked, has called cash settlements a legal trap that would allow News Corp to silence claimants by offering them compensation they cannot afford to refuse.

Claimants who refuse to settle and bring their cases to court could end up with huge legal bills.

(Editing by Peter Graff)

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