Access Hollywood - Celebrity News, Photos & Videos

Patrick Swayze’s Widow To Join Kate Gosselin, Elizabeth Edwards At Women’s Conference

Lisa Niemi, the widow of late actor Patrick Swayze, will speak out at a panel on Grief, Healing and Resilience at The Women’s Conference 2009 on Tuesday, a conference rep confirmed to Access Hollywood.

Lisa lost her husband to a long battle with pancreatic cancer on September 14. He was 57. The two were married for 34 years.

Dara Torres On Her Olympic Silver Lining

“Is there a silver lining to the silver medal?” Access Hollywood’s Shaun Robinson asked Dara Torres, following the two silver medals she won at her finals on Sunday.

“That’s a good analogy,” Dara replied. “The silver lining is that there’s nothing that I could have changed. My coach said I swam the perfect race and I broke the American record. I did my best time by a couple tenths of a second, which is a lot in a 50, so I have to be happy with a silver medal.”

Mother… Olympian… Role model – Dara is all of these things, and more.

More of her post-Olympics experience, inside.

Michael Phelps: Introducing The World’s New #1 Celebrity

Michael Phelps is the world’s biggest celebrity right now, after going 8 for 8 in ‘08 — winning a record 8 gold medals in swimming for the U.S. at the Beijing Olympic Games.

“This is everything I’ve ever wanted to do, and everything I’ve ever dreamed of,” Phelps told NBC’s Bob Costas in an interview at the Water Cube following his race. “I’ve had the best week of my life.”

More details on Michael’s winning relay… inside!

Mama Phelps Reflects On Her Pride & Joy

“Mama Phelps,” Access Hollywood’s Billy Bush began asking the great swimmer’s mother, in an interview following Phelps’ 2nd gold medal win on Monday. “OK, Michael is two for two in the hunt for 8 gold medals — His two most difficult races are behind him, so now the likelihood of him pulling off this incredible feat is actually greater. How are your maternal emotions?”

“There’s not one word that can express right now, Billy, how I feel,” she replied.

Team U.S.A.‘s incomprehensible come from behind in the 4x100 freestyle relay won Phelps his second gold — and silenced the trash-talking French, who guaranteed victory over America.

And NBC very wisely mic’d up Mama (real first name: Debbie) Phelps in the stands.

Click through to read more about what Mama Phelps, had to say about her golden boy!

Michael Phelps: Just Playing Cards & Watching Movies, To Ready For Gold

With the expectation of winning eight gold medals on his shoulders, one would think that Michael Phelps would have a hard time relaxing. Instead, the superstar swimmer is keeping a low-key profile in the Olympics Athletes’ Village – just playing cards and watching movies.

But as for the question everyone really wants answered — when would Michael shave off the Fu Manchu mustache — well, only Billy Bush found out the answer to that.

And if you want to find out… read on… inside!

Dara Torres In Beijing: ‘I Skype With (My Daughter) Every Day’

Don’t doubt it for a second: Dara Torres is proud and excited to be here in Beijing.

Moments — like meeting men’s basketball star LeBron James Wednesday night and Skyping (video conferencing) with her two-year-old daughter, Tessa, have made this, her 5th Olympics, perhaps her most unique to date.

But when she got together with our own Billy Bush, the conversation quickly turned to painting toenails, tips for getting rid of love handles, and Ryan Lochte’s hair.

A preview of our interview… inside!

U.S. Swimmers Dive Into Beijing With Strong Opinions… And Stories

The U.S. men’s and women’s swimming team took to the stage like true superstars at a media press conference at the Main Press Center in Beijing on Wednesday.

The USOC started by bringing out the team’s two biggest stars – Michael Phelps and Dara Torres.

The duo was then replaced on stage by teammates Aaron Peirsol, Ryan Lochte, Brendan Hansen, Katie Hoff, Eric Shanteau & Natalie Coughlin.

And, everyone seemed to have an opinion about teammate Amanda Beard’s racy new naked ad for PETA.

All of their amazing stories… inside!

Phelps Gets Into Beijing Almost Unnoticed

Michael Phelps sneaked into Beijing almost unnoticed. He’s unlikely to go out that way.

The probable star of the Beijing Olympics avoided hundreds of fans, photographers and reporters Monday by taking a side door out to a waiting bus while his teammates pushed luggage trolleys through the arrival gate at Beijing’s new Terminal 3, a sprawling addition to the city’s airport.

Phelps, who’s grown a mustache while training in Singapore, eventually was spotted—in a window seat on the team bus—by dozens of reporters and photographers. He ignored most of the cameras, glancing in their direction a few times as he adjusted the fit of his baseball cap.