Missing Blogs!

Stay tuned for missing blogs. Alison Levine and Ann Compton are missing in action! Hopefully I'll find the original copies and repost them soon. They were both such wonderful speakers, I hate to leave them out.

SIGOURNEY WEAVER TO CONNECT WITH WOMEN IN THE TWIN CITIES

Celebrate Mother’s Day and May With a Memorable Girls Night Out!



MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. (April 22, 2011) – Givethe gift of inspiration and a unique “girl’s night out” this Mother’s Day with a special treat: A SmartTalk Connected Conversation with Sigourney Weaver! This esteemed actress and mother will take the stage for a special evening at the Orpheum Theater on Tuesday, May 17, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are available through the Ticketmaster Arts Line at 1-800-982-2787 or online at www.HennepinTheatreTrust.org/smarttalk. A limited number of seats are still available with ticket prices starting at $45.



A SmartTalk Connected Conversation is a great way for women to be empowered and entertained through the life stories of the series’ distinguished speakers. Sigourney Weaver promises to transport the audience “Out of This World” with tales from her career, perspective on balancing roles as a mother and actress, and more intimate details gleaned from personalized questions direct from the audience.



The gift of SmartTalk is exceptional for a mother/daughter night out, girlfriend time or simply a chance for mothers to take a time out and recharge their batteries with a distinctive evening of entertainment.



Hosted by Mpls/St. Paul Magazine Style Editor Allison Kaplan and moderated by MyTalk 107.1 Radio’s Margery Punnett, the SmartTalk with Sigourney Weaver is a “must attend” VIP event for mothers and women throughout the Twin Cities.



About SmartTalk

A wholly-owned subsidiary of SmartTalk Media LLC, SmartTalk ConnectedConversations™ series provides its audiences with inspirational, connected conversations – from renowned entertainers, political figures and other accomplished individuals. Since 1992, SmartTalk has presented captivating stories from such remarkable women as Julie Andrews, Maya Angelou, Lauren Bacall, Erin Brockovich, Whoopi Goldberg, Goldie Hawn, Mary Tyler Moore, Priscilla Presley, Susan Sarandon, Gloria Steinem, Lady Margaret Thatcher and Barbara Walters. The performers share their real, very personal views and life experiences in a way that is intimate, empowering and, above all, connected to the lives of women everywhere. For more information, please visit www.smarttalkwomen.com.

Isabella Rossellini

Isabella Rossellini

“If I were to pick my parents, it would be Roberto Rossellini and Ingrid Bergman.” Said Isabella Rossellini on March 7th at the Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota for Smart Talk’s Connected Conversations series.



Rossellini, comedian, actress, director, model and self proclaimed daddy’s girl spoke of her parents, their love and careers. She also spoke of their affair, pregnancy, marriage and subsequent divorce. And still, she explained they were the best parents, and Rossellini, herself, is the best proof of that statement. A mother herself, Rossellini has had, and continues to have, and amazing career.


Ingrid Bergman



Roberto Rossellini

Isabella Rossellini is joy to watch. She is intelligent, beautiful and so very personable. On stage she comes off as a friend, someone who is confiding to you about her family, her parents in particular who she loved dearly. Usually when you go to hear someone speak you hear a lot about their accomplishments, but not so much about the family unless it is to say how the family helped them in their career. In Isabella Rossellini’s case, it was almost entirely about her parents Roberto Rossellini and Ingrid Bergman. Who they were, what motivated them, what they suffered through, what made them what they were. It was a love story about her parents. When she did talk about her self, it wasn’t so much about her personal life as it was about her career. Family and career, for Rossellini, seem to be one in the same.


Elettra Rossellini Wiedemann

Rossellini’s daughter, following in her mother’s footsteps has become the new face of Lancôme. An interesting addendum to Rossellini’s firing from her 14 year career with Lancôme for being too old.


Isabella Rossellini

If you haven’t seen them yet, check out Green Porn. Rossellini’s latest acting/directing project. You will be entertained, educated and laughing your head off.



You can find out more about Isabella Rossellini here and here. But if you can, see her in person. For me, she was my favorite Smart Talk speaker. You can still see her in Des Moines on April 4th. Tickets are available here.

Oxygen Not Included

There's still time to get tickets! Click here for more information.

Team Captain of the 1st American Women’s Everest Expedition and Groundbreaking Polar Adventurer; Alison Levine is no stranger to risk-taking. She’s survived sub-zero temperatures, hurricane-force winds, sudden avalanches, and a career on Wall Street. Levine was born with a life-threatening heart condition that precluded most demanding physical activities. After her initial diagnosis she had surgery that changed her life – and climbing stairs soon gave way to climbing mountains. (Taken from the Smart Talk website.)

The Divine Miss M

“Let’s get the trash off the ground and back on stage where it belongs.”
Bette Midler said to a full house at the Orpheum Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota Tuesday night as part of the SmartTalk Connected Conversations Series.



Bette Midler is famous for her film and stage career, winning tree Emmy Awards, Four Grammy Awards, Four Golden Globes and a special Tony Award “for adding luster to the Broadway season.” She starred in films such as “The Rose,” “Beaches,” and “Ruthless People” as well as 32 other films. She has 13 albums, has starred in 23 Television productions and is a producer, writer and composer. Yet still, she has found time to clean up New York.



Born in Hawaii on December 1st 1945, Midler learned early to organize and clean when her mother became overwhelmed with the responsibility of caring for her special needs son. She also learned that when she sang, people paid attention to her. Little did anyone know that these two skills would bring passion and joy into her life.


Bette Midler at the Continental Baths, 1971

In 1965 Midler mover to New York to pursue her career. She worked as an actress and singer but probably is the most famous for working at the Continental Baths with Barry Manilow starting in 1970. During that time the Aids epidemic took many of her friends and coworkers. She threw herself into fund raising and education. Midler says that she “sunk like a stone” from losing so many friends.



Midler moved from New York to LA to star in “The Rose,” in 1979. “The Rose” was the story of a drug addicted rock star and said to be modeled after the late Janis Joplin. Midler says the story is her story as well Joplin’s and that she caught up in the life style.

In 1984, six weeks after meeting Martin Von Haselber she married him and two years later at 40 years old, Midler gave birth to their daughter Sophie. Midler threw herself into motherhood and later mover back to New York.



Midler was saddened to find that New York was a mess. Parks were abandoned and trash was everywhere and in 1995, Midler, the organizer and cleaner, threw herself into action and founded the nonprofit New York Restoration Project (NYRP).

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The NYRP has picked up more than 133000 bags of trash from the city’s green spaces, owns and manages 55 community gardens and has planted hundreds of thousands of trees, bushes and flowers to clean up and “green” New York city. You can read more about the organization and learn what you can do to make a difference in your own community by clicking here.

Midler advises people to use their natural gifts and follow their obsession to find their passion and joy. She goes on the say, “If you haven’t found your thing, remember, there is always trash.”

Comediennes Talk Ageism in Hollwood

Diane Keaton

Diane Keaton

“If you go where you’ve always been, you’ll get what you’ve always got.” Diane Keaton said last night at Orchestra Hall in Mpls, MN for the Smart Talk series.

Diane Keaton should know, she has been to a lot of places. From movie star and singer to photographer and real estate developer, Keaton has been everywhere.


Dorothy Dean Keaton Hall is on the fat left.

Keaton talked about her life travels, focusing on the rediscovery of her mother, Dorothy Dean Keaton Hall, through her mother’s journals. Using film clips of her mother, Keaton shared her insights with the audience.

Crediting her mother as the reason for her “luck” in life, Keaton traced her career backwards in time until she landed on the support and encouragement of her mother.

“My mother was the foundation for my convoluted belief to be a movie star.”


Annie Hall

The support she received from her mother has resulted in 36 movies, an Oscar, a BAFTA Award, two Golden Globe Awards and numerous other awards and achievements.

“One of the most important people in a woman’s life is her mother.”


Diane Keaton with her son, Duke

Keaton also talked about her experiences with being a single mother, adopting her first child at the age of 50. Her advice for women thinking of motherhood later in life was, “Get help.”

Commenting on age discrimination and women becoming invisible with age, Keaton said she realized she was getting older when a man looked straight through her for the first time. It’s a realization that makes most women dress “age appropriate” and start accepting limitations, but not Diane Keaton. At 57 years old, Keaton’s nude scene in the film, “Something’s Gotta Give” proved that older woman can be sexy, and very, very visible! At the age of 60, she became the new face of Loreal, challenging the idea that only youth is beautiful.


The New Face of Loreal

The only question now is, where will Diane Keaton be when she’s 70? Someplace she’s never been.