Gwyneth Paltrow and her beau Chris Martin are expected to take a trip down the aisle any day now - they've applied for a marriage license. The expectant parents applied for a marriage license in Santa Barbara County, California, American TV show Entertainment Tonight reported on Friday. Two days earlier, Paltrow announced she was expecting their first child next summer. Paltrow's publicist Stephen Huvane has yet to comment. Mary Rose Bryson, a supervisor in the county recorder division, says the twosome haven't requested a public marriage license. But she adds that some licenses are granted confidentially and must be used in Santa Barbara County within 90 days. Paltrow, 31, was seen wearing what appeared to be an engagement and wedding ring early last week, which she dismissed as "friendship bands". But reports state a wedding reception for "an Oscar-winning actress" had been planned for yesterday at New York's 60 Thompson Hotel.

Acclaimed author Stephen King's pneumonia has "pretty much resolved itself", according to his spokesman. King was admitted at Bangor, Maine's Eastern Maine Medical Center on November 23, where he underwent a procedure days later to remove fluid and scar tissue from his right lung. King's lawyer, Warren Silver, says, "Since he's in the hospital, the doctors want to work on his general health and leg issues to see if they can alleviate some of the pain that he's had." King, 56, continues to experience pain in his right leg after being hit by a van as he walked along the shoulder of a road in North Lovell, Maine, in 1999. The Carrie writer was diagnosed with pneumonia before his trip to New York last month to receive the National Book Foundation's 2003 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. His condition worsened when he returned to Bangor, and doctors diagnosed him with an abnormal accumulation of fluid in the membrane surrounding one of his lungs. King was taken off oxygen over the weekend and the tube which had been inserted in his chest to help eliminate fluid and scar tissue was removed on Tuesday. Silver says, "The chest line was a real comfort issue because basically, it really inhibited him lying down. He's feeling physically much better (and) he's able to walk."

British actress Keira Knightley has topped a magazine poll as this year's top breakout movie star. The 18-year-old beauty first came to the attention of international audiences in the sleeper hit Bend It Like Beckham and continued to wow her fans with roles in summer blockbuster Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl and Love Actually. She has now just finished playing warrior Guinevere in the upcoming movie King Arthur, which is expected to expand her fan base even more. Hollywood producer Jerry Bruckheimer, who chose Knightley for both Pirates of the Caribbean and King Arthur, says, "She can act. With Keira, you don't see the wheels turning." Bruckheimer's sentiments have been echoed by Entertainment Weekly, which has named Knightley the top breakout star of 2003. Others named in the poll include Shia LaBeouf, Naomie Harris and Peter Dinklage.

Movie hunk Ben Affleck has blamed his high-profile relationship with fiancee Jennifer Lopez for wrecking his career. The Changing Lanes star blames constant media exposure surrounding the high-profile lovers for his dwindling credibility as an actor. Ben says, "My relationship with Jennifer has absolutely been bad for my career. The overexposure this year has been really damaging. The combination of me and Jennifer as a unit became more important than the parts we did in movies. It's not good when everybody knows everything about you - the mystique disappears. The whole world knew what we were doing on a daily basis. They wrote that we had bought jeans for half a million dollars. It made people think bad about us. But it's not important. People who regard that as important have lost their soul."

Actor Matt Damon insists he and pal Ben Affleck's fiancee Jennifer Lopez get along - despite reports to the contrary. After Affleck's romance with J.Lo went public last year, reports quickly surfaced that Damon was one of a series of the Daredevil hunk's celebrity pals who had doubts about the relationship. But Damon insists nothing could be further from the truth, saying, "Some people have said she bosses him around, but I never saw that. I do like her. I've met her and have spent time with her and she's very sweet and has been great every time I've been around her. And obviously, he's very much in love, so it's great, except for the media attention." Damon adds that he hasn't pulled away from his Good Will Hunting co-star since he began dating Lopez, explaining, "We haven't actually seen each other much recently. I definitely miss him a lot... but just logistically, we're always in a different place working. It's not because of Jennifer."

Screen beauties Cameron Diaz and Reese Witherspoon are poised to battle for the lead role in the London stage version of When Harry Met Sally. Whoever wins the coveted role will join Luke Perry - who's signed up to play Harry - for the West End adaptation of the hit 1989 comedy starring Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan. And the female star will have to recreate Ryan's legendary "Yes, yes, yes" scene, where she fakes an orgasm whilst dining with Crystal. Producer James Tod says, "We will definitely be keeping the simulated orgasm scene in there."

Oscar-winning actress Nicole Kidman promises she'll start sharing information about her romances again - but not until she's married. The redhead star of The Hours has been enjoying a low-profile romance with rocker Lenny Kravitz for several months, with reports recently emerging the pair have plans to walk down the aisle - but she's refused to divulge any details to the press. And the Hawaii-born beauty explains her reluctance to talk about her love life has come about after going through a very public break-up with ex-husband Tom Cruise in 2001 - and she's also determined to protect her children Isabella, 10, and Connor, eight. She says, "Unless I'm married again, I'm not discussing. So until I've gotten married to somebody I'm not gonna say anything. I don't mean to be all ridiculous and coy but... I have two kids and I just like to protect that part of my life now 'cause I was in a very public thing for so many years. "I couldn't go through that again, put it that way."

Hollywood star Julia Roberts has adopted a philosophical attitude about her struggle to get pregnant - she's now leaving conception to the "will of heaven". The Pretty Woman star has reportedly been trying for a baby since marrying cameraman Daniel Moder last year, and has been unable to conceive - but the 34-year-old is refusing to let it get her down. She says, "I think children fall into the category of the will of heaven. And I don't really have a timetable for the will of heaven." Roberts, speaking in an interview on American TV Thursday also paid tribute to her husband, who she shares a "very profound and positive relationship" with. She adds, "I could go on all day about pontificating on the fabulousness of the good fortune of my marriage."

American actress Mary Tyler Moore has quit a new off-Broadway play amid claims of being "pushed out", just two weeks before the show is due to open. The TV comedienne was meant to open in a production of acclaimed writer Neil Simon's new play Rose's Dilemma at the Manhattan Theatre Club, New York on December 18 - but, according to the New York Times newspaper, Tyler quit the show after receiving a letter from Simon criticizing her for not learning her lines. Moore missed two preview performances on Wednesday and has since been replaced by Patricia Hodges. In a statement in Friday's Times, Moore's spokeswoman Mara Buxbaum says the star is "devastated and completely debilitated professionally and personally", adding, "Mary has been working tirelessly for months but feels pushed out of this production." Lynne Meadow and Barry Grove of the Manhattan Theatre Club respond only, "We are disappointed that the Neil Simon-Mary Tyler Moore collaboration did not work out."

Sharon Osbourne has rubbished reports her affair with late guitarist Randy Rhoads occurred during her marriage to Ozzy Osbourne - insisting it took place before she wed the singer. The rock matriarch has spoken out to explain the brief fling occurred prior to their nuptials in 1982 - the same year Rhoads was killed in a plane crash. Press across the globe picked up on her revelation in the family's new tome Ordinary People, but the chat show host they reported her romance with Rhoads inaccurately. She says, "Before my husband and I actually engaged, before we were married, I had a great friendship - as did my husband - with Randy. I definitely was not married to my husband at the time. Randy died before my husband and I were ever married."