Copyright hellomagazine
Game of Thrones star Emilia Clarke opened up to HELLO! at the Global Gift Gala on Saturday, where the actress wowed on the red carpet in a black gown by Alexander McQueen. Chatting to us at London's Kimpton Fitzroy Hotel, Emilia, 39, revealed that she's got some exciting plans for her 40th birthday next October. "I will celebrate with the biggest party that has ever happened," she smiled. The actress, who appears in upcoming shows Ponies and Criminal, was an Honorary Chair at the gala, alongside her mother Jenny Clarke MBE and Chair Maria Bravo, founder of the Global Gift Foundation, which helps children and families in need. Emilia and her mother run the brain injury support charity Same You, supported by the gala. Last Christmas star Emilia, told HELLO!: "I am so insanely grateful to the Global Gift Gala, because SameYou, the charity that I run with my mum, is small but mighty and without events like the gift gala, we wouldn't be around. "Running a charity and charities being able to survive is nearly impossible in this day and age, so without events like this, it's impossible. What they do really is incredible." Emilia added that workwise she has "a few things coming out… a TV show, and then a small indie movie." As for who she'd love to work with in the future, the actress shared: "So many people, I couldn't name them all, but just to continue to work… the directors I admire." Christina Milian Singer and actress Christina Milian also attended the gala, dressed in a beautiful custom-made navy gown, which was a last-minute creation. The When You Look At Me songstress, 44, revealed: "I had another dress which was also custom made but [the designer] was out of town, and then I've been working out a lot so I lost some weight. I had to go to another guy who reworked another dress, and this is what I got!" Of her workouts, she told us: "I'm having the best time right now. I call it my soft feminine era. I've been taking Pilates, vinyasa yoga and barre. "Usually I'm really tough," she said. "I'm raising boys, I'm always the tough mum, in my husband's clothes, sneakers and messy bun, and this summer I made a commitment to fall more into my feminine side and dress up every day, and it feels good. It makes a difference." Now living in Paris, mum-of-three Christina said of her new European life: "It's amazing, I love it. It's a hop, skip and jump away to go to London or Italy. It's so rich in history and the lifestyle for raising kids… I like the city life. I like to walk and get around quickly rather than be in a car in LA in traffic with kids whining about getting to the next destination. It's perfect." She's also picked up the language: "I can speak French – not fluent but enough. My two younger ones are four and a half and five. They go to a French international school, so it's majority French and they speak fluent French." Christina added that her 15-year-old daughter Violent is a great big sister to her brothers. "She loves her little brothers, she goofs around with them a lot," she told us. "The only thing I have to catch her with is to stop showing them all these TikTok trends that's for her age. I'm like, 'Why does the four-year-old know how to say something trendy?'" Maria Bravo The Global Gift Gala founder, Maria Bravo, who raises awareness for her foundation's flagship project, Casa Ángeles - a day centre in Marbella dedicated to children with special needs and their families – also spoke to us. "This is our 12th year, so it feels like coming back to reconnect with family like coming back home," she said of the gala. "This is my passion, my calling. We have different homes around the world where we give therapies to children with rare diseases and special needs." The Global Gift Gala in Paris is held on 8 November this year, with actress Eva Longoria as Honorary Chair. "Eva is my best friend," Maria says. "We've been friends for 25 years - we met when we were doing a movie together. The movie was horrible, but the friendship was the best!"
