When the real Queen said she would not be able to meet ten-year-old Oliver Burton, a limo was arranged so the youngster could meet Dame Helen instead. Mirren granted the dying boy's wish by dressing up as the Queen and having him visit for tea.
After the finale of Friends in 2004, Matthew Perry has been in and out of rehab programs trying to overcome addiction to alcohol and pain medication. Now sober, Perry is on a mission to help other addicts find a path to recovery.
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling secretly posed as a retired military policeman to write a crime novel that has been hailed as one of the best debut detective stories in years. Rowling wrote The Cuckoo's Calling under the name Robert Galbraith.
Taylor Swift fans flocked to her concert in St. Paul last weekend, but one first-grader from Mankato, Minn., got a personal meet-and-greet with her musical idol, thanks to the Kids Wish Network. Madison Harbarth, who was born with a rare condition that caused her spine to stop growing in utero, got an autograph that read, To Madison: You are beautiful and perfect. Love, Taylor.
Academy Award-winning actress Charlize Theron has a starring role in her homeland of South Africa -- helping prevent the spread of HIV and AIDS. Theron believes the key lies in empowering African youth at a grassroots level, so she has traveled with the Global Fund to help any way she can.
The Ellen Show has followed in Oprah's path to become daytime television's second 'angel network'. Sometimes with help from corporate partners like JC Penny or Target, Degeneres frequently features a deserving family or person with an incredible story and gives them the surprise of their lives. Here are four great 'De-generous' moments.
Jodi DiPiazza was lucky enough to get into one of the few schools available to help children with autism to reach their potential. Loud temper tantrums often flared up during those pre-kindergarten years, but during many hours of therapy, Jodi found a talent that truly grounded her -- music.
A Buffalo, New York bus driver who talked a depressed woman off of a bridge is scheduled to appear on celebrity chef Rachael Ray's Thanks for Giving episode airing Monday in the US. The show says Darnell Barton's story is one of four to be highlighted in the show, which features an audience full of people who've been hailed as heroes.
The eve of the fourth anniversary of the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, Sean Penn's friends came out to support his Haitian relief organization's 3rd annual Help Haiti Home gala. Stars like Goldie Hawn, Julia Roberts, Gwyneth Paltrow and Penn's new girlfriend, Charlize Theron, helped him raise six million dollars in a single evening.
Kiss rock star Gene Simmons has raised $450,000 for the new Saskatchewan Children's Hospital, the hospital where Simmons' wife, Shannon Tweed, grew up, by selling his custom truck.
Independent bookstores, with their paper-thin profit margins and competition from Amazon, have found a sugar daddy in the person of famous author, James Patterson. The best-selling author has started a program to give away $1 million of his personal fortune to dozens of bookstores.
Drake may have won himself the title of sweetest rapper ever. He flew to Texas to surprise a 15-year-old who was forced to stop going to school because doctors discovered a deadly brain tumor.
High school senior Alisa Finely from Kansas was diagnosed with stage 4 brain cancer. Finey created a bucket list and her #1 wish was to kiss actor Channing Tatum. The Hollywood star found out about it and posted a video he recorded especially for her on his phone.
Actress Amy Poehler showed off her kind side when she gave up her first class-seat on a flight from Los Angeles to New York to a mother with an infant. Amy headed for an aisle seat in coach.
Macaulay Culkin, the former child movie star of the Home Alone films, apparently tweeted this photo of himself creating a meta "Inception" moment with Ryan Gosling. You gotta love it!
Some people hate Dallas Mavericks' team owner Mark Cuban and his brash exterior, but here is one reason to love him. He made a dream come true for a Texas woman with cancer.
Gena Gabrielle had no idea when she sent the invitations for her bridal shower and wedding to her favorite celebrity, Taylor Swift, that she would even get a reply. Swift and her team found the invitations earlier this year as they were going through the fan mail at the office. The singer thought it would be fun to surprise such a loyal fan, so she booked a flight for Columbus, Ohio setting aside the April date.
The quarterback for the NFL Minnesota Vikings, Christian Ponder, and his wife were in the right place at the right time recently to help a family coping with tragedy.
Comedic actress Amy Poehler launched Smart Girls, an online community which is thriving by encouraging every girl to 'change the world by being yourself.'
Aelita Andre is a Russian abstract painter who has already been compared to Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, and Jackson Pollack -- and she is just four years old. Her parents both paint as a hobby and from the start gave her all the canvas and tubes she needed to express to her heart's content.