People talk 3/10/04

Winfrey takes on title of most fashionable

NEW YORK -- Oprah Winfrey -- talk show host, actress and magazine editor -- has a new title to add to her resume: one of the world's most fashionable women. Winfrey appears for the first time on Vanity Fair's 2004 International Best-Dressed List, which is being released today. The host of "The Oprah Winfrey Show" says Jackie Onassis and Coco Chanel are her fashion icons, and picks Gianfranco Ferre -- who created the silvery gown she wore to the Oscars -- as her favorite designer. Also among the 10 women on the list are actress Cate Blanchett, "Lost in Translation" writer-director Sofia Coppola, model Kate Moss and Aerin Lauder Zinterhofer, Estee Lauder's vice president for global advertising.

Prince back on the big screen with concert

MINNEAPOLIS -- Twenty years after he first appeared on the big screen in "Purple Rain," Prince returns to movie theaters for one night only March 29. The Minnesota rock star plans to broadcast his concert in Los Angeles live via satellite to 32 Regal Cinema theaters around the country. The Los Angeles concert is the first major show on Prince's Musicology tour, on which he pledges to perform many of his old hits for the last time. He plans to hit at least 38 cities. Prince will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame next Monday.

Harding trading boxing gloves for hockey stick

INDIANAPOLIS -- Disgraced former U.S. figure skating champion and aspiring boxer Tonya Harding has a new goal: minor league ice hockey. The Indianapolis Ice of the Central Hockey League announced Monday that it has signed the 33-year-old Harding to join the team for its game Friday against the Colorado Eagles. It's been 10 years since Harding's ex-husband hired a hit man to attack rival Nancy Kerrigan at the 1994 national championships. Harding has always denied knowledge of the attack, but pleaded guilty to conspiracy to hinder prosecution, was stripped of her 1994 national title and banned from amateur figure skating competition. The Ice in 2002 signed 7-foot-7 former NBA player Manute Bol for a one-game stint with the team, but he never made it on the ice because his feet swelled inside his custom-made skates.

Theron congratulated by South African president

PRETORIA, South Africa -- President Thabo Mbeki congratulated Charlize Theron on her recent Oscar win, telling the South African actress: "The whole country is very proud." "Very well done, Charlize. Excellent," Mbeki told Theron when she met him Monday at a government guesthouse in Pretoria. Theron, who grew up in the small South African town of Benoni, won the best-actress award for her role in "Monster." The 28-year-old received an ounce of gold ingrained in the rock in which it was formed. The gold came in a wooden box with the wording: "Presented to Charlize Theron, our South African star, by President Thabo Mbeki."

-- From wire reports