Stars including Liam Gallagher, Steve Martin and Deepika Padukone have been giving fans an insight into their self-isolation life.
Stars including Liam Gallagher, Steve Martin and Deepika Padukone have been giving fans an insight into their self-isolation life.
Stars including Liam Gallagher, Steve Martin and Deepika Padukone have been giving fans an insight into their self-isolation life.
Stars including Liam Gallagher, Steve Martin and Deepika Padukone have been giving fans an insight into their self-isolation life.

What are celebrities doing in self-isolation? From Ellen DeGeneres to Akshay Kumar


Farah Andrews
  • English
  • Arabic

Celebrities ... they're self-isolating just like you amid the coronavirus pandemic. From home concerts, to to-do-list tasks and quick Covid-19 PSAs, here is what a few of Hollywood's finest have been doing as the world takes to social distancing:

Sir Patrick Stewart reading Shakespeare 

Veteran actor Sir Patrick Stewart is trying to soothe fans with some words from the Bard. He will be reading a sonnet a day to fans, and so far has read Shakespeare's Sonnet 116, Sonnet 1 and Sonnet 2.

"I was delighted by the response to my posting of Shakespeare's Sonnet 116, the actor wrote on Instagram.

"It has led me to undertake what follows. When I was a child in the 1940s, my mother would cut up slices of fruit for me (there wasn't much) and as she put it in front of me she would say: 'An apple a day keeps the doctor away.' How about, 'A sonnet a day keeps the doctor away'? So ... here we go: Sonnet 1."

Josh Gad's book club

The Frozen star is a kids' favourite, having played snowman Olaf in the animated adventure. During lockdowns around the world, the actor is offering parents a helping hand by reading a children's book every night in the #GadBookClub. He goes live with his club each night on Instagram and Twitter at 7.30pm EST, (3.30am in the UAE). Luckily you can catch up on Twitter at a more appropriate bedtime for little ones as he is saving them on his social media page.

One of the books he has read so far is The Pea Patch Jig by Thacher Hurd.

Deepika Padukone is being productive

Deepika Padukone has started a 'Productivity in the time of Covid-19' series on her Instagram, which, essentially, is just a series of photos of the actress doing fairly classic daily jobs, like face rolling, eating and drinking fruit, hitting the treadmill and eating an indulgent dessert.

Face masks with Jessica Alba

Honey actress Jessica Alba has been practicing self-care with her daughters. The mother-of-three posted a video with her two daughters, Honor, 11, and Haven, 8, along with the caption: "I stay home for my three babies, hubby and all my family members - especially my grandparents."

Steve Martin on the banjo

Father of the Bride star Steve Martin has provided followers with the smooth tunes of his banjo, while self-isolating from a forest.

Naturally, fans love it.

"That’s all I need. I don’t need anything else," wrote one of Martin's Twitter followers. Another added: "You're just such a little ray of sunshine."

Oprah and Michelle Obama partying on a virtual night out

Oprah, Jennifer Lopez and Michelle Obama were three of the attendees at D-Nice's social distancing dance party on March 22.

The American DJ organised Homeschool, a quarantine night club, writing of the event: "I never would’ve imagined that the best party I would create and DJ would be from the comfort of my own home. Homeschool is a thing! Yesterday was absolutely insane. The amount of artists and friends that virtually partied with me far exceeded my expectations. I’m feeling nothing but gratitude."

He had over 100,000 attendees, and listed a few of the famous names on Instagram, including Drake, Naomi Campbell, H.E.R., Mary J. Blige, DJ Khaled, T.I., Kelly Rowland, Common, Lance Gross, Queen Latifah, Swizz Beatz and Vanessa Williams.

Oprah tweeted that it was the "best party of 1 and 100k I ever been to".

Model Naomi Campbell also Instagrammed the event, scroll through to see:

Ellen 'Do It' DeGeneres

The talk show host has been very busy in isolation. A flick through her Instagram feed is well worth it. She has been FaceTiming famous friends, including John Legend and Chrissy Teigen, Adam Levine and Tiffany Haddish to hilarious effect, working on impossible puzzles and photoshopping herself into news stories with some impressive fake piano skills.

Most relatable, perhaps, is the TV star trying her hand at some Lego Architecture of the Guggenheim Museum, which she admits is “little trickier than [she] thought.” Lego chimed in with some Instagram advice, saying: “Try sorting by colour and size before you dive in! You got this Ellen and we’re always here for tips!”

Sam Neill’s to-do list

Jurassic Park star Sam Neill has been ticking off the odd useful job, while self-isolating. One such job is washing his shoes. He admits that he won't be going far in them anytime soon, opting for a slipper at the moment, but adds: "Boy, do they smell good!"

He’s also been keeping the content pure with love poems, ukulele renditions and teaching himself random facts, like how to land a falling jet with an encyclopedia.

Liam Gallagher is washing his hands

If the Covid-19 pandemic has taught us anything, it's that few of us were washing our hands enough, or for long enough, before the outbreak. A great way to make sure you're doing it for the recommended amount of time – 20 seconds – is to sing a song. Happy Birthday twice is a popular go-to.

Oasis's Liam Gallagher is also here to help. Over on his Twitter he's been adapting the band's songs with soapy puns, think Champange Soapernova, Soapersonic and Wanderwash. 

Liam Gallagher has provided fans with a soundtrack to handwashing. Twitter
Liam Gallagher has provided fans with a soundtrack to handwashing. Twitter

Now, most of the videos have a few too many four-letter words in the videos, but you can click though at your own risk here.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s petting zoo

The Terminator actor and Former Governor of California has been playing smart and staying in, with his adorable animals, Whiskey and Lulu, inside his house.

He posted his first video with the on March 16, and they have been coming almost daily since then.

"See that's what we do, we don't go out, we don't go to restaurants, we don't do anything like that anymore here," he says. "We just eat with Whisky and with Lulu, we have a good time."

They have also shared salad at lunchtime:

John Legend’s live home concert

The All of Me singer took requests during an Instagram live concert that lasted more than 53 minutes, and can be caught up with here:

In the true spirit of working from home, he is in his pyjamas, and there are cameos from wife Chrissy Teigen and their kids.

A follow up will be coming from Miguel, check here for more:

Judi Dench’s stress management

A quick PSA was posted by Dame Judi Dench’s daughter Finty Williams on Twitter.

“Just keep laughing,” she says, in truly British style, “It’s all we can do”.

Since then, performer Jade Anouka has pulled together her creative collective to recite some Shakespeare, with Dench naturally involved:

Akshay Kumar's isolation competition 

Bollywood star Akshay Kumar is urging fans to stay at home.

He has been posting about social distancing, turning in into a competition, with the winner "staying put".

Reese Witherspoon and Laura Dern’s safe space walk

"Friendship with social distancing," Big Little Lies star Reese Witherspoon captioned this snap of a walk at a safe distance away from her co-star Laura Dern.

She was sure to clarify that the walk was "a few days ago ... before we were told to #stayhome [in California]".

The TikTokers

Is there a celebrity that hasn’t joined TikTok to dance for and then re-post to Instagram or Twitter? No, I didn’t think so.

A few favourites are Justin and Hailey Bieber, Ciara and family and Little Mix's Perrie Edwards, and they all get a special mention.

The winner, however, is probably Ashley Tisdale with her feel-good High School Musical throwback:

RESULTS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3E5pm%3A%20Sheikh%20Mansour%20bin%20Zayed%20Racing%20Festival%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh100%2C000%20(Turf)%202%2C200m%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Suny%20Du%20Loup%2C%20Pat%20Dobbs%20(jockey)%2C%20Hamad%20Al%20Marar%20(trainer)%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E5.30pm%3A%20Sheikh%20Mansour%20bin%20Zayed%20Racing%20Festival%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Conditions%20(PA)%20Dh150%2C000%20(T)%201%2C600m%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Nadia%20Du%20Loup%2C%20Antonio%20Fresu%2C%20Sulaiman%20Al%20Ghunaimi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E6pm%3A%20Sheikha%20Fatima%20bint%20Mubarak%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Conditions%20(PA)%20Dh150%2C000%20(T)%201%2C600m%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20Dareen%2C%20Dane%20O%E2%80%99Neill%2C%20Jean%20de%20Roualle%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E6.30pm%3A%20Sheikh%20Zayed%20bin%20Sultan%20Al%20Nahyan%20National%20Day%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Group%203%20(PA)%20Dh500%2C000%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20AF%20Alwajel%2C%20Pat%20Dobbs%2C%20Ernst%20Oertel%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E7.15pm%3A%20Sheikh%20Zayed%20bin%20Sultan%20Al%20Nahyan%20Jewel%20Crown%20%E2%80%93%20Group%201%20(PA)%20Dh5%2C000%2C000%20(T)%202%2C200m%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20First%20Classs%2C%20Ronan%20Thomas%2C%20Jean%20De%20Mieulle%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E8pm%3A%20Sheikh%20Zayed%20bin%20Sultan%20Al%20Nahyan%20National%20Day%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Listed%20(TB)%20Dh380%2C000%20(T)%201%2C600m%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20San%20Donato%2C%20Pat%20Dobbs%2C%20Doug%20Watson%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E8.30pm%3A%20Wathba%20Stallions%20Cup%20%E2%80%93%20Handicap%20(PA)%20Dh100%2C000%20(T)%201%2C600m%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EWinner%3A%20AF%20Rasam%2C%20Fernando%20Jara%2C%20Ernst%20Oertel%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Uefa Awards winners

Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)

Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League

Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)

Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)

Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)

Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)

Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona

I Care A Lot

Directed by: J Blakeson

Starring: Rosamund Pike, Peter Dinklage

3/5 stars

Oppenheimer
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EChristopher%20Nolan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ECillian%20Murphy%2C%20Emily%20Blunt%2C%20Robert%20Downey%20Jr%2C%20Florence%20Pugh%2C%20Matt%20Damon%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E5%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EClara%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2019%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPatrick%20Rogers%2C%20Lee%20McMahon%2C%20Arthur%20Guest%2C%20Ahmed%20Arif%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELegalTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%244%20million%20of%20seed%20financing%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EWamda%20Capital%2C%20Shorooq%20Partners%2C%20Techstars%2C%20500%20Global%2C%20OTF%2C%20Venture%20Souq%2C%20Knuru%20Capital%2C%20Plug%20and%20Play%20and%20The%20LegalTech%20Fund%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm

Transmission: 6-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km

Price: Dh133,900

On sale: now 

How to report a beggar

Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)

Dubai – Call 800243

Sharjah – Call 065632222

Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372

Ajman – Call 067401616

Umm Al Quwain – Call 999

Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411

Should late investors consider cryptocurrencies?

Wealth managers recommend late investors to have a balanced portfolio that typically includes traditional assets such as cash, government and corporate bonds, equities, commodities and commercial property.

They do not usually recommend investing in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies due to the risk and volatility associated with them.

“It has produced eye-watering returns for some, whereas others have lost substantially as this has all depended purely on timing and when the buy-in was. If someone still has about 20 to 25 years until retirement, there isn’t any need to take such risks,” Rupert Connor of Abacus Financial Consultant says.

He adds that if a person is interested in owning a business or growing a property portfolio to increase their retirement income, this can be encouraged provided they keep in mind the overall risk profile of these assets.

Prop idols

Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.

Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)

An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.

----

Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)

Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.

----

Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)

Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.

ENGLAND SQUAD

For first two Test in India Joe Root (captain), Jofra Archer, Moeen Ali, James Anderson , Dom Bess, Stuart Broad , Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes. Reserves James Bracey, Mason Crane, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Robinson, Amar Virdi.

The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%206.4-litre%20V8%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E8-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E470bhp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E637Nm%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDh375%2C900%20(estimate)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Results

United States beat UAE by three wickets

United States beat Scotland by 35 runs

UAE v Scotland – no result

United States beat UAE by 98 runs

Scotland beat United States by four wickets

Fixtures

Sunday, 10am, ICC Academy, Dubai - UAE v Scotland

Admission is free

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

Other acts on the Jazz Garden bill

Sharrie Williams
The American singer is hugely respected in blues circles due to her passionate vocals and songwriting. Born and raised in Michigan, Williams began recording and touring as a teenage gospel singer. Her career took off with the blues band The Wiseguys. Such was the acclaim of their live shows that they toured throughout Europe and in Africa. As a solo artist, Williams has also collaborated with the likes of the late Dizzy Gillespie, Van Morrison and Mavis Staples.
Lin Rountree
An accomplished smooth jazz artist who blends his chilled approach with R‘n’B. Trained at the Duke Ellington School of the Arts in Washington, DC, Rountree formed his own band in 2004. He has also recorded with the likes of Kem, Dwele and Conya Doss. He comes to Dubai on the back of his new single Pass The Groove, from his forthcoming 2018 album Stronger Still, which may follow his five previous solo albums in cracking the top 10 of the US jazz charts.
Anita Williams
Dubai-based singer Anita Williams will open the night with a set of covers and swing, jazz and blues standards that made her an in-demand singer across the emirate. The Irish singer has been performing in Dubai since 2008 at venues such as MusicHall and Voda Bar. Her Jazz Garden appearance is career highlight as she will use the event to perform the original song Big Blue Eyes, the single from her debut solo album, due for release soon.

THE SPECS

Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine 

Power: 420kW

Torque: 780Nm

Transmission: 8-speed automatic

Price: From Dh1,350,000

On sale: Available for preorder now