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A-List Secrets: The Thing Nobody Gets for Free

Fri., May. 16, 2008 11:04 AM PDT by Leslie Gornstein

ANG/Fame Pictures

NOTE: Leslie Gornstein—aka The Answer B!tch—is on leave, finishing a book. Her column will return June 9. Meantime, drop her a question about Hollywood, and she'll nail it when she gets back.

I've read about all the goodies stars get for free. But is there anything that no celebrity, no matter how big, could receive gratis?
—Sara M.

In the tug-o'-wars between simpering Italian designers and braying celebrities, it's rare for the designers to win. Take Eva Longoria Parker, for example. Fendi recently released some handbag worth tens of thousands. According to celebrity gifting guru Lash Fary, who has a relationship with both camps, the actress was the only one to get the bag as a gift.

Favorite celebrity designers, such as Hermès, Louboutin, YSL and Gucci, in general, "will not gift," says Melissa Lemer of the Silver Spoon entertainment marketing company. Fary says there are always exceptions, such as Longoria Parker and her Fendi.

But on the one item that nobody gets gifted, both Fary and Lemer agree:

Cars.

Free one- or even two-year leases are common, especially with celebrity-friendly companies like Cadillac, Fary says. But getting all-out ownership of a new glamourmobile, as a pure gift from a Maserati or Lotus? To my sources' knowledge, that doesn't happen.

"There are waiting lists for those cars," Lemer explains. (Well, to be fair, there are waiting lists for Birkin bags, too, and celebrities have plenty of those.)

And oh: One other unattainable freebie for celebs: a house. To own. "I have never heard of anyone getting a free house," Fary says.

Wait. You mean I have to pay RENT?

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