People

By Michele Orecklin

MAD MONEY

ANNA NICOLE SMITH's struggle over her late husband's estate has lasted longer than the couple's marriage. In the latest round, a U.S. District Court judge awarded Smith $88 million of J. Howard Marshall's oil fortune. Smith and Marshall married in 1994 when she was 26 and he was 89; he died 14 months later. Since then, Smith has been battling Marshall's son Pierce, who has disputed that his father wanted Smith to receive any money. Last week the judge concluded Smith deserved half the investment income Marshall earned during their marriage, plus $44 million in punitive damages resulting from the younger Marshall's attempts to deceive and repudiate her. Apparently, Pierce's repeated references to Smith as "Miss Cleavage" were not meant as a compliment.

GAS NOT INCLUDED

Most New Yorkers can only dream of living as well as JERRY SEINFELD's cars. Many Manhattan residents recoil at the thought of keeping even one car in a city with a dearth of parking spots and an abundance of zealous meter readers. But Seinfeld, who can safely be called a car enthusiast, owns 20 Porsches, which he likes to keep near his Upper West Side apartment. With an excess of time, money and nurturing instincts, he decided to build the cars their own three-story garage three blocks from his residence. Construction on the project began in 2000, and, as the New York Observer reports, he celebrated the ground breaking by sending cases of wine to nearby businesses who might be inconvenienced by the disruption. Two years later, after a series of delays, the disruption continues and the neighbors are grumbling. A yoga studio and an architecture firm had to shut down temporarily, though Seinfeld offered to pay the staffs' salaries for a week. It's nice to know he can share more than his comedic talent with New Yorkers.

FALLS FROM GRACE: ROUND TWO

Has the bloom faded from PAULA JONES' notoriety? The woman who accused Bill Clinton of sexual harassment was only Fox's second choice to compete on its show Celebrity Boxing. But aside from concerns that she might damage her reconstructed nose, Jones was only too willing to step in after Amy Fisher's parole officer forbade her to participate in the bout against TONYA HARDING. It would seem Harding and Jones haven't watched many professional boxing weigh-ins, where taunting is the norm. Instead, the two interacted warmly when they met before their slug fest. The March 13 bill will also pair Todd Bridges of Diff'rent Strokes against rapper Vanilla Ice, as well as Danny Bonaduce of The Partridge Family against The Brady Bunch's Barry Williams. If the show expands into a series, it should be a great way to keep former sitcom stars busy between reunion shows.

FASHION FORWARD

Designer JOHN GALLIANO, who now heads the house of Christian Dior, was recently knighted by Queen Elizabeth, but during one of the first shows of Paris fashion week, the designer's mind seemed to be everywhere but England. His clothes, which drew inspiration from Peru, Mongolia, India and Russia, were relatively tame compared with Galliano's usual antics. But they delighted the fashion press, which was unexcited by the collections in Milan. The Dior headwear shown here may be a bit extravagant for city dwellers, but it should help keep llama herders braving cold weather in the Andes toasty.