A few years ago, it looked like Nicole Richie was just another second-generation celebrity, famous for being famous and getting into trouble with pals like Paris Hilton, her co-star in one of the first reality television shows, The Simple Life.

Are Christmas wedding bells in the air for Nicole and Joel?

The adopted daughter of Lionel Richie, one can only imagine that Nicole’s Christmas cards list likely includes some high-profile names. Her godfathers were/are Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones, for Pete’s sake! Between her father’s connections and her own, there must be some interesting Christmas cards on her mantle every holiday season.

As circumstance would have it, you may not know that Nicole has written a novel, designed jewelry and clothing, and auditioned for Broadway musicals. As is usually the case in Hollywood, tabloids instead covered her drug problems, arrests, and rapidly decreasing weight, speculating that she had an eating disorder to add to her already problem-riddled life.

Enter Joel Madden, lead singer of the band Good Charlotte, which also includes his twin brother, Benji. Apparently, he was just the dose of good medicine that Nicole needed. The couple soon found that they were expecting a daughter, Harlow. Parenthood seemed to bring a new maturity to them.

Up next: a son, Sparrow. And, after months of denials, the couple recently announced that they are engaged! Nicole has stated that her parents indulged her as a child due to a bitter divorce stemming from Lionel’s infidelity. Here’s hoping that she and Joel beat the odds and have a long and happy marriage.

In 2009, Richie and Madden threw a Christmas party for homeless families in the Los Angeles area through their Richie-Madden Children’s Foundation. They were seen doing some day-after-Christmas shopping, proving that even celebrities can’t pass up a bargain. And with two adorable children at home, it’s safe to say this couple will have no problem coming up with the perfect photo Christmas cards for at least the next few years. Speaking of which, maybe they’ll set a Christmas wedding date. The invitations can be Christmas cards, too!

You can’t take the Bronx out of the girl…not Penny Marshall anyway! Well known for her role as Laverne DeFazio in the 70′s comedy Laverne & Shirley, Penny Marshall has been both in front of and behind the camera since her first foray into show business in 1968.

It must have been a trip sitting at the Christmas table with the Marshall family. Penny’s brother, Garry Marshall, is also an actor, comedian, director, and producer. In an interview with his daughter, Lori, Garry described holiday dinners at their house in the Bronx:

My mom would always cook, but my dad didn’t like turkey. So sometimes she would also make spaghetti for him. Only she never had time to simmer the pasta sauce, so she just put ketchup on the noodles and said it was sauce. Some of us ate the traditional turkey and some of us went for the spaghetti. It was years before I realized that Heinz didn’t make marinara sauce.

Penny Marshall and her Muppet cohorts enjoy the holiday season.

Their mom was of English and Scottish descent. I wonder how their dad, who was Italian, felt about the ketchup on spaghetti. Perhaps the whole tale is a Marshall “urban” myth.

I can see Penny sending Christmas cards featuring a picture of her and the Muppets. Although these days she may prefer to be pictured with her daughter, Tracy Reiner – whom she has with her first husband, Michael Henry – and her grandchildren: Spencer, Viva, and Bella. Tracy took the surname of Penny’s second husband, Rob Reiner, when he adopted her.

Her distinctive, broad Bronx nasal accent and her family helped her to land her first recurring role as Oscar Madison’s secretary, Myrna Turner, in the TV version of The Odd Couple. Her brother, Garry, was the director of the show. He also wanted Penny and her friend, Cindy Williams, to try out for the roles of Richie and Fonzie’s “fast” girlfriends on his other show, Happy Days. Penny and Cindy were so well received in these roles that Garry saw a successful spin-off in the wind. Laverne and Shirley became an immediate success and launched Penny to stardom.

Penny has gone on to direct many successful pictures including the remake of The Preacher’s Wife, a film appropriate for the Christmas season.