From Barbie to Cameron: the most memorable comebacks of 2023

Observer writers choose the outstanding returns of the year in the worlds of politics, fashion, sport and film

From Beyoncé to Beckham: the worrying rise of one-sided celeb documentaries

Be it the pop star’s failure to mention the controversy over her LGBTQ credentials, or Beckham ignoring rumours of an affair, stars increasingly make shows that dodge the truth – to their detriment

Édith Piaf’s voice re-created using AI so she can narrate own biopic

In-development film comes after controversy around the re-creation of late stars’ voices, such as Anthony Bourdain

Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson wax statue to be redone after star criticises its white skin

Musée Grévin says it is ‘improving’ wax figure of Fast and Furious star after it attracted widespread ridicule on social media

Jamie Oliver’s son, Adam Sandler’s daughters: ‘nepo babies’ are taking over showbiz. What about the rest of us?

Oliver’s 12-year-old is getting a TV show; Sandler’s teenagers star in his new movie. That doesn’t leave much for the ‘normies’, writes Arwa Mahdawi

Single minded: people with public lives on the pleasures of solitude

Joe Lycett likes to get into nature, chef Ravinder Bhogal strolls around her local area, Kirsty Wark heads for a Scottish loch… Nine famous faces reveal how they like to spend time when they’re on their own

Is this a star on the rise, ‘just Ken’, or just Matt Hancock? Ask the families who lost loved ones during Covid

Watch the TikTok Barbie video and see him crafting a celebrity brand. That focus during the pandemic would have been nice, says Guardian columnist Marina Hyde

Online fantasising about property – finally something I share with Gwyneth Paltrow

The Goop founder is offering two lucky winners the chance to stay for one night at her Montecito guesthouse – dinner with her included

Symphony for the devil: Mick Jagger’s 80 greatest moments, on his 80th birthday

The singer who invented the very idea of the frontman has reached his ninth decade. We pick out the Jagger-iest moments of all, from killer lyrics to self-mocking sketches

The Hollywood actors’ strike: everything you need to know

Exactly why are they striking, who are the big names aboard, is it all streaming and AI’s fault and when will we see actors on screen again?

Tom Holland: ‘I felt enslaved to alcohol’

The Spider-Man actor used a podcast appearance to speak about his struggles with alcoholism, and how giving up drinking has made him ‘the happiest I’ve ever been’

Michael Caine’s novel will most likely be rubbish, but I’m glad he’s found his happy ending

Most actors make terrible novelists – but writing the ‘cracking thriller’ Deadly Game was life-affirming for the veteran star, so never mind the finished product

Bruce Willis’s daughter says family ascribed his dementia to ‘Hollywood hearing loss’

As an adolescent, Tallulah Willis thought her father’s unresponsiveness was due to a lack of interest in her life – and Die Hard

The Little Mermaid’s Halle Bailey: ‘As a child, seeing a black Ariel would have changed my life’

From tween YouTube sensation, to pop star, to Beyoncé’s tour mate … now the actor and musician is about to star in the live-action remake of the Disney classic. She talks about overcoming self-doubt, her soulmate sister Chlöe, and a racist backlash

Anna Nicole Smith: You Don’t Know Me review – sympathetic retelling of a tragic life

Ursula Macfarlane’s documentary recounts the sad story of the smalltown girl turned Playboy model who ended up a victim of the celeb industry and addiction