A Prodigy with Brush and Oil

Kids love to paint, but not every 10-year-old is as accomplished as ALEXANDRA NECHITA. Born in Romania, she lives with her family in California . Inspired by Picasso, among others, she is a gifted artist with creative powers far beyond her years. Her work has just been published in a book, Outside the Lines. One picture shows a frightened, red-faced figure, and Alexandra says of it, "Some people hide their fears by lying...But you can't hide the truth if you want to make friends and meet new people. You always have to be honest."

SEEN & HEARD

Let them eat beef! Jacques Chirac is not exhorting his nation or the rest of Europe to forget their anxiety about mad-cow disease, but the French President did set a gustatory example. At the start of his four-day state visit across the channel, Chirac lunched at Buckingham Palace with the Queen. On the menu: Filet de Boeuf aux Nouilles Provencales. No matter how you slice it, that's noodles and British beef. Bon appetit.

Take a peek into the cockpit of a KLM plane, and you might just see a royal hand at the controls. Netherlands Crown Prince Willem-Alexander, 29, son of Queen Beatrix, is a reserve captain in the Royal Dutch Air Force who, to get in more flying hours, is taking a nonpaying job as a co-pilot for the Dutch national airline. His girlfriend Emily Bremers already works for KLM's inflight services department. Coincidence, or what?

Stars of the Emmathon

The Jane Austen boom continues, with not one but two film versions of Emma. Starring blond GWYNETH PALTROW, 23, the U.S. adaptation premiered in Cannes last week, while cameras are ready to roll on a British movie with KATE BECKINSALE, 22. Both are to the profession born--Paltrow's mother is U.S. actress Blythe Danner, and Beckinsale's late father Richard was beloved for comic roles on British TV. "Emma is such an extraordinary character that I couldn't say no," says the spirited Beckinsale. "She's quite unpleasant sometimes, which I always relish."

The Marrying Kind

MELANIE GRIFFITH and ANTONIO BANDERAS fell madly, deeply and publicly in love while they filmed a romantic comedy last year and, though married to others, they were happy to share their affection with the world at large. But after shedding their spouses--and picking out a flashy diamond engagement ring--Griffith, 38, and Banderas, 35, who are expecting a baby in September, finally went private and wed in a quiet civil ceremony in London.