Latest news with #TheAgency
CTV News
a day ago
- Business
- CTV News
Beloved Bravolebrity: Mauricio Umansky to visit Halifax for The Agency launch party
One of Bravo's most beloved 'house husbands' is headed for Halifax. Mauricio Umansky first rose to fame through appearances on 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills,' which premiered in 2010. As CEO of The Agency – a global, boutique real estate brokerage that has 130 offices in 13 countries – Umansky's brand has also been featured on Bravo's 'Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles' and Netflix's 'Buying Beverly Hills.' In February 2024, The Agency added a Halifax location to its firm and, this Sunday, it will hold its official launch party and ribbon-cutting. 'We wanted to do it last year, but it was so hectic opening up everything and figuring out all the logistics. We obviously want Mauricio to attend as well, so just getting everyone's schedules aligned,' said Megan Landry, managing director at The Agency Halifax. 'We have Burnside Pizzeria and Propeller Beer sponsoring us, so we're going to be serving donairs and beer and anyone that wants to come and meet him can meet him.' Maurico Umansky Maurico Umansky, CEO of The Agency, is pictured. (Courtesy: The Agency Halifax) This will be Umansky's first time in Halifax and his first time trying its official food. 'He's not tried donairs before so that's why we're serving donairs at lunch,' said Landry. 'It's not every day that an owner, CEO of a huge multi-million dollar company will show his face and show up. I have so much respect for him that he is showing up and he supports us and he wants to see Halifax and meet the agents and really get to know where the office is and the location.' The Agency Halifax The founding members of The Agency Halifax are pictured. From left to right, James Goode, Allie White, Brooke Godsoe, Cait Banks, Brehannah Hopgood, and Megan Landry) (Courtesy: The Agency Halifax) The Agency decided to open a location in Halifax after local agents reached out to the company, suggesting an East Coast office. 'They were excited and I think it's just a new opportunity for clients in Nova Scotia just to have a different experience when it comes to selling and buying. It's definitely exciting just for Nova Scotia in general to have such a well-known brokerage come to a smaller province,' said Landry. Umansky is known for representing multi-million dollar properties such as the Walt Disney Estate and the Playboy Mansion. While Halifax may not have the same market as Beverly Hills or Los Angeles, Landry says it's all about growth. 'The Agency is definitely more on the luxury side of things, but Nova Scotia only has so many high-end homes. Whether we're selling a $4-million home or a $400,000 home, we're still giving that white-glove service to every possible client,' she said. 'The Agency's No. 1 slogan is 'collaboration is key,' and so when you're working with us in Halifax, you're not only working with just the Halifax agents, it is also agents from all over the globe.' The Agency Halifax A team photo of the agents at The Agency Halifax. (Courtesy: The Agency Halifax) In addition to the Nova Scotia office, The Agency also has brokerages in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, and Quebec. 'In Halifax right now we have 12 agents. We still want to keep a small boutique feel, it's more quality over quantity. However, we'll keep expanding. We have an open-door policy and we'd love to invite more agents over,' said Landry. The Agency Halifax will also host an invite-only cocktail event Sunday at its newest listing – three luxury penthouses at The Roy. 'Unlike any other condominium in Halifax – or Nova Scotia – The Roy sets a new standard for luxury living in Atlantic Canada. The penthouses crown this 22-storey landmark with expansive layouts, floor-to-ceiling glass offering panoramic harbour and city views, designer kitchens, spa-inspired bathrooms, and private terraces,' said Landry. 'Residents enjoy 24-hour concierge service and exclusive access to The Roy Club – an entire floor dedicated to resort-style amenities including an indoor pool, gym, spa, theatre, and private lounge spaces, all located steps from downtown and the waterfront.' The public event will be held at The Agency's Halifax office in the Hydrostone from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Kendra Wilkinson Reveals Biggest Regret From Her Playboy Mansion Years
Kendra Wilkinson Reveals Biggest Regret From Her Playboy Mansion Years originally appeared on Parade. Kendra Wilkinson rose to fame on the hit 2000s reality show The Girls Next Door, about Hugh Hefner and his "bunnies" living in the Playboy Mansion. While the show made it look like the Playboy Mansion was one giant funhouse, reports years later claimed it was actually a house of horrors. Wilkinson's former co-star Holly Madison has been vocal about the lasting trauma she endured during her time as Hefner's girlfriend, appearing in the explosive A&E docuseries Secrets of Playboy and writing a tell-all memoir, Down the Rabbit Hole. Now, Wilkinson has revealed her biggest regret from her time living in the Playboy Mansion. At a red carpet event, Wilkinson opened up in an interview with Fox News Digital. "The only thing I can say I regret in my life," she said, "is not starting my real estate career while I was living at the Playboy Mansion." The former reality star entered the real estate game during the pandemic, signing with The Agency, of Netflix's Buying Beverly Hills, in July 2020. She since left The Agency for Douglas Elliman, and even starred in a reality show about her career change, called Kendra Sells Hollywood. 🎬 SIGN UP for Parade's Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬 "What was I thinking?" Wilkinson continued during the interview. "Like, I mean, I was surrounded by everyone, every celebrity, every billionaire, and what was I thinking?" The old adage rings true: sometimes you don't know what you've got until it's gone. Wilkinson hasn't said much about her time at the Playboy Mansion, but she did reveal a few other regrets from her time there in a 2024 interview with People. 'Why did I have sex with an old man at that age? Why did I do that? Why did I go to the mansion in the first place? Why did I get boobs? Why did I bleach blonde my hair? Why did I?' Kendra Wilkinson Reveals Biggest Regret From Her Playboy Mansion Years first appeared on Parade on Jun 12, 2025 This story was originally reported by Parade on Jun 12, 2025, where it first appeared.
Los Angeles Times
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
With federal employees under ‘grievous' threat, CIA office drama ‘The Agency' pushes back
The spy is the most devoted of employees. His or her line of work demands utter commitment, if not active contempt for the very concept of a 'personal life.' Cunningly, Jez and John-Henry Butterworth's 'The Agency' — a remake of the French series 'Le Bureau des Légendes'— pushes its central character to question that arrangement. Michael Fassbender stars as Martian, a CIA spy who's recalled to London after years of living deep undercover in Ethiopia. Once a free agent, he's now constrained by the rigid bureaucratic machinations of desk work and office politics, often pitting him against his boss, Henry Ogletree (Jeffrey Wright), and London Station bureau chief James 'Bosko' Bradley (Richard Gere). As escalating geopolitical tensions bubble up around them all — in Belarus, Sudan and beyond — Martian wonders what he might be willing to risk when his former lover, Samia Fatima Zahir (Jodie Turner-Smith), reappears in his life. Stoic and self-aware, Fassbender's Martian is a slippery figure whose sense of self begins to unravel as the show's thrilling first season unfurls. 'He's really addicted to the juice of the job,' Fassbender tells The Times, sitting between Gere and Wright. 'That's where he gets his kicks from. He has this loving relationship that is the only real thing for him that will connect him to his humanity. But he's great at his job and he's kind of addicted to it. That's where I wondered, 'Does Bosko miss being out in the field?'' 'Oh, yeah,' Gere says, nodding. 'He does. He was good at it. It was the trench-warfare mentality of it. The danger. The addiction to the energy and the adrenaline of it. He's an alcoholic for it. They all are. There's no one who walks away from this safely.' The job of the actor is to reveal, that of the spy to withhold. It's why Gere pushed for Bosko to be even more of a cipher than he was on the page. 'I felt like I instinctively knew this guy,' Gere says, recalling his initial conversations with Joe Wright ('Atonement,' 'Darkest Hour'), who directed the first two episodes of the Paramount+ With Showtime series. 'We weren't totally on the same wavelength of who this character was. I think I was positing a more unknowable, nuanced character than he was. I even removed mentions of my own home life, of my backstory. 'It's in here,' he says, gesturing at his temples. 'I know it. And that's enough.' As the agency struggles to contain an increasingly volatile situation involving a missing asset on the front lines of Russia's war in Ukraine, the former field agents in London find that their preferred tactics can create friction in an office environment, where politicking requires a defter touch. 'For Martian, it's about being the sharp end of the stick and being out there,' Fassbender says. 'And being your own boss. Martian has an ego. He has his own set of rules. He does everything his own way.' Henry, in tweed suits and suitably nebbishy glasses, feels more like a company man than his two colleagues. Jeffrey Wright, an Emmy winner for 'Angels in America' in 2004, channeled the Washington, D.C., world he grew up in to create a portrait of a dutiful government employee. 'I have a great deal of respect for federal employees, particularly more so now in a time when they're under such grievous and biased attack,' Wright says. 'I think we conflate, at times, our criticism of the government with criticism that should be leveled at the politicians. But I have a great deal more respect for the people who go to work every day to be a part of the government than I do for many of the politicians who are playing theatrics in the public eye.' The London office where much of 'The Agency' takes place captures the contradictions of this contemporary espionage drama. With wall-to-wall windows that look out over the city — re-created on soundstages with the use of giant LED screens — and a glassed-in conference room at the heart of the floor, the environment itself suggests the possibility of omnipresent surveillance. The space reminds viewers and characters alike how precious and precarious privacy is in this world. Such immersion helped the trio of actors lose themselves in 'The Agency's' high-stakes workplace drama, where government secrets and transactional dynamics rule day-to-day operations. 'There's an argument to be made that the only time that you could unconsciously have an artistic experience with a piece is through architecture,' says Wright, 'walking through spaces where we're taking in this design but where we're not necessarily conscious of it. I was thinking about it in terms of what we do as actors, that we actually have an opportunity to experience art in a very intimate way, in a way that no other profession does. We get to live inside this literary experience and place ourselves inside of it.' It's not hard to see parallels between what agents like Martian go through when going deep undercover and what actors are called to do. Just don't ask Fassbender to be up for the job. 'It is terrifying, pretending to do this,' Fassbender points out. 'Constantly I'm thinking, 'Jesus, the reality of it is just terrifying.' And I would be so bad at it.'
New York Post
11-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Former Playboy model Kendra Wilkinson has one regret from her time at Hugh Hefner's mansion
Kendra Wilkinson revealed her biggest regret from her time at the Playboy Mansion. During an interview with Fox News Digital, the 39-year-old TV personality-turned-real estate agent reflected on opportunities that she missed while living at the iconic Hollywood property as one of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner's girlfriends from 2004 to 2009. 'The only thing I can say I regret in my life is not starting my real estate career while I was living at the Playboy Mansion,' the 'Girls Next Door' alum admitted while on the red carpet at the Operation Smile 25th Los Angeles Smile Fiesta. 'What was I thinking?' she added. 'Like, I mean, I was surrounded by everyone, every celebrity, every billionaire, and what was I thinking? But I'm now in real estate, so I'm good.' Wilkinson launched her career in real estate after passing the California real estate exam in June 2020. A month later, Wilkinson was hired as a real estate agent at The Agency, the luxury real estate company founded by Mauricio Umansky, who is married to 'The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills' star Kyle Richards. 6 Kendra Wilkinson attends the 25th Annual Los Angeles Operation Smile Fiesta at Candela La Brea in Los Angeles, California on June 3, 2025. Getty Images 6 Wilkinson launched her career in real estate after passing the California real estate exam in June 2020. Kendra Wilkinson/Instagram Wilkinson later left The Agency to join the high-end real estate firm Douglas Elliman. In November 2021, Wilkinson debuted her reality series, 'Kendra Sells Hollywood,' which followed the former model as she navigated the ups and downs of her new career in Los Angeles' ultracompetitive luxury real estate market. 'Kendra Sells Hollywood' ran for two seasons on Discovery+ and Max. In May 2023, Wilkinson announced on Instagram that she was stepping away from her real estate career. However, in a September interview with People, Wilkinson revealed that she hadn't actually given up her real estate career and admitted that she had been too hasty in announcing her departure from the business. 'I just had a really bad day,' Wilkinson said. 'So I did announce that I'd be stepping away from real estate, but that was just a really bad day in my life and I should've never probably Instagrammed that I'm quitting, but I did on accident like an idiot, so I made a huge mistake.' 'But I'm back in it,' she added. 'I have so many deals I'm working on right now.' 6 Hugh Hefner poses with Holly Madison, Bridget Marquardt and Kendra Wilkinson at the Fox Reality Channel Really Awards on Sept. 24, 2008. Getty Images Wilkinson told People that though working in real estate is 'so stressful,' she 'wants to do it again.' 'I want to publicly hate real estate again, but I can't, because I love it,' Wilkinson said. 'I love real estate. It's a challenge every single day.' When Wilkinson initially announced that she was quitting real estate, she explained that she made the decision so that she could focus on her children and her mental health. Wilkinson shares son Hank IV and daughter Alijah, 11, with her ex-husband Hank Baskett. Wilkinson has been candid about her struggles with her mental health after being hospitalized in September 2023 when she suffered from a panic attack. 6 Kendra Wilkinson and Hugh Hefner attend the Toyota Celebrity/Pro Race at Streets of Long Beach on April 14, 2007. WireImage At the time, a representative for Wilkinson said that she had been taken to the emergency room but would be released the same day. In a January 2024 interview with People, Wilkinson shared that after she was released from the emergency room, she had to return to the hospital a week later. Wilkinson explained that during her second visit, doctors prescribed her an antipsychotic medication, Abilify, and she attended therapy three times a week after her hospitalization. 'I was in a state of panic. I didn't know what was going on in my head and my body or why I was crying. I had hit rock bottom,' Wilkinson recalled of her medical crisis. 'I was dying of depression,' she continued. 'I was hitting the end of my life, and I went into psychosis. I felt like I wasn't strong enough to live anymore.' She shared that professionals helped her handle unresolved trauma, which stemmed from living in the Playboy Mansion and her 2019 divorce from Baskett. Wilkinson rose to fame at the age of 18 when she became one of Hefner's girlfriends and starred on the hit reality series 'Girls Next Door.' 'It's not easy to look back at my 20s. I've had to face my demons,' she admitted. 'Playboy really messed my whole life up,' the former model said. 'It was the lowest place I've ever been in my life. I felt like I had no future. I couldn't see in front of my depression,' she recalled. 'I was giving up and I couldn't find the light. I had no hope.' The California native said before she was hospitalized, she was also struggling with her job in real estate, which caused her not to eat or sleep regularly. ''How am I going to succeed?' 'What am I doing wrong in my life?' 'Do I give up?'' Wilkinson said. During her interview with Fox News Digital, Wilkinson recalled her hospitalization and praised her team of medical professionals for helping her through her darkest time. 'My health and happiness is such a blessing,' she said. 'I credit amazing doctors. I credit an amazing psychiatrist, psychologists, therapists, trainers, physical therapists. I mean, it keeps going on.' 'I mean without them, I wouldn't be standing right now,' she continued. 'I went through a lot with my mental health. I ended up hospitalized for about seven days.' 6 Wilkinson rose to fame at the age of 18 when she became one of Hefner's girlfriends and starred on the hit reality series 'Girls Next Door.' WireImage Wilkinson shared that she was hospitalized at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where she said that the team of doctors and nurses who treated her were 'so amazing.' 'They got me on the right meds, and I feel like a million bucks tonight,' she said. 'I feel amazing. They got me through it. We talked through it. I learned a lot about the brain and how we think, how we behave. And it took a lot of opening my heart up, opening up my mind and really just dissecting everything that's a part of me. And it took me a long time to heal and recover from a lot things.' Wilkinson told Fox News Digital that having 'amazing friends that support me' was also crucial at that time. 'So yeah, it's been a journey, but I'm there,' she said. 'I feel good, and I'm smiling, and I never want to take my smile for granted.' 6 Kendra Wilkinson and Hugh Hefner attend Hugh Hefner's 83rd birthday dinner at Nine Steakhouse at the Palms Resort & Casino in Las Vegas on April 4, 2009. WireImage Wilkinson spoke with Fox News Digital while she was attending Operation Smile's 25th Los Angeles Smile Fiesta honoring Harrison Ford, Gene Simmons, and The Rodosky Family. The event, which took place on June 3 at Candela La Brea in Los Angeles, benefited Operation Smile, a nonprofit organization that provides free cleft lip, palate surgeries and comprehensive healthcare to children worldwide. Per a press release, Operation Smile 'works hand in hand with local volunteers, ministries of health, governments, universities, and communities to expand access to surgical care through training and education —starting with free, life-changing cleft surgery and comprehensive care.' At the event, Ford received the Dr. Randy Sherman Visionary Award, named in honor of the late humanitarian and acclaimed plastic surgeon Dr. Randy Sherman, who was a longtime volunteer with Operation Smile and Ford's close friend. During his acceptance speech, Ford praised Sherman, saying 'there was no end to the grace, humility and love that this man embodied.' While speaking with Fox News Digital, Wilkinson explained why supporting Operation Smile was important to her. 'Operation Smile is an amazing cause,' she said. 'It really transforms lives, it transforms lives all around the world, and it's just really such a great organization to support tonight. I'm here, I took my time out of my kids and my home to be here and stand with everyone here to really support this amazing cause.'
News.com.au
10-06-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Ex-bunny Kendra Wilkinson's biggest Playboy Mansion regret
Kendra Wilkinson revealed her biggest regret from her time at the Playboy Mansion. During an interview with Fox News Digital, the 39-year-old TV personality-turned-real estate agent reflected on opportunities that she missed while living at the iconic Hollywood property as one of Playboy founder Hugh Hefner's girlfriends from 2004 to 2009. 'The only thing I can say I regret in my life is not starting my real estate career while I was living at the Playboy Mansion,' Wilkinson admitted while on the red carpet at the Operation Smile 25th Los Angeles Smile Fiesta. 'What was I thinking?' she added. 'Like, I mean, I was surrounded by everyone, every celebrity, every billionaire, and what was I thinking? But I'm now in real estate, so I'm good.' Wilkinson launched her career in real estate after passing the California real estate exam in June 2020. A month later, Wilkinson was hired as a real estate agent at The Agency, the luxury real estate company founded by Mauricio Umansky, who is married to The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills star Kyle Richards. Wilkinson later left The Agency to join the high-end real estate firm Douglas Elliman. In November 2021, Wilkinson debuted her reality series, Kendra Sells Hollywood, which followed the former model as she navigated the ups and downs of her new career in Los Angeles' ultracompetitive luxury real estate market. Kendra Sells Hollywood ran for two seasons on Discovery+ and Max. In May 2023, Wilkinson announced on Instagram that she was stepping away from her real estate career. However, in a September interview with People, Wilkinson revealed that she hadn't actually given up her real estate career and admitted that she had been too hasty in announcing her departure from the business. 'I just had a really bad day,' Wilkinson said. 'So I did announce that I'd be stepping away from real estate, but that was just a really bad day in my life and I should've never probably Instagrammed that I'm quitting, but I did on accident like an idiot, so I made a huge mistake.' 'But I'm back in it,' she added. 'I have so many deals I'm working on right now.' Wilkinson told People that though working in real estate is 'so stressful,' she 'wants to do it again.' 'I want to publicly hate real estate again, but I can't, because I love it,' Wilkinson said. 'I love real estate. It's a challenge every single day.' When Wilkinson initially announced that she was quitting real estate, she explained that she made the decision so that she could focus on her children and her mental health. Wilkinson shares son Hank IV and daughter Alijah, 11, with her ex-husband Hank Baskett. Wilkinson has been candid about her struggles with her mental health after being hospitalised in September 2023 when she suffered from a panic attack. At the time, a representative for Wilkinson said that she had been taken to the emergency room but would be released the same day. In a January 2024 interview with People, Wilkinson shared that after she was released from the emergency room, she had to return to the hospital a week later. Wilkinson explained that during her second visit, doctors prescribed her an antipsychotic medication, Abilify, and she attended therapy three times a week after her hospitalisation. 'I was in a state of panic. I didn't know what was going on in my head and my body or why I was crying. I had hit rock bottom,' Wilkinson recalled of her medical crisis. 'I was dying of depression,' she continued. 'I was hitting the end of my life, and I went into psychosis. I felt like I wasn't strong enough to live anymore.' She shared that professionals helped her handle unresolved trauma, which stemmed from living in the Playboy Mansion and her 2019 divorce from Baskett. Wilkinson rose to fame at the age of 18 when she became one of Hefner's girlfriends and starred on the hit reality series Girls Next Door. 'It's not easy to look back at my 20s. I've had to face my demons,' she admitted. 'Playboy really messed my whole life up,' the former model said. 'It was the lowest place I've ever been in my life. I felt like I had no future. I couldn't see in front of my depression,' she recalled. 'I was giving up and I couldn't find the light. I had no hope.' The California native said before she was hospitalised, she was also struggling with her job in real estate, which caused her not to eat or sleep regularly. ''How am I going to succeed?' 'What am I doing wrong in my life?' 'Do I give up?'' Wilkinson said. During her interview with Fox News Digital, Wilkinson recalled her hospitalisation and praised her team of medical professionals for helping her through her darkest time. 'My health and happiness is such a blessing,' she said. 'I credit amazing doctors. I credit an amazing psychiatrist, psychologists, therapists, trainers, physical therapists. I mean, it keeps going on.' 'I mean without them, I wouldn't be standing right now,' she continued. 'I went through a lot with my mental health. I ended up hospitalised for about seven days.' Wilkinson shared that she was hospitalised at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, where she said that the team of doctors and nurses who treated her were 'so amazing.' 'They got me on the right meds, and I feel like a million bucks tonight,' she said. 'I feel amazing. They got me through it. We talked through it. I learned a lot about the brain and how we think, how we behave. And it took a lot of opening my heart up, opening up my mind and really just dissecting everything that's a part of me. And it took me a long time to heal and recover from a lot things.' Wilkinson told Fox News Digital that having 'amazing friends that support me' was also crucial at that time. 'So yeah, it's been a journey, but I'm there,' she said. 'I feel good, and I'm smiling, and I never want to take my smile for granted.'
