In the end, the gift bags filled with stomach pumps and smelling salts were unnecessary for Lindsay Lohan's 21st birthday. On Monday, the starlet officially became old enough to drink legally, a long-heralded milestone that comes as she continues her extended stay in rehab and just a few days after TMZ.com reported she had "nearly twice the legal limit" of alcohol and traces of cocaine in her bloodstream when she treed her Mercedes in late May. Lindsay, whose plans for a vodka company-sponsored blowout birthday bash in Las Vegas were canceled after she checked into Promises, geared up for her big day by trading group therapy for retail therapy on Saturday, browsing Malibu, Calif., boutique Planet Blue amid a crush of paparazzi -- and with a brand spankin' new iPhone in hand. Meanwhile, the New York Daily News offers further evidence that the actress maybe, just maybe, is taking her current rehab stay a bit more seriously than the last one. Seems her things have been cleared out of her crash pad at the Sierra Towers in Los Angeles. "The Sierra Towers is party central," a mole tells the paper. "Lindsay has made the decision not to be around that when she gets out."

In other birthday news, Pamela Anderson entered her 40s much the same way she did her 30s -- with Tommy Lee by her side. The cartoonishly top-heavy blonde celebrated the big 4-0 (save for a few obviously newer parts) with her ex-hubby Saturday night in Las Vegas, where she's starring in illusionist Hans Klok's magic show. "They were definitely close to each other, cuddling and being quite affectionate," a fellow partier tells People. "They clearly love each other and have tremendous passion for each other." In addition to the snugglebunnies from Lee, who has lately been spotted in the company of -- yikes -- Kimberly Stewart, Pam also received an autographed copy of the only book ever written by Harry Houdini (from Klok, of course) and some quality time with her two sons, Brandon, 10, and Dylan, 9, who checked out her onstage performance. "The kids loved it," an insider tells the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "They think they have the supercoolest mom of all time."

Did nerves or annoyance provoke Penélope Cruz to beat a hasty retreat from a Spain-bound plane? The Huffington Post claims the actress had a "panic attack" Thursday night while sitting in first class aboard a Newark-to-Barcelona Continental flight that had just left the gate. "She was freaking out and refused to fly," asserts a passenger. Her last-minute decision to disembark meant the plane had to return to the gate and her luggage had to be located. Cruz's rep, however, denies she suffers from a fear of flying and blames the weather for her change of plans. "There was no panic attack," the rep insists to the Post. "The airline let her know there was going to be a 3- or 4-hour delay due to the storm. She had work so she figured she'd deplane and fly when the storm passed."

Natalie Portman is a friend to all creatures great and small -- and cuddly. Reuters reports the doe-eyed beauty took part in a ceremony on Saturday at a Rwandan wildlife park to christen 23 baby mountain gorillas as part of a campaign to raise awareness for the endangered species. Portman bestowed her primate with the moniker "Ahazaza," which means "future."

Speaking of Portman and animals, the Harvard-educated thespian's big brain left her "Goya's Ghost" co-star Javier Bardem literally feeling like an ass. "I guess she was very young when she became famous, but her mind is perfectly structured. She's so intelligent it's scary," the actor gushes to Radar Online. "When I was talking to her, I didn't know what to talk about because she knows a lot of things. I felt like a donkey."

Anyone who remembers Katie Holmes' breathy, Alvin and the Chipmunks-esque rendition of "On My Own" during her "Dawson's Creek" days might wonder who would hire her to sing on the big screen. But the New York Post reports Mrs. Tom Cruise warbled and danced for "Chicago" director Rob Marshall last week in hopes of landing a part in the adaptation of the Broadway musical "Nine." Demi Moore is also said to be in contention for one of the coveted roles, along with Marshall's "Chicago" stars Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renée Zellweger.

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