Family

Gloria Vanderbilt, the heiress to the Vanderbilt railroad fortune and creator of the wildly popular Vanderbilt jeans, has died.

It appears she died of stomach cancer, which was so advanced she was taken to the hospital earlier this month.

Gloria, the mother of Anderson Cooper, was a woman of many trades, including model, fashion designer and actress. She was also one of the biggest socialites in New York City.

During the '70s, Gloria launched a line of designer jeans with her signature, designer swan. One of her slogans is "My bottoms are tops."

Gloria was married 4 times ... one of her husband's was famed director Sidney Lumet. She was linked over the years to a number of famous men, including Howard Hughes, Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly.

Her life was not without tragedy. Gloria's oldest son with Wyatt Cooper, Carter Vanderbilt Cooper, committed suicide at age 23 back in 1988 by jumping out of the family's 14th floor window.

She was also embroiled in a famous custody battle. Her dad died when she was a baby and her mom and aunt fought over who should raise her. The custody trial became the basis for the 1980 book and subsequent miniseries, "Little Gloria ... Happy at Last." It was nominated for 6 Emmys.

She was super close to Anderson. In 1995, Gloria sold her mansion and moved in with Anderson to write her book, "A Mother's Story" ... which dealt with coping with Carter's suicide. In 2016, the two also released a book and a documentary on HBO together titled 'Nothing Left Unsaid.'

Anderson just gave a tribute to his mom, saying, "Gloria Vanderbilt was an extraordinary woman who loved life and lived it on her own terms. What an extraordinary life. What an extraordinary mom. What an incredible woman."

A minor league baseball team in Kentucky celebrated Father's Day with some INCREDIBLE "Dad Bod" jerseys ... complete with back hair, man nipples and a tramp stamp tattoo!

The Florence Freedom -- which plays in the Frontier League in Northern Kentucky -- busted out the jersey promotion while hosting the Lake Erie Crushers at UC Health Stadium on Sunday night.

Yes, the players ACTUALLY wore the jerseys during the game ... until it was suspended in the 7th inning due to a lightning and rain storm in the area. The game was tied 7-7 when the game was stopped. Play will resume on July 5 -- and they'll pick right up from the top of the 7th.

But, before lightning struck, fans in attendance were able to BID on the jerseys worn by the players. Unclear if the players will still wear the special uniforms when play resumes next month.

The hairy unis weren't the only promotion that night -- the team also dropped hot dog prices to $1 and certain beers were only $3 (for dads only!).

Not a bad way to celebrate!

Nipsey Hussle's family has a new argument for why they should retain custody of his daughter -- they claim there's ample proof her mother is unfit, based on her 2 other children.

Sources close to the late rapper tell TMZ ... his family's lawyers think they can win the custody battle for his 10-year-old girl, Emani Asghedom, by highlighting Tanisha Foster's track record with her 18-year-old daughter.

We're told the girl is currently in juvenile detention in L.A., and has been in and out of the system since she was 12. Our sources say she's in juvi now for petty theft, and nobody will come forward to claim her ... including Tanisha.

Even though her daughter is 18, we're told the detention center won't release her because she doesn't have a GED or a stable environment to which she can return. Our sources say Tanisha's been MIA most of her daughter's life and has refused to attend her court hearings.

We're told Foster also has a 17-year-old son who bounces around from home to home and doesn't attend school regularly.

Nipsey's family claims the proof is in the pudding and feels Foster is not a fit parent -- and definitely isn't qualified to care for Emani.

We broke the story ... the family also believes Foster is unstable due to her long rap sheet and current legal issues.

Emani is currently living with Nipsey's sister, Samantha, who kept custody of her after a court hearing last month ... much to the chagrin of Tanisha.

Caitlyn Jenner would like all the dads in her life -- and, by extension, the Kardashians' lives -- to know she appreciates each and every one of them ... except one Tristan Thompson.

Kylie and Kendall's father posted a Father's Day tribute Sunday, honoring not only her own dad -- who was a WWII vet -- but also her two sons, Burt and Brandon (who are both dads) ... as well as Kanye West, Rob Kardashian, Scott Disick and Travis Scott.

You'll notice that Tristan is absent from the group shout-out. He, of course, shares a kid with Khloe Kardashian ... but got kicked to the curb after cheating on her (again).

Clearly, Caitlyn's not a fan of the guy ... none of the Kardashians seem to be at this point, frankly. Also interesting -- Khloe posted some cryptic messages ahead of the big holiday that one could interpret as being aimed at her baby daddy.

On her Insta story, Khloe posted stuff like ... "stop having relationship problems with someone you're not in a relationship with" as well as, "reminder: you cannot change a person who doesn't see an issue in their actions."

The good news ... Khloe seems to have a decent co-parenting relationship with Tristan for the sake of their daughter, True. She told Laura Wasser recently that she keeps it cool with him and tries to keep any bad energy away from the kid.

It's Father's Day -- and as the rest of us give a big hug to our papa bears ... these famous folks are pretty much doing the exact same thing.

Lots of stars took to social media Sunday to celebrate the holiday -- whether that meant honoring their own dads with a selfie, or snuggling up with their kids. Take, for example, Tom Brady -- who's got three children of his own -- cozying up with the tykes in his bed.

You also got Chance the Rapper, who shared an adorable photo of his daughter coming up to him for what seems like a goodbye kiss while he sat in the driver seat of his car.

Tons of other celebs honored Father's Day as well -- Rob Lowe got a photo with his pops, as did Bret Michaels, Ryan Seacrest, David Beckham and Paul Stanley.

Other A-listers posed with their kids, such as Magic Johnson, Omar Gooding, James Van Der Beek, Slim Thug and more.

Lauren London is remembering Nipsey Hussle on a holiday marked for dads ... and she's doing it with a touching tribute honoring his fatherhood.

On Sunday, Lauren posted a sweet photo of her, Nipsey and their son, whom Lauren is cradling. She captioned her pic, "One of the reasons I fell in Love with You.... Your Fatherhood." Lauren added, "Today we celebrate You Love you Ermias."

Nipsey and Lauren had one child together -- 2-year-old Kross. He also had another child -- his 10-year-old daughter, Emani -- from a previous relationship.

Clearly, Lauren is still mourning the loss of her partner -- who died in March after being shot. She added another message on her Instagram story that hit the point home ... "Sent a lot of prayers to Heaven last night," with prayer hand emojis attached.

As we've reported ... Nipsey's daughter is currently in the custody of his sister, Samantha, after she filed for guardianship over her -- Sam feels Nipsey's first baby mama is unfit to care for the child. They're in the middle of a custody battle right now over the issue.

Get a load of baby Archie, everyone, the freshly-minted son of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

The kid's a month-and-a-half old and finally, we're able to see his face in all its glory.

The pic was posted on the Royals' Instagram page for Harry's very first Father's Day.

Still not crystal clear how Meghan and Harry came up with the name Archie ... to be precise, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor.

Archie is kinda like the United State's Attorney General ... he's 7th in line for the top spot. Archie wasn't in public view during the Queen's birthday celebration earlier this month, so this is really the first time we've seen his full face.

Nevertheless, he's a big deal in the UK. BTW, the first official interracial baby in the Royal Fam.

Robin Thicke's been in the baby-making mood these past couple years -- and now, he's in the baby-taking mood ... as in taking cute pics with his kids for Father's Day weekend.

The singer was out in Malibu Friday with his baby mama, April Love Geary, their two babies and his 9-year-old son, Julian ... whom he shares with ex Paula Patton. The family of 5 hit up the beach together, where they got an impromptu photo-op in with the kiddos in the sand ... each parent taking turns on camera and lap duty.

A perfect way to ring in the holiday weekend, if you ask us ... especially considering how adorable their latest additions are. And, just check out how happy Robin looks as a new dad (yet again). The guy's absolutely beaming ... at age 42, no less.

Robin and April welcomed their second child, Lola Alain, just a few months ago -- this, of course, less than a year after she gave birth to their first kid, Mia Love ... who's already over a year old and rockin' little blonde curls. AWWW!!!

It seems like just yesterday we were witnessing April breastfeed Mia on the Gram -- now we're another baby in ... with plenty of time left for a third if they wanna keep the streak going. April's only 24, after all -- and looks as great as any mom could 2 kids deep.

4:36 PM PT -- Blac Chyna is firing back at her baby daddy, Rob Kardashian, after he had his attorney sent a letter instructing her that their daughter, Dream, absolutely CANNOT appear on her new reality show, "The Real Blac Chyna" ... while taking some swipes at his own family at the same time.

She posted a lengthy statement Saturday, saying in part ... "Had Rob contacted me directly rather than through his attorney Marty Singer, Rob would have learned about Dream participation in the show."

She goes on to say that Dream was never going to be part of her show, and that she would never subject the kid to "long hours" on set. Further, she says she'd never let Dream be in the presence of the real drama that Chyna and her mom experienced while filming.

Chyna writes, "It is very unfortunate that Rob could not simply have an adult conversation with me 'the mother of his child,' Dream Kardashian, appearing on my show."

Then come the shots at the Kardashian family as a whole. Chyna went on to criticize the fact that Rob and co. have featured Dream on their own reality show, allegedly without ever consulting Chyna and seeing if she was good with it.

BC gets pretty nasty with her critique, writing ... "I also would have pointed out to Rob the hypocrisy of his family's insistence that Dream appear on 'Keeping Up with the Kardashians' in the family's desperate attempt to boost the dismal ratings for their stale and contrived show, without my approval, including an entire scene being Dream's birthday party, again without my consent."

Chyna finished her thoughts by saying, "My show is about my life and my kids are a huge part of my life. It's really sad that everything I do to better myself or my family the same people have something to say to stop or hinder it."

Rob Kardashian's pumping the brakes on his 2-year-old daughter becoming a big TV star ... or at the very least he's making sure it doesn't happen on Blac Chyna's new reality show.

Rob's lawyer, legal pit bull Marty Singer, fired off a threatening letter to Chyna, telling her their daughter, 2-year-old Dream, CANNOT appear on her show, "The Real Blac Chyna," without Rob's consent, and he will NOT give consent.

As we reported, Rob and Chyna share 50/50 joint custody, and Singer says there's no way Dream's mother can turn a TV camera on Dream without Rob being on board.

According to the letter, Chyna sent Rob an appearance release for Dream to appear on the series, and he's not gonna sign.

We're told Rob has several reasons for withholding consent. He's seen all the drama with Chyna ... most recently, getting into a crazy fight with her former hairdresser while Dream was in the house and an explosive fight with her mom. We're told Rob feels her life is way too tumultuous and a reality show would just exacerbate the situation.

Beyond that, Rob's had his own experience with reality shows, and for the most part, the experience wasn't good. He doesn't want his daughter subjected to the long hours, the lights and the drama.

The letter ends with a threat to the network that's airing the show ... "Should The Zeus Network proceed with releasing any episodes of the Series or related materials containing Dream's likeness, it will be acting at its own peril and exposing itself to significant liability."

MLB legend Jim Edmonds says he and his wife are on the road to repairing their marriage after he admitted to texting nude selfies to another woman ... telling TMZ Sports, "I made a mistake."

Here's the backstory ... Edmonds has been under fire this week after a woman put their text message exchange online -- claiming Jim sent her explicit messages and videos last year while his wife Meghan King Edmonds was about to give birth to their twins.

Edmonds has DENIED having a physical relationship with the other woman -- despite her claims -- but seems to be fessing up to the text message part telling us, "It was just a weak moment."

As for the state of his marriage to the 'Real Housewives of Orange County' star -- Jim says he and his wife are "doing good" and definitely still on speaking terms.

When asked how they plan to get through the situation, Jim told us, "We're just gonna have to work through it."

Jim added, "It's pretty crazy in this world. People can make up stories about you and hide behind being anonymous. It sucks."

R. Kelly thinks his ex-wife has a lot of audacity telling him to get a job at Del Taco so he can pay child support, because he thinks she should get behind the counter at a burger joint to pay her own way.

The singer's crisis manager, Darrell Johnson, tells TMZ ... the "TMZ Live" interview with Drea and their daughter, Buku Abi, underscores the ridiculousness of him paying child support to an adult.

Buku's 21 and said she's got her own career and doesn't need R. Kelly's money, but it's still his responsibility to pay until she's 23.

The singer believes Drea's using child support to fund her own lifestyle, and says it's time for her to get a job ... and he suggests McDonald's and Burger King are viable options, adding she too has a responsibility to pay for their kids.

Kelly is on the hook for about $21k a month in child support, and he's currently behind $32k.

Britney Spears' former manager, Sam Lutfi, poses a serious enough threat to her and her family that a judge is now extending a court order for him to keep away from her.

A judge granted the permanent restraining order against Lutfi Thursday in L.A. County Superior Court. While Lutfi was there, Britney was not -- her father and lawyers were speaking on her behalf.

In the end, the judge sided with Britney's camp and decided they needed the protection. Lutfi has to stay at least 200 yards away from Britney, her family, refrain from reaching out to them and refrain from making disparaging comments about Brit.

TMZ broke the story ... Britney went to court seeking a temporary restraining order last month, claiming that Lutfi was attempting to harass her by getting in touch with her mom and stirring up the "Free Britney" movement, which wants her out of her conservatorship.

It's unclear if Britney fully wants out herself, but she has expressed a desire for more freedoms that she currently doesn't have ... like owning a smartphone, for example.

Either way, Britney claimed in court docs that Lutfi offered $1,000 cash to her mom, Lynne, to "disrupt and take over" the conservatorship process, which Brit's dad, Jamie Spears, oversees. She also alleged Lutfi threatened to release old items of hers from when he managed her in the 2000s.

A judge felt enough of a threat existed at the time to give Brit protection for the time being. Now, the permanent restraining order will be in effect for the next 5 years.

Can you picture R. Kelly working the register in a red shirt and an apron at Del Taco? His ex-wife can ... if that's what it takes to dig himself out of a child support hole.

Drea Kelly and her daughter, Buku Abi -- who are both on "Growing Up Hip Hop: Atlanta" -- joined "TMZ Live" Thursday and pretty much she said she doesn't give a damn what kinda job Kelly has to land to meet his legal obligations ... so long as he once and for all wipes his debts clean.

As we first reported ... Drea asked the court for a hard and fast deadline for Kelly to pay her the $32k he owes. Kelly's camp previously insisted the money owed is interest and not back child support ... but we've learned only $11,500 of it is interest and the rest is for unpaid child support and educational expenses.

Check out the clip ... Drea suggests the fast food joint for the King of R&B.

Kelly, of course, has hired an army of lawyers for his mounting legal troubles, which can't be cheap. This is on top of back child support he's already ponied up ... to the tune of $161,633. That money, we were told, came from a benefactor. So, you can see why Drea's worried.

"The Wendy Williams Show" has never been better -- as far as the staff is concerned -- and it's all due to her estranged husband's departure.

As you know, Wendy is going through a divorce with Kevin Hunter, who was a producer of her talk show until he left in April amid their rising relationship drama. According to sources close to the TV show ... the collective feeling about his departure was GOOD RIDDANCE.

We're told several staff members called Kevin leaving a "breath of fresh air" ... and say the work environment has been 100 percent less hostile. Our sources say Hunter was notorious for being overly controlling and unpleasant, and had employees in constant fear of being fired.

Kevin's exit has had a huge positive impact on Wendy too. We're told she seemed back to her regular, down to earth self in the final weeks of taping before the show went on hiatus ... and you'd never know she was going through a nasty divorce by the way she was on set.

Williams has been enjoying her single life lately -- especially with her new, young "friend," Marc Tomblin -- but the ex-couple have also been exchanging barbs as their divorce moves ahead.

Wendy accused Kevin of keeping her cooped up at home and treating her like a "show pony," and he fired back by calling her lazy.

There's also the issue between Kevin and their son, Kevin Jr., which isn't any closer to being mended.

All that aside, it seems like everyone working for Wendy is happy and rejuvenated, and we're told they're excited to get back to filming the show after its break ... sans Kevin, of course.

David Ortiz's wife is shouting out the man who raced the MLB star to the hospital -- crashing his own car in the process -- in the wake of Sunday's assassination attempt in the Dominican Republic.

"I want to take this opportunity to offer our heartfelt thanks and gratitude to Eliezer Salvador, owner of Presidente Sports, for your quick thinking and swift action on Sunday night," Tiffany Ortiz said in a statement.

"Your heroism and selflessness were the first steps to ensuring David could get the urgent care he required. For that we are eternally grateful."

Salvador runs a sports betting firm in the D.R. and was at the scene when Big Papi was shot Sunday night. When Ortiz went down, Salvador quickly put the legend in his own car and raced to the hospital because he didn't want to wait for an ambulance.

Salvador says he raced at speeds of over 100 MPH and made the trip in under 7 minutes. He later made a social media video showing that he had David's jewelry so the family wouldn't worry.

Tiffany says the quick-thinking decision may have saved David's life.

Ortiz's wife also gave props to the doctors who worked on David.

"To the amazing surgeons, medical team, and staff at the Abel Gonzalez Clinic in the Dominican Republic, there are no words to express our gratitude for the amazing care you provided."

'Without you, our story could have had a tragic ending. You will forever be our guardian angels."

As for David's condition ...

"David remains in guarded condition in the surgical intensive care following his second surgery. He continues to heal and make progress."

Ronnie Ortiz-Magro and Jen Harley are like a broken record, and a trip to Disney World's not going to fix it ... so say sources close to the volatile pair.

We broke the story ... the 'Jersey Shore' star and his baby mama looked more like they were going to prison than vacay early Wednesday morning as they boarded a flight from Las Vegas to Florida with their daughter. They didn't sit together or speak on the flight.

We're told the separate seating was due to booking last minute -- but seeing the moody duo together definitely raised eyebrows.

Our sources tell us looks do not deceive -- Ronnie and Jen are still far from being solid in their relationship and are "on and off" on a weekly basis. We're told family and friends close to them are very concerned and fear things will take another violent turn at any moment.

Yes, even at the "The Most Magical Place on Earth."

As we've reported ... Harley was arrested last month for a New Year's Eve incident in which she allegedly threw an ashtray at Ron's face and bloodied it, the same night he allegedly ransacked her home.

Ronnie was also recorded smashing the security camera at her front door in December 2018 ... and earlier that year he got a black eye during that crazy car dragging incident.