Eddie Murphy

They may not be as well-known as the Academy Awards, but the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards are sometimes more important to stars because they're honored by their own.

With that in mind, a few celebrities are particularly proud this morning.

Take Eddie Murphy. The former Saturday Night Live veteran has seen his career take off once again thanks to a winning performance in Dreamgirls. We're sure new girlfriend, Tracey Edmonds, is happy for her man.

Also smiling broadly right about now? Jennifer Hudson. The former American Idol star won the award for Best Supporting Actress last night.

Another victory is slowly becoming America's favorite comedic actress - and her name doesn't hurt the cause. Yes, America Ferrera was considered the top actress in a comedy.

Among the winning speeches, Chandra Wilson from Grey's Anatomy had the funniest line.

She thanked her 10 co-stars seated in the theater in front of her ...

... as well as the "one in rehab," referring to the problems Isaiah Washington has encountered.

Don't worry, Eddie Murphy, your sly way with the ladies is safe with us.

But you may wish to avoid every camera with a bulb if you actually want to keep your latest relationship on any sort of down low.

Seen here with his new squeeze, Tracey Edmonds, Murphy is attending the London premiere of Dreamgirls. He doesn't look like the sort of slime ball that would abandon a pregnant girlfriend and then publicly question the validity of his fatherhood. Does he?

Fortunately for the actor, a semi-tiff between Beyonce and Jennifer Hudson is dominating headlines around the movie.

Not that Eddie looks worried about that. Or anything. He's too busy being one cool dude.

"Say what you will about me, and I'm not passing judgment, but when I had my daughter, I stayed home with her almost every night for the first year of her life."
- Courtney Love (pictured, with daughter Frances Bean Cobain), on Britney Spears' recent partying

"I did this TV show so I wouldn't have to do sh-tty parts in sh-tty movies, so I'm not going to start now. I'm not that desperate."
- Ellen Pompeo, on why she signed on for Grey's Anatomy

"We live in a violent world. We all know that violence is a recurring theme in history."
- Mel Gibson, on the gratuitous gore in Apocalypto

"Jude Law and I spoke on the telephone a lot before we started shooting going, 'Oh, my God, what if we don't make them laugh; they're going to fire us.' "
- Kate Winslet, starring in the romantic comedy The Holiday

"Tom is one of my best friends, and we are committed to one another and to one another's families. .. He wants the world to be better, and he's dedicated his life to it. I support anybody who wants to do that and loves people that much."
- Will Smith on his friendship with Tom Cruise

"Back in the old days in comedy clubs, you could do anything on stage...I'm not saying what [Michael Richards] said was cool, but in the old days, you would've never saw that on the news.
- Eddie Murphy on how comedy has changed

"I haven't gotten any creepy weirdos yet, though people do ask me, 'What's your favorite way of dying?'"
- Hayden Panettiere, on her newfound fame on NBC's Heroes

"She said my performance was like a religious experience… She said, 'I'm so proud of you.'"
- Jennifer Hudson, on Oprah's response to seeing her performance in Dreamgirls

"I feel there's a nasty connotation when you say 'tell-all.' That is not what I plan to do. It's not about calling people out or telling negative stories about people. It's how I see things."
- Tori Spelling, on her forthcoming memoir

If only all pregnancies and births went as smoothly as those for Jayden James Federline.

This hasn't been the case for former Spice Girl Melanie Brown, however.

After a public break-up, the singer still insists ex-boyfriend Eddie Murphy is the father of the baby she's carrying and says she can't imagine why he would openly question the child's paternity.

"I am obviously upset and distressed at some of the comments made by Eddie Murphy to the media," Brown, who is in the second trimester of her pregnancy, said in the statement released Thursday. "I have no idea why anybody would want to conduct themselves in this kind of manner about such a personal matter in such a public way.

"My main concern is for the well being of my (seven-year-old) daughter Phoenix and of course the baby. I was astonished at what Eddie said â€" there is absolutely no question that Eddie is the father."

Brown only learned that her relationship with Murphy had ended when she landed in Los Angeles and received voicemails from friends telling her about the TV interview in which the comedian questioned the baby's father.

That seems almost as awkward as James Blunt being criticized by a puppet.

Meanwhile, that same night at the New York City premiere of his movie Dreamgirls, Murphy stepped out with his new girlfriend, Tracey Edmonds, a movie producer and the ex-wife of singer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.

"This was extraordinarily brazen what he did," a friend of Brown with a good vocabulary said. "If he had fallen in love with somebody else, that would have been pretty bad anyway, but to then wheel her out in public for a deliberate photo op, when Melanie's pregnant! That's a rat, frankly."

Ouch. A rat. Between that and the use of "slut" by Bette Midler in reference to Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears, we're at least glad people aren't holding back their feelings these days.

That was fast.

Eddie Murphy has wasted no time recovering from his recent break-up with Melanie Brown. As the comedian wonders about whether or not he's Brown's baby's daddy, he's enjoyed the company of another woman.

For about six weeks now, Murphy has been dating Tracey Edmonds, a film producer and the ex-wife of singer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.

The couple attended the New York premiere of Dreamgirls together on Monday, as Scary Spice (Brown) was nowhere to be found. Posh Spice also wasn't in the house - we assume she was looking ugly naked somewhere.

When asked if she was happy, Edmonds smiled and said:

"Yes, very happy. We're having fun."

That's something no audience member has uttered in about a decade after seeing an Eddie Murphy film. But at least those duds haven't forced the actor to pull a K-Fed and seek employment at a gas station.

We thought that Eddie Murphy and Scary Spice (aka Melanie Brown) were set to get married ... or at least bear a child together.

After revealing that he and the former Spice Girl have broken up, however, Murphy also seemed to question whether or not he actually was Brown's baby daddy. That's never good.

The Dreamgirls star was asked on a Dutch TV show this weekend if he was happy with the pregnant Melanie, to which he responded:

"You're being presumptuous because we're not together anymore. And I don't know whose child that is, until it comes out and has a blood test. You shouldn't jump to conclusions, sir."

Well ... alrighty then. A meeting between Peter Cook and Christie Brinkley sounds less awkward than this interview.

The couple started dating in June, just two months after the actor's divorce was finalized. Between the pair, Murphy and Brown have seven children. It remains to be seen, however, if they'll beat out Flavor Flav and conceive an eighth as a unit.

Stay tuned and find out!

The all-star cast of the upcoming movie, Dreamgirls, appeared on Oprah Winfrey yesterday.

Leading the way was Eddie Murphy, who said working on the film helped him deal with the painful end of his 12-year marriage because he could simply remain in character.

"I don't want to make it seem like I was Joe Actor," he said. "I was going through a big divorce then. ... It was really good because I had all that going on ... (but filming) would take me to a different place emotionally."

The Nutty Professor and Shrek star separated from his wife Nicole in 2005. Since about that time, Murphy has been dating singer Melanie Brown, aka Scary Spice of the Spice Girls.

The other stars of Dreamgirls also appeared on Oprah. Beyoncé Knowles, the film's lead, told Winfrey she lost 20 pounds for the role of Deena Jones (modeled loosely on Diana Ross) without being asked.

"I figured, in the '60s, Twiggy was the hot model, and Diana and Cher and all the legends were thinner than I am," she said. "So I decided I wanted to lose weight and make a physical transformation. And it was difficult because I love food. I love to eat. I did a fast â€" a master cleanse for 14 days. Everybody was eating Krispy Kremes around me. I was grouchy, but I did it, and I lost the weight."

Winfrey also welcomed former American Idol finalist Jennifer Hudson, who stars in the film as well. Hudson was criticized by Simon Cowell on the FOX show, but Cowell backtracked on Monday.

"I feel my criticism has probably had a significant part in your career, because the buzz on you is huge," Cowell told Hudson in a taped message. "I feel we had a very small part in what's happened in your life, and please thank me when you get your Oscar."

Evidently, a nude Victoria Beckham is an ugly sight. That sucks for the former Posh Spice.

But what about Scary Spice in the buff? You'll have to ask Eddie Murphy. In case there was any doubt the comedian has seen his singer girlfriend naked, it should now be erased:

TMZ has learned that former Melanie Brown is four months pregnant with Murphy's baby. The news comes amid rumors that the couple will marry next month.

Brown visited the hip Le Bra Lingerie boutique in West Hollywood on Saturday, gushing about her impending birth and purchasing more underwear than Lindsay Lohan goes through on a typical Saturday night.

Melanie picked up nearly $5,000 worth of Eres lingerie for herself and about $300 worth of La Perla men's undershirts and underwear for Eddie.

Melanie admitted the pregnancy had her feeling tired and was concerned she may be carrying twins because they run in Murphy's family. But at least she could bond over that with Kim Porter.

In April, Murphy's divorce from his ex-wife Nicole became final. The actor has five children with Nicole and another son from a previous relationship.

While Murphy's rep told TMZ ,"We do not comment on Mr. Murphy's personal life," the same doesn't hold true for The Gossip:

Way to go, Eddie! With seven kids, you're now one drunken tirade away from being the next Mel Gibson. We wish you the best of luck.

Every year, Eddie Murphy takes his five children - ages four through sixteen - to Hawaii. They relax at the actor's favorite $10,700-a-night suite at Maui's Four Seasons Hotel.

This time, however, two things were different:

1. Eddie wasn't sure if he could afford the bill; he hasn't exactly had a hit movie in years.
2. Singer Melanie Brown, aka Scary Spice of the Spice Girls, and her seven-year old daughter joined the trip.

During the weeklong trip in late August, the party of eight bonded while lounging poolside in private cabanas and dining out together at the island's branch of Spago.

Maybe next time Posh Spice and her husband, David Beckham, will also be invited.

Murphy divorced his wife of 12 years, Nicole Mitchell, in April. Hee met the British Brown, who split from dancer Jimmy Gulzar in 2000, at a party in June. Since then they have kept their relationship quiet, but it's no secret they're smitten.

Meanwhile, the actor's career may be taking flight again. He's earning Academy Award-like praise for his role in Dreamgirls, coming out this winter. And considering Ben Affleck just won an acting prize, you never know.