Red-carpet reporter royalty

Catt Sadler. Photo / Supplied

Catt Sadler's got the goss on Hollywood.

The former host of E! Channel's celeb-goss show, The Daily 10, now an E! News reporter and celebrity correspondent, has had tete-a-tetes with scores of the stars we see sunbathing in the gossip rags.

"Johnny Depp is my absolute favourite. Always very kind, gracious, warm and just so talented. Easy on the eye, too," Sadler says.

Other faves are fellow 30-something mum and actress, Kate Beckinsale, Meryl Streep, "one of our great actors of all time", Russell Crowe, and the original pretty woman.

"Julia Roberts is always a good time: so funky and fun, vivacious and fantastic." And on Angelina Jolie: "I do like her because she's actually got a lot going on upstairs.

"I like Nicole [Richie] because she's such an original person. She doesn't take this town too seriously. Once when I was interviewing her, she'd heard that I love to sing and made me do it on camera. She's a ball of fire."

I presume the woman the Los Angeles Times has named as one of the Top 10 broadcasters of a generation no longer gets starstruck. But I'm wrong.

"I absolutely do get nervous ... there are 20 people in the room: photographers, studio people, agents, managers ...'' They make her more nervous than the celebs do.

The red carpet can be daunting, too. "You've got all of your bosses and the entire network watching every single thing that comes out of your mouth, so it can be overwhelming."

But the frontwoman of various E! red-carpet specials gets to frock up in designer dresses to cover the Oscars, the Golden Globes, the Emmys.

"I live for those days, I really do, because there's the live element, your adrenaline's pumping, everyone's excited and you feel that energy. And the industry's most talented are coming out on the carpet.

"The fashion is to die for, usually. I grew up looking through those magazines, watching TV ... now I'm up close and personal with my eyeballs in the front row. I see George Clooney, I'm walking on the red carpet and going live to 150 countries. I could pinch myself."

The 35-year-old does feel pressure to preserve her good looks and hits the gym regularly. But she says she has a healthy approach, "and my children ground me".

The initials of sons Austin, 9, and Arion, 5, are tattooed on her forearm. And yes, juggling motherhood and career is tricky.

"I'm very lucky because, although I'm divorced, my kids' father is very much involved in their lives and very close to us. Without great support from him I probably would go insane."

The Midwestern girl sang in a band, did theatre, and appeared in a film at age 11 before deciding in her teens on entertainment journalism as a career.

"This industry's got amazing perks but it was a long road to get here."

First came a degree, then a detour through hard news. Her investigative TV journalism won an Emmy.

For now, she's very happy at E! "We don't take what we do overly seriously; we're able to have fun," she says.

"We're making TV as an escape for people."

*E! channel (digital 11) will have red-carpet coverage of the Academy Awards on February 28. E! News screens weeknights at 7.30.

-Herald On Sunday / View