People

By Rebecca Winters Keegan

KIND COUTURIER

And the next Ralph Lauren is ... a nice gal from Texas? CHLOE DAO, 34, says she was "totally shocked" to be crowned "the next great American designer" by Bravo's fashion reality show Project Runway. Dao, who runs her own boutique in Houston and who wowed the judges with a line of soft, tailored evening wear, beat presumed favorite Daniel Vosovic and unofficial runway villain Santino Rice to win $100,000 for her line and a fashion spread in Elle. "I can't wait to go back in my garage and start cutting," says Dao, who has already heard from Bergdorf Goodman. As Runway host Heidi Klum would say, "Wunderbar!"

LOOK WHO'S FULL OF THE DEVIL AGAIN

FIRST LOOK

MIA FARROW'S career owes a lot to Satanism. Of course, we mean her breakout role in 1968's Rosemary's Baby, in which devil worshippers covet her unborn child. On June 6, Farrow revisits the thriller genre as Mrs. Baylock, the sinister nanny to Damien, played by SEAMUS DAVEY-FITZPATRICK, 8, in a remake of 1976's The Omen--also starring Julia Stiles and Liev Schreiber. "I'm not sure why everyone loves being scared," says Farrow. "But it worked for me--and Stephen King."

A DUGOUT BOOK-CLUB PICK

BARRY BONDS needs only seven more home runs to surpass Babe Ruth's career total of 714. But this season the San Francisco Giant will bat to some boos, since a new book detailing the surly slugger's alleged steroid abuse is scheduled to hit stores in time for opening day. In Game of Shadows, two San Francisco Chronicle reporters write that Bonds, 41, first tried performance-enhancing drugs in 1998 out of jealousy toward heavier hitters Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa. Bonds has denied knowingly using steroids, and his lawyer questions the book's credibility. But baseball commissioner Bud Selig says he will read it, and congressional investigators will too. "There's more to life than baseball," Bonds said at Spring training. Maybe he'll get a chance to explore the wider world quite soon.

Q&A CHUCK NORRIS

The action star and former Walker, Texas Ranger is now an online cult hero and founder of the World Combat League, a new fighting organization.

How does your professional fighting league work? It's six-person teams--five men, one woman. Each person fights a 3-min. round--3 minutes of full-throttle fighting. My mind was on a male league, but we got lots of e-mails from women who said, We want to fight! These women are tough. I wouldn't want to take them on.

So violent--like your movies. Why have my movies been so successful? People like action. But in my movies, violence is a last resort.

Does Hollywood take you seriously? No, but I didn't start acting expecting to be Laurence Olivier. I wanted to do films that were entertaining.

Walker obviously has to love Westerns. I grew up just with my mom raising me. John Wayne and Roy Rogers were sort of surrogate fathers to me. Westerns in those days were different. I haven't seen Brokeback Mountain. I'm not sure I will. I don't like way-out drama.

You're a rare show-biz Republican. If I found a Democrat I liked, I'd support him too. When President Bush was Governor of Texas, I felt he was a strong leader. And I felt he'd be a strong leader of the country. But I wouldn't want to be in his shoes for all the money in the world. A group in Texas tried to get me to run for Senator, but I've got more important things to do.

Like being an online cult hero. There are these weird but wildly popular sayings like "Chuck Norris can divide by zero." To say I'm surprised is an understatement. I take it as a compliment.

Do you even send e-mails? I told you, I'm from the Wild West. I write by hand.

With reporting by Jeff Chu