Wedding bells sounded for a number of celebrities in 2002, although not all of them lasted the year.

Oscar-winning actress Julia Roberts tied the knot with cameraman Daniel Moder.

Following a string of relationships with fellow actors, including Kiefer Sutherland and Liam Neeson, a failed marriage to country singer Lyle Lovett, Roberts' love life looks to finally be sorted.

Liz Hurley was rarely out of the limelight

But she did run into criticism after it was revealed Moder was still married to his make-up artist wife when they got together.

Singer and actress Jennifer Lopez is another star whose romantic life has had its ups and downs this year.

Just nine months after marrying dancer Cris Judd the couple split up, and J-Lo has announced she is engaged to Hollywood heart-throb Ben Affleck.

'Mistake'

This will be Lopez's third marriage in five years, with a relationship with Puff Daddy in between, but she has assured fans this time it is for keeps.

Actor Nicolas Cage and Elvis' daughter Lisa Marie Presley proved to be another disasterous union.

The pair married in August in Hawaii but just 107 days later they separated, with Presley saying it had been a "mistake" to go through with the ceremony.

She had previously been married - to pop superstar Michael Jackson, a union which lasted less than 20 months, and musician Danny Keogh - while Cage had been up the aisle with actress Patricia Arquette.

Ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney married former model and charity campaigner Heather Mills in one of the worst kept secrets in showbiz.

The pair got spliced in the grounds of Castle Leslie in the small Irish village of Glaslough.

The couple made an impromptu appearance to say hello to the villagers but the rest of the ceremony, where guests included Ringo Starr and George Martin, was shrouded in mystery.

Sir Paul McCartney and Heather Mills tied the knot

Never one to be outdone in the extravagance stakes, Liza Minnelli married her partner David Gest with 15 bridesmaids, including Martine McCutcheon, and Michael Jackson gave her away,

Other notable weddings in 2002 include ex-Hear'Say singer Kym Marsh and Jack Ryder - better known as Jamie in EastEnders - and Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker to girlfriend Camille Bidault-Waddington in a quiet French village, without the glitz and glamour of a glossy magazine wedding.

War of words

The patter of tiny feet reverberated around the showbusiness world as a host of celebrities gave birth.

Texas lead singer Sharleen Spiteri, Atomic Kitten's Natasha Hamilton, and across the pond Sex in the City actress Sarah Jessica Parker all delivered their first offspring.

Model and actress Elizabeth Hurley's new born son Damian came into the world in April in the middle of a war of words between mother and father, Steve Bing.

Hollywood businessman Bing denied the baby was his before a paternity test proved otherwise.

Tony Blackburn emerged as King of the Jungle

He accused Hurley of deliberately falling pregnant and he was branded a rat for his treatment of her.

The bitterness between them led to a court hearing to allow him to pay �100,000 a year in to a trust fund for Damian until he is 18.

At least Hurley has close friends such as Sir Elton John and ex-boyfriend Hugh Grant to rely on for babysitting duties.

There was much speculation about the arrival of a sibling for Brooklyn Beckham, son of Victoria and David Beckham.

Adoption

Despite rumours it was to be a girl called Paris, the woman otherwise known as Posh Spice had a baby boy in September.

The baby was given the moniker Romeo - much to the dismay of just about everybody.

There was a new baby in the lives of odd couple actors Angelina Jolie and Billy Bob Thornton in the shape of an adopted Cambodian boy.

But there was no happy ending for the couple as they split soon afterwards, making it fifth time unlucky in the wedding stakes for Thornton.

There was another child on the scene for Michael Jackson, although where baby Prince Michael II came from nobody knew.

Winona Ryder's career could be on the up

The new sibling for Prince Michael and Paris Jackson came to the attention of the world after father Michael dangled him over the balcony of a hotel to show fans waiting below - much to the horror of the tabloids.

It was a particularly bad year for actress Winona Ryder who found herself back in the limelight as her private life was raked over in court.

The Hollywood star was caught on a security camera helping herself to thousands of dollars of designer gear from the top Beverly Hills store Saks Fifth Avenue.

A jury found her guilty of shoplifting charges and she was sentenced to 480 hours of community service as well as drug counselling.

Reality boost

But commentators have speculated her brush with the law may have the positive effect of reviving her flagging screen career.

It was a bad year for a number of television presenters. Angus Deayton was fired from Have I Got News for You following allegations about prostitutes and cocaine use; and John Leslie parted from ITV's This Morning because of allegations about his private life.

Michael Jackson's youngest was given a strange introduction to the world

Michael Barrymore's career also took a nosedive following the death of a partygoer in the pool of his Essex mansion.

Although there was no suggestion of any involvement in the death, stories circulating about his private life left his reputation in tatters.

But it was a good year for a bunch of minor celebrities who subjected themselves to the ritual humiliation of reality television.

DJ Tony Blackburn triumphed on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here while ex-Take That heart-throb Mark Owen emerged the winner of Celebrity Big Brother 2.

There was one exception, though. Fellow Celebrity Big Brother contestant Les Dennis poured out his heart about the state of his life throughout his stint in the house. Dennis had been humiliated two years before when wife Amanda Holden had an affair with actor Neil Morrissey.

Within weeks of the series finishing, his seven-year marriage to Holden collapsed at Christmas.

While Blackburn and Owen are enjoying a lift in their careers, Dennis will no doubt spend 2003 cursing the day he entered the reality TV spotlight.