Foo Fighters, Nara Smith: CT’s celebrity gossip, sightings, April 2026

April tipped off with celebrities, including Bill Murray and Shaq, being spotted on the sidelines as the Huskies played ball in the NCAA tournament. Meanwhile, Connecticut-based TikTok influencer and model Nara Smith announced her upcoming cookbook. 

Here is Connecticut’s celebrity news and gossip in April: 

The stars were out for the UConn men’s basketball team’s Final Four matchup against Illinois at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana. Legendary comedian and actor Bill Murray was at the game, as he had been at previous tournament games to support his son Luke Murray, who was then on the UConn coaching staff. 

Plenty of former UConn National Champions were in the stands to watch the current generation at work, including Ryan Boatright, Emeka Okafor and Shabazz Napier. Samson Johnson, a two-time NCAA champion in 2023 and 2024, was seen in a photo with a handful of former UConn players, including James Bouknight, Charlie Villanueva (2004 NCAA champion) and Rip Hamilton (1999 NCAA champion), among others. 

During the NCAA title game, Murray returned to support the Huskies. NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal was also seen at the game.  – Will Aldam and Nathaniel Rosenberg

The history between the Foo Fighters and the state of Connecticut is a lengthy one.

From an intimate club gig in New Haven that will live on in the annals of the state’s music history to performing during the inaugural season of a new music venue, the Foo Fighters and the Nutmeg State will forever be intertwined.

In April, a new chapter was added to that history book when the band kicked off its “Take Cover” tour at the Total Mortgage Arena. Initially advertised as a “special one-off show,” the Connecticut show precedes the Foo Fighters’ upcoming U.S. stadium tour and headlining dates in Europe. 

The Stamford Little League had a special guest throw out the ceremonial first pitch at Opening Day in April. After Stamford Mayor Caroline Simmons feigned a shoulder injury and couldn’t throw out the ceremonial first pitch, Hall of Fame closer Mariano Rivera made his way to the mound. – Kevin Roberts

Former Riverside resident, TV personality and author Kathie Lee Gifford was seen at Tony’s at the J House on Easter weekend. – Susie Costaregni

Katonah, N.Y. resident and media mogul Martha Stewart was seen having dinner with a friend at Luc’s Café in Ridgefield in April. Stewart opened her second restaurant, The Bedford by Martha Stewart, at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket in March.  – Susie Costaregni

Craig Melvin accidentally dropped major news about Jenna Bush Hager during the April 8 “Today” show.

The Westport resident revealed while discussing the upcoming sequel to “The Devil Wears Prada” that Hager, who also lives in Fairfield County, will make an appearance in “The Devil Wears Prada 2.”

“You know how that movie’s going to be good?” Melvin asked during the “Today” broadcast on Wednesday. “You know how I can tell? JBH is in it!” – Jayden Nguyen

Stewie the Duck Swim School got a “very special visitor” in April, according to a Facebook post from the school.

The Norwalk-based swim school earned a visit from Olympian Rowdy Gaines, who posed for pictures with students of the school and Stew Leonard Jr.

This is not Gaines’ first visit to the school owned by the Leonards. The three-time Olympic gold medalist joined the family during the pool’s grand opening in 2023, and Gaines’ organization Step Into Swim helped provide $400,000 worth of grants to local organizations to provide 40,000 free swim lessons across Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. – Jayden Nguyen

The latest work from the creator of the Broadway hit “Hamilton” focuses on a more modern topic than the American Revolution.  

American composer, lyricist, actor and director Lin-Manuel Miranda posted a rehearsal sign-in sheet on his Instagram page on April 14, which revealed the cast members of “Octet,” the latest film he is directing. Among the cast are Amanda Seyfried, Rachel Zegler, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Phillipa Soo, Gaten Matarazzo, Jonathan Groff, Tramell Tillman and Paul-Jordan Jansen. The film is an adaptation of Dave Malloy’s 2019 musical by the same name and follows the story of eight people in a support group for those struggling with digital dependency. The group meets in a church basement where they lock their phones away in a box. 

Several members of the cast and crew have ties to the Nutmeg State. Ralph was born in Waterbury and attended Driggs Elementary School and Notre Dame Academy in Waterbury before moving to New York. Matarazzo, who is also known for “Stranger Things,” was born at New London’s Lawrence + Memorial Hospital in 2002 and lived in Mystic for only two months of his life before moving to New Jersey. Miranda graduated from Wesleyan University in Middletown with a degree in theater. – Joseph Tucci

A star from Netflix’s hit show “Love on the Spectrum” made a special visit to Connecticut in April with stops around Fairfield County.

Tanner Smith, who appeared on seasons two and three of the show, posted a video to his social media channels detailing his recent trip to Connecticut as part of his autism acceptance collaboration with Vineyard Vines. This year marks the third year of the partnership, which features specialty clothing sold by the Stamford-based company. Proceeds from the collection have benefited ClemsonLIFE, a program offered through Clemson University that “offers a collegiate experience that prepares young men and women with intellectual disabilities for competitive employment and independent living through a combination of academic coursework and career exploration,” according to the Clemson website.

During his most recent visit to Connecticut, Smith visited Sweet P Bakery in Norwalk, a nonprofit bakery that offers training and employment for people with disabilities. – Andrew DaRosa

Hilary Knight provided one of the most crucial deflections in American sports history at the Winter Olympic Games two months ago, as her redirected goal sent the women’s hockey gold medal game into overtime. 

This last-minute equalizer allowed Team USA to secure a golden-goal victory minutes later, clinching the United States’ 2-1 win over Canada and just a second gold medal since 2000. A graduate of Choate Rosemary Hall in Connecticut, Knight has earned a spot on TIME magazine’s list of the 100 Most Influential People in 2026.  – Declan Walsh

Simsbury native Rachel Sennott is joining some major Hollywood names for an upcoming film centered around a criminal cockroach. 

Sennott has a “key supporting role” in the upcoming film “Kockroach,” Deadline reported in April. The film is about a cockroach that wakes up in a human body in Times Square during the 1950s and “claws his way up through crime, business and politics,” according to Production List. It is based on a 2007 novel of the same name. 

Sennott will join other notable cast members, including Zazie Beetz, Alec Baldwin, Chris Hemsworth and Taron Egerton, Deadline reported. Their roles have not been publicly identified yet and the movie has yet to receive an official release date. – Joseph Tucci

A Connecticut actor is helping bring to life a shrewd merchant and her fox friend in the newest season of a popular anime. 

The Japanese-language premiere and English dub of “Re:ZERO -Starting Life in Another World” season 4 debuted on Crunchyroll earlier this April. The series is centered on a high school student who is transported to another world, where every time he dies, he is sent back in time to a “save point” in the new world, giving him a chance to change the outcome, according to Crunchyroll. 

In the English dub, Connecticut native Cassandra Lee Morris voices Anastasia Hoshin, who Crunchyroll describes as a “shrewd businesswoman and negotiator with little patience for conversation she cannot benefit from.” Morris also voices Foxidna, Anastasia’s fox-like spirit companion. – Joseph Tucci

Connecticut-based TikTok influencer and model Nara Smith is cooking up something new to share with her audience.

Smith, 24, announced April 20 that she will release her first-ever cookbook, “Homemade,” this fall. 

“You guys have been craving this, so I finally decided to make it from scratch,” Smith said in a TikTok posted Monday. “For the past two years I’ve tested everything over and over again, making sure that every minuscule detail is just right.”

The cookbook will feature 80 “homemade family-friendly recipes,” according to publisher HarperCollins. Smith said in her TikTok video that the cookbook is a collection of recipes that she grew up eating in Germany, things she’s cooked for her husband, Lucky Blue Smith, and recipes that fans have been asking for on TikTok. – Jayden Nguyen

Jackson Olson made a homecoming trip of sorts in April, heading 60 miles south of his native New Milford, Conn., to Yankee Stadium for a two-game series with the Savannah Bananas. 

And he came with high-profile relationship news fit for the Big Apple. The burgeoning “Banana Ball” and social media star announced his relationship on April 21 with Maggie Sajak, the daughter of longtime “Wheel of Fortune” host Pat Sajak. – Declan Walsh

Former UConn women’s basketball star Sue Bird is seeing her legacy in the sport celebrated worldwide, as she was inducted into the FIBA Hall of Fame in April, the governing body for international basketball. FIBA stands for the Federation Internationale de Basketball, a French name meaning the International Basketball Federation.

While Bird built a legendary career stateside with the Huskies and the Seattle Storm, she also emerged as a consummate winner in EuroLeague competition and at the Olympic Games, while currently enjoying a leading role within international basketball post-retirement. She was among a class of eight inductees into the Hall of Fame on April 21 in Berlin, which included NBA icon and German international Dirk Nowitzki.

She was introduced by Geno Auriemma, a 2022 FIBA Hall of Fame inductee. – Declan Walsh

The 21st annual United Way Sole Sisters Luncheon took place on Tuesday, April 28, at Greenwich Country Club, celebrating board member Grace Lockhart Djuranovic as the next Lifetime Sole Sister. The event offered patrons a Fashion & Accessories Boutique, followed by a luncheon and discussion with Greenwich resident Jenna Bush Hager, co-host of “TODAY with Jenna & Sheinelle,” and Juliet Faithfull, author of “Liar’s Dice.” – – Susie Costaregni