Hollywood Exclusive by Marilyn Beck & Stacy Jenel Smith

Carrie Ann Inaba may have her share of stresses being a judge on the popular ABC show "Dancing With the Stars," but she tells us she's found peace at home.

"I've got a good, balanced home life now. I'm in a good relationship and he's got a daughter so that's taking more time in my life as well, but in a good way. He's not at all involved in the dancing world and I have to say it's really refreshing," says Inaba, who went public regarding her accountant beau, Jesse, last spring — and who previously dated "So You Think You Can Dance" contestant Artem Chigvintsev.

"In the past when I dated people who are in the industry, they would be like, 'That's a problem? But that's exciting!' I'm like, 'Yeah, but it's still a job.' With this relationship, he's so understanding and it's nice to talk about stuff that's not just in the dance world. I couldn't be happier, I have to say."

Inaba says she certainly can't complain about work, though, as she's looking forward to the show's highly anticipated semi-finals next week. "If you had asked me at the beginning of this season, I would have been very surprised that Kelly (Osbourne) and Joanna (Krupa) are still here. Usually, models don't do well on our show. I think Derek (Hough) has done an exceptionally good job training her and doing great choreography to accentuate what she does well and hides some of her flaws. Louis (van Amstel) has also proven how amazing he is as a teacher. What he was able to do with Kelly Osbourne has been amazing. From here on out, it's going to be anybody's game. I thought Mya had a big breakthrough. She decided to give it her all and not just be good. There was something very different in her performance the other night. Donny Osmond is just a pleasure to watch. It's like going to Vegas and seeing his show. He's wonderful."

Inaba's putting her energy into Dizzy Feet, the charitable organization she co-founded this year along with Nigel Lythgoe, Katie Holmes and Adam Shankman, to help underprivileged young dancers and support dance education. "It's so exciting. We're doing a huge gala on Nov. 29. We're putting on this huge performance at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood and we're selling tickets on Ticketmaster," enthuses Inaba. "It's our first big event and we're having the best time putting it together. We've been getting such a great response from the whole dance community."

KID TO KID: Ralph Macchio confesses to feeling a little weird about the fact "The Karate Kid" is being remade with 11-year-old Jaden Smith in the role that made him an international teen sensation back in the '80s. However, he's quick to tell us that producer/papa of the star "Will Smith did call me and say, 'We're messin' with your baby'" — and made him feel in the loop.

"It was very considerate of him. You're not going to meet a more genuine guy at that power level in Hollywood. It's going to be interesting to see how they re-imagine it. It's such a classic fish-out-of-water story, and still relevant today. "

Macchio, who made three "Karate Kid" movies, still finds that the identification follows him "wherever I go. There's a certain proud privilege in that. It's interesting that they're remaking a movie that's still pretty present. My first thought was, 'My God — they're remaking my movies already, wow.'"

Macchio has his own new business to focus on, though, playing good guy Archie Rodriguez, the politician boyfriend of Hilda Suarez (Ana Ortiz) on "Ugly Betty." But are things getting ugly for Archie? Tonight's (11/13) episode introduces Adam Rodriguez as Hilda's bad-boy former flame, and it looks like a triangle in the making.

"Their relationship is being tested this season," affirms Macchio, who's enjoying his stint on the show. "It's a fun little resurgence. I'm having a good time with it."

THE BAD KIND OF TRAVEL BUG: It's been a big year on cable for South African actress Embeth Davidtz, with roles on "Mad Men" (as London transplant Rebecca Pryce) and on "Californication" (as lascivious academic Felicia Koons). All the more impressive is the fact the beauty balances work with mothering her 7-year-old daughter and a 3-year-old son — and that in between productions, she and her offspring went through a memorably awful tangle with H1N1 flu.

"We did a night shoot my last night of shooting 'Mad Men,' and then the next day, I loaded up the kids on a plane to England," she recalls. "They have a lot of indoor playgrounds there, and I think it was in one of those that we picked it up. Swine flu was all over the news there." She says that the illness struck as they were continuing on their journey from the U.K. to her parents' farm, two hours' outside Johannesburg. "Bloody hell, traveling with a 3-year-old? It was ghastly. I was on my own. My husband, who is American, wasn't with me. ... A 103 degree temperature at my age is something I wasn't prepared to deal with."

They regained their health at the farm. "It's incredible for the children. They run wild, barefoot, swim in the rivers. They were able to play even when I was still sick. It was a heck of a long trip, though." Indeed.

HAVE YOUR TACKY SAY: Don't forget, it's time to vote for the Tackiest Celebrity of the Year for Beck/Smith Hollywood's annual Tacky Taste Awards. At the moment, Kanye West and Jon Gosselin are leading. Carrie Prejean is coming on strong. Share your views on this hotly contested designation — at BeckSmithHollywood.com under Tacky Taste 2009; by e-mail (BeckSmithTacky09@cs.com); or USPS c/o Creators Syndicate, 5777 W. Century Blvd., St. 700, L.A., CA 90045. Get it off your chest. It will make you feel better.

With reports by Emily-Fortune Feimster

To find out more about Marilyn Beck and Stacy Jenel Smith and read their past columns, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

COPYRIGHT 2009 MARILYN BECK AND STACY JENEL SMITH

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