Ray's Regina Lands Weitzman Oscars Shoes

RAY star Regina King will be a big winner on the red carpet at The Oscars on Sunday (27FEB05) - she has been picked to wear a special pair of STUART WEITZMAN shoes featuring Marilyn Monroe's vintage gems.

Weitzman had to pay a $1 million (GBP526,300) insurance policy to ship the priceless diamond earrings from a collector's home in Indiana to his workshop in Los Angeles - and they have to be shipped straight back after the ACADEMY AWARDS.

But, Weitzman will make a replica pair for King to have as a keepsake.

She says, "I don't actually get to keep the shoes but there will be plenty of photographs and I will get a replica pair."

King admits she was "ecstatic" when she learned she was to be the actress who would wear this year's (05) Weitzman Oscars shoes.

She adds, "His shoes have always fitted me perfectly and Stuart Weitzman and Marilyn Monroe - what can a girl say?"

Weitzman insists he made the right choice because King actually helped him design the priceless shoes.

He explains, "She told me what her favourite heel was and what shoes she prefers and then she picked BADGLEY MISHKA to dress her for the Oscars, so I worked with her and the stylists to make sure the shoe matched her outfit.

"We went through about 20 different pairs of shoes before we found the perfect design."