What Makes Gloria Run?

London's Daily Telegraph offers a colorful profile of LA "celebutorney" Gloria Allred as both a tireless victims' rights advocate and a self-promoter who thrives on high-profile trials. She's squared off against Michael Jackson, Dodi Fayed, Charlie Sheen and OJ; she's recently been battling Eddie Murphy on behalf of ex-girlfriend (and baby mother) Mel B from the Spice Girls.

And there she was last month, introducing  a "secret witness"—a former bodyguard— into Britney Spears' child custody trial. In June she targeted Paris Hilton for receiving better prison medical care than a client of her own. Describing herself as 'Davida' fighting Goliath, she attributes her legal crusading to her own experiences as a single mother, rape victim, and survivor of a botched illegal abortion. Twice divorced, Allred says her work now leaves her no time for a relationship. (More Gloria Allred stories.)