Alexa Ray Joel,23, a singer and the daughter of Billy Joel and Christie Brinkley, was hospitalized after taking pills at her apartment.

An official says that it’s unclear whether Alexa had attempted suicide. The official confirms a friend of Alexa’s frantically called 911 from her downtown Manhattan apartment around noon on Saturday and she had taken several pills.

The official didn’t know how many or what kind of pills were taken.

Alexa is hospitalized in stable condition and receiving treatment, Joel publicist Claire Mercuri said Saturday. She wouldn’t elaborate.

“We are currently assessing her needs,” she said.

“She is going to be fine,” Billy Joel told New York’s Newsday newspaper on Saturday night.

Fire Department records indicate that paramedics responded to the West Village building where Joel lives at 12:21 p.m. Saturday and transported one woman to St. Vincent’s Hospital. The fire department declined to identify the patient.

Joel, who was raised in Sag Harbor, a village on Long Island, attended New York University for a short time before dropping out to focus on her music career, according to her MySpace page.

The singer, songwriter and pianist self-released a short album in 2006 and debuted a new song, “Invisible,” this year about a failed relationship with the opening lyrics, “They say it doesn’t matter/This love is in my mind/We never got it right, anyway.”

In a MySpace blog post this summer, Joel described herself as “forgotten” and said she was finding it hard to meet a nice guy.

“Just Men. UGH!!! MEN!!!!” she wrote in August. “I’m so terrible at dating — I don’t know if I’ll ever get used to it! And I HATE the game-playing! Can’t stand it.”

Joel had performances scheduled in the city next week, including at the New York Stock Exchange tree lighting ceremony.

UPDATE: Following Alexa Ray Joel’s hospitalization Saturday, sources say that the singer may have been upset over a boyfriend.

“She took [an overdose of] over-the-counter medication,” confirms a source. “She was apparently distraught over an argument with her boyfriend. She took the pills and she called 911 herself.”

The singer, who had her mother Christie Brinkley by her side and spoke to her father Billy Joel on the phone during her hospital stay, has been released from the hospital, says a source.

 

Billy Joel, 60, and his third wife Katie Lee Joel, 27, are divorcing.

Here is their official statement:

“After nearly five years of marriage, Billy and Katie have decided to separate,” reps for the pair said in a joint statement. “This decision is the result of much thought and consideration. Billy and Katie remain caring friends, with admiration and respect for each other.”

Rumors have swirled for months that the marriage was on the rocks, with reports linking Lee, a 27-year-old chef and author, to Yigal Azrouel, a handsome 36-year-old Israeli-born fashion designer.

Sources reported seeing them dirty-dancing in Miami in January and have claimed that Azrouel referred to Lee as “my girlfriend.”

Reps for the Joels insisted that Azrouel is just a friend and that Billy, 60, was happy to skip the parties, fashion shows and fund-raisers that his younger wife enjoyed.

“Their decision to separate was absolutely unrelated to Yigal,” said Joel’s spokeswoman Claire Mercuri.

“It was really the age difference that caught up with them,” said a friend of the couple. “They grew apart. She is very career-oriented. She loves going out. She loves the city. When Billy isn’t touring, he’d rather be on Long Island with his motorcycles and boats.”

Various friends hinted at infidelity on both sides, though a longtime pal of Joel insisted “he’s always remained faithful to Katie. When he was touring with Elton John, he flew home almost every night.”

In recent weeks, Joel has been living on Long Island, where he owns mansions in Sag Harbor and Sagaponack. Lee is said to have stayed at the couple’s Greenwich Village townhouse, not far from Azrouel’s boutique.

Joel’s daughter with Christie Brinkley, Alexa Ray Joel, told The News she knew about the divorce.

“Of course. I was the first person he told,” said Alexa, who is just four years younger than Katie. “He’s doing very well. … I am going to help him and I am going to be there. It’s for the best.”

Lee, who grew up in West Virginia, met Joel at a New York party in 2003 and they married a year later. Alexa was maid of honor.

Joel’s nine-year marriage to model Brinkley ended in 1994. His nine-year marriage to Elizabeth Weber went bust in 1982.

For his latest marriage, he’s believed to have a prenuptial agreement to protect the millions his many hits have made him.

We like Gwyneth Paltrow. She seems like a classy lady, but it is getting increasingly difficult to defend her.

On her website GOOP, Paltrow writes what she deems as inspirational information about life, but many think she is coming off as a pretentious snob.

In a recent lifestyle newsletter Paltrow writes, “The summer before last, a mutual friend brought the lovely Katie Lee Joel and her husband William over for dinner. Much to my delight, she brought a fresh batch of these cookies with her. I adore the contrast of the dark chocolate and the cherries – heaven.”

The ‘William’ she’s referring to is of course Billy Joel. Besides his grandma, who calls Billy Joel ‘William’?

Paltrow’s formal tone is unnecessary and we are starting to understand why people are becoming more and more disenchanted with her.