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Show BIZARRO 'Ugly Betty' star seeks more than fame from TV CLOSE TO HOME Lynn Elber THE America ASSOCIATED PRESS Ferrera hesitates at of the studio inside. The cafe but dark. She retreats instead to a patio table in the bright afternoon sunshine. Of course. Why should a young actress basking in the glow of freshman TV hit "Ugly Betty" settle for the shadows? This is her moment and Ferrera, who turned a mere 23 last month, is making the most of it. "What's happened with the show is everything that we hoped for," she said. "It's insane. I can't explain it. I don't know what kind of special stars or elements have to align for something to get everything it de- serves." The same could be said for the talented Ferrera. Since her eyecatching film debut in "Real Women Have Curves" in 2002, she's moved TV star, swiftly to novice movie producer and, as fans tells her, a role model for girls and is invitingly cool, After eight months of lugging heavy backpacks around, Mr. Cranwell's students felt brave enough to tell him to stuff his huge homework assignments. WHBM r I ll PI WHEN HE'S IN IHe CHRISTINE, WASH- - fill? A iUll you CAN STflV Bur.. I NEED tlI TO SOMEONE WK To! jT- - IT50K COMfORtABlE GOIN&WITH ANYONE weje rone BESIDES WTfl&i MV&H.P K2 THE award-winnin- i FOR TOD Ay. ka v ill, " . g Hispanics. Add in her spot on Time magazine's list of the world's 100 most influential people (she was one of artists and fewer than entertainers to make the cut) and her rise is more impressive. It's also reassuring, in this era of instant and empty fame as is Ferrera's reaction to it. In a recent interview, she thoughtfully discussed where she is, how she got there and where she wants to go from here. Her destination: far and reached by following her own path. Not so different, it turns out, than fictional Betty two-doze- n ai'nm now wiit A Suarez. (For Ferrera's transformation to Betty, extensive makeup and cos- - neoruNlBEAMKOI sotta trtto U?J . iu Wwce amino course tube pitches... Fiosr ifim6ka A I TEAuSlE! THE COMPANY'S KEY METRICS FROM 1 MY EXECUTIVE f LITTLE ON THE MV I I JV J ! C AND THEN BASELINE-1- ' f UH-O- H. & I NEED TO BETTER JOB OF k 2 lAKPIltki rINb Vrr "T"l liL. irJ ,, J ( 00 - S J I i S ALLOW ME TO SET THE STAGE FOR YOUR NEXT ASSIGNMENT BY REMINDING YOU THAT STOCKHOLDERS HAVE NEVER DONE ANYTHING FOR YOU. ii tuming are required to obscure her delicately pretty features and petite but curvy figure. Whether behind faux eyeglasses or free of them, her eyes are a dominant feature, her gaze expressive and direct.) Although Ferrera can still gush, charmingly, like a teenager, she's already learned to face choices that would test a less determined, less secure actor of any age. "I am incredibly, incredibly fortunate about the opportunities I've had. But at the same time, I've had plenty of opportunities to screw it up, too," she said. "Sometimes the most powerful thing you can say is 'No' ... and not feel the need to do everything. It's about doing what rings true to me." "Real Women Have Curves," in which she played a Mexican-America- n teenager balancing family tradition with her dreams of education, GUS RUELAS Associated Press Actress America Ferrera, star of the hit NBC television show "Ugly Betty "on March 12 in Los Angeles. helped set the standard. "Early in my career I was really spoiled with a beautiful project. I got such a good start that I thought, 'Why would I ever take a step back? Why would I take on someto thing that wasn't meaningful and powerful me, if nobody else and groundbreaking?" She found such a project in ABC's "Ugly Betty." Based on a Colombian telenovela that has been successfully adapted worldwide, the comedy-dram- a centers on a dowdy young Latina with a blazing spirit who intends to make her mark on the world. The only time she appears guarded is when asked about rumors that she's engaged to beau Ryan Piers Williams. ("I'm not. Totally made up," she says.) Whatever her personal future holds, her professional one seems boundless after winning a Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award for "Ugly Betty." The season finale of "Ugly Betty," which includes a twist in the relationship between Betty and Henry and takes a musical turn, airs at 8 p.m. EDT Thursday. |