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Grown and gorgeous

Men's Fitness, Nov, 2007 by Nate Millado

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Older, wiser, and hot as ever, Rachael Leigh Cook, 28, proves she's still all that. Eight years after her breakout role as geek-turned-chic Laney Boggs, the former teen queen plays "grown-up" as a lawyer in the baseball movie The Final Season. The petite, pixieish actress talks Rudy, Rocky, and what it takes to get up to bat with a girl like her.

MF: You've played everything from the girl next door [She's All That] to a sex kitten [Josie and the Pussycats]. What's the real Rachael like?

RLC: Everyone's a little bit Mary Ann and Ginger. I'm definitely more of the former.

Did you choose to do The Final Season for love of the game?

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Actually, I don't watch baseball all that much. But I've always been invested in sports movies, ever since I watched Hoosiers with my dad. It's that triumph of the human spirit. And the montages! I love the montages.

Plus you got to act alongside "Rudy" (Sean Astin)--which is arguably one of the all-time greatest sports films.

Tell me about it! I had a moment when I met him. Sean is Rudy. He's all heart. I also got to work with "Rocky" before--I did Get Carter with Sylvester Stallone. That was a thrill, too.

Sadly, you're off the market. But how can a guy get with a girl like you?

I'm a bad example, because I met my husband [actor Daniel Gillies] at a bar. A lot of people would advise against that. Otherwise, the best tip I've got--and I'm being serious--is to volunteer somewhere. You're hot only giving back, but you get to meet a million really cool, fun-loving girls who volunteer, too.

Between the DUIs and the rehab, young Hollywood's been getting a lot of flak lately. How do you set yourself apart from all the Lindsays and Parises out there?

Well, the sad truth is, I'm never invited to any of those crazy parties. [Laughs] I think you really have to go looking for that sort of thing. My advice for all those girls is to just pace yourself. Or, I don't know, hire a personal driver--you can afford it.

Just like your character in She's All That, you've undergone several makeovers.

That's a very girl thing to do. When girls feel out of control of their lives, they change their hair. I've been blond for about six months now.

Well, you look great. How de you stay fit?

I finally listened to everyone and took up yoga. I feel better, and it gives me a better body image.

And more guys are doing yoga. So if the whole volunteering thing doesn't work out, maybe they can take "ohm" a girl from class.

[Laughs] There you go!

FOUR THINGS YOU DON'T KNOW ABOUT RACHAEL LEIGH COOK

1. SHE'S A PRODIGY The versatile child actress was cast to play younger versions of roles played by stars like Angelina Jolie. She began modeling in the second grade and appeared as the face on Milk-Bone dog biscuit boxes, a gig that's haunted her for years. "Oh, God, they just took them off shelves a couple of years ago," she's said. "I'd be trying to have a serious conversation with my accountant or somebody and they'd go, 'OK, so I was cruising the pet-food aisle yesterday ...'"

2. SHE'S TONE-DEAF "I've played singers in movies, but I can't sing--at all," she confesses. "When I went in to record for Jesie, [music producer] Babyface told me, 'Don't worry--if you can halfway carry a tune, we can make it sound like something.' A day after recording, I got a call and they said, 'That's net gonna work. We can't help you, even with all the technology in the world.'"

3. BUT SHE STILL HAS A GREAT VOICE For video games, that is. Cook is heard, but not seen, in hit RPGs like Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy.

4. SHE KNOWS HER WAY AROUND THE KITCHEN Yep, that's Cook in the infamous 1998 anti-drugs commercial, in which she smashes an egg (and everything in sight) with a skillet to demonstrate the effects of heroin on your brain.

Grown and gorgeous

Men's Fitness, Nov, 2007 by Nate Millado

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