VANITIES

GINNIFER GOODWIN

AGE AND OCCUPATION: 25, actor PROVENANCE: Memphis, Tennessee. CHICK-FLICK ALERT: This month, Goodwin stars in Mona Lisa Smile—think Dead Parts Society with short pleated skirts—alongside Julia Roberts, Kirsten Dunst, Julia Stiles, and Maggie Gyllenhaal. "I never dreamt I was going to be with the caliber of actresses I was with, because if I was cast, I was sure that everyone else was going to be a complete unknown as well." WE THINK SHE CAN: "I was in The Little Engine That Could when I was five, but I started dancing when I was two. I can't believe that two yearolds are allowed to take dance classes—aren't you just learning how to walk?" TAKING THE PISS OUT OF THE AMERICAN: Goodwin studied at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, in London. "I found out when I got to RADA that in Elizabethan times a British accent sounded like a Tennessee accent. I never actually followed up on that as far as researching it goes, but they all said it." GINNIFER OH GINNY: Next up is the comedy Win a Date with Tad Hamilton which hits theaters this spring—with Goodwin taking o the role commonly known as "best friend of star" (in this case, Kate Bosworth) or, more affectionately, the "Joan Cusack role." KRISTA SMITH

FOR DETAILS, SEE CREDITS PAGE