Calista Flockhart dreamed of being in Little House On The Prairie, but went on to have her own hit TV show instead.

� � Playing the mini-skirted Ally McBeal made Calista Flockhart a household name - which is something she's glad about because, before winning the role, people didn't know what to call her. "They'd address me as Calypso or something like that," she laughs. "But now complete strangers walk up and pronounce it correctly. I'm pretty shocked by it." Although she's now proud of her name, which means most beautiful in Greek, as a child she couldn't stand it.

Her parents Ronald, a processed foods manager, and Kay, a teacher, moved around a lot, so Calista was always the new girl in school and her classmates couldn't pronounce her name. "I was so embarrassed, I'd say I was called Sue or Carol." She's now a much-lusted-after star, but says she was a tomboy as a child. "I didn't like to bathe and it was a struggle to get me into the bathtub," she says. "I was grunge long before grunge."

She blossomed in high school, though, and was never short of a date or two. 'She was on the cheerleading squad and all guys like a cheerleader, right?' says former schoolpal Steve Landau. But although she had a few boyfriends, she wouldn't let them come between her and her goal of becoming an actress. Former sweetheart Brian Anderson says: "Even as a teenager she made it clear that her career was always going to be first and foremost. It was the most important thing in her life." She blossomed in high school, though, and was never short of a date or two. "She was on the cheerleading squad and all guys like a cheerleader, right?" says former schoolpal Steve Landau.

But although she had a few boyfriends, she wouldn't let them come between her and her goal of becoming an actress. Former sweetheart Brian Anderson says: "Even as a teenager she made it clear that her career was always going to be first and foremost. It was the most important thing in her life.' Prom date Jon Mercy agrees. 'Her ambition was unbelievable. Nothing was going to stop her." It wasn't just her dream of an acting career standing in the way oflove. Calista, now 34, wanted her boyfriends to be perfect, too. "I'd go on a date with somebody and want to be with someone else," she says. "I was never satisfied with what I had. I always wanted something more." Her strong desire to succeed was even present as a young child. She watched Little House On The Prairie every week and longed to be Nellie Oleson. She'd put on plays for her family, giving her friends bit parts. "I was always the lead," she says. "I was director, set designer. . . I was in control. The other kids were like: "She is so bossy. She's a diva already!"

Captions under the picture:

* A natural beauty, she could have her pick of men but chooses to share her Los Angeles home with her dog Webster.

* A dedicated - and emotional - cheerleader. "Whenever our team lost, I'd cry," Calista recalls.

* Never short of a date, Calista shocked her parents when, while at Rutgers University in New Jersey, she had a brief engagement to a man they'd never met.

* "Calista was always destined to become rich and famous," says her one-time prom date Jon Mercy.

- Lorroine Thurlow, NOW (uk) 1998