LUCKILY, ALL of the other poolside tables at the St. James's Club are unoccupied. Otherwise, a positive I.D. of Thorne-Smith would be a dicey affair. Dressed in jeans and a white T-shirt, she looks far too laid-back to be occupying the same body as Allison Parker, the uptight and insecure - albeit plucky-Midwest transplant currently clawing at the bottom rung of L.A.'s ad-biz ladder in Fox's fashion-soaked 90210 spin-off, Melrose Place. But then the waitress places an austere fruit plate in front of her-"bathing suit shot," she explains with a titter, referring to her upcoming photo shoot.
It's the kind of second-nature professionalism she has picked up working the illuminated side of the proscenium since kindergarten in her native Marin County. After getting her break in an open San Francisco casting call for Lucas (appearing as Charlie Sheen�s cheerleader girlfriend), Thorne-Smith became a teen-queen staple playing various coquettes and dudettes in Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Revenge of the Nerds H and Summer School; and L.A. Law fans may remember her as Harry Hamlin's aggressively "uncomplicated" Laker Girl.
But now that she's hit pay dirt as the reserved, nose-to-the-grindstone Allison, she admits that she's playing much closer to home.
Los Angeles: Has being identified with L.A.'s famous fashion strip had any-
Thorne-Smith: Impact on the way I dress? [Laughs.] Clearly not. But I'm not the fashion plate on the show.
So, how much do you and Allison overlap?
She seems almost anal in a lot of ways. If she wasn't living on Melrose Place, with these people constantly thrown together, she'd probably just sit alone and have a cat-you know, watch TV, read self-help books. Frighteningly like my life.
Is Allison ever going to get a boyfriend, or what?
Yeah, apparently there's one coming up. And she did have that little romance with Jake.
So, how did you feel about getting neighborly with the boy next door?
It was hard. I told the writers, "Show different sides of my character," and then they showed me a different side, and it was like "Ew, I don't know if she wants to do that." And they said, "Yes, she does - we wrote it."
Are you one of those driven stars who always knew what they wanted?
Well, at seven I was balancing the odds of making it as an actress. I didn't think I'd make it, so I decided to be a lawyer, because I thought it was theatrical. And then I found out that you had to study. So I decided on journalism, and I was packing for college when I got a movie offer. I decided to give it a shot.
Where did you live when you first moved to L.A.?
Culver City.
Guess you hadn't heard of Melrose yet.
Look, the first day I was here I was two blocks away from where I had to go, and I drove 45 minutes down Pico in the wrong direction. I called my agent sobbing from, like, Tijuana.
When did you finally feel that you were an Angelean?
I think it was when I figured out difference between the Valley and town. Now, if somebody calls me directions, I know where things are. I can finally drive around and know where I'm going.
If you had your druthers, would live in 90210 or on Melrose Place?
I'd live in Northern California - I really miss it. As for L.A., most of friends actually do live around Melrose. But I live in Westwood - the air is cleaner.
So now that you're a big star, what do you want?
First, a dog, then a house, then a tennis court.
