| Less is more when actresses dress for success. LOS ANGELES - When actress Kaley Cuoco got dressed for a recent ABC party, her frantic search through racks of designer duds brought home two of the most basic principles in the entertainment industry: Sex sells, and You are what you wear. Even a pert 16-year-old like Cuoco, with a figure that suggests she's never finished an entire cheeseburger, knows what a killer outfit can mean to her career. That's why Cuoco and many other television stars dress to turn heads - which isn't easy in Hollywood, where there's always a flatter stomach or tighter tush just outside the casting agent's door. But the pressure to look great can blend with the pleasure of, well, looking great. When Cuoco, who co-stars in the new comedy 8 Simple Rules . . ., arrives at the party in a skin-tight halter top and a skirt that sits somewhere in the mezzanine section of the thigh, she admits the attention that comes with wearing "something kinda revealing" is exhilarating. Still, outside their work worlds, some stars also see the never-ending fashion show as an audition that never ends. Managers, agents and publicists push them to be out and about, to wear this or that, to generate buzz. Style takes center stage, and many actors learn to use fashion to their advantage. As Tracee Ross, star of Girlfriends and daughter of Diana, put it at a gathering of UPN stars, "the last thing you want is to have an unflattering picture taken of you the tabloids can use against you." Those pictures are usually taken on Hollywood's ubiquitous red carpet, the carefully executed promenade that TV viewers usually see preceding awards shows. Actors know the value of those few minutes in front of the cameras. "It's part of the culture, it's part of the game," says ER's Maura Tierney, who is wearing jeans, sandals and a sheer top. "Because the business is about selling, it's about perception, and if you can sell the perception, you can do well just based on how you're perceived. Talent sometimes isn't in that equation. Unfortunately, young actors learn this all too quickly." Cuoco seems wise beyond her years. She asks, jokingly, "Who wants to be the Anna Kournikova of Hollywood?," referring to the tennis player known for her looks, not her tennis. "I know a lot of talented people not working," she says. "I know talented people who work. I want to be a part of that second group." Friday, August 9, 2002 rewind |