Surprise! She's a Bombshell (and You Can be One Too)

GLAMOUR: You're obviously driven: What was your upbringing like?

AF: It was definitely a struggle—there was never enough money—but we were all very close. My very first encounter with acting happened when I was seven: My sisters were auditioning for the junior high school play and I begged them to take me with them; they were like, "You're too young, you can't be in the play." But the director thought I was cute and cast me.

GLAMOUR: Did you work in high school?

AF: Yes. I had a job at Calamigos Ranch in Malibu, a place where they held huge company picnics. My job was to blow up balloon arches. My best friend and I had acrylic nails and refused to take them off, so we learned how to tie balloons with them—we popped about a million!

GLAMOUR: Do you still pinch pennies out of habit?

AF: My first big, extravagant purchase was a convertible BMW. It was my dream car, but a month after I bought it I was biting my nails, waiting for my tax refund to arrive. Eventually I thought, What's the point? I just need something to get me from A to B. So I traded in my BMW for a Toyota. But I'll spend any amount of money on tickets to a show I want to see. This weekend I'm going to New York City with my boyfriend to see Patti LuPone in Gypsy, my favorite musical ever!

GLAMOUR: How do you feel about being the newest spokeswoman for curvy figures in Hollywood?

AF: I don't hate it. I feel like I'm a regular - size person—I'm a size 6 or 8, which is totally normal. Sometimes I worry more about losing weight than gaining weight, because this is how people know and accept me. I do feel like if I wanted to get in better shape, there might be a backlash of, Why isn't she comfortable with herself anymore? So I try to figure out what my own goals are.

GLAMOUR: Did you ever go through a Betty-like awkward stage?

AF: I never wore braces, but I did wear retainers. I was not subtle about it at all. I would sit down to lunch, take them out and put them on a napkin right next to me. But the most awkward stage I went through has to be my freshman year of college: I had really frizzy hair, that extra freshman 15 from eating disgusting grilled cheese sandwiches every day in the cafeteria and bushy eyebrows. I hadn't yet discovered the wonders of waxing!

GLAMOUR: Do you have any leftover body insecurities?

AF: Totally. I never liked my legs and I can't remember the last time I wore a bathing suit in public. I might put one on if I were to go away somewhere, like to the Bahamas, because I would think, I'll never see these people again. And God forbid if a picture of me in a bathing suit appears in a magazine! But I know that having the perfect body doesn't fix all your problems, or make you love yourself more. To me, it's all about being comfortable in your own skin.

GLAMOUR: You've been dating Ryan Piers Williams since college. Is being famous hard on a relationship?

AF: Yes, because relationships take time and energy, and your job kind of sucks that all out of you. It takes an extra effort to stay present in a relationship when you are working those kind of hours.

GLAMOUR: You seem to be working nonstop—do you have time for a life?

AF: It's hard: During the first season of Ugly Betty I worked 17 hours a day, five days a week. On top of work, I did press every weekend. And I used my summer break to do a movie. But I hope to be acting until I'm playing the role of Grandma, and I'd like to branch out in film—producing, directing, all of it. I'll sleep when no one wants to hire me!