Rachel Blanchard

The happy-go Lucky Cher from Clueless turns tables (and heads) as the creepy star of Carrie 2.

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Though she's spent the last three years spreading cheer as the eternally optimistic Cher on TV's Clueless, Rachel Blanchard can now be seen playing one of the evil teens who torment the outcast goth girl with telekinetic powers in The Rage: Carrie 2.

"It was fun being able to create this nasty character because I spend so much of my time during the year being really sweet and nice," says Blanchard. Well, fun to a point. "I had blood all over my trailer," she laments. "Plus, it's actually pretty disturbing playing this kind of character. We spent days being really cruel and sadistic and violent to Emily Bergl, who played the lead, and it just left me with a really strange feeling. I couldn't even look her in the eye afterward."

Playing evil in Carrie 2 may be a nice change of pace for Blanchard, but she's likely to stay inextricably identified with Cher and Clueless for a while. There are worse fates, especially since Clueless helped her land her beau of nearly two years--he works as a grip on the show. "I asked him out," she explains, "because if he asked me out and it made me uncomfortable, he could've lost his job, whereas I would never lose my job."

Blanchard's girl-next-door beauty and comedic finesse have served her well in Hollywood, but if the acting roles ever stop coming, she'll always have her first love to fall back on: hockey. "I played with a celebrity team once and Matthew Perry was my winger. I was the only girl, but they were cool because I could hold my own. This year, I got to go to a public practice and skate with the L.A. Kings, just because I was on Clueless." Hanging with the Kings is clearly one of the perks of having a TVQ--but is there a downside? "Getting recognized by the really loud receptionist at my gynecologist's office and having everyone turn around and look."

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Dennis Hensley