Carmen Electra
Carmen Electra's been a "Baywatch" babe, a Prince protégé and Jenny McCarthy's replacement on MTV's "Singled Out." Now, after a tumultuous stint as Dennis Rodman's on-again, off-again wife, the Cincinnati-born bomb-shell is, at age 28, channeling the drama into her work, turning up on the big screen in the horror parody Scary Movie.
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DENNIS HENSLEY: In Scary Movie, you have the opening phone scene à la Drew Barrymore in Scream. Was there anyone on the other end of the phone?
CARMEN ELECTRA: Yes, Keenen Ivory Wayans, the director. It was hard not to laugh.
Q: Don't tell me, you end up in a teddy and then you get killed.
A: You're close. I'm running and the killer rips off my sweater and skirt, and I end up in a bra and panties. Then the sprinklers come on, and I start working the camera.
Q: You just shot a pilot called "Electra's Guy." Did you make sure your name is in the title so that they can't replace you?
A: Exactly! [Laughs] It's about a "woman" who's been programmed to do pretty much anything, like a Fembot. I get to fly jets and say stuff like, "This is a J52-K6 with dual tuber-opticals!"
Q: Speaking of dual tuber-opticals, how old were you when you started to appreciate your body?
A: About 14. Before that I was studying ballet and my teachers were yelling at me and I would think, "OK, I can't eat as much." Then, all the boys started to notice, and it was like, "This is all right! I'm not complaining anymore."
Q: Has anyone ever tried to get you on the casting couch?
A: No. They probably know I'd kick their ass.
Q: You did a year on "Baywatch." How many red swimsuits did you have?
A: I didn't even get my own suit until two weeks before the end of the season. Before then, they'd bring in a rack with a Pamela Anderson Lee suit, a Yasmine Bleeth suit, a Gena Lee Nolin suit, and I'd try on everybody else's suit. Yasmine's fit best.
Q: The year before last, you and Dennis Rodman got hitched in Vegas. Are you still together?
A: Romantically no, but we're friends. He needs me as a friend and I'm not gonna turn my back on him.
Q: Was it weird to be in that media whirlwind?
A: Yeah. I mean, we did what any two people in love would do -- we went to Vegas and got married. Nobody was drunk. Nobody was forced. We'd been talking about it for months.
Q: Since this is our "Love Issue," what kind of guy could you fall in love with now?
A: I think it's changed. Now I'm attracted to a man who has boundaries. I'd like someone who can stand back and say no. That is sexy.
Q: You and Dennis got arrested in Miami for creating a disturbance in a hotel. What happened?
A: We had an argument. It was no big deal.
Q: What I want to know is how your mug shot turned out.
A: I was really pleased. I had calls from friends and even my manager saying it was the best photograph I'd ever had taken. I was thinking about using it for my new headshot.
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Dennis Hensley