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AMERICA FERRERA

 , star of movies like The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Real Women Have Curves, stands out in the crowd of incredibly shrinking, size 0 Hollywood starlets, thanks to her healthy body. And because of her involvement with uniquely ME! The Girl Scout/Dove Self-Esteem Program, the subject of body image is hard to avoid, even though it's one of those issues that can be even harder to talk about.

But the 21-year-old has no problem being candid. "The difficulties in learning to be comfortable in your own skin -- these are the issues that have been very prevalent in my Career," she says. "But as a female, I know I have more than the visual I give."

It's true -- America is intelligent, funny, and clearly passionate about other things in life besides her jean size. So why do two of her most widely known roles -- Carmen in "Pants" and Ana in "Real Women" -- deal so heavily with weight issues?

"Image and body image are so prevalent in our society; to make a movie about teenage girls without those concerns wouldn't be real," America explains. "I don't know how to relate to somebody who doesn't have insecurities, and I don't just mean physical ones."

Even so, ridding herself of insecurities helped America balance acting with the pursuit of a degree in international relations at the University of Southern California (Los Angeles). "I found I had to start weeding things out," she says, "and I don't have time for self-doubt."

America's aim in being a spokesperson for uniquely ME! is to help other girls rid themselves of that self-doubt, too. "A big part of our society has to do with how girls are taught to view other girls," she says. "The sooner all of us realize we can create the best scenario by being supporters, we can get a lot more done in a nicer way. It took me a long time to figure that out, and I'm jealous of these girls who realize it early on [through Girl Scouts]."

Another advantage to a supportive network of girls? Discovering your passion. "It's hard to find that unless you embrace what's unique [about you]," she says. "When we're younger, we tend to shy away from what makes us different."

But as America can attest, what makes us unique is also what makes us stand out from the crowd.


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Jennifer Merritt is a frequent contributor to The CollegeBound Network. Learn more about finding a school that's right for you.

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