ANNALYNNE MCCORD

I always wanted to be an actress. I couldn't imagine being anything else.

All of my friends are animal people. To me, cats are people, too. Animals are people, too. I travel a lot and when I go overseas, it's really hard on me because the animals are treated much differently, especially in developing countries.

Before I was going to be an actress, I was going to be a veterinarian! I thought I was one as a child. I was the kid who was like, 'Daddy! I want a kitty! It needs a mommy!' And my dad was such a sucker. Every time I would beg, with tears flying down my face, about how this animal needs love, needs a home. He would cave.

I love being outdoors, playing beach tennis, going for runs in the sand, or doing a three-hour hike with my best girlfriend, Mieko.

I loved killing zombies in 'Day of the Dead.' I basically welcome anything that involves being dirty or bloody or shooting guns.

There are a lot of recent pics of me rocking silk strings of beads. They're made by survivors of the sex trade in Cambodia who were rescued by one of the organizations I support.

But if an actress asks me my opinion, I would tell her there are a million different designers who make faux fur. If you like that look, wear faux fur. If you're doing it on the red carpet, you're doing it for how it looks. Faux fur and real fur look the same on camera.

You can make or break an outfit by not knowing your body type - certain things work on certain people. Make sure you're dressing for your leg-length, hip/chest size, etc.

I don't want my dad to say, 'My daughter is an actress on a TV show.' I want him to say, 'My daughter cares about people.' I would love to know that I'm a role model in Hollywood.

I loved math. I was such a nerd! I really enjoyed working through problems and finding the solution.

When I first moved to L.A., I didn't have a lot of money to join a gym or take classes, so I improvised. My sister and I went to the library and looked over their DVD collection and discovered Neena and Veena, these Egyptian twins who have a whole series of belly dancing routines. We did them all.

I need a guy who's confident and is secure in himself, because we're always apart.

My last trip to New Orleans was for the fifth anniversary of Katrina, and I had the awesome opportunity to bring my family down. We all worked on a house together and met some of the families.

Honestly, after about three years on a show, you're like, 'Thank you very much for giving me a step up. Now can I go do movies?'

It takes a lot to scare me.

A good two years after Hurricane Katrina I remember feeling so devastated and so ignorant that there was so much damage still left. I felt like here I was an American and this is an American city and the government hasn't done enough and people haven't given back enough. Everyone forgot and the city was lying in waste.

'Dial Star' is about an aspiring actress who finds the cell phone of AnnaLynne McCord and impersonates her.

I grew up with not a lot of money and I definitely shopped at Goodwill. But even in my most unfortunate state, I was really blessed compared to a lot of the rest of the world. I had a really great chance to follow my dreams and have them actually come true.

I know imitation is the highest form of flattery, but stealing one's identity is totally different.

We look at a person and see the person we want to see. I've had to deal with that my whole life, walking in a room and girls thinking I'm going to steal their boyfriends!

When I want to feel sexy, I like to dance-even if I'm at home by myself in my knee-high socks sliding there like 'Risky Business'… my sisters and I, if one of us starts, we're all there in front of the mirror, dancing, and it's just obnoxious. I feel sexy when I do that.

I don't like a lot of crazy makeup.

It's so important that people get tested and find out what they're allergic to, because they might be struggling with their weight or health issues and not realize that they're actually just allergic to the food they're eating.

I was always the girl who wore the mismatching socks, frizzy hair, ponytail I wouldn't take out for a week, and cutoff jean shorts that were at my knees.

I feel like we are so much more comfortable sweeping things under the rug and putting on a brave face, and to me, sweeping under the rug is a coward move, not a brave move at all. I want to get out there and have a conversation.