Believe it or not, Sharon Leal’s off-the-market status is a good thing. No, really. Prior to her wedding bells, the Tucson, Arizona-bred actress was no easy catch. Prospective suitors needed the resolve of a Jehovah’s Witness even to approach the future Hollywood player, an angelic vision who served more rejections than Marcus Camby. A real daddy’s girl, Leal’s first date didn’t come until age 17, and that guy still went through hell. “My father had a habit of doing background checks,” says the black-Filipino mashup. See, you wouldn’t have been in the running anyway.

Your mother is Filipino and your father is African-American. Thanks for not making up ethnicities like “Cablinasian.”
When I was growing up, there weren’t too many kids that looked like me in the States. I lived with my mom, who remarried to another Asian man, so people would be confused on first sight. “Did that Asian family adopt that little black girl?” I always had to explain what my mix was.

And now you’re wrapped in a scarf getting the red carpet treatment. Did our photographer at least leave the heat on?
It was pretty painless. We had four setups, and it went smoothly. I had one in a short sweater dress; I was pretty conservative, with the exception of one outfit. I’m not really the girl with her booty to the camera, but we got some sexy shots. I was happy with what I was able to see.

Advice: You can see more with fewer clothes on. Remember that. Even dressed, though, your frame is picture-perfect.
I’m definitely not the skinny-ankled girl. I kickbox, so I have stronger legs than the average woman. A lot of it is genes; my mom has naturally muscular legs, so I have that going for me, and the kickboxing helps.

With all the Tae Bo you’re doing, who has better stems—you or Beyoncé?
I’ll say hers. She’s getting way more mileage out of them.–Jerry Barrow