Lawrence.com

A fresh-faced Kansas girl moves to Hollywood to make it big.

It's a cliche that's been around longer than talking pictures, but for Paige Peterson the pipe dream has become grounded in reality.

Since moving to Los Angeles in 1995, the Lawrence actress has found success in the industry. And opening today on screens across the country is her latest feature, the comedy "The Hot Chick," starring ex-"Saturday Night Live" standout Rob Schneider.

In the movie, the comedian plays a popular but mean-spirited girl who wakes up one morning to find herself transformed into an older, geeky man.

"I have to say I think Rob enjoyed wearing the cheerleading outfit more than any of the girls," says Peterson, who was hired for her dancing and gymnastics ability to be part of the squad. "He was always the first one ready to go and rehearse the routine. He really enjoyed pretending to be girly."

Peterson, who has a few lines in the movie as well as performing some entertaining dance maneuvers, spent a good deal of time with her co-star.

"He's a very busy guy, but yeah, we did a lot of stuff together," she says of the funnyman, whose previous movies, "Deuce Bigalow: Male Gigolo" and "The Animal," made $65 million and $57 million at the box office.

"There were plenty of rehearsals and scenes to get to know each other. Rob was just fun ... He's never one of those guys who are mean-joking or cruel. He kept it casual and fun, and if you screwed up it wasn't any big deal."

So after working with the titular star, does Peterson now consider herself a "hot chick?"

"Oh, for sure," she said, laughing. "Every girl should. Absolutely!"

The actress' recent gigs haven't been limited to just the big screen. She's also landed a recurring role on the hit NBC comedy "Scrubs," as the wise-cracking Nurse Shelly.

"I like TV so much more," says Peterson, who was previously a regular on MTV's steamy series "Undressed." "With a TV show it's a day-to-day, week-to-week, month-after-month thing. It's more like a family. Whereas on a film, you're only working on it for two or three months, then it's over. You don't get to build all the relationships."

Paved roads and streetlights

The 22-year-old actress' deepest relationships were forged in Lawrence, where she was born and raised. (Incidentally, Paige Peterson is NOT a stage name.) She took to the theatre at an early age. While a student at South Junior High School, she won roles in a KU production of the musical "Gypsy" and in Lawrence Community Theatre's version of the thriller "Wait Until Dark."

At age 15, she moved to Topeka for a year and then shuffled off to Hollywood. After a brief return to the Midwest for a few semesters at the University of Nebraska, where she was a sociology/dance major, Peterson finally committed to pursuing her craft full time.

So far, being a "small-town girl from Kansas" hasn't hindered her success.

"I get a few giggles when I tell people where I'm from," she admits. "Usually they tease me and I get comments about Dorothy and Toto ... People picture me growing up on a farm, and I have to explain we did have paved roads and streetlights. But people are pretty intrigued by it, actually. It's so different from the big cities they're used to."

Peterson still possesses strong ties to Kansas. Her mother continues to live in Lawrence, her father in Lenexa and her brother in Topeka. She usually returns home about three times a year.

But lately she's been making the cross-coastal flight to New York, where her boyfriend, Ralph Brown, plays cornerback for the New York Giants.

"It stinks for us because I have to be in L.A. and he has to be in New York," she says. "I'm praying he gets traded to San Diego. I could deal with him going to the Chiefs, too. I'd just come home more often."